GIFT OF 
 Irving M. Scott 
 
Y COURTSHIP 
 
 ITS CONSEQUENCES. 
 
MY COURTSHIP 
 
 ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
 HENKY WIKOFF. 
 
 1 An honest tale speeds btbt, 
 Being plainly told. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 J. 0. DERBY, 119 NASSAU STREET 
 
 BOSTON : PHILLIPS, SAMPSON" & CO. CINCINNATI t H. W. DERBY. 
 CHICAGO : D. B. COOKE & CO. 
 
 1855. 
 
FNTRRKD according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 
 HENRY WIKOFF, 
 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 GIF! 
 
 \V. H. TINSON, PIIUNEY Jc RUSSKU, 
 
 STKREOTYPER, PRINTERS, 
 
 24 Iteeknuui St. 
 
1//6G3 
 
 TO THE MOST NOBLE 
 
 THE 
 
 MARQUIS DE CAVOUR, 
 
 OF SARDINIA, 
 THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARB RESPECTFULLY 
 
 BT 
 HIS TKKT HUMBLB AND GRATEKDL SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
TO MY READERS. 
 
 IT may be recollected that some two years ago and 
 upwards, I was arraigned at Genoa, Italy, for the 
 " abduction " of my affianced bride, Miss Jane C. Gam 
 ble, and condemned to an imprisonment of fifteen 
 months. Publications appeared before and after my 
 trial, distorting the incidents of my courtship, and 
 accusing me not only of unmanly violence, but of crimi 
 nal acts during my surreptitious interview with Miss 
 Gamble, at Genoa. To exhibit the partiality and injus 
 tice of the Genoese tribunal, as well as to rectify and 
 expose the errors and calumnies set afloat, I have decided 
 to publish the present volume. 
 
 I should be wanting in self-respect as well as a natural 
 sympathy for a woman so long my friend, and more 
 recently my betrothed, if I did not feel a profound 
 repugnance at giving to the public details of so delicate 
 and personal a nature. To avoid so painful an alterna- 
 
lift PREFACE. 
 
 tive, I endured an odious and cruel imprisonment in 
 silence. From the hour of my liberation, in February, 
 1853, to this moment, I have appealed earnestly and 
 often to the equity and sympathies of Miss Gamble, 
 entreating her to co-operate with me in my vindication, 
 so that the truth might be revealed without invading the 
 sanctity of our previous relations. Whether from policy 
 or indifference, she turned a deaf ear to my pleadings. 
 My sufferings and forbearance alike failed, and I was 
 compelled to choose between submission to undeserved 
 injuries, with the loss of my prospects in life, or the 
 full and undisguised revelation of my ill-starred courtship 
 and its inconceivable consequences. From such an 
 ordeal I would fain escape, but Fate is inexorable, and 
 I yield to her decree. 
 
 "Are these things, then, necessities? 
 Then, let us meet them like necessities." 
 
 It may provoke criticism that I Jiave written with so 
 much levity and freedom under circumstances so grave, 
 and, even, afflicting. To describe events of so playful 
 and often ludicrous a nature, I was forced to abandon 
 myself to the spirit that inspired them, else my style 
 would have been in jarring contrast to the subject. 
 That I have been so candid, and prodigal of such scenes 
 and incidents, is not my choosing. To have dropped 
 here and there a link in my story would have exposed 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 me to contradiction or suspicion. There is a line where 
 good breeding raises a barrier there I have stopped. 
 
 Should it excite the wonder, pity, perhaps contempt, 
 of any, that at a mature age, and with some experience of 
 the world, I should have forgotten in the ardor of the 
 chase the dictates of prudence, the suggestions of pro 
 priety, and at times, even, dignity itself, I will plead to 
 the benevolent, the excitement of passion ; to the incredu 
 lous, the hope of victory ; to all, the weakness of human 
 nature. It is pleasantly recorded, that even the stern 
 and wily Cardinal Richelieu fell so far a victim to the 
 caprices of a royal coquette, that to the scandal of his 
 cloth and his own humiliation, he was induced to venture 
 on a pas seul for her amusement, and to the delight of 
 her courtiers concealed behind the arras. It is less 
 strange, then, that a person professing to be neither wily 
 nor stern, and, " albeit not unused to the melting mood," 
 should have been led such a " merry dance " over hill 
 and dale, in the delusive hope of finally grasping his 
 ignis fatuus. 
 
 "Whatever may be thought or said of this stray chap 
 ter in the annals of literature, let me trust, in spite of 
 wrong, degradation, and anguish of mind and heart, that 
 none can trace an angry word or vindictive feeling that 
 none can say here the bitter oozes up, sivrgit amari 
 oliquid. 
 
 1* 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It will be seen with surprise and dissatisfaction in 
 this country, that the conduct of the English Consul at 
 Genoa, in straining eveiy nerve to send me to the Gal 
 leys ! and that of the English Minister at Turin, in 
 vehemently opposing my pardon, was not what might 
 have been expected of honorable men, or dignified 
 officials of Her Britannic Majesty s Government. As 
 I was not personally known to these gentlemen, nor my 
 offence one to stir their indignation or rouse their sense 
 of duty, it is natural to look elsewhere for their motives. 
 It is not to be inferred, for a moment, that either would 
 have abandoned themselves to such unworthy excesses 
 against an American Citizen, but under the instructions 
 of their Government. It may be in my power, even, to 
 cite proofs to that effect. What could have exposed me 
 to the unprovoked hostility of the English Foreign Office, 
 it is not my purpose here to discuss. The incredible 
 denial of the English Consul, before the public of Genoa, 
 of my reputed connection with his Government, com 
 pelled me, then, to assert it, and now to establish it by a 
 conclusive document. At no distant day I propose to 
 publish the entire history of my relations with the 
 English Government, and naught will be seen therein, I 
 may venture to say, that can bring my patriotism or 
 honor into question. Regarding the interests of England 
 as identified with those of my own country, and of 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 France, and all compatible with the progress of nations, 
 and the cause of civilization, I readily accepted the offers 
 of my Lord Palmerston, then Minister of- Foreign 
 Affairs, and conscientiously undertook my delicate task. 
 I maybe permitted to say, "I did the State some ser 
 vice and they know it." This fact, however, together 
 with the motives for my withdrawal from -the English 
 Foreign Office, will appear hereafter. The subject is one 
 but little in harmony with that descanted on in this 
 volume. Let me add, that however just my claims 
 for redress against the agents of the English govern 
 ment in Sardinia for Conspiracy, so clearly proved, still 
 I refrain, in this place, from any accusation against a 
 Minister of the Crown ; whilst I am glad to express none 
 but the most cordial sympathies for the welfare of 
 England and her people. My humble views of the true 
 interests of Great Britain may conflict with the policy 
 of some of her leading statesmen, but that should 
 rather be the subject of temperate exposition, than 
 of acrimonious or hostile controversy. 
 
 It is fitting I should state here that it was only upon 
 my return to New York I ascertained that a petition had 
 been got up by a warm-hearted friend of mine, to the 
 King of Sardinia, after my condemnation, alleging the 
 insignificance of my offence, and the gravity of my 
 punishment. This petition was signed from motives of 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 humanity, by numerous influential persons, and by 
 many of the prominent members of the New York press, 
 as well as by other distinguished friends of mine in other 
 cities. To one and all these gentlemen I beg to return 
 my very humble and most grateful thanks. This peti 
 tion was forwarded by the Sardinian Consul at this 
 place, and letters were addressed, at the same time, to 
 Mr. Kinney, United States Charge d Affaires at Turin, 
 and yet, strange to say, no mention of it ever reached me. 
 I was destined to be, unto the end, the victim of mysti 
 fication, both female and diplomatic. 
 
 Should, perchance, exception be taken to the necessary 
 use of private correspondence to support my case, I may 
 refer to the late instance of Mr. Keogh, in the English 
 House of Commons, when Lord John Russell, Secretary 
 of State, declared "that, however regretable, occasions 
 arose that rendered it inevitable." 
 
 May I appeal to the impartiality and good feeling of 
 the editors of journals in various parts of the country, 
 who may have given currency to the injurious aspersions 
 this volume disproves, to give my exculpation a fair 
 scrutiny and a liberal judgment. 
 
 In fine, I commend my book to the indulgence of my 
 readers my errors to their tolerance, and my vindica 
 
 tion to their approval. 
 
 HENRY WIKOFF. 
 
 St. Denit Hotel, New York. 
 
MM 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 2T 
 
 LONDON, 29 
 
 Dispatches Delivered. Old Symptoms Revived. Perplexity Thereat. 
 
 BOURNEMOUTH, 37 
 
 A Cautious Approach. Citadel Attacked. Plight of the Besieger 
 
 PARIS, 48 
 
 A Charming Letter. A Moment s Abandon. The Penalty. 
 
 LONDON, 57 
 
 Attack Renewed. Reinforcement of Count S .Allies defeated. 
 
 PARIS, 66 
 
 New Strategy. Hopes and Pears. Conspiracy in the Camp. 
 
 LONDON AND SWITZERLAND, 73 
 
 A Splendid Ball. Advice and Succor. Another Effort. 
 
xiv 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 THE GREAT ST. BERNARD 
 Ingenious Stratagem. Glorious Success. A Desperate Rally. 
 
 PAQH 
 
 87 
 
 Plague-stricken. 
 
 OUCHY, 
 A Garden Ramble. 
 
 97 
 
 1 Go Along, Yes." 
 
 Happy Moments. 
 
 GENEVA, 113 
 
 Violent Struggles. Truce and Surrender. 
 
 Cruel Suspense 
 
 PARIS LONDON, 125 
 
 Supreme Bliss. Complete Misery. 
 
 LONDON, 142 
 
 A Great Banker. Kossutb s Dinner. A Sudden Resolution. 
 
 PARIS ITALY, 155 
 
 Packing Up. Packing Off. Now or Never. 
 
 TURIN, 172 
 
 Mrs. Austin Disappointed. Notes and Replies. Despair at Last. 
 
 GENOA, 179 
 
 An Abduction. Sleeping Out. No Joke at AU. 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 201 
 
 Terrible Puss. Timothy Brown. A Night in Prison. 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 215 
 
 No Help for it. Love and Hate. The Galleys Impending. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 
 Bini, the Barricader. Roguino, the Rascal. A Brace of Lawyers. 
 
 XV 
 
 PAQK 
 
 234 
 
 THE TRIAL, 244 
 
 A Judge and no Jury. Hard Swearing and no Oaths. Condemnation and no Guilt. 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 282 
 
 A Nobleman s Sympathy. U. S. Consul s Opinion. Louis Napoleon s Letter. 
 
 A True John Bull. 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 298 
 
 Miss Gamble Fluctuates. Bini Entrapped. 
 
 A Political Bribe. 
 
 Chloroform Story. 
 
 Attempt at Suicide. 
 
 AD Assassin s Death. 
 
 Joy of Liberty. 
 
 Mrs. Grote Again. 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 315 
 
 gtabs of Calumny. Caught in the Act 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 333 
 
 A Prison Burial. The Pope s Sympathy. 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 343 
 
 Political Philosophy. A Jolly Frenchman. 
 
 ST. ANDREA, 362 
 
 A Genteel Hangman . Adieu to Prison. 
 
 PARIS LONDON GENOA, 385 
 
 A New Conspiracy. Timothy Brown s Defiance. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Mr. Bates s Attempt. 
 
 395 
 
 Miss Gamble s Spy, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 NEW YORK, 405 
 
 An Atlantic Trip. Hearty Welcome. Book under way. 
 
 THURLOW WEED, 418 
 
 The Astor House. His Sly Dodges. His Recantation. 
 
 A LAST WORD. 
 
PART I. 
 
 * Qui que tu sois, voici ton maitre, 
 n est, il fut, ou doit 1 etre." 
 
 Voltaire, on a Statue of Cupid. 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 "Whoever you are, behold your master, 
 He is, was, or will be." 
 
MY COURTSHIP 
 
 AND 
 
 ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 BEFORE beginning the narration of my Caleb s Adventures in 
 Search of a Wife, I may as well say a word of my first acquaint 
 ance with the fair object of my pursuit. It dates as far back, I 
 am sorry for both of us to say, as eighteen years ago. On 
 setting out on my European travels, in 1834, I received from 
 Mr. Gillent Robertson, the British Consul at Philadelphia, whom 
 I had known from my boyhood, several letters of introduction, 
 and one of them, I observed, was addressed to Mr. James 
 Dunlop, of Russel Square, London. After making a tour of 
 France and Italy, I reached England in the spring of 1835, 
 and lost no time in presenting my letters, and the one in ques 
 tion among the rest. I thus made the acquaintance of a 
 charming and interesting family. Mr. Dunlop was a Scotch 
 gentleman, who had amassed a considerable fortune in the 
 tobacco trade with America. His wife was an American lady, 
 and they had an only son, James, of weak intellect but amiable 
 disposition. A fourth member of this pleasant circle, Miss 
 
28 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Gamble, was a niece of Mrs. Dunlop, who had left her home in 
 the United States some years previous, to be adopted by her 
 aunt, though she had been born in England from the accident 
 of her parents travelling there at that moment. My acquaint 
 ance with these amiable persons grew rapidly; and during the 
 years 1836-3t, at which period I was attached to the American 
 Legation in London, I was in the constant habit of frequenting 
 their house, both in town and country. The mild character of 
 Mr. Dunlop, and the cheerful disposition of his wife, inspired me 
 with great regard ; nor was it possible to remain wholly indif 
 ferent to the many attractions of their accomplished niece. To 
 personal beauty of no ordinary kind, Miss Gamble added a very 
 superior and highly-cultivated intellect, graceful manners, and a 
 sprightly temper, which rendered her society at all times very 
 seductive. If it is wondered at that I stood proof against so 
 many charms, then at their culminating point, and which few did 
 who dared to confront them, I would not have it set down either 
 to my insensibility, or want of due appreciation. The fact was, 
 that I had not long before escaped from the tiresome discipline 
 of a protracted University career. Having come into the con 
 trol of an ample fortune, I felt disposed, instead of settling 
 prematurely down in life, rather to carry out the ardent dream 
 of my youth, and to devote some years to a wide tour of 
 Europe. It will excite the incredulity of none who knew this 
 engaging person at the time I am speaking of, to say that my 
 intimate acquaintance with her left upon my mind impressions 
 so deep and pleasing as to preserve them unimpaired through 
 long succeeding years. With occasional intervals of absence 
 from England, my delightful intercourse with the Dunlop family 
 went on to the year 1840, when I returned to the United States. 
 Not very long after this, I learnt, to my profound sorrow, the 
 death of Mr. Dunlop, which was followed in a few years later 
 by that of his affectionate wife. " Though in the habit of visiting 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 29 
 
 Europe frequently at different periods after these sad events, I 
 never had the good fortune to meet with my old and cherished 
 acquaintance, Miss Gamble ; and it was only during the winter 
 1850 that I learnt, from Mrs. Joshua Bates, then in Paris, that 
 she was residing in London, and would be pleased to renew our 
 former friendship. The suggestion was not lost upon me, as 
 may be supposed ; and having occasion to come to London in 
 the spring of 51, on business at the foreign office, I determined 
 to employ my first leisure moments in the agreeable task of 
 visiting my old friend. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 IN order to correct much error and misrepresentation, I may 
 as well state, en passant, that one motive, and not the only one, 
 that brought me to London at this moment was to draw my 
 quarter s salary at the Foreign Office, due on the 1st April. 
 I was also the bearer of some diplomatic papers of no little 
 importance. Having got through, as in duty bound, with my 
 special business, I set about discovering the address of my 
 former esteemed acquaintance, Miss Gamble, which was the only 
 agrement I promised myself, and I found it to be in Portland 
 Place, 41. 
 
 It was the afternoon of April 3d that I called, and the old 
 butler of the family answered my knock. He recognized me 
 immediately. I was startled to see him attired in deep mourn 
 ing, and asked in haste what had occurred, when he informed 
 me that they had buried " Master James " only the day before. 
 This was the only son, as I have mentioned, of my old friends 
 
30 MY COURTS HIP 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dunlop ; and thus, of this amiable family I had 
 once known so intimately, Miss Gamble was the sole survivor. 
 
 Leaving my card, with the expression of my sincere con 
 dolence for her bereavement, I went away, but wrote the next 
 day to Miss Gamble to assure her of my pain at her afflicting 
 loss, and further to say that, if her feelings permitted it, I 
 should be most happy to pay her a visit before leaving London, 
 which it was my purpose to do almost immediately. I was 
 much gratified to receive the following reply the same 
 evening : 
 
 " Miss Gamble presents her compliments to Mr. Wikoff, and will bo 
 happy to sec him any time before half-past two o clock on Saturday or 
 Sunday. 
 
 " 41 Portland Place. 
 
 " April 4th. 
 
 " If more convenient, Miss Gamble would receive Mr. "Wikoff on Sun 
 day Evening." 
 
 I was flattered and touched by this prompt and cordial 
 reply. In spite of her very recent misfortune, she was not 
 only disposed to receive me, but showed her readiness to do so 
 by assigning the day or the evening as might suit rne best. 
 It was clear that I was well and favorably remembered. I 
 responded to this kind note by going immediately to Portland 
 Place. It was natural, whilst waiting in the drawing-room, 
 that I should experience no small emotion at this sudden 
 renewal of my acquaintance with a person I had once known 
 so well and esteemed so highly; but my satisfaction was tinged 
 with melancholy at the thought that all the familiar faces I had 
 been accustomed to see grouped around her had dropped away, 
 one after the other, in the lapse of years. These triste reflec 
 tions were scattered by the entrance of Miss Gamble, who 
 welcomed me with great warmth. Our interview was long, 
 and it is needless to say that we talked incessantly of old times, 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 31 
 
 of past scenes, and of my excellent friends, her uncle and aunt, 
 who, she said, bad always borne me in kindly recollection. I 
 could not fail to remark that time, with its usual rudeness, had 
 taken some liberties with the former fresh and youthful visage 
 of my fair friend, and she looked all the paler for her long and 
 fatiguing duties in a sick-chamber. Her manners, however, 
 were as graceful, her conversation as brilliant as ever, whilst 
 her mind had a firmer tone, the result of riper age and a more 
 independent position. She complained of a keen sense of 
 solitude, left all alone in the large house she was occupying, 
 with no other companions than the old servants of the family. 
 
 I rose, at last, to take my leave, hardly knowing whether I 
 should see her again, when she kindly bid me come and take tea 
 with her on the following evening. 
 
 I went away rejoiced at this prompt recovery of my dear old 
 friend, and feeling an interest in her welfare I had scarcely known 
 before, and which I attributed to the lonely situation in which 
 I found her. I was punctual to my invitation for tea on Sunday 
 evening, and met a lady friend of Miss G. there. My hostess 
 was in a livelier mood than the day before, and several hours 
 soon passed away in pleasant conversation. Before going, she 
 informed me of her intention to leave town at once for the sea 
 side, hoping that change of air and scene would resuscitate her 
 jaded spirits, and named Thursday ensuing for her departure. 
 She was to be accompanied by Mrs. Leslie,* an old friend of 
 both of us, and her daughter. I begged permission to call and 
 bid her adieu ere she went, which was cheerfully granted. I did 
 so on the Wednesday following, but had hardly entered the room 
 when a visit was announced. I hastily expressed my regret at 
 
 * Therwife of the celebrated painter, Charles Leslie, R. A., a native of New England, 
 [ believe. For many years past he has been esteemed in England as one of the first 
 artists of the epoch, and worthy to rank with Reynolds or West, His pictures are 
 sought after by the English nobility with the greatest avidity. 
 
32 MYCOURTSHIP 
 
 having lost the only opportunity of giving her some details of 
 myself that I hoped might interest her, when she said she would 
 be sure to see me again next month, at Paris, whither she was 
 going, en route to Switzerland for the summer. Soon after her 
 new visitor called, I withdrew. 
 
 I have often thought since, that these agreeable interviews, 
 following in quick succession, with a person bound to me by so 
 many associations, the strongest of all ties, had done me more 
 mischief than I was at all aware of at the time. The strongest 
 emotions are usually the most imperceptible in their germination. 
 All that I can now recall is, that I felt a lively sorrow at losing 
 sight of her so abruptly, with all the uncertainty hanging over 
 our rencontre at a future period. 
 
 It is clear that my restlessness, however vague, must have 
 been very strong, for I jumped up early on the morning fixed 
 for her departure, and wrote to ask if she would allow me to 
 say "good-bye" again, as I passed her place of sojourn on my 
 return to Paris. There can be no great harm in this, I thought, 
 surely. She cannot think for a moment that I have any par 
 ticular object in wishing to see her again. My anxiety on this 
 point made me suspect that I had ; I felt that it was rather pre 
 sumptuous to make the request in question ; after her late afflic 
 tion, she might prefer the solitude so congenial to mournful 
 meditation. Besides, she might consider it improper, though ac 
 companied by a married woman, to receive the visit of a single 
 man, albeit an old and intimate acquaintance. Still I was lured 
 on by the tempting reflection that if she consented, that even if 
 she did not refuse my desire, that I might infer I hardly knew 
 what. Off went my note, however, which I shaped in as diplo 
 matic a manner as possible. After stating my request, I boldly 
 asked at what hotel she would reside, thus taking her assent for 
 granted. I hardly expected a reply, which I would likely have 
 interpreted into a favorable sign, on the strength of the old 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 33 
 
 adage. An answer came, however, and nothing could be more 
 satisfactory. It ran thus 
 
 "Excuse this scrap all my writing-paper is packed up. I believe 
 there is only one hotel at Bournemouth. I am quite ignorant of the 
 place I am at breakfast, and expect my friends a Vinstant. 
 
 " Yours, very truly, 
 
 " J. C. GAMBLE." 
 
 How delightfully familiar, I thought. Not the least objection 
 in the world. Says there is only "one hotel," which is as much 
 as to say, you can t miss it. What a fool I was to imagine she 
 could object. Alas, how easily the head is turned with one suc 
 cess I but it was the first. 
 
 I had not quite done with the matters that brought me over, 
 and was detained in London for several days longer. Besides, I 
 thought it prudent not to hurry too quickly down to Bourne 
 mouth, lest it might excite suspicion against me, and I was very 
 solicitous on this point, as I believed myself entirely innocent of 
 any motive save that of a mere friendly character. Perhaps it was 
 so. I loitered about London, then, a week longer, and without 
 writing to say whether I was coming or not. This I thought 
 would excite a little curiosity, if Miss G. was like other women. 
 I took it into my head and the deuce take my head for it to 
 call on an old friend during the week in question, and make reve 
 lation of what had occurred. As this person is destined to play 
 a conspicuous part in my sad adventures, I had better introduce 
 her at once to my reader. 
 
 In the year 1839, I encountered in the salons of M. Guizot, 
 at Paris, Mr. and Mrs. George Grote of London. Mr. Grote 
 was at that time M.P. for the city of London, and noted for his 
 desperate devotion to the forlorn cause of the Ballot. I found him 
 a very amiable and unassuming person, and not a little remark 
 able for his profound erudition. It is only true to say, however, 
 
 2* 
 
34 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 that his wife interested me far more deeply. She was a singular- 
 looking person, past middle age, apparently, very tall, abrupt in 
 manner, and with a countenance denoting decision and strength 
 of character. It was not her personal traits, therefore, that 
 attracted me. I discovered, though, as our acquaintance ripened, 
 that her intellect for breadth and cultivation was far beyond the 
 ordinary standard of her sex. Her conversation had an eleva 
 tion and force, even upon the most trifling subjects, that sur 
 prised and charmed me. Notwithstanding her somewhat stern 
 and even masculine exterior, her nature seemed soft and kindly, 
 and there was, besides, a dash of romance in her character that 
 compelled her often to seek excitement in things or persons 
 that were odd and eccentric. Fortunately, her fancy drew a 
 sketch of me that resembled the original as little as fancy 
 sketches usually do, but it served to interest her. On the 
 other hand, I was fascinated by her marvellous gifts of mind,* 
 
 * I could hardly give a more striking proof of Mrs. Grote a very rare capacity than by 
 quoting the following article from the Spectator of January 5, 1850, wherein she reviews 
 with marked ability a political essay I had just published at Paris. The reader will par 
 don my vanity in making a quotation so much to my advantage, but it may serve as a 
 light set-off to the heavy amount of disparagement I have undergone : 
 
 " FRENCH POLITICS. La Presse is distinguished among Paris Journals for an audacious 
 self-reliance on journalist ability, and with the vices of audacity it possesses not a few 
 of the good qualities of courage. It can, when so pleased, be candid ; and it has thus 
 given circulation to a remarkable and interesting series of letters, by an American gen 
 tleman, on the Political Constitutions of England, the United States, and France under 
 the actual Republic. 
 
 " Compared with the wearisome and pompous declamation of the Democratic organs, 
 or with the mystical and high-flown homilies of Legitimacy, these letters claim a marked 
 attention, coming as they do from a citizen of the greatest Republic ever organized since 
 the world began ; from one schooled in its discipline, familiar with its machinery, and 
 extensively conversant with its doctrines ; accustomed also to compare them both in 
 their theory and in their practice with the old institutions of Europe. - Mr. Henry Wikoff 
 has lived much with the French ; he admires their nation, and loves to dwell among 
 them : hence his earnest longings to be useful, according to his ability, in assisting them 
 to arrive at that most important blessing, a solid and well-constructed form of govern 
 ment. Taking as the text of his first letter the Constitution of the United States, he 
 expounds the action of its respective forces in securing the nearest approach to liberty 
 frnd equality ever beheld in the social state, coincidently with that security to life and 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 35 
 
 and hence a strong friendship sprang up between us, which, with 
 occasional interruptions, had gone on to the moment, April, 
 1851, that I am speaking of. Not feeling quite sure that I was 
 
 property without which any government were a worthless pageant. We hardly know in 
 what shape instruction on political philosophy could be rendered more available to the 
 people than in the one Mr. Wikoff has chosen. His exposition of the American appara 
 tus of government is delivered in an unpretending, simple style, such as might charac 
 terize the description of machines or instruments in the pages of a scientific treatise. 
 One is made to see so clearly the relations between the several parts, that ideas of 
 mechanical laws unconsciously rise to the mind, and we half expect to see an illustrative 
 cut, with A the cylinder, C the fly-wheel, F the revolving pinion, H the valve-index, and 
 so forth. Once familiar with the structure of a political constitution sanctioned by 
 experiment, the French people will be furnished with a model according to which their 
 own may be made to fit its purpose ; although, starting from a condition less favorable 
 to constructive organization than the colonial architects, some compromises must be 
 made with ancient principles. It depends upon the French people, as a nation, how far 
 these compromises shall extend ; and they may thank the author of the letters to La 
 Presse for lending them a helping hand towards a better comprehension of their inte 
 rests in respect to the nature of these compromises. 
 
 " The striking feature, we repeat, of these letters is their transparent clearness ; a 
 feature in which the writers of the day in France, with all their talent, certainly do not 
 shine. The view Mr. Wikoflf has taken of the English constitutional course may be pro 
 nounced sagacious on the whole ; and it is instructive as tracing the conflict between the 
 mighty elements of English life, Aristocracy and Democracy, through a long historical 
 period, till the curious and indescribable thing which the English government has come 
 to be, got into operation, to the despair of foreign statesmen and the misleading of foreign 
 imitators. The New Yorker, however, is not quite so much at home in his subject when 
 writing upon England ; but it is hardly open to censure for incompleteness, seeing that 
 he has treated a prodigious subject within the space of a few columns, and that without 
 violating any important historical sequence, although he has necessarily overlooked a 
 vast number of intermediate and connecting links. 
 
 " But the really essential lesson to be inculcated on the French nation is, not so much 
 how their new framework of civil government should be put together, as how it should 
 be worked and applied to its purpose when set up. For here lies the formidable diffi 
 culty with that people, so insidiously cheated of their hopes by each successive dynasty, 
 and so unfairly reproached by lookers-on for manifesting discontent under their disap 
 pointments. 
 
 It is to no purpose that the French people make revolutions, since the government 
 which succeeds contrives to get back into the vicious track of its expelled predecessor; 
 or, if not into the same, into a course no less fatal to national credit and tranquillity. 
 The moral to be deduced from this is twofold. Some will choose to affirm that this fact 
 proves how much wiser the people would show themselves if they would let revolutions 
 alone and submit to the unavoidable evils of bad governors. Others, more keenly alive 
 to the principles of equity and the reciprocal duties of governors and governed, will 
 
36 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 right in neglecting my diplomatic avocations in running after any 
 chance fairies that might cross my path, though this one looked 
 very harmless in her deep mourning, I determined to go and hold 
 
 adopt the maxim that care must be taken in reforming a government to put at the head 
 of it persons interested in its going on successfully and healthily. But this is just what 
 cannot be hoped for in the case of the present Republic of France. 
 
 " la that beautiful country, rich in all the elements which can constitute earthly 
 happiness and solid prosperity, there unhappily wants a steadfast desire for the growth 
 and permanent establishment of the actual government. The whole of the upper class 
 of Frenchmen, from the President down to the Lecturer on Botany at the Academy of 
 Dijon, are in a tacit league to the end that the Republic shall not stand. In the face of 
 such a coalition, what are the working classes to do ? Is it conceivable we would ask, 
 that, under the original American Constitution even, a Republic could have got on ita 
 legs, if Washington, if Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin, and that class of political men, 
 had looked unkindly upon its birth? What made the infant Republic spring to vigorous 
 life ? what made the Constitution gradually evolve itself into effective operation after the 
 Convention of 1787-S-9 ? 
 
 "It was the cordial patriotism of the American statesmen, principal no less than 
 secondary, which mainly brought about the success of that memorable experiment : it 
 is the absence of this element in France patriotic singleness of purpose, and a disposi 
 tion to accept the present fabric as her permanent destiny which, it is to be feared, will 
 hinder it from taking root in her soil, or in the attachment of her sons. Can anything 
 be more disheartening than to see a noble man-of-war betrayed by her officers ? Yet 
 such will be the spectacle offered by the Republic of France, unless some means can be 
 found to frustrate the combination formed against it by every cluster of parties engaged 
 in public life. 
 
 " It is not difficult to specify in what consists the disposition to abolish this govern 
 ment. Every attentive observer can see that it is not rich enough to corrupt the hungry 
 harpies who supported the late system. Their support is withdrawn, whilst that of no 
 other party can be relied on : simply because they desire and hope to establish each 
 their own idol on the ruins of the Republic. The President, weak in his personal follow 
 ing, is thus obliged to play the game of attracting the favor of the working classes and 
 of the army. And a game more destructive, in respect to permanent popularity with the 
 nation at large, there cannot be. With Mr. Wikoff s aid we may recur to the leading 
 points which bear upon the difficulties of the French nation in getting even a good con 
 stitution into work. Meanwhile, let us refrain from those too common accusations 
 against the people, as such, for allowing no government to stand, whilst as yet they have 
 destroyed none which has deserved to endure. 
 
 " Should the present one perish, it will certainly owe its destruction, not to the 
 Republicans of the streets, but to the conspirators of the salons; to the very class 
 from whom we have heard such unmeasured revilings against the restless discontents 
 of the lower orders. The Republic, it is manifest, suits neither the aristocracy nor the 
 office-seekers; the Monarchy did not satisfy the people. Shall we never get beyond a 
 Choice between one class interest and another ?" 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 37 
 
 counsel with Mrs. Grote. If she advised me to stick to business, 
 as I thought likely, and not to give way to the charm of old 
 recollections, then I fully determined to send an apology down 
 to Bournemouth, and start off directly to Paris. Mrs. G. lis 
 tened quietly to my simple recital, and then inquired my object 
 in going out of my way to say adieu when it had been already 
 said. I could give no satisfactory explanation of this, but, 
 unfortunately, she said there was no great harm in that, which 
 exactly echoed my own thought. I half suspect that Mrs. Grote 
 thought that, happen what might in consequence, there could 
 only come of it a little harmless amusement and occupation for 
 her. She had both, and more than she expected ; but what was 
 often fun to her, was sore perplexity to me. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BOURNEMOUTH. 
 
 THE die was cast, however, and on the 16th of April, just a 
 week after Miss Gamble had gone, I started in quest of her, 
 and reached Bournemouth the same evening at six o clock. I 
 found, upon inquiring at the Bath Hotel the only one there, as 
 Miss Gamble said that my party was still on the premises, so 
 I ordered my dinner in the coffee-room, meaning to faire mes 
 hornmages to the ladies in the evening. I sent word of my 
 arrival, however, to Miss Gamble, and, to my agreeable surprise, 
 the answer returned was that " the ladies would wait dinner for 
 me." I asked twice over if there was no mistake, for I thought 
 it too pleasant to be true ; but the solemn head waiter, napkin 
 
38 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 in hand, repeated the message in the same words over again, 
 without changing a muscle of his grave countenance. 
 
 Hurrying through my toilet, not a little elated at escaping 
 from a stupid dinner by myself, I made my way to the saloon of 
 Miss Gamble, whom I found with her friend Mrs. Leslie, and 
 daughter, politely awaiting my coming, when dinner was ordered. 
 In the conversation that ensued, Miss G. let drop that she had 
 been expecting me some days earlier, and I explained that seri 
 ous matters had conspired to detain me. I relished secretly this 
 flattering intimation. The evening passed off pleasantly in 
 lively chat around the fire-side, and I made use of the occasion 
 in examining quite attentively my old acquaintance Mrs. L. 
 who seemed pleased to meet me again and her sprightly 
 daughter. 
 
 Though I had no distinct object in view, I thought it best to 
 know the exact nature of the surrounding country, as it were ; 
 and he must be a careless general who begins a campaign 
 without taking such a precaution. I made up my mind speedily 
 that Mrs. L. was decidedly an amiable person, but there was 
 something in her quiet exterior that made me suspect a subtle 
 spirit played beneath, and that her assistance or opposition, 
 therefore, in any " enterprise of pith " was worth looking 
 after. Her daughter was a pretty, lively girl, of some seventeen 
 summers, as gay as a lark, and as unsophisticated as all young 
 ladies ought to be, but as, alas ! they rarely are. 
 
 I soon discovered, as I had anticipated, that the week elapsed 
 had quite exhausted the very slender attractions of the place. 
 There was a nice walk in the morning on the beach, with a fine 
 view of the sea, which could be varied by an equally pleasant 
 walk for the afternoon in an adjoining wood. Beyond this, and 
 the good cheer of the well-appointed one hotel, there was nothing 
 to render Bournemouth the most attractive place in the world. 
 My lady friends had gone over these walks every day since their 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 39 
 
 arrival, and they were naturally in a very rabid state for some 
 new excitement. My advent enlivened them not a little, and 
 each and all were disposed to make the most of me as a novelty. 
 I failed not to perceive, the very first evening, from the mischie 
 vous glances of Miss Gamble s very roguish eyes, and the sig 
 nificant demureness of Mrs. L. s manner, that I was suspected 
 of some depredatory motive in coming to Bournemouth. I con 
 sidered this fatal to my hopes, if I had any. My first resolu 
 tion was, therefore, to disarm the doubts of my fair antagonists, 
 which would make my ulterior manoeuvres more successful. I 
 effected this quite easily, by assuming a cheerful, harmless man 
 ner, and dividing my attentions equally between all parties. In 
 the endless walks that ensued, and which made our chief occupa 
 tion, I took care to be as attentive to Mrs. L. and her daughter 
 as to Miss Gr. herself. After a sharp scrutiny of two or three 
 days, that I underwent as though quite unconscious of the ordeal, 
 the vigilance of my fair companions was completely lulled, and 
 they jointly came to the conclusion, as I afterwards learned, that 
 whatever brought me to Bournemouth, nothing could be further 
 from my mind than making love or seeking marriage with any 
 one I met there. It is downright fun to outwit a woman, which 
 ought to have been put among the labors of Hercules. It is 
 dangerous sport, though ; for one triumph is sure to be paid for 
 in endless defeats, as my story will show. 
 
 The wisdom of my tactics was soon apparent; for, my hostess 
 having thrown aside all apprehension of danger for her heart, 
 changed her manner of cautious defiance that she wore at first, 
 and became familiar, playful, and exceedingly captivating, because 
 entirely natural. By sly degrees I took advantage of it, arid 
 advanced stealthily upon my unwary prize. One day, without 
 thinking, of course, of what I was doing I dived my hand into 
 the recesses of her reticule, and drew forth the identical note I 
 wrote on the morning of her leaving London. My glance wan- 
 
40 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 dered from the missive to the eyes of Miss Gr., into which I pryed 
 intently. She must have been guilty of something, for she 
 blushed deeply, and censured me sharply for my impertinent 
 curiosity. It is strange how often women s secrets are betrayed 
 by letters, which they can t bring themselves to destroy. It is 
 a lucky thing for us men, sometimes, that this weakness of theirs 
 is our advantage. 
 
 Certainly, no entrepreneur ever had a fairer chance for begin 
 ning a courtship. Not only had I no rival in the field, but a 
 thousand opportunities, morning, noon, and night, to advance my 
 standard and push on my cause. For much the better part of 
 the twenty-four hours, I was in the society of my inamorata, and 
 I made the best use of my time. I still kept up my insouciant 
 air, and made myself as agreeable as possible, for no other 
 motive, apparently, than that I couldn t help it. It may not be 
 the most gallant way to woo a lady, by affecting indifference- 
 no easy matter, often, to do ; but I think it is the surest ; at 
 all events, it saves a deal of resistance. 
 
 Perhaps I ought to say now, in all seriousness, that when I 
 came to Bournemouth I had no settled purpose of making love 
 to my old friend, Miss Gamble, and still less any intention of 
 proposing marriage. As far as I can remember, my purpose was 
 chiefly to see that, if I attempted the former, I should meet with 
 due encouragement, and there was then time enough afterwards 
 to think of the latter grave alternative. What I had seen of 
 Miss Gamble in London served to revive all my ancient regard 
 for her, which was not slight; but my daily intimacy with her 
 at Bournemouth brought her under notice in such various 
 aspects, and all of them so enticing, that it is not to be wondered 
 at that, entertaining no objection to fall in love with her, I 
 should do so and which, moreover, I have never regretted 
 since, though it cannot be denied that I have had reason enough 
 to do it. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 41 
 
 Miss Gamble was not so young by ten years as when I saw 
 her last, nor was she as handsome, but her person still retained 
 many charms for me. Her eyes were as bright and roguish as 
 of yore, her smile still more significant, whilst her figure had 
 lost nothing of its symmetry by the rounding of its outlines ; 
 her grace and dignity of manner were the same, and her intellect 
 had grown stronger and more brilliant with larger instruction 
 and greater experience. She had, besides, a good income, as 
 far as I could judge, from her late uncle s property, which was 
 no object to me, as I had then enough for my own wants, but 
 not enough for the support of a wife in the style I would prefer 
 to live. Miss Gamble s income, whatever it was, united to my 
 own, would be sufiicient, I felt sure, for all the exigencies of 
 married life. As there were no reasons, material or otherwise, 
 that I could see to forbid the scheme, I made up my mind to try 
 my luck. Whether from pride or nervousness, I felt exceedingly 
 anxious not to make a mistake, and I watched the unsuspecting 
 Miss Gamble, therefore, with a lynx s eye. Every mark of par 
 tiality, every attention, and every civility, I took note cf, and 
 carefully weighed in the balance of my self-love. At the expi 
 ration of a week I began to remark symptoms that I did not 
 hesitate to construe into favorable ones. The fair object of my 
 loving designs by degrees grew more serious and meditative ; 
 she complained of not sleeping quite so well, in spite of our long 
 walks ; and, more significant still, her appetite, so good at first, 
 sensibly fell off at last. I am no connoisseur if these signs are 
 to be mistaken. A woman may lose her sleep and appetite from 
 other causes than love, it is true ; but if she takes more interest 
 in any man than she ought, they are sure to be more or less 
 affected. At least, this was my reasoning at that time, and my 
 vanity may have had a share in it. 
 
 I thought it time now to experiment a little. I made a 
 feint one day of going away, when Miss G. asked me quickly 
 
42 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 when another steamer left for Havre, whither I was bound ; 
 and, upon my answering in three days, she asked why I could 
 not postpone my departure till then. I said something about 
 duty calling me away, but confessed that it was so pleasant to 
 do wrong on the present occasion that I would stay, as she 
 wished it. 
 
 The ninth day the last of my stay came, which is the 
 conventional end of all wonders ; and I hope, therefore, it will 
 not be wondered at that I resolved, before going, to propose. 
 
 It was on a Friday ominous day. As usual we had 
 settled upon a walk, and the weather was balmy and bright, 
 just the sort of day to inspire gentle emotions. It was 
 arranged that, instead of coming home to lunch, Thomas, 
 the assiduous footman of Miss Gamble, should present himself, 
 at the hungry hour of two, in some of the shady ravines that 
 intersected the noble cliffs that overhung the beach, our 
 favorite promenade, and with his basket suitably supplied with 
 dainty sandwiches and refreshing stout. We set off, but our 
 partie carree was disturbed by the absence of its gayest member, 
 Mary, the lively daughter of Mrs. L., who was suffering from 
 a cold, and remained at home. One chance of interruption 
 the less, I thought, if the occasion come. For the first time 
 in my life, I went through all the phases of that panic which is 
 said to precede the formidable act of " popping the question." 
 I had always wondered at the pusillanimity of bearded men 
 trembling under circumstances so trivial as these ; but fighting 
 a battle in theory is a different thing from a decisive encounter 
 with the enemy hand to hand, and the flash from a woman s 
 eye is sometimes as startling as the glare of a whole platoon 
 of small arms. Mrs. L. frequently, stopped to pick up shells 
 along the shingles, and I found myself constantly alone with 
 Miss G., but my offer, like Macbeth s " Amen," stuck in my 
 throat, and resisted all my attempts to dislodge it. My 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 43 
 
 unsuspecting friend was little aware of my fell purpose, and 
 was as blithesome as the twittering bird on the branch, all 
 unconscious of the deadly aim of the fowler lurking near. 
 Up to this time I had never laid aside the mask I had worn 
 from the beginning. Neither look nor word had ever once 
 betrayed my thoughts or feelings, and I was certain that a 
 bomt) falling at the feet of my startled companion would 
 scarcely astound her more than an abrupt offer of marriage on 
 my part. As I failed to screw my courage to the " stickiug- 
 place," I resolved to skirmish a little, thinking my secret might 
 slip out in that way. Suddenly Miss G. directed my atten 
 tion to a fine view on the right, but instead of it I regarded 
 her, saying, that " there were other objects I had more 
 pleasure in contemplating." Finding my eyes fixed on her, 
 she blushed, and asked me, in downright astonishment, " what 
 I meant." To my shame, I confess, I was unable to tell her. 
 Another chance occurred ; for, taking off a kerchief she found 
 too warm round her neck, she gave it me to pocket. I took 
 it, and retained her hand in mine. Another look of excessive 
 surprise upset me again, and her gentle admonition "to be 
 quiet" was quite unnecessary. My strong and varying 
 emotions at last made me hungry, and I sat down to lunch 
 with great relish. 
 
 Thomas had selected a most inviting spot for the occasion. 
 Our cloth was spread on a nice patch of sand in a lonely dell, 
 protected from the hot sunshine by a thick group of trees, whilst 
 the soft murmurings of some neighboring rill discoursed most 
 eloquent music. Our lunch passed off pleasantly enough, and I 
 felt my resolution revive under the stimulus of a tumbler of 
 bitter ale. If I was only tete-a-tete now, thought I when I was 
 startled by Mrs. L. getting up in a wonderful mood, and saun 
 tering alone up the valley. Quaffing a little more ale, I began, 
 quite determined. 
 
44 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 "I was just thinking, Jane" and I stopped. 
 
 " Why do you call me Jane ?" she said, turning her inquiring 
 glance full upon me. 
 
 " Because I have known you so long, I suppose. But I was 
 just thinking" I stopped again. 
 
 " Well, what is your thought ?" she asked curiously. 
 . " That it is strange you have never married." 
 
 " I think so myself, sometimes," she drily answered. 
 
 " What can be the reason, pray?" 
 
 " The simple one that I have met no one to my liking." 
 
 I was just a-going to say, a la Richard in the play, " Take 
 more pity in your eyes and see him here," but I didn t. 
 
 " What sort of a man would suit you ?" I continued, still 
 hoping to sidle up to the main point. 
 
 "A nice-tempered person, who would go out after breakfast, 
 and let me do as I pleased all the day long," she answered, in a 
 bantering tone. 
 
 " You are, then, so very fond of having your own way ?" 
 
 " That is one of my weak points." 
 
 " But compromise is the surest basis of happiness in married 
 life," I expostulated. 
 
 " I might adopt that doctrine if I met anybody worth the 
 sacrificed 
 
 Here was another chance ; but the idea struck me, that it 
 would be very awkward if Mrs. L. were to come back in the 
 midst of my declaration, and I decided to postpone it. This 
 was sheer cowardice, no doubt, but I gave up the attack and 
 turned the conversation. Whilst dressing for my last dinner, I 
 revolved in my mind various expedients for getting at a solution 
 of my case, when a letter to Miss Gamble, big with my hopes, 
 struck me as the shortest and best method. I wrote it at once ; 
 but instead of addressing my elect, I thought it would be more 
 tasteful to discuss her merits, and the aspirations they had 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 45 
 
 awakened, in a letter to a third party, and I selected Mrs. Grote 
 as its proper recipient. I put it in my pocket on going to din 
 ner, intending to deliver it to Miss G. under some pretext or 
 other, in the course of the evening. I never imagined that I 
 could be guilty of such arrant skulking as this ; but it only 
 proves how little our actions correspond with our preconceived 
 notions of what they would be under trial. Tea followed din 
 ner, and backgammon succeeded that, Miss G. and I being the 
 combatants as usual, and the struggle between us for victory 
 was never keener, or more uncertain. At last we came off quits. 
 Was this typical of what was to occur hereafter ? Eleven 
 o clock came, and bed-candles were rung for, when I exclaimed 
 that I had been writing a letter to one of my friends in London, 
 commenting upon my visit to Bournemouth, and conveying my 
 candid impression of the agreeable companions I had met there. 
 As I had foreseen, great curiosity was expressed to know its 
 contents, when I handed the portentous epistle to Miss G. for 
 perusal after she had retired to her room. We separated for 
 the night, and I chuckled over my ingenious device for ascer 
 taining my fate without undergoing the dire ordeal of a personal 
 demand. I could divine that my unlooked-for revelation had 
 produced no ordinary effect, for the loud report of banging doors 
 echoed along the corridor where we lodged for several minutes, 
 as though a quick circulation of the startling news was making 
 amongst the party I had just left, and then all was still again. 
 I could not help exclaiming with the hero of Bosworth field, as 
 I extinguished my candle, " Here will I lie to-night, but where 
 to-morrow ?" 
 
 It has always been my practice, in the face of all impending 
 events, never to lose my sleep or appetite ; and though there 
 was a chance, at least, that this was the last night of my bache 
 lorhood, I determined to " sleep it into morn," all the same. I 
 succeeded perfectly, in spite of the tingling of marriage-bells 
 
46 MY COURTSH I P 
 
 that haunted my sleep, only varied by discordant sounds that 
 issued from an imaginary nursery of which I dreamt myself to 
 be the happy proprietor. 
 
 It would be uncandid to disguise that my hand trembled a 
 little as I shaved next morning, and the nearer I got to break 
 fast-hour the more this unmanly tremulousness pervaded me. I 
 grew suddenly conscious that it was very presumptuous of me 
 after nine days of no courtship at all to make a violent grab, as 
 it were, at the very heart of my old friend. It is all very well 
 if I get it, I soliloquised ; but I could not suppress various mis 
 givings on this point, as Miss G., I feared, was not a woman to 
 be taken by storm, for her intelligence was not more remarkable 
 than her character seemed firm, however amiable. Such people 
 are apt to reason first, and decide afterwards, whilst any attempt 
 to carry them by a coup-de-main is resented as a presumption, if 
 not an indignity. 
 
 Besides, I had played a game with Miss G. out of fear, it is 
 true, lest she d play one with me. Polite, kind, and admiring 
 by turns, as my manner had been all along, yet I threw into it 
 a certain reserve, not unmixed with nonchalance, that I knew 
 must keep her in doubt of my motives. 
 
 This adroit angling caught her, for she was enticed into 
 attention and marks of favor that otherwise would never have 
 been my lot. But what will be the effect on her amour propre, 
 I queried, when she discovers the love-net I spread for her ? 
 Will she quietly consent to be enmeshed, or, with the spirit of 
 an outwitted woman, will she desperately drag both net and 
 fowler clean under water ? Well, I shall know that at once, I 
 thought, as I wended my way to the breakfast-room, my heart 
 meanwhile dancing a jig in its socket, I entered, and found 
 Mrs. L. sewing in a very mysterious manner near the fire. 
 Neither Miss G. nor Mary were there, though the usual hour 
 was already past. After salutations were over, Mrs. L. said 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 47 
 
 "I have a note for you from Miss Gamble," and she handed it 
 to me. 
 
 " Indeed I" I said, as if it were the last thing I expected, and 
 took it. 
 
 I was dying to read it, but put it calmly into my pocket. It 
 will never do to let the effect, good or bad, be seen, it occurred 
 to me, and I walked to the window planning some pretext for 
 withdrawing. Directly I pretended to miss my handkerchief, 
 and in another minute I was alone, devouring the reply of my 
 intended. She began by explaining that the demonstrations 
 of regard I had alluded to were proofs only of the warm friend 
 ship she had always cherished for me, and which were justified 
 by our long acquaintance and the strong esteem her family had 
 entertained for me. The fact was, she wrote, "you are so 
 identified with those dear objects now no more, that it is not 
 wonderful I yielded too much to my feelings, and so have led 
 you into error. I never dreamt what your sentiments were 
 towards me, and that you were secretly contemplating an offer 
 of marriage, which I must refuse. After what has happened," 
 she continued, "our acquaintance must end. Should we meet 
 again in society," she graciously added, " it may be permitted us 
 to exchange such greetiugs as politeness demands." 
 
 I was not so ignorant of that mystery of mysteries, the female 
 heart, and still less of female tactics, not to penetrate what 
 inspired this letter. She was piqued to the quick to find herself 
 caught in a trap, which she ingeniously explained herself out of 
 on the plea of our long friendship. Retaliation was her next 
 thought, and therefore she not only rejected me, but said our 
 acquaintance was at an end. She chuckled, no doubt, over this 
 double blow, and expected, in return, the humblest apologies 
 and the most touching remonstrances at her cruelty. " But she 
 has mistook her man," I muttered, and rang the bell. 
 
 " When does the train start ?" I inquired of the servant. 
 
48 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " In ten minutes, sir." 
 
 " Order a carriage, and give me my bi!4." 
 
 " Will you breakfast first ?" 
 
 "I have no time the bill." 
 
 In five minutes I was ready, and just as I left my room, who 
 should intercept me but Thomas, Miss G. s footman, who seemed 
 quite flustered. 
 
 "Miss Gamble s compliments, sir," he said, "and she begs 
 you will take breakfast before you go." 
 
 " Where is your mistress \" I asked, hesitating. 
 
 " Breakfasting." 
 
 " Who is with her ?" 
 
 " No one, sir." 
 
 I wrote two lines in pencil, such as a man would write who 
 was going to lose his breakfast, and giving them to Thomas, who 
 looked quite confounded, I said : 
 
 " My compliments to Miss Gamble, and say I am anxious to 
 catch this train, but that I will write to her to-day from South 
 ampton." 
 
 In another minute, I was in the carriage and off. So ended 
 my visit to Bournemouth. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 IT may surprise my reader, perhaps, that I should have given 
 way to such apparently violent emotion, on learning Miss Gam 
 ble s decision, as to fly instantly from her presence. It was an 
 
AND ITS C X S K Q U E X C E S . 49 
 
 occasion certainly, when some would have yielded to a sense of 
 humiliation, and been ashamed to stand their ground, whilst 
 others would have been carried away by resentment, and sought 
 to put leagues, if not oceans, between themselves and their contu 
 macious adorees. I felt neither one nor the other ; but saw that 
 the occasion had come for a cool calculation of my future mode of 
 proceeding. I was convinced that Miss G. was not in earnest, 
 and the best proof was her sending to invite me to a tete-a-tete 
 breakfast, just after writing me word that our acquaintance was 
 at an end. If I had accepted, explanations would have ensued, 
 and my courtship would then have begun in due form. I had 
 seen enough of Miss G. s cleverness to be satisfied that if ever she 
 got me into the position of a regular pretender to her hand, she 
 would keep me dangling a|b her apron-string till I had lost my 
 patience, or she had exhausted every resource known to coquetry. 
 There was nothing to be done, therefore, if I wished to gain her, 
 and save time, but to employ a species of manoeuvering that 
 was likely new to her, and more certain, consequently, of suc 
 cess. She was pretty well aware of her value in every point of 
 view, and expected me, of course, to pursue her with the same 
 ardor that others had done and probably with as little effect. 
 But I determined to entice her into pursuing me, and to this 
 end I meant to adopt, when the occasion arose, the tactics of 
 the great Fabius of old, who often gained by a retreat more 
 than a victory would have given him. 
 
 It may be thought that my reflections on this occasion were 
 rather those of a schemer than of a lover, and that my chief 
 design in seeking Miss Gamble s hand was rather the acquisi 
 tion of her fortune than the possession of her person. In a 
 word, it may be considered there was more of diplomacy than 
 sentiment in my mode of courtship. This would be an unjust 
 conclusion. My attachment for Miss Gamble was as profound 
 as it was sudden ; else, why aspire to her hand ? Her fortune 
 
 3 
 
50 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 was DO object to me, since my position was perfectly indepen 
 dent, as will be proved hereafter. I repeat, my attachment 
 was sincere, but my success depended, as I thought, on conceal 
 ing its depth from her. In all cases, this is, perhaps, judicious ; 
 for is it in a woman s nature to know her power and not abuse 
 it ? I was sure, however, from my scrutiny of Miss Gamble s 
 character, that it would never do to let her think she had 
 obtained any ascendancy over me, and this forced me, at once, 
 into the use of finesse. Still, I consider her, in part, answer 
 able for all the manceuvering that ensued between us. Had she 
 replied to my offer of marriage, either by a distinct refusal, how 
 ever polite, or plainly said that she would take time to consider, 
 I should have acted differently. Instead of this, her letter was 
 full of feminine craft, neither accepting, nor refusing decidedly, 
 but artfully unsaying in one line what she declared in the pre 
 vious one. I was convinced of her incipient regard for me ; but 
 I saw that before she surrendered, if she ever did so, she meant 
 to wield against me all the strategy her subtle wit and ample 
 experience could supply, and that my only chance was to contend 
 with her by employing the stratagems she would bring into the 
 field against me. Love has its tactics as well as war, and to 
 accuse the wooer who resorts to them of insincerity, is as unfair 
 as to condemn a conqueror for a triumph obtained by an inge 
 nious ruse. 
 
 You will now understand, gentle reader, why I dashed off so 
 impetuously from Bournemouth, and by-and-by you will see 
 the result. If I went away fasting, it was only because I sus 
 pected that my obdurate fair one would be more moved at the 
 chance of my famishing, than at the risk of my heart breaking. 
 She refused me her hand, but offered me a breakfast as a substi 
 tute. Consoling myself as well as I could with a dry biscuit or 
 two picked up at the first station, I reached Southampton the 
 game afternoon, and after a good dinner at Radley s comfort- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 51 
 
 able hotel, I sat me down to give the most eloquent expression 
 possible to all the unutterable emotions of which I had not been 
 the victim on that eventful day. Of course, my object was to 
 convey a vivid impression of the deep grief that my cruel rejec 
 tion was intended to awaken, but I thought it well to mix up a 
 little pride along with it. The ladies always like your high- 
 spirited men, because, I suppose, it enhances their delight a 
 thousand times in tormenting them. I really dropped a tear 
 over the touching portrayal of the tumultuous feelings that 
 ought to have agitated my breast, and I felt a lively desire 
 that it should produce a similar effect on the unsuspecting lady 
 it was intended for. " If she stands that unmoved," I exclaimed, 
 as I folded my letter, " then I may as well despair my charms, 
 and give up the game at once." I embarked that night for 
 Havre, and made my way straight to Paris, pretty confident I 
 should get some news shortly from the " girl I had left behind me." 
 On my return I found that my absence had excited no small 
 curiosity, to say the least, at the British Embassy at Paris, 
 which I endeavored to account for as well as I could without 
 revealing the truth ; for I determined to keep the enterprise I 
 had engaged in quite to myself, till I saw more clearly how it 
 was likely to terminate. It is not pleasant to go about as the 
 snubbed one of even the fairest Laura ; the world has no sym 
 pathy for rejected ones, and the harder the case, the more 
 likely are you to be laughed at. Besides, a callous Diplomat 
 and I had to do with one of this breed would consider it an 
 idle waste of time to contend against the wiles of the sex, 
 which he would be apt to look down upoi^ as shallow game. 
 Bless the stupidity of some folks ! From my small experience 
 of both, I should say the shrewdest politician was but a poor 
 match, in dexterity and real address, for the most untutored 
 woman ; and they often find it so to their cost, albeit the 
 maneuvering, which compasses States, may be a more important 
 
52 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 business than that which aspires only to the conquest of a 
 heart. 
 
 So little confidence had I in myself on the occasion, that 
 I thought it would be much safer to take counsel of some 
 friend, on whose judgment and discretion I could rely. If 
 he be not adroit enough to guide me along the tortuous paths 
 I am entering, it will be a comfort at all events, I thought, to 
 have a friendly voice to encourage me amidst the windings of 
 the labyrinth. I found just the man I wanted, ready to my 
 hand. 
 
 A week or so before I left Paris, at the end of March, an 
 old friend of mine suddenly arrived, the Count S , Cham 
 berlain of his Majesty the King of - . He was a handsome 
 man, of little over thirty. To high birth, favor at Court, and 
 good fortune, he added scientific acquirements of no mean order. 
 The Count was a sober-minded man, of serious pursuits, but 
 with much knowledge of the world, and well versed in those 
 subtle intrigues which make the metier of a courtier. The 
 Count revealed to me, with due injunctions of caution, that he 
 was journeying about in search of a wife. Having concluded, 
 he said, that there was a time when all men should marry, and 
 convinced that his time had come, he had determined, before 
 committing himself prematurely, to make a tour of the Euro 
 pean capitals, and take his chance of being captivated by the 
 way. I should not wonder if I had caught the infection of 
 matrimony from my German friend, who had set about it 
 in such a systematic way, and whose grave moralizing on the 
 topic, before I left him for London, may have prepared me for 
 the adventure that fell in my way. On my return,! related to 
 him faithfully all that had occurred, and as we were engaged in 
 the same pursuit, a double sympathy sprang up between us. 
 We exchanged mutual vows, like the knights of old, to stand by 
 each other in every extremity, and it would be funny enough if 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 53" 
 
 I could relate all the " accidents by flood and field " that were 
 our joint lot. But, however, I may think fit to dispose of the 
 vicissitudes that overtook me, I have no right to remove the 
 veil from the different, but hardly less romantic fate that was 
 destined for him. 
 
 The Count was a little startled by the lively recital of my 
 abrupt flight from Bournemouth. 
 
 "You were too precipitate, mon cher," he said ; " you should 
 have accepted the invitation to breakfast." 
 
 " And so I would, my friend, if I had not thought it would 
 have occasioned me the loss of many more to come." 
 
 " We shall see," was his discreet rejoinder. 
 
 I had not long to wait ; for by the first post from England 
 came the reply of Miss Gamble. What a triumph ! My flight, 
 my fasting, and my letter from Southampton, had succeeded 
 beyond my most sanguine expectations. Miss G. was bowed 
 down by repentance. She expressed in admirable language her 
 poignant regret at having wounded me so deeply ! She never 
 meant, she wrote, to drive me from her in so violent a manner. 
 Of course she didn t. " Let us be friends again," she proposed 
 in the most irresistible manner. The letter wound up by telling 
 me that " after my departure she had gone out in a dull mood 
 to walk, when she was overtaken by a drenching storm, as she 
 deserved, and that she had hurried conscience-stricken home, 
 lest the avenging lightnings might fall on her guilty head." 
 Her amende honorable was complete and unreserved. Nothing 
 could be sincerer or more affectionate than her tone, though 
 maintained with true dignity. The Count was electrified at my 
 easy success. 
 
 " You see, my dear Count, that the matter-of-fact way is not 
 always the shortest to a lady s heart." 
 
 "I yield to your superior discernment," he replied, "and 
 
54 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 shall henceforth consult you as au oracle. Accept, en attendant, 
 my hearty congratulations." 
 
 I replied to Miss Gamble the same day, and made a mistake. 
 Inflated by the extraordinary luck that had followed my late 
 tactics, I kicked away the cunning ladder by which I had 
 mounted, and stupidly revealed to her in ardent language the 
 honest affection I felt for her. I not only sent her plenary abso 
 lution for her naughty note of rejection, but begged permission 
 to come at once to London to prosecute the suit I had so 
 abruptly broken off. My letter would have given extreme satis 
 faction to any unsophisticated young lady who was content with 
 the admiration of her lover, and happily blest with no disposition 
 to torment him. The next day came the answer of Miss G., and 
 it gave a rude shock to my illusions. Nothing could be more 
 unlike the last letter. It was cold to chilliness, and she closed 
 by saying that "though she would not forbid my coming to Lon 
 don, yet it might inconvenience her, as she was busy preparing 
 for a continental tour." The Count was as much astonished at 
 this as he was at her first letter, but in a different way. 
 
 "That is rather disheartening," he said, " but I hope you will 
 take it coolly." 
 
 " I shall have need of all my aplomb," I answered, " and of all 
 my experience, or I shall get terribly worsted." 
 
 "I don t quite understand you," said my friend, looking rather 
 puzzled. 
 
 " It is pretty clear, Count, that I have to do with an adept 
 in the art of fence, and that whatever may be her ultimate 
 intentions, she does not mean to let me carry her off an easy 
 prize. I don t like the job, but after all, a little resistance will 
 only sharpen my zeal." 
 
 "But suppose there is a good deal of resistance?" gravely 
 asked my reflecting friend. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 55 
 
 "Well, then, there will be a good deal of perseverance on my 
 part," I replied. 
 
 " Every one to his taste," observed the Count, " but I d ratlier 
 have as little trouble as possible." 
 
 " Ah, my friend," I responded, " when once you get entangled 
 in a woman s web, you can never tell when or where you will fall 
 out of it." 
 
 The Count shivered at the prospect, and little did I dream 
 how prophetic were my words. From the little that had 
 occurred, I hardly knew how to shape my courtship of Miss 
 Gamble. My affected indifference at Bournemouth had drawn 
 her towards me. The sudden revelation of my passion had been 
 followed by a disdainful repulse. My indignant flight, throwing 
 a Parthian arrow, well aimed, behind me, had led to apologies, 
 and to a frank proposal for me to renew my suit. No sooner 
 had I done so in unmistakable language, than came another 
 check, not decisive, but very perplexing. My difficulty was to 
 discover whether there was any attachment on her part, for in 
 this case I would go on in spite of all her doublings. But if she 
 only meant to entice me up the hill for the Sisyphean sport of 
 rolling me to the bottom, where she had left not a few of her 
 previous admirers, why, the sooner I got out of the scrape- the 
 better. My self-love, perhaps, blinded me somewhat, but I 
 entertained the agreeable conviction that I had got hold of Miss 
 G. s fancy. I was naturally anxious to tighten my grasp, but it 
 was no easy matter ; for the moment I advanced, she retreated, 
 and with a skill that Xenophon or Moreau would have applauded. 
 It was evident that I must employ the nicest stratagem to cover 
 my approaches, and that was a hard task with a lady so keen 
 witted and experienced as Miss G. I allowed a couple of weeks 
 to elapse, and then wrote to her a very gay letter, stuffed full of 
 Parisian gossip, and studiously avoiding any repetition of my 
 former ardors and hopes. My object was to make her think 
 
56 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 that, amid the distractions of my pleasant life in Paris, I was 
 beginning already to forget her. Ladies don t like to be for 
 gotten, even by objects they care nothing about. I calmly 
 awaited the effect of this ruse, whilst planning another. In two 
 days it came, and it had fully succeeded, for she desired me to 
 come over to London, saying that " explanations were always 
 better made in person." Shall I go, or plead my diplomatic 
 avocations and postpone it ? I pondered this question and 
 hesitated. The less anxiety I show, the less will be her resist 
 ance : that s clear. I consulted the Count. 
 
 " What s best to be done, mon ami ?" 
 
 " I am afraid to advise you." 
 
 " And wherefore ?" I asked. 
 
 " Because the woman you have encountered is a tougher 
 problem to me than any I ve met in the domains of science. I 
 am afraid of nothing I can work out by known rules; but she 
 sets all rule at defiance." 
 
 " The greater glory, my logical friend, in bringing her to a 
 solution at last." 
 
 "I am glad you think that possible, but" the Count stopped, 
 not wishing to discourage me. 
 
 " Will you go with me to London ? " 
 
 " I will never desert you," he returned, " but you had better 
 give it up." 
 
 " Take care, Count, I am not married before you." 
 
 "Alas !" he sighed, "it is not half so easy a thing as I 
 thought it was." 
 
 " It is like everything else in the world, my faint-hearted 
 friend. If you want to reach a prize, you must jump for it, and 
 never mind the falls." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 57 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 WE started the next morning, 11th of May, and reached 
 London the same evening. I reflected along the road over the 
 new ordeal that attended me. I was pretty well satisfied that 
 Miss Gamble had called me over to give me her hand. Her 
 purpose was to travel, for she had been tied down all her life tc 
 home ; but to travel without a companion and protector was a 
 difficult thing. She had no male relations at hand, and her 
 choice lay, therefore, between a courier or a husband. Thia 
 circumstance was in my favor. On the other hand, our court 
 ship was barely a month old, and, malgre our old acquaintance, 
 I dare say she felt a desire to reflect more before she decided. 
 Everything, I saw, depended on the way I managed matters, 
 and candor forces me to admit that I might have done con 
 siderably better than I did. 
 
 I wrote to Miss Gamble the evening of my arrival, to inform 
 her that I would call on her the next day. It was about noon 
 on the 18th I presented myself in Portland Place. On entering 
 the room, her intelligent face wore a smile that was affable 
 enough, but it had a lurking meaning that disturbed me a little. 
 
 After greetings were over, she said 
 
 " Well, you are a more skilful adversary than I thought." 
 
 " Adversary 1" I echoed, as if in surprise. " What ! can you 
 be playing a game with me?" The best way to escape the 
 suspicion, I thought, was to attribute it to her. 
 
 " Oh ! no," she returned, colouring a little at my retort, 
 
 3* 
 
58 
 
 II Y COURTSHIP 
 
 "But" she hesitated a moment, "will you tell me what 
 brought you over to London ?" 
 
 " What brought me ?" I said, this time really astonished. 
 "Why, your letter, of course." 
 
 " Indeed !" she exclaimed, seemingly unconscious of the fact. 
 
 " Did you not write to me that explanations were better 
 made in person ?" 
 
 " No doubt they are," she replied, with the same smile always. 
 " So, if you have any to make, begin." 
 
 " That s very well said, my dear Miss Gamble, but do you 
 know what I really did come for ?" 
 
 "Not to give me any annoyance, I hope." 
 
 " On the contrary, I have come to marry you." 
 
 She threw herself back, and tried to look as if she had never 
 imagined such a thing. 
 
 " Why, did I not refuse you at Bournemouth ?" she de 
 manded. 
 
 "If you had not," I said, taking her hand, "I should not 
 now have the pleasure of asking you again." 
 
 I leave to the reader s fancy the conversation that ensued. 
 I made sundry bold dashes at the heart of the citadel, under the 
 smart fire of her raillery, but though I gained ground, I was 
 still far from the goal. I promised to return to the attack at 
 the same hour on the following day. She bid me on leaving to 
 bring the letters she had written to me. 
 
 This request rather puzzled me. Is it her object, I inquired, 
 to recover them lest they may compromise her hereafter ? That 
 would be a bad sign. Or is it merely to glance over them to 
 see how far she stands committed already ? No matter what 
 she means, I will gratify her whim. 
 
 I was at my post again punctually next day, as brimful of 
 ardor as ever. The same smile welcomed me as yesterday, 
 and daunted me even more than before. It was such a smile 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 59 
 
 as Macbeth wears when he vaunts that " he bears a charmed 
 life." It seemed to say, I am conscious of my strength and your 
 inability to shake it. Until I exorcise that smile, I thought, my 
 efforts are in vain. 
 
 "Did you bring my letters ?" she asked. 
 " Here they are," I said, handing the packet to her. 
 She read them over hastily, always smiling, and then rose and 
 approached the fire. 
 
 " What are you going to do ?" I asked interposing. 
 " Burn them, of course." 
 " What ! and without my leave ?" 
 
 " You can have no object in keeping them, surely," and she 
 still persisted, and I still opposed. 
 
 " Indeed, but I have," I replied, " and I mean to keep them. 
 If you want them back, you must take me with them." 
 "On that condition, I resign them at once." 
 She returned them to me, but seemed pleased at the value I 
 seemed to set upon them. I thought she would be. 
 
 I began my task of yesterday, and was certainly making head 
 way. She began to stipulate : 
 
 " If I were to do such a mad thing," she said, "as to marry 
 you, I must have the approbation of Mr. Bates, one of my 
 trustees." 
 
 " Shall I run and ask him ?" 
 
 " Good gracious, don t go so fast ! Besides," she added, " 
 would never part with Mary, my old nurse." 
 
 " Part with her," I exclaimed, " I should have a sorry opinion 
 of you if you did." 
 
 I don t believe, from the beginning of the world, a man ever 
 found himself in the very pleasant position I then was, that 
 something did not occur to mar his hopes and dash his prospects. 
 Richard, in the play, never longed for a horse half so earnestly 
 as I did for another half-hour, when lo 1 the drawing-room door 
 
60 M Y c o u u T s u I r 
 
 opened, and a visitor was announced. Miss Gamble seemed 
 delighted at her escape and at my discomfiture. I hurried away, 
 lest I might commit homicide on the unconscious object that 
 had just snatched from me the casket my fingers almost 
 touched. 
 
 I meditated over my next step. I was satisfied with my pro 
 gress, and my prospects gleamed brightly. All I wanted was a 
 little time, but unhappily I had none to lose ; my absence from 
 Paris the whole of April had nearly got me into a scrape with 
 my diplomatic supervisor, and to linger in London now was 
 almost impossible. I must ascertain her mind without delay, 
 was my exclamation, and I will venture upon another experi 
 ment which, if successful, "will cheer me ever." 
 
 I wrote to Miss Gamble the next day, and asked if she would 
 allow me to come and pass the evening with her. I knew she 
 was living alone, and feared she would refuse me. If she grant 
 it, I thought, it will be the strongest proof yet that she intends 
 deciding in my favor. To my delight, she consented, and named 
 eight o clock in the evening for my visit. If I fail now, I cried, 
 I deserve never to succeed. 
 
 When I entered her drawing-room at the hour appointed, I 
 found Miss Gamble in a pretty attitude of meditation, appa 
 rently deep in thought. She received me with a different man 
 ner from what I had seen before. It was subdued, almost sad. 
 The smile of defiance had disappeared. What can she mean ? I 
 wondered. There is some new artifice awaiting me. We talked 
 for a while on different subjects. Remarking a box lying open 
 near her filled with letters, I observed that her correspondence 
 seemed extensive. 
 
 "Oh," she replied, very coolly, "they are only answers to an 
 advertisement in the Times." 
 
 " An advertisement 1 and for what ?" I inquired. 
 
 " For a courier," she answered, listlessly. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 61 
 
 This was the insidious blow she had prepared for me. It took 
 my breath away for a moment. 
 
 " Ah," I said, recovering courage, " you are rash enough to 
 think of travelling under the care of a courier ; some rogue of a 
 fellow that will pick your pocket, and get you into endless scrapes." 
 
 " I shall take care to see that he is properly recommended," 
 she returned, in the same nonchalant tone. 
 
 "Besides," I continued, "I think it highly improper for a 
 single woman to be travelling on the continent under the sole 
 protection of a man servant, and one that you know nothing of 
 beyond the worthless certificates he may have in his pocket." 
 
 " Make yourself easy, for I mean to take some female or other 
 to accompany me." 
 
 " Some old friend, I hope." 
 
 " No ; I shall advertise for her, too, or inquire for such a per 
 son amongst my friends." 
 
 "What a mad scheme !" I exclaimed, " to set off on a con 
 tinental trip of a couple of years, as you propose, with no other 
 society than a couple of hired attendants that can neither pro 
 tect nor amuse you. Besides, you know nothing of foreign 
 travel nor of the risks that attend it. An opera-dancer would 
 hardly venture with such an escort as yours." 
 
 " But what am I to do ?" she asked pettishly. " I have no 
 relations about me whose time I can dispose of. Besides, I hate 
 putting myself under the control of anybody." 
 
 " That s the reason, perhaps, you would prefer the company 
 of a courier to that of a husband, who could look after you, and 
 keep the other in his place." 
 
 "Ah," she said, with a mocking air, "I thought you were 
 speaking one word for me and two for yourself. It s very selfish 
 of you." 
 
 " On the contrary, it s a proof of my regard for you to be 
 willing to undertake so troublesome a job." 
 
62 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 I proceeded at some length to argue my cause versus the 
 prospective courier, and by degrees Miss Gamble ceased to 
 combat against her own convictions. After a pause she said, 
 with a confiding tone 
 
 " I ve half a notion to tell you of a strange dream I had last 
 night." 
 
 " Of course you dreamt of me." 
 
 " I regret to say I did. I thought my Aunt appeared to me, 
 and told me to accept you. But I have refused, I thought was 
 my answer. I know it/ she said, but he will offer again, and 
 accept him, or misfortune will befall you. He has come to 
 supply the place of James. This vision was so clear that it has 
 left a deep impression on my mind, and I don t know what to do." 
 
 " You almost incline to be superstitious," I said, " but I am 
 quite sure if your dear Aunt was alive that she would back my 
 suit." 
 
 " Yes, I dare say she would." 
 
 Upon this hint I spoke, and redoubled my solicitations to 
 induce her to utter the magic word that would crown my hopes. 
 I pressed her so hard that she lost ground every moment, and 
 seemed drifting on a shoreless sea of indecision. 
 
 " Do you know what Mrs. L. said ?" she remarked, looking 
 up at me. 
 
 " Nothing against me, I hope." 
 
 " She said if she were me she would take you straight." 
 
 " Such a warranty from one of your oldest friends ought to 
 decide you," I replied ; " and still you hesitate." 
 
 " I do," she exclaimed, breaking away from me, " and I cannot 
 help it." 
 
 Midnight came, and I was still unblest. I was compelled to 
 go, disappointed but not cast down. I wrote to her next day, 
 in a passionate strain, beginning with " My own dear Jane," and 
 ending with a vehement desire to see her again. 
 
AND ITS C N S K Q 1 T K N E S . 63 
 
 " Strike while the iron s hot " is the old adage. I chided her 
 not a little for her prolonged indecision. Her reply of the same 
 day was the heaviest thump I had got yet. I was at the bottom 
 of the ladder again. . In an impetuous way she wrote, "There 
 must be an end to all this vexation." She declined to receive 
 me again that evening, and named next day for an interview. 
 
 "What do you think of this, Count?" I said, handing the 
 note to my consulting Fides. 
 
 " I think that either the women I ve met are better specimens 
 than the rest, or that there are varieties of the sex that I have 
 yet to study." 
 
 " Spoken with the discretion of a veteran botanist," I re 
 torted. 
 
 " If you don t give her up now," continued my friend, " I ll 
 set you down as incomprehensible as she is." 
 
 " Give her up ! That s not a bad idea, Count : I ll try the 
 effect of that." 
 
 " I hope you are in earnest." 
 
 " Yes, earnest in my new pretence." 
 
 The Count shook his head mysteriously. 
 
 I feared from her last note that Miss Gamble found courting 
 so pleasant a pastime, that she was inclined to prolong it in 
 definitely. I d have liked no better fun, but I was on thorns at 
 every day s absence from Paris. Besides it will be more gene 
 rous, I thought, to give my old friend a little more time to re 
 flect. She will feel the want of me more than ever, if she will 
 go travelling, and what have I to fear from a postponement, if 
 she really cares for me ? This vital secret I had failed, hitherto, 
 to extract, and I hit upon the following expedient in hope to 
 force it out. 
 
 I called at noon the succeeding day in Portland Place. Miss 
 Gamble received me gaily, but I wore a look of sombre discon 
 tent. I bowed, and sat down in silence. 
 
64 MY COURTS HIP. 
 
 "What do you mean," she began, taking out my letter of 
 yesterday, " by calling me your own dear Jane ?" 
 
 " It means that I was a fool to say any such thing," was my 
 brief reply. 
 
 My voice was cold and harsh. Miss Gamble looked at 
 me in surprise, and quickly returned the letter to her 
 pocket. 
 
 I then went on to say, as if deeply incensed, that either she 
 had trifled with me, or that I had totally misunderstood all 
 that had passed between us. I blamed her for calling me over 
 to London, only to amuse an idle hour ; adding, that now her 
 object was clear to me, my intention was to return to Paris, 
 forthwith, My language and manner completely deceived her, 
 and she set to work with her usual ingenuity, but in pretty evi 
 dent agitation that I secretly enjoyed, to defend herself and ex 
 tenuate her conduct. 
 
 " You ought not," she expostulated, " to judge me so se 
 verely ; as the loss of poor James [her cousin] and your sudden 
 apparition have no doubt disturbed my mind, and I may have 
 acted thoughtlessly, and been indiscreet." 
 
 " That is very cleverly urged, Miss Gamble, but I see nothing 
 else than traces of cool premeditation in all you have done. 
 However, recrimination is useless. My decision is taken. I 
 return to Paris, and will send you back your letters." 
 
 I rose in a very grand manner. Poor Miss Gamble was 
 silent, but looking so sad that I found it difficult to play out my 
 game. I took her hand, and kissing it respectfully, bid her 
 adieu. 
 
 " That s more than you deserve," she said, in a touching tone. 
 
 I was afraid to speak again lest she might detect me. 1 
 stalked to the door. 
 
 " When we meet again," she ejaculated, looking wistfully after 
 me, " you will find me in a better disposition." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 65 
 
 I bowed low and vanished. 
 
 Now we shall see what that will bring, I muttered, chuckling 
 down the street; I have given her a Roland for her Oliver of 
 yesterday. 
 
 On my way back to Long s Hotel I called upon Mrs. Grote, 
 whom I had kept duly informed of what was going on. She 
 took great interest, seemingly, in my progress. When I told her 
 of what I had just done, she exclaimed 
 
 " Why, you are mad. It will break off everything." 
 
 " Not if she is attached to me. Otherwise, let it drop." 
 
 " True, but it is a good match." 
 
 " But you know I can fall back on a better." 
 
 " Perhaps that is your intention, from acting in this way." 
 
 " No ; for my liking to Miss G. grows stronger every day ; 
 but I wish to know if it be reciprocated before I am past cure." 
 
 " You are carrying matters with too high a hand," persisted 
 my prudent adviser. 
 
 But I mean to go further." 
 
 " Surely you will not return her letters, as you threaten ?" 
 
 " I have come to ask if you will send them to her ; I want a 
 witness to that effect." 
 
 " I will do it if you insist. But believe me, she will not for 
 give the outrage, and you will hear no more of her." 
 
 " That s certain, unless," I added, with a smile, " her love is 
 rreater than her pride " 
 
 " It s a great risk, but I ll not oppose you." 
 
 The next morning, the 23d, I wrote a brief and formal note 
 to Miss G., requesting her to send me back the last letter I 
 addressed her, before six that evening, as I left at seven, and to 
 burn all the rest. I added I would give her letters to a friend 
 of mine to be forwarded to her immediately. I was ext remely 
 uneasy as to the result. If she comply with my demand, I am 
 gone, was my sober second thought. 
 
66 MT COURTSHIP 
 
 I repented in my heart that I had taken up a position I could 
 not abandon, but I consoled myself with thinking it was all for 
 the best. 
 
 To my extreme delight, six o clock came, but not the letter I 
 had called for. She made no reply at all, expecting, no doubt, 
 I would come up in search of what I wanted. I have often 
 regretted, since, I did not. Instead, however, I sent her letters 
 to Mrs. Grote, as agreed, and dashed off to Paris. 
 
 I left the Count in London, who by this time was thrown 
 into such consternation by my adventures that he began to 
 draw back in affright from a probation that looked so trying. 
 I scoffed at his scruples, and bid him throw himself into the 
 melee sans crainte. 
 
 " O Corydon, Corydon" he replied, as we shook hands, 
 " qucr, te dementia cepit." 
 
 " It may be so, Count ; but you know Quern Dens vult 
 perdere, prius dementat" And so we parted. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 PARIS. 
 
 THE very morning after my return to Paris came a letter in 
 hot haste from my deserted one of Portland Place. Io triumph*. I 
 I cried. She deplored what had happened ; " but come what 
 may," she wrote, " my friendship is yours for life !" She -wound 
 up by saying she had received her letters from Mrs. Grote, 
 whom she meant to call on that day, sans ceremonie. " I 
 dare say we shall soon understand each other," was her last 
 remark. 
 
 This was a very decisive victory, and convinced me that the 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 67 
 
 spirited woman I had to deal with must be very far gone indeed, 
 else she could never have chased after me in this epistolary 
 fashion. Her calling upon Mrs. Grote without an introduction 
 was yet a stronger proof of her anxiety to retain me. Her 
 expression that " we ll soon understand each other," puzzled me. 
 When two women understand each other, a man had better look 
 to himself. I felt some instinctive dread, without knowing 
 wherefore. 
 
 I resolved now to take a rest, and to look after my diplomacy 
 a little, sadly in arrears. I endeavored to turn my attention to 
 the lively debates in the Assembly, and to watch the political 
 coquetry going on between his Republican Highness the Presi 
 dent, and the veteran spinsters of the Right, Messrs. Mole, 
 Thiers, and Co. To say nothing of my long acquaintance with 
 the captive of Ham, my admiration was excited at his skilful 
 manceuvering against tremendous odds. " I wish him luck," 
 I used to say, " but I shall be married long before he is 
 Emperor. I am almost in sight of the altar, but he has a 
 weary road to travel ere he gets even a glimpse of the 
 throne." Things, however, don t always turn out as we 
 calculate. 
 
 After a week or so elapsed, I began to fancy that politics had 
 recovered their charm for me, and that courting was second-rate 
 fun after all. It is odd how indifferent we grow when we feel 
 sure of an object. I thought I would write, however, to Mrs. 
 Grote, to see if Miss Gamble had really called on her. She 
 replied : 
 
 " I send you a line, simply to tell you there is nothing to communicate, 
 beyond the fact that Miss G. did call on me on Saturday, and I called on 
 her yesterday. We have not met, however, so far. When we do, I will 
 give her my impressions of your character, as modified by experience and 
 time, which I may say appear to me to have done their work in materially 
 improving it, and in strengthening the meritorious points of your dis- 
 
68 MYCOURTSHIP 
 
 position. Rest satisfied that your hopes are cheering, and that, perhaps, 
 my conversation with Miss G. will tend to improve rather than impair 
 them." 
 
 The stately tone of this letter startled me seriously. If they 
 have not met, then there has been an exchange of notes, I 
 suspect, and the understanding Miss Gamble hinted at may have 
 begun. If Mrs. Grote lets out the secret of my last maneuver, 
 then I am infallibly done for. I shall never get another 
 advantage over my adroit adversary, thus put on her guard. 
 What a shame in Mrs. Grote to betray me ; but what a fool 
 I was to lug her in ! Miss G. did it, though, by calling on 
 her. 
 
 These were my uncomfortable reflections, and I began to chafe 
 under the prospect of contending against two women who, in 
 cleverness and address, were each a match for the Right and 
 Left of the Assembly put together, which was all Loui? 
 Napoleon had to contend with. But can it be so ? I wrote 
 again to Mrs. Grote. Here is her reply : 
 
 "June 4th. 
 
 " DEAR MR. W. To stay your anxious curiosity, I must send you a line, 
 though it is scarcely worth the postage. Miss G. called on me on Monday 
 last, and we talked together for more than an hour. Your name was 
 mentioned, and that s all. Not a word was said about you. It was not 
 my place to force on a subject with a stranger, and she gave me no open 
 ing. I shall meet her at the Poet Rogers at breakfast on Tuesday next, 
 when perhaps more may come of it. In that case you shall hear from 
 uie. Miss G. seems to me a decidedly gifted woman ; and is well-bred 
 and dignified in her bearing ; fond of letters and of good society. She 
 has got a compagne de voyage, and appears bent on a long tour. She 
 will, I suppose, pass through Paris, when you can judge for yourself 
 whether she is irrevocably decided on single blessedness. If she givea 
 me a chance, I will do you what service I can. Thanks for the journals 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " H. G." 
 
AND IT.S CONSEQUENCES. 69 
 
 A rank conspiracy, I cried, jumping up in a fever. The 
 absurdity is transparent of their talking for an hour and merely 
 mentioning my name, when it was the only subject that brought 
 them together. I saw it all. Mrs. Grote had revealed my 
 attachment, and my ruse to get at the fact of a reciprocity. 
 Miss Gamble had, no doubt, begged her to keep me in the dark, 
 and leave me to be managed by herself. I was in a worse scrape 
 by far than any yet. If this combination go on, I am a lost 
 man. To learn the worst, I wrote over to Miss G. ; not know 
 ing well what tone to adopt, I tried all in turn, and was ardent 
 and reserved, discontented and resigned. In a few days came 
 her response. The earth seemed to give way under me when I 
 read it. Down I went to the very bottom of the abyss, without 
 a hope or a rope to cling to. Her style had the glitter o sun 
 shine upon ice, and was quite as cold. She summed up my 
 whole course of wooing with a vigor and lucidity that the 
 master intellect of Lyndhurst could hardly have surpassed. She 
 defended her inconsistencies with a subtlety of expression that 
 charmed me. She even turned round and assailed me : she 
 could say nothing against my conduct, which had been logical 
 throughout, but she said my language was contradictory : 
 
 " You accuse me of coquetting with your affection. How can you lay 
 claim, then, to the regard of a person you ought to despise ? If you believed 
 me ingenuous and upright at Bournemouth, how can you account for your 
 subsequent impression ? If I acted a part at Bournemouth, what contra 
 diction was there in my subsequent conduct ? I believe that you are sin 
 cerely attached to me, and think you would be willing to support 
 any vexation if you could consider me exempt from blame. How painful 
 must be a sense of the unworthiness of a person we love ? However, love 
 cannot long exist without esteem, and this will be your cure now. Yet, if 
 you think of me hereafter, I would have you think of me as I appeared 
 to you at Bournemouth, which is my true character.- 
 
 She went on writing in this tantalizing, confusing strain till 
 
70 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 I hardly knew whether I stood on my head or heels, and wound 
 up by announcing the close of our correspondence. 
 
 " We must not write again. It would be unwise, and for many reasons 
 improper. This is my farewell/ 
 
 That s plain enough, at all events, I exclaimed, sitting down 
 to ruminate. Can she be in earnest, or is it only a feint to throw 
 me on my knees to implore pardon for trifling with her feel 
 ings, as I had impertinently done in running away from London 
 lately ? I pondered over her skilful phrases, and determined to 
 eschew any epistolary warfare with such a pen as hers. She 
 could stave me off in quibbles, but I felt more confidence in my 
 manceuvering, and in love as in war the best position often 
 decides the battle. To recover all I had lost, I saw some flank 
 movement, bold and unexpected, was necessary. What shall it 
 be ? Suppose I write back in gloomy despair, and begin to 
 talk of some desperate remedy to end my wretched existence. 
 No ; my case is hardly bad enough for that. I have it. Miss 
 Gamble was aware that it would not be a difficult thing for me 
 to contract another very enviable match. If she is really in 
 love I will bring another letter from her before long, in spite of 
 her farewell. Jealousy is a dangerous instrument, but a sure 
 one, if its cords are skilfully touched. I auswered Miss G., 
 therefore, in the most placid tone approving of her conduct 
 withdrawing all reproaches ; but confessing that unless I 
 banished her from my memory my peace of mind was seriously 
 endangered. To effect this, I said, there was no course now left 
 me but to put my duty to another between her and my weakness. 
 I never hoped to be happy with another, I admitted, but it was 
 useless longer to cling to an illusion that her last letter had for 
 ever dispelled. I affected thus to believe in her formal farewell, 
 for then it would appear natural to her that, in pique or despair, 
 I should turn round and wed another. In the face of such a 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. tl 
 
 contingency, I was certain she would withdraw her second rejec 
 tion as she did the first, if at all attached to me. I looked 
 forward pretty confidently, then, to some news of her before 
 long. I hoped to get another summons to London, for I hardly 
 thought she would set out on her travels under the escort of a 
 courier. Still, in a spirit of bravado, I feared she might do so. 
 After the lapse of a few days, I wrote to Mrs. Grote to find 
 what was going on. Her reply startled me with the intelligence 
 of Miss Gamble s departure from London. Instead of sending 
 me some comfort, Mrs. Grote, with a merciless pen, rather 
 sought to aggravate my uneasy situation. I did not expect her 
 to aid me against my fair antagonist, but it was annoying to see 
 her take up arms against me. 
 
 " Dear Mr. \V. [began her letter] You will not be satisfied -without a 
 line : so albeit I am only recovering from a severe acces of headache, and 
 hardly able to write, I will give you the latest intelligence of the obdu 
 rate fair one whom I had the pleasure to see and converse with on the eve 
 of her departure for the Continent last week. Poor soul, she is much in 
 need of repose and refreshing scenery, for her nerves are sorely shaken by 
 all her various duties and trials, and the affair which causes you so much 
 feverish anxiety is not among the slightest of her embarrassments. She 
 told me of a latter you wrote to her a week ago which annoyed her, 
 methought. I think I possess a tolerable insight into her state of mind 
 as regards you, and I fear 1 must add that it is not favorable to your 
 ultimate success. You may be assured that I rendered you all the aid 
 it wa? possible for me to do, and I said everything in your behalf which 
 I could urge to Miss G. She is a woman, however, of singular perspicu- 
 city and self-relying judgment, and I was strongly impressed by the 
 beauty of her character. She did your better qualities full justice, and 
 acknowledged your general merits and amiable disposition ; but " 
 
 Mrs. Grote then went on in a spirit of sport to string toge 
 ther every possible difficulty and objection, which she attributed 
 to Miss Gamble, bat which I learnt afterwards were of her own 
 
 coinage. 
 
72 MYCOURSTHIP 
 
 * " Somme toute [finished her letter], I do not augur favorably of the 
 chance of your carrying her. Yet I have long since ceased to deem any 
 thing impossible in love affairs ; and thus, after her spirits are somewhat 
 refreshed, she may be more disposed to listen to the soft pleadings of a 
 really attached suitor. She would be a prize worth the winning, certes." 
 
 I am so decidedly of the same opinion, my sly dissembler, 
 was my comment, that I am resolved to go on as long, at least, 
 as I receive the smallest encouragement. 
 
 But there was nothing to be done now than to pause, and 
 trust to Cupid for a lift. If Miss Gamble was faithful to her 
 last expressed intention to correspond no more, my case seemed, 
 hopeless. I had not long to wait, though, for in so short a time 
 as ten days after she left London I received a letter from her 
 dated St. Goar, on the Rhine. To my supreme delight, I 
 found that the dart I had flung at random had hit the mark. 
 She was clearly alarmed at my committing some "rash act." 
 Her letter began thus : 
 
 " It was my intention not to have written to you again, and I had 
 informed Mrs. Grote of the resolution. But I fear I must contradict 
 myself." 
 
 She then went on, with matchless art, moralizing and 
 sophisticating by turn, yet the apprehensions my letter had 
 stirred up, broke out in spite of all. 
 
 " It gives me no pleasure [she wrote] to know that you are unhappy. 
 On the contrary. I would be glad to hear that you were in a more tranquil 
 state, and less inclined to do some rash thing of which you would after 
 wards repent." 
 
 Again she says : 
 
 " I shall pass through Paris on my return in the spring, and I trust we 
 shall then meet as good friends. Do not give way to any rash or incon- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 13 
 
 aiderate ideas, and whatever happens, do not marry a woman you do 
 not love, for you will be unhappy, and so will she. If you despise my 
 counsel, bitter regrets are in store for you." 
 
 The bait was swallowed without suspicion, and the trap had 
 again closed upon her. There she was, threatening me with 
 " bitter regrets if I thought of any other woman." As the play 
 says, " Nor poppy nor mandragora will medicine thee to thy 
 sweet sleep of yesterday." I thought I could not do better 
 than let the poison work. I determined not to reply to her, 
 and I had an excuse for my impoliteness as she had given no 
 address, but merely said that she was going thence to Frankfort. 
 I was pretty sure that when she found no letter in the Post 
 Office there her fright would redouble, and that she would 
 write again. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LONDON SWITZERLAND. 
 
 BEFORE going further, I owe some explanation to my reader. 
 He or she may think it very ridiculous, both in Miss Gamble 
 and myself, to go on coquetting in this juvenile manner with 
 each other ; and he or she may be ready to suggest that a little 
 more gravity, and a little less absurdity, would have been more 
 becoming our respective or united years. I am quite of that 
 opinion. But when people fall in love, they are less responsible 
 for their vagaries than when intoxicated in any other way. 
 Both of us were old enough to know better, but neither of us 
 were so far down the inclined plane as to be utterly beyond the 
 reach of the tender passion. Indeed, philosophers say no age is 
 
 4 
 
74 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 proof against it : that the skin may wrinkle, and the muscles 
 grow rigid, but that the heart maintains its sovereignty to the 
 last ; that thought and emotion survive the wreck of matter ; and 
 that, when the exhausted frame is no longer subservient to the 
 will, that love and hate still hold their sway, and inspire the soul 
 with gentle or evil impulse, till it finally ceases to throb. 
 
 Fortunately, neither Miss Gamble nor myself had got to the 
 freezing-point yet, and it was no phenomenon, therefore, we 
 should yield to a mutual longing, and being once in that predica 
 ment, our mutual pranks were natural. Ordinary people, under 
 strong excitement, artificial or otherwise, do extraordinary things. 
 They must be extraordinary people not to do so. But are there 
 any people, extraordinary or common, falling in love, who do 
 not in one way or another set common sense at defiance ? Oxy 
 gen gas is a fool to it ; and as under this subtle agent the domi 
 nant trait is sure to reveal itself, so under the stimulus of love 
 the peculiar failing of each character is certain to come out ; 
 and hence ensue those freaks that excite, by turn, the astonish 
 ment and merriment of unconcerned spectators. 
 
 From all this, I wish my amiable reader to understand that 
 as Miss Gamble and myself had both fallen victims to the deliri 
 ous draught, so we were compelled to be attached ; but inas 
 much as our master-passion, pride, was only the more strongly 
 in the ascendant, so we were forced into coquetting with each 
 other. I don t know if I have made this very clear, or the con 
 trary, but I will finish with one more general remark. It is the 
 hard lot of nine people out of ten in love, no matter what the 
 temperament, to delight in tormenting each other. The favorite 
 mode of accomplishing this is for one to affect indifference for 
 the other ; and the greater the torture to one, the greater the 
 delight to the other. Certainly, love and hate so nearly resem 
 ble each other at times, that it is difficult to distinguish between 
 them. Doubtless, it is a solace to our self-love to see another 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 75 
 
 suffering keenly, merely because we look coldly on him or her. 
 In all such cases, happily, when love is mutual, the suffering is 
 atoned for by the repentance which follows. Finally, I trust, 
 my intelligent reader will be convinced for the reasons alleged, 
 and for others that are not, that if my inamorata and myself went 
 on committing greater follies than ever, it was because we could 
 not help it. 
 
 To return to my story. After the receipt of Miss Gamble s 
 aforementioned letter, I went to London, on the 1st of July, for 
 the same pleasant object that had called me there the previous 
 April, viz. : to receive my quarter s salary at the Foreign Office. 
 Before I left, I took care not to miss a splendid fete at " Willis s 
 Rooms," given by my patriotic countryman, Mr. George Pea- 
 body, in honor of our national anniversary, July 4th. Who 
 should I meet there but the identical Mrs. Leslie who had wit 
 nessed my break-down at Bournemouth ! Before I relate what 
 occurred between us, I can t help saying that I shall never 
 forget that night for another reason more impressive. 
 
 It was the last time I ever saw the " Iron Duke," as it was 
 the first and last occasion that the eyes of most of my elec 
 trified countrymen then present, ever dwelt upon that venerable 
 form. A quadrille was dancing when the Duke of Wellington 
 entered the room ; the news flew like wildfire, and the first 
 effect was the suspension of all motion, as though every frame 
 had been struck by a sudden paralysis : the next was a burst 
 of feeling in a wild hurrah that showed American lungs were 
 not affected by an English atmosphere. The Duke was sur 
 prised and gratified, for his cheek reddened, and a warm smile 
 lit up his features as he made his way, bowing to the right and 
 left, to the top of the room. There was then a rush at him by 
 the assembled crowd, and such a stare, followed from hundreds of 
 eyes that it must have cost the great Duke more endurance than 
 many a battery he had faced in other days. On his retiring, the 
 
76 MY COURTS HIP 
 
 ladies stretched out their hands, which he shook by dozens as 
 h went along. I remember that a pretty girl near where I 
 was standing, and who seemed reeling almost with emotion, 
 raised her hand, but feared to advance it ; but the Duke s eye 
 caught her movement as he had detected many a more hostile 
 one before, and leaning over he shook her very cordially by the 
 hand. She has never forgotten it, I am sure, nor have I. It 
 is touching to see a great man stoop to do a simple, good- 
 natured thing. 
 
 To come back to my old friend, Mrs. L . 
 
 " What !" she cried on beholding me, " are you in London 
 again ?" 
 
 "I may come safely now," I replied, "that your naughty 
 friend is gone." 
 
 " Naughty, indeed ! Why it was you that sprung a mine 
 under the feet of all of us." 
 
 " Yet there was nobody blown up but myself." 
 
 "Which plainly shows," she retorted, "that there is a 
 retributive Providence." 
 
 In the lively conversation that followed, I discovered, to my 
 amusement, how entirely I had taken both Miss Gamble and 
 
 jVIrs. L by surprise at Bournemouth. It appeared that 
 
 both had suspected my matrimonial motive at first, but that 
 my discreet reserve had gradually disarmed all suspicion, so 
 that when I let drop the mask their astonishment was only 
 exceeded by their pique at having been so completely done. 
 
 "But I assure you," I declared, "that it was not for the 
 pleasure of deceiving you that I acted so." 
 
 " Then what was it for, beau masque 1" 
 
 "To see if I stood any chance before showing what a blow 
 my heart had received." 
 
 " And all you got was a heavier blow on your vanity." 
 
 " I hope you had no hand in such cruelty." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 77 
 
 " No, for I tried to save you all I could." 
 
 "Thanks, dear madam. But tell me, before I bid you good 
 night, what had I best do now." 
 
 She smiled and hesitated. 
 
 "I pray you give me one word of comfort." 
 
 " Will one word suffice T she asked. 
 
 " Yes, if it is not despair." 
 
 " Persevere," she whispered, and disappeared. 
 
 Of course I called on Mrs. Grote one day, and my intention 
 was to rate her sharply for lending a treacherous hand to Miss 
 Gamble to aid her more effectually to bewilder me. When I 
 attacked her, however, she put on such a wonder-struck lodk of 
 perfect innocence that I gave up the task at once. When a 
 woman is driven into a corner to defend her honesty, no matter 
 what the proof, he must be an inexperienced person, indeed, who 
 goes beyond her first denial. A man often confesses ; the Chan 
 cellor Bacon did ; but a woman never. 
 
 Not knowing what trouble Mrs. Grote might give me here 
 after, I went off slily to another clever and most amiable person, 
 Lady Gore Ouseley,* and endeavored to enlist her interest in 
 my favor. She had lately returned from America, where she 
 had seen a great deal of Miss Gamble s relatives. I had known 
 her already for some time, and rejoiced to find that she approved 
 highly of my suit. She readily promised to back my pretensions, 
 and I begged her to write at once to Miss Gamble to inform her 
 she had met me, and that I had expressed myself in such ardent 
 terms as to show my mind was disordered not a little. She 
 smiled, and assented to do all she could. I wished Miss Gamble 
 to hear from others of my sinking state, but I was afraid to talk 
 
 * Wife of Sir W. Gore Ouseley, and daughter of Hon. Cornelius Van Ness, our former 
 minister to Spain. This charming lady entirely approved the match, and lent me, up to 
 the last moment, her most energetic ouoport. 
 
78 M Y COURTSHIP 
 
 too much of it myself. My object was to keep her a little in 
 doubt, or I knew she would keep me in a worse state. 
 
 I returned to Paris in the middle of July, and to my joy I 
 found a second letter, dated Frankfort, from Miss Gamble. 
 My not answering the former had fully succeeded. She was 
 deeply disquieted, and having no other pretext for writing to 
 me, she concocted a dream for the occasion : 
 
 "In spite of my resolution [she began] I write to you again. Shall I 
 confess my weakness ? I am superstitious, and last night I had a dream 
 which distressed me not a little and all about you. The dream was very 
 vivid, and yet I could not recollect any of the particulars on awaking a 
 vague remembrance that you were going to do something rash, from 
 which I tried to deter you and could not. The last time you wrote to me 
 you were very angry, and I fear you will take some step which you will 
 afterwards repent, and then throw the blame upon me. Let me not have 
 the pain of thinking that I have been the cause or pretext of any incon 
 siderate acts on your part. Let me be your good genius, not your bad. 
 Do not suppose that, in writing in this style, I pretend to exercise any influ 
 ence over you, but listen, I pray you, to truth and reason. With your 
 talents and many noble qualities, you might hope to make for yourself an 
 useful and brilliant career ; but, in order to arrive at this, you must not 
 yield to impulse, however strong. Self-denial, patience, and perseverance 
 are requisite for the attainment of any such object. Try to deserve happi 
 ness, and you may be sure that you will find it some day. * * * 
 Write to me, and direct to care of W. Felix Marcel, Lausanne, where I am 
 going, in order that I may know you have received this letter. I shall 
 then be satisfied at having done what I thought right, and with you alone 
 rest the consequences and the remorse of any false step taken by you. I 
 cannot deny that it would give me pain to see you marry another." 
 
 Her letter ran on to give me a description of her travels. 
 She tried to annoy me by praising her courier, whom she called 
 " a treasure," and sought to alarm my jealousy by hinting at the 
 attentions she met with along the road from various parties. J 
 was flattered deeply at the anxiety she displayed lest I might 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 79 
 
 commit the " rash step " I had threatened, and I was amused 
 at the struggle between her regard for me and the pride and 
 coquetry which prompted her to conceal it. I resolved, of 
 course, to write to her, but my mistake was in not allowing the 
 effervescence of my feelings to subside. Her telling me to try 
 and deserve " happiness/ 7 that is, herself, and I would be sure to 
 have it some day, intoxicated me not a little, and I wrote very 
 wildly under this exhilarating expectation. Off flew three 
 letters in three successive days, as if my pent-up feelings, having 
 found scope at last, could no longer be restrained. I had no 
 sooner done this than I saw my error, and trembled. No sooner 
 will she perceive, from my energetic expression of esteem for her, 
 that I am in no danger of doing the " rash " thing she dreads, 
 than she will send me another of her mocking, chilling letters, 
 that will be like tumbling me from an oven into an ice-house. 
 Anxious to know what Mrs. Grote would say, I wrote to inform 
 her of Miss Gamble s writing to me twice without waiting for 
 an answer. She replied thus 
 
 " Roehampton Aug. Ind. 
 
 " DEAR MR. W. I was surprised by the intelligence concerning J. G. 
 Certainly, her writing to you in this way is a sign of her bearing you no 
 common interest, but whether it means all you naturally wish it should, 
 you can best decide. I have withheld writing, in conformity to your wish, 
 and await the denoumcnt which you doubtless design to hasten by such 
 measures as your dexterous mind may suggest perhaps by personal 
 assiduity in the romantic land where the fair wanderer is now passing the 
 fine season." * 
 
 * I take the liberty of appending the rest of Mrs. Grote s letter, which attests her sin 
 gular political sagacity : 
 
 " We have, at last, fine summer weather, and we ejijoy our villa all the more. I am 
 likely, however, to be summoned to London shortly, for our friends, M. Leon Faucher and 
 wife, are coming over to see the Crystal Palace, and will make our house their head 
 quarters. They meant to have come earlier, but the grave events rn the Assembly dur 
 ing the past month have kept the energetic minister at his post. I am provoked at the 
 maladrease. of the Republican party. If Louis Napoleon win the day, it will be their 
 
80 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 The hint that Mrs. Grote gave me to go after the "fair 
 
 wanderer " harmonized with the suggestion of Mrs. L. to 
 
 "persevere," so I made up my mind to dash off to Switzer 
 land, and endeavor to induce Miss Gamble to put an end to 
 my cruel suspense. Besides, I really felt uncomfortable at her 
 travelling about with a courier she had picked up only a few 
 days before starting, though she did represent him as a perfect 
 "treasure." I decided to go at once, before I got a reply to 
 my late incautious letters that might put a check on my move 
 ments. On the 5th of August I set off for Lausanne, and 
 Napoleon the Great, when he started on the same road to fall 
 on the Austrian rear at Marengo, was hardly more determined, 
 
 fault. By their unreasonable jealousies and silly exactions, they waste their influence 
 instead of concentrating it. Again, what a scheme to run a plurality of candidates to 
 bring about an election by the Chamber why, it is rushing into terra incognita, for how 
 shall any one say whom the Chamber will name, after all? Nor, if it be a decent choice, 
 how do we know what the future conduct of such a man will be, once invested with so 
 enormous a measure of power as he probably would be, as being their man ? I should 
 prefer a certain degree of antagonism betwixt Chamber and President myself, for with 
 out this the people are sold, as when Louis Philippe and the Majority worked so 
 cosily together. We all think here that Louis Napoleon will be elected, and that the 
 nation will cause this illegal act to be accepted. In that case, at any rate, it is felo-de-se, 
 which I prefer to manslaughter, and, if needs must, I will swallow it. I aver, though, 
 that if the Republicans were to set-to like men, they might, possibly, carry a genuine 
 Republican President; not by setting up a roturier or workman, but a sound, clear 
 headed statesman, like M. Dufaure, for instance, whose late speech on Revision is 
 admirable. I was not in town when your friend , came over, and so lost the plea 
 sure of a talk with him. However, he is inaccesible to reason, so no great harm done. 
 He is a half-instructed, clever, wilful man, who will always do more harm than good to 
 his party; for, after all, mankind crave something tangible before they pump for it, and 
 your mere Destructionists are losing their hold on popular faith. I quite agree with you 
 
 in this. Enfin, nothing could be more wise than your reply about taking back as 
 
 Prime Minister, saying it was, or would be, a vital blunder of Louis Napoleon. If ever 
 
 there was a broken-down politician, it is O Drivelon , as I dubbed him once. He 
 
 is too notorious a hack, to serve even the President s turn now. 
 
 " P.S. I have heard nothing moe about your rapports with Lord P , but dare 
 
 say you will patch up the rent by-and-bye. Our Ambassador at was with him 
 
 often, I hear. What s going on, eh? I don t know if he named you, M. II was 
 
 married last month, 5oth of July, and is, consequently, in eclipse just now. Please write 
 again, if aught occurs worth noting. " Very truly yours, 
 
 "H. G." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 81 
 
 I am sure, to strike a decisive blow than I was, should I 
 encounter my sportive but clever antagonist. I reached 
 Geneva in twenty-four hours from Paris, and the first person 
 I ran against, at the Hotel de FEcu, was an old friend, the 
 American Consul at . 
 
 " What brings you to Geneva ?" he asked, in some surprise. 
 
 " On my way to see the fete, at Yevey," I said, smiling. 
 
 " You must have something more attractive than a, fete to set 
 you in motion," he returned, " or I mistake my man." 
 
 " I will confide in you, then I am after a woman." 
 
 " I believe you now, without an effort." 
 
 " Yes, I am after a wife." 
 
 " Take care, don t rouse my incredulity again." 
 
 "Helas! it is too true. Who can control his fate? 7 as 
 Othello says." 
 
 Seeing my friend looking still dubious, I narrated my past 
 adventures, and present situation. He seemed interested in the 
 matter, and promised to hold on at Geneva to give me his 
 counsel, or, perchance, his services as groomsman, if I could 
 manage to bring my bark into haven. 
 
 I left next morning for Lausanne, conning over by the way 
 various ingenious excuses to account to Miss Gamble for my 
 coming. I drove to the hotel Gibbon on arriving, and inquired 
 for my party. She was not there, having left only a few days 
 previous. I hurried off to her banker, M. Marcel, and learnt 
 that she had started on an excursion for a couple of weeks or 
 so, but they knew nothing of her route, or the precise time of 
 her return. This was a bad beginning, and threw me into a 
 quandary what course to take. It was impossible to waste so 
 much time in abiding for her at Lausanne, and to go after her was 
 equally impracticable, as I could get no tidings of her direction. 
 In this dilemma, I thought it best to go back to Geneva, to con 
 sult my friend there ; but I went over to Yevey first, hoping to 
 
 4* 
 
Q9 
 
 M Y C U R T S II I P 
 
 hear of her at the/efc. I ran to all the hotels of the town, but 
 no such person had been there. In great disappointment I 
 made my way to Yilleneuve, to catch the steamer for Geneva ; 
 but as I was going up stairs to my room at the Hotel Byron 
 who should I stumble against but Mary, the old nurse of Miss 
 (ramble. 
 
 " Good gracious !" exclaimed the veteran abigail. 
 
 "So," I ejaculated in equal surprise, " I have got you all at 
 
 " You ve got me," said Mary, but my mistress is not here." 
 "Where in the world is she, then?" I asked in some as 
 tonishment. 
 
 " Gone to the mountains, sir, with Miss Bennet and the 
 courier, and will be back in a fortnight." 
 
 There was no use in reminding Mary that we were in a land 
 of mountains, and that her information was very vague, for I 
 suspected her geographical knowledge stopped with the sound 
 of Bow-bells. I was greatly relieved, however, by this rencontre, 
 and I thought I could turn it to good account. I told Mary 
 I should pay her a visit after tea, and so continued my flight up- 
 I knew, if there was anybody perfectly acquainted with 
 the innermost mind of my ignis fatuus, it was this same Mary, 
 whom I had known years ago as the housekeeper of Mr. Dun- 
 lop, but who had never left the side of Miss Gamble from her 
 earliest childhood. She was a very respectable old dame ; very 
 civil and decorous in her demeanor, as English housekeepers 
 always are; but she had her own share of shrewdness, as I could 
 detect in her sharp little grey eyes. She knows all I want to 
 know, and, perhaps, more than I am aware of, I soliloquized ; so 
 I will see if my diplomacy, shallow as it may be, is a match for 
 the demure slyness of my Juliet s nurse. 
 
 "Well, Mary," I said, as I seated myself in her room after 
 my tea, " I dare gay you are quite astonished to see me here." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 83 
 
 " Dear me, sir, I never was so astonished," replied the ex- 
 housekeeper, removing her spectacles with the caution the occa 
 sion seemed to call for. 
 
 " And I dare say your mistress will be quite as much sur 
 prised when she hears of it." 
 Yes, sir," said Mary, hesitating a little, " I think she 
 
 will be." 
 
 " I have only run down to see the/efe at Yevey." 
 
 11 Wasn t it beautiful, sir ? I saw it." 
 
 " And I am so sorry, as I have met you, not to meet your 
 mistress before I go back to Paris." 
 
 " Oh my !" exclaimed the old woman, thrown off her guard, 
 going back, sir? Why, I thought you was come a purpose 
 to" and she stopped. 
 
 But your mistress is so happy, I am sure, in running up 
 and down these beautiful hills, that I suppose she has quite i 
 
 gotten me." 
 
 " I declare my eyes are quite a-failing," said the evasive 
 
 Mary, as she pretended to pick up a pin. 
 
 " But, it seems she can get on without you, too, Mary." 
 
 I don t exactly like to be left behind in this way, sir," she 
 replied in a dissatisfied tone. 
 
 Findino- I had touched a chord, I went on sympathising wit] 
 the deserted Mary, till I warmed up her heart towards me, and 
 lulled her discretion. 
 
 Her companion, Miss Bennett," I said, in a cai ess way, 
 " suits her exactly, I suppose." 
 
 -Why sir you see mistress is lively, and likes somebody 
 that talks a good deal. Now, Miss Bennett" Mary stopped, 
 
 as if reflecting. 
 
 " Yes, I understand," I continued, " Miss Bennet is a quiet, 
 
 reserved sort of person." 
 "Just so, sir." 
 
84 MY C U R T S H I P 
 
 " But the courier, Miss Gamble writes me, is a treasure. She 
 never had a servant, by all accounts, to suit her so well." 
 
 " I don t know that," said the ex-housekeeper, bridling up 
 a little. 
 
 " Meek as a lamb, I hear." 
 
 " A little quick, sir." 
 
 " Obeys the smallest word ?" 
 
 " Bather likes his own way too much, sir." 
 
 " Urnph !" I said mentally, as I found that Miss Gamble 
 had purposely exaggerated everything in her letters in order 
 to prevent me thinking she stood in the least need of me. But 
 the great secret I yearned to know was yet to be extracted. 
 
 " Well, Mary," I went on to <say, " you know everything, 
 of course, that has happened. Your mistress has too much con 
 fidence in you, I am sure, so long with the family, to keep back 
 anything." 
 
 Mary seemed touched by my manner and words. 
 
 " Yes, sir, I do know all," she said. 
 
 " Well, I don t mind telling my mind to you, Mary, and your 
 mistress is such a sweet person." 
 
 " Isn t she, sir ?" interrupted Mary. 
 
 " And so clever, and such an old friend, that I never no, 
 never would have given her up, if I had thought she was 
 attached to me." 
 
 " Given her up !" ejaculated Mary, deceived by my candid 
 air and calm voice ; " why she is attached to you, sir." 
 
 " You must allow me to be the best judge of that, Mary. 
 Would she hesitate, and resist, and behave as she does, if she 
 were attached to me ? Oh no !" 
 
 " Lord bless you, sir !" exclaimed Mary, pitying my blind 
 ness, and falling into the trap she didn t see, " that s only her 
 fun !" 
 
 It s no use deceiving me, Mary," I persisted. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 85 
 
 " Why, sir, don t I know ? It s all fun, I tell you. She 
 says you are so clever that she loves to torment you, and show 
 you she is as clever as you are." 
 
 " Just so, Mary. Plenty of cleverness, but no attachment," 
 and I sighed deeply. 
 
 "Attachment!" echoed the thoughtless confidente, carried 
 away by her feelings, " I tell you, sir, there is plenty of that. 
 Make your mind easy, sir, she is bent on having you. She says 
 you are the only man she would marry, and I think you were 
 made for each other." 
 
 " Well, Mary," I replied, trying hard to talk and look 
 unmoved at this delightful revelation, " If you will stand by me, 
 perhaps I ll go on a little longer." 
 
 " Do, sir," she said, encouragingly. 
 
 "But if she continues the same silly, childish conduct," I said, 
 frowning 
 
 " I will speak to her sir," expostulated Mary. " She really 
 oughtn t to go on in this way." 
 
 " It s a great comfort to me, Mary," I said, getting up, " to 
 see you take the same sound view of the matter as myself. But 
 I expected as much of a sensible person like you." 
 
 " Thank yeru, sir," said the flattered old nurse, whea I bid 
 her good night, and strolled off to my room. 
 
 Nothing could have been more fortunate, certainly, than to 
 have fallen, in this unlooked-for way, upon information so 
 precious as this. I had more than once given way to serious 
 misgivings, and dreaded not only the loss of time, but the chance 
 of my feelings getting deeply entangled without, perhaps, any 
 serious intention on the part of Miss Gamble to compensate 
 me for either. I suspected she was really attached to me, and 
 could not believe for a moment that with her knowledge of 
 the world, and sense of propriety, she would go to such lengths 
 with me without meaning, sooner or later, to reward my hopes. 
 
.M V i: U R T S H I P 
 
 Still, the emphatic assurance of her affectionate old follower, 
 that her regard for me was strong, and that her mind was 
 already made up for marriage, was intensely gratifying. It 
 dispelled my doubts, and subdued all uneasy fears. I was 
 enchanted, besides, at having stolen the secret in this chance 
 way from the only person who possessed it ; and I counted 
 on its giving me all the advantage I might want in any new 
 plots Miss Gamble might be meditating against my tranquillity. 
 I slept more soundly that night than any since I had left 
 Bournemouth. I passed next day at the Hotel Byron, talking 
 a good deal with Mary of old times, but returning constantly to 
 a subject that was equally attractive to both of us, her mistress. 
 As Miss Gamble was not expected back before ten days, at 
 least, and as I could get no clue to her travels, I thought 
 that, to kill time, I had better return to Geneva, and I left 
 Mary, who was in high spirits, with the promise of presenting 
 myself again in a week s time, at furthest. I found my friend, 
 the Consul, still at Geneva, eagerly waiting for the news I 
 brought with me ; and he congratulated me heartily on the 
 speedy prospect of terminating my campaign so triumphantly. 
 To kep my hand in, I made the acquaintance of the cele 
 brated James Fazy, one of the leading politicians of Switzer 
 land, and the head of the liberal party. I found him a sound- 
 minded, practical man, confident in the steady progress of 
 constitutional ideas, and not at all dismayed at the momentary 
 success of the reactionary cause. He spoke in great admira 
 tion of "Lord Palmerston s unrivalled abilities, and seemed to 
 look on his great name as a " tower of strength" for the pro 
 gressive party all over Europe. He gave me a higher opinion 
 than I had before, of the military resources of Switzerland, 
 and he said that, united to Sardinia, and backed, if need be, 
 by England and France, the Constitutional banner might be 
 successfully carried to any point designated, against any odds 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 87 
 
 that could be brought against it. He showed no sympathy for 
 the revolutionary propaganda, that too frequently, he suggested, 
 broke down an old system, without the ability to set up a 
 better. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE GREAT ST. BERNARD. 
 
 BEFORE the week was out I returned to Villeneuve, and 
 was welcomed back by my old friend Mary, who had no 
 tidings yet of her mistress, and seemed uneasy at her absence 
 and the dangers her imagination conjured up. I thought it 
 would be but a small Display of zeal on my part to start off, 
 like a knight-errant of old, in search of my lady-love, and I 
 announced my intention to the old housekeeper, who applauded 
 my gallantry. As she could tell me nothing of her mistress 
 beyond pointing to the gate out of which she drove as her 
 eyes last dwelt on her, I sent up my orisons, and took the road 
 before me, trusting to my good intentions, and the luck that 
 devoted lovers are heir to. 
 
 I inquired all day long at every village on my way if they had 
 seen anything of such a party as I described, but in vain. 
 Weary, but not dejected, I reached Martigny that night, and 
 was surrounded, on alighting from the diligence, by a noisy troop 
 of lackeys, with cards in their hands, all vociferating in bad 
 French the superlative merits of their respective hotels. Put 
 ting myself in the centre of the discordant band, I declared my 
 intention to follow the lead of any one who would tell me any 
 thing of the party I was looking after, and I began my thrice- 
 told tale of description. 
 
MY COURTSHIP 
 
 "Snivez moi," said one of them, immediately; "come along 
 with me, Monsieur; I remember the petite dame in black, and the 
 other with auburn hair. They have left a carpet-bag at our 
 house." 
 
 Suspecting that the rogue was only keener-witted than the 
 rest, I went after him, putting no faith in his story. To my 
 delight, the carpet-bag he spoke of had Miss Gamble s name 
 upon it ; and, with this clue in hand, I endeavored to follow up 
 the traces of the fugitive. I got hold, at last, of the guide who 
 had accompanied her to Chamouni, where she had remained, as 
 he informed me, for two to three days to witness the ascent of 
 Mont Blanc by the world-renowned Albert Smith ; but whither 
 she had gone after that, I failed utterly to ascertain. As I was 
 more than a week behind her, and could not possibly travel 
 faster, it was useless to set up a pursuit, and I had nothing to 
 do, therefore, but to abandon my original purpose, and return to 
 the Hotel Byron. 
 
 This was an inglorious termination of my gallant enterprise ; 
 but I decided to give some proof, at all events, of my energy in 
 the cause, by scaling some one of the gigantic mountains that 
 reared their frowning heads around me. In previous years, I 
 had ascended the famous Simplon, so I made choice on this occa 
 sion of the equally illustrious Grand St. Bernard, from which 
 glorious altitude I might throw my eager glance into the valleys 
 about, with the anxious curiosity that Sister Anne did from the 
 tower, in the days of the dreaded Blue Beard. 
 
 I was off betimes next morning, escorted by the guide that 
 had done the same service a few days before for the " gay little 
 lady in black," as he. called her; and as I had given up all 
 thought of seeing her on my present trip, I sought to console 
 myself for my disappointment by yielding with fervor to all the 
 pure and sublime emotions that such scenery as every turn of the 
 road revealed to my enchanted vision were likely to stir up in 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 89 
 
 the coldest heart. Whether I was. in a more poetical mood than 
 usual which a hearty breakfast and the fine weather might 
 have jointly inspired or whether, in fact, my late devotion to 
 Miss Gamble had aroused the slumbering sentiment of my 
 nature, I know not ; but certainly I never before gave way to 
 such enthusiastic admiration of mountain-tops, of sleeping val 
 leys, and brawling torrents, as on the day in question. It 
 wearied my guide into a mauvaise humeur at last, by stopping 
 him constantly to gorge my eye with the transcendent views 
 that burst forth in all their Alpine magnificence on every side 
 around me. 
 
 " Monsieur n arrivera, pas ce soir," was his frequent exclama 
 tion ; and his gruff voice finally dispelled my intoxication, and 
 restored the reality of a hard day s work before us. 
 
 I had no sooner chained up my fancy, and got fairly back to 
 earth- again, than I encountered a solitary fisherman leaning 
 intently over the pure stream that dashed fiercly down its craggy 
 channel beside me. 
 
 " Arretez!" I shouted again to the guide. "See," I con 
 tinued, " if yon fisherman will part with those beautiful trout 
 at his side, you shall have one of them for your dinner." 
 
 " Extremes touch," says the proverb, and I had fallen from the 
 sublime to the hungry. And who could have resisted a brace 
 of such speckled dainties as my longing eye had chanced to fall 
 upon ? The bargain was made in a trice, and I need hardly 
 say I had no occasion to repent it afterwards. 
 
 As my guide had predicted, I was obliged to sleep in a 
 wretched hut along the road, another proof that every pleasure 
 has its price ; but I put my foot on the broad forehead of the 
 Grand St. Bernard at noon of the next day in full glare of a 
 dazzling sunshine. 
 
 I had been thinking all the morning, not of Miss Gamble, I 
 am ashamed to say, but of Napoleon the First, who had acquired 
 
MY COURTSHIP 
 
 such fame by scaling this identical mountain, and regretting that 
 whilst he had a conqueror s project to fire his soul, I had nothing 
 to stimulate me but a peep at the old convent, au acquaintance 
 with its dogs, and the trouble of going down the same difficult 
 path I had just ascended. 
 
 I was scarcely off my mule, when I was saluted with a hearty 
 welcome from as round-faced and jolly-looking a monk as was 
 ever painted or sung. He was clad in a black soutane, with a 
 band of white tape encircling Ins neck and waist, denoting the 
 order to which he belonged. He addressed me in French, and 
 escorted me into a long and ill-furnished room which he said 
 was devoted to the service of travellers. After a chat to the 
 effect that I had never been there before, but that I was glad I 
 had come now, if only for the pleasure of making his agreeable 
 acquaintance, I asked if he had a book of travellers names 
 He answered " Yes," and he put it before me. I scanned it ear 
 nestly page after page, but I saw no trace of my fair runaway. 
 
 ^ Is Monsieur expecting to meet some friends ?" inquired the 
 obliging monk. 
 
 "Hardly expecting, mon perc, but I am bound to confess that 
 I am in pursuit of a very mundane object." 
 
 " And what may that be, my sou ?" returned the monk, rather 
 curious. 
 
 "A woman," I replied, "but a very little one, if that 
 diminishes the offence at all." 
 
 " Ah, my son," said he, laughing out, "we give very little 
 heed to such vanities at this great height. 
 
 "And I don t wonder," I answered, "if it is as cold all the 
 summer round as on this bright August day." 
 
 I soon struck up a warm intimacy with my cheerful host, who 
 enlivened my lunch with many curious particulars, past and 
 present, touching his romantic and out-of-the-way abode and 
 having nothing better to do, I sauntered out afterwards to 
 
Ay D ITS CONSEQUENCES. 91 
 
 inspect the curiosities of the place. There was no walking with 
 out clambering up the rough steeps around that I was not 
 aspiring enough to do ; so, after staring a couple of unsophisti 
 cated cows out of countenance, and respectfully admiring the 
 huge proportions of several of the famous Saint Bernard mas 
 tiffs that were basking in the sunshine, I turned down to look 
 into the Morgue, or Dead-house, where I beheld the drear skele 
 tons of many unfortunate creatures who had perished in the 
 avalanches so common in this terrible region. They were 
 arranged in standing positions against the four sides of a square 
 room lighted by several open windows, and which had more the 
 appearance of an anatomical museum than anything else I could 
 fancy. Having "supped full of horrors," by gazing for some 
 minutes on these painful objects, I betook myself to my bed-room 
 to beguile the time in reading. I posted myself at the window 
 which commanded all that was to be seen, and my attention 
 was occasionally drawn to the arrival of travellers who were 
 hurrying up to the hospitable convent before the night overtook 
 them. At length, came a party accompanied by several guides 
 who cracked their whips and shouted at their tired mules as 
 though inspired by the near end of their day s labor. I 
 descried, as they came nearer, a couple of women, and a man 
 in the centre of the group, and remarked that one of the former 
 was clad in black. 
 
 " If it should turn out to be Miss Gamble," I exclaimed, 
 
 " how strange it . By all that s lucky it is she," I almost 
 
 shouted, as I brought my lorgnette- to bear upon her bright little 
 face, almost hid beneath her drooping blue " ugly." I rushed 
 after my monk, who did the office of master of ceremonies, and 
 found him at the door ready to welcome Miss Gamble .and 
 party. I rapidly explained that this was the identical person 
 I was looking for, and begged him to say not a word of my 
 presence, but leave me to manage the affair according to circum- 
 
92 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 stances. He was highly amused at the oddity of the event, and 
 promised to be discreet. 
 
 After dismounting, Miss Gamble and her companion, Miss 
 
 B , retired to their rooms to arrange their toilette for the 
 
 dinner, now preparing for the assembled travellers in the great 
 salle, aforementioned. I determined to have a little quiet 
 observation of Miss Gamble and party before I was discovered, 
 and I planted myself, for that purpose, in one corner of a deep 
 window in the room in question, and donned a pair of blue 
 glasses I had brought with me to protect my eyes from the 
 
 glare of the sun. Directly, she entered with Miss B , and 
 
 sat down near the fire. After a minute or two, she walked to 
 the window fortunately not the one that protected me and 
 looking out on the declining day, said to her friend : 
 
 "What a pity we haven t some one to accompany us for 
 a stroll ; but Louis, I suppose, is busy with the luggage." 
 
 " Yes," responded Miss B , after a pause. 
 
 " It s a good joke," continued Miss Gamble, " that we go 
 everywhere, and see nothing after all." 
 
 " Yes," repeated the laconic Miss B 
 
 In a few minutes Miss Gamble returned to her place at 
 the fire, followed by her taciturn friend, and silence ensued. 
 
 This little scene spoke volumes to me, and I would have bet 
 any money that Miss Gamble was regretting in her heart that 
 she had not brought me along with her to join her in a walk, 
 and to make her a more satisfactory response than she could 
 extract from her monosyllabic companion, Miss B . 
 
 Dinner was nearly ready when the jolly monk sidled up to 
 me, whispering 
 
 " Has she discovered you?" 
 
 "JSo; not yet." 
 
 " Shall I manage," he said, full of fun, " to secure a chair for 
 you alongside of her, at dinner ?" 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 93 
 
 " I will remember the convent in niy will, if you do," I replied, 
 charmed at the proposal. 
 
 There were nearly twenty persons now collected for dinner 
 the half of them ladies : but the amiable monk was defeated in 
 his pleasant intention towards me by Miss Gamble seating her 
 self in a different place at the table than he had assigned for 
 her. I managed to keep on the same side with her, however, 
 so that she might not perceive me before I intended. The din 
 ner was very good, and the conversation very brisk. Miss Gam 
 ble got into chat with some lady opposite to her, and she gave a 
 vivid and graphic account of her travels, from which it appeared 
 that she had followed out the injunctions of Murray s red-book 
 with the most indefatigable ardor. I began to rejoice that I 
 had escaped the laborious exercise that would have befallen me, 
 if I had been in her train. As an old traveller, I should have 
 grumbled at the toils that a novice rushes at with such heedless 
 energy. I kept glancing, ever and anon, at the unconscious 
 
 object of my observation, till Miss B , who was sitting on 
 
 my side of her, began to fancy, I suspect, that her nice auburn 
 hair had caught my attention, and she turned her face towards 
 me, in curiosity, often enough to enable me to inspect its charac 
 ter. She was quite good-looking, and evidently of a placid 
 nature, though her blue eyes were not without a keen expression 
 of their own. 
 
 When dinner was over, the ladies all grouped around the 
 blazing fire, which the sharp whistling air without made doubly 
 cheerful. I retired to the lower part of the room, and went oil 
 chatting with a lively Frenchman who had sat next to me at 
 table, carefully keeping my back turned the while towards the 
 company. 
 
 "Je vous fais mes complimens," said my French friend. 
 
 " Wherefore ?" I asked. 
 
 " Because of a conquest I think you have made. There is a 
 
94 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 petite lady in black, near the fire there, who turns her eyeglass 
 frequently upon you " 
 
 " Indeed !" I replied, thinking it was all over with me. It 
 turned out, however, that I was not detected, and Miss Gam 
 ble s attention had, probably, been directed to me by Miss 
 B , as her late supposed admirer at the dinner-table. 
 
 I was anxiously abiding an opportunity, and it was near ten 
 o clock when I remarked a chair vacant right alongside of Miss 
 Gamble. Now s my time, thought I, and gliding up whilst my 
 lady s face was directed the other way, I sat myself down, like 
 Banquo s ghost, in the empty chair by her side, wondering at 
 the possible effect of my sudden apparition. In half a minute, 
 Miss G. turned round, and our eyes met. Such a gaze of utter 
 amazement I never beheld before. She was mute, but the blood 
 mounted to her cheek and spread to her temples. To relieve 
 her feelings, I rallied her in a familiar tone for not addressing me 
 before. 
 
 " Here have I been the whole evening," I said, "dining at the 
 same table with you, and not a word, not a glance, even, have 
 you condescended to bestow upon me. What am I to think of 
 it all, Miss Gamble ?" 
 
 " I didn t know" she stammered out, and stopped, choked 
 
 with emotion. She turned her head, and touched her eyes 
 rapidly with her handkerchief. 
 
 " Didn t know that I was on the top of the Grand St. Ber 
 nard, when you supposed me to be in Paris," I remarked. But 
 finding that for once her colloquial powers had completely 
 deserted her, I rattled on to give her time to recover, and to 
 divert the attention of the company, who saw that something 
 odd had happened. All my efforts to draw her into conversa 
 tion, however, failed ; for she seemed struggling hard to keep 
 down the tumult at her heart, that from pride or tact she was 
 unwilling to betray. I saw enough though to satisfy me that her 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 95 
 
 old nurse had not deceived me as to her attachment, for the 
 symptoms before me could hardly be mistaken. 
 
 The ladies soon rose to retire for the night, and Miss 
 Gamble seemed enchanted at the opportunity of escaping from 
 
 her embarrassing position. Her companion, Miss B , 
 
 was scarcely less perplexed at what had occurred, and she 
 probably suspected, by this time, that my glances in her direc 
 tion during dinner were meant for another party. I slept that 
 night like a " warrior taking his rest," thinking my battle 
 was finally won, and I heard nothing of the terrific storm in 
 the night, that shook the old convent to its very foundations. 
 
 When I entered the breakfast-room next morning, every 
 body was already at table, busily dispatching their coffee and 
 eggs preparatory to starting on their downward way. Miss 
 Gamble was there, and saluted me with a cold nod, which I 
 thought was meant to deceive the company as to our close 
 relations. After the meal was over she appi cached the window, 
 when I advanced towards her. 
 
 " What do you mean," she said in a sharp voice, " by 
 running after me in this strange manner ?" 
 
 " How can you imagine," I returned very coolly, " that I 
 am running after you, when I knew no more of your where 
 abouts than of the man in the moon ? I have a right to 
 accuse you rather, as I was here before you." 
 
 " But you certainly came to Switzerland in pursuit of me." 
 
 " It would be ungallant," I replied, " to say the contrary." 
 
 " Did you receive my letter from Lausanne," she asked, 
 " some ten days since ?" 
 
 " I did not." 
 
 "If you had got that," she continued, "I ll be bound you 
 would not have come, though." 
 
 " It would not have taken much," quoth I, "to prevent me, 
 perhaps." 
 
96 MY COURT SHIP 
 
 " Well, I have only one thing to say now," she declared 
 " that you must go about your business at once. It is out of 
 the question your travelling with me it would compromise 
 me fatally. 7 - 
 
 " I never thought of that," I replied, musing. " But you 
 are right. I will go immediately. Good morning ;" and I 
 moved towards the door. 
 
 "Stop," she cried, as she saw me retreating. "Don t be 
 in such a hurry ; you are always so quick." 
 
 " When I ought not to be, I suppose," I said, smiling. 
 " But I thought you were in earnest." 
 
 Miss Gamble looked confused, for her attempt to rebuff me 
 for the trick I had played last night had failed. We chatted 
 for a few moments, when the courier came to say the mules 
 were ready. Miss Gamble hesitated, and said something 
 about spending the day where she was ; but the courier re 
 marked, that if a storm came on they might be detained there 
 several days. To her surprise, I agreed with him, and it was 
 decided to go. 
 
 Down we started, picking our difficult way in single file, 
 and as talking was impossible, I kept on ahead. I got first to 
 the half-way house, and ordered dinner. I endeavored to be 
 as gay and amusing as possible during our repast, but Miss 
 
 B s presence prevented any familiar conversation between 
 
 Miss Gamble and myself. I pushed ahead again for all the rest 
 of the way, and reached Martigny a good hour before the 
 arrival of Miss Gamble, where I secured rooms for her party. 
 She was greatly fatigued after her hard day s work, and re 
 tired very soon after tea. We met again at the public break 
 fast table next morning, when she announced that she had 
 another mountain to do, according to Murray, and that con 
 sequently she would not get back to the Hotel Byron before 
 Thursday. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 97 
 
 " It will be joyful news to Mary," I said carelessly, " for I 
 will see her this evening." 
 
 "Ah 1" she replied, looking surprised, "you return, then, to 
 day?" . 
 
 " Yes, for I admit that it is not proper for me to be travelling 
 with you. Besides, this creeping up mountains all day is such 
 tiresome work" 
 
 "I see," she said, not a little piqued, "that your effeminate 
 life in Paris has unfitted you for the enjoyment of nature." 
 
 " It has not unfitted me, though, for objects more attractive 
 even than fine scenery," I replied in a whisper. 
 
 The compliment brought a smile, but she was secretly disap 
 pointed, I could see, at my singular desertion. She drove off 
 
 after breakfast with Miss B and the courier to the foot of a 
 
 neighboring mountain, where mules were in readiness for tha 
 ascent, whilst J jumped into the diligence and made my way back 
 to the old town of Villeneuve, at the top of Lake Leman, glad 
 enough to exchange the romance of Alpine travelling for the 
 matter-of-fact comforts of the Hotel Byron. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OUGHT. 
 
 MY reader may think it capricious, perhaps, that, after taking 
 so much pains, I should abandon Miss Gamble the moment I had 
 found her he may think it ungallant, and if a lady, she may 
 consider it absurd, and perhaps worse. But stop till I explain 
 myself. I perceived from my lady s behavior the morning we 
 left the Grand St. Bernard, that she meant to be revenged for 
 
 5 
 
98 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 the violent emotion into which I had there betrayed her as I 
 have related. She was not the woman to overlook such an 
 offence as that. I was sure that, out of spite, she would resist 
 me to the last extremity, and perhaps compel me to hop away 
 again without my prize as I had already done from Bourne 
 mouth and London, unless by some very skilful maneuvering I 
 should defeat her plans and gain a final victory over her. 
 
 My romantic devotion in climbing to the tops of the mountains 
 in pursuit of her I knew must gratify her deeply ; but I dreaded 
 lest it might turn her head, and make her believe me so madly 
 bent upon her possession as to encourage her to go on coquetting 
 till I was forced to give her up. To escape all these dangers, I 
 determined to mix up, as heretofore, a certain amount of non 
 chalance with my ardor, and to drop a hint besides, that if she 
 kept me any longer dangling like Mahomet s coffin betwixt 
 heaven and earth, there were other persons, perhaps, that knew 
 better what was good for them, and who would be less obdurate 
 and capricious. I settled all this in my mind as I came down 
 the mountain, and I anticipated that my leaving her, as I have 
 just shown, would probably upset all her roguish plots. It 
 would force her to think that, perhaps, I was not so infatuated 
 as she supposed, and that it would not do to trifle too much or 
 too lofcg with me at least, I hoped this would be the effect. 
 
 When I got back to the Hotel Byron, I found the old nurse 
 there quite nervous with expectation, and she was heartily 
 delighted at the near return of her beloved mistress. I told her 
 all that had happened at the Grand St. Bernard, and she said it 
 was the funniest thing she d ever heard. 
 
 " It s just like a play, sir," exclaimed Mary, " and anybody 
 must be blind not to see that it is to le." 
 
 " Perhaps so, Mary," I observed in a very grave voice, "but 
 I fear your mistress is still bent on her fun, as you call it ; but I 
 can t stand this childishness any longer." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 99 
 
 " It is very wrong of her, sir ; but I m going to speak to her." 
 
 " I hope you will, Mary. I am excessively attached to her ; 
 but my self-respect cannot longer endure this game of fast and 
 loose." 
 
 " Please don t think so hard of her, sir," said the old house 
 keeper, rather alarmed at my solemn manner and decided tone 
 " Depend on it, I will tell her exactly what I think." 
 
 " If she refuse to listen to your sensible advice, then" 
 
 I left the old nurse to fill up the blank in the way I knew her 
 fears would do, and went off to my supper. 
 
 Poor dear Miss Gamble ! she little dreamt of all the cunning 
 love-snares I was laying for her, and into which I ardently pray 
 ed she would put one or both of her tiny little feet. I had 
 fully secured the zealous services of her old servitor, and cer 
 tainly she was an ally not to be despised ; besides, there was no 
 sly Mrs. Grote at hand to upset my connubial schemes, and if I 
 don t carry the day now, I thought, then it is not to be, as Mary 
 says. 
 
 It was Wednesday, and Miss Gamble was to be de retour on 
 Thursday. It will be a good idea, it occurred to me, if she 
 should find me gone on her return, instead of dying with impa 
 tience to see her again as she, no doubt, expects. I hurried off 
 to Mary instantly. 
 
 " Tell your mistress," I said, " that I have received import 
 ant letters, and was obliged to go." 
 
 " Bless my soul, go, sir ?" interrupted Mary, in alarm. 
 
 " Only to Geneva," I explained ; " I shall be back on Friday 
 at furthest, when I hope to find Miss Gamble here and well. 
 Now, mind you speak to her, Mary." 
 
 " Let me alone for that," promised the old nurse, quite 
 relieved. " Now, do come back on Friday, sir." 
 
 It was but a three hours trip to Geneva by the steamer, 
 though I could have passed weeks in gazing from the lake at old 
 
100 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Mout Blanc and his white-headed offspring clustered around 
 him. 
 
 I reported to niy friend the Consul (still hanging on at 
 Geneva) all that had transpired, and he was not a little amused, 
 too, at my adventure at the convent. 
 
 " But take care now," he said, " you are coming to close 
 quarters, and Miss Gamble, I see, is not a bad fencer." 
 
 " It will not be for want of care, my friend, if she don t get 
 the palpable hit this time." 
 
 " Allans toujours," was his cheering expression 
 
 I returned to the Hotel Byron on Saturday instead of Fri 
 day, still carrying on my old game of ostensible indifference. 
 After making my toilette as effective as possible, I wandered all 
 over the hotel, but without meeting the fair object of my search. 
 At length I inquired of the landlord for Miss Gamble. 
 
 "She s gone, sir," he said. 
 
 " Gone 1" I exclaimed, in dismay. 
 
 " Yes ; she left this morning for Ouchy, and she bid me to 
 say that she wished you to join her there the moment you 
 returned. It is only half-an-hour distant from here by the 
 steamer." 
 
 "Ah!" I replied, not a little comforted. "She wishes me, 
 then, to follow her ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, sir ; she bid me several times not to neglect to tell 
 you." 
 
 I was off next morning by the first boat, and found Louis, 
 Miss Gamble s courier, looking out for me on the quay. 
 
 " The ladies are waiting breakfast for you," he said, taking 
 charge of my luggage. 
 
 I found Miss Gamble lodging at the Hotel de 1 Aucre, at the 
 little village of Ouchy, on the very border of Lake Leman, in 
 sight of Lausanne. I entered the salle a manger of the hotel 
 just as she and Miss B were sitting down to breakfast. I 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 101 
 
 joined them, and received a full account of their adventures 
 " by flood and field" since I had left them at Martigny. 
 
 "Well, you ought to be called the Chamois of Portland 
 Place," I remarked to Miss Gamble ; "for you skip about the 
 Alps as though you had been bred among them." 
 
 " Oh, that is nothing," she declared, with a significant smile, 
 " to what I intend to do." 
 
 " What, do you mean to eclipse the fame of Albert Smith, 
 and ascend Mont Blanc ?" 
 
 " No ; I have done with mountains. But, where," she asked, 
 smiling more archly than ever, "do you think I am going now?" 
 
 " Not going to be married, I hope ?" 
 
 " To escape so sad a fate, I am going to Constantinople." 
 
 " You are joking," I said, really confounded, but trying to 
 conceal it. 
 
 " No : ask Miss B . I met Col. T and family at the 
 
 Hotel Byron, who are bound thither, and I have made arrange 
 ments to accompany them." 
 
 Miss B said it was all true. Miss Gamble s eyes sparkled 
 
 with delight at the idea of playing me a trick that was utter 
 ruin to my hopes. If she go there, she is lost to me, was my 
 secret thought ; but I went on calmly sipping my tea. If I 
 oppose her, she will go ; but stop her, I must. 
 
 "Well, I admire your enterprise," I observed, very quietly. 
 " Constantinople is, to be sure, a dirty place, full of mad dogs 
 and nasty Turks ; still, it is a queer place, and worth a visit. 
 "I wish, though," I added, in an emphatic way, "that you had 
 taken any month but October or November for the trip." 
 
 "Why ?" she demanded, in a tone of surprise. 
 
 " However, that s a small objection to a second Humboldt, 
 like you." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" 
 
 " I mean that the Plague always rages the worst in those 
 
102 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 months ; there is far less danger during the rest of the 
 year." 
 
 "The Plague I" cried Miss Gamble. " The Plague 1" echoed 
 
 Miss B j both turning pale at the word. There was a tall 
 
 Englishman breakfasting at the same table with us, who had 
 overheard our conversation. He guessed my purpose, and was 
 anxious to give me a lift. 
 
 " I hope, ladies," he said, " if you go to Constantinople this 
 time of year you will insure your lives for the benefit of your 
 families ; and if you arc at all particular about grave-stones you 
 had better order them in London, for there is no such thing to 
 be had in that miserable hole." This was a crusher. 
 
 " Really," said Miss B , " I cannot think of running such 
 
 a frightful risk, and if you go, Miss Gamble, I must insist on 
 returning to London." 
 
 " But Col. T never spoke of the Plague," urged Miss 
 
 Gamble, who looked horrified in spite of herself. 
 
 " Why, do you expect an old soldier s afraid of such a trifle 
 as that ?" quoth I. 
 
 " I am shocked at your speaking so lightly of such an awful 
 thing," rejoined Miss Gamble. 
 
 " Pshaw ! we must all die one day," I replied heroically swal 
 lowing an egg, " and the Plague never keeps you over a few 
 hours in suspense." I knew Miss Gamble held her life in pecu 
 liar esteem, and I had said quite enough to spoil her breakfast 
 and upset her trip to Constantinople, thanks to the co-operation 
 of my unknown friend. When the ladies had retired we had a 
 hearty laugh at the joke. All the rest of the day Miss Gamble 
 was dull and moody. The trap she had laid for mo had caught 
 her own foot. Next morning she said to me 
 
 " I wish you to go over to the Hotel Byron and tell Col. 
 T that I have changed my mind. I shan t go to Constan 
 tinople." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 103 
 
 " Indeed I" I cried, in seeming astonishment, " I hope you 
 are not such a coward as to abandon your trip from fear of the 
 Plague ?" 
 
 " Will you go, or no ?" she said pettishly. 
 " Yes, if ^you insist on it. But you must give me a letter 
 stating your change of plan." 
 
 She wrote it immediately, and I was off straightway. When 
 
 I met Col. T , at the Hotel Byron, I found, to my surprise, 
 
 that she had deliberately pledged herself to make the journey 
 in question, and fully authorized him to complete all preliminary 
 arrangements. He was exceedingly annoyed at what he called 
 her levity in breaking off engagements so seriously undertaken. 
 I palliated her offence with all the ingenuity I could, but left 
 
 Col. T , in spite of my eloquence, in a very bad humor. I 
 
 was enchanted, though, to have defeated this mad prank of 
 Miss Gamble s, for it would have put an abrupt termination to 
 my courtship. Could I have foreseen what was to come, I should 
 have struggled harder to send her to Turkey than I did to pre 
 vent her going. 
 
 I got back to Ouchy on Tuesday morning, and so the matter 
 dropped. After breakfast we were alone for a moment. 
 
 "If your zeal in my service is not exhausted, 5 said Miss 
 Gamble, " I am going to ask another favor." 
 
 " Lay on Miss Macduff, you will never hear me say enough." 
 " Stop your nonsense. I m going to ask you," she continued, 
 " to take charge of me for two or three days. I ve told the 
 courier he might go and visit his family that live in the neigh 
 borhood." 
 
 "You may confide in me," I replied, "after some sixteen 
 years acquaintance, with less risk than in a servant you have 
 only employed for a month or so, methinks. I have but one 
 objection." 
 
 " What s that ?" she asked, rather puzzled. 
 
104 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Why, my character, which is none of the best, may be com 
 promised by living in this intimate way with you." 
 
 "Is that to remind me I am compromising myself?" 
 
 " It would not prevent you if it were, for you are such an 
 independent little body." 
 
 Miss Gamble tossed her head with a smile, and gave no denial. 
 I was dying to approach the topic uppermost in my thoughts, 
 but we were in the dining-room of the hotel, there being no 
 private rooms vacant, and people were running in and out con 
 tinually. We were seated on a sofa near the window, and con 
 versed in an under tone. 
 
 You never got my letter from Lausanne," said Miss Gamble, 
 " before you left Paris ?" 
 
 " I did not." 
 
 * I will show you the copy, then," and she ran off to fetch it. 
 
 " There, read it over," she said, returning, " and you will see 
 my mind is made up." 
 
 The letter was very long, eight pages of letter-paper closely 
 written. I will merely give some extracts as a sample. It was 
 in Miss Gamble s best style. It was so like truth that you 
 could hardly imagine it was all finesse. 
 
 " Lausanne, August 52A, ISM. 
 
 " You are, certainly, an extraordinary person ! If I judged you by 
 ordinary rules, I should either never write to you again, or inclose your 
 last three letters for perusal, that you might blush, on reading them over, 
 at having insulted one whom you professed to like, and whose position 
 should have made her sacred id your eyes. But you cannot make me 
 angry by any false judgment you may pronounce on me, or any comments 
 you may offer. I do not think it right to disregard appearances, nor have 
 I intentionally done so." 
 
 " You are not doing it now," I said, stopping, "by sending 
 off your courier, and remaining under my protection ?" 
 " Hold your tongue, and go on," retorted Miss Gamble. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 105 
 
 I then resumed 
 
 * * * * " You think I had a fancy for you before yon went to the 
 United States in 1840, but you are mistaken. Neither did you make any 
 way in gaining my affections at Bournemouth subsequently. I tell you 
 this, not to give you pain, but to prevent any more mistakes. It was a 
 most trying period of my life. Suddenly left alone without a protector, 
 and deprived of that affection with which the angelic being I watched 
 over rewarded me, it was not wonderful that my judgment was not as 
 firm as usual, or my behavior as rigidly consistent as, I confess, it ought 
 to have been. The past seemed the present time. Former days came 
 back, when my uncle and aunt took a warm interest in you, and I knew 
 no harm of you. Every show of kindness or affection was grateful at 
 such a moment, and I showed you, perhaps, too much indulgence. My 
 friendship you might have won, for I give you credit for many generous 
 and noble qualities. I regret it much. I should have been glad to find 
 in you not a sentimental friend, but one really interested in my welfare. 
 It is difficult for the prosperous to find real friends. Some envy me my 
 fortune ; others are disappointed that I will not marry their sons, or 
 brothers, or nephews : some wish me to take their sisters or daughters as 
 companions, and assail me because I choose more wisely. It matters 
 little. * * * I have had no lively adventure, in the sense you mean. 
 One gentleman, at Frankfort, did certainly express a wish to accompany 
 me in my tour, but I did not consent. * * * You have taken up the 
 notion that I like to rule. With regard to marriage, my opinion is this : 
 every woman, who is feminine in her nature, would wish to find in her 
 husband an adviser and friend on whom she might lean. Mrs. Grote will 
 tell you that I expressed myself in this way to her, and that I confessed 
 that I was weary of my reign : and when I marry it will be with 
 the full intention of abdicating. It is very troublesome to rule ab 
 solutely at least for a woman and it is not from fear of forfeiting 
 my power that I continue free. If ever I marry, I only pray that 
 my husband may be worthy of the devotion I shall render him. * * 
 
 * * * When I wrote that it would give me pain if you went astray, 
 I said truly, for I felt much much interest in you. I confess it is 
 diminished by the tone you have adopted towards me in your last 
 three letters. Still, for the memory of old times, and those who are gone, 
 as well as for the few days at Bournemouth, I wish you well. You think 
 I desire to prolong my triumph, as you call it. ***** 
 
106 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Still, / would ask you to have patience. If you niarry a woman you 
 do not love, no matter what the motive, you will certainly be miserable, 
 and make her so, in spite of all your good resolves, which would be very 
 cruel. As to your escapade of some years since with Mile. Ellsler, 
 Mrs. Grote explained it, and did you justice. You are wrong in supposing 
 I passed a harsh judgment on you. I can understand that your position 
 was one of great temptation. * * * This should teach us to be 
 watchful over ourselves ; and yet you speak of marrying a woman you 
 do not love, as if the happiness of another were not a solemn trust 
 to be accounted for. Finally, if I have erred in my conduct towards 
 you, pray, forgive me, and believe I have never meant to give you pain. 
 Try to entertain a good opinion of me, and do not listen to the malicious 
 chit-chat of the world. In return, I will judge you by your own actions, 
 and by your own report of yourself. Whoever represented to you my 
 courier as being handsome, could never have seen him. He is a sturdy 
 little body, with an open, pleasant countenance, but no great beauty. 
 I told Mrs. Grote all that had passed between us. 
 
 " Sincerely yours, 
 
 "J. C. GAMBLE. 
 
 "P.S. Rash man, once more I warn you not to trifle with your 
 happiness." 
 
 " Well, what do you think of that ?" inquired Miss Gamble, 
 seeing I had finished. 
 
 " I think that the General of the Jesuits is a fool to you," 
 was my reply. 
 
 " I don t understand you/ she said, with an air of naivetti. 
 
 11 Matchless dissembler ! You use words, like Talleyrand, 
 only to disguise your thoughts. I would be shocked at such 
 deception, if I did not admire the skill that veils it." 
 
 "You speak in riddles," said Miss Gamble, seemingly per 
 plexed. 
 
 "To be plain, then, you hardly admit in this crafty letter 
 that I have your friendship." 
 
 " Yes !" she replied, " I feel a friendship for you : but 
 nothing more. Do not hope it. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 107 
 
 " And yet," I asserted, with a penetrating look, "you love 
 me deeply." 
 
 " Love you !" cried Miss Gamble, her cheeks glowing like 
 crimson. 
 
 " Yes ; for Mary has told me all. So, confess your guilt 
 and cry me mercy." 
 
 The fair culprit hid her face in her hands and was dumb 
 founded. Soon after she left the room. Poor Mary ! I thought, 
 you ll catch it now. I did not meet the convicted one again 
 till dinner-time, but she seemed reserved and crest-fallen. 
 There was no chance for conversation as we were dining at the 
 tabh-d j hote. I felt that my time had come, and all that I 
 prayed for was an opportunity. The next morning, after 
 breakfast, I put on a serious manner, and begged an interview 
 with her, as it was my intention, I announced, to return to 
 Paris forthwith. She agreed, and proposed a walk in some 
 lovely gardens adjoining the hotel. Miss Gamble had re 
 covered her usual self-possession, but her air was not so 
 defiant. We walked on for a while in silence, and I was 
 meditating how best to assail her. 
 
 "Well," she observed, at length, "if you have anything to 
 say, say it." 
 
 " I have nothing to say to your credit," I rejoined ; " for you 
 have behaved very badly. Why did you refuse me at Bourne 
 mouth ?" 
 
 "Because I didn t want you." 
 
 "Why, then," I demanded, "did you write after me, and 
 apologise ?" 
 
 " I did very wrong." 
 
 " When I abandoned you in London," I continued, " why did 
 you write and beg my friendship for life 1 
 
 " It was very silly, indeed." 
 
108 M Y C IT R TSUI P 
 
 "You bid me a last farewell on leaving London, in June," 1 
 resumed, " and wrote to me in ten days afterwards." 
 
 "Worse and worse," she said, in a mock tone of penitence. 
 
 " I did not answer your letter," I persisted, " and you wrote 
 again, begging a reply." 
 
 "I really couldn t help it," she expostulated ; " I had suck a 
 dream." 
 
 " A mere pretext," I declared. " You feared I would marry 
 another, in pique. But tell me," I asked, "without equivoca 
 tion, why you were so overcome when I surprised you on the 
 Grand St. Bernard ?" 
 
 " Because I felt then," she avowed, " that I was gone." 
 
 " For that confession, fair sinner, I will pardon much ; but 
 justice cries aloud, and you must be punished." 
 
 " According to law, I hope," she said, smiling. 
 
 " And according to religion, too ; so I will make you my pri 
 soner on the spot." With that, I seized her hand. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! pray let me go !" she entreated. 
 
 Don Giovanni, in the opera, might as well have prayed the 
 marble statue to let him go. 
 
 " But there s somebody coming !" she cried. 
 
 "I don t care," I rejoined, still holding on. "Answer, is it 
 mine?" 
 
 " Go along yes." 
 
 " At last, then, you have said it." 
 
 Soon after, we sat down on a bench facing the lake, and 
 a great many pleasant things were uttered unnecessary to 
 repeat. 
 
 I returned to the hotel in high spirits, and my fiancee seemed 
 content. 
 
 I had gained an immense point, certainly; still there was no 
 trusting her. Most women, when they give their hands, resign 
 
AND ,1 T S CONSEQUENCES. 109 
 
 themselves to their fate ; but with Miss Gamble, I felt my strug 
 gle had only entered into a new phase. So skittish and unma 
 nageable was she, that I feared she would shy and bolt, and play 
 me many a trick before I got her to the church door ; and per 
 haps, even then, she might run off and leave me to apologize to 
 the clergyman. I was gaining ground, however, and that was 
 some comfort. 
 
 That very night, ail incident occurred exceedingly fortunate 
 for me. My luck seemed in the ascendant. The courier came 
 back from visiting his family, and, as might naturally happen, he 
 had taken a bottle too much. He was quite intoxicated, and 
 presented himself in that state to Miss Gamble, to report his 
 return. She was much shocked, and I was vastly amused. 
 
 " Turn about is fair play," I said, laughing heartily ; "so you 
 must now protect your courier .since he can t protect you." 
 
 Miss Gamble had a great horror of drunkenness, and this 
 event proved her folly in confiding herself to the sole care of a 
 servant who was a good fellow enough in his way, but had 
 evidently never taken Father Matthew s pledge. I had never 
 exchanged two words with her courier, but had not neglected to 
 observe him closely. He was neat in his appearance, civil in his 
 address, and punctual in his duties. His face had a pleasant 
 expression, but a certain slyness lurked in the corner of his eye. 
 In his habits, he was no worse than foreign couriers generally, 
 and much better than some. He was not a drunkard, but he 
 never insulted good wine by not drinking it. His getting tipsy 
 on this occasion, however, was an enormous service to me, and I 
 vowed in my heart not to forget the obligation at some future day. 
 The next day Miss Gamble s manner was more sedate than 
 I had seen it yet. She proposed another ramble in the delight 
 ful gardens of yesterday. I wondered what was coming now, 
 for she seemed deep in thought. I screwed up my courage as I 
 pulled on my gloves, and prepared for a new freak. 
 
110 
 
 MY CO U R T SHIP 
 
 "You are so charming," I began, " when you are serious, that 
 I wonder that you are ever otherwise." 
 
 " I should be less so if I were always the same," she 
 replied. 
 
 "Well said, mid car a, and, in truth, you are not quite detesta 
 ble in your mad fits." 
 
 " Then I must be truly captivating." 
 
 " Else you would never have entrapped me." 
 
 " I appreciate my good fortune. And so I am to think," she 
 demanded, " that you really love me ?" 
 
 " Why should you doubt it, after all the trouble you have 
 cost me." 
 
 "And all for my self, I suppose ?" she continued. 
 
 " You hardly expect me to say that it is for your money." 
 
 " But that is what I half suspect," she said, with a knowing 
 glance ; " and I mean to put you to the test." 
 
 "It is very cruel of you to put my love in a crucible, as it 
 were, and make chemical experiments on it. But say, what is 
 your test?" 
 
 "I don t intend," she declared emphatically, " to let my money 
 get into your clutches." 
 
 " A very wise decision on your part, Miss Prudence. You 
 wish me, then, to sign off all right and title." 
 
 " I do," was her laconic reply. 
 
 " You know I have an income of my own." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And with my simple habits that I might live on the half 
 of it." 
 
 " I dare say," she answered simply. 
 
 " Then what in the world do I want with your money ?" 
 
 " Then, you will sign off?" she repeated. 
 
 " Yes ! I will sign off to-day, and marry you to-morrow." 
 
 " Don t be in such an alarming hurry, pray. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 " Do you believe now," 1 asked triumphantly, " that it is not 
 your ingots that have fascinated me ?" 
 
 " I am forced to think so ; but still I doubt your love. 7 
 
 " Because you think it too good to be true." 
 
 " What presumption 1" exclaimed Miss Gamble, laughing 
 aloud. . 
 
 Whereon we sat clown in the same pleasant spot as yesterday, 
 and went on talking till dinner-time. 
 
 "Now, by St. Paul!" I exclaimed, when alone again, "the 
 work goes bravely on." 
 
 -I believed in my heart that Miss Gamble was almost disap 
 pointed that I did not make some hitch about her proposition 
 of signing off. Things were going too smoothly and too fast for 
 her. She loved to struggle with and resist me, and I felt so 
 sure of this, that I dreaded the difficulty I should likely have to 
 get her to name the happy day. I set all my wits to work to 
 plan how I could compass that ; and, once done, I resolved to 
 run off to Paris immediately. It would be a risk to leave her ; 
 but then, I calculated she would feel my value more when gone, 
 and she was left again under the sole charge of a grape-loving 
 courier. I had a presentiment, though, she would make some 
 desperate plunges before I could settle the last preliminaries for 
 our marriage ; and on the same night of the conversation just 
 recorded, she manifested rebellious symptoms. The ladies had 
 retired for the night, and I was alone in the salle-a-manger near 
 midnight. The door suddenly opened, and in came Miss Gam 
 ble, dragging by the hand her reluctant old nurse. 
 
 " There, now, Mary," she said, "do tell him what I have been 
 saying tell him I really can t marry him." 
 
 With that, she threw herself into a pretty attitude on a chair, 
 and hid her face in her hands. 
 
 Poor old Mary looked very foolish, and was silent. 
 
 " Here, Mary," I said, " take this spoiled child and put her 
 
112 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 to bed, and threaten her with the loss of her breakfast to-mor 
 row if she don t behave herself better." 
 
 I then packed both of them out of the room. This farce, 
 though absurd, was diverting ; for Miss Gamble, in spite of her 
 years and intellect, could assume the frowardness of a child to 
 perfection. There was something infantile in her disposition, 
 and she could be as sportive, silly, and graceful as a- girl in her 
 teens when the mood took her. It was one of her traits I liked 
 best. "What I did not like, though, was this sign of prolonged 
 resistance. She s desperate, I soliloquized, going to bed ; but 
 in spite of her antics, I ll make her change her name yet." 
 
 It was agreed next morning (Friday) that we should leave for 
 Geneva the following day. 
 
 " And mind/ said my fiancee in a firm tone, "you must go to 
 another hotel there. Tis very compromising, your living in the 
 same house with me." 
 
 " That s what I was going to propose," I replied ; " and in so 
 public a place as Geneva, I should go, by all means, to a differ 
 ent hotel." 
 
 Miss Gamble would have preferred my insisting on going to 
 the same hotel, in the hope of getting up a pleasant little diffi 
 culty between us. She would have given any money for one 
 good lovers quarrel that might throw me back a little ; but I 
 was determined to give her no chance. How absurd in me 1 
 for when a woman has once made up her mind about anything, 
 the obstacle has yet to be patented that will stop her. 
 
 I may as well mention a trifle that occurred* the afternoon 
 before we left. I have already spoken of a facetious unknown 
 who had lent me a hand about the Plague. He was a tall, jolly- 
 looking fellow, with a quick tongue and a ready wit. I soon 
 made up my mind he was not a safe acquaintance for " unpro 
 tected females/ at home or abroad. Miss Gamble had taken a 
 liking to him because he spoke very highly of his mother, which 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 113 
 
 I told her was only done to bamboozle her the better, as people 
 who really respect their mothers rarely make fine speeches about 
 them at public tables. " He s only laughing in his sleeve at 
 you," I said ; but she attacked me for nry -l^Dticism. I blamed 
 her often, on the other hand, for talking too much with a person 
 she knew nothing about. The day before we left, I was walking 
 
 with her and Miss B in the gardens aforesaid, when we 
 
 were joined by some gentlemen staying at the same hotel, and 
 whom we met every day at dinner. The dutiful son in question 
 was of the party, but, like the unlucky courier, he had taken a 
 drop too much. Feeling quite at home with Miss Gamble, he 
 began walking with her, when, complimenting her on her supposed 
 lightness of person, he proposed to lift her up, which she naturally 
 declined. From one impertinence he ventured to another, till 
 she got alarmed, and I had to interfere. " He may respect his 
 mother," I said, smiling, as we walked home ; "but he has none 
 for credulous ladies, you see." I seized the occasion to moralize 
 a little on the absurdity of her travelling about in her unpro 
 tected way, remarking that many occasions arose where a courier 
 might fear to presume 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 GENEVA. 
 
 AT nine next morning we all set off for Geneva. I felt 
 rather dull, as the day was gloomy, and I thought, perchance, 
 that my stupidity might be turned to some account. For the 
 first time I was reserved and silent, as if I had been seized 
 with a fit of repentance for the matrimonial folly 1 was going 
 
114 MY CO URT SHIP 
 
 to commit. I was curious to see the effect. To my delight, 
 Miss Gamble became uneasy. She began to think over all her 
 sins and perhaps of some I didn t know and she essayed to 
 draw me into conversation ; but I only sank, apparently, into 
 deeper melancholy, sighing now and then as if something 
 weighed on my mind. She began plaiting a shawl that lay 
 upon my knee, for we were sitting next to each other on the 
 deck of the steamer, and her face gradually assumed an 
 expression of such tenderness, mingled with remorse, at all the 
 pain she feared she had given me, that it cost me a great 
 effort to maintain my morose aspect, but I persisted. As we 
 approached Geneva I get up to look after my luggage. 
 
 " You are going, then, to another hotel ?" she said. 
 
 "Of course," I answered, "and I must hurry away to 
 secure a room." 
 
 "Well, never mind," she rejoined, taking my arm, "come 
 along with me ;" and off we marched to the Hotel de Berg, 
 where her courier had engaged an apartment. 
 
 Miss B stared at this new contradiction with amaze 
 ment, but, said I to myself, if my vinegar looks bring such 
 sweet results she shall have more of them. I was delighted to 
 find that Miss Gamble had ordered a private sitting room, for 
 now I should be able to carry on my courtship without the 
 necessity of strolling up and down a public garden as at Ouchy. 
 
 We had just entered the room in question, and I was gazing 
 out of the window at the lake, the bridge, and other pretty 
 objects in view, with Miss Gamble standing at my side, when 
 she said, looking up in my face still imbued with acidity 
 
 " Can you forgive me for all my follies ?" 
 
 "It costs me an effort, Jane," I replied in thorough bass, " but 
 I can." 
 
 " Then," she exclaimed, taking off her glove, " there is my 
 hand. I will be your wife, and a devoted one." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 115 
 
 I was really astonished at this, for her solemn manner now 
 proved to me that she was only half in earnest before. I took 
 her hand, and sobered by her serious air, said, " I accept the 
 trust, and will be responsible to you and to my conscience for 
 your happiness as far as I can promote it." 
 
 We sat down on a sofa behind us, and I may venture to say 
 that the tete-a-tete which followed was by all odds the pleasantest 
 I had known yet. That s all very nice there s no denying it, 
 I mentally observed, whilst dressing for dinner, but the happy 
 day has still to be named. Aid me, ye gods, I exclaimed, till I 
 get over that stile, and I ll help myself afterwards. 
 
 We dined at the table-cP/idte in spite of my objections. The 
 ladies both liked to see what was to be seen there, especially 
 
 Miss B , who had nobody to court her, poor thing. Not 
 
 long after dinner, I came into Miss Gamble s room, hat in hand, 
 as it had been agreed to take a walk round the town. She 
 received me quite coldly, and when we started she requested me 
 
 to escort Miss B , as she intended to walk with Mary. I 
 
 asked, in surprise, the reason of this singular caprice. She had 
 none to give, other than it was her pleasure. She probably 
 expected me to refuse, which would have broken up our stroll 
 and led to a nice little squabble ; but I consented, and Miss 
 
 B seemed nothing loth. She expressed her wonder at Miss 
 
 Gamble s vagaries, and I answered her in poetry : 
 
 " ! how this spring of love resembleth 
 The uncertain glory of an April day : 
 Which now shows all the beauty of the sun, 
 And by-and-by a cloud takes all away." 
 
 I was sure that my fiancee was annoyed at the ridiculous 
 position in which she had put herself ; but I kept on chatting 
 
 with Miss B in the gayest manner, which I thought would 
 
 v^x her all the more. She deserves punishment for such non- 
 
116 
 
 MY C U R 8 T H I P 
 
 sense, methought, and so I remained Miss B 7 s cavalier till 
 
 we -got back to the hotel. I never doubted there was a storm 
 brewing the while, which was intended for my devoted head, but 
 I out-mano3uvered her again, for bowing courteously, I bid her 
 good night at the door, and sallied off to find my old friend the 
 Consul, who rejoiced heartily at the rattling pace at which I was 
 going. 
 
 Miss Gamble s manner next morning showed me she was 
 determined to have it out ; but, as it was Sunday, I suggested 
 our going to church, hoping the sight of the altar where we 
 were so soon to be done up into one loving parcel, would calm 
 her down. But, no ; she had a head-ache, and refused to go. 
 
 I had half a notion to go off with Miss B , but was afraid. 
 
 It s no use, I thought ; a quarrel she will have, and cost what it 
 may I must accommodate her but she ll pay for it. These 
 were my last words before going into action. No sooner had 
 
 Miss B , Mary, and the courier started for church, than 
 
 Miss Gamble opened her fire upon me. She had evidently pre 
 pared herself for an effort, and threw all her strength into the 
 melee. After exhausting the small arms of her wit, she brought 
 up the artillery of argument, and banged away at me as if she 
 thoroughly enjoyed it. I gave her a couple of hours sport, 
 defending myself as well as I could, and then I rose in a stately 
 manner, as though human nature could stand it no longer. 
 Now for another stroke of the Fabian policy, I inwardly ejacu 
 lated, and may it be the last 1" 
 
 " It is pretty clear to me, Miss Gamble," I said, with imposing 
 gravity, " that you regret your late decision." 
 
 She hesitated. 
 
 " I yes, I may say I do." 
 
 "I thought from all you have said this morning that it was 
 so. I am deeply pained nay, shocked at your fickleness, but 
 I will not descend to reproaches ; your conscience, one day, 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 117 
 
 will avenge me." I took up my hat. " I give you back your 
 solemn pledge of yesterday, and and," as if nearly choked with 
 emotion, I bid you adieu." 
 
 I staggered out of the room like a man with a knife in his 
 heart, and it was well I did, for such was her consternation at 
 my blowing up the magazine in this desperate way, that I could 
 barely restrain my laughter till I got into the street. 
 
 " Hullah !" said my consular friend, as I dashed into his room 
 sans ceremonie, " I was just dressing to come and dine with you 
 per invitation." 
 
 " And I have come, instead, to dine with you without invita 
 tion." 
 
 " Why, what s the matter now ?" 
 
 " Let s go and take a walk when I will tell you." 
 
 I did not return to the Hotel de Berg till eleven at night, and 
 then made straight for my bedroom, curious to know ^at the 
 morrow would bring forth. Agreeably to the plan I had settled 
 upon, I was off again by ten in the morning to breakfast with 
 my friend, and remained in his pleasant company till three o clock 
 of the afternoon. By this time, I suspected my discarded one 
 must be thoroughly alarmed at my non-appearance, and perhaps 
 dreading the chance of never seeing me again. 
 
 " I ll just pop over," I said, " to see if there is any letter or 
 message awaiting me." 
 
 " Take care," suggested the Consul, " not to carry it too far." 
 
 " Leave me to manage that." 
 
 There was nothing below at the office ; so I started for my 
 bedroom, where I had hardly entered before there was a knock 
 at the door, and in came Mary with a mixed expression in her 
 face of disquiet and satisfaction. 
 
 " I am so glad you ve come," said she. 
 
 " Yes I am packing up, and go to Paris to-night," I replied, 
 making a vigorous dash at my portmanteau. 
 
118 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Oh, dear ! don t say so," said Mary, in trepidation. " Miss 
 Gamble begs to see you. Do come to her, sir !" 
 
 " It s no use, Mary," I vociferated; " I have suffered enough, 
 and can t stand this nonsense any longer." 
 
 I crammed in my clothes, as if in perfect desperation. 
 
 " She has suffered, too, greatly," persevered Mary, " ever 
 since you left her yesterday." 
 
 " She deserves to suffer," I bawled out, " but I don t !" and 
 I rammed in my unoffending linen, with startling energy. 
 
 " Just stop a moment I" implored Mary, and she disappeared. 
 
 What shall I do if she don t return? thought I. It was 
 wrong to let her go. To my great relief she was back in two 
 minutes again. 
 
 " Miss Gamble says she must see you, sir, and for pity s sake 
 do come." 
 
 " WJjfit does she want ?" I asked, as if pondering. 
 
 " She ll tell you, sir, herself." 
 
 " Well, Mary," I said in a blander tone, " for your sake I 
 will come, though I had made up my mind never to see her again." 
 
 " That s very kind of you, sir; I ll run and tell her." 
 
 This is a victory and no mistake, I cried triumphantly. I 
 hesitated. Shall I be serious, and conjure her to harass me 
 no longer ? She will laugh in my face. To subdue her I must 
 play the fool. So, here goes. I dishevelled my hair, pulled my 
 cravat to one side, and put on the air of a reckless man. I 
 walked with a resolute tread along the echoing corridor, and 
 entered Miss Gamble s saloon. She was reclining calmly on 
 the sofa with an account-book in her hand. She looked up at 
 me, and smiled in the roguish way peculiar to her. I expected 
 to find her in tears, and was rather taken aback. 
 
 " You sent for me, Miss Gamble," I said, in a grave tone, 
 secretly striving to resist her smile, " will you oblige me by 
 saying what you wish ?" 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 119 
 
 "I was going to ask if you would run your eye," she 
 said, in the coolest way imaginable, "over Louis s book. I 
 am so sick of accounts." This was the best thing I ever saw 
 her do. Her voice and manner was as unruffled as if nothing 
 had occurred. But I was not to be cheated out of my 
 advantage so easily. " If that is all you want, Miss Gamble," 
 I returned in a lofty manner, "I decline your request. I 
 have as little taste for accounts as yourself." 
 
 Her countenance fell as she saw her artifice to escape an expla 
 nation had failed. I rose slowly, as if to take my leave. She 
 threw down the book, rushed at me, threw her arms around 
 me, crying, 
 
 " You look so wretched, I cannot resist. Forgive me, I love yon." 
 
 It may be supposed that under such circumstances I was irr 
 uo hurry to forgive, but kept on looking wretched as long as 
 I could control my muscles. 
 
 " This time it is impossible," I said, dropping my head on 
 her arm. 
 
 " I will never behave so again," she vowed. 
 
 " You cannot mean to marry me," I whined out, " or you 
 would not go on in this heartless way." 
 
 " I do sincerely ; pray pardon me." 
 
 " If you do," and I fetched a sigh, "let me know when." 
 
 " When you please." 
 
 " At the end of this month, then, or the beginning of next." 
 
 " The beginning of next, then." 
 
 "It is foolish in me to give way," I said, in a fond tone, 
 " but I pardon you once more." 
 
 Was I not a fool, I observed to myself in a retrospective 
 mood, after I had left her for the night, to be taking such 
 pains to avoid a quarrel that has accomplished what I hardly 
 knew how to bring about. The beginning of October, then, 
 is to see me subside into a sober, married man. Junius, 01 
 
120 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 somebody else was right after all, when he declared that the 
 gayest bachelor arrives, at last, at a reflecting stage, when the 
 calmer joys of conjugal life begin to be attractive. It s funny 
 enough, though, that I, who am to lose my independence, 
 and that charming license that makes the condition of a single 
 man one of the happiest allotted to mortals, should be working 
 so hard to don my chains ; whilst my betrothed who is so near 
 her emancipation from the stupidity, and other drawbacks of 
 the maiden state, should be resisting so perversely the hap 
 piness that awaits her. Really, human nature is little better, 
 after all, than the Irishman s pig, that will be always running 
 the opposite way to what it ought to go. I was in great 
 dread the following day, of a reaction, and to prevent or 
 mitigate it, I thought it wise to assume a seriousness of 
 manner and countenance that I knew would not be without 
 effect. Whenever I gave way, I remarked, to my natural 
 gaiety, and indulged in demonstrations of affection for my 
 fiancee, so natural under the circumstances, it was sure to 
 cost me trouble afterwards ; for Miss Gamble, inferring thence 
 that her ascendancy over me was complete, would yield in 
 variably to that love of finesse which was the darling passion 
 of her heart. Under the " pressure from without," I had got 
 her to name the time of our marriage, but I was sure she had 
 passed the whole night in devising ingenious expedients to 
 postpone it. When we met at breakfast next morning, her 
 manner disclosed that she had a goodly fund of strategem 
 still in reserve, and that I must look to my victory of yester 
 day, if I didn t want to lose it. I disarmed her a little by 
 my air of deep reflection. 
 
 " If I agree to marry you " she began, when we were alone. 
 
 " More ifs," I interrupted in a petulant tone. 
 
 "Will you give me vour word, then, to go to Italy, after our 
 marriage ?" 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 121 
 
 " You know I would prefer remaining in Paris for the winter," 
 I replied, as though very reluctant. 
 
 " But you must make this sacrifice for me." 
 
 " Well, I consent." 
 
 She seemed disappointed at my yielding so soon. 
 
 " Will you also agree," she continued, after a pause, " to let 
 me choose the route ?" 
 
 " I see," was my reply, " that you intend I shall travel the 
 road in Italy, and in Portland Place, that suits you best." 
 
 " No reflections ; do you agree ?" 
 
 " I suppose I must." 
 
 She walked up and down, as if at her wit s end for a new 
 difficulty, and despairing to find one, she added, carelessly, 
 
 " Well, there s nothing else, I believe. But you must ask the 
 approval of Mr. Bates, one of my trustees." 
 
 " But I won t, that s flat," I replied, rather firmly. 
 
 Her face lit up in a moment at the delightful prospect of a 
 dissension. 
 
 " Then I really can t marry you," she said, rubbing her hands 
 in downright glee. I made a mistake here, which only proves 
 that the best tactician, which I was not, may lose fifty advan 
 tages by one act of stupidity. My vanity was ruffled by her 
 referring our marriage to the opinion of a third party, who didn t 
 care a straw, I knew, for either of us, as will appear hereafter. 
 
 "It s ridiculous," I remonstrated, "for a woman at your 
 time of life, and with a judgment so sagacious, to leave a ques 
 tion of such importance, to the decision of another person. If 
 he was a relative, or took any particular interest in you, which 
 you tell me he does not, it would alter the case." 
 
 " I don t care what you say," she declared in her waggish 
 manner, " you must ask him ; I insist on it." 
 
 " Your oldest and best friends," I persisted, " who know of it, 
 strongly approve the match." 
 
 6 
 
122 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " That may be ; but I desire the approval of the party in 
 question." 
 
 I sat down and suddenly began writing. 
 
 " What are you at ?" she inquired. 
 
 " Writing to Mr. Bates, your trustee, to ask if he has any 
 objections." 
 
 " Indeed 1" she drawled out, more surprised than pleased. 
 
 I read it to her when finished, and she changed some of the 
 expressions.* 
 
 " You say," I still queried, " you would like the assent of Mr 
 Bates to our marriage." 
 
 " Yes, I wish it," 
 
 " Then," I answered, relapsing into my obstinate fit again, 
 " you may ask him yourself, for I will not, that s poz." 
 
 We had a long talk about it, and the more reluctant she saw 
 I was to comply with her demand, the more importance she 
 affected to give the matter. It ended, at last, in her agreeing 
 to write next day to the party in question. It is not to be de 
 nied that I acted foolishly in this, for I should have started off 
 immediately to London, when I should have anticipated in person 
 all opposition ; but, in truth, I was rather annoyed at appealing 
 to a third party on a matter which I was sure was perfectly 
 indifferent to him. I had, besides, other and wiser motives. I 
 thought it best to let Miss Gamble undertake the job that she 
 wished out of sport to thrust on me, feeling quite sure that any 
 opposition to her will would only make our marriage surer, as I 
 had no doubt of her affection for me. Again, I considered it 
 judicious to let her have an obstacle to play with, in order that 
 her inventive genius might not be at work to discover others, 
 as a wise physician sometimes tolerates one complaint to prevent 
 the breaking out of a worse one. Whilst out walking next day 
 
 * I retain this letter still in my possession. 
 
AND ITS COX SEQUENCES. 123 
 
 with the ladies. I stumbled, by chance, upon a proof that showed, 
 what in fact I never doubted, that Miss Gamble was not the 
 person to allow so important a matter as her marriage to hang 
 entirely upon the ipse dixit of any individual whatsoever. 
 
 " I should really like to know," said Miss B , as we were 
 
 all talking together, " whether you are going to Italy or not?" 
 " Certainly I am going," returned Miss Gamble. 
 
 "Well, I am glad to hear it," pursued Miss B ; "but 
 
 what made you get Flemish money at your banker s this morn 
 ing, which looks as if you were about returning to England." 
 
 I glanced at Miss Gamble, who was blushing and smiling, but 
 she made no reply. This incident convinced me either that she 
 anticipated the approval of the trustee referred to, or that she 
 meant to go to England to redeem her pledge without it. 
 The same evening I encountered Mary in the corridor. 
 " I am getting on famously, Mary," I said, accosting her. 
 " Yes, sir ; but why not finish it here ? It will be such a job 
 to get her back to London. I never saw her so wild in all my 
 born days. I think you have bewitched her, sir !" 
 
 " Why, I should prefer that, of course," I answered ; "but she 
 must go to London to see her lawyer, as I am to sign off before 
 the marriage." 
 
 "Well, more s the pity," said the old woman, who was 
 bothered by the keen encounter of wits going on between her 
 mistress and myself ; " more s the pity, I say, for she never will 
 come to herself again till it s all over that s my opinion." 
 "Yes, and mine, too, Mary; but there s no help for it." 
 I had now accomplished all I could hope to do, and a good 
 deal more than I had ventured to expect ; so I concluded the 
 next best thing would be to afford Miss Gamble a chance of 
 testing my value as a companion and protector against the 
 vaunted merits of her courier, by going off at once. She had 
 no idea, as yet, that I intended, or would dare to leave her ; but 
 
124 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 whatever the risks, I thought the bold game the best one 
 aut Casar, aut nihil. Besides, it was now the 3d of Septem 
 ber, and I had been away from Paris nearly a month without 
 vouchsafing to my supervisor there any sufficient explanation. 
 
 " I have got tired of Geneva," said Miss Gamble to me, on 
 the day in question. " I am going back to Ouchy to-morrow; I 
 miss those beautiful gardens." 
 
 " Sacred to such delightful souvenirs," I answered, smiling. 
 " But tell me," I continued, " have you written to your trustee 
 yet?" 
 
 " I will do it," she affirmed, A when I get to Ouchy." 
 " If he answer in the affirmative," I inquired, " you will go 
 to London ?" 
 
 " I suppose I must. 
 
 " If he oppose," I demanded ; " what then ?" 
 " Why, then," said my tormentor, " we shall see." 
 * Yery well ; but whilst you are waiting his answer at Ouchy, 
 I will run off to Paris, and you will let me know the result by 
 letter." 
 
 Miss Gamble looked at me in surprise ; but she thought I 
 was jesting, and gave no great heed to what I said. That even 
 ing, however, I assigned various reasons but suppressed many 
 more why I should return to Paris. She was not pleased at 
 this decision, but was too proud to oppose it. She was to leave 
 at ten next morning in the steamer for Ouchy : and we were 
 alone for a minute or so before she started. I never saw her 
 more serious or gentle, and her parting with me was by far the 
 most affectionate and conclusive thing that had yet occurred. I 
 accompanied her to the boat, and pledges were mutually made 
 as to our writing to each other. As I took leave of her, she 
 said with emphasis : "No more nonsense : I promise you that ;" 
 for which I made my hearty acknowledgment in advance, not 
 expressing however, all the incredulity I felt. I dropped a 
 
A N I) ITS CONSEQUENCES. 125 
 
 remark or two, en passant, to the courier of Miss Gamble, bid 
 ding him keep a sharp eye on the proceedings of the " tall gen 
 tleman" still staying at Ouchy, and to see that his mistress suf 
 fered no annoyance ; and above all, I recommended him not to 
 visit his friends again whose wine was clearly too tempting for 
 his self-denial. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 P A R I S L N D N . 
 
 I GOT back to Paris in high spirits, and certes, I had reason 
 enough to be abundantly satisfied with my trip to the land of Tell. 
 All doubtful points were cleared up. I had ascertained Miss 
 Gamble s regard for me not only from her confidant, Mary, but 
 at last from her own confession, and " assurance was made doubly 
 sure" by the pledge of her hand to me in proof of it. Whatever 
 apprehensions might still beset me as to future crosses, I had 
 none as to the final redemption of the hand she had so delibe 
 rately and repeatedly plighted. Old John Wesley, in the height 
 of his religious fervor, never put more trust in the "promise" 
 immortal, than I did in that of the fallible lady whose vows I 
 relied on. 
 
 " Faith, mighty Faith the promise sees, 
 And looks to that alone ; 
 Laughs at impossibilities, 
 And cries It shall be done ! " 
 
 On my side, I was better satisfied than ever with my bargain, 
 for notwithstanding her playful conceits and coquettish sallies, 
 
126 MY COURT SHI p 
 
 my mind had never altered as to her real worth. I was satisfied 
 that, when " it was all over," as Mary expressed it, she would 
 settle down into a sensible, and certainly most captivating wife 
 and companion. There was much, I observed, in her disposition 
 congenial to my own. Her buoyant temperament and vivacious 
 manners harmonized with my own mercurial nature. There 
 
 were, besides, good breeding, an " excellent thing in woman" 
 
 grace, and amiability. Loftier traits were not wanting ; for I 
 could discern a bold spirit and uncommon force of character. 
 But the great attraction of all (and to me an indispensable one 
 in man or woman), was her vigorous and highly-cultivated 
 intellect. The fascination of an original and powerful mind is 
 for me something indescribable. In a man, it exercises a sin 
 gular sway over my feelings, whatever other drawbacks may clog 
 it ; but in a woman, it stirs within me an admiration that 
 amounts to fanaticism. 
 
 This, I believe, is not common to all men, for the sterner sex 
 are apt to look with jealousy and dislike on a bas-lleu&s an inter 
 loper upon territory that belongs exclusively to themselves. 
 However this may be, a superior intellect in a woman, united as 
 it invariably is to a great strength of character, has always 
 enchained whilst it humbled me. Intellect and energy in men 
 seem to me more a matter of course ; for with these instruments, 
 as it were, they carve their way to fortune s heights ; but in 
 women, on the contrary, they are for the most part stumbling- 
 blocks to their success in life. It is by softer attributes that 
 their destiny is accomplished ; and nature has ordained that 
 woman s influence should rather exert its spell over the heart 
 than the reason of the rougher sex. Thus, an intellectual 
 woman is rather an exception to her sex, and her setting up as 
 a rival in mental effort not only exposes her to the loss of male 
 sympathy, bu^, as I have said, is calculated to excite positive 
 feelings of aversion. A woman of genius has, therefore, a cruel 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 127 
 
 choice to make ; and, before she ventures upon a struggle with 
 the other sex, in the lofty domains of letters and science, she must 
 have gone through a painful estimate of the sacrifices, and, 
 above all, the self-denial necessary for the task. The high cul 
 tivation of her intellect demands in a woman the abdication 
 of her true destiny ; and it is for this voluntary martyrdom, per 
 haps, that I look up to them with so much deference and 
 affection. Of all the characters that flitted across that mighty 
 scene, the French Revolution, there are none, in my view, to 
 surpass in true heroism Madame Roland. To say nothing of her 
 intellectual powers, what an amazing triumph of mind over femi 
 nine nature to refuse, as she did, an easy escape from her 
 prison, and to meet a terrible death with the calm courage of a 
 soldier 
 
 I have somewhat clumsily endeavored to explain a trait, if 
 not a peculiarity, of my character ; and thus it is, that not only 
 in my own country, but in the many I have visited, I have 
 sought with avidity the acquaintance of les femmes d esprit. It 
 may, therefore, be seen and credited that, of all Miss Gamble s 
 attraction for me, her fine mind stood highest on the list. 
 
 I had not returned to Paris many days, before I sent a second 
 letter to Mrs. Grote, to inform her of my final success in the 
 struggle I had carried on with no little ardor, and to the diffi 
 culties of which she had, in some measure, contributed. Her 
 answer gave me great satisfaction, and did equal credit to her 
 taste and good feeling. Here it is : 
 
 jf " London, September 13, 1851. 
 
 " MY DEAR MR. WIKOFF, 
 
 " I received yours from Geneva duly, and eke that of the 12th 
 current, Paris ; but I was ill and could not write, and a three days of sus 
 pension brings on a heap of dutrcs which I can hardly overtake. I write 
 you this scrap to congratulate you upon one of the most advantageous 
 achievements which you ever attempted. Certainly the adage of Fauvt 
 
128 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 heart never won fair lady has rarely received a more striking illustration. 
 You have displayed that indomitable energy of purpose ( the rarest quality 
 of our times, be it remarked,) which brooks no discouragement : and the 
 success you are now tipsy with proves how vast an engine is this pertina 
 city of will you are master of. Americans are thought to inherit this 
 attribute, and I am disposed to join the believers ; only, I trust you will 
 reserve its employment for becoming occasions, and view matrimony as a 
 relation in which concession on both sides is absolutely indispensable to 
 its happiness. If I knew where to address it, I would send a line of con 
 gratulation to the fair wanderer, on this important change in her pro 
 spects. You know how pleasing an impression Miss Gamble left upon my 
 mind, and that, consequently, I consider an union with her as fraught with 
 rational hopes of happiness and intelligent companionship. On her side, 
 v she has given her plighted faith to a man who will, I think, fulfil his 
 promises as far as his own resolves can bring them to pass. If I did not 
 believe he was likely to prove an honorable and kind husband I should 
 withhold my felicitations ; but I cannot doubt his vows to cherish and 
 protect his amiable and estimable future wife. In fact, were he to belie 
 my trust, it would be a clear case of decadence and ruin. I feel very 
 serious in reflecting on this eventful decision, I confess, and could run on 
 with my homily to undue lengths, if I were not checked by the remem 
 brance of our conversations, in which you unfolded so much evidence of 
 having weighed all considerations on this head that I could hardly 
 suggest anything you had not gone over in your own lucubrations. * * 
 I shall be glad to see you, and renew, viva voce, the assurances 
 of my sympathy with this turn of fortune in your favor, which I would 
 fain behold as the tide in your destiny ! Tend, and improve it now, 
 Henry Wikoff ; and, above all, cast not one look behind you. Clip the 
 wings of your too vagrant fancy, and fasten on to the realities which 
 attend your future. 
 
 " In great haste, arid with best wishes for both your welfare. 
 " I remain, very sincerely, yours, 
 
 " II. GROTE." 
 
 This letter, bearing such flattering evidence to the merits of 
 my affianced bride, as well as to the writer s belief in my loyalty 
 and affection, was exceedingly gratifying to me, and I readily 
 forgave Mrs. Grote for caballing against me in the previous 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 129 
 
 June. Everything promised so fair that I thought I might 
 venture to gratify the curiosity of mes intimes, as rumors of my 
 approaching marriage had got to Paris before me. I announced 
 to a few only, however, the fact of my engagement, and was 
 duly congratulated ; for though I put great faith in the deliberate 
 pledge of my betrothed, I could not resist altogether the convic 
 tion that, with her propensity for sport, many chances might 
 arise to retard the consummation of my hopes. I made known 
 
 my Benedictine intentions to his Highness the Prince IS" , 
 
 who wished me all manner of good luck. I gave the news to 
 another old friend of mine, the lamented Count d Orsay. 
 
 "Eh bien, mon chcr," he said, in his genial way, "so you are 
 going to marry." 
 
 " Yes, Count," I replied, " you see I am not deterred by the 
 ill luck of some of my friends," alluding to his own ill-starred 
 marriage. 
 
 " You do well," he returned, smiling sadly ; " but it must be 
 admitted that you Americans succeed better than most people 
 in all your schemes of annexation." 
 
 I little thought at the time that this would be my last con 
 versation with this interesting and singularly-gifted man. He 
 was much altered in appearance since the death of his friend, 
 
 Lady B , but his health gave no token* of premature decay. 
 
 He was absorbed, as usual, in works of high art. He exhibited 
 to me, on this occasion, an admirable bust, from life, of the 
 King Jerome Bonaparte, inimitable for likeness and expression. 
 I glanced over, afterwards, several charming sketches lying on 
 his table, thrown off with that brilliant facility which distin 
 guished him. However fascinating the productions of his chisel 
 or pencil, I always turned from them, as I did then, to the 
 greater attraction of his sparkling conversation. Few men ever 
 talked better than Count d Orsay. Whether he discussed poli 
 tics, literature, art, or the trite topics of the day, he invariably 
 
 6* 
 
130 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 seized, with the discernment of a keen intellect, the striking 
 point in each, which he presented in its various aspects, with a 
 felicity and point of expression rarely equalled. He spoke 
 briefly, but with a terseness that gave the force of epigram to 
 all he uttered. Alas ! that such a man should, by the caprice 
 of fate, have wasted in drawing-rooms the treasures of a mind 
 that would have shed lustre on letters, or raised diplomacy 
 above the low arts of intrigue. Amongst other visits I paid, 
 with the intelligence of my coming nuptials, was one to the 
 
 lovely Mrs. K y of Philadelphia. I had known this brilliant 
 
 person many years, and standing as she did at the pinnacle of 
 American society in Paris, I was solicitous to secure her good 
 will for my fiancee, whom she did not know. Though only a 
 resident some three or four years in this capital, the splendid 
 
 mansion of Mrs. R was already the favorite resort of the 
 
 noblest and most recherche society, and her numerous and costly 
 entertainments acquired an additional charm from the rare 
 beauty, esprit, and captivating manners of the fair hostess. I 
 remember once expressing my surprise to the celebrated Dupin, 
 then President of the Assembly, at seeing him linger to a late 
 hour in the dazzling saloons of Mrs R , on a ball night. 
 
 " I should have thought, Monsieur le President," I said, " that 
 your hard work in keeping the turbulent spirits of the right and 
 left in order, the live-long day, would have indisposed you for 
 such gaieties as these." 
 
 " I never go to balls," he replied, in his laconic way, " but I 
 think it due to the elegant hospitality of your beautiful compa- 
 triote to make her house an exception, and I feel no remorse at 
 sacrificing an hour or two in such company as I meet here." 
 
 I confided to Mrs. R the secret of my matrimonial scheme, 
 
 which she complimented me warmly upon, assuring me, at the 
 same time, of a kind reception at her house of the future Mrs. 
 W . No sooner had I got through these customary pre- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 131 
 
 liminaries, than I received a letter from Miss Gamble, dated 
 Vevey, saying, that she had decided on writing me a few lines 
 only to oblige Mary, though in fact she had nothing to say but 
 that she had written to her trustee as agreed upon, and that she 
 would loiter about that neighborhood till she got his reply. 
 Nothing could be more formal and cold than the style and spirit 
 of this letter ; and, coming after all that had passed between us, 
 and in the face of her last promise, it startled me considerably. 
 
 I regarded it, however, as only another expedient to throw 
 me into suspense, in which she certainly succeeded ; for I felt 
 serious doubts now as to what her next step might be. I re 
 gretted not a little that I had said a word of my engagement, 
 for I dreaded becoming an object of ridicule, in case of my being 
 jilted at last. I replied to Miss Gamble immediately, remon 
 strating in a temperate manner on the tone and language of her 
 letter, and begging she would let me know her intentions when 
 she received the expected answer of her trustee. I took care 
 not to say I was very much shocked and hurt by her unpalatable 
 epistle, lest I might encourage her to repeat the dose. I considered 
 it wiser to affect rather more indifference than I felt. Nearly 
 three weeks elapsed without my hearing another word of her, 
 although she was but twenty-four hours or so by post from Paris, 
 and I- really began to fear that she had winged her way to the 
 deserts, and left me finally, in the lurch ; for one might say of her 
 as Rivarol said of her semblalle, 
 
 (i 11 faut tout craindre, on pent tout croirc. 
 
 After wearing myself out in the most perplexing conjectures, 
 I wrote again to Mrs. Grote, hoping to extract a little comfort 
 from her sympathetic pen. She replied 
 
 "London, October 5th.. 
 
 What possible advice can I, or any one else give to one in your present 
 aituation ; only that of patience till some Ught shine in upon the darkness 
 
132 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 of your path. If, indeed, Miss Gamble play you these tricks out of the wan 
 tonness of womanly caprice, it would not be so difficult to offer you advice ; 
 nor, I should hope, would any be necessary to a man like you, who has a 
 sense of self-respect at the bottom of all his embarrassments. But I cannot 
 believe that the lady torments you maliciously, or even unfeelingly. You 
 must have strangely misinterpreted her, if she be capable of trifling with 
 c person to whom she has pledged her most precious possession. No ; she 
 is putting you through a probation a la Tamino in the Zauberflotte, to try 
 your constancy and temper. Seriously, if Miss Gamble should, haply, 
 repent her of her promise, you would hardly consult your lasting interests 
 by insisting on its fulfilment. I know you well enough to be morally 
 certain you will be unhappy, unless Jane give a willing consent to unite 
 her fate to yours. I am in town for the rest of October, saving a visit 
 of a night or two, here and there, to relations within short distances. 
 " "Wishing you a speedy and happy solution to this riddle, 
 
 " I remain, yours faithfully, 
 "H. G." 
 
 I quite agreed with Mrs. Grote, that I must have misread 
 the character of Miss Gamble, notwithstanding all her play 
 fulness, if she were " capable of trifling with a pledge," so 
 often repeated and of so solemn a nature. I hardly thought 
 it fair for my affianced to imitate Mozart s heroine, by renew 
 ing a probation that had been trying enough to verify both my 
 "constancy and temper." Still, with my usual buoyancy, I 
 continued to hope for the best. I was not disappointed ; for, 
 the same day, with Mrs. Grote s, came a letter from Miss 
 Gamble, dated Como, and, how different from the last ! She 
 informed me that she had received no reply from her trustee, 
 Mr. Bates, and she vented her displeasure on him in pretty 
 sharp terms ; but she had at last decided, so she wrote, to come 
 to London immediately to fulfil her promise. 
 
 She bade me write to her at Calais by the 6th of October, 
 that she might know if I was well. My first impulse was, 
 naturally, to run off to meet her there, and to accompany her 
 to London. This was what my gallantry suggested ; but 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 133 
 
 prudence whispered I had best be cautious, and not manifest 
 too much anxiety. It was painful to suppress my elation, 
 but in every instance I had not done so I had dearly paid for 
 it. I wrote to Calais, as requested, saying I should meet her 
 in London on the day named. I may as well mention here 
 some details that came to my knowledge afterwards, reflecting 
 the state of her mind at this period. After writing to me, as 
 related, from Vevey, Miss Gamble made an excursion or so 
 in the neighborhood ; then, crossed the Simplon, and hovered 
 about the Italian lakes, daily expecting news from her tardy 
 correspondent at London. During this interval she concealed 
 her future movements from all around her, and had she re 
 ceived a letter that would have afforded her a pretext, she 
 would have most likely given me the slip, and been off again, 
 it is hard to say where. In this case I had resolved not to 
 follow her. Wearied, at last, of her own indecision, she 
 suddenly made up her mind to keep her word, and, writing to 
 me as just stated, she set off for London with incredible speed, 
 travelling almost night and day till she reached Calais. She 
 expected to find me there ; and, on her arrival at the station 
 she bid the courier look about for me in the crowd, and was 
 disappointed at my want of attention. The moment she 
 reached her hotel she sent to the post-office, and manifested 
 great delight at receiving my letter, and wished to cross the 
 Channel, though quite boisterous, the same night. The courier, 
 who was inclined for a rest, frightened her out of it by de 
 claring it was a French steamer. 
 
 On the road to London, next day, she was never so gay, 
 and the prospect of her approaching marriage seemed to fill 
 her with the liveliest joy. How little did she foresee the 
 singular turn of events that awaited us both. 
 
 I reached London on the evening of the 8th of October, and 
 
134 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 had no sooner got to my hotel in Cavendish Square, than I 
 sent off to Portland Place, to know if my betrothed had 
 arrived. I learned that she had got home the day previous. 
 Hurrying through my dinner, I made my way to her resi 
 dence. It is needless to say I was greatly exhilarated at this 
 triumphant close of all my crosses and struggles ; but still, in 
 spite of me, shadows flitted athwart my anticipations, and the 
 nearer I got to the goal, the greater my anxiety at the hidden 
 obstacles that might suddenly arise to wither my hopes. I 
 found Miss Gamble at her piano as I entered her drawing- 
 room. I approached to salute her, when she bolted away, and 
 entrenched herself behind a sofa. This was a symptom, at 
 once, that she had not abandoned her old tactics, and I 
 resigned myself accordingly. A parley was come to, and a 
 truce agreed upon. She gave me an account of her rapid 
 transit across the continent on her way to London, and said 
 that poor Mary was quite ill from excessive fatigue. After 
 expressing my sympathy. I said, " How shall I make my 
 acknowledgments at this flattering zeal to keep time with me 
 and meet your engagements ?" 
 
 " You had best reserve your compliments for the present," she 
 answered, smiling as of yore, " till you know what has brought 
 me back." 
 
 " Why, can there be any doubt of that ?" I asked calmly, but 
 not a little startled. 
 
 " I have only returned to know," she said, " why my trustee 
 has not answered my letter." 
 
 " Do you mean," I asked, " that you do not intend to keep 
 your pledge ?" 
 
 "I don t know what I intend, so don t bother me. But I 
 must know what my trustee thinks of it." 
 
 " You are resolved, I see, to keep me in cruel suspense to the 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 135 
 
 last. It is not fair to rob me of the reward I have well earned, 
 and which is the highest of all, to contemplate with certainty 
 the happiness that awaits me." 
 
 " Nonsense," she exclaimed, " there is nothing certain, and 
 who can tell what a day may bring forth ?" 
 
 She spoke prophetically without meaning it. I replied to her 
 lively banter in a tone of mild remonstrance, and with much 
 gravity of manner, as I foresaw she was determined to give me 
 a fling or two before resigning the struggle, and I thought it 
 best to meet her last, perhaps, most desperate efforts, with 
 perfect composure, but with all the vigilance and adroitness I 
 could muster. 
 
 " I have sent to Mr. Bates to day," she continued, " and he 
 says he wrote to me, and his letter must have miscarried. 
 
 " That s very diplomatic on his part," I observed, " and he 
 don t mean, if he can help it, that you shall make a barricade of 
 him." 
 
 "But he is coming here on Friday," she returned "to give 
 me an answer in person, and till then you must suspend your 
 hopes." 
 
 " Be it so, fair dame ; but I trust there is no more serious 
 obstacle." I threw out this remark suspecting there might be 
 still a snare in reserve for me. 
 
 " Yes, there is," she said slowly, as if poising the new missile 
 intended for my luckless head. 
 
 " What now ?" I demanded. 
 
 "I feel," she declared, "I cannot help it, that I do not 
 love you enough." 
 
 She assumed a look of deep remorse at this confession, which, 
 she supposed, would fill me with dismay. 
 
 " I am glad to hear it," was my answer. 
 
 " How so ?" she exclaimed in surprise. 
 
 "Because it leaves me something still to accomplish after 
 
136 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 marriage. Too much love beforehand is apt to lead to a reaction. 
 This will not be our fate." 
 
 This new arrow had broken in her grasp, but her quiver was 
 not yet exhausted. She tried now to arouse my jealousy. 
 
 " Did I ever tell you there is another Richmond in the field a 
 Scotch gentleman, who has often aspired to my hand ?" 
 
 " No !" 
 
 " I promised to give him an answer in the spring." 
 
 "Don t keep the poor fellow in suspense, then," I urged, 
 "write, and say you are already engaged." 
 
 " Yes, but I feel more sure of him than of you." 
 
 "There is an advantage, however," I replied, " in my favor," 
 
 " What ?" 
 
 " Why, that you like me better." 
 
 " Well, really, there is no use talking sense to you," she cried, 
 in despair, at seeing me make my way through all her cunningly 
 planned devices. We went on talking till midnight, when I left, 
 promising to call, of course, next day. I had calculated accu 
 rately. Miss Gamble was determined to manoeuvre to the last ; 
 and, like Napoleon, in 1813, the more desperate her position 
 became, the more fertile and ingenious were her expedients. 
 But my courage rose with the crisis. It was late next day 
 before I reached Portland Place. To my delight, 1 found my 
 charmer in one of her serious and most winning moods. She 
 called me, for the first time, by my Christian name, and there 
 was an affectionate familiarity in her manner that proved how 
 fully her mind was made up, and how futile was the pretext of 
 her trustee s approbation. After chatting awhile, she remarked : 
 
 " You must think it very selfish of me, I fear, in asking you 
 to go to Italy this winter, when I know your anxiety to remain, 
 for political reasons, at Paris." 
 
 " No, indeed, I do not," I answered ; " for as you have never 
 been there, it is natural you should wish to go at once." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 137 
 
 " But that is not the reason ;" and she gazed at me with a 
 fond smile. 
 
 " No ; then, what is it ?" 
 
 "Divine it !" 
 
 I begged to know it. 
 
 " Why, I think it best," she continued, "that we should spend 
 a few months in each other s society, before mixing with the 
 world, that we may get better acquainted with each other s 
 tastes and habits." 
 
 She had never before so completely thrown aside her coquet 
 tish defences, and her tones were so earnest and tender as to 
 show that her heart was in her words. My vigilance had well- 
 nigh melted away, and I was tempted to throw myself at her 
 feet, and yield to the inspirations of the moment ; but I resisted, 
 for I remembered that every display of honest affection, on my 
 part, had entailed trouble and perplexity upon me. 
 
 "That is most reasonable and desirable," I replied, "and I 
 readily give up my plans for so delightful a prospect as the one 
 you suggest. We will pass the winter in Italy, then, and return 
 to Paris in the spring." Before leaving her, I spoke of calling 
 on Mrs. Grote, when she said, with earnestness : 
 
 " Pray, do not ; for if you mix her up any further in this 
 matter, you ll regret it hereafter." 
 
 "I have no idea of doing so," I answered ; "but call on her, 
 I must, for she is my oldest friend in England." 
 
 "No !" she returned, approaching me with an abandon I had 
 never witnessed, even at Geneva. " No ! that is my preroga 
 tive ; she is neither your oldest nor best friend I come before 
 her." 
 
 My visit was abridged, on account of other engagements, but 
 we parted on the most affectionate terms. I never before felt 
 such confidence in our marriage, which seemed now so near. It 
 pained me to disguise during our interview the ardent feelings 
 
138 M Y COURTSHIP 
 
 that possessed me ; but I dared not give way to them. The 
 more self-control I maintained, the less pains she took to conceal 
 her own fondness, whilst, if I attempted any reciprocity in this 
 respect, which is the whole charm of courting, as I understand 
 it, her mocking spirit instantly broke out and bantered me back 
 to my senses again. 
 
 This was more novel than pleasant, but her lively wit gave 
 piquancy to these surprises. From the beginning, this had been 
 the peculiarity of our eccentric courtship. A real affection 
 existed beyond doubt on both sides, but there was an equal 
 struggle at the same time to conceal it ; whilst every possible 
 trick was adopted to elicit from each other a demonstration ot 
 that regard it is so delightful to lovers to detect. All this 
 absurdity was odd enough at our ages, but it would have been 
 the same, doubtless, if our years had been doubled, for it arose 
 from a common defect in each, an overvaulting pride that 
 refused allegiance to a stronger passion still. 
 
 It was seen by my last conversation with Miss Gamble, that 
 she expected a visit the ensuing day from her trustee, Mr. 
 Bates, and it is time I should say a word or two of this dis 
 tinguished person. The name of Mr. Joshua Bates is familiar 
 to the financial world of Europe and America. For many years 
 he has conducted the vast operations of one of the first com 
 mercial houses of England, Baring Brothers, with signal 
 ability, and the credit and fortunes of the house so ably presided 
 over, in times past, by the late Lord Ashburton, have risen still 
 higher under his skilful and judicious control, albeit its sphere 
 of action must have been vastly extended. Mr. Bates entered 
 the house many years since in a subordinate capacity, and, 
 though a foreigner, with no interest to back him, he rose steadily 
 to his present eminent position, by the sheer force of his com 
 manding talent. The management of such an establishment 
 requires in the person charged with its direction something more 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 189 
 
 than mere commercial ability, for, connected as it is, by loans, 
 with the leading governments of Europe, a thorough knowledge 
 of the resources of each State, and no small degree of political 
 acumen, are necessary, to know where millions may be invested 
 without risk or loss. That Mr. Bates unites every requisite for 
 his arduous task is proved by the successful career of the firm in 
 his hands, which stands amongst the first in England, and is 
 second to none in Europe or America. His countrymen may be 
 justly proud to see another American name added to the bright 
 list of those who have acquired honor for themselves and repu 
 tation for their country by a useful and distinguished life 
 abroad. 
 
 To return to my story. I had known Mr. Bates intimately 
 since 1836, when attached to our Legation in London,* and 
 through all the intervening years I had been always a welcome 
 guest at his hospitable board up to the present day. I did not 
 believe then, for a moment, he would offer the least opposition 
 to iny marriage with Miss Gamble, even if he condescended to 
 mix himself up with so paltry a matter. In any case I felt 
 pretty sure that his objections, or those of any one else, would 
 weigh little with the lady in question, if her own inclination 
 prompted the other way ; and I appeal to my reader, if I had 
 not good reason to believe that it did. It was on Friday, the 
 10th of October, I paid my last visit to Portland Place. It 
 was on Friday too, at Bournemouth, that I made my first offer. 
 Really, the superstitious have it all their own way this time. I 
 found Miss Gamble, when I entered, seemingly plunged in 
 thought. There were clouds in the horizon, I could see plainly ; 
 but I had so often drawn off the lightning unscathed, that I 
 
 * I can hardly give a stronger proof of this than the fact that Mr. Bates invited me to 
 accompany his wife and daughter, now Madame Van de Weyer, the Belgian Ambassa 
 dress, in March, 1336, to Brussels and Paris for a sojourn of some three months, as he 
 was unable to go with them, from the pressure of business. I deeply regretted that cir 
 cumstances did not allow me to accept this flattering invitation. 
 
140 M Y C O U KTSH I P 
 
 seated myself beside her with composure, and awaited the 
 mutterings of the coming storm. 
 
 " Have you brought Mrs. Grote s letter of congratulation 
 that you spoke of ?" she asked. 
 
 "Yes ; here it is." She read it smiled like one pretty well 
 committed and let it drop on the floor without comment. 
 
 Her manner was peculiar, and had an air of extreme indecision, 
 as though wondering if I would stand another test or not. 
 
 " Mr. Bates has just been here," she continued. 
 
 "Well, what did he say?" I asked. 
 
 " He brought me a copy of the letter he insists that he wrote 
 me." 
 
 " And what are its contents ?" 
 
 " Judge for yourself ;" and she handed it to me. 
 
 " Nothing could be more sensible," I replied, after perusing it, 
 " than the common-places it contains on the trite topic of ma. 
 trimony ; but there is not a word, as I expected, on the object of 
 your choice." 
 
 " But he opposes you," she answered. 
 
 " Does he assign any reason ?" 
 
 " No !" 
 
 " A man like Mr. Bates," I remarked, " usually gives a reason 
 for a grave opinion. However, the time is come for you to decide 
 whether he, or you, are best qualified to pronounce on my pre 
 tensions to your hand. I shall forbear any remark as superfluous." 
 
 " I am going down to Sheen to-morrow," said Miss Gamble, 
 " to spend a couple of days with Mr. Bates." 
 
 "Meanwhile, I am to dangle, as usual, betwixt despair and 
 hope deferred ?" 
 
 " Why, the more I think of it, the more I feel that we are not 
 adapted to each other we had better give it up !" 
 
 " When do you return from Mr. Bates s villa ?" I inquired. 
 
 " On Monday, I expect." 
 
AND ITS C N S E Q U EX C E S . 141 
 
 "Well, then," I said with great firmness, "I will give you 
 five days to reflect, and weigh the subject for the last time ; 
 consult with Mr. Bates, and seriously examine your own mind. 
 On Wednesday next write to me, and without circumlocution let 
 me know your decision. You will excuse my hurrying off, as it 
 is late, and I dine with the American Minister this evening." 
 
 I rose. Miss Gamble was completely thrown off her guard, as 
 on many times before. 
 
 " Stop," she cried, and hid her face in her hands. 
 
 She had counted on seeing me sink under this last blow, which, 
 like many others, had only bounded back to overpower herself. 
 My flank movements always caught her unprepared, and her 
 position at once became false. Seeing she had not a word to 
 say, I addressed her : 
 
 " I do not pretend to deny," I said, in a provokingly calm 
 tone, " that all this annoys me greatly." 
 
 "Oh, that is not the word," she urged, in a passionate voice, 
 and with a look of reproach. 
 
 It would have gratified her to see me really grieved at her 
 capricious temper. The ladies, I fear, are apt to enjoy the 
 struggles of their victims. I remained apparently cool, because 
 I knew it was my only chance. Miss Gamble had more intellect 
 than heart, though not deficient in this, and a whimpering lover 
 she would rather have despised than pitied. 
 
 " I am sorry, but I must go," I said, retreating. " On 
 Wednesday, then, I expect to hear from you, and finally." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 I left the room ; but at the foot of the stair-case I heard my 
 name called. I returned to the door. 
 
 " Come in," she said in a playful tone ; " close the door." 
 
 I did both. 
 
 " Well, what is it ?" I asked, with no change of manner. 
 
 She hesitated, but a struggle was going on between her pride 
 
142 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 and her feelings, which I would gladly have relieved by reproach 
 ing her tenderly for her conduct, but I dared not. 
 
 " Will you allow me to tell Mr. Bates," she said at last, 
 " how honorably you are connected with the English Govern 
 ment ?" 
 
 " I cannot, as I wish for the present to keep it unknown. It 
 was my duty, I considered, to make you acquainted with my 
 pursuits." 
 
 She paused again. 
 
 " Have you anything more to say ?" I asked, in the same tone 
 always. 
 
 " Nothing more," she answered faintly, and sank on a chair. 
 
 I bid her good day, and retired. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 IT may be thought that I ought to have acted differently on 
 this occasion, and have employed more remonstrance and less 
 decision; more gentleness and less inflexibility. I have thoaght 
 so too, since then, but I had always found that when I. yielded 
 and protested, she defied and laughed at me. When, however, 
 I was stern and decided, she, on the other hand, retreated and 
 cried for quarter. I may have erred at times; but, whoever 
 think they could have done better, I wish, sincerely, had been 
 in my place, both then and afterwards. During the interval 
 that was to decide my fate, I called frequently on Mrs. Grote, 
 and made her acquainted with what was going on. She took 
 sides with me, and condemned Miss Gamble for carrying her 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 143 
 
 indecision to such unreasonable lengths. She used expressions 
 on this point, that I treasured up as effective ammunition for 
 some possible occasion. There was no doubt that Mrs. Grote 
 was annoyed at not receiving a visit from Miss Gamble since 
 her return to London; but, for my part, I secretly rejoiced that 
 a momentary schism existed between them. I had some indefin 
 able dread at their coming together, and, with what reason, 
 will be seen. In order to know if Miss Gamble was only 
 making use of Mr. Bates s name to frighten me, as I suspected, 
 
 I begged His Highness the Prince If , who was in London, 
 
 and going to dine, as he informed me, with Mr. Bates, to do 
 me the favor to S9und the real views of this gentleman on 
 my proposed marriage. The Prince kindly agreed to do so, 
 adding, that he would not fail to throw his influence in my 
 favor. The result was just what I expected, for Mr. Bates 
 positively denied that he had interfered, in the least, for or 
 against me, leaving Miss Gamble to decide for herself on a 
 matter of which she was by far the best judge. The five days 
 named for reflection elapsed. Wednesday came I waited her 
 letter with impatience. I was sure she would not venture to 
 break off in jest, lest I might take her in earnest; but, I hardly 
 expected she would lay aside her stratagems whilst a chance of 
 resistance was left her. Just so. Her letter came, and it was 
 as subtle and evasive as tlie rest. The decision I had played 
 for was still reserved. " After several days reflection," she 
 wrote, "in my solitary home, I do not think our marriage would 
 promote the happiness of either of us. I shall always remember 
 
 you not only for the memory of those who knew and loved you 
 
 but for your many noble and generous qualities," &c. &c. 
 Lest I should construe this into a final refusal, she offered me 
 an interview for the following day. I reflected what course I 
 had best pursue, for I was determined now to exert all my 
 strength, and press her hard to a decision. If I renewed my 
 
144 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 visits, she might go on dallying the whole winter long. I post 
 poned my reply till next day, when, discarding every term 
 of endearment, I addressed her, formally, as " My dear Miss 
 Gamble," and went on to state that her ambiguous letter 
 proved her mind was a prey to conflicting doubts; that in a 
 case like this, duty to myself and generosity to her pointed out 
 the course I should take, and, however painful the effort, I would 
 make it. " If you demand it," were my last words, " I will give 
 up your pledge, and abandon the marriage." I added in a P.S. 
 that Mrs. Grrte was indignant at her conduct, which, she 
 thought, overstepped reason and propriety. " Now, clever as 
 you are," I muttered to myself, "I would like to see you get 
 out of this scrape. It is playing a hazardous game, but the 
 only one to command success." Off went the missive, and in 
 less than half an hour came her answer: 
 
 " Thursday, 
 
 " DEAR MR. WIKOFF, I entreat you not to leave London till you see me. 
 I ask it as a favor. I will break through my rules and receive you this 
 evening. "Yours ever, 
 
 " J. C. G. 
 
 "41, Portland-place." 
 
 Hamlet s joy, when he caught " the conscience of the king," 
 was nothing to mine at this splendid triumph. My merriment 
 was well-nigh immoderate at the awful fright my threatened 
 retreat had caused her. My previous flights from Bournemouth 
 and London had recurred to her; and already, in her startled 
 imagination, she saw me on my winding way, and no more to re 
 turn, as I had announced. So my haughty, imperious lady, I have 
 made you sue, at last; entreat me, forsooth, as " a favor" to come 
 and give you absolution; to withdraw my cruel resolution, and 
 receive your final submission. " Shall I #0?" that was the 
 ponderous question I turned over and over again before I 
 decided. It was clear, she had flung Mr. Bates s objections, if 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 145 
 
 he had made any, to the winds; but, if I retract too soon, may she 
 not rise again, like Banquo s spirit, with all her scars upon her, 
 and upset me at last ? This was the very crisis of my fate, and 
 I revolved the matter anxiously. Remembering that my 
 " wretched " look had achieved such wonders at Geneva, I 
 decided, at length, not to go, but to write a letter steeped in 
 wretchedness, whilst seeking to entice her into a written pledge, 
 to abandon all strategy, and marry me forthwith. I struck 
 a pathetic chord in this wise 
 
 " Thursday evening. 
 
 11 MT DEAR JANE, I have suffered so much these last few days that 1 am 
 completely unnerved. I have not force enough to go through the trying 
 ordeal you exact of me. Why do you seek to renew the struggles that aro 
 tearing my heart to pieces ! It might amuse you, a parting interview but 
 it would cost me an effort that would unman me. What do you wish ? I 
 will obey any request accede to any demand you may make, but en 
 counter you to-night I cannot. I am ashamed to confess so much weak 
 ness. I long to come to you, but dare not trust myself. To be duped 
 again would craze me. Is it only to sport with my feelings that you call 
 me again to your side? Can you, really, be so heartless? God forbid. I 
 leave London to-morrow night It fills me with anguish. I deny it not. 
 that I shall see you no more. But can you wonder that I shrink from it ? 
 In despair, 
 
 " Yours ever, 
 
 " H. W." 
 
 On the Kentucky principle, I "piled up the agony" to the 
 culminating point. If she don t bid me now to " sign off" at 
 ten to-morrow, and to meet her at St. George s church at 
 twelve, then is she, I fear, beyond my rhetoric, was my aspiring 
 thought as I despatched this note. " Man proposes and God 
 disposes," says the French proverb; but women always do some 
 thing else, and baffle all calculation. So it turned out now. Rather 
 than yield unconditionally, Miss Gamble, in her panic at my 
 threatened defection, did the very thing that, under similar 
 
 T 
 
146 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 pressure, she had done in the May previous she appealed to 
 Mrs. Grote. 
 
 I had a letter from her next morning, couched in a mournful 
 and apologetic tone. If she had ever said anything offensive or 
 injurious to me, she wrote, she regretted it, though I had said 
 harsh things enough to her, and so on ; but still she evaded the 
 grand issue. She was not yet brought to the marrying point. 
 "I have had-the courage," she added, "to write to Mrs. Grote, 
 and if she will consent to see me I will come up from Sheen 
 immediately." This alarmed me somewhat, but I wrote off to 
 Mrs. Grote begging her, for heaven s sake, to stand by me now, 
 and to lecture Miss Gamble in her grandest manner on the 
 cruelty of tormenting me in this horrible way. 
 
 An ominous pause followed from Friday morning to Saturday 
 night, when, dreading lest Mrs. Grote might go over to the 
 enemy, I decided to throw myself between them and prevent a 
 junction of their forces. Alas 1 it was too late. I wrote to 
 tell Miss Gamble I would call on her that evening, and she 
 briefly replied I had better not, "for the present," saying she 
 had got an immediate reply from Mrs. Grote, giving the inter 
 view desired. 
 
 It thus appeared that Mrs. Grote s sympathy had vanished at 
 the first prospect of some new sport at my expense, whilst Miss 
 Gamble suspected, no doubt, that I had invented the expressions 
 of censure Mrs. Grote had pronounced. At all events, she saw 
 1 that my friend had deserted my cause, and this was comfort to 
 her, but a terrible blow to me. I rushed in dismay next day 
 down to Eltham after Mrs. Grote, to expostulate with and 
 upbraid her, but she expressed so much astonishment, in such 
 fine words, and in so lofty a tone, at my blaming her for writing 
 "kindly" to Miss Gamble, that I began to feel sorely bothered. 
 I wished to see the notes that had passed between them, but 
 with uplifted eyebrows Mrs. Grote wondered how I could ask 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 147 
 
 such a thing. I felt a sea-sick sensation as the evidence stole 
 upon me that I was once more sold, but I busied myself as I 
 drove back to town in speculating how I could recover my 
 vantage ground again. The ladies were to meet in London on 
 Wednesday evening for mutual explanations. In other words, 
 Miss Gamble wanted to explain that it was such rare amusement 
 to keep me dancing like a shuttle-cock in mid-air that she could 
 not give it up, whilst Mrs. Grote doubtless desired to say, in 
 return, that she was a ninny if she did, but only to give her a 
 share in the diversion. 
 
 When I called on Mrs. Grote on Thursday, to get some idea 
 of my soundings, for I was once more completely afloat, she 
 received me with great solemnity, but I could see in her face 
 what was lurking in her mind. Women have less command of 
 their physiognomies than men. 
 
 "Jane was here till late last night," she began, "and I am 
 sorry to say she has decided against you." 
 
 " So," I replied, " the bomb has bursted at last, and it is your 
 hand, Brutus, that has fired the match. - 
 
 " Oh, dear, no ! It is quite her own decision." 
 
 "That s consoling, very," I answered. "But what is her 
 plan now ?" 
 
 " To return immediately to Italy/ 7 
 
 " Who goes with her ?" 
 
 "Miss Bennet and her courier as before But you, poor 
 man," said Mrs. Grote compassionately, "what do you intend* 
 to do ?" 
 
 "That s what I don t intend to tell you," was my curt 
 reply. 
 
 I called on Miss Gamble again on Friday, just a week after 
 she had entreated, as a " favor," to see me, and I was refused. 
 I had toppled down in six short days from the height it had cost 
 me six months to scale, and I was sent forth, like another 
 
148 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Marius, to mourn amid the ruins of all my hopes. When 1 
 reflected upon all I had suffered and lost in this bootless experi 
 ment, I felt almost inclined to give way to lamentation. I 
 sought relief in the beautiful lines of Spenser : 
 
 " Full little knowest thou who has not tried, 
 What hell it is in sueing long to bide; 
 To lose good days that might be better spent, 
 To waste long nights in pensive discontent, 
 To speed to-day, to be put back to-morrow, 
 To feed on hope, to pine with fear and sorrow, 
 To fret thy soul with crosses and with cares, 
 To eat thy heart in comfortless despairs, 
 To fawn, to crouch, to wait, to ride, to run, 
 To spend, to give, to waste to be undone." 
 
 What buoyed me up under this heavy disaster was the fact that 
 if I was vanquished, it had taken two women, and very superior 
 ones, to achieve it. What man dares I had dared against one ; 
 but to contend against two such combatants as I had to do with, 
 was to provoke defeat. Thank goodness, the threatened depart 
 ure of Miss Gamble, by diminishing the odds against me, left 
 me still a chance. Finding that she was really to leave for 
 Italy on Monday the 27th, I had to decide at once on my 
 course. Shall I go throw myself on my knees ? I queried con 
 fess my defeat, and capitulate on the terms of my conqueror ? I 
 had forced her so often and so lately to sue to me that nothing 
 else than my abject humiliation would content her now that, 
 with Mrs. Grote s aid, she had turned the tables on me. Elated 
 with so many successes, I recoiled from falling, Pagan-like, at the 
 feet of my idol ; and, besides, I reflected that if I married on 
 such conditions, my supremacy ever after would be in dispute. 
 " No, I will not kiss the dust before young Malcom s feet I" and 
 with the desperate energy of Macbeth, I girded myself up for 
 new efforts. 
 
 I settled at once upon my new plan of action, and endeavored 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 149 
 
 to fathom hers. Mrs. Grote had, no doubt, revealed all iny 
 involuntary ruses and convinced her that I had no idea of giving 
 her up. By running off to Italy she hoped to fill me with 
 terror, and, in order to aggravate my suspense, I was sure she 
 would not write to me, but seek at the same time to have news 
 of me through the medium of Mrs. Grote. On the other hand, 
 I determined she should not hear a word of me after her depart 
 ure, which I flattered myself would disquiet her, whilst I would 
 make an attempt to get constant news of her, without her sus 
 pecting it, by bribing her courier. I resolved to see her before 
 she went, that I might make a parade of my composure under 
 the new turn of events. 
 
 I called at her house on the morning of the 26th, and when 
 the door opened I walked right up to the drawing-room, and 
 sent her a note to say I should wait there till she came. This 
 brought her at once. We had not met since the day she had 
 called me back from the staircase. She was evidently excited ; 
 walked up and down the room in an impetuous way, and talked 
 in a tone of defiance. 
 
 " So you are going to Italy again ?" I said, in a pleasant 
 voice. 
 
 " Yes, I leave to-morrow morning." 
 
 " What excuse did you make to your lawyer for bringing him 
 back from the continent ?" I inquired. 
 
 " I told him it was to sell some property, which I have ordered 
 to be done." 
 
 "Never at a loss, truly, and you don t mind sacrificing a 
 little, I see, to gain a point." 
 
 " Have you anything particular to say ?" she asked abruptly, 
 " for I have so much to do to-day." 
 
 " Yes, I wish to say it is very naughty of you to bring me to 
 London so often for nothing." She could scarcely restrain a 
 smile at my sang-froid. 
 
150 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " If that is all," she replied, " you had better go, for I am so 
 very busy." 
 
 " You don t seem to care," I said reproachfully, " at my 
 being laughed at." 
 
 " Not in the least !" she declared, nauntingly. 
 
 " Bella spietata ! Well, I must submit. I am glad, though, 
 to part good friends with you ; but don t imagine I am coming 
 after you." She smiled as though quite sure that I would. 
 
 " Have you done ?" she asked. 
 
 " Yes ; but, believe me, I have only one regret at parting." 
 
 " And that ?" she demanded, with animation. 
 
 " Is the loss of all the happiness you would have found in my 
 society." 
 
 " How very considerate." Bowing and smiling she left the 
 room, and I descended the staircase. Fortunately, the courier 
 opened the door, and I whispered him to call at my hotel at five 
 o clock the same afternoon. I was convinced that my manner 
 had thrown Miss Gamble into doubt. Did my self-possession 
 mean resignation to my disappointment, or what ? So far so 
 well ! At five, punctually, the courier called. This was the 
 first time I had any conversation with him. 
 
 " Are you aware," I demanded, " of what has happened ?" 
 
 " Perfectly, sir ; Mary keeps me informed of all. I hope you 
 are not cast down, sir, for Mary says it will be sure to end right 
 yet." 
 
 " You know, then," I continued, " what brought your mistress 
 to London ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, sir," he replied, " to marry you ; and Miss Gamble 
 even pointed out the carriage-box that was to be kept for you 
 when we came back. Besides, she told me several times in 
 Switzerland that I was to look upon you as my future master, 
 and to treat you as such." 
 
 "I am glad of it for you will pay more respect to the 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 151 
 
 injunctions I shall give you now. Your mistress is to remain 
 three or four months in Italy, and you will be her only protec 
 tor, as I am going in a different direction. Mind and do your 
 duty, and if you bring her safely back in the spring I will make 
 your fortune." 
 
 " Thank you, sir. You may rely on me," he said, with ear 
 nestness. " I will be very attentive "- 
 
 " Yes, and take care you don t get tippling again." 
 
 " That was only an accident, sir," he answered, turning red. 
 
 " And manage to prevent your mistress dining at the tables 
 d hote along the road, as she may be annoyed by the sort of peo 
 ple that frequent them." 
 
 "That s happened more than once already, sir ; but I ll keep 
 a sharp look-out." 
 
 "I wish you to write to me every Saturday, and to let me 
 know if all goes well. Tell me what Mary says, but don t let 
 her, or any one, know that you write to me. If any accident 
 happens to your mistress, write instantly, and I will come to 
 her from wherever I may be % " 
 
 " Depend on me, sir. I ll let you know all the news, and 
 keep Mary in the dark." 
 
 " And count on me, if you do your duty, to set you up in the 
 world." 
 
 "Your word s enough, sir," said the courier, passing his hand 
 round his hat. 
 
 There was something in the corner of his eye, before noticed, 
 that insinuated just the contrary to what he said. I sat down 
 instantly in the coffee-room where I received him, and wrote an 
 obligation, that if he zealously and faithfully performed his duty 
 to his mistress, that I would, in case I married her, make him a 
 gift of five hundred pounds.* 
 
 * There is no doubt that the reward I promised the courier was excessive, and is to be 
 attributed, in part, to the excitement under which I then labored. I could, however, 
 
152 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " There, 7 I said, " that will set you up as a rentier if you 
 bring Miss Gamble back safe and sound to London in the 
 spring." 
 
 " Oh, sir/ 7 said the overpowered courier, " I ll break my 
 neck, if necessary, to save hers." 
 
 " Don t drink be vigilant, and write to me every Saturday/ 7 
 I said, with great emphasis, as I gave him my banker s address 
 in Paris, and bid him good-by. 
 
 The courier went off electrified at such a windfall, and 
 vowing he would slaughter all the banditti of Italy rather than 
 lose the prize in his possession. I didn t know whether he meant 
 his mistress, or the promise I had given him. I mentioned to a 
 friend afterwards this circumstance, and he approved of my 
 letting the courier see I had an eye on him, and in offering to 
 reward his zeal, but he said 
 
 " Your Grace was far too bountiful, for a fifth of the sum 
 would have sufficed. 77 
 
 " No doubt/ 7 I replied, " but Fd give twice that to get her 
 back without damage. 77 
 
 "Really/ 7 said my skeptical friend, "one would think you 
 were in desperate love. 77 
 
 "I am in a desperate scrape ; but Nil desperandum is my 
 motto. 77 
 
 " You had better give her up/ 7 he urged, " and try another. 77 
 
 " Another !" I exclaimed ; " why there isn t such another to 
 be found ! 77 
 
 " Egad ! 77 retorted the cynic, laughing, " I think you are 
 about right." 
 
 I wrote the same evening my valedictory to Miss Gamble. I 
 wished her to think that I considered the rupture as final, and 
 that I bore it like a man ; but I deemed it wise to let her see 
 
 give other reasons for my anxiety touching the courier s care of Miss Gamble, which it 
 might be offensive to her to state, and I, therefore, suppress them. 
 
4.ND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 153 
 
 that, like Macduff, " I must also feel it as a man," else she 
 might infer I no longer cared for her. I wished, also, to ascer 
 tain from her reply whether she would go so far as to throw me 
 completely overboard. If she did not, it would be conclusive 
 that her flight was only a feint, and done in imitation of similar 
 feats of my own. 
 
 I used, in writing to her, strong language against Mrs. Grote, 
 blaming her as the cause of my disaster. I vapored a little 
 against Mr. Bates, if it was true, as she said, that he had inter 
 fered. The more indignation I express, methought, against 
 the authors of my mishap, of course, the more she will be flat 
 tered. I calculated this time to a nicety. 
 
 Some hours after her departure next day, I received a letter 
 from her, wherein she endeavored to calm my " agitation ;" and 
 she certainly took the most effectual means, by telling me to 
 return to Paris and attend to my duties. "Let me have the 
 pleasure," she wrote, " when I get to Paris, in a few months, to see 
 you there getting on well} 1 This proved decisively that she had 
 no notion of breaking off the match, else she would never have 
 proposed coming to Paris " in a few months," in order to see me. 
 Had she been in earnest she would, on the contrary, have declared 
 her resolution never to meet me again. She made an allusion 
 
 in her letter to " Fanny E " to show, apparently, that she 
 
 harbored no ill-will against me on that score.* She finished 
 
 * I may as well explain here, along with the rest, that in 1839, at Paris, 
 to oblige an old friend in great difficulties, Stephen Price, Esq., of the 
 Park Theatre, New York, I took much pains, at his entreaty, to secure the 
 services of the celebrated Mile. Elssler for his theatre. It so happened 
 that at the moment she embarked for the United States, April, 1840, I was 
 compelled by the sudden death of my guardian to return to Philadelphia, 
 to take possession of my fortune. Ignorant of the language and customs 
 of the country, and without an adviser, Mile. Elssler implored my assist 
 ance, and with all the more energy that I had induced her to undertake 
 
 7* 
 
154 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 by declaring that Mr. Bates had not interfered against me, which 
 I had always believed. This letter fully reassured me as to oar 
 ultimate marriage, for her intention only seemed to be to make 
 me work a little longer before I accomplished it. 
 
 the enterprise. la this way I got mixed up with her campaign in the 
 United States, which cost me an infinite deal of notoriety, annoyance and 
 loss. It was thought by many, at the time, who knew nothing of the cir 
 cumstances, that I had engaged in the matter as a speculation ; whereas, 
 my only motive was to prevent this brilliant artiste and amiable woman 
 from ever regretting the trip she had undertaken at my instance. It 
 turned out brilliantly successful, and my reward, the only one I sought, 
 was her profound gratitude. I have various letters of hers still in my 
 hands, to prove, if necessary, the exactitude of these statements. 
 
 It may be interesting to add, that, up to the moment of Mile. Elssler s 
 visit to this country, she had never economized any portion of her gains ; 
 but she quitted it, after two years stay only, with a fortune of some $4,000 
 per annum. This sum she had invested in the best American stocks, in her 
 own name, and which were sold to great advantage when she decided, 
 afterwards, on removing her property to Europe. This was easily effected 
 through A. Belmont, Esq., Rothschild s agent at New York, and his solici 
 tor, W. B. Reed, Esq., at Philadelphia. The rumor, therefore, that she 
 lost her fortune through some breach of trust, is devoid of foundation ; and 
 equally so is the supposition that I had charge of her funds in any 
 
 manner or shape whatever. Her regular agents were Messrs. H n 
 
 & C n, of Philadelphia. I take the liberty of citing the distinguished 
 
 gentlemen, already named, as vouchers for my veracity. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 155 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PARIS ITALY. 
 
 BY way of diverting my mind somewhat from late events I 
 went, on the evening of Miss Gamble s departure, to a splendid 
 banquet given by my spirited countryman, Mr. George Peabody, 
 in honor of the American exhibitors at the Crystal Palace in 
 1851. A number of distinguished persons, both American and 
 English, were assembled on this festive occasion. The Ameri 
 can Minister, Hon. A. Lawrence; Lord . Granville ; Sir Henry 
 Bulwer ; Hon. R. J. Walker, &c., &c., occupied prominent 
 places to the right and left of our hospitable host. Arnid the 
 fine oratory of the evening I momentarily -forgot the anxieties 
 and vicissitudes of my protracted courtship. It was a relief to 
 have something else to think of for an hour or so. The rhetori 
 cal part of our entertainment began by a most felicitous speech 
 from F. P. Corbin, Esq., of Virginia. His perfect self-posses-- 
 sion, the ease and elegance of his delivery, to say nothing of the 
 substantial merits of the discourse itself, rendered it almost 
 incredible, which I knew to be the fact, that this was the first 
 occasion on which this accomplished gentleman had ever 
 addressed a public assembly. It is known that a "bit of 
 blood " is sure to tell on the turf, and it is no less true that your 
 thorough-bred man never fails to reach his level, be the ordeal 
 what it may. The American Minister acquitted himself as 
 usual, in the happiest manner. I never met an instance where 
 the charm of a fine manner told so powerfully as in the career 
 
156 MY COURSTHIP 
 
 of the Hon. A. Lawrence in England, and in his case the 
 suaviter in modo was always admirably sustained by the fortiter 
 in re. Lord Grauville was neat, finished, and unaffected in his 
 remarks as always. The most elaborate effort of the evening 
 was that of Sir Henry Bulwer ; there was nothing in the dis 
 course, or the orator, wanting to make the effect complete. The 
 logic, wit, pathos, and diction of the one was brilliantly set off 
 by the grace, animation, and skilful intonations of the other. 
 Table oratory is an art of itself, and Sir H. Bulwer is one of its 
 most accomplished masters. 
 
 In order to keep my mind employed till I could see how best 
 to dispose of myself, I dashed off next day to Southampton to 
 breakfast with the renowned Kossuth, then just landed, at my 
 old friend s, J. II. Croskey, Esq., the United States Consul at 
 that place. Amongst the distinguished persons gathered around 
 the hospitable board of our worthy Consul, whose energy and 
 liberality have done so much for Southampton, I recognized 
 Lord Dudley Stuart, the members of Parliament for the town, 
 the Mayor, and other officials, &c. Mr. Croskey >s address to 
 Kossuth was applauded to the echo, and invariably felicitous as 
 the Consul is known to be at speech-making, I considered this as 
 one of his happiest efforts. I was present on the same day at 
 the Corporation dinner to the great Magyar. He responded to 
 toasts on both occasions in such English as I had never heard 
 spoken by a foreigner before, and Aristotle himself could not 
 have taken a more vigorous grasp of his subject, or arrived at 
 his point by more subtle processes of induction. But it was 
 neither in thoughts that breathe nor words that burn that laid 
 the whole spell of his remarkable declamation, for both were 
 powerfully aided by a quality of voice that appealed irresistibly 
 to the sympathies. Of all the gifts a public speaker may bring 
 to his vocation, that of a touching voice is, perhaps, the most 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 157 
 
 captivating, and no small amount of Kossuth s oratorical success 
 may be set down to this. 
 
 I was lying in bed next morning longing for an inspiration, 
 and it came. I was up immediately, and off to town. I had 
 no sooner got there than I made my way to the Russian 
 Embassy, and begged the amiable Charge <V Affaires, and one 
 
 of my oldest London acquaintances, the Baron de B g, to 
 
 give me letters for St. Petersburg. I had suddenly made up 
 my mind that, to prevent Miss Gamble getting any clue to my 
 whereabouts, as well as to elude the perplexing inquiries of 
 friends, I could not do better than to bury myself for the winter 
 in the snows of the far north. It was not likely my inconstant 
 one had any correspondents there, whilst the letters of the 
 courier forwarded by my Paris banker would give me weekly 
 intelligence of her. My noble friend readily acceded to my 
 request for introductory letters, but strongly dissuaded me from 
 setting off till a month later, as the roads during November 
 were in an almost impassable condition. Accordingly I agreed 
 to postpone it till the frosts had set in. To substantiate this 
 
 fact I take the liberty of quoting a letter from M. de B g, 
 
 written a couple of months later, and which I trust he will 
 excuse under the circumstances 
 
 " Aslibuniham, House, 
 
 " January 31, 1852. 
 
 " DEAR MR. WIKOFP, I had the pleasure of receiving your letter of the 
 19th inst, in the county of Hampshire, where I was spending a few days 
 at the country house of one of my friends. On returning to London 
 yesterday, I hastened at once to write to you these few lines, to say that I 
 remember perfectly well the visit you made me towards the end of October 
 last, to make known your intention of going to Russia. I remember 
 equally well having dissuaded you from undertaking the trip during the 
 month of November from the embarrassments that would attend it. If 
 you have not abandoned, since our last meeting, the project in question, 1 
 would advise you to go in the summer, and after visiting St. Petersburg 
 and Moscow, to push on to see the Fair of Macarieff, which takes place at 
 
158 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 
 
 Nijni, Novogorod. Ou your return, take the sea-route by Stettin to 
 Berlin. 
 
 "Receive, my dear Mr. Wikoff, the renewed assurances of my most 
 distinguished consideration, 
 
 "A. DE B G." 
 
 Before leaving London I thought it worth while to visit Mr. 
 Bates, whom I had not yet called upon. He received me with 
 his customary cordiality, and I passed some three hours in his 
 pleasant society. After a long chat on politics, I took up the 
 subject nearest my heart, and asked him good-naturedly if he 
 had interposed any objections to my proposed union with Miss 
 Gamble. 
 
 " None at all, I assure you," was his reply ; " I was astonished 
 at her writing to me on the matter, and I only answered out of 
 politeness, saying not a word for or against you. Miss Gamble 
 is quite old enough, and clever enough, to decide for herself." 
 
 "I perused the letter," I continued, "that you refer to, and 
 its neutrality satisfied me that you did not intend to be entangled 
 in so trivial a matter. But if you really know any obstacle 
 against the match, pray say so, and I will do my best to remove 
 it." 
 
 " Indeed, I do not. I never heard anything against you save 
 your escapade with Mile. Elssler some ten or twelve years ago, 
 and thai your friends have forgotten as a youthful folly. As for 
 Miss Gamble, I think she has no time to lose, if she ever intends 
 to marry, and she has known you so long that she can hardly 
 want the opinion of any third party upon the subject. Where 
 is she gone to now ?" 
 
 "Back again to Italy, it appears." 
 
 " And what do you propose doing ?" 
 
 " I am somewhat undecided," I answered, thinking it best to 
 keep my own counsel. 
 
 Well, as far as I caa make out," observed Mr. Bates, in his 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 159 
 
 dry manner, " I don t think there is much love thrown away on 
 either side. Besides, she is not far from forty, and you must be 
 about the same." 
 
 " Just so, and it is not to be wondered at, therefore, that 
 both of us should take some pains to conceal whatever penchant 
 we may have for each other. At twenty, love may be interest 
 ing ; but at forty, it is either doubted or laughed at." 
 
 " But how long have you been courting her ?" 
 
 " Why, has Miss Gamble not told you this ?" 
 
 "No !" replied Mr. Bates, " she entered into no details upon 
 the subject." 
 
 This surprised me a little, but I quickly suspected her 
 motives, for she was not likely to confess how far the matter 
 had gone before affecting to consult Mr. Bates. I then related 
 briefly, but in order, the facts of the case, which were so novel 
 and unexpected, that I perceived he was not altogether disposed 
 to credit them. 
 
 " Perhaps you would like to see some of her letters ?" I said, 
 interrogatively, " and, though they are written with great 
 caution, yet they will confirm all I have told you." 
 
 " Yes," he returned, " I would like very much to see 
 them." 
 
 Promising to send them to him next day, I took my leave, 
 highly gratified at the results of the interview. I was as good 
 as my word, and sent to Mr. Bates a packet of Miss Gamble s 
 letters for perusal, which he promptly returned with the follow 
 ing note : 
 
 " 8 Bishopsgate Street, 
 
 "November 1st, IS&l. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, I return you the letters of Miss Gamble. I have only had 
 time to read the shorter ones. You are quite mistaken, my dear sir, if 
 you suppose I have interfered with your destiny in any way. J said no 
 more than what you read in my letter to the lady. I cannot account 
 
160 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 for the conduct of Miss Gamble, who, certainly appears to have acted in 
 an extraordinary manner towards you.* 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " JOSHUA BATES. 
 
 "IlEXRY WlKOFF, ESQ." 
 
 This letter was a trophy of great value, and I purposed to 
 bring it into play on some future occasion when it could not fail 
 to tell effectively. Mr. Bates was clearly perplexed at the com 
 plicated state of things between Miss Gamble and myself ; but it 
 would have been trifling with so sensible a person to have 
 attempted explanations of the game going on between us which, 
 in his view, would have seemed, at the least, very ridiculous. 
 I did not forget to make a farewell visit to Mrs. Grote, from 
 whom I had received the following note the very day of Miss 
 Gamble s departure : 
 
 " 12 Saville Row. 
 
 " I regret to have been too ill for a couple of days to return you the 
 annexed letter, or to make any comment upon the unpleasant events of 
 the last fortnight. I had a sharp attack of my neuralgia, and am still 
 debile, going out now for an airing in the carriage. I hope this will find 
 you in a rational mood. The virtue of resignation must be practised. 
 The Fates will it so ! Truly yours, 
 
 " H. G. 
 " October 21th" 
 
 I was not insensible to the contrast between this mock affec 
 tation of sympathy, and the more serious tone of her letter, 
 October 5th, already quoted. I was also aware that, in spite 
 of her neuralgia, she had kept up an active intercourse the last 
 few days with Miss Gamble, who had spent some hours at Mrs. 
 Grote s house the night before she left. I was sure that it was 
 
 * This important denial by Mr. Bates of any opposition to my marriage, was copied at 
 the moment of its receipt by a friend, who was with me, and who has fortunately pre 
 served it. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 161 
 
 all arranged that Mrs. Grote was to communicate full details of 
 my doings to the absent one ; but I had arranged it in my own 
 mind quite otherwise. 
 
 " Well, I hope you intend to give her up," said Mrs. Grote, 
 in a confidential way, as I seated myself in her drawing-room. 
 
 " Why, I think I might as well," quoth I. 
 
 " Perhaps you had better look after the other match, if it is 
 not too late." 
 
 " First, let my present wounds heal up before I court new 
 perils." 
 
 " Poor fellow !" she said, in an affected tone. " But what are 
 your plans now ?" 
 
 " I am half inclined to join the next expedition that may start 
 in search of Sir John Franklin." 
 
 " Ah, you are very mysterious !" 
 
 " I have need to be when I seek to foil you." 
 
 "You still think," expostulated Mrs. Grote, as if quite 
 shocked, " that I have had a hand in Jane s sudden change 
 of mind." 
 
 " I think you have had two hands in it, at least." 
 
 "If you are so perverse, it is quite useless to reason with 
 you." 
 
 " Quite so, for, as Othello says, 
 
 " To deny each article with oath 
 
 Could not remove nor shake the strong conception 
 That I do groan withal. " 
 
 "How absurd!" she exclaimed. "But you have always 
 some silly notion in your head." 
 
 " Which is more the fault of other people than my own," 
 I replied, significantly. 
 
 After a series of muffled accusations on one side, and itera 
 tions of innocence on the other, we parted, seemingly, as good 
 
162 11 Y C : liTSH I P 
 
 friends as ever; though, in truth, I was secretly vexed at Mrs. 
 G rote s not having rendered me the efficient aid it was in her 
 power to do. Had she remonstrated in a kind way with my 
 fidanzata on the trying probation already inflicted, Miss Gam 
 ble would have abandoned her resistance, and given her hand, 
 forthwith. It may be, however, that Mrs. Grote had less to do 
 with Miss Gamble s new conceit than I thought at the time, 
 and I am since satisfied that no want of good feeling towards 
 me inspired whatever advice she may have given. 
 
 I returned to Paris no better off than the famous king of 
 Spain who marched up the hill, and then marched down again. 
 My mind was fully made de me refugier for the winter in Russia, 
 and I set about making preparations for my exile, when, on the 
 second day of my return, I received the following letter from the 
 courier, which instantly changed my purpose, and led to the 
 most unforeseen events 
 
 " Basle, Switzerland, 
 
 " October 81, 1851. 
 
 " HONORED SIR, I beg you to excuse my small experience in writing. 
 We came as far as Cologne without any one mentioning your name. That 
 evening, at supper, Mary said to me that Miss Gamble suffered very much ; 
 and that her mistress would give a great deal to know what you were 
 doing. Miss Gamble seems to me very sad. This evening, after our arri 
 val here, Miss Gamble read over your last letter, and remarked to Mary 
 how much happier she would be if she were yours, and how miserable she 
 now found herself in not having married you. Mary says she does not at 
 all despair at seeing you still united. We leave to-morrow for Geneva, 
 and, passing Mount Cenis, we shall get to Turin in about eight days from 
 this. This is all the information I can send you for the present. 
 
 "I am, sir, 
 " Your very humble and obedient servant, 
 
 "Louis VAXXOD." 
 
 Here was a revolution in little over a week s time. Miss 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 163 
 
 Gamble had no sooner carried her new whim into effect than she 
 repented it. At the close of the second day, at Cologne, she 
 sought consolation in my last letter, and at supper on the 5th, 
 at Basle, her energy entirely gave way, and she began lamenting 
 acutely the failure of our marriage. Her solitary travels left 
 her a prey to reflection, and her imagination took alarm at all 
 the possible contingencies that might follow her flight. She 
 expressed fears, as I afterwards learned, lest, in despair at her 
 supposed loss, I might go to the desperate length of suicide. It 
 is true that I had serious thoughts of threatening some dreadful 
 act of the kind, but I was quite decided, I need hardly say, to 
 yield to her entreaties to survive, on condition of her better 
 behavior. I held this alarming menace in reserve till all other 
 expedients were exhausted. I received the courier s letter on 
 the 3d of November, and I found that, by starting on the 
 morning of the 5th, I could manage to reach Turin within the 
 eight days he had named. 
 
 Armed with the letter of Mr. Bates, I was prepared to parry 
 any new pretexts in his name ; and the news of her speedy 
 repentance encouraged me to hope that it would be an easy task 
 to bring the services of the English clergyman at Turin into 
 play for our joint benefit. In every case I calculated that if I 
 overtook her at Turin, and should only add one more to my list 
 of failures, that I could get easily back to Paris, by taking the 
 steamer at Genoa for Marseilles, when my proposed Russian 
 expedition might still be carried out with equal effect. I wrote, 
 therefore, to the courier, that his letter had decided me to make 
 another trial of my luck, and that I hoped to be in Turin by the 
 end of the week, but to endeavor, if necessary, to prolong his 
 mistress s stay there till my arrival, by saying the carriage 
 wanted repair, or any other plea that would answer. I recom 
 mended him to be "discreet and vigilant ;" in other words, to 
 hold his tongue and observe all that passed, for as my surprise 
 
164 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 at the Grand St. Bernard had been so successful, I relished the 
 notion of trying the effect of another. 
 
 I set off in excellent spirits on the 5th of November, thinking 
 that if the worst came to the worst, I could be de retour in ten 
 days, and so I bid my landlord to retain my apartment till 
 further orders. I should have taken a good deal more luggage 
 with me, though, if I had foreseen the length of my absence. I 
 reached Lyons the morning of the 6th, and found myself at ten 
 o clock on the succeeding day at the foot of Mont Cenis. It 
 was Friday again as usual. I was just getting into the coupe 
 of the diligence after a hurried breakfast, when to my astonish 
 ment the carriage of Miss Gamble drove by on its way up Mont 
 Cenis. It really seemed as if the Genii of the Alps favored our 
 rencounters for this time, as before, nothing could be stranger. 
 Fortunately, I had not been noticed by herself or companions. 
 As we toiled up the mountain, our horses heads nearly touched 
 her carriage. The courier was comfortably lodged in the rumble 
 behind, and the sharp air of the morning seemed to stir up his 
 appetite, for, of a sudden, he disinterred, from a capacious basket 
 at his side, a cold roast duck, upon which he fell with a vigor 
 that threatened its rapid demolition. Little dreaming that my 
 eye was upon him, he regaled himself ever and anon from the 
 mouth of a dusty black bottle, that I suspected, from the way 
 he smacked his lips after each dose, contained anything but the 
 undefiled beverage he had vowed to drink in honor of the obli 
 gation I had given him. I let him go through his meal without 
 interruption. That done he took out his cigar-case, and fastidi 
 ously selected one to his fancy. He began to whiff, and then 
 throwing one leg luxuriously over the other he wheeled round in 
 his seat to take a compassionate survey of us poor devils in the 
 diligence behind, the involuntary spectators of his feast, and who 
 had neither cold ducks, or black bottles, or cigars to comfort 
 them. His face underwent an extraordinary metamorphosis as 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 165 
 
 our eyes met, and his cigar fell unheeded from his distended 
 jaws ; he was caught in the act, and looked intensely guilty. 
 Stealing down from his perch he jumped up on the step of the 
 diligence alongside of me. 
 
 " I am glad to see," I began, " that the fatigues of travel 
 have not impaired your lordship s appetite." 
 
 "I really beg your pardon, sir," he replied, " but I had no 
 idea that you were looking at me." 
 
 "Else you would have died of thirst, I dare say, before 
 exposing that black bottle at your side." 
 
 " Only light wine, sir. very light, indeed." 
 
 "Which your physician has no doubt recommended as the 
 proper accompaniment to roast duck. But what news ?" I 
 asked, changing the subject to the great relief of the discom 
 fited courier. 
 
 " Oh, sir, Miss Gamble gets worse and worse, 7 declared my 
 Figaro of the road, as if anxious to conciliate me. " When we 
 got to Geneva, night before last, I took her to the Hotel de 
 Berg, where you were before, sir, and the same apartment you 
 and mistress occupied was vacant, but she would not go near it, 
 and took one higher up. Mary says, she did not sleep all night, 
 and though we were all dreadfully tired, and wanted to stop a 
 day at Geneva, nothing would do but start the first thing in the 
 morning. And I could see that she had her handkerchief to her 
 eyes all the way driving out of the town. She ll be precious 
 glad to see you, sir, I m sure." 
 
 I forgave the courier his sinful indulgence at this glorious 
 news. 
 
 " I am sorry to hear such a sad account of your mistress," I 
 said, trying to look triste, though I was inwardly tickled to the 
 uttermost. 
 
 " Yes, sir, it is a great pity, as Mary says, that it was not 
 all finished in London." 
 
166 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Are you going on to Turin to-night ?" I asked. 
 
 "No, sir; we stop at Lansingburg, four hours from the top 
 of Mont Cenis, and go on to-morrow." 
 
 " Well, I am going straight on," I continued, " and you will 
 find me at Trombetta s hotel when you get there. Call and 
 report yourself, and mind not to say a word of my being here." 
 
 " Not a word, sir depend on me." 
 
 " And don t you depend too much on that black bottle," I 
 added. 
 
 " All right, sir," he replied, touching his hat, and jumping 
 down. 
 
 He got back to his place without being missed, and the 
 ascent growing easier, the postilions of Miss Gamble s carriage 
 clapped spurs to their horses and were soon hid by a turn of 
 the road. My bark still sailed merrily before the wind. 
 Nothing could be more conclusive than the courier s relation 
 of what had occurred at Geneva. The sight of objects with 
 which I was so fondly associated, had not only occasioned her 
 an uncomfortable night, but set the " fruitful river of the eye " 
 in motion. Her dejection, apparently, grew deeper with every 
 league of distance ; but I rejoiced to think how quickly her 
 gloomy thoughts would be dissipated by my unlooked-for 
 reappearance. It was after dark when we stopped for dinner 
 at the solitary hotel at Lansingburg. I sent in our conductor 
 to reconnoitre before I entered, bidding him to call me the 
 courier if he found him. The latter soon presented himself, and 
 informed me that his mistress and Miss Bennett had dined and 
 retired to their rooms. 
 
 " But wait a moment, sir," he suggested, " Mary is in the 
 travellers dining-room I ll go and hurry her off." 
 
 " Do so by all means, for I have not lunched on roast duck 
 to-day, and am dying of cold." 
 
 The veteran abigail was, at last, got out of the way, and I 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. lOi 
 
 was only half through my dinner when we were summoned to 
 take our places. It was snowing hard, and a dreary night s 
 work was before us. I was greatly tempted to let my port 
 manteau go on as proxy, and to present myself at Miss Gamble s 
 carriage door in the morning, begging her to give a benighted 
 traveller a lift to Turin. This would have been almost as 
 dramatic as my apparition at the Convent of St. Bernard ; but 
 the risk of losing my luggage decided me to postpone the new 
 surprise that awaited my unconscious fugitive. 
 
 I reached Turin at eight next morning, quite benumbed and 
 worn out with cold and fatigue. After a refreshing warm bath, 
 I tumbled into bed at Trombetta s comfortable hotel, and tried 
 to make up for the loss of three nights sleep on the road. I 
 was at breakfast on Sunday morning when the courier came to 
 announce his arrival. 
 
 " Ah ! here you are again !" I said. " When did you get 
 here ? 
 
 " Last night, sir." 
 
 "Where are you staying ?" 
 
 " At the Hotel Feder." 
 
 " How is your mistress ?" 
 
 "Very dull, sir," said the sympathetic Louis "so different 
 from what she was in Switzerland last summer she was always 
 joking then, sir. I remember she told me once, when she gave 
 me a letter to post for you, that if any accident happened to her 
 that you would be sure to shoot me !" 
 
 "That was more a warning than a joke," I replied, with a 
 grave aspect ; "for if anything does happen to her whilst under 
 your care, expect no mercy from me ; so, look out." 
 
 "Depend on me, sir," was the courier s favorite response. 
 
 " I wish to see your mistress to-day," I continued, " but how 
 am I to manage it ? I want to give her a surprise. Cannot 
 you suggest something ?" 
 
168 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " I don t see how you are to manage it, sir," he answered, 
 looking perplexed, " for Miss Gamble occupies a bed-room with 
 Mary, and she has no sitting-room." 
 
 "Then she is dining at the talks d hote again, in spite of what 
 I told you." 
 
 " But she s so dull, sir," he urged, " that she can t bear to be 
 alone with Miss Bennet all the time. 
 
 " Then what am I to do ? I can t go to her bed-room." 
 
 " No, that won t do, sir," replied the decorous courier; but he 
 seemed incapable of relieving my embarrassment by a proposi 
 tion of any kind. 
 
 " I ll tell you what it is, my man," I said, after reflecting a 
 moment; " take a sitting-room for me at the Hotel Feder. I 
 will come over there during the day, and have an interview with 
 your mistress." 
 
 " Yery well, sir, I ll go at once, and let you know." In the 
 course of an hour came a note from the courier, saying that he 
 couldn t get a sitting-room without a bed-room, and that he had 
 ventured to secure both, seeing no other way. I was not dis 
 posed to pay for two lodgings at once, so I left Trombetta s, and 
 occupied the rooms engaged for me at the hotel where Miss 
 Gamble was staying. I came very near meeting her as I drove 
 in. After dinner I sent for my dull-witted Figaro, to know how 
 I could effect an interview with his mistress, now that I had got 
 a room for the purpose. Whatever his merits, I soon found 
 invention was not one of them, for, after staring into his hat, 
 and scratching his head for five minutes at a time, in pursuit of 
 an idea, his face only looked more vacant than before. 
 
 " I have it !" I said, suddenly. " Go and tell Miss Gamble 
 there is a lady just arrived who would like to see her." 
 
 " That will do, sir," cried the courier, emphatically, as though 
 glad to escape pummelling his own brains any longer. " But, 
 suppose," he said, returning, " she asks who the lady is?" 
 
AND ITS. CONSEQUENCES. 169 
 
 " Tell her it is Mrs. anybody a Mrs. Austin and a friend 
 of Mrs. Grote. That will be sure to bring her." 
 
 " Won t she be astonished this time !" exclaimed Figaro, as 
 though enlivened by the fun. 
 
 I went into my bed-room for a moment, and, unfortunately, 
 before I got back I heard Miss Gamble and the courier coming 
 along the corridor. The door of my saloon stood open, and. 
 Miss Gamble looking in, said, " I don t see the lady." The 
 courier, not knowing what had become of me, gaped into the 
 room, and declared he didn t see her either. 
 
 " Where can she be gone to?" inquired his mistress. 
 
 " I really can t tell," replied the courier, beginning to get 
 frightened. 
 
 " Go down and inquire." 
 
 The courier flew off, as though he wanted a little fresh air. 
 Miss Gamble stood, meanwhile, at the threshold of my room, 
 waiting for a solution of the mystery. I was quietly gazing at 
 her the while from the door of my bed-room, ajar, and which 
 opened on the corridor. I was afraid to advance, lest she might 
 give a cry of surprise, on seeing me, that would have brought 
 everybody s head into the corridor, for all the rooms around 
 were occupied. After some delay, the courier came back, and 
 said, he couldn t find the lady anywhere. 
 
 " Well, this is very odd indeed," remarked Miss Gamble, and 
 she returned to her room. 
 
 " Oh, dear !" groaned the startled courier, rushing back to me, 
 " what s to be done ? I ve got into a scrape and I may lose my 
 
 place." 
 
 "With its dainty perquisites of cold ducks and black bottles," 
 I rejoined smiling, "but don t be alarmed though. Go and tell 
 your mistress you have found the lady s maid, and that the lady 
 herself, not expecting Miss Gamble s visit to-night, had gone to 
 bed fatigued." 
 
 8 
 
M Y C OURT SHIP 
 
 "All right, sir," vouchsafed master Louis, coming to himself 
 again. My intended surprise had missed fire, and I speculated 
 whether I had better venture on another, or not. The hotel 
 was crowded with- English travellers, and I was afraid, perhaps, 
 of compromising Miss Gamble by carrying my joke too far. So 
 in the morning I sent for Mary to come to " Mrs. Austin " imme 
 diately, and she got the full force of the coup designed for her 
 mistress. 
 
 " Good gracious," exclaimed the old woman, throwing up her 
 arms and her eye-balls, as she beheld me. " Is it you, sir ?" 
 " Yes," I answered smiling, " or somebody very like me." 
 " Who would have thought it !" she drawled out, getting her 
 breath by degrees. I then informed her I had been to a 
 somnambulist at Paris (unwilling to admit the courier had 
 written to me), who told me that her mistress was suffering so 
 acutely at all that had occurred of late that I thought it was 
 best to come, and see if it were in my power to assuage her 
 sorrow. 
 
 "It is true, poor dear," sighed the sympathetic Mary, "that 
 it has been a great trial to her." 
 
 I saw from this that the courier had not exaggerated matters. 
 I also informed Mary that I had seen Mr. Bates, who had no 
 objections to the match, and that I had brought a letter from 
 him to prove it. I then sent her off to acquaint her mistress of 
 my arrival, and to say that I would like to see her after break 
 fast. 
 
 Mary very soon returned, declaring her mistress could not 
 believe her ears ; that I must send her Mr. Bates s letter 
 instantly that she was dying to see it ! I consented, and sent 
 the letter in question. It was near twelve o clock when the 
 courier came up with a note in pencil from Miss Gamble, wherein 
 she accused me of downright " perfidy " in showing her letters 
 to Mr. Bates. She went on railing against me in some very 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 171 
 
 angry paragraphs, and wound up by declaring that nothing 
 would induce her to see me." Here was surprise for surprise ; 
 for I had never dreamt of such a result as this. It seemed, then, 
 that Miss Gamble desired either to keep Mr. Bates in the dark 
 as to our real relations, or that she did not intend me to know 
 that the assigned opposition of Mr. Bates was fictitious. In 
 any case she was exceedingly angry, and my predicament was a 
 very unpleasant one. I wrote back to the effect .that I would 
 endeavor to explain everything to her satisfaction, but for this 
 I must see her, and would take no refusal. A delay ensued, 
 and then she sent me word that she had taken a sitting-room 
 for herself and would see me but only in the presence of Mary 
 and the courier. By this time it must be evident that the 
 courier was fully initiated into all the mysteries and vicissitudes 
 of my peripatetic courtship, but still I felt decidedly averse to 
 his figuring as a witness to my conversation with his mistress. 
 This was treating him with a familiarity that I thought injudicious, 
 and I, therefore, declined the offered interview in a huff. The 
 same evening I wrote to Miss Gamble, saying, that I had better, 
 perhaps, return to Paris, and that at all events I should leave 
 the hotel where she was staying, as she seemed so foolishly 
 alarmed at Miss Bennett knowing of my arrival. 
 
COURTSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TURIN. 
 
 I REMOVED next morning, Tuesday, to the Hotel de la Suisse, 
 and set about at once occupying myself with wholly different 
 matters. I had sent my card on the previous Sunday to my 
 Charge d> Affaires, Mr. Kinney, to ask him if he had received a 
 packet of letters that I had requested to be forwarded to his 
 care. He was kind enough to send me his secretary, Mr. 
 Magoun, to say they had not yet arrived, and to ask me to a 
 soiree at his house for that evening. I was obliged to decline 
 his amiable invitation, for I was looking forward at that moment 
 to a tete-a-tete with Miss Gamble for the same evening. I 
 hurried round to his house, then, the first thing on Tuesday, 
 to thank him in person for his extreme civility, when .he handed 
 to me the letters of introduction I had expected. I had a long 
 and interesting chat with my affable and intelligent Charge on 
 the condition of things in Sardinia. He was exceedingly well 
 informed on the subject ; and I derived much valuable informa 
 tion from his remarks. As I talked of leaving Turin almost 
 immediately, he asked me to come and take a family dinner with 
 him the same day, which I accepted. Amongst the letters just 
 spoken of I found one addressed to the celebrated Count de 
 Cavour, now Prime Minister of Piedmont, and then the leading 
 Member of the Government. I was delighted at the oppor 
 tunity of making so distinguished an acquaintance, and I left 
 my introduction at his palace immediately, with a note saying my 
 stay was exceedingly short, and that I should be much honored 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 173 
 
 by an early interview, if his grave occupations permitted it. 
 The same afternoon I received an answer inviting me to dine 
 with him the ensuing evening at seven o clock. I was surprised 
 at such a compliment from so lofty a person, but I attributed it 
 to the amiable mention made of me by his friend the Count de 
 
 Y , who had favored me with the letter of introduction. 
 
 Thus profitably occupied, I began to think my trip across the 
 Alps would not be thrown away, for the acquaintance of one 
 such person as the Count de Cavour was alone an adequate 
 compensation. I dined that evening, as proposed, with my 
 Charge d j Affaires, and had the pleasure of meeting his hand 
 some and accomplished wife. They both spoke in terms of 
 lively satisfaction of their residence at Turin. They had, 
 certainly, every reason to do so, for not only were they living 
 surrounded by extreme comfort and elegance, but their position 
 was enviable in all respects. They were on terms of cordial 
 intimacy with the best society of this recherche, town, and 
 enjoyed high favor at court, where Mrs. Kiimey was an especial 
 favorite of the Queen. After dinner, company began to drop in, 
 and amongst others, I was presented to the Minister of Justice, 
 little dreaming at the time that my relations with him would 
 shortly become far more intimate than agreeable. 
 
 On getting back to my hotel, between nine and ten o clock, I 
 found my indefatigable go-between, the courier, waiting for me. 
 He was evidently disposed to do all he could in the disinterested 
 hope of meriting the obligation he carried in his pocket. If 
 anything touching his mistress could surprise me, I should have 
 been astonished to learn that no sooner was I. gone from her 
 hotel than she began to relent. She had been discussing, it 
 appeared, nearly all the day with Mary and the courier, what 
 was best to be done at one moment asserting she would jump 
 out of the window rather than yield to me and marry ; and then, 
 at last, declaring that she was half inclined to send for me and 
 
174 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 do it at once. In the expectation of seeing me summoned for 
 that purpose every moment, the courier had, of his own accord, 
 come round to my quarters to find how I was then disposed. 
 
 " She is waiting to see me on my return," said the courier, 
 as he was leaving my room. " Will you give me carte blanche, 
 sir ?" 
 
 I was a little startled to see Miss Gamble s factotum raised, 
 apparently, to the post of mediator between us, and I did not 
 altogether like it, but perplexed in the extreme, I replied 
 "Yes. Anything for a quiet life I" and I went to bed as he 
 retired, proposing to call in the morning. I was awoke at 
 seven a.m. by the courier rapping at my door. 
 
 "What now?" I asked, letting him in. 
 
 " When I got back last night, sir," he said, " Mary popped 
 her head out of Miss Gamble s door to say that her mistress 
 had just gone to bed, leaving orders to get ready, as she would 
 start for Genoa at ten in the morning." 
 
 " So the carte blanche was of no great use to you," I 
 remarked. 
 
 " Nothing is of no use," returned the desponding courier, sor 
 rowing, no doubt, in his heart, at the faint prospect of falling 
 heir to the marriage gift I had promised him. 
 
 "Well good-by," I said, "and if I don t see you again, 
 fulfil my injunctions, and take good care of your mistress." 
 
 " But won t you come to Genoa, sir ? you may make it all 
 up there." 
 
 " Yes, I intend to embark there for Marseilles ; but I must 
 remain here a day or two longer, and she may be gone before I 
 arrive there. How long does she stay ?" 
 
 " Only a day or two," he answered. 
 
 " I must take my chance, then. If she is still there," I added, 
 * I will try to see her if she is in a better humor." 
 
 I turned into bed thereupon, and had another nap. I got 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 15 
 
 through the day pleasantly enough ; reading the journals 
 dispatching letters and walking about this beautiful town. I 
 had not seen Turin since my first visit to Italy in 1835, and the 
 lively admiration it then excited was again renewed. Without 
 the historical attractions of Rome, and Naples, or the artistical 
 glories of Florence, it has merits of its own that the traveller is 
 sure to appreciate in the regularity and cleanliness of its broad 
 avenues in its sumptuous palaces its splendid squares, and 
 imposing arcades. In another respect it has gained an advantage 
 over all its sister cities that is sure to conciliate both residents 
 and visitors, for its new Constitutional Government has brought 
 with it a diminution of polic&espionnage, and a free circulation 
 of intelligence that to Italians must be boons of inestimable 
 value. 
 
 I dined in the evening, Nov. 12th, at the Count de Cavour s, 
 and had the honor to meet the various members of the Cabinet, 
 with their chief, at that moment, the Chevalier d Azeglio. My 
 Charge d* Affaires, Mr. Kinney, was also present. I was cordially 
 received by my distinguished host,whose manners and appearance 
 impressed me strongly. In person he was above the ordinary 
 standard, and of powerful frame. His face was striking in feature 
 and expression, conveying the effect of an elevated character and 
 a lofty intelligence. His massive brow towered like a dome 
 above the rest, and seemed the natural home of profound specula 
 tions and vast schemes. His demeanor was affable, but dignified 
 and imposing. My salutations were scarcely over when he 
 presented me to his elder brother, the Marquis de Cavour, who 
 received me with great warmth of manner. I had the good 
 fortune to be seated at dinner by the side of the Marquis, and 
 our conversation soon became animated. It took the direction 
 of political economy, and I was exceedingly astonished at the 
 vast erudition of this learned nobleman. He had investigated 
 every authority on this abstruse subject, and there was not an 
 
176 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 author, from Du Quesnay and Adam Smith down to M Culloch 
 and Porter, that he was not familiar with in their native tongues. 
 I never heard any one discourse on such grave and difficult topics 
 with such simplicity, ease, and absence of pedantry. So com 
 pletely was my ear captivated that I did less justice to a dinner 
 that Chevet himself might have been proud of. The Marquis 
 expressed himself in the choicest French, occasionally interspersed 
 with very good English. Our conversation ran on for some time 
 after we returned from dinner to the noble saloons where the 
 guests had been first received, when, at length, he was good 
 enough to say : 
 
 " Shall I present you to our Prime Minister ?" 
 
 " You will do me a great honor, M. le Marquis," I replied, 
 bowing. 
 
 I made the acquaintance accordingly of the Chevalier d Azeglio, 
 whose reputation is more Italian than almost any other statesman 
 of the day. In letters, in arms, and in the senate, he has equally 
 distinguished himself ; and the liberal cause in Italy can boast of 
 no adherent whose character, and brilliant services have lent it 
 more important and lasting aid. I was struck by the singularly 
 quiet and unassuming manners of the Prime Minister, that con 
 trasted strangely with the bustle and eclat of his active career. 
 It was only in the slumbering fire of his dark eye that I could 
 detect the latent energy of his character. After an amiable 
 word or two of greeting from the President of the Council, who 
 spoke in French, I ventured to observe : 
 
 " Your post, M. le President, is full of honor, but surrounded 
 by serious and trying difficulties. If, in the face of foreign opposi 
 tion and domestic resistance, you succeed in preserving the 
 parliamentary regime you have done so much to establish in 
 Sardinia, a prospect will open for the regeneration of Italy that 
 has never dawned before." 
 
 "Yes, I am convinced, sir," he replied, " that Italy will gain 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 177 
 
 as much as our own State by the successful career of our new 
 institutions ; but it is impossible to overrate the difficulties we 
 have to contend with. It will be fortunate, indeed, if we are 
 not borne down by them." 
 
 " The Constitutional experiment you are making, M. le Presi 
 dent," I continued, "is all the more interesting from the com 
 parative failure that has occurred in France, whilst the Parlia 
 mentary system in Prussia is only yet a name. However 
 limited the theatre, the great States of the Continent must view 
 your bold undertaking with extreme repugnance, and the cleri 
 cal influence at home will struggle hard to maintain their 
 threatened ascendancy. The eye of Europe, however, is upon 
 you, and, in spite of the distance, the United States cannot but 
 regard with interest the best attempt yet made to introduce 
 regulated liberty into this lovely but so long distracted land." 
 
 " The interests confided to our keeping," said the Minister, 
 gravely, " are in our view so important to our country, and to 
 the welfare of Italy at large, that neither energy nor devotion, 
 on our part, shall be wanting to accomplish the task we have 
 undertaken." 
 
 " You will permit me to add, M. le President," I ventured to 
 remark, " that with a leader of your experience, and such a 
 Minister of Finance as the Count de Cavour to look after your 
 budget, your Constitutional triumph is certain, if an Austrian 
 invasion does not interfere with you. But, in that case, England 
 would, surely, have a word to say." 
 
 " And the United States would not, I am convinced," 
 observed the Premier, " be wholly insensible to our fate. If 
 you return to Turin," he continued, " do me the favor to call on 
 me, when we can renew our conversation; and I should be 
 also happy to show you any civility in my power." 
 
 Bowing low at these polite offers, I expressed my grateful 
 acknowledgments, and returned to resume my conversation with 
 
 8* 
 
178 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 the Marquis. It was near ten o clock when 1 rose to bid adieu 
 to my noble hosts (for the Count and the Marquis de Cavour 
 occupy the same spacious palace), and I took a seat on leaving 
 in the carnage of my Charge tf Affaires, who was kind enough 
 to set me down at my hotel. I felicitated myself warmly on 
 making these valuable acquaintances, and I could not but 
 reflect, with admiration, on the interesting spectacle of these 
 two estimable noblemen, who, holding, by their birth, rank, 
 and great wealth, the highest social positions in their country, 
 still devoted themselves with indefatigable zeal, the one to 
 statesmanship in troublous times, and the other to the calmer 
 but severe delights of literature and philosophy. 
 
 Before resigning myself to a tete-a-tete with Morpheus, I pop 
 ped into the French Theatre for an hour, and was brought back 
 to a sense of my own uncomfortable position by the incidents of 
 the play performed. It was the story of some luckless youth 
 who had fallen under the spell of a fascinating but naughty 
 woman. His adventures and sacrifices on her behalf were many 
 and trying, but he still clung to her with unabated ardor. 
 Amongst other queer places he got into, at last, was a prison, 
 though to her credit she did not abandon him in such a sorry 
 plight, but struggled till her lover was once more free. They 
 then set off to some distant land with the laudable intent to live 
 and love for the rest of their days ; but their pleasant intentions 
 were defeated by losing their way in some pathless wild, where 
 the unhappy lady, worn out by suffering, laid herself down on a 
 convenient sand bank, and died lamenting ; whilst the devoted 
 swain, too much of a Roman to survive her, took his place by 
 her side, and followed suit. I returned home under the impres 
 sion of this tragic finale, and concluded there was more poetry 
 than common sense in going to such inordinate lengths for love-, 
 or anything else. After leaving my cards of conge at the palace 
 of my hosts of the previous day, and at my Charge s, I left Turin 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 179 
 
 for Genoa, whoro I arrived earlv on Friday morning. It was 
 ray luck, evidently, always to fall on a Friday. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 GENOA. 
 
 I PUT up at the Croix de Malte, but on looking at the travel 
 lers book to inscribe my name, I observed to my surprise the 
 address of Miss Gamble. On inquiry I found she was in the 
 same hotel, when I determined instantly to quit it, lest I should 
 have the air of seeking to annoy her. Besides, she seemed very 
 anxious not to have Miss Bennett know that I had come after her 
 again ; and, by remaining in the same hotel, I would be likely to 
 meet her. I sent for the courier before leaving, to get somo 
 intelligence of what was going on. 
 
 " Well, Louis/ I inquired, " what s the news ? How fares 
 your mistress ?" 
 
 " The same thing over again, sir," he replied. "She imagines 
 you are gone to Paris, and has fallen into the same dejection as 
 before." 
 
 " Do you think she would like to see me now ?" 
 
 " She would like nothing better, I am sure," he answered ; 
 " but she would be displeased if Miss Bennett knew anything 
 about it." 
 
 " She is a very odd person. But how is she lodged here ?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "I have induced her to take a sitting room, and give up the 
 talk d hote." 
 
 "That s right 1" 
 
180 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 "But, unfortunately," he continued, "Miss Bennett s bed 
 room opens into it, and she would recognize your voice if you 
 were to conie to visit Miss Gamble there." 
 
 " Always some new difficulty !" I exclaimed, annoyed. 
 " What s to be done now ; for I would like to make a last 
 attempt to bring your mistress to reason ?" 
 
 " Can t you manage," conjectured the courier, " to see her 
 somewhere else ?" 
 
 " I might take an apartment in some other hotel, if I could 
 only get her to come there." 
 
 " Well, sir, think it over, for I must go now." 
 
 " I shall leave this hotel immediately," I announced. " Is 
 there another near at hand ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir ; the Hotel Royal, almost next door." 
 
 " You will find me there this evening, then ; and send me," 
 t ordered, " a valet de place -^i once." 
 
 I removed straightway to the Hotel Royal, and after break 
 fast reflected what I had better do. I felt a deep longing to 
 see my wayward betrothed before returning to Paris, and I was 
 almost sure that a little calm remonstrance would likely settle 
 everything pleasantly between us. I could not bear the idea of 
 parting with her in anger, and I hoped to explain my motives 
 for letting Mr. Bates into the secrets of our courtship in a 
 manner that would be satisfactory to her. If she were still 
 reluctant to marry, why, then, I would seek to ascertain her 
 wishes, and act accordingly. If she desired me, as she had 
 done in her letter after leaving London, to go back to Paris 
 and remain there till she returned from Italy in the spring, I 
 would do so to gratify her whim. Still I trusted that she would 
 decide on retaining my society and protection, rather than obsti 
 nately persist in travelling about in the dull company of her 
 servants. But how was I to see her ? That was the puzzle. 
 I was afraid to offend her by going to her hotel ; and to get her 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 181 
 
 to come to meet me at another, could only be done by some 
 stratagem. I thought, too, that perhaps her romantic fancy 
 would be caught by some new device of a persevering lover, 
 and I determined, if possible, to effect it. 
 
 My reflections were interrupted by the entrance of a valet de 
 place, and a queer-looking fellow he was. He* called himself 
 Pietro, and I found he was attached to the hotel, and a native 
 of the town. I told him I wanted him to look about for an 
 apartment that I wished to occupy for a few hours. He thought 
 it would be difficult to get one for so short a period, but he set 
 off in quest of it. He returned in an hour or so, and said he 
 could find nothing of the sort at any hotel, but that he could 
 procure me a small one that might answer in a private house. 
 He mentioned at the same time another on a larger scale in the 
 palace of the Russian Consul, who was absent ; but this latter 
 could be had only by the month. I started out with him to 
 inspect the premises in question. The first one we came to I 
 found was small and dirty, and I rejected it at once. I then 
 accompanied him to the Russian Consul s house, and was shown 
 here an apartment of vast extent and great elegance. I was 
 eharmed with the locale, but the agent would only let it by the 
 month. This was out of the question ; but my valet told me if 
 I wanted such a thing immediately I had better try to make a 
 bargain, for he didn t know where to go to look for another. 
 Upon this I bargained away for dear life, and at last closed by 
 taking it for a week, thinking that, perchance, my stay in Genoa 
 might extend over several days, and in this case I could lodge 
 here instead of remaining at an hotel, and that, at the worst, it 
 would be only another small item in my list of expenditures for 
 courting a lady en voyage. I gave orders to put the apartment 
 in readiness for the next day, and sauntered back to my hotel 
 through some of the principal streets of the place, amusing 
 myself the while in examining the shop-windows an attractive 
 
182 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 occupation enough for a listless traveller. Whilst staring at a 
 curious collection of arms in a window of a gunsmith, my eye 
 was caught by a six-barrelled pistol which greatly resembled 
 the famous revolver of my well-known countryman, Col. Colt. 
 Wondering whether this celebrated American weapon had, 
 really, found its way into the shops of Italy, I went in to 
 inquire. I found it was not a revolver, but only an ordinary 
 pistol of several barrels. Whilst examining it, the idea flashed 
 upon me to buy it, as during my proposed interview with my 
 eccentric betrothed, it might tell well to put it to my head, and 
 threaten, if she didn t give over her coquetries, and make me a 
 happy man at once, that I would make her responsible on the 
 spot for my untimely fate. The courier having already told me 
 that she had talked of the chance of my committing suicide put 
 this ruse into rny head. Whilst chaffering about the price I 
 changed my mind, and, abandoning the notion, I left the shop 
 without making the purchase.* In the evening the courier 
 called upon me as agreed. 
 
 "Well, what have you been about to day ?" I asked. 
 
 " Visiting some of the Galleries of Paintings," he answered ; 
 " but Miss Gamble walks through them, almost, without taking 
 any notice. She seems thinking of something else all the time. 
 Yet she would remain out in spite of the wet till nearly dark, for 
 she complains of its being so lonesome in the house." 
 
 " All you relate," I said, " proves very clearly that her mind 
 is ill at ease. I hope for her sake, as much as mine, to bring her 
 round to some decision." 
 
 " I do wish you would, sir," urged the courier ; " for it makes 
 me downright uncomfortable to see her in such a way. She 
 don t enjoy herself, and nobody else can about her." 
 
 " Well, we shall see what can be done," I continued, " for I 
 
 * This circumstance was stated by the valet d& place, who accompanied me, to the 
 Examining Judge, and is upon record. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 183 
 
 have got an apartment; the difficulty will be to induce her 
 to come there. If I write to ask her she will be sure to refuse." 
 
 " Yery likely, sir, for there s no counting on her a second. 
 Can t you think of some excuse or other ?" 
 
 " I have been thinking of it already but I have fallen on 
 none yet." 
 
 Before the courier went away, I happened to mention my 
 notion about threatening to put an end to myself in her 
 presence if she would not change her conduct. 
 
 " That would be just the thing to please her, sir," exclaimed 
 the courier. " Do try it I am sure it would succeed !" 
 
 " Perhaps it might, and I regret now that I did not buy the 
 pistol !" 
 
 " No need of that, sir," replied Figaro; " I always travel as a 
 courier with a pair of pocket pistols. I ll lend you mine !" 
 
 "Very well! Bring them round to-morrow; but take good 
 care," I suggested, " to see they are not loaded, for I don t 
 like to play with edged tools." 
 
 " I shall unload them, sir, and fetch them in the morning. 
 Good-night, sir." 
 
 I went to bed, hoping that my new surprise at Genoa would 
 turn out more fortunately than my attempt at Turin. I was 
 quietly shaving myself after breakfast the next morning, and 
 still speculating upon what pretext I could obtain an interview 
 with my fiancee, when the courier dashed in to tell me that his 
 mistress would be off before long, as she had ordered him to get 
 her passport signed immediately. 
 
 " The deuce, you say 1" I replied, rather flurried, for I was 
 resolved not to follow Miss Gamble" beyond Genoa. 
 
 " You have no time to lose, sir if you don t see her to-day, 
 you ll miss it." 
 
 " By Jove, you have given me a capital idea 1" 
 
 " Have I ?" ejaculated the courier, looking very unconscious. 
 
184 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " What s to prevent you telling Miss Gamble you ve lost the 
 passport, and that she must come to the police-office to get 
 another ? you can then conduct her to the apartment I have 
 taken." 
 
 " That is a good un, sir," returned the courier, with a broad 
 grin. " Of course, I can do that ! Nothing easier ; but I hope 
 she won t be angry with me." 
 
 " Angry ! for what ? She will most likely thank you if we 
 make it up ; and if we don t, there s no great harm in her 
 chatting an hour or two with me. Your motive is a good one, 
 and I will take all the blame upon myself. Fear nothing." 
 
 " Very well, sir," said the courier, quite reassured ; " I know 
 you are betrothed to her, and I see no sort of harm in the 
 matter. Shall I go and tell her at once, that the passport is 
 
 missing ?" 
 
 " Yes ; and come back and tell me what she says." 
 
 In fifteen minutes later the courier was in my room again. 
 
 " All right, sir," he cried ; " but look sharp, sir. She has 
 ordered the carriage, and is going right off to the police after 
 another passport." 
 
 "Order a carriage for me, then, or she ll be there before 
 me." 
 
 " Where are we to go, sir ?" 
 
 " Here is the address," and I wrote it in pencil, and gave it 
 to him. 
 
 " Here are the pistols, sir," returned the courier, handing 
 them to me, "now mind, and put both of them to your head if 
 she drive you to despair." 
 
 "Stop a minute, till I see if they are empty." I ran my 
 pencil case down the barrels. " That s right," I continued, " no 
 danger now. But who is going with your mistress ?" 
 
 " Miss Bennett, sir." 
 
 " Well, recollect, if Miss Gamble is not angry, and decides to 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 185 
 
 remain with me an hour or two, you can return to the hotel, and 
 inform Mary that her mistress is with me, else she may be alarmed." 
 
 " Yes, that is best, sir ; I will do so." 
 
 Away ran the courier ; and, I may as well mention here that, 
 fearing lest he might compromise himself, he showed the address 
 I had given him to Miss Gamble before starting. My hand 
 writing was so familiar that Miss Gamble must have recognized 
 it, and the courier always declared she smiled on perusing it, 
 which satisfied him that she suspected the ruse. Miss Gamble 
 admitted, afterwards, that he showed her the address, but denied 
 having recognized the handwriting. The moment the courier 
 left, I drove off rapidly to the apartment I had hired, and found 
 my valet de place making preparations for my occupying it. I 
 had given him no explanation why I had taken it, and he 
 supposed accordingly that I was going to lodge there. I told 
 him the instant I entered that I expected two ladies, with 
 a courier, to come there immediately, and that one of the 
 ladies in black would, probably, say something about a passport, 
 and ask for the Intendante. In that case, all he had to do was 
 to conduct her to the saloon where I should be. The valet 
 suspected some joke was going on from his smile, but he asked 
 no questions, and said he would comply with my directions. 
 
 About one o clock Miss Gamble arrived, and was ushered, at 
 once, by my master of ceremonies, into the room where I awaited 
 her ; Miss Bennett and the courier remaining in the ante-cham 
 ber. On seeing me, Miss Gamble exclaimed 
 
 " Ah ! it is you. Well, I thought it was all a trick." 
 
 This surprised me, as I did not then know she had seen the 
 address in my writing. 
 
 "Yes, it is all a trick," I announced, " but as you refused to 
 see me at Turin, save in the company of your courier, I did not 
 stop on this occasion to ask your permission. But pray be 
 seated." 
 
186 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " What do you want with me now ?" she asked, perfectly at 
 her ease. 
 
 11 To make you some explanations, and to talk you into 
 reason, if possible." 
 
 " Is that all ?" she inquired ; " you intend nothing else, I 
 suppose." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" I asked, looking at her with surprise ; 
 " I shall treat you with the deference due to a woman, and with 
 the tenderness that becomes our relations. What did yon 
 expect ?" 
 
 " Very, well," she replied, and without explaining herself she 
 took off her bonnet, and sat down on a sofa near the fire. 
 
 A long conversation ensued, that would be tedious to relate. 
 In the course of half an hour the courier sent in to ask if he and 
 Miss Bennett were to wait. I said, " 2sTo," but that they had 
 letter return an hour later. 
 
 In the course of her remarks, Miss Gamble still persisted that 
 Mr. Bates had interfered to prevent our marriage. 
 
 " What nonsense," I said : " he denied it to the Prince 
 
 N , and afterwards to me, and you have read his letter I 
 
 sent to you at Turin, wherein he expresses astonishment at your 
 bad behavior. 
 
 " Yes/ she answered, " and that astonished me still more." 
 
 " But his interference, I am sure, would never prevent your 
 marrying me, or any one else. Did you not entreat me," I 
 demanded, " to come to you one evening in London, a week after 
 you spoke of his opposition ?" 
 
 She smiled in her old way, and made no reply. 
 
 "Well, Jane," I continued, " tell me, I beg of you, what do 
 you intend to do ?" 
 
 " I suppose, alas ! that I must marry you." 
 
 " You have declared that often enough already. But when ?" 
 
 " When you please to night, or to-morrow." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 187 
 
 " I wish I could put faith in you," I said, full of doubt. 
 
 " Try," she replied, smiling. 
 
 " Will you give me a pledge in writing ?" I asked. 
 
 " Most cheerfully." 
 
 I rang for the valet, and ordered him to go and buy pen, ink, 
 and paper, as I had not foreseen their use. In a short time Pietro 
 came back, having borrowed them, as it turned out, at the 
 French Consul s opposite, there being no shop near. 
 
 " Well, what am I to write ?" demanded Miss Gamble, seat- 
 ing herself at a table. 
 
 "What you have just said." 
 
 " I don t remember now ; you must repeat it." 
 
 " How like you," I observed. " Well, write / bind myself to 
 marry Mr. Henry Wikoff according to the, pledges I made him to 
 that effect at Ouchy and at Geneva. "* 
 
 "There," she said, "will that do ?" 
 
 " Are you really in earnest this time ?" I inquired. 
 
 " Perfectly so." 
 
 " Will you give me still another guarantee ?" 
 
 " What you please," was her reply. 
 
 " Add, then, or to forfeit the half of my income. Now I am 
 sure," I said, quite satisfied, " rather than let me touch that 
 precious income of yours, you would marry me, or Beelzebub 
 himself." 
 
 " Are you not ashamed of yourself?" she said, assuming a 
 mock air of rebuke. "Any more ?" 
 
 " Merely add, I do this of my own free will and accord, and in 
 consideration of my frequent violations of good faith hereto 
 fore} " 
 
 * I have an official statement from the American Consul at Genoa, which will appear 
 In its place, wherein he says that Miss Gamble repeatedly declared to him that she volun 
 tarily wrote the above obligation to fulfil her previous pledges, and that her motive for 
 doing so was to induce me to let her leave my apartment immediately. 
 
138 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 "That s all very fine," she observed, as she finished, "but 
 that paper is worth nothing at law." 
 
 " I know it, but I am very glad to have it in your writing 
 that you pledged me your hand at Ouchy and at Geneva." 
 
 " I don t deny it, but of what use is the forfeit of half my 
 income ?" 
 
 " I hoped to frighten you by that means into keeping your word, 
 and if I could enforce the penalty you would drop your coquetry, 
 and marry me at once, I am sure." 
 
 " Are you still willing to sign off/ if I marry ?" 
 
 "I have said it, and my word is sacred." 
 
 During this scene the valet-de-place was in the room* waiting to 
 arrange a lunch for Miss Gamble, that she had ordered. Imme 
 diately afterwards she sat down, and dispatched two bowls of 
 soup. I was glad to see that her morning s adventure had not 
 disturbed her appetite. 
 
 After this we walked about surveying the splendid apart 
 ment we occupied, and looked out at the different windows, that 
 were all open, to contemplate the fine prospects that render 
 Genoa so famous. I pointed out to her the former palace of 
 Lord Byron. All this time the manner of Miss Gamble was 
 amiable and confiding in the extreme, and she seemed flattered, 
 as I thought, at this new and harmless act of devotion on my 
 part. 
 
 On returning to the saloon we had first occupied, I was just 
 about requesting her to put on her bonnet, as I was anxious 
 that she should be back to her hotel before her dinner hour, 
 when the valet came in to tell me that the courier and Mary 
 had come, and wished to see me. I went to them in the next 
 room, and Miss Gamble followed me. I then asked Mary to 
 
 * I hold a deposition of the valet-de-place made before the American Consul at Genoa, 
 wherein he describes the above scene, affirming that the manner of Miss Gamble whilst 
 writing was perfectly calm and unconcerned. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 189 
 
 enter the saloon with her mistress and myself, and the courier 
 retired. It appeared that the courier had returned according 
 to my directions to the hotel, and informed Mary that Miss 
 Gamble was with me. She expressed her delight, and hoped 
 the "game was near over." After eating their dinner, the 
 courier said he was going back with the carriage to fetch Miss 
 Gamble, as I had ordered, and Mary proposed to come along 
 with him. The courier seeing no objection, brought her with 
 him. The moment we returned to the saloon, Miss Gamble put 
 on her bonnet, and said 
 
 " You have played me a trick in bringing me here, and take 
 care that I don t play you another. You have committed an 
 impertinence that I shall remember." 
 
 I was more surprised at her manner, even, than her words. 
 It was imperious and provoking, just as oftentimes at Geneva 
 and at London, as I have shown. It would have been wiser to 
 let her go as she proposed, but I was deeply annoyed. 
 
 " You shan t go," I replied, in a firm voice, " till you change 
 your tone." 
 
 " What ! will you dare to prevent me ?" 
 
 "Yes, I will." 
 
 She walked up and down the room in the same manner as 
 the day I last saw her in London, railing at me in threatening 
 language, which only made my determination stronger. 
 
 " You say you won t let me go ?" she demanded, with a 
 menacing look. 
 
 " Not whilst you talk in that way." 
 
 She picked up the poker, and held it in her hand a moment, 
 as if hesitating what to do. Mary and I regarded her with 
 curiosity. She walked to the window, and pushed it through 
 one of the panes. 
 
 II There, now will you let me go ?" she said with a grand air, 
 as if expecting to see mo alarmed at hir energy. 
 
190 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 41 Not a bit of it," I answered, smiling. " But I can t allow 
 you to break that fine glass in that way, which will cost me a 
 pretty penny to replace." 
 
 Seeing that I was rather amused than startled, Miss Gamble 
 sat down, and seemed to reflect. Dinner was brought in by 
 the valet-de-place, and I partook of it, chatting the while with 
 Miss Gamble and Mary. I saw that we had each taken up an 
 antagonistic position, and that a childish struggle must ensue. 
 The presence of Mary, and the neighborhood of the courier, 
 inspired her with the notion to act a bravado part, whilst I 
 considered that if I gave way to her threats she would laugh 
 ever after at iny cowardice, and always quote my yielding as a 
 proof that I was in the wrong. I decided, then, that I would 
 not let her go till she laid aside her menaces, and employed 
 gentler language ; and told her so. She declared, on the con 
 trary, she never would condescend to use entreaty. 
 
 " You have no right to retain me here, and I ll make you 
 pay for it," she said, with great spirit. 
 
 "I say nothing about the right, my dear Jane ; but I have 
 treated you with politeness, and you have freely partaken of my 
 hospitality. So you must give me fair words, or stay where 
 you are." 
 
 " You are carrying it with a high hand, sir ; but you ll 
 repent it." 
 
 " I shall never repent the hours passed in your charming 
 society." 
 
 " How long do you intend to keep me here ?" she asked. 
 
 " Not more than a day or two," I replied, laughing. " I shall 
 be tired of you, perhaps, by that time." 
 
 She regarded me with a penetrating look, not sure whether 
 I was in jest or not. 
 
 " You would not dare," she cried, " commit such an outrage." 
 
 "Why not?" I said, with the utmost nonchalance. "There 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 191 
 
 are a dozen bed-rooms here, and you and Mary may lock your 
 selves up in the one you like best. But now that I have got 
 you both, I think I could not do better than set sail with you 
 for the Archipelago. I don t know when I shall have a better 
 chance." 
 
 In this way a pretty sharp cross-fire was kept up between us 
 for some time. The valet was quietly clearing away the dinner, 
 and had his arm full of plates, when Miss Gamble suddenly 
 seized him by the collar of his coat, and exclaimed 
 
 " Mind what you are about ! If you prevent my going away, 
 I ll have you severely punished for it." 
 
 The man looked astounded, and came near dropping his 
 crockery, for he did not understand our conversation in English, 
 nor had the least glimmering of what was going on. He stared 
 stupidly, first at her, and then at me. I laughed heartily, and 
 sent him away. Miss Gamble was equally amused, and said . 
 
 " I have cowed him, at all events." 
 
 Finding, however, she had failed to cow me, and determined 
 not to yield her point, she hit upon another expedient to make 
 me give way. She began to throw herself about as though in 
 hysterics, and I had never before seen, on the stage, anything 
 more admirably done. I remembered, fortunately, that she had 
 told me that her aunt was in the habit of this sort of thing, and 
 she had related many scenes of the kind that had occurred. So 
 I was prepared for an imitation of what she had so often 
 described. She acted to perfection, and sometimes I applauded 
 with my hands, and at others laughed immoderately at the 
 absurd things she said. At last, she flung herself on the rug 
 before the fire, with her hair all dishevelled, and declared it was 
 her intention to die. 
 
 " Well, then," I cried, " let them bury the quick with the 
 dead, as Hamlet said, for I am resolved not to survive you." 
 As I spoke, I manifested an intention to lay down beside her, 
 
192 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 which, as I expected, made her leap up instantly. She gave up 
 the hysterical ruse after this, and began to look about, with 
 Mary s assistance, for her combs thai had dropped about the 
 floor. Meanwhile, I went out of the room to see if the courier 
 was about, but I ordered Pietro, or his man, to keep a sharp 
 lookout lest she might break the windows again, or do some 
 thing worse, for I knew she would fight it out to the last. I 
 found the courier in the kitchen frightened out of his wits ; in 
 the same breath, his teeth chattering the while, he begged me 
 not to let her go, and then, for Heaven s sake, not to detain 
 her longer. He could not comprehend the conflict going on, 
 and I did not choose to explain it. I ordered him to go and look 
 about for a carriage, as it was getting very late, and I had 
 secretly settled if she would not retreat, as I hoped, that I 
 would, for I feared to compromise her so seriously as to keep 
 her out all night. When I returned to the saloon, she was 
 quietly seated on the sofa alongside of Mary, who remained, 
 for the most part, a calm spectator of the combat, which she 
 perfectly understood, knowing her mistress s eccentric disposition. 
 
 "Well," I said, seating myself, I have just ordered the 
 house to be locked up. You, and Mary had better go to bed. 
 I intend to sleep here on the sofa." 
 
 " Surely, you are not in earnest ?" she exclaimed, in a startled 
 voice. 
 
 " That s just the difference between you and me. I am always 
 in earnest, and you are always in jest," I replied, in a deep calm 
 tone, as though my decision was irrevocable. 
 
 She hesitated a moment, and then got up, as at Geneva, ap 
 proached me, and falling on her knees by mj|fcput up her 
 hands in the prettiest way imaginable. She W 4HPT S S race - 
 ful in her attitudes. 
 
 " I beg you, then, to let me go," she said in an imploring man 
 ner. 
 
A-ND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 193 
 
 " You, know," I responded, " that I cannot resist a request so 
 politely expressed." 
 
 I lifted her up, and saluted her. 
 
 " Put on your bonnet," I continued, " for I have just ordered 
 a carriage. If you had only held out ten minutes longer you 
 would have gained the day." 
 
 We were both of us now in high spirits, and I ordered the 
 valet, who could not make head or tail of what was going on, to 
 prepare supper, of which Miss Gamble and I partook gaily. 
 
 " But I played you a trick that you are not aware of," she 
 remarked, in great glee. 
 
 " What was that ?" 
 
 " Why, when you were out of the room I wrote on a piece of 
 paper that I was detained here, and would give a thousand 
 francs to any one who would come to my relief, and then threw 
 it out of the window. 
 
 I refused to credit this, but Mary told me it was true. 
 
 " You are a dangerous woman to joke with, I see, for you stop 
 at nothing." 
 
 " You are mistaken," she said archly, " for I could have gone 
 further." 
 
 " How so ?" 
 
 " Isn t there a family overhead, for I distinctly heard a 
 woman s foot ?" 
 
 " Yes, a banker occupies the upper part of the palace." 
 
 "Well, then, if I and Mary had set to screaming, you would 
 have been obliged to run." 
 
 " True enough I should have been off as fast as my legs 
 could carry me. But, entre nous, I wondered you didn t come out 
 when the agent called to see me in the early part of the 
 evening." 
 
 She smiled without replying. 
 
 Between eight and nine o clock the agent of the apartments, Sr 
 
 9 
 
194 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Pescio, had called, and I was talking loith him for near half an 
 hour. If Miss Gamble had not liked the diversion going on, nothing 
 prevented her coming forward to claim his interference.* We were 
 kept waiting a long while to get a carriage, but none could be 
 found. Before going I looked about the room to see that 
 nothing was left behind, when I came across a small leather bag. 
 
 " What s this ?" I asked. 
 
 " It is Mary s," said Miss Gamble. 
 
 "What does it contain ?" I pursued. 
 
 " Only odds and ends that Mary always carries with her." 
 
 It was asserted afterwards that Mary had brought Miss 
 Gamble s night clothes in it; but I do not believe this, as neither 
 Miss Gamble nor myself had ever sent such an order. As I was 
 rummaging about, I thought of my pistols that I had put, when 
 I first entered the room, on the top of a high piece of furni 
 ture. 
 
 " Bless my soul !" I exclaimed, " I totally forgot to shoot my 
 self." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" demanded Miss Gamble. 
 
 I took down the pistols and related to her the ruse I had con 
 templated, but had quite forgotten. 
 
 "It will do for another time," she replied, smiling. It was 
 considerably after midnight when we started off on foot to return 
 to Miss Gamble s Hotel. Pietro led the way, and as the streets 
 were quite deserted, I walked with my arm affectionately thrown 
 round Miss Gamble. I mention this simply to show the loving 
 mood we were in. Mary accompanied us. When we had 
 walked a short distance Miss Gamble remarked 
 
 "What s the use of going back to my hotel to night ?" 
 
 " What do you propose, then ?" I asked, in some surprise. 
 
 " Let us go somewhere else, and return in the morning." 
 
 * This important fact was testified to, under oath, by Sr. Pescio before the tribunal, as 
 will be Been. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 195 
 
 "As you please," I replied ; " but do you wish me to go along 
 with you ?" 
 
 "Of course, I do; tell your servant there to stop at the 
 nearest hotel." 
 
 I gave the order, and directly Pietro knocked at the door of a 
 house which he said was the " Iron Crown Hotel." We were 
 admitted instantly. I asked if they had rooms, and we were 
 shown to a couple of bed-rooms adjoining each other. Miss 
 Gamble chose one, and I took the other. I chatted with her 
 for a short time before retiring, and we agreed to be up and off 
 at nine in the morning. I saluted her cordially when I bid her 
 good-night. I slept soundly, and was woke up by Mary knocking 
 at my door by order of her mistress. 
 
 "It is near nine o clock/ she cried, " are you ready ?" 
 
 " In five minutes," I answered, and springing up immediately, 
 I ordered a carriage to be sent for, and after taking a cup of 
 coffee, I paid the bill, and we started off once more for Miss 
 Gamble s Hotel. I was seated alongside of her in the carriage, 
 and Mary occupied the place in front, and in proof of the kindly 
 relations between us I might add some details that, as a matter 
 of taste, I think best to leave unmentioned. 
 
 I will stop my relation a moment to insert here a document of 
 some importance. So many false statements have circulated 
 respecting the so-called " Abductioji " of Miss Gamble, that the 
 account I have just given will be received with surprise, and 
 likely with doubt. Misrepresentations have been put forth as I 
 will show, both in my name and hers, with a view to compromise 
 me in public opinion. What I have related above I solemnly 
 declare to be the truth, and I am fully prepared with authentic 
 testimony to prove it, should any party whatsoever venture here 
 after to call it in question. Nothing I desire so much as to sub 
 stantiate this, and the rest, before some tribunal where justice is 
 
196 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 not a sham. In the hope that such a chance may yet befall me, 
 I will hold in reserve various documents to verify each incident I 
 have related of the " Abduction," in question. For the present 
 I will content myself with giving an affidavit made before the 
 American Consul at Genoa, G. G. Baker, Esq., that must satisfy 
 every impartial person that I have " nothing extenuated, nor set- 
 down aught in malice." 
 
 Letter of Beneditto Vico, Landlord of the " Iron Crown Hotel," at 
 Genoa, to H. Wikoff: 
 
 " Genoa, April 29, 1853. 
 
 " SIR : I have much pleasure, in answer to your honored letter of the 
 25th, to make the explanations I should not have failed to give before the 
 Judge, but, unfortunately, no opportunity was afforded me. It is perfect 
 ly true that on the 15th of November, 1851, after midnight, Miss Gamble, 
 accompanied by you, came to lodge at my hotel. She asked for bed cham 
 bers, of which she chose one communicating by a door with another that 
 you took for yourself. It was also remarked by the waiter, that you 
 were talking with Miss Gamble in her chamber, whilst your bed was being 
 prepared. It is also true, that in the morning you paid the bill, and after 
 taking coffee, went away with her in the same carriage to her hotel. All 
 this passed in such perfect accord as to show a great familiarity and 
 intimacy between you and Miss Gamble, whose lightest will you seemed 
 disposed to obey. Certainly, if she had shown the least constraint, or any 
 sign of being on bad terms with you, and had demanded my protection, I 
 would have done my best, sir, as it would have been my duty, to shelter 
 her from any coercion on your part. But there was no appearance of the 
 kind, for we saw nothing but two persons very intimate and closely con 
 nected. It is true, likewise, that Miss Gamble was accompanied by a 
 femme de chambre, for whom a third bed-chamber adjoined. In fine, all 
 passed between you in such harmony as not to give evidence of the 
 smallest possible dissension. 
 
 "It is only just to certify to you, sir, besides, that I was never inter 
 rogated by the Judge in a manner to enable me to state the above facts. 
 The most insignificant questions only were put to me, and always to your 
 disadvantage. 
 
AND ITS COX SEQUENCES. 
 
 197 
 
 "Hoping that my reply will meet with your approbation, I beg you, sir, 
 to receive my cordial salutations. 
 
 " Your very humble servant, 
 
 " BENEDITTO Vico." 
 
 " Consulate of the United States of America, Genoa. 
 
 " I, George G. Baker, Consul of the United States of America at Genoa, 
 do he reby make known and certify, that on the second day of May, 1853, 
 Beneditto Vico, the Landlord of the "Iron Crown Hotel," in the city of 
 Genoa, personally appeared before me at this Consulate, and made oath 
 that all the facts and circumstances contained in the foregoing letter are 
 true and exact. 
 
 "In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal 
 of this Consulate, this second day of May, in the year 1853, and in the 
 seventy-seventh year of the Independence of the said United States. 
 
 (Seal.) (Signed) " GEORGE G. BAKER." 
 
 I appeal to the common sense of my reader, and ask, that had 
 I treated Miss Gamble, whilst in my apartment at Genoa, with 
 any rudeness or violence, as has been so falsely alleged, would 
 she have decided, of her own free will, not to return to her own 
 hotel, but to go to another, and pass the night there under my 
 protection ; and, as stated, knock at my door in the morning to 
 escort her away ; but even had she gone of her own accord, 
 would she not naturally have demanded protection from the 
 landlord and his servants had she been in fear, or anger at any 
 previous ill-treatment of mine ? I stake my whole defence upon 
 this voluntary act of hers, and the clear proof I have adduced 
 of our friendly and amiable relations at the close of the so-called 
 " Abduction." To return to my story. 
 
 When Miss Gamble got back to her hotel, the Croix de Malte, 
 I informed her that I should take lodgings in the same house. 
 Whilst at my breakfast, about ten o clock, the courier came to 
 me, and said she desired to see me. I went to her room imme- 
 
198 II Y COURTSHIP 
 
 diatelj. I saluted her on entering, and made use of some com 
 plimentary expressions. 
 
 "Don t talk of love," she said, "but give me that paper, 
 first," meaning the promise she had written the day before. 
 
 "Why are you in such a hurry to get it back, as you say it is 
 worth nothing ?" 
 
 " Xever mind that," she replied ; " will you give it to me ?" 
 
 " If you behave prettily," I said, smiling, " perhaps." 
 
 " Where is it ?" 
 
 At this moment the door of an adjoining room opened, when 
 Miss Gamble exclaimed 
 
 " That is Miss Bennett ! don t let her see you, I beg." 
 
 I was obliged to retire in haste, and before I had time to 
 return her some letters, in my pocket, that she had dropped 
 from her muff on the previous day, and that I had playfully 
 picked up and retained. It was, perhaps, an hour later that 
 the courier came flying into my room, saying . 
 
 " Miss Gamble is going to the British Consul s," 
 
 " What for ?*" I asked, in surprise. 
 
 " I don t know, sir. But do go and see her," he entreated, 
 " and persuade her out of it." 
 
 " No ! I shall not. I can t imagine her motive, but I won t 
 interfere." 
 
 Sure enough, she went off to the British Consul s. 
 
 END OF FIRST PART. 
 
PART II. 
 
 Fiat Justitia, ruat coelum." 
 Let Justice be done, Lf the heavens falL* 
 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 201 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 " WHAT a strange thing for her to do," I muttered to myself. 
 " Can she be in earnest ?" I sat down and reflected. It was 
 high time, certainly. I don t know what opinion my reader 
 may form of my " whole course of wooing," which is now come 
 to an end. It can hardly be one very favorable to the common 
 sense of either Miss Gamble or myself. I do not expect it ; but 
 that it may be no worse, I shall add a word or two more of 
 explanation. However improbable it may seem, after what I 
 have related, it is yet true, that our attachment for each other 
 was sincere, ardent, and strong. Her letters declare it, and her 
 acts, if I might quote them all, confirmed it more. I have pur 
 posely refrained from talking too much of my own feelings for 
 her, lest I might be disbelieved, or laughed at either one enough 
 to make a sensitive man shrink from the ordeal. " Then why, 
 in Heaven s name," demands my impatient reader, " did you not 
 get married at once, and be done with it ?" Yes, why ? It 
 would have been much the wisest thing to do. The difficulty 
 was this : Miss Gamble wished to marry (she has said it often 
 since), but she wished to coquette a little first, and, unfortunate 
 ly, there was something in my manner and conduct that encou 
 raged her to persist in her coquetry. I wished to marry who 
 doubts it ? but I was impatient and imperious, instead of gentle 
 and persuasive. If there is a thing a woman loves, it is to be 
 solicited. It is so congenial to her nature to give or grant I 
 mean, of course, what is proper. Your knowing ones always 
 
 9* 
 
202 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 wear a deferential mask, beg hard, and abide their time. If 
 there is a thing, on the other hand, a woman hates, it is to 
 have a man approach her on the "look and die" principle, or, 
 to express it more classically, in the verd, vidi, vici, vein, and 
 demand a concession in a presumptuous, arrogant tone. 
 Where s the woman that, rather than yield on such terms, 
 would not sacrifice her happiness, herself, and all ? 
 
 I am ashamed to confess it, yet it was in this way I often 
 acted, not from conceit, or over-valuation of myself, but because I 
 felt too sure of Miss Gamble s regard for me. It was this that 
 prevented me constantly from showing- in my language and manner 
 my passionate affection for her ; and it was this that drove me 
 to employ all the maneuvering I have described to obtain her, 
 rather than, like a sensible person, honestly and simply confess 
 my love, and leave the rest to Providence; if Providence really 
 interferes in such matters, though it is said, " Marriages are 
 made in Heaven." It was a misfortune that I overheard Miss 
 Gamble say one day that, " a woman was a fool to let a man 
 detect her love." I pondered over this, and, instead of laugh 
 ing at its absurdity for can a coquette, even, hide her love, if it 
 be love I fashioned my conduct after this maxim, and did my 
 best to prevent my own heart revealing itself too plainly. I am 
 done, dear reader (for I am addressing a lady at this moment), 
 with explanations. I doubt if it disentangles my case at all ; 
 but all I desire and pray for is, if I am convicted before 
 the august tribunal of such as may please to read this eventful 
 history, of having inordinately played the fool, that, at all 
 events, I shall be acquitted of hypocritically seeking to inspire 
 an attachment that I did not heartily and earnestly reciprocate. 
 
 As I was just saying, Miss Gamble went off to the British Con 
 sulate ; but I could not make out, either then or since, what could 
 be her motive in making the British Consul a party to the 
 silly adventure of the previous day. In keeping with the many 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 203 
 
 mad pranks she had already played, I thought it possible that 
 .she only sought to have me summoned before him that I might 
 be warned not to interfere with her again, supposing that this 
 new display of energy on her part, would alarm me into quiet 
 submission to her caprices henceforth. It occurred to me, also, 
 that she might be seeking, through the instrumentality of the 
 British Consul, to recover the written evidence of her previous 
 pledges of marriage made in Switzerland, that she had given 
 me the day before, and which she, perhaps, suspected I would 
 insist upon retaining. I was afterwards told by the courier that 
 she expressed apprehensions of some imaginary person that, she 
 had got it into her whimsical head, was urging me on to press 
 her to a final decision. The courier, however, assured her that 
 there was no such person in existence, and that if she had any 
 alarm in this respect, it was entirely groundless. But, as I just 
 said, I could never come at her motive for this singular step. 
 It may have been jest, or anger, or fear, or a mixture of all, 
 that carried her to the British Consul s house on the day in 
 question ; and there would have been little, likely, to regret, if 
 his Consulship had not turned out to be a still greater oddity 
 than herself. 
 
 To resume. Some three hours had elapsed since her departure, 
 and I was momentarily expecting her return, wondering what 
 could possibly detain her so long, when the courier dashed into 
 my room, looking very pale, and cried 
 " My God, sir; we are all to be arrested I" 
 " Arrested 1 for what? and by whom ?" I asked, in amaze 
 ment. 
 
 " By the British Consul," he replied. " I conducted Miaa 
 Gamble to his house, and, after a long time, he came down stairs, 
 and seeing me in the hall, he ordered me about my business, 
 and said he was going to the police to have us ail arrested 
 immediately." 
 
204 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " In that case, I shall be off to my Consul, and claim his 
 assistance. You had better return, however, to get the orders 
 of .your mistress." 
 
 I was a good deal astonished, as may be supposed, at this 
 singular news. Utterly unconscious of having violated any 
 law, I could not conjecture the motive for an arrest. I thought, 
 besides, the conduct of the British Consul was precipitate in 
 not investigating the matter more fully before resorting to so 
 violent a course. A sensible man ought to reflect there are 
 always two sides to a story. 
 
 I started, then, in quest of my Consul, George G. Baker, Esq., 
 as intimated, and found him at home. His appearance was 
 somewhat striking. He was a tall, slim man, of .a rather severe 
 expression of countenance, with a penetrating grey eye that 
 twinkled benignantly ever and anon. Spirit and firmness, not 
 unmixed with benevolence, were the marked traits of his phy 
 siognomy. He received me pleasantly; and I began to relate 
 to him the events of the day before, adding a rapid outline of 
 what had preceded. I then begged him to call on the British 
 Consul to make a representation of the case, and to remonstrate 
 against his strange proceedings. My Consul seemed greatly 
 amused at the novelty of the case, but cordially assented to my 
 request, bidding me to await his return. It was nearly two 
 hours before he got back, when he stated that, on reaching the 
 British Consul s house, he found him gone out, but that he met 
 Miss Gamble there, who seemed in great alarm at the unex 
 pected turn the matter had taken. On finding that he had come 
 there on my behalf, she implored him to check the British 
 Consul in his impetuous conduct, saying she had never dreamt of 
 my arrest, for I had done nothing but what love had prompted; 
 and, finally, begging him not to give me up to the police. The 
 British Consul came in whilst this was going on, when he rudely 
 ordered Miss Gamble to quit the room, and not to interfere. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 205 
 
 Left together, the American Consul, then, in the name of 
 Miss Gamble and on my behalf, deprecated the course he, the 
 British Consul, was pursuing, and suggested a friendly settlement 
 of a foolish lovers quarrel. The British Consul, on the other 
 hand, used very intemperate language, and declared he would 
 persist in arresting me ; whereupon my Consul replied, that I 
 was under the protection of his consulate, and that the police 
 could not reach me there. And so they separated. 
 
 I listened to this recital with lively interest. It appeared, 
 then, that Miss Gamble, with her characteristic inconsistency, 
 already regretted the extraordinary step she had taken. What 
 story she had related to the British Consul, I have never been 
 able to discover; but it afterwards appeared that she suppressed, 
 as she had done with Mr. Bates, all the particulars of our long 
 and fantastic courtship. I was gratified, however, to learn that 
 she had no hostile object in view, and that she had earnestly 
 besought the American Consul to give me protection and 
 succor. 
 
 " Well, Consul," I demanded, at the close of his statement, 
 " what had I better do ?" 
 
 " You had better stay where you are," he answered, with a 
 friendly smile. " The police are in search of you, and the 
 courier is arrested, and already in prison." 
 
 "You are extremely kind," I said, not a little comforted; 
 " but I fear to trespass on your hospitality." 
 
 "Don t name it," he replied, "for I am glad to give you 
 shelter against so ridiculous a proceeding as this." 
 
 The Consul was, in fact, a warm-hearted man ; and in a case, 
 whether small or important, where his notions of right were 
 ruffled, he was not likely to give up his point without a struggle. 
 He introduced me at once to his wife, a middle-aged person of 
 quiet manners, but pleasing appearance. I related to her in a 
 lively manner the adventure that had thrown me on her civility, 
 
206 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 and to which she lent a ready ear. She was both amused and 
 interested, and hid me welcome in a hearty tone. If I had got 
 into a scrape through the thoughtlessness of a woman, it was 
 grateful to find that the first one of her sex I had encountered 
 promptly stretched forth her hand to the rescue. Women, from 
 impulse, sometimes do cruel things enough, but the female heart 
 is essentially sympathetic ; and in difficulty and distress, when 
 men often turn a deaf ear, woman becomes the " ministering 
 angel." It is a beautiful and holy mission hers, and even the 
 lowest of her kind has always " some corner of her soul " accessi 
 ble to the purest and best emotions of our nature. I spent 
 quite a delightful evening with my Consul and his lady, and we 
 were joined at a later hour by another countryman of mine, a 
 Mr. Spalding, United States agent at Spezzia, and then on a visit 
 to the Consul s house. He was a lively and pleasant man, and, 
 like all Americans, full of patriotic sympathy. When he heard 
 my story he was much amused, but was quite indignant at the 
 bellicose conduct of the British Consul. On retiring for the 
 night, Mr. Spalding insisted on giving up his bed to me, and 
 went out to sleep at an adjoining hotel, as the Consul was not 
 provided for so unexpected a guest. 
 
 After breakfast, next morning, November 17th, the American 
 Consul and Mr. Spalding, accompanied by a Genoese gentleman, 
 Mr. Koster, went off to the Governor of the town, yclept Inten- 
 dente, and found the British Consul, Mr. Timothy Brown, 
 already there, who still used very abusive language. He had 
 got it into his head that I must be a Russian spy, from the fact 
 of my having hired an apartment in the Russian Consul s house, 
 and he demanded my arrest in loud and peremptory terms. 
 My Consul stated the case to the Intendente, and again remon 
 strated with Mr. Brown. At last, the Intendente very sensibly 
 referred the two Consuls to the lady herself before he interfered 
 at all in the matter. An interview followed with Miss Gamble 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 207 
 
 at her hotel, when she, in the most earnest manner, entreated 
 Mr. Brown to desist, and allow the affair to be settled quietly, 
 without exposing her to publicity, and involving me in serious 
 trouble. She spoke of me in the most eulogistic terms, and 
 said that she had pledged me her hand, and that the farce I 
 had played her was inspired by love, and not by any base 
 motive. At length, Mr. Brown, in spite of his fierce resolves, 
 *as forced to give way, and he drew up a paper for me to sign, 
 to the effect that I would return to Miss Gamble the promise 
 of marriage she had written at my apartment, and further 
 agree not to molest her again. About two o clock, p. m. my 
 Consul returned with this document in his hand, which I 
 instantly consented to accept ; but Mr. Baker suggested that 
 the wording was injurious to me, and that I had better copy it 
 out in my own language. I did so, and gave it to him, when he 
 returned to the hotel of Miss Gamble. Mr. Brown was not 
 satisfied, and, at the request of Miss Gamble, he determined to 
 come and see me. 
 
 I was sitting with Mrs. Baker when the two Consuls entered. 
 The first view I had of Mr. Brown, gave me an unfavorable 
 impression. His countenance was harsh and stern, his eye had 
 a sinister expression, and his manners were pompous and for 
 bidding. I addressed him in courteous language, and explained 
 briefly the facts of the case. By degrees he modified his views, 
 and began to think he had been too hasty. 
 
 " I see by your manners and conversation that you are a 
 gentleman," he said, " and I have been led into a wrong view of 
 the case." 
 
 " It is evident," I returned, " that Miss Gamble, in a moment 
 of excitement, has committed a foolish act; but I hope, for her 
 sake, even more than for my own, that you will not carry the 
 matter any further." 
 
 " Miss Gamble, in my opinion, is mad," asserted Mr. Brown, 
 
208 MY C II K T S H I P 
 
 in his gruff way; "and you will be ten times madder if you 
 marry her." 
 
 He added some other rough expressions that I forbear to 
 repeat. 
 
 This took place in the presence of my Consul, his wife, and 
 Mr. Spaldiog. General conversation then ensued, and it hap 
 pened to come out that I had formerly known a brother-in-law 
 of Mr. Brown s, a London merchant. This had, also, a conciliat 
 ing effect. 
 
 " Well, it is a trumpery lovers folly," he remarked at last, 
 " and I will go no further with it. There is no necessity for 
 your writing the paper I drew up ; merely scribble a line that you 
 will molest her no further, and that will answer." 
 
 I did so. 
 
 "She is very anxious," he continued, "to have back the 
 promise of marriage, which I suppose you care nothing about. 7 
 
 " Not the least in the world," I replied ; " I will return it the 
 moment I get hold of my portmanteau." 
 
 " You give me your word of honor to that effect ?" 
 
 " I do." 
 
 "That is sufficient," said Mr. Brown. "And now I advise 
 you to have nothing further to do with that mad woman, or 
 you ll get into more scrapes." 
 
 " I thank you for your advice," was my answer ; " but I 
 think you are too hard upon her." 
 
 " If you remain in Genoa," he added, taking up his hat, 
 " come and see me ; I will present you to Mrs. Brown. I shall 
 go now to the Questore, and tell him it is all settled amicably, .and 
 request him to withdraw the police. I congratulate you on 
 escaping, even for one night, an Italian gaol, for they are shock 
 ing places, I assure you." 
 
 With that Mr. Brown withdrew. 
 
 " If after every storm there comes a calm like this" I 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 209 
 
 said, smiling, to my Consul, whom I shook warmly by the hand, 
 thanking him for his active and friendly services. 
 
 " Miss Gamble is rather an odd person, I think," said Mr. 
 Spalding ; " but I suspect Mr. Brown is a good deal odder. 
 Between the two you would have had a tough time of it. You 
 are well out of the scrape." 
 
 We all sat down to dinner in high spirits. My worthy Consul 
 and his amiable wife were pleased to see me out of trouble; Mr. 
 Spalding ditto ; and it is needless to say I was greatly enlivened 
 at escaping the attentions of my new friends, the police, two of 
 whom had been stationed all day at the door of the American. 
 Consul, beyond whose inviolable precincts they presumed not to 
 venture. 
 
 "Just tell the police," I said to the servant, " not to go, when 
 they get the order, without my giving them a douceur for their 
 useless trouble." 
 
 We were taking coffee in the Consul s comfortable drawing- 
 room, about eight o clock in the evening, when the British Vice- 
 Consul was announced. 
 
 " I have come," he stated, " to inform you, on the part of Mr. 
 Brown, that he fears there will be some difficulty in stopping the 
 matter. The Questore (or Mayor) of Police has put the com 
 plaint into the hands of the Avoccato Fiscale, the law-officer of the 
 Crown, and it is doubtful now whether a trial can be avoided." 
 Why, the affair is settled amicably between the parties 
 themselves," replied the American Consul ; " and it is absurd to 
 talk of a trial." 
 
 "Sol think," replied the British Vice-Consul ; "but if you 
 will come to-morrow morning at eleven o clock, to the office of 
 the Fiscal Advocate, Mr. Brown will meet you there, and a final 
 attempt will be made to arrange it." 
 
 " I will be there without fail," answered my Consul, when the 
 British Yice-Consul withdrew. 
 
210 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 It appeared that Mr. Brown had, in the beginning, made a 
 formal complaint before the head of police against myself, the 
 courier, and my valet-de-place, and demanded our immediate 
 arrest. According to the law, the accusation had laid for 
 twenty-four hours in the hands of the Questore, when he handed 
 it over for prosecution to the regular law-officer, the Fiscal 
 Advocate. It was just after this had been done that Mr. Brown 
 arrived to say that it was all settled ; but the Questore replied, 
 it was now beyond his jurisdiction, and that the complaint was 
 duly entered for trial ; nor did he see how it was possible to 
 stop it without gross informality. However, it was hoped that 
 something might still be done to stay legal proceedings. 
 
 The same evening, about nine o clock, a commissaire of police 
 came to the American Consul s house to carry me off to prison. 
 My Consul protested against it on the ground that the difficulty 
 was settled. The officer replied that he had no authority to 
 violate the consular domicile, and so retired, but taking off 
 with him my unfortunate valet-de-place, who still remained in my 
 service. He came back again about ten o clock, expressing his 
 regret, but saying that, as a matter of form, he was obliged to 
 arrest me. The American Consul explained that the question 
 was adjourned till eleven o clock next morning, and refused to 
 give me up. The commissaire declared he would be obliged to 
 take me all the same. This brought out the spirit of my Consul, 
 who unfurled his flag, and laid it across the threshold of his door. 
 
 " Insult that at your peril," he said. My domicile is sacred, 
 and I will protect my countryman until I know clearly that I 
 have no right to do so." 
 
 Up to this time I had remained a quiet spectator of what 
 was passing. The commissaire put on his sash of office ; but, 
 proclaiming his respect for the American flag, hesitated as to 
 what course to pursue. Upon this I advanced, deeply touched 
 by the Consul s zeal and good feeling on my behalf. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 211 
 
 " I beg you, sir," I said, " to receive my grateful thanks, but 
 I never can consent to see an outrage committed on the national 
 flag in so paltry an affair as this. I prefer a thousand times to 
 go to prison. I surrender." 
 
 I then gave myself up to the police. The commissaire, a very 
 gentlemanly person, thanked me cordially for relieving him from 
 his embarrassment. 
 
 "After all," he added, "it is only a farce. If the matter 
 goes on, you will be out to-morrow on bail." 
 
 " Well, I regret your decision," said my resolute Consul. " I 
 would have protected you to the last. But I protest against 
 the proceeding as unnecessary, if not absurd." 
 
 I then bid my excellent friend and his amiable wife good-night. 
 They were both annoyed to see me quit their hospitable roof for 
 so dreary a receptacle ; and Mr. Spalding, whose feelings had 
 got worked up by the scene, declared 
 
 " If you must go, I will go too, to see, at least, where they 
 put you." 
 
 An American never deserts a countryman in trouble. It is 
 one of the finest traits of our national character. It was near 
 midnight when we started off, myself on the arm of the com 
 missaire, Mr. Spalding on the other side, and two policemen 
 bringing up the rear. I stopped, en route, a moment to buy an 
 article or two of necessity, not having seen my luggage since 
 the day before, and then resumed my march. 
 
 My sensations were rather confused the novelty of going 
 to prison was rather exciting ; and the dejection that might be 
 supposed to accompany so unusual an event in most people s 
 experience was not severe in my case, for the double reason that 
 I was unconscious of any offence to deserve it, and next, that it 
 was chiefly the result of a combination of strange accidents, 
 originating in the eccentric disposition of Miss Gamble. Though 
 not depressed at this new tribulation, I was far from that state 
 
212 MY C OURTSH I P 
 
 of exultation which might have inspired a knight of the olden 
 time at so trying a martyrdom for his ladye-love. My feelings 
 found a more natural vent in the plaintive expostulation of the 
 hero of Hood 
 
 " Ah ! little Nell, ah little Nell, 
 How could you serve me so, 
 I ve met with many a breeze before, 
 But never such a How." 
 
 Suddenly turning up a narrow street that I could scarce 
 descry in the darkness, we began a sharp ascent. Passing 
 through two outer gates guarded by sentinels, we soon reached 
 the door of the prison of St. Andrea. The commissaire then 
 handed me over to the chief jailer, with injunctions to treat me 
 kindly, and courteously bid me good-night. The jailer, Colombo 
 by name, was a round-faced, jolly-looking fellow, and was rigged 
 in a cloth blouse, belted by a broad strap, from which hung a 
 bunch of ponderous keys. A red woollen nightcap completed his 
 toilette. In costume he was the beau ideal of a jailer. My name 
 was duly entered on the records of the prison, and my offence stated 
 to be the "Abduction," of Miss Gamble. I would much "have 
 preferred, at that moment, seeing our names inscribed on a church 
 register. That clone, I was then summoned to follow Colombo 
 and his assistants. Mr. Spalding, like a true Yankee, would 
 not listen to any talk of regulations, but would follow to see how 
 I was disposed of. After winding up two flights of stone stairs 
 we came to a high door, which was unlocked and thrown open, 
 disclosing a room of considerable dimensions. It was occupied 
 by a dozen beds or more, each with an occupant, who, disturbed 
 at this unusual hour, past midnight, slowly raised their heads 
 and looked at us with a stupid stare. It was a gallery of por 
 traits anything but attractive. Colombo stated that this room 
 was reserved for a better class of prisoners, and that he would 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 213 
 
 make me up a bed as soon as possible. But I demurred stoutly 
 to being turned into this pen, and insisted on a room to myself. 
 
 " Put me into your dirtiest dungeon if you choose," I said, " I 
 don t mind a rat or two, but I will be alone." 
 
 This was said in so determined a manner that Colombo 
 thought it no use to argue, though he seemed surprised at any 
 opposition to his will, whicli no one there presumed to question. 
 After a short consultation between the jailers, we descended a 
 story lower, and entered a long corridor lined with rooms. I 
 was told that this was quite empty, on account of repairs going 
 on, and that I might have my pick of the cells. I selected one 
 of the best, which was really a very good room lofty, of fair 
 size, and clean. They rigged it up in a trice. A couple of 
 benches were brought in, and a mattress thrown on them. 
 Colombo supplied the covering from his own stores. A table, a 
 couple of chairs, a wash-stand, and lamp completed the furni 
 ture. Colombo then wished me a good night s rest, and Mr. 
 Spalding extended his hand, whicli I grasped warmly. 
 
 " This is very hard luck," he said, " and enough to make me 
 forswear courting as long as I live." 
 
 " Nay, don t slander the sex," I replied, " because some of 
 them prove whimsical." 
 
 They all retired, and when I heard the rattling of bolts, and 
 the clank of chains, and felt that I was locked up, a peculiar and 
 very rebellious sensation seized me. I almost wished I could 
 transform myself into a locomotive on the spot, when, with all 
 my steam on, I would have rushed against every door in the 
 establishment, and continued my progress a long way out of 
 sight. Having nothing better to do, I turned in, and was just 
 settling down into a snooze when I heard the bolts and chains at 
 work again. Presently the noise of steps approaching fell on 
 my ear. My door opened, and Colombo and suite entered. 
 Without as much as saying, " By your leave, sir," they began 
 
214 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 searching all my pockets, according to prison rules helping them 
 selves freely to the contents, money and all. This done, they 
 picked up my watch and coolly walked off, locking me up as 
 before. 
 
 " That s what I call robbery according to law," I growled, 
 getting a little more rebellious than ever. " But it faint no 
 use/ as Corporal Hawkins said," and muffling up; I tried to 
 sleep it into morn. 
 
 The silence was intense. I got through the night pretty 
 well, dreaming that Miss Gamble was sawing off the iron 
 grating of my window, whereat my gratitude knew no bounds. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 215 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 ALAS ! it was all a dream; for the first thing that stared me 
 ill the face, on waking, was this identical netting of bars, and 
 substantial ones they were too. Colombo paid me an early 
 visit, and restored my watch to my great satisfaction ; the 
 money he was obliged to retain, he said, according to prison disci 
 pline, and my papers had been sent off to the Fiscal Advocate.* 
 The door of my room was left open by especial favor, and I had 
 the corridor all to myself for exercise. I was allowed to send 
 out to an adjoining hotel for my breakfast. There were no fire 
 places or stoves in the prison, but Colombo kindly furnished me 
 with some cinders in a brazier, which served to warm my fingers 
 at all events. I walked up and down the corridor for some 
 hours during the morning, and the sounds and sights about me, 
 to say nothing of the odors, soon gave me a surfeit of the 
 locality. I sat down at last, and wrote to Miss Gamble, giving 
 her a graphic picture of my condition, and begging her to do all 
 she could to obtain my redemption thence. I handed my letter 
 to Colombo, who promised to forward it to its destination ; but 
 he gave it, instead, according to the rules, to the Fiscal Advo 
 cate. My mind was too disturbed for reading, so I continued 
 my promenade up and down the corridor a prey to the most 
 
 * These consisted of a couple of notes to Miss Gamble, written during the day at the 
 United States Consulate, but which I had not sent to her. I entreated therein her for 
 bearance for the courier, and expressed my hope that Mary was none the worse for our 
 frolic of Saturday, for the old lady so far seconded her mistress on that occasion as to 
 refuse any refreshment, and I feared, at her age, she might fall ill. 
 
216 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 uncomfortable reflections. This was one of the days of my life 
 I shall never recall without a shudder. 
 
 About four o clock, I was called down to see the British 
 Consul, Mr. Brown. His manner was quite changed from the 
 day before. Addressing me in a cold, repelling tone, he said 
 
 " No arrangement is possible. The thing must go on." 
 
 " I arn distressed to hear it," I answered ; " but how is it 
 possible to convert such a farce into a serious offence ?" 
 
 "That is Miss Gamble s affair," he returned, twirling his 
 cane. 
 
 " What does she intend to do ?" I asked. 
 
 " She must stand by her complaint now," he answered, with 
 some emphasis. 
 
 " I wonder that my Consul has not come with you," I 
 remarked. 
 
 " He will not be allowed to see you," observed Mr. Brown, 
 turning to retire. 
 
 " What !" I exclaimed, " are you allowed access to me, and 
 my own Consul refused ?" 
 
 " It appears so. Good-day, sir." 
 
 The British Consul then abruptly withdrew, leaving me in a 
 state of mind anything but enviable. I paced my room for 
 some time in extreme agitation. It seemed inconceivable that 
 a folly of so trivial a nature could be tortured into a legal 
 offence, and I found it hard to comprehend my situation. The 
 rude reality, however, was before me. I was in a prison, and 
 threatened with a public trial. My cheek glowed with shame 
 and mortification at such a scandal, and it required all my forti 
 tude for awhile to bear up against it. At length, I wrote to 
 my Charge d? Affaires at Turin, and to the Count de Cavour, 
 explaining what had occurred, and requesting what aid they 
 could give me. My dinner was brought in, about six o clock, 
 from a neighboring restaurant; but my appetite, like Bob Acre s 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 217 
 
 courage, had quite "oozed away." The man who served it 
 began, in his clumsy way, to cheer me up, and the good feeling 
 which inspired it gradually interested me. He was a fine-looking 
 fellow, with a magnificent black beard of Scriptural dimensions. 
 I found he, too, was a prisoner, and had been there over two 
 years already. He had played a very comical trigk on some 
 worthy monks, and was sentenced to three years for his want of 
 reverence. A bustling, pleasant rogue was this same Quakaro 
 by name, and he gravely assured me " it was nothing when you 
 got used to it." Recovering my humor and appetite by degrees, 
 I set to, and made my dinner. 
 
 I discovered next day that my Consul was really denied 
 admission to me, and I was cut off, besides, from all out-of-door 
 communication till I had first undergone an examination by 
 what was yclept a Judge of Instruction. This preliminary 
 investigation is analogous to that before the Police Magistrate 
 in England and the United States ; but on the Continent of 
 Europe, where habeas corpus is unknown, the accused is immedi 
 ately thrown into prison, and detained there till his case is 
 inquired into by functionaries appointed for that special object. 
 These examinations, in writing, are then laid before a council 
 of the particular Court where the offence belongs, and upon 
 their decision the matter is sent before the Tribunals, or may 
 be dismissed. 
 
 On Wednesday evening, forty-eight hours after my imprison 
 ment, I was visited by the Examining Judge, Sr. Trucco, with 
 his secretary and interpreter, and I found him quite a gentle 
 manly person. He desired me to state my case, and thought it 
 better that I should relate the whole history of my wooing. This 
 was a harder job than-Othello had to do, but I set to work most 
 conscientiously. The judge found it often a difficult matter to 
 preserve his gravity, whilst the secretary and interpreter fre 
 quently stopped to express their wonder and to suggest my 
 
 10 
 
218 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 having nothing more to do with such an arrant madcap. After 
 my statement was recorded, the Judge, with due courtesy, 
 declared it was almost impossible to believe my courtship had 
 gone through so many singular phases, and asked if I had any 
 letters of the lady to confirm it. I answered in the affirmative, 
 but hesitated to give them up. He said they were vital to my 
 defence, and so I handed him such as I happened to have along 
 with me. Before leaving, Sr. Trucco remarked that he did not 
 consider my case as falling within the statute, for the law, in 
 defining " Abduction," considered the motive and the circum 
 stances as well as the act itself. He also added that, in any 
 light, it was but a misdemeanor of the smallest class, and that 
 an application for bail could not reasonably be refused. I found 
 myself greatly comforted by these consolatory assurances, and I 
 naturally looked forward to a speedy end to all my troubles. I 
 slept soundly that night, and dreamt that Miss Gamble had got 
 me out of prison, and fled with me beyond the reach of bolts 
 and Browns. 
 
 The next morning I was still in bed musing, when a fellow 
 strolled into my room and walked about with his hands in his 
 pockets, as though he had a right to do it. There was an easy 
 nonchalance about him, and an intelligence in his clear eye and 
 olive-colored physiognomy that caught my attention. 
 
 " Well, who are you, my fine fellow ?" I asked in French. 
 
 " One of the turnkeys of St. Andrea," he answered, in the 
 same language, " and quite at your service, sir." 
 
 " Where did you pick up French ?" I asked, inspecting him 
 more closely the while. 
 
 " In France, Monsieur ; I have been to Paris," he said, rather 
 boastingly. 
 
 " What is your name ?" 
 
 " Roquino." 
 
 " Well, then, master Roquino, I d like to enrol you at once 
 
AXD ITS CONSEQUENCES. 219 
 
 as chief officer of my staff, if such appointments are" recognized 
 here." 
 
 " It may be done, sir," he replied promptly, " with the Direc 
 tor s permission, and I am sure he would not refuse you. If you 
 will write to him I will carry the letter at once." 
 
 * Done," I said, jumping up, aud suiting the action to the 
 word. 
 
 In half an hour he returned, his face quite radiant. 
 
 " The Director sends you his compliments," he said, " and con 
 sents to withdraw me from my usual occupations and to assign 
 me to your special service." 
 
 I liked this arrangement vastly, for I was sure that Roquino 
 would be useful to me, else I mistook the shrewdness that spark 
 led in his dark eye. Happily, I little dreamt at the time how 
 long he was destined to exercise his new functions. A rare fel 
 low was he, that same Roquino. As great a rogue as one could 
 well meet in a prison or out of it, but in all his tricks there was 
 a finish and a scientific precision that would have made many a 
 veteran diplomatist jealous of his skill. He never did you from 
 mere wantonness ; it was all calculation with him ; he had a 
 motive and a distinct object always. You might be sure he 
 would cheat you if he could possibly gain by it, and he was 
 equally felicitous in disguising both the cheat and the gains. I 
 never outwitted him save once, but he bore it with the impertur 
 bability of an adept who knew he could retrieve it. He was 
 often useful to me, and always an amusement ; but alack I I had 
 to pay for both. 
 
 Several days elapsed before my worthy Consul managed 
 to reach me. Many obstacles had been thrown in his way, but 
 he thrust them aside with his wonted energy, for he was not a 
 man to be stopped by trifles. He gave me a deal of information 
 that filled me with surprise and pain. It appeared, from what 
 he related on this and other occasions, that no sooner did Mr. 
 
220 
 
 MY C U R T S II I 
 
 Brown, the British Consul, discover that the complaint he had 
 so unnecessarily laid before the police must undergo a legal 
 investigation, than, contradicting all he had said of the 
 insignificance of the matter a few days before, he turned around 
 and determined to make out a " strong case " against me, lest 
 he might be blamed for the outrage of arresting and throwing 
 me into prison. To this end he assumed at once complete 
 authority over Miss Gamble, laying upon her the fault that he 
 had acted as he had done ; whilst she, finding herself in a false 
 position from the inconsiderate step she had taken, gave herself 
 entirely up to his arbitrary guidance, though I am quite sure her 
 heart must have recoiled from the course he thought fit to urge 
 upon her. In consequence, a charge was trumped up against 
 me of having employed " menaces " to make her write the paper 
 at my apartment already mentioned, though she had repeatedly 
 declared the contrary as seen on the day the matter was settled 
 between us. I am sorry to say that Miss Gamble was induced 
 to make this cruel and unfounded accusation to the Judge of 
 Instruction, Sr. Trucco, who duly laid it before the Fiscal 
 Advocate. This latter functionary, after frequent and undis 
 guised consultations with Mr. Brown, went to the extraordinary 
 length of pronouncing me guilty of having extorted a promise of 
 marriage from Miss Gambit with menaces. This was a grave act 
 of felony, and various articles of the code were applied to the 
 case, making out a term of imprisonment at the galleys for over 
 ten years ! I ! This may seem almost incredible, but it is strictly 
 true, as the records of the Tribunal will show. 
 
 I should add, that whilst the matter was under reflection by 
 the Fiscal Advocate, my Consul was informed of the constant 
 visits of Mr. Brown to his office, and he accordingly remon 
 strated in energetic language at this unseemly interference. 
 Upon this, the Fiscal Advocate expressed a wish that neither of 
 the Consuls would call on him again touching the case, and Mr. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 221 
 
 Brown, at the demand of the American Consul, further pledged 
 his honor not to interfere thereafter. What was the surprise of 
 my Consul, and of his own countrymen, to learn that he still 
 continued to do so ! The fact is, the conduct of Mr. Timothy 
 Brown, during these events, was more like a bedlamite than a 
 sound-headed and warm-hearted Englishman. He actually 
 declared openly in the streets, and to the American Consul on 
 many occasions, that he would send me to the galleys, or his 
 name was not Timothy Brown. There was no accounting for 
 the eccentric behavior of this gentleman, which, in my case, 
 assumed a tone of harshness that deepened at last into down 
 right cruelty. I don t believe, from the North to the South 
 Pole, another British Consul could have been found who would 
 show such singular zest in hunting down a poor devil of a lover, 
 who had, by a hard fate, fallen into his gripe. 
 
 I should, perhaps, explain here that the English influence was 
 paramount in Sardinia, which, at the time I am writing of, had 
 incurred the dislike of certain great States by its new constitu 
 tional doctrines ; and the protection accorded to it by England 
 was, therefore, vital to its safety, and, in other respects, greatly 
 advantageous. Consequently the diplomatic and consular repre 
 sentatives of the British government at Turin and Genoa exer 
 cised an undisputed sway and it was left to the taste and 
 discretion of these gentlemen to employ it for proper ends. Had 
 it so minded Mr. Brown, nothing could have been easier than, 
 with due respect to legal formality, to save me from the injury 
 and suffering he, on the contrary, sought so zealously to inflict. 
 His conduct throughout was unworthy his position, and of his 
 noble country, and in strange contrast to that rational and 
 humane disposition which characterizes all classes of the English 
 people. What his own countrymen thought of his proceedings 
 I shall have occasion to show by-and-by. 
 
 I was, fortunately, kept in ignorance of the terrible fate pre- 
 
222 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 paring for me, by the considerate humanity of my jailer-valet, 
 Roquino, who managed with such admirable address to deceive 
 me as to leave me even without a suspicion of what was really 
 going on. 
 
 It was in the beginning of December that a printed paper 
 was brought me one day from the office of the Fiscal Advocate, 
 and I sent immediately for my man Friday to know what it was 
 all about. He glanced over it without moving a feature, and 
 said 
 
 " It is only the conclusions of the Fiscal Advocate as to your 
 case." 
 
 " Very well ; but what does he conclude ?" I asked, with 
 some eagerness. 
 
 " He applied several articles of the code to it," he answered, 
 determined to conceal the truth ; "but I don t know what they 
 mean." 
 
 " That is easily settled," I returned, taking the paper into my 
 hand, "for I see he gives the number of each article. Go and 
 get the code." 
 
 Roquino was never taken aback, no matter what the emer 
 gency ; and so, making no difficulty, he went off in search of it, 
 In a short time he came back, code in hand, which I was about 
 taking from him, when he said 
 
 "Will you please to read out the number of each article, and 
 I will let you know the result, for I can find them quicker than 
 you can." 
 
 " Agreed," I replied, " so look for 4t." 
 
 " Here it is," he declared, turning over the leaves with much 
 apparent care. " That gives you one month s imprisonment." 
 
 " I don t mind that," I answered in a lively tone. " Now 
 for 62." 
 
 " You are down again for another month," he asserted, after 
 taking some time to find the place. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 223 
 
 " Well, I can stand that without much wincing. Look 
 for 97." 
 
 " How these leaves stick together/ exclaimed Roquino, 
 secretly meaning to give me a breathing-spell between the doses 
 he was compelled to administer. Here it is, 9t. You will 
 have six weeks according to that, though." 
 
 " That makes over three months/ I said, calculating, and 
 beginning to feel uncomfortable ; " but go on till I know the 
 worst." 
 
 In this unsuspecting way I went through all the articles spe 
 cified in the document sent me, and I found that by the inter 
 pretation Roquino gave it, I was in danger of some six months 
 imprisonment, and the prospect disturbed me not a little. It 
 was only a couple of weeks later that I discovered the true 
 nature of the paper in question, which was, in fact, a notice from 
 the Fiscal Advocate that my case was sent up to the Criminal 
 Court, with his suggestion that the various articles of the code 
 cited should be applied to it, constituting, as I have said before, 
 an imprisonment at the galleys for over ten years. 
 
 The well-meant deception of Roquino was nearly frustrated, 
 a day or so afterwards, by my Consul, who thought it his duty, 
 however unpleasant, to make the truth known to me. 
 
 " Well, my poor friend," he said, seating himself in my room, 
 " I have come to give you some very painful intelligence. Mr. 
 Brown is making desperate exertions to send you to the galleys, 
 and he has managed to get your case before the Chamber of 
 Accusation of the Criminal Court. What they will decide I 
 cannot tell." 
 
 " I am happy to inform you, my dear Consul," I replied, put 
 ting entire faith in Roquino s misrepresentation, " that the 
 amiable intentions of the merciless Brown are likely to be 
 defeated, for I have got a notice from the Fiscal Advocate 
 quoting the articles of the code that he declares have 
 
224 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 been violated, and the sum-total is six months imprison 
 ment." 
 
 The Consul stared at this unexpected statement of mine. 
 
 " You are under some egregious delusion/ he returned, " for 
 I keep a vigilant eye on what is transpiring, and I repeat that 
 your case is gone before the Council of the Criminal Court, and 
 the galleys are suspended over your head." 
 
 I could not account for the supposed error of the Consul, but 
 remaining perfectly unmoved, I said 
 
 " The point is easily settled, for Roquino read to me each 
 article of the code, and I will send for him to put you right." 
 
 " Do so," replied the Consul, thinking I was losing my 
 wits. 
 
 In a few minutes the arch-deceiver entered my room at my 
 summons, with his hands in his pockets, as usual, and his coun 
 tenance as serene as a new-born babe s. 
 
 " Here, Roquino," I said, "just explain to the Consul 
 the paper I got from the Fiscal Advocate a couple of days 
 since. Didn t you say that the whole amount of imprisonment 
 threatened was for some six months ?" 
 
 " Certainly I did, and that was every day of it," he replied, 
 with the utmost gravity. 
 
 " Nonsense," exclaimed the Consul, " give me the paper, and 
 go and get the code." 
 
 " Yes, go and get it, Roquino," I ordered, " and the Consul 
 will then be convinced." 
 
 Away went the rogue, perfectly at his ease, and coming back 
 after a short delay, he declared somebody must have mislaid the 
 book, for he could find it in no direction. He thus adroitly 
 managed to leave it an open question, and the more my worthy 
 Consul persisted, the more I continued to assert that I 
 could not be mistaken, whilst Roquino stood by a passive 
 witness to our friendly altercation, so perfectly composed in 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 225 
 
 feature and manner as to leave not a doubt on my mind of his 
 being in the right. 
 
 It was only on the 24th of December that I learnt for the 
 first time the true state of the case, for 011 that day the Coun 
 cil-Chamber of the Criminal Court rendered their judgment on 
 the view taken of my offence by the Fiscal Advocate. They 
 declared that, after a mature examination of the depositions 
 made before the Judge of Instruction, and of all the circum 
 stances connected therewith, they could find nothing whatever 
 to justify the accusation of my having " extorted with menaces " 
 the paper written by Miss Gamble at my apartment, on Novem 
 ber 15th, and they, therefore, pronounced the "conclusion" of the 
 Fiscal Advocate to that effect as null and void. The question 
 whether an " Abduction" had been committed or not still 
 remained, and they sent that down for trial before the Lower 
 Court as a simple misdemeanor. 
 
 I beg to call the attention of my readers to this important 
 fact. I was thus fully acquitted, by the solemn decision of the 
 Judges of the Criminal Court sitting in council, of having 
 attempted an " extortion with menaces," to obtain the harmless 
 paper already cited ; and it was, therefore, an outrage on the 
 sentence so formally delivered, as well as on reason and justice, 
 ever to renew against me the charge of "menaces;" which 
 was done, however, as will be seen. 
 
 My astonishment and horror may easily be conceived upon 
 learning that an attempt had really been made, at the notorious 
 and avowed instigation of Mr. Brown, to send me to the galleys ; 
 and that, too, upon a fictitious charge of " menaces " against a 
 woman whose friendly conduct, after leaving my apartment on 
 Nov. 15th, as shown, alone proved my innocence. Is it to be 
 supposed for a moment that Miss Gamble would, of her own free 
 will, have declined to return to her own hotel on that memora 
 ble night, and have decided to sleep elsewhere under my 
 
 1Q* 
 
226 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 protection, knocking at my chamber-door in the morning to 
 escort her away, if I had used menaces towards her, or threat 
 ened her with any violence ? I leave the answer once more to 
 the candor and judgment of the public. 
 
 To return. I was comforted and reassured by the decision of 
 the High Court in my favor, and as my offence had now taken 
 the venial shape of a misdemeanor for the "Abduction" of my 
 lately affianced bride, I made an attempt, with the zealous aid 
 of my estimable Consul, to obtain bail, for my trial was set down 
 for the 9th of February, still six weeks off. My health, besides, 
 began to suffer from the confinement and unhealthiness of the 
 prison, for the damp was so excessive as to rack every joint of 
 me with rheumatism. The indefatigable Brown, however, 
 declared I should not be bailed ; and the remonstrances of my 
 Consul, as well as the medical certificates, alike went for nothing 
 in his eyes. His influence was sufficient to prevent it ; and I was 
 accordingly kept locked up till my case should come, in due 
 course, before the Tribunal. 
 
 During these events Miss Gamble, still at Genoa, was con 
 stantly visited by the American Consul, as well as by many of 
 my countrymen passing through, who used the strongest 
 entreaties to induce her, for her own sake, to show me some 
 mercy, and that if she would not exert herself to relieve my 
 unfortunate situation that, at all events, she would not sanction 
 the indecent and violent conduct of Mr. Brown. She declined, 
 however, to accept their counsels, and refused to do anything 
 to check the intemperate course of her chief adviser. Her bet 
 ter feelings must have rebelled against the part she was called 
 on to play ; but I have no doubt she was taught to believe, that 
 unless it could be managed to compromise me in public opinion 
 by a condemnation, no matter how obtained, she would be 
 seriously blamed. To save herself from this fancied responsi 
 bility, she allowed herself to be urged on from one hostility to 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 227 
 
 another, till, as the play says, " returning were as tedious as 
 going o er." Her position was awkward and painful, and her 
 sentiments varied accordingly. Sometimes she gave way to 
 anger against me, and at others she would relent into regret. 
 
 To show her state of mind at this period, I cannot do better 
 than quote a letter of my Consul s, after one of his usual visits 
 to her : 
 
 " United State* Consulate, 
 " Thursday. 
 
 DEAR SIR, I saw Miss Gamble last night. Nothing to be hoped for 
 from her. I found her, at first, very unfavorably disposed. I intimated, 
 at length, that, in case of a trial, you might be forced, in vindication of 
 yourself, to testify to things she might not like to have brought to light. 
 Her reply was, she did not care what you testified to, and, in excitement, 
 declared you deserved the worst punishment the law could inflict. After 
 wards, however, she said, that if it was in her power to open your prison 
 doors, and let you go free, she would do so, provided she could be sure 
 you would not molest her or Mr. Brown. But this, she alleged, she could 
 not do, nor prevent the trial, if she wished. 
 
 " In great haste, I am always truly yours, 
 
 " GEORGE G. BAKER, 
 
 " TJ. S. Consul. 
 " H. WIKOFF, ESQ." 
 
 This note clearly portrays that, even in the grave circum 
 stances in which she was placed, Miss Gamble could not over 
 come the habitual tendency of her mind to vacillate from one 
 extreme to the other. It was this unfortunate trait of hers that 
 throughout our courtship had led to so many misunderstandings, 
 and had finally involved me in the sad predicament in which I 
 found myself. 
 
 The decision of the High Court in my favor, it appears, 
 took Miss Gamble by surprise ; and, under the inspiration of 
 sounder views, she hurried off to the house of the American 
 Qonsul and declared, " that if Mr. "Wikoff would act like a gen? 
 
M V COURTSHIP 
 
 tleman, and say nothing 1 to injure her character, that she would 
 do all in her power to relieve his situation." 
 
 In reply to this, I begged the Consul to inform her that 
 " whatever she might do, I would never allow myself to utter 
 a word that would be injurious or painful to her." 
 
 On this occasion Miss Gamble yielded to more generous 
 impulses, and if she had always shown the same .firmness in 
 resisting the unfeeling counsels of her evil genius, her conduct 
 would have been in harmony with the forbearing and merciful 
 dispositions of her sex, and she would have laid up less store for 
 regret hereafter. 
 
 It was only a few days later that I was informed that she 
 had fallen again under the sway of the " remorseless Brown," as 
 my Consul used to call him, and, to my great surprise, she was 
 persuaded to bring an action for damages against me ! Her 
 motive in this could not have been a pecuniary one, for Miss 
 Gamble was well enough off not to make my money an object 
 to her. It was suggested to her, as I have since heard, that if 
 a large sum was recovered against me (and no doubt it was 
 thought it could be managed), why, then, if I had not got it to 
 pay, I might be immured for long years in a prison for debt, in 
 case that I should be acquitted of the " Abduction." It was 
 really extraordinary to see with what rancorous malice I was 
 pursued in this paltry matter. Why, if I had never seen Miss 
 Gamble before, and had stopped her on the high road, and made 
 off with her, such a crime would hardly have deserved the 
 punishment that was sought to be inflicted on me. Under the 
 peculiar circumstances of my case, however, it was unreasonable 
 and cruel to follow me up with such inveterate animosity. 
 
 I now found myself saddled with two separate actions; and if 
 I should by chance escape the Scylla of Abduction, I risked 
 running plump against the Charybdis of Damages. To increase 
 ray apprehensions, I learnt that Miss Gamble, not content with 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 229 
 
 the abilities of the law-officer of the Crown, Sr. Carbone, had 
 decided to hurl at me the eloquent thunder of the first barrister 
 of Genoa, Sr. Cabella. 
 
 In all this I recognized the directing hand of the relentless 
 Brown. My Consul urged me frequently to write to her, and 
 thinking, perhaps, that I might succeed in touching her pity, I 
 did so, and addressed her on three different occasions. It is 
 useless to repeat here the contents of these dolorous composi 
 tions, but their contents may be inferred from the closing lines 
 of the last 
 
 " Had we never met so kindly, 
 Had we never loved so blindly, 
 Never met, or never parted, 
 I had ne er been broken-hearted." 
 
 What might have beep the effect of these anxious appeals of a 
 luckless captive it is impossible to say, since they never reached 
 their destination. I confided them secretly to my factotum, 
 Roquino ; but as any out-of-door correspondence was forbid 
 before Trial, he feared to get himself into a scrape by delivering 
 them ; so he quietly put each of them in his pocket, leaving me 
 the while under the pleasant illusion that he had carried out 
 my injunctions, and for which he did not neglect to make me 
 pay him liberally. When I discovered this trick, long after, I 
 was half disposed to lay violent hands on him, but he baffled my 
 indignation by coolly undertaking to convince me that it was 
 all for my good he had deceived me; "for," said the ingenious 
 rogue, "if Miss Gamble had told of it, as happened once before, 
 you would not ouly have lost your inkstand, but been wholly 
 deprived of my valuable services. Remember, signor, what 
 befell the unfortunate Quakaro." 
 
 It was impossible to resist his logic, or the effect of his allu 
 sion, so, laughing in his face, I forgave him. 
 
 I might as well relate the incident to which he referred. I 
 
230 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 stated that upon entering the prison, I fell into the hands of a 
 sympathetic individual, with a flowing black beard, dubbed 
 Quakaro. He installed himself as my butler, and seemed dis 
 posed to make himself generally useful. By charging me at 
 exorbitant rates for his supplies and services, he was rapidly 
 making a good thing of it. Now, Roquino, amongst his other 
 weaknesses, had an inordinate itch for gain, and he envied not 
 a little the fat perquisites of the bearded Quakaro. As one of 
 the guardians of the prison, and high in favor, it would have 
 been easy for Roquino to displace him, and " bid his will avouch 
 it ;" but it was not in his character to make a rude exercise of 
 power, when he might accomplish his end by diplomatic craft. 
 He, therefore, calmly awaited some sly opportunity of decapi 
 tating the doomed Quakaro, and at last it came. It so hap 
 pened that a letter of mine had been offered to Miss Gamble 
 
 one day by a sympathising countryman of mine, Col. Y 
 
 A- , which she scrupled to accept without Mr. Brown s 
 
 approbation. On hearing of it, the irate Brown rushed off to 
 the Fiscal Advocate, and demanded the punishment of the 
 sinning subordinate who had conveyed it out of the prison. 
 An investigation was ordered, and Roquino was one of the first 
 who was summoned before the Commandante. 
 
 " So," said that officer, " you have been carrying out a letter 
 for Signor Wikoff, though you are well aware it is strictly 
 forbidden." 
 
 " I am sorry to contradict you," replied the impenetrable 
 Roquino, " but I have done nothing of the sort." 
 
 "There s no use denying it," continued the Commandaute, 
 " for my inquiries trace it home to you. However, fear nothing j 
 it will be overlooked." 
 
 " I am glad to hear it," returned the cautious turnkey. 
 
 " Oh, you confess, then, it was you." 
 1 confess that I suspect the one who was privy to it." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 231 
 
 " Indeed," exclaimed the Commandante, completely outwitted, 
 " and who may he be ?" 
 
 Roquino hesitated, as if reluctant to betray a comrade. 
 
 " I command you to do your duty/ thundered his superior. 
 " Speak, who is the culprit ?" 
 
 " Well, if I must, I must," said the Jesuit ; " but you know it 
 is not me who serves the meals of Signor WikofF." 
 
 It is needless to say that from that day forth a peremptory 
 order was issued to the victimized Quakaro never to enter ray 
 room again, and the calculating Roquino accordingly fell heir 
 to the place of the degraded butler. It is only just to the fair 
 fame of the unfortunate Quakaro to say that ho was innocent of 
 the offence, and that nobody, save myself and Roquino, knew 
 who really was the offender in question. 
 
 To the intense vexation of the ex-butler, he never could divine 
 the cause of his sudden downfall, for the Commandante gave no 
 explanation, and Roquino affected to be wholly ignorant of the 
 mystery. It is clear the subtle arts of intrigue are not confined 
 alone to courts, and had it been the destiny of my crafty turn 
 key to be born in another sphere, he might have lived to eclipse 
 even the fame of his wily compatriole, Mazarin. 
 
 It was towards the end of December that my Consul called 
 on me one day to announce that Miss Gamble had left Genoa 
 for Nice. 
 
 " There, Consul, what did I always tell you ?" I said, " that 
 she never would appear in a public court in so ridiculous a 
 matter as this. For her own sake, rather than for mine, I was 
 sure she would not come, and there is no power to force her 
 there against her will." 
 
 " I hope you may be right," replied the Consul, smiling at my 
 exultation ; " but your friend Brown says she will, though, and 
 that she is only gone to Nice to amuse herself till the trial 
 comes on, when she will return and appear against yoa." 
 
232 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " I don t believe it," I persisted. " She will take the steamer 
 at Nice for Marseilles, and disappear. If her generosity does 
 not suggest this course, her tact will, for in poetry, as in fact, it 
 will read better that, like a true woman, her heart relented at 
 last, even if her interests insisted, which is happily not the 
 case." 
 
 " You lovers are always romantic," observed the incredulous 
 Consul, " and it would be uncharitable to dispel your illusions ; 
 but the remorseless Brown declares that he will answer for her 
 return, and you know to your cost that it is hard to predict 
 what she will ever do." 
 
 " You may, say what you please, my dear Consul," I perse 
 vered ; "but, mind my words, she will throw Brown overboard 
 at last, and yield to the soft instincts of the woman." 
 
 " Well, while there s life there s hope," returned the Consul, 
 good-humoredly, " and so let us hope for the best." 
 
 I had now been in "durance vile" for some six weeks, and 
 I had the same period to go through before the arrival of the 
 grand trysting day which was to decide my fate. I summoned 
 all my philosophy to abide it in patience, and endeavored to 
 habituate myself with what grace I could to my queer abode. 
 The prison where I was detained had once been occupied as a 
 convent, and was of great dimensions, accommodating near four 
 hundred prisoners. The corridor where I was lodged was a 
 wing of the main building, and had formerly been tenanted by a 
 goodly company of nuns. My room was that of the lady- 
 abbess, and the ceiling was adorned by a fine fresco painting, 
 not altogether Scriptural in its details. I used to fancy that 
 her spirit hovered about, and would see me out of the scrape. 
 I managed by degrees to resume my customary occupations, and 
 spent the day in reading and writing till about four o clock, 
 when I sallied out for a promenade in my lonely corridor, which 
 was paved in stone, and was both exceedingly dark and damp. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 233 
 
 With the aid of a lamp and an overcoat I endeavored to rec 
 tify these drawbacks. Punctuality was one of the few virtues 
 of Roquino, and as six o clock struck, the rattling of bolts at the 
 entrance of the corridor announced his arrival with my dinner, 
 which it often required a vigorous appetite to assail. Whilst 
 laying the cloth and depositing the dishes on the table, he never 
 failed to descant on their superlative merits, avowing that 
 he had honestly laid out every penny he charged me for 
 them. 
 
 " As long as you don t require me," I used to say, " to 
 believe more than a third of what you assert, I am content." 
 
 " I am sorry that il Signer believes me capable," he would 
 reply in a tone of injured innocence, " of taking any advantage 
 of him." 
 
 " I believe you capable of anything, you sly dog," was my 
 lively retort, " when detection is not likely to follow." 
 . "Ah," he would respond with a heavy sigh, whilst struggling 
 to suppress a smile, "il Signor will do me justice one day, else 
 I must look to my conscience for my reward." 
 
 The heaviest drag for me was to get through the evening, as 
 my eyes were not strong enough to read by candle-light. 
 Roquino perceived my weariness, and, always on the alert to 
 improve a chance, he expressed his desire (sympathetic soul !) 
 to do what he could for my relief, and offered, though it was 
 * ; ,rictly against the rules, to teach me a Genoese game of cards. 
 I accepted his offer with readiness, and though the game 
 was exceedingly simple I found that I was invariably beaten, 
 and my purse in consequence relieved of several shillings 
 every night. Roquino could not account for his singular luck, 
 but I could. 
 
 " You cheat me, you rascal," was my frequent exclamation, 
 " but take care I don t catch you at it." 
 
 " If I didn t know myself to be above such an act," he would 
 
234 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 reply, quietly pocketing my money, "I should feel hurt, il 
 Sig-nor, by your suspicions." 
 
 " There is a Providence, even in St. Andrea, Roquino," I 
 would remark in a merry tone ; " and some day or other it will 
 overtake you, depend on it." 
 
 His air of calm defiance seemed to imply he was a match for 
 anything above or below. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 THINGS were going on in this pleasant way for Roquino, when 
 he came one morning to announce that a new tenant was coming 
 into the corridor that day. 
 
 " Indeed," I exclaimed, not liking the intelligence ; " and who 
 is the new comer, a respectable burglar, or an unfortunate 
 assassin ?" 
 
 " Oh, dear no," saicl my jailer, as if shocked at such names, 
 " he is a monsieur." 
 
 11 And what do you call a monsieur in these parts ?" I asked, 
 rather curious. 
 
 " He was a bookseller in Genoa not long ago," he replied, 
 " but got compromised in the revolution and was obliged to run. 
 He has just been caught, and comes in to-day." 
 
 " Poor devil, I pity him," quoth I. " But let me see him 
 when he comes, for perhaps we shall manage to cheer up each 
 other." 
 
 The new prisoner took up his quarters during the day in the 
 room next to mine, and I bid Roquino after dinner, to ask him 
 to comp and take wine with me. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 235 
 
 " Francesco Bini, at your service, sir," said a bustling little 
 man, with an intelligent face and sparkling eye, who entered my 
 room a minute afterwards, and seating himself with a readiness 
 that showed he appreciated my invitation. He delivered him 
 self in a strange jumble of French and Italian, and rattled on at 
 such a pace that you had to swallow the mixture whether you 
 understood it or not. The expression of Bini s face was 
 decidedly in his favor, and I took a liking to him at once. He 
 overflowed with animation,, and his mind seemed singularly 
 active and earnest. What he thought he said without circumlo 
 cution ; and what he wanted he helped himself to without 
 ceremony, for whilst entertaining me with the rapid history of 
 his adventures, he dispatched the whole of my dessert, as though 
 his appetite was as fast as everything else about him. 
 
 It appeared, from his account, that, in the uprising at Genoa 
 in 49, his patriotism was fired at the prospect of restoring the 
 Old Republic to her former greatness, and of making a Doge 
 of himself for his pains. In the first distribution of places he 
 became President of the barricades, and from the necessity of 
 running about to look after them all, the probability is he was 
 behind none of them when the fire was hottest. Bini was clearly 
 not the man to die for his cause, and this on the principle that he 
 could do more by living for it. The revolution was put down at 
 Genoa, and with the spirit of a true martyr he looked around 
 to see where the army of liberty most wanted a recruit. The 
 Republic was still up at Rome and promised to stand ; and 
 thither Bini directed his steps, in the hope to stand with it. His 
 ardor was possibly stimulated by the chance of his having 
 an account to settle with the police, if he remained at Genoa ; 
 and in his absence it turned out that his ungrateful country sen 
 tenced him to three years imprisonment for his short tenure of 
 office at the head of the barricades. He soon became a captain 
 of Garibaldi s Roman legion ; but his hopes of renown were a 
 
236 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 second time dashed to the ground, for the Republic at Rome 
 followed its predecessors elsewhere to the Tomb of the Capulets, 
 and Bini was once more a patriot at large. From this time for 
 ward his attention was totally absorbed in dodging the police all 
 over Italy, and he soon began to think that the lot of a mad 
 dog was a quiet life to the one he was leading. He sighed for 
 Genoa and the pacific occupation he had, in an enthusiastic mo 
 ment, forsaken. His revolutionary zeal had sensibly diminished, 
 and he was nigh falling into a violent state of reaction from hav 
 ing had his pocket picked by a fellow-republican. He lost his 
 passport with his pocket-book ; but the unfortunate rogue who car 
 ried them off soon paid the penalty, for he was arrested. 
 
 " Ah," said the Austrians who nabbed him, " you are that 
 scamp Bini, just the man we wanted ;" and he was ordered to 
 be shot forthwith, in spite of his violent protestations to the con 
 trary. 
 
 This foreshadowing of his fate sobered the real Bini completely, 
 and he glided back again at all risks into Sardinia, determined 
 to bury himself in his books, if there were any left in his old 
 shop, and renounce glory and barricades for ever. Alas ! for his 
 laudable intentions, the police soon pounced on him, and St. An 
 drea opened its ponderous jaws to receive him. 
 
 " So," I said, after he had done, " you have no less than three 
 years on your back ?" 
 
 " Yes," he returned, full of resolution ; " but I mean to insist 
 on a new trial, as I was not here at the last one." 
 
 " But will you get it ?" 
 
 " I mean," he replied, quite undaunted, " to try." 
 
 He was a man of immense energy, and the end of it was, that 
 he obtained, without a friend, or a penny in his pocket, the 
 order for a new trial. 
 
 Bini s society was invaluable to me. He overflowed with 
 animal spirits, and there was a good-humored off-handedness 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 237 
 
 about him, that amused me not a little. His impudence knew 
 no bounds ; but he seemed perfectly unconscious of the failing. 
 A struggle for the ascendancy soon broke out between him and 
 Roquino. Bini had not a copper to bless himself with, and his 
 mind was made up to live on me. I had no objections in the 
 world ; but two such leeches at one moment would, sooner or 
 later, have dried me up, and so I intimated. 
 
 " What does he make you pay for your table ?" asked Bini, 
 in reply to this. 
 
 " Here is his weekly account," I said, " examine it." 
 
 The ex-President of the Barricades nearly went into hysterics 
 at the inordinate profits of the usurious turnkey. 
 
 "Let me manage him," he exclaimed ; "I will superintend 
 his bills hereafter, and don t occupy yourself any further about 
 the matter." 
 
 He installed himself forthwith as auditor of my exchequer ; 
 and my living soon improved in quantity and quality under his 
 active supervision, whilst the expenditure was considerably less. 
 His disinterestedness had its reward, for he fared considerably 
 better than I did from that time forth. He picked up flesh, 
 grew more energetic than ever ; and so pestered judges, law 
 yers, and all the world besides, with letters, that he wrote at 
 the rate of twenty per day ( helping himself to paper from my 
 desk), that they determined to let him go soon, if only to 
 get rid of him. 
 
 Nothing could well be more diverting than the daily conflict 
 between Bini and the former victor of Quakaro, who, at length, 
 had met his match. There was no noise or wrangling between 
 them, but an under-current of deadly opposition that ran both 
 deep and strong. The boisterous x bustle of Bini contrasted 
 charmingly with the quiet self-possession of the " deep, revolv 
 ing Buckingham ;" but the latter was losing ground daily 
 before the encroaching barricadcr. A hand-to-hand encounter 
 
238 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 took place between them every evening at dinner, when Bini 
 would whip the basket containing it from the reluctant hand of 
 his rival, pass every dish under review, with the keenest scrutiny 
 and the harshest comment. The crest-fallen Roquino would 
 attempt no defence, but merely answer with a smile. There 
 was murder in his smile, though that of Richard III. was 
 nothing to it. Roquino felt his strength failing him, and he 
 subsided, at last, into a warmer of plates. Bini was determined, 
 however, to have the field to himself ; so pushing him, one day, 
 right across the brazier, he cried out : 
 
 " You are only in the way, my man ; leave that to me." 
 Roquino rose, covered with ashes and mortification, and from 
 that hour, gave up the struggle, and calmly abided his time. 
 I inquired frequently after my companions in misfortune, the 
 courier and valet-de-place, who were confined in a separate 
 prison, called the Tower. It appeared that the courier was, at 
 first, quite overwhelmed by his mishap. He sank into a deep 
 religious melancholy, and took to the novel occupation, for him, 
 of praying. If he had been a Catholic and sent for a confessor, 
 there is no telling the amount of transgressions his afflicted con 
 science would have heaved off. His devotion gradually subsided 
 as he grew accustomed to his situation, and the good wine of 
 the country restored him, by degrees, nearer to his former self. 
 The dread of the galleys, which he was told awaited him, threw 
 him into extreme consternation, and he frequently managed, by 
 some mysterious process, to get a note to me, imploring me not 
 to abandon him. As usual with all married men in trouble, he 
 affected to care nothing about himself, but raved about his poor 
 wife and child, who were likely, I thought, to be the gainers by 
 the castigation he was undergoing for many past offences less 
 venial, perhaps, than his present one. I assured him, of course, 
 of my sympathy and aid. As for the poor vaht-de-place, Pietro, 
 he made up his mind, I heard, that he had fallen into very bad 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 239 
 
 company, and he only regretted that ke had nothing to tell, 
 else he would have turned State s evidence at once. 
 
 As the day of trial began to approach, I thought it high time 
 to look about me for a lawyer, and as they all seemed to work 
 in couples in these parts, I found myself, nolens volens, saddled 
 with a brace of them. Signori Maurizio and Orsini were 
 recommended to me as advocates of high standing and reputed 
 skill, and I charged them with my defence. I found upon 
 acquaintance, that Maurizio was a strict constructionist of the 
 law, and familiar with the nicest shades and subtlest meanings 
 of the code. His mode of defence seemed founded upon a Pro 
 crustean method, for he sought to exculpate his client either by 
 stretching his offence beyond the one he stood charged with into 
 something else that he was innocent of, or, on the other hand, 
 by curtailing its proportions below the legal standard applied to 
 him, and thus demanding his acquittal on the ground of techni 
 cal informalities. In a country like this, where justice is 
 administered by magistrates only, without the intervention of a 
 jury,* arguments based on the exact construction of the law 
 might be frequently successful, and Maurizio, therefore, often 
 carried off his client in the face of common sense and justice. 
 
 Orsini was an advocate of a wholly different class, and was a 
 person of large intelligence and warm imagination. Examining 
 closely into the circumstances of the case, and singling out 
 sagaciously its redeeming features, he addressed himself rather 
 to the sympathies and convictions of the Tribunal, than to mere 
 points of law. He was just the man to succeed with a jury. In 
 addition to these, I was obliged to accept the services of an 
 advocate provided by the State for those who were incapable 
 of employing one for themselves, but who had a right to plead 
 in all cases, whether required or not. 
 
 * In a Constitutional country, as Sardinia has lately become, it is a downright anomaly 
 that the blessed institution of the Jury is not introduced, save for Political offcncei. 
 
240 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Signer Merialdi was a, sound lawyer, an earnest pleader, and 
 a conscientious man. 
 
 These gentlemen all took the same view of my case. The 
 single offence I stood charged with, was that of " Abduction." 
 The supplementary accusation of " extorting with menaces " 
 that was originally got up against me had been formally 
 annulled, as stated, by the Upper Court. My counsel all 
 agreed that the interview obtained by stratagem with Miss 
 Gamble could not possibly be considered an " Abduction" in a 
 legal sense, for our previous intimate relations, as well as her 
 amicable conduct, after leaving my apartment on the occasion in 
 question, rendered such a construction positively absurd. Still, 
 they said, if Miss Gamble appeared Against me, and the Judge 
 allowed himself to be swayed by any extraneous influence, he 
 might possibly strain my case into one of Abduction, and con 
 demn me to a year s imprisonment, as provided by the code. 
 
 "If we had a jury to deal with," they all remarked, " the 
 facts of the case would insure your instant acquittal ; but you 
 are wholly at the mercy of a Judge who may yield to prejudice, 
 or interest, and apply the law according to his fancy." 
 
 From that moment, I considered myself as good as sentenced 
 already ; for, even if my Judge were capable of resisting a bribe, 
 which, I was told, would be thrown in his way, I was aware 
 that Consul Brown had influence enough, as he boasted, to 
 swerve the pliant dispenser of law to his purpose. My only 
 hope, therefore, rested on the forbearance of Miss Gamble ; and 
 I clung to the illusion that my old friend and late betrothed 
 would recollect the claims I had upon her indulgence. It was 
 useless, from all I heard, to expect any quarter -from the indo 
 mitable Brown, whose ardor for my sacrifice, as the moment 
 approached, could only be likened to Shyloek s fiery thirst for 
 his "pound of flesh." Yerily, the unprovoked animosity of the 
 implacable Brown would have amused me, if its consequences 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 241 
 
 had not threatened to be so serious. Xay, more; if his ire had 
 been stirred up against me out of sympathy for any real wrong 
 to Miss Gamble, I would have admired and applauded him ; but 
 this could not be, for I had committed no wrong ; and, besides, 
 when he came to me at the beginning, as her ambassador, did 
 he not, in the presence of my Consul and others, turn round 
 and abuse her, saying she was " a mad woman ?" No^ it was 
 not chivalry for an " unprotected female " that inspired Sir 
 Knight Brown. It was nothing else, apparently, than the pure 
 delight of crushing, in his boa-constrictor embrace, the unhappy 
 victim that lay prostrate at his mercy. There are nonde 
 scripts, as I have heard, of this sort, who cannot resist an 
 innate propensity to tumble and toss any luckless object 
 utterly cut off from either escape or defence, which was just my 
 sorry plight at that moment. 
 
 It was towards the end of January that my Consul entered 
 my cell one day, exclaiming 
 
 " What did I tell you ? Brown was right. Miss Gamble 
 has come back." 
 
 This unexpected news quite took my breath away. 
 
 " Indeed," I said, slowly recovering from my stupor ; " but 
 she may have returned only from curiosity, or, perhaps, to give 
 me a lift." 
 
 " Nay," continued my plain-spoken Consul, " don t lay that 
 flattering unction to your soul. She has come to follow up her 
 suit for damages, and you may depend on it that Brown will 
 urge her to crush you, if it can be done by any means at their 
 command. So prepare for the worst." 
 
 " My chances are getting desperate, I see ; but the truth is 
 mighty, and will prevail." 
 
 " So it may at a future day," returned the Consul ; " but I 
 fear you will get roughly handled on the present occasion." 
 
 I will not deny that the return of Miss Gamble to Genoa, 
 
 11 
 
242 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 with the manifest intention of appearing in a public court as my 
 chief accuser, was a cruel blow to me. The shaft that menaced 
 rne occupied my attention far less than the hand that was about 
 to hurl it. I had always hoped that, once away from Genoa, 
 and beyond the pale of Mr. Brown s hostile inspirations, her 
 excitement would cool down, and that she would return to kind 
 lier sentiments and a more correct view of the part it became her 
 to play in these transactions. Her position in life, as well as 
 our late intimate relations, would both conspire, I thought, to 
 lead her back to a line of conduct totally opposite to that so 
 ungenerously urged upon her by her rash adviser, Consul Brown. 
 I anticipated, also, that she would shrink with disgust from tak 
 ing any prominent part in the Public Trial that awaited me. 
 Her return to Genoa, therefore, to resume the role prepared for 
 her, surprised even as much as it pained me. I could only account 
 for it by the conviction she had likely adopted, that a retreat 
 from the position she had taken up was impossible. She feared, 
 too, no doubt, to expose herself to the severest recriminations 
 from her coadjutor, Mr. Brown, if she should finally abandon 
 him. She had, besides, incautiously made such representations 
 of the case to her friends that she probably felt compelled, for 
 consistency s sake, to go on with the disagreeable task she had 
 begun It is also possible that she may have thought that a 
 woman of her superior intellect should not recoil from a struggle 
 that she had, however thoughtlessly, engaged in, not recollecting 
 that it is ever wiser and nobler by far to forsake a cause where, 
 even, triumph is shorn of its grace and its profits. However, I 
 acquitted her cheerfully of any malicious or vindictive motives, 
 entirely convinced that she yielded only to a pressure of influence 
 that she had not the strength, though, perhaps, the will, to 
 resist. My feelings towards her, in short, were so little changed 
 that I grew quite resigned to my prospective condemnation, if it 
 could afford her either a satisfaction or an advantage. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 243 
 
 Up to the last I could not help thinking that she would not 
 venture to appear before the Court, and hoping to frighten her 
 out of it, I sent her a summons, to let her see she must be ready 
 to undergo the fire of a cross-examination. She merely replied, 
 that it was quite unnecessary, for she intended to be there. 
 
 " And what was her demeanor ?" I asked of the messenger ; 
 "was she at all agitated?" 
 
 "Not in the least," was his answer; "perfectly calm and 
 unconcerned." 
 
 " Did she ask any questions about me?" 
 
 " Yes ; she inquired how you were lodged, and whether you 
 were supplied with proper nourishment and attention." 
 
 " Well," was my mental conclusion, " she is incomprehensible 
 to the last!" 
 
 The day before the trial I received a request, in her name, 
 that I would not allow my advocates to say anything that could 
 be injurious or offensive to her. This was like asking me to be 
 condemned without employing my most effective means of defence. 
 However I replied, smiling, that she might, under all circum 
 stances, depend on my good feeling and gallantry, and that not 
 a word should be said to annoy her. 
 
244 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE TRIAL. 
 
 THE 9th of February came at last, which was to restore me 
 to liberty, or send me back in despair to St. Andrea, a martyr 
 to my love and the rancor of Consul Brown. A glorious sun 
 shine lent its radiance to the occasion, and contributed not a 
 little to buoy me up for the ordeal before me. The prospect or 
 figuring before the public eye of Genoa as an Abductor, for 
 such was the " head and front of my offending," was certainly 
 not inviting ; but if Miss Gamble had nerve enough to exhibit 
 herself as the " Abducted," I saw no reason why I should fall 
 back abashed ; so I summoned my philosophy to my aid, and 
 put a pleasant face on the matter. I had arranged with the 
 complaisant Roquino, who was to accompany me to the Court, 
 to sally out as soon after breakfast as possible, in order to make 
 a short circuit of the town for the sake of the air and exercise. 
 This was not strictly according to law as made and provided, 
 but as long as there was no danger of losing his prisoner, my 
 considerate protector could not resist obliging me, meaning 
 always to make an item of it in his weekly account. I started 
 off before nine in the morning, with the boisterous good wishes 
 of Bini, and the hearty sympathies of Colombo and staff. The 
 sight of the streets and the bustle of the crowd had the strangest 
 possible effect, after the silence and seclusion of the prison where 
 I had been cooped up for near three months. My emotions at 
 mixing with the outer world again were so exhilarating that I 
 grew insensible to the past and the future, in the joy of the 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 245 
 
 moment. To an amateur of sensations I would honestly 
 recommend a three months incarceration that is quite enough 
 to give him an idea of out-of-door attractions that I warrant 
 him he has never had before. The repeated hints of Roquino 
 that it was getting on to ten o clock called me back to the busi 
 ness of the day, and I followed him to the Tower prison adjoin 
 ing the Ducal Palace, where the Tribunals hold their sessions. 
 It was here that the ex-courier and valet-de-place were confined, 
 but in different cells. The first glimpse I had of poor Figaro 
 was through a cross-barred gate of iron, behind which he was 
 standing, staring through its squares with an expression of long 
 ing in his face to be on the other side of it, not to be mistaken. 
 He danced and grinned by turns on seeing me again. I found 
 him in pretty fair condition, considering the length of time he 
 had neither seen nor heard of a roast duck. He had suffered so 
 much that he was dreadfully nervous at the thought of returning 
 to his den, but I cheered him as well as I could. 
 
 The valet-de-place was brought down from some out-of-the-way 
 corner, and his aspect was most lugubrious and woe-begone. 
 He was not at all inclined to recognize me at first, fearing it 
 might compromise him in the opinion of the Tribunal to keep 
 up such a doubtful acquaintance. Up to this moment poor 
 Pietro had no idea of what offence I was really charged with, 
 but he had clearly got it into his head that highway robbery 
 was nothing to it. He complained sadly of his hard fate, but 
 I enlivened him greatly by assuring him of his acquittal, what 
 ever might happen to me. 
 
 We were soon summoned to start ; and as I heard that the 
 court -yard and staircase of the Ducal Palace were lined with 
 crowds of people attracted by the novelty of the suit, I deter 
 mined to ensconce myself in a sedan-chair, wondering whether 
 Miss Gamble would have more courage, and boldly face the 
 mob. The courier and valet-de-place were denied the same pri- 
 
246 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 vilege, but were handcuffed together, like a couple of male 
 factors of the worst description, and marched off between two 
 carabiniers. 
 
 I entered the Court-room at ten o clock precisely, and pass 
 ing within a small railing, I seated myself on the bench of the 
 accused. The courier and Pietro were near me. On the 
 opposite side, also within the railing, were seated Miss Gamble 
 on the bench of accuser, with Mary and Miss Bennett alongside 
 of her. There she was, sure enough, looking as placid as though 
 she had been quietly seated in her own drawing-room in Port 
 land Place. I couldn t help wishing with all my heart that she 
 had been there at that moment. I was sorry to see that no 
 ladies had accompanied her ; and it seemed to me that Consul 
 Brown ought to have insisted on some members of his family 
 lending their countenance to the occasion ; but the truth is, the 
 ladies of Genoa did not approve of the prosecution. On the 
 right of the Tribunal sat the Fiscal Advocate at a desk of his 
 own ; on the left the secretaries of the Court. Behind me, 
 within an inclosure, were posted my lawyers ; and behind Miss 
 Gamble were seated hers. An immense concourse was assem 
 bled. The Consular body mustered in force, and occupied 
 places of honor within the railing. My Consul wore his uni 
 form, and Mr. Brown sported a white hat in mid-winter. A 
 great number of distinguished persons were present from curi 
 osity. Strange to say, not a woman save those named was to 
 be seen. In England and the United States they woild have 
 been there en masse. Are Genoese ladies less curious than else 
 where ? 
 
 Soon after ten o clock the Judges entered and the carabiniers 
 on guard presented arms with some fracas. They numbered 
 four in all a President, named Malaspina, who managed the 
 proceedings exclusively, and three dummies, who slept the 
 major part of the time. They were clad in silk gowns, and 
 
AND IT3 CONSEQUENCES. 247 
 
 wore conical caps of black velvet. Their theatrical costume 
 lent additional romance to the scene, and reminded me frequent 
 ly of the " potent, grave, and reverend Signers " who sat upon 
 the Abduction case of the "black Othello." The President 
 was a dignified person, grave in his demeanor, with a counte 
 nance of an intellectual cast, but very austere. I don t believe 
 a culprit ever looked in his face for the first time and found any 
 comfort there. He was just the sort of a man to punish a joke, 
 lest his dignity might be lessened by treating a frivolity in any 
 but an imposing way. 
 
 The proceedings began by an order for the prosecutrix, Miss 
 Gamble, and all the witnesses to withdraw. I was then desired 
 to relate my story. I did so in the French language, which the 
 Court understood, and gave a simple narration of facts with all 
 possible brevity. The courier and Pietro were, in turn, called 
 upon to do the same thing. Pietro, par parenthese, began evi 
 dently to form a better opinion of me when he heard my case 
 for the first time. When this had concluded, Miss Gamble was 
 called in and desired to state her complaint. She was accom 
 modated with a chair directly in front of the Tribunal. A sen 
 sation was created by the Court declining to put her on oath. 
 Though she was there as plaintiff in a suit for damages, and 
 chief witness in my prosecution by the State, she was politely 
 requested to tell the truth on her honor. This was exceedingly 
 gallant on the part of the President Malaspina, but in violation 
 of all usage, in Genoa and elsewhere. This mockery of justice 
 showed me that my condemnation was a settled thing. Miss 
 Gamble spoke, also, in French, with great facility and elegance, 
 but was very diffuse in her recital. She was clearly endeavor 
 ing to pick her way safely through many embarrassing recollec 
 tions. She declared that she had never given me any 
 encouragement ; that she had done her best to repel my 
 advances (she quite forgot, though, to say a word about her 
 
248 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 giving me her hand at Ouchy, and Geneva) ; she gave, also a 
 very vague description of the Abduction scene at Genoa inti- 
 matmg that she had been in great danger, but not stopping to 
 efine it ; she wisely left out all mention of going to pass the 
 ight, after leaving my apartment, at the " Iron Crown" Hotel 
 instead of sensibly returning to her own. She was perfectly 
 :lf-possessed throughout, though once or twice, at critical 
 points, she put her kerchief to her eyes, and I half suspected 
 J was laughing behind it, for her voice showed not the 
 smallest trace of emotion. When she had done, she was about 
 retiring to her place, but my lawyers insisted on my cross-exa 
 mining her. I hesitated from motives of regard for her but I 
 knew that Consul Brown would make mince-meat of me if I 
 used to stir a hand in my defence. I rose, therefore, and 
 d permission to cross-examine. The President paused a 
 moment, but granted it. I approached Miss Gamble, and bowed 
 courteously. As our eyes met, symptoms of emotion revealed 
 themselves for the first time. She sank back in the chair her 
 lead dropped, and her cheek flushed deeply. The spell is not 
 quite broken," my vanity whispered. She must have suffered 
 acutely at that moment, and I was half inclined to return to my 
 seat ; but I knew that my motive would be misinterpreted I 
 addressed her in French, and began to question her, in a general 
 way, from the day of my first visit in Portland Place. Under 
 te empire of her souvenirs she seemed gradually to forget our 
 ctual position ; her manner lost its reserve, and her voice grew 
 familiar. The scene, altogether, must have had the effect of an 
 explanation after a lovers quarrel. My questions were so 
 irect that equivocation was difficult, and she answered invaria 
 bly in the affirmative, forgetting that she was contradicting 
 nearly all that she had just said. When my catechism got to 
 Ouchy, she appeared to wake up to the ticklish nature of the 
 ground I was approaching. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 249 
 
 " Do you recollect," I asked, " our going out alone to walk in 
 the gardens at Ouchy ?" 
 
 " Yes," she replied, getting embarrassed. 
 
 " And do you admit that you gave me your hand there for 
 the first time ?" 
 
 She hesitated, and then rousing herself she turned to the 
 Court and said 
 
 " I will tell you how that was, gentlemen. I was walking 
 with Mr. Wikoff when he took hold of my hand and insisted on 
 my consenting to marry him. I refused, till I thought I heard 
 somebody coming, when I cried, Go along, yes/ and then he 
 let me go. He calls that a promise of marriage." 
 
 These last words were uttered in so ironical a tone, and with 
 so coquettish a toss of the head, as to provoke a smile from 
 many of the audience. For my part, seeing she attached so 
 little value to the words, I began to fear that this was not the 
 first time she had said, " Go along, yes." 
 
 " Yery well, Miss Gamble," I continued; "I accept your 
 explanation. But let us go to Geneva." 
 
 She fell back in the chair again, and her manner gave way. 
 
 " Do you recollect," I demanded, " that upon entering your 
 room at the Hotel de Berg you took off your glove, put your 
 hand in mine, saying that you would be my wife ?" 
 
 "Yes," she answered, in a faint voice. 
 
 " Do you recollect " 
 
 She looked up at me reproachfully, whilst her face was covered 
 with blushes. I stopped a moment and reflected. Her embar 
 rassment was extreme, and I determined to spare her. Chang 
 ing my purpose I said 
 
 " You remember sending Mary twice to my room after I had 
 broken off with you on that occasion ?" 
 
 " I only sent her once," she murmured. 
 
 " Do you recall what occurred when I came to you ?" 
 11* 
 
250 MY COURSTHIP 
 
 " Yes," she replied, abruptly, as if to check me, " I begged 
 your pardon." 
 
 " One word more. Did I treat you with the least rudeness, 
 whilst you were for several hours alone with me in my apart 
 ment, on November 15th ?" 
 
 " No," she responded, with some emphasis. 
 
 " And, in fine, can you deny that I abandoned another match, 
 which I contemplated, for your sake ?" 
 
 "I admit it." 
 
 " And is not that person as well off as yourself?" 
 
 " Elk est lien riche " (she is very rich), she replied with much 
 readiness, as though pleased to have it known that it was not 
 her fortune that had chiefly attracted me. 
 
 Turning to the Court, I remarked 
 
 " There is much more I could say, but " I glanced round, her 
 eyes were upon the floor " but I will not say it." 
 
 I then handed to the President a copy of Mr. Bates s letter to 
 me, where he denied interfering between us. The President 
 gave it to Miss Gamble, and asEed her if it was a correct copy. 
 She perused it, and said 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 Upon this I withdrew to my place. 
 
 The attention of the audience seemed absorbed during this 
 scene, and there was a stir and bustle at its close as though it 
 had produced a decided effect. My lawyers whispered it was 
 impossible to condemn me after this evidence, but I feared the 
 contrary. 
 
 The courier then rose and begged to ask Miss Gamble if he 
 had not shown her the address, in my handwriting, of the 
 place where she was to go on November 15th, and if she did 
 not smile on perusing it ? 
 
 Miss Gamble admitted that he had showed it to her, but 
 denied having recognized my writing. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 251 
 
 The courier put some other questions, but Miss Gamble unfor 
 tunately lost her temper, and to all he asked she replied 
 
 " C est un me/isonge!" (it is a falsehood), slapping her hand at 
 the same time vehemently on a Bible that lay near her. It dis 
 tressed me to see her engaged in an altercation with her servant, 
 and so I forced the courier to sit down. 
 
 It was now proposed to read the correspondence of both 
 parties, but Miss Gamble s lawyers objected, whilst mine 
 insisted, when the President finally ordered all the letters to be 
 read in the Italian language. There was great laughter at 
 times, in which everybody joined but the stern Malaspina, who 
 did not seem to relish the way things were going. There was 
 a downright explosion of merriment at an expression in one of 
 Miss Gamble s letters, where she spoke of her courier " as a 
 treasure," U mio corriere est uno tresoro. 
 
 It was now five o clock, and the Court adjourned till after 
 dinner. 
 
 I returned under escort to the Tower prison, where I found my 
 dinner prepared by the provident Roquino. I was in exceeding 
 good spirits, and made a gay repast. The courier was con 
 siderably less nervous, but he insisted that I had let Miss 
 Gamble off too easily. 
 
 " She ll not spare you any the more for it hereafter," said the 
 prophetic Louis, " mind my words." 
 
 " Well, and if she don t," quoth I, " I shall never regret my 
 forbearance." 
 
 The courier s sense of danger was too keen to appreciate such 
 sentimentality, and no doubt pitying my weakness, he let the 
 subject drop. 
 
 Pietro s opinion of me had evidently improved since the morn 
 ing, for he insisted on drinking my health in a bottle of wine et 
 my expense. I was cheered, also, by receiving a note from my 
 Consul, saying, that public opinion out-of-doors was quite revo 
 
252 MY COURTSHIF 
 
 lutionized from ascertaining the really insignificant nature of the 
 case. 
 
 EVENING SESSION. 
 
 At seven o clock the Court reassembled, and the concourse 
 was greater, if possible, than during the day. Miss Gamble was 
 in her place, and as cool and collected as in the morning. Busi 
 ness began by the examination of Miss Bennett as a witness. 
 After being sworn, the President addressed her some general 
 questions that had no apparent object. She was about retiring 
 to her place, when I rose and desired to cross-examine her. 
 Miss Bennett seemed disturbed at my intention, but Miss 
 Gamble appeared even more so. 
 
 Before the former had time to answer my first question, Miss 
 Gamble darted forward, and whispered in her ear. I paused till 
 she had done, and then began once more, when Miss Gamble 
 approached again and went on whispering. The audience mur 
 mured at this irregularity, and the President then said 
 
 " Miss Gamble, retire to your seat." 
 
 I then resumed my interrogatories, which it would be tedious 
 to repeat here in full. 
 
 " Are you aware, Miss Bennett, " I asked at the close, "that 
 Miss Gamble and I walked out together alone at Ouchy ?" 
 
 " Yes," was her reply. 
 
 "Do you remember that Miss Gamble and I occupied a 
 sitting-room together at Geneva ? ;; 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And that during the week we remained there you passed 
 the greater part of your time in your bedroom, whilst Miss 
 Gamble and I were tete-a-tete in the sitting room T 
 
 " I remember the circumstance," she answered. 
 
 I stopped here ; as my object was merely to force on the 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 253 
 
 notice of the Court the fact of my previous intimate relations 
 with Miss Gamble. 
 
 It is only just to say that, in the main, Miss Bennett replied 
 with great fairness to my questions, though it was natural that 
 she should swerve a little here and there to the advantage of her 
 employer. 
 
 The next witness called was my old friend Mary, or Mrs. 
 Harwood. She was put on oath, and first examined by the 
 President. I soon remarked that3!ary was resolved to screen 
 her mistress at all hazards ; and in my heart I could not blame 
 her, though I considered it important not to let her misrepre 
 sent the whole case. The President seemed anxious, from 
 the nature of his questions, to lead Mary into declaring that I 
 had menaced Miss Gamble in her presence on November 15th, 
 though he had no right to renew an accusation finally dis 
 missed by the decision of the High Court. Mary, however, 
 was not very felicitous in her replies, sometimes falling below 
 the mark, and at others overshooting it ludicrously. As for 
 instance 
 
 President. " Djd you see whether Mr. Wikoff had any 
 pistols ?" 
 
 Mrs. Harwood. " I saw them when he showed them to my 
 mistress, and asked her if she would be afraid to fire them. 
 This was as we. were going away" 
 
 This was too tame for the adroit Malaspina, so he tried it again, 
 
 President. " How did Mr. Wikoff, I mean, behave to your 
 mistress ?" 
 
 Mrs. Harwood. " Oh, he stopped both our mouths to pre 
 vent us from crying out." 
 
 The audience laughed at the absurdity of my stopping two 
 mouths at one time. The President saw he was making a bad 
 job of it, and soon gave it up. I advanced in my turn, and 
 began to interrogate her. 
 
254 M ^ COURTSHIP 
 
 " Now, take care, Mary," I said, " remember you are upon 
 your oath." 
 
 She took refuge, as I foresaw, in a system of stout denial to 
 all I demanded ; but I was quite sure that she would fall 
 directly into some manifest violation of the truth, that would 
 destroy her evidence. And it so turned out when I was ques 
 tioning her about the events at Geneva. 
 
 " Did you not," I asked, " come to my room there, and 
 implore me, in the name of your Mistress, to go to her ?" 
 
 " Never /" exclaimed Mary, raising her arms as if quite 
 horrified at the idea. " Never did I come to your room in my 
 life." 
 
 This was in direct contradiction to the admission of Miss 
 Gamble in the morning, when Mary, with the other witnesses, 
 had been withdrawn. I called the attention of the Court to 
 this circumstance. Miss Gamble then interposed with great 
 address. 
 
 " The witness is confused," she said. " Try and recol 
 lect, Mary. I did send you to Mr. WikofiPs room at 
 Geneva." 
 
 " Oh," drawled out the convicted one, " I d quite forgotteu 
 it." 
 
 This mishap sobered her a little, and she answered more 
 honestly to my succeeding queries. 
 
 " Did you not Assure me, at Yilleneuve, of Miss Gamble s 
 affection for me ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "And did you not, from the beginning, urge both your 
 mistress and myself into a marriage with each other ?" 
 
 " I always said that you would make her a good husband." 
 
 "Do you not recollect," I demanded, "that your mistress 
 and myself were on the most friendly terms, both on going to 
 the Iron Crown Hotel where we passed the night on 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 255 
 
 November 15th, as well as on returning next morning to 
 her own ?" 
 
 " Yes," responded the reluctant abigail. 
 
 " That will do," I said, returning to my seat. 
 
 The next witness called was one Arata, the porter of the 
 Russian Consul s house. His evidence was, in some things, 
 striking. For instance, he said : 
 
 " I heard loud talking in the room where the gentleman was, 
 but no cries. At eleven o clock I went to carry wood for the 
 fire in the saloon, and saw two ladies, and a gentleman who was 
 walking up and down, but nothing was said to me," c. 
 
 The next witness who came forward was Beneditto Yico, the 
 landlord of the " Iron Crown," where I had accompanied Miss 
 Gamble to pass the night on November 15th. This was an 
 important witness for me ; but the President began to show 
 symptoms of impatience the moment he appeared, and said : 
 
 "Too much time is wasted on the witnesses." 
 
 I regarded the evidence of this person as vital to my interests 
 but I dreaded incurring the displeasure of the President, for I 
 was completely at his mercy. I therefore made only one or two 
 vague inquiries, and let him pass. 
 
 Sr. Pescio, the agent of the Russian Consul, who had let me 
 the apartment on November 15th, was next called. The Presi 
 dent declined to question him, as he clearly sought to elicit no 
 evidence that would conflict with any ultimate intentions he 
 might have had. I rose, however, and interrogated this gentle 
 man. 
 
 " Do you recollect," I asked, " calling on me at your apart 
 ment in the Strada Serra, between eight and nine o clock in the 
 evening, on November 15th ?" 
 
 " I recollect it perfectly," he replied. 
 
 " And that I cam e into the room where you awaited me the 
 moment you sent in for me ?" 
 
256 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Do you remember my leaving you to go back into the room 
 whence I came, to get some writing-paper ?" 
 
 " I remember it." 
 
 "And that upon my return, I wrote out the agreement 
 between us ?" 
 
 " You did so." 
 
 " Was my manner at all flurried or agitated ?" 
 
 " Not in the least." 
 
 " About what time were you conversing with me ?" 
 
 " About half an hour or so." 
 
 " Did you hear no noise during all that time ?" interposed the 
 President. 
 
 "None at all," was the brief reply of the witness. 
 
 Upon this, I sat down. The evidence of Signer Pescio, who 
 was well known in Genoa, seemed to make a deep impression on 
 the public, and the general conclusion was, that if Miss Gamble 
 had really undergone any detention in my apartment, it was 
 equally clear that she had made no serious efforts to put an end 
 to it ; for, by following me and listening to the conversation, 
 she would have ascertained who the party was that had called, 
 when she might have claimed his interference. Her not doing 
 so was considered an additional proof that she looked upon the 
 whole matter as a jest. 
 
 It was now eleven o clock at night, and the court adjourned 
 till ten next morning. 
 
 I returned for a moment to the Tower, where I left the 
 courier and Pietro, who shuddered at returning again to their 
 dreary/ cells, made doubly odious by the taste of fresh air and 
 the sight of the bright sun that they had momentarily enjoyed 
 Roquino was waiting at the Tower to conduct me back to my 
 head quarters, St. Andrea, and it may be supposed that I felt 
 hardly less repugnance than the poor devils I had just left, to 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 257 
 
 being locked up again in my hideous habitation. I jested with 
 Roquino, as I went along, as to my sleeping for the night in a 
 comfortable bed at one of the hotels we were passing at every 
 moment ; and his annoyance at such an impossibility was as 
 great as mine, though of a very different character, for he was 
 compelled to choose between the loss of the handsome fee such a 
 concession would have brought, and the serious consequences 
 to him of such a breach of duty. I amused myself by hum 
 ming over the amount I would give for such a treat; and his 
 grief at being obliged to refuse me was really quite diverting. 
 I praised his self-denial, but kept on doubling the bribe till he 
 groaned in agony at the loss of sums he had never ventured to 
 dream about. The temptation of St. Anthony was a trifle to 
 what my unhappy turnkey underwent on that memorable night. 
 I would not wrong him, however, so much as to say that 
 Roquino would have denied himself a roguery he could possibly 
 gain by, and I, therefore, think it only just to declare that I 
 believe he would have yielded, and set the Fiscal Advocate at 
 defiance, if his eyes had been dazzled with the sight of the glit 
 tering gold I only talked about. The uncertainty of his getting 
 the prize I proposed (for his faith in mankind was exceedingly 
 small), and the absolute certainty of his getting, on the other 
 hand, the imprisonment that would have been his lot had he 
 granted my request, alone made him hesitate. It was a trying 
 ordeal I put him through that night, the fallible Roquino ; and 
 I took care not to let him know that I was only playing upon 
 his most sensitive chord. I need hardly say that, nauseous as 
 was the idea of returning again to my revolting abode of the 
 morning, yet would I have refused the boon, had he been weak 
 enough to concede it, for it would only have exposed the poor 
 devil to severe punishment, and compromised my own position. 
 
 When I got back to my old corridor again, I found the 
 devoted Bini pacing it up and down, lamp in hand, dreadfully 
 
258 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 impatient for my return, to know the result. He began to think 
 I must have been acquitted when midnight sounded and I came 
 not ; and he began also to think, no doubt, where he would get 
 his breakfast next morning, in case such good luck had befallen 
 me. When, at length, I made my appearance, and the door was 
 bolted behind me, a sign not to be mistaken, he flew at me with 
 all the enthusiasm of a barricader, and was bent on embracing 
 me in the true Italian fashion. I held him off, though, at arm s 
 length, till he had cooled down again, when I gave him some 
 account of the events of the day. He rejoiced heartily at the 
 turn things had taken. 
 
 " You will be acquitted," he cried, exultingly. " The evi 
 dence has broken down, and corrupt as justice may be in this 
 old town of Genoa, where the long reign of an oligarchy has left 
 so much vice, still public opinion cannot be bearded now-a-days, 
 and you must be acquitted." 
 
 " Bravely spoken for an ex-President of the Barricades," I 
 exclaimed. " It may be true enough, my friend Bini, that 
 justice is still halting in this ancient seat of the Doges, and it is 
 equally true that public opinion is gradually putting things to 
 rights ; but, depend on it, that I have to do with a Judge who 
 is ingenious enough to pervert the one, and to blind the other ; 
 and I shall be condemned, just as if I were the most guilty of 
 abductors." 
 
 " I don t believe it," cried the energetic foe to oligarchies. 
 " Oh, would that I could speak in your defence !" and he threw 
 himself into an oratorical attitude. 
 
 " Don t waste your eloquence upon me, advocate of the rights 
 of mankind ! for I am going to bed, as I shall have need of a 
 clear head for to-morrow. Besides, you will have enough to do 
 to defend yourself before long ; so bottle up your fine speeches 
 for your own benefit, and good-night to you." 
 
 " Au re vous voir, Monsieur Wikoff," said Bini in his funny 
 
AND ITS COX SEQUENCES. 259 
 
 French, and making for the door, as I had suggested, " au 
 dzmain, au demain.^ 
 
 TRIAL SECOND DAY. 
 
 I rose betimes next morning, greatly refreshed by a sound 
 sleep, and was cheered during my breakfast by the news that 
 the tide of opinion had turned strongly in my favor. The 
 general impression amongst the officials of the prison was that I 
 must be acquitted, from the absence of all proof showing crimi 
 nality, either as to intention or act. 
 
 I set off, as before, with Roquino, a little after nine o clock, 
 for the Tower prison, where I found the courier and Pietro in a 
 better state of mind than on the previous day. I heard that 
 the multitude about the doors of the ducal palace was denser 
 than on the first day for the noise of the trial had spread 
 through the town, and curiosity as to the result had vastly 
 increased the throng. I felt less mauvaise honte, now that the 
 real nature of the case had become better known ; and, on 
 setting out for the Court, I declined the offer of the sedan-chair, 
 and no longer sought to conceal myself from public view. As I 
 made my way, under the escort of two carabiniers, through the 
 crowd that filled the courtyard, and lined the splendid staircase 
 of the old palace of the Doges, now converted into halls of 
 justice, I received numerous marks of sympathy, and was hailed 
 by occasional cries of " viva . " for I was generally looked upon 
 by the public as the victim of the English Consul, who had 
 taken no pains to disguise his hostile proceedings against me. 
 It was generally supposed that he was acting under the instruc 
 tions of his government, and that I was, in fact, the object of a 
 secret political intrigue, which was carried on under cover of a 
 mock-trial for the abduction of my affianced bride. I entered 
 the court-room about ten o clock, and took my seat as before, 
 
260 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 with the courier and Pietro in my neighborhood. Miss Gamble 
 was already in her place, attended, as yesterday, by Miss 
 Bennett and Mary. 
 
 My astonishment was even greater than the day before, to find 
 that not a single lady was to be seen in any part of the court 
 house. The men had it all to themselves, and the throng was 
 extraordinary. Miss Gamble, however, seemed perfectly at her 
 ease, though her manner gave tokens of irritation I had not 
 observed on the previous day. I soon learned that she was in 
 great apprehension at my possible acquittal, and it was natural, 
 after having been urged to go so far to prevent it, that she 
 should feel disturbed at the chance of being defeated. 
 
 Before the judges came in, I remarked that Mr. Timothy 
 Brown was bustling about with a paper in his hand, that he 
 flourished aloft ever and anon, as though it contained matter 
 of importance. I should not omit to say that the behavior of 
 this eccentric gentleman during the previous day had been of a 
 kind to attract general attention, which was, doubtless, his 
 object ; but it brought down upon him no small amount of 
 blame and jeering. He had been requested to withdraw, along 
 with the other witnesses, from the court ; but not long after 
 wards he made his way back again, and forcing himself through 
 the crowd, in spite of the opposition of the rtuissiers, he got 
 within the railing, and strode towards the Tribunal. This irre 
 gular proceeding provoked the murmurs of the public, and the 
 President called on him, in a rough voice, to retire ; but, quite 
 unconcerned, he approached and whispered in his ear, and then 
 clapping on his hat, as if to show his consular contempt for the 
 exception taken to his conduct, he shoved boldly through the 
 crowd again, regardless of the laughter and sibilations that fol 
 lowed him. I saw no more of him for the rest of the day. 
 
 But, as I was just saying, his manner on the present occasion 
 showed that he considered the fortunes of the day rested entire- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 261 
 
 ly on his own shoulders, and the scowl with which he regarded 
 me, as well as the sternness of his demeanor, indicated he would 
 unsparingly employ every means at his command to carry out 
 his object. I was curious to know what was the new engine of 
 destruction that he had so unexpectedly unmasked, and I was 
 informed by my lawyers and Consul that, fearing my acquittal, 
 from the failure of the evidence against me, Mr. Brown had 
 thought it judicious to bring forward a document that he hoped 
 would compromise me in public opinion, and afford a pretext to 
 the Tribunal for my condemnation, if that were really their pur 
 pose, as supposed. 
 
 " A well-contrived trick," I replied ; " but what is the nature 
 of this document ?" 
 
 " I have just glanced over it," said my Consul, " and it seems 
 to be a letter addressed to Miss Gamble by a former acquaint 
 ance of yours,* and contains merely some sweeping expressions 
 of a very abusive character." 
 
 "But has it anything to do with the case in hand?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " Not the least in the world," returned the American 
 Consul. 
 
 "Then, the object," I continued, "is plainly, as you suggest, 
 to lower my character in the public view, and afford the Tribu 
 nal, if so inclined, a justification for an adverse sentence. Well, 
 let them play their game out. I shall not oppose the reading of 
 this irrelevant matter." 
 
 " But we shall," said my lawyers, who were standing by ; " for 
 such a proceeding is really abominable." 
 
 It was half-past ten o cl^X before the Judges entered and took 
 
 * I may as well state here that the person who was declared to be the writer of thia 
 
 calumnious epistle was Mrs. ; but, I am happy to say that I received afterwards a 
 
 written denial from Mrs. that she ever penned anything of the sort. Mr. Brown 
 
 was, therefore, guilty of a falsehood, in assigning Mrs. as the author of a lampoon 
 
 be bad possibly concocted. 
 
262 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 their seats. The lawyer of Miss Gamble,, Signer Cabella, imme 
 diately arose, and stated that Mr. Brown, the English Consul, 
 had brought a document into Court that morning which threw 
 doubts on the character of the accused, Mr. Wikoff, and he 
 demanded, therefore, in the interest of his client, Miss Gamble, 
 that the said document should be publicly read. I gave my 
 ready assent to its reading, as demanded ; but Signer Maurizio 
 arose, under some excitement, and said 
 
 " That, notwithstanding the permission just accorded by his 
 client, Mr. Wikoff, he would, on his own responsibility, protest 
 against the irregularity of this singular proceeding. It is a 
 well-known enactment of our law," he continued, "that no evi 
 dence of the kind in question can be produced on trial without 
 five days previous notice to the opposite party ; and here, on 
 the second day of a trial, when the evidence is nearly closed, we 
 find a concealed battery suddenly opened upon us, not in the 
 shape of a reputable witness, but in the equivocal one of a calum 
 nious letter that says nothing of the case in hand ; and which, I 
 may add, does little credit to its ostensible author. What motive 
 can Mr. Consul Brown have for this illegal and unfair manoeuvre 
 other than to prejudice the Tribunal, and to justify the condem 
 nation of my client in the public eye ? In a word, I protest 
 against the admission of the said document ; first as illegal, 
 and next as irrelevant, having nothing whatever to do with the 
 offence my client is here to answer." 
 
 The Tribunal then called upon Mr. Brown to deposit the docu 
 ment he held in their hands ; and they retired to reflect upon 
 what course it was best to adopt under the circumstances. 
 
 It appears that the libellous letter in question had been duly 
 translated into Italian, and was meant to operate, therefore, upon 
 such of the Judges and the public who did not understand the 
 French and English languages. 
 
 The Court remained absent for near an hour, and, of course, 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 263 
 
 perused the invidious paper they had carried with them. Inas 
 much as the law clearly forbid its admission as evidence, their 
 duty was to overrule it at once, without leaving the bench. I 
 merely instance this act of President Malaspina and his coadju 
 tors to show how small their deference for law or justice. 
 
 On the return of the Tribunal, it was pronounced with much 
 learned verbosity, that, according to the Sardinian code of pro 
 cedure, no documents could be produced on trial without Jive 
 days previous notice to the opposite party ; and as this requi 
 sition had not been complied with in this instance, the document 
 brought forward by Mr. Consul Brown was inadmissible. 
 
 One of my counsel then rose and objected to Mr. Brown being 
 heard as a witness, since article 304 of the code declared that 
 the name of every witness, together with a summary of the facts 
 on which he is to be interrogated, must be deposited at the 
 secretary s office at least twenty-four hours before the trial ; and 
 as this necessary formality had not been fiullilled in Mr. Brown s 
 case, he could not legally be-admitted as a witness. 
 
 The Tribunal decided that, although due notice had not been 
 given as stated, according to the law, yet they considered them 
 selves vested with a discretionary power in the case, and they would 
 therefore grant their consent to the examination of the witness ! 
 
 Mr. Consul Brown was then called forward, and took his 
 seat on a chair in front of the Tribunal. He had the complacent 
 air of a man who seemed to relish his work. Imagine the asto 
 nishment of the public when the President declined to put him on 
 oath. He was simply requested, as Miss Gamble had been on 
 the day before, to give his testimony on his honour. Now, it 
 may have been a stretch of politeness to a lady, though she was 
 both a plaintiff and a witness, to allow her to testify without 
 being sworn ; but what reason could President Malaspina give 
 (and I here publicly demand it), for suffering Mr. Timothy 
 Brown, a witness for the prosecution, and, as shown, an illegal 
 
264 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 witness besides, to give his testimony without being put on oath, 
 according to law, both in Genoa and all the world over ? Have 
 I not the right to denounce my trial as a mockery, after such a 
 bare-faced violation of justice as this ? 
 
 As the examination of Mr. Brown, by the President, was as 
 curious as the rest, I subjoin it in full : 
 
 President. Do you know Mr. Wikoff ! 
 
 B. Consul. I do. 
 
 President. How long have you known him ? 
 
 B. Consul. About four months. 
 
 President. What is his moral character ? 
 
 B. Consul. Detestable. 
 
 President. How do you know this ? 
 
 B. Consul. I infer so from his conduct to Miss Gamble, and 
 from what I have heard. 
 
 President. Do you know whether he had any employment 
 under the British Government ? 
 
 B. Consul. I do not know, but I believe not. I have, besides, 
 spoken to the English Ambassador, who told me that it was impos 
 sible. 
 
 President. Since the affair between Mr. Wikoff and Miss 
 Gamble, was there any negotiation through the medium of the 
 American Consul ? 
 
 B. Consul. Yes. 
 
 President. Relate what you know respecting it. 
 
 B. Consul. Wishing that the name of a lady should not be 
 brought before the public, I desired to negotiate with him to 
 come to an understanding that Mr. Wikoff should leave the 
 country. 
 
 President. Why did Mr. Wikoff refuse ? 
 
 B. Consul. He did not refuse ; but, in consequence of delay 
 on the part of the American Consul, the affair was divulged ; 
 besides, there was not time sufficient. I afterwards saw the 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 265 
 
 Advocate General, for the purpose of speaking to him, but he 
 replied, " It is too late." 
 
 President. In the negotiation which took place, and in which 
 you were engaged, what opinion did you form in regard to the, 
 transaction. 
 
 B. Consul. I am persuaded that Wikoff was determined to 
 obtain Miss Gamble s fortune either by love or force. 
 
 At the close of his testimony Mr. Brown left his chair, and, 
 instead of returning to his place, he seated himself, to the sur 
 prise of all, alongside of the President, and continued to super 
 vise the proceedings with an air of authority that seemed to 
 imply that his dicta was paramount over both law and judge. 
 He chatted familiarly with the Judges, and must have said 
 some good things, from the giggling that frequently ensued. 
 This was not very decorous in so grave a place as a Court of Jus 
 tice ought to be ; but the way judicial business is managed in 
 Genoa, taking this as a sample, is different from what I had ever 
 seen in any other country before. Notwithstanding the inattention 
 of my Judges, I rose immediately after Mr. Brown had finished, 
 and begged to address a few observations to the Court. I said 
 
 "It is not my purpose to bandy words with Mr. Consul 
 Brown, and I will, therefore, make no reply to the unnecessary 
 aspersions he has chosen to cast upon me. I leave them in their 
 spirit and taste to public appreciation, both here, in his country, 
 and in mine. Indeed, I have reason to be satisfied that he has 
 given such plain expression to his feelings, and in language so 
 intemperate, since it cannot fail to prove he has acted towards 
 me throughout this puerile affair with a virulence that no one 
 could have expected of an English Consul, or an English 
 gentleman. But let that pass. There is one distinct declara 
 tion, however, on his part, that I feel it necessary to notice on 
 the spot. Mr. Brown has proclaimed his disbelief that I have 
 ever "been in the employ of the British Government. Nay, 
 
 12 
 
266 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 more. He has stated that the English Ambassador at Turin, 
 Mr. Hudson, has declared that my reputed connection with the 
 British Government was impossible ! I must first express my 
 regret that either the President of the Tribunal, or Mr. Brown, 
 has thought fit to mix up the British Government with so fri 
 volous a case as the one in hand, but I have no choice now but 
 to follow their leading. It is well known to the Tribunal that I 
 stated to the Judge of Instruction, and I stated it only because 
 Miss Gamble had revealed it, that almost up to the day of my 
 arrest at Genoa I had been in the employ of the British Govern 
 ment. If, then, the grave and deliberate statements of the Consul 
 and Ambassador of England are true, I stand before this Court 
 and the public in the odious light of an unmasked impostor. 
 Humble a person as I really may be, my veracity and position, 
 thus needlessly assailed, are still dear to me ; and I have no 
 alternative, therefore, but to declare that the unqualified asser 
 tions of Mr. Consul Brown, and of his Excellency, Mr. Hudson, 
 are untrue, and directly opposite to fact. I beg, therefore, to 
 state that, in September, 1850, Lord Palmerston, then Minister 
 for Foreign Affairs, personally made to me propositions to enter 
 into the service of the British Foreign Office, which I finally 
 accepted, and entered upon my functions the October following. 
 I continued in this employment during the years 1850 and 1851, 
 when, for reasons I am not called upon to specify here, a misun 
 derstanding arose which may end in the close of my connection 
 with the Foreign Office, but which has not yet positively taken 
 place. Surely nothing could have been easier than for Mr. 
 Consul Brown, or the English Envoy at Turin, to inform them 
 selves of these facts by application to Lord Palmerston direct, or 
 to the Foreign Office. It was their manifest duty to do so, both 
 as discreet officials and as honorable men, before venturing to pro 
 nounce me an impostor. I must, therefore, hold them jointly 
 guilty of an act of unpardonable ignorance, since it is quite 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 267 
 
 impossible to believe that an English Consul, or an English 
 Ambassador, would designedly state what they knew to be false. 
 In conclusion, I feel all the disadvantage I labor under in having 
 no more than my simple word to oppose to the emphatic dis 
 claimer of Mr. Consul Brown, and of his Excellency Mr. Hud 
 son ; but if any notice had been given me to furnish proofs of 
 my connection with the British Government, I should have 
 promptly produced them. I have nothing of the kind with me 
 at Genoa ; and if the sentence of the court is to depend on my 
 proving that I have not been guilty of misrepresentation and 
 falsehood, it needs must be registered against me. I have been 
 taken completely by surprise, and I must be allowed to say that 
 the conduct of Mr. Consul Brown in this matter is as unfair and 
 ungenerous as in all the rest." 
 
 I sat down ; but my precise language and earnest tones failed to 
 convince either the Tribunal or the public that I had spoken the 
 truth. Called to elect between the good faith of individuals 
 holding places of such importance and distinction as those of 
 Consul and Ambassador of England, and that of a person in my 
 unfortunate position, it was perfectly natural that the general 
 impression should prevail that I had been guilty of an unjustifi 
 able deception ; and from that moment public sympathy began 
 to diminish for me. Mr. Brown succeeded, at last, by a flagrant 
 mis-statement, in breaking down my position as a person worthy 
 of confidence, and his real object was thus cunningly achieved ; 
 for public opinion would take less exception to my condemnation, 
 once supposed to be guilty of a gross imposture, however inno 
 cent I might be thought of the abduction of Miss Gamble. 
 
 [To show how cruelly I was belied in this matter, I beg to 
 refer my readers to the note below.*] 
 
 * I subjoin an extract from a letter of II. U. Addington, Esq., H. B. M. Under-Secre- 
 tary of State for Foreign Affairs, which happened to be lying in the hands of my bankers, 
 at Paris, at the very moment the events above were taking place. This will suffice to 
 
268 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 The American Consul was the last witness that was called. 
 He appeared in his uniform, as a mark of respect for the Court ; 
 and next, to show that he took an official interest in what was 
 going on. He considered the tribunal under the influence of 
 Consul Brown, and he meant, by wearing his uniform, to show 
 that he attached importance to the fact. He was requested to 
 take his oath. He made no objections, though he was greatly 
 astonished, as well as the public, that the testimony of the Eng 
 lish Consul had been received on his honor, whilst he, though 
 appearing in his official capacity, was desired to be sworn. 
 Could anything be more gross than the partiality of the tribunal 
 in favor of the prosecution ? 
 
 show that both the British Consul at Genoa, and British Minister at Turin, did me an 
 unwarrantable injury in declaring that to be false, which it was their business to ascer 
 tain to be true. I might add other documents to these, but I deem it unnecessary, as it 
 is my intention to publish, at an early day, the entire history of my relations with the 
 Foreign Office 
 
 "HENRY WIKOFF, ESQ., &c., &C. "Foreign Office, 
 
 " November 24<A, 1851. 
 
 Sh } in reply to the letter which you addressed to Viscount Palmers- 
 ton on the 31st of October, I am directed to observe to you that the sole 
 object of the arrangement which his Lordship made with you in the 
 Autumn of last year was to make known clearly, through the medium of 
 the French and the United States press, the liberal, and especially the 
 pacific character of the policy of her Majesty s Government. * 
 
 * * * I am, therefore, directed to state to you that Lord 
 
 Palmerston considers that the engagement taken with you would properly 
 cease, as already announced to you, with the close of this year ; but in 
 order that you m.iy have a full twelvemonths notice of its cessation, he 
 will continue, until the end of June next. 1852, the rate of payment which 
 you have already received, and on the 30th of June that allowance will 
 accordingly cease altogether. 
 
 " I am, Sir. your obedient and humble Servant. 
 
 "H. U. ABDIXGTON." 
 
AND ITS OONSKQUENO E S. 269 
 
 The President addressed a few general questions to the Consul, 
 that had little bearing on the case, and soon concluded. 
 
 I then came forward to interrogate him in my turn. 
 
 " Do you remember, sir," I began, " calling, at my request, 
 at the house of the English Consul on the evening of Nov. 16th, 
 in the hope of some amicable arrangement between Miss Gam 
 ble and myself, and that you informed me, upon your return, 
 that Miss Gamble was most anxious for such an arrangement, 
 but that the English Consul violently opposed it ; and that he 
 even ordered Miss Gamble, in your presence, to quit the room ?" 
 
 A. Consul " I saw Miss Gamble on the evening you allude 
 to at the house of Mr. Brown, and she expressed her extreme 
 desire to terminate the matter amicably. Mr. Brown was 
 absent during my conversation with her. He was gone, I believe, 
 to the Intendente s. Upon his return, he declared his determi 
 nation to oppose any friendly settlement between you, and 
 ordered Miss Gamble to leave the room, which she did immedi 
 ately. On the following day I had several parleys with them 
 both, to put an end to the affair." 
 
 "Do you recollect that Miss Gamble then used the most 
 urgent entreaties to induce you to prevent my being imprisoned ?" 
 
 A. Consul. " She did so ; and constantly expressed her 
 desire to end the matter in a friendly way, without your being 
 imprisoned." 
 
 " You remember the fact, I presume, of the English Consul 
 calling to see me, on behalf of Miss Gamble, at your house, on 
 Nov. 17th?" 
 
 A. Consul. " I do, sir." 
 
 " And that the English Consul then declared that he had 
 entirely changed his views of the case since he had conversed 
 with me ?" 
 
 A Consul. " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Are you willing to state that, upon that occasion, Mr. 
 
270 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Brown expressed himself, in the presence of several persons, in 
 language exceedingly unfavorable to Miss Gamble ?" 
 
 A. Consul after hesitating a moment, turned to the Court and 
 said " Am I obliged to answer this question, or to say any 
 thing which might compromise the English Consul with Miss 
 Gamble and her friends ?" 
 
 President after looking at the English Consul alongside of 
 him, who knit his brows, but said nothing "You are obliged to 
 state the truth." 
 
 "I merely desire to ask," I continued, "whether Mr. Brown 
 did not say that he considered Miss Gamble quite mad, and that 
 I would be still madder if I married her ?" 
 
 A. Consul. " Yes, he made this declaration, and in the pre 
 sence of several persons." 
 
 " Will you allow me, further, to demand whether, in your fre 
 quent interviews with Miss Gamble, during the past three 
 months, you have not come to the conclusion that she is of a 
 vacillating turn of mind, and whether she is not prone to 
 express herself in one way to-day, and in the opposite way the 
 next ?" 
 
 A. Consul " I should be very sorry to say anything disa 
 greeable to Miss Gamble, but my conviction is that her disposi 
 tion is unstable and changeable." 
 
 " In conclusion, do you remember whether Miss Gamble ever 
 declared to you upon any occasion, from first to last, that I 
 threatened her in any manner, whilst in my apartment, on 
 Nov. 15th ?" 
 
 A. Consul. " On the contrary, Miss Gamble has frequently 
 declared to me that she never had the smallest apprehensions of 
 personal violence on the occasion you refer to. She always 
 said that she was detained there against her will, but never said 
 that you had threatened her in any manner." 
 
 Thanking the Consul, I returned to my seat. The testimony 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 271 
 
 of the American Consul seemed to give great satisfaction to the 
 public, which was not a little enhanced by the dignity of his 
 demeanor, and his gentlemanly forbearance both towards Miss 
 Gamble and the English Consul. 
 
 The list of witnesses was now gone through, when the Public 
 Prosecutor rose on behalf of the State, and began his harangue. 
 
 He endeavored first to establish that I had been guilty of the 
 abduction of Miss Gamble, and used a good deal of special plead 
 ing to maintain his point. He next asserted, in the very teeth 
 of the evidence, and in spite of the judgment of the High Court 
 already quoted, that I had employed menaces against her.^ He 
 concluded by demanding my condemnation ; and declared that 
 the offences alleged had rendered me liable to an imprisonment 
 of four years as principal, and the courier to an imprisonment 
 of three years and three months, and the vakt-de-plact to one 
 year s imprisonment as accessories. 
 
 The courier shivered with apprehension, and poor Pietro 
 nearly fell off the bench with terror at such startling propositions 
 as these. 
 
 Sr. Cabella, the advocate of Miss Gamble, followed Sr. Car- 
 bone, and spoke with great fluency, but with less effect than I 
 had expected from a barrister of his reputation. He stated, 
 however, at the outset, that his position was an embarrassing 
 one ; and I do not think that he relished his work. He sought, 
 nevertheless, to make the most of his case, addressing himself 
 exclusively to the question of damages. He considered his 
 client, Miss Gamble, entitled to a heavy sum ; but left it to the 
 discretion of the Court to fix the amount. His comments on the 
 conduct of Miss Gamble during my courtship were, certainly, 
 not very felicitous, and I was somewhat puzzled to know whether 
 he had been sleeping through my cross-examination of her, since 
 he ignored her own admissions, or whether he was indulging in 
 a vein of subtle irony at her expense. I leave my readers to 
 
272 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 judge from the following phrases which I quote from the report 
 of his speech. 
 
 " It cannot be denied, 7 he said, " that my client s conduct 
 throughout has been prudent and upright ; that from Mr. Wikoffs 
 first acquaintance with her family (in 1835) up to the last mo 
 ment, nothing could be alleged against her that was not judi 
 cious, prudent, and becoming a lady; that Miss Gamble s letters, 
 as well as her actions, showed that she knew her own mind, 
 being, at the same time, to her complete justification, and to the 
 condemnation of the accused. Not only did the lady never give 
 any encouragement to Mr. Wikoff, but on the contrary, she had 
 always shown him that there was no hope" He wound up by de 
 manding damages for his client, Miss Gamble, according to 
 law. 
 
 Sr. Cabella must have heard Miss Gamble declare she had 
 given me her hand at Geneva, for the second time. If that is 
 not " encouragement," I should like, for the sake of all lovers in 
 doubt, to know what an Italian barrister considers a fair case 
 of encouragement ! 
 
 One of my advocates was rising for the defense, when Miss 
 Gamble begged permission to withdraw. She had complacently 
 listened to my pummelling by the Public Prosecutor and her 
 own lawyer, but she was not disposed to have her impressions 
 disturbed by hearing anything said in my behalf. But, I dare 
 say, she expected that I would allow a great deal to be said that 
 would be painful to her. She was not aware, of course, that I 
 had insisted on my lawyers treating her with the utmost delicacy 
 and forbearance. 
 
 The President replied to her request by saying he could not 
 allow her to retire without my consent. 
 
 I gave it immediately ; but, rising, I begged to ask her a 
 simple question as to a point of some importance that had been 
 overlooked 
 
A N I) ITS CO X S E Q U K N K S . 273 
 
 " Do you remember, Miss Gamble, that when I inquired as to 
 the contents of the small black bag of Mary s that I discovered 
 in my apartment on Nov. 15th, that you stated to me it con 
 tained only odds and ends those very words ?" 
 
 She hesitated for a few moments, when the courier arose and 
 begged to ask Miss Gamble if she did not recollect that he came 
 into the saloon along with Mary, on Nov. 15th, to know whether 
 his mistress had any orders to give him? 
 
 Whether she considered it injudicious to answer these ques 
 tions, or whether some sudden irritation seized her mind, I 
 cOuld never tell ; but, to the surprise of everybody, she sprang 
 forwards to the front of the Tribunal, and pointing her finger at 
 a picture of Christ on the Cross that hung upon the walls, she 
 cried in a loud voice 
 
 " I swear that Mr. Wikoff is a , a calumniator, and a 
 
 vile man." 
 
 I was astounded at such extraordinary language, and, above 
 all, at the violent anger that seemed to possess her. I had 
 given her no other provocation than the simple question I had 
 asked. Though deeply wounded by such strong epithets, I pre 
 served my composure, and said 
 
 "I have no reply to make to Miss Gamble, other than she 
 used the phrase of odds and ends in reference to the contents 
 of her servant s bag, and to this I am ready to swear," laying 
 my hand at the same time on the Bible near me. 
 
 The President then informed Miss Gamble that she was at 
 liberty to go away, and, accompanied by Miss Bennett and Mary, 
 she instantly withdrew. 
 
 As she passed by me, I got up and bowed courteously, but 
 sadly, for I had a presentiment I should see her no more. 
 
 My defence was about beginning, but as it was five o clock 
 the court adjourned for dinner. I returned to the Tower to 
 dine as the day before. My companions in misfortune had little 
 
 12* 
 
274 H Y COURTSHIP 
 
 relish for their repast. The courier was dreadfully cast down, 
 and Pietro was half demented at being longer cut off from his 
 family, who were entirely dependent on him for support. I con 
 tinued to assure him of his acquittal, of which I entertained no 
 doubt; but he whined piteously, and, like Rachel, "refused to be 
 comforted." 
 
 EVENING SESSION. 
 
 At seven o clock the Tribunal re-assembled. The curiosity to 
 hear the sentence had attracted extraordinary numbers. The 
 bench of accuser, hitherto occupied by Miss Gamble, was vacant 
 for the first time. I saw nothing of Mr. Brown either; in fact, 
 there was nothing more for him to do, and he was pretty sure, I 
 dare say, that President Malaspina would do the rest. 
 
 My defence now began, and occupied less than two hours. 
 That of the courier and the valet-de-place followed. My lawyers, 
 one and all, acquitted themselves with zeal and ability; though 
 the stringent instructions I had given to make no comments on 
 the conduct of Miss Gamble, considerably impaired their means 
 of defence. Their pleading may be summed up as follows: 
 
 " That the attempt made by the prosecution to depict the 
 offence of Mr Wikoff in such dark colors was little short of 
 ridiculous, in the face of the facts as proved by the evidence, and 
 of the admissions made by Miss Gamble herself. 
 
 " That it was morally impossible that a person holding the 
 social position of Mr. Wikoff in Europe and in his own country 
 could have been actuated by any base motives in seeking the in 
 terview he had obtained with the lady so lately affianced to him; 
 and that, in short, the act in question was rather a subject for a 
 novel or a comedy, than for the lengthened legal investigation it 
 had undergone. 
 
 " That as to the Abduction/ even if regarded under a sinis 
 ter point of view, there was not sufficient proof to establish 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
 the fact of illegality, because it did not appear that by the pro 
 cedure of Mr Wikoff the liberty of Miss Gamble had been 
 seriously violated. On the contrary, it was even evident that 
 she had all along the power to recover it, had she been firmly 
 
 resolved to do so. 
 
 "That as regards the accusation of menaces, not o 
 all the evidence go to disprove it, but that, in truth, this Tribu 
 nal could take no cognizance of it, since the decision of 
 Council Chamber of the Criminal Court had formally overrn 
 
 That, finally, it was impossible to apply article 498 of the 
 Penal Code, which forbids the carrying of weapons, to this 
 case for it had been shown, first, that the empty pistols did 
 not belong to Mr. Wikoff ; and second, that they were only 
 momentarily in his possession. 
 
 "In conclusion, the innocence of Mr. Wikoff of the abduc 
 tion of Miss Gamble the sole charge for which he stood 
 arraigned being fully established, both as to motive and fact, 
 his complete acquittal was demanded/ 
 
 The trial was now at an end, and the Tribunal prepared 1 
 retire to consider their judgment. The President asked me if I 
 had anything further to say in my defence, and 1 answered m 
 the negative. 
 
 Sr. Cabella, the advocate of Miss Gamble, t 
 begged to withdraw the demand of his client for damages ; 
 observing that " Miss Gamble had constituted herself a civil 
 party, not so much for damages, as to have the right of being 
 heard, in case her honor had been attacked." 
 
 I was delighted to find that Miss Gamble had de< 
 abandon her pecuniary claim, even at the last moment ; but 1 
 was astonished to learn that she had employed an advocate 
 merely to defend her honor, in the event of its being attacked. 
 That she should harbor such an apprehension, for a momeD*, 
 
276 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 shows that she thought me greatly exasperated against her, 
 which was not the case. 
 
 It was after ten o clock when the judges withdrew, and they 
 remained absent over an hour. During this interval I chatted 
 calmly with my Consul, who manifested the liveliest anxiety for 
 the result. My counsel differed in opinion, I observed. Sr. 
 Orsiui thought I would be condemned, but the others not. 
 The public all expected my acquittal ; and I was pleased to 
 learn that they looked upon the " Abduction" as an amusing 
 farce. I was not more surprised than gratified at the public 
 prosecutor, Sr. Carbone, advancing to me, and giving me his 
 hand 
 
 " I never had a more disagreeable duty to perform," he said ; 
 " and I trust you will excuse the unpleasant things I was 
 obliged to say. I spoke according to my instructions, and I did 
 not seek, you must admit it, to exceed them." 
 
 " I thank you, sir, most cordially," I replied, " for the grace 
 ful and feeling manner you fulfilled a duty you are pleased to 
 say was repugnant to you. I shall long bear in mind this 
 expression of your esteem, equally unexpected as flattering to 
 me 1" 
 
 Sr. Cabella, the advocate of Miss Gamble, then declared that 
 if he could have anticipated my treating his client with so much 
 courtesy, he would have been far more sparing in his language 
 towards me. 
 
 "It is very civil of you, sir, to say so," I remarked ; " but 
 the mischief is irreparable now." 
 
 It was after eleven o clock when the Judges returned into 
 Court, and took their seats amid the profound silence of the 
 vast crowd that had patiently awaited the result. 
 
 President Malaspina had written out his judgment, which 
 was exceedingly long, and ingeniously constructed. The reasons 
 advanced by the learned Judge, in justification of the sentence 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 277 
 
 be pronounced, are so remarkable for their direct contradiction 
 to the evidence, and their flagrant distortion of the facts, that I 
 beg the permission of my readers to pass them in review, with 
 my own comments in juxtaposition. 
 
 WHEREAS 
 
 At the end of the year 1835 the 
 accused, Henry Wikoff, having made 
 the acquaintance of Miss Jane C. 
 Gamble, conceived an affection for 
 her, but without result, he having 
 left her in 1840 : 
 
 That, in the interval which 
 elapsed between this period and 
 1850, Miss Gamble having inherited 
 a large fortune, was revisited by the 
 accused, who, feeling his former im 
 pressions deepened, spoke to her of 
 his attachment, and solicited her 
 hand in marriage : 
 
 That, Miss Gamble rejected his 
 offer, which did not silence the said 
 Henry Wikoff, who began following 
 her about through France and Swit 
 zerland, when he succeeded in ex 
 torting a promise of marriage from 
 Miss Gamble, to which was annexed 
 the condition of obtaining the con 
 sent of Mr. Bates, of London : 
 
 That, so far from Mr. Bates giving A letter from Mr. Bates, pro- 
 his consent to the marriage, he duced on Trial, and acknowledged 
 made known his opposition to Miss by Miss Gamble, proved that he 
 Gamble : had made no opposition to our 
 
 marriage. 
 
 It was in April, 1851, that 1 met 
 Miss Gamble again. She had in 
 herited the income only of her 
 uncle s property two or three days 
 before, but I was wholly ignorant 
 of the fact, as shown on my first 
 visit. 
 
 Miss Gamble was never in 
 France during the whole period 
 of my courtship. In Switzerland, 
 as averred by Miss Gamble before 
 the Tribunal, she voluntarily and 
 solemnly pledged me her hand. 
 
 That, Miss Gamble then exhort- The letters of Miss Gamble, read 
 
278 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 ed Mr. "Wikoff to desist from his on the Trial, proved that she had 
 pursuit : solicited interviews with me after 
 
 the alleged opposition. 
 
 That, in spite of her explicit The letter of the Russian Charge 
 refusals, Mr. Wikoff formed the re- d affaires produced on Trial, 
 solution to get possession of Miss proved my intention to go to Russia, 
 Gamble : instead of following Miss Gamble 
 
 to Italy. 
 
 That, for this purpose, he corrupt- The written obligation I gave 
 ed her courier, Louis Yannod : the courier was suppressed by the 
 
 Prosecution, in order to make out 
 a charge of corruption. 
 
 That, he made an attempt to get I employed a ruse " to obtain an 
 
 an interview with Miss Gamble, at interview," in the words of the 
 
 Turin, by passing himself off as a Judge, but abandoned the attempt. 
 Mrs. Austin, but failed : 
 
 That, he made a second attempt at 
 Genoa, which succeeded : 
 
 That, during Miss Gamble s stay Miss Gamble frequently de- 
 
 in his apartment, he employed dared the contrary to the JLmeri- 
 
 menaces to force her to marry him, can Consul, and made no such 
 
 -or pass the night there : statement before the Tribunal. 
 
 That, to escape these alterna- The said paper was a mere repe- 
 
 tives, she wrote, under the dictation tition of her former pledges of 
 
 of Mr. Wikoff, a promise of mar- marriage, and was invalid in 
 
 riage : point of law. 
 
 That, after this, the attendant of It would have been easy, if I had 
 Miss Gamble arrived, and she de- wished it, to prevent the presence 
 sired her to come to her. of the said attendant. 
 
 That, after the arrival of her at- Miss Gamble ate two large bowls 
 tendant, Miss Gamble became com- of soup for lunch two hours before 
 posed, and partook of refreshments : the arrival of the said attendant. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 279 
 
 That, on Miss Gamble leaving 
 the apartment of Mr. Will off, she 
 accompanied him to the " Iron 
 Crown " Hotel, from whence they 
 afterwards returned to their respect 
 ive hotels : 
 
 The judge carefully suppressed 
 the important fact that Miss 
 Gamble " accompanied " me volun 
 tarily to pass the night at the 
 " Iron Crown" Hotel, and returned 
 to her own on the folloiving morn 
 ing. 
 
 That notwithstanding the judg 
 ment of the Session of Accusation 
 of Dec. 24th, 1851, there is sufficient 
 to prove that Mr. Wikoff had illegally 
 abducted the person of Miss Gamble, 
 as denned in article 242 of the 
 Penal Code : 
 
 The " Session of Accusation " 
 acquitted me of the false charge 
 of " extorting with menaces " the 
 aforesaid written paper. 
 
 Article 242 of the Penal Code 
 provides for a real case of Abduc 
 tion, and not for a farce. 
 
 That, it cannot be denied that 
 Mr. Wikoff had in his possession un 
 lawful weapons : 
 
 There was a pair of empty pis 
 tols in the apartment, belonging 
 to the courier, as explained. 
 
 That, it was proved that Louis 
 "Vanned was the principal agent of 
 Henry Wikoff in abducting the per 
 son of Miss Gamble : 
 
 That, there is abundant proof to If it was proved the valet-de- 
 show that although the valet-de- place " suspected " anything im- 
 place, Cavallari, must have sus- proper, as the Judge declares, he 
 pected that he was engaged in an was, then, an accomplice. 
 improper act, still he cannot be re 
 garded as an accomplice : 
 
 WHEREFORE, the Tribunal declares that Luigi Cavallari shall be set at 
 liberty : 
 
 Declares that Henry Wikoff is convicted of having abducted the per 
 son of Miss Gamble, and of having in his possession dangerous 
 weapons : 
 
280 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Declares Louis Vanned is convicted of being the principal agent in the 
 misdemeanor of abducting Miss Gamble, and of having dangerous 
 
 weapons : 
 
 Seeing articles 242, 107, &c., &c., of the Penal Code condemns the said 
 Henry "Wikoff and Louis Yannod to the penalty of fifteen months 
 imprisonment each, counting from the day of the arrest, and to pay 
 the costs of the process : 
 
 The reading of this judicial expose was listened to with silent 
 attention by the auditory, but when it was found that I was 
 condemned to fifteen months imprisonment loud murmurs of 
 astonishment and dissatisfaction broke out on every side. 
 
 President Malaspiria, who had the air of a man conscious of 
 doing an unjust thing, lost his temper at these manifestations, 
 and threatened to clear the Court. Then addressing me, he 
 made a sort of apology for the sentence, by saying he had given 
 me <he minimum for a case of " Abduction," and said, further, 
 that I had ten days allowed me for an appeal. 
 
 I replied in a courteous tone that, " I would consult with my 
 counsel, and decide upon what course it was best for me to 
 pursue !" 
 
 The valet-de-place then had permission to go ; and he did not 
 wait for a second order, for he shot off as though he had been 
 ejected from a mortar. The courier was deeply affected at his 
 condemnation, and began to weep. I told him, upbraidingly, to 
 put up his handkerchief, and to behave as a courier ought. 
 
 It was midnight when the Court broke up, and it was raining 
 in torrents. The weather was in harmony with the dismal state 
 of my mind. The American Consul remained to bid me good 
 night, and, with his usual kindness, endeavored tc console me, 
 though it was easy to see that he was deeply annoyed at the 
 unfairness of the proceedings and the injustice of the sentence. 
 
 " Well, never mind," he said, stretching out his hand, " for 
 bad as it is, there is comfort in knowing these intrigues arc at 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 281 
 
 an end. They can do you no more harm ; or, as we say in 
 America, they have jumped their length ! " 
 
 " It is really too bad," I replied, trying to force a smile, " after 
 being bamboozled for so many months by Miss Gamble, to fall, at 
 last, into the jaws of a downright dragon, like your colleague 
 Brown. It would have put Job himself into a passion." 
 
 " It is a hard case, but keep cool," returned the Consul, 
 who looked as if he were trying to take the remedy he recom 
 mended to me. " Keep cool, and I will call on you to-morrow 
 to see what is to be done now. They have got you down ; and 
 let us hope that will content them." 
 
 " Thanks, my dear Consul," I said, shaking him cordially by 
 the hand, " I shall never forget your goodness. It is a conso 
 lation to see that, though now a condemned abductor, your 
 sympathy for me still survives." 
 
 " You are so much less to blame than I thought/ he responded, 
 " that I will struggle all the harder for you. Good-night." 
 
 I got into a sedan-chair awaiting me, and was carried off to 
 St. Andrea once more, that I had secretly hoped in the morning 
 never to see again. The transit was less than half an hour, but 
 the suffering of years was crowded into that short interval. I 
 shall never forget the poignant emotions of that desolate night. 
 It was not the dejection of grief ; nor yet the torture of fear 
 that afflicted me. It was not the cruelty of a woman I had 
 passionately loved, nor even all the terrors of a long detention 
 in a loathsome prison that overpowered me. No ; I thought only 
 of the ruin of all my prospects in life that this unjust con 
 demnation would bring upon me. I thought of the loss of 
 my friends, whose esteem and respect were above all price. I 
 thought of the reproach and contumely that the ill-natured 
 would cast upon me. These bitter reflections filled me with 
 the deepest gloom. I knew that I had committed no offence 
 against law or morals that a folly, or an impertinence, was 
 
282 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 the worst that could be imputed to me. I knew I was the 
 victim of intrigue and of powerful influence. But how was I 
 to convince the public that, under form of law, " the still small 
 voice " of Justice had been drowned ? How was I to expose, 
 in all their crookedness, the unworthy means that had been 
 employed against me ? This apparent impossibility gradually 
 threw me into a state of mind that I shrink from describing. 
 Some natures at such a moment would have given way to des 
 pondency or to rage, but I remained calm amid a prostration 
 the most complete and mournful I had ever known. 
 
 I was surprised, on reaching the prison, to find that Roquino 
 accompanied me to my room, and that he and Bini remained 
 there even after I had gone to bed, though I was not disposed 
 for conversation. I sent them off, at last, but I remarked 
 that two or three times afterwards Roquiuo, under one pretext 
 or another, came back again. I learnt some days later that he 
 had received orders to watch me closely, lest, in a paroxysm of 
 anger or despair, I might do some violence to myself. Seeing 
 me composed, he finally retired to rest, having previously 
 removed every means of danger. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 I HESITATED for a day or two whether to make an appeal or 
 not. My Consul thought it a wiser course to lay the circum 
 stances of my case before the Government, and apply for pardon. 
 
 " I can hardly think," he said, " that Miss Gamble would seek 
 to oppose you; and as to Mr. Brown, I trust he will be satisfied 
 with the mischief he has done." 
 
 "I will take your advice, Consul," I replied, ".and will draw 
 up my petition for pardon." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 283 
 
 Before making the application, I thought it would save me, 
 perhaps, the mortification of a refusal, if I wrote to the Marquis 
 de Cavour at Turin, asking him frankly whether my case was 
 likely to meet with a favorable reception or no. As the Marquis 
 was brother to the most influential Minister of the Crown, it was 
 clear that the information he sent me, for good or bad, might 
 be relied upon. To be sure, I felt great doubts whether this 
 distinguished person would reply to me at all ; for I naturally 
 feared that my condemnation would make him conclude that I 
 must be guilty of some serious offence, and altogether unworthy 
 his sympathy. This apprehension deterred me from writing for 
 several days, but at last I made up mind to risk it. I wrote to 
 him accordingly on the 22d of February, begging to recall 
 myself to his recollection, and humbly soliciting his opinion as to 
 the course I had better take. My gratification was only equal 
 to my surprise at receiving an immediate reply, couched in the 
 following amiable terms : 
 
 " Turin, February 2T, 1852. 
 "MR. HENRY WIKOFP, 
 
 " SIR : I had certainly not forgotten the pleasure it gave me to make 
 your acquaintance during your passage through Turin in November last. 
 Therefore, before receiving your letter, I had read with interest the details 
 the journals had already furnished me of your affair. After this perusal, 
 it appeared to me that you had been driven to your wits end by a series 
 of coquetries profoundly irritating, and that your action was, therefore, 
 excusable in point of honor, and can certainly do your reputation no 
 serious harm. Permit me here to observe that the justice which Tribu 
 nals administer is always, and necessarily, imperfect. Sometimes they 
 allow to pass faults that are morally grave ; at others, they proceed severely 
 against transgressions that morality regards as rather the effect of human 
 weakness than of deliberate malice. The reason of this fact is that the 
 criminal law of civilized states is founded, not so much on pure notions of 
 abstract justice as on the necessity of social defence. I can, therefore, 
 comprehend the motives which may have dictated the judgment of the 
 Tribunal of Genoa, although in truth, it appears to me exceedingly 
 
284 MY CO URT SHIP 
 
 severe. But judgments, on the honor and individual character, are 
 founded on principles more delicate and difficult to seize, but which a 
 certain moral sense manifests to every upright mind, and which are 
 beyond the reach of any application of law whatever. 
 
 11 You have now two courses to take, either that of an appeal to the 
 Superior Court, or that of a petition to the King for pardon. If you 
 decide upon the latter step, it appears to me proper that your petition 
 should be transmitted to our Government by your Charge d 1 Affaires, 
 Mr. Kinney, whose official business it is. If this take place, it will give 
 me the sincerest pleasure to speak to our new Minister of Justice, whom I 
 know well and see very often, since I have become a member of our Par 
 liament, which occurred after your departure from Turin. 
 
 " Pray accept the expression of my most distinguished sentiments. 
 
 GUSTAVE DE CAVOUR. 
 
 " P. S. Your letter, dated the 22d of this month, only reached me 
 yesterday I don t know why the 26th." 
 
 Nothing, certainly, could surpass the tact and benevolent 
 feeling that inspired this welcome epistle. Brother to the 
 leading member of the Cabinet, and himself one of the first per 
 sonages of Sardinia, it might not have become him to cast any 
 heavy censure on the Tribunal of Genoa ; but still he did not 
 hesitate to say that he thought its judgment " exceedingly 
 severe." But what was far more consoling to me, coming from 
 the lips of so estimable a person, was his unqualified declaration 
 that " my action was excusable in point of honor, and that my 
 reputation could suffer no serious harm." I had a right to con 
 clude from this that the harsh sentence of President Malaspina 
 would not rob me of the good opinion of society ; and that, 
 though deprived of my liberty, I might yet hope to preserve my 
 friends, and recover their esteem. From this time I grew more 
 resigned, and by degrees returned to my wonted elasticity of 
 mind. 
 
 About a week after the trial I received a message from Miss 
 Gamble, through one of my lawyers, to the effect, that she 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 285 
 
 regretted to see me the tenant of a prison, and that she would 
 be disposed to take some steps on my behalf, if she could feel 
 sure that I would not molest her in any way. I returned for 
 answer, that she was entirely mistaken if she supposed me at all 
 exasperated against her ; that I regretted, for her sake as much 
 as for my own, all that had occurred ; that I was quite per 
 suaded she had been urged against her better feelings into the 
 course she had pursued. I begged her to believe that in seeking 
 to vindicate myself, I would make every effort to spare her 
 annoyance ; and I entreated her, finally, if it were in her power 
 to do anything to relieve my unhappy position, that she would 
 make an effort to that end, in consideration of our long friend 
 ship, and our late more endearing relations. 
 
 Several days elapsed without my hearing again from her ; for, 
 unfortunately, my worthy Consul was so annoyed at her conduct 
 at the trial, that he abandoned his former habit of visiting her. 
 I trusted his displeasure would soon subside, as I was anxious to 
 have news of her intentions towards me ; and the more so, when I 
 learnt that Consul Brown had dropped his intimacy with her the 
 moment the trial was over, which shows he had some special 
 interest in my condemnation, and only made use of Miss Gamble 
 as a necessary instrument. My energetic Consul continued to 
 manifest the most unwearied interest in my behalf ; and amongst 
 other proofs of it, he addressed a letter, at my request, to the 
 then Prince President of France. He thought, with me, that no 
 means should be left untried to render my pardon more certain, 
 and as he was aware of my former intimacy with this illustrious 
 person, he was ready to aid me in any application I might deem 
 it proper to make. To be sure I considered it rather a desper 
 ate expedient, for the Prince had quite enough on his hands just 
 then in looking after France and himself, without being bothered 
 by a luckless abductor, even though an old friend. I had little 
 hope that my application would ever reach him, still I was so 
 
286 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 sure of his real goodness of heart, that I thought it likely, if he 
 heard of the case, he would condescend to say a word for me. 
 It occurred to me that he might recollect that in other days I 
 had crossed the Atlantic to penetrate into the depths of his 
 dreary prison at Ham,* for the honor of bearing to him the 
 sympathies of affectionate relatives and friends. All humble as 
 I was, I remembered his expressions of satisfaction at seeing me 
 again, after the lapse of years, and at finding me still as confident 
 as ever in his ultimate triumph, and as devoted in his hour of 
 disaster as in the day of prosperity. Recollecting this, I thought 
 I might venture to address him, and lest I might be tempted 
 into a too partial view of my own case, I begged my Consul to 
 draw up the facts in his own name, which he readily consented 
 to do. I esteem this brief statement of the American Consul s 
 as too important to suppress, though I regret his dissatisfaction 
 
 * It may be interesting to relate that in seeking to obtain an interview with Prince 
 Louis Napoleon in September, 1845, at the Citadel of Ham, where he was condemned for 
 life, the greatest difliculties were thrown in my way by the French Government of that 
 day. When permission was granted, I left Paris, but on arriving at Ham, I was told thai 
 I would be allowed to see the Prince but once, and that only for a period of four hours. 
 It was over five years since I had been in the habit of meeting his Highness in London at 
 the hospitable table of his uncle, the King Joseph, and for nearly the whole of that time 
 he had been shut up in the desolate prison where I came. So profound was the impres 
 sion of my interview with the Prince, that I requested his permission to publish it, which 
 was kindly granted. As it was most important that I should not misrepresent his politi 
 cal views, I begged his Highness to look over my MSS., which he was condescending 
 enough to do ; and a correspondence ensued between us on the subject. My first letter 
 to him on my return to Paris was promptly answered in the following amiable terms ; and 
 no one can read these lines without being forcibly struck at the incredible change in the 
 fortunes of the writer, who was then a despised and unhappy captive, but who is now 
 Emperor of France and arbiter of the destinies of Europe. 
 
 " Citadd of Ham, 
 
 " October 6, 1845. 
 " MY DEAR SIR : 
 
 " I desired ardently to know your address, in order to thank you for the 
 visit you lately paid me, and for the sympathy you manifested in my 
 behalf with so much warmth as to touch me profoundly. Your letter of 
 
1 
 
 AXD ITS CONSEQUENCES. 287 
 
 with Miss Gamble at that moment induced him to express him 
 self with more warmth than was his wont. After a short pre 
 face, wherein he explained his motives for addressing his High 
 ness the Prince President, his letter ran as follows 
 
 " I will, therefore, briefly state the facts as they came to my knowledge, 
 and appeared on trial. On the 16th of November last, Mr. Wikoff called 
 on me and related his adventure with a Miss Gamble, and said he appre 
 hended that she was about instituting legal proceedings against him ; but 
 as it was only a farce he had played on her, in retaliation for the many she 
 had played on him, he could not conceive it possible that it could assume 
 the character of a grave and formal offence. Still, he thought it best to 
 settle it, and wished me to call on the British Consul and have it arranged. 
 
 " I called as he requested, and found the lady there, who appeared most 
 anxious to have the affair terminated without publicity. The British 
 Consul, however, to whom she had confided her case, appeared deter 
 mined, on the contrary, that the matter should go on. The following day 
 nevertheless, it was settled to the satisfaction of both parties ! but too 
 
 the 3d, which I only received to-day, afforded me, then, a double satisfac 
 tion, by giving me news of yourself, and by enabling me to acquit myself 
 of a legitimate debt. 
 
 "It is true, that I still groan under the weight of my defeat, and the 
 more so that opinion has not entirely come back to me. I can only hope 
 to reinstate myself by my scientific pursuits, and by my resignation. I 
 am fully decided not to mix myself up again, in any way, with politics, 
 and to await tranquilly a happier destiny. I am very grateful for what 
 ever service you can render me, and I am obliged at your making men 
 tion of me in the work you propose shortly publishing, but I beg you, 
 for your own sake as well as mine, to be on your guard against the 
 stories that are told you, for Paris abounds with police agents, who often 
 use falsehood only to discover truth. Believe only what you see and 
 hear yourself. If my position is an unfortunate one, it has yet some com 
 pensations ; and the greatest consolation I can meet with, is to receive 
 from honorable men, like yourself, such proofs of interest and attachment. 
 Receive, then. My Dear Mr. Wikoff, with my thanks, the assurance of my 
 sentiments oi esteem and sympathy. 
 
 " NAPOLEON Louis." 
 
288 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 late, unfortunately, to stop legal proceedings. I had interviews with Miss 
 Gamble whilst Mr. Wikoff was at the Consulate of the United States, and 
 before he decided to give himself up to the police, when she implored me 
 not to permit him to be arrested, saying he had many noble and generous 
 qualities, and that love had prompted him io the act of sequestering her at 
 Genoa. In subsequent interviews she admitted that she had promised to 
 marry Mr. Wikoff. She complained, on another occasion, that she had 
 been detained with her maid against her will in the apartment of Mr. 
 Wikoff at Genoa, but never complained of having been menaced by any 
 threats of personal violence. She is, however, excessively oapricious, and 
 now seems bent on his destruction. The case appears to me a most extra 
 ordinary one, and peculiarly hard for Mr. Wikoff. 
 
 " Further, I cannot but believe that the Tribunal here has been pre 
 judiced, to some extent, by the great exertions of the British Consul. 
 He, the Consul, was permitted, without being sworn, to give an opinion 
 upon the general character of Mr. Wikoff not from what he knew (for he 
 admitted he knew nothing), but from what he had heard from othth s. 
 But I will not trouble your Highness further with the facts or circumstan 
 ces of the case. Suffice it to say that the conduct of the lady, since her 
 stay in Genoa, has been such as to convince all parties of her intolerable 
 fickleness ; and, though this may not justify the romantic adventure of 
 Mr. Wikoff, it certainly occasions regret that he should suffer imprison 
 ment from the caprice of this lady." 
 
 My reader must remark that the facts of my arrest and 
 imprisonment, as related by the American Consul with equal 
 brevity and precision in the above letter, confirm the account I 
 have already given. It is there seen that whatever might have 
 been Miss Gamble s motive for appealing to the British Consul, 
 she vehemently shrunk at first from making the farce I had 
 played the subject of legal investigation, declaring that " love 
 alone had prompted it." It is equally clear that the dcnou- 
 ment which ensued originated in the precipitation and violence 
 of Mr. Timothy Brown. The moderate but distinct declaration 
 of the American Consul, that the tribunal was prejudiced by the 
 great exertions of the British Consul, is not less striking. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 289 
 
 Some three weeks had elapsed after the trial, and I felt dis 
 posed to go to work and draw up my petition for pardon. But 
 there was one vital point connected with the matter necessary 
 to ascertain beforehand, and that was the course Miss Gamble 
 intended to take regarding it. It was the custom of the coun 
 try that in every application for pardon, the name of the 
 complainant should figure first on the list of those who sup 
 ported it, and I was therefore anxious to know if my late 
 betrothed would render me this essential service. I thought it 
 possible that she might even go to Turin and ask the King in 
 person for my restoration to liberty. Her tact, I supposed, 
 would suggest this, even if her feelings were indifferent to the 
 matter. She had sought my condemnation, doubtless, from 
 politic motives, for she desired to convince her friends and the 
 public that she was in the right ; but I hoped she would be 
 content with the triumph she had gained. Her wisest course 
 now was to intercede for me, and I trusted she would do so 
 either from feminine sympathy, or from anxiety to show the 
 world that she was actuated by no vindictive spirit. The cessa 
 tion of my Consul s visits had cut me off from all news of her ; 
 and this was so necessary to me, under the circumstances, that 
 I begged him to call on her again and ascertain her dispositions. 
 My Consul was never reluctant to do a kind act, and hoping to 
 facilitate my escape from the horrors of my position, he readily 
 agreed to go and see her. The fact is, though the Consul fre 
 quently condemned in lively terms the conduct of Miss Gamble, 
 which he thought harsh and vacillating, still he bore her no 
 ill-will ; on the contrary, he always manifested the best feeling 
 by advising her for good, and in seeking to save her from the 
 counsels of the foolish or the malignant. He would sometimes 
 go further in talking to me and say 
 
 " I believe there is more love on her side than on yours, after 
 all." 
 
 13 
 
290 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Induce her to show it," I used to reply, " and I will be a 
 ready convert to your opinion." 
 
 The Consul failed not to call on Miss Gamble as he had 
 promised, and early the next morning he sent me the following 
 note : 
 
 " U. S. Consulate, 
 
 " March 2d, 1852. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, I saw Miss Gamble last evening and conversed with her 
 for some time, but I could not clearly discover whether she was favorably 
 disposed to you or not. She told me long stories of your courtship, and 
 tried to make it appear that she had not encouraged your advances. Yet 
 she seemed exceedingly pleased when I told her that you had recently 
 said to me, I believe that Miss Gamble still entertains something more 
 than mere friendship for me, and in spite of all her perverseness and 
 foibles, I am excessively attached to her. I can give you no decided 
 opinion as to what course she will take, but on the whole, think she will 
 neither intercede for nor oppose your application for pardon. My impres 
 sion is that you have nothing to hope or to fear from Miss Gamble in 
 regard to your pardon. 
 
 "I do not know how long she intends remaining at Genoa. 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 <k GEORGE G. BAKER. 
 
 " P. S. You know Miss Gamble, and may judge from the above, better 
 than I can, what she intends to do." 
 
 "If I could ever have told what she intended to do/ I 
 soliloquized, after perusing the above, " I should not now be 
 under the necessity of torturing my brains with conjecture." 
 
 I was disappointed to find that Miss Gamble was not dis 
 posed to rise to the level of the occasion. I knew her to be a 
 woman of superior discernment, and it required no magnanimity 
 to play the fine role that offered itself. I could not doubt her 
 sagacity to see it, but it was evident she had not force enough 
 of character to enact it. I learnt from my Consul when he 
 came to see me, that Miss Gamble was more subdued in tone 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 291 
 
 than formerly, and in a mood, perhaps, to be won over to better 
 inspirations. I determined, therefore, to write to her in an 
 urgent strain, and endeavor by appeals to her reason and heart 
 to awake her from that indecision that weighed upon her will, 
 that, as the play says, "let I dare not, wait upon I would." 
 I thought it well to send her also the letters I had addressed to 
 her before the trial (and which the rogue Roquino suppressed, 
 as already shown), for she had expressed to my Consul her sur 
 prise that I had never written to her at all. A couple of days 
 afterwards the Consul was good enough to call and see what 
 was the effect of my "spiriting," and he wrote me the next 
 morning to this effect : 
 
 " D. S. Consulate, 
 
 " March 9th, 1862. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, I saw Miss Gamble last evening. She had lately received 
 your letters, and appeared to be in great distress and trouble ; so much 
 so, that she wept. She said to me that she could never be indifferent 
 to your fate. She begged that you would publish nothing reflect 
 ing on her character, or it would injure you. She wished me to say 
 to you * * * * * * * * 
 
 and she entreats that you will spare her hereafter. She spoke of leaving 
 Genoa soon. 
 
 " Yours, in haste, 
 
 " GEORGE G. BAKER. 
 "H. WIKOFF, ESQ." 
 
 I was pained to hear that Miss Gamble was suffering in 
 mind, but still I thought her tears were a sign that her feel 
 ings, which had been so long congealed, were melting at last, and 
 that all the evil influence implanted by her ex-adviser, Mr. 
 Brown, would be carried away and drowned in the flood of 
 nobler sentiments. I rejoiced at it, not merely for myself, but 
 for the sake of her own future satisfaction of mind. Seeing that 
 she seemed to apprehend hostile proceedings on my part here 
 after, I wrote to assure her that I had no such intentions ; and 
 
292 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 that when I came to publish my vindication I would attribute 
 no malice to her, but rather let fall the blame upon those who 
 really merited it. 
 
 I heard nothing for two or three days, but I expected every 
 hour the visit of my Consul, bringing the joyful intelligence that 
 Miss Gamble had gone to Turin to procure my pardon ; and the 
 boon of my liberty would have been less grateful to me than 
 this graceful act of clemency on her part. What I had already 
 suffered and lost would have vanished from my memory at this 
 display of a generous repentance. The Consul came at last, but 
 his countenance, on entering the room, had not the aspect I 
 anticipated. 
 
 " Well, Consul," I said, gaily, " good news or bad ? What 
 does she say ? Has she decided ?" 
 " She has." 
 
 " I am glad of it. What is she going to do ?" 
 " She is going to oppose your pardon" replied the Consul, with 
 a look that conveyed what he did not care to express. 
 
 " Oppose my pardon ?" I slowly repeated, in a tone of utter 
 incredulity. 
 
 "Yes," he continued, "Miss Gamble called on me yesterday, 
 and stated her intention to enter her formal opposition to your 
 pardon. She explained that she was anxious to complete her 
 tour in Italy, and that if you were detained in prison, she 
 would have no inconvenience to fear from you !" 
 
 I sat down and brooded in silence over this unlooked-for infor 
 mation. A thousand emotions filled my breast, and for a few 
 moments impeded my utterance. The Consul, meanwhile, 
 glanced over the pages of a book lying on the table, leaving me 
 to renew the conversation when I felt disposed. 
 
 " You were wrong in your Kentucky phrase," I observed, at 
 last, " when you said on the night of my condemnation that she 
 had jumped her length I 7 " 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 293 
 
 " It seems so," returned the Consul, " for there are lengths to 
 which I thought it impossible she could go." 
 
 "Well, it is useless," I remarked, "to waste more words upon 
 her. Appeal and remonstrance are alike ineffectual. But what 
 is to be done ? Will her opposition, think you, compel me to 
 linger out a whole year longer in this horrible place." 
 
 " I hope not, sincerely," said the Consul, with much feeling ; 
 " but it is, I learn, a serious obstacle to your immediate pardon. 
 It will be much worse if Mr. Brown, or any one else, should 
 avail themselves of Miss Gamble s opposition as a pretext to 
 detain you in prison." 
 
 " Ah I" I exclaimed, quite startled at this intimation, " have 
 you heard that such a thing is meditated T* 
 
 " There are rumors of the sort flying about, and I fear that 
 the benevolent intentions of the Government towards you will 
 be strenuously resisted." 
 
 " There is no doubt," I declared, somewhat excited, " that a 
 secret influence has worked from the beginning to undermine me. 
 At first it was sought to send me to the galleys for ten years or 
 more. I owe my escape chiefly, Consul, to your energetic inter 
 ference. Then it was attempted to immure me in a prison for 
 four years, as demanded by the Fiscal Advocate at my trial. 
 This failed from the rottenness of the evidence and the bungling 
 of Mr. Brown. And now, it appears, an effort is making to pre 
 vent my pardon, lest it might reinstate me in public opinion. I 
 fear to abuse your good nature, else I would ask you a favor." 
 
 "I think you an ill-used man," was the Consul s* prompt reply, 
 " and if I can assist you, I shall not hesitate. What do yon wish ? 
 
 " Will you go to Turin," I inquired, " and see our Chargd 
 d 1 Affaires, Mr. Kinney. Endeavor to ascertain, through him, 
 if you please, what are the intentions of the Government con 
 cerning me, and inform him, also, of the iutrigues that you sus 
 pect are on foot." 
 
294 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " I see no objection to that," said the amiable man. " I shall 
 go to Turin to-morrow, and will, probably, bring you back some 
 definite information. Do not be too sanguine, though, for I fear 
 you are destined to keep your cage for some time to come." 
 
 The Consul was as good as his word, and left for Turin next 
 day. I awaited his return in painful suspense. 
 
 My patience had been sorely tried by all the vicissitudes I had 
 undergone since the evil day I had renewed my acquaintance 
 with Miss Gamble, but I found nothing so difficult to reconcile 
 my mind to as this last cruel decision of hers to prolong the 
 misery of my captivity in this hideous jail. For the first time I 
 was convinced that my attachment to her had been sincere, and 
 profound, for I felt no anger at what I could not but regard as 
 an unfeeling and uncalled-for act. I thought it puerile to give 
 way to any violent chagrin ; and therefore I put a restraint on 
 the tendency of my mind in that direction. A phrase from one 
 of her own letters frequently recurred to me " How painful is 
 a sense of the unworthiness of a person we love," and I found 
 such a conviction so intolerable, that I preferred to discover, or 
 to invent, some palliation for this strangest freak of all. I 
 could not allow myself to believe that her object was to detain me, 
 to the last hour, in this disgusting prison ; for this would have 
 been to accuse her of the most odious cruelty. I felt sure it 
 was not malice that induced her to oppose my pardon, but rather 
 a keen apprehension that once at liberty I would set to work 
 and publish a full explanation of the whole affair. By keeping 
 me in duresse for a few months longer, she likely inferred that my 
 acute suffering would force me into a pledge of sparing her the 
 annoyance of any public statement of my case, and that other 
 means might also be employed to urge me into renouncing this 
 dreaded result. Such a policy was neither generous nor wise ; but 
 there are many people who only take counsel of their fears, and 
 commit, not merely the greatest errors, but frequently bring 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 295 
 
 about the very end they seek to avoid. Had Miss Gamble 
 obtained my liberty her safety would have been in my gratitude, 
 and that failing, her protection by public opinion was certain 
 against a man who disowned so serious an obligation. A vulgar 
 nature may be cowei by rigor, though it is the wor~st method ; 
 but if Miss Gamble believed as she wrote and said, that I was 
 better endowed, wl / did she not throw herself on my gene 
 rosity ? But there was another motive that, probably, had its 
 weight with her and others. If I received a prompt remission 
 of my sentence, she feared, no doubt, that the world would con 
 clude me innocent ; whereas, if my pardon was postponed or 
 rejected, the inference would tell against me, and in favor of her 
 who had prosecuted me. This calculation was a shrewd one ; for 
 fit was all-important to Miss Gamble that opinion on the spot 
 lould appear to approve her conduct. 
 
 It seemed strange to me that a woman, however strong her 
 ntellect, should give herself up so entirely to the cold dictates 
 jf an inflexible policy; but with the fatality that attended her 
 from the hour she turned her hand against me, she preferred 
 to go forward in ill rather than retreat back to her better self. 
 
 The reason she had given the American Consul for leaving 
 my bolts undrawn that I might molest her travels I could 
 not persuade myself was a sufficient one in her eyes to subject 
 me to the slow torture of my degrading imprisonment. The 
 motives I have arrayed she may not have thought it discreet to 
 avow, but they were beyond question the real ones. 
 
 Reflections like these, amplified a thousand-fold, absorbed my 
 mind so completely as to make me momentarily insensible to my 
 situation. 
 
 The Consul s absence was a short one, and he called on me 
 
 with one of my countrymen, General D , of New York, a 
 
 few hours after his return. He handed me a letter from my 
 Charge d j Affaires at Turin, to the following effect :*- 
 
296 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Turin, March 15, 1852. 
 " U. 8. Legation. 
 
 11 DEAR SIR, Your letter, asking my interposition in favor of the ap 
 plication you propose making for a remission of the judicial sentence 
 against you has been received, aud shall have, as your painful case has 
 had, my most careful consideration. 
 
 " I send this by the Consul : through whom, I presume, it may be pro 
 perly delivered. 
 
 "I remain, 
 " Your very humble and obedient Servant, 
 
 "W. B. KlNNET. 
 
 "HENRY WIKOFF, ESQ., 
 " Genoa." 
 
 " This is very obliging, on the part of Mr. Kinney," I said, 
 " but did you get any news of my probable fate?" 
 
 " I did," replied the Consul, in a tone that foreshadowed his 
 announcement, " But I am unwilling to say from what quarter 
 I obtained it." 
 
 " That is quite unnecessary," I observed; " but let me know 
 all without reserve." 
 
 " Then, I fear, your pardon is impossible," continued the 
 Consul. " The Goverment, I know, are exceedingly well dis 
 posed to you; and they would probably have ignored the veto 
 of Miss Gamble, for her conduct is condemned on every side; 
 but, as I apprehended, the English ambassador at Turin has laid 
 hold of her opposition, and uses it so powerfully against you, that 
 the Government are embarrassed, and will do nothing, at all 
 events, for the present." 
 
 " It is appalling, indeed," I replied, after a violent effort to 
 master my emotion, " the idea of being longer detained in this 
 den of thieves; but if it must be so, there is nothing left but to 
 summon my courage to bear it. The fact you state, however, 
 that diplomacy has seized upon the hostility of Miss Gamble, as 
 a means to cftrry out some purpose of its own, is a singular one 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 297 
 
 indeed, and will infallibly lead some day to an expose that had 
 better been avoided." 
 
 ".It is in very bad taste, to say the least," declared my 
 Consul; " but I leave you to treat the matter as you think fit. 
 However, do not give way to despondency, for something may 
 turn up to your advantage. Meanwhile you will be pleased to 
 hear, I am sure, that all my English friends at Genoa and Turin 
 express great sympathy for you, and denounce in strong terms 
 the behavior of Mr. Brown. In proof of it, I may mention 
 that an English gentleman of high character, Captain Paken- 
 ham, R.N., who has been wintering at Genoa, has desired me to 
 say he would be happy to call on you, and render you any ser 
 vice in his power." 
 
 " It will give me infinite pleasure to receive him," was my reply, 
 " and I am not surprised, though much gratified, to learn that 
 English sentiment is opposed to the unbecoming and inexcusable 
 proceedings of Mr. Timothy Brown." 
 
 11 Well, write me a line," said the Consul, getting up to go 
 away, " that you would like to see Captain Pakenham, and I 
 will hand it to him." 
 
 The statement of my Consul, that Miss Gamble s protest 
 against my pardon was caught at by a distinguished diplomatist 
 at Turin, as a pretext to prolong my imprisonment, was fully 
 corroborated by succeeding events. I have collected abundant 
 testimony as to this inexplicable fact; and it is impossible to 
 quote higher authority than the present Prime Minister of Sar 
 dinia, the Count de Cavour, who declared to a friend of mine 
 that " Mr. WikoflPs pardon would have been promptly granted 
 but for the determined resistance of Ambassador at Turin." 
 
 I shall say no more at present of this strange event; for it is 
 my intention to take the matter up at another time, and discuss 
 it more deliberately than is compatible with my object in the 
 volume in hand. 
 
 13* 
 
298 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 IT thus appeared that in the face of common sense and humanity 
 I was to be detained for some months longer in this abominable 
 place, and it may be supposed that it was a bitter draught to 
 swallow. I thought it childish, however, to be making grimaces 
 about it, or to give way to useless railing. I endeavored, on 
 the other hand, to habituate myself as much as possible to the 
 weariness of the life I was destined to lead. It was not the 
 confinement in itself that I found the most difficult to endure. 
 But the sight of the infamous wretches around me, whose con 
 tact it was impossible at all times to avoid, was loathsome in the 
 extreme. The corridor I had formerly occupied alone, and 
 whose dark solitude was far preferable to association with the 
 miserable felons so near me, was now sadly metamorphosed. It 
 had been found that, for want of sufficient air, the place was 
 considered too unhealthy to be converted into cells, even for the 
 worst criminals, so it had been decided to turn it into shops, 
 to be occupied only by day, and to remove the prisoners to 
 other dormitories for the night. Whatever might be the conse 
 quences to my health, it was impossible to change my quarters 
 unless I could manage to herd it up-stairs in the large room 
 before alluded to. It cost me no hesitation to decide on staying 
 where I was, for the chance of illness was far less insupportable 
 than living in immediate contact with the filthy outcasts that 
 for the most part made up its occupants. 
 
 It is a disgrace to the municipality of Genoa that in a town 
 where it is the custom to imprison, even before the offence is 
 inquired into, that some locality is not assigned for indivi- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 299 
 
 duals accused of venial infractions of law, or of political misde 
 meanors. Whilst a tenant of St. Andrea, I remarked several 
 instances of persons condemned for political publications treated 
 no better than so many formats, or common thieves. I con 
 sidered myself fortunate to be the sole owner of a rather com 
 fortable cell which, though paved in brick and sweating with 
 damp, was a boudoir of luxury compared to the alternatives 
 that surrounded me. 
 
 I got through my day well enough in reading and writing, for 
 I was allowed to receive my French and English newspapers, 
 and to correspond with my friends. At night the mercurial Bini 
 was always on hand to struggle with me at a game of chess, 
 which I found a much more economical amusement than the 
 diversion at cards which Roquino had introduced me to. 
 
 The trial of Bini was approaching, and though I sincerely 
 longed for his acquittal, I looked forward with real regret 
 to the loss of his lively company. He had run out the history 
 of his exciting adventures in quest of glory, but he was invari 
 ably at boiling point upon some topic or other. He declaimed 
 less violently than of yore against oligarchies and the carabiniers, 
 whom he used to call " the instruments of despotism," but he 
 was never in want of a theme. The luckless lawyer, who was to 
 defend him, came in for a share of his energetic indignation at 
 not hurrying on his trial ; and Roquino was always there 
 in the absence of another victim. Roquino, it seems, still 
 clung to his old system of plunder ; and though his attention 
 was momentarily diverted from me by the vigilance of Bini, yet 
 he contrived to keep his hand in for all that. Dinner once over, 
 and everything edible dispatched, Bini gave himself no further 
 concern about the rest ; but Roquino knowing that the eye of the 
 barricader was no longer upon him, gave himself up, it appeared, 
 to a sly bit of accumulation that he hoped would make up for 
 his late losses. By a simple process of addition, he discovered 
 
MY COURTSHIP 
 
 that a couple of plates that he forgot every day to return to 
 the restaurant that supplied me, would make just five dozen at 
 the end of the month, and his fancy was doubtless busy in devis 
 ing means to get them into market without giving rise to any 
 awkward suspicions. 
 
 As Bini was a political prisoner, he had the run .of the prison 
 and his activity found vent in ransacking every nook and cor 
 ner of it. He was everywhere and in everybody s way, and 
 plunged to his eyes in everybody s business the live-long day ; 
 but as Roquino got out of his path, no one else ventured to 
 interfere. In one of his peregrinations he stumbled, in some 
 dark corner, one day over the mass of unreclaimed crockery 
 :oresaid, and big with the discovery, he rushed into my room 
 and prancing around like a madman, he poured volley after vol 
 ley of his red-hot invective on the head of the peccant Roquino, 
 who happened to be with me settling one of his weekly accounts. 
 The delinquent bore the revelation with tolerable composure, 
 and put the fault on the basket, which he declared was too small 
 to contain all the return plates, and hence their accidental accu 
 mulation. The defence was a lame one, but there was no proof 
 of guilty intention. Let Roquino alone for steering clear of 
 proofs. 
 
 Bini threatened to carry up the case to head-quarters, but I 
 interfered, lest, in order to remove Roquino beyond the pale of 
 temptation, it might be decided to withdraw him from my ser 
 vice altogether, and it was impossible for me to get on without 
 him. Bini was pacified at last, by my giving him authority to 
 see that the stray property in question was duly restored to its 
 owner and no questions asked. 
 
 Roquino assented with the readiness of a rogue who had 
 iscaped a difficulty ; but I heard him, for the first time, mutter 
 a vow of vengeance, and I hinted to the ubiquitous Bini that he 
 had better look to himself hereafter. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 301 
 
 My Consul lost no time in conveying to Captain Pakenham 
 the note he had suggested my addressing him, and I received the 
 following reply the day after : 
 
 " Genoa, March, 1852. 
 
 "H. "WIKOFF, ESQ., 
 
 " SIR I am at all times disposed to render any service in my power to 
 a citizen of the United States. The subject to which your note refers is 
 one of considerable delicacy ; and I feel, therefore, some apprehension of 
 committing an intrusion in mixing myself up with it. Under this reserve, 
 and limiting myself to a temporary residence at Genoa, I will do myself 
 the pleasure to call upon you to-morrow. 
 
 " I am, sir, your humble servant, 
 
 "JOHN PAKENHAM, Capt., R.N." 
 
 The writer of the above is pretty well known to the English 
 world abroad and at home. A member of the illustrious Wel 
 lington family, and one of the oldest Captains on the navy roll 
 of England, his social position gave great weight in my eyes to 
 the good feeling .he manifested for me as "a citizen of the 
 United States." He had resided much, I understood, of late 
 years in Tuscany, where his zeal in the Protestant cause had 
 involved him in frequent disputes with its fanatical Government. 
 He was, by all accounts, a man of strong convictions, benevolent 
 impulses, and decided character, and no sooner was he convinced 
 that a cause, or an individual, had been unjustly dealt by, than 
 he sided with either, at once, from that love of fair play which 
 is so thoroughly English. 
 
 In compliance with his promise he called on me the succeed 
 ing day, accompanied by my Consul. He was a person of some 
 fifty years and upwards. The clear and mild expression of his 
 bright blue eye denoted his intelligence and amiable disposition. 
 His manners were simple and frank ; his conversation practical, 
 and his views honestly expressed, without regard to persons or 
 position. There was no mistaking his character, or his nation. 
 
302 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 He stated at once, in plain terms, the motive of his visit and his 
 desire to serve me. 
 
 " I have come to see you," he said, " to express my regret at 
 finding you in such a place as this, and to declare without 
 reserve that the extraordinary conduct of Mr. Brown towards 
 you is viewed with extreme dissatisfaction by all his countrymen 
 here. I should be very sorry if it was thought by you, or your 
 worthy Consul, that his behavior is at all a correct expression 
 of English sentiment towards Americans, and my anxiety to 
 prevent a conclusion so much to be deprecated is my chief 
 reason for intruding myself upon you." 
 
 " I appreciate, sir," I replied, " the honor of your visit, and 
 believe me, it is a profound consolation to hear you disavow, for 
 yourself and countrymen at Genoa, the eccentric interference of 
 Mr. Brown in my unfortunate affair, and which has, naturally, 
 produced no small irritation amongst all Americans who have 
 heard of it. I have lived too long in England not to know that 
 Mr. Brown is no exponent of English feeling towards the United 
 States ; and I am certain that should the knowledge of his 
 strange behavior come under the observation of his Government 
 and countrymen at home, that it will be gravely condemned." 
 
 "You are quite right," continued Captain Pakenham ; "his 
 conduct will be censured by every Englishman who is made 
 acquainted with the facts of this absurd affair. I am very glad 
 to see you do not interpret his treatment of you into an expres 
 sion of English dislike to Americans. Believe me, no such 
 thing exists now-a-days, for the old jealousies have disappeared 
 with our old quarrels ; and kindly sentiments and mutual 
 respect have sprung up in their place. The deportment of Mr. 
 Brown to you is quite out of date, and you may depend on it, 
 that once known it will be disowned. But what can I do to 
 aid you ? As you have been connected with our Government, 
 why not write to Lord Palmerston ?" 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 303 
 
 " But Lord Palmerston is no longer a member of the Govern 
 ment," I answered. 
 
 " True," returned Captain Pakenham. " Well, write, then, 
 to Mr. Addington, of the Foreign Office, and ask him to lay 
 your case before Lord Granville, the present Secretary for 
 Foreign Affairs." 
 
 " I should do so," was my reply, " if I thought my statement 
 would be attended with any result ; but Mr. Brown has, no 
 doubt, poisoned the mind of the English Minister at Turin, to 
 whom the matter would naturally be referred by Lord Granville, 
 and so my chance of relief would be small." 
 
 Captain Pakenham reflected for a few moments, and then said 
 
 " Well, to prove to you, as far as I am concerned, that I think 
 your case is entitled to the fullest sympathy, I will write, if you 
 wish it, to the American Minister at London, whom I have the 
 honor to know, and call his attention to the matter." 
 
 " I thank you most gratefully for your kind offer," I observed, 
 " for any representation of my case by a person of your stand 
 ing, and who has been an eye-witness to all that has occurred, 
 must be received as impartial testimony, and may do me an 
 essential service." 
 
 " I shall be exceedingly gratified," returned the gallant Cap 
 tain, " if such should be the result ;" and so saying he took his 
 leave, of me, kindly promising to call occasionally whilst he 
 remained at Genoa. 
 
 The very next day I received a note from Captain Pakenham, 
 informing me that he had written to the Hon. A. Lawrence, 
 United States Minister at London, and inclosing a copy of his 
 letter, which ran as follows : 
 
 " His EXCELLENCY HON. A. LAWRENCE, 
 
 *" *"*" * 0m oa, Marc*,lW. 
 
 " DEAH SIB Since I had the pleasure of seeing you in London, I have 
 
MY COURTSHIP 
 
 304 
 
 troubled you with one or two applications in favor of the poor Tuscans 
 suffering from the most unjustifiable religious persecution. I hope that 
 in doing so I have not been considered too intrusive. The subject on 
 which I have now to trouble you is one of a different description alto 
 gether ; and my advocacy is for a citizen of the United States, of whom 
 I knew personally nothing until he claimed my advice and assistance. 
 You have heard, no doubt, of a case which has created here a good deal 
 of sensation. It arose out of a rather protracted love affair, terminating 
 in a scene more fit for a romance than for a court of law, but which has 
 placed the person to whom I allude under a very severe sentence of fif 
 teen months imprisonment in an Italian jail. As Mr. Wikoff knows you 
 personally, I will leave to him the right to tell his own story 5 my object 
 in interfering being to prevent anything that had the effect of generating 
 unkindly feelings between the citizens of the United States and those of 
 Great Britain. In the matter in hand, I have no hesitation in saying that 
 the conduct of the British Consul here, as set forth in the printed report of 
 the trial, has had that effect. I know that such is the impression on the 
 mind of the prisoner, and on that of the United States Consul here ; and 
 the communication of such views to the citizens of the United States 
 passing through Genoa are likely to lead to unpleasant results. 
 
 " The whole affair was capable of an amicable adjustment at the begin 
 ning, and never ought to have been the subject of a public trial ! It has 
 exposed to much scandal more than one individual moving in respectable 
 society, and if some remedy be not applied, such is the natural irritation 
 of the sufferer, that he will give extended publicity to the whole through 
 the press, and then the mischief will be a hundredfold. 
 
 " I would venture to suggest that your Excellency should request Lord 
 Granville to instruct Mr. Hudson, our envoy at Turin, to move his Sardi 
 nian Majesty for a pardon for Mr. Wikoff, the effect of which interference 
 will be exactly the opposite to that which the indiscretion of the British 
 Consul here leads me to apprehend. 
 
 " Your Excellency s 
 
 " Very obedient and humble servant, 
 
 " JOHN PAKENHAM, Capt. R.N." 
 
 I am sure that the sound sense and correct feeling displayed 
 in the above letter would find an echo in every English mind, as 
 familiarly acquainted with the details of my case as was its 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 306 
 
 distinguished writer. With the firmness of his character, and 
 the authority of his social rank, he gave undisguised expression 
 to his opinion of Consul Brown s " indiscretion," and the simple 
 solution he suggested was alike obvious and humane. The 
 American Minister at London returned a prompt reply to the 
 application addressed to him, saying it would afford him great 
 satisfaction to give me any aid in his power ; but that it would 
 be in violation of his duty to take any steps in the matter, as 
 suggested, without the approbation of Mr. Kinney, United 
 States Chargt flAffairis at Turin, to whose especial jurisdic 
 tion the affair in question belonged. 
 
 Captain Pakenham, who continued to visit me at short inter 
 vals, on hearing this, proposed, if I thought fit, to forward a 
 letter to Mr. Joshua Bates, urging him, as he was so well 
 acquainted with the matter, to make some friendly exertions on 
 my behalf. 
 
 I accepted, with the warmest acknowledgments, this new act 
 of kindness on the part of this " fine old English gentleman f 
 for whether his efforts succeeded in obtaining my pardon or not, 
 I considered his zealous espousal of my cause as the best testi 
 mony of my innocence of any unworthy conduct, whilst his 
 statements made on the spot, and after the most careful investi 
 gation, would be my best protection hereafter against calumny 
 and misrepresentation. The letter to Mr. Bates was duly dis 
 patched, and I am pleased to furnish my readers with a copy. 
 
 " JOSHUA BATES. Esq., 
 London. 
 
 Genoa, March) 1852. 
 
 " SIB There can be no better position than the one occupied by you for 
 pronouncing on the fitness of the following suggestion, which arises out 
 of the affair between Miss Gamble and Mr. Wikoff. It would, certainly, 
 require some ingenuity to have found in the reality of this love-story the 
 miserable materials of an indifferent romance j and yet, by the indiscre- 
 
306 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 tion of parties applied to, it has been made to occupy a lawsuit to spread 
 much scandal to be published in extenso, and to create a state of feel 
 ing between citizens of the United States and those of Great Britain the 
 reverse of what every friend of either could wish. There is nothing more 
 fraught with mischief to national susceptibilities than trumpery affairs of 
 this kind, magnified by malevolence into serious crimes, and producing 
 feelings of exasperation. My conviction is, that this affair was capable at 
 the very beginning of an easy, amicable arrangement, and that it ought 
 to have been so arranged. The mere perusal of the trial, as printed, will 
 show where the fault lies of its not having been so ; and it really seems 
 too bad that the inflation of an individual, although filling an office which 
 requires the exercise of a sound and conciliating judgment, should pro 
 duce effects so deplorable. 
 
 " There are other considerations I might add to these, but your pene 
 tration will at once perceive what they are, and how desirable it is that 
 even now whatever can be done should be, and that promptly. It seems 
 to me that means might easily be taken to induce Lord Granville to 
 apply through the British Minister at Turin for Mr. WikofFs free pardon, 
 and thus cover with a gracious act the blunder already committed, and 
 consign to insignificance and forgetfulness a story which can only owe a 
 lengthened interest to the extravagant imprisonment of one of the actors 
 in the comedy. 
 
 " I may add that I know nothing of either of the parties, but that, 
 having been asked for advice and assistance by Mr. Wikoff, I have made 
 inquiries into the matter, and now give you the impressions thereby pro 
 duced. 
 
 " I am, sir, your very humble servant, 
 
 " JOHN PAKEKHAM, Capt., R.N." 
 
 I can hardly be mistaken in supposing that the dispassionate 
 and considerate views *of Captain Pakenhara, who was an 
 observer of all that passed, will be received by the English 
 world as conclusive testimony of the really insignificant nature 
 of my case. With the forbearance of a high-bred gentleman, 
 he makes no criticism on the conduct of Miss Gamble ; nor was 
 her name ever mentioned in any conversations between us on the 
 subject. With the manliness of his character, he boldly casts 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 307 
 
 the blame of this scandal on its sole author, Mr. Consul Brown, 
 whose perverse disposition led him, not only to expose an impul 
 sive woman to endless vexations, but to subject me to an 
 amount of humiliation and suffering totally disproportioned to 
 the venial offence committed. For my part, I rejoice that the 
 temperate, but distinct expositions of Captain Pakenham will 
 satisfy all parties that I have given way to no anger or preju 
 dice in my comments on Mr. Timothy Brown s conduct, and 
 that I have neither exaggerated nor distorted it. I bear him no 
 malice ; nor should I have made him so prominent a figure in 
 my canvas, but that he chose to identify himself so completely 
 with the incidents that befel me at Genoa, that it is impossible 
 to relate them without bringing him conspicuously forward. In 
 fine, that his ill-treatment of me should have stirred up the 
 angry sympathies of my countrymen, on the spot and else 
 where, is natural enough ; and, therefore, the motives that 
 inspired the generous interposition of Captain Pakenham in my 
 favor can only be regarded as the more judicious and com 
 mendable. 
 
 It was about the middle of March that one day I was quietly 
 writing in my room, when Bini came rushing in and tumbling 
 over everything in his way, dashed to the window, screaming at 
 the top of his voice 
 
 " Damigella Gamble ! Damigella Gamble !" 
 I gazed at the brawling fellow in astonishment, wondering 
 whether he had lost his wits, or was trying to practise on my 
 credulity. He kept on making signals to some one below, and 
 addressing me meanwhile in his incomprehensible French, the 
 only word of which I could make out was regardez. I looked 
 out to satisfy him, but all I could see was the copper-colored 
 phiz of my quondam valet-de-place, Cavallari, who was dancing 
 about in the court-yard below in the same wild excitement that 
 possessed Bini above. 
 
308 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 I waited calmly till their Italian furore, blew over, when I 
 learnt the sudden cause of their fwtastic gyrations. 
 
 It appears that Miss Gamble, attended by Miss Bennett, and a 
 cicerone, had actually ventured within the gloomy precincts of 
 St. Andrea. She was caught sight of by Cavallari, who was 
 waiting below to pay me a visit, when he communicated by 
 a shout the information to Bini, who flew off instanter to con 
 vey the startling intelligence to me. The moment Miss Gamble 
 remarked that her presence was discovered, she turned about 
 and disappeared as suddenly as she came. 
 
 It turned out upon inquiry, that she could have had no 
 other object than to get a view of the prison where I was con 
 fined, preparatory to her leaving Genoa. Her impressions of 
 the locality, I think, must have been far from favorable, for 
 nothing could be more shocking and repulsive than the exterior 
 view of the prison and its inmates. The building itself had a 
 grimy and revolting aspect ; but the worst feature was the sight 
 of the miserable wretches that crowded all the windows the 
 whole day long, poking their legs and arms through the iron bars, 
 as expressive, I suppose, of their longing to be at liberty again. 
 Familiar as was this tableau vivant to my eye, I could never 
 regard it without disgust, and what effect it must have had for 
 the first time on the vision of Miss Gamble I can easily imagine. 
 If she did not give way, then, to a keen sense of compassion 
 for the frightful position that through her I was reduced to, why 
 she must have been made of sterner stuff than I ever fancied. 
 I have no doubt she must have felt both compunction and hor 
 ror, and I even ventured to hope that, aroused to a conviction 
 of my suffering by the palpable proofs of my situation, she 
 would abandon her policy and stretch out a hand to my rescue ; 
 or, at all events, manifest a desire to do so, which would have 
 been a consolation in itself. Had Miss Gamble only with 
 drawn her opposition to my pardon, no other party could have 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 309 
 
 sheltered themselves behind that pretext, and the Government, 
 I repeat, would cheerfully fcave accorded it. A day or two 
 after this my Consul brought me news of the departure of 
 Miss Gamble for the Baths of Lucca, in prosecution of her 
 Italian tour. 
 
 " She is gone, then," I said, painfully surprised, " and sent me 
 no message of regret, or even of good cheer." 
 
 "Not a word," replied the Consul. "She called at my house 
 yesterday to bid adieu to my wife, when she talked of several 
 indifferent matters, but said nothing of you or your sad con 
 dition. I always told you Brown would carry the day, and now 
 you see it, and feel it too, I dare say." 
 
 " The triumph is yours, my dear Consul," I answered, a good 
 deal more upset than I affected to be, " and Brown has turned 
 out Caesar s Ca3sar, as you predicted. I never thought, though, 
 she would abandon me, so old a friend, in such a sorry plight as 
 this. I confess that hope never forsook me utterly up to this 
 hour, and now " 
 
 " And now," interrupted the Consul, with one of his dry 
 smiles, " you are going, I hope, to whistle her down the winds/ 
 as the -play says, a prey to some new adorer. It is high time 
 you banished her from your mind, but there s no denying your 
 right to say and think what you please of her." 
 
 " You must do me the justice," I observed, " to admit that I 
 have never in a single instance said aught against her, and never 
 shall. She has been led into a false view of her position, but 
 sooner or later she will discover her errors and repent. Her 
 conscience will one day avenge me." 
 
 " I don t see," said the Consul, abruptly, " what good that 
 will do, if you are to be kept in this horrible place the year out. 
 However, there s no use repining. You must make the best of 
 it, my man ; and what I can do to mitigate the severity of your 
 martyrdom you may count on." 
 
310 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " If anything could compensate me for Miss Gamble s rough 
 usage," I replied, in a tone of unfeigned emotion, "it is your 
 indefatigable kindness, my dear sir. I don t know in what man 
 ner to express my gratitude." 
 
 " Pshaw !" exclaimed this amiable man, " I want no thanks 
 for standing by a fellow-countryman in distress. I shall come 
 and see you every day, and bring you all the news, and lots of 
 your countrymen to visit you, as they all take a real interest in 
 your misfortune." 
 
 Miss Gamble s final departure from Genoa was the last blow 
 to my illusions, for I persisted in thinking to the last that, not 
 from any tender motive, but out of common humanity, she would 
 turn round and offer to assist me ; or, failing in that, console me, 
 at least, by the expression of her sorrow. Twist it and turn it 
 as I could, her calm disappearance from the scene of my capti 
 vity, after throwing in the way an insurmountable obstacle to 
 my deliverance, was by far the heaviest pang she had yet inflicted 
 on me ; and of all her thoughtless acts, it was this one that cost 
 me the hardest effort to forget and forgive. It afforded me no 
 satisfaction to believe her a heartless woman, and it was not 
 merely out of regard, but more from a sense of justice, that I 
 refused to come to this solution of her conduct. 
 
 It must be seen, from the description of my courtship, that it 
 was nothing else than a long and obstinate struggle between us. 
 My object was plain enough. Sensible of my esteem for her, 
 and confiding in her expressions of regard for myself, I sought 
 for the natural termination of such a state of things in a mar 
 riage ; whereas she, upon one pretext or another, constantly 
 aimed at delay and postponement, not merely from a love of 
 coquetry which was certainly one of her besetting sins but 
 more, I am persuaded, from a desire to obtain a stronger ascen 
 dancy over my will which she secretly feared and resisted. 
 Through the whole of this unlooked-for episode of Genoa, I suspect 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 311 
 
 she never entirely lost sight of her object, and the chief reason 
 of her carrying on the war against me with such unremitting 
 vigor was, possibly, the cherished hope of finally breaking down 
 my pride and forcing me into a suppliant tone and attitude. 
 
 If I had appeared at the trial, pale and worn with suffering, 
 and had acknowledged by my humbled manner that she had, at 
 last, obtained her coveted supremacy over me, her amour propre 
 would have been gratified, and her feelings perhaps touched ; 
 and she might, nay, I think would, have acted differently. But 
 seeing me on that occasion perfectly calm and erect ; firm, 
 though conciliating ; not in the least subdued by my situation, 
 nor alarmed at the power she then wielded over me, she was 
 disappointed, irritated, and enraged ; and what a woman is 
 capable of, under stimulants like these, the chroniclers of love- 
 stories have furnished endless examples. 
 
 If, before her departure, I had abandoned my dignified but 
 sad demeanor, and besought her in abject terms of submission to 
 stoop to my relief, it is always possible that she would have 
 thrown aside the callous and haughty bearing she had hitherto 
 worn, and abandoned herself to the control of those soft, 
 generous, and elevated sentiments that doubly became her as a 
 woman and an old friend. It is pretty certain that if I could, 
 after all my experience, have brought myself to rely upon her, 
 I would gladly have adopted any tone to escape from my miser 
 able fate ; but though fanatically clinging to the conviction that 
 she was not dead to all gentle emotion, and, therefore, an 
 exception to her sex, yet I knew her to be so completely at the 
 mercy of every gust of caprice, that I thought it useless to 
 beseech her further. My reader may likely think that my self- 
 love has led me into a very fanciful explanation or defence of 
 Miss Gamble s apparent indifference to the degradation she had 
 brought on me ; but I have done no more than give a faithful 
 transcript of my state of mind on the day I heard of her exit from 
 
312 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 Genoa. I have not thought it worth while to fill up the picture 
 by throwing in the Rembrandt shades that in reality cast their 
 deep shadow athwart it. I leave that to the sympathetic fancy 
 of those who can enter into the details of a position as desolate 
 and trying as was mine at that moment. In the midst of all I 
 preserved some degree of equanimity, and my reproaches at the 
 stern desertion of the fair author of my calamity were no more 
 bitter than those so melodiously expressed by the bard on 
 another occasion : 
 
 " For thee I panted, thce I prized, 
 For thee I gladly sacrificed 
 Whate er I loved before ; 
 And shall I see thee flee away, 
 And helpless, hopeless, hear thee say- 
 Farewell, we meet no more I" 
 
 From this time forward I struggled to act on the advice of 
 my Consul, and to reconcile myself to the lot it seemed 
 impossible to escape from. Instead of giving way to aversion 
 and horror at the scenes and outcasts it was my daily necessity 
 to confront, I sought to envelop my feelings in a thick panoply 
 of philosophical endurance, and to regard the singular ordeal I 
 was called on to undergo as one of those sudden vicissitudes of 
 lifi that all are subject to, and meant for some wise purpose. 
 I resigned myself, with what cheerfulness I could, to my forlorn 
 prospect, and endeavored to gulp down, without shrinking, the 
 nauseous dose it was my fate to have administered. 
 
 The trial of Bini came on towards the end of March, and the 
 certainty of his acquittal became so apparent that Roquino, it 
 appeared, determined on the first opportunity to avail himself 
 of the only chance he should ever have to give the unsuspecting 
 Bini a bit of his mind, and the manner he effected this was 
 eminently characteristic. His sensibility, which laid in his 
 pocket, had suffered too much by Bini s constant interference 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 313 
 
 with his accounts to make him abandon the small satisfaction he 
 promised himself. It was the custom of the prison for the 
 turnkeys to make a tour through all the wards several times 
 during the night to see that all was right, and the first visit 
 began at ten o clock. At this hour Bini was invariably in my 
 room, engaged at a game of chess, and though, by regulation, 
 he ought to have been locked up, yet out of courtesy to me, 
 Colombo always allowed him to remain till I gave over playing. 
 But on the very night before his trial, he was ordered, for the 
 first time, to go to his own room, and was duly bolted in. Bini 
 was exceedingly enraged at this unusual exercise of authority, 
 which Roquino seemed vastly to enjoy, for it was he who 
 had planned it for a special purpose. The turnkeys went off in 
 the prosecution of their round, as usual ; but Roquino lingered 
 in my room till the coast was quite clear, when, with that 
 stoical sang froid which distinguished him, he went to the door 
 of Biui, and opening the little window that allowed the 
 turnkeys to inspect the interior of the cells, he began, in 
 " choice Italian, 7 to empty on the defenceless head of his 
 victim the hoarded phials of his wrath. There was not an 
 epithet in the wide range of a turnkey s vocabulary, or an 
 insult that malice could invent, which was not liberally poured 
 forth on the occasion. Bini s fury was quite indescribable, and 
 the more so that there was no escape or relief. He was clearly 
 no match for Roquino in the rhetoric of Billingsgate, and he ran 
 round his room like an enraged hyena in a cage. Roquino, 
 meanwhile, feeling his security, stood with his arms folded, 
 regarding with calm delight, the impotent passion of his 
 detested rival. 
 
 At last Bini made a violent rush at the door, and dashed his 
 arm through the wicket, hoping to plant a blow on his tormen 
 tor s nose ; but the vigilant turnkey was on his guard, and 
 adroitly catching hold of the exposed limb, held its unhappy 
 
 U 
 
3H 
 
 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 owner pinioned fast. The struggling and kicking of poor Bini 
 to get loose were more diverting than all the rest, till Roquino, 
 seeing the opportunity, suddenly let go his hold, and away went 
 the unfortunate barricader, rolling head over heels to the other 
 side of the cell. Roquino was satisfied, and with a demoniac 
 laugh he let fly a parting volley of odorous adjectives, and 
 closed the wicket with a bang. 
 
 Now," he said, quietly, " he may go and be acquitted. I 
 have settled my account with him." Bidding me good night, he 
 rammed his hands complacently into his pockets, and sauntered 
 off, whistling a tune he never changed, as unmoved as though 
 he had been listening the while to a drowsy sermon. This was 
 a fit climax to the protracted duel that had been so long waging 
 between these well-assorted combatants ; and, in the way of 
 comedy, I saw nothing to surpass it during my stay at St. 
 Andrea. 
 
 The next morning Bini flew like a wild cat all over the prison 
 in search of Roquino. " Set him before me, ye gods," was his 
 cry, but in vain. The turnkeys were allowed a holiday in suc 
 cession every week, and the astute Roquino knew it was his 
 turn on the day in question, and was therefore amongst the 
 missing. Bini had, in consequence, to abandon his revenge, and 
 ;o occupy himself with his trial,,now coming on. He joined me 
 at breakfast with a haggard look, and downcast eye, but I 
 restored his usual buoyancy in a minute, by offering to rig him 
 up in a manner that would gratify his love of finery, and 
 impress his judges with a due sense of his respectability. The 
 poor fellow brought no luggage into prison but what he carried 
 on his back, and his only suit bore evident traces of the wear 
 and tear it had undergone. He had been busy for several days 
 stitching, darning, and mending, but his appearance was not at 
 all what suited his ideas of an ex-President of the Barricades. 
 To make amends for his discomfiture of the previous night, 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 315 
 
 as well as to reward his late zeal in my behalf, I agreed to sup 
 ply all deficiencies, even to a pair of white gloves that he had 
 set his heart on, and his content at this addition to his wardrobe 
 was so complete that he was ready to embrace all the world, 
 and wanted to begin with me. I declined his hug, but extracted 
 from him a promise of forgiveness for the absent Roquino. 
 
 Bini was fully acquitted, but returned once more to St. 
 Andrea to bid me adieu. How I envied his good fortune! He 
 had not the wherewith to get a meal, but he thought of nothing 
 but the joy of his recovered liberty. He looked on the world, 
 however, with the resolute eye of Shakspeare s Pistol, as an 
 "oyster" that he could find the way to open. Confident in his 
 energy, he left the rest to chance. Fata mam invenient. He 
 was quite disenchanted with the deceitful charms of the siren 
 Revolution, and his mind was now absorbed by the pacific cal 
 culations of honest trade. I made him a small loan to start with 
 (which he faithfully returned), and I parted with him with sincere 
 regret. I heard of him occasionally afterwards, and he was 
 always getting on most prosperously. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 AT the beginning of April the Director of St. Andrea, whose 
 civility was extreme, accorded me a boon of inestimable value 
 by allowing me an hour s exercise every day in the open air, on 
 a species of inclosed terrace in front of the prison. It was a 
 great relief to exchange, even for so short a period, the hard 
 brick floor of my room and the foul atmosphere within, for the 
 fresh breeze and the elastic touch of the familiar earth without. 
 A further piece of good fortune at this time was the pleasant 
 
316 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 society of a man of education and refinement, Dr. P of 
 
 Genoa, who had been condemned to a month s incarceration for 
 a political pamphlet, which had reflected rather sarcastically on 
 the intolerance of the Catholic priesthood of Italy. He was a 
 person of fine literary tastes and much reading; and had, on 
 many occasions, taken an active part in the political struggles 
 of Sardinia, both with his pen and the sword. He was present at 
 the ill-fated battle of Novara as aid-de-camp to General Ramo- 
 rino, whose tragical death he had witnessed, and of whose mys 
 terious career he gave me many singular details. My daily con 
 verse with this amiable and accomplished person, who was no 
 better satisfied with his lodgings than myself, was a charming 
 diversion to the monotony of my life, and tended to give a 
 healthier tone to my reflections. Though his imprisonment was 
 only for a brief month, he found it so intolerable, that he was 
 hourly longing for its termination. 
 
 An odd incident occurred whilst he was a tenant of St. Andrea, 
 
 that may be worth relating. Dr. P received one day the 
 
 visit of the Chevalier de E. , the Questore of Genoa, with 
 
 whom he was well acquainted, and it appears that my imprison 
 ment was the chief motive of his call. Whilst discussing the 
 matter, the Questore remarked that suspicions were enter 
 tained at Turin, by the diplomatic personage before alluded to, 
 and others, that my political views were not favorable to Par 
 liamentary Government, and that if I could succeed in removing 
 these doubts, it would hasten more than anything else my resto 
 ration to liberty. 
 
 "What mode do you suggest," asked Dr. P , "as the 
 
 most expedient to this end ?" 
 
 " Let him draw up," replied the Questore, " a distinct con 
 fession of his political faith, and send it to me. I will forward 
 it immediately to Turin, and if it be found satisfactory he may 
 count upon its beneficial effects." 
 
 This intimation was duly conveyed to me bv Dr. P , and 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 317 
 
 I need hardly say that it both surprised and amused me. It 
 was an additional proof that some political intrigue was at the 
 bottom of my condemnation and detention in prison, whilst the 
 folly of Miss Gamble was only used as a veil to cloak it. I 
 said this much to my fellow-prisoner, Dr. P . 
 
 "From what the Questore let drop during our conversation," 
 was the reply, " I am convinced lhat it is so ; but why not draw 
 up some paper of the kind suggested, if it will facilitate your 
 pardon ?" 
 
 " I have no objection to state my political views," I rejoined ; 
 " but it is ridiculous to expect me to make a sweeping declaration 
 in favor of Parliamentary Government, a thing quite sui generis. 
 It is the best of governments in England I admit, but would be 
 impossible in the United States. It has failed signally in France, 
 and makes slow progress in Germany. It promises well here, 
 because it has such men as Cavour and Azeglio to guide and 
 support it." 
 
 " What you say is quite new and interesting to me," con 
 tinued Dr. P . " Pray go to work and explain yourself on 
 
 these points. I will forward it to the Questore, and it may 
 meet with entire approbation at Turin." 
 
 "I doubt it," was my remark, "for the object is clearly to 
 sound me on the political structure that prevails in England. I 
 can conscientiously uphold it there, and would like to see it 
 equally successful all over Europe. But to declare broadly that, 
 in the face of history and usage, every country can suddenly be 
 converted, hey, presto/ into a Constitutional one, by giving it a 
 Parliament to govern and an Executive merely to reign, as 
 in England, would be to declare a creed that the events of the 
 last three years have contradicted. All that I can, or will do, 
 under the circumstances^! to draw up my humble views of the 
 present condition of the States of Europe, and they may then 
 infer what they please." 
 
318 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 "That is, certainly, the most honest course," resumed Dr. 
 
 P . " I approve of your independence, thongh it may not 
 
 be the m.ost politic just now ; for you know what influence is 
 predominant in Sardinia, and your fate depends on concili 
 ating it." 
 
 " That may be," I returned, " but not even to escape a year s 
 detention in this filthy kennel will I give my unqualified adhesion 
 to a doctrine that may be true in one place and false in another. 
 I will only write plain common sense, and those who may read 
 it at Turin and elsewhere, will, I hope, recognize it. Why should 
 I espouse the banner of Parliamentary Government, quand 
 meme, as the French say, when I think the balanced Constitution 
 of the United States theoretically far more perfect ? And if I 
 were to do so, how should the predominant influence you 
 allude to, know whether I was practising on its credulity or 
 not ? " 
 
 " Vous etes dans le vrai," said Dr. P , as we were talking 
 
 in French. " You are in the right. Let the confession of 
 faith demanded be a conscientious one, and if your diplomatic 
 opponent at Turin be at all sagacious, he ought to see that it 
 would be wiser to conciliate you than to abuse his temporary 
 power ; for you can, in the end, appeal to the tribunal of opi 
 nion in his country and yours." 
 
 " Yes, ckacun a son tour," I replied, with emphasis, " and if I 
 am forced to swallow the last drop in this baneful cup, they may 
 count on the poisoned chalice reaching their lips at a later 
 day." 
 
 In compliance, then, with the proposition of the Questore, I 
 set to work ; but, instead of exhausting panegyric in lauding the 
 universal efficacy of a pure Parlianj^riary Constitution, I con 
 tented myself with drawing a sketch IWie political condition of 
 Europe, and venturing to point out what form of government 
 was best adapted to the exigencies of each State, that was, in 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. * 319 
 
 all respects, so differently situated. By way of comment to my 
 exposition, I took care to add that all Governments at this 
 epoch were under a popular " pressure from without," that 
 would force them to bend to its demands, but that these might 
 be as fully met under one form as another. In short, as Pope 
 wrote : 
 
 " For forms of Government let fools contest 
 That which is best administered is best." 
 
 My prison essay was duly forwarded by Dr. P to the 
 
 Questore, and thence found its way to Turin. I had little hope 
 that my political bid for pardon would be more successful 
 than those addressed to Miss Gamble, for neither in sentiment 
 nor politics was it my fortune to hit the exact water-line. It so 
 
 turned out, for in a week or so Dr. P was informed that 
 
 my political views were interesting, but not so clearly expressed 
 as was expected. It was even hinted that my philosophical man 
 ner of treating the subject was regarded only as an ingenious 
 mode of disguising my real opinions. 
 
 What a dreadful thing it is to labor under a suspicion in this 
 world political or otherwise ! The simplest means taken to 
 carry conviction are often considered but an artful dodge to 
 escape detection ! I was still regarded, therefore, as the insi 
 dious foe to Parliamentary Government, and my pardon grew 
 more doubtful every day. Diplomacy and Miss Gamble proved 
 equally intractable, and my inability to induce either to remove 
 my fetters was enough to drive me to despair. I employed my 
 whole mind, however, in ransacking ways and means to get out 
 of my predicament, and I kept up my correspondence with the 
 amiable Marquis de Cavour, always trusting that his exertions 
 might win his brother, iJ^Minister, over to my cause. 
 
 The Marquis, of courSJPas in the true secret of my deten 
 tion, but he was too nearly connected with the Government to 
 avow it. Whether he considered my pardon as improbable I do 
 
320 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 not know, but he was too considerate to say so. On the con 
 trary, he kept me afloat by cheering glimpses of hope ; and I 
 hardly knew which most admire, the elaborate ingenuity he 
 displayed in citing causes of delay, or the affecting goodness 
 that induced so lofty a person to give a prop to the sinking 
 spirits of a forlorn captive. He was also condescending 
 enough to engage wiih me in philosophical discussions, where, 
 indeed, I was little able to cope with his vast learning, but was 
 equally charmed and struck by the captivating simplicity of his 
 style, and the unvarying justness of his conclusions. The fol 
 lowing is an extract from one of his letters received at this time, 
 but which loses, of course, by translation : 
 
 " Turin, April 18, 1852. 
 
 " DEAR SIR Some time has elapsed since I answered your last letter, 
 partly because I have been much occupied, and also that I did not see how 
 I could be useful to you. The Minister of Justice is well disposed towards 
 indulgence, but, as I have already hinted, there is a grave question in this 
 matter ; it is not that there is any desire to raise an international diffi 
 culty, which would be puerile, and without apropos. Besides, until the 
 regular course of legal procedure is exhausted, the royal prerogative in 
 the way of pardon cannot be exercised. Finally, it is necessary that 
 your envoy, Mr. Kinney, should take the initiative for the step that, when 
 the time arrives, will put an end to your captivity, and then I will asso 
 ciate myself most cheerfully in urging the Minister to give it his imme 
 diate attention. Before that time, I fear, I can do nothing that will be 
 useful to you. * 
 
 There are many reflections to make upon what you have said as to poli 
 tics. In my view, there are in politics two elements ; the one invariable, 
 pure, and inflexible as mathematical truth. This first element is the 
 moral one, which consists in the efforts made by man to realize that law 
 of duty whose lineaments are engraven by the Creator himself upon his 
 heart. The second element is that of o^^n, or of those artificial insti 
 tutions established by the will of indivffldk their social welfare, and 
 this leads to an order of things very vafflPro, and where the utmost tole 
 ration should be shown towards the opinions of each other, and where it 
 may be considered impossible to arrive at absolute truth, but only to a 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 321 
 
 comparative better state. I concentrate in these few words my thoughts 
 on this subject in answer to yours ; but a volume would be necessary to 
 give it development. 
 
 " Allow me to close here my letter in renewing the expression of my 
 distinguished sentiments. 
 
 " G. DE CAVOUR." 
 
 The bait the Marquis threw out as to " the time" that might 
 come for the end of my captivity was a solace that only those 
 can appreciate and I hope there are none such amongst my 
 readers who have gone through the crushing weariness of a 
 prolonged imprisonment, which, even in a palace, would be 
 depressing, but in a Genoese jail was almost insupportable. It 
 was like balsam to my wounded spirit to receive from time to 
 time a letter from the Marquis, and other distinguished persons 
 of Sardinia, for it helped to assuage that keen sense of degra 
 dation that my unhappy position so naturally awakened. As 
 long as individuals of their character and standing kept up 
 kindly relations with me, I could not consider myself as lost to 
 society. My physical annoyances were galling enough without 
 the prostration of such a withering conviction as that. 
 
 As the season advanced the heat became very oppressive, and 
 the more so in the corridor I occupied, for want of a free cir 
 culation of air. Another vexation began to manifest itself to my 
 serious discomfort. No one has travelled in Italy but has had 
 his dreams disturbed, even in the most luxurious hotels, by the 
 quantity of vermin that pervades the entire land. Whether it 
 be the mildness of the climate, or the dirty habits of the people, 
 it is hard to say, but in spite of its fine arts and bright laud- 
 scapes, no country is so overrun by fleas, and other unmentiona 
 ble things, as this samMJMri of Raphael and Dante. But if the 
 churches and palaces^Jpaly convey to the unhappy mortal 
 cursed with a sensitive raticle a practical idea of that middle 
 state called Purgatory it may be supposed that an occupant of 
 
 14* 
 
322 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 one of its prisons must soon form a vivid conception of a place 
 much lower down. Certes, the bodily torment I underwent 
 from this source alone would have filled an inquisitor with rap 
 ture. For whole months I never got two hours of consecutive 
 sleep. I passed the night waging an ineffectual battle against 
 whole legions of the enemy, and, overpowered by the tremen 
 dous odds, I was constantly obliged to beat a retreat, and give 
 up my miserable bed for a wooden chair, and even then it was 
 only a case of mitigated torture. Worn out by the ennui of the 
 tedious day, which seemed interminable, how I longed to bury 
 my cares in sweet, oblivious sleep ; but soon I began to shiver at 
 the very thought of bed-time, and the horrible shadows that 
 "struck such terror to the soul" of the crooked-back tyrant 
 were only "jolly monks" to the ravenous insects that preyed 
 nightly on my unfortunate body. As little affection as I had 
 reason to entertain for the remorseless" Brown, who had 
 plunged me into such bloodthirsty company, still I would not 
 have had the heart to expose him to more than one week of 
 what I had for whole months to suffer. But the subject throws 
 me into a fever, and I recoil with a shudder from its recollection. 
 
 I must not forget to say that I was favored one day by my 
 Consul with the perusal of a London publication of my trial. I 
 was astonished beyond measure at the unscrupulous manner in 
 which everything was misrepresented and distorted. 
 
 I should mention, by the way, an occurrence that took place 
 immediately after the trial in February. I was waited upon 
 one morning by the proprietors of a Genoa journal, called the 
 Gazette of the Tribunals, and informed thet they intended pub" 
 lishing a report of my trial, but that propositions had been made 
 to them by Miss Gamble (I believe ti|^igh her solicitor) either 
 to suppress the entire publicatio^Bpch she offered to pay 
 liberally for ; or, if that could not be done, to publish such a 
 version of it as would be acceptable to her. They desired to 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 523 
 
 know if I would agree to the latter course, as they were bound 
 to their subscribers to make some publication touching it. I 
 replied that I had no objection to their shaping the matter in a 
 way that would be conformable to the wishes of Miss Gamble ; 
 but I begged, in common justice, they would not suppress facts 
 to such an extent as would put me in a false or invidious light. 
 They seemed as much surprised as pleased at my readiness to 
 oblige Miss Gamble, and went away promising that whatever 
 they omitted at her request (for which they received a goodly 
 sum, I heard), they would treat me with fairness. 
 
 The trial was published in due course, and I saw they had 
 gone to extraordinary lengths to favor Miss Gamble s views. 
 They suppressed even the the very title of the trial, as the word 
 " Abduction " was disagreeable to the lady. They garbled my 
 statement to the Court in such a way as to make it either unin 
 telligible, or very unfavorable to myself. Whereas the state 
 ment of Miss Gamble was written all anew, it appeared, for she 
 had given quite another version to the Court. The defence of 
 my lawyers was so clumsily expressed as to do me no good, 
 whilst everything said in Miss Gamble s favor was clear and 
 cogent. This was bad enough ; but an abominable trick was 
 played on me by putting into the, mouth of my Consul injurious 
 words that he had never uttered. On showing this to the Consul 
 he was exceedingly indignant, and he gave me instantly an 
 official document, contradicting the unwarrantable misrepresen 
 tation that had been made in his name. I append it. 
 
 [Arms of the Consulate.] 
 
 Genoa, May 21, 1852. 
 
 " DEAR SIR In reply to your note of this morning, in regard to ray 
 testimony as published in th^rial between Miss Gamble and yourself, I 
 have to say it is incorrect i JJpTeral respects. 
 
 " I stated that Miss Gamble often declared to me that she believed lava 
 was the sole motive that prompted you to sequester her ; but this part 
 
324 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 of my testimony appears to have been lost! At all events, it is omitted 
 in the published report you have submitted to me. 
 
 "In the same report I am made to say that she told me you compelled 
 her to give you the paper promising marriage, &c. This is incorrectly 
 reported. I stated that she always complained to me of being detained 
 in your apartment against her will, but / did not state that she ever said 
 you compelled her to write the paper in question. 
 
 " In all the conversations I had with her on this subject, she always 
 gave me to understand that she wrote the said paper in order to get away 
 from the apartment, not from any apprehension of personal violence, 
 but, simply, from the fear of being compromised. 
 
 " There are other inaccuracies in the said report of the trial, in which I 
 am made to say ridiculous things, but I hardly think it of consequence to 
 notice them further. 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " GEO. G. BAKES, 
 
 "U. S. Consul." 
 
 It will be seen from the above that a sly, but not very reput 
 able, attempt was made in the formal report of the trial to 
 fasten on me, in the name of the American Consul, the ruinous 
 accusation that I had compelled Miss Gamble to give me the 
 worthless paper binding, herself to respect her previous pledges 
 of marriage. It was clear enough to Miss Gamble s solicitor at 
 Genoa for I cannot believe she had any hand in such roguery 
 that if the public abroad could be led to think I had used any 
 compulsion or menaces towards her, I would be irretrievably 
 damaged in character, and hence it was sought to stamp the 
 falsehood with the authority of the American Consul. This was 
 a Genoese specimen of the unfair means employed to sink me in 
 general estimation.* 
 
 * A personal description of Miss Gamble and mflMtt was given in the Genoese report 
 of the trial, which I am disposed to copy, in ordei%j,gratify the natural curiosity of my 
 readers as to the physical traits of the heroine and chief actor in the events this volume 
 records. 
 
 " The proicu,trix was of middling size, slight figure, an interesting countenance, ani- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 325 
 
 As regards the London publication, the matter was made still 
 worse. I should mention that I sent the Italian report to a 
 friend of mine at London, J. J. R , Esq., pointing out its mis- 
 statements, and telling him to find a publisher that was disposed 
 to put a correct version of it before the public. My friend was in 
 the Provinces at the time he received it, but sent it per post, to 
 a Mr. Shoberl, publisher, of Marlborough street, with a note 
 expressing my wishes respecting a translation. It appears that 
 the publisher in question translated it, and then sought to make 
 a traffic of the pamphlet to his own advantage. He called on 
 certain parties connected with Miss Gamble, whose names I 
 withhold, and offered to suppress it for some .350. It was 
 finally settled amongst these politic individuals, in solemn con 
 clave, that however annoying the publicity to Miss Gamble, it 
 would do me more injury to let it appear, especially if it were 
 still further garbled to suit their purpose. The publisher lent 
 himself readily to this disingenuous act, and made a good thing, 
 I hear, of the speculation. 
 
 It would be tiresome to expose all the deceptions practised on 
 the English public in this second attempt to libel me down, but 
 they may be inferred from the fact that the title of my trial, 
 which was for " Abduction," was coolly altered into " A Conspi 
 racy to effect a Forced Marriage with Miss Gamble." Besides, 
 all that portion of Miss Bennett s evidence touching the import 
 ant fact of my occupying a room with Miss Gamble, at the 
 Hotel de Berg, at Geneva, during the month of August, 1851, 
 and of our constantly remaining together tete-a-tete, was sup 
 pressed, though it appeared in the Genoese publication. 
 
 mated eyes of hazel, and brown hair. She was dressed in black s Ik, and was wrapped 
 in a mantle, which she threw asida.when she entered within the railing. She wore a 
 white bonnet, and had an eye-glass and a smelling-bottle in her hand. 
 
 "The first of the accused was well dressed, and was about forty years of age, of tall 
 tature, brown hair, a high forehead, blue eyes, a regular nose, natural color, and pen- 
 sive countenance." 
 
326 
 
 COURTSHIP 
 
 It is not to be wondered at, that the London public should 
 have formed a harsh opinion of my case, after such a barefaced 
 imposition on their good faith. 
 
 It may be inferred, that when I discovered these ingenious, but 
 dishonest, means to screen Miss Gamble from blame, by aggra 
 vating and blackening my offence and character, it was far from 
 enhancing the serenity of my mind, or from reconciling me to 
 the hourly inflictions I was obliged to endure. Still I struggled 
 to bear up against the multiplied rigors of my fate, though it 
 was a species of moral discipline I would little like -to undergo 
 again. 
 
 There was now and then a redeeming event that lightened for 
 a moment the burden of my imprisonment. I received a letter 
 
 one day from the Count de Y , a nobleman of high standing 
 
 in the political and diplomatic world, and whose acquaintance I 
 had the good fortune to make previous to these triste accidents, 
 wherein he promised me the acquaintance of a friend of his who 
 might be useful to me. I knew the Count to be on intimate 
 terms with several of the Ministry, and the kind interest his 
 first letter displayed convinced me that he would employ all his 
 interest in facilitating ray pardon. He addressed me as fol 
 lows : 
 
 " Chateau of Gifs, Savoy, 
 
 "HENRY WIKOFF, ESQ. May 22<f, 1S52. 
 
 DEAR SIR I have just received your honored letter of the 15th inst., 
 and the place I date from will explain the delay of my answer, and of the 
 difficulty I shall have to be useful to you, as I would like to be, in the 
 unhappy position in which you find yourself. Since the short journey we 
 made together, I have abandoned parliamentary life, and live tranquilly 
 in the bosom of my family, surrounded by my children, who compensate 
 me for the solitude of a country life, and which enables me easily to forget 
 the world, which, even at the age of forty-five, no longer possesses for me 
 either charms or illusions. The journals which I receive disfigured your 
 name so entirely in giving an account of the adventure you speak of, that 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 327 
 
 I little suspected you were the hero of the affair in question. I am filled 
 with surprise at the details you give me, and I need hardly say that in my 
 eyes it is entirely excusable. 
 
 " If, instead of being at the foot of the mountains, I was still at Turin, 
 and a member of our Parliament, believe me I would have spared no 
 exertion to obtain your pardon, and I would have labored, for it with all 
 the interest you inspired me during the interval we passed together. 
 But since, unfortunately, it is out of my power to render you any direct 
 service, as my heart would dispose me readily to do, allow me to recom 
 mend to you one of my best friends, who lives at Genoa, and who would 
 be charmed to be useful to you, if he can be. He is an accomplished gen 
 tleman, and in whom you can repose the utmost confidence. I will write 
 to him immediately to pay you a visit, and I hope you will find in him a 
 consolation and support under your affliction. I shall learn with delight 
 the close of your captivity, which seems to me excessively severe, and 
 cruelly prolonged for so insignificant an adventure. 
 
 11 I seize this circumstance, my dear sir, to offer you the assurances of 
 my most distinguished sentiments. 
 
 V E." 
 
 This was still another flattering instance of a person of lofty 
 position, living on the spot of my disaster, continuing, in spite 
 of iny condemnation, to hold me in the same regard as before, 
 and which led me to hope that, the truth once known, I should 
 recover the good opinion of all my -old friends. It was this 
 cherished expectation that buoyed me up against the increasing 
 pressure of my trying captivity. 
 
 A few days only after this, I happened to be standing at the 
 table of Colombo, near the door of the prison, whither I had 
 gone in quest of my letters, when I heard my name called, aiid 
 was told that a gentleman was waiting to see me. I should say 
 that, by prison rule, no one was allowed to mount up to my room 
 save my Consul, and all visitors were shown into a place below, 
 assigned to that purpose. On entering this dingy apartment, a 
 fine-looking man, of distinguished manners, advanced towards 
 tne, saying he had come at the request of his friend the Count de 
 
MY COURTSHIP 
 
 V , to pay me a, visit, and at the same time handed me his 
 
 card. He turned out to be no less a person than the Baron de 
 , the Commandant of Genoa. I apologized, with a smile, 
 for receiving him in so dreary a place, for I saw by his counte 
 nance that he was horrified at the sight and noise of the 
 wretches roaming about ; but, in a few moments he recovered 
 his composure, and began discussing the oddity of my adventure, 
 and the inexplicable punishment that had been pronounced upon 
 me. I ascertained, for the first time, the opinion of the higher 
 classes of Genoa upon these points, and it appears that they 
 regarded the so-called Abduction as a plaisanterie de bon ton, and 
 the adverse sentence as inspired by something else than a legal 
 motive. The ladies, it seems, compassionated my tribulations 
 (Heaven bless them 1) and the conduct of Miss Gamble was set 
 down to the account of English eccentricity, not knowing that 
 she was of genuine Yankee origin. 
 
 My conversation with the Baron, however, soon rose from my 
 mishap into the higher region of political gossip ; and as his offi 
 cial connection kept him au courant with all that was passing, I 
 was regaled with the daintiest tit-bits of current news. The 
 Baron was a person of large understanding, sound views, but 
 rather conservative tendencies. He talked with the prudence of 
 a statesman, but the elegance of a highly-polished man of the 
 world. It was many months since I had such a treat as this 
 charming enlretien, and when he rose to go, I thanked him with 
 effusion for bestowing such a favor upon me as to venture 
 into such a place from the benevolent motive that actuated 
 him. He expressed the warmest sympathy, and promised to do 
 what he could to assist me, adding that he would visit me regu 
 larly whilst detained there. 
 
 He nobly redeemed his word, and came every week to see me, 
 and whilst walking up and down, during my evening promenade, 
 would supply me with the latest intelligence of the secret doings 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 329 
 
 of the diplomatic world, that newspapers could give little cogniz 
 ance of. A visit from the Baron was inexpressibly refreshing to 
 me, and gave me new strength to struggle with the oppressive 
 monotony of my imprisonment and all iis attendant horrors. 
 He must have perceived its salutary effect on my mind, for not 
 otherwise could I account for a man of his rank and fastidious 
 habits stooping to enter a locality that must have secretly in 
 spired him with the most intense disgust. His unabated kind 
 ness, to the very last, proved that, in spite of a countenance 
 that wore the habitual expression of command, and the hauteur 
 of his lofty bearing, he was a man of gentle nature and generous 
 sympathies. I shall carry with me through life, deeply engraven 
 on my heart, the most vivid and grateful recollection of all his 
 goodness to me. 
 
 Time was wearing on. I had got to the middle of June, and 
 the heat was increasing, my patience diminishing, and the fleas, 
 etc., growing more daring and multitudinous than ever. The 
 day seemed to stretch out to " crack of doom," and yet night 
 brought no rest to the weary. Reading and writing, in my un 
 easy state of mind, was little attractive, and I had no society 
 that could afford me the relief of conversation. Even the una 
 bated rascality of Roquino, which " ne er knew retiring ebb," 
 amused me no longer. I had a little diversion, however, one 
 day, at the end of this month, in detecting him, for the first time, 
 in ftagranle delicto. In glancing listlessly over his monthly 
 account, I was struck by some heavy charges that I had no 
 recollection of, and on looking at the date, what was my satisfac 
 tion to discover I had got him fast beyond equivocation. 
 
 "Oh !" I cried, with suppressed delight, " I see you still con 
 tinue to rob me, without regard to consequences, either in this 
 world or the next." 
 
 He was a little startled by my tone, but only for a moment. 
 
 " I am astonished, man cher maitre" he replied, as composed 
 
330 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 as usual, " that you will still cling to such strange illusions, that 
 only make you dissatisfied, whilst they occasion me the most 
 profound " 
 
 He left his sentence unfinished from emotion. 
 
 "I should be sorry," I said, with a mocking, smile, "to 
 wound your feelings, or to make so direct an accusation, if I did 
 not see it was in my power, at length, to convict you of an 
 egregious act of plunder." 
 
 " Convict me I" he exclaimed, quite roused at this slur on his 
 stupidity in giving me a chance. " Convict me ! never, Mon- 
 signore, will you convince me that I have set down a penny that 
 is not my due. Why, the fact is, I am losing money every day 
 by furnishing articles that I often forget to charge." 
 
 "Well, I congratulate you that this time you have not made 
 that mistake. All I regret is to see you fall into such ignorance 
 of the calendar." 
 
 "What does il Signer mean?" he asked, with a puzzled 
 expression. 
 
 "Just take up that almanac, my man-of-all-work," I said, 
 " and look for the month of June." He seemed surprised, but 
 did as I bid. " Xow, how many days does it contain ?" 
 
 "Why thirty, and not an hour more," he said, unconscious 
 that he was nailing down his own coffin. 
 
 " Yery well, then," I continued, "do me the favor to cast 
 that keen eye of yours over your account again, and explain 
 how I could have consumed such a quantity of items on the. 31st 
 of June, if there is no such day in the almanac." 
 
 This was a smasher. Roquino sat staring his account in the 
 face, pretty much as a marble statue would have done under the 
 circumstances ; he neither blushed nor moved a muscle. Directly 
 a faint smile flickered over his placid visage. 
 
 "That almanac maybe in error," he suggested, trying to 
 grope out of the " fix." 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 331 
 
 " That won t do, my special pleader. All the almanacs of 
 the world are against you. Allow me, therefore, the supreme 
 enjoyment of announcing to you that of all the rogues in St. 
 Andrea you are not the least guilty." v 
 
 Roquino could stand it no longer. A less clever knave would 
 have quibbled and equivocated, but he saw there was a wiser 
 course to take. For the first time in his life he confessed him 
 self fairly caught, and Le laughed at his unintentional blunder 
 till his sides ached. 
 
 This incident served to enliven me for several days, and it was 
 strange how, in the dearth of occupation and excitement, the 
 smallest circumstance would engage the mind or seize the 
 fancy. 
 
 Finding I could do nothing for myself, I tried very hard occa 
 sionally at accomplishing something for others. There were 
 three poor devils of sailors, who I think were English, though 
 they declared themselves Americans, that had been thrown in 
 prison for some drunken frolic or other. They had been there 
 for three months when I became acquainted with their case. 
 Out of pity I used to visit them, give them newspapers, and 
 promise them assistance. They suffered terribly from the con 
 finement, and sometimes cried like children. The straw soup, as 
 they called it, and black bread of the prison had quite broken 
 down their courage. I went to work and got the Consul, who 
 was never backward at a kind action, to interest himself. I 
 drew up a letter in the name of the sailors, and sent it to our 
 Charge d Affaires at Turin, who spoke to the Minister of Jus 
 tice, and a trial was ordered immediately, when the poor fellows 
 were all acquitted. They got out after four months imprison 
 ment, when in England they would have been only fined 5s. 
 for being drunk .; and if I had not heard of the matter, they 
 might have lingered there for a whole year to come. There is 
 as little respect for habeas corpus in Genoa, as the bold barons 
 
332 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 used to show in the Middle Ages. I may mention, as an amus 
 ing proof that a sailor is not an ungrateful animal, that ! 
 remarked for several successive evenings one of the lately libe 
 rated three who was lurking round the gate that opened on my 
 promenade. At length, screwing up his resolution, he approached 
 me, and with an embarrassed air begged me to accept, in token 
 of the gratitude of himself and shipmates, a bottle of brandy, 
 which he drew from beneath his jacket. He seemed to appre 
 hend I would refuse his humble gift, but smiling I accepted it 
 (intending it for Roquino), and offered him some money in return, 
 which he refused. 
 
 " If you please, sir," continued the flattered son of Neptune, 
 " I have got a message from Jones ? ; 
 
 " What is it, my hearty ?" 
 
 " He says as if so be you d like it, sir, he wouldn t mind giv 
 ing a thund rin floggin to the British Consul for putting the 
 likes of you here, sir." 
 
 This Jack-tar method of expressing sympathy was highly 
 diverting, but I entered my caveat strongly against the proposal 
 of the pugnacious Jones, whose chemical aspiration to convert 
 what was Brown into something that would be black and blue, by 
 no means suited my notion of harmonious coloring. 
 
AND ITS CO K SEQUENCES 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 I OCCASIONALLY got news of Miss Gamble from my Consul, 
 who received it from some correspondent of hers at Genoa her 
 solicitor, I believe. She passed the whole of April at the baths 
 of Lucca, and then moved on to Florence, en route to the Tyrol, 
 in whose shady retreats she proposed spending the summer. 
 My Consul continued his almost daily visits, and after gel 
 ting through the news and a discussion on politics, we both 
 turned back to the old theme, and wondered how long Miss 
 Gamble would persist in her stubborn resistance to my pardon. 
 
 -Write to her again," said my Consul one day, "and give 
 her a graphic picture of what you suffer here. It must touch 
 her if she be not made of flint." 
 
 It is only exposing myself to another wound," I replied, in 
 a despairing tone, "for she has apparently closed every orifice 
 of her heart to compassion ; and my entreaties, I thmk, will 
 only harden her the more." 
 
 "Don t give it up," reiterated the Consul; " try it again. 
 Everything, they say, has a handle, and you may get hold of 
 
 her yet." 
 
 I yielded, and wrote as he suggested. Always suspecting t 
 her chief motive in keeping me in prison was her childish appre 
 hension that I would seek to annoy her when free, I endeavored, 
 in this letter, to convince her that my breast was not the cavern 
 of brooding thoughts and vengeful purposes she might, perhaps, 
 fear. I assumed a lively tone in reference to my courtship, and 
 
334 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 whilst admitting the sincerity of my affection, I declared she was 
 misled in supposing, as she had often said, that I was carried 
 away by frenzy for her, which would likely lead me to a renewal 
 of my suit. I implored her to believe that I harbored no 
 resentment, and that nothing was further from my intention, if I 
 recovered my liberty, than to annoy her by my. presence or 
 otherwise. I thought if I could only disarm her fears I might 
 possibly reach her sympathies. My letter was forwarded by the 
 Consul, but no answer was ever returned. 
 ^ I should not forget to say how much I was annoyed some 
 time previous to this by a publication in a London journal, the 
 Daily News, of the pretended details of my courtship. It was 
 stated to be copied from an American journal. Anything more 
 false or calumnious it was impossible to devise, and from first to 
 last its only purport seemed to be to heap upon me the utmost 
 amount of obloquy. This tissue of misrepresentations was 
 declared to be from Miss Gamble s own mouth, for the Ameri 
 can editor asserted that he had passed "four hours" in her 
 society at Genoa, when she related all he published, giving her 
 permission, besides, to make it known. From the portrait he 
 drew of Miss Gamble it is clear he had seen her. He writes 
 that " in person she is small and delicate ; in mind and manners, 
 cultivated and accomplished; in conversation, spirited and 
 attractive ; in temperament, excitable, but confiding and affec 
 tionate." 
 
 If all else had been as accurately drawn as this sketch, I 
 should have no comment to make on the narrative given. It 
 would be trifling with the patience of my readers to demolish, 
 paragraph by paragraph, the pyramid of fabrication in question ; 
 but to give an idea of the prodigal fancy of the writer, I will 
 merely adduce one of his lively sallies. He declares I followed 
 Miss Gamble, on the day she left Turin for Genoa, Nov. 12th, 
 and that the courier, in concert with me, tried his best to keep 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 335 
 
 her on the road after dark, that I might take violent possession 
 of her. Miss Gamble only escaped, he relates, by insisting, 
 against the will of the courier, on stopping before night at a 
 hotel along the road ; and that, even then, the courier sought to 
 separate his mistress from her female companions by giving her 
 a chamber at some distance from the others, &c. At the very 
 moment I was engaged in this romantic exploit in the neighbor 
 hood of Genoa, according to this veracious scribe, I happened 
 to be dining with his Excellency the Count de Cavour, at Turin, 
 as already shown ; and the invitation of the Count, still in my 
 hands, will prove, by its date, that if anybody was really fol 
 lowing Miss Gamble on the day she left Turin, it must have 
 been some new convert to her charms. The rest may be judged 
 from this sample, but there is one asseveration so abominable, 
 and which has injured me so deeply in the public mind, that I 
 must brand as it deserves. In giving an account of the abduc 
 tion scene at Genoa, the editorial confidant of Miss Gamble 
 writes as follows: "Soon after which Mr. Wikoff made an 
 attempt to administer chloroform unsuccessfully ; but, he said, if 
 driven to make a second attempt, she should not escape its effect." 
 It is hardly necessary to say that nothing of the kind ever 
 occurred ; but it is important to know who originated this vile 
 invention. The inference is so fatal to the character of Miss 
 Gamble, that it is not likely she would have lent herself to 
 spreading such a slander. Besides, she was asked by the Judge 
 of Instruction, whose ears such a story may have reached, if I 
 bad used any chloroform, or attempted it ? Her answer was 
 emphatically, " No." This examination is upon record, and I 
 have a copy signed by Judge Trucco and Miss Gamble. It is, 
 therefore, clear as the sun at noon-day that Miss Gamble could 
 never have told the American editor, Thurlow Weed by name, 
 that I had administered chloroform once, and threatened to 
 repeat the attempt. This shameful libel is, therefore, fastened 
 
336 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 upon Mr. Weed of the Albany Journal, and he must expect to 
 answer for it in due course of law. 
 
 And yet, upon reflection, it seems strange what could have 
 prompted Mr. Weed to the invention of so injurious an allega 
 tion. The character and social position of this gentleman would 
 forbid the supposition that he was capable of so culpable an act. 
 A politician of great influence, a journalist of decided ability, 
 and a man of wide reputation, it seems incredible he could 
 have originated so cruel a slander, even if he had a desire to 
 disparage me, which could hardly be the case. Mr. Weed may 
 have been desirous to acquit Miss Gamble of blame and throw all 
 the discredit on me, but still I hesitate to believe that such a 
 man would employ a rank fabrication to accomplish an act of 
 gallantry. Mr. Weed was certainly guilty of an extreme unfair 
 ness in publishing the statement of Miss Gamble, whom he visited, 
 as he passed through Genoa, January, 51, without stopping to 
 hear the other side. It was his duty, as a conscientious journal 
 ist, to investigate the case fully before he lent his name and the 
 columns of his widely circulated journal, to representations 
 that might be exaggerated or false, as it has turned out. If he 
 feared to venture within the walls of my dreary prison, which, 
 however, would only have been an act of common charity, he 
 still might have obtained from my Consul, Dr. Baker, sufficient 
 information to convince him that the story he declares Miss 
 Gamble related to him was utterly at variance with the facts. 
 As the matter stands, I have been seriously damaged by the 
 fictitious details given by Mr. Weed of my courtship of Miss 
 Gamble, and still more by the chloroform story, which were copied 
 not only by the press of this country, but also very extensively by 
 that of England and France. It is due to myself and my 
 numerous friends, that I should endeavor to relieve my name 
 from these unfounded imputations, arid if it should appear that 
 Mr. Weed was made the unconscious instrument of Miss Gam- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 337 
 
 ble s thoughtless misrepresentations, then I will expect him, as un 
 upright man, and a true Christian, to give me the benefit of 
 such a declaration. Otherwise, public opinion will hold me jus 
 tifiable in seeking my vindication before the proper tribunal. 
 
 As to the London journal, the Daily News, which gave a 
 European circulation to this degrading accusation, I am quite 
 persuaded that it was duly inserted on the usual terms by 
 the enterprising employes of Miss Gamble, simply to destroy any 
 possible chance of public opinion returning to me. At all 
 events, I shall shortly call the manager of the Daily News 
 before a jury of his countrymen ; and I dare say some curious 
 disclosures will be the result. 
 
 To return to my prison. Midsummer had arrived, and more 
 than eight months had elapsed since my incarceration. My 
 weariness was extreme, and I had to struggle hard at times to 
 maintain my self-control against alternate attacks of fiery impa 
 tience and the dreariest despondency. To have given way to 
 either would only have aggravated my condition ; and, happily, 
 my reason was vigorous enough to resist the moral miasma 
 which frequently attacked, but failed to overcome it. 
 
 The courier, who was now a tenant of St. Andrea, bore his 
 mischance with commendable fortitude. I had him removed the 
 day after the trial from the Tower, where he was shut up in the 
 same cell with a dozen abandoned wretches, to my prison, and 
 to preserve him from the infection of bad company, I assigned to 
 him a corner of my room for his mattress. He reciprocated my 
 civility by making himself vastly useful ; and as he was not a 
 bad cook, he often succeeded in dispelling a fit of the blues by 
 improvising an omelet done to a turn ; or, at others, would stir 
 up my jaded appetite by a well-dressed salad, or some savory 
 addition to my dinner, in the selection of which Roquino had no 
 hand. The courier had provided himself with a battcrie 
 de cuisine, in the way of a charcoal furnace, and some earthen 
 
 15 
 
338 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 saucepans. It had " this extent, no more," and he used, to my 
 perplexity, to perform some singular feats of culinary legerde 
 main by boiling or roasting in the same vessel at will. As the 
 courier perceived that I relished his handiwork much more than 
 the anonymous artist employed by Roquino, he was glad enough 
 to pass two or three hours of his dull day in this interesting 
 occupation, which he carried on in the corridor where the dark 
 ness sadly disordered his mixtures. As cooking, or even fire, 
 was strictly against prison rule, some amusing scenes occasion 
 ally occurred through the courier s daily breach of discipline. 
 Roquino, as one of the guardians, was responsible for these 
 infractions, but as he drove a lively business by supplying the 
 raw material, he was far too obliging to interfere ; nay, he often 
 connived at them in standing by to praise the courier s skill, 
 which he inferred would meet its reward by a slice, or a share of 
 the feast preparing. It was a point of faith with Roquino never 
 to refuse anything, and what he could not put in his pocket lie 
 was happy to absorb in the usual way. Ifc sometimes happened 
 though, that just at the critical moment when dishing was to 
 commence, and Roquino s mouth was watering for the dainty 
 morsel he awaited, a note of alarm would be given that the 
 Director of the prison was coming to pay me a visit, which it 
 was his frequent custom to do. The confusion that ensued 
 was as indescribable as diverting. It was a matter of life and 
 death to Roquino that every sign and vestige of what had been 
 going on should disappear ; and as there were neither cupboards 
 nor other conveniences, the bewildered saucepans flew in every 
 direction, behind the door, under the bed, and sometimes out of 
 the window. All this was accomplished with such amazing 
 celerity, that, by the time the gentlemanly Director came, 
 bowing in with his Secretaries, there was nothing left but 
 the strong odors of the kitchen-crime just committed. The nose 
 of the Director was invariably astonished, but as " order reigned 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 339 
 
 in Warsaw," and there was not a spark of fire even to kindle a 
 supposition, he usually concluded that the atmosphere was 
 impregnated by the fumes of some adjoining cookshop, and it 
 was not my interest to enlighten him further. Such incidents, 
 however insignificant, helped to diversify the monotony of my dull 
 existence, and stirred up pleasant recollections of my University 
 days, where, also, life was a thing of regulation, and where 
 similar unrehearsed effects not unfrequently occurred. 
 
 The window of my cell looked out upon the principal entrance 
 to the prison, and, though it was a source of occupation, at 
 intervals, during the day, to gaze out upon the motley pano 
 rama passing before me, yet the sights were generally of 
 so painful a character as to repel me from their observation. 
 The commonest event all day long was the arrival and sortie of 
 prisoners, frequently in gangs, going to the galleys, and chained 
 together like so many wild beasts. But the most disagreeable 
 thing of all, perhaps, was the coming of the bon Dieu, as the 
 procession of priests that convey the sacrament to the dying is 
 called in Catholic countries. The chief hospital of all the pri 
 sons was attached to St. Andrea, and the consequence was, that 
 the Ion Dieu paid frequent visits to the establishment. The 
 time selected was generally after dark, in order that the effect 
 on the crowd, as it passed along the streets, might be more 
 imposing. The priest at the head carried a small bell which he 
 rang incessantly, and associated as was the sound with the 
 melancholy event it announced, the effect was anything but 
 pleasant ; another priest carried the Host, others incense, and 
 each bore a flaming torch which threw its lurid glare over the 
 group, whilst they chanted, with sepulchral voice, the dismal 
 dirge of the Miserere, which was taken up in chorus by the large 
 crowd that always followed this lugubrious cavalcade. When 
 the priests entered the prison to administer the last rites to the 
 dying felon, the crowd outside would fall upon their knees and 
 
3-10 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 repeat, with breathless volubility, the set prayers of the Church. 
 It was some time before I got used to this ; and nothing jarred 
 the nerves of the courier so much as the sharp tingling of that 
 death-bell. On one occasion of this sort I went over, accompa 
 nied by Roquino, to witness a Catholic ceremony I had never 
 seen. The hospital consisted of several apartments of large 
 size, and situated at the very top of the prison for the sake of a 
 free circulation. I entered the largest room a moment before 
 the priests arrived, and the dying man was pointed out to me. 
 It happened to be an assassin, under sentence of death, but he 
 cheated the scaffold, and anticipated the law. He was 
 propped up in his bed, and lay immovable. His black, 
 short hair stood bristling up as though in an agony of 
 remorse or fear. His face was ghastly pale, and his hollow 
 eye was fixed on vacancy. Anything more terrible than 
 the aspect of that dying cut-throat I never looked 
 upon. I posted myself right opposite to him as the chant 
 ing Fathers entered, to see if the ceremony had any visible 
 effect. A prayer or so was hastily mumbled over by the officiat 
 ing priest in front of an altar at one end of the room, when he 
 approached the bed of the sinking wretch to put the consecrated 
 wafer on his tongue ; he opened his mouth to receive it, but 
 gave no other sign of consciousness not a muscle moved, and 
 his glassy eye, that seemed as though bent on the terrors that 
 awaited him, remained fixed and glaring. The miserable crea 
 tures that were lying about, all appeared horror-struck at the 
 close proximity of death, and lay with their hands crossed over 
 their breasts, muttering fragments of prayer. I was glad 
 enough to get out of the place, and Roquino followed me with 
 extreme alacrity, for it was a sight, jailer as he was, he relished 
 as little as myself. 
 
 During July I was struck by the continually recurring visits 
 of the Ion Dieu and the consequent frequency of the funerals. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 341 
 
 By dint of pumping my vade mecum, I discovered that the small 
 pox had broken out in the prison, and was committing no small 
 ravage. Here was an event enough to appal the stoutest heart 
 and shake the strongest nerves. I had always held this odious 
 disease in especial horror ; and to find myself now tied, bear- 
 like, to a stake, and with " no flying hence or tarrying here," 
 was, certainly, a pull upon my philosophy that strained it to 
 the uttermost. Fortunately the pest abated as suddenly as it 
 came, and I breathed freer again. Misfortunes never come single ; 
 and I received at this time a pretty distinct intimation from 
 
 the Count de Y that I was likely to stay my time out. 
 
 This estimable nobleman had been exerting himself with much 
 zeal on my behalf, and that he found the obstacles to my pardon 
 very serious is evident from the positive manner in which he 
 expressed himself 
 
 " Chateau de 6fie&, 
 
 "July,lW2. 
 
 " HENRY WIKOFP, ESQ. 
 
 " DEAR SIR. I hasten to answer your esteemed letter of the 24th, and 
 I regret sincerely to learn that in addition to the ennui of imprisonment 
 you are suffering from an impaired vision, which curtails your reading, 
 the only resource that could minister to the sadness of your situation. 
 Patience, however, is a remedy for all evils, even for acts of the greatest 
 injustice, and ere this how many would have died of sorrow, if they had 
 not known how to employ it. I must continue to recommend it to you, 
 for all seems to conspire that you do not recover your liberty till the 
 expiration of the term. I always hoped much from the participation 
 of Miss Gamble in the efforts made by others in your favor j and I have 
 no doubt that if she had withdrawn her opposition, and accompanied it 
 with a recommendation to pardon, that you would immediately have felt 
 the benefit of it. But if she will not allow herself to be softened, and if 
 her animosity is carried so far as to refuse to unite with others to render 
 you free, then abandon all hope and give yourself up more and more to 
 that sentiment of patience of which I just now spoke. 
 
 " I am charmed to learn that you have found in the Baron de R a 
 
 consolation and an agrement j indeed, I know no one more capable than 
 
342 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 he of identifying himself with the sorrow of others, and of bringing them 
 relief when it is in his power to do so. He is the best of my friends and 
 one I esteem the most. 
 
 " Enfin, I regret sincerely that my country has been the theatre of so 
 sad an accident for you, and instead of the agreeable souvenirs you 
 would have carried away if the amiable Miss Gamble had been less 
 capricious, there will rest nothing for the rest of your life but a sad and 
 painful impression. I desire, nevertheless, that you should not hold it alto 
 gether responsible for your misfortune, but rather lay the blame on the 
 Ambassador of England at Turin, who certainly has played the most 
 important part in the prolongation of your captivity. 
 
 "Genoa, with its beautiful and sumptuous palaces ; with its magnificent 
 site, to which its noble bay lends so gay and lovely an aspect, would have 
 left in your mind the memory of a brilliant spectacle ; how different 
 from the contemplation of those damp and gloomy walls which now 
 inclose you. But the hour of deliverance will come, and then you will 
 doubly enjoy the ravishing sight of that splendid Gulf of Genoa, unless, 
 indeed, you hasten to fly from a country which has been so inhospitable for 
 you. Go, however, where you may, even to the most hideous land in the 
 world, with liberty for your companion, and it will appear like another 
 Eden, rejoicing your sight and refreshing your spirit, saddened and 
 depressed by so long and cruel an imprisonment. 
 
 "Receive, till then, my dear sir, the new assurances of my distinguished 
 consideration and most devoted sentiments. 
 
 I had reason to be flattered by the touching expressions of 
 sympathy and good-will from so distinguished a person ; and, in 
 truth, they fell like " the gentle rain from heaven " upon my dry 
 and withered hopes. I could not fail to be painfully affected by 
 the emphatic assertion of the Count de Y , that if Miss Gam 
 ble had withdrawn her opposition, and signed my petition for 
 pardon in the usual form, that my friends would have found one 
 obstacle the less in their way. The fact already stated is further 
 confirmed by the Count, that Miss Gamble s opposition was laid 
 hold of as a pretext by the English Ambassador at Turin, to 
 insist on the prolongation of my imprisonment. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 343 
 
 I was agreeably surprised one morning in the beginning of 
 August by the following note from my Consul 
 
 U. S. Conulate, 
 
 " Thursday. 
 
 " DEAR Sin. The Rev. Mr. Hastings, from Rome, is here, and wishes 
 me to tell you that our Charge d affaires at Rome, Mr. Cass, jun., has had 
 a long interview with the Pope on your case, and that his Holiness was 
 greatly amused at many of its details, and laughed heartily. He pro 
 mised, however, to write to Turin for you, and declared that your punish 
 ment was excessive for such a farce. Mr. Caps has been unable to write to 
 you, since he has been suffering for two months past from an attack of 
 ophthalmia. I will call on you this evening with the Rev. Mr. Hastings. 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " GEO. G. BAKER. 
 " H. WIKOFF, ESQ. 
 
 Little had I calculated on a lift from such a quarter as this. 
 My astonishment and pleasure were all the greater, as I had 
 never thought of writing to Mr. Cass, though a very old acquaint 
 ance. With that benevolence of character and strong American 
 sympathy which characterize him, no less than his distinguished 
 father, Gen. Cass, of TJ. S. Senate, my worthy Chargt at Rome 
 had been moved to his generous interposition simply by the 
 reports of American travellers as to the injustice and ill-treat 
 ment I had undergone. The Consul called as intimated, accom 
 panied by the reverend gentleman who had brought me such 
 pleasant intelligence. It appeared that his Holiness made right 
 merry with the subject which was, certainly, one that he had not 
 likely discussed before. It is not an occurrence of every day, 
 certes, that the august head of the Mother Church is called aside 
 from his spiritual cares to contemplate the vagaries of an impe 
 nitent from Portland Place, or the tribulations of an unbelieving 
 abductor. 
 
 What conclusion his Holiness drew from the relation of such 
 a history it is hard to say, but I venture to think it must have 
 
344 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 been one decidedly in favor of that decried institution of celi 
 bacy of which he is the living impersonation. It is not to be 
 wondered at that the novelty and absurdity of such mundane 
 weakness and folly should have provoked the mirth of the 
 solemn Pontiff, and it is equally natural that a confirmed bache 
 lor, as his Holiness needs must be, should jestingly, say, as was 
 reported to me, " that if the court really thought it necessary to 
 condemn him at all, that it would have been only just that Miss 
 Gamble should have been called upon to undergo half the sen 
 tence in the next cell to him." A Pyramus and Thisbe arrange 
 ment of this sort would have contributed materially to sooth 
 the ennui of my captivity. Seriously speaking, it was a proof 
 of the high consideration in which Mr. Cass must have been 
 b&ld in Rome, that the Holy Father was induced to interest him 
 self in the matter. All my countrymen in Italy at the time 
 considered I had been victimized by the British Consul at Genoa, 
 and Mr. Cass was strongly urged to exert himself in my favor. 
 The Pope, when appealed to, good-naturedly consented to do 
 what he could; and without stopping to inquire whether I was 
 Protestant or not, gave orders that his Nuncio at Turin should 
 be written to. It was remarkable that a favor should be asked 
 of the Sardinian Government when the relations of the two 
 Courts were so notoriously at variance, and the diplomatic influ 
 ence against me at Turin must have been strong indeed to war 
 rant its refusal. 
 
 It was not for want of American sympathy, and in the 
 highest quarters, that I was still detained at St. Andrea, for the 
 United States Envoys at Vienna and Berlin, when they heard 
 of the case, wrote to my Consul at Genoa that they had made 
 known to the Sardinian Minister at their respective Courts their 
 sentiments on the subject of my detention, and begged that they 
 should be communicated at Turin. It was, besides, a pro 
 found consolation under the circumstances, to receive so many 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 345 
 
 flattering proofs of good-will on the part of my countrymen 
 travelling in Italy, and not a week passed without my Con 
 sul bringing numbers of them to see me. It would be, 
 indeed, a grateful task to make public mention of the many 
 amiable persons who included me in their tour of sight 
 seeing at Genoa, and whose nerves were strong enough to 
 exchange a gorgeous picture-gallery for an interior view of a filthy 
 jail. Many came singly, still more in groups. I remember a 
 numerous deputation that called on me one day, headed by Alder 
 man Maynard, and Mr. Daniel Howard, of New York. Like all 
 the rest, they made merry at first with the oddity of my adven 
 ture, but when they came to find that I was really innocent of 
 any offence against law, or the lady, and that I was detained 
 in prison against the desire of the Sardinian government, but 
 at the peremptory demand of the English Ambassador at Turin, 
 their sympathy, not to say their indignation, was expressed in 
 unmistakable language. They were kind enough to send a peti 
 tion to Turin in my behalf, that shared the fate of all before it. 
 Petition after petition was forwarded time after time, to the 
 "United States Charge d j Affaires at Turin to exert himself more 
 actively in my favor ; for a rumor had got afloat that Mr. Kin- 
 ney was cowed by the opposition of the English Ambassador. 
 One of our steamers of war, the San Jacinto, came into port 
 during August, and her officers called frequently to see me 
 during their stay. The first lieutenant, Mr. Lanman, a very 
 intelligent and gentlemanly person, took much interest in my 
 case ; and before the vessel left Genoa, her Commander, Capt. 
 Crabbe, did me the favor to write, also, to the Charge at Turin, 
 to engage him to bestir himself in the matter. I relate these 
 incidents with great satisfaction, since they illustrate with what 
 laudible alacrity Americans ever make common cause with a fel 
 low-countryman in trouble, if his case is one to warrant it at all. 
 There were reports flying about at the end of the month that 
 15* 
 
346 MY c o u R T s n i p 
 
 my pardon would be granted in September. It is the custom in 
 Sardinia for the Government to issue a batch of pardons three 
 times in the course of the year, in honor of certain Church fetes, 
 and the individuals selected for these acts of clemency are those 
 whose cases seem the most entitled to them. It was supposed 
 by all parties, that my pardon would not be delayed beyond this 
 period; and my Consul informed me that Miss Gamble was 
 expected in Genoa the beginning of September, to lend her aid 
 in effecting my liberation. But it was like the aid expected by 
 " Sister Anne," who gazed so wistfully from Blue Beard s tower, 
 for it never came. Something like a dozen pardons were granted 
 at the usual epoch to various offenders in St. Andrea, and among 
 them, to several who had been guilty of homicide, and were 
 under sentence for several years each; but my jest with Miss 
 Gamble seems to have been regarded as a much more heinous 
 crime! I was told by some friends that Miss Gamble and others 
 continued their opposition, lest my pardon should be construed 
 into a sign that I had not deserved a condemnation. Thus, to 
 deepen such a conviction in the public mind, I was to be com 
 pelled to drag out to the last hour the shameful penalty inflicted 
 on me. It really often happens, as the bard says, that 
 
 " deeds bad begun 
 Make strong themselves by ill." 
 
 I remember one night, about the middle of September, just as 
 I was going to bed, Colombo came up to beg me to bestow my 
 hospitality on an unfortunate who had just been brought into 
 prison. He declared him to be a gentleman, and that his offence 
 was simply applying his cane too abruptly to some scamp who 
 had insulted him in the street. Colombo appealed to my sym 
 pathies, and reminded me that he had no place in his establish 
 ment where he could bestow a person of the least respectability. 
 Before committing myself, I went down to inspect the party in 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 841 
 
 question, and found that he was, in fact, a French gentleman of 
 high standing, who had instinctively resented a gross insult from 
 some varlet, when he was laid hold of by the police, and after 
 the custom of this blessed town, was at once carried off to 
 prison. His consternation at being obliged to abandon his wife, 
 with whom he was walking home at the time, and to take up 
 his abode at near midnight in St. Andrea, was depicted strongly 
 in his face when I encountered him. I readily offered him the 
 shelter of my room, which I was occupying alone at the time 
 (having sent the courier up stairs for refractory conduct) ; and I 
 
 need hardly say, that M. J e was quite delighted to accept 
 
 it. To express the keen enjoyment I found in the society of this 
 charming person for the three or four days he was obliged to 
 pass in my prison, would seem like exaggeration to those who 
 have never been cut off from the society of persons of their own 
 condition. The French are proverbially polite and agreeable, 
 
 but M. J e was a person of highly cultivated taste, refined 
 
 manners, and accustomed to the society of litterateurs and poli 
 ticians of the best stamp. His conversation, therefore, over 
 flowed with graphic description, and sparkling anecdote, which 
 were conveyed with that facility and elegance of expression that 
 make an educated Frenchman the model of talkers. Under 
 ordinary circumstances, his delightful gossip would have been 
 attractive, but after the long abeyance in which I had lived, I 
 actually luxuriated in it as though in a voluptuous bath, where 
 every faculty was stimulated into unnatural activity, and every 
 sense steeped in delicious enjoyment. Whilst the fascination 
 endured my filthy prison seemed converted into a fairy island; 
 
 and when the exit of M. J e recalled me again to the 
 
 coarse realities about me, I felt refreshed and strengthened by the 
 momentary escape of my mind from the sad and gloomy thoughts 
 that usually absorbed it. The moment his situation became 
 known to his distinguished friends at Genoa he was freed 
 
348 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 "durance vile;" but, fortunately for me, it was three days and 
 upwards before the necessary formalities could be got through. 
 St. Andrea, I found vastly resembled the lion s mouth in the 
 fable. Nothing was easier than to get into it; the difficulty 
 was to get out again. I was fortunate enough to preserve the 
 acquaintance so singularly formed, and I was indebted to M 
 J e for many succeeding acts of kindness. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 IT would be anything but a welcome spectacle to raise the 
 veil on the " secrets of my prison house." It would form a 
 strange pendant to the beginning of this story to relate all the 
 hideous things I was compelled to witness and endure ; 
 but now and then an incident occurred that may be told 
 without jarring the nerves or shocking the tastes of my 
 readers. 
 
 Towards the end of December a young man, a Swiss by birth, 
 was thrown into prison for some trivial offence, in which, I 
 believe, a woman was concerned as often happens in the 
 scrapes that man is heir to. There was some mystery connected 
 with his previous career that he did not choose to dispel. His 
 body was covered all over in the most frightful manner with 
 scars of every description, consisting of sabre-cuts, bayonet- 
 wounds, -and here and there the indentation of a bullet. He 
 briefly stated that he had received them in various battles 
 in which he had been engaged, but refused to enter into any 
 details. The probability is, he had taken an active part in some 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 349 
 
 of the revolutionary attempts of the last few years, and feared 
 to commit himself by giving more precise information. For two 
 or three days after his arrest he was silent and gloomy., but 
 wept frequently. Now and then he expressed an agonizing 
 sense of shame at his unfortunate position, and declared that if 
 he were not set free he would seek some speedy means of death. 
 Constant watch was kept on him, but at length he refused to 
 eat, and said his fixed intention was to die by starvation. 
 Great efforts were made to reason him out of this madness, but 
 in vain ; he was visited by all the officials of the prison, and 
 food of the best description was kept always before him, in the 
 hope that nature would at last get the better of his resolution. 
 " Let me go," was his frequent exclamation, " or I am resolved 
 to die." The director of the prison came to expostulate with 
 him ; and then the Fiscal Advocate, who promised an early 
 investigation of his offence and great indulgence. Every 
 resource failed, and he was losing strength so rapidly, from 
 having gone near three days without any nourishment, that he 
 was carried up to the hospital, where it was feared he would 
 not survive long. Nothing occurred in the prison, of any 
 interest, that was not duly reported to me by my general 
 purveyor, Roquino ; and I was therefore furnished with fre 
 quent intelligence of this singular case. My interest naturally 
 deepened as the chances of a fatal result grew hourly more 
 probable. 
 
 Learning, at last, that the poor wretch was beginning to 
 swoon away, and would likely soon fall into a state of insensi 
 bility from which he would never recover, I determined to make 
 an effort to save him. I so declared myself to Roquino, but 
 without further explanation. I bid him to go and set him up at 
 a table, and to put some good wine before him ; and to order, 
 meanwhile, a bowl of chicken-broth. He started off to carry 
 out my suggestions, for so desperate was the case that they 
 
350 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 were anxious to try anything ; besides, my standing with the 
 authorities of the prison was such as to ensure my request being 
 complied with. I had settled in niy head upon a simple expe 
 dient, and I proceeded to carry it out. Diving, for the first 
 time, into the recesses of my portmanteau, I drew forth my dain 
 tiest articles of dress. I made my toilette as effective as possible, 
 and was just sticking my best pin into a showy scarf, when 
 Koquino came back to say all had been done as I had ordered. 
 He was surprised at the metamorphosis in my appearance in so 
 brief an interval, and gave way to no small admiration for my 
 patent-leathers, and the unexceptionable cut of my garments. 
 
 " Why, one would think, Monseigneur," as he used to style 
 me, " that you were going to pay a visit to the Intendente." 
 
 " I am going to employ my time still better, I hope," was my 
 reply, "so conduct me to the hospital." 
 
 " What ! you have not dressed yourself in that way merely 
 to go and see the Swiss ?" exclaimed the puzzled porte-clefs. 
 
 " You will see that directly. But hurry along," I said impa 
 tiently, "lest it be too late." 
 
 " O/i, le mal/ieureux . " cried Roquino, whose feelings were 
 really touched, " he is getting so weak that they are obliged to 
 prop him up in the chair ; he will not last much longer." 
 
 After a long circuit through winding corridors and intermina 
 ble staircases, I reached the hospital, and near the door was 
 seated the unfortunate object of my solicitude. He was quite 
 young, and good looking, with a certain military air about him. 
 His head reclined on his breast, and his whole frame gave signs 
 of utter exhaustion. Several of the jailers were standing round, 
 regarding him with looks of commiseration ; and Colombo, 
 with the Commandante of the Genoese prisons, was also pre 
 sent. As I entered, these persons raised their caps and saluted 
 me with much courtesy. The movement attracted the atten 
 tion of the sufferer, and he raised his head. From my showy 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 351 
 
 appearance, and the manner I purposely assumed, he mistook me 
 for some person of consequence, and he attempted to get up, 
 but fell immediately to the floor from weakness. He was picked 
 up and put in his chair again. I affected to take no notice of 
 his condition whatever. 
 
 " Eh lien, mon brave," I said in French, and seating myself 
 gaily at the table before him. " I have come to take a glass 
 of wine with you, and to congratulate myself on having a com 
 panion in misfortune. It is not the pleasantest place in the 
 world this prison of St. Andrea ; and a little good company is 
 a great improvement. I am sorry to hear you are not well ; but 
 when you get your appetite back again, come over and dine with 
 me. I am sure the Commandante here will make no objection. 
 Eh, Signer Commandante T 
 
 11 Certainly not, Signor Wikoff," replied that sagacious officer, 
 who detected my game and humored it. 
 
 The effect of my words, manner, and appearance on the poor 
 creature before me was curious and indescribable. Amazement 
 and incredulity by turns flitted over his intelligent face, and he 
 gazed at me in utter bewilderment. I went on talking in the 
 same easy, pleasant strain. 
 
 " Why, one would think from the way you stare, mon jeune 
 sabreur, that you have some doubt whether I am a prisoner here 
 or not. However, you can settle that point by asking Colombo, 
 or il Signor Commandante, how many months I have been here, 
 and how many more I expect to stay. I don t know what 
 brought you here, but when I tell you my story, you ll see 
 how little I deserve it. What do you say to that, Comman 
 dante ?" 
 
 Signor Paretto was obliged to laugh in earnest at my abrupt 
 appeal ; but he declared, in good faith, as he had often done 
 before, that if ever there was a hard case it was mine. 
 
 I could see by the change in the face and manner of the 
 
352 MY COURTS ii IP ; 
 
 sufferer that a few moments had sufficed to revolutionize his 
 mind and feelings. Here was he, from an exaggerated sense of 
 degradation, resolved upon self-destruction ; and before him sat 
 a person beyond doubt, his superior in life who had been for 
 months a prisoner, and yet who treated the matter with good- 
 humored unconcern. His strong emotions revealed themselves 
 in tears. I saw his resolution was broken, and that something 
 like shame and repentance were succeeding. 
 
 "The worst of it is," I continued, addressing him as before, 
 " you are not, I learn, likely to stay here long ; so let us have 
 a glass of wine together, and drink to better luck here 
 after." 
 
 I filled up whilst talking, and was secretly agitated lest he 
 would refuse ; for if my ruse miscarried he was destined to 
 perish. With almost an air of authority I handed him the glass, 
 and taking up mine I said : 
 
 " Here s to the lass we love best," and I waited till he drank 
 first. 
 
 With a faint smile he put the wine to his lips and 
 swallowed it. 
 
 " Bravo," said the Commandante, patting him on the back 
 and nodding his head exultingly at me, " Bravo ! but you must 
 drink a glass with me now." 
 
 " Of course," I said, " he will be proud to drink with the 
 Commandante." 
 
 I filled up, and he drank again. 
 
 At this moment the broth I had ordered was opportunely 
 brought in. I pushed it carelessly before him, and said : 
 
 " Go on eating ; I can talk just as well. That broth looks 
 inviting. Let me have your opinion of it," and I handed him 
 the spoon. 
 
 So complete an ascendancy had I gained over him, that he 
 obeyed me mechanically. He began to eat. After two or 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 353 
 
 three mouthfuls, raising his head, whilst an expression of intense 
 animal delight overspread his face, he cried : 
 
 " Oh, my God ! it is so good it is so good." 
 
 Some wine was poured into the broth by one of the hospital 
 attendants, who suggested, after he had eaten it, that he should 
 lie down. I rose, and saying if he were not well enough to come 
 and see me for a day or two, I should not fail to visit him, and 
 have a chat. I offered him my hand, which he seized, and pas 
 sionately kissed before I could withdraw it. He spoke with 
 great effort, but uttered some touching expressions of his grati 
 tude, for he seemed to understand my motive. I called to see 
 him several times afterwards, till I was sure he had abandoned 
 his mad intention, and he always expressed his unbounded thank 
 fulness. He was aware of the difference in our conditions, and 
 that I did not really seek his companionship. This singular inci 
 dent reconciled me more to my imprisonment than before, for 
 much as I had suffered, I felt consoled to think I had been instru 
 mental in saving the life of this foolish youth. 
 
 During the slow progress of my probation, the Marquis de 
 Cavour, from a goodness of heart that beggars all acknowledg 
 ment on my part, continued to write to me, and to sustain my 
 fortitude by the flattering expression of his sympathy, whilst 
 his lucid and comprehensive disquisitions on abstruse subjects 
 instructed as much as they interested me. It often busied my 
 mind for a week or two, which was, doubtless, his benevolent 
 purpose, to prepare a reply to him. I wish I had space for all 
 of his remarkable letters literature would gain by it ; but I 
 must limit myself to giving only one more that I received about 
 this time. I must repeat that the vigor of the original is neces 
 sarily impaired by translation. 
 
 " Turin, Sept. 1852. 
 
 " DEAR SIR I have already been three times to our Chamber of Depu 
 ties, taking with me the paper you sent, which I wished to put into the 
 
354 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 hands of the new Minister, the Chevalier Boncompagni ; but he has not 
 appeared at the Chamber for several days past, being detained by press 
 ing business. Nevertheless, in one way or another, I shall manage to 
 see him shortly, when I will speak to him of your matter with all the 
 interest with which it inspires me. On this point I can only refer you to 
 my preceding letters, assuring you that I should esteem myself happy if 
 I could shorten the term of your painful probation by what little influence 
 I may possess. 
 
 " I thank you for what you write respecting my brother. I could not 
 but approve his resolution to leave the Ministry the moment his col 
 leagues threw obstacles in the path that he had purposed following, 
 and which to him seemed the best adapted to the interests of our 
 country. 
 
 " It is permitted to seek political power as a means of serving the cause 
 of justice and humanity ; this is honorable and legitimate. But those who 
 aim at political power as an absolute end. are egregiously deceived as to 
 the destiny of man on this earth, and prepare for themselves bitter dis 
 appointments. 
 
 " You demand in your last letter whether I think that politics can ever 
 be reduced to a science ; you touch also upon another question still more 
 important, relative to the connection that may exist between religion, 
 morality, and politics. 
 
 " These are subjects upon which I often reflect. On some points I have 
 settled convictions, on others I do not yet see clear. 
 
 " Being at this time much occupied, I cannot write to you at length ; I 
 will, however, jot down at the end of this letter some of my ideas. As 
 the subject interests you, you can, after the close of the session, put me 
 such questions in regard to it as you may think proper, and I will endea 
 vor to reply to them in detail. 
 
 "Meanwhile, accept, I pray you, sir, the expression of my distinguished 
 sentiments, and my hearty sympathy. 
 
 " G. DE CAVOUR." 
 
 "THOUGHTS ON POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 " I. Man receives the first elements of his knowledge from experience. 
 Experience itself results from the observation of certain facts that we wit 
 ness, and which are comprehended in the term phenomena. But the 
 human mind looks eagerly beyond these phenomena for that which it calls 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 355 
 
 the laws of phenomena; that is to say, certain constant and invariable 
 rules by which the phenomena are accomplished. 
 
 " II. The human mind is so constituted that it ever seeks to find these 
 fitfed laws forming the basis of all phenomena ; and the great facts of 
 natural order appear to it mysterious and inexplicable, until they are 
 traced to these laws. 
 
 " III. Among English writers Reid and Dugald Stewart have the most 
 clearly expressed the important and characteristic fact that man possesses 
 a natural and instinctive belief in the stability of the primordial laws of 
 nature. .They have also proved that this belief could not be derived from 
 experience ; but, on the contrary, that experience is possible only because 
 man believes instinctively ia the stability of nature s laws, and conse 
 quently reasons from the past to the future. 
 
 " IV. The knowledge of the laws of nature, constant and permanent, 
 ia the proposed object of science. Phenomena, simply observed but not 
 yet determined by immutable laws, are objects of interest and curiosity, 
 though not of science. 
 
 "V. In natural and physical sciences, the greatest of all discoveries 
 according to general opinion, was that of Newton discovering the law of 
 universal attraction. This sublime discovery has given to astronomy the 
 character of a positive science. 
 
 "VI. The phenomena of social and political order are more complex 
 than those of nature ; and it appears difficult to discover among them 
 those permanent laws which are the elements of a science. Nevertheless, 
 the human mind instinctively searches for such laws, and no one has the 
 right to say that its efforts in that direction will always of necessity 
 remain unrewarded. 
 
 "VII. For more than a century profound thinkers have clearly 
 explained and brought to light certain laws which their intelligence dis 
 covered in the social phenomena, and particularly in economy. Thus 
 Adam Smith has established with sufficient precision for science, that the 
 regulating principle of commercial values is a tendency to equilibrium 
 between want and supply ; and this is a truth added to science. In like 
 manner several English writers, of whom Ricardo is the most celebrated, 
 have constructed with scientific precision that which is called the theory 
 of the rent ; and here again science is benefited by fresh truths. Finally, 
 Malthus, in his celebrated work on population, has, in the midst, of some 
 paradoxes, proclaimed a scientific theory which at the present day is not 
 contested. In consequence of these different works, political economy in 
 
356 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 some of its facts has acquired the character of a science ; and in the late 
 treatises on this subject, as those of Mr. Senior and Mr. Mill, the younger, 
 this character is manifest and incontestible. 
 
 " VIII. We are more in arrears in politics, properly so called, or in {he 
 science of good government. Still, in this also, we may hope to make 
 useful progress. The essays you have published on this subject suggest 
 reflections that may lead to positive results. 
 
 "The continuation on another occasion. 
 
 " G. DE C." 
 
 It will be observed that the Marquis still talks of my pardon, 
 not that, in reality, he supposed it probable; but that he 
 humanely sought to foster my hopes in order to diminish my 
 anxiety. He alludes, also, to his brother, the Count de Cavour, 
 leaving the Cabinet ; but it was soon found that his place could 
 not be supplied, and he was recalled, and put at the head of the 
 Ministry, where he has since rendered great services to his 
 country and to Italy. 
 
 A piece of good fortune befell me in October, by the entree 
 into St. Andrea of one of the gayest and most amusing persons 
 I ever met. He was a merchant of Genoa, and accused of some 
 offence against a rival in trade. He was a Piedmontese ; but 
 having been born on the French frontier, he had all the vivacity 
 and wit of that charming nation whose language he spoke like a 
 native. He begged hard to be admitted to my room, and I was 
 sorry to refuse ; but I had allowed the courier to resume his old 
 corner after the wholesome discipline of a couple of months up 
 stairs, and his services were really necessary to my comfort. 
 He kept my den in admirable order, and carried on a deadly 
 warfare with the swarming vermin that would otherwise have 
 
 eaten me up. Poor M. R was, therefore, obliged to cast 
 
 his tent amongst the " outsiders " in the menagerie I have before 
 alluded to ; but he passed no small portion of his time chez moi, 
 where he was always welcome. He was more entertaining than 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 357 
 
 Bini, though less interesting than M. J e. Not so bois 
 terous as the first, and not at all distingue like the latter, but 
 he had merits of his own. He sung well, and though not scien 
 tific, he had a correct ear and retentive memory. There was 
 not a favorite air of any opera that he didn t know by heart. 
 He abounded in anecdote, more remarkable, perhaps, for point 
 than propriety. In fine, nothing escaped him from which he 
 could extract the least diversion ; and, wiser than Midas, he 
 turned everything he touched into fun. He was the very anti 
 podes to sentimentality of any kind, and had he been boiled to a 
 jelly, and strained afterwards, I don t think that a particle of 
 seriousness would have been found in his composition. He 
 made up for all deficiencies, however, by an overflowing good 
 nature. He was always ready with a civility or a jest. 
 Though fifty-eight years of age, he had the activity of mind and 
 body of a youth of twenty. He had travelled a good deal, and 
 picked up not a few racy adventures by the way. The advent 
 of another Yorick like this, with his " gibes and flashes of mer 
 riment," it may be supposed, descended upon me, after eleven 
 months imprisonment, with the reviving effects of " manna in 
 the wilderness." Though I had little in common with his 
 character, and was occasionally disconcerted at his boundless 
 levity, still my spirits were refreshed and my mind newly strung 
 by living in daily contact with this incarnation of mirth, whose 
 Ion-mots and playful conceits were constantly popping and effer 
 vescing like a whole battery of unmanageable soda-bottles. No 
 sooner was my breakfast over, than, pushing my door open, he 
 would be seen standing in its frame in some comical attitude, 
 not unfrequently with one leg and his arms in the air, like an 
 opera-dancer. His face full of humor, and his keen little eyes 
 sparkling with animation, he would break out into one of his 
 favorite ditties ; 
 
358 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Co n est pas rna faute, 
 Si je suis aimable, 
 C est la nature, 
 Qu est coupable." 
 
 Joining heartily in the merriment this droll apparition would 
 naturally provoke, he would then come forward and pass the 
 salutations of the morning. I owe many a pleasant moment to 
 this sportive soul, who contributed greatly to sooth and relieve 
 the final months of my imprisonment. 
 
 During the same month another prisoner came in, of great 
 respectability. He had been for thirty odd years an officer of 
 the army, and was now engaged in journalism. He was con 
 demned to six months incarceration for making too free in his 
 comments on the " Powers that be." He was sixty-eight years 
 of age, and in delicate health, and had, therefore, the favor 
 allowed him of living alone in a cell considerably worse than 
 mine. This state of things is not very creditable to the Consti 
 tutional Government of Sardinia. 
 
 It was impossible to conceive a contrast more striking than 
 .between the grave and somewhat severe character of this old 
 
 officer, and the rollicking, farcical disposition of M. R . 
 
 The first held a joke in abomination, and the other worshipped 
 it as the essence of wisdom. They naturally recoiled from each 
 other at the first glance, whereas I found matter in both for 
 interest and amusement. 
 
 It soon turned out that the old militaire was fond of a game 
 
 of chess ; so, after dinner, when M. R had sung all his 
 
 snatches, and exhausted his puns, he would give way to his dig 
 nified opponent, whom he profanely dubbed " Old Cattolic6," 
 and I consumed two or three hours agreeably enough at 
 chess. 
 
 I had a great loss this month in the departure of my Consul 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 359 
 
 on a tour to the East. Up to the last moment he had continued 
 his attentions, and neglected no means to alleviate my condition. 
 The day before he left he paid me a long visit, and displayed 
 the most affectionate anxiety for my well-being during his pro 
 posed absence. He was, as I have said, in communication with 
 a correspondent of Miss Gamble s at Genoa, and gave me some 
 late tidings of her. 
 
 " Miss Gamble has returned to Italy," he said, " from her trip 
 to Germany, and is on her way to Rome for a month or so, and 
 goes thence to Naples." 
 
 " She is a woman of system, I see," was my reply ; " and 
 carries out her projects of travel without giving herself the least 
 concern for the luckless mortal she has consigned to limbo. 
 There is no reason, however, she should not amuse herself, and I 
 am glad to learn she is doing so." 
 
 " I have heard also," remarked the Consul, " that she talks of 
 returning to Genoa by the time you are set free." 
 
 "What can be her object?" I asked in surprise. *"If she 
 expects me to abduct her again," I added, smiling, "she will 
 find herself mistaken. I should run, I verily believe, from the 
 sight of her." 
 
 "Indeed !" exclaimed the Consul, laughing ; "why, I hear 
 she is as much afraid of you, and would like, of all things, to 
 come to some friendly understanding. She has behaved badly 
 enough, it is true, but you must learn, in the Christian spirit, to 
 forget and forgive." 
 
 "Miss Gamble, surely, can have no fears," I observed, " that 
 I should molest her in any improper way, else she underrates 
 my self-respect as well as my deference for her sex. It costs me 
 no effort to forget and forgive, as you suggest, my Consul ; and, 
 iu defending myself hereafter against the slanderous attacks 
 that have been made on me, I shall exercise the utmost forbear 
 ance towards her. What more can she demand P 
 
360 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 u Nothing, truly, in reason," declared the Consul ; " but I 
 know what she would like." 
 
 "If in reason, I will try to oblige her." 
 
 " She would like you, then, to make no statement at all," con 
 tinued the Consul ; " and to let the matter drop. She will agree 
 to make you a pecuniary compensation for what you have suf 
 fered. The fact is, she will give you a considerable sum, as I am 
 informed." 
 
 " If that proposition comes from Miss Gamble," I returned, 
 not a little stung by the insult, " it only lowers her in my esteem. 
 It proves she mistakes my character, or overrates the attractions 
 of her purse. No ! if she thinks that I hare been wronged, let 
 her make a fair acknowledgment in words not pounds. If she 
 has any favor to ask, let it be in the name of her family, whom I 
 loved, and even in memory of her broken vows. I am vulnerable to 
 sentiment, but not to silver, Consul, even in considerable sums. " 
 
 "I shall so report," returned the Consul, satisfied at my 
 decision, " and I must applaud your language. However, let us 
 hope all will yet end pleasantly. When you see Miss Gamble 
 again, I dare say she will obtain as much as you ought to yield." 
 
 " I will never yield the right to vindicate myself." 
 
 " Well, I must say good-by," declared my friend, as he rose, 
 and extended his hand. " You have only four months more, and 
 if the embargo is not taken off, you must try to struggle through 
 it." 
 
 " Never fear, my dear Consul," I exclaimed, " I have supped 
 full of horrors/ it is true, but I shall not despair now that the 
 worst is over. I grieve at your loss ; but I am almost glad 
 not to add further to the vast obligations I owe you." 
 
 " I am sorry to leave you in this shocking place," he replied, 
 hurrying away, "but be consoled, for the end is not far off." 
 
 It will be seen from the above conversation that Miss Gamble 
 was anxious to stave off the public explanation, she knew I con- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 861 
 
 templated, by an offer of money. I may say this was not the 
 first intimation of the sort, nor the last. I was told previously 
 to this, on good authority, that if I would bind myself to leave 
 Europe for some years, and make no publication whatever, that 
 I might obtain my pardon, and a large sum of money. 
 
 My reply was simply this, " If I had committed an act that 
 compromised my honor, I would, perhaps, accept such proposi 
 tions ; but an indiscretion like mine will be overlooked when 
 once explained. I decline, therefore, both pardon and money on 
 the terms proposed." 
 
 From this renewal of the money-offer through my Consul, as 
 just shown, it is evident that Miss Gamble put great faith in the 
 efficacy of a golden remedy, even for so sore a case as mine. 
 Her notions of honor seemed of that practical kind that the 
 valiant Falstaff entertained " What is honor ? a word. What 
 is in that word ? honor ?" 
 
 To be sure, in this material age of ours, a sentimental view of 
 things is apt to savor of the ridiculous, and the current coin is 
 often found to be a sovereign panacea for wounds and bruises to 
 mind and body. But every one has a weakness of his own ; 
 and, without meaning any disrespect to Miss Gamble or her 
 check, I preferred a thousand times to forego them both 
 than to forfeit the fair report of the world. This was my view 
 from first to last, as my Consul is my witness. 
 
 The departure of this estimable man from Genoa was a great 
 deprivation, for his visits and sympathy were always cheering 
 and consoling. My mishap cost him in all a deal of trouble ; 
 but his kindness never relaxed or tired in its current. To have 
 done far less would have" far exceeded the largest notions of 
 duty, and I can attribute, therefore, the vast surplus only to 
 the inspirations of an inexhaustible humanity. I would be the 
 most ungrateful of men not to make this public avowal of my 
 gratitude, since no other acknowledgment is possible. 
 
 16 
 
362 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 ST. ANDREA. 
 
 TIME rolled on, and I ventured to count, by weeks, the inter 
 val that still separated me from the bustling world without. 
 How I longed to revisit it again, and every day s experience of 
 my horrible abode only kindled more fiercely my aspirations to 
 mingle with my fellows, and to escape from the contamination 
 that surrounded me. I have all along avoided giving any offen 
 sive views of the world of crime I lived in, but which painted in 
 the sombre colors of reality could not fail to be repulsive. I 
 have rather sought to beguile my reader with here and there a 
 passing glimpse of such phases of life in a common Italian jail, 
 as honest people might look on, and not be appalled. 
 
 Were it not foreign to my purpose, I could many a tale 
 unfold, that if it did not freeze the young blood, or harrow up 
 the soul, would at all events cast Madame Tassaud s " Chamber 
 of Horrors " into the shade. 
 
 To describe such things would be an offensive task, and 
 even less painful for others to peruse than for me to recall. I 
 would not have it thought that I am trifling with the sympa 
 thies of any one, or seeking to give a darker tint to my condi 
 tion than it really wore. It were easy to defend myself from 
 such a suspicion ; and I will go so far as to relate one out of 
 many scenes that may appear tame enough in description, but 
 that an eye-witness is not likely to forget. 
 
 One of the most intolerable sensations I experienced at St. 
 Andrea arose from the fact, that I was living under the same 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 363 
 
 I 
 
 roof with several assassins condemned to death. I did yearn 
 most earnestly to get out of the place before the prepara 
 tions for their execution began, but it turned out otherwise. 
 
 In the month of November, I think, an order came for the 
 hanging of a wretch by name of Abo. He had killed a woman 
 he cohabited with, under circumstances of great atrocity. He 
 went one night to the house where she lived as a servant, and, 
 after supping with her gaily, they went to bed together ; during 
 the night he murdered her, and robbed the house. He was 
 twice tried for the crime, and twice condemned. He had been 
 lying at St. Andrea for some months awaiting his death- 
 warrant, and at last it came. 
 
 It is the custom in Genoa, and in Italy, generally, to give 
 twenty-four hours notice to a condemned criminal of his intended 
 execution, and he is required to pass this interval in the chapel 
 of the prison, when he is exhorted to confession. At St. 
 Andrea there was a large room on the ground-floor employed 
 for this purpose, though usually occupied by prisoners : at day 
 break, on the occasion in question, they were huddled elsewhere, 
 and the necessary arrangements made for the gloomy ceremony 
 to ensue. 
 
 An altar-piece of some pretension was erected at one end of 
 the room ; two high windows on either side were hung with 
 curtains ; table and chairs were brought in ; and a bed for 
 the criminal, if he had the nerve to sleep, was placed in one 
 corner. 
 
 When all was ready, Colombo and assistants went to the cell 
 of Abo, to read the order for his execution the ensuing morning 
 at six o clock, and this done, he was bid to come down to the 
 chapel. Roquino, of course, was in the group that attended 
 Colombo, and he told me, that on entering his cell, Abo was 
 deep in sleep. He awoke to hear his death-knell. For a few 
 moments he was much moved, and wept, but then got up 
 
364 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 quietly, and followed to the chapel. Several priests were 
 in waiting to receive him, and the business of the day, so 
 to speak, commenced ; for up to this time the assassin had con 
 stantly persisted in his innocence. 
 
 It is a vital point with the priests, on occasions like these, to 
 obtain a confession, not with a view merely to justify the law, 
 but that no Catholic may seem to set the Church at defiance. 
 
 I remarked on the morning in question that no work was 
 going on in the shops in my corridor, and that an unusual silence 
 pervaded the prison, and, on demanding the reason, Roquino 
 informed me that Abo was in the chapel, and gave me the details 
 I have related. 
 
 On a day like this no one was allowed to leave his cell, and 
 no visitor was permitted to enter the prison. The most perfect 
 order and silence was preserved, that the mind of the condemned 
 might not be disturbed in his holy meditations. As I was 
 treated as a sort of privileged person, Roquino said, if I wished 
 it, I would be allowed to see what was going on, and he offered 
 to post me in Colombo s bed-room, whence a complete view of 
 the chapel was had through a small window in the wall. It was, 
 certainly, a spectacle that had no charms for me. To contem 
 plate a murderer, under ordinary circumstances, would have 
 filled me with a keen repugnance ; but to look upon him at the 
 moment when the glave of the law was ready to descend upon 
 him ; to see him standing with one foot in the grave that 
 yawned wider and wider with every succeeding hour ; this was 
 an exhibition that many an amateur would have paid liberally 
 to enjoy, but which, I confess, I felt strongly disposed to recoil 
 from. Still, I determined to accept Roquino s proposition ; for, 
 though I should have blamed myself to have gone in search of 
 such a show, from that morbid curiosity so commonly indulged, 
 yet as it was my fate to be brought into immediate contact with 
 such a scene, it seemed something like shrinking from the ordeal 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 365 
 
 I was called to undergo, to refuse to witness it. About noon, 
 therefore, I accompanied Roquino to the position offered me, and 
 it was admirably adapted to the purpose. 
 
 Seated at a small window, a foot square, I had a commanding 
 view of the large room already described. Behind a table, and 
 directly opposite the altar, upon which numerous candles were 
 burning, sat the miserable wretch who was so soon to expiate 
 his crime. On either side of him were seated several priests, 
 who conversed with him from time to time in an under tone, 
 urging him to confess and repent. On the table lay an engrav 
 ing of the crucifixion, and a small bronze sculpture of the same 
 subject. Ever and anon one of the priests would offer one or the 
 other of these sacred objects to the criminal to kiss, which he 
 would apply calmly to his lips, and lay it down again. He 
 appeared about forty years of age, of short stature, and ordi 
 nary make. His features were regular ; his eyes dark and of 
 singular expression. Nothing could be more placid than his 
 fa^e, and resignation seemed to wrap him round like a mantle. 
 Still, there was a restlessness in his keen eye that made me doubt 
 this outward seeming. A close observer might detect, also, in 
 his physiognomy the subtlety of his character and the treachery 
 of his disposition. I was convinced that his mild and almost 
 devotional demeanor was merely assumed to conciliate the reve 
 rend Fathers around him, and to enhance the value of his con 
 tinued assertions of innocence. So deep in some natures is the 
 love of hypocrisy, that the terrors of death cannot expel it from 
 their breasts. This unhappy wretch might have known that his 
 fate was sealed, still he hoped to cheat it by wanton deceit and 
 useless falsehood. It became, at length, a subject of painful 
 curiosity to see how long he would keep up the game he was 
 playing. The experienced Roquino had informed me that it 
 was common enough for all the condemned, when in the chapel, to 
 begin the day by declaring their innocence ; but as hours sped 
 
366 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 on, they invariably lost resolution, and gave way to tears, 
 remorse, and penitence. 
 
 " 11 rcsiste bien," he remarked, as he came in now and then to 
 take a glance at Abo, " he holds up well, but that will not last 
 much longer." 
 
 Besides the priests, who went in and out in great numbers, 
 and who seemed, if I might say so, like so many spiritual birds 
 of prey hovering round the condemned, ready to pounce upon 
 his soul, if he could be brought to give it up ; besides these I 
 repeat, several members of the Misericordia dropped in during 
 the day to see if the wants of the criminal were properly sup 
 plied. (A charitable association under this title exists through 
 out Italy, and addresses itself entirely to the relief of the bas 
 peuple, or lowest class. In Sardinia they share with the State 
 the management of the prisons, and by personal superintendence 
 see that the prisoners are properly treated and duly nourished. 
 This society consists in every case of the nobility ; and their 
 benevolent solicitude for the poor, and even the criminal, has 
 naturally a conciliating and beneficial effect on their inferiors.) 
 It is the custom to allow the condemned, when in the chapel, 
 whatever luxury in the way of food and drink he may prefer, 
 and even the satisfaction of any friend he has amongst the pri 
 soners to dine with him. Abo ordered his last dinner with the 
 utmost tranquillity, and indicated some prisoner to share it with 
 him. About three o clock his dinner was served ; and I 
 remarked that it was carved by the jailers, as it is considered 
 imprudent to put a knife or fork in the hands of a felon about 
 to die, lest an attempt at suicide might be made. After dinner 
 the guest of Abo withdrew, and he bid him affectionately fare 
 well. He walked up and down occasionally afterwards, with a 
 priest at his side, as well as his chains allowed ; his arms were 
 free, but a steel girdle encircled his waist, from which hung 
 chains that were fastened crosswise to his ankles. The noise of 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 367 
 
 his fetters, as he paced the room, added to the gloomy effect of 
 the scene. There was a horrible novelty about this event that 
 seized upon my imagination, and kept me rooted to the spot for 
 several hours. It was a relief to see the miserable man bear 
 his awful situation with so much strange composure ; but it was 
 impossible for a spectator to behold his life sinking away, grain 
 by grain as in an hour-glass, without the breath growing thicker, 
 and the nerves crisping with horror. 
 
 I went back to my room about six o clock to dine, though I 
 had little relish for my food. My intention was to go down 
 again before I went to bed, to see if any change had taken place 
 in the manner or appearance of Abo. It astonished Roquino to 
 see him maintain his firmness so long. It was near ten o clock 
 before I returned to the place I had previously occupied, and I 
 found myself more painfully impressed than in the morning. Abo 
 was seated as before, behind the table and opposite the altar ; 
 he was still perfectly calm, and replied with the utmost meek 
 ness to the earnest exhortations that were occasionally addressed 
 to him. There was something, though, in the tone of his voice, 
 a sound of distress, that was affecting. The silence, only broken 
 at intervals by the priests, was intense. The altar was brilliantly 
 illuminated, and some of the Fathers were praying on their 
 knees before it. A group of jailers were sitting in a corner, on 
 guard, but mute and solemn. If, by chance, any one entered 
 the chapel, it was on tiptoe ; and all was uttered in a whisper. 
 Everything announced the approach of some appalling event ; 
 yea, the coming of death ; but it was impossible to conceive that 
 the blow was to fall on the man I saw before me in perfect health, 
 erect, and unmoved as though he waited a summons to bed, and 
 not to the dark grave. As the deep-toned clock of the adjoin, 
 ing church struck the quarters, I started at the sound ; but he, 
 the assassin, who felt his foot still nearer the abyss, heard it, 
 but shrunk not his arms folded, his color undisturbed, and his 
 
368 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 voice unbroken. It was not a waxen figure that I looked upon ; 
 it was a living man a sentient, reflective being, in full possession 
 of every faculty, and awake to every passion of the soul. Mid 
 night was upon him, and at six in the morning he was to perish ; 
 he knew it, and yet, how incomprehensible 1 there he sat blood 
 on his hands, murder on his conscience, hell yawning before him 
 an image of peace. A martyr awaiting the glories of heaven, 
 could hardly have worn an attitude of more perfect serenity. 
 Wasted by sickness on a bed of agony, death may be a relief ; 
 amid the roar and carnage of battle, death may be glorious ; but 
 in the hey-day of life, amid silence and gloom, to contemplate, as 
 that felon did, for twenty-four mortal hours, the slow approach 
 of the King of Terrors to feel, as he did, that every pulsa 
 tion of his heart was one the less to know that every passing 
 thought was numbered to hear the hum of the multitude with 
 out, curious to witness his last pangs this was an ordeal, I 
 conceive, the most terrible a human being could be called to 
 meet ; and yet the wretch blenched not. Was it courage, resig 
 nation, or hypocrisy ? I knew not ; but to me it was the most 
 mysterious and awful problem I ever had to solve, and it absorbed 
 my entire being. But lo ! he moves he rises ! Does he repent 
 has fear seized him ? Listen 1 He gapes and desires to sleep. 
 
 I went away to my room near one o clock in the morning 
 fatigued and feverish, little inclined for bed, but determined to 
 take some repose. I bid Roquino to wake me at three o clock ; 
 for, in spite of me, a horrible fascination seemed to draw me 
 back to this ghastly spectacle. I laid down without undressing, 
 and slumbered ; but fearful dreams pursued me. I awoke in 
 agitation, and found Roquino at my bed-side, with a lantern in 
 his hand. 
 
 " It is three o clock, sir," he said. 
 
 " And Abo ?" I demanded, with a cold shiver as I uttered his 
 name. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 369 
 
 " They have just awoke him." 
 
 " What 1" I said, has he slept ?" 
 
 "Very soundly," returned Roquino. "I sat near him on 
 guard, and he breathed as calmly as a child." 
 
 " Has he confessed ?" I inquired. 
 
 " No ; the priests are imploring him to repent, but he declares 
 he is not guilty." 
 
 " Can there be any doubt ?" I asked, perplexed. 
 
 "No more," he replied, "than that the sun will rise this 
 morning." 
 
 Whilst talking I hastily made my toilet, and then turned to 
 follow Roquino. The obscurity and stilness of the prison at 
 this hour was something oppressive, and the ringing echo of the 
 bolts and chains, as he fastened the portal of my corridor, made 
 me shudder with disgust. We descended the staircase quickly, 
 and I was conducted to the same spot as before, when Roquino 
 left me to attend to his duties. In a second I was at the win 
 dow which looked in upon the chapel, and every sense was 
 absorbed in that of sight. There he sat just as I left him no 
 paleness, no trembling, no fear. A priest knelt at his side, hold 
 ing his hand, and imploring him, in tones that pierced the soul, 
 to confess and be absolved. Another held the crucifix before 
 him, which he often kissed. The bleatings of a lamb were not 
 more gentle than his replies : 
 
 " Mio Padre, io sono innocente. I am innocent, my Father," 
 he repeated constantly, to the earnest invocations of the poor 
 priest, who seemed in despair. 
 
 Four o clock struck, and he was to leave ths prison at five for 
 the place of execution. A bowl of soup was brought in to him, 
 and putting it to his mouth he drained it to the bottom. 
 
 " Before it is digested," I muttered to myself, " he will be 
 dead." 
 
 The priests again urged and entreated again knelt and 
 
 16* 
 
370 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 prayed to him, but in vain. He resisted, reiterating bis 
 innocence ; but without excitement, without anger or defiance. 
 At half-past four, a jailer approached him and took off his 
 chains. This was a token that his hour approached. , He asked 
 for some wine. A bottle was set before him with some biscuits. 
 He filled the glass, and steeping the cakes, he quietly ate them 
 as though he had been sitting in a cafe, and gazing out of the 
 window. He was presently told the executioner had arrived, 
 and would come to him in a few moments. He bowed his head, 
 drunk another glass of wine, and rising, approached the altar, 
 where a priest was officiating. He knelt, clasped his hands, 
 bent downwards, but spoke not. At last I saw he was weeping 
 and the tears streamed copiously down his face. It was impos 
 sible, murderer as he was, not to feel for him. He rose in a 
 few minutes. He was calm again. It was only a momentary 
 triumph of nature, for it was gone. 
 
 " I am ready," he said, in a low voice, turning to the jailers. 
 
 In a moment the hangman entered with two assistants, and 
 approaching the criminal, prepared to bind him. Cords were 
 passed tightly round the upper part of the arms, fastening them 
 to the body. His hands were then raised in an attitude of 
 prayer, and corded so as to be immovable. A small crucifix 
 was placed in his grasp. 
 
 " Pray, give me as little pain as possible, Padrone," said the 
 unhappy wretch, whilst they were binding him. 
 
 " Never fear," returned the hangman, in a friendly voice, "I 
 will take care you suffer very little." 
 
 Whilst this was going on, the chapel suddenly filled with men 
 enveloped in black dresses, which covered them from head to 
 foot. Their eyes alone were visible through the masks which 
 hid their faces. These were the noble members of the Miseri- 
 cordia, who always accompany the criminal to execution, #nd 
 take eharge of his body for burial the moment the law has done 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCE!. 3l 
 
 its office. Anything more fearful than the scene I now gazed 
 upon had never presented itself, even to my imagination, and it 
 seemed to me that nobody else was unmoved save Abo, the 
 assassin, and the hangman who stood beside him. The funeral 
 procession began to form, and hardly knowing what I did, I 
 hurried down to the door of the chapel to get a closer view of 
 this man of marble as he passed me to the tomb. The members 
 of the Misericordia, with their banner shrouded in crape, advanced 
 first, in couples, and moved slowly towards the great door of the 
 prison. Numerous priests followed, chanting the De profundis. 
 The criminal then came, with the executioner and assistants close 
 behind him. As he drew near, he regarded me with interest 
 and benignity, for he had remarked my constant presence, and 
 had frequently gazed up at the window where I sat. As he 
 passed me he bowed low and mournfully. I returned his bow, 
 with my eye fixed on his. There was sadness in its depths, 
 but no dread. I turned away, -almost staggering with emotion, 
 and it required a strong effort to recover my composure. 
 
 Later in the day, I felt an ungovernable curiosity to know 
 how the tragedy terminated, and I sent for Roquiuo to give me 
 the information. He replied that he had managed to avoid the 
 execution. 
 
 " It always makes me sick as a dog for a day or two to see 
 anything of the sort/ 7 declared Roquino, "and I never go, if I 
 can help it." 
 
 " Why, that sounds strange enough," was my remark, " since 
 your father was a jailer, and you have been bred up to the busi 
 ness. It can t be want of nerve ; so it must be humanity. 
 Who d have thought it ?" 
 
 " I don t know what it is," he observed ; " but I can t stand 
 it, and very few of us can. But, if sir, you want to hear any 
 more about Abo," he continued, smiling, " there is a person in 
 the prison to-day, who can give you the fullest information." 
 
372 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Yery well," I said, taking up iny cap ; " come along ; but 
 who is it r 
 
 11 The hangman !" he replied, laughing aloud to see me fall 
 back panic-struck. 
 
 " Why, what is he doing here ?" I asked, getting my breath 
 again. 
 
 "He is waiting till night comes on, when he will return to 
 Turin, where he lives." 
 
 " Why does he not set off at once ?" 
 
 "Because," said Roquiuo, "he would be torn to pieces by 
 the mob, if they recognized him. This morning it was as much 
 as a detachment of soldiers could do to save him." 
 
 " How absurd," I returned ; for the poor devil is merely an 
 officer of the law. However, a mob never stops to reason when 
 it feels strongly. Does he travel by public conveyance?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " Oh, no, sir ; he travels only by night, in a conveyance of 
 his own." 
 
 Whilst talking, I was deliberating what I should do. It 
 seemed childish to yield to my repugnance to talk with a hang 
 man. I was pretty sure, besides, that this was the only oppor 
 tunity of the sort I should ever have, and, to tell the truth, I 
 felt curious to see what kind of man a hangman really was. 
 After all, he was a human being like the rest, and on the nihil 
 humani a me alienum principle, why should I shrink ? 
 
 " Go on," I said to Roquino, at length. " Take me to see 
 the hangman ; but I hope he has got none of his ropes about, 
 lest he might be tempted to try his skill on me." 
 
 " Oh, he is very particular about his necklaces," said Roquino, 
 "and he never travels without a good supply." 
 
 Roquino led me to a part of the prison I had never seen 
 before, and coming near to a door which he pointed at, he 
 whispered 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 373 
 
 " There you will find him there." 
 
 11 CTest bien," I replied ; " but knock, and say I wish to see 
 him" 
 
 "No; I can t do that. He would think I was making a 
 show of him, and would be angry. You must go in alone, sir," 
 and with that the scamp disappeared. 
 
 I was not prepared for this, and I had half a notion to bolt 
 after him. But it is one of my traits not to abandon easily 
 what I once undertake, else I should not have carried my court 
 ship so far. I confess, I stood staring at the door Roquino indi 
 cated full five minutes before I could muster resolution to knock, 
 and my heart beat audibly when I did so. 
 
 " Enter," said a gruff voice, and I did enter forthwith. 
 
 There were two men lying on beds at one end of the room, 
 asleep. Another was seated at the table, writing. Addressing 
 this one, I said 
 
 " Do you speak French ?" 
 
 " Perfectly," he said. 
 
 " Ah 1" I continued, " then I have come to see the the" 
 
 I did not know whether to say "the hangman," which 
 might have been offensive ; or, " the gentleman that hung Abo 
 this morning. Seeing my hesitation, the man smiled and 
 said 
 
 " I understand ; you wish to see me. Pray, sit down," and 
 he offered me a chair. 
 
 " What !" I said, astonished at his very genteel appearance 
 and manners, " am I addressing the" 
 
 " Yes, sir the hangman ; that s my business. Ne vous genez 
 pas. Don t embarrass yourself." 
 
 " Yery well," I continued, sitting down, " I shall lay aside 
 ceremony, then. You hung Abo this morning ?" 
 
 " I did, sir." 
 
 "How did he die?" 
 
314 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Very quietly. Indeed, I may say it was a pleasure to hang 
 him." 
 
 " Did he give way when he reached the scaffold ?" 
 
 " Not at all, sir. He was perfectly firm and calm ; that s 
 why he died so comfortably^ 
 
 While conversing, I examined the extraordinary individual 
 before me. He was a tall, stout man of some fifty years of age. 
 The expression of his face was rather pleasant, and nothing 
 sinister in the glance of his eye. His language was not vulgar, 
 and his manners were really good. He was dressed in black, 
 and wore a white cravat. I could not believe I was addressing 
 that mythical personage, familiar to an English or American 
 mind as Jack Ketch. I went on to describe the wonderful self- 
 possession of Abo during his stay in the chapel. 
 
 " Yes," he replied, " that happens now and then, but very 
 rarely. There are few, indeed, who do not give way at the sight 
 of me; and sometimes they are very troublesome." 
 
 " What is your mode of hanging in this country ?" I inquired. 
 
 "When the cord is tied to the scaffold," he explained, " we 
 push them off a ladder, and then jump on the head so as to 
 break the neck, and put them out of pain at once." 
 
 " That s horribly brutal," I cried, almost turning sick. 
 
 "Why, how is it done in your country, sir ?" 
 
 Recovering myself a little, I described the scaffold in the 
 United States and England, as well as the guillotine in 
 France. 
 
 "I should like either much better than what is the fashion 
 here for centuries past," he returned, " for my feet slip off the 
 head frequently, and I have sometimes great difficulty in getting 
 through with the job." 
 
 " I don t wonder," I said, " that the feelings of the mob are 
 revolted, though it is no fault of yours. It seems to me, how 
 ever, that your Government is enlightened enough to adopt the 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 375 
 
 mode of execution of civilized States, where it is not considered 
 necessary to invest the death of a criminal with any additional 
 horror." 
 
 The hangman quite agreed with me, and hoped some improve 
 ment would soon be introduced. 
 
 " So you are off to-night," I observed rising, " and under 
 escort, I suppose ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir," he replied ; il and the State takes very good care 
 of me, as you may see by looking at these documents." 
 
 He took out his pocket-book, and gave me several letters that 
 were in the hand-writing of the different Ministers of State, 
 commanding aid and protection for him from all the military and 
 civil authorities. 
 
 " How many do you hang per year ?" 
 
 " That differs sometimes more, and then less. They hardly 
 average a dozen." 
 
 " Are you paid by the job ?" 
 
 " No, sir, by the year ; and my salary is small." 
 
 I think he said it was about $1,000, but then there were per 
 quisites attached. 
 
 " And who are these worthy persons here ?" I asked, pointing 
 to the sleepers aforementioned. 
 
 " They are my assistants ; and one of them that one is 
 destined to succeed me." 
 
 " The appointment lies with the Government, I suppose ; but 
 your recommendation," I added, smiling, "goes a great way, no 
 doubt." 
 
 " Just so, sir. I did intend to bestow the office on that brute 
 there," and he pointed to one of them ; " but in spite of all my 
 eare, he is so clumsy that I have chosen another who is more 
 capable." 
 
 " Well, I am obliged to you," I said, " for receiving me so 
 politely ; and if ever I should happen to fall into your hands, 
 
376 MT COURTSHIP 
 
 I hope you will deal with me gently for old acquaintance 
 sake." 
 
 Jack Ketch laughed quite heartily, and replied, in the most 
 complimentary way 
 
 " If I hanged no one till I exercised my functions on you, I 
 should have an easy life of it." 
 
 He followed me to the door, bowing me out in the most cour 
 teous and French-like manner ; and it was evident from his last 
 speech that I had made a favorable impression. After all, he was 
 not so sour-looking a fellow as a certain Judge I could name ; 
 and if I were to be tried again for abducting Miss Gamble, or 
 anybody else, I would rather trust my fate to the Jack Ketch of 
 Sardinia, than to the other for his physiognomy was far less 
 repulsive than his business. 
 
 I dare say there are some of my readers who may think I had 
 enough of novelty and variety at St. Andrea to satisfy any man ; 
 but the more I had of either and it may not seem strange to 
 quiet people the more I longed to be out of it. When I found 
 myself, at length, in the last month of my imprisonment, I 
 thanked God from the bottom of my heart. To attempt any 
 description of the buoyant state of my mind at this period would 
 be idle. I fell at times into that dreamy condition which accom 
 panies absolute content, and it was as much as I could do at 
 other moments to suppress some puerile explosion of my joy, 
 and not fall to shouting and dancing like a madman. It never 
 cost me such a tremendous effort to preserve my dignity, and to 
 talk reasonably about anything, as it did on this occasion. It had 
 been my habit for the last few months, when I caught sight of 
 the new moon for the first time, to cry out involuntarily, " Only 
 five moons more ;" or, " Only four moons more ;" and when, 
 therefore, the pale satellite rose on my enchanted vision on the 
 12th of January, in that latitude, as I was taking my evening 
 walk, with the old officer at my side, I shouted out sponta- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 377 
 
 neously, " No more moons," and came very near giving a wild 
 hurrah. My sedate companion looked so astonished, that I had 
 to explain. 
 
 As to what happened this month, I have no very exact recol 
 lection. Like Cassio, " I remember a mass of things, but nothing 
 distinctly." Miss Gamble s name was frequently mentioned. 
 She was at Naples, and the story was that she had signified her 
 intention to be at Genoa by the time I was free again, in order, 
 as I supposed, " to take the bull by the horns " at once. In the 
 ethereal mood I was then in, I did not care where she was, or 
 what she intended to do. Not an impulse of anger against her, 
 or any one, ruffled the deep serenity of my mind, or disturbed 
 for an instant the beatitude that overflowed my heart. The 
 courier, who had weathered the storm with less concern than 
 myself, seemed also less transported at the prospect of liberty. 
 Blessed with a thick hide, he had set all creeping things at defi 
 ance, and slept through their vain assaults. The wine of the 
 country, too, was quite to his taste, and his only anxiety was to 
 get enough of it. " It makes me," he declared in a sentimental 
 tone, " forget for a moment my dear wife and child." 
 
 " And your manners, too, sometimes," I answered. 
 
 Besides, as the courier was not particular about trifles, he 
 spent the evening gaily upstairs with his boon companions, where 
 he was just as comfortable as in a cabaret in Paris. He was 
 glad at the prospect of getting the use of his legs again, but he 
 was not overjoyed. 
 
 My sympathies were occasionally aroused by the melancholy 
 that began to seize on Roquino. The near approach of my 
 departure affected him visibly, and with the impenetrability of 
 bis character he refused to explain or declare himself. He would 
 never tell his grief, 
 
 " but let concealment, 
 Lfke a worm ia the bud, 
 Prey on his damask cheek. , 
 
CO URT SHIP 
 
 I did my best to console him by saying, that if it were ever in 
 my power hereafter to give him a lift, I should not fail. Nor 
 will I, for malgre his ignorance of the days in June, and his 
 propensity " to covet his neighbor s " crockery, still, there are 
 greater rogues undiscovered than Roquino in the world, I dare 
 say. Such a windfall as a patent-leather abductor coming into 
 his hands he was not prepared for, and if he yielded to thetemp- 
 tation, it ought fairly be set down to the account current that 
 human nature keeps with opportunity, and ought not to be, as 
 the play says, "strained to grosser issue." 
 
 I received at this time letters from several old friends, con 
 gratulating me on my coming emancipation, and amongst them 
 one that afforded me peculiar satisfaction. I must explain here, 
 that along with the rest of my ill-luck, I had the misfortune to 
 quarrel with Mrs. Grote. I was told on good authority that 
 previous to my trial she had lent a hand to the silly people who 
 were making war upon me. In the nervous state I then was, I 
 sat down arid wrote to her expansively, to which she replied 
 indignantly, and a breach ensued between us. I then heard 
 many other things it is not worth while to repeat ; but towards 
 the close of my imprisonment I felt somewhat anxious to know 
 if they were true. I therefore wrote to Mr. J. J. R., already 
 mentioned, requesting him to address Mrs. Grote, whom he 
 knew, and to let me have her precise reply. All of which wos 
 done, and the following is a letter I received from him on this 
 subject : 
 
 " Launceston, Cornwall, 
 
 Decemler 6. 1852. 
 MY DEAR MR. AY IKOFF. 
 
 "Having now closed my correspondence with Mrs. Grote on the subject 
 of the request which you made me in your two last letters, T lose no time 
 in communicating to you the result. It is unnecessary for me to relate 
 the whole of this correspondence. It will be sufficient to extract that 
 portion of Mrs. Grote s last letter, which immediately bears on the point 
 in question. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 379 
 
 " In reply, she says, * to your allusion to his supposed impression con 
 cerning my interference in his affairs, that I have in any way moved or 
 caused others to move in them, either before or since the event which 
 occurred in Genoa last year, you may take my solemn word for it, 
 that I have never done so. My knowledge of the transaction at Genoa 
 was chiefly obtained from the published narrative, and as to my having 
 
 persecuted Mr. W , or sought to enhance or prolong his imprisonment, 
 
 I assure you my thoughts have scarcely dwelt on the matter since. I do 
 not know the English Consul at Genoa, or any one likely to influence him. 
 I Happened to know his name was Brown after reading the trial, and 
 inclosed a letter or two to his care to be given to Mr. W , then in pri 
 son. This is all I have to tell you relative to my concern with the circum 
 stances you mention. 
 
 " After this full and complete denial of the part which has been attri 
 buted to Mrs. Grote, what remains to be said ? You must feel with me, 
 and be glad to think so, that you have been entirely mistaken in the mat 
 ter. I need hardly tell you how much grieved I felt at the details given 
 me respecting your sufferings in prison. A term, however, is fast approach 
 ing to them. I shall be in London in the course of ten days, and hope to 
 see you there soon. For God s sake, keep quiet till we meet, and avoid 
 rushing into print, for the sake of all parties, until you have well consi 
 dered the matter. 
 
 " Believe me ever sincerely yours, 
 
 " J. J. R." 
 
 This was in the highest degree satisfactory to me, for the 
 high standing of Mrs. George Grote in the social world of Lon 
 don gave to the pledge of her " solemn word " that she had 
 never conspired against me, an authority that no assertions from 
 other parties could in the least shake or undermine. 
 
 But the 6th of February, 7 53, had arrived, and this was the 
 courier s day of release. He had been imprisoned twenty-four 
 hours before me, and as our condemnation was for the same 
 period, he was consequently entitled to precedence in going out. 
 His term was not up till the 7th, but as soon as midnight of the 
 6th sounded, he was, according to the custom of the prison, free 
 to s;o. I tried to see if I could induce him to stay over the night, 
 
380 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 in order to superintend, as usual, my last breakfast on the morn 
 ing of the 7th ; but persuasion was thrown away on him. Now 
 that the moment of escape had come, he was wild at the thought 
 of being once more a free agent, and he panted like an impe 
 tuous steed for twelve o clock to come. He vanished at the 
 stroke, and left me alone in my glory. To do him justice, how 
 ever, he returned the following morning to look after my break 
 fast. Whether from the intoxicating effects of his liberty, or 
 from stimulus of a more material kind, I remarked he was in a 
 singular state of aberration. He allowed the milk to boil over, 
 and upset the coffee-pot ; but I was in a humor to forgive any 
 thing. It would be committing an untruth, to say that in all 
 my long drawn agony of fifteen months (!) I never knew a 
 moment of supremo contcnto, as the Italians say, for this last day 
 of all was nothing else than a day of perfect bliss. 
 
 After all, happiness is a relative term ; and I beg leave to 
 doubt whether the throb that swelled the proud heart of Napo 
 leon, as he placed the imperial diadem on his brow at Notre 
 Dame, was more joyous than the thrill of delight that shot 
 through my bosom when I deposited my long-neglected hat on 
 its former perch, at St. Andrea, on the 7th of February, at half- 
 past eleven at night. 
 
 I felt great regret at bidding adieu to my late companions, 
 
 poor R , and the old officer, not that I was at all disposed 
 
 to stay longer with them, but that it pained me to leave them 
 behind in such a pit of darkness. I accompanied Roquino, 
 whose delicate attentions knew no bounds, at the hour just 
 named, down to the main door of the prison, where several 
 jailers were sitting round a brazier, on guard. 
 
 As they were all old acquaintances of mine, I joined the 
 group without ceremony, saying that as it was uncertain when 
 they would have another chance, they had better go to work 
 DOW, and fill as many bumpers to my health as they could swal- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 381 
 
 low. This was strictly against regulations ; but as none refused, 
 there was no apprehension of their peaching on each other. 
 
 I really began to think at last that all the clocks of the town 
 had conspired against me, and would never strike midnight. It 
 was the longest half hour of my life. " Viva," cried the jailers, 
 waving their caps, when the peal at length broke out that snap 
 ped my bonds in twain. My sensations were disturbed for a 
 moment by Roquino, announcing that the porter of the outer 
 gate had gone to bed, and that the sentinel posted there would 
 not allow it to be opened in his absence. 
 
 " What s to be done, then ?" I demanded, chafing at an 
 obstacle. 
 
 " Why, you had better wait till morning," was the reply. 
 " No, I shall climb over the walls first," I declared impetu 
 ously. 
 
 "There s another gate," said Colombo; "and by chance I 
 have got the key. Here, Roquino, "he added, handing it to 
 him, "you can conduct il Signor out that way." 
 
 In five minutes more I was in the street, where I found the 
 courier waiting for me, and a friend, whose hospitality I had 
 agreed to accept for the short time I remained at Genoa. I 
 walked along the deserted streets in a frame of mind that can 
 hardly be imagined. My joy was not expansive, for I could 
 not speak a word. I was quiet, but it was the quiet of gun 
 powder, ready to explode at any moment. An Irishman once 
 boasted that his mare, after a bowl of punch, could jump 
 over a church. I felt I could jump over the highest in Genoa 
 without one. What a pity at such a moment of good-will to 
 all mankind (the ladies included), I had not met Miss Gamble. 
 I should have forgiven her on the spot, and been spared, per 
 haps, the trouble of writing this book. 
 
 A -good supper was laid out for me by my considerate friend, 
 but I was not more disposed to eat than to talk. My mind was 
 
382 M Y COURTS ii i * 
 
 quite absorbed at the prospect of a sound night s sleep, without 
 being bit at, and crawled over. No longer able to resist such a 
 treat, I gave the signal for bed. I laid awake for a long time, 
 regarding with ineffable satisfaction those familiar articles of fur 
 niture, whose existence I had nearly forgotten. A mirror a 
 
 sofa a carpet each gave me a separate and keen glow of 
 delight. I stared at them not with the rank curiosity of a 
 savage, but as one who remembered " that such things were," 
 as Macduff says, " and were most dear to me." I trembled, 
 from long habit, lest my felicity might be disturbed by a nip ; 
 but no ; I was left at peace, and gradually sinking into that 
 sweet exhaustion which follows excess of joy, I went to sleep, 
 mumbling something about 
 
 If it were now to die, 
 
 Twere now to be most happy. 
 
 END OF SECOND PART. 
 
PART III. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 " La donna e mobile." 
 " Woman ia fickle." 
 
AND ITS COX SEQUENCES. 886 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 P A R I S h N D N G E N A . 
 
 WHEN I did get up next day (I shall say nothing about the 
 hour), I went immediately to pay my respects to my thrice- 
 worthy Consul and his lady, who had got back from their East 
 ern trip only the day before. How they welcomed me back to 
 society again, and how I thanked them for their untiring good 
 ness, I will leave to the fancy of my reader. 
 
 "Well," said the Consul, at length, who *as in high spirits, 
 "have you heard that Miss Gamble has bolted from Naples to 
 London, where she intends to entrench herself behind the ram 
 parts of Portland Place, and await the onset of the foe ?" 
 
 " It is a lost fear/ as Othello says," I replied, " for I am 
 thinking of myself just now a good deal more than of Miss 
 Gamble, and whether she be in Portland Place or elsewhere, I 
 am ungallant enough to say, is a matter of some indifference to 
 me." 
 
 "What, then, are you going to do?" queried the Consul, as 
 if anxious to know my plans. 
 
 "Just what I always told you," was my answer. "The suf 
 fering so wantonly inflicted on me, I forgive ; but the calumnies 
 and abuse heaped upon my name, I shall meet with a plain 
 statements of facts ; and I put entire confidence in the discern 
 ment and benevolence of the public." 
 
 " I don t think Miss Gamble," said the Consul, smiling, " will 
 like the whole thing brought up again." 
 
 " I don t like it myself," I returned, 
 
 It 
 
886 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 " Will no sum of money," he demanded, " in the way of com 
 pensation, induce you to give up the book contemplated ?" 
 
 11 Not the whole fortune of Miss Gamble, multiplied indefi 
 nitely, if I know my own mind." 
 
 "Well," exclaimed the Consul, slapping his hand on his thigh, 
 " I should not wonder if it ended in a match yet." 
 
 " Well, I should, Consul," I answered, smiling ; " for I should 
 always be afraid of Miss Gamble making a Delilah of herself, 
 and betraying me again into the hands of the Philistines. By- 
 the-by how is my old friend Brown ?" 
 
 " I saw him sailing down the street, yesterday," replied the 
 Consul, laughing, " under his white topsail, as usual ; don t you 
 intend to call on him ?" 
 
 " No," I said, joining in the merriment ; " for if he should 
 invite me to dine (!) I would not like to refuse ; and I mean to 
 leave immediately." 
 
 During my short stay I called upon all the estimable persons 
 to whose good feeling I was greatly indebted ; and need I say 
 
 that my first and last visit was to the Baron de R . He 
 
 received me with great warmth, and gave me a hearty God 
 speed on bidding him adieu. 
 
 As I passed through Turin, I stopped a few hours to make 
 my grateful acknowledgments to the right noble Marquis de 
 Cavour. Nothing could be more gratifying than my recep 
 tion. 
 
 " I am truly glad," he said, " to see you in Turin again, and 
 
 I regret deeply your long detention in Genoa. But " he 
 
 stopped, smiled, shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 11 1 understand, M. le Marquis," I replied ; " but it is not to 
 ask you any troublesome questions that I intrude myself npon 
 you, but only to thank you with all my heart for your con 
 descending kindness to me." 
 
 "Nay," remarked the Marquis, with the friendly smile pecu- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 387 
 
 liar to him, "your letters interested me greatly, and I had much 
 pleasure in replying to them." 
 
 A short conversation ensued on politics, when the Marquis 
 asked, " if I would like to pay a visit to the Chamber of Depu 
 ties, then in session ?" 
 
 " I must limit myself to a bare glimpse, then, M. le Marquis, 
 for I leave Turin in a couple of hours." 
 
 " I am sorry you are going so soon," he returned, " but if you 
 will meet me at the Chamber in half an hour I shall have great 
 pleasure in seeing you well placed. I regret, also, the severe ill 
 ness of my brother, who would have had much satisfaction in 
 meeting you again." 
 
 Expressing my sincere condolence for the illness of the Prime 
 Minister, which at one time had occasioned much public anxiety, 
 I took my leave. At the hour named, I indulged myself with a 
 hasty glance at the Sardinian Lower House, which presented a 
 very grave and orderly appearance, but I had no time to listen 
 to the debates. 
 
 At midnight, on the 12th of February, I was awoke by 
 the courier, who told me we had reached the top of Mont Cenis 
 (on my way to Lyons), and I found my fellow-passengers all 
 getting out of the sledge to warm themselves. They complained 
 piteously of the cold, and declared they never saw the Alps so 
 covered with snow. I wondered to hear them grumble, for I 
 felt so comfortable and happy. 
 
 "Ah, poor devils," I muttered, "they don t know the delight 
 of getting out of St. Andrea, after fifteen months seclusion, else 
 they would take a more poetical view of things, and see smiling 
 landscapes in seas of ice, and mistake the fierce blast of winter 
 for the balmy breath of June." 
 
 At four in the morning of the 15th, I entered Paris. I never 
 return to this delightful capital my first love in Europe with 
 out a quickening throb ; but to reach it again, and to feel I was 
 
388 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 far away from Italy, la terre classique de la puce (the classic land 
 of the flea), was inexpressibly pleasant. My old apartment in 
 the Boulevards des Capacities was long since in other hands, so I 
 took up my quarters in a charming logement, secured by a friend, 
 and all newly furnished. How dazzling everything looked to 
 my new vision. If I lived twice the age of Methuselah I should 
 never forget the delight of my short stay at Paris. The theme 
 is too vast for my descriptive powers. None, but the pen of 
 Thucydides himself could possibly analyze or delineate the singu 
 lar process I underwent of being born over again to all the syba 
 rite sensations that the civilization of our epoch has brought to 
 a pitch of such refinement. For a week, at least, I abandoned 
 myself to the dolcc far nienfe that stole upon mo, and allowed 
 my weary mind to rest. I yielded to the soft inspirations of the 
 French cuisine, to the attractions of the French vaudeville, and 
 last, not least, to the exquisite repose of a French bed. 
 
 With no better luck than Sisyphus of old, I woke only to renew 
 my old task of rolling the stone up hill again. I was out of 
 prison, it is true ; I had done courting, still better ; but my 
 position in society, the esteem of my friends, the good report of 
 the world, these, lost without deserving, were still to be reco 
 vered. It was a formidable job truly, and how to compass it 
 was a puzzle. I surveyed my position leisurely, and came to 
 these conclusions. That I could make no explanations, private 
 or public, without compromising Miss Gamble, Mr. Brown, cum 
 multi* aliis. That to annoy them was not my object. That my 
 vindication was possible without, if they would lay aside hosti 
 lity and aid me to effect it. That after all I had suffered, their 
 refusal would be so indefensible that all the world would approve 
 of my bringing the matter, finally, before them. The first thing, 
 then, to ascertain, was, if Miss Gamble would listen to reason, 
 to say nothing of justice. 
 
 I started the 1st of March for London, but was bothered 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 389 
 
 when I got there to learn the sentiments of the lady in Port 
 land Place. Shall I write, or send to her ? I hesitated to do 
 
 either. An old acquaintance, Mrs. S , of Half-Moon street, 
 
 volunteered, in my dileinna, to go, reconnoitre, and report. I 
 accepted ; but the experiment failed, for the nervous old lady 
 shrunk from the topic, and there her intervention dropped. I 
 feared to call on Miss Gamble s old friends, though I knew them 
 nearly all, for I supposed they regarded me as a discomfited 
 abductor, and would refuse to receive me. I spent the whole of 
 March in seeking to know the new tactics of my old friend, and 
 discovered, at last, that she had been advised after this fashion. 
 That it was unlikely I could ever reinstate myself in public 
 opinion. That to have anything to do with me would be to 
 compromise herself, and give me an advantage. That it was 
 better to affect to defy me, which would, no doubt, drive me to 
 abandon the matter in despair. This advice was unfeeling and 
 shallow, but Miss Gamble took it, and, therefore, I turned to 
 look after Mr. Brown. But, first, I thought it judicious to 
 learn if his Government were inclined to endorse his late con 
 duct, and consequently I addressed a letter to that effect to 
 Mr. Addington, Under-Secretary of State. He replied as 
 follows : 
 
 "Foreign Office, March, 1858. 
 
 " Sm, I have duly received your letter of the 26th inst., in which you 
 mention certain grounds of complaint which you conceive yourself to 
 have against her Majesty s Consul at Genoa, for his conduct in a matter 
 in which you were personally concerned some time since. 
 
 " I beg leave to request that if you feel yourself aggrieved by the pro 
 ceedings of Mr. Consul Brown in a sufficient degree to justify an official 
 representation, you will address such representation to her Majesty s Sec 
 retary of State. 
 
 " I am, Sir. 
 
 " Your very obedient servant, 
 
 "H. U. ADDINGTON. 
 " HEJTRY WIKOFF, Esq., &c., &c." 
 
390 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 This was perfectly satisfactory. I had occasion, however, to 
 call on Mr. Addington, on other business, a day or so after this, 
 and took the opportunity to allude again to Mr. Brown s 
 hostility to me at Genoa. His reply was, " I have heard of it 
 don t go into details. Make out your case ; you shall have 
 justice, depend upon it." I bore no grudge against Mr. Brown ; 
 for I am not, as Dr. Johnson says, " a good hater ;" and there 
 fore, before appealing to the Foreign Office against him, I 
 thought it only fair to see if he were disposed to do me justice 
 without it. If he will act like a man of good breediug, and 
 express regret for errors when pointed out to him, I will be 
 satisfied and make no complaint to his Government. 
 
 I left London on April 3d for Genoa, and followed my port 
 manteau into the famous hotel of the Croix de Malte,for the second 
 time, on the 10th of the same month. The next morning I 
 wended my way to the office of her Britannic Majesty s Consul, 
 whom I had not seen (for sundry reasons) since the eventful 
 morning he had attacked my " moral character," in the presence 
 of his Worship the President Malaspina. I felt a little appre 
 hension as to the reception I might meet, and I took care not to 
 carry a tooth-pick about me, lest Mr. Brown might give way 
 to his imagination and send me to St. Andrea for an attempt on 
 his life. I entered unannounced lest he might refuse me. There 
 he sat behind a table, with his blue coat buttoned up to the col 
 lar as usual, and the identical white hat crowning the official 
 edifice as of yore. For stiffness he resembled an Egyptian idol, 
 and he showed no more emotion than one at my sudden entree, 
 whatever he might have felt. 
 
 II Pray excuse my abrupt visit, Mr. Brown," I said, " but I 
 will explain my business in a word. I have been invited by 
 the Foreign Office to lay my case before them, and before I 
 make any complaint against you, sir, I have come to Genoa 
 expressly to see if you are disposed to do me an act of com- 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 391 
 
 nion justice. You declared before the Tribunal last year that 
 I was not in the employ of the British Government. I have 
 my pockets full of documents to prove the contrary. Will 
 you examine them, and if convinced of your error, will you 
 admit it frankly and fairly ? In this case I shall let drop my 
 complaint against you." 
 
 To which Mr. Brown replied as follows 
 
 " I don t care what documents you have ; I shall not look at 
 them. All I know is, that you were tried and condemned. 
 That s enough for me. If you can get over that, why, do 
 it." 
 
 " I shall try sir," I continued, " since you force me to it. If I 
 can satisfy the public of England and my own country that I was 
 the victim of injustice and foul play, I have no fear but I shall 
 get over the condemnation upon which you take your stand." 
 Whereupon, I bid him respectfully good morning. 
 
 The white hat inclined slightly forward, but its owner spoke 
 not. 
 
 It was evident from this, that. at London and Genoa a com 
 mon understanding had been arranged. Stand by the condemna 
 tion ; he never can get over it. Let him sink, and we escape. This 
 was clearly the settled policy of Brown and Co. My readers 
 may suppose that after the vicissitudes of my courtship, and the 
 agonies of my long imprisonment, that the enterprise which now 
 rose before me was disheartening to the last degree. I had to 
 choose between the stigma which rested on my name, or the 
 miserable bribes that had been offered. To remove the one, 
 with God s help, and to spurn the other, did not cost me a 
 moment s hesitation. I set to work on the spot. I passed a 
 month at Genoa, and I soon concluded that it was a good inspi 
 ration that brought me there. I made some strange discoveries, 
 little suspected ; but only one of whicli I will reveal at this time. 
 I met, one day, a person I shall not name at present, and he 
 
392 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 declared to me, in the presence of several other persons, that 
 before he was examined by the Judge of Instruction, he received 
 repeated visits from M. Graziani, the solicitor of Miss Gam 
 ble at Genoa, who endeavored, by offers of money and the 
 liberal patronage of the British Consul, to induce him to repre 
 sent the demeanor of Miss Gamble on the night she slept at 
 the " Iron Crown " Hotel, under my protection, as different from 
 what it really was. 
 
 " The solicitor," this person declared, " wished me to say 
 before the Judge that Miss Gamble had the air of a woman act 
 ing under constraint, and as if in fear of you." 
 
 " Well," I asked, in surprise, " what reply did you make ?" 
 
 " I replied," said this person, " that it would be a gross false 
 hood to say so, for the conduct of Miss Gamble on that occasion 
 showed that her confidence in you was unbounded. I declined, 
 therefore, to falsify, however much it might be to my ad 
 vantage." 
 
 By the laws of Sardinia, the subornation of a witness is a 
 galley offence, and I had only to summon this person to depose 
 before a magistrate, under oath, against the solicitor of Miss 
 Gamble, to send him, first to St. Andrea, and next to the 
 galleys. It would have been an act of just retribution, for it 
 was this same rogue who worked so hard to send me to the 
 galleys. However, I am not vindictive, and I preferred to raise 
 the window, like Uncle Toby, and let the fly escape. As this 
 fact is important, it may be well to adduce additional testimony 
 I called a few days later on the party alluded to, in company 
 with Dr. Pesce, already named in this volume. He was not at 
 home ; but his son, a young man of twenty-five years of age, 
 and engaged in mercantile pursuits at Genoa, received us. As 
 he was familiar with the circumstances stated, he repeated them 
 to Dr. Pesce, who afterwards made an affidavit before the 
 American Consul to the following effect 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 393 
 
 Genoa, May 6th, 1858. 
 
 " In presence of the United States Consul, and under oath, I, the under 
 signed, declare 
 
 " That on Thursday, April 23d, 1853, in a conversation with , son 
 
 of , I heard him state that his father, previous to his examination by 
 
 the Judge of Instruction, was tempted by M. Graziani, the solicitor of Miss 
 Gamble at Genoa, to dissimulate or change the circumstances which 
 accompanied the lodging of Miss Gamble and Mr. WikofF at the Iron 
 Crown hotel, Genoa, on the night of November 15th, 1851, to the advan 
 tage of the former ; but that his father resisted the offers made to him, 
 and declared his intention when called upon to tell the truth pure and 
 simple. 
 
 " ALEXANDER PESCE, DR." 
 
 [This is signed and sealed by the United States Consul in the usual 
 form.] 
 
 I suppress the names of the parties alluded to for this reason. 
 Should this revelation reach Genoa, the indignant Graziani 
 would possibly threaten a prosecution, and the respectable per 
 sons in question, to escape trouble and expense in a quarrel not 
 their own, might agree to withdraw the above statements made, 
 I repeat, in presence of several witnesses. This would enable 
 the unscrupulous Graziani and others to attack my credibility. 
 If the crafty solicitor in question considers himself aggrieved, 
 let him make known to the American Consul at Genoa his 
 desire to prosecute me for a libel, and I bind myself to come and 
 meet it, when I can avail myself of the testimony of the persons 
 whose names I withhold, without expense or annoyance to them. 
 I bind myself, also, to bring forward other facts on that occa 
 sion equally disgraceful to M. Graziani, the aforesaid solicitor of 
 Miss Gamble, at Genoa. 
 
 During my stay I saw very frequently my old friend the 
 United States Consul, and I made known to him all the curious 
 disclosures that reached me on every side. He was astonished 
 
 17* 
 
394 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 and shocked ; but he refused to believe that Miss Gamble was a 
 party to anything of the kind. I joined him most heartily in 
 his disbelief, and I feel quite sure that she could have had no know 
 ledge of the knavery going on. The night before I left Genoa 
 for the last time (May 12th, 1853), the Consul, who was in com 
 munication, evidently, with Miss Gamble, said to me 
 
 " Miss Gamble deeply regrets all that has occurred. She 
 thinks you have been greatly injured, and arc fully entitled to 
 compensation for all your losses and sufferings. Will you, there 
 fore, let me know what sum you will accept for the copyright 
 of the book you intend to publish ?" 
 
 " My dear Consul," I replied, " say to Miss Gamble, that the 
 offer to buy my copyright is a more delicate kind of bribery than 
 a direct offer of money, but that her purse is not my object. It 
 is not the damage my pocket has sustained, nor yet the wounds 
 inflicted on my heart, that cry for redress. Please to inform her 
 that, having been accused and cruelly punished for discreditable 
 acts I never committed, my purpose is to make my innocence 
 known. And say, besides, that the esteem of the humblest of 
 my friends is of more value to me than her whole fortune." 
 
 " But you may change your mind," said the Consul, as we 
 parted. 
 
 " Sooner expect, my dear Consul, the leopard to change his 
 spots f and I bid him a final and affectionate adieu. 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 395 
 
 CHAPTER XXYL 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 I RETURNED forthwith to London, and began the history of 
 My COURTSHIP AND ITS CONSEQUENCES." I felt the deepest 
 aversion, for Miss Gamble s sake, to bring these delicate details 
 before the public, and I thought it my duty to leave no means 
 untried that might prevent such a result. I never doubted that 
 if any third party would undertake it, that it would be easy to 
 show Miss Gamble how much it was her interest to endorse 
 some statement that, whilst vindicating me, would spare her 
 from annoyance. I wrote to Mrs. Grote, hoping, as she was so 
 well acquainted with the case, she might attempt it. She 
 expressed, in reply, however, her repugnance at doing so. After 
 giving various reasons, she continued 
 
 " In addition to the motives for this determination, founded on considera 
 tions personal to myself, I also feel averse to meddling further with the 
 concerns of other persons, especially those of another woman. Your 
 justification will turn upon the indiscretion and indecision of character 
 of Miss Gamble, as set forth in recent communications ; and if I were to 
 enter into these details, it would place me in the unpleasant position of 
 : referee as it were, which it would give me real uneasiness to assume. 
 You need not be anxious, however, about your position, since your numer 
 ous friends oft er you their cordial sympathy, and the estimable Mr. Inger- 
 Boll (the United States Minister at London) writes to you in so kindly a 
 strain. 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " HENRIETTA GROTE. 
 
 " 12, Savile Row, 
 
 Jun* 26<A, 1358." 
 
396 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 In despair at finding any one inclined to reason with Miss 
 Gamble, I continued to write on. During July, I remarked that 
 the old lady already mentioned as having called in Portland Place, 
 
 Mrs. S , of Half Moon street, and in whose house I resided, 
 
 manifested great anxiety that I should write to Miss Gamble, 
 saying she was sure it would be followed by some satisfactory 
 event. I did so, and in the most friendly terms ; but, as usual, 
 got no reply. It occurred to me, in August, to draw up a brief 
 preface to my book and print it, in order that Miss Gamble and 
 her friends might see that my motives were justifiable, and not 
 vindictive in taking the step proposed. I hoped, also, that Miss 
 Gamble, on seeing her name again in print, would reflect seri 
 ously before driving me to extremities. She took no notice of it 
 whatever. I sent a copy to Mrs. Grote, and she replied as 
 follows : 
 
 " 12 Scwile Row. 
 
 " The proof announces a temperate exposition of your case, and 
 I trust the sequel may serve to place your conduct in a fairer light 
 before both the American and English public. It is always far more 
 pleasing to me to see you clear yourself from unfavorable construction 
 than to see your character suffer. My own long intercourse with you 
 naturally leaves a disposition to wish you may succeed in putting your 
 self right before the world ; and I should be sorry to throw any obstacle 
 in the way of such an endeavor ****** 
 
 " I have not seen Mr. during many months, nor have I seen Miss 
 
 Gamble once. I have already told you that my acquaintance with that 
 lady began and ended in 1851. I do not know if ?lie is London, or even 
 in England. 
 
 " Wishing that you may render a fair version of your case acceptable to 
 those who have blamed your part in the affair, 
 
 I remain, vt-ry truly yours, 
 
 " HENRIETTA GKOTE. 
 
 * Au rruat 18^,1 S53." 
 
 At the end of September I had finished ray statement, but 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
 397 
 
 I was continually surprised at the extreme interest displayed by 
 
 the aforesaid Mrs. S , who often begged me to read to her 
 
 portions of my MSS. The mystery was at length solved, for 
 she confessed to me one day that she had been in the habit, 
 during the summer, of visiting Miss Gamble, and advising her 
 to comply with the reasonable proposition I had made. 
 
 "What !" I cried, in astonishment, "has Miss Gamble been 
 receiving you at her house, knowing that I was living at 
 yours ?" 
 
 * She has received me for that reason," replied Mrs. S , 
 
 " and I have given her constant information about you." 
 
 " So you have been a sort of spy of Miss Gamble s," I 
 remarked. 
 
 "But only for a good purpose," declared Mrs. S . 
 
 "We have talked it all over and over again. She admits 
 that if she had not loved you she would never have gone so 
 far ; and that you might have married her a hundred times. 
 She confesses she is very culpable, and has often shed tears at 
 what you have suffered." 
 
 " This is very extraordinary," I observed ; " but why have 
 you not told me this before ?" 
 
 " It is time enough now," answered Mrs. S . " I would 
 
 advise you to go up and see her. All may then be settled as 
 you wish." 
 
 "There is no doubt of it," I exclaimed ; " but until I have 
 her permission to call, I will not venture near Portland Place." 
 I should add that these statements were repeated by Mrs. 
 
 S to several persons. 
 
 It was, indeed, an agreeable surprise to learn that Miss Gam 
 ble s dispositions were so friendly that she had received on several 
 occasions the landlady of my lodgings, manifesting, at the same 
 time, her sense of all the wrongs I had endured. Knowing her 
 variable disposition, I thought it indiscreet to call on her without 
 
398 MY COURTSHII 
 
 her open consent. Under these circumstances, it was suggested 
 to me that Mr. Bates was a very proper person to take the mat 
 ter in hand, and I wrote to him in October to that effect. I 
 premised by reminding him how much injustice I had undergone, 
 but that I did not seek either retribution or compensation ; that 
 vindication, in short, was my only object. To prove that I held 
 materials in my hands to sustain me, I inclosed him several 
 important papers. He replied as follows 
 
 " 8 BisJiopsgate street, 
 
 "15<A November, 1S53. 
 
 SIR, On my return to town, after a week s absence, I found your let 
 ter, and which I will answer in the course of the week. I return the 
 papers you inclosed, no one having read them but myself. 
 
 " I am, sir, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " JOSHUA BATES. 
 "HENRY WIKOFF, Esq." 
 
 It afforded me extreme gratification to receive this letter from 
 Mr. Bates. I had naturally feared his mind was prejudiced 
 against me by the scandalous publications already mentioned, and 
 that perhaps he would not reply to me at all. His letter 
 removed all doubt on this point. It was important in other 
 respects, for as Mr. Bates, from having been the Trustee of Miss 
 Gamble, was fully acquainted with all that had occurred, it was 
 evident from his renewing correspondence with me that he 
 thought me unfairly treated. If he had supposed me guilty of 
 acts to merit the shameful imprisonment a Genoese .Judge had 
 imposed on me, it is certain that a man of Mr. Bates respecta 
 bility would have left my appeal unanswered. A few days later 
 I received the letter promised, which was conceived m the kind 
 est spirit, and informing me that he had complied with my 
 request to ascertain the intentions of Miss Gamble. After 
 expressing his friendly dispositions towards me, he added 
 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 399 
 
 " The lady you mention has, as she informs me, come to the deternu 
 nation of not seeing you. You must, therefore, excuse my further inter 
 ference in relation to her. I sincerely hope the time may come when 
 circumstances shall be changed. 
 
 " I remain, sir, 
 
 " Your very obedient servant. 
 
 " JOSHUA BATES." 
 
 Experience and trouble seemed to have no virtue for Miss 
 Gamble ; for after all the suffering entailed on herself and others 
 by her instability of conduct, here she was renewing the old 
 game just as if she were disposed to enter anew on a fresh cam 
 paign. It was painfully evident that the entire history of my 
 unfortunate relations with her must be given to the public with 
 out reserve. 
 
 Before stating positively what part Mr. Bates had taken, as 
 regards his alleged interference with my intended marriage in 
 1851, I thought it proper to investigate this matter anew. I 
 wrote, therefore, to him in the most amiable tone, to ask him to 
 receive the visit of a friend of mine, whom I named, and a per 
 son, as Mr. Bates knew, holding a very influential position in 
 Condon. He replied immediately 
 
 " 8 BisJiopsgute street, 
 
 " December 1st, 1858. 
 
 " SIR I have received your kind note of the 29th inst., and in reply 
 
 have to inform you that I am quite willing to see your friend, Mr. -, 
 
 here on any day, between eleven and four o clock. If I am out. it will 
 only be for a few moments. 
 
 " I am, sir, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " JOSHUA BATES. 
 " HENRY WIKOFF, ESQ." 
 
 Nothing could be more distinct and positive than the reply of 
 Mr. Bates to my friend, whom he assured that he had never in 
 
400 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 any manner interfered with or opposed my marriage to Miss Gam 
 ble, The assertion, then, of Judge Malaspina in Ins sentence, as 
 shown, is thus directly falsified by the emphatic declaration of 
 Mr. Bates in December last. 
 
 As it was essentially necessary to my story that I should 
 make use of the name of Mrs. Grote, I wrote to ascertain her 
 wishes thereon. She made no objection, as may be seen in her 
 reply 
 
 " 12, Savile How, 
 
 " January 5th, 1854. 
 
 " I have not replied earlier to your last letter, because I have had more 
 to do and more to think of than it was possible for me to get through with. 
 Moreover, in such weather my powers of head-work or writing are at their 
 minimum. *********** 
 
 " I concluded you were in the United States ere this, not having heard 
 from you, or a whisper as to the result of your tentative, since the day I 
 saw ycu at my villa, some seven or eight weeks back, I think. 
 
 " I hope, if you do bring my name in, it will not be in a way to be inju 
 rious or offensive to me. I do not like the idea of any of my letters being 
 quoted. However, I shall await your apologetic publication before I com 
 plain of breach of confidence. I am glad to hear it will be composed 
 without doing harm to any one ; and if you can get absolved by the pub 
 lic, it will be a proud day for you ! 
 
 I read your article in , but it seems to me too eulogistic of Lord . 
 
 I do not believe that , or any such person, is likely to imperil the 
 
 good understanding which reigns between England and the United States, 
 but you will do well to counter-work the possible harm which the homage 
 paid to such people is calculated to engender. 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 HENRIETTA GROTE." 
 
 Before I could bring myself to take the decisive step of put 
 ting my MSS. in the hands of the printer, to which I felt the 
 most invincible dislike, I forced myself to make another despe 
 rate appeal to Miss Gamble. I wrote to her two or three times 
 in succession, using the mildest language, aud making the most 
 
AND ITS C N 3 Z Q U ! . X C E S . 401 
 
 earnest and affectionate representations. I offered to take all 
 the blame of past events on myself, and to admit that it was my 
 folly or precipitation which had involved me in so much misery. 
 I expressed the most profound contrition for any pain or vexa 
 tion I might have caused her, and said if she would give me a 
 chance to redeem my future and spare her further publicity, that 
 I would make any sacrifice she chose to demand. It was in 
 vain that I cried 
 
 Me, me adsum qui feci, in me 
 convertite ferrum." 
 
 I received, as previously, neither reply nor message. A stony 
 silence was the sole response to all my pleadings and prayers. 
 More in sorrow than in anger, I committed my eventful story 
 to print ; but when half completed, I sent it to Miss Gamble, 
 lest she might unhappily think I had been uttering an idle 
 threat. Further then this, I called upon a relative of hers, and 
 one of her chief advisers. I repeated to him, that a statement 
 signed by Miss Gamble and myself would be received by the 
 public as conclusive, and surely she would not hold back if one 
 could be drawn up that, without compromising her, would exon 
 erate me. This person demanded if 1 would be content with such 
 a document without publishing it. 
 
 II What would that avail me ?" I asked. " Have I not been 
 publicly assailed and traduced, and if my vindication is not made 
 known, I shall live always exposed to the attacks of malice and 
 the stings of calumny ?" 
 
 My task is done. I commit my fate into the hands of the 
 public. I point to the follies of none. I seek not to disguise 
 my own errors. I invoke not the dread censure of the public 
 voice upon any whose acts I have recorded. I pray pardon for 
 myself, if, in carelessness or excitement, I may have overstepped 
 
402 MY COURTSHIP 
 
 the bounds of propriety, good taste, or correct feeling. Not 
 seeking, then, the injury or annoyance of any one, I trust that, 
 in the statement I have made, the public will see sufficient to 
 award me exemption from the heavy pains and penalties that 
 pursue the unhappy man whose position, by any chance, has 
 become a false one. 
 
ADDENDA 
 
ADDENDA, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 IT was about the middle of June last that my book was 
 printed, and I sent copies at once to Miss Gamble, and her 
 immediate advisers. I earnestly hoped that when they saw 
 my case so clearly elucidated, and my claims to justice so 
 fully established, that a fair and generous offer would be 
 promptly made of the simple reparation I had demanded. All 
 I wanted was a statement, signed by Miss Gamble, that I was 
 not guilty of any violent or indelicate conduct towards her 
 whilst in my apartment, at Genoa, November 15, 1851, and, 
 consequently, that the wide-spread allegations, that I had 
 menaced her with pistols and chloroform, were utterly false and 
 calumnious. To my astonishment, a month elapsed without any 
 notice being taken of my warning. I was now forced to 
 believe what many of my friends had declared, that I would be 
 driven, at last, to take up arms against the band of conspira 
 tors, who from the start had made use of Miss Gamble to 
 prostrate me. To save herself from publicity she would, no 
 doubt, have gladly given me the certificate of innocence I 
 requested, but this would have unmasked the individuals who, 
 for their own purposes, had urged her on ; and, above all, 
 
406 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 it would have exposed the game of the officials of the English 
 Government at Genoa and Turin, Timothy Brown and James 
 Hudson, and left them at my mercy. To prevent this, every 
 effort was strained, and Miss Gamble was kept silent. The 
 alternative was indeed a painful one, but I had no choice. Up 
 to this hour, I had never offered any explanation to my friends, 
 American or English, of what had transpired at Genoa, 
 because I desired to spare Miss Gamble, in doing so, if she 
 could be induced to act fairly towards me. After wasting 
 eighteen months in London, a prey to all the calumnies so long 
 current, I saw it was impossible to detach her from the sinister 
 clique that hedged her around ; so I stooped, at length, to pick 
 up their gauntlet, and girded myself for the struggle. I 
 began my vindication in earnest, by distributing copies of my 
 book, in July last, amongst my American friends in London, 
 and waited for the result with feverish anxiety. The effect was 
 beyond my expectations, for not one read it whose previous 
 impressions were not changed on the spot. American feeling 
 was vehemently stirred, not more at the foul play of the 
 Genoese Tribunal than by the undignified and unjustifiable inter 
 ference of the agents of the English Government in Sardinia. 
 At this critical juncture for me, there was an American, acci 
 dentally in London, who, after reading my case, did not scruple 
 in all places to declare his opinion clearly and strongly in my 
 favor, and which was all the more important from his known 
 ability and high social position. At a dinner, given to him by 
 the American Minister in London, he took occasion to enliven 
 the company by his racy comments on the novel details of my 
 book, but went further, and declared me to be the victim of a 
 conspiracy, whose motives he was at a loss to comprehend. 
 What he had the frankness to say on American ground he had 
 the tact to insinuate in a more dainty quarter; for at a banquet 
 at Lord Palmerston s, soon afterwards, on hearing my adventure 
 
ADDENDA. 407 
 
 discussed, he expressed similar views, which lost none of their 
 effect from that easy self-possession and finished phrase, which 
 none better than he can wield, when fitting to his purpose. I 
 trust that Mr. John Van Buren will excuse the mention of his 
 name, for I cannot, to my own satisfaction, forego this first 
 opportunity of making him my hearty acknowledgments. 
 
 Finding that the statement of my case had met the approval 
 of my friends, I determined to submit it forthwith to the 
 English and American public, who had been led into false con 
 clusions by such artful misrepresentations. As the final judg 
 ment of my own countrymen was to me a matter of far more 
 importance, I resolved to publish, first, in New York, and made 
 preparations for my departure. This was no sooner known, 
 than, to my surprise, I was asked by a person of distinction, 
 who took a lively interest in the matter, if I were still disposed 
 to accept the retractation of Miss Gamble, that I had so 
 repeatedly called for. 
 
 " Your only object/ he remarked, "is to be reinstated in the 
 opinion of your friends and the public. Will a pointed refuta 
 tion, then, on the part of Miss Gamble, of all the discreditable 
 acts attributed to you, meet your wishes, and induce you to 
 suppress the publication you contemplate ?" 
 
 " Yes," I promptly replied, " it is all I have ever asked." 
 
 "Then write me a letter to that effect, and I will lay it 
 immediately before Sir W. Gore Ouseley." 
 
 "Sir W. Gore Ouseley," I repeated, in a tone of suspicion 
 "Why is Miss Gamble not left to act for herself. Who is more 
 competent than she to decide in such a matter ?" 
 
 No answer was returned, and I hesitated what course to take, 
 for I knew the wily old diplomatist, Sir W. Gore Ouseley, was 
 on intimate terms with certain leading members of the Govern 
 ment, and I could not conceive why he was set up as the super 
 visor of a friendly compromise between Miss Gamble and myself. 
 
408 ADDENDA. 
 
 There seemed to exist a lively apprehension at my renewing 
 friendly relations with Miss Gamble, lest / should obtain such 
 information from her as would compromise, the, wire-pullers behind 
 her. I agreed, however, to write the letter so formally solicited, 
 but was informed in a few days afterwards, that Sir W. Gore 
 Ouseley had left town. Here was more mystery, but I was no 
 longer to be the dupe of diplomatic manoeuvres, and so I took my 
 passage, at once, in one of the Southampton steamers for New 
 York. 
 
 The day previous to leaving London, I received the visit of a 
 member of the United States Legation, an old acquaintance, 
 who had, with his characteristic good nature, undertaken to see 
 Mr. Bates once more on my part. For the satisfaction of my 
 mind, I wished to ascertain whether Mr. Bates was likely to be 
 displeased at the use of his name in my book, and, more import 
 ant still, what view Miss Gamble took of tiie publication, now 
 so near. 
 
 " You have seen Mr. Bates?" I said to my friend, as he seated 
 himself in my room, on the morning in question. 
 
 " Yes," he replied, " I dined with him at Sheen,* yesterday." 
 
 " Did you sound him on the point of introducing him into my 
 my book ?" 
 
 " I did." 
 
 " Does he object ?" 
 
 " He avoided giving me any direct reply." 
 
 " From which you infer ?" I queried. 
 
 " That he cares nothing about the matter," was the answer 
 of my friend. 
 
 " I am glad of it ; but now for the main point. What says 
 he of Miss Gamble s feelings, regarding the book ?" 
 
 " He thinks that Miss Gamble has quite made up her mind 
 
 * The splendid country residence of Mr. Bates, some tire miles from London. 
 
ADDENDA. 409 
 
 to it, and looks forward to its publication with indifference. 
 She has remarked that it will soon blow over, and seems to 
 care nothing as to what people may say or think on the 
 subject." 
 
 " I rejoice at this beyond measure," I said with animation. 
 " It is just what I expected, for I have been told that notoriet} 
 is not offensive to her. The assurance you give me, however, 
 from Mr. Bates, that she is quite unconcerned, calms my mind 
 completely, for in spite of the necessity, I shrunk from the 
 thought of annoying her." 
 
 " Give me your address at New York," demanded my visitor, 
 rising, "in case I should have anything to communicate." 
 
 " Here it is," I replied, " but I consider all negotiation at an 
 end." 
 
 It was a bright and beautiful morning, the llth of October 
 last, when I jumped, at seven, A. M., into the railway train, 
 for Southampton. My reflections on the road, however, were 
 not in unison with the lovely weather, for they were sombre even 
 to melancholy. " The struggle is ended," I repeated mechani 
 cally, " though not as I wished." But as Othello said, " who 
 can control his fate ?" 
 
 I rattled down at hot speed, on reaching Southampton, to the 
 office of the United States Consul there, who had just put him 
 self boldly at the head of a new and splendid steam enterprise, 
 from that port to New York. 
 
 " Have you reserved a place for me, my Dear Croskey," I 
 asked, on shaking him by the hand. 
 
 " The best in the ship," he answered ; " I have put you in 
 with the Baron de G 1, the Prussian Minister at Washing 
 ton. So you will have the choicest company, as well as a good 
 berth." 
 
 " I shall wear you in my heart of hearts/ my dear friend, for 
 this, and numberless other marks of kindness." 
 
 18 
 
410 ADDENDA. 
 
 I had just time to pay my respects to our worthy Consul s 
 wife (a paragon of sweetness, par parenthese), when I was 
 obliged to hurry on board ; and as the clock struck noon the 
 engine creaked, and the "Washington" roused herself to her 
 work. 
 
 I left Europe with little regret, for, certes, my last three 
 years there were of a kind to inspire little satisfaction. It was 
 the darkest and stormiest period of my life, strewn over with 
 scattered prospects, broken hopes, and stranded fortunes. In 
 that short period I had fallen from a splendid position, with 
 everything within my reach to gild ambition, into the murky 
 depths of a prison, where I lay wallowing for fifteen mortal 
 months. It was a trying ordeal, indeed, and though the pressure 
 was tremendous enough to crush my former levity of disposition 
 into pieces, yet I was not inclined to sit down moodily, like 
 Woolsey, in the play, and moralize over " the fate of man." 
 That "unlimited pluck" which never utterly forsakes a Yankee, 
 and which justifies other nations in supposing him to be a mix 
 ture of cork, India-rubber, and steel such is the pliancy, 
 buoyancy, and elasticity of his nature under every vicissitude of 
 fortune these genuine traits of my fatherland, I say, did not 
 desert me now ; and though, like Coleridge s Ancient Mariner, I 
 was returning home "a sadder and a wiser man," still rny ener 
 gies were not impaired, nor the resolution wanting to begin the 
 battle of life again. " All s lost save honor," cried Francis the 
 First, after the fight of Pavia, but with such a weapon as that 
 in the hand a man may easily win his way up again. 
 
 Whether it was a kind of repugnance at meeting old friends 
 again, under the circumstances, or, really, that it was the 
 pleasant company I found aboard the good ship Washington, 
 whose worthy Commander, Capt. Lines, was one of my oldest 
 friends, I know not, but it was the first time I never found a 
 sea-voyage irksome. I had some most profitable conversations 
 
ADDENDA 41 1 
 
 on politics with the Baron de G , whoso charming affa 
 bility, large instruction, and admirably balanced mind, made his 
 conversation exceedingly attractive to all who fell under its 
 fascination. The Baron gave some admirable reasons for Prus 
 sian neutrality, in spite of the interested arguments of the 
 London Times. I discussed, occasionally, the chances of the 
 War with a most amiable Russian gentleman, attached to the 
 
 Legation at Washington, M. de B . He seemed quite easy 
 
 as to the final result, simply venturing to doubt whether the 
 Allies would not be the first to cry " quits." I found a rara, 
 avis on board, in the shape of a New York lawyer, who, in spite 
 of his parchments and musty folios, had preserved intact an 
 ardent love of literature and the fine arts. One of his striking 
 peculiarities was the most retentive memory for poetry I ever 
 met, and I never heard any ono recite it with better " emphasis 
 and discretion." Mr. Scoles made a capital speech for us at 
 our last dinner, and if he is as effective a speaker in Court 
 as out, I should like nothing better than to be one of his 
 audience. A somewhat laughable thing occurred to me a couple 
 of days out. My desire was to preserve an incognito as far as 
 possible, and I was glad to find no one I recognized amongst 
 our numerous passengers. I begged the Captain, if he were 
 asked about me, to reply in the words of the once popular 
 ballad 
 
 " Oh, no, we never mention him, 
 His name is never heard." 
 
 I was getting on most pleasantly, in the full enjoyment of my 
 delightful obscurity, when one day at dinner, I was dreadfully 
 startled by a worthy gentleman at my table saying, in a good, 
 loud voice, 
 
 " I believe I had the pleasure of seeing you at Genoa a 
 couple of years since," and he fixed his eyes searchingly on me. 
 
412 ADDENDA. 
 
 If a cold shower bath had suddenly been let down on me, I 
 could not have had a more sudden shock. I was strongly 
 tempted to deny my identity, and thought for a moment of 
 setting up an alibi. It was necessary to say something, and so 
 I ventured to remark 
 
 " Yes, that is very likely. I have passed through there 
 several times." 
 
 By way of turning the conversation, for I felt danger ahead, 
 I begged my unknown to take wine with me. He assented 
 readily, but continued his catechism. 
 
 " You were not passing through, when I saw you," he said 
 smiling, " you were staying there, but not entirely as a matter 
 of choice." 
 
 "Ah !" I returned, getting a little confused, for everybody 
 was listening. " You feel, then, quite sure that I am the person 
 you refer to ?" I tried to look as little like myself as possible, 
 but it was no use. 
 
 Sure, perfectly sure," he answered. " Your name is 
 Wikoff." 
 
 The game was up. 
 
 " And yours ?" I demanded, getting desperate. 
 " Alderman Mayuard, of New York." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Alderman," I said, recollecting only his 
 good feeling for me at the time ; " I remember distinctly your 
 visit with Mr. Daniel D. Howard, and a party of Americans; but 
 you can well believe that I am far more pleased to see you here 
 than in the horrible den your sympathies induced you to enter." 
 "It was an awful place, to be sure," returned the kind- 
 hearted Alderman, " and a greater outrage was never committed 
 on any man. There was some dark motive at the bottom 
 of it." 
 
 From that time it was all up with my incognito, for it flew 
 from mouth to mouth that I was the identical hero of the 
 
ADDENDA. 413 
 
 Gamble Abduction, at Genoa, and I was compelled to run the 
 gauntlet of curious eyes. To my satisfaction, however, I found 
 that the opinion was general that I had been most hardly dealt 
 with, and that political intrigue, rather than legal fairness, had 
 led to my imprisonment. As I was discovered, I thought the 
 occasion a good one to try the effect of my book, of which I had 
 a couple of copies by me. The Baron de G read it. 
 
 "What will the diplomatic world think of that, Baron?" I 
 asked rather anxiously. 
 
 " The diplomatic world," he replied, " keep their thoughts to 
 themselves, you know, but if they laugh as heartily as I have 
 done over it, they will be exceedingly amused." 
 
 " I am glad of it," I added, " for I had no idea of making my 
 eventful history a pendant to the sorrows of Werter. " 
 
 " I predict a great success," continued the Baron, " il fera 
 fureur. The ladies will devour it." 
 
 " But your opinion, Baron," I said, trying to force through 
 his diplomatic reserve, " your opinion is ?" 
 
 " Opinion I have none, but here is my hand. I shall be 
 
 delighted to see you when you come to Washington." 
 
 " Thanks, M. le Baron ; I am deeply sensible of your kind 
 ness." 
 
 It was vastly gratifying, certainly, to think that the verdict 
 
 of good society would be in my favor, for the Baron de G 
 
 would have acted differently if he had found any serious grounds 
 for censure in the perusal of my adventure. I next handed my 
 
 book to my lawyer friend, Mr. S , for the view of a man of 
 
 the world is apt to be more tolerant than the reflecting and 
 graver side of society. 
 
 " How do you like it ?" I asked, when he returned it. 
 
 " It is deeply interesting," he replied. 
 
 I saw he was attracted by the romantic features of the story. 
 
 " But, plainly, what do you think of it ?" 
 
414 ADDENDA. 
 
 " Why, that I never read a case so powerfully supported by 
 documentary evidence." 
 
 " Good I" I said, delighted. " You have expressed yourself 
 quite professionally, but you could not have said anything more 
 conclusive." 
 
 The "Washington" made a splendid run of it for the season 
 of the year, for we reached New York in our thirteenth 
 day. 
 
 I drove to my old quarters in Washington Place, but found 
 that my quondam landlord, keeping pace with the development 
 of this extraordinary country, had put himself at the head of a 
 hotel, the St. Denis, treble the size of his old one, but I fol 
 lowed in pursuit of him, for M. Jullien is not only the most 
 assiduous of landlords, but by no means a bad versifier when his 
 Republican Muse gets her blood up. He was not more delighted 
 to see me than I was glad to find an apartment in his well 
 ordered house. 
 
 I made up my mind to call on none of my old friends till my 
 vindication was in their hands ; the greeting, however, of those 
 I met by chance, showed me how deep was the impression that 
 I had been unfairly handled. My former comrades of the press 
 were right cordial in their printed salutations ; and the news no 
 sooner circulated that I was going to unfold the budget of my 
 mishaps, than I found myself the sought-for of publishers. I 
 thought, perchance, the ticklish nature of my book might com 
 pel me to take up with a second-class man ; but such is the hot 
 competition now-a-days to publish anything likely to sell, that I 
 found no difficulty in making my choice. Whilst still undecided, 
 my eye fell upon a book advertisement in one of the newspapers, 
 that was so ingeniously done, that my mind was made up on the 
 spot. J. C. DERBY is the publisher for me, and I inquired after 
 his character forthwith. He was all my fancy painted him, 
 and liberal besides, for he made no difficulty about the terms, 
 
ADDENDA. 415 
 
 and our bargain was made in a trice. He turned me over, 
 at once, to his nimble-handed Printer, TINSON, who began to 
 " set me up " at the rate of forty pages a day, in spite of all his 
 other books on hand. 
 
 I am not entirely wanting in sang-froid, and, forsooth, a man 
 who has gone through a trial for " abduction," and been consigned 
 for fifteen months to an Italian prison, can afford to snap his 
 fingers at Fate, and laugh her caprices to scorn. Still, in spite 
 of my well-strung nerves, I began to wince and shiver as I 
 drifted nearer and nearer to that roaring and surging abyss, so 
 soon to gulp me down the Public, I mean. I felt no concern, 
 as the repentant Richard did, as to what " after ages would 
 think of me," but I was keenly alive to the recriminations of 
 the present one. The Press rose before my startled vision 
 armed in all its terrors, and the ultimatum they were likely 
 to pronounce upon the pecadilloes of an unintentional abductor, 
 who never meant to " achieve greatness " in that line, was my 
 thought by day and my dream by night. Shall I confess it ? 
 I was acutely uneasy as to what the "New York Herald" 
 would say, though, peradventure, I am not the only author 
 or sinner, that has had a qualm on a similar occasion. This is 
 not the time or place to discuss anything so eccentric as my 
 acquaintance with James Gordon Bennett, but I mean to do it 
 some day. We were friends once j enemies since, and have now 
 subsided into a middle state, where anger halts and reflection 
 begins. 
 
 Our first meeting was rather comical. I was one of the 
 seven audacious passengers that embarked on the ill-fated 
 " Sirius" on her first voyage from New York. I was startled 
 to hear that Bennett was on board; for at that time, May, 1838, 
 he gave free scope to his slashing powers and satirical vein, and 
 everybody trembled lest it might be his turn next. I looked 
 anxiously round on the upper deck where I was standing, as we 
 
416 ADDENDA. 
 
 steamed down the bay, and sidling up to a quiet and inoffensive 
 looking man near me, said 
 
 " Do you know the Editor of the Herald is aboard ?" 
 
 " I believe he is," he answered. 
 
 " I only wish I knew him by sight." 
 
 " What for ?" queried the gentlemanly sort of person I was 
 talking to. 
 
 " Why, that I might keep out of his way. He will be sure 
 to stick me in that confounded Herald of his." 
 
 " He doesn t confer that honor on everybody," said my 
 facetious friend, laughing. 
 
 "Egad, I would not. trust him. Have you ever seen him ?" 
 I asked. 
 
 " Yery frequently," was the reply. 
 
 " That s lucky. Do point the ogre out to me if you see him 
 near us ?" 
 
 " I don t see him, but you may if you look at me. I am the 
 Editor of the Herald." 
 
 What I felt and looked, on this trying occasion, I don t 
 remember now, but suffice it to say, that I found him so 
 agreeable and intelligent a companion that I made it a point to 
 cultivate his acquaintance. In the course of the long and desul 
 tory warfare that some years afterwards broke out between us, I 
 occasionally lost my temper, and said sundry harsh things which 
 it would do me no discredit to extenuate ; but he took his ven 
 geance by frequently tossing me sky-high in his great blanket- 
 sheet, more to the amusement of the public than to my 
 own satisfaction. But in all this rough and tumble work I 
 could never detect any great malice. It was more like the 
 " didn t mean to hurt you " shaking, that a boisterous school 
 boy, in mirth, occasionally administers to his inferior in muscle. 
 I could always imagine a smile playing over the stern {fhysio- 
 gnomy of the redoubted Editor, when he was spinning a para- 
 
ADDENDA. 417 
 
 graph at the expense of his " Chevalier/ rather than an 
 expression of scorn, or hate. Perhaps, though, was my recent 
 uncomfortable reflection, he has only been waiting with that 
 wonderful self-control which characterizes him, till he gets a fair 
 chance at me. Bennett never goes after his game; he takes his 
 stand like a deer-stalker, till the prey runs by, when he fires 
 quick and deadly. It is unnecessary for him to swing his gun 
 round, for his sagacity in shooting " folly as it flies" enables 
 him to bag paragraphs beyond his need. Dreading his sarcasm, 
 and shrinking from his ridicule, I wrote my book with far more 
 care than I would else have done. Still, with his penetration, 
 that would go through a Chinese wall, much more a grind-stone, 
 and a tact that it would be more difficult to circumvent than to 
 make the Northwest passage, is it wonderful I appeal to the 
 whole tribe of abductors, in esse, or posse that I felt anything 
 but "calm as a summer s morn," on reflecting over what might 
 befall me at the hands of the "sweet little cherub that sits up 
 aloft," keeping a sharp look-out over the destinies of the " New 
 York Herald." If influence could have effected anything, I 
 would have tried my hand at it ; but I knew my man better. 
 Steering an iceberg with a straw, would be a more sane under 
 taking than to pilot J. Gr. Bennett by the nose, down any road 
 you might like to have him travel. I could use many striking 
 similes (but I will spare my reader), to illustrate the swift 
 transition in my feelings, from moody perplexity to ineffable 
 satisfaction, on the morning of November 18th, last, when, 
 taking up the "Herald" at breakfast, I found, instead of a 
 bomb scattering desolation around me, a magnificent display of 
 Bennett s pyrotechnical wit, flashing, scintillating, brilliantly 
 exploding, and casting a radiance over my book, myself, and my 
 prospects, that dazzled my eyes and bewildered my senses. It 
 was clear that the incomprehensible genius who wrote that 
 original and piquant effusion, was disposed to give me "a fair 
 
 18* 
 
418 ADDENDA. 
 
 chance and some favor." I don t know if Mr. Horace Greeley, 
 or the immortal Barnum, altogether liked their share of it, but 
 for my part, it was the first time for many years that I was not 
 forced (a very disagreeable thing, by-the-by) to join in a laugh 
 at my own expense. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THURLOW WEED. 
 
 BEFORE my book was wholly out of the printer s hands, I felt 
 a lively itching to get hold of Mr. Thurlow Weed, who had 
 libelled me in so unconscionable a manner, as I have already 
 stated. "Who is Blennerhasset ?" demanded the eloquent Wirt, 
 a long time ago ; and he set to work to explain as nobody but 
 himself really knew. But who Thurlow Weed is, it is quite 
 unnecessary to say ; for who don t know him, at least, in this 
 glorious Empire State of ours ? From the time of Morgan s dis 
 appearance (the recreant Mason), and his subsequent discovery, 
 without whiskers, by this adroit, and some say, unscrupulous 
 politician, more than twenty years ago, he has been hard at 
 work maneuvering, paragraphing, and lobbying, in order to build 
 up his own party, and pull the other down, till, at last, we 
 behold him lo Triomphe, at the very top of the political dung-hill, 
 flapping his wings and crowing with a lustiness that may be 
 heard all the way to Washington. The moment was opportune 
 to approach him; for success, like heat, opens the pores of the 
 heart, and I thought I might be able to awaken his sympathy, 
 if I failed to find his conscience. Mr. Weed did me incalculable 
 injury by the insidious version he published, two years ago, of 
 
ADDENDA . 419 
 
 my courtship and subsequent "abduction" of Miss Gamble. The 
 matter was so exciting the parties so well known, that every 
 body read it ; and written by Mr. Weed on the spot, at the dic 
 tation of Miss Gamble, as he stated, everybody believed it. 
 Whereas the story was an ingenious misrepresentation from 
 beginning to end. Regarding Mr. Weed as the dupe of Miss 
 Gamble s frolicksome fancies, and believing that he had merely 
 recorded what she had related, I thought it only fair to give him 
 a chance to retract. The job, however, was a delicate one. An 
 Editor has a natural aversion to inform his readers that he has 
 misled them. Besides, if Mr. Weed, as a chronicler, proved that 
 he was not to be trusted, might not people hereafter put less 
 faith in the politician? Worse than all, as Mr. Weed had taken 
 Miss Gamble s side without due investigation, it was very 
 awkward for him to turn round and take up an adverse position 
 to his former protegee, and accuse her of having falsified. One 
 thing or the other it was necessary for him to do. To confess 
 that he had defamed me unintentionally, and be forgiven ; or, to 
 declare that he stood by his libel, and be convicted by an im 
 partial jury. It was impossible to imagine a subtle politician in 
 a worse predicament, and I was curious to see what means he 
 would employ to get out of it. I was sure the public would 
 enjoy the sport, for though our sympathies may be touched by 
 the trembling gazelle, as it flies from the hunter, who cares for 
 the fate of an old fox who has numberless tricks to answer for ? 
 I was told he was very adroit. I knew no one was a greater 
 adept in the mysteries of hocus pocus, than himself. Feeling I 
 was no match for a political juggler of such rare skill and large 
 experience, I saw that if I were not very cautious, Mr. Weed 
 would slip through my fingers, and leave me high and dry with 
 out retractation, or a case for a jury. Caution is a bump that 
 Phrenologists tell me I totally lack, and so opposed is my nature 
 to deliberation, that I always throw myself headlong at rav 
 
420 ADDENDA. 
 
 object, male or female, and leave the rest to inspiration. Audacity 
 has done more for me than prudence, and I have often rushed in, 
 as the proverb says, when angels would have stopped at the 
 threshold. Without any warning, I meant to confront Mr. Weed 
 suddenly, for the coolest men are often thrown on their haunches 
 by surprise. I took the steamer, December 1, for Albany, and at 
 eight next morning found myself in the neat office of the Evening 
 Journal. I was informed Mr. Weed was at the Astor House, 
 New York. This was vexatious, but if I had written to him, I 
 might never have found him at all. I was shrewd enough not to 
 give my name, but took the H. R. railway at eleven, A. M., 
 back again. Without meaning it, Mr. Weed had given me a 
 dodge at the outset. It looked as if he were under the influence 
 that ruled Macbeth, when he said to his adversary, " Of all men 
 else have I avoided thee." 
 
 "Is Mr. Weed in the hotel? I. asked at the office of the 
 Astor House, which I reached by five the same afternoon. 
 
 " He is talking with some gentlemen in the rotunda," was the 
 answer. 
 
 " Point him out to me ?" I said to a waiter, for I had never 
 seen him. 
 
 He did so, and I approached a very tall man, of middle age, 
 who turned as I sounded his name. 
 
 " I would like an hour s conversation with you this evening," 
 I said, addressing him, " on important business." 
 
 He peered curiously in my face, and looked as if he wondered 
 who the deuce I could be. 
 
 I didn t mean to tell him, then. 
 
 " Let me see," he replied, gazing at me all the time, " I have 
 not dined yet." 
 
 " Will you be at leisure by eight o clock ?" I inquired. 
 
 He meditated a moment, but curiosity predominated. 
 
 " Yes ? you will find me at eight o clock." 
 
ADDENDA. 421 
 
 I smiled frequently, whilst eating my own dinner, at thinking 
 what a dose awaited the unsuspecting Editor of the Evening 
 Journal. I had to swallow mine when flat on my back in an 
 Italian prison. He can bolt his with the best wine of the Astor 
 House to wash it down, whilst drinking to the victory of his 
 own candidate for Governor. 
 
 " I have come rather before my time," I said apologetically, 
 as I entered Mr. Weed s parlor. I thought it best to come 
 earlier than expected, lest he might be out of the way. 
 
 " Don t mention it," he said, pleasantly offering me a chair, 
 " I am very glad to see you." 
 
 " You may be less so when you hear my name is Wikoff." 
 " Wikoff !" he ejaculated, and nearly dropped the poker he 
 was approaching the fire with, " Indeed!" he continued, staring 
 at me in astonishment. 
 
 " Yes, I have called on you, Mr. Weed, to ask why you did 
 not do as much for me when you were in Genoa, and I was in 
 prison, before publishing a defamatory statement." 
 
 Mr. Weed poked the fire unmercifully hemmed asked me 
 if I wouldn t prefer sitting on the sofa or if I liked a rocking- 
 chair best, and he offered me his own. 
 
 I saw he was dreadfully put to it, and to give him time to 
 recover, and get his wits to rights, I went on rattling about 
 Genoa, Miss Gamble, myself, himself, and the wonderful 
 account he had given of the whole matter. I was perfectly 
 cool, courteous, and secretly amused. By this time Richard 
 was himself again. He got down into a corner of the sofa near 
 to me ; his face was flushed, but his agitation was inward, for 
 externally he was calm. I had been analyzing him whilst 
 talking. His manner was soft and conciliatory. Subtle men 
 are said to have this peculiarity. His face had an agreeable 
 aspect, but his eye troubled me considerably. It was difficult 
 to see it at all, for his eyebrow was heavy and bushy, and he 
 
422 ADDENDA. 
 
 could let it down like a curtain, until the organ was nearly 
 invisible. 
 
 I ll make him open his eyes before we part, I mentally 
 resolved. 
 
 " I assure you," said Mr. Weed, in an expostulating tone, " I 
 never dreamt the little story I wrote home about it would go 
 beyond Albany." 
 
 " It might not, if it had been written with less skill." 
 
 Mr. Weed was not insensible to compliment, I saw, for he 
 11 grinned a ghastly smile " at the allusion to his ability. 
 
 He then began talking of Miss Gamble, and I soon pene 
 trated his tactics. He was misled by my manner. Seeing I 
 was not at all angry, he thought he could dandle me into a 
 pliant mood, by repeating all the nattering things Miss Gamble 
 had said. I affected to give way to his soothing treatment, for 
 he would be less on his guard if he thought I had fallen into his 
 trap. 
 
 " I assure you," he said in a purring way, " she showed the 
 liveliest interest for you almost talked of you with tears in her 
 e y es rea d over to me all your letters which were admirably 
 written." 
 
 I smiled, that he might think he was doing me. 
 
 "Yes," he went on, "she was dreadfully shocked at your 
 being shut up in a prison." 
 
 " Well, I admit, Mr. Weed," I replied, in a gentle voice, 
 " that I am deeply gratified at these details, which I cannot 
 doubt, as you assert them. It appears, then, that Miss Gamble 
 was really attached to me. Did she admit that she had pledged 
 me her hand ?" 
 
 " Yes, she did ; but frequently expressed her doubts as to 
 your affection for her. She wondered why you did not offer 
 marriage in her best day.s, but waited till she had come in to a 
 large fortune." 
 
ADDENDA. 423 
 
 This was a sly hit, which he thought would dampen me some 
 what. 
 
 " She may have said this to you," I continued, " but she 
 always declared to my consul, Dr. Baker, and to everybody 
 else, that I had gone stark mad about her. She valued herself 
 too highly to believe her fortune alone drew me on ; she knew, 
 farther, that I had a handsome salary from the English govern 
 ment ; and she was, also, aware that I had abandoned for her 
 another match, with a large fortune. It is idle, though, to dis 
 cuss these matters now. What I want to say, is " 
 
 " Do you know," persisted Mr. Weed, hoping to soften me this 
 time effectually, "that I should not be astonished if it ended in 
 a marriage yet ? I always thought so, and said as much to Miss 
 Gamble." 
 
 " What did she reply ?" 
 
 " She smiled, but said nothing to the contrary." 
 
 " It was then the best thing," I declared ; " but now it is too 
 late. By-the-by, you have not told me yet why you published 
 her story, without coming to hear mine." 
 
 "Haven t I?" he returned, apparently surprised. "There 
 was a reason, at the time. Let me see." 
 
 He pulled away at his cigar, and looked up and down in 
 search of some ingenious pretext. 
 
 " There ought to be a good reason, Mr. Weed," I remarked ; 
 for both as a Journalist and a just man, it was blamablo to pub 
 lish an ex-parte statement. " If you had only come to me" 
 
 "Oh 1 I remember," he resumed, " what prevented me. I 
 had nearly forgotten it." 
 
 " What was it ?" I asked, really curious. 
 
 " Yes, that was it. I knew there was something ;" and he 
 jumped up and put his back to the fire, as though he wished to 
 warm up his idea before dishing it. 
 
 "Well?" I queried. 
 
424 ADDENDA. 
 
 " Why, in short, I was told that you relied on the British 
 government for protection, and that you didn t care about hav 
 ing anything to do with Americans." 
 
 Bravissimo! I cried to myself; Talleyrand himself could not 
 have done better. If I had allowed myself to be disarmed by 
 this absurdity, he would have had an excuse for the public, and 
 a quietus for me. 
 
 "It is strange," I replied, with the utmost gravity, " that 
 a man of your sagacity was so easily misled ; for you knew that 
 the champion of Miss Gamble was the British" Consul, whilst the 
 U. S. Consul, Dr. Baker, was my sole defender. From this, it 
 appears that you took the British side of the question." 
 
 " Well, I may be mistaken," said the hardened politician, not 
 in the least abashed to find his rocket fly back in his own face. 
 
 "But let me ask you a question or so," I continued, " about 
 the famous abduction. What did Miss Gamble tell you about 
 that r 
 
 " Not a word to your discredit," replied Mr. Weed ; and off 
 he went again on the soothing tack. " She said distinctly that 
 you were not guilty of the smallest indelicacy in word or act." 
 
 " Why, you don t say so !" quoth I, this time greatly 
 astonished. 
 
 " Indeed I do," he continued. " She said that she never had 
 the least apprehension of any personal violence."* 
 
 I have got you in a tight place at last, methinks, was my 
 inward reflection. 
 
 "That is very important, Mr. Weed," I remarked aloud, 
 "Are you sure that your recollection serves you faithfully?" 
 
 " I can t be mistaken in that? he replied ; " for I wrote down 
 all she said the moment I left her, and while it was all fresh in 
 my mind." 
 
 * Mr. Weed has; stated this to others, as will be shown. 
 
ADDENDA. 425 
 
 " That is all I want," I said in a tone of satisfaction; " if Miss 
 Gamble told you I treated her with deference, then, I am 
 satisfied. Indeed, her going to sleep at the Iron Crown/ 
 under my protection, after leaving my apartment, is proof 
 enough of my previous good behavior. What did she say 
 about that ?" 
 
 " She admitted it, but I don t recollect exactly what she " 
 
 " Well, never mind," I said carelessly ; for I thought it best 
 not to push him too hard. I therefore changed my ground at 
 once. " Did anybody urge you into writing against me, Mr 
 Weed ?" I asked. 
 
 " I think not," he said, looking rather puzzled. 
 
 " I was told that Miss , had a hand in it." 
 
 " jS"o, for I saw her at Florence, and after I left Genoa." 
 
 " How did you like Italy, Mr. Weed ?" 
 
 " Yery much, indeed." 
 
 " I dare say you found Rome the most interesting place 
 of all ?" 
 
 " I think on the whole it was. By-the-by I should mention 
 an amusing thing that occurred there connected with you." 
 
 " Ah !" 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Cass got me a private audience of the Pope, and 
 as we were driving there together, he turned round to me and 
 said, Do you know why I wanted you to see the Pope ? 
 An old friend of mine has got into trouble at Genoa, 
 and I wish you to ask the Pope to intercede for him with the 
 King of Sardinia/ and then he began to relate your affair. 
 Bless my soul ! I exclaimed, why didn t you tell me that 
 before. I can t speak to the Pope in his favor, for I have taken 
 up the other side, and written a full account of it home. 
 What/ said Mr. Cass, quite taken aback, was it you who 
 wrote that ? and so the subject dropped between us, and the 
 Pope escaped the intended application." 
 
426 ADDENDA. 
 
 " At that time," I returned. " But Mr. Cass is not the man 
 to give up his point, or abandon a countryman in distress. He 
 went to the Pope himself about the matter. But I will not 
 detain you longer, this evening, Mr. Weed," I said, rising, for 
 we had been talking over an hour. 
 
 " I have a little engagement on hand;" he observed, no doubt 
 anxious to get me off. 
 
 " I have brought you a copy of my book, as far as it is 
 printed," I observed, handing it to him. " Read it over, that 
 you may see how dreadfully you have slandered me. Here is 
 your own publication, too, in a Paris Journal, copied from a 
 London one. Compare them together, and I will drop in on you 
 to-morrow, to hear what you think of it. At what hour shall 
 I find you?" 
 
 Mr. Weed looked as though I was treating the matter very 
 methodically, but he answered 
 
 "Well, I shall be in at about two o clock." 
 
 " I shall not fail," I said, bidding him good night. " Pray, 
 do not come out. I know the way." 
 
 How polite people are apt to be when they have done you a 
 wrong. 
 
 I was content with my first interview with Mr. Thurlow 
 Weed. His manner clearly indicated that he found himself in 
 an uncomfortable position, and he made admissions that sur 
 prised me beyond measure. His verbal declarations were in 
 flagrant contradiction to his written statement, and I was at a 
 loss to account for it. Both could not be true. He seemed 
 disposed, as I thought, to do me justice, and when he reads over 
 my history of the affair, supported by such conclusive testimony, 
 he will not scruple, I concluded, to retract his calumnies, and 
 express his regrets. I was pleased to think I should have no 
 difficulty with him, though I had been advised, as a matter of 
 policy, to sue him. Sue him for libel, said many of my friends, 
 
ADDENDA. 427 
 
 and that will give more notoriety than ever to your book, and 
 enlarge its sale. Others said, Don t see him, but write to him. 
 If he commit himself on paper, you have him at greater 
 advantage. Be on your guard, or he will get the whip-hand of 
 you in some way. I felt the wisdom of these prudential sugges 
 tions, but the truth is, I always believed that Mr. Weed had 
 either given way to his prejudices, or been misled by Miss 
 Gamble. I had no disposition, therefore, to harass him with a 
 libel suit, or to lay any snares for him ; but I determined to 
 use what little tact I was master of, to draw him into an 
 acknowledgment of his fault, which I hoped his own sense and 
 good feeling would not resist. In that case I would be satisfied 
 with a few lines of apology. It was in this humor that I 
 returned, on December 2, at two o clock to the Astor House. 
 I encountered, on entering, one of its proprietors, the energetic 
 Stetson, whom I had not met since my return. After a word 
 or two of mutual greeting, I congratulated him on the Astor 
 House maintaining its ground against the splendid rival estab 
 lishments, lately sprung up, that were making New York the 
 wonder of the world. 
 
 " Oh ! yes," he said, rubbing his hands, "we are getting on 
 as well as ever ; and in spite of all their gilding, where s the 
 hotel to surpass this in design, extent, or convenience ?" 
 
 " You are right," I replied ; "for there s a solid magnificence 
 about the Astor House that, like Shakespeare s fame, is not 
 for a day, but for all time. " 
 
 I found Mr. Weed in his room, waiting for me. He was a 
 good deal steadier in manner than the previous evening, and he 
 was evidently better prepared to shape things to his liking, 
 rather than, perhaps, to my interest. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Weed, have you read the book ?" I began. 
 
 " I have been so much occupied," he replied, " that I have 
 only had time to look over a few pages." 
 
428 ADDENDA. 
 
 This was very shrewd on his part, for he got rid of giving an 
 opinion, by pretending not to have read the book. However, 
 I meant to follow him up closely to-day. 
 
 " What do you think of it as far as you have gone?" 
 " Why," he said, trying to look very innocent, " I don t see 
 that the facts related by you differ very much from those given 
 by Miss Gamble. The discrepancies are not very serious, and, 
 in short, it is pretty much the same story." 
 
 I couldn t help admiring the calm assurance of this veteran 
 dissembler ; but I was not to be discomfited so easily. 
 
 " They are so far the same," I replied, " that the hero and 
 heroine of both are Miss Gamble and myself ; but in all else, they 
 are as wide as the poles asunder. In your statement, there are 
 many events fully detailed that never occurred. You say, for 
 instance, that I followed Miss Gamble, after contriving a plot 
 with her courier, from Turin to Genoa, at the very hour I was 
 dining with the Sardinian Cabinet at Turin. You assert, also, 
 that I gave the lady one dose of chloroform, and threatened 
 another. Now, these " discrepancies" may seem trifling enough 
 in your eyes, but they are not so in mine. Besides, the coloring 
 you gave your version throughout was adroitly calculated to 
 lower me in public esteem. Come, Mr. Weed, be more just 
 and less ingenious. Can t you say something more satis 
 factory ?" 
 
 In replying to me, he expressed himself in so many different 
 phrases, each contradicting the other, that it put me in mind of 
 one of Cromwell s speeches. 
 
 " Now, what do you mean by all that?" I asked, very coolly ; 
 trying, meanwhile, to look under his eye-brow. 
 
 " I mean," he said, changing his seat, " that you had the 
 woman in your hands half-a-dozen times, and I don t under 
 stand how a man of the world like you, and a diplomatist, to boot, 
 could let her slip out so often." 
 
ADDENDA. 429 
 
 He had dropped his tone of blandishment, I saw, and was 
 now trying the effect of an aggressive one. 
 
 " Why, I had no wish to hold her against her will," I re 
 turned ; " and for that matter, I am not the first diplomatist 
 outwitted by Miss Gamble. I would match her for stratagem 
 against more knowing heads than mine. She has managed to get 
 you into a rather awkward scrape, it appears. I don t accuse 
 her of want of principle, but there is a diablerie in her disposition 
 she cannot control. I remember she told me that sundry years 
 ago she tormented some early admirer of hers till she resolved, 
 out of pity, that if he asked her again, she would consent. She 
 expected to meet him at some ball, and she made up her mind, 
 she said, not to trifle any more. They met ; and towards the 
 close of the evening, her offended victim crossed the room to 
 speak. I couldn t help it/ she declared ; but the moment I saw 
 him coming, I bolted in an opposite direction, and he never 
 spoke to me again F So you see, Mr. Weed, if you and I have 
 both, in turn, been made a shuttlecock, it is because she can 
 not help it." 
 
 " That is a very striking anecdote you have related," returned 
 Mr. Weed, wiping his spectacles, as though he wanted to see 
 clearer and further. 
 
 " Perhaps you couldn t get on, as the matter was not to your 
 taste," I said, returning to the book. 
 
 " On the contrary, I found it very amusing. It will sett 
 like wild-fire, and make a great sensation. But it has a fault." 
 
 " If it had only one, I should be a lucky author. To what do 
 you allude?" 
 
 " To a certain levity of tone that seems at war with sentiment. 
 In a word, there is more of calculation, apparently, than feeling, 
 in your pursuit of Miss Gamble, which leaves your reader in 
 doubt whether it was her person, or her purse that inspired 
 you." 
 
430 ADDENDA. 
 
 " I have heard the remark before," I admitted, " and it is just. 
 My object was simply to relate the incidents of my courtship, 
 so much distorted, and not to reveal the hidden impulses that 
 led to them. I would rather leave the public to judge un 
 favorably, than to make an exhibition of the secrets of my heart. 
 I am not hardened enough in authorship to put a window in my 
 breast, opening on the street. There was nothing in the struggle 
 I have described to preclude a mutual attachment. Miss Gam 
 ble coquetted to postpone our marriage, for the love of the thing ; 
 and instead of plying her with entreaties, the usual way, I 
 employed various ruses to defeat her. This was from pride and 
 policy, and not from calculation, or a want of affection." 
 
 " Oh I I understand it now," exclaimed Mr. Weed. "You 
 have suppressed the sentimental part, and have recorded only 
 the lively sparring that constituted, in fact, the main part of 
 your courtship." 
 
 " Those not unfamiliar," I explained, " with the counter- 
 currents of the heart, know that one sign of an ardent passion 
 in certain natures is the zest they take in contending with each 
 other. At our age and with our characters, a sentimental 
 courtship was out of the question ; but the stolen look, the 
 involuntary sigh, the unbidden blush, that betray love s infection, 
 may not have been wanting in our case ; but such things are not 
 told in print. As I have written my story, I may have left 
 myself exposed to the suspicion of mercenary motives, which I 
 regret ; but my chief aim was to vindicate myself against the 
 disreputable acts falsely attributed to me." 
 
 " Just so," observed the stoical politician, who was more 
 likely engrossed with some new party intrigue than edified by 
 my dissertation on the vagaries of the crack-brained. 
 
 " Did Miss Gamble tell you, Mr. Weed," I asked abruptly, 
 coming to the point, " that I attempted to chloroform 
 her ?" 
 
ADDEXDA. 431 
 
 " Yes ; she said you tried it once, but only in jest. You 
 threatened, if forced to it a second time, not to fail." 
 
 " She wished you, then, to believe that I contemplated an 
 outrage upon her ?" 
 
 " Yes," he replied ; " something of that sort." 
 
 " Did she say I gave it a second time, as I threatened ?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then, did she leave you to infer that that I was not 
 forced to administer a second dose ?" 
 
 " I don t know," responded Mr. Weed, getting rather per 
 plexed. 
 
 " Now, all this seems to me somewhat inconsistent with her 
 telling you, as stated last night, that I acted with the greatest 
 delicacy, and that she had not the least apprehension of personal 
 violence. Just what she often told the United States Consul at 
 Genoa." 
 
 "Why, yes," Mr. Weed confessed, "it is rather contra 
 dictory." 
 
 " And didn t it strike you so at the time, a sharp man like 
 you ?" 
 
 " Well, no," he persisted ; " she worked it all into one story 
 so ingeniously, that I didn t see the incongruity." 
 
 I thought the time had now come to make him open his eyes, 
 if possible ; so I added 
 
 " I will tell you something, Mr. Weed, that may surprise 
 you." 
 
 " Ah 1" he said, as if quite on his guard. 
 
 " Are you aware that Miss Gamble denies that she ever said 
 a word to you about chloroform ?" 
 
 " What !" he cried, as though a thunder-bolt had hit him ; 
 and his eye-brows flew right up his forehead. He stared at me 
 in amazement, and his eye sparkled as though his mind was sud 
 denly illumined. I scrutinized this almost invisible feature of 
 
432 ADDENDA. 
 
 bis with care, and found in it the elements of his character. 
 There was sagacity, resolution, cunning, and a dash of good 
 nature. " What I" he repeated ; " who told you this ?" 
 
 " A friend of hers, lately, in London." 
 
 Mr. Weed recovered himself in a moment, and down went the 
 eye-brows again. He meditated, and was silent. I saw I should 
 get no more out of him, and I rose. 
 
 " Well, sir," I said, in a more decided tone than before, 
 " what do you propose doing for me ?" 
 
 " I can t say exactly," he replied, looking down at his boots, 
 "for I have not read the book." 
 
 " How long will that take you?" I asked. 
 
 " Some two or three days." 
 
 " Keep it, then, till you have perused it, but do not let it go 
 out of your hands." 
 
 " I promise you that." 
 
 " And, what then, Mr. Weed ?" 
 
 " Why, then, when the book appears," he said, moving off 
 towards his bed-room, " I shall say something that will be satis 
 factory to you." 
 
 This was another capital artifice of the Albany Machiavel, 
 for if I had accepted his offer he would have written a pleasant 
 paragraph or so about the book, taking care, of course, not to 
 compromise himself, or seriously contradict the story he had 
 once published. 
 
 " No, that will not do, Mr. Weed," I said, rather determined. 
 " I would like you to write me a letter, at once, admitting that 
 you disparaged me in error, and adding what regrets you 
 please." 
 
 " Yery well," he returned reluctantly, " I will try and do 
 what I can." 
 
 " You will write to me, then ?" 
 
 " I will." 
 
ADDENDA. 433 
 
 " In what time ?" 
 
 " In two or three days." 
 
 " That will do, and I shall be glad to let the matter drop 
 there." 
 
 We parted on the best of terms. 
 
 " When do you leave for Albany ?" I asked, returning. 
 
 " To-morrow morning, early." 
 
 " I shall not see you then again ; and so good-by." 
 
 It is superfluous, I take it, to make any comment on the fore 
 going conversation. The stupendous contradiction in which 
 Mr. Weed involved himself, by saying that Miss Gamble had 
 testified to my gentle behavior towards her, after he had 
 published her declaration that I had employed chloroform for a 
 felonious purpose, was so palpable that I supposed he would be 
 delighted to get out of his false position in the easy and pleasant 
 manner I had suggested. It cannot be denied that I acted in a 
 candid and liberal spirit in all this. I was blamed, as I said, 
 for want of caution. I preferred yielding to my impulses, 
 however, trusting, as I have done a hundred times, to the poet s 
 foresight 
 
 "Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, 
 When our deep plots do fail ; which should teach us 
 There s a Divinity doth shape our ends, 
 Rough-hew them as we will." 
 
 I passed the Astor House about two o clock, next day, and 
 thought I would look in. Sure enough, I found the sly Editor 
 of the Evening Journal seated quietly in his room, up to his 
 knees in newspapers. 
 
 "What, not gone ?" I exclaimed. 
 
 " No," he said placidly, " I am waiting for the Message." 
 
 " Not read the book yet ?" 
 
 " No, I am so busy." 
 
 " I dare say," and I iat down at his request. 
 
 19 
 
434 
 
 A I) J) E N D A . 
 
 We had a chat 011 foreign politics, aud then got back to the 
 Cuba question. I found the views of Mr. Weed those of a 
 practical politician, but expressed with his usual hesitation, 
 bordering at times on vagueness. "Non-committal" was so 
 long the order of the day at Albany, that it has likely become 
 an endemic there. I had no wish to renew our conversation on 
 the same topic, and soon got up to go. Mr. Weed, however, 
 made a final attempt to gain a point, and lay a " kedge to wind 
 ward," as sailors say, for he remarked 
 
 " I forgot to say that Miss Gamble told me you combined 
 against her all the influences you could bring to bear ; that you 
 got round her old nurse, and won over several of her friends ?" 
 
 " All s fair in love, Mr. Weed, as in politics, and that would 
 be my excuse if it was so, but I did nothing of the kind. You 
 know Miss Gamble, and must admit that a woman at her time 
 of life, of her intellect, singular character, and vast experience 
 in coquetry, is not to be wheedled and influenced against her 
 will, like a girl in her teens. No, sir, that accusation is as 
 groundless as the rest." 
 
 With that I left him, he promising to "do his duty," as he 
 said, and I, never doubting but he would. 
 
 I wrote to him at Albany the succeeding day to say I had 
 read over his Genoese letter of two years back, and counted no 
 less than twenty instances of rank fabrication. I touched upon 
 his notion of "influences " again, and ridiculed it. No answer 
 to this. I wrote again, to request the return of my book, as 
 my publisher was uneasy about it. The book was returned, 
 but no letter. Several days elapsed, when I desired a legal 
 friend to address him, but the oracle of the Evening Journal 
 has given no response,. This is neither courteous nor business 
 like. I appeal to the public ; I appeal to the friends of Mr. 
 Weed ; I appeal to Mr. Weed himself ; am I not entitled to 
 redress ? Is this a " luxury too daring," as Milton hath it ? 
 
ADDENDA. 436 
 
 The above had already gone to press, when I received the 
 following letter from Mr. Thurlow Weed, which confirms in it? 
 spirit and matter so completely my relation of the interviews 
 with that gentleman, that all must admit its fidelity. This 
 letter is quite a gem in its way ; for whilst its apparent design 
 is to extenuate his previous misstatement, it, in fact, reiterates 
 unmodified its worst features. Let the reader judge for him 
 self: 
 
 "DecemberVl, 1854. 
 " HENRY WIKOFF, Esq. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, The unpublished volume which you handed me in New 
 York, was remanded by Express before I found leisure to finish reading 
 it, and I was called from home without having time to answer your 
 letter. 
 
 " On my return, I found a letter from John B. Scoles, Esq., indicating 
 your purpose of seeking legal address in the event of my being unable to 
 make such voluntary reparation as you felt that you have a right to claim 
 from me. 
 
 " I am constrained to repeat what I remarked to you in conversation, 
 that so far as I had proceeded in your revelations concerning Miss Gam 
 ble, I did not discover the essential discrepancies between that lady s 
 version to me, and that which you propose to give yourself. Her account 
 is substantially corroborated by your narrative. But while the facts in 
 the case do not materially differ, as stated by both parties, the details and 
 coloring very naturally leave different impressions. 
 
 " Miss Gamble, in her conversations with me, seemed frank, unreserved, 
 and sincere, and I certainly left her with a strong belief in the truthful 
 ness of her statements. 
 
 " The accusation which yon regard as most injurious to your reputation, 
 and that which you are most anxious to repel, is the alleged attempt to 
 use chloroform while Miss Gamble was in your apartment at Genoa. My 
 recollection is, that Miss Gamble informed me that after having made a 
 feint of applying chloroform, you threatened, if driven by her refusals to 
 extremity, that you would use it in earnest. You informed me that Mia 
 Gamble denied having made this statement. If to your denial of this 
 accusation hers is snperadded, I am bound to believe that I misunderstood 
 her in that particular. 
 
436 ADDENDA. 
 
 " You deny, also, that you followed Miss Gamble from Turin to Genoa, 
 having arranged with her Courier to delay her journey. This conflicts 
 with Miss Gamble s statement. I only know that I gave the circumstances 
 substantially as I received them from that lady, who I am persuaded was 
 sincere in her belief of their truth. 
 
 " Respectfully, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " THURLOW WEED." 
 
 This letter was dated December 12th, but mailed only on the 
 17th, and reached me on the morning of the 18th. Mr. 
 Weed took ample time, therefore, for deliberation. I have 
 italicised the prominent points of this singular produc 
 tion. Mr. Weed still keeps his hand on a back door, 
 as it were, whence to escape should the pressure be too 
 hard, for he speaks always of not having read the book, after 
 retaining it for no less than five days, when only as many 
 hours were necessary. It was his duty clearly to read it 
 forthwith, as he was called upon for a prompt reparation, 
 and it is strange, indeed, that he should give his final opinion 
 before he had done so. As it is, he ventures to declare that 
 Miss Gamble s " account is substantially corroborated by your 
 narrative," without explaining how he made such a discovery; for 
 in the same letter he says he returned the book before he found 
 " leisure to finish reading it." Evidently, Mr. Weed agrees 
 with the late Col. Stone, of the Commercial Advertiser, who 
 once jocosely remarked that "in this go-ahead age it was 
 not necessary to read a book before criticising it." After 
 all, Mr. Weed has taken the wisest course; for reluctant as he 
 is to see the " substantial " difference between his account of 
 Miss Gamble s remarks and my narrative, he did well to return 
 the volume before he had " leisure" to read it. He would have 
 done better, doubtless, to give no opinion at all in that case. 
 
 Again. Mr. Weed remarks that whilst " the facts in the case 
 
ADDENDA. 437 
 
 do not materially differ, as stated by both parties, the details 
 and colorings (as given by him), very naturally leave different 
 impressions." The distinction here drawn between " facts " and 
 the " details," which are not facts, I suppose, is rather too sub 
 tle for my dull comprehension. I hope Mr. Weed will explain 
 himself more distinctly on some other occasion. He admits, 
 however, that the " details and colorings " of his own version 
 "leave very different impressions" from the facts "as stated by 
 both parties. 7 May I ask Mr. Weed why he detailed and 
 colored Miss Gamble s statement of facts in such a way as to do 
 me the utmost injury in his power? May I further make so 
 bold as to inquire if the chloroform story is one of the " details " 
 in question, and not a fact, stated by Miss Gamble? By Mr. 
 Weed s own showing it appears he has exaggerated or 
 " colored," if not falsified, Miss Gamble s original statement. 
 
 Once more. Carried away by his candor, Mr. Weed remarks, 
 touching the chloroform story, "If to your denial of this accu 
 sation, hers is superadded, I am bound to believe that I misun 
 derstood her in this particular." In other words, as Miss Gamble 
 denies it, he apparently admits himself to be the author of this 
 abominable invention. Now it seems to me the least he could 
 do for propagating in this country, England and France, an 
 imputation so ruinous and infamous as this, would be to offer a 
 sufficient apology. Justice, principle, and feeling, all dictate it, 
 but Mr. Weed appears insensible to their prompting. My 
 right to reparation must, therefore, be indisputable in the public 
 eye, and I mean to claim it at the hands of an Albany Jury. I 
 see no alternative but to prosecute Mr. Weed for libel, since he 
 persists so obstinately in the galling wrong he has done me; 
 but to show that my motive is not a commercial one, I hereby 
 publicly pledge myself to devote whatever sum may be awarded 
 for the wide damage I have sustained, to the relief of the poor 
 of the town of Albany. 
 
438 ADDENDA. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A LAST WORD. 
 
 IT only remains now to bid you a final adieu, my readers. 
 Would that I could say, friends, for as such I would fain look upon 
 those who have followed me unwearied through all the phases 
 of this fitful story. Solicitous as I may be for your suffrages, 
 still have I forborne throughout this volume seeking them by 
 any doubtful means. If my sole object had been to screen 
 myself from blame at any hazard, I could ^ave unfolded more, 
 /much more, that would have added vastly to the interest of my 
 tale, but which will remain henceforth unknown. God knows, I 
 have received provocation enough ; far more of insult and injury 
 than I have chosen to relate ; for little was it ever imagined by 
 many parties herein named that the day of retribution would 
 come. It is here, but it affords me now, and will hereafter, 
 more satisfaction to spare than to strike. I would rather enjoy 
 the calm consolation of knowing that " I am more sinned against 
 than sinning," than to see my relentless enemies cowering under 
 the merciless stroke of the lash I hold. 
 
 To them, and all, adieu 
 
 THE END .