m^^^
 
 L [ B R.ARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS 
 
 G 8G«33t 
 
 
 I,
 
 THE TRIALS OF LIFE. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 AUTHOR OF « DE LISLE/ 
 
 All suffering doth destroy, or is destroy'd. 
 
 Even by the sufferer ; and, in each event 
 Ends :— Some, with hope replenish'd and rebuoj'd. 
 
 Return to whence they came — with like intent. 
 And weave their web again ; some, bow'd and bent. 
 
 Wax gray and ghastly, withering ere their time. 
 And perish with the reed on which they leant ; 
 
 Some seek devotion, toil, war, good or crime, 
 According as their souls wereform'd to sink or climb. 
 
 4th Canto or Childe Harold. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 EDWARD BULL, HOLLES STREET. 
 
 1829.
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, 
 
 Dorset Street, Fleet Street.
 
 v./ 
 
 TO 
 
 ^- 
 
 CAROLINE 
 
 "1 DUCHESS OF ARGYLE, 
 
 Ci THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE (bY PERMISSION) 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 WITH EVERY SENTIMENT OF ADMIRATION' AND 
 
 ^ GRATITUDE, 
 
 : BY HER grace's 
 
 ^ MOST OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 1 
 
 '\ THE AUTHOR. 
 
 o 
 
 Z 
 
 r< 
 
 r 
 
 c
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 In a thickly wooded fertile vale in a wes- 
 tern county of England, the ancient castle of 
 the Earls of Amesfort reared its lofty battle- 
 ments. The venerable pile had almost the 
 appearance of a ruin, but so extensive was the 
 range of building, and so much was concealed 
 by the massy foUage of spreading cedars, that 
 the present Earl had it in his power to exercise 
 the rights of hospitality upon nearly as large a 
 scale as his ancestors, who, in feudal days, had so 
 oft convened their vassals, and marshalled them 
 on the verdant lawn without the castle gates, 
 prepared alike for defence or aggression, as cir- 
 VOL. I. iJ
 
 2 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 cumstances, or the caprice of their liege Lord 
 dictated. 
 
 It was not the clamorous mirth of boors that 
 now echoed in the festive hall : the voices that 
 rung through its arched roofs bore on the am- 
 bient air no sound of war and rapine, although 
 its walls were yet covered with ancient weapons 
 of defence, and its warlike appearance scarce 
 suited the present moment of peaceful rejoicing. 
 The heir to Amesfort Castle had attained his 
 fifth year, and for the first time since the mar- 
 riage of the Earl, that nobleman revisited the 
 abode of his youth, and presented his boy to 
 those over whom he would one day preside. 
 
 It was a beautiful summer evening, and the 
 rich vale glowed beneath the influence of a set- 
 ting sun, whose beams caught yet more strongly 
 projecting parts of the massy building, or glitter- 
 ed at intervals on the blue waters of a rivulet, 
 which, deep in the hollow, broke over fragments 
 of rock and stones, with a soothing murmur. A 
 slight shower had refreshed the verdure, and 
 given fragrance to the shrubs : sounds of music 
 from unseen performers floated on the air ; and
 
 LORD AMESFORTS FAMILY. 3 
 
 to complete the landscape, slowly winding round 
 a distant eminence, a group appeared, not un- 
 worthy the pencil of Guido. A young girl, of 
 the most picturesque appearance, was carefully 
 conducting an ass, which bore on its patient 
 back a child hardly eight years old. They 
 were preceded by two figures of peculiar in- 
 terest ; one springing into manhood, erect and 
 noble, proud in superior strength and conscious 
 rectitude, tenderly, yet reverently supporting 
 the feeble steps of the other, in whose fragile 
 outline and faded features, traces were yet visi- 
 ble of a beautiful female. She was still young ; 
 the gazer would have said, far too young to 
 be the mother of him on whose arm she leant ; 
 but then he had not watched her full blue eye 
 rest upon him, in the agony of that hope which 
 borders on despair ; that look which reveals 
 the incessant solicitude and smothered anxiety 
 of maternal love. 
 
 For a moment the party paused, ere they 
 
 descended into the vale. The young girl leant 
 
 carelessly against the animal she was guiding, 
 
 and Adolphus gathered flowers by the side of 
 
 B 2
 
 i LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 the bank, that had caught the fancy of the 
 child. Did she who stood alone on the verge 
 of the dell rejoice in the vivid colours of the 
 horizon ? Did her eye dwell on the beauty of 
 the scene, and her ear take in with gladness the 
 notes of joy that rose from the valley ? One 
 look of recognition she took of spots once dear; 
 busy memory peopled the landscape with forms 
 long numbered with the dead ; one short mo- 
 ment brought back a period she had almost 
 deemed forgotten, but the ghost of former 
 times only for a fleeting instant usurped the 
 place of present sorrow, and, recalled to herself, 
 she bowed her head upon her breast, silently 
 wiped off the tear that had gathered in heT eye, 
 and uncomplainingly pursued her way. 
 
 They reached the castle gates, and a shudder 
 crept over the frame of Emily Montresor. Her 
 son felt the arm tremble that rested on his, and 
 fondly he pressed it to his own beating heart. 
 Adolphus sympathised keenly in the sorrow 
 which sprung from their approaching separa- 
 tioiij but he little guessed at all the thoughts 
 which racked the heart of his drooping parent.
 
 LORD AMESFORTS FAMILY. 5 
 
 The portals were flung open wide, on this day 
 of festivity, and Mrs. Montresor leaned for a 
 moment against the base of the gloomy arch, 
 ere she found breath to speak that painful fare- 
 well, which she believed to be the last. 
 
 The tall slender figure, which in the dark 
 and frowning entrance looked more like a wan- 
 dering ghost ; the countenance cold, pallid, still 
 enough for death, yet not quite insensible, as 
 if it well retained the memory of earthly woe, 
 formed a striking contrast to the bright and 
 blooming features of Adolphus, whose towering- 
 form, full of vigour and grandeur, betrayed the 
 unbroken mind and dauntless spirit within. 
 
 "' Let me see you within the castle walls, my 
 son, ere I depart f' feebly articulated Mrs. 
 Montresor. " A little rest upon this stone 
 utU revive me, and I shall be more easy when 
 I know you safe."" 
 
 " Safe, my dear mother !'^ re-echoed Adol- 
 phus, smihng through the tears he would not 
 permit to escape from his eyes, " how can I be 
 otherwise than safe every where ?'^ but marking 
 the deep depression of his mother, he feared
 
 6 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 to oppose her, and with one hasty embrace, and^ 
 one earnest entreaty that she would let little 
 Fanny walk home, and take her place on their 
 gentle animal, he sprung up the steep ascent 
 which, worked through the solid rock, led to the 
 Castle of Amesfort, and an abrupt turn in the 
 road withdrew him from that watchful gaze 
 which he preferred to every other. 
 
 Adolphus was gone, and Emily closed her 
 eyes — what more had she to see ? " Mother," 
 said the eldest girl timidly, " had we not better 
 move ? — a little further on is a good seat to rest 
 on, and the air is not there so oppressive :" and 
 she glanced around her a look of scorn and 
 defiance, that in her brother's less gentle coun- 
 tenance would have been hatred. 
 
 "I did not feel it,'' said Mrs. Montresor, 
 in that tone of deep tranquil despondency, 
 which had so often struck on the heart of her 
 daughter, but never more deeply than now. 
 She arose, and calmly and steadily retrod the 
 path she had so feebly paced before. She did 
 not once lift her head to survey the scenery: 
 ishe looked not back when she had gained the
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 7 
 
 spot at which she had paused, on her road to 
 the castle : her step was slow, but certain ; her 
 slender form more erect, though her eyes sought 
 the ground. Her sacrifice was complete; it 
 could not be retracted — nay, she wished it not 
 to be retracted ; this trial at least was over, 
 and those that yet might follow, could not be 
 like it. 
 
 " He was my pride, my glory ,"'' thought the 
 wretched mother ; " how could / presume to 
 glory in any thing ? least of all in those, whose 
 innocent lives I have perhaps steeped in bitter- 
 ness ;"" and folding her garment close round 
 her shivering frame, she shrank from the joy- 
 ous tones of little Fanny, who bounded up to 
 her with childish playfulness, while her elder 
 sister eagerly sought to divert and arrest her 
 attention. The twilight had deepened into 
 shade, but the moon speedily arose, and guided 
 them to their lowly habitation, where to the 
 grief of jNIiss ^lontresor, preparations were 
 making for the speedy departure of its present 
 tenants.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Adolphus lingered at the castle door, to 
 shake off the unwonted sadness that stole upon 
 him, on taking leave of his mother. He had 
 often parted from her before, and that to go to 
 foreign lands ; but he had never left her look- 
 ing so ill, so weak, so exhausted. There was 
 something too that oppressed him in this new 
 way of entering the world, under the protection 
 of one, highly spoken of indeed, of ancient fa- 
 mily and illustrious descent ; but who, although 
 his guardian, appeared more inclined to stretch 
 oiit the hand of ostentatious protection, than to 
 greet him on a friendly and equal footing. 
 
 '* If,'"' thought Montresor, "I find nothing but 
 a patron in this haughty Earl of Amesfort, I 
 Avill return to my mother, or go into the
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 9 
 
 army ;"' and with the lofty ideas of indepen- 
 dence floating in his mind, he pulled the bell 
 with a force which electrified half-a-dozen idle 
 servants, and brought them in haste to attend 
 the summons. Uncertain daylight yet lingered 
 in the halls ; but when Adolphus reached the 
 inner apartments, he found it entirely excluded, 
 and replaced by candelabras, lamps, and vases 
 of transparent alabaster, which latter shed a 
 strong though not dazzling light, while the 
 glare of the others was softened by the old and 
 gloomy hangings on which it fell. 
 
 " Would you choose to see my Lord ?'"' asked 
 a solemn-looking butler; " or would you rather 
 di'ess first.'''" and he cast a glance of superci- 
 liousness at the simple attire of the stranger. 
 The expression was not lost on Adolphus, and he 
 half smiled, as he repeated his wish to see the 
 Earl. His was not the pride prone to take 
 offence, and perpetually exacting what it fears 
 it has no certain right to. He possessed enough 
 to teach him to rely upon. his owti opinion; and 
 while he granted to others the right he claimed 
 for himself, he saw no reason for subjecting 
 B 5
 
 10 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 himself to the influence of any one. Of out- 
 ward forms, however, he speedily found the 
 domestic knew more than he did; for when he 
 opened the huge folding-doors, and announced 
 the stranger''s name, in a voice as deep and 
 loud as if he had thought it of consequence? 
 Adolphus quickly perceived he was the only 
 one of the party whose dress bordered on the 
 peasant's garb. 
 
 A magnificent saloon, superbly furnished, 
 was lighted up with uncommon brilliancy, and 
 feathers and diamonds, which young Montresor 
 had simply thought confined to a court, gave 
 additional effect to the whole. The EarFs back 
 was to Adolphus as he entered, but turning, 
 almost before the name reached him, he bowed 
 with more than wonted courtesy, and address- 
 ing him with " You do not know the Countess, 
 I believe,"' led him up to the top of the room, 
 where, half-concealed behind her harp, sat one 
 of the most lovely women that had ever caught 
 the eye of Montresor. 
 
 " Lady Amesfort,*" said the Earl coldly, 
 " give me leave to present my ward and god-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 11 
 
 son, Mr. Montresor. Lord De Calmer," he 
 added, slightly touching a young man, who 
 stood beside the Countess. Adolphus bowed, 
 and for a moment waited in respectful silence 
 to be addressed by either of them ; but Lady 
 Amesfort having honoiu-ed the introduction by 
 a slight inclination of her beautiful head, re- 
 sumed her conversation with the person next 
 her, and the young man had scarcely by a look 
 deigned to acknowledge it. In this awkward 
 predicament the novice looked round for the 
 Earl as a resource, but he was gone ; and the 
 next thing to have recourse to was the music 
 scattered on the piano-forte. He had very di- 
 ligently turned over the leaves of all that was 
 on a stand open beside him, and, if in the course 
 of the operation he had not acquired much 
 knowledge even of the names of the composers, 
 he had at least shaken off the first feeling of 
 mauvaise honte that had ever attacked him. 
 
 " Do you play, Mr. Montresor V said the 
 Countess, striking a few chords. Adolphus 
 replied in the negative, but his eye followed 
 her fingers on the harp as if soliciting what he
 
 12 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 ventured not to ask. She complied with the 
 unexpressed wish, and when she had done, ex- 
 claimed, " Now I knotv you play, nor will I 
 suffer you to escape me, for I am to be denied 
 nothing" to-day !''"' There was a mingled play- 
 fulness and feeling in her manner which Adol- 
 phus found irresistible. 
 
 " I will accompany you, if you like,"*"* said 
 he, taking up a flute that had been flung on a 
 chair ; and Lady Amesfort began a short piece 
 on the piano, which Adolphus had often played 
 with his mother. 
 
 " Henry," said the Countess, when they had 
 concluded, " you have not sung to-night."" 
 
 Lord De Calmer started as from a reverie ; 
 " I have sung to the child,'"* said he, " until I 
 am hoarse C and he smiled with a look of in- 
 eifable sweetness that struck Montresor, for he 
 had somewhere seen such an expression, and 
 surely, he thought, it must have been on some 
 well-known face, though at the moment he was 
 at a loss to apply it. 
 
 " I am afraid,"*"* said Lady Amesfort, " I 
 shall not amuse you as much as you dehghted-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 13 
 
 my child, but here's for a trial at least;"" and 
 she began an Italian air, to which Adolphus 
 was partial, and in which he could hardly re- 
 frain from joining. 
 
 " And will not you, too, sing?"" she asked, 
 observing the fixedness of his attention. 
 
 " Sing here?'" said Adolphus in an under 
 tone, looking round on the brilliant assembly 
 with something of scorn on his beautiful fea- 
 tures. 
 
 " Why not ?''^ replied the Countess ; " peo- 
 ple who hke music will listen, and those who do 
 not will not hear.'' 
 
 "" Am I then very fastidious in requiring 
 something more than not being heard ? Words 
 may be lost, — it is but the trouble of saying them 
 over again, or the forgetting you ever uttered 
 them, — but sounds require sympathy. Music 
 is either a noise, or a sacred thing, and in such 
 a place as this it can liardly be the latter." 
 
 " Was it among the mountains of Switzer- 
 land that you acquired this musical enthu- 
 siasm .^" asked De Calmer ; "or is it the spon- 
 taneous growth of the soil .''"
 
 14 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 " What little I possess,"" replied the stranger, 
 " is probably my own ; for there are some 
 things there is no grafting on a man'^s mind, 
 and I know not any thing it can be worth 
 while to affect ;"' and his lip curled, while he 
 spoke with an expression of such peculiar 
 haughtiness, that a young man near them, who 
 was upon the point of quizzing travels and ro- 
 mance in the same breath, involuntarily checked 
 himself, and turning to his next neighbour, 
 asked her, " if she could guess the reason of 
 the new comer''s appearing in so odd a dress ?" 
 
 " Is it odd ?'' said the lady ; " I did not 
 observe him, but my daughter says he bows 
 like a foreigner ; so it may be the dress of his 
 country." 
 
 " Oh indeed it is quite a mistake ; he is 
 a ward of Lord Amesforf s ; English born, has 
 been educated at Gottingen, and is just come 
 from abroad, somewhere. I heard the Earl 
 telling De Calmer to pay him attention, for 
 some very long reasons I could not listen to, 
 about his talents, &c. ; but he hates hangers-on, 
 and all things of that sort, so looked rather
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 15 
 
 sullen at his uncle, and scarce noticed the in- 
 troduction ; however, the flute seems to have 
 done wonders towards breaking the ice. See 
 what music will do in these days !'' and young 
 Arundel turned on his heel, in search of some 
 one who would join in his laugh against the 
 cut of Adolphus's coat, inwardly determining 
 the laugh should not be in his hearing. 
 
 The supper was long, and, to the new comer, 
 tedious. He was seated among strangers, and 
 so placed as not to see the lovely mistress of 
 the mansion, or even to catch the tones of her 
 voice. But Adolphus had been often in 
 crowds where he had no interest, so that the 
 situation w^as neither novel nor embarrassing, 
 though far from entertaining. There was ap- 
 parently little to be gained from listening to 
 the conversation of his neighbours, and he soon 
 Avithdrew his mind from the splendid board of 
 Lord Amesfort, to fix it on the small parlour 
 which contained his mother and sisters. He 
 longed to revisit it before their departure, but 
 dreaded renewing for her the misery of separa- 
 tion. " I will write to-night,'' thought he,
 
 16 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 " and leave my letter early to-morrow at the 
 cottage she must pass ;" and this determination 
 he hastened to put in execution, as soon as he 
 could escape to his room. It was like all the 
 others in the castle, so large and gloomy that 
 the four lights that blazed on the old-fashioned 
 toilet did not throw their rays farther than the 
 centre of the apartment ; but Adolphus saw no- 
 thing in the room but a table on which he 
 could write to his mother, and establishing 
 himself directly, he began. 
 
 " Be under no uneasiness about me, dearest 
 mother. This is a fine place, full of fine people; 
 whether I shall like the one or the other is 
 more than 1 can tell just yet ; and, as to my 
 -noble guardian, I don't think I should know 
 him again, if I was to stumble on him in his 
 own house. However, I have one obligation to 
 him — ^he presented me to his wife, such a little, 
 lovely, sylph-like being, with such moveable 
 features ! I believe they express every thing at 
 the same time ; at least, I am sure each mean- 
 ing succeeds its predecessor so rapidly, that a 
 trace of the former one always remains, pro-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 17 
 
 ducing the sort of jumble I have sometimes 
 abused in Emily's drawings. I don t abuse it 
 here, though the beautiful little Countess is not 
 the ^vife I should have thought the proud, cold, 
 severe Earl of Amesfort would have chosen ; 
 but, to be sure, she was a girl when he married 
 her, and looks rather like a spoiled child now. 
 Not that I accuse her husband of spoiling her ! 
 No — I have yet the tone ringing in my ears, in 
 which my name was pronounced to her, ad- 
 dressing her by her title. There are moments 
 when I hate titles, and this was one of them.^' 
 
 Adolphus had proceeded thus far, when a 
 gentle tap at the door produced the mecha- 
 nical " Come in !'' nor would he have raised 
 his head to observe the intruder, had he not 
 heard the person who entered immediately 
 draw the heavy bolt, which, by the resistance 
 it made, showed how completely its place had 
 hitherto been a sinecure. Montresor looked 
 up, and with wonder perceived the Earl. 
 
 " I disturb your writing, Adolphus,'' said he 
 mildly ; " but it will not be for long." Mon- 
 tresor had arisen, and presented a chair to his
 
 IB LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 patron, who, drawing it out of the influence of 
 the light, made a motion to Adolphus to re-seat 
 himself. 
 
 There was a dead pause; by a violent, it 
 would have seemed a painful eiFort, the Earl 
 began, " Your mother goes to Wales: to- 
 morrow, does she not ?"" 
 
 Adolphus bowed. 
 
 ^' And your sisters also ? They are well, I 
 hope?" 
 
 '' Quite well, I thank you, my Lord ; at 
 their age they can have little cause to be 
 otherwise." 
 
 " Will not sorrow," said the Earl, in a tone 
 of deep feeling, " canker the youthful bud 
 as easily as it blasts the full-blown flower? 
 Adolphus, if you rely on youth, and health, 
 and spirits only, you will find the shield 
 softer than wax against the shafts of adversity. 
 Time was, when I rested on them — and they 
 have abandoned me." 
 
 " I thought of them," said Montresor, in 
 an accent of sympathy, " but as some of the 
 ingredients to happiness ; luckily there are 
 others."
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 19 
 
 ** And those,"" said Lord Amesfort, with a 
 bitter smile, " you think are mine ? Well ! 
 the outward show, I grant, is fair ; and who need 
 dive further? Are you a lover of state and 
 grandeur, Adolphus ? Would you choose to be 
 owner of all that confers dignity on me ?" 
 
 " I love state and grandeur as things to be 
 made use of, as enlarging our sphere of use- 
 fulness, and carrying more weight with our 
 counsel. As to your property, my liord — to 
 the acres you have purchased yesterday you 
 are welcome ; give me, the castle of my fathers, 
 the floors they have trod, the walls they have 
 bled to defend, the memory of heroes who sleep 
 in peace, but whose honoured names should, 
 untarnished by me, be handed down to pos- 
 terity !" 
 
 This burst of enthusiasm for imaginary an- 
 cestry, which Montresor had early imbibed in 
 Germany, was checked by a deep groan from the 
 Earl : one hand shaded his face, but with the 
 other he made a motion to cease, and Adol- 
 phus in wonder and alarm scarce dared to 
 breathe; at last, he ventured the enquiry, — 
 " was he iU r
 
 20 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 " Ay, young man," said the Earl, as stern- 
 ly he uncovered his face, " of an illness time 
 cannot cure. But it is not of myself I meant 
 to speak. I am told you dislike the law, to 
 which you have been bred, and aver the pro- 
 pensity for a military life. I dislike it for you : 
 as the sole protector of your mother and sisters, 
 your life should not be cast on the turn of a 
 die ; but I have no right to oppose your wishes. 
 You have a commission in the Guards, and I 
 intend sending you to town in a day or two 
 with my nephew Henry de Calmer, a young 
 man you will find worth your knowledge ;" and 
 bowing stiffly. Lord Amesfort uttered a cold 
 " good night !" and left Adolphus to conclude 
 his letter.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Young Montresor had left his letter for his 
 mother, walked twenty times to the hill from 
 whence he hoped to see their carriage, resisted 
 the wish to fly after it when it did appear, 
 strolled over the extensive grounds, made se- 
 veral sketches of the most picturesque parts of 
 the old building, and was finally debating with- 
 in himself whether he should not go to bed 
 again and try to forget his hunger in sleep, 
 when the opening of shutters, and a certain de- 
 gree of bustle, announced that the servants of 
 the great house were risen. He followed the 
 noise, which conducted him to the breakfast- 
 room, where a drowsy maid was scouring the 
 bright bars, who no sooner perceived him than, 
 struck with horror at any person choosing to
 
 22 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 be up at such an hour, she let something fall on 
 the coal-skuttle, which overturning, extinguished 
 her light, and this emitted, as in anger at the 
 attack, a smell rather less fragrant than Adol- 
 phus had been enjoying in the flower-garden. 
 
 The first impulse is always to fly from mis- 
 chief of which you have been involuntarily the 
 cause, and our youngster in his eagerness to 
 escape either the wrath of the damsel, or the 
 odour of the extinguished candle, forgot that 
 his object in seeking for some one had been to 
 learn the way to the library, and ashamed of 
 returning, was quietly turning back to his own 
 room, when he met the Earl. " Are you just 
 up .?" he asked, and Adolphus assured him with 
 rather comic solemnity, he had been up about 
 four hours. 
 
 " And starved, no doubt," said Lord Ames- 
 fort. " You may come and breakfast with me, 
 if you will : mine is not a luxurious meal, but 
 a hungry man will take it without requiring 
 apologies." 
 
 ^^ At this moment," laughingly replied Adol-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 23 
 
 phus, " there are not many things in the shape 
 of food I should quarrel with ; and at any time 
 I should conceive what your lordship takes, 
 might be good enough for me."*^ 
 
 They entered the Earl's dressing-room, where 
 his own servant brought him, on a small silver 
 salver, one dish of chocolate poured out, and 
 two slices of dry toast. It was set down on a 
 large table covered with maps, pamphlets, 
 tracts, newspapers, and letters, and Adolphus 
 could not help thinking it was a strange whim 
 to be so uncomfortable; however, he very 
 thankfully swallowed what was brought him, 
 and could have wished it to be more, but as 
 tills did not occur to the Earl, and the servant 
 made his appearance no more, he prudently 
 sought to persuade himself a moderate meal 
 was wholesome, if it was not pleasant. Lord 
 Amesfort had left his scarce-tasted breakfast, 
 and was busily employed in writing ; his visitor 
 took up a book; and their silence had been un- 
 broken, until a gong sounding near them called 
 forth an exclamation from Montresor.
 
 24 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 " Did you never hear a gong before ?'*'' said 
 the Earl, raising his head with the look of one 
 reproving childishness. 
 
 " It is because I have heard it before that it 
 made me start,"" replied Adolphus. " I was a 
 very little boy when my mother used one as a 
 dinner-bell, and it always gave me so much 
 pleasure when sounded in the open air, where 
 it could reverberate, that I believe it was 
 nearly the first thing I inquired after on my 
 Return from Germany. What had become of 
 it no one seemed to know ; but whoever has it 
 will at least know my name, for I scratched it 
 thereon in every form my infant erudition 
 allowed of." Montresor got to the end of his 
 speech, though often tempted to stop by the 
 frequent change of Lord Amesfort's counte- 
 nance. Soon, however, it was composed again, 
 and he said, with great serenity, " If you have 
 so great a regard for the gong, you shall have 
 it as soon as you get a house of your own, for 
 this is the identical one you remember. I know 
 it belonged to your father and mother, but how 
 I came by it I now forget."
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 25 
 
 '' Strange/' thought Montresor, " that everv 
 body who has any thing to do with this gong 
 should lose their memory ! I wonder whether, 
 if ever I get it, I shall forget who gave it me ?"" 
 
 They again relapsed into silence, but Lord 
 Amesfort presently rose, and, as he threw up 
 the sash of liis gloomy apartment, the child 
 scampered past in full chase of some one, who 
 proved to be Lord De Calmer. The noise of 
 the window opening checked its speed ; but 
 though the boy saw, and by the faint exclama- 
 tion of " papa,'' recognised his father, he made 
 no motion to approach him ; nor did the Earl 
 bestow on him any notice on his part. Adol- 
 phus had no distempered sensibility, none of 
 that strained and usually acquired feeling which 
 turns every species of affection into misery, and 
 which rather " wakes the nerve where agony 
 is born,'' than rejoices in the mental sunshine 
 scattered over our path ; yet there were some 
 sorts of coldness he, found it difficult not 
 merely to understand, but to pardon. From 
 his cradle he had been his mother's idol, and 
 that there should be parents without natural 
 
 VOL. I. C
 
 26 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 affection for their offspring, above all, when 
 young, helpless, and therefore unoffending, he 
 scarcely suffered himself to believe. 
 
 " Is this a paltry affectation," thought he, 
 " or is it real hardness of heart ? He has feel- 
 ings — I have witnessed them — not quite callous; 
 but are they all exhausted in selfishness ?" The 
 Earl turned round with so sudden a motion 
 that he met the scrutinizing gaze of Montresor 
 riveted upon him. Whatever might be his 
 defects, keenness of perception no one ever had 
 accused him of wanting. He saw at one glance 
 all that was passing over the mind of his young 
 visitor. A faint tinge replaced for a moment 
 on his cheek the colour that youth and health 
 once had painted there : it was not merely the 
 blush of resentment ; something of anger was 
 visible, but more of mortification, of inward 
 pain, of regret at being misunderstood, and of 
 pride that allowed of no explanation. 
 
 " Adolphus,'' he sai(^ presently, " if you 
 are not very much interested in your book, 
 you had better adjourn to the breakfast-room. 
 You vvill find Lady Amesfort down by this
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 2T 
 
 time, and the society there will be rather gayer 
 for you than my room." 
 
 " As you choose, my Lord," answered Mon- 
 tresor, rising ; " but do I go alone ?'^ 
 
 " Without doubt," said the Earl, impatient- 
 ly : " is it not enough to sacrifice my evenings 
 to people who forget my existence before I am 
 well out of the room .^" 
 
 " If they forget j/o?/, my Lord, my chance of 
 being remembered must be so great that I am 
 not in much dano^er of orro^nnc^ vain." 
 
 " You are in no danger of that any where, 
 Adolphus, for you are rather too proud to be 
 vain also. Yet beware, young man ; that qua- 
 lity is ?iot the safeguard you may take it for. 
 At your age, I felt much like you. I was an 
 only son, heir to my father's w^ealth and ho- 
 nours : he thought my pride becoming ; he 
 encouraged it, miscalled i: proper spirit, which 
 would make me shrink from doing aught un- 
 worthy myself, unworthy the race from which 
 I sprung. Vain boast ! It was not mighty 
 trials, severe temptations that betrayed me, it 
 was my idle confidence in myself. Providence 
 c 2
 
 28 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 has showered down blessings upon me, but they 
 bless not me. My own presumption threw me 
 into error : I might have repaired it, but I was 
 too proud; and do you know the consequences? 
 I have broken the heart that trusted me; I 
 have severed myself from every dear and sacred 
 tie ; I have torn myself from all that lent a 
 charm to life, and I drag on an abhorred ex- 
 istence, an alien in my own house, a stranger 
 in the bosom of my family. . . . On my greedy 
 ear no voice of sympathy falls ; to my aching 
 eye no glance of affection comes, and I have 
 deserved it !*" 
 
 The Earl bowed his head, overcome with 
 the effort of confessing his wretchedness, still 
 more than by the wretchedness itself. His 
 picture of solitary misery had struck on the 
 heart of his auditor ; and in his mother^s tone 
 of gentle pleading, he began, but was checked 
 by the Earl. 
 
 " There, again !" he cried ; " that voice ! oh, 
 is that the only voice whose plaintive harmony 
 yet deigns to soothe me ?''^ 
 
 The passionate gesture that accompanied
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 2;) 
 
 these words, led Adolphus to fear that melan- 
 choly had preyed upon the mind of the speaker, 
 until it had materially injured it. He re- 
 mained silent, until he perceived Lord Amesfort 
 calmer, then gently pressing the hand which 
 hung over the arm of his chair, " Will you 
 suffer me,'' he said, " to speak to you, not as 
 the obscure individual who owes his future ad- 
 vancement in life to your Lordship's patronage, 
 but as man to man, as a human being deeply 
 feeling the humiliation of our common nature, 
 and keenly sympathising in the miseries it en- 
 tails upon us ?" 
 
 A smile of benevolence, almost of aifection, 
 was his permission to proceed, but it was mixed 
 too with an expression of sadness, which seemed 
 to say " The root of my malady lies too deep 
 for you/' 
 
 " I presume not," resumed Montresor, in a 
 tone of strong interest, " to mock the unhappy, 
 (from whatever cause,) by recommending them 
 to strive against the grief that has mastered 
 them ; I do not ask of time to perform miracles 
 in their behalf. When we create our own mi-
 
 so LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 sery, when it is brought upon us by others, or 
 when no other agency is visible than the im- 
 mediate hand of Providence, it is still there for 
 every one of us. Our path in life may have 
 roses, but it must have thorns, do what we will 
 to avoid them. The suffering we do not bring 
 upon ourselves, is doubtless the easiest to bear, 
 as it is the rarest : for " the other sort, however, 
 there is usually relief. If the consciousness of 
 having wounded any one is dreadful, there is 
 atonement of some kind in general to be made ; 
 and for one person we may have injured, there 
 are thousands we may serve. Strong feelings 
 were given us as a means of more effectually 
 benefiting others : they were never intended to 
 be pent up within our own breasts, fixing our 
 thoughts on our own peculiar sorrows, and de- 
 taching us from all those who, perhaps, we 
 think, could not bless us, but whom we could 
 bless. If we cannot be happy ourselves, surely 
 it is soothing to make others so ; and who has 
 so wide a range of usefulness as the Earl of 
 Amesfort ? Your wife is young and lovely ; 
 if she loves you not, may it not be because you
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 31 
 
 do not allow her to do so ? Your boy may 
 become any thing you choose to make him, and 
 is not his heart worth gaining ? Suffer not the 
 spleen of heartless philosophy to sour you. 
 They are base calumniators of our nature, — 
 which, all fallen as it is, has some glimmering 
 of divinity yet, — who assert that it is difficult 
 to find the way to the hearts of our fellow- 
 creatures. Beings bound by the same ties, en- 
 dowed with the same perception on all great 
 points, passing onward to the same high des- 
 tination, have svmpathies, and points of union, 
 which there is no shaking off. Doubt it not, 
 my Lord, there are a thousand hearts ready to 
 leap forward and acknowledge you, if you will 
 deign to look for them."' 
 
 " I will not smile at your enthusiasm, my 
 dear Adolphus,"" replied the Earl mildly, " but 
 perhaps when vou are of my age, you will find 
 there are echoes in the open air, but few in the 
 hearts of our fellow-creatures. I am not a very 
 young man : ill health and broken spirits make 
 me feel older still, and where would be the re- 
 sponsive emotion to all this ? — not in the mind
 
 52 LORD AMESFORT S FAMILY. 
 
 of a young woman full of life, and health, and 
 spirits, who would not understand me even 
 could I explain myself to her. No ; sympathy 
 between my wife and me is hopeless : perhaps, 
 though I feel it hard not to be beloved, I 
 should be more wretched still if Lady Ames- 
 fort had, twining like a fresh luxuriant flower 
 around a withered trunk, attached herself to 
 one, who would then feel answerable for her 
 happiness, though unable to confer it. I have 
 not blasted the morning of her life : she is 
 happy ; and that she is so, is my greatest com- 
 fort, since it spares me additional self-reproach. 
 For my boy, he wants not my love : there are 
 plenty to be found to caress him ; — poor child ! 
 I am more solicitous for his welfare than those 
 whom he now prefers. If he is spared me, I 
 will do my duty to one human being at least. 
 That there should be circumstances connected 
 with him, that give me more pain than I can 
 well conceal, is at once my misfortune and my 
 fault. But enough of this. I have answered 
 you minutely, that you might not suppose I 
 was wilfully deaf to counsel, when given in
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 33 
 
 kindness and truth. It is not because you are 
 nineteen and I am forty that I scorn to follow 
 your advice, but merely because, like most ad- 
 vice, it is not applicable. Now we will separate 
 in friendliness, I hope,'' and he took the willing 
 hand of his ward, ''but not to revert again to 
 this interdicted subject;" and Adolphus, bowing 
 his respectful obedience to the command, quit- 
 ted the room immediately, divided between 
 wonder, compassion, and curiosity. 
 
 c 5
 
 34 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Two days more Montresor remained at 
 Amesfort Castle, scarcely catching a glimpse of 
 his patron, but noticed sufficiently by Lady 
 Amesfort and Lord De Calmer, to place him 
 upon a pleasant footing with the rest of the so- 
 ciety. The latter accompanied him to town ; 
 and as they did not sleep in the carriage, they 
 found themselves, on their arrival, much ad- 
 vanced in each other^s favour. Even at first 
 sight nothing could appear more different than 
 these two young men. The Peer had been 
 spoiled by every creature that approached him, 
 so that his only favilt, a hasty temper, had in 
 creased instead of diminishing, and took f 
 form of caprice, imperiousness, illiberality, or 
 unkindness. Early produced in the great world.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 35 
 
 it was impossible to have an air of more decided 
 fashion, mingling with a shade of arrogance, 
 and a large proportion of good-nature. His 
 information, which was extensive for his age, 
 led him not so much to pedantry, as to an eager 
 desire to throw ridicule upon those whose pre- 
 tensions to knowledge did not in his eyes keep 
 pace with their legitimate claim to it. A sort 
 of affected indifference and suavity veiled his 
 satirical qualities ; and as he never did an ill- 
 natured thing, or said one in an ill-bred manner, 
 people were content to laugh at his wit, and to 
 flatter themselves with escaping its lash. 
 
 Such was Henry De Calmer, as the pupil of 
 high Hfe ; but at bottom he was something bet- 
 ter, for Nature had been more than commonly 
 bountiful to him, so that his virtues were his 
 own, and his faults those of the school in which 
 he had been educated. Henry was within a 
 few months of being of age, and he looked 
 forward to the time with great impatience ; not 
 that the tutelage of his maternal uncle had sat 
 uneasy upon him, or that he expected to be 
 happier any where than he had been at Ames-
 
 -S6 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 fort Castle ; but to be his own master, though 
 he never remembered the time when he had 
 been otherwise, was to be felicity unspeakable. 
 " I cannot conceive,'' he would say to his now 
 constant companion, "- that you should have no 
 wish to get out of your teens .?" 
 
 " I never thought about it," would Adol- 
 phus reply; and De Calmer generally concluded 
 all their contests with " You never think about 
 any thing as I do ; I can't conceive what can 
 tempt people to say we are alike .?" 
 
 " Nor I either," thought Montresor, but he 
 never said so, for he had found out it was easy 
 to discompose his new friend. They had not 
 been long in town, when Adolphus heard from 
 his mother : she wrote thus, — 
 
 " I thank you, my own Adolphus, for having 
 spared me another parting : your letter did me 
 good ; not unmixed good, for there is none 
 such for me ; but more than I had any right to 
 expects Your cheerfulness is my greatest bless- 
 ing, and I would hardly therefore seek to cast 
 a damp over it ; but your comments on your 
 guardian gave me pain. You yourself say he
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 37 
 
 is unhappy, and it is not like my son to speak 
 lightly of one who suffers. You call him 
 proud, cold, severe — is not this judging harshly 
 of a stranger ? When I knew him, he was 
 the most cheerful and indulgent of human 
 beings ; and should j/ow, Adolphus, condemn 
 pride ? You ask me, who is Lord De Calmer ? 
 When I saw him last, he was a lovely boy : his 
 mother was the companion of my childhood, 
 the friend of my youth. The father of the 
 present Earl of Amesfort died when quite a 
 young man, leaving two children, his heir 
 Adolphus, and Frances, who made an impru- 
 dent marriage with Baron De Calmer. 
 
 " The late Lord Amesfort was a domestic 
 man, who did not wish his children to go from 
 under his own eye. About a year or more 
 after his death, his widow married again. 
 She soon lost her husband, but continued to 
 reside at Amesfort Castle. The Dowaerer- 
 Lady Amesfort was nearly connected with 
 the iVIontresors : it is unnecessary to enter into 
 all the reasons that induced her to take charge 
 of me, when I was about nine or ten years
 
 38 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 old. I lived with her till her death, which 
 took place before I was seventeen. My dear 
 Lady Frances was some years older than I •' 
 we led a very retired, I thought then, as well 
 as she did, a very dull life ; yet those six years 
 have been by far the best of my existence, and 
 I fear, of Lady Frances's also. She married 
 above a year before her mother's death, and 
 went abroad with her husband ; by which means 
 I never saw her after. The little Henry was 
 sent over to England, when a child, partly for 
 education, and partly because the climate of 
 India did not agree with liim. Lord and Lady 
 De Calmer returned at last, but it was merely 
 for Frances to die in her native land. 
 
 *' The present Lord Amesfort took charge 
 of the only child of a sister he had dearly 
 loved : yet I should fear that the young noble- 
 man inherits his father's turn of mind, rather 
 than his mother's, and his uncle has of course 
 consigned him to other hands. So little are 
 people aware of the extent of their duty to- 
 wards beings, who, as they are well or ill edu- 
 cated, become useful or pernicious members of
 
 LORD AMESFORTS FAMILY. 59 
 
 society I I speak feelingly on this subject, for 
 had I been educated with any reference to my 
 ultimate advantage, rather than to gratify the 
 whims of my noble protectress, I should per- 
 haps have danced with less grace, played with 
 less execution, sung with less science, and been 
 both a better and a happier woman. 
 
 " My letter is of so unconscionable a length, 
 I have hardly room to add, old General Mon- 
 tresor received us, not merely with urbanity, 
 but real kindness. I have not seen his daugh- 
 ter, the fair bride, yet ; but the General pre- 
 sented Emily to her, and I hear of nothing 
 from morning to night but ^Irs. Dessamere. 
 She is going to London soon, and, I foresee, 
 -will ask for Emily to accompany her. I am 
 not one of those parents who long to push 
 forward their girls, while they are young and 
 pretty, in the hope of their marrying well ; but 
 Mrs. Dessamere is nearly the only relation 
 Emily has ; and, as I cannot live for ever, I 
 would not displease her by a refusal, unless 
 my daughter herself is decidedly averse to the 
 scheme^ which, at her age, is what I do not ex-
 
 40 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 pect. That God may bless you, my dear Adol- 
 phus, ever prays your affectionate mother, 
 
 E. MONTRESOR." 
 
 " How many times," asked De Calmer, in a 
 tone of impatience, " do you mean to read that 
 letter ?" 
 
 " Why," returned Adolphus, " if I go on 
 till I understand it, I may read on till 
 Doomsday." 
 
 "I will be bound to explain it," cried Lord 
 De Calmer, snatching it out of his hand, " were 
 it full of charades, in less time than you have 
 been twirling it round your fingers, and seeking 
 for the sense in the flowers of the carpet," — And 
 he ran his eye quickly over it, muttering to 
 himself " So, did not take to my uncle — very 
 good advice ; only the first time one sees a per- 
 son, is just the time one judges him, unfortu- 
 nately for accuracy — ■ Who is Lord De Calmer ?' 
 What the devil, am I coming to my own his- 
 tory ?" 
 
 " Listeners, you know," said Adolphus, smil- 
 ing, "hear no good of themselves; take care 
 that you are not in the same predicament."
 
 LORD AMESF0RT"S FAMILY. 41 
 
 De Calmer's quick blood rose. " I defy her,"" 
 he began ; but checked himself, and with dimi- 
 nished gaiety continued to read. " 'Faith, Mon- 
 tresor, you must be asleep not to see day-light 
 in that epistle — I never read any thing much 
 clearer, and I am heartily glad your sister is 
 not to be cooped up for life among \yelsh 
 mountains, with a melancholy mother, and a 
 gouty old man, like poor General ^lontresor, 
 the stiffest, most ceremonious, most intolerable 
 person, for all he is your cousin, and mine too 
 it would seem, I ever was in company with. — 
 "What on earth are you making so long a face 
 at, man .-*' the lively Henry continued, giving 
 his friend a shake that at least discomposed the 
 muscles of his shoulder, if they had no effect on 
 those of his face. 
 
 The parts of Mrs. ^lontresor's letter that 
 puzzled her son were not such as he felt any 
 disposition to canvass ; and he was heartily glad 
 that his gay companion should have passed 
 without comment the neglect he conceived his 
 mother to have met with from Mrs. Dessamere, 
 and the singularity of her omitting to say one
 
 42 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 word of Lord Amesfort, during the six years 
 she must have seen so much of him. " Does 
 she know any harm of him.?'' thought Adol- 
 phus. " I remember being told in Germany, 
 ' Your guardian, Lord Amesfort, loved your fa- 
 ther more than he did your mother.' ""
 
 LORD AMESFORTS FAMILY. 43 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 In the paths of dissipation which Adolphus 
 trod with his new friend, he learned to study 
 mankind in a new Hght. He saw much to 
 wonder at, much for unbroken spirits to enjoy, 
 something to condemn, and more to laugh at. 
 Well satisfied M-ith his own situation, he still 
 looked forward with uneasiness to the idea of 
 his young sister being initiated into the frivolity 
 and idleness of a to^vn life. 
 
 " So you are afraid of the young rustic being 
 spoiled .^" said Lord De Calmer, penetrating his 
 unexpressed thoughts. 
 
 *' Just so,'' replied Montresor, in the quiet 
 tone of one proof against raillery.
 
 44 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 " And you really would rather not see Miss 
 Montresor acquire the polished courtesy of — 
 Lady Amesfort for example ?''"' 
 
 " Your example is not fairly taken. I see 
 nothing like Lady Amesfort here; besides, 
 though on no account would I alter her, per- 
 haps if she were my sister, I might not always 
 approve the very fascination which now capti- 
 vates me. Do not however imagine, that I sus- 
 pect Emily of deviating from her natural man- 
 ner, or lowering the tone of her character 
 wherever she may be placed. I only fear the 
 quiet life she must hereafter lead, will appear 
 duller by comparison ; and what is more mis- 
 chievous yet, that she may become fastidious in 
 manner ; and having learned the charm of po- 
 lished refinement, will never feel comfortable in 
 other society.*" 
 
 " Poor Montresor !'' said De Calmer, in a 
 tone of mock pathos, " thou hast no real sor- 
 row, and so must needs gallop after imaginary 
 ones ! Now, I who have no superabundant sen- 
 sibiHty, see no necessity for keeping it in play 
 by any such undue means, but slide quietly
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 45 
 
 through life, without feeling it incumbent upon 
 me to go in search of pain, that does not come 
 in search of me.'' 
 
 " Quietly r repeated Montresor to himself; 
 " and tliis young man, whose impetuous temper 
 keeps himself and his friends in a never-ceas- 
 ing fever, talks of sliding through life qideth/ ! 
 How little do we know ourselves !'"* 
 
 That evening, the two young men were to go 
 to the Opera : Henry had letters of business to 
 write, a task he was always ready to put off; 
 and he was particularly provoked with them on 
 that day, as he liked the party he was to join. 
 Adolphus enjoyed the harmony of sounds, but 
 the harmony of a satisfied countenance more 
 .still; and he readily offered to stay at home 
 and write the letters for his friend. De Cal- 
 mer' s was a temper hostile to obligations in ge- 
 neral : to have received them from those he did 
 not both love and respect, would have galled him 
 too deeplv, however trifling they might be ; but 
 he was rather glad of an opportunity of being 
 obliged by Adolphus, for he was aware that his 
 uncle's ward, however independent in mind, was
 
 46 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 not so in fortune ; and he knew there was no 
 possible way of serving him in future, but on 
 the plea of mutual benefits. 
 
 The young men had taken lodgings together, 
 and Montresor having written and sent the let- 
 ters in question, was so deeply engrossed by a 
 mathematical calculation, that he was not aware 
 of the hour, when Henry returned from the 
 Opera, and an assembly to which he had gone 
 afterwards- He entered the room with his 
 usual gaiety, exclaiming : 
 
 " Now let us thank the gods, Adolphus ! 
 who prevented our going out together to-night, 
 for there can be no doubt but we should have 
 been fighting at this moment." 
 
 " Indeed !" said Adolphus, looking up from 
 his tranquil occupation with an incredulous 
 smile. 
 
 *' Ay, you may look wise, and shake your 
 head ; but the fact is more certain, than that 
 those horrible lines you are poring over, will 
 ever be understood by mortal man, or by 
 ghosts, — any less a one than Euclid himself." 
 " I perceive, I must make them over to Eu-
 
 LORD AMESFOET'S FAMILY. 4? 
 
 did for the present,"" said Adolphus, smiling, 
 as he closed his book, and gathered up his 
 papers : " and now, pray what were we to have 
 fought about, if our kind stars had not inter- 
 posed ?'" 
 
 " For one of the fairest daughters of Eve, 
 that ever tempted unhappy man with forbidden 
 fruit." 
 
 " Quarrel for a woman !" said Montresor, 
 lighting his candle ; " that ivould be worth 
 while ! Good night, my dear Henry : as you 
 are a modern lover, you will not think it an 
 insult to have the wish of repose bestowed upon 
 you!" 
 
 " At least, I swear 2/ou shall have no repose 
 until you hear my story out ; so don't be a 
 churl, blow out your candle, sit down and lis- 
 ten. I was earlier than I need have been, so 
 found my party were not arrived. The box to 
 my right was occupied ; but the curtain drawn 
 so close, there was no discovering by whom. 
 It was evident from their conversation that the 
 two ladies, at least, had never seen an Opera 
 before; so, out of idleness and curiosity, I lis-
 
 48 LORD amesfort's famil\. 
 
 tened to their remarks, which were spirited and 
 amusing enough. I caught a ghmpse of the 
 lady who talked and laughed most : she was 
 young, and had the beauty I hate, of deep 
 vivid colour : she leant very much forward, and 
 was eager to make her companion do so too ; 
 but the constant reply of, ' I see perfectly," at 
 last disheartened her, and provoked me, for it 
 was of course just the person I could not see 
 that I was curious about. I crossed the house 
 to the other side, but gained only a fuller pro- 
 spect of the lady I had seen before, who con- 
 cealed the other effectually ; so finding I only 
 lost the sweet tones of my neighbour, with- 
 out gaining a view of her face, I returned to 
 my party. 
 
 " Lady Delavel took my arm as we were 
 coming out, so I could not watch the strangers 
 as I had intended ; but the crowd was so great, 
 that we were torn asunder. At this moment, I 
 saw the other party in rather a deplorable situ- 
 ation. Unaccustomed to the place, they had 
 neglected to keep to the wall, and were fairly 
 borne down the current in the centre. I made
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 49 
 
 my way to the door, just as the lady on whom 
 I had kept my eye was separated from her 
 companion, who was thrown with some force 
 against me. Such a creature you never saw 
 then, Montresor, nor shall I see such another 
 to my dying day ! She was pale with terror, 
 but perfectly silent : in the jostle, her hair had 
 fallen down, and hung in rich clusters over her 
 shoulders. I endeavoured to re-assure her, with 
 the promise of soon joining her friends. She 
 was so much overcome, I thought she would 
 have fainted, but, the fresh air restored her. 
 We had been bearing our fate, with great pa- 
 tience on her part, and great satisfaction on 
 mine, for nearly a quarter of an hour, when her 
 friend's husband joined us, and said he had 
 sent his wife home, so that my companion must 
 content herself with a hackney-coach."" 
 
 " Any thing to get away from hence," she 
 said ; then, blushing as if fearful of appearing 
 rude to me, she accompanied her farewell 
 with a look that would have redeemed any 
 thing. I offered my carriage, which the gen- 
 tleman seemed disposed to accept ; but the lady 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 50 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 was decidedly adverse, and gained the day. I 
 went to Mrs. Arundel's rout, and met my peo- 
 ple again, but their names I have not to this 
 moment made out, nor could I, without an in- 
 troduction, continue to converse with the fair 
 object of my admiration." 
 
 " So then," said Montresor, " you may ne- 
 ver chance to light again upon this beautiful 
 unknown." 
 
 " Not see her again, after meeting her twice 
 running! Nonsense, man! — if she is above 
 ground, I see her to-morrow." 
 
 " You will sleep o£F this fancy, De Calmer, 
 for you are not subject to them, I think." 
 
 " For that very reason, I shall not sleep it off. 
 I tell you, Adolphus, all your philosophy is 
 nothing to me. Since I must be in love, I will 
 be so in earnest, nor will I ever give you any 
 peace until you oblige me by being just as 
 absurd yourself." 
 
 " Well, do but let me go to bed now, and I 
 promise to dream of your incognita, and fall in 
 love from description."
 
 LORD AMESFORTS FAMILY. 51 
 
 " Not with her ! you are the only man on 
 earth I could not bear for my rival." 
 
 " Bravo, De Calmer ! I am to pass over the 
 vanity of that speech, out of gratitude to the 
 compliment to me, am I ?" — and the young men 
 laughingly separated. 
 
 The next morning they were sitting over 
 their late breakfast, forming conjectures re- 
 specting the fair unknown, when the servant, 
 addressing Montresor, informed him, two ladies, 
 who would not give their names, begged to be 
 admitted. 
 
 " Two, you unconscionable dog !" exclaimed 
 the young Peer. 
 
 '' Be content, Henry; I make one over to 
 you." 
 
 " I take you at your word ;" — and the door 
 flung open ; two ladies entered ; the youngest 
 was quickly pressed to the heart of Adolphus. 
 
 " My dear Emily, this is sooner than I 
 thought to see you. You had a mind to 
 catch me at some mischief, it seems." 
 
 " Just as I thought," cried the other lady ; 
 D 2 
 
 uSlTVOFlLUNOlS
 
 52 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 " I am reduced to introducing myself. — Emily, 
 I desire you will suffer your brother to make 
 his bow to his cousin, when she does him the 
 honour of visiting him."' 
 
 " I am quite ashamed. — Adolphus, — Mrs. 
 Dessamere. We could not well see you before, 
 for it was late yesterday when we arrived, and 
 I was taken to sights immediately.^' 
 
 " Now, you shall not tell that story," cried 
 Mrs. Dessamere. — " You must know, Mr. 
 Montresor, your sister is a prude, and has less 
 faith in her looking-glass than is proper. She 
 made a conquest in the crowd at the opera last 
 night; — not a favourable place, I acknowledge ; 
 but still I maintain the fact, let her say what 
 she will." 
 
 " And I," cried Emily playfully, " deny it, 
 were it only for the credit of humanity. It is 
 too hard upon a man to suppose he cannot be 
 civil v/ithout being in love." 
 
 " But," said Adolphus, smiling archly, " it 
 is pleasant to know civil people ; so, permit me 
 to introduce Lord De Calmer to you," and he 
 drew forward the young Peer, who had not
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 53 
 
 stirred from the moment of ^liss Montresor's 
 entrance, and who now bowed with more em- 
 barrassment, if possible, than she felt. Adol- 
 phus could not help enjoying their confusion ; 
 but, appearing not to notice it, he devoted his 
 attention to ]Mrs. Dessamere. Neither Emily 
 nor Lord De Calmer took any advantage of 
 this wilful blindness. She sat trying to think 
 of something that would be proper to say, until 
 the silence had lasted so long she was ashamed 
 of breaking it ; and he stood near her, thinking 
 of nothing, and affecting to look at Mrs. Des- 
 samere, while, in fact, he watched every ner- 
 vous motion of Emily's long eyelashes. Mi^s 
 Montresor was not, on most occasions, destitute 
 of that presence of mind which formed so strik- 
 ing a feature in her brother''s character. In a 
 few minutes she recovered her accustomed com- 
 posure, and, determining to shorten this unplea- 
 sant visit, she reminded her cousin of their 
 promise to meet Colonel Dessamere. 
 
 " What a fidget you are, child ! You were 
 dying to see your brother, and now you are 
 dying to leave him.'"*
 
 54 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 " And you will not suffer me to die, I am 
 sure," replied Emily, rising. 
 
 " Well, take your own way, and make Mr. 
 Montresor dine with us to-day or to-morrow ;" 
 and, looking towards Lord De Calmer, she was 
 going to include him, but was stopped by an 
 imploring look from Emily. The young Peer 
 understood it all at one glance : he was near 
 the door, and offered his arm to Mrs. Dessa- 
 mere. Miss Montresor stopped for a moment, 
 to know when she should see her brother again ; 
 then, flying down-stairs, sprung into the car- 
 riage, without appearing to notice the prof- 
 fered hand of De Calmer. 
 
 '^ What an admirable game of cross purposes 
 you and your fair unknown have been playing 
 just now," said Adolphus, as Henry rather 
 sulkily returned to the room. " Why you 
 chose to torment each other in that way, I, who 
 am ignorant in Cupid"'s concerns, was not very 
 well able to make out." 
 
 " Torment one another ! What nonsense, 
 Montresor ! She may find it no easy matter to
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAxMILY. 55 
 
 torment me ; and, it is pretty clear, I cannot 
 torment her." 
 
 " So, then, you tried : well, there's an honest 
 confession at least," seriously continued Adol- 
 phus, changing the tone of his voice. "I re- 
 joice, for your sake, that the unknown, who was 
 so near turning your head, proves to be my 
 sister, as the discovery will restore you to the 
 senses you were on the verge of abandoning last 
 night. You will find many women fit to be 
 the object of a violent and transient fancy, and 
 who may even be flattered by it ; but Emily 
 Montresor is not the person you are seeking." 
 
 " \VTiat the devil is the matter with the 
 fellow !" thought De Calmer, as his eye fol- 
 lowed the commanding figure of Adolphus 
 moving across the room with increased state- 
 liness. 
 
 " Come," he cried aloud, " don't be muster- 
 ing up all your pride when there is no enemy 
 to meet ; it's a waste of ammunition, you 
 know. I have not parted so entirely with my 
 senses, as not to know one friend is worth two
 
 56 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 mistresses; so, here's my hand, Adolphus, and 
 I will swear, if you like it, that the radiant 
 Emily is not fair, only I should be afraid of 
 some evil genii popping upon me, if I ventured 
 to tell such a barefaced lie." 
 
 " I ask no oaths or vows," said Adolphus, 
 affectingly pressing his hand ; and De Calmer 
 felt more bound by his friend's look of gene- 
 rous confidence, than if he had made protesta- 
 tions innumerable.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 57 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mrs. Dessamere was a young and lively 
 woman, too well pleased with herself not to be 
 generally pleased with others. The only sur- 
 viving child of General Montresor, she was 
 thought to be a good match, and was recom- 
 mended as such to the Honourable Colonel Des- 
 samere by his particular friend. Dessamere 
 certainly did not want a wife, but then he did 
 want money, and reluctantly he accompanied 
 his friend to visit the old General. The stiff 
 poHteness and formal attention with which he 
 was received, almost put to flight any idea of 
 entering such a family ; but Augusta Montre- 
 sor appeared, and his ideas took another turn. 
 A romantic person would not perhaps have 
 called a man in love, from whose mind pounds, 
 D -5
 
 5B LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 shillings, and pence were never one instant 
 absent ; but Dessamere, it is presumed, was not 
 romantic, for he did think himself in love ; and 
 as he found Augusta very ready to think so 
 too, they were not long in consulting General 
 Montresor on the subject. The old officer had 
 a prejudice in favour of his profession, and 
 another in favour of family — both were gra- 
 tified by his daughter's choice : and though he 
 had seen many men he preferred to Dessamere, 
 and thought him too old for Augusta, and too 
 gay for any sober woman, he wisely considered 
 that was her affair, and gave his consent ; and, 
 what his son-in-law thought more to the purpose, 
 a very handsome fortune ; expressly stating, 
 they were not to rely upon any thing more after 
 his death. But wills are things nobody can be 
 reasonable about : few people know how to 
 make them, and fewer learn to expect nothing 
 from them. 
 
 Dessamere threw his money to the right and 
 the left, nor could he reasonably check his 
 wife's extravagance, since it was to her father 
 he looked ultimately in case of embarrassments.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 59 
 
 The bride was eager to come to town ; but, as 
 she knew hardly any one there, she did not 
 vdsh to come alone. Her cousin Emily fell in 
 her way, at the very moment she was consider- 
 ing to which of her acquaintance she should 
 propose accompanying her. Some had ill health, 
 and could not bear raking; some had precise 
 mothers, who would not suffer their girls to 
 move -svithout them ; some were vulgar, and 
 some were ill-tempered ; — finally, some were too 
 handsome ; and jNlrs. Dessamere, though a good- 
 natured person, and very ready to admire her 
 friends, naturally enough stipidated to be the 
 most admired herself. Now, Emily's beauty 
 was so unlike her cousin's, that Mrs. Dessamere, 
 in the simplicity of her heart, could not dis- 
 cover that she was pretty at all, and would have 
 described her as a nice pleasant creature, fair 
 and elegant, without any effect ; and as effect 
 was just what Augusta had been most admired 
 for, she of course thought it an indispensable 
 part of beauty. Dessamere, who had been 
 living in dread of his wife domesticating and 
 carrying about some good sort of country neigh-
 
 60 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 bour, was not a little relieved at her haA'ing 
 fixed upon Emily, and was well content to 
 reply to the numerous enquiries of " Who is 
 that lovely creature?'' "A relation of my wife's 
 — the same name." 
 
 " The Montresor family," said a gentleman 
 one night to Lord De Calmer, *' unite every 
 style of beauty. How came they to be hid so 
 long ? For Mrs. Dessamere and her cousin have 
 come upon us like a sudden burst of Hght, nor 
 can any one divine from whence." 
 
 " Mr. Montresor can explain that better than 
 I," said Lord De Calmer, presenting his friend. 
 
 " My sister," said Adolphus, smiling, " is 
 only on a visit to Mr. Dessamere, and will pro- 
 bably see London no more. I can no otherwise 
 account for General Montresor's daughter being 
 unknown, than from her having been abroad, 
 where her mother went for the recovery of her 
 health. She died in Italy, and General Mon- 
 tresor has not returned to England much above 
 a twelvemonth." 
 
 Some one addressing Adolphus, he moved 
 away to join him ; and the gentleman to whom
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 61 
 
 he had been speaking, turned again to Lord 
 De Calmer : " And so that's a Montresor too ! 
 what a noble-looking creature ! Who is he ? 
 for there must be good blood in that fellow's 
 veins/' 
 
 " I know nothing of his family : his father, 
 I understand, is dead, and was related, or con- 
 nected, or both, with my uncle Amesfort, who 
 is guardian to this young man."" 
 
 '' So ! a soldier of fortune quite.'' 
 
 " Very possibly. I know nothing for cer- 
 tain, but that the good fortune of knowing him 
 is undeniable." 
 
 " Would you believe it," said the gentleman 
 to Mr. Arundel, " De Calmer is grown un 
 heros d'amitie ? He almost resented my asking 
 a few idle questions about his uncle's ward." 
 
 " What, ^Montresor !" cried Arundel ; " I 
 was at Amesfort Castle the other day, when he 
 made his debut. He turned all their heads, I 
 think ; but, as to getting a plain answer to the 
 simple question. Who is he ? take my word for 
 it, you will lose your labour, as I did mine. De 
 Calmer was determined not to like the inter-
 
 62 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 loper at first, just because his uncle desired 
 him to like him, I suppose ; but Montresor had 
 Harlequin's wand, with which he could change 
 every thing at will, for they were fast friends 
 directly ; and I should not wonder if he got 
 him to marry his sister, though De Calmer is 
 not easily taken in." 
 
 " Taken in ?" retorted the other ; " it would 
 be no great misfortune to have such a lovely 
 wife, either. She would grace a higher title 
 and an older one than that paltry new-made 
 thing." 
 
 Miss Montresor, who had with great patience 
 endured this conversation passing at her ear, 
 began to think she had heard enough, and 
 begged Mrs. Dessamere to move a little. 
 Though she spoke in a low tone, she was heard 
 by those who had unwittingly been tormenting 
 her ; and, turning round, they added to her dis- 
 comfort by a stare, which was habitual to them ; 
 but being new to Emily, she coloured beneath 
 the imaginary insult, and more earnestly begged 
 her cousin to move. But she was deep in an
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 63 
 
 interesting flirtation, and contented herself with 
 replying " Presently, my dear." 
 
 Miss Montresor had nothing for it but re- 
 signation ; but as her countenance was not a 
 very happy one at that moment, it struck Lord 
 De Calmer, who immediately forgot he had 
 determined not to speak to her that evening, 
 and coming up, he asked her if she felt ill ? 
 Emily, whose ears were now on the qui vive, 
 heard the smothered laugh of Arundel and his 
 companion, and wished Lord De Calmer in 
 India, or herself in Wales. 
 
 " Quite well in health," she replied thought- 
 lessly, so much was she in the habit of telling 
 the exact truth. 
 
 " Not ill otherwise, I trust," said Lord De 
 Calmer Anxiously ; " you have had no bad 
 accounts of ^Irs. Montresor .^" 
 
 " Excellent young man !" thought Emily, 
 forgetting, in his affecting tone of interest, the 
 frivolous beings whose discourse had annoyed 
 her ; "he thinks nothing but my mother's ill- 
 ness ought to give me pain."
 
 64 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 " No, thank God I" she added aloud, " I 
 have no real cause of uneasiness whatever. I 
 was merely out of temper." 
 
 " And do you recover best alone, or in com- 
 pany ?'" 
 
 " Best alone, I think ; for it would be bad 
 policy to be out of temper with oneself, and 
 there is no being angry with others when you 
 don"'t see them." 
 
 " Then, you always forget others, when you 
 don't see them .P" 
 
 " That depends," said Emily, laughing, " on 
 whether they are worth remembering or not." 
 
 " Do you find many people worth remem- 
 bering ?" 
 
 " Do i/ou, my Lord ?"" 
 
 " Oh no, indeed !" 
 
 " Then, how should I, who have lived only 
 with my mother, Adolphus, and little Fanny, 
 except ten days spent in a crowd, where I have 
 not met a soul who will remember my existence 
 next season." 
 
 " You pour out the waters of Lethe with 
 an unsparing hand," said De Calmer in a tone
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 65 
 
 of reproach ; and fearing to say too much, he 
 addressed ]\Irs. Dessamere. That lady, in com- 
 pHance with her cousin's wishes, had forborne 
 to show any particular encouragement to the 
 young Peer ; but, at this moment, Emily and 
 her feelings were put out of her head by a more 
 important subject, — a waltzing ball. How to 
 get to this ball was the object ; and Lord De 
 Calmer, she thought, could assist her. She be- 
 gan by asking. Was he to be there ? talked of 
 the superior style of waltzing abroad, where she 
 had often seen it ; and regretted her being un- 
 acquainted viiih the person who was to give 
 this ball. 
 
 " If you wish to go," said De Calmer, " you 
 shall have an invitation to-morrow ;""* and he 
 retreated immediately from the dehghted thanks 
 of the lady. The invitation came while they 
 were at breakfast the next day ; and Mrs. Des- 
 samere poured forth as warm eulogiums on De 
 Calmer, as if he had conferred an everlasting 
 benefit on his country in general. Dessamere 
 caught the smile wandering over Emily's fea- 
 tures at the manner in which his wife worded
 
 66 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 her praise, and could not help remarking that 
 it was very appropriate. It is never very plea- 
 sant to be laughed at, least of all by one's hus- 
 band; and Mrs. Dessamere, not venturing to 
 resent it in the right place, vented her discon- 
 tent on poor Emily. 
 
 Miss Montresor was of a more than com- 
 monly grateful temper. She had been gratified 
 by her cousin's kindness, and enchanted with 
 her lively disposition ; she was proportionably 
 hurt at the change in her manner, and was, 
 above all, in continual dread of Dessamere 
 making some comment upon it, that would of 
 course make matters worse. A little prudence, 
 and a great deal of good temper, smooths many 
 a rugged path ; and as Emily was superemi- 
 nently endowed with both these rare qualities, 
 the cloud soon passed over, though not without 
 damping considerably the spirits with which 
 the young rustic had entered her new career of 
 gaiety. She had indeed soon discovered, how 
 little unmixed good is to be found any where. 
 The life she led had the charm of novelty to 
 recommend it, and there was an excitement to
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 67 
 
 one so long used to retirement, even in the 
 country dance played on the organ in the street. 
 As to Punch, she was ashamed to confess how 
 much it diverted her ; and though she had not 
 Mrs. Dessamere''s pleasure in shopping, or any 
 notion of the temptation to purchase what she 
 did not want — even there, her ignorance was 
 a source of amusement. The indecision of the 
 ladies, the airs of the gentlemen, the obsequious 
 civiHty of the shopkeepers, their routine of 
 phrases, and their particular wish to oblige the 
 identical person who was speaking to them, in 
 preference to all others whomsoever, had more 
 than once excited her laughter. 
 
 At the miUiner^s she grew most tired ; for, 
 though she had no objection to Mrs. Dessamere 
 trying on every cap in the shop, and receiving 
 a fresh compliment at each, she was a little 
 impatient at her cousin putting them on her, 
 to judge of their effect, as she said. Not that 
 she would not have made a very passive block 
 at her own house, safe from the conmients of 
 the milliner's apprentices ; but she had some- 
 thing of her brother's pride, which, teaching her
 
 6^ LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 to shrink from gross flattery as an impertinence 
 almost amounting to insult, rendered her more 
 than commonly susceptible of its influence, when 
 veiled by delicacy and taste. Emily often won- 
 dered at the good temper with which her cousin 
 received a general compliment ; and tried to be 
 equally courteous ; but it was forcing her na- 
 ture, which rebelled against it : no wonder, then, 
 that she could not, or would not see that Mrs. 
 Dessamere was really gratified and flattered by 
 the very speeches from which she recoiled.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 69 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The waltzing ball at last took place, not 
 without producing cabals, disappointments, and 
 sarcasms innumerable. It was not easy to get 
 to it, for the noble giver had determined that 
 none but waltzing ladies should be there. 
 Every one wanted to be invited, but every 
 one did not venture to say so. So much non- 
 sense had been talked on both sides, respecting 
 this foreign dance, that no one found the path 
 back to common sense easy to discover. The 
 body of oppositionists, in this important matter, 
 was not so formidable as might have been sup- 
 posed bv the first view of their numbers. Some 
 were deserters from the other party, having 
 been seized with a panic, that their daughters, 
 failing to secure as a partner for life any of the
 
 70 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 advocates for waltzing, would have no chance 
 with quieter people, who stuck to old customs 
 with as much pertinacity as they would have 
 done to old virtues. Others objected to it, 
 because people they disliked patronised it ; — and 
 finally, under the banners of the more deter- 
 mined and staunch supporters of the decorum 
 of our ancestors, were enlisted many who only 
 sought for a fair opportunity of seceding with 
 a show of propriety, and languished to exhibit 
 either their own graceful forms, or those of 
 their girls, in the only chance in which grace is 
 at once indispensable and fascinating. 
 
 From the mere rumour of such divisions in 
 the land of fashion. Miss Montresor had been 
 far removed. She saw, indeed, much anxiety 
 prevail upon the subject; but, since her visit 
 to town, she had so invariably thought both 
 the pain and the pleasure expressed so utterly 
 disproportionate to the causes which gave them 
 birth, that there was nothing now to wonder at ; 
 and she therefore simply took it for granted, 
 that a waltzing ball must be pleasanter than any 
 other, since it produced so much more sensation.
 
 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 71 
 
 She went, and found the apartments more than 
 usually handsome, the music excellent; — and, 
 whether from the size of the rooms, or the 
 comparatively small number of dancers, neither 
 heat, nor bustle, nor crowd, which Emily, like 
 a true lover of dancing, was rejoiced to see. 
 Mr. Dessamere lost no time in joining those 
 who were actively employed; whilst her cousin, 
 either less kno^n, or less observed, took her 
 brother's arm, and her station near a large 
 window in a recess which was filled with the 
 most beautiful flowers. She was in a few 
 minutes joined by Mr. Arundel, who begged 
 she would decide whether he had won or lost 
 his wager. 
 
 " What,'' asked the surprised Emily, " can 
 I know about your wagers .^" 
 
 " No one can know so well as yourself; it is 
 whether you are a waltzer ? Now, I betted con- 
 fidently you were not; for, I know, De Calmer 
 abhors it ; and, as he is so great a friend of your 
 brother's, I took it for granted, Mr. Montresor 
 would be of the same opinion.'' 
 
 Emily, from whose mind the observations
 
 72 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 made by this gentleman some time before were 
 by no means obliterated, coloured with indig- 
 nation, and her first impulse was to show her 
 indifference to Lord De Calmer^s opinion, and 
 avow her predilection for the dance ; but the 
 next feeling was more like herself. " Shall such 
 an animal as that move me ?''"' thought she ; and 
 quietly she replied, " I am very ready to bow 
 to Lord De Calmer in matters of taste ; and, if 
 he objects to it, I have no doubt it is objec- 
 tionable." 
 
 ^' Then,"*^ said Arundel, in a tone of spiteful 
 triumph, " you will not waltz to-night ?"' 
 
 ^' You think, then,'' said Emily slily, " it 
 would be impossible to get leave from Lord De 
 Calmer." 
 
 " I will ask him, if you like," quickly re- 
 torted her tormentor; who, aware she was 
 quizzing him, determined to be revenged. 
 
 " That," said she calmly, " is giving you a 
 great deal of trouble ;" but Arundel, fearful of 
 a prohibition, had flown in search of the young 
 Peer. 
 
 " Why, my dear Emily," said Montresor
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 73 
 
 rather impatiently, " why would you let that 
 idle fellow run away with the idea that you 
 regulated your opinions and actions on Lord 
 De Calmer's or Lord Anybody's ?'" 
 
 " Because, Adolphus, the idea is already 
 fixed in his capacious intellect : denying it, 
 would not only have done me no good, but 
 would have left the field open to as many more 
 attacks of the same nature as could have been 
 veiled in the semblance of good-breeding ; the 
 reality, wliich we have been taught to tliink 
 consists in the fear of wounding the feelings of 
 another, is many tones higher than characters 
 of Mr. Arundel's cast. Now, as I don't exactly 
 know how I should get out of the scrape in 
 case he does send Lord De Calmer, I wish 
 very much you would waltz with me, if it 
 was ever so short a time." 
 
 " That would do you no good, my dear ; for 
 waltzing \nth a brother has always been allow- 
 able." 
 
 " I will look for Colonel Dessamere, then." 
 
 " Nay," said a voice behind them, " beware 
 of a second refusal !" — It was Lord De Calmer : 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 and Emily felt quite as uncomfortable as Mr. 
 Arundel could have wished. 
 
 " Pray," said he, quietly drawing her hand 
 through his arm, " set poor ArundeFs mind at 
 ease by convincing him you have my permission 
 to waltz. — Here, Adolphus," he added, twirl- 
 ing Emily's scarf round him, " don't lose the 
 shawl, if you don't mean to be well-scolded to- 
 morrow:" and before Emily could reply, or 
 scarcely know where she was, she found herself 
 engaged in the never-ending maze, and, between 
 the music and her partner, performing her part 
 as well as if she was thinking of nothing else. 
 This, however, was far from being the case : 
 she was confounded, nor did she venture to 
 look up, dreading every where to meet the 
 malignant laugh of Arundel. She had not 
 waltzed for so long, that a slight sensation of 
 giddiness added to her confused ideas. She 
 did not like to stop, for then she must speak, 
 which she felt would be difficult : she dreaded go- 
 ing on, lest, being still more uncomfortable, she 
 should lose the power of moving ; and the nerv- 
 ous terror of a fainting, or any sort of scene
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 75 
 
 with Lord De Calmer, made her tremble uni- 
 versally. Luckily for her, she found her partner 
 stop. It was very near a couch, and, having 
 seated her, he said quietly, " Don t speak yet, 
 for I see you are giddy/'' 
 
 Emilv hardly felt less grateful to him, than 
 she had done the first night of her seeing him 
 in the crowd at the Opera. Adolphus joined 
 them immediately ; "I release you from all 
 duty,'" said he, trying to smile, as he seated 
 himself beside his sister. 
 
 " I thank you," said De Calmer drily, " but 
 I have not released myself yet. Do you mean 
 to dance any more, ^liss ^lontresor." 
 
 '• Yes,"" she answered hastily, " when my 
 head has got into its right place again." 
 
 " What, without my leave .^" 
 
 '• I imagine, even if I took the trouble to ask 
 it, you would hardly take the trouble of answer- 
 ing so very uninteresting a question." 
 
 " Certainly, I can claim no right to advise 
 
 you upon any subject, whether interesting or 
 
 otherwise ; but you are so very young, and so 
 
 new to this sort of life, that I thought the opi- 
 
 E 2
 
 76 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 nion of your brother's friend might not be 
 without some weight. If I was wrong, I can 
 but regret it ; I have neither the right nor the 
 wish to complain." 
 
 " Emily's heart smote her for having seem- 
 ed to repulse such disinterested kindness, and 
 her eloquent eyes explained her feelings better 
 than her disjointed phrase. 
 
 " Are you aware," he began, " that many 
 people condemn this practice .?"" 
 
 " No, indeed ! — upon what possible plea.^*" 
 
 " I shall make you stare, I perceive :^-on the 
 plea of its impropriety."' 
 
 '' Is it possible .^" cried Emily, colouring ; 
 '' and why," she added, casting a half-re- 
 proachful look at her brother, " not have 
 informed me of this.'^" 
 
 " Because," quietly replied Montresor, " I 
 have read the fable of ' The Old Man, his Son, 
 and the Ass.' In other words, there is no 
 pleasing every body ; so, why not please one's 
 self on matters too of so little consequence .^" 
 
 " Things are of consequence according as 
 they are considered," interrupted De Calmer. 
 " A dance is of no consequence to us, no doubt.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY, 77 
 
 any more than a dress is to Miss Montresor ; 
 yet we know there are people who think seri- 
 ously about both, and to whom they are im- 
 portant matters." 
 
 " And so we are to have our judgments con- 
 stantly biassed by people we ourselves feel to 
 be our inferiors ?" 
 
 " Not ours, Adolphus ! We are called upon 
 to be consistent, and can be so only by acting 
 up to our own sentiments, unwarped by the com- 
 ments of others. But is a woman — a young 
 and lovely woman, like your sister — in the same 
 predicament ? If I know any thing of Miss 
 Montresor, she is the last person who would 
 willingly make herself conspicuous, or risk 
 censure, however undeserved ; least of aU, that 
 sort of censure," and his keen eye scanned the 
 troubled features of Emily, anxious to gather 
 from them her determination. 
 
 " I wish," she said at last, *' you had told 
 me all this before we danced." 
 
 " Why so ?" 
 
 " Because now I must dance this night with 
 any body that will ask me ; and with the calum- 
 nies against this innocent dance you have put
 
 78 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 into my head, I shall feel very awkward and 
 uncomfortable." 
 
 " And why must you dance ? Can you not 
 be tired, or dance with Adolphus .?" 
 
 " And let my amiable friend Mr. Arundel 
 say, with some reason. Miss Montresor thinks 
 it incorrect to waltz with any one but Lord 
 De Calmer ! No, no, my Lord, it would be 
 better to spend my life in waltzing;" and 
 proudly she curved her beautiful throat with 
 one of her brother^s well-known looks. — Lord 
 De Calmer remained silent, but a half-stifled 
 sigh reached the ear of his companion, and 
 made her repent the pointed manner in which 
 she had shown her determination to grant him 
 no sort of preference. Montresor, who dreaded 
 this conversation taking a more tender turn, 
 arose, and asked his sister if she had not better 
 see whether Mrs. Dessamere had left the dance. 
 
 De Calmer had hoped that remaining in the 
 anteroom she would be unobserved, and escape 
 dancing ; but he had temper enough to do his 
 friend justice, and could see that no waltzing 
 could do Emily so much harm as talking all 
 night to him.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. T9 
 
 Miss Montresor danced both before supper 
 and after, but the pleasure of her evening was 
 destroyed. In vain she met every where the 
 friendly eye of De Calmer, and saw his encou- 
 raging smile; she was doing what he condemned, 
 and her spirit and elasticity were gone. 
 
 " What a delicate creature your sister is !" 
 said Mrs. Dessamere to Adolphus, who was at 
 that moment her partner. 
 
 '' She was quite weary after the first dance, 
 in which she certainly acquitted herself better 
 than any one in the room ; but now, do but 
 see how languidly she moves !" 
 
 " There is a great deal in having a good 
 partner," said the persevering Arundel. 
 
 " Sir Master Percy dances very well," an- 
 swered Mrs. Dessamere, who had the very use- 
 ful quality of seeing, in words, only their most 
 obvious and good-natured meaning. Montresor 
 grew impatient ; and when he had seated Mrs. 
 Dessamere, he went in search of his sister. 
 
 " Emily, you are asleep. Come, child, do 
 forget De Calmer for a moment and dance like 
 yourself." 
 
 This time Miss Montresor did not merely
 
 80 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 blush ; the tears also started into her eyes. 
 " Adolphus, is this kind .?^' she replied in an 
 under-tone. " What your friend told me 
 would have occupied me as much, had it been 
 mentioned by any other person."' 
 
 " Of course," said Montresor hastily, vexed 
 at her uneasiness ; " I meant his comments, not 
 himself. You must dance with me now, and 
 pray exert yourself." It was a waltz Emily 
 and her brother had often danced while their 
 mother played to them ; and transported by the 
 air to other times, and a beloved home. Miss 
 Montresor's manner and countenance changed 
 with the altered feelings. Murmurs of applause 
 ran round the room, and De Calmer too was 
 ready to admire. 
 
 " You are quite rallied, my love," said her 
 cousin, " it is almost a pity to leave off." 
 
 " There," said Colonel Dessamere, " I differ 
 from you ; for the moment to leave off any 
 thing is in the height of success." 
 
 ••' Which means," said Emily, laughing, 
 " that you are sleepy. Though I am not, I 
 am quite ready to go home ;" and she took his
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 81 
 
 proffered arm, almost wondering that De Cal- 
 mer should not have offered his. They passed 
 very near him, but he only bowed, and that 
 rather stiffly. 
 
 " How strange !'' thought Emily : " and yet 
 I am sure I don't know why he should be think- 
 ing of me : he must have many other things 
 and people to occupy him,"' and unconsciously 
 she closed her reflections with a sigh. She for- 
 got, however, both them, and the seeming neg- 
 lect which gave birth to them, the next time 
 she met Lord De Calmer. 
 
 E 5
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The two young men were to dine next day 
 with Colonel Dessamere. Emily appeared but for 
 a moment, not willing to leave her cousin, who 
 had fatigued herself too much the night before, 
 and being in a situation that called for quiet, 
 was now suffering for her imprudence. She 
 bore her retreat so impatiently, that it was of 
 course obliged to be prolonged, and she became 
 seriously ill. Col. Dessamere was much alarm- 
 ed at first, and never quitted her; but when 
 she was out of danger, his attention relaxed 
 with his anxiety, and Emily became the sole 
 companion of a languid and restless invalid. 
 The confinement was tedious ; and Miss Mon- 
 tresor rejoiced nearly as much for her own
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 83 
 
 sake as for her cousin's, when Mrs. Dessamere 
 was wheeled into the drawing-room, and suf- 
 fered to see a few particular friends. Adol- 
 phus was, of course, of the favoured num- 
 ber, and somehow or other Lord De Calmer 
 contrived also to make one. His sprightly 
 sallies, his happy manner of describing, and 
 his numerous acquaintance, from whom there 
 was always news of some sort or other to be 
 gleaned, contributed considerably more to the 
 amusement of the invalid, than the sober con- 
 verse of Adolphus. " Your brother,'' she 
 would sometimes say to Emily, " is like some 
 beautiful rock proudly displaying its pictu- 
 resque outline to the ceaseless waves of the 
 ocean, and veiling its awful summit in the grey 
 mists of Heaven, for ever wearing the same in- 
 definite colour of repose and immutabihty. But 
 De Calmer is like an Italian sky, rich in glow- 
 ing colours and exhilarating beauty. There is 
 more magnificence and lonely grandeur in my 
 cousin; but more excitement, more conscious- 
 ness of existence about his friend; and while
 
 84) LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 the eye of one speaks of the majesty of Heaven, 
 that of the other is bent on the happiness of 
 man/' 
 
 Adolphus was probably less amusing to Mrs. 
 Dessamere than he would have been to any one 
 more inclined to sympathise with his peculiar 
 feelings. Aware of the difference of their dis- 
 positions, Miss Montresor only wondered that 
 Mrs. Dessamere should have the good taste to 
 admire what she had not the power to sympa- 
 thise with, and was quite ready to do full jus- 
 tice to Lord T>e Calmer, not only as an agree- 
 able companion, but as an excellent man. The 
 kindness with which he gave so much of his 
 time to a sick room was over-rated by her, 
 who saw in it no other attraction than the 
 exercise of kindly and benevolent feelings — 
 feelings which, she saw with regret and won- 
 der, were so little apt to sway the husband of 
 Augusta. 
 
 There were moments when Emily dreaded 
 for her cousin the kindness of strangers as too 
 painful a contrast to the inattention of Dessa- 
 mere ; but with more humanity and judgment
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 85 
 
 than is usually exercised on such occasions, 
 she carefully concealed such sentiments, and 
 strove to exaggerate any ordinary act of good 
 nature on Dessamere's part, and lend to his 
 careless enquiry after his Avife, as he quitted 
 the house, the tone of interest and kindness. 
 Montresor marked and severely censured the 
 conduct which Emily was so often called upon 
 to palliate, but his remarks were confined to 
 the ear of his friend or his sister. De Calmer 
 laughed. " Why, Adolphus, you are rather 
 hard on a poor husband ; while his wife is 
 amused, it is fair enough he should amuse him- 
 self too. Augusta Montresor chose a man of 
 fashion, not a domestic country gentleman ; and 
 she did not, I suppose, mean to unite all ad- 
 vantages. How grave you look, ^liss ]Mon- 
 tresor !" 
 
 " Have I not cause ?"' said Emily, reproach- 
 fall v. " When I hear attachment made only 
 o)ie of the advantages of marriage, I confess I 
 look round in vain for what the others may be." 
 
 " But who,'' impatiently retorted De Cal- 
 mer, " was placing you in such a situation.^
 
 86 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 other motives will determine your choice, and 
 other results will of course ensue. It would be 
 utterly impossible for you to be a neglected 
 wife.'- 
 
 " And what is my security, my Lord? 
 What advantages have I that my cousin does 
 not possess to perfection .?" 
 
 " Shall I tell you ?" said De Calmer affec- 
 tionately. " You have a heart which calls im- 
 periously for another heart ; which deserves 
 another. He would, indeed, be less than man, 
 who, rich in such a treasure, could neglect it ;" 
 and the sigh which closed his remark, added to 
 the confusion with which Emily'^s eye had sunk 
 beneath the expression of his. Eager to with- 
 draw herself and her own feelings from the 
 conversation, she quickly replied, " You do my 
 cousin injustice, if you imagine she married 
 Colonel Dessamere without a decided preference. 
 Young, handsome, admired, of a good family, 
 and heir to her father's large property, she 
 could have no object in marrying but regard 
 for him, particularly as he was known to have 
 slender means, and nothing brilliant in the way
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 87 
 
 of prospects, to say nothing of his being more 
 than ten years older than Augusta." 
 
 '' Which," said Adolphus, smiling, " you 
 think a great objection ?'^ 
 
 " Don't laugh at me, brother ! I do not 
 mean to call Colonel Dessamere an old man, 
 (though even you must allow he does not look 
 young,) but surely it is natural to expect more 
 congeniality of temper, pursuits, and sentiments, 
 in people of our own age, than in those who are 
 weary of what we are eager to enjoy, and have 
 learned to doubt every thing it can give one 
 pleasure to believe. I do not think," she added 
 fervently, " it is possible to love any human 
 being more than I love our dear mother ; yet 
 I cannot express how my spirits sink before 
 one of her mild mournful speeches, beginning, 
 ' \^^hen you have lived as long as I have, Emily, 
 you will cease to attach consequence to these 
 things,' or, ' At your age, my child, I too 
 could dream.' I declare I feel now the mortal 
 chill she has so often given me ; and yet she is 
 quite young." 
 
 " In years she is young," said Montresor
 
 88 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 sadly ; " but she has found time to shed more 
 tears than are sometimes wasted in a long life. 
 Even in our infancy, her smiles were more like 
 a winter's sun, cheering without warming ; and 
 since my return home this last time they are 
 less and less frequent." 
 
 Miss Montresor, who had so seldom left 
 her mother, was not quite so much in the dark 
 respecting the possible causes of her mother's 
 dejection as Adolphus, but it was a subject 
 which she always most carefully avoided, and 
 vexed at having fallen upon it unconsciously, 
 she remained silent and uncomfortable, until 
 Mrs. Dessamere's bell ringing announced her 
 being dressed, and ready to admit company. 
 
 The season was now far advanced, and the 
 heat of the town being unfavourable to Mrs. 
 Dessamere's weak state, who had lost all hope 
 of partaking in any farther gaieties this year, 
 she consented to be removed a few miles into 
 the country. Lady Georgiana Fairfax, a sister 
 of Colonel Dessamere's, a most pleasing and 
 courteous person, offered to take charge of 
 Emily, and Augusta was generous enough to
 
 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 89 
 
 recommend her cousin to accept the invitation. 
 Emily liked Lady Georgiana, -would have been 
 glad of a little more amusement, and could not 
 think of quitting her brother and his friend 
 without a sigh ; but she had been brought up 
 to consider the shadow of a duty as outweighing 
 every personal gratification, and without he- 
 sitation she declined the tempting offer. 
 
 " I see,"' said Lady Georgiana, " what your 
 motive is, though you are too unostentatious 
 to assign it ; but, my dear Miss Montresor, con- 
 sider my sister is well enough to see company 
 now, and therefore does not require a continu- 
 ance of your assiduous cares. Besides, suffer 
 me to speak to you as a friend solicitous for 
 your welfare — as your mother would speak did 
 she see how you are now situated. By leaving 
 town just at present, you are in all probability 
 depriving yourself of an excellent establishment. 
 Lord De Calmer remains here : I am aware he 
 will see nothing half so lovely as you, but we 
 all know men ; ' lorsqii'on lia pas ce qu'on aime, 
 il fa lit aimer ce qiion a," is a pretty general 
 maxim with them ; and it would be a pity, you
 
 90 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 know, to lose such a fine young man as that, 
 for whom all mammas are angling, and all 
 misses are dying, merely out of a fit of senti- 
 ment for Augusta." 
 
 There were many things that made this 
 speech difficult to bear : luckily for Miss Mon- 
 tresor it awoke her pride more than any other 
 sentiment. What ! she remain any where one 
 moment with the avowed object of retaining 
 the affections of a man who waited only her 
 absence to send them wandering after some one 
 else ! She wait to be wooed, and acknowledge 
 a matrimonial design on any mortal breathing ! 
 Let the reader fancy himself a rustic girl of 
 nineteen, educated far from cabals and intrigues, 
 who had hardly ever thought of marriage at 
 all, and if she did, but as the natural conse- 
 quence of long attachment ; and he may have 
 some faint idea of what those thoughts were 
 which crimsoned the whole face of Emily Mon- 
 tresor. She indeed could not help feeling the 
 speech as an insult in all its parts, but she 
 knew also Lady Georgiana did not mean it as 
 such; on the contrary, it was spoken in sin-
 
 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 91 
 
 cerity and friendliness, and Miss Montresor 
 laboured not to appear angry, while she thanked 
 her for the interest she took in her concerns. 
 
 " But my advice,'' said Lady Georgiana, 
 with one of her sweetest smiles, " is, like most 
 advice, utterly thrown away ! Well, take your 
 own way, my dear, but if you come to town 
 again, remember you owe me a visit, to make 
 up for your present savage conduct ; and if," 
 she added, gaily tapping the still burning cheek 
 of Emily, " you would between this and then 
 allow yourself to discover that the age of chi- 
 valry is not more surely flown than that of 
 romance, you cannot conceive how much more 
 comfortably you would get on in life.*" 
 
 " More splendidly, at least,'' replied Emily 
 gently ; " your Ladyship must pardon my tak- 
 ing the word 'comfortable' under my special 
 protection : I have a regard for it, and don't 
 like to see it out of its place." 
 
 " But I think it is quite in its place. You 
 will not deny that I am very comfortable, and 
 yet I do assure you I never Avas in love in all 
 mv life, and how I was married I don't know.
 
 92 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 I was talked into it, I believe; but I have gone 
 on quite well." 
 
 " I am very glad of it,"" replied Emily ; 
 " and I certainly, in my defence of my favourite 
 word, never meant to insinuate that it stood 
 for being in love."" 
 
 " Do you know," cried Lady Georgiana, " I 
 am quite anxious to discover whom you ever 
 saw comfortable, according to your acceptation 
 of the term, — enough so to be enviable." 
 
 " I have not seen many people, I confess ; 
 but, if your Ladyship would know whom I 
 ever saw sufficiently so to move my envy, I will 
 tell you, — never but one person in my life." 
 
 " And who was she ?" 
 
 " A young woman who lived in the country, 
 where I passed my days of childhood." 
 
 " Oh !" said Lady Georgiana, " I see the 
 whole ; she was separated from her lover, till, 
 time and constancy overcoming all dangers and 
 difficulties, they were happily united, and are 
 now patterns of conjugal affection and never- 
 ending felicity. Is not that it .^" 
 
 " That," said Emily, smiHng, " is a very
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAxMILY. 93 
 
 pretty little story too, but it is not mine. The 
 woman, of whom I speak, is not now young, she 
 was probably never handsome, and is in a situa- 
 tion to esteem a plentiful repast an unexpected 
 luxury. She is unmarried, and never, that I 
 ever heard, had a lover, though she was young 
 when I first remember her." 
 
 " And her comforts, child ? Do, pray, make 
 haste; I am impatient to come to them, for 
 they do seem to me to be coming off second- 
 best." 
 
 " You shall hear. In her younger days she 
 supported by her labour her aged parents; and 
 when they slept in peace, she continued to live 
 in the same cottage with a sister, whose ill 
 health makes her rather a burden than an 
 assistance to her. Some years since, there was 
 a scarcity, and the situation of the poor was 
 taken into consideration by the gentlemen 
 around. A subscription was raised, and one 
 of their body appointed to see it properly dis- 
 tributed. It was reported that this poor woman 
 was in particular distress, and to her the gentle- 
 man went. She confessed her poverty, but de-
 
 94 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 clared it to be very bearable, declined taking the 
 weekly allowance, because there were so many 
 more that were in greater need than herself, 
 and finally recommended her neighbour, who 
 had a large family of young children, to the 
 gentleman^s sj^are money. 
 
 " He went as directed, relieved the mother and 
 her little ones, and then returning to my friend 
 Jane — , said he was informed that her sister 
 was ill, and therefore he must insist on her tak- 
 ing something to enable her to give some indul- 
 gences to the invalid. On this plea she acceded 
 to the request ; but when she found the assist- 
 ance was to be weekly, she called in a fortnight 
 on the person who had visited her, begging he 
 would take back the last money sent, for her 
 sister was now better and able to work, so that it 
 was a shame to deprive those who were starving 
 of the benevolence of the gentleman. Now, my 
 dear Lady Georgiana, when that woman took 
 back her money, and returned to her scanty 
 meal of potatoes,* was she not comfortable ? 
 and do not you, too, envy her .^" 
 
 * This fact occurred in Scotland.
 
 LORD AMESFORTS FAMILY. 95 
 
 " My lovely enthusiast," said Lady Georgi- 
 ana, dispersing the tears that filled her radiant 
 eyes, " you would almost make me a convert 
 to the joys of a smoky hut and uneatable food. 
 Yes, doubtless, there are pleasures other than 
 the world are willing to call so, but they are 
 difficult of access, wliile the others lie under 
 our hand, and are adapted to the meanest 
 capacity.'* 
 
 '• ^lav I be permitted, without being thought 
 an outrageous pedant, to say with a justly cele- 
 brated author, ' Xous plafons notre bonheur au- 
 dessous de nous ;' and surely there is bad policy 
 as well as bad taste in continually compliment- 
 ing the inferior part of our nature at the ex- 
 pense of the superior." 
 
 " Good heavens !*' cried Lady Georgiana, 
 casting her eyes on the time-piece opposite to 
 her, " I was to have been an hour ago, by ap- 
 pointment, at the gardens in the New Road, 
 and here have I been spending my time talk- 
 ing sentiment with you. Good-Vye, my dear 
 Emily ; you must tell me more of your inimit- 
 able rustic another time ;'" and away drove Lady
 
 96 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 Georgiana Fairfax, to spend more money on a 
 plant to grace her anteroom, in which she 
 scarcely ever set her foot, than would have be- 
 stowed for a whole year the ordinary comforts 
 of life on poor Jane.
 
 LORD A^MESFORT'S FAMILY. 97 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 *' Did you know,'' said De Calmer to his 
 friend, '' that the Dessameres had left Brook- 
 street ?'' 
 
 " I knew they were to go yesterday, for I 
 took a walk ^nth my sister, before you or the 
 Dessameres were out of your beds." 
 
 " So, that was your secret appointment yes- 
 terday. \VTiat could you have to say to Miss 
 Montresor, whom you see every day, so very 
 particular ?"' 
 
 " Cannot I walk with my sister without some 
 very particular reason ?" said Adolphus smiling; 
 " or was I bound to inform you of all Emily's 
 motions ?" 
 
 " This is affectation, Montresor : you must 
 be pretty well aware none of them can be un- 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 interesting to me. And so, if you please, we 
 will order our horses and pay her a visit, forth- 
 with." 
 
 " If you please,"" said Montresor, in a gentle 
 but firm tone, " we will do no such thing." 
 
 " How so, Adolphus .?" cried De Calmer, his 
 quick temper taking the alarm. " Am I to be 
 taught whom I may visit .^" 
 
 " You are at least to reflect whom you ought 
 to visit." 
 
 " Spare your rhetoric, Montresor ; I must 
 and will see your sister, until she forbid it." 
 
 " While I live," said Montresor, steadily, 
 though his eye flashed fire, " my sister shall 
 never be called upon to say to any man what is 
 unbecoming the delicacy and refinement of a 
 woman's feelings. How, consistently with these, 
 should she forbid you to visit her cousin, or to 
 seek her out in particular ? When Mrs. Dessa- 
 mere was allowed to see very few people, and 
 fewer still thought of seeing her, it would have 
 been sacrificing the claims of humanity to a 
 mere punctilio, if I had interfered in your 
 visits. To have showed how uncomfortable I
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 99 
 
 felt, would have displeased you, and vexed 
 Emily, I did neither : but now, Mrs. Dessa- 
 mere is no longer the invalid before whose com- 
 fort other considerations gave way. She is in 
 the country ; not far, but far enough to mark 
 the \'isits she may receive, and stamp upon 
 them some individual character. What would 
 be the character yours would bear, my Lord ? 
 Not such as you can expect her brother to 
 approve.'^ 
 
 " Adolphus, how can you be angry so soon ? 
 What have I done to deserve this cold title 
 thrown into my face ? I love your sister, and 
 so do others : I confess it, which is more, pro- 
 bably, than they will do. You ordered me not 
 to flirt with her, and to the best of my ability I 
 have obeyed you : but not to see her ! Allow 
 that you are too hard upon me.'" 
 
 *' And ought I, my dear De Calmer,*" re- 
 plied Montresor, softened by his friend's affec- 
 tionate tone, " to lose, in the wish of granting 
 you present satisfaction, all idea of what my 
 poor Emily may suffer hereafter ? She has 
 been educated with such very different senti- 
 F 2
 
 100 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 ments to those which pervade the fashionable 
 world in general, that the ground which you 
 and she stand upon is unequal. She has an 
 affectionate and grateful temper, is inclined to 
 believe well of every one, and more than well 
 of you, both as my friend, and as a person evi- 
 dently interested for her. This is all quite 
 well ; but here let it rest. She is neither vain 
 nor romantic, and will therefore be a great 
 while discovering how far your regard goes, 
 and what return she makes to it. Let the in- 
 timacy then, I entreat you, break off where it 
 naturally might — with her leaving town ; and 
 she will return to her retirement with a warm 
 interest in your welfare, that will in no way 
 affect her own peace of mind."" 
 
 " And be quite ready to dance at my wed- 
 ding !" said Lord De Calmer sullenly. " A 
 very enchanting prospect for me, no doubt V 
 
 " And if she loved you, Henry, what would 
 you gain ? the satisfaction of having made her 
 miserable !" 
 
 " What a divine idea, Adolphus ! If she 
 loved me ! — How much more beautiful she
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 101 
 
 would be ! — No, you can never know what it 
 is to be beloved by such a woman ; for there is 
 none other such !" 
 
 '^ You are then determined,"" said Adolphus 
 coldly; — " so then am I !" 
 
 " Why, what will you do ?"' cried De Cal- 
 mer haughtily. 
 
 " Save my sister!'*'' replied the other, " though 
 I lose my friend f and he instantly left the 
 room. 
 
 Forbearance was not among the good qua- 
 lities of the young Peer. " Am I," thought he, 
 " to be schooled by a boy — a nobody ? And for 
 what ? Would / injure Emily ? not for the 
 wealth of worlds ; — and that he knows. Let 
 him place her where he will, it will hardly be 
 out of my reach !'*'' And trying to comfort him- 
 self in the midst of his anger, he half formed 
 the plan of calling upon Mrs. Dessamere without 
 Adolphus. But he quickly renounced it ; he 
 dreaded Emily's enquiry after her brother, he 
 dreaded still more the look of grave reproach 
 with which that brother would meet him on his 
 return. He loitered down St. JamesVstreet,
 
 102 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 greeted a few idlers, thought them more than 
 usually insipid, and returned home as uncom- 
 fortable as he set out, with the vague idea of 
 seeking Montresor. He found him in his room, 
 finishing a letter. De Calmer took a seat in 
 silence, and Adolphus, without noticing him, 
 folded up his letter, sealed and directed it. 
 
 " Do you write to your mother every day .?" 
 said Lord De Calmer. 
 " No, certainly !" 
 " But you wrote yesterday ?''"' 
 " I did." 
 
 " You are communicative, Adolphus ?*" 
 "I have nothing to communicate." 
 " You can listen, I presume .?" said De Cal- 
 mer half impatiently, but checked himself, 
 struck with the expression of sufPering im- 
 pressed on the features of his friend. Montresor 
 bowed an affirmative, and De Calmer conti- 
 nued : " If Emily should at some future pe- 
 riod care a straw for me, where would be the 
 mighty objection to our union.? I suppose 
 some time or other I must marry, and why not 
 a woman I love .?"
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 103 
 
 " If you ask my advice," said Adolphus 
 gravely, " I should recommend you not to 
 think of marrying at your age, with your dis- 
 position, and in a profession liable at any mo- 
 ment to expose you to dangers, well fitting a 
 single man, but unsuiting the father of a fa- 
 mUy." 
 
 " So then," cried De Calmer revi\ang, '* you 
 are for keeping all soldiers and sailors bache- 
 lors ! I suppose you will give poor parsons 
 leave to marry, and breed beggars to encumber 
 the State ?" 
 
 " It was not to them, but to you, I was 
 speaking ; and I do think, even if we were to 
 have peace directly, that it is great folly in a 
 young man of one-and-twenty to tie himself for 
 life, before he can be certain that the day will 
 never come when he will repent his rashness, 
 and regret that his wife neither extends his in- 
 fluence by her connexions, nor adds to his com- 
 forts by her fortune." 
 
 " You terrify me to death, Adolphus. But if 
 I can only see Emily upon this condition ?" 
 " No, Henry," said Montresor firmly, " not
 
 104 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 even on that hard condition can you see my 
 sister more, if I have power to prevent it." 
 
 " This is too unreasonable ! I am not to see 
 her ! I am not to marry her ! why, who the 
 devil is to prevent me ?" 
 
 Adolphus remained silent : he took up the 
 letter to his mother, and seemed to ponder on 
 the words : he laid it down, and unconsciously 
 he sighed deeply. 
 
 " What," pursued De Calmer, " can tempt 
 you to be making yourself miserable, as well 
 as me, perhaps as well as your sister .f^" 
 
 Adolphus started, and looked up with a sud- 
 den expression of pain, doubt, and resentment. 
 " You are trifling with me cruelly," he said ; 
 " but I will not believe you against yourself: 
 you have not had the barbarity to blast the 
 fresh spring of Emily^s life .?" 
 
 " God forbid !" cried De Calmer fervently, 
 " I would rather strew its Autumn with flow- 
 ers : but tell me, I beseech you, why you would 
 disunite us." 
 
 " Because you are neither old enough, nor 
 steady enough, to marry with any prospect of
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 105 
 
 comfort to you, and still less to my sister. A 
 little reflection will teach you I am right ; and 
 if you will promise me not to attempt seeing 
 her at present, I will not send this letter, which, 
 I confess, is to recall her from her present visit, 
 and which has cost me many a painful effort to 
 write, conscious of the grief it vnll be to my 
 poor mother, who has already known grief 
 enough." 
 
 De Calmer's pride rose, but the kindness o^ 
 his heart proved the stronger. " I will not give 
 you all pain by my obstinacy," he said at last, 
 after a long struggle ^nth himself. " In less 
 than a fortnight I shall be of age. I must go 
 to my own house then, and also to Amesfort 
 Castle. I will speak to my uncle : he has made 
 one of your good worldly matches, of which 
 he has repented ever since ; and he will per- 
 suade you, though I cannot, that mine is the 
 wisest plan of the two. Perhaps the7i I may 
 get leave to see Emily.'' 
 
 " Yes, and marry her too," said Montresor 
 with sudden animation. " If your love stands 
 the test of absence, unsupported by any cer- 
 F 5
 
 106 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 tainty of its being returned, and Lord Amesfort 
 does not convince you you have been dreaming, 
 which, of course, he will try to do ; then, in- 
 deed, I shall not fear to trust my Emily's 
 happiness in your hands — then I may be 
 allowed to be selfish, and to rejoice in having 
 gained for my brother the man I had chosen 
 for my friend." And the two young men rushed 
 into each other's arms, with the firm conviction 
 that nothing hereafter could disunite them. 
 
 Not many days after this conversation, a 
 note was brought to Montresor, as De Calmer 
 was leaving the room, but, catching a glimpse 
 of Emily's hand-writing, he returned. Adol- 
 phus smiled, but, having cast his eye over it, 
 flung it across the table to his friend, without 
 any comment, who read rapidly — 
 
 " Are we never to see you more, my dearest 
 brother ? I have counted the days in vain, for 
 none of them brings you. Augusta laughs at 
 my restlessness, and declares you have spoiled 
 me, by giving us so much of your time of late ; 
 but you know I always was spoiled, and I 
 cannot give up the privilege. We are not near
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 107 
 
 SO dull as we were in town, for our invalid is 
 quite alive, and our society is not unpleasant. 
 There are several musical people near us, and 
 these heavenly evenings we sit out near a sweet- 
 briar hedge and out-sing the nightingales. Our 
 nearest neighbour is a Mrs. Albany, a widow, 
 somehow or other related to Lady Amesfort, — 
 whose only child, Isabella, is to spend some 
 time shortly with her ladyship, so you will 
 meet her again. She is a very pleasing, quiet 
 person : her serenity seems to depend so much 
 on herself, that I much doubt any outward cir- 
 cumstance disturbing it ; but she has very little 
 of that enjoyment of mere existence which I 
 thought always belonged to youth and health. 
 They were once in very affluent circumstances, 
 which are never alluded to either by mother or 
 daughter. Mrs. Albany is too proud to solicit 
 compassion, and Isabella does not think they 
 are entitled to it. I once asked her if she was 
 not alarmed at having to make her debut en- 
 tirely among strangers ; and she answered in 
 a quiet way, ' It is disagreeable, but it is a 
 duty I owe my mother, who is miserable at my
 
 108 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 being buried alive, as she calls it. It cannot 
 last long, and the dulness of being quite alone 
 will reconcile her to my return for good.' Al- 
 though I talk to you so much of my new 
 friend, you may come here without any risk of 
 falling in love with her ; for she has no enthu- 
 siasm, and the charm of freshness and repose 
 in her features which attracted me, would be 
 lost upon you. General Montresor is so impa- 
 tient for his daughter's return, that if you 
 delay much longer, we shall be on the road 
 for Wales. 
 
 " Adieu, my dear Adolphus. 
 
 " Yours, E. M." 
 
 Lord De Calmer turned over the page, ex- 
 claiming, " Ah ! I was in hopes there would 
 be a P.S." It was not, however, a very satis- 
 factory one. " Mrs. Dessamere begs you will 
 offer her apology to Lord De Calmer for hav- 
 ing kept his Venetian ballad so long ; she will 
 take care he has it previous to his quitting 
 town." 
 
 " Now really that is very pretty of Mrs. 
 Dessamere to give me an excuse for a visit."
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 109 
 
 " I should rather think," observed Adolphus, 
 " that her saying she will send it to you im- 
 plies she does not expect to see you."" 
 
 " Well," said De Calmer, laughing, " it is 
 at least a very ingenious phrase, since it will 
 stand for any thing any body chooses. Whe- 
 ther it was intended to mean encouragement or 
 repulse, matters little to me, who in neither 
 case can be ruled by it."
 
 110 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The long desired period of independence 
 arrived, and Henry Baron De Calmer took 
 possession of the moderate patrimony left him 
 by his father, and which had benefited consi- 
 derably by a pretty long minority, and the 
 judicious care of his maternal uncle. He had 
 been eager for Adolphus to accompany him to 
 his own home ; but the season was so far ad- 
 vanced, that every one had been willing to leave 
 London, and there were hardly guardsmen 
 enough to go through the regular routine of 
 duty. Leave of absence could not be obtained, 
 and Montresor consoled himself with the idea 
 that it would be a still fairer trial of his friend^s 
 constancy and steadiness, if there was nothing 
 near him that could recall Emily. The first
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. Ill 
 
 visit he paid his cousin was to announce De 
 Cahner's departure, and he saw, with pain, 
 the blank look with which his sister received 
 the intelligence. He waited eagerly for some 
 comment from her, but he waited in vain. 
 Nothing was said but by Mrs. Dessamere, 
 who, after regrets and eulogiums, made the 
 ordinary enquiry into the state of his pro- 
 perty ; on hearing it was small, she exclaimed, 
 '• What a pity ! for of course he must marry 
 an heiress."' 
 
 " That impatient gesture,'' said Miss Albany 
 in an under-tone to Miss Emily, " says he will 
 not.'' 
 
 " Indeed it says nothing," quickly retorted 
 Miss Montresor, who tried in vain to shake off 
 the air of consciousness she felt to be apparent. 
 " Lord De Calmer, I suppose, will marry as 
 other men of his class do, but hardly at his age, 
 with the full enjoyment of his liberty strong 
 upon him." 
 
 " I should not tliink he was a marrying 
 man," said Adolphus mildly, and trying not 
 to look at his sister ; but her quick ear caught
 
 112 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 the tone. '^ So," thought she, " my brother 
 fears that I am flattering myself with having 
 won the heart of his friend ! Do I tliink he 
 cares for me .?" — and a thousand things crowded 
 on her memory, which seemed all to answer 
 yes. "" But surely I never thought he had 
 the least idea of marrying me. N — o, I be- 
 lieve not :" and not quite satisfied with her 
 conversation with herself, she turned abruptly 
 to Isabella Albany, to ask if she had copied out 
 the verses for her ? 
 
 " Yes,"" answered Isabella, fixing her steady 
 eye upon her, " I have ; but as they are in 
 great favour with me, pray, when you read 
 them, promise me to think a little more about 
 them than you do at this moment." 
 
 Emily's pride stood up to her relief, and her 
 anger kept down her confusion. With a look 
 between wonder and displeasure, she calmly 
 replied : " I shall take your advice, as I mean 
 to do your favourite justice." 
 
 " You are an inexplicable sort of a person," 
 thought Miss Albany, whose great amusement 
 was the study of character. " It would seem
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 113 
 
 I have seen but one side of the picture yet ; for 
 here it is quite in another point of view !" Isa- 
 bella was far from wishing to become the con- 
 fidante of her new friend : on the contrary, she 
 admired her the more for her want of com- 
 municativeness on that subject, on which Miss 
 Albany had seen so many most overpoweringly 
 diffuse. But she could seldom resist the temp- 
 tation of showing her penetration, often as she 
 had been the victim of this foible by being 
 doomed in consequence to listen to histories 
 without end or interest. 
 
 When Miss Montresor found her friend was 
 really not inquisitive, she returned to her for- 
 mer manner; and as she became better ac- 
 quainted with Isabella, found her conversation 
 the best cure for that languid dejection that 
 would sometimes creep over her. It was indeed 
 a rehef, after having uttered and listened to all 
 those customary words honoured with the name 
 of conversation, which every-day visits entailed, 
 to sit half an hour beside Miss Albany, whose 
 retentive memory and sound judgment ren- 
 dered her at once the sort of companion Emily
 
 114 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 delighted in, and the one most likely to be 
 useful to her. These young women had taken 
 opposite roads in every thing ; even when they 
 learnt the same thing, they were amused to find 
 how rarely it had been undertaken from the 
 same motive, or carried on upon the same plan. 
 Emily was like a fine-toned instrument, full of 
 grace and flexibility : there was about her an 
 enchanting harmony, produced by the most 
 perfect good taste, which good sense would not 
 suffer to degenerate into fastidiousness; and 
 the most refined sensibility, which the native 
 energy of her mind saved from sickly affecta- 
 tion. Strongly susceptible of all pleasing or 
 benevolent emotions, her generous incredulity 
 of evil saved her from most feelings of a dif- 
 ferent nature. 
 
 Isabella was rather the deep and powerful 
 organ, whose full notes swelled on the listener's 
 ear, and sunk into his heart, without captivat- 
 ing by variety, or cheering by one light natural 
 tone. The pupil of Nature was by far the 
 most fascinating, but the votary of Art was the 
 most independent. She studied others as a
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 115 
 
 science, but she knew herself also ; and if the 
 pride of talent sometimes overtook her, it was 
 instantly checked by the only feeling able to 
 check it, a religious one. Emily's religion was 
 one of enthusiasm and love, pure as the un- 
 tainted breath of morning, cheerful as the 
 buoyant spirit of youth. Isabella's was like 
 her own character, more severe, more omnipo- 
 tent, more awful : it was serene, — not the se- 
 renity of an unruffled lake, but the tranquillity 
 of the lion, majestic in repose. 
 
 An early acquaintance with mankind had 
 given something of sarcasm to the feelings and 
 expressions of Miss Albany. She had known 
 all the consequence riches confer, and she had 
 wondered to see that while she continued in 
 every respect the same, the death of her father, 
 and the loss of more than three fourths of their 
 once splendid income, placed her upon a very 
 different footing with her acquaintance, — and 
 what hurt her more, even with some of her 
 friends. She was too well tempered to com- 
 plain, too highly principled not to forgive ; but 
 she acquired the habit of weighing all future
 
 116 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 regard, professed for her, by the equitable scale 
 of the character and disposition of the indivi- 
 dual concerned. She used to say of Emily, 
 that her first act was to make her transgress all 
 her wise rules ; for that she had been charmed 
 by her, long before she had any one good rea- 
 son to produce why she ought to have been 
 charmed. But though imagination and sym- 
 pathy with strangers was quite out of Isabella's 
 way, it is certain that both must act to pro- 
 duce that quick perception, by which persons 
 of superior abilities, and excellence of dispo- 
 sition, invariably find each other out ; nor is 
 the attraction of metals more certain, than that 
 which exists between all energetic minds, how- 
 ever different and uncongenial they may at first 
 sight appear. 
 
 Miss Montresor was comforted at her sepa- 
 ration from her friend, with the idea that 
 Adolphus would see her constantly at Amesfort 
 Castle ; and that her deep insight into character, 
 and greater familiarity with English society, 
 would be of considerable service to him. Emily 
 was hurt at first to see how little her brother
 
 lord^amesfort's family. 117 
 
 seemed pleased with Isabella: she never ima- 
 gined he would attach himself to her, but she 
 was anxious he should do her justice, and al- 
 most ready to quarrel with him when she saw 
 the little progress her friend made in his re- 
 gard. Miss Albany only laughed, and assured 
 her, she saw it written in the stars, that the 
 time would come when they would be great 
 friends ; — " not,"" she would say, " that I could 
 ever bring that beautiful brother of yours to 
 swell the list of my vassals ; but, if I don't ac- 
 quire influence over him in less than six months, 
 I give you permission never to believe my pre- 
 dictions in future." 
 
 " Well," said Emily, " I trust you may, as 
 I am sure it will always be exerted for his 
 benefit ; but hosv you will set about it, is more 
 than I can guess. 
 
 " Only give me time, my dear ! Consider, 
 he dotes upon grace, and timidity, and playful- 
 ness, and feeling, and all those things that are 
 so interesting in a very pretty woman, and so 
 insupportable in any other. He thinks me 
 cold, methodical, matter-of-fact, and he is re-
 
 118 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 pelled; but, when he wants a friend, and no- 
 thing else, one whose advice may be service- 
 able, he will come to me, and only talk non- 
 sense with his mistress. Do you know, I am 
 vain enough to be quite satisfied with the part 
 allotted me." 
 
 " You are a very strange girl, and I am as 
 ready to do justice to your wonderful powers 
 as any one can be, but yet your confidence in 
 them surprises me." 
 
 " If you had been called upon to employ 
 your's as much as unexpected calamity has 
 taught me to do, you would cease to wonder. 
 But I am happy that you have been spared 
 both cause and effect ; for I feel, if I met myself 
 any where, I should not like myself at all ; and 
 I don't believe any body ever did, or ever will, 
 take a spontaneous fancy to me, which, entre 
 nous, I think prodigiously hard." 
 
 Colonel Dessamere had been some time shoot- 
 ing in Norfolk : he was to join his wife at Ge- 
 neral Montresor's. Augusta and Emily pro- 
 ceeded by easy journeys, and amused them- 
 selves in viewing all the objects of curiosity "on
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 119 
 
 their route. ^Irs. Dessamere had travelled 
 much abroad, but not at all in England, and, 
 until the last twelve months. Miss Montresor 
 had not been two miles from home, so that they 
 had much to see, which furnished them at least 
 with conversation on their road. Mrs. Montre- 
 sor had quitted the General's some time, and 
 now rented a small house in the celebrated Val- 
 ley of Llangollen. Mrs. Dessamere took her 
 house in her way to her father's; and, hav- 
 ing safely deposited Emily, saw, for the first 
 time, her once beautiful mother. 
 
 Mrs. Montresor was the mere wreck of love- 
 liness, but, like the dying rose, preserved in 
 decay traces of those charms by which she had 
 once been so fatally distinguished. The colours 
 of her mind seemed faded like those of her face; 
 her feeble voice would mellow into greater 
 sweetness, but could not rise to animation ; her 
 listless manner varied only when addressing her 
 children, and its tenderness was never then un- 
 mixed with pain. She did not look like one 
 struggling with some heavy blow of fate ; if re- 
 sistance ever had been made, the time was past;
 
 120 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 all now was blank, desolate, and hopeless. Like 
 one who uncomplainingly drinks daily of the 
 dregs of existence, the patient victim did not 
 venture to put aside the cup of bitterness, — did 
 not venture to wish for that rest, which was in 
 this world denied her. Mrs. Dessamere was in- 
 terested and affected ; but Emily, accustomed to 
 her mother's deep and silent dejection, was alive 
 only to the joy of again beholding her, and list- 
 ening to her languid assurance that the moun- 
 tain air had invigorated her. 
 
 The first few weeks of their re-union gave 
 equal pleasure to mother and daughter; but 
 when Emily had exhausted her powers of de- 
 scription, and her astonishment at many things 
 she had seen during her visit, Mrs. Montresor 
 saw with painful anxiety, that the prominent 
 features in her mind were Miss Albany and 
 Lord De Calmer. She spoke, indeed, more of 
 the former, but her mother could not help 
 dreading that she thought more of the latter, 
 and that it was not unlikely her regard for a 
 person so dissimilar to herself as Isabella, 
 sprung unconsciously from that person being a
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 121 
 
 sort of link between her and De Calmer. She 
 was the more confirmed in this suspicion by ob- 
 ser\'ing the quietness with which Emily waited 
 for the first letter from her friend, and the rest- 
 less uneasiness with which she looked for the 
 second, which was to announce her reception at 
 Amesfort Castle. Miss Montresor looked up to 
 Isabella, as to a being gifted with nearly super- 
 natural powers : wath almost sickly impatience 
 she longed for her opinion of Lord De Calmer ; 
 and such is the inconsistency of human nature, 
 that while Miss Albany's approbation would, in 
 her mind, have authorized and increased her 
 high opinion of him, one single comment unfa- 
 vourable to him, would, she felt, diminish her 
 regard, not for the person disapproved of, but 
 for her who ventured to disapprove. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 122 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 FROM LORD DE CALMER TO ADOLPHUS 
 MONTRESOR, ESQ. 
 
 " Amesfort Castle. 
 '^ I AM in the humour to philosophise almost 
 as much as you, and not without reason, as you 
 do sometimes : all my hopes, wishes, plans, and 
 intentions, are overthrown and frustrated, and 
 that by the very circumstance that a few 
 months since would have given me the greatest 
 possible pleasure. You will perceive, I allude to 
 my regiment being ordered abroad. One thing 
 would have made this more bearable — your 
 going too ; and of this I have no sort of hope. 
 I came here immediately, on hearing what was 
 to become of me ; for this is the home I have 
 had for years ; and both my uncle and his dear 
 little wife would have had a right to call me 
 ungrateful, if I did not give my last days to
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 123 
 
 them ; — but I cannot do without you, so exert 
 yourself to get leave, and join me here immedi- 
 ately. 
 
 " Yours, 
 
 "DeCalmer;' 
 
 Rumours had reached Montresor of his 
 friend's destination, but he had, before this let- 
 ter, had no positive information. He hastened 
 to obey his summons, but various circum- 
 stances contributed to delay him in to\vn, so 
 that it was not until the fourth day after he re- 
 ceived it, that he got to Amesfort Castle; when, 
 to his inexpressible vexation, he found De Cal- 
 mer gone. ^liss Albany (who was established 
 there under the protection of the Countess) 
 told liim, she had no doubt of his speedy re- 
 turn, as she believed him to be only paying a 
 flying %'isit to Emily. Adolphus, with his 
 usual prudence, declaimed against so unreflect- 
 ing a step; and spoke long and eloquently 
 against engagements, which, while they harass- 
 ed a woman, and kept her in a state of pro- 
 tracted discomfort and suspense, often prejudi- 
 cial to her health, were a tie to men, which 
 G 2
 
 124 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 frequently annihilated the affection that had 
 produced them. 
 
 Isabella heard him quietly, but confessed her 
 fears were of a different sort ; and at last ven- 
 tured to say, " I am not one of those who com- 
 plain of advice not being taken : in all matters 
 not absolutely of principle, there is a great ab- 
 surdity in giving it, and it is fortunate that it 
 is not ahvays followed ; since, however good in 
 itself, it must be given according to the feelings 
 of another, and not of the person who is to act : 
 consequently, when it is taken, it generally paves 
 the way to an inconsistency ; for a man does 
 not the less revert to his own character, for hav- 
 ing for one moment followed that of his friend. 
 I think you have acted from a false point of 
 honour, in fearing to urge Lord De Calmer to 
 marry the woman he loved, and who has every 
 possible attraction and good quality to render 
 him happy, simply because that woman was 
 your sister, and that the world might call it a 
 good match for her. I hope he will forget all 
 your prudent suggestions, and propose at once
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 125 
 
 to Miss ^Montresor, or his visit will be the silli- 
 est thing possible, combining his own precipi- 
 tancy with your caution. If he hold his tongue 
 now, while the impression is strong, there is no 
 doubt of his doing the same on his return home, 
 when time will have weakened it." 
 
 "It is," said Montresor eagerly, " that 
 very unsteadiness that I dreaded for my sis- 
 ter. To lose a lover's heart may be painful, 
 but how can it be compared to losing a hus- 
 band's ? or what force is there in words to ex- 
 press all the strength of wretchedness which 
 lies in domestic woe ?'''' 
 
 " I agree with you perfectly," gently rejoin- 
 ed ^liss Albany ; " but you suppose an ex- 
 treme case. I am not apt to judge very 
 favourably of human nature, — least of all, per- 
 haps, of men ; but I do not think them mon- 
 sters: and where a tolerably amiable man 
 marries so very sweet a creature as Emily, 
 (with whom, too, he once thought himself very 
 much in love,) I don't see how he can help 
 loving her when she is his wife, as much,
 
 126 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 though not perhaps quite in the same way, 
 as he did at first*" 
 
 Montresor shook his head, for no one gives 
 up in an argument ; but he could not help 
 confessing to himself, that if Emily (as he 
 feared was the case) had really attached herself 
 to his friend, it would have been as well not 
 to have checked their intimacy. It was at 
 the very moment this conversation was passing 
 at Amesfort Castle, that Emily walked across 
 the vale in which she lived, to enquire after the 
 children of a labourer, who had been sick. As 
 she was returning, she saw a horseman ride 
 swiftly pass; and as the road he had taken 
 was not deemed very secure, she cut across a 
 near way to meet him, and warn him of his 
 peril. She perceived some country people had, 
 with the same view, joined the stranger ; and 
 she was on the point of turning back, when she 
 heard the well-known voice of De Calmer, en- 
 quiring for her mother^'s house. Emily's heart 
 bounded, as, springing lightly from her elevated 
 situation into the road, she called out, '' / will 
 be your guide !""
 
 LORD amesfort's famh.y. 127 
 
 They were still at some distance from home, 
 and, it may be supposed, they did not walk very 
 fast. Yet De Calmer exclaimed, in the accent 
 of disappointment, " Why, here we are ! and 
 those people told me it was a long way.**^ 
 
 " They do not measure as we do,'" said 
 Emily, with simplicity, and utterly unconscious 
 of the feelings she betrayed; but so was not 
 her companion, who, from the moment he first 
 perceived Miss Montresor, had been in a sort 
 of intoxication of delight, which prevented his 
 arranging a single idea, and which had fairly 
 put out of his head the excuse for his present 
 visit ; namely, his speedy departure for the 
 Continent. Nor was his happiness clouded 
 over by her reception : she did not, it is true, 
 say half the civil things he would have heard 
 and expected from any other woman to whom 
 he had paid a \4sit ; she did not even say she 
 was happy to see him, for it was too self-evi- 
 dent a fact to require assertion ; but she paid 
 him a compliment he with reason was proud 
 of — she forgot to ask after Adolphus ! That 
 brother so beloved, so deserving love, from
 
 128 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 whom she had been some months separated, 
 was not mentioned, — was not thought of ; yet 
 Emily's eyes could beam with joyful serenity, 
 and her sweet voice, whose perfect modulations 
 changed with every passing thought, now sent 
 forth unalloyed the pure notes of gladness, 
 which rose to enthusiasm, or sunk into ten- 
 derness. 
 
 The heart of De Calmer dilated with affec- 
 tion more fervent and more pure than he had 
 ever before felt. The fulness of delight check- 
 ed his usually high spirits : happiness is better 
 than mirth, and never does it fail to subdue it. 
 The appearance of Mrs. Montresor accorded 
 with his new frame of mind. He could not 
 have borne a less lovely, interesting creature 
 for the mother of his Emily. He gazed on 
 her with hardly the power to say why he 
 came, so much was his attention caught by 
 a person so unlike any thing he had ever seen 
 before. The agitation of perceiving in the son 
 of her early friend the decided lover of her 
 daughter, lent to Mrs. Montresor something 
 of her former animation. She spoke of Lady
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 129 
 
 Frances \nth an energy that astonished Emily, 
 and charmed their guest ; nay, in naming Adol- 
 phus, she seemed almost to look forward on his 
 account with hope. 
 
 It was the first time she ever remembered 
 her mother speaking of the future but with 
 the deepest despondency. " It is," thought 
 she, " the magic of De Calmer's presence, that 
 extends its benign influence even to my care- 
 worn parent ;" and she could not be ungrate- 
 ful ! Hours may pass pleasantly, but, alas ! 
 they will pass ; and the young lover was, how- 
 ever reluctantly, compelled to depart. He 
 took Mrs. Montresor's hand with emotion — 
 " When I return," said he, '* I hope to be al- 
 lowed to continue an acquaintance, to which I 
 have so many claims V 
 
 " When you return," said Mrs. Montresor, 
 gently pressing her cold transparent fingers on 
 his, " I shall at last be at rest; and that the more 
 willingly, with the persuasion that the son of 
 Lady Frances is worthy such a mother, inhe- 
 riting all her strength of affection, all her firm- 
 ness of principle." 
 
 G 5
 
 130 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 " Believe me," he cried with warmth, " how- 
 ever unworthy I may be, to be compared with 
 her, affection for you and yours has been an 
 hereditary feeling with me. It is impossible I 
 should change !" 
 
 " So may the blessing of a mother rest on 
 you !" said Mrs. Montresor solemnly ; and De 
 Calmer, unable to reply, hastily attended the 
 summons of Fanny, who, with her sister, was 
 to walk through the valley with him. It w^as a 
 cold tempestuous night, and the child shivered 
 beneath its influence. At first, the selfishness 
 of man appeared, and the lover, unable to part 
 with Emily, tried to persuade himself it was 
 the usual climate of the country ; but anxiety 
 for her health at last prevailed, and he gen- 
 tly urged her return. At that moment, he 
 longed to say all he felt and wished. Distance 
 and dangers would be between them, and to 
 leave her without unburdening his mind of the 
 weight that oppressed it, was dreadful — was 
 almost impossible. Then rose the thought, 
 " What will Adolphus think of me? He with- 
 draws for a moment his guiding hand, and I
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 131 
 
 throw myself into the situation which I was 
 tacitly pledged to him to avoid, for the present, 
 at least. And why should I speak yet ? Am I 
 not sure of being always the same ? and am I 
 not sure she loves me ? as sure as if she told me 
 so ? Oh, doubtless !" and he pressed the hand he 
 held nearer to him. " No farther," he said at 
 last, decidedly ; "see what a night it is ! Adol- 
 phus would hardly have let you come out at 
 all ; and shall I love you less than a brother ?" 
 He stooped to kiss the child, caressed the 
 dog that followed them, but to Emily he gave 
 only a hurried ''God bless you!*" and the words 
 sunk deep to the heart that, for the first time, 
 was awake to the possibihty of their meeting no 
 more ! Like a fearful spectre, the thought 
 glanced by, " He may fall !" but it was too 
 horrid to stay, and Emily would have thought 
 it a distrust of Providence to have indulged it.
 
 132 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MISS ALBANY TO MISS MONTRESOR. 
 
 '' Amesfort Castle. 
 " Three weeks have elapsed since my arri- 
 val in your country, as you call it, and I have 
 never found time to say how I got here. I 
 have not, however, been less occupied with you 
 and yours, than if I had written the most sen- 
 timental scraps of poetry to you every hour. 
 You have seen Lord De Calmer, and heard 
 from Adolphus ; therefore, I may as well begin 
 with my own history, that being the only one 
 the aforesaid gentleman will have omitted en- 
 tirely; whether from ignorance or indifference, 
 is a point that, for the sake of my self-love, I do 
 not choose to investigate too strictly. To you, 
 who have a sort of passion for your mother, I
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 1S3 
 
 need not say with what reluctance I left mine ; 
 for an indefinite time too ! and to take up my 
 abode with strangers ! You may believe I mo- 
 ralized all the way on the ' pomps and vanities 
 of this wicked world;' and albeit little disposed 
 to rural cots overhung with clustering roses, I 
 did sigh for one just then, and fancied my poor 
 mother in a neat quiet parlour, and myself 
 working on one side of the fire, while puss 
 purred on the other. 
 
 "It was very cold and uncomfortable, and I 
 was glad to exchange my rattling hack for 
 Lady Amesforfs easy carriage, which met me 
 half-way. Not a leaf was left on the large trees 
 near the house ; and 1 thought their height, 
 with their long branches sweeping to and fro 
 with the wind, added to the desolate aspect a 
 winter's evening gave to all surrounding ob- 
 jects. I looked for every thing you had de- 
 scribed in such glowing terms ; and scarce could 
 my cold eye trace the spots to which enthusi- 
 asm or local attachment had lent so many 
 charms. Still, in fine weather, I can fancy it a 
 beautiful country ; and I marked with pleasure
 
 134 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 the cottages of the poor carefully repaired, and 
 weather-proof. They were not swept out of the 
 way, because a view might be improved by 
 their removal, nor were they beautified in any 
 absurd manner, to make the contrast greater of 
 outward adorning and inward misery. The 
 children looked healthy, and occupied ; and I 
 augured better of the Earl of Amesfort than I 
 had ventured to do before. 
 
 " As I drove into the park, a gong announced 
 the hour of dressing for dinner, and I was 
 shown into my own apartment immediately. I 
 was finishing my toilet in some trepidation, 
 when a gentle tap at my door announced Lady 
 Amesfort. Never, then, did I see a more fault- 
 less model of beauty ! Her sweet accents and 
 courteous greeting would have restored my 
 composure, had I lost it ; but struck with such 
 dazzling loveliness, and with her extreme 
 youth, (for I had fancied her my mother's 
 contemporary,) I forgot the awkwardness of my 
 situation, and only gazed in mute astonish- 
 ment and admiration. She presented me to 
 the Earl — a distant bow, returned by a pro-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 135 
 
 found courtesy on my part, was all that passed 
 between us. 
 
 " My mother assured me I should find Lord 
 Amesfort still young and handsome ; I thought 
 him neither. He is shrouded in reserve, which 
 looks like gloom and pride ; but I am more in- 
 clined to think him unhappy, than morose. 
 There is no animation of countenance at pre- 
 sent, but surely it only sleeps : feeling has been 
 there, it has passed away, and withered all it 
 touched ; but some hidden string, some secret 
 chord there must be, if I am not much mis- 
 taken in my knowledge of physiognomy, that if 
 rightly touched, would yet send forth notes of 
 melody, though deeply tinctured with sadness. 
 Lady Amesfort's sweet face leaves almost as 
 much room for speculation as her Lord's, 
 though in a different way. If he looks colder 
 than he is, she looks more in earnest, more 
 ahve, more willing to be pleased than she really 
 is. She is idle and dissipated, but she has a 
 mind many tones higher than her education or 
 her society. Little as she seems ever to have 
 reflected, there is an undefined consciousness of
 
 1S6 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 this, which has prevented her forming any 
 friendships. She has heard sentiment laughed 
 at, and she is ready to join in the laugh ; yet 
 it is not from coldness or egotism, but because 
 she has met with nothing to excite it. I cannot 
 help regretting her having studied so little the 
 character of her husband. She would be the 
 happier, and certainly the nobler creature, for 
 having her dormant powers brought forward; 
 and I never saw a woman for whom I should 
 more dread their being roused into action by 
 some foreign impulse. 
 
 " I will not tire out your patience with com- 
 ments on my patroness, but express some of the 
 admiration I felt for Lord De Calmer. He is 
 delightful in appearance and manner. I cannot 
 be a judge of any thing beyond, as I saw him 
 but for three days; and besides, I could not 
 well be impartial, as he paid the greatest atten- 
 tion to me, when he found I was your friend. 
 Now, as handsome young men don't take parti- 
 cularly to me in general, the novelty of the case 
 quite bewildered me. I told you, your brother 
 and I would be sworn friends ; and so we are !
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY 137 
 
 To be sure, I cannot deny that we quarrel 
 about ten times in every day, besides never 
 very cordially agreeing about the veriest trifle ; 
 but he already appeals to me about a thousand 
 things ; and though he takes care to contradict 
 me whenever it can be done with any tolerable 
 regard to politeness, he follows my advice the 
 next minute. I wish he would so far follow it as 
 to spend the Christmas with you and your mo- 
 ther, instead of at this place ; but he says Mrs. 
 Montresor urges liis remaining with his guar- 
 dian ; and I cannot wonder at a young man lik- 
 ing a very pleasant house, where he is made a 
 great object of. The Earl, in his quiet way, pays 
 him the greatest attention ; and delightful as he 
 is, the ladies, of course, cannot fail of making a 
 fuss with him. I tried to give him lessons on 
 flirtation ; but he is not an apt scholar, and 
 really listens to the pretty things that are said 
 to liim with an air of abstraction, or impa^ 
 tience, quite chilling. I have surely made up 
 for my long silence, so I desire to be thanked 
 without loss of time. Ever yours, 
 
 " Isabella Albany.''
 
 138 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 It was some time after Emily received this 
 letter, that, as Miss Albany went into the libra- 
 ry at the hour which she was accustomed to 
 devote to reading, she was surprised at meeting 
 the Earl. She drew back, fearful of intruding; 
 but he called her in, and, for the first time since 
 she had become an inmate of his house, address- 
 ed her. " Miss Albany, it was with a view of 
 seeing you, that I came here now; so pray sit 
 down and listen to me." 
 
 Isabella obeyed, wondering what this singu- 
 lar person could have to say to her. The Earl 
 continued ; " Is it as a friend of Emily Mon- 
 tresor's, that you take such particular charge of 
 her brother, or are you interested for Adolphus 
 himself .?" 
 
 Most young women would have blushed, 
 and hesitated ; but Isabella was not like most 
 young women. She smiled at the oddity of 
 the question, and replied unmoved, " I was 
 very much charmed with Emily, to whom 
 I was first known, and was, therefore, on 
 her account, sooner interested for her bro- 
 ther : but Adolphus is not a person to know
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 139 
 
 without admiring; and if he had never had 
 a sister, I should not he less solicitous for his 
 welfare than I now am/' 
 
 " That is spoken with your own frankness, 
 Miss Albany, and I thank you for it. I fear 
 you will be less patient at my next question. 
 Would you consent to become his wife, at his 
 request and mine ?""' 
 
 " Not now, my Lord, at the request of the 
 whole world."' 
 
 " Alas !" said the Earl sadly, '' 'tis as I 
 feared, and some other engagement on your 
 part will overthrow all my plans." 
 
 " I am at a loss," said Miss Albany gently, 
 " to guess what your Lordship's plans are, and 
 why they were formed ; but, if it is any satis- 
 faction to you to know I am free, I will not 
 conceal it from you. I would not marry Adol- 
 phus, because he would think me a stoic unde- 
 serv'ing his vivid affections; and I, perhaps, 
 might think him in a raging fever, when he was 
 only in a fit of enthusiasm. I wish to be his 
 friend, because I admire and like him ; and be- 
 cause I flatter myself my cooler judgment, and
 
 140 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 better acquaintance with ordinary men and wo- 
 men, such as even geniuses must mix with, may 
 be of use to him." 
 
 '' I sincerely wish,"" said Lord Amesfort, 
 rising, " that your influence may increase, for 
 I am satisfied it will be rightly directed, and I 
 fear he stands in need of it." And, without 
 another observation to explain why he put such 
 unexpected questions, he quitted the library. 
 
 He left Miss Albany to reflections which, for 
 that morning, put reading out of her head. 
 She was aware, that in her fate the Earl could 
 feel no other interest than that of common hu- 
 manity ; it was for Adolphus, then, he formed 
 plans, which Isabella could not help thinking 
 liis extreme youth rendered premature. From 
 what evil, then, would his early marriage shield 
 him ? In vain she considered : his disposition, 
 his situation, all appeared to her to unfit him 
 for engagements that would check his advance 
 in life. Still musing on what she could not 
 make out, she descended the flight of steps 
 that led up to the library. In the vestibule 
 beneath, she beheld Adolphus, who stopped to
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 141 
 
 ask if the snow was too deep for her to walk 
 out. While he yet s|X)ke, Lady Amesfort ap- 
 peared at the top of the steps, facing them. 
 She had her boy clinging in sport to her 
 shoulders, and she ran so heedlessly with her 
 laughing burden, that she fell. 
 
 Isabella, who never lost her presence of 
 mind, exclaimed immediately, " The child is not 
 hurt !'" Montresor did not utter a word ; but, 
 springing forward, he raised Lady Amesfort 
 immediately, and as she had sprained her ankle, 
 and stood with pain and difficulty, he took her 
 in his arms, and spying through a door, which 
 the Earl at this instant opened, a sofa, he bore 
 her swiftly to it. He placed her upon it, he 
 knelt beside her, but still he did not speak. 
 He dreaded to hear her say she was hurt. His 
 anxious looks brought a faint smile to the fea- 
 tures of the suffering Countess; she gently 
 pressed the hand that held her's, and raised 
 her soft blue eyes with an expression to which, 
 from the first moment, the heart of Adolphus 
 had but too deeply responded. 
 
 Miss Albany, who had gone for proper
 
 142 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 remedies to allay the pain of the sprain, en- 
 tered with the child, who was quite unhurt, 
 and had assisted her in carrying the things. 
 One glance explained the conversation of the 
 morning. The magnificent outline of Mon- 
 tresor's face and form, full of strength and 
 earnestness and powerful meaning, was finely 
 contrasted with the beautiful sylph over whose 
 recumbent figure he bent. Near them, but 
 totally unobserved, erect and gloomy, towered 
 the Earl. Isabella staggered beneath the 
 weight of what she held, to which before she 
 had not been sensible — an icy fang seemed 
 fixed upon her heart — And was it come to this? 
 and was the happiness of these two interesting 
 beings the sport of a wayward, lawless passion ? 
 It was very dreadful, and she sighed so deeply, 
 as she bathed Lady Amesforf s ankle, that look- 
 ing up, the Countess said in her sweet accents, 
 " Why, my dear Isabella, how pale you are ! I 
 do not believe I am so much hurt as you.^' 
 
 " How I wish you were not,^' said Miss Alba- 
 ny fervently ; but she spoke in a low voice, and 
 Lord Amesfort alone listened or understood.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 143 
 
 " Shall I do that ?'' said he kindly ; " you 
 have, probably, not put on so many bandages as 
 I have.'' 
 
 Lady Amesfort involuntarily shrunk back, 
 and Adolphus started with a look to which 
 alarm and confusion lent the appearance of 
 hostility. 
 
 " Are you sorry for mamma ?'"* said the child, 
 looking with infantine wonder at his father. 
 Isabella felt the reproach more keenly than the 
 parents, whose thoughts were directed else- 
 where. 
 
 " You are in your father's way, my dear," 
 said Montresor, in a tone which, by strong 
 effort, was steady ; and, taking the boy in his 
 arms, he withdrew to the window. As he 
 
 pi'essed the child to his heart, he continued to 
 
 ■J . 
 
 ;raze on its mother ; but liis countenance did 
 
 pot now betray the agitation and tenderness 
 
 which marked it but a moment before. His 
 
 'feelings had taken another turn: it was no 
 
 longer the being he loved, and she only, that 
 
 occupied his harassed mind ; it was guilt, and 
 
 misery, and headstrong passion, and keen re-
 
 144 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 morse. It was as if at that moment, the first 
 in which he had ever seen the Earl bestow one 
 thought on his wife, some new idea had flashed 
 upon him, some dreadful secret had been re- 
 vealed. The veil in which so carefully he had 
 wrapped his inmost feelings, conceahng them 
 even from himself, was rent, and in this first 
 overwhelming moment he had no power to 
 think ; he could only feel — feel like some lofty 
 tree that the whirlwind has uprooted, but 
 which, even in its fall, preserves a fearful con- 
 sciousness of what it has been, and what it is ! 
 Isabella watched him with painful anxiety : it 
 was some relief to her uneasiness to see com- 
 posure restored to the Countess ; her face was 
 pale, but placid ; and her manner, though de- 
 pressed, lost none of its wonted courteousness, 
 when she addressed her husband. 
 
 Miss Albany, accustomed from her infancy 
 to direct her quick discernment on her own 
 feelings, as well as on those of others, did not 
 suppose it possible so little to know one's self, 
 as to recover serenity without the internal con- 
 sciousness that all was right. " There is but
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 145 
 
 one victim here/' thought she ; " unrequited 
 love withers of itself; all will yet be well/' 
 While these flattering hopes enabled her to 
 draw her breath more freely, the young Coun- 
 tess was busied accounting to herself for the 
 momentary embarrassment which the EarFs 
 unexpected presence had caused her. " I see 
 him so seldom,'" thought she ; " I was so like 
 an intruder in his room !" 
 
 In the innocence of her heart, she believed 
 her love for Adolphus to be no more than the 
 equitable homage due to superior excellence : 
 like aU first attachments, it was so well in- 
 trenched by illusions, pure and brilliant as the 
 symphony of angels, that a mind, which neither 
 education nor reflection had contributed to 
 strengthen, easily yielded to its enchanting in- 
 fluence. She had scarcely reasoned herself into 
 the belief that her husband's attention had 
 only surprised, without annoying her, than she 
 looked round for Montresor. She started at 
 the wild and troubled expression of his features, 
 and, in her most winning accents, asked him if he 
 were ill ? His answer was like ice in the heat 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 146 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 of summer ; and Lady Amesfort, who loved too 
 devotedly, to have marked undismayed the 
 most trifling change, remained aghast and be- 
 wildered at so sudden an alteration. Adolphus 
 did not trust himself to look at her, but her 
 silence gave him more pain than her reproaches 
 would have done. He wished himself away, 
 yet was rooted to the spot. At last he moved 
 towards the door as gently as if he had thought 
 she could not see him depart if she did not 
 hear him. The child caught him as he passed, 
 exclaiming, " Mamma wants you." He turned 
 fearfully round, but his eyes were fixed on the 
 ground, as he said reluctantly, " Did your 
 Ladyship call me ?''"' 
 
 " Oh, no !'' said the boy, " she only looked as 
 if she wanted you." 
 
 " She does 7iot want me, child," said Montre- 
 sor impatiently, laying his hand on the door, — 
 but the tremulous voice of her he loved arrest- 
 ed him. It was only his name, indeed, and it 
 was spoken so low, she might not have meant 
 him to hear it ; — but it was irresistible — and he 
 looked up. Her tearful eyes were more than
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 147 
 
 he could stand ; he forgot every thing but her, 
 and springing forward, he would have thrown 
 himself at her feet, and, in the frenzy of the 
 moment, have poured out his full heart, and all 
 his newly-discovered feelings, had not the cold, 
 steady grasp of Isabella restrained him. " You 
 are a child !"" said she, with that command- 
 ing air few people ever thought fit to resist ; 
 " don't you see this awkward accident has 
 made Lady Amesfort quite nervous, and is this 
 a time to give way to your impetuous temper .''""* 
 
 " Have I deserved your anger too ?''^ said he, 
 in the quiet tone of despair; and throwing him- 
 self in a chair, he covered his face with his 
 hands. 
 
 " f did not think," said the Countess, "Isa- 
 bella could speak so harshly. This is a day for 
 every body to appear in new characters." 
 
 " But we like our own best," said Miss Al- 
 bany, laughing; " so never fear but we shall all 
 return to them in time. Now, had I not better 
 wheel you out of this cold gloomy apartment ?'''' 
 
 " Indeed I shall be most happy to get out of 
 it, for I have been very uncomfortable in it ;" 
 H 2
 
 148 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 and the Earl rang for the servants to move her 
 as she chose, leaving Adolphus in quiet posses- 
 sion of the deserted room. He did not remain 
 there long, for he fancied there was something 
 in the air of the place that prevented his 
 arranging his thoughts. He was not much 
 more successful in his own room, but by dinner- 
 time he had come to the resolution of paying 
 his mother a visit. He remembered the advice 
 Miss Albany had given to this effect, and now 
 seemed the moment for adopting it. The 
 Countess did not appear at dinner, and it was 
 a relief to him ; for if he had seen her he would 
 have felt as if he were abandoning her. 
 
 " Have you any letters to Emily ?" said he, 
 addressing Miss Albany, as she rose from table ; 
 " I shall see her to-morrow."" 
 
 " I will certainly write,'' was all she said ; 
 but Montresor had the satisfaction to see the 
 gloom disperse on her brow, and a warm smile 
 of approbation and regard replace her cold 
 averted look. He spent his evening in gloomy 
 silence and abstraction, and retired early. On 
 his table lay a letter; he opened it mechani-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 149 
 
 cally, and saw with surprise several bank-notes 
 fall out of it : with still greater surprise he 
 read a few lines in the EarFs hand, claiming a 
 right, as his guardian, to furnish him with 
 whatever was requisite ; slightly touching on 
 his overstrained delicacy, in having never taken 
 advantage, while in town, of the permission 
 given him to draw on his banker ; and observing, 
 that as he had more money in his hands that 
 would be Adolphus's on his coming of age, he 
 was not making him any present. It was 
 worded with kindness, amounting to affection ; 
 but ]Montresor saw but one phrase, beginning, 
 " When we meet in town."** 
 
 " So, then," he cried, " we are not to meet 
 before. I was leaving this for a short indefinite 
 period, and my patron thinks fit to expect I 
 should return to it no more ! We shall meet 
 in town ! Yes ; what a meeting ! I shall not 
 be under the same roof with her ; I shall hear 
 her speak, but it will no longer be her feelings 
 and her remarks — it will be the language of the 
 world — the language of others. I shall see 
 her, but will it be really she ? or, rather, would
 
 150 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 not her picture answer every purpose as well ? 
 She will sing, too, but it will not be for me ! 
 others will listen and applaud, and on others 
 she will smile." Such was the train of feelings 
 that chased repose from the pillow of Montresor. 
 He had ordered the carriage early, but he 
 now resolved to delay the moment of his depar- 
 ture, as he persuaded himself he ought to take 
 leave of the Earl in person. " Since I go for 
 so long, perhaps for ever, a written adieu would 
 be ungracious,'" he repeated to himself; not 
 choosing to own that the latent hope of seeing 
 Lady Amesfort once more, lent him new ani- 
 mation, and conferred all the necessity on his 
 change of measures. Before, however, he could 
 give any directions, Lord Amesfort entered his 
 apartment. He seemed hurt, almost agitated, 
 and abruptly began — " I am sorry, Adolphus, 
 to interfere with your plans, particularly when 
 I approve of them as highly as in the present in- 
 stance, but I cannot suffer you to go yet. Lady 
 Amesfort's accident assumes a more serious ap- 
 pearance than I had any notion of at first. She 
 has had so much fever, they have thought it
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 151 
 
 right to bleed her ; and as she is to be kept as 
 quiet and composed as possible, I wish you to 
 delay your departure a few days, lest its sud- 
 denness might, in her present weak state, affect 
 her." 
 
 This guarded speech conveyed meanings 
 which brought the blood into Montresor's face. 
 He did not dare express his alarm at Lady 
 Amesforf s illness, his satisfaction at being de- 
 tained thus without any fault of his own, or his 
 anxiety to see her. He murmured something 
 about his willingness to obey the EarFs com- 
 mands ; and then spoke of the money enclosed 
 to him the preceding night. The Earl silenced 
 him, by the repeated assurances that it was his 
 own property, and, therefore, if he would not 
 have it, he had only to send it to his mother 
 and sisters.
 
 152 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Two weary days Adolphus dragged on, not 
 only without seeing the Countess, but without 
 any message from her, or any particulars respect- 
 ing her health. The Earl answered his enqui- 
 ries in general terms, which were not much 
 more satisfactory than the replies of the ser- 
 vants. Every one seemed in league to torment 
 him ; some by their ignorance, and others by 
 their wonder at his being so inquisitive. He 
 thought Lord Amesfort ready to appear obliged 
 to any one but him for their anxiety for the 
 Lady of the house ; and one old woman, who had 
 been long on a visit, and was a sort of relation, 
 or dependant of the EarFs, put the finishing 
 stroke to his misery, by hinting, with a very 
 important face, that as her good Lord did not
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 153 
 
 appear alarmed, there were doubtless reasons 
 for her Ladyship's iUness that would be far 
 from distressmg to hiui. ^lontresor had never 
 before felt the emotion of hatred towards any 
 living being, and he now turned abruptly from 
 his officious informant, that his eye might not 
 glare abhorrence on her. He longed for wings 
 to transport him instantly from Amesfort Cas- 
 tle; and such was the power of imagination, that 
 when next he met the Earl, he almost fancied 
 there was on his countenance less than ordinary 
 gloom. It was only for a moment, for, as he 
 scanned those lines of thought, he felt they were 
 not intersected with one solitary feeble ray of 
 pleasure. The tranquillity that sat on his fea- 
 tures was not that of repose, but of stagnation ; 
 and when some transient motion ruffled the sullen 
 stillness of the surface, it subsided instantly, 
 lea-vang no trace behind. 
 
 Impatient at the ignorance in which he fan- 
 cied himself studiously kept, Adolphus wrote a 
 note to Isabella, who had never quitted Lady 
 Amesforf s room. Miss Albany merely scratch- 
 ed with a pencil, at the back of it, " So much 
 H 5
 
 154 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 better, that you may fulfil your original inten- 
 tion when you please.'' Montresor was morti- 
 fied : would they, indeed, both let him go with- 
 out seeing him ? If Miss Albany had but an- 
 swered his note in person, and said Lady Ames- 
 fort was ordered to see no one ! He read the 
 words over frequently, but could not see them in 
 a favourable light. It was, he thought, doing an 
 unkind thing in an unkind way. Lady Amesfort 
 might act from prudence, from fear of her hus- 
 band ; but Isabella! why was she to be cold 
 and indifferent ? He crushed the paper in his 
 hand ; and with his spirit more depressed than 
 he had ever yet experienced it, he sought the 
 Earl to take his final leave. 
 
 His guardian did not make any farther op- 
 position to his immediate departure, merely en- 
 trusting him with a parcel to his sister. Their 
 parting was not unkind ; but Adolphus felt un- 
 comfortable at his own coldness, with which he 
 reproached himself, as being a sort of ingrati- 
 tude : dissimulation of any sort was foreign to 
 his nature, and to be otherwise than stiff and 
 constrained was, at that moment, impossible. 
 When he had left the room, and gone a few
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 155 
 
 yards, he suddenly remembered something 
 more he had to say, and returned. When 
 he had quitted his guardian, they were both 
 standing: a profound bow, on his part, and 
 a half inclination from the haughty Peer, had 
 concluded the ceremony of taking leave. What, 
 then, was his wonder, to find Lord Amesfort, 
 on his return, lying with his face buried on the 
 sofa, uttering a faint moan, which was suffo- 
 cated by rising sobs ! 
 
 " Have you hurt yourself, my Lord ?^' he 
 said, gently touching his shoulder. 
 
 The Earl sprang on his feet, as though he 
 had felt a murderer's grasp ; the tears trembled 
 in his blood-shot eyes ; but the wild sternness of 
 his air seemed alike to reproach them for fall- 
 ing on any one who dared to witness them. So 
 much misery and so much anger united, shock- 
 ed the already oppressed Adolphus. He apolo- 
 gized for his intrusion more by gesture than 
 words, and, with eyes bent to the ground, again 
 sought the door. The Earl stopped him, he 
 gasped for breath, and spoke, at first, inaudi- 
 bly ; but Montresor, understanding he wished 
 to know if he had returned for any particular
 
 156 LoKD amesfort's family. 
 
 object, told him, without hesitation, the fact. 
 
 Lord Amesfort seemed content; he followed his 
 
 ward to the door, saying, he thought the air 
 
 would be of use to him. 
 
 The carriage had driven on ; for Adolphus, 
 
 who knew every inch of the country, meant to 
 walk across the fields to rejoin it. The Earl, 
 understanding his arrangement, turned another 
 way, leaving him to go by himself, as the dis- 
 tance was greater than he was inclined to try. 
 Montresor struck across the grounds, but, as 
 he came within view of the stile he was to go 
 over, he remembered that very near to it was a 
 bower, which Emily had constructed in former 
 days. " She will like to know how it looks," 
 thought he, and he turned aside to visit it. 
 Its entrance was concealed to all who had not 
 known it formerly by the thick shrubs that 
 grew around ; and Adolphus saw with sur- 
 prise a pony of Lady Amesforfs tied to a tree 
 near it. 
 
 Before he had time to conjecture who could 
 be riding it, he had shaken off the snow that 
 hung on the leafless branches, and forced his 
 way into the grotto, where, seated on the mossy
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 157 
 
 bench, supported by Miss Albany, sat the 
 Countess herself. He stood transfixed in silent 
 astonishment. No gleam of satisfaction crossed 
 his mind at the conviction of her recovery ; for 
 love is a selfish passion, even with the most 
 generous dispositions : he was alive but to one 
 feeling — she might have seen me, and she 
 would not ! 
 
 " Pardon my intrusion !" he said at last in a 
 frozen accent, for he was too proud to make it 
 a reproachful one : ^' 1 am happy to see your 
 Ladyship out again ;"" and bowing, he retreated 
 hastily. His precipitation only retarded his 
 progress through the overgrown brambles : he 
 opposed his strength to the fragile boughs, 
 which opened before him, and rebounding 
 struck against his face. 
 
 " If you could be more patient, you would 
 suffer less,"" said the warning voice of Isabella. 
 It was the tone of kindness and commiseration, 
 not of taunting reproof ; and Montresor felt all 
 it was intended to convey ; yet at such a mo- 
 ment to talk of patience was an insult to his 
 impetuous feelings, and he turned to her with 
 a smile of withering scorn. She stood at the
 
 158 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 narrow and darkened entrance of the grotto, 
 as if purposely to conceal her who rested with- 
 in ; nay, more like some fabled deity placed 
 there to guard her. There was at all times a 
 peculiar grandeur and self-possession in Miss 
 Albany's manner and air, which had often 
 struck Montresor, but never so forcibly as now. 
 
 " Yes," he said, unconsciously speaking 
 aloud his thoughts, " you are my barrier !"*" 
 
 " Only," rejoined Isabella in the same under- 
 tone, " from guilt and misery." 
 
 The Countess was like one stunned by the 
 unexpected meeting with Adolphus, who had, 
 as she thought, quitted the Castle in the car- 
 riage she had seen drive off some hours before. 
 She buried her face in the withered moss, and 
 was awakened to the consciousness of existence 
 by the severity of the cold. She raised her 
 languid head, and, perceiving Isabella a few 
 yards from her, made a feeble effort to join her. 
 Again the figure of Montresor was before her. 
 'Is it a vision .?" she said, with the feeling of 
 uneasy doubt, with which we sometimes view 
 beings in a dream. The unsettled expression
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 159 
 
 of her countenance alarmed Montresor. He 
 hastily re-assured her ; and, grieved at her evi- 
 dent feebleness of mind and body, asked Miss 
 Albany if she had strength to reach her pony, 
 which could not be brought nearer on account 
 of the bushes. Agitation and cold seemed so 
 completely to have unnerved Lady Amesfort, 
 that Miss Albany could not be without appre- 
 hensions ; but her first wish was not to detain 
 Adolphus any longer, and she answered hastily, 
 " Quite well, presently." While she spoke, 
 however, Lady Amesfort's head sunk on her 
 shoulder, and Isabella could not conceal that 
 she had fainted. She had not power to sup- 
 port her, and Adolphus received in his arms 
 the senseless form of her he idolized. 
 
 " I beseech you,'' said Miss Albany earnestly, 
 " lay her on the bench, and leave us ;" but she 
 spoke to the winds. A long, labouring sigh 
 broke the spell of insensibility, and Lady 
 Amesfort moved her lips without the power 
 to speak. 
 
 " If you will untie the pony,'' said Adol- 
 phus, " I will place her upon it ; and if you
 
 160 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 
 
 can support her there, I promise to leave you 
 that moment."' 
 
 Isabella flew to the animal, and brought it 
 instantly as near as possible, anxious to shorten 
 this interview. Involuntarily Lady Amesfort 
 returned the pressure of the arms that sup- 
 ported her. 
 
 " O that this little spot of earth were our 
 world !" said Adolphus. '* Would it not be a 
 happy one, my love .?"" 
 
 " Too happy !'' murmured the Countess, for- 
 cibly extricating herself from his embrace, and 
 looking round for Isabella. 
 
 " You cannot walk to her,"" said Adolphus, 
 following her thoughts, " but the sooner you 
 get out of this cold place the better.""* And she 
 suff*ered him to carry her through the tangled 
 entrance of the grotto and place her in silence 
 on her horse. Isabella impatiently threw her 
 arm round the Covmtess, and Montresor reluc- 
 tantly withdrew his. The sight of Miss Al- 
 bany seemed to recover Lady Amesfort. She 
 laid her almost powerless hand on the burning 
 brow of Adolphus, and said firmly, '' God bless
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. I6l 
 
 you, Montresor ! wherever you go : but remem- 
 ber, we must meet no more!" 
 
 " Never !"" cried Adolphus in a tone that 
 wrung even the heart of Isabella. 
 
 " Never !" solemnly repeated the Countess 
 with the strength of despair. Adolphus prompt- 
 ly made a sign of acquiescence ; for he saw the 
 Earl at a distance, and his immediate impulse 
 was to fly liim. Absorbed in the struggle of 
 his o^vTi wounded spirit. Lord Amesfort saw not 
 him, heard not the trampling of the horse's feet, 
 and, striking into another path, spared his 
 wretched vrife the meeting. Having once quit- 
 ted Lady Amesfort, Adolphus felt like one 
 goaded on by some evil spirit ; he fled with the 
 swiftness of lic^htnins; ; saw no obstacles in his 
 way ; sprung over new-made fences, scarcely 
 conscious of what was before him ; and stopped 
 not until, exhausted and breathless, he flung 
 himself into the carriage that had been so 
 long waiting for him. His journey was long 
 and dreary, uncheered by one sentiment of 
 gladness. He thought what his feelings had 
 been when he parted from his mother at the
 
 16S LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 Castle-gate, and how different they would be 
 on their approaching reunion. 
 
 " Was her anguish, then,'' thought he, " a 
 presentiment of all her son was to suffer ? No ; 
 she could not foresee it : she could not dream 
 how far he would forget those high principles 
 she strove to instil into him." He surveyed 
 rapidly all the sentiments that had arisen in his 
 mind since their parting. He remembered 
 what Lord Amesfort had said of his wife, how 
 he had rejoiced in her happiness. "It is I 
 alone," murmured he, " who was to destroy it. 
 The Earl had said, ' I have not blasted the 
 morning of her life ;' but I have — I, who love 
 her so passionately, so exclusively ! it is I who 
 have withered this fair flower I would so ten- 
 derly have cherished !" Montresor was of a 
 temper to exhaust every torturing emotion 
 upon himself, for no sophistry could allay the 
 fever "of his remorse, no self-control abate the 
 violence of his passion. He had early given 
 the reins to his imagination, and his weakened 
 grasp could not now check them. The strong
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 163 
 
 line of duty once passed, phantoms arise at 
 every step, and assume its name. 
 
 She loved him ! and this love he thought a 
 tie more powerful than any that bound her to 
 her husband ! The struggle, too, between the 
 natural greatness of his mind, and that narrow 
 selfishness engendered by his new feelings, in- 
 volved him in a perpetual maze of contradic- 
 tion. An ordinary person, who has seldom 
 raised his eyes above his own concerns and 
 daily actions, if betrayed into error, does not, 
 at the moment, feel so much to be sinning 
 against himself. He may regret and amend; 
 but he cannot blush, as Adolphus did, at the 
 inconsistency that led him, in direct opposition 
 to those great principles he would have been 
 the first to lay down ; for it may be, he had 
 never heard of them, or hearing, had failed to 
 understand them. ^lontresor felt that he could 
 hardly make a comment, however simple, that 
 was not a sort of satire on himself : from this 
 acuteness of sensibility he revolted, and labour- 
 ed to justify himself in his own eyes. The
 
 164} LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 eiFort was often successful, for of what is our 
 self-love not capable ? but the success was 
 momentary ; some obstinate association of feel- 
 ing with principle would rise up unexpectedly, 
 and the labour of hours was defeated : it was a 
 perpetual warfare of himself against himself, 
 where transient victory on either side brought 
 neither conviction nor repose. 
 
 His mother and sisters received him with de- 
 light, and, shocked at his own coldness, he 
 laboured to conceal it. How was the mighty 
 fallen, when Adolphus could stoop to dissimula- 
 tion ! His proud spirit writhed beneath the 
 unwonted restraint, and his eloquent counte- 
 nance but too fully told the inward misery that 
 preyed upon him. Emily did not dare look 
 at her mother, fearful of communicating her 
 thoughts ; but Mrs. Montresor, ever awake to 
 suffering, read without effort the hearts of her 
 children. The second day that Adolphus was 
 with them, she called Emily back, as she was 
 leaving the room. " Do not fly me,"" she said, 
 in her quiet manner, which looked so like in- 
 sensibility ; " sorrow of no kind comes on me
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 165 
 
 unexpectedly. I do not wonder at the change 
 in my son ; I do not require to be soothed into 
 bearing grief, I am bent to the yoke. Is it not 
 said, the sins of the fathers rest upon the chil- 
 dren ? I know that I shall live to see you all 
 wretched. I would rather have borne trials of 
 any other sort, — but we are not to choose our 
 punishments, — no other would have been hard 
 to bear, — it is just and righteous:"' and without 
 moving a muscle, or having once altered the 
 inflection of her voice, Mrs. Montresor calmly 
 pursued her work. Emily concealed the tears 
 she could not restrain, but she tried in vain to 
 reply .to her mother : she sought for words 
 of comfort, but they were not to be found : she 
 would have expressed a doubt of her brother's 
 unhappiness, but the fact was too evident : she 
 tried to say, she at least was free from care of 
 any kind, but the words died on her lips; — 
 could she say she looked back without regret, 
 and forward without anxiety ? she felt it to be 
 impossible ; and after framing and rejecting 
 many sentences on these topics, she was fol'ced 
 to give up the point, and quietly resign herself 
 to her usual silence.
 
 166 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " What are you reading so attentively, 
 Emily ?'''' said Montresor to his sister. 
 
 "Only this," she replied, sighing uncon- 
 sciously, as she placed a letter in his hands. It 
 was from Miss Albany, and Adolphus at once 
 feared and hoped there would be nothing in it 
 of Lady Amesfort. He read — " Indeed, my 
 dear Emily, I cannot deny your assertions ; I 
 am a bad correspondent, and have only the 
 excuse to offer of all bad correspondents, that 
 I have nothing to say. Every spot, you say, 
 on which my careless eye glances, is dear to 
 you, and you would hear of them. It must be, 
 then, from one who loves them too. I see the 
 snow sparkle on the hill, and melt in the val- 
 ley ; but nor hill nor valley awake in me one
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 167 
 
 thought of other times. I gaze over the bound- 
 less tract of country ; I think of him to whom 
 it all belongs ; and I smile at the insufficiency 
 of all worldly possessions ! I see daily new 
 faces, and where I meet >vith them I study new 
 characters ; but if I give you ever so faithful a 
 picture of them, you might meet the originals 
 and not know them. We neither judge nor 
 feel alike ; and how we come to care for one 
 another, I don't very well know ; but that, at 
 least as far as concerns myself, is a fact which 
 I cannot permit of your doubting. 'Doubt 
 that the stars, &c.' you don't want all Hamlet's 
 speech, which means only, what in less sublime 
 words we all of us say for ever, ' there is 
 nothing, however great or good, that you may 
 not disbelieve' — I only, who am possibly neither 
 great nor good, will not be content with any- 
 thing short of boundless confidence ! Oh, egot- 
 ism ! how it strikes to the very root of things, 
 and clings to the heart's core ! how it can 
 assume every grace, and palsy every virtue ! — 
 I once heard a celebrated Lady in her day (the 
 biographer of Johnson) assert, that egotism was
 
 168 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 the foundation of insanity ; for, observe the mad- 
 man, would she say— he does not fancy you or 
 I are emperors of the world, it is to himself his 
 whims point — ' I am Socrates ; I am a glass- 
 bottle f no matter what the idea, it invariably 
 turns on self. Since he has lost the faculty of 
 judging of others, I don't very well know on 
 what else it cQuld turn, but it was a whimsical 
 sentiment that amused me at the time. 
 
 " You ask me about my employments. I 
 hope my time is spent well, for I have little 
 power over it, and cannot boast of deriving 
 much profit or pleasure from it. This family 
 are willing to have the resource of society, and 
 their house, when in the country, is always full : 
 they will, however, have only as much as suits 
 them. The Earl is soon satisfied on that 
 head ; and indeed, when he does join the com- 
 pany, his taciturnity and depression do not 
 make his dear friends regret the little they 
 see of him. When the Countess is well and 
 in spirits, she mixes more ; but for the greater 
 part of the day the Castle is more like an inn, 
 where you do not pay your bill, than a society
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 169 
 
 convened to give pleasure to the Amesforts, 
 who are generally the people least thought of 
 or attended to in their hfise. 
 
 " Lord De Calmer has hitherto been always 
 with them, when in the country, and his wit 
 and cheerfulness enlivened others, while his 
 presence seemed to give a sanction to their 
 plans for amusing themselves. To this vacant 
 post of half-doing the honours, I have suc- 
 ceeded ; and a wearisome one I find it. Just 
 fancy me, who have hitherto sat quietly at 
 my work listening to what others said, or to 
 what I myself was dreaming about, and hardly 
 opening my lips from morning to night—- only 
 suppose me, making to every one some interest- 
 ing observation about tilings supremely indif- 
 ferent to every soul present, and after cramming 
 every one with food, arranging with them where 
 they should drive, what carriages they would 
 have, or if the weather was too severe, how they 
 could possibly contrive to employ themselves 
 within doors — then furnishing them with some 
 topic of present conversation for immediate use, 
 making my best courtesy and retiring. 
 
 VOL. L I
 
 170 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 " This dull farce recurs every day ; and then 
 I walk with Lady Amesfort, read to her, or 
 sometimes persuade her to have a little music 
 in her own room. Her health is not very 
 good, her spirits stiU less so, but she is better 
 than she has been, and care and time will, I 
 hope, remove the languor that weighs down 
 this lovely creature. Perhaps you hear of her 
 from others, and doubtless she is spoken of as a 
 fair enchantress, whose briUiant smile lightens 
 through the room as she enters. Alas ! I am 
 behind the scenes ; and the vivid bloom of art, 
 the gaudy attire of wasteful opulence, shine on 
 me but cannot dazzle me. It is melancholy to 
 Hve ; for what has life to offer but a nearer view 
 of sorrow, a better acquaintance with misery I 
 Yet it is not unprofitable. We learn, what we 
 should never learn from our own reflections, 
 — the equity of Providence : we see with what 
 an even hand misfortune presses on every one ; 
 we acknowledge our own presumption in judg- 
 ing of any person or any situation ; we feel the 
 insufficiency of all that appears most desirable 
 to confer even transient happiness; and we
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 171 
 
 leaiTi to desire nothing passionately, to distrust 
 ourselves, to confess the inadequacy of what we 
 most longed for to yield the enjoyment we had 
 expected from it. AU this must sound to you 
 like very dull prosing ; and yet, if we could 
 but enter on life with these feelings, instead of 
 acquiring them by slow and painful experience, 
 what regret, what self-reproof we should be 
 spared ! It is idle to wish for what is hardly 
 possible : on the fresh feelings of youth every 
 impression is sharp and vivid ; like glowing 
 colours on the canvass they start into life, and 
 the heavy hand of time alone can first mellow, 
 and then utterly obliterate them : — surely the 
 consciousness of this inevitable decay ought 
 to quiet us at first ! surely the thought of 
 the future should, with rational beings, have 
 some influence on the present ! 
 
 " You may thank little Henry for being 
 spared any more preaching ; he is hiding my 
 pens, spilhng my ink, pulling down my hair, 
 and exerting himself to the best of his abihties, 
 to divert my attention from what I am about, 
 and to fix it upon himself. I wish you could 
 I 2
 
 172 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 see him, for you are fond of children, and I, 
 wl^o am not, cannot help delighting in him. 
 The lower part of his face is like his beautiful 
 mother ; and, what is more singular, he has 
 your brother''s brow; you may believe I do 
 not admire him the less on that account. 
 Lord De Calmer first saw the likeness, and 
 pointed it out to I^ady Amesfort, who did not 
 seem inclined to acknowledge it, and yet they 
 are both so handsome, there is no reason why 
 they should not be compared to one another. 
 I conclude, by what you say in your last, Adol- 
 phus will be now in town. I am glad of it, 
 as it was with reluctance I heard of his re- 
 maining so long idle. Indolence is the sure 
 nurse of selfishness, and I should grieve to see 
 your brother's noble character sink to a level 
 with all the idle young men I am acquainted 
 with. I do not think I shall see him in to^vn, 
 for I rather fancy, in spring, I shall return 
 to my mother, who, as I expected, thinks 
 this an endless winter. Lord Amesfort talks 
 of visiting some property he has in Scotland, 
 and it is not unlikely his wife may accompany
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 173 
 
 him: at any rate, I do not suppose either 
 of thein will return here for some time, and 
 the Castle will once more be shut up, and 
 excite only the admiration of chance-travellers. 
 It has become almost proverbial, that noble- 
 men never inhabit their finest houses. Adieu, 
 my dear Emily ; I have punished you suf- 
 ficiently for having found fault with my 
 silence. 
 
 " Your affectionate 
 
 "" Isabella Albany.'' 
 
 Adolphus slowly folded up the letter, and 
 returned it to his sister. He waited for some 
 comment from her, but he waited in vain. At 
 last he said, with an effort at indifference- — 
 " Isabella is right ; I do no good here. — Don't 
 you think so ?'' he added, after a pause. 
 
 Emily raised her long eyelashes with an ex- 
 pression of sadness and timidity. " Isabella, 
 I have no doubt, is always right ; for she never 
 says any thing by chance, or without seriously 
 meaning it ; but I, who do not pretend to her 
 judgment and discrimination, can give no opi-
 
 174 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 nion about others whose feelings I do not un- 
 derstand.*" 
 
 " My sister ! do you too reproach me .?'" 
 " God forbid !" eagerly replied Emily. " I 
 am sure that you are right ; quite as sure as I 
 could be of Miss Albany being so. I do not 
 wish to intrude on your confidence. I do not 
 even wonder at its being withheld, for I am 
 aware I could do no good. I merely cannot 
 form any opinion or judgment upon a subject 
 veiled from me. But, after all, you want no 
 such feeble guide; your character, I thank 
 Heaven, is no wavering uncertain thing, yield- 
 ing to every outward impression. You stand 
 in need of no persuasions of friends, even of 
 friends as highly gifted as Isabella Albany, to 
 induce you to act judiciously. From your 
 earliest infancy you have been consistent, be- 
 cause you have never swerved from those prin- 
 ciples which are strength to the feeble and 
 comfort to the wretched. And do I suspect 
 my brother of change .f^" 
 
 " Alas !" said Montresor sadly, " I am 
 changed. I mourn my degradation more bit-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 175 
 
 terly than you can do, for I have not the power 
 to shake it off." 
 
 Emily's meek countenance became animated 
 by sudden emotion. " Do I," she cried, " live 
 to hear Adolphus say, there is something noble 
 and excellent which he will not even strive for ? 
 somethino^ rio^ht to be attained, from which he 
 shrinks, because it is difficult ? Had any one 
 else said this of my brother, with what scornful 
 compassion I should have listened to one who 
 knew him so little !" 
 
 '' True," said Montresor ; "it was once my 
 creed that the most arduous enterprise had the 
 most charms. I had till now met with only 
 difficulty enough, in well doing, to give a spur 
 to exertion and a zest to life. In the evil pride 
 of my heart I said, nothing is beyond my 
 strength. I am punished." 
 
 Emily's heart bled at her brother's tone of 
 anguish. She longed to throw herself into his 
 arms and weep over sufferings she could not 
 heal ; but she felt this was not the moment to 
 enervate him by emotion ; and in a tremulous 
 accent she said, " None of us are exempt from
 
 176 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 the general lot ; we must all suffer ; we must 
 all be tried. We have no strength of our own 
 in really great occasions ; for how, unaided and 
 unassisted, should we sacrifice that half of our- 
 selves which feels most, to the other half.? If 
 any one says, I have always sacrificed feeling to 
 principle, and I always shall, he has either no 
 feeling, and then his stoicism, not his strength, 
 saves him, or he is blinded by presumption 
 and vanity. We can do nothing good of our- 
 selves; but we know the source of all good, 
 and we know that in proportion to the faith 
 with which we seek it, we shall receive it." 
 
 " Oh ! if it were only faith !" cried Adol- 
 phus, with a spark of his former enthusiasm 
 lighting up his beautiful features ; " if to be- 
 lieve in the Equity as well as the Omnipotence 
 that watches over us, to admire what is great 
 and adore what is good, were enough ; then 
 should I not be what I am ; then should I not 
 cling, desperately cling to the evil I condemn. 
 Why do you weep, Emily ? I do not weep." 
 
 " Then have you the more need of my tears, 
 my brother !" And Adolphus, ever unable to
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 177 
 
 resist the tone of tenderness, kissed her pallid 
 cheek, and entreated her not to make their mo- 
 ther miserable by indulging useless grief. Isa- 
 bella's advice was speedily followed, and INIon- 
 tresor went to town. It was not, however, be- 
 cause she gave it, that Adolphus felt inclined to 
 adopt it ; it was because the anxious look of 
 his sister was a reproach his irritated feelings 
 could not brook ; it was because he felt he had 
 sunk in her esteem. Her commiseration was 
 so tender and unobtrusive, he could not be 
 offended, yet was he hurt at the idea of being 
 an object of compassion to one who had hither- 
 to looked up to him with enthusiastic admira- 
 tion. The triumphant affection which used to 
 shine in Emily's eyes, now gave place to pain- 
 ful soUcitude, and the proud heart of her bro- 
 ther writhed beneath the change. 
 
 " There was a time," thought Montresor, as 
 he released his heart-broken parent from his 
 farewell embrace, " there was a time, when my 
 inmost spirit could have mourned over thee, 
 my angel mother; now I behold thy tears un- 
 moved ! The pain of others does not come 
 I 5
 
 178 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 near me — the innocent affections of my youth 
 are palsied — the sympathy of my nature is fro- 
 zen. The cold grasp of guilt has withered every 
 righteous and kindly feeling within me. Such 
 are thy fruits, wayward passion ! so dost thou 
 enervate the mind, and harden the heart that 
 yields to thee !
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 179 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Adolphus did not reach London so soon as 
 he had expected. At the last stage he fell in 
 with a young man with whom he had studied 
 abroad. He was the son of a German, who had 
 married an EngHsh lady, but she did not long 
 survive their union. The young man inherited 
 his father's admiration for English women, and 
 was at that moment paying his addresses to 
 one. She lived near, and he importuned his 
 friend to accompany him to her father's house. 
 Montresor had little inclination to comply ; 
 but, if possible, less to pursue his journey to 
 town : — he went. As they drove up to the door, 
 he asked Gustavus whether he meant to give up 
 his country and settle in England. 
 
 " That," replied the young lover, " my fa-
 
 180 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 ther would not hear of, and therefore, I must 
 needs take Eleanor abroad.'" 
 
 " Then you would not have done so, other- 
 wise ?"" asked Montresor, smilingly ; — " you 
 must be very much in love." 
 
 " Why so ?" replied Gustavus, " La patrie 
 est aux lieux oit Tame est enchainee ; I cannot 
 rave about the shape of a hill as you do ; nor 
 do I feel it incumbent upon me to prefer Ger- 
 many, of which I know little, to England, of 
 which I know much." 
 
 Montresor was not inclined to preach nation- 
 ality at this moment, he therefore asked if they 
 were likely to find any company at Sir John 
 Barclay's. 
 
 " Plenty," answered his friend ; "it shows 
 you have never met Lady Barclay, or you 
 would not suspect she could live alone." 
 
 " Alone with six daughters !" cried Adol- 
 phus ; " she could hardly feel very solitary in 
 so large a family." 
 
 " Don't throw people's misfortunes in their 
 face, Montresor; her Ladyship would be too 
 happy to diminish her home society. I dare
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 181 
 
 say you are welcome to any one of Eleanor's 
 sisters ; out of five you may be suited, if you 
 are not very difficult/' 
 
 " Gustavus, how can you speak so slight- 
 ingly of a family you are connecting yourself 
 with ?" 
 
 " Zounds, man ! must I be in love with the 
 whole family ? I really have not so capacious a 
 heart/' — And the young foreigner leaped out of 
 the carriage, and preceded his friend up a mag- 
 nificent staircase, through a suite of rooms, at 
 the end of which they were greeted by a showy- 
 looking woman, and courteously addressed by a 
 respectable old man, who rose from his cards to 
 receive them. Gustavus asked after the girls, 
 and Montresor, who thought nothing older 
 than his sister had any right to that appella- 
 tion, was a good deal surprised when Lady 
 Barclay introduced him to her six daughters, 
 the youngest of whom, Eleanor, was some years 
 his senior. They were all working, and the 
 mother observed with a smile of complacency, 
 that she brought up her children to be no- 
 table.
 
 182 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 Adolphus, in the simplicity of his heart, ask- 
 ed himself, what it could possibly be to him 
 whether the Miss Barclays sewed upon muslin 
 or not ? Happening to look up, he caught the 
 eye of Gustavus, full of such comic expression, 
 that his solemnity relaxed to half a smile, as he 
 took a chair by Eleanor, and asked what work 
 she preferred. " There is none I prefer to do- 
 ing nothing," said the young lady, laughing ; 
 " but my sisters really do like, and understand 
 it." A frown from Miss Barclay petrified 
 Montresor, though Eleanor, for whom it was 
 meant, heeded it not. A handsome woman op- 
 posite, with a good-humoured air, exclaimed, 
 " You are very saucy to recommend your elder 
 sisters ; and perhaps, after all, Mr. Montresor 
 does not like work, so you may have wasted 
 your labour." 
 
 " Caroline !" cried Miss Barclay reproach- 
 fully ; but on Caroline the accent of reproof 
 seemed to make as little impression as the look 
 nad done on Eleanor. Adolphus was amused 
 at the unsuccessful efforts of the lady to restrain 
 her sisters : he examined the pale face which,
 
 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 183 
 
 bent low over her tambour-frame, seemed really 
 willing to avoid the gaze of strangers, and its 
 expression of weariness interested him. " Her 
 merry, thoughtless sisters," said Adolphus to 
 himself, " think her cross ; perhaps she is only 
 unhappy.'"* 
 
 A letter was brought to Miss Barclay : she 
 glanced her eye carelessly over it, and, as she 
 put it in her pocket, said with an unaltered 
 countenance, " ^liss Albany desires to be re- 
 membered to you, Caroline." 
 
 " Isabella Albany !" cried her lively sister. 
 " Is it possible .f' I never flattered myself with 
 the idea of being remembered by her." 
 
 " I should not have thought Miss Albany 
 a likely person to forget her friends," said 
 Adolphus. 
 
 " May be not," replied Caroline ; " but a 
 very likely one to forget her acquaintance ; and 
 certainly it was equally beyond my hopes and 
 my ambition to have retained a place in the 
 memory of such a blue-stocking lady." 
 
 " Pardon my ignorance," said Montresor ; 
 " and have the goodness to explain to me that
 
 184 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 term of reproach. I have not been long in Eng- 
 land, and have only heard it casually named, 
 without being able to affix to it any precise 
 meaning." 
 
 " I did not mean any reproach by it,'" an- 
 swered Caroline ; " but I believe a blue-stock- 
 ing lady is a very wise person, who knows all 
 sorts of languages, talks about all new books, 
 and hates and contemns cards." 
 
 *' At that rate," said Montresor, " how few 
 blue ladies there must be in the world ! for I 
 do not know many who do not play at cards, 
 and not one who knows all sorts of languages ; 
 certainly not Isabella, with whom I have been 
 for weeks under the same roof, and never heard 
 her speak, or saw her read, any language but 
 her own." 
 
 " I know she understands German^" said 
 Eleanor, "for I once saw a German book with 
 her name in it." 
 
 " I don't know," said Adolphus, " that such 
 proof is sufficient to convict her ; but grant- 
 ing her guilty of German, that is but one 
 language."
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 185 
 
 '• And then," cried Fanny Barclay, who had 
 hitherto been silent, " there is French and Ita- 
 lian, that every body knows ; and I am sure 
 I have heard, ^Ir. Albany took great pains with 
 his daughter ; and as she had not the beauty 
 of her sisters to recommend her, he taught her 
 Latin and Greek.'' 
 
 " He seems to have hit on exactly the right 
 way,'' said Gustavus slyly ; " but, I assure you, 
 many people admire ^liss Albany since the 
 death of her sisters."' 
 
 "It must be people of no taste," said Fanny 
 spitefully ; and all the young ladies wathin hear- 
 ing joined all the ^liss Barclays in expressions 
 of surprise at any one admiring Miss A. 
 
 The Miss Barclays were all pretty, and not 
 any of them ill-natured; but they were mor- 
 tified to find the handsome stranger interested 
 for a girl they thought plain, because they had 
 conceived a prejudice against her. One of them 
 appealed to Lady Barclay, who passed near 
 them, with, " Only tliink. Mamma, of any one 
 finding out beauty in Isabella Albany, of all 
 people under the sun !"
 
 186 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 " Fortunately for the variety there is in the 
 world," replied her Ladyship with her wonted 
 smile of graciousness, " there is a variety of 
 tastes also. I am sure we have reason to like 
 and admire Miss Albany, though, perhaps, not 
 just for her beauty ; for nothing could be 
 kinder than she was about Henry." 
 
 " Miss Albany, you know. Ma'am," said 
 Fanny, " told us Lord Amesfort gave that place 
 to my brother of his own accord." But Lady 
 Barclay having made a proper display of gra- 
 titude, was already in the other room. 
 
 " What a child you are," observed Miss 
 Barclay sarcastically, " to have so much faith 
 in spontaneous kindness ! What reason have 
 we to believe that Lord Amesfort would care if 
 Henry was at the bottom of the Red Sea .?" 
 
 " Oh ! my sweet Miss Barclay," cried a little 
 fair girl with the prettiest lisp in the world, " I 
 will not suiFer you to say such savage things. 
 I am sure I have always found every body very 
 kind and good to me, so that I have a right to 
 believe it is human nature."
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 187 
 
 " I should wonder," said the immovable 
 Miss Barclay, " if Lady Sophia ever found 
 any people otherwise than kind ; for I do not 
 very well see how she should ever want any 
 thing from others." 
 
 " Fie, sister !" said a young naval officer, on 
 whose arm Lady Sophia hung ; " what an un- 
 fair thing to call all kindness interested." 
 
 Miss Barclay remained silent ; but she 
 raised her head, and gave her brother a look, 
 which seemed to say, " Beware that her kind- 
 ness prove not so." 
 
 An impatient gesture in the young man 
 showed that he understood her, and despised 
 her warning ; wliile liady Sophia continued her 
 flirtation with so many pretty airs and graces, 
 that Adolphus, who had a horror of affectation, 
 was lost in wonder at its proving an attraction 
 to young Barclay. A waltz was played in the 
 adjoining room. " Will not any one dance ?" 
 cried a middle-aged man with a strong Cale- 
 donian accent. 
 
 " Any one is no one," said young Barclay ;
 
 188 
 
 " but take out your partner, and we 11 do our 
 best to plague the card-players. Shall we not, 
 Lady Sophia?'' 
 
 " Oh, it is so hot in there !" said the young 
 lady, drawing back ; " and dancing on a carpet 
 is so fatiguing." 
 
 " And when you are fatigued, you shall rest; 
 so come away, come away !" And Barclay 
 playfully drew her on by the ends of her long 
 scarf. 
 
 " Since you are not wedded to that eternal 
 netting of yours," said Gustavus to Eleanor, 
 " suppose you come and dance." 
 
 Eleanor bounded from her chair, on which 
 she had sat yawning, or looking ready to yawn, 
 for some time, and pushed her netting-box over 
 the table, regardless of all things it came in 
 contact with. 
 
 " Oh, Eleanor !" cried Fanny, '' you have 
 overturned all my work." But Eleanor was far 
 away, and Fanny was obliged to repair the 
 mischief unassisted by her sisters. 
 
 " What an odd family !" thought Montresor ; 
 " not one of them seems to care for the other."
 
 LORD AMESFORrS FAMILY. 189 
 
 The room in which lie was, gradually thinned 
 — every one went to dance, or to gaze on the 
 dancers. Adolphus was nearest to Caroline, 
 and she was also the handsomest woman in the 
 room ; but he thought her eldest sister was 
 neglected, and then she was Miss Albany^s 
 correspondent : — he asked her. ^liss Barclay 
 looked up, and a faint colouring, produced by 
 surprise, showed she had once been handsomer 
 than her sisters. She declined dancing, but 
 added, " Caroline will be happy to take my 
 place, — she is more used to waltzing.'' 
 
 Adolphus had no resource, and he danced 
 with Caroline, He found her pleasing and un- 
 affected ; but when the dance was over, and he 
 led her back to the cooler apartment they had 
 quitted, he was struck afresh with the deserted 
 situation of ^liss Barclay. She had not stirred 
 from her seat, or, to judge by the diligence 
 with which her fingers moved, taken her mind 
 once from her frame. Traces of various em- 
 ployments littered the room ; the chairs seemed 
 as if they too had been dancing ; the candles 
 gave a dull light for want of being snuffed ; the
 
 190 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 fire was almost out ; every thing looked aban- 
 doned, and in this comfortless confusion Miss 
 Barclay worked on in the self-same attitude, 
 and with the precise degree of interest that 
 had apparently inspired her an hour before. 
 Adolphus was sorry for her. " Do you not even 
 honour dancing so far as to look at it ?"" said he. 
 
 " I have seen a great deal of dancing in my 
 life,**"" she answered. 
 
 " Is there pleasure only in what we have 
 rarely seen ?" 
 
 Miss Barclay looked at him attentively, and 
 her countenance seemed to say, " You are a 
 strange person to trouble yourself about what 
 others think and feel.'' The expression was 
 evanescent, and in her usual correct and deco- 
 rous manner, she answered, " Dancing is more 
 liked the first year of one's coming out than 
 any other, I believe ; but it is a very pleasant 
 break in society, and I am always glad to see 
 it promoted." 
 
 " This woman," thought Montresor, " takes 
 shelter in a certain routine of phrases and re- 
 ceived opinions, and there 's no driving her out of
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 191 
 
 them." Presently he made another attempt : 
 '* I shall probably see Miss Albany shortly — 
 *'I should be very happy if it was in my power 
 to take any thing, or bear any message from 
 you to her/'* 
 
 '^ Do you then know much of Miss Albany?^* 
 asked Miss Barclay. 
 
 " I do,"' replied Montresor, " know her very 
 well, and she is my sister's intimate friend ; in- 
 deed, the only intimate friend she has.'' 
 
 " Your sister is a fortunate young woman to 
 have such a friend,'' said Miss Barclay, — then 
 she paused ; but it was evidently like some one 
 who wished to say more. She cast a hasty 
 cautious glance around her, and perceiving no 
 one near them, she asked in a low tremulous ac- 
 cent whether Mr. Montresor had any friends or 
 relations for whom he was interested in Spain, 
 and whether he had lately heard from thence. 
 
 " I have heard," replied Adolphus, " but 
 not very lately ; Miss Albany is likely to know 
 better than I." 
 
 "This letter," said Miss Barcla}^, taking 
 her's out of her pocket, " announces a misfor-
 
 192 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 tune which Miss Albany in vain endeavours to 
 soften. My eldest brother is wounded, and as 
 we should to-morrow read the whole account of 
 it, she was kind enough to assure me his wounds 
 are not thought dangerous. As you know Miss 
 Albany well, and I do not, you might be able 
 to say how far her authority may be relied 
 upon .^*" 
 
 Adolphus hastened to impart to the anxious 
 sister his own conviction of Isabella's accuracy 
 in all her statements ; but not having the habit of 
 self-control, he could not conceal how solicitous 
 he was to know farther particulars of the action 
 to which Miss Albany alluded. He rightly 
 conjectured Isabella had her intelligence from 
 the Amesforts, whose anxiety for Lord De 
 Calmer was great. He was eager to set off for 
 town that instant, in the hope of obtaining there 
 some news of his friend ; but he could not leave 
 the house he had just entered so abruptly, 
 without assigning the real reason, and it was 
 evident Miss B. was most desirous to conceal 
 from her family the calamity with which they 
 were threatened. 
 
 '^
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 193 
 
 He danced till a very late hour, for he dread- 
 ed the sohtude of his own room, and was do^vn 
 at breakfast the earliest, intending to set off as 
 soon afterwards as he decently could. The 
 joyous tone of Eleanor's voice struck a pang to 
 his heart, feeling as he did how quickly her 
 gaiety would be dispelled. When Miss Bar- 
 clay appeared, Montresor wondered to hear the 
 same tranquil tone, to see the same air of placid 
 coldness he had remarked when first he was 
 introduced to her. She addressed every one 
 present ; she did not forget one of those enqui- 
 ries of courtesy custom has prescribed ; she 
 even smiled, if that expression could be called a 
 smile, which, like a ray of wintry sun glittering 
 feebly on icicles, neither expressed nor inspired 
 cheerfulness. When her eye fell on Adolphus, 
 her features underwent a slight change; her 
 cheek grew paler, and, unable to speak to him 
 as she had done to others, she bowed slightly, 
 and turned to the breakfast-table. 
 
 " This is not insensibility,"" thought Montre- 
 sor; — " but what then is it ? Could I look so, 
 with such a weight on my mind.'^ Are we 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 selfish in our very feeling, and do we clamor- 
 ously demand sympathy for every sorrow that 
 assails us? and are women, on the contrary, 
 early taught to repress every sensation, and 
 teach every misery to recoil upon the heart that 
 gave it birth ?^' 
 
 Adolphus pondered not long on the ques- 
 tions he had asked himself, for his heart was 
 with his friend; and his painful anxiety render- 
 ed him unequal to join in any conversation, or 
 make other than absent replies to the few words 
 addressed to him. He did not, however, lose 
 a half-whispered observation of Eleanor's, — 
 " Your friend ought always to show himself 
 the day after a dance, to cure the heart-aches 
 he may have given over-night : — that is, if he is 
 always as spiritless in the morning as now."' 
 
 Gustavus smiled — " Caroline should have 
 addressed that reproach to him, I think, as she 
 was his partner." 
 
 Caroline felt and looked provoked ; and her 
 sister, according to the sisterly fashion of the 
 family, enjoyed her confusion. At last, this 
 wearisome breakfast, which Adolphus had so
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 195 
 
 often thought endless, drew to a conclusion; 
 and eagerly availing himself of the first motion, 
 he arose, and, uttering a hasty farewell to Lady 
 Barclay, moved towards the door. He was 
 met by the servant with letters and papers. 
 Miss Barclay, who had been for years in the 
 habit of reading the latter to her father, held 
 out her hand to receive them ; but some of the 
 party unfortunately were keen about a boxing- 
 match, and, that they might ascertain in whose 
 favour it was decided, they eagerly tore open 
 their respective papers. IMiss Barclay cast an 
 imploring look at Montresor, which arrested 
 him instantly. As she expected, the capital let- 
 ters, " Victory at Almaraz, May 19th," caught 
 the eye of the first person who opened the pa- 
 per, and instantly the news was proclaimed. 
 There was a sudden and awful silence. Not a 
 single Barclay had the courage to ask after the 
 person they were all thinking of. At last, the 
 old father said, with effort, " Let me know the 
 worst." 
 
 Lady Barclay fixed her eyes on her eldest 
 daughter, ghastly through her rouge, and shi- 
 K 2
 
 196 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 vering with repressed emotion. Miss Barclay 
 had opened the paper, that she might gain time 
 to arrange her words. Though prepared to see 
 her brother^s name in the list of those mortally 
 wounded, she yet shuddered as her eye glanced 
 over it. Sir John, who watched her, started 
 up, exclaiming vehemently, " I will know all !" 
 And she proceeded to state what she had heard 
 from Miss Albany, which was so much more 
 consolatory than the newspaper intelligence. 
 Augusta Barclay ran out of the room, Eleanor 
 fainted, and Caroline approached her mother, 
 to repeat to her the assurances of her son's 
 safety- Lady Barclay sat like one bewildered. 
 She gazed alternately at those near her, with- 
 out seeming to understand what they were 
 speaking about. At last, pushing away some 
 of her weeping daughters, she called aloud for 
 Mary. Miss Barclay quitted her father's hand, 
 and came round to her mother, who, grasping 
 her firmly, said in a low, quick tone, " It is you 
 I want. You I can rely upon. Will my son 
 live r 
 
 " Yes, I trust so, — I believe so,'' she replied
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 197 
 
 steadily ; and Lady Barclay, clasping her hands, 
 whilst a sudden flash of exultation crossed her 
 convulsed features, sunk back in her chair in 
 strong hysterics. All who, from sympathy or 
 curiosity, had hitherto remained in the apart- 
 ment, now, by common consent, abandoned it, 
 none remaining vnth Lady Barclay but her 
 maid and her eldest daughter. Sir John took 
 the arm of Adolphus, who had come forward to 
 vouch for the authenticity of Isabella's state- 
 m.ent, and dismissed him at the door of his li- 
 brary, with a silent pressure of the hand, which 
 acknowledged the young man's sympathy, and 
 thanked him for it. Montresor, who had al- 
 ready been delayed so long, had no time to seek 
 Gustavus ; but, getting into his carriage, made 
 the best of his way to to^vn.
 
 198 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 It was late before Adolphus reached Lon- 
 don: he however called instantly upon every 
 one he thought likely to know any thing of his 
 friend ; but he was unfortunate in gaining no 
 intelligence. At last, by an evening paper, he 
 found De Calmer was a prisoner. He would 
 have flown to Lord Amesforfs ; but there, alas ! 
 was one he dared not meet. He wrote to Isa- 
 bella. Her answer was cheerless. She thought 
 he might be wounded ; it was certain he was 
 taken; and thus his promotion, his ambitious 
 hopes of fame, his return to his own country — 
 all became dubious. Miss Albany's despondency 
 roused the dormant energy of Montresor. He 
 wrote her a long letter in this sanguine spirit, 
 contriving to make every circumstance assume
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 199 
 
 a favourable appearance. He sealed his letter, 
 and thought himself convinced ; but when again 
 he took up his pen, and began " My dearest 
 Emily," the tide of his feehngs changed : he 
 shook out the ink on the carpet ; he waited till 
 the tear had dropped and left his vision clear ; 
 still he had nothing to say to her — no comfort 
 that she would receive. " My poor sister !'"* 
 thought he ; " if I was with her, I should only 
 be a restraint on her grief; she would not weep 
 for De Calmer before me.'" He wrote, however ; 
 and the next post brought Emily's answer. 
 Her words were weighed ; her sentiments some- 
 what calmer than those her little sister might 
 have uttered ; but the scarcely legible hand- 
 writing betrayed the sufferings that womanly 
 deHcacy and womanly pride laboured to conceal. 
 Isabella ^Tote not to her as she had done to 
 Adolphus. She sought to soothe Emily, and 
 stimulate her brother. She succeeded ; for new- 
 bom hope sprung up in the breast of Miss Mon- 
 tresor ; whilst Adolphus strained every nerve to 
 get abroad, in the hope of being useful to his 
 friend. His exertions, however, were speedily
 
 wo LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 checked by a most welcome epistle from De 
 Calmer. He had been released on parole ; and 
 as his wound, though slight, required care, he 
 resigned himself with a good grace to the con- 
 dition of not serving, for a given period, against 
 his captors. He was moving homeward, as 
 suited best with his varying health ; and Mon- 
 tresor, in the joy of his return, almost forgot 
 how effectually his career of glory was stopped. 
 Besides, he felt the better for the attention he 
 had given latterly to all that might interest De 
 Calmer. Aware that his mind had by this cir- 
 cumstance been much weaned from what before 
 ingrossed it, he determined not to suffer it to 
 revert to its former state, if possible. 
 
 His good resolutions were put to the test 
 some days after they were formed ; for, walking 
 through a narrow street, his progress was im- 
 peded by a concourse of carriages. Some acci- 
 dent having happened to one, the others stop- 
 ped. Montresor looked up mechanically ; all 
 his blood seemed rushing through his temples 
 and singing in his ears, for it was the Amesfort 
 carriage he almost touched ! — it was her eye he
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 201 
 
 met ! She drove on, but he remained rooted 
 to the spot. " Surely," thought he, as gradually 
 he recovered himself, " she might have spoken 
 to me in the public street ; she might have 
 bowed, — ^have looked as if she was not sorry to 
 see me ; but she shrunk back as though she had 
 set her foot upon a serpent !" He walked on 
 musingly : he fancied she was altered ; he 
 longed to know if she were ill or unhappy — but 
 whom should he ask ? He longed to hear the 
 sound of her voice, but he did not wish it 
 addressed to himself, — he did not wish her to 
 see him. He turned over in his mind a thou- 
 sand plans for effecting his purpose. He per- 
 suaded himself, nothing could be more inno- 
 cent, since he wished to be unnoticed. He felt 
 anxious and restless, and he assured himself he 
 could settle to nothing, think of nothing, until 
 he had ascertained that she looked and spoke 
 as she was wont to do. 
 
 It was easy to see Lady Amesfort, for she 
 
 went every where; yet Adolphus returned 
 
 home, nevertheless, from many a fashionable 
 
 assembly, night after night, wearied and disap- 
 
 K 5
 
 LORD AMESFORT S FAMILY. 
 
 pointed, for he had not seen her. At last, at a 
 gala given by one of the foreign ambassadors, 
 radiant in beauty, and blazing in more than 
 Eastern magnificence, appeared the young 
 Countess. He drew back to gaze unobserved ; 
 but it was long before he remembered why he 
 had so much wished it. For some time he 
 could feel and repeat to himself only — " It is 
 she I I see her once more, as through a troubled 
 dream." She passed on, and he had marked 
 only her transcendent loveliness, her matchless 
 grace ! He followed cautiously, and almost 
 started as the voice reached him, for which he 
 listened. The tones were clear and musical, 
 but yet to her lover^s ear they had not the 
 sound he used to admire ; they were joyless, 
 soul-less, — they were not like hers. She 
 coughed, and Montresor beheld with agony her 
 cheek flush and fade in quick succession. 
 
 He went home with the conviction she was 
 dying. He wrote to Isabella, to reproach her 
 for having concealed from him what was of 
 such paramount importance for him to know. 
 He gave himself up to the regret of having for
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 203 
 
 one moment suffered his mind to wander from 
 his fair victim. He stretched his powerful 
 imagination to the uttermost for new causes of 
 disquiet. He hated himself, and every human 
 being — Isabella worst of all ; every one but her, 
 who to his fancy was blooming over her grave. 
 He tore open Miss Albany's answer, almost ex- 
 pecting her to say Lady Amesfort's days are 
 numbered. It was in a very different strain, 
 merely containing these words : — 
 
 " I know of no complaint Lady Amesfort 
 has, or any chance of her dying directly. If 
 you do not grow somewhat more reasonable, 
 however, you may have the satisfaction of cre- 
 ating the illness you now dream about. Why 
 do you follow her steps ? Do you not see the 
 pain you must give her ? Do you not feel the 
 effect it may have on her husband ? I could 
 not have suspected you of such selfish impru- 
 dence. I. A.'' 
 
 Montresor felt the tone in which Miss Albany 
 would have spoken these few words, — the look
 
 204 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 with which she would have turned from him ; 
 and the influence of her commanding character 
 returned upon him with redoubled force. I 
 am too near the brink of danger here, thought 
 he ; the slightest accident would impel me into 
 a vortex, from which I might not perhaps 
 escape till the final wreck of her happiness and 
 mine. Mine ! he half repeated aloud — and he 
 smiled in bitterness, for where was his ? — He 
 accepted the invitation of Gustavus to be present 
 at his marriage, which good accounts of young 
 Barclay allowed them to fix without more delay. 
 A gay nuptial was not just what he was most 
 fit for ; but still it was an object, something to 
 do, something besides self to think of. The 
 affliction in which he had left the Barclay fami- 
 ly was a claim on the kindliness of his nature. 
 That affliction was giving way indeed to mirth 
 and festivity, but still they had once interested 
 him, and he felt a desire to know them better than 
 he did his other acquaintance. He went, and was 
 amused. There was something in the happiness 
 of his friend that formed a keen contrast to his 
 own state of mind. Over the love of Adolphus,
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 205 
 
 all the enthusiasm of his nature, — all his shud- 
 dering horror of its guilt, combined to cast a 
 deep shade of wild gloominess. The playful 
 satisfaction of Gustavus, his perfect security, 
 rendered his love a sort of blameless halcyon, 
 that, but for his frolicksome temper, might have 
 proved insipid, even to himself, and still more 
 so to an indifferent person. 
 
 Eleanor looked very handsome and very 
 happy. Her mother gazed on her with satis- 
 faction, and inwardly prayed her marriage 
 might bring luck to her sisters. Those sisters 
 by no means appeared disposed to resent the 
 wish, had it been audibly expressed, — excepting 
 the eldest, who alone, of all the company, ap- 
 peared to be entirely taken up with Eleanor, to 
 the exclusion of every private individual feel- 
 ing. Her simplicity and quietude pleased 
 Adolphus. He felt he might converse with 
 her, without her fancying he would make love 
 to her ; and he would therefore sit by her for 
 hours, as she industriously plied her eternal 
 needle. 
 
 " There must be some hidden charm,'' he
 
 206 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 observed to her one morning, " in that frame of 
 yours, for you cannot keep your fingers off it 
 for half a minute." 
 
 " Why should I, when I can talk and listen 
 as well working .?" 
 
 " Not quite so well, I think ; — and then, 
 such indefatigable employment is such a satire 
 on idle people : it quite fidgets me.'"* 
 
 " I am sorry for that," said Miss Barclay, 
 smiling good-humouredly ; " and I promise to 
 give my fingers a holiday, if you will start some 
 very interesting topic ; but, to confess the ho- 
 nest truth, I have not spirits to be idle ; and 
 this mechanical motion that torments you, is a 
 sort of shelter to me, and saves me sometimes 
 from feeling too painfully the vacuum of my 
 own mind." 
 
 " I will not," said Montresor, " ask, if, like 
 opium to the suffering patient, its torpor does 
 not add to the original disease ; because I have 
 lately learned not to preach to others, from find- 
 ing how unequal I am, in my own case, to do 
 any one of the things I would so strenuously 
 recommend to them. I can however furnish
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 207 
 
 you with a topic very interesting to me, if not 
 to you : — tell me all you know of Isabella Al- 
 bany. My sister says, there has been a great 
 change in her mother's circumstances, and I 
 should like to hear all you know on the 
 subject/' 
 
 " That you shall do directly, if you will 
 come out into the plantation ; for it is annoying 
 to hear Isabella Albany discussed by all these 
 giddy people." 
 
 Montresor was quite of her opinion, and, be- 
 sides, thought it a sort of triumph to get Miss 
 Barclay from her work. After a few moments' 
 silence on both sides, his companion began : 
 " \ ou have seen Mrs. Albany, and, I need not 
 tell you, her disposition has nothing in it to 
 attract, or to repel. Well-born and well-edu- 
 cated, she retains the polished manners of her 
 youth, which many who have lived so long out 
 of the world, lose as entirely as if they had 
 never possessed them. She has been less for- 
 tunate in her beauty : in my memory, she could 
 boast of considerable remains, and they have 
 yielded less to the hand of Time, than to the
 
 208 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 pressure of grief. She brought Mr. Albany a 
 fine fortune; and, as he had very good prefer- 
 ment in the Church, they lived handsomely. 
 They had four children — a boy, who was his 
 mother's darling, and certainly was a very fine 
 creature, and three girls : the two eldest were 
 twins, and almost painfully alike ; yet no one 
 could deny their admiration to such faultless 
 forms. They were good-humoured, accom- 
 plished — very like most young ladies — and 
 what we are agreed to call amiable, because 
 they were very pleasing to look at, and quite 
 harmless. That Isabella should be their sister, 
 would be surprising, if we forgot to take into 
 the account the difference of their education. 
 She was many years younger than Anne and 
 Sophy : her mother longed for a boy, — and 
 before she could reasonably be expected to 
 recover from the disappointment of having a 
 girl, it was discovered that the little Isabella 
 was a plain girl ! 
 
 " There was no recovering two such shocks 
 so near together ; and Mrs. Albany kept the 
 child in the nursery, and might have forgotten
 
 LORD AMESFORTS FAMILY. 209 
 
 its existence, had it not formed so prominent a 
 part in the conversation of her son. Frank 
 Albany was a wild schoolboy at that time, but 
 full of affection towards every living thing. 
 He often murmured at not getting leave to turn 
 his deHcate sisters into romps, and make them 
 climb the trees with him in search of birds'- 
 nests. The baby was a plaything no one inter- 
 fered ^vith him about. He had it all his own 
 way, — made the nurses dress it after his fancy, 
 lugged the poor infant about everywhere, and, 
 as she grew older, took the entire management 
 of her upon himself. 
 
 " Meanwhile, the elder sisters grew into 
 girls, and very handsome ones. Without being 
 clever, they were expert at most things they 
 wished to do. Mrs. Albany spared neither 
 pains nor expense for their improvement ; and 
 her husband at last hinted, it would be as well 
 if Frank's child, as they called Isabella, par- 
 took of the same advantages. Mrs. Albany 
 agreed to this observation, as she would have 
 done to any other uttered by her husband, but 
 forgot to take any steps in consequence. Mr.
 
 ^G LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILV. 
 
 Albany was a learned and rather an austere 
 man : he did not like children; but, rigidly just 
 in all his notions, he felt it his duty to attend 
 to a child neglected by others. He found, 
 with no small surprise, that his volatile son had 
 had the patience to instruct his young sister 
 himself, and consequently that, in many points 
 of useful information, she was much more ad- 
 vanced than Anne and Sophy. No doubt, 
 Isabella must have had good natural parts; but 
 her excessive fear of her parents, which lasted 
 for some years, made her work like the mole, 
 silently and in the dark, for she was not 
 reckoned by them a quick child. Her uncom- 
 mon memory and accuracy first gave her father 
 the idea of making her a scholar. She entered 
 into the plan with earnestness, and soon became 
 a great favourite, and, what favourites seldom 
 are — a very useful person. 
 
 " The first sorrow that chilled the heart of 
 the young Isabella, was the estrangement of 
 her brother — of that brother who had been to 
 her, parent, nurse, companion, instructor, for 
 so many years ! He fell into bad hands, and a
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 211 
 
 few, very few years of mad dissipation plunged 
 him into a premature grave. He was meant 
 
 for something better "'' Miss Barclay's voice 
 
 had been hitherto unbroken : she paused, and 
 averted her head. The hand that rested on 
 Montresor's arm, which he had offered her at 
 the beginning of their walk, just trembled, and 
 again was motionless. She resumed in rather 
 a faint tone, which, by degrees, grew again 
 animated. 
 
 " It was a grievous loss to Isabella ; it broke 
 the spirit of her father, and brought her mother 
 to the brink of the grave. Mrs. Albany, how- 
 ever, recovered, and her mind insensibly revert- 
 ed to other thincjs. She took her eldest dauojh- 
 ters into public, and rejoiced in the boundless 
 admiration they excited. Mr. Albany lived 
 more retired than ever, after he lost Frank : he 
 knew what he thought his wife need not, that 
 the extravagance of tliis idolized son had dis- 
 sipated all the property he had assigned to his 
 girls, and indeed involved himself so much, 
 that the strictest economy was necessary to 
 redeem his credit. Mrs. Albany had been
 
 2J2 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 ordered to some bathing-place for her health ; 
 she could not resist showing her daughters 
 everywhere; and the quiet parsonage was de- 
 serted by all, save its master and Isabella. A 
 few elderly men of talent, who had known Mr. 
 Albany well in former days ; a few neighbours, 
 who thought he must be dull alone ; and a few 
 of their sons, who came to wonder at the young 
 Miss that knew all the dead languages, formed 
 their society ; and Isabella, living among them, 
 and unaccustomed to think of women, or care 
 for them, acquired an unshrinking manner and 
 dauntless spirit, that made her very unpopular, 
 and shocked her mother." 
 
 Adolphus was about to interrupt Miss Bar- 
 clay, who, perceiving it, smiled, and added 
 hastily, " You would say, her manner now is 
 excellent : no doubt, she has had much sorrow 
 since, which softens the angles of a really good 
 character ; and she has also been, since her 
 father's death, thrown into the society of 
 women, and compelled by circumstances to 
 bend to their employments and avocations, 
 which has given her as feminine an appearance
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 213 
 
 as any one could wish. In one of Mrs. Al- 
 bany's frequent excursions, she met with Sir 
 Gerard Homer. He is an agreeable person, 
 and has, besides all the requisites for popularity, 
 fortune, family, and connexions. He proposed 
 for Anne, and was accepted. Had poor Frank 
 lived, he would have stopped this ill-starred 
 match, and discovered, what was unknown to 
 his mother, the doubtful character of his sister's 
 lover. Mrs. Albany was overjoyed : she had 
 expected him to marry one of the girls, but was 
 unable to discover which he preferred, and per- 
 haps that was more than ever he discovered 
 himself. He married Anne; and whether he 
 had any temptation for the jealousy he soon so 
 furiously betrayed, or whether her tranquillity 
 was the sole ground of his suspicions, I know 
 not ; — it is certain that he had soon the baseness 
 to tell her, he had at last made up his mind, 
 and that it was Sophy he had meant to marrv. 
 
 " Poor Sophy had either more sensibility 
 than her sister, or more capability of faUing in 
 love ; for she had seriously attached herself to 
 Sir Gerard, and had no doubt of his attachment
 
 214 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 to her being equally decided. She was thun- 
 derstruck at the proposal coming to her sister ; 
 but there was no remedy, and she comforted 
 herself in the true heroine style, that her sister 
 at least would be happy, and she was to enjoy 
 her felicity. Alas ! there was none to enjoy ; 
 and when Sophy found her presence did but 
 add to her sister's misery, from the strange 
 manner in which Sir Gerard conducted himself 
 towards her, she returned to her father'^s house. 
 The tendency in the family to consumption, 
 which had so fatally fastened on their brother, 
 seemed now to threaten the girls. Lady Ho- 
 mer lived to give birth to a son ; and Mrs. 
 Albany was supporting the dying frame of 
 Sophy in her arms, when the intelligence 
 reached her of Anne's departure from this world 
 of sorrow. It was remarkable that the twins, 
 though separated from each other, and there- 
 fore unlikely to be influenced by mental sym- 
 pathy, invariably grew worse and better, feeble 
 or more cheerful, on the same days. Sophy 
 lived two days after her sister, but was insensi- 
 ble from the hour of Anne's death.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 215 
 
 Sir Gerard sent the infant to Mrs. Albany, 
 and offered to come himself; but this, Mrs. Al- 
 bany forbade. " Tell him," said the wretched 
 and indignant parent, " I have no more daugh- 
 ters for him to destroy." Some time previous 
 to the marriacre of one sister and the death of 
 both, Isabella had formed an intimacy with 
 Edward Chaloner, a man who has since dis- 
 tinguished himself in public life. He was then 
 very young, but fond of study, and fonder of 
 Isabella. There was always something he 
 could not do ^vithout her assistance, — some book 
 nobody but Miss Albany had, — some question 
 nobody but Miss Albany could answer. He 
 had many excellent qualities, which might have 
 recommended him to any one ; but on Isabella's 
 heart he had a claim which bound her to him 
 in adamantine chains. He had been the cho- 
 sen friend of her brother at College ; he was 
 thought to have had influence with him, and he 
 was known to have exerted it always bene- 
 ficially. It was soothing, when the censorious 
 and the indifferent raised the cry against that 
 highly-gifted being, over whose errors she had
 
 216 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 shed more bitter tears than fell even on his 
 grave, it was like balm on the wounded 
 heart, to hear one voice raised in praise of his 
 virtues — in extenuation of his faults — in mourn- 
 ful tenderness for his loss ! Oh, such accents 
 must have fallen on the greedy ear, like the 
 dew of Heaven on the fainting wanderer in the 
 desert !" 
 
 The tone of unwonted earnestness in which 
 Miss Barclay spoke, made Adolphus involun- 
 tarily look up. He ^\ as struck at the alteration 
 in her countenance : her pale cheek glowed ; 
 her downcast eye, fraught with meaning, was 
 raised in dewy light to Heaven, — it was the flash 
 of a moment, which, almost before it could be 
 marked, had passed away. In her usual tone of 
 uninterested quietude, she continued : " While 
 Isabella and her young lover continued under 
 her father^s eye only, all went on prosperously ; 
 but when her sisters were taken from them, 
 Mrs. Albany had no spirits for her former 
 excursions ; and, as soon as she could think of 
 any thing but her grief, she began to wonder 
 at young Chaloner being so domesticated among
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 217 
 
 them. She expressed her wonder, but it was 
 not exactly to the right people : the whole 
 neighbourhood were aware of her sentiments ; 
 but those it most concerned had no guess of 
 them. To have spoken to Mr. Albany might 
 have seemed like blaming him ; and though she 
 loved her husband, it was not that perfect love 
 which casteth out fear. To Isabella she could 
 not well make any remark ; for, though evi- 
 dently enjoying the society of their guest, there 
 was nothing in her nature that allowed of flir- 
 tation, and the interest she took in young Cha- 
 loner was of too deep a nature, and had been 
 too long taking root in her mind, to be ex- 
 pressed by any trifling airs of coquetry. Be- 
 sides, their conversation so seldom ran on any 
 topic Mr. Albany understood, that she did not 
 know how or when to interfere, and it ended 
 by her not interfering at all. For this she has 
 been much, and, I think, unfairly blamed ; but 
 we are all prone to judge of actions by their 
 consequences, and to expect of people more 
 than they can perform. 
 
 " Edward Chaloner lost his eldest brother ; 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 and Miss Albany, whose father's distressed cir- 
 cumstances were guessed at, was no longer a fit 
 match for him : so, at least, thought his pa- 
 rents, and they laboured to cut the Gordian 
 knot of his intimacy there. The young man 
 resisted ; and it was found that some knots must 
 be untied, and cannot be suddenly divided. 
 An apoplectic stroke had threatened the life of 
 Mr. Albany. He struggled through it ; but 
 it weakened his intellects; and the last few 
 months of his existence, Isabella had the dread- 
 ful spectacle of mental decay, added to bodily 
 illness, to witness in a parent she had loved so 
 warmly when she had learned to know him, and 
 had at all times so fondly admired. 
 
 " She alone was equal to the arrangement of 
 his papers, and soon found that with her fa- 
 ther's life would cease nearly all their means of 
 subsistence. With a prudence and forethought 
 none could have expected from her age, she 
 made every necessary enquiry, and took every 
 step towards lightening the evil to her mother, 
 and in the mean time carefully concealed from 
 her this increase of calamity, rightly judging it
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 219 
 
 would serve as a break to her grief when her 
 husband should die, and would forcibly turn 
 her mind into another channel. She passed 
 some arduous months, and, no doubt, thought 
 them at the time most hard to bear; yet she was 
 not entirely without consolation. Misfortune, 
 and the exemplary manner in which she bore it, 
 served but to bind Edward more closely to her. 
 In an ordinary way he could often be useful to 
 her : his advice, his personal exertions, were far 
 from valueless; but his warm sympathy, his 
 ardent devotion, were better still. Her parents, 
 her concerns, her health seemed to, and indeed 
 did occupy him, to the exclusion of every 
 other thing. 
 
 " There is in the consciousness of being fer- 
 vently loved, a mingled triumph and tenderness, 
 that, more than any other strong feeling, influ- 
 ences every moment of our lives, and gives the 
 tone to the mind, and the colour to the thoughts. 
 WTiilst breathing in such an atmosphere, the 
 arrows of misfortune reach us indeed ; but they 
 come blunted and softened. It is only when 
 we know we sufi'er and feel at the same time, 
 l2
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 that it does not signify, that the wearied mind 
 droops under a sense of its own desolateness. 
 Isabella was anxious and unhappy ; but there 
 was nothing to palsy her active disposition, and 
 she went through her duties with energy as well 
 as steadiness. Her father died. Every thing 
 had been prepared and foreseen ; and they left 
 the place in which so many years had been 
 spent, and which, to Isabella, as well as her 
 mother, was hallowed by so many tender re- 
 collections, almost immediately. 
 
 "It was on quitting the neighbourhood that 
 Miss Albany discovered, by accident, the unea- 
 siness of the Chaloners, respecting their son, 
 and the former observations of her mother on 
 the subject. I do not believe that, before that 
 hour, Isabella thought she was ever likely to 
 marry Edward. She was so unlike other girls, 
 she had associated with so few, if any ; she had 
 given her mind so little to the romance of 
 youth, or the more worldly calculations of age, 
 that ' a good establishment '' would probably 
 have been a phrase beyond her comprehension. 
 Whether her pride was hurt at such ideas and
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 221 
 
 plans being attributed to her by the Chaloners ; 
 whether her lover made no definite offer, which 
 she could, consistent with her high notions of 
 honour and integrity towards every one, accept; 
 or whether, in the true spirit of enthusiastic love, 
 she gave him up, without a doubt of his con- 
 stancy arising in her mind, I do not know her 
 well enough to determine. 
 
 "He went abroad shortly after, and his pa- 
 rents certainly expressed themselves about her 
 and her conduct in terms of boundless admira- 
 tion. I ought to have known better. I had 
 been Ion"; enouo-h in the world to have been 
 better acquainted with its ways, and yet I did 
 flatter myself time would work miracles, and 
 that all parties would one day be brought to 
 agree to a union so very desirable in all really 
 essential points. I was mistaken : the Cha- 
 loners, having acquitted themselves to their o^v^l 
 conscience by the eulogiums pronounced on Isa- 
 bella, forgot her existence. It is not very long 
 since Edward Chaloner returned from the Con- 
 tinent, after an absence scarcely exceeding three 
 years — but he returned with a wife !""
 
 g^2 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 Montresor started. He was utterly unpre- 
 pared for such a conclusion ; and he looked at 
 Miss Barclay, expecting she would in some way 
 qualify so abrupt an assertion. But Miss Bar- 
 clay had really done. She had told all she 
 knew, and she seemed little disposed to account 
 for the conduct of Edward Chaloner, to cen- 
 sure his inconstancy, or to allude in any way to 
 the feelings of Miss Albany. Adolphus at last 
 timidly asked how Isabella seemed to bear it. 
 
 " How !" said Miss Barclay^ with an ex- 
 pression almost of bitterness, " can such things 
 be known ? I am ignorant of the details, the 
 circumstances, whatever they might have been, 
 that must have tended either to lessen the 
 shock, or to add to its strength. I know the 
 fact; and I see Isabella, as I see thousands, 
 mixing in the throng and playing her part in 
 the world. It is not for me to say, whether she 
 has lost her interest in the things she does, or 
 her confidence in those she may yet hope for. 
 Her manner is milder than it used to be, her 
 expressions more vague, her countenance less 
 animated : but these changes I discovered be-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAiMILY. 223 
 
 cause I sought for them ; and to many, I make 
 no doubt, they would appear illusive, for the 
 alteration in her altogether, since the death of 
 her father, has been gradual, and she was 
 little known before."" — They had now reached 
 the house, and Miss Barclay entered before 
 Adolphus could thank her for the communica- 
 tions he had solicited and received.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The joyful tidings of Lord De Calmer's re- 
 turn, found Adolphus yet lingering at Sir 
 John Barclay's. The beautiful Caroline was 
 congratulated on the occasion, and she herself 
 had no objection to believe she was the attrac- 
 tion. Lady Barclay, indeed, saw easily that 
 the protracted visit of young Montresor had as 
 little to do with love for her daughters as for 
 herself. " But who knows," thought this prudent 
 mother, " what idleness may bring a man to at 
 last .'^—besides, if he will but stay long enough, 
 every one will tell him it is expected he should 
 marry some one of the girls, and he will end by 
 thinking that every one cannot be wrong.'' 
 
 A few lines from the sea-port town, where
 
 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 225 
 
 Lord De Calmer, still weak and suffering, had 
 landed, summoned his impatient friend far out 
 of the reach of Lady Barclay's speculations. 
 The lieart of Adolphus, chilled or pained on 
 every other side, turned in a full tide of unre- 
 pressed tenderness to his destined brother. 
 Absorbed in his present feelings, giving free 
 loose to his vivid imagination, which painted a 
 futurity of bliss for Emily and De Calmer, his 
 journey appeared neither long nor tedious, and 
 he burst into his friend's apartment almost for- 
 get ting: he was to find him an invalid. The 
 warm glow of mingled feelings was checked by 
 one glance at De Calmer, who, worn to a sha- 
 dow, pale and almost powerless, held out his 
 emaciated hand to Adolphus, and did not trust 
 his voice to utter the welcome he so deeply felt. 
 Montresor was not less silent : shocked at the 
 fearful change in his brilliant friend, he remain- 
 ed for a moment like one overcome by the sud- 
 den consciousness of the vanity of human specu- 
 lations and wishes. He gazed on the altered 
 features of the sufferer with intense anxiety, 
 L 5
 
 ^26 
 
 and shuddered as he thought on what a slender 
 thread hung the hfe on which he had fondly 
 hoped so much felicity would be lavished. 
 
 " Vain dreamer !" murmured he to himself, 
 as, sighing deeply, he took his seat beside the 
 couch of his friend. De Calmer raised his 
 languid head and smiled ; — it was that pecu- 
 liar and beautiful smile, which had so forcibly 
 struck him before their acquaintance had com- 
 menced, and which he had then felt to recog- 
 nize. Even now, when engrossed by so many 
 feelings, it struck him in the same light, and a 
 half idea flashed across him that he had some- 
 times seen Emily look so ; but the thought was 
 evanescent, for this was not a moment to dwell 
 upon trifles. De Calmer had suffered much 
 from his voyage, from bad accommodations, im- 
 proper diet, and constitutional delicacy. His 
 ardent spirit and natural kindness of disposi- 
 tion, which led him continually to contribute to 
 the comfort of those about him at the expense 
 of his own, had injured his health, long previ- 
 ous to the action in which he received his
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 227 
 
 wounds. Though not dangerous, they were 
 numerous ; and the very hot weather that suc- 
 ceeded, retarded his recovery. 
 
 He was weary of his weakness, and felt a 
 sickly impatience to be with Lord Amesfort. 
 He assured Adolphus he wanted nothing to 
 cure liim but the presence of his friends, and 
 that his arrival had doubled his streno-th. 
 Montresor shook his head, and the next day 
 confirmed his fears. The emotion of the meet- 
 ing had been most prejudicial to the invalid ; 
 he had passed a feverish night, and was pe- 
 remptorily ordered not to think of moving for 
 some weeks. Adolphus set forth in search of 
 quieter lodgings than the inn he had first gone 
 to ; and, having succeeded in moving Lord De 
 Calmer ^athout fatigue to those he had select- 
 ed, prepared to write to Lord Amesfort. He 
 had hardly taken up his pen, when a carriage 
 drove to the door, and the Earl himself sprung 
 from it. Adolphus hastened to meet him ; and, 
 after answering the anxious enquiries of his 
 guardian, hinted at the propriety of sparing
 
 3^8 LORD AMESFORT^S FAMILY. 
 
 Lord De Calmer an interview for the present, 
 till his exhausted strength was somewhat re- 
 stored. 
 
 The Earl had been sufficiently alarmed be- 
 fore ; — now, the caution of Montresor,and, above 
 all, the melancholy of his countenance, inspired 
 him with the most gloomy apprehensions. His 
 head drooped on his hand, and tears unrepress- 
 ed, because unmarked, silently and slowly fell 
 over a face furrowed by many a care. Affected 
 by his grief, Montresor's heart warmed towards 
 his guardian : he forgot whose husband he was^ 
 and saw only the affectionate uncle of his friend. 
 Lord Amesfort did not seem disposed to repel 
 the sympathy that was offered him. " See,^' 
 said he, after a long sad silence, " how un- 
 grateful we are ! Providence must take back 
 the blessings vouchsafed us, ere we acknow- 
 ledge their value. It is the spirit of discontent 
 aiid impatience that prompts the assertion, ' we 
 have nothing left to care for.' My punishment 
 is just, — it has taught me how dearly I loved 
 the son of my poor Frances." 
 
 " De Calmer is very young," returned Adol-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 229 
 
 phus, in a tone that imitated but ill the accent 
 of hope ; " and when his strength will permit 
 him to see you, his recovery, no doubt, will be 
 accelerated by proofs of a regard he never 
 doubted, but which it is always gratifying to 
 see displayed. 
 
 The Earl heard him not ; but seizing the pen 
 Montresor had been on the point of using to 
 write to him, he scratched a few hasty lines; 
 then, overturning, without much ceremony, De 
 Calmer's desk in search of some sealing-w^ax, 
 rang the bell to send off his letter. As he re- 
 placed the things more leisurely, a small minia- 
 ture fell on the ground. The case opened with 
 the fall, and Adolphus exclaimed, as he picked 
 it up, " My sister !'' 
 
 " Is it like her ?'' asked Lord Amesfort, in a 
 tone of interest, which surprised his auditor, who 
 replied, " It is like, as pictures usually are, for 
 strangers : it is very unsatisfactory to me, and 
 probably yet more so to De Calmer." 
 
 The Earl continued to gaze upon it : he held 
 it in various lights, as if he sought a likeness 
 that escaped him ; then looking up suddenly, he
 
 230 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 said, " So, then, my nephew loves your sister ? 
 Are they engaged ?" 
 
 " I believe, not exactly," said Montresor, 
 embarrassed, in spite of himself, at the stead- 
 fast, stern look of his guardian. 
 
 '' Then, young man," said Lord Amesfort, 
 striking his hand forcibly on the table, " give 
 me leave to say, you ought to know exactly. 
 I have no claim on your confidence ; say or 
 withhold from me, but be not yourself doubt- 
 ful, — you, who hold for your young sisters the 
 place of a father." 
 
 " I do not doubt my sister''s prudence, or my 
 friend's honour," mildly answered Adolphus. 
 
 " Words, words !" cried the Earl, with in- 
 creasing vehemence ; he stopped, then turning 
 his dark eye, full of powerful contemptuous 
 meaning, on Montresor, he coldly asked, " Is it 
 quite wise, quite equitable, to expect from others 
 the self-command we have not ourselves .P" 
 
 Adolphus shuddered as the light flashed 
 through the inmost and guilty recesses of his 
 soul ; anger inspired him with transient cou- 
 rage to meet the look he dreaded ; and the fea-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 231 
 
 tures that so lately wore the expression of grief 
 and mildness, now blazed with wrath, bordering 
 on hatred. He would have spoken, but an air 
 of wildness spread itself over the EarFs coun- 
 tenance ; and Adolphus felt unable to resist the 
 gesture between despair and authority, which 
 checked his words. A sullen silence ensued, 
 which would have continued unbroken, but for 
 a summons from De Calmer for his friend. 
 Montresor went, and his irritable feelings gave 
 way before the heartfelt satisfaction which De 
 Calmer's improved appearance excited. He 
 communicated his new-born hopes to his guar- 
 dian, but they seemed powerless to chase the 
 gloom from his brow. The tone of deep sad- 
 ness with which the Earl thanked him, smote 
 the kind heart of his ward : he stood irresolute 
 what to say, yet longing to say something. 
 Lord Amesfort, Avho appeared to know by in- 
 tuition every turn in his feelings, motioned him 
 to take a chair beside him, and kindly attempt- 
 ed a few words of congratulation ; but they died 
 on his lips, and again he relapsed into silence. 
 Lord Amesfort broke it abruptly. '' Adol-
 
 LORD AMESFOKt'S FAMILY. 
 
 phus,^' he began, " it grieves me to give you 
 pain ; and yet, if you are unprepared, the blow 
 will be heavier. I do not think, if our dear 
 Henry recovers, he will marry your sister."' 
 " I think he will, my Lord, unless — " 
 " Unless I prevent it : I understand you, 
 and certainly I might fairly say I shall not 
 prevent it. Nay, I wish it — more, far more, 
 than you can. You look incredulovis ; but you 
 do not know me ; and it is not the least of my 
 sorrows, that you never will.**' The Earl 
 paused, and turned away his face ; but uncon- 
 sciously he pressed Montresor's hand, who, 
 touched at the unwonted tenderness of his 
 manner, bent his head to meet the hand that 
 had caressed him. He almost started, as he 
 felt a tear fall on his forehead. A new and 
 indescribable emotion seized him : for a mo- 
 ment he longed to throw himself at his guar- 
 dian's feet and be folded to his heart ; he smiled 
 at his own ardent imagination, and sighed as 
 he threw himself back in his chair. 
 
 " Why should I deceive you," resumed 
 Lord Amesfortj in a broken voice ; "I must
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 233 
 
 not think of what I wish. It is my duty to 
 speak to Henry, nor will I conceal from you, 
 that the result of our conversation will pro- 
 bably be inimical to your wishes."*"* 
 
 " I had nothing but your opposition to 
 dread," anxiously remarked Adolphus ; " and 
 if you do not object, I do not see what is to 
 prevent De Calmer and Emily from being 
 happy their own way. They will not be rich ; 
 but riches are not happiness." 
 
 " It is not money,"" murmured the Earl. 
 
 " What then is it, my Lord ? My sister"'s 
 appearance and education fit her for any situa- 
 tion ; and though I do not pretend to be a 
 genealogist, or to know much about my family, 
 yet the honour my mother has of being related 
 to your Lordship, satisfies me on that head, 
 and might satisfy De Calmer." 
 
 "It is possible, however, that it may not : 
 but we will not anticipate evils. — Poor girl !" 
 Lord Amesfort continued ; " she is very young, 
 too young, I would fain hope, to love for ever." 
 
 " Ah, my Lord !" resumed Montresor, in an 
 imploring accent, "is it not just then we do
 
 234 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 love? If you knew my dear Emily, you 
 would not wonder — ^'' 
 
 " That Henry should love her,'^ interrupted 
 Lord Amesfort, '' I am not wondering : nay, I 
 should have rejoiced, if he had not been, as it 
 were, left to my charge ; and if I did not think 
 myself answerable, in some degree, for his con- 
 duct. In giving him my reasons against the 
 match, I shall not conceal my wish to see it 
 take place : but do not flatter yourself ; if I 
 know him, he will be little influenced by it. 
 Now, my dear Adolphus, go to De Calmer, and 
 when you have seen his physician, you can de- 
 termine whether I shall wait a day or two, in 
 the hope of his being well enough to see me, or 
 return at once, and give up the point till he is 
 strong enough to travel." 
 
 Montresor obeyed in silence, wondering what 
 the secret reasons could be that were to deter- 
 mine his sister's fate, yet unable to feel depress- 
 ed, now the only bar he could see to her hap- 
 piness, in the disapprobation of his guardian, was 
 removed. De Calmer was allowed to see his 
 uncle on the following day ; and during a fort-
 
 LORD AiMESFORT'S FAMILY. 235 
 
 night that Montresor and Lord Amesfort assi- 
 duously watched by his couch, the rapidity of 
 his recovery seemed to verify his own asser- 
 tion, that he wanted nothing to cure him but 
 the presence of those he loved. His weakness 
 put an almost continual restraint on conversa- 
 tion ; yet did Adolphus and his guardian feel 
 to know each other better in that short space 
 of time than they had ever done before. Lord 
 Amesfort seemed disposed to lay aside his 
 haughtiness ; but his melancholy had taken too 
 strong hold of him to be shaken off. Montresor 
 was often affected by an unexpected look, or 
 tone of tenderness in the Earl ; and then mar- 
 velled to see him return to his cold, stern man- 
 ner, as if he repented having betrayed a regard 
 he wished to conceal. 
 
 This was very incomprehensible ; yet were 
 his own feelings towards h:s guardian to the 
 full as much so : he felt to nourish within him, 
 at once, the two distinct impulses of love and 
 sympathy, of dread and dislike : as these in- 
 stincts predominated, he shrunk from Lord 
 Amesfort, or sought him out, wondering, at the
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 same time, at the keenness, no less than the in- 
 consistency, of his own emotions. " There is, 
 surely," thought he, " a hidden charm about 
 this man, at once to attract and repel."" — Then 
 he would think of Lady Amesfort, and wonder 
 how she could live with so singular a being, 
 without love or hatred : yet he well knew she 
 felt neither: to be utterly indifferent about 
 him; to forget his very existence, as she did, 
 was marvellous, — Adolphus thought, impossible. 
 Then would the native generosity of his temper 
 urge him to fathom the character, the inexplica- 
 ble character, of his guardian, in the hope of lead- 
 ing him to win a heart which he had hitherto 
 neglected. " If she knew him, she would surely 
 love him ; and she, at least, would be happy." 
 Such would sometimes be the conclusion of his 
 reveries, from which he would start with horror, 
 as if he were guilty of treachery towards her he 
 loved, in wishing, for one moment, to appro- 
 priate her heart to another, when he so deeply 
 felt it to be his. 
 
 As soon as De Calmer was pronounced equal
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 237 
 
 to the fatigue of a journey, Lord Amesfort was 
 eager to take him home ; and INIontresor, sigh- 
 ing, as he felt himself excluded from that home, 
 prepared to visit his mother, and to hold out to 
 Emily the soothing prospect of soon seeing his 
 friend. De Calmer's evident impatience to be 
 well, and at liberty to roam whither he would, 
 was often accounted for by allusions to Wales ; 
 and Montresor left him, proud of the stability 
 of an affection, the decay of which he had ex- 
 pected, and fondly hoping that nothing would 
 arise to impede a union likely to produce so 
 much happiness. With the renewal of this 
 sanguine spirit he inhaled the pure air with 
 delight, and drew a long breath at finding him- 
 self escaped from a sick-room, and the still more 
 oppressive sadness of his guardian. Yet his 
 spirits sunk, as the chimneys of his mother's 
 house rose through the trees to his view. 
 " Alas !'' thought he, " if the melancholy of 
 Lord Amesfort overpowered me in a few weeks, 
 how can my poor sister sustain the more con- 
 stant weight of my mother's despondency ?
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 How strange, that two people so highly gifted, 
 so formed to be beloved, should be the prey of a 
 grief that seems to know no end !*" 
 
 The stopping of the carriage checked his 
 further soliloquy. He thought his mother less 
 feeble than usual ; but he would have been 
 shocked at the change visible in Emily, had he 
 not supposed he possessed a cordial to revive 
 her decaying bloom. She was indeed cherished 
 by her brother's presence, and was eager to re- 
 mark to Mrs. Montresor, how much better he 
 seemed, than when last they met. She flattered 
 herself all was again well, aad that her admired 
 Adolphus had returned to his former self, and 
 would be guarded by past experience from simi- 
 lar wanderings. Montresor saw himself rise in 
 his sister's opinion, and sighed to think how 
 little he deserved to do so.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Adolphus continued to linger in Wales, 
 fondly hoping every day might bring De Cal- 
 mer, of whose entire convalescence he had re- 
 ceived frequent assurances. Time passed on, 
 and still he came not. Lord Amesfort's words 
 recurred to his mind, and, for the first time, a 
 fear arose of their having had more meaning 
 than he wished to lend to them. Immediately 
 he determined on returning to town, and finding 
 out De Calmer's present plans and feelings. 
 He spoke cheerfully to Emily at parting, for 
 he thought it would be time enough to commu- 
 nicate his anxiety when there was proof of its 
 being well-founded. He rejoiced to leave her 
 well and cheerful. He did not know that her 
 tears were restrained from falling, only until he
 
 240 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 could not see them ; and that the smile with 
 which she now habitually dressed her features, 
 vanished with the effort that produced it. 
 
 Lord De Calmer was in the country with the 
 Amesforts; but Adolphus heard from Isabella 
 Albany (who was in town), that he was not so 
 strong as he had believed himself, and that he 
 had been recommended to try a better climate. 
 He ceased to write; but this was easily account- 
 ed for, Adolphus thought ; whilst in Wales, 
 letters might be read by Emily, as well as her 
 brother ; but, now that Montresor was alone, 
 there was nothing surprising in his friend fail- 
 ing in correspondence, and he simply concluded 
 that he had nothing to say. Yet when this 
 silence continued unbroken, he began to feel 
 uncomfortable, and to dread he knew not what. 
 He wrote to Emily, exaggerating De Calmer^'s 
 weakness, though careful not to excite any 
 needless apprehensions ; but each time that he 
 thus felt called upon to account for De Calmer's 
 absence, it became more irksome and strange 
 
 to him. 
 
 One evening that he was walking home later
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 241 
 
 than usual, an unexpected shower induced him 
 to tliink of shelter; he remembered a commis- 
 sion his sister had given him respecting some 
 books, and made the best of his way to a book- 
 seller's shop. They were shutting it up, and 
 sending off the parcels bespoken during the 
 day. One of them was pushed by the clerk 
 towards that part of the counter where Adol- 
 phus stood, and mechanically he glanced his 
 eye across the direction. He almost started. 
 
 "Is that gentleman in town ?''"' he asked of 
 the person who had just directed it. 
 
 "Yes, Sir, he is ; — was in the book-room this 
 morning. — Here, James, take this parcel ; be 
 very particular about it — don't forget the bill." 
 
 ^lontresor took out his list, and leaving it 
 with the man nearest him, left the shop imme- 
 diately. The rain had rather increased since 
 first he had thought of avoiding it, but he did 
 not perceive it. He kept the lad in view who 
 carried the parcel, unable to arrange his ideas 
 sufficiently to guide himself to the place of his 
 destination. The young messenger had many 
 other places to call at, and as he took those that 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 lay at all in his way, before they reached Bed- 
 ford-square, Adolphus was completely drenched. 
 He leaned against the railway of a fine house, 
 as the lad went down the area, and asked himself 
 if it were possible De Calmer could live in so 
 large a house, and in a situation so remote from 
 all his haunts and acquaintances. 
 
 " I cannot go in now, but I can ask who 
 lives here;" — and having come to this apparently 
 simple determination, after much reflection, he 
 knocked at the door, almost starting at the 
 noise he made, as if he had expected De Calmer 
 himself would open it to him. It was opened^, 
 at last, and Montresor felt relieved at not know- 
 ing the man^s face. It was not De Calmer's 
 servant, nor Lord Amesforfs ; and he must 
 have read the direction ill. In vain the man 
 assured him Lord De Calmer lived there ; he 
 continued to put other questions to him, from a 
 doubt of the fact. He was doomed to be con- 
 vinced, for his friend was coming down to din- 
 ner ; and, hearing his voice, could not resist the 
 impulse of the moment, and sprung forward to 
 meet him, though he had so often systematically
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 243 
 
 avoided him since his return to town. The 
 warmth of De Calmer's manner, his cordial 
 greeting, his kind voice, every tone of which 
 had power over the heart of Montresor, con- 
 vinced him, against the evidence of his senses, 
 that all was right, — that all would be explained. 
 He yielded to his earnest entreaty of remaining 
 with him, and followed the servant to Lord De 
 Calmer's apartment. 
 
 Whilst he furnished him with dry clothes, 
 the man, who had been long in the family, 
 and had a regard for Montresor as his master"'s 
 friend, expressed his satisfaction at seeing him 
 again. " If you had been with us, Sir,^' pursued 
 the valet, " I cannot help thinking matters 
 would have turned out better. My Lord is 
 always quieter when you are with him ; and, 
 weak as h( is still, he should be kept calm ; 
 instead of which, the old Lord and he had such 
 talkings and closetings; and my master, he 
 would run out of the house like one possessed ; 
 and when I 'd go and seek him, a thousand to 
 one if he was not lying on the damp grass, or 
 some such bad place for a sick man. And the 
 M 2
 
 S44 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 poor Countess, she would take on sadly, and 
 cry when she thought herself alone, all for want 
 of Miss Albany to comfort her/' 
 
 The man paused to be questioned ; but Adol- 
 phus could not have uttered, had he wished it ; 
 and the servant, pitying his agitation, continued: 
 " Now, Sir, I would not have you to think my 
 Lord quarrelled with his uncle. No, indeed ; 
 they seemed very good friends at parting— only 
 something was wrong, I could see clearly/' 
 
 " Many things are wrong in this world, my 
 good Mark," said Montresor with effort, as he 
 took his watch out of the servant's hand : but it 
 mends nothing to talk about it ; so, do not say 
 so to any one else." 
 
 " No, Sir, certainly, Sir." And the man hesi- 
 tated ; but seeing Montresor on the point of 
 leaving the room, he laid his hand on the han- 
 dle of the door, and said in a low voice, " I 
 think. Sir, you ought to know, that Mr. Knolls 
 — this house belongs to Mr. Knolls, Sir — that 
 he means to get my master for his sister." 
 
 " I suppose," replied Montresor, trying to 
 smile, " Lord De Calmer will not be got by any
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 245 
 
 body, but will choose whom he pleases. He is 
 his own master.'" 
 
 " Very true, Sir, so one may say ; and yet I 
 have seen people, as much their o\vti master, do 
 things in the marrying way they never much 
 intended to do.'"' 
 
 " But we cannot help that, Mark.'' 
 " / cannot, Sir ; but my Lord loves you ; 
 and, to my fancy, he don't care for Mr. Knolls, 
 though he is so much with him, and they drink 
 so much wine together. He is a gay man, they 
 tell me ; and only wants to marry off his sister, 
 that he may bring home his mistress, and live 
 comfortably with her. Mrs. ^loore is a widow, 
 and a poor one ; and being his only sister, he 
 can't so well turn her out of his house till she 
 has another to go to. You will see her at din- 
 ner, Sir : and pray don't admire her siveet smile, 
 like my poor master ; for she has a devil of a 
 tongue of her owti, as he'U find if he should 
 marry her." And having finished his warning, 
 and received an assenting smile from Montresor, 
 he suffered him to depart, and ushered him into 
 a splendid dining-room, in which about a dozen
 
 246 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 people were seated. He was introduced to Mr. 
 Knolls and his sister; and the extreme gra^ 
 ciousness of the latter brought the servant's 
 caution to his mind. Mrs. Moore was a fine 
 woman, who had been younger, but had pro- 
 bably never looked better, dressed more fashion- 
 ably, or rouged with greater skill. She talked 
 and laughed more than Montresor liked; but 
 not, it would have seemed, more than Lord De 
 Calmer liked, who sat next her, and paid her a 
 degree of attention that surprised his friend. 
 
 Adolphus was slightly acquainted with one 
 or two men of the party, which prevented his 
 feeling as awkward from the entire neglect of 
 De Calmer as he might otherwise have done : 
 yet still he wondered ; and when the ladies re- 
 tired, he wondered still more. The party was 
 then so small, that, having drawn their chairs 
 round the fire, something hke conversation was 
 possible. De Calmer did not seem to think so ; 
 for he hardly spoke, and did not even look at 
 his friend when he pushed the bottle to him. 
 Adolphus trembled as he saw the carmine spot 
 on De Calmer's cheek deepen and spread, and
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 2i7 
 
 his hand grow tremulous as he raised the oft- 
 replenished glass to his lips. He would have 
 taken him out, but he heard the rain still patter 
 against the windows ; and there was no house 
 near, to which there could be any reason for 
 going. He did not hke to propose joining the 
 ladies ; for he had no chance of speaking to him 
 there, more than at dinner. It was evident, 
 however, that he could not remain much longer 
 where he was, without being completely in- 
 toxicated. 
 
 Taking advantage, therefore, of a move, from 
 the departure of one of the party, he summoned 
 De Calmer to follow him. The young Peer 
 hesitated. Besides his embarrassment at being 
 alone with Adolphus, he had just taken enough 
 wine to wish for more, and to have resented any 
 one disturbing him — if he could have resented 
 any thing from Adolphus. The master of the 
 house was urgent to detain them ; but, without 
 heeding his remonstrances, Montresor repeated 
 his request, in that friendly tone of authorita- 
 tiveness, so few people thought fit to resist. 
 His friend did not, but instantly arose, and
 
 248 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 took the arm held out to him. As they as- 
 cended a broad handsome staircase, Montresor 
 asked when he could see De Calmer, and how 
 long he thought of staying in town. His 
 vague, hurried answers appeared to Montresor 
 to be the effect of the wine he had taken, and 
 he earnestly remonstrated with him on so in- 
 judicious a practice in the reduced state he had 
 so lately been in. " You want me to nurse 
 you again, I believe,'" he continued, smiling 
 affectionately as he pressed his burning hand in 
 his ; and De Calmer, overcome by his kindness, 
 hid his face on his shoulder, vehemently ex- 
 claiming, " My dearest friend ! how unworthy 
 I am ! — how ungrateful you must think me !'** 
 Then, opening the drawing-room door, he him- 
 self escaped down a dark passage, leaving his 
 friend in the full blaze of a lustre. Adolphus 
 was obliged to go in, though he longed to pur- 
 sue him, and learn the meaning of his disjointed 
 phrases. He watched every one who entered 
 during an evening that appeared to him end- 
 less ; but it was neither De Calmer nor any 
 message from him.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY 249 
 
 In his state of anxious suspense, few things 
 could be more intolerable than the lively rattle 
 of the gay widow, who had seldom taken more 
 pains to amuse, and had certainly never failed 
 so entirely. Tired at last of liis forced atten- 
 tion and absent replies, she left him to himself. 
 A fe^v people arrived, all strangers to Adol- 
 phus, who sat down to cards or music, without 
 appearing to wonder that he neither joined in 
 the one, nor listened to the other. It grew late, 
 and, convinced that De Calmer would not re- 
 turn, Montresor took leave of Mrs. Moore, and 
 went to the room in which he had dressed on 
 his arrival. It was empty, but his clothes were 
 laid out by the careful ^lark. As they were 
 thoroughly dry, Adolphus would have put 
 them on ; but a scarcely acknowledged feeling, 
 that they might be the means of his hearing 
 sooner of Lord De Calmer than seemed other- 
 wise likely, restrained him. He wrote three 
 words in pencil, which he left on his friend's 
 desk, — merely to say vv^here he was, and at what 
 hours he was always at home. He was sure of 
 this reacliing De Calmer, from the vigilance of 
 M 5
 
 250 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 Mark ; and so thoroughly miserable did Adol- 
 phus at that moment feel, that he could have 
 wept at the thought, how much more secure he 
 was of being remembered and sought out by 
 the servant, than by his master. 
 
 He went home, and for six days he waited in 
 the same room, almost in the same spot, look- 
 ing with apparent calmness for the expected 
 visit. The seventh day closed upon him in bit- 
 terness, for no one came. Pride might have 
 steeled his heart, had it been only for himself ; 
 but he thought of his sister, and relented. 
 " Yes, for your sake,'''' murmured he, " only 
 for yours, my Emily," as he sallied forth for 
 Bedford Square. 
 
 " Is Lord De Calmer at home?" 
 
 " Not at home.'' 
 
 •' When do you expect him ?" 
 
 " I could not say indeed, Sir ; — he has been 
 out of town some days.'' 
 
 " Some days !" Adolphus involuntarily re- 
 turned his card to his pocket, but the servant 
 had seen it. 
 
 '* There is a letter for you, Sir, and a parcel;
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 251 
 
 but my master forgot where Lord De Calmer 
 desired them to be sent." 
 
 Adolphus breathed again. " Give me the let- 
 ter," were liis first words, holding out the 
 card by which to send the parcel. He waited 
 an age for the letter, and began to think it 
 must be lost, when the servant very leisurely 
 appeared with it in his hand. Montresor walk- 
 ed rapidly away, quite forgetting to attend to 
 his road in his eao^erness to devour the contents 
 of this letter, in which, however, he in vain 
 sought an elucidation of his friend's conduct. 
 It ran thus : — 
 
 " MY DEAREST ADOLPHUS, 
 "It seems to me that nothing I can say for 
 myself, can be the shadow of an excuse. Be- 
 sides, you know, I do not love to say what is 
 not, and surely to you, my own friend, I would 
 not breathe a thought that did not rise from 
 my heart. I am doing every thing you would 
 not wish me to do ; and yet, I must go on. 
 Every hour in the day I long to be with you ; 
 and yet, if I came, we should not be happy.
 
 252 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 Do you think there is such a word, or that it 
 has any meaning ? My uncle says not, and I 
 am disposed to be of his way of thinking. I 
 have followed your advice, and given up wine 
 and my drinking friends.- — Friends ! You and 
 I, Montresor, were not used so to misname peo- 
 ple ! You will hear I am going to marry Mrs. 
 Moore. I think I shall not. I say I think, 
 because I have learnt to speak with caution of 
 my own actions, for I have certainly no present 
 intention of putting on the shackles in favour of 
 maid or widow. I am going into Scotland with 
 my uncle — at least, I believe I am, if I do not 
 change my mind. I saw your friend Isabella 
 Albany lately. I wish I could make a tour of 
 the Continent with her; 1 think she would 
 cure me of all my follies, and frailties, and 
 prejudices : — how little, if that were to take 
 place, would then remain of your friend ! 
 I can't fancy how I should feel — very unlike 
 what I do now, assuredly, though hardly more 
 entirely 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Be Calmer."
 
 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 253 
 
 In vain did Montresor read over this hasty 
 scrawl, and put it by to reflect on what it 
 might mean : it still remained a riddle, which 
 he had not the means of solving. He could not 
 indeed blind himself to the cruel fact, that his 
 sister was deserted. In all his prospects, in all 
 his feelings, that one little sunny spot alone re- 
 mained ; and now thick gloom had overtaken 
 that too, and all was alike blank and cheerless. 
 Montresor entered his solitary lodging, and as 
 he spread De Calmer's letter on the table before 
 him, and gazed on it without again attempt- 
 ing to read it, a feeling so desolate and for- 
 lorn crept over him, that he could almost fancy 
 his pulses stood still, and his stagnant blood 
 refused to flow. 
 
 " Is it not my own fault," at last he cried 
 aloud ; " have I not persisted in loving the un- 
 loveable beings that surround me ? Why could 
 I not do like others, and love and hate by rule ; 
 caring for people while it was prudent, or might 
 be useful ? In the desert of life I mocked the 
 barrenness that I beheld, and poured out my 
 soul on the wide waste, vainly thinking I should
 
 254 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 animate it ! My feelings have been spread out 
 before the fierce rays of the sun, and the pier- 
 cing storms of heaven. I have neither guarded 
 nor repressed them ; and they return to crush 
 me. And is it thus our hearts must always 
 wither within us ? Must we outlive ourselves, 
 and become a moving grove ? And is this the 
 life we struggle to defend, — we wish to others 
 as a kindness ? Isabella ! Is your cold creed 
 Wisdom ? If so, then what a dreamer have 
 I been !" 
 
 Adolphus let his head fall on the table, and 
 gave way to that nameless reverie, which is not 
 thought, which is not suffering, and yet which 
 partakes of both. She, whose gentleness might 
 have soothed, whose strength might have sup- 
 ported him, was, alas ! far distant. Isabella 
 had left Lady Amesfort, to be with her mother 
 by the sea-side, whither her delicate health fre- 
 quently carried her. Lord De Calmer was still 
 in town. Once, at the Opera, Adolphus saw him. 
 He knew too that he was seen, and veiled his 
 eyes to spare himself another meeting. Mon- 
 tresor, who often felt his mind palsied when
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. ^55 
 
 alone, started into life and energy as he caught 
 a glance of his friend. He bent forward to 
 gaze on him ; and when convinced he would 
 not see him, he abruptly quitted the house. 
 De Calmer had followed him with his eye, — he 
 arose involuntarily. iNIontresor looked back ; 
 and the look smote the heart of his friend, who 
 rushed out of the box to join him. He paused 
 to reflect in the corridor ; he saw the towering 
 form which he had come to seek, darkening the 
 turn in the passage, and, shrinking back, he 
 drew his hat over his face. Montresor walked 
 steadily on ; he did not look to the right or the 
 left ; and De Calmer flattered himself he had 
 not been seen. He was mistaken : the eye and 
 heart of INIontresor had drunk the poison to the 
 very dregs. He had actually seen De Calmer 
 recoil from him ; his mind yet hesitated to take 
 in the dreadful conviction ; and while the smile 
 of delirium dwelt on his lips, he repeated to 
 himself — " Oh, it is im}X)ssible ! I know it is 
 impossible I"' 
 
 A few days brought him a letter from Emily. 
 It had been a severe task to break to her that
 
 256 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 De Calmer spoke of marriage with another as a 
 possible event. Not that Montresor ever be- 
 lieved he would marry either Mrs. Moore or 
 any one else, but it was the only way in which 
 he could hint that she was forgotten, or, at 
 least, given up. He painted to himself all 
 Emily would think and write ; and when at 
 last he got her answer, its calmness was almost 
 a shock to him, so violent was the surprise. 
 He began to flatter himself she had never cared 
 for his altered friend ; but when with this new 
 idea he studied her words, he felt how she had 
 weighed them, and he admired the self-control 
 she had always exercised in alluding to her 
 faithless lover. One only phrase betrayed the 
 interest she felt in the topic ; — it was a request 
 that he would not again name De Calmer ; but 
 it was said with such apparent simplicity, and 
 seemed so well accounted for by her in a gene- 
 ral way, that it had peculiar meaning only to 
 those who looked for it. 
 
 He was still applauding the proper pride 
 with which she veiled her feelings, when Mark 
 came to inform him he was to accompany his
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 257 
 
 master and Lord Amesfort to Scotland on the 
 following day. Adolphus gave liim a note for 
 Lord De Calmer, desiring him not to deliver it 
 till they had left to^vn. He knew how much 
 his friend was the slave of impulse. He might, 
 perhaps, seek him out on the first receipt of the 
 letter, and avoid him again. Feeling himself 
 unequal to stand these perpetual tergiversa- 
 tions, Adolphus determined that when again 
 they met it should be the unbiassed act of his 
 friend. He should owe the action to no foreign 
 impulse, but both to his affection and his judg- 
 ment. Adolphus tried to avoid the shadow of 
 reproach, yet did every word convey one to 
 the sensitive breast of De Calmer. He wrote 
 thus : — 
 
 " Your servant called to see me before his 
 journey, and by him, therefore, I send a hasty 
 answer to your last. I know nothing of Mrs. 
 Moore ; but if you like her, why shotdd you not 
 marry her ? Who seeks to control you, and to 
 whom are you accountable ? Because I thought 
 you too young to marry before you went
 
 ^58 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 abroad, do you suppose I mean to object to it 
 always ? I am quite relieved by your promise 
 to give your health fair play. I should sup- 
 pose, indeed, on your travels your temptation 
 to drink would not be great. I have some 
 thoughts of going abroad, if I can prevail on 
 my mother to part with me. She is better than 
 usual, so that I have a faint hope of succeeding. 
 
 Truly yours, 
 
 A. M."
 
 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Earl of Aniesfort was visiting, for the 
 second time in his life, property he possessed, 
 of considerable value, towards the northern ex- 
 tremity of the Island, and which, but for the 
 hope of dissipating his nephew, by a view of 
 home-scenery at least as magnificent as the 
 young Briton surmounts so many obstacles to 
 behold on the Continent, he would probably 
 never have seen again. The Border country is 
 in all directions bleak and bare; and as LordDe 
 Calmer could not find any interest in his road, 
 Lord Amesfort roused him by relating the very 
 different views and feelings with which he had 
 twenty years before travelled in the same di- 
 rection. As he dwelt on sorrows which no 
 time could weaken, and faults which no repent-
 
 ^60 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 ance could expiate, the sufferings of his ne- 
 phew faded away, or seemed light indeed by 
 comparison. Then came objects of curiosity, 
 ancient legends, and family traditions, to claim 
 a share of interest from the youthful traveller, 
 and wean him successfully from home. - : 
 
 When his uncle saw his versatile mind al- 
 ready take another direction, he ceased to speak 
 of himself, and returned to his usual habits of 
 taciturnity and apparent indifference, leaving 
 the young man to follow the new bent he had 
 given him. Shrinking, as De Calmer always 
 did, from all painful associations, it is not won- 
 derful that he did not write to Montresor. He 
 meant it, indeed ; but the thing was irksome, 
 and therefore deferred ; so that the time for 
 execution never came. Meanwhile Adolphus, 
 ignorant, at four hundred miles distance, of 
 these good resolutions and fluctuations, lived 
 between hope and fear for some weeks. He 
 tried to think of something else; he tried to 
 reason himself into more moderation and pa- 
 tience ; but the doctrine was new to him, and 
 most adverse to his nature, and he made but
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 261 
 
 little proficiency in it. " Hope deferred maketh 
 the heart sick ;'"* and the sickness was now 
 strong on INlontresor. All earthly things have 
 their limits. A proud, cold resentment took 
 place of the wounded feelings of disappointed 
 friendship, and with the determination of learn- 
 ing to care for nothing, he went through the 
 common routine of life ; while men shrunk from 
 his stern unsocial manner, and could not guess 
 how full of the milk of human kindness was the 
 heart he hid from them. 
 
 His German friend was in town, and did 
 not relax in his attentions. Adolphus was 
 much there. The house of young new-married 
 people is generally pleasant, and the Barclays 
 were a cheerful family : there was much mirth 
 and some happiness among them. They all 
 Uked Adolphus ; he felt at his ease \vdth them, 
 danced and sung mth the young people, was 
 ready to make up Sir John''s rubber, and feel- 
 ing he had done all that was expected in 
 society, he often congratulated himself on hav- 
 ing learnt the art of intimacy without affec- 
 tion. He was calling one day on Gustavus,
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY, 
 
 and left his card on being denied admittance : 
 Jie had not, however, got to the end of the 
 street, when the servant came after him, and 
 he found Eleanor in great distress. Her baby, 
 a few months old, was ill, and the young 
 mother thought she could not have too much 
 advice for it. She had heard him mention 
 a physician of some eminence, as peculiarly 
 skilful in the diseases of infants, and she sent 
 after him accoraingly to learn further par- 
 ticulars. Adolphus entirely won her heart, 
 by offering to go instantly for the person he 
 had mentioned ; and having been fortunate 
 enough to find him at home, he returned with 
 him in less than half an hour. Whether the 
 child's illness had been serious from the be- 
 ginning, or was rendered so by the variety 
 of remedies with which it was tormented. 
 Dr. L. did not say ; but he shook his head, 
 and the awful sign did not prognosticate evil 
 in vain, for the next day the baby died. 
 
 The despair of the mother knew no bounds ; 
 and when Montresor called to ask about her 
 shortly after, Gustavus took him in silence to the
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 263 
 
 bedside, wliere a raging fever confined Eleanor, 
 and pointed to the insensible form of his late 
 blooming wife with so touching an expression 
 of grief, that ^lontresor's heart was melted, 
 and he determined to devote his time to this 
 house of sickness and sorrow, and at least 
 prevail on Gustavus not to ruin his own 
 health by perpetual watchings. The unfor- 
 tunate mother was soon declared out of dan- 
 ger. Miss Barclay had come to nurse her ; 
 and Montresor quitted the house, when he 
 could no longer be useful, without once asking 
 if the fever was infectious, nor, though feeling 
 ill for some days after, did he ascribe it to 
 any thing but fatigue. He grew worse how- 
 ever, and confined himself to his room, and 
 then to his bed, but resisted the entreaty of 
 his servant to send for medical assistance, 
 from the internal conviction, that his disorder 
 was the effect of vexation, which his youth 
 and natural strength would effectually subdue 
 in time. 
 
 The mind may be quelled, but unfortu- 
 nately the body is not quite under our sub-
 
 264 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 jection : Adolphus was soon incapable either 
 of acting or directing. When first he woke 
 to consciousness, after this severe attack, his 
 head was giddy, and his frame weak. He 
 closed his eyes from the light that pained 
 them. A female figure shaded the candle 
 with her hand, as she bent over him : he felt 
 anxious to know who was thus interested for 
 him — he thought of his mother, of Emily, 
 but they were far away. He looked again. 
 Could it be ? his heart beat fast, and his 
 head swam yet more. His sight was confused, 
 and he sighed, as he thought how his imagi- 
 nation could deceive him. Some one felt his 
 pulse : it was a large rough hand, and the 
 ticking of a watch assured him who was near : 
 he listened to the low murmur that followed, 
 but could not distinguish what was said. He 
 thought a tear fell on his hand ; it was wiped 
 off by a very soft handkerchief. He moved 
 his head with difficulty — the light gleamed 
 full on a tearful face indeed, but one that 
 beamed with hope — and it was the face of 
 Lady Amesfort ! He closed his eyes, to keep
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. ^65 
 
 the fair vision in his mind, — for how could it 
 be real ? He lay quiet from weakness, but he 
 could not sleep. Shortly after, he heard some- 
 thing poured into a glass, and some one say 
 in a wliisper, it was the hour to give it him. 
 He was raised gently, he did not see by whom, 
 and the glass touched his lips. He did not 
 feel disposed to swallow the medicine, and 
 turned away his head. 
 
 " He is not sensible yet," said a low voice 
 near him, 
 
 " Yes he is,"" replied another, that made 
 him start. The speaker, who supported him 
 in her arms, bent her head towards him, and 
 asked him to drink. Had it been poison, he 
 would not have refused it — for now he was 
 sure it was no vision, — 'twas she whom he 
 loved that stood by him — it was her tear 
 which had fallen upon her hand — her voice 
 that fell like balm upon liis heart. From 
 that hour he recovered rapidly, and was soon 
 moved into his guardian's house, which was 
 more spacious and airy for an invalid. He 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 ^66 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 was exhausted by the removal, but his weak- 
 ness spared him much agitation. He was not 
 in a state to reflect — to remember he had been 
 tacitly banished from that house, and that, in 
 Lord Amesforf s absence, it was the last in 
 which he should set his foot. He felt only 
 that he was at the guidance of the Countess; 
 it was pleasing to be led by her, and he was 
 content to be taken whither she wished. 
 
 His entire recovery was slow; but he did 
 not think it tedious, for Lady Amesfort was 
 his constant companion, his indefatigable nurse. 
 In the continually renewing consciousness of 
 her attachment, he felt a luxury in existence, 
 that had hitherto been denied him : he thought 
 not of her husband; he scarcely thought of 
 his own beloved mother and sisters. His home, 
 his heart was with her, and he forgot every 
 thing but her. In the bliss of exclusive de- 
 voted affection, he seemed to gain a new being : 
 his whole soul, subdued, inundated with tender- 
 ness, was lost to every other sensation. What 
 indeed was there to rouse him, since she who
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 267 
 
 inspired the infatuation, so fully shared it ? 
 With returning strength, however, some of 
 the trance gave way, — the enchantment was 
 dissolved ; and though he loved as deeply, it 
 was no longer so happily. Miss Albany re- 
 turned to town, and the spell broke at once. 
 
 Isabella rarely condemned her friends, but 
 her vigorous mind instantly turned to the 
 means of repairing what could not be undone. 
 Her first idea was to take Lady Amesfort away, 
 lea\'ing Adolphus in possession of the house, 
 and writing the Earl as plain and simple a 
 statement of the fact as possible. But she 
 could not now mould the ductile mind of her 
 friend as wax in her hand. She wept, but she 
 would not yield. Isabella then turned to jNIon- 
 tresor, and implored him not to reward the ge- 
 nerous cares of the Countess by blasting her 
 character, and destroying her husband's confi- 
 dence in her. Adolphus listened in gloomy 
 silence : he knew she was right ; but the time was 
 past when he would have tried to do what was 
 right, cost what it would. He awaited his fiat 
 N 2
 
 S68 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 from the lips of one against whose boundless 
 empire he had ceased to struggle. Her down- 
 cast eyes, her pale cheek, told the tale of weak- 
 ness and irresolution. 
 
 " Isabella thinks,'' he said calmly to her, 
 " that our dream has lasted too long. She 
 wishes me to go. Have you courage to await 
 your Lord's return ?" 
 
 "Nay, spare me, my own Adolphus : you 
 know I am unable to decide any thing." 
 
 " Could you be happy far away ? — far from 
 home, from friends, from your native land, 
 from all sacred ties ? Could you part with this 
 dear boy, nor regret the wealth, the honours 
 you abandon .? Say so, my beloved, and none 
 shall interrupt our felicity : our life would be 
 too short for our love. We must part now, or 
 never!" 
 
 " We cannot part now.'''' 
 * *' Then never shall we, my own only trea- 
 sure." 
 
 Lady Amesfort struggled to free herself 
 from his embrace, feebly exclaiming, " No, no.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 269 
 
 Montresor ; I am not so far lost yet ! For my- 
 self, indeed, I have nothing to regret : — a me- 
 lancholy fate ; an unloving husband, who would 
 scarce discover my absence; rank that fatigues 
 me, by keeping me ever in representation with 
 people I do not love, and who love not me ; a 
 cold unpitying world, whose scorn I could 
 despise as I do its favour. I have on earth 
 but one tie, one feeling ; but it is not so with 
 you. I know you, Adolphus — time might de- 
 prive me of every vestige of beauty ; age might 
 bow me down ; nay, if it were possible, even 
 love might expire within us — but you would 
 not abandon me. For my sake, you would be- 
 come an alien to your home; and your friends, 
 your talents, your energies, would lie dormant 
 in a retirement we could not dare to call ho- 
 nourable : — and this would be my doing ! 
 Adolphus, I could not bear it — the very thought 
 would kill me." 
 
 " And do you then think," he cried warmly, 
 " I leave behind any thing half so dear as you "^ 
 I should make no sacrifice. I am weary of my
 
 270 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 life, except as your love gives it value. I have 
 sought pleasure in study, but that has ceased to 
 interest me ; I have pursued it in dissipation, 
 yet it fled me ever : I placed it in friendship, 
 and my friend is false. Love alone has never 
 betrayed, never disappointed me ! — it made me 
 suffer, for I thought it unattainable ; it has 
 ceased to be so, and I am blest." 
 
 " But not happy,"' replied the Countess, 
 bursting into tears ; " Oh no, you would not 
 be happy ! I could rejoice in the very shame 
 that pursued me, since it would link you more 
 closely to me : I could not blush at a disgrace 
 that cast me on the mercy of my lover: I should 
 not feel humbled by any thing that proved my 
 devotion to him, for whose sake all things 
 would be sweet. You would be at once the 
 excuse and the reward of my guilt, and I could 
 almost glory in it ! But you would not feel as 
 I should. You would not triumph in your con- 
 quest, but mourn over it. When the censorious 
 scoffed me, — when the virtuous passed me by, 
 you would writhe in agony. You would see
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 271 
 
 that all your devotion failed to raise me in the 
 eyes of others, and you would forget that it 
 was every thing in mine/' 
 
 For a moment, Adolphus could not speak — 
 he could only kiss off the tears that deluged the 
 pale cheek of the speaker. Her words had 
 pierced like daggers to his heart, and carried 
 instant conviction of their truth. From that 
 moment he felt he could not be happy ; but she 
 might at least. He had torn her from every 
 duty ; he had destroyed for her every comfort ; 
 and could he desert her ? Could he cast her 
 from him back into the wilderness he had made 
 for her ? Could he abandon her, while his pre- 
 sence could soothe, — his love bless her ? Im- 
 possible ! Montresor did not recede, but the 
 icy fang of remorse fastened on his heart ; and 
 whilst he tried to comfort the weeping Countess, 
 he could scarce forbear exclaiming aloud, " It is 
 the beginning of a long life of punishment.'' 
 
 At last, after a silence which seemed as 
 though it would never be broken, he said firmly, 
 " We have decided ; — let us then quit Lord
 
 272 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 Amesfort's house as soon as we can, and arrange 
 our departure speedily, or his return may frus- 
 trate our measures. — These baubles,"' he added, 
 smiling sadly, as he unclasped a bracelet of va- 
 lue, " you will leave behind, — you do not require 
 them to make you lovely or beloved ; and you 
 will soon be a poor man's wife."" 
 
 " But he will not be poorer on my account,'" 
 she answered hastily, while a ray of pleasure 
 struggled to find place on her harassed coun- 
 tenance. " You know, I was an heiress, and am 
 independent still. Why do you look so mise- 
 rable ? Is your pride hurt ? Oh, Adolphus, 
 you do not love as I do !'' 
 
 Adolphus did love as passionately, as ge- 
 nerously as she did ; but he was younger than 
 she was : in the eyes of the world, — the selfish, 
 calculating world, — he should seem to gain by her 
 dishonour ! Was guilt, then, become a traffic 
 to him ? The thought was torture — and yet it 
 must be borne, and borne alone ; for how 
 could she sympathize with him, or enter into a 
 feeling so purely selfish, — a feeling that owed
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 273 
 
 its bitterness to the opinion of others ; which 
 opinion she had set at defiance, though he could 
 not. Lady Amesfort had given up receiving 
 visits from the moment she first knew of Adol- 
 phus's illness and danger ; but Miss Albany 
 had always had free admittance, and she ap- 
 peared now to the embarrassment and surprise 
 of those whom she visited. She embraced Lady 
 Amesfort as usual, but ^athout noticing Mon- 
 tresor ; she asked after the child ; and then, as 
 gently as she could, announced the expected 
 arrival of the Earl, as to take place in a day or 
 two. Consternation was very visible on the 
 faces of Montresor and Lady Amesfort ; for they 
 had not looked for him so soon, and they 
 said so. 
 
 " I know you did not,"" repHed Isabella 
 coldly ; " but I wrote to him the last day 
 I called here, and found how necessary his 
 presence was.'' 
 
 Lady Amesfort, between alarm and indig- 
 nation, could not find words to express her- 
 self ; but Montresor haughtily exclaimed, " And 
 N 5
 
 ^74 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 by what right, Miss Albany, did you presume 
 to interfere in the affairs of the Countess ? 
 Was she accountable to you ? and do you re- 
 pay her attachment by sacrificing her to her 
 husband's resentment ?" 
 
 " I did not speak to you,'' replied Isabella, 
 with a swift glance of contempt ; then turning 
 to the Countess, she implored her, by every 
 argument she could think of, to suffer herself 
 to be saved. She spoke low and steadily, but 
 not without feeling. Once Lady Amesfort 
 seemed shaken, and a sudden ray of hope 
 arose in the breast of her friend. The child 
 entered at this moment. Isabella sprung for- 
 ward, and taking its little hands, which she 
 put up in the attitude of supplication, she 
 knelt beside him, with difficulty articulating, 
 " Implore your mother not to abandon you ; — 
 not to disgrace herself, for your sake." 
 
 Alarmed at an energy so unusual in the 
 sober Miss Albany, — shocked at the misery 
 that seemed to surround him, the boy clung to 
 his mother, and wept in silence.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 275 
 
 " My child,'' cried his almost convulsed pa- 
 rent, "it is I who implore you — do not forget 
 me : when others blame me, remember how 
 dearly I loved you,^that my flight did not in- 
 jure you — that I shall think of you, and pray 
 for you, though I may never see you more." 
 
 The boy ceased to weep : he looked up and 
 said steadily — " I will not leave you ; take me 
 with you.'' 
 
 " Alas ! I cannot — I dare not," cried the 
 frantic Countess. — " Isabella ! what have I 
 done to you, that you should torture me thus .^" 
 
 " If you suffer so bitterly already," replied 
 Isabella, " what will you do hereafter ? One 
 more effort, and you burst the bands of sin for 
 ever ; it is not yet too late." 
 
 " It is too late !" cried the Countess, in the 
 accent of desperation, and rushed out of the 
 room. Isabella leaned for a moment against 
 the chimneypiece, and when she uncovered her 
 face to ring the bell for her carriage, even 
 Montresor, angry as he was, could not help 
 pitying her. He felt that she would come no
 
 276 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 more, — that he should never see her again ; and 
 he longed to recommend his sister to her care, 
 but he had not courage to address her. He 
 remembered at this moment what she had said 
 in the beginning of their acquaintance, " If 
 Lord De Calmer does not marry Emily now, 
 he is not likely to do so hereafter ;" and he felt 
 a vague hope that she might yet bring about 
 the marriage. 
 
 " Isabella,"' he said solemnly, " by our for- 
 mer friendship, let me beseech you to look on 
 me now, as if I were dead : you will then con- 
 demn me less, and pity me more. I ask, how- 
 ever, nothing for myself, — I know I am un- 
 worthy to live in your remembrance; — but my 
 sister. You loved Emily, and she has not 
 forfeited your esteem ; she never will. I leave 
 her in your charge ; may you manage her con- 
 cerns better than I have done ! This is the 
 ast letter I received from De Calmer, and 
 I fear—" 
 
 He paused ; and Isabella, who had walked to- 
 wards the door, turned round suddenly: "Lord
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 277 
 
 De Calmer,'' she said, without looking at him, 
 " has taken a house and lives in strict seclusion. 
 He has given up Emily ; he has broken her 
 heart ; and even if she lives, she will not recover 
 it. But these are trifles : the death of our 
 friends may be borne, — it is their unworthiness 
 which is bitter.'' — And, with these words of ill 
 omen, she closed the door after her ; nor had 
 Montresor resolution enough to follow her and 
 ask a single question. They did not, however, 
 as she had half hoped, operate to detain him a 
 single moment longer in England. He could 
 return to Emily ; but Lady Amesfort he must 
 place immediately out of the reach of her 
 husband, and he lost no time in making the 
 necessary arrangements. The agitation and 
 fatigue which he underwent brought on a re- 
 turn of his fever ; but he had no time to bestow 
 upon it, and, weak and ill as he was, he flattered 
 himself he should sail from Portsmouth on the 
 very day Lord Amesfort would reach London. 
 But Isabella was as vigilant and active as him- 
 self ; and about an hour before the carriage that
 
 278 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 was to take them out of town, was ready to 
 convey them, the Earl himself, unannounced, 
 entered the apartment, where the last directions 
 for the departure were giving and executing. 
 Adolphus was writing with his back to the door, 
 and did not look up till the Countess shrieked. 
 He turned round, and grew pale on beholding 
 his guardian. This, however, was not the time 
 to shrink ; and walking steadily across the room, 
 he said, "I am sorry to be the person, my 
 Lord, to explain all this confusion ; but, what- 
 ever may be your opinion of me, I rely on your 
 delicacy for not detaining Lady Amesfort, when 
 she voluntarily relinquishes your name and pro- 
 tection." 
 
 " You are right. Sir,"*"* said the Earl, with an 
 energy of voice and manner, of which he seemed 
 incapable : "I shall not detain Lady Amesfort 
 in my house ; but I shall see that she does not 
 leave it with you. — Follow me, Aurelia — nay, 
 instantly." The Countess recoiled as her hus- 
 band approached; and throwing herself into 
 Montresor's arms, clung to him in terror*
 
 LORD amesfort's famh.y. 279 
 
 " If you would take her from me," he cried 
 fiercely, ' you must first take my life." 
 
 Horror and anguish, amounting to madness, 
 were depicted on the powerful features of Lord 
 Amesfort. " Rash boy," he cried, " will no- 
 thing unfasten your guilty hold ? I would have 
 spared you," he continued, with a sudden burst 
 of tenderness, " for you are dear to me — 
 Heaven knows how dear ! — but you will rush 
 headlong on. — Adolphus ! believe me — I speak 
 not idle words, — guilt is an undying poison that 
 will corrupt every pleasure." 
 
 " I believe you," said Adolphus, with despe- 
 rate steadiness ; " but the die is cast." 
 
 " Then hear mel" loudly exclaimed the Earl. 
 "I do not throw the thunderbolt ; it is you 
 who bring it on your own head. It is no com- 
 mon infamy in which you are about to plunge. 
 It is your father's wife you would seduce !" 
 
 Montresor reeled back ; his distending eye- 
 balls seemed ready to start out of his head ; his 
 white lips quivered, and his teeth ground 
 against each other. He gasped for breath —
 
 S80 LORD AMESFORT's FAMILY. 
 
 then going close up to the Earl, he said, in a 
 tone of horrible stillness, " Monster ! was it 
 your hand that poured out the phial of wrath 
 on the head of my mother ? Did you curse me 
 with life, that I might grow up a blacker 
 wretch than there are words to name me ? 
 Have you set the seal of disgrace upon us, and 
 enveloped us all, the innocent with the guilty, 
 in one mighty ruin ? Is it for this your nephew 
 has broken the heart of your daughter ? Is it 
 for this . . ." Montresor could not articulate 
 another word, but he continued to gaze on his 
 father; and the wild fixed glare of his eye 
 showed the chaos of an imsettling mind. The 
 Earl felt the danger to his reason of suffering 
 him to dwell upon these accumulated images of 
 horror, and gently taking his hand, he pointed 
 to Lady Amesfort. She had fainted, and lay 
 still pale and deathlike. The effect was instan- 
 taneous on her lover. He uttered a cry so 
 wild, so piercing, that his father shuddered, in 
 doubt if it was not the note of madness. Adol- 
 phus flung himself on the floor beside her. He
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 281 
 
 watched the ghastlv hue vanish from her face ; 
 he listened to the long labouring sigh ^vith 
 which she returned to the consciousness of woe; 
 and bending over her, he said quietly, " Poor 
 unfortunate ! she lives !" 
 
 He arose, and moved towards the door. As 
 he passed his father, he paused. Lord Amesfort 
 half veiled his face with his hand ; but his atti- 
 tude denoted such hopeless overpowering an- 
 guish, that Adolphus for a moment mourned 
 only for his father. 
 
 " There is enough of guilt and misery,'' he 
 said, in a stifled voice, " but there might have 
 been more. The world would call your wife 
 unsullied, for it is our hearts only that have 
 sinned." 
 
 Lord Amesfort felt that he sought to console, 
 not to appease him ; and bowing his head, he 
 repUed, " It is well for you, my son ; for me 
 there is nothing well.'' The bruised heart of 
 Adolphus gave one bound of filial affection — 
 but he thought of his mother, and it was check- 
 ed. On the stairs he found the child watching
 
 28^ LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY, 
 
 for him. A sudden impulse, that he was in no 
 condition to resist or define, urged him to seize 
 the boy, and make him the partner of his flight. 
 It was easily executed, for the carriage waited, 
 and his young brother followed him into it 
 without hesitation. With almost delirious im- 
 patience, Montresor urged on the horses. It 
 was night before they reached Portsmouth, and 
 a fresh wind made it advisable to remain in the 
 town ; but Adolphus, madly bent on securing 
 his prize, put off in the first boat that would 
 take him, and joined the vessel in which he had 
 secured a passage for himself and Lady Ames- 
 fort. 
 
 The little Algernon loved his brother, and 
 saw nothing wonderful in his sudden journey. 
 When Adolphus set his foot on the coast of 
 France, his nervous dread of being pursued 
 subsided, and he began to ask himself why he 
 had caused new anxieties to his father and his 
 unfortunate wife. But his mind was yet fever- 
 ed ; he could not think of giving up the boy ; 
 but he sent back his servant to England, to
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 283 
 
 assure the Amesforts of its safety. At the ex- 
 pected time the servant returned, with a note 
 from Lord Amesfort. Adolphus shook in every 
 nerve as he tore it open — the words swam be- 
 fore his dazzled eyes, and he read with diffi- 
 culty : — 
 
 " MY DEAR ADOLPHUS, 
 " I am glad you have your young brother 
 with you, as nothing could contribute more to 
 preserve Lady Amesforf s character than prov- 
 ing to the world that you and I are not at va- 
 riance. She is in a dreadful state of mind ; but 
 she will recover. I shall take her out of town 
 immediately. I feel little disposed to resent 
 her infatuation ; and if I did, I have no right to 
 do so. It was not wonderful that the heart I 
 neglected to win, should become the property 
 of another ; nor, alas ! is it new to me, that 
 passion is sometimes stronger than principle. 
 Henry is still in the North : he loves you and 
 your sister as much as ever ; and time, I hope, 
 may conquer his prejudices. It was very bitter
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 to see him shrink from her whom he had 
 chosen, because she was my daughter. But I 
 early poisoned the draught of hfe, and I must 
 drink it to its dregs. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Amesfort." 
 
 Montresor felt his very soul ache at the 
 wretchedness which was not only so strongly 
 felt at present, but must for ever continue to be 
 so. But again in spirit he turned to his be- 
 loved mother, and he felt that he could not for- 
 give Lord Amesfort. Then he dwelt on his 
 own fate. — " Why," thought he, " did they 
 conceal my birth from me ? Was it to spare 
 my mother or myself? She is too humble, too 
 really penitent, to wish to usurp the esteem of 
 others. Oh, it was for me alone ! They 
 thought me jealous of honour — impatient of 
 disgrace ; they felt the blight would fall on my 
 soul. They would have spared me — and I 
 would not be spared. The pride that was born 
 with me, that grew with my growth, and
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 285 
 
 Strengthened with my years; what is it now 
 but a glaring inconsistency ? Do I not draw 
 my breath as it were upon sufferance ? — Yes, I 
 will renounce society, in which I have no foot- 
 ing ; the world, in which I have no interest ; 
 my country, for I have no country. Its laws 
 protect not me. I stand alone. Alas ! I have 
 sharers in my humiliation, — beings feebler 
 than I, that cling to me, and whom I cannot 
 protect.'^ 
 
 INIontresor indeed felt as if his haughty spirit 
 was trampled in the dust. He who had been 
 so indulgent, so mild, to all beneath him, was 
 growing captious and exacting. He started 
 from imaginary insults, and saw it was his own 
 wounded mind that goaded him. At first it 
 was a relief to him to scorn a world he expect- 
 ed would scorn him. He revenged himself on 
 it by the keenest feeling of animosity, but he 
 met none to injure or neglect him, and he soon 
 learned to despise none but himself. His 
 calmer moments had always been devoted to the 
 instruction of the blooming Algernon, and he
 
 286 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 promised himself that, if education could avail, 
 his brother should not inherit the foibles so in- 
 herent in the EarFs character and his own. 
 " He shall not," thought Montresor, " admire 
 what is beautiful till he knows it is good ; he 
 shall not set an arbitrary value on any thing, 
 because it suits his temper and gratifies his 
 feelings ; he shall not devote himself to others 
 because it flatters the generosity of his nature, 
 but because it is a duty, a cold unsatisfactory 
 duty, to sacrifice ourselves systematically to 
 those with whom we live."' Montresor would 
 break oiF his ruminations, and smile in bitter- 
 ness at himself — " Who am I, that I should 
 guide others ?" And with this new feeling, he 
 relinquished his plans and systems in despair.
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. S87 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 If the wounded feelings of Adolphus Mon- 
 tresor stung him to madness, or crushed him in 
 despair, she who had shared in his wanderings 
 was scarce less deserving of compassion. The 
 shock, the separation, the terror which her hus- 
 band's presence inspired her with, were too 
 much for a mind fevered by passion and ex- 
 hausted with grief. Sometimes she struggled 
 against the imbecile torpor that hung upon her; 
 sometimes she took refuge, in her mental and 
 bodily weakness, from the sharp pangs of re- 
 flection ; sometimes she forgot the cause of her 
 grief, and was conscious only of some indefinite, 
 restless pain, — some vague, confused notion of 
 unexpiated guilt, which her mind was not clear
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 enough to investigate, nor strong enough to 
 shake off. By degrees her memory recovered 
 its power, her understanding its tone. She 
 awoke, by a slow and painful process, to the 
 full knowledge of her situation ; and as soon as 
 she could reason on any thing, or feel for any 
 body but herself, her astonishment at her hus- 
 band"'s conduct knew no bounds. She could 
 not suppose he would forgive her, — that he 
 could ever care for her : she looked upon the 
 absence of her child as a punishment, and 
 refrained from asking about him. 
 
 She wondered what could be Lord Ames- 
 forf s reason for saving her so anxiously from 
 a grave, where alone she felt her ^hame and 
 sorrows could be concealed. She sometimes 
 thought he must have some refined plan of 
 vengeance to be executed in time, and almost 
 wished she might have some outward suffering 
 as well as the inward one that consumed her. 
 In his presence, she felt like the malefactor be- 
 fore his judges ; and the respite was harder to 
 bear than could be the punishment ; yet, as her
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 289 
 
 mind recovered its vigour, she lost the nervous 
 dread that made her shrink from his very step 
 as though it were the harbinger of death, and 
 would gaze fearlessly on him, labouring to 
 comprehend a gentleness so unnatural. His 
 consistency puzzled her. He was neither stern 
 nor affectionate ; but cold and vigilant, as if 
 he performed a task in watching over her, for 
 which he was accountable to some one. They 
 never remained long any where ; and the car- 
 riage, in which she travelled alone with her 
 maid, was arranged with the care and attention 
 to her comfort necessary for an invahd. 
 
 Once or twice he changed her attendant with- 
 out comment ; but he took care that she should 
 be waited upon with more respect than he ex- 
 acted for himself. His carriage was always 
 within a few yards of hers, so that escape was 
 impossible. She felt like a child in leading- 
 strings. But though this authority met her 
 at every step, it did not press upon her. She 
 could not forget he was her master; but, at 
 least, he was not a harsh one. This despotism 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 ^90 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 was not natural to him, or why had he never 
 exercised it before ? " I do not deserve that so 
 much trouble should be taken about me,'' would 
 she say to herself; but she had no desire to 
 contend with the bars of her prison. She was 
 not by nature the timid creature who could kiss 
 the rod; but her soul was humbled by the 
 consciousness of transgression, and her spirit 
 subdued by the weight of misery. She had 
 never disliked her husband, and she felt un- 
 feigned gratitude to him for having saved her 
 from the fate she was preparing for herself. 
 The bitterness of penitence was indeed keen; 
 but to repent an evil intention was lighter than 
 to repent an evil act ; and she could have 
 blessed him for having saved her the additional 
 pang. 
 
 Many months had been already spent in wan- 
 dering, when Lord Amesfort took a house for 
 some weeks by the sea-side. He sometimes 
 took her upon the water. He did not consult 
 her; and the year before she would have re- 
 sisted, for she was afraid of the sea ; but it is
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 291 
 
 only those who are at ease who have leisure for 
 fancies, and the Countess got into the yacht, 
 which was before her windows, not indeed with 
 any belief in its safety, but without any emotion 
 of dread. A strong gale one day sprung up 
 unexpectedly, and Lady Amesfort looked calm- 
 ly on the raging billows, in which she expected 
 to be engulphed, and almost wondered at the 
 eagerness and activity displayed to meet the 
 danger and overcome it. It was quite dark 
 when they got into the boat, that tossed high 
 and low on the foaming surge ; and the Coun- 
 tess, who, during many hours of peril, had re- 
 mained in a state of quietude approaching to 
 apathy, could not restrain her tears when she 
 felt herself folded in her husband's arms, to 
 guard her from being washed overboard. 
 
 " Leave me," she cried feebly ; " I do not 
 deserve your care. I have no quarrel with 
 death." 
 
 " Perhaps both of us may perish," calmly 
 replied the Earl ; " if so, let us at least die in 
 charity with each other. We have not done 
 o 2
 
 292 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 our duty to one another. Pardon me, Aurelia, 
 as I have long forgiven you.*" 
 
 " Oh ! what have I to pardon !"' cried the 
 Countess, covering her face as she spoke. 
 
 " If I had not neglected you, would you 
 have deserted me ? If I had loved you, would 
 you have loved another .?"" 
 
 " God knows," replied the shuddering wife : 
 " this I know, that I alone am to blame. I 
 sought the love of your son before I knew I 
 should give him mine. I urged our flight — I — ''"' 
 
 " Be calm, Aurelia, I conjure you ; if not for 
 your sake, for mine. My shattered nerves and 
 bleeding heart are unequal to these scenes : it 
 is therefore I speak so little, — not from un- 
 kindness."" 
 
 " What," thought the Countess, when, wet 
 and weary, she got at last to her solitary apart- 
 ment, " was he wretched ? — and when I might 
 have soothed his grief, did I inhumanly add to 
 it ? He was right not to love the giddy, fri- 
 volous girl, who shared in the splendour of his 
 situation, but forgot to be the partner of his
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 293 
 
 grief. Perhaps I might have won his heart : — 
 I did not even ask if he had one ; and now the 
 time is past."' Either the agitation of these 
 thoughts, or the fatigue of the expedition, af- 
 fected Lady Amesforfs health so far as to 
 require medical assistance. Although she had 
 often thought herself dying of late, and was 
 subject to frequent faintings and low fever, her 
 husband had never called in the faculty ; but 
 now judging the disease might be bodily, he 
 had recourse to it ; and, much sooner than he 
 expected, the invahd left her bed for the sofa in 
 the drawing-room. The kindness with which 
 her recovery was greeted, was very painful to 
 the unhappy Countess. She was used to her 
 husband's coldness, and saw in it no new re- 
 proach ; but in his softened manner, in his tone 
 of affection, she traced a hkeness at which she 
 shuddered. When the Earl tried to smile, 
 when he looked on her with interest, it was the 
 image of his son, and she felt that punishment 
 was at her right hand, let her fly from it as she 
 would.
 
 294} LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 About this time. Lord Amesfort received a very 
 spirited sketch of his boy which Adolphus sent, 
 as a good Hkeness. He placed it in the apart- 
 ment of the Countess, who wept and prayed 
 beside it during the night, and confirmed her- 
 self in the idea, it was all she should ever see 
 of her son. " Yet,'' murmured she, " he for- 
 gave me ; but he does not think me worthy to 
 see my Algernon — and he is right.""' 
 
 Lord Amesfort was grieved to perceive the 
 evil his present had produced. " I thought to 
 give you pleasure," he said ; " are you not glad 
 to know our child is well T'' 
 
 Lady Amesfort was pale already, but she 
 grew whiter still, and wildly clasping her hands, 
 she threw herself at her husband's feet. 
 " Have mercy !" she cried ; " do not kill me 
 with a kindness I do not deserve ; but tell me 
 where my Algernon is — tell me if he is suffered 
 to breathe the same air with his guilty mother.'' 
 
 Lord Amesfort groaned in agony; the last 
 time he had seen a woman, young and beauti- 
 ful, kneel to him in wretchedness, was ever
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 295 
 
 present to liis mind, — it was liis own devoted, 
 dearly loved Emily; and though his heart 
 seemed scarred, he could not bear the scars to 
 be touched. He trembled as he raised his wife, 
 and scarce had power to say, " If you knew 
 how you hui't me, Aurelia, you would learn to 
 exercise a Httle more self-control. My sons are 
 together, and I am content it should be so, 
 since it cannot injure the one, and may benefit 
 the other. When Adolphus wearies of ram- 
 bling, he will bring back his brother ; and if he 
 does not, I will go and fetch him." 
 
 He paused ; but seeing his wife stand, over- 
 come with the allusion to Montresor, and bowed 
 down with burning shame, he added, in a tone 
 of sympathy, " I implore you, try to regulate 
 your feehngs better. We cannot always lead 
 this Hfe ; and when you appear again in the 
 world, I must not have it guessed that you are 
 wretched. Self-reproach is hard to bear ; yet 
 I have borne it for many years, and so must 
 
 you." 
 
 " This, then, is the punishment allotted me,"
 
 296 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 thought the Countess, when left alone. " I 
 must boldly put on the mask of innocence, and 
 stand among the wise and good, feeling that I 
 do not belong to them. When the voice of sin 
 and misery is raised to me, I must seem to turn 
 aside — I, who am more miserable, and far more 
 guilty ! I shall listen to eulogiums, while my 
 heart will bear witness to me that I do not de- 
 serve them. I shall mingle with my fellow- 
 creatures, shrinking from their usurped esteem, 
 and blushing at approbation, which is con- 
 ferred only because they do not know me. I 
 shall smile, too, for so wills my husband. 
 Good heavens ! will so wretched a mockery de- 
 ceive any one ! for how many years may I be 
 doomed to play this false part.?" — and the Coun- 
 tess thought, with horror, how young she still 
 was. Her repentance, however, was sincere, 
 and expiation is its test. She had nothing left 
 to do, but to obey her husband's wishes ; and 
 she seriously laboured to acquire that mastery 
 over herself, which was necessary to enable her, 
 however inadequately, to fulfil them. She
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 297 
 
 forced herself to address the sailors, or the poor 
 people, whom she met ; she asked them ques- 
 tions, and tried to listen to their answers. At 
 first, the words died on her lips, and she hastily 
 threw down her veil to conceal the starting 
 tears ; but her husband saw her struggles, and 
 appreciated them : what would she not have 
 done to gain one step, however low, in his good 
 opinion ? The rich reward spurred her some- 
 times on to exertions beyond her strength. 
 M^hen she found a renewal of her weakness, her 
 soul seemed to die within her. She would re- 
 proach herself for requiting so ill his un- 
 wearied indulgence : she would long to have 
 some other task set her, that would not exceed 
 her powers. 
 
 " Aurelia,'"' said the Earl one morning, 
 " there is a trial awaiting your firmness. Show 
 me that I have not given you credit for more 
 than you possess f' — and he put into her hands 
 a letter from Algernon. It was written on such 
 large lines, that it chd not contain many words, 
 but a thick mist spread itself over the eyes of 
 o 5
 
 298 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 the Countess, and she could not read them ; 
 she felt very faint, but she would not give way. 
 She turned towards the open window; she 
 forced a few drops of water down her throat, 
 though it seemed to close against them ; she 
 covered her eyes till her head was less dizzy — 
 but it would not do. " Keep it for me," said 
 she at last, " till I can read it :"" and though 
 the hand that held it out trembled violently, 
 she spoke distinctly, and did not shed a tear. 
 Lord Amesfort was satisfied with the effort ; 
 he left her the letter, — assuring her that she 
 would find the benefit of her combat, and that 
 the habit of conquering herself, once acquired, 
 would spare her many an unavailing pang. 
 His wife received not the consolation he sought 
 to inspire her with : she had but one idea, " He 
 chooses it," — and to this she sacrificed herself, 
 without a hope that present travail would pro- 
 duce to her any future peace. 
 
 It was some time after this, that Montresor 
 found among his English packets a letter from 
 Lord De Calmer. It was one of the enclosures
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 299 
 
 from Lord Amesfort ; for, had it been directed 
 by himself, he was pretty well aware, it would 
 have been returned unopened. As it was, 
 Adolphus felt strongly inclined to put it in a 
 blank sheet of paper and direct it back ; but he 
 did not even know where he was; and after 
 much fluctuation, he read : — 
 
 " Do not throw this from you, my dear Adol- 
 phus, the moment you recognize the writing. 
 I confess, it would be no more than I deserve. 
 I have been unjust and weak; but I have never 
 ceased to love you, or to prize your friendship 
 as I ought. Do not, then, tell me I have for- 
 feited it by my conduct. I would not have 
 dared to claim it, had I not come to the reso- 
 lution of sacrificing all my absurd prejudices at 
 that shrine where vou know mv heart has long 
 been surrendered. To-morrow I set out for 
 Wales ; and if my beloved Emily can pardon so 
 protracted a journey, I shall soon hail for my 
 brother an old friend, though a new-found 
 cousin. It is so long since you have known
 
 300 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 any thing about me, that I must take up my 
 explanation from the moment of my return 
 from Spain. My tedious weakness, as you 
 must have seen, alone delayed my journey to 
 Wales at that time. It is a very foolish thing, 
 I begin to think, to consult any one about one's 
 concerns. If I had not talked openly to you of 
 my attachment, I should not have left Eng- 
 land without being engaged to your sister, 
 and then I should have felt bound to fulfil that 
 engagement, and many a heart-ache it would 
 have saved me. If I had not spoken to my 
 uncle, he would not have said any thing to me, 
 and you should have danced at my wedding 
 long ago. My evil stars settled it otherwise. 
 
 " I pass over my conversations with the 
 Earl, as much in regard to my own feelings, as 
 to yours ; they certainly made me very mise- 
 rable, and the more so, from the bar which 
 your ignorance on the subject placed between 
 us. My uncle absolutely forbad my disclosing 
 to you our relationship, and I had no right 
 over his secrets. Yet, how was I to explain to
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 301 
 
 you the inconsistency of my being one day 
 ready to fly to Emily, though I was scarce able 
 to stand, and the next doing my best to forget 
 her ? I knew, indeed, you had generosity 
 enough to pity and excuse my inconstancy ; but 
 I was not inconstant, and I could not live with 
 you with a veiled heart. So I avoided you 
 from weakness ; for if I could have determined 
 upon any thing — have traced any plan of con- 
 duct, and steadily pursued it, I need not have 
 given up my friend in the base and brutal 
 manner in which I did it. With any self- 
 command, I could have been with you as 
 usual, upon all subjects save one ; but that 
 one was so interesting to both of us, that to 
 avoid it always, was more than I had resolution 
 to say I could do. To drown thought, I 
 plunged into dissipation ; I threw away on 
 things that gave me no pleasure more than the 
 half of my fortune. I drank, I gamed, I went 
 on the turf ; but I met neither you nor Emily, 
 except in my dreams, and they reproached me 
 with deserting the only things I could love.
 
 302 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 " My uncle watched over me, and when I had 
 tried what extravagance and folly could do for 
 me, he led me gently back to reason and em- 
 ployment. I was not happy, but I thought I 
 had decided. I lived alone with Nature, and 
 tried to school my own heart, and clear up the 
 mists that obscured my understanding. I fan- 
 cied myself calm ; it was only a trance, from 
 which a letter from Isabella Albany roused me. 
 Every thing she said was, as usual, clear and 
 forcible. I followed her advice in seeking out 
 my uncle and his unfortunate wife. I would 
 not make your heart bleed afresh, by trying to 
 describe what mine suffered at beholding her. 
 At first, the sight of me, as connected with 
 other times, threatened to destroy all the advan- 
 tage she had reaped from the incessant care of 
 her husband ; but, after a time, I thought her 
 relieved by our conversations. We concealed 
 nothing from one another, and she implored me 
 to discard prejudices from which I had already 
 suffered so much, and which perhaps had given 
 Emily as much pain as myself. This thought
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 303 
 
 determined me ; and before you receive this, I 
 shall know if I may yet hope for a happiness 
 with which I have been so long trifling. I do 
 not desire that you should write to me ; but 
 wiYi. you not to your sister ? Isabella tells me, 
 Mrs. Montresor has heard but once from you : 
 surely yours is not the hand to punish her. 
 " Your affectionate friend and cousin, 
 
 "De Calmer." 
 
 Many and various Avere the feelings that con- 
 tended for a mastery in the breast of Adolphus, 
 whilst he perused this explanatory epistle ; those 
 of pleasure, at last, predominated : but even the 
 joy of ]Montresor was connected with grief and 
 anxiety. He felt that De Calmer was, after 
 all, acting against his own feelings and princi- 
 ples ; that he had been swayed by others to re- 
 turn to Emily, and might some day repent it. 
 He could not think, without emotion, that it 
 was to Lady Amesfort he should be principally 
 indebted for his sister's establishment in life. 
 In that establishment, it was Emily's happiness
 
 304 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 alone he had once thought of: now that her du- 
 bious situation was known to him, her respect- 
 ability seemed, in a great measure, to hang 
 upon it. Her reputation, in the delicate predi- 
 cament in which she stood, was indeed as a thin 
 vapour that would melt away before the first 
 breath of slander, and the wounded pride of her 
 brother made him impatient to marry her out 
 of it, to any one almost, that could give her a 
 certain name and a fixed footing in society. 
 Upon the whole, he was content to rejoice, that 
 one ray of comfort would fall on his mother ; 
 and, for the first time, for many years, he ad- 
 dressed her in the form of congratulation. 
 
 The playful Algernon, who interrupted him at 
 this occupation, soon detected the unwonted 
 smile hovering round his mouth and lurking 
 in his eye, and he eagerly took advantage of it 
 to prefer a request. There was a dance on the 
 soft turf, beneath the spreading alders, in ho- 
 nour of a village lass who was that day affianced 
 to a neighbouring peasant. The young girl was 
 portioned by Madame De Saumur, with whose
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 305 
 
 family Adolphus had been unable to avoid a 
 slight acquaintance ; and that lady, having met 
 Algernon, commissioned him to fetch Montresor 
 to the fete. It \yas a brilliant summer's eve- 
 ning, and Adolphus had not the heart to disap- 
 point his brother, though even rural festivity 
 had become more than distasteful to him. He 
 went ; he even danced with the affianced 
 bride, at the request of her patroness. Madame 
 De Saumur in vain rallied him on his joyless 
 air, and asked if even the pure climate of south- 
 ern France had no effect upon him, and if he 
 was too much of an Englishman to condescend 
 to be amused. He answered courteously, and 
 smiled as he turned from her ; but she felt it 
 was not the smile of hilarity, and she blessed 
 her stars that she was not born in England. 
 
 Lord Amesfort had empowered people to sell 
 out of the army for his son, and he now pro- 
 posed to him to embrace some other profession, 
 in which his talents might bring him fame. He 
 offered him his powerful interest to advance him 
 in the diplomatic line, for which his education
 
 306 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 had particularly fitted him. He pointed out, 
 with that persuasive eloquence which none pos- 
 sessed like him, the folly of burying himself in 
 a selfish retreat; he tried to excite a laudable 
 ambition in his palsied mind ; he insinuated 
 that, having his name to establish, and his for- 
 tune to make, by his own exertions, unaided by 
 the ordinary advantages with which others were 
 born, he could not afford to waste his best years 
 in idleness. Montresor knew his father was 
 right ; but the wounds were yet bare in his sen- 
 sitive breast ; his strength was wasted, and he 
 looked in vain for the energy and self command, 
 that could grapple with the disgrace that had 
 fastened on him, wrestle with the world, and 
 force it to retract its unfounded scorn. " No,^** 
 thought he, " it will not be ; the stain is upon 
 me, and, if others forget it, I shall feel it still.'' 
 He was doomed to feel it yet more keenly, for 
 hitherto his sufferings on that head sprung 
 from his imagination : he did not guess how 
 soon the actual proof would come. 
 
 Colonel and Mrs. Dessamere had squandered
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 307 
 
 away so much money, that they found it neces- 
 sary to go abroad to economize. Their eco- 
 nomy on the Continent was very like their eco- 
 nomy in their native Island ; but they escaped 
 long bills for the present ; they amused them- 
 selves, and they had the pleasure of talking of 
 their prudence in the vigorous retrenchment 
 they had effected. Their road lay through the 
 romantic village where Adolphus had for some 
 time fixed his residence ; they were delighted to 
 find a relation and a countryman, — for at that 
 time all France was not overrun with English, 
 as it has been since. They remained some time 
 in that part of the province ; for there were 
 many things to see, and many people to visit ; 
 Augusta's former residence abroad having pro- 
 cured her a variety of acquaintance, who gladly 
 furnished her with letters of introduction to 
 people of any note. 
 
 Adolphus was so frequently seen riding and 
 walking with the Dessameres, that he gradually 
 found liimself caught by the current of society, 
 and frequently unable to escape the polite im-
 
 308 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 portunities of the neighbouring gentlemen to 
 meet his cousins at their house. The handsome 
 Enghshman, as he was called, soon attracted 
 universal notice. His polished manners, his 
 general information, his unvarying sadness, 
 which appeared yet more in his smile than in 
 his abstracted silence, produced a wonderful 
 sensation. The learned men referred to him in 
 matters of science, the unlearned in matters 
 of taste, the old ladies consulted him about 
 their complaints, and the damsels studied 
 " Young's Night Thoughts," that they might 
 lay in a store of fine gloom for their conversa- 
 tions with the melancholy Englishman. Wher- 
 ever Adolphus had been placed, circumstances 
 had always arisen to give him a peculiar inte- 
 rest in the eyes of others. Accustomed to be 
 caressed and courted, he saw nothing singular 
 in the attention paid him by his new acquaint- 
 ance ; and would not, perhaps, have marked 
 their extent, had they not been suddenly Avith- 
 drawn. Mrs. Dessamere had, very unintention- 
 ally, been the cause of the change he soon per-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 309 
 
 ceived. With her usual giddiness, she had said, 
 in a numerous company, where she had been 
 persecuted with questions about Adolphus, that 
 his mother was her father's first-cousin ; but 
 that who his father was, she could not say, 
 havinor never either seen or heard of him ; un- 
 less indeed they chose to take the scandalous 
 chronicle for gospel, which gave him Lord 
 Amesfort for a father. Whisperings instantly 
 ran round the room, coteries of decorous pro- 
 Aincial ladies formed themselves rapidly to 
 take into consideration the propriety of holding 
 anv further communication with the young fo- 
 reigner. The prejudice against illegitimacy is 
 much strono^er in France than in Enojland ; and 
 although some young people, more liberal or 
 more compassionate, tried to stem the torrent, 
 the veto was agreed upon by the majority, and 
 the rest consented to the interdict passed on 
 the stranger. 
 
 Totally unconscious of all this, Montresor 
 spent his time much as he had done before the 
 Dessameres fell in his wav, rather glad that
 
 SIO LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 their departure had restored him to solitude. 
 The arrival of some comedians in the neigh- 
 bouring city set every one in motion; and as 
 Algernon begged very hard to go and see them 
 perform, and his brother did not like to trust him 
 with a servant, or indeed out of his own sight, 
 he appeared on the third night of their perform- 
 ance. There were many people in the house, with 
 whom Adolphus had become slightly acquaint- 
 ed ; but, as they did not appear to see him, he 
 was better pleased to remain unnoticed. To Ma- 
 dame de Saumur, indeed, from whom he had re- 
 ceived much civility, he bowed on entering ; but 
 the distant manner in which his bow was return- 
 ed, gave him no encouragement to join her party, 
 had he been so disposed, which indeed he was 
 not. There was nothing very attractive in the 
 play or the actors; and probably, had both been 
 better, they would have amused Adolphus as 
 little. Towards the end of the entertainment 
 a young girl came on, who was received with 
 evident disapprobation. The actress was terri- 
 fied ; yet she endeavoured in calmer moments
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 311 
 
 to begin her part, but was as frequently stop- 
 ped. The Englishman was roused by the cla- 
 mour, and, taking pity on the youth and ap- 
 parent timidity of the girl, asked those around 
 him why she was condemned unlieard. He 
 could not gain a very distinct account ; every 
 one spoke at once ; but one thing seemed agreed 
 upon bv all, — that it was private resentment 
 that raised the outcry, which had nothing to do 
 with the talents or good conduct of the actress 
 in her profession. ]Montresor thought this 
 equally unjust and barbarous; and the tears of 
 the unfortunate performer having extorted a 
 few feeble plaudits, he strongly supported 
 them, and even stood up in the box to give his 
 applause with more effect. 
 
 The clamorous party now turned their resent- 
 ment from the fair one to her unexpected cham- 
 pion, and the scene of confusion that ensued 
 forced the female part of the audience to with- 
 draw. Adolphus, who had no desire to become a 
 prominent character in a playhouse row at 
 any time, but particularly when he was wanted
 
 312 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 
 
 to take care of his brother, followed their steps. 
 He found Madame de Saumur and her 
 daughters waiting for their carriage, which 
 could not draw up, owing to the bustle and 
 confusion which had spread into the street. 
 Leaving Algernon in their care, he forced his 
 way through the mob to seek it out, and see 
 if a little order could be restored. He succeed- 
 ed with some difficulty, and was handing the 
 ladies into their carriage, when a gentleman of 
 their party, coming out, pushed rudely past 
 him, muttering some words which, to judge 
 by the tone, were not meant to be conciliatory. 
 He was gone before Montresor could under- 
 stand the drift of the incivility, or quite make 
 up his mind as to its having been purposely di- 
 rected to himself. He did not remain long in 
 suspense; for the next morning, as he was walk- 
 ing with his gun in his hand over the Saumur 
 property, Algernon following him in great tri- 
 umph at being mounted on a pony, he fell in 
 with a party of sportsmen, one of whom asked 
 him roughly, by whose leave he was carrying a
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 313 
 
 gun there. Montresor almost immediately re- 
 cognized in the speaker the gentleman of the 
 night before, and little disposed to brook in- 
 sult, he returned the question by another. 
 " By what authority do you ask me ?''^ 
 
 " I do not,""' contemptuously returned the 
 other, " give an account of myself to my in- 
 feriors." 
 
 " Nor I, to any one," rejoined Adolphus ; 
 '* particularly when I do not know who does 
 me the honour of asking it." 
 
 The Frenchman sprung forward, and with 
 action of haughty insolence, exclaimed, " I am 
 the Marquis de Yivier — now pray. Sir, who 
 are you ?'''' 
 
 " One who cannot acknowledge in M. de 
 Vivier, or any other person, the right so to 
 question him." 
 
 " It is wise in the nameless to wrap them- 
 selves in mystery ; but remember, INIr. Un- 
 known, I shall not choose again to meet you 
 in my aunt's grounds." 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 314 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 " M. le Marquis may easily avoid that, by 
 not coming there himself/' ^rf^rt bft& ^Jsiooc^ 
 
 " Shall I be bearded thus by an obscure 
 stranger ?"" cried the enraged Frenchman, and 
 his party instantly came forward, and in vari- 
 ous tones, and with different modifications, de- 
 clared an apology was necessary. Montresor 
 waited calmly till the storm of tongues had 
 subsided, to declare not only that he saw no 
 necessity for an apology, but rather deemed, 
 that if any were made, it should be to himself, 
 who passing on without any desire to molest 
 them, had been wantonly attacked by them. 
 M. De Vivier angrily exclaimed, " No satisfac- 
 tion could be demanded of him, other than 
 sending him out of the kingdom ;"" but one of 
 his companions called out, " You forgot. Mon- 
 sieur is in the army, and therefore nothing 
 need prevent your taking satisfaction in a gen- 
 tleman-like way.'" 
 
 " That requires proof,'' sneeringly replied the 
 Marquis, " as indeed every thing does about 
 Monsieur."
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 315 
 
 ,-" Adolphus quietly took a letter out of his 
 pocket, and handed it over to the gentleman 
 who had interfered. It was directed by the 
 French ambassador in London, with whom he 
 was personally acquainted, and was a brief 
 but polite communication, which Lord Amesfort 
 had begged him to give the earliest informa- 
 tion of, to Adolphus. The sportsmen looked 
 at one another, and began to think they had 
 been much misled on the score of the English- 
 man's situation. M. De Landes returned the 
 letter, observing, " In this case it remains only 
 to be settled where you meet, J\I. De Vivier 
 Will you permit me the honour of being your 
 second." 
 
 " Willingly,'' replied Adolphus, *' and leave 
 to you the settling of time and place, of which 
 you will kindly inform me ;" and bowing slight- 
 ly to the party, he led on his brother's pony, 
 and was quickly out of sight. The subject was 
 then loudly canvassed. Every one was of a 
 different opinion from his neighbour ; and, after 
 much talking, every one remained in full pos-
 
 316 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 session of his own, without having influenced 
 that of any other person. As Adolphus turned 
 into the field which led to his dwelling, he per- 
 ceived the youngest of Madame de Saumur's 
 daughters alone. 
 
 " You are far from home, Mademoiselle 
 Julienne,**' said he, as he passed her. " Have 
 you missed your way, and will you allow me 
 the pleasure of setting you right ?^'' 
 
 " I am quite right since I have found you,'' 
 said she eagerly ; " but I am very weary, so I 
 hope you are going home, and then you shall 
 know why I am rambling over the country by 
 rayself." 
 
 Julienne was a lively girl, just entering 
 her teens, but low in stature and infantine in 
 manner, which gave her an appearance more 
 youthful than her years. Having a very 
 quick conception, she turned this to ac- 
 count, and said and did whatever she chose, 
 satisfied that her family would say, " It is 
 only the child." She had heard her sisters 
 speak of the tumult at the Theatre on the pre-
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 317 
 
 ceding night, and her curiosity to know from 
 whence arose the bitterness of her cousins to- 
 wards the young Englishman, roused her at- 
 tention to every trifle. She soon got to the 
 bottom of the business, and while her married 
 sister made matters worse, by defending and 
 applauding !Montresor, she sat considering how 
 she could save him any further trouble. She 
 foresaw that the sportsmen meeting him must 
 produce a quarrel, which would probably end 
 in a duel, and she thought if she could keep 
 him at home this day, the storm might blow 
 over, and that by insinuating how much her 
 mother would be hurt should any altercation 
 between himself and her nephew take place, he 
 might be prepared for moderation in future. 
 She did not want an excuse for her walk, for 
 some time ago Adolphus had promised to get 
 her seeds of some rare flower, from England ; 
 and had this not been the case, Julienne's wits 
 were sharp enough to forge one that would 
 answer every purpose as well — so taking her 
 Bonne with her, she sallied forth on her ex-
 
 318 LORD amesfort's family. 
 
 pedition. The old woman frequently remon- 
 strated on the needless length of their walk, but 
 Julienne was deaf to all she could urge. She 
 had already said more than once, *' only ano- 
 ther field, dear Bonne,'''' when the attendant 
 growing sulky, as she saw no end to the fields, 
 sat down to rest herself, as she said. 
 
 Adolphus, who did not feel that Madame De 
 Saumur would rejoice at hearing that her daugh- 
 ter, young as she was, had paid him a visit by 
 herself, was relieved at sight of Mademoiselle 
 Blumar, and pressed her to rest herself at his 
 house. 
 
 " Monsieur est bien honnete,''' said the old 
 woman, recovering her good humour at the un- 
 expected attention of a handsome cavalier, and 
 readily acceded to the request. As she passed 
 on, leaning in triumph on the proffered arm of 
 Montresor, Julienne chatted to Algernon, ask- 
 ing him, with apparent simplicity, which way 
 he had been riding, and whom he had met. 
 Julienne saw by his answers that she was too 
 late, and the person to watch now seemed
 
 LORD AMESFORT'S FAMILY. 319 
 
 rather to be M. De Vivier. She never once 
 alluded, therefore, to the object of her visit, 
 when she found herself in ^lontresor's cheerful 
 parlour, but employed her time in compassion- 
 ating the fatigue of her Bonne, or in rummag- 
 ing the books and drawings scattered on the 
 table, to find verses, which she asserted the 
 Englishman had written in her praise. Adol- 
 phus smiled, and assured her he was no poet ; 
 but she told him she had made many, and 
 would not despair of having the same effect on 
 him. " What a strange mixture of childish- 
 ness and coquetry,'' thought he, as he returned 
 from conducting Julienne de Saumur through 
 his little garden, which was her nearest way 
 home ; " how unlike an English child !'' 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY S, AND R. BENTLEY, 
 
 Dorset Street , Fleet Street,
 
 "N'VEjRSIITY OF ILUN0I9-URBANA 
 
 
 i