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 MODERN FLIRTATIONS; 
 
 OR, 
 
 A MONTH AT HARROWGATE. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 CATHERINE SINCLAIR, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " MODERN ACCOMPLISHMENTS," EIGHTH THOUSAND ; " MODERN 
 
 SOCIETY," SIXTH THOUSAND; "HILL AND VALLEY," THIRD THOUSAND; 
 
 "SCOTLAND AND THE SCOTCH," THIRD THOUSAND; "SHETLAND AND 
 
 THE SHETLANDERS," SECOND THOUSAND ; " HOLIDAY HOUSE," THIRD 
 
 THOUSAND; "CHARLIE SEYMOUR," THIRD THOUSAND, ETC. 
 
 •■ I clasped my hand close to my breast, 
 While my heart was as light as a feather, 
 Yet nothing I said, I protest, 
 But, ^— — ' Aladam ! 'tis very fine weather !' " 
 
 Rition's Songx. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 WILLIAM WHYTE AND CO., 
 
 BOOKSELLERS TO THE yUEEN DOWAGER ; 
 
 LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. ; SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO. ; HAMILTON, 
 ADAMS, AND CO.; WHITTAKER AND CO. ; DUNCAN AND MALCOM, LONDON: 
 W. CURRY, JUN., AND CO., DUBLIN*. AND WILLIAM COLLINS, GLASCOW. 
 
 MDCCCXLI.
 
 BALFOUR AND JACK, 
 
 PRI.VTERS, 
 
 MDDRY ST., EDINBURGH.
 
 v. 
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I would advise a man to pause, 
 Before he take a wife ; 
 
 Indeed I own I see no cause 
 He should not pause for life ! 
 
 The newspapers have recently adopted a 
 strange habit of sometimes unexpectedly seiz- 
 ing an individuaPs name, long since retired 
 from public notice, and gibbetting it up before 
 the world's eye, when least anticipated, by 
 ro volunteering a paragraph to announce, that 
 , some aged lord, or ex-minister, whom no one 
 • has remembered to think of for half a century 
 J^or more, is residing on his estates, and enjoy- 
 
 1 VOL. I. A
 
 2 MODERN FLIKTATIOXS. 
 
 ing, the editor is happy to understand, aston- 
 ishing health, considering his advanced years. 
 In observance of this custom, an exclamation 
 of irritability and astonishment, too violent to 
 be worthy of record, was elicited one day, from 
 a dignified and very distinguished-looking old 
 gentleman, with a venerable head, such as 
 Titian might have painted, and a high lofty 
 forehead bearing the traces of deep thought 
 and feeling, when, after having seated himself 
 on his favourite arm chair at the United Ser- 
 vice Club in Edinburgh, his eye rested with a 
 look of kindling amazement on these few lines, 
 in large consequential-looking type, on a lead- 
 ing column of the Courant. 
 
 June 1829. " We are happy to inform our 
 readers that the brave and noble veteran, once 
 a distinguished hero in many a well-fought 
 fight, Sir Arthur Dunbar, G.C.B., is yet alive, 
 reposing on his well-earned laurels, at a retired 
 mansion in the marine village of Portobello. 
 Though frequently and most severely wounded 
 in battle, besides being deprived of an arm in 
 Lord Rodney's engagement during the year
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 3 
 
 '82, the Admirars health continues unimpaired 
 and his cheerfulness invariable, at the advanc- 
 ed age of 70." 
 
 " Pshaw ! stuff and nonsense ! Some enemy 
 is resolved to make a laughing-stock of me in 
 my old age I"" exclaimed he, angrily pointing 
 out the paragraph to his gay young relative, 
 Louis de Crespigny, who was familiarly lean- 
 ing over the high back of his chair ; and then 
 crumpling up the offending Courant with an 
 obvious wish that it might be consumed in 
 the flames — " I hope this is only the work 
 of some wretched penny-a-liner ; but if I even 
 suspected that my conceited, good-looking 
 scoundrel of a nephew had a hand in the jest, 
 I would cut him off with a shilling, — or rather 
 without one, for I could scarcely raise so 
 much as a shilling to leave him, and he knows 
 that. This is most thoroughly ridiculous ! I, 
 who have been dead, buried, and forgotten 
 for years, to be made as conspicuous here, as 
 a hair-dresser's wig-block ! The editor shall 
 be prosecuted, — horse-whipped, — or — or made 
 as absurd as he has made me !"
 
 4 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ■ Why really, Admiral, I wish he had as 
 much good to say of us all, and then the 
 sooner he paragraphs about me the better ! — 
 ' We are happy to inform our readers, that 
 the agreeable and fascinating Cornet De 
 Crespigny, of the 15th Light Hussars, now in 
 his eighteenth year, is still alive !"* — the public 
 likes to know the exact age of distinguished 
 
 men, such as you and I, Admiral !"' 
 
 " The public is an ass !*" replied Sir Arthur, 
 breaking into a smile ; '' and perhaps I am 
 another, to mind what is said at all, but that 
 rascal of an editor has made me ten years 
 older than I am ; besides which, though a 
 grey-haired admiral of sixty-four is not proba- 
 bly much addicted to blushing, he really has 
 put my modest merit out of countenance. I 
 would rather pay the newspapers any day for 
 overlooking than for praising me. We ought 
 to live or die for our country; but now, when 
 J am no longer needed, let me stay in peace 
 on the shelf, like," added he, giving a comic 
 smile at his empty sleeve, '' like a cracked tea^ 
 cup with the handle off!"
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 " But, Sir Arthur !" replied the young Cor- 
 net warmly, " you who never turned your back 
 on friend or foe, are not very likely to remain 
 quietly on the shelf, as long as every man who 
 lives must respect you, and every man who 
 dies continues to appoint you, as my father 
 did, his executor, the trustee of his estates, 
 and the guardian of his children, asking you 
 to lend them a hand, as you have done to me 
 in all the difficulties of life.'" 
 
 " I have but one hand to lend, and that is 
 much at your service, in whatever way it can 
 be useful! the other, though absent without 
 leave, has been my own best friend, as the loss 
 of that arm was the luckiest hit in the world. 
 It obtained me a step at the time, and the 
 pension has supported me ever since. What 
 with my nephew's frantic extravagance, and 
 my two young nieces being but indifferently 
 provided for, I often wish, like every body else, 
 for a larger income. Poor girls!"*' added Sir 
 Arthur, knitting his bushy eye-brows into a 
 portentous frown, which gave to his venerable 
 countenance a look of noble and manly sor-
 
 6 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 row. " No one can blame them! but it was 
 little short of insanity in my brother to leave 
 such young children under the sole guardian- 
 ship of a heartless spendthrift like your friend 
 and my nephew Sir Patrick, who would sell 
 his soul for sixpence." 
 
 " Yes ! and squander it the next minute," 
 added young De Crespigny, laughing. " I saw 
 Pat produce a <5£*20 note yesterday at Tait's 
 auction-room, and a buzz of wonder ran all 
 through the circle of his friends. Such a sight 
 had not been seen in his pocket for many a 
 day, and he tlireatened to put it up to auction, 
 saying, he was sure we would all give double 
 the value for it, as a rarity, considering the 
 quarter from which it came. He really seems 
 to pique himself on his poverty, and has the 
 art of doing what another man would be cut 
 for, with so much grace and apparent uncon- 
 sciousness, that his friends really forget to 
 disapprove. 
 
 '' I never forget!" replied the Admiral, 
 slowly rising and adjusting his spectacles. '* I 
 am even told the incorrigible rascal has mort-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 7 
 
 gaged the legacy he pretends to expect from 
 me! He would do anything short of a high- 
 way robbery for money, and has done some 
 things that seem to a man of honour quite as 
 bad. But," added Sir Arthur, growing more 
 and more angry, " as long as he can give his 
 friends a good bottle of claret, they ask no 
 questions ! Patrick Dunbar has caused me the 
 only feelmg of shame I ever had occasion for, 
 and yet to see that proud snuff- the-moon look 
 of his, you would suppose the world scarcely 
 big enough to hold him! With his chin in the 
 air, as I saw him yesterday, he will certainly 
 knock his forehead some day against the sky !'' 
 " You cannot wonder. Sir Arthur, that 
 Dunbar is in immense favour with himself, 
 when he is so admired, and almost idolized in 
 society. He certainly has the handsomest 
 countenance in Scotland ; — as my uncle Don- 
 caster says, Pat is a portrait by Vandyke, in 
 his best style. With that grand, chivalrous, 
 ChevaUer-Bayard look, he is the best rider 
 who ever sat on horseback ! I could not but 
 laugh when he mounted yesterday for a ride
 
 8 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 along Princes Street, and turned to me, with 
 his Hvoly, victorious laugh, saying, ' Now I am 
 going to give the ladies a treat I"* " 
 
 " The insufferable coxcomb !"" said Sir Ar- 
 thur, relaxing into an irresistible smile of in- 
 dulgent aflPection. " From the day he first 
 came swaggering into this world to astonish 
 us all, he has thought himself the finest sight 
 between this and Whitehall !" 
 
 '' Of course he does ! Pat is asked for so 
 many locks of his hair, by various young la- 
 dies, that his valet keeps a wig to supply 
 them ; and he might almost pay his debts 
 with the countless collection he has received 
 of sentimental rings, displaying forgotten for- 
 get-me-nots, in turquoises and gold ! Who, on 
 the wide earth, except yourself, Sir Arthur, 
 would ever dream of finding fault with our 
 gay, dashing, high-spirited friend, Dunbar, the 
 life of society, the model of dress, equipage, 
 and good living. Why ! the very instant he 
 opens his lips, all dulness vanishes like a spec- 
 tre ! I wish the whole world were peopled 
 with such men ; but he promises to shoot him-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. ^ 
 
 self as soon as he ,sees his own equal. He 
 staked his reputation one day that he would !"" 
 
 " His reputation ! ! the sooner he parts 
 with it the better ! Let Patrick Dunbar ex- 
 chanofe his own with the first man he meets in 
 the street, and he will gain by the bargain." 
 
 " Pardon me, there. Sir Arthur, your ne- 
 phew is universally allowed to be the best fel- 
 low upon earth !" 
 
 " Very probably ! the ' best fellow upon 
 earth^ generally means a selfish, extravagant, 
 scatter-brained roue ; but I must be off ! 
 There is a cold, sharp, cutting wind, blowing 
 in at the back of my neck, which makes me 
 feel like Charles the First when the axe fell. 
 If you have any influence, De Crespigny, with 
 my scape-grace of a nephew — all nephews are 
 scape-graces, as far as my experience goes — 
 try to make him more like yourself, and I 
 shall be grateful, with all my heart." 
 
 " Like me ! I V said the young Cornet, turn- 
 ing away with a smile ; but it was a smile of 
 bitterness, almost amounting to remorse, whih^ 
 he hastily grasped a newspaper, and fluriLr
 
 10 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 himself into a seat. " No ! no ! Sir Arthur, 
 he is not quite so bad as that. Dunbar has 
 his faults ; he wears them upon his sleeve, and 
 attempts no disguise; but there are many 
 worse men in the world, who are held up as 
 examples by those who know no better. 
 Whenever I reform myself, you may depend 
 upon my lecturing our friend, but not till then. 
 We must both sow all our wild oats first.*' 
 
 " Yes ! and endure the fruit of them after- 
 wards," replied Sir Arthur, with a look of 
 anxious kindness at his young relative. " That 
 is the only crop where to sow is more agree- 
 able than to reap ! But 1 waste words ! 
 Young men will be young men, and I might 
 as well ask this east wind not to blow, or try 
 to turn the sea from its course, as attempt to 
 stop the mad career of that scatter-brained 
 madcap ! It would matter less if he only fell 
 himself hereafter, like a pebble in the stream ; 
 but the fatal eddy extends in a wide circle, 
 which must reach the interests of those help- 
 less young girls, my nieces ; and I cannot but 
 grieve over the consequences which may, and
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. H 
 
 must befall them, after I go to that rest which 
 is ill the grave, and to that hope which is be- 
 yond it." 
 
 " Never trouble your head about what shall 
 occur then, Sir Arthur ! ' Too much care 
 once made an old man grey.' My motto is, 
 ' apres moi le deluge P This little world of ours 
 got on wonderfully well before \^lM|fciie into 
 it, and will do astonishingly well again, after 
 we make our exit," said young De Crespigny, 
 with a strange medley in his tone, of melancho- 
 ly thought, and contemptuous derision. " Pat 
 tells me that both my young cousins promise 
 to turn out a perfect blaze of beauty, w ith long 
 shining ringlets that they almost tread upon 
 in walking, teeth that would make the fortune 
 of a dentist, and complexions that Rowland's 
 kalydor could not improve. Ten years hence, 
 I shall propose to one or both of them, myself, 
 if that will give you satisfaction." 
 
 " Perfect ! but as marrying two sisters at 
 once is not quite customary, let your inten- 
 tions be limited to Agnes. She is several 
 years the eldest ; and I like the good old pa-
 
 12 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 triarchal rule of marrying by seniority , be- 
 sides which, she is quite a little flirt already, 
 though scarcely yet in her teens. She will be 
 a young lady, entirely suited for the ordinary 
 marrying and giving in marriage of every-day 
 life ; but little Marion is the very light of my 
 eyes, and I must match her by a ver^' high 
 standard indeed. It will be a dark day for 
 me, if I am ever obliged to part with her at 
 all ; and being now only in her sixth year, I 
 may, without selfishness, hope to keep her be- 
 side me for my few remaining days. I must 
 begin match-making for Agnes, however, di- 
 rectly, and your offer shall be duly considered. 
 A future peer, wdth countless thousands in 
 expectancy, and not particularly ill-looking, 
 does not fall in our way every morning."' 
 
 '• So all the young ladies seem to think !*' 
 replied the young Cornet, in his most conceited 
 tone. "Girls disHke nothing so much as to 
 marry on a competence ; there is a great deal 
 of romance in marrying on nothing, and a 
 great deal of comfort in marrying on wealth ; 
 but a more vulgar competence has neither ro- 
 
 ':':■
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. IS 
 
 mance nor reality. Now I can offer both ! 
 First, actual starvation on a Cornet's pay ; 
 and then, with my uncle's leave, the pumpkin 
 will turn to a carriage, and the mice into 
 horses ; but in the mean time, Sir Arthur, Pat 
 tells me you keep a capital chop-house at Por- 
 tobello, so pray invite me to drop in some day 
 at six, to begin my siege of your pretty niece. 
 I must come and see, before I can conquer,'' 
 added Mr De Orespigny, in a tone of peculiar 
 conceit, with which he always spoke either to 
 ladies or of them. " Probably next week I 
 may find my way to this terra incognita of 
 yours. Is it across the Queensferry, or where T 
 " My good friend ! you are not so pre-emi- 
 nently ignorant of geography as you would 
 appear ; for did I not see you honouring that 
 dullest of all dull places, the little obscure vil- 
 lage of Portobello, with your august presence, 
 only yesterday. I nearly spitted you on the 
 point of my umbrella, you hurried so rapidly 
 past, evidently wishing to escape from that girl 
 in a cloak, who seemed to beset your footsteps !" 
 " Impossible ! ! !" exclaimed young De Ores-
 
 I ^ MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 pigny, colouring violently, and starting from 
 his seat. " Could it be in the nature of things 
 that I should cut you !" 
 
 " True enough ! I might have said, like 
 Lady Towercliffe to Prince Meimkoff, ' cous 
 m'^avez coupe.'' " 
 
 " Indeed !""' continued the cornet, trying to 
 conceal his countenance. " I wish you had 
 cut my throat in return !" 
 
 " If it is to be done, I would rather some- 
 body else did ! Why, De Crespigny ! you will 
 set the house on fire with that violent poker 
 exercise ! Your own face is on fire already ! 
 Have more regard for your complexion ! Ah ! 
 now it is pale enough! Are you ill? My 
 dear fellow ! what is the matter C 
 
 " Nothing ! I am merely looking at the 
 beautiful sun-set !" 
 
 *' What ! does the sun set in the east to- 
 night r asked Sir Arthur, jestingly ; '• that 
 is worth looking at !'' 
 
 " I am annoyed with a spasm of tooth- 
 ache !" said De Crespigny, putting a handker- 
 chief to his face, which nearly covered it ; and
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 15 
 
 then suddenly throwing open the window, he 
 looked far out, as if in search of his groom. 
 He leaned forward so long, however, that Sir 
 Arthur kindly but vehemently remonstrated 
 on the danger of exposing himself, while in so 
 much pain, to the cold air ; enumerated a 
 whole host of remedies for decayed teeth ; 
 suggested the great comfort and convenience 
 of having the offender extracted by Hutchins, 
 and ended by hoping his young friend would 
 still have a tooth left for his proposed dinner 
 at Portobello. 
 
 "Depend upon me for that," replied Mr 
 De Crespigny, with forced vivacity. " I shall 
 ferret you out next week. I have little doubt 
 your pasture is excellent in that quarter, and 
 there is no one from whom I should be half 
 so happy to receive a soup ticket." 
 
 " Keep your flattery for the ladies, where it 
 will always be acceptable, and where I hear 
 you are already an experienced practitioner 
 in the arts of captivation. As for my dinner, 
 I consider it an imposition to ask any friend, 
 and not give him the best my cook and cellar
 
 1 a MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 can furnish ; and you may expect whenever 
 you do come, to find a notice over my door, 
 ' hot joints every day !' " 
 
 " But it was the society of your house, and 
 not the dinner, to which my agreeable antici- 
 pations were directed ; and there, you know, 
 I cannot be disappointed ! as somebody wise- 
 ly said, when shewn a tempting bill of fare, 
 ' shew me a bill of the company !' ''* 
 
 " That reminds me to say, you must not ex- 
 pect my pretty niece to be at my little bath- 
 ing machine of a house ! It would not be fair 
 to inveigle you under such false pretences ; but 
 I promise you an old man's welcome, and the 
 best that my cottage can produce ; aged as 
 this newspaper makes me, I enjoy every inch 
 of life, and hope you, at the same age, will do 
 the same. I may almost apply to my little 
 villa that favourite saying in Spain, 
 
 ' My home, my home ! though thou "rt but small. 
 Tliou art to me th' Escurial.' " 
 
 With a cordial shake of the hand, and a 
 smile of cheerful benignity. Sir Arthur with- 
 drew, and as his firm and stately step receded.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 17 
 
 Mr De Orespigny watched him with a look of 
 respectful interest, which ended in his turning 
 away after the admiral had disappeared, and 
 heaving a deep sigh, while a cloud of care 
 darkened on his forehead, and a look of angry 
 vexation shaded his previously animated eyes. 
 Day after day passed on, subsequent to 
 the preceding conversation, during which Sir 
 Arthur frequently postponed his chop, to what 
 he considered an atrociously late hour, in 
 hopes of his promised guest appearing. Once 
 the admiral felt positively convinced that he 
 had seen him enter a Portobello omnibus at 
 four o'clock, but still he appeared not. Week 
 after week elapsed, and still Sir Arthur ate 
 his dinner alone, in long-surviving expectation, 
 that either his own not very dutiful nephew, 
 or young De Orespigny, would " cast up ;" but 
 at last these hopes and wishes were ended by 
 his hearing that Sir Patrick's embarrassments 
 had caused him to leave Edinburgh by moon- 
 light, and that, soon after, Mr De Orespigny 
 as suddenly departed, no one knew why, when. 
 or wherefore.
 
 18 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 " The child is father of the man." 
 
 Wordsworth. 
 
 The two most dashing, bold, and mischievous 
 boys at Eton during their day, had formerly 
 been Sir Patrick Dunbar and Louis de Cres- 
 pigny, who astonished the weak minds of 
 masters and pupils, by the strange and start- 
 ling invention displayed in their exploits, as 
 well as by the ingenuity with which both got 
 safely out of every threatening predicament, 
 and the sly humour or cunning with whicli 
 they frequently shifted the disgrace, or even 
 the punishment, of their offences, on others 
 who deserved it less, or perhaps not at all. 
 Invariably at the head of every mad exploit.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 19 
 
 or at the bottom of every secret design, how 
 they could possibly have escaped being ex- 
 pelled was a frequent topic of subsequent 
 wonder among their contemporaries in the 
 classes ; but their delight was to run as near 
 the wind as possible, and still to display their 
 skilful pilotage by baffling justice, and evading 
 the utmost rigour of the law, while always 
 ready rather to do harm than to do nothing. 
 
 When very young, the two enterprising 
 friends, both since gazetted into the loth 
 Light Huzzars, had shewn an early predilection 
 for military life, by frequently escaping to the 
 neighbouring barracks, assisted by a ladder 
 of rope on which they descended every night 
 from the windows. A gay joyous reception 
 invariably awaited these lively boys at the 
 mess- table, where they sung many a jovial 
 song, and cracked many a merry jest over 
 their claret, till, after some hours spent in 
 rapturous festivity, they stole silently back 
 within bounds, and were re-admitted at the 
 window, by their respective fags, who had re- 
 ceived orders, under pain of death, to keep
 
 20 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 awake and answer their signals for the ladder 
 by instantly lowering it. The spirits of both 
 these young companions were more like the 
 effect of intoxication, than mere sober enjoy- 
 ment ; and, on one occasion, they set the 
 table in a roar, by having a rivalship which 
 would best imitate the gradual progress of 
 becoming tipsy, though drinking nothing but 
 cold water; in which exhibition they showed so 
 much talent for mimicry, taking off the sur- 
 rounding officers before their faces, and mak- 
 ing so many home-thrusts and personal re- 
 marks, that the scene was never afterwards 
 forgotten in the regiment. On another occa- 
 sion Sir Patrick caused himself to be placed 
 in a coffin, stolen from the undertakers, and 
 was carried through the barracks by his com- 
 panions, wdio made paper trumpets with which 
 they played the dead march in Saul, while all 
 the sentries saluted as they passed. Such 
 juvenile exploits in the dawn of life were now 
 the subject of many a laughing reminiscence, 
 and had been followed by others on a more 
 extended scale and of more matured enter-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. ^1 
 
 prise, at Mr Brownlow's, a private tutor, 
 where the two young men afterwards distin- 
 guished themselves in a way not easily to be 
 forgotten, causing their better disciplined 
 companions to wonder, though in very few in- 
 stances to admire. 
 
 In the favQurite aristocratic achievements 
 of driving stage coaches, breaking lamps, 
 wringing oif knockers, assaulting w^atchmen, 
 with other fistic and pugilistic exploits, they 
 were nearly unrivalled ; and occasionally their 
 genius had soared into an extraordinary dis- 
 play of dexterity, in transposing the signs sus- 
 pended over shops, and in filching silk hand- 
 kerchiefs from the pockets of their friends, 
 merely as amateurs, but still the deed was 
 done, and the laugh raised literally at the ex- 
 pense of the sufferer, as the plunder was re- 
 tained to be a future trophy of success. Each 
 successive stage of their youth, in short, sup- 
 plied an inexhaustible fund of standing jests 
 and lively anecdotes, the wit of which mainly 
 consisted in their mischief, while they betray- 
 ed an utter recklessness about the opinions or
 
 22 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 the feelings of others, till at length the pati- 
 ence of their unfortunate private tutor was so 
 completely exhausted that he gave them a 
 secret hint to withdraw, which they accord- 
 ingly lost no time in preparing to do, but not 
 till they had enjoyed a very characteristic 
 revenge. When Mr Brownlow had taken a 
 party of friends with him one evening to the 
 theatre, Sir Patrick suddenly discharged from 
 the gallery the whole contents of a prodigious 
 bag of flour, which powdered all the heads, 
 faces, and coats, in the pit, perfectly white, 
 and caused an uproar of anger and of irresis- 
 tible laughter throughout the house ; and the 
 same evening Louis de Crespigny, as a fare- 
 well frolic, abstracted a stuffed bear from the 
 neighbouring hair-dresser's, and having equip- 
 ped it in the costume of Mr Brownlow, hung it 
 from the lamp-post, where a panic-struck crowd 
 was speedily assembled by the alarming report 
 that the reverend gentleman had committed 
 suicide. A strict investigation took place re- 
 specting the authors of these unpardonable 
 tricks, but, though suspicion fell at once upon
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 23 
 
 the real culprits, and the circumstantial evi- 
 dence against them seemed irresistibly strong, 
 Sir Patrick argued his own cause with so 
 much skill and vivacity, while De Crespigny 
 looked so innocently unconscious of the whole 
 affair, that, with a silent frown from the mas- 
 ter, of stern reproof and suspicion, they were, 
 not honourably acquitted, but allowed to re- 
 turn home without any public mark of cen- 
 sure or disgrace ; and soon after both joined 
 their regiment at Dublin. 
 
 De Crespigny and Sir Patrick had but one 
 companion whom they acknowledged as their 
 equal at Eton, in all the spirit, enterprise, and 
 vivacity of their characters, but who was, in a 
 thousand other respects, their superior, for 
 seldom, indeed, has there been known, in one 
 so young, a character of as much intensity, or 
 which displayed a combination so singular, of 
 superb talents, rare judgment, sound prin- 
 ciple, deep piety, and energetic feeling, as 
 in Richard Granville, an object of admira- 
 tion to all, and of envy to many; though 
 jealousy lost half of its bitterness in asso-
 
 24 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ciation with one so eloquent and single-heart- 
 ed in conversation, so courteously amiable 
 and conciliatory in manner, and with so 
 fine a principle of tact, ready as far as pos- 
 sible to enhance the pleasures, to palliate the 
 faults, and to share the sorrows of all his com- 
 panions. Cultivated in all that could adorn 
 the heart, as well as the head, in whatever 
 was amiable, high-spirited, and generous, Rich- 
 ard Granville had but to follow the impulse of 
 natural feeling as well as of principle, and he 
 out-did the very wishes of his friends, while no 
 one excelled him in all the manly exercises 
 suited to his early years. His countenance 
 was illuminated with an expression of intellec- 
 tual energy, at times almost sublime, while 
 there was a living grace and amiability in his 
 manner irresistibly attractive. Brave, Hberal, 
 and resolute, he entered with eagerness into 
 all the inoffensive recreations of his compa- 
 nions, and no one excelled him in riding, 
 fencing, and cricket, while he was the best 
 shot in his own county ; but he firmly de- 
 clined ever to squander his time or money on
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 25 
 
 any games of chance, cards, billiards, or gam- 
 bling in any form. While Sir Patrick's bet- 
 ting-book was from the first a model of skill, 
 in hedging bets, and all the manoeuvres of 
 jockey-ology, young Granville said all that 
 eloquence and affection could dictate, to point 
 out how dangerous and dishonourable was the 
 course on which he seemed about to enter, 
 but in vain, for Sir Patrick finished the dis- 
 cussion by offering to bet him L.5 he would 
 not be ruined in less than ten years. " I have 
 a fortune and constitution which will last me 
 till thirty," said the young baronet ; " and I 
 do not wish to live a day longer.'' 
 
 " It is easy," said Prince Eugene, "to be 
 modest when one is successful, but it is difficult 
 not to be envied." While the very presence of 
 young Granville in the room with his riotous 
 young associates, seemed as if it held up a 
 glass to their mind's eye, testifying the folly 
 and evil of their course, yet Richard Granville 
 abhorred display, while Sir Patrick and De 
 Crespigny frequently declared he was " too 
 clever and too good for them ;" and unavoid- 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 26 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 able circumstances afterwards combined to 
 estrange the young men still more. A law- 
 suit had been going on almost since the period 
 of their birth, conducted in an amicable way 
 by their guardians, in which the interests of 
 all three were so deeply concerned, and the 
 case so exceedingly complicated, that years 
 passed on, during which the youths had all 
 grown to manhood, and the case remained 
 still undecided; while the one-sided view 
 which was given to Dunbar and De Crespigny 
 on the subject caused in them an angry feel- 
 ing of rancour and hostility against their ami- 
 able and high-minded young relative, who was 
 so enthusiastically desirous to enter the Eng- 
 lish church, and devote himself to those sacred 
 duties, that he scarcely wished a favourable 
 decree, which would prevent the necessity for 
 his pursuing a profession at all. 
 
 A Scotch law-suit may be compared to a 
 game at battle-dore between the tribunals 
 of England and Scotland, while the gaping 
 client sees the shuttle-cock for ever flying 
 over his head, higher and higher out of reach.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 27 
 
 and sent backwards and forwards with cease- 
 less diligence, but no apparent progress ; or 
 it is like a kitten playing with a ball of 
 worsted, which is allowed to come often ap- 
 parently within her grasp, and is then, when 
 she least expects, twitched away farther than 
 before. The Granville case had been decided 
 by the Court of Session, against the two cou- 
 sins, Dunbar and De Orespigny, but being ap- 
 pealed to the House of Lords, was recom- 
 mended for consideration, re-argued, re-consi- 
 dered, and nearly reversed, while replies and 
 duplies, remits and re-revisals, commissions of 
 inquiry, and new cases, followed each other in 
 ceaseless succession, and many of the lawyers 
 who were young men when the case began, 
 grew grey in the service, while yet it remained 
 in suspense. A grand-uncle of Sir Patrick's 
 had fifty years before bought an estate of 
 L. 12,000 a-year from the Marquis of Doncas- 
 ter, to whom young De Crespigny was now 
 heir-presumptive ; but Mr Dunbar having, it 
 was conjectured, entertained some suspicion 
 that the title-deeds were not perfectly valid,
 
 2<S MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 as an entail had been discovered afterwards, 
 by which it was generally thought that the 
 land must be restored to the original owner, 
 he hastily and most unfairly sold the property 
 to the late Mr Granville for L.3o0,000, and 
 dying intestate, after having lost nearly the 
 whole sum in a mining speculation, it could 
 not be proved whether Sir Patrick''s father 
 had acted as executor for the deceased or not, 
 so as to render himself responsible for his 
 debts, and liable to refund the sum paid by 
 Mr Granville. Thus, whether the entail held 
 good, and carried the estate back to Lord 
 Doncaster, or whether it had been legally 
 broken, so as to entitle the Granville family 
 to keep it, or whether, if it were refunded, the 
 price could be claimed from the heirs of Mr 
 Dunbar, still continued a mystery never ap- 
 parently to be solved. 
 
 For many generations past, the ancient 
 Marquisate of Doncaster had been inherited 
 by a succession of only sons, all strict Papists, 
 who had each in his turn been reckoned by 
 tlie next heirs exceedingly sickly and unpro-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 29 
 
 mising, but still the wonder grew, for not one 
 had ever died, till he left a substitute in regu- 
 lar rotation, to supply the vacancy which he 
 created himself; and a long train of minorities 
 in the family had caused the accumulation of 
 wealth and property to be enormous, when 
 the present proprietor succeeded, fifty years 
 before our story commences. Nothing could 
 exceed his own astonishment at the unembar- 
 rassed magnificence of the fortune, of which 
 he most unexpectedly found himself in pos- 
 session, as his father had been in the habit 
 of concealing the amount of his own income, 
 and allowing his heir rather less than nothing, 
 saying, that as he himself never had anything 
 to eat till he had no teeth to eat with, he was 
 resolved that his successor should be similarly 
 treated. In pursuance of this plan, the old 
 nobleman even on his death-bed, had actually 
 expired with a practical joke on his lips. He 
 sent for his son, gravely told him that with 
 debts, mortgages, and settlements, the very 
 encumbered estate he was about to inherit 
 would scarcely pay its own expenses, and re-
 
 30 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 commended him to live in future with the 
 most penurious economy. When the will was 
 opened, finding to his unutterable joy, that he 
 had merely been played upon by the old hu- 
 morist, who in reality left him L.40,000 per an- 
 num clear, so great was Lord Doncaster's sur- 
 prise, that he declared his good fortune at the 
 time to be " almost incredible ;" and it might 
 have been supposed, that he never afterwards 
 completely believed it, as his personal expenses 
 were always in a style more suited to the old 
 Lord's threat than his performance, and he 
 became a fresh instance of what may be so of- 
 ten remarked, that the most extravagant heirs 
 in expectancy become the most avaricious in 
 possession. 
 
 There was one singular peculiarity in the 
 settlements of Lord Doncaster's family, that 
 so long as he had no son, or if his son at 
 twenty-one declared himself a Protestant, he 
 had the power of selling or bequeathing the 
 estates according to his own pleasure or ca- 
 price ; and the ancestor who had inserted this 
 clause in his deed of entail, made his intention
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 31 
 
 evident, that the succession should go to the 
 Roman Cathohc Church, rather than to a Pro- 
 testant heir ; but the present peer had taken 
 advantage, on so large a scale, of his own 
 childless privilege, to sell the family estates, 
 that his two deceased sisters. Lady Charlotte 
 De Crespigny, and Lady Carohne Smytheson, 
 used secretly to complain, that little would be 
 left for their children, if he persevered in 
 tiirning every acre into gold ; yet no one ever 
 could guess how the large sums were squan- 
 dered or melted away, which the old Marquis 
 was continually raising, unless they went, 
 as was strongly suspected, in the form of 
 " secret service money," among the priests by 
 whom he was surrounded. 
 
 Nobody had a better right to be eccentric 
 than Lord Doncaster ! — old, rich, unmarried, 
 and originally educated at home, — a misfor- 
 tune sufficient in itself to engender so many 
 peculiarities, as to render a man unfit for so- 
 ciety ever afterwards. The aged peer was 
 shy, proud, and arbitrary beyond all con- 
 ception, avaricious about trifles, yet lavish to
 
 32 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 excess on great occasions, suspicious of all 
 men's motives and intentions, and yet con- 
 fiding to the last extreme of weakness, in the 
 Abbe Mordaunt, his confessor, despising all 
 men, and yet anxious beyond measure for the 
 world's good opinion, addicted to the very 
 worst female society, when he might have 
 enjoyed the best, hating company, and yet 
 sometimes plunging into it, when and where 
 he was least expected, jealous to excess of 
 his next heir, Louis De Crespigny, whom he 
 enslaved to his caprices, as if even his exist- 
 ence were to be given or withheld at his 
 option, yet sometimes whimsically cordial in 
 his manner to him, though ready to take fire 
 in an instant if his condescension led the live- 
 ly youth into the slightest approach towards 
 confidence or familiarity. 
 
 Mr Howard Smytheson, the wealthy bro- 
 ther-in-law of Lord Doncaster, having pur- 
 chased most of the De Crespigny estates, as 
 acre after aero, farm after farm, and house 
 after house, came successively into the mar- 
 ket, bequeathed them on his decease to an
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 33 
 
 only daughter then an infant, and it became 
 a favourite day-dream with the old peer, that 
 his nephew and niece should be educated for 
 each other, while to this end he tried his ut- 
 most power of conciliation with the iriaiden 
 sister of Mr 'Howard Smytheson, to whose 
 care the young heiress had been consigned, 
 hoping that thus all the amputated limbs of 
 his vast property might yet be reunited in 
 their pristine magnitude, to which very de- 
 sirable end he thenceforth directed his whole 
 conversations with young De Crespigny, to 
 whom he more than hinted that, unless their 
 will were the same about this marriage, his 
 own will after death would be found very dif- 
 ferent from what his nephew probably antici- 
 pated and wished. 
 
 The private vices of Lord Doncaster had 
 been so very private, that though much was 
 suspected, little could be known; yet, while he 
 had few visible or personal expenses, and no 
 imaginable outlet for his fortune, he invariably 
 spent all his income, and considerably more, 
 being one of those personages occasionally seen
 
 34 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 who excite the wonder and speculation of rela- 
 tions and neighbours, by unaccountably frit- 
 tering away fortunes of almost royal splendour, 
 without any appearance of royal luxury or royal 
 liberality. Wearied of the world, in which he 
 had nothing more to desire, and of himself, as 
 he had nothing to think of or to do, — bored in 
 short with the want of a want. Lord Doncas- 
 ter's life was indeed a mere heartless pageant 
 of mean ostentation and fretful pride, sternly 
 insulated in a state of solitary old-bachelor 
 despotism, and absorbed in himself to a degree 
 which no ordinary mind could conceive or 
 comprehend. Encumbered with so many un- 
 occupied hours, it was a subject of as much 
 wonder how he disposed of his supei'fluous 
 time, as of his superfluous fortune; but he set- 
 tled that question, by remarking one day to 
 his nephew, that " the great business of life 
 is, to shuffle through the day anyhow till din- 
 ner time.'' Like all parsimonious men, Lord 
 Doncaster could not endure to hear any one 
 else reckoned affluent, and Louis De Crespigny 
 knew that a certain receipt for irritating him
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. oo 
 
 v;as, to over-estimate everybody's income, con- 
 sequently he amused himself occasionally by 
 audibly giving out Lord Towercliffe's fortune 
 to be L.l 5,000 a-year, and estimating his friend 
 Sir Patrick Dunbar's rent-roll at a clear sum 
 of L. 20,000 per annum, while he slyly watched 
 his uncle's rising choler, and patiently heard, 
 for the fiftieth time, an elaborate explanation, 
 that it was impossible, and a sober calculation, 
 which reduced both the offending parties almost 
 to beggary. 
 
 In the month of August, as regularly as time 
 revolved. Lord Doncaster delighted to read in 
 the newspapers, his own pompous advertise- 
 ment, the only original composition he was ever 
 known to attempt, in which he prohibited 
 poachers and strangers from shooting on his 
 moors in Argyleshire, Mid-Lothian, Yorkshire, 
 Galloway, Cromarty, and Caithness, but except 
 the annual appearance of this spirited mani- 
 festo, no public evidence ever came forth of 
 that extraordinary wealth which property so 
 extensive must be supposed to produce. No 
 charitable donations bore witness to Lord Don-
 
 36 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 caster 8 liberality, — no country objects were 
 encouraged by his public spirit, — and the mo- 
 numents daily arising in memory of departed 
 merit, made a vain appeal for his pecuniary 
 tribute of respect and regret, for Lord Doncas- 
 ter neither respected nor regi'etted any man. 
 
 It was an often-repeated axiom of Lord Don- 
 caster's, that every man cheats or is cheated; 
 but in one instance, and one only, his Lordship 
 had shown apparently some kind feeling, or 
 rather perhaps he might be said to have exhi' 
 bited a capricious freak of benevolence, though 
 the result had been such as to afford him an 
 excuse ever afterwards for not again attempt- 
 ing a single act of gratuitous liberality. 
 
 The nearest relative to his ancient lamily, af- 
 ter Louis De Crespigny and Miss Howard, was 
 Mrs Anstruther, a distant cousin, who, after 
 making a low and almost disgraceful marriage, 
 had suddenly died, it was believed by her own 
 hands, thus consigning her two young children 
 to helpless, and apparently hopeless poverty, 
 till at length they were very unwillingly invited, 
 or rather permitted to become residents in an
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 37 
 
 almost menial capacity at Beaujolie Castle, in 
 Yorkshire, where, as they could neither be 
 drowned like kittens, nor shot like puppy-dogs, 
 the Marquis caused them to be treated like 
 the " whipping boys" in Charles the First's 
 time, — sometimes employed as playmates to 
 amuse his nephew and niece during their holi- 
 day visits to his residence, but more frequently 
 treated in a sort of mongrel-way between de- 
 pendents and slaves by the heartless and 
 tyrannical old peer, who considered them as 
 mere poachers on the preserve of his family 
 honours, having forced their way into exist- 
 ence by some untoward accident, and become 
 absolute blots in the creation, liable to be 
 suspected, and even accused to their faces of 
 every low and vicious propensity, in conse- 
 quence of which, from an early age, he destroy- 
 ed their self-respect, and irritated their evil 
 passions by the most rash and unfounded 
 aspersions, — theft, swindling, lying, and glut- 
 tony, were among the principal counts in his 
 Lordship's indictment, when he sometimes 
 vented a paroxysm of ill-humour on these his
 
 38 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 unhappy dependents; and many a time the 
 tears of Mary Anstruther, and the flashing eye 
 of her brother Ernest, bore witness to the 
 anger and grief with which they listened to 
 his bitter and often unmerited upbraidings. 
 
 At times, however, Lord Doncaster found it 
 convenient for his own private purposes to pa- 
 tronize the Anstruthers, and threatened, in the 
 hearing of all his young relatives, that if Louis 
 De Crespigny's conduct did not in all respects 
 satisfy him, an heir more subservient to his 
 wishes might be found, and though the culprit 
 must be his nephew, he need not be his succes- 
 sor, while the glance of his eye towards Ernest 
 aroused hopes, 'wishes, and even expectations 
 of the wildest extravagance, which were then 
 confirmed for a time by his being promoted 
 to temporary attention and consideration, not 
 only displayed ostentatiously by their caprici- 
 ous patron, but extending to the increased re- 
 spect and observance of the servants, the 
 thermometer of whose obedience rose and fell 
 according as the sunshine of Lord Doncaster's 
 favour shone upon his young relative or not;
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 39 
 
 yet brief as these periods of increased import- 
 ance had always been, they made an indelible 
 impression on the young and ambitious minds 
 of those usually neglected children. " The 
 child becomes a boy, the boy a youth, and 
 then the game of life begins in earnest." 
 
 Without education or principle, and with 
 no friend on the wide earth to confide in or to 
 consult, the two young Anstruthers, like weeds 
 that will yet flourish though trampled upon, 
 grew up vigorous in body, and enthusiastically 
 as well as devotedly attached to each other, 
 with a depth and power of affection which ap- 
 peared, before long, the only redeeming qua- 
 lity in characters wherein strong passions and 
 weak principles promised littlie, and threat- 
 ened much, to all with whom they might 
 hereafter become associated. 
 
 The resemblance between them was as re- 
 markable as their attachment, both having 
 dark Italian-looking countenances, of remark- 
 able symmetry, with a singularly excitable and 
 determined expression in their large lustrous 
 eves, while it was remarkable that neither
 
 40 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 could by possibility look any one steadily in 
 the face. There was a wild, almost feverish 
 brillancy in the eye of Ernest, expressive of a 
 fiery impetuosity, amounting at times almost 
 to an appearance of insanity, when, after be- 
 ing obliged to crouch and flatter for his bread 
 before Lord Doncaster, he would retire with 
 Mary, and give loose to all the angry torrent 
 of his long-suppressed emotions. The sister's 
 heart cowered sometimes before the flood of 
 invectives and imprecations with which he re- 
 lieved his heart by speaking of his wrongs, 
 while he seemed to cherish a gnawing belief 
 that fortune herself had shown him a most 
 unaccountable and undeserved enmity, which 
 he was resolved, by fair or by foul means, to 
 subvert. " I shall yet rise above all the acci- 
 dents of fortune ! It shall be done, I care not 
 how, Mary,'" said he sternly. " We must not 
 be over-particular on that score, for, as the 
 proverb says, ' a cat in mittens will never 
 catch mice I**" 
 
 Bold, fearless, and ready, with a keen appe- 
 tite for danger, a fearless ambition, consummate
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 41 
 
 cunning, and an insatiable thirst for adventure, 
 it seemed sometimes as if he would put his 
 mind into a pugilistic attitude, and buffet his 
 way forward to pre-eminence in spite of all the 
 malice of fortune and of mankind. With a 
 temper vindictive, harsh, and deadly, his blood 
 mounted like mercury in a thermometer at the 
 very thought of success, and often when he 
 spoke to his sister in the lowest whisper of 
 their future prospects, she would start and 
 look hastily round as if in terror, lest the wild 
 dreams of his undisciplined mind might be 
 overheard and resented, for he nourished a 
 feverish hope, which he called a presentiment, 
 but which amounted almost to a mono-mania., 
 that the splendid residence in which they were 
 now only tolerated on sufferance, " as reptile 
 dependents,'' would one day become his own. 
 
 If every man living might remove at plea- 
 sure all those who stand inconveniently in hi.s 
 way, political economists would have nothing 
 to fear from a too rapidly increasing popula- 
 tion, and the day-dreams of Ernest, which 
 gained strength and consistency every hour,
 
 42 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 were prolific in both deaths and marriages. 
 He carefully collected in the Peerage all the 
 instances there recorded, in which distant re- 
 lations had succeeded through a long morta- 
 lity of twenty or five-and-twenty intermediate 
 heirs, — he remembered that neither Louis nor 
 Caroline had yet endured the measles, — he 
 thought their Shetland ponies very dangerous, 
 and, in short, if their days had been measured 
 by him, the measure would have been short 
 indeed. His personal vanity was excessive, 
 and amidst his wild schemes of aggran- 
 disement, the first and foremost had lately 
 been to marry his lively, frolicsome, little cou- 
 sin, and occasional play-mate, Caroline How- 
 ard Smytheson, in whose infant manner, heed- 
 less and good-humoured as she was, he flat- 
 tered himself there might be traced an evident 
 appearance of preference, while he could not 
 but also remark, that before any of the young 
 party had attained the age of maturity, and 
 Caroline was yet a mere infant, Louis De 
 Crespigny had already begun to exercise his 
 genius for flirtation in the society of his hum-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 43 
 
 ble cousin Mary Anstruther, — humble only in 
 circumstances, but possessing that pride with- 
 out principle, which goes before a fall. 
 
 Time had ripened the faults of the two 
 young Anstruthers, and perfected also their 
 extraordinary beauty of person, when, after 
 Ernest had attained the age of nineteen, a 
 whim as sudden, and apparently as unaccount- 
 able as their adoption, caused Lord Doncaster, 
 or rather the Abbe Mordaunt, unexpectedly 
 to announce that they were dismissed from 
 the house. Various rumours were circulated 
 among the servants to account for this harsh 
 and hasty decision, but nothing could be dis- 
 covered for certain. Ernest was reported to 
 have expressed himself with the greatest ran- 
 cour and contempt respecting a report in cir- 
 culation, that Lord Doncaster intended to 
 marry the Abbe Mordaunt's beautiful niece, 
 then on a visit at Kilmarnock Abbey, near 
 Edinburgh. The Abbe was said to have miss- 
 ed some valuable jewels belonging to his niece 
 Laura, who accused both the Anstruthers of 
 having been seen in her room, — a large sum of
 
 44 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 money, it was hinted, had mysteriously disap- 
 peared — some people said that Ernest had been 
 discovered at a late hour of the night attempt- 
 ing to enter the sleeping apartment of Lord 
 Doncaster, without being able to give any sa- 
 tisfactory account of his intentions, and others 
 declared that Louis De Crespigny's assiduities 
 to Mary Anstruther had recently become ra- 
 ther too obvious, while surmises arose against 
 her character; but whatever might be the 
 cause, they were both hastily transferred on a 
 few hours' notice from the splendours of Kil- 
 marnock Abbey, to a small obscure lodging at 
 Portobello. As Ernest was about to leave 
 that house which had so long been his home, 
 with Mary sobbing in uncontrollable grief on 
 his arm, anger and despair were fearfully 
 stamped on their young faces, when the Abbe 
 JMordaunt advancing silently, placed a small 
 sum of money in their hands, which the young 
 man furiously dashed upon the ground, and 
 trampled upon, saying in accents of strong and 
 almost terrifying vehemence, while his coimte- 
 nance exhibited a dark insidious expression of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 45 
 
 almost maniacal fury, " I would not be hu- 
 man if I did not hate your niece and you ! — 
 my curse shall rest on both till I am revenged ! 
 Take back your paltry gold, I shall build up 
 my own fortune, or perish in the ruins ! I shall 
 
 live by ray own hands, or, by my own 
 
 hands I shall die!" 
 
 From that day forward the names of Mary 
 and Ernest Anstruther never passed the lips 
 of Lord Doncaster or the Abbe, who ordered 
 the servants also to abstain from ever men- 
 tioning them, which only piqued the curiosity 
 of the second table into greater activity than 
 ever; but though many vague conjectures, 
 dark suspicions, and absurd rumours, were 
 promulgated throughout the establishment, 
 nothing certain could be ascertained, except 
 that they returned no more to Kilmarnock 
 Abbey, and that a final extinguisher had been 
 placed on all their prospects and hopes from 
 Lord Doncaster. 
 
 About this time Mrs Bridget Smytheson 
 sent Miss Howard, then only six years old, to 
 school, and seemed so little anxious to encou-
 
 46 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 rage an intimacy between the young heiress 
 and Louis de Crespigny, whom she had long 
 disHked, that Lord Doncaster, piqued and in- 
 dignant, angrily reminded her of his sister 
 Lady Caroline's dying injunction, to which she 
 had promised implicit attention, that if the 
 cousins, after they were grown up, could be 
 ascertained to have a disinterested preference 
 for each other, every opportunity should be 
 given them to become attached and engaged. 
 " Certainly, Lord Doncaster ; and I shall 
 fulfil my pledge," replied the over-dressed, 
 and rather under-bred aunt, in her usual tone 
 of fantastic affectation ; " but these boy-and- 
 girl intimacies are not the most likely to pro- 
 duce that romantic love with which young 
 people ought to begin their married lives ; and 
 besides, how could their preference be disin- 
 terested, where the brilliant prospects of both 
 are continually descanted on as motives to 
 their union. No ! I have a considerable spice 
 of romance in my composition ; and when they 
 do meet again, it shall be under very different 
 circumstances."" 
 
 i
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 47 
 
 " What a creature to have the charge of 
 any girl !"' thought Lord Doncaster, as he re- 
 turned from handing her, with every appear- 
 ance of profound respect, into her poney-car- 
 riage. " There is not another woman half so 
 insane out of bedlam ; and that mad-cap child 
 herself is as wild as a horse with the reins 
 broke. The greatest annoyance on earth is, 
 to have rich and vulgar upstarts among one's 
 near connections/'
 
 48 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The exalted portion of the pain 
 
 And power of love I cannot sliare. — Byron. 
 
 The life of Louis De Crespigny, from the 
 hour he entered the army, was one continued 
 steeple-chase after pleasure and amusement, 
 in whatever form they could be courted, or at 
 whatever expense they could be enjoyed. At 
 a very early age, he was already a veteran in 
 the world and its ways ; for he stood " alone 
 in his glory," the most admired, courted, and 
 idolized of mankind, a perfect adept in all the 
 arts of rendering himself agreeable in society, 
 and possessing many pleasant quaHties, but 
 none that were valuable. During a gay career 
 of dissipation and frivolity, he had entered 
 
 1 
 
 J
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 49 
 
 vTith successive eagerness on a thousand flirta- 
 tions, though he always forgot to marry in the 
 end, while his heart, like a phoenix, was fre- 
 quently consumed, yet never destroyed, and 
 always ready at the service of any young lady, 
 with youth, beauty, and accomphshments 
 enough to excite his temporary interest. Being 
 of opinion, that, though not yet a peer, he 
 ought speedily to be one, young De Crespigny 
 openly avowed the impossibility of marrying 
 while Lord Doncaster survived, and jocularly 
 remarked, that it would be a pity prematurely 
 to cut off* the hopes of his hundred and one 
 Scotch cousins, who lived, like Ernest An- 
 struther, on the hope, that if his neck were 
 broken at Melton, his succession might yet be 
 " cut up" amongst them ; and to the friendly 
 inquiries of his many relatives, he frequently 
 replied with a condoling look, that he and his 
 uncle were both " hopelessly w^ell.'' 
 
 Lord Doncaster was not even yet, by any 
 means, so great a Methusalemite in age, nor 
 so weighed down with infirmities, as his lively 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 50 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 nephew chose among the mothers and daugh- 
 ters of his intimate acquaintance to represent ; 
 and some ladies whom young De Crespigny 
 had piqued or affronted, were actually ill-na- 
 tured enough to hint, that Lord Doncaster 
 was still almost young and almost handsome ! 
 They had even been so malicious as to insi- 
 nuate, that his Lordship might possibly have 
 a genius for marrying his housekeeper, almost 
 the only respectable female who ever crossed 
 his threshold; but Mrs Frieland's very ma- 
 ture age, and very antiquated dress, shewed 
 how completely she must have given up that 
 point ; and even her desire to please him in 
 her own department, became every hour &o 
 increasingly difficult, and was attended with 
 failures and disappointments so unforeseen 
 and unaccountable, that the good woman often 
 shook her head ominously, in alluding to his 
 Lordship\s numerous whims, saying, in a con- 
 fidential under tone, which seemed to mean 
 more than met the ear, to the steward, " he's 
 petiklar ! he's very petiklar ! It would require
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 51 
 
 a person bespoke to order to please his Lord- 
 ship." And certainly he had become of late 
 years more particular than ever. 
 
 One personage only seemed to have the art 
 of doing no wrong in the estimation of Lord 
 Doncaster ; and the respect which he withheld 
 from all mankind, was concentrated to an im- 
 measurable degree on the Abbe Mordaunt, 
 who was the Cardinal Wolsey of Kilmarnock 
 Abbey and Beaujolie Castle. Proud, over- 
 bearing, harsh, and arbitrary, he ruled over 
 the house, the purse, and even the will of his 
 patron, with despotic and unlimited sway. Men 
 are generally advanced in years before the 
 passions and feelings have stamped their in- 
 delible traces, like the impression of a seal, 
 which becomes permanent only after the wax 
 has begun to cool ; but in every feature of the 
 Abbe's countenance, might now be seen the 
 evidences of a gloomy, severe, and almost fero- 
 cious temper, yet never was there a greater 
 triumph of art over nature, than in the skill 
 with which he adapted his looks and conversa- 
 tion to the taste or caprice of those whom it 
 
 U. OF ILL Lia
 
 52 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 was his interest to govern, and the astonishing 
 faciHty with which he could call up a bland 
 smile and insinuating voice, to supersede the 
 habitual haughtiness of his tone and manner. 
 Educated at St Omers, in all the dark su- 
 perstitions of that bigoted college, the Abbe 
 was nevertheless far from desiring to seek 
 within the walls of a cloister any protection 
 from those temptations to worldly indulgence, 
 which he had not even a wish to resist. He 
 neither preached nor practised the virtues of 
 his vocation, but paraded a whole troop of 
 vices openly in the public eye ; and far from 
 seeking to reform mankind, he never attempt- 
 ed even to reform himself. Though in perso- 
 nal appearance of distinguished ugliness, yet 
 such was the magic of his manner, that even 
 by ladies he was considered perfectly irre- 
 sistible ; and to all, whether old or young, he 
 genei;ally succeeded in imparting a conviction, 
 that he saw in her, for the first time, a realiza- 
 tion of female perfection and female fascina- 
 tion. The Abbe was never known to stop 
 half-way in arduously pursuing any object of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 53 
 
 pleasure, profit, or ambition, nor, whatever 
 might be the impediments, was he ever seen 
 to fail of success ; for, like Bonaparte, he did 
 not know the meaning of the word •' impos- 
 sible." 
 
 After having recklessly squandered, in a 
 career of almost startling dissipation, the whole 
 of his own patrimony, it was believed that he 
 had obtained fraudulent possession of ^10,000 
 belonging to his very beautiful niece, to whom 
 he must have refunded it had she lived to come 
 of age, or had she married it must have been 
 restored to her children, but about the time 
 our story commences, she was supposed either 
 to have died, or to have retired to a convent 
 abroad, though whether upon conviction or 
 not, might be considered very doubtful, as she 
 had been educated by her mother in the Pro- 
 testant faith, and it was generally conjectured 
 that to so sudden and entire a removal from 
 all former connections, her poverty more than 
 her will must have consented. Laura Mor- 
 daunt had resided much at Kilmarnock Abbey 
 with her uncle, to whom she seemed warmly
 
 54 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 and blindly attached, but the gossiping world 
 sometimes conjectured that perhaps the evident 
 partiality and admiration of Lord Doncaster 
 might have roused in her some ambitious 
 thoughts, backed by the influence of the Abbe. 
 Among the peculiarities of the Marquis he 
 had always professed a decided contempt for 
 all respectable ladies, and therefore his atten- 
 tions to Laura Mordaunt were at best a very 
 questionable compliment, and became latterly 
 of a nature which few relatives would have 
 wished to encourage, yet Miss Mordaunt still 
 remained a guest at Kilmarnock Abbey, till the 
 period of her sudden disappearance, which 
 caused so much astonishment among her inti- 
 mate friends and near connections, that the fa- 
 ther of Richard Granville, her cousin, shortly 
 before his own death, ^\Tote an affectionate let- 
 ter, entreating her to return, were it but for a 
 few months, and to make a home of his house 
 for the future, should it suit her to do so; but 
 to this kind and generous offer no reply ever 
 came, and as all communications were to pass 
 through the Abbe's hands, who alone knew
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 55 
 
 his niece's direction, it might be doubted whe- 
 ther the invitation ever reached that hand for 
 which it was intended. 
 
 That Lord Doncaster had cruelly disappointed 
 Laura Mordaunt, as he had already disappoint- 
 ed many others, her friend and cousin had good 
 reason to believe ; and though unable to ima- 
 gine any really romantic or lasting attachment 
 to a man, however elevated in rank or agree- 
 able in manners, of at least fifty years old, yet 
 he knew that Laura, who lived so retired that 
 she could boast of few friends and no admirers, 
 might really have been dazzled with the splen- 
 dour of his rank or the fascination of his con- 
 versation; while it seemed the most unaccount- 
 able part of the whole affair, that if such were 
 the case, the attachment had not been reci- 
 procal, between a young and beautiful girl, 
 thrown so continually in his way, and an aged 
 roue, who had so evidently admired her. 
 
 If the probable duration of Lord Doncas- 
 ter's life had been measured according to the 
 estimate formed of it in many an Edinburgh 
 drawing-room, it would have brought a very
 
 56 IMODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 small premium indeed at the insurance offices. 
 By referring to that valuable record, Debretfs 
 peerage, it was satisfactorily proved that the 
 De Crespignys were a very short-lived family ! 
 One Lord Doncaster had died of a fall from 
 his horse at thirty-five ; another had been 
 killed in battle, at forty- two ; and not one of 
 them had contrived very much to exceed 
 eighty, therefore hopes might be entertained 
 of the popular and fascinating Louis de Cres- 
 pigny at last gaining the long-expected "step."' 
 It might have been supposed by strangers in 
 Edinburgh, that there was but one marquisate 
 in Britain, so frequently were the strawberry 
 leaves of Lord Doncaster under animated dis- 
 cussion; and any visitor who accidentally 
 took Burke or Debrett in his hand, might 
 smile to observe that the pages naturally fell 
 open where that interesting paragraph pre- 
 sented itself to notice, 
 
 "Doncaster, Marquis of. Heir presumptive, Louis Henry 
 De Crespigny." 
 
 A tradition prevailed among the elder ladies 
 of fashion now in society, that a splendid set
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. o7 
 
 of diamonds, which had been long the orna- 
 ment and admiration of Queen Charlotte's 
 drawing-rooms, were since entailed, by an old 
 Lady Doncaster, in the family ; and many a 
 young beauty, in arranging a bright futurity 
 on her own plan, had frequently worn these 
 far-famed jewels in her imagination, w^hen 
 presented at Court as a Marchioness, the 
 envy and admiration of all her contemporaries. 
 Meantime nothing could be more astonishing 
 than to find how much was known in Edin- 
 burgh concerning the modes of hfe, temper, 
 and character of the present Lord Doncaster, 
 though he lived not only secluded from society, 
 but made ^ it his peculiar study to evade the 
 scrutiny of impertinent curiosity, and was so 
 anxious to check the loquaciousness of servants, 
 that his butler and housekeeper had strict or- 
 ders to keep up a sort of prison discipline in 
 the establishment, and not allow a word to 
 be spoken when at meals. It was, however, 
 authentically ascertained by some unknown 
 means, that Lord Doncaster, who had formerly 
 been a man of dissipated habits and irregular
 
 58 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 hours, now devoted himself to the care of his 
 health as diligently and intensely as a miser 
 does to the care of his money, and that to him 
 it had become a subject of almost avaricious 
 interest. If the Marquis had a finger-ache, 
 it was magnified in Edinburgh into a case of 
 certain death; but after a really severe illness, 
 he was heard jocularly to remark, in sporting 
 phrase, " I have had another round with 
 death !" while he seemed confident, on these 
 occasions, of always coming off victorious, 
 though few among the young ladies of his 
 nephew's acquaintance would have been found 
 ready to back his expectations, while Agnes 
 Dunbar impatiently remarked, that Lord Don- 
 caster had been so long in the world, he seemed 
 not to know how to leave it. 
 
 It was generally understood by the juries 
 who sat upon Lord Doncaster s case in society, 
 that his breakfast consisted of strong gravy 
 soup and poached eggs, which were pronounced 
 to be very plethoric, — he ate no luncheon, 
 which must be very exhausting at his time 
 of life, — he had an enormous appetite for din-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 59 
 
 ner, which would certainly drive blood to his 
 head, — and above all, he took a hot supper, 
 which must be fatal at last; — every newspaper 
 tends to prove, that after eating a hearty sup- 
 per the night before, people are invariably 
 found dead in their beds the next morning ; — 
 and it was already unaccountable how many 
 mornings Lord Doncaster had survived ! Any 
 day in the world might bring accounts of his 
 death, — some day must do so, sooner or later. 
 — hundreds of old people were dying continu- 
 ally, and so might the superannuated peer ; 
 yet though his days were numbered in so many 
 houses, they nevertheless seemed to be num- 
 berless, while gentlemen, older than himself, 
 were often heard impatiently speculating and 
 wondering what will he would make, and de- 
 claring they only wished to live, in order to 
 know the result of so many anxious conjec- 
 tures, while his dutiful nephew gayly remarked, 
 that his uncle need never wait for parchment 
 to write his will upon, while the skin on his 
 face looked so like it. 
 
 Still Lord Doncaster obstinately persevered
 
 60 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 in living on, while, strange to say, many of 
 the manceuvi'ing mamas who had been heard 
 to declare, that if an old person must die at 
 any rate, they could spare his Lordship better 
 than any other mortal, became mortal them- 
 selves, and were first consigned to the tomb. 
 Even some of the young and lovely girls, 
 who had thought, in the morning of life, before 
 the freshness of their bloom had been dimmed, 
 or the lustre of their beauty had decayed, that 
 this one obstacle to their happiness must be 
 removed, — many of these gay, joyous, and un- 
 thinking beings had sunk unexpectedly into 
 an early grave, while still Lord Doncaster, in 
 a most provoking and unprincipled manner, 
 disappointed everybody, and continued to exist 
 in a world where he was anything but welcome, 
 resolved apparently, never, in an every-day 
 vulgar way, to die at all. 
 
 In the mean time, Louis De Crespigny. de- 
 voted to the amusements of life, but indepen- 
 <lent of all its finer sympathies, seemed to 
 breathe nothing but the exhilarating ether of 
 life, joyous, giddy, and intoxicating. He re-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 61 
 
 veiled in a laughing, lively, satirical conscious- 
 ness of his own exact position in society, and 
 privately resolved to make the most of it, — not 
 that he deliberately made up his mind to de- 
 ceive, — his code of honour was rigid enough in 
 respect to his transactions with gentlemen, but 
 in the case of young ladies it was otherwise, — 
 
 " 'Man, to man so oft unjust, 
 
 Is always so to woman." 
 
 With ladies Mr De Crespigny considered 
 his own brilliant prospects and personal fasci- 
 nations to be fair, marketable produce, which 
 there could be no objection that he should use 
 to the utmost advantage, for bringing in the 
 largest possible return of pleasure^ profit, and 
 amusement. Accordingly, the gay young Cor- 
 net, living upon what he could borrow, on 
 the disinterested attentions of manoeuvring 
 mothers, and on the expectation of his uncle's 
 speedy demise, made himself the chosen at- 
 tendant of half a hundred accomplished and 
 perfectly amiable young ladies, who laughed, 
 talked, sang, and danced with him, while ho 
 soon became but too intimately known as a
 
 62 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ruthless flirt, to many a young heart, and to 
 many a happy home, where he took care that 
 it should be distinctly implied and understood, 
 that nothing but the jealous penuriousness of 
 " that old quiz. Lord Doncaster," impeded his 
 ardent wish to settle for life ; while in the 
 mean time, wherever a good table and cellar 
 were kept, he testified exactly such a degree 
 of partiality for the sister or daughter of his 
 host, as made her be considered his wife-pre- 
 sumptive, and secured him a regular knife and 
 fork in the house on all family festivals and 
 state occasions, without any trouble in either 
 ordering or paying for the entertainment. It 
 has been said, that as a rolling stone gathers 
 no moss, neither does a roving heart gain any 
 affection; but whatever might be the case 
 with others, Louis De Crespigny felt himself 
 without a doubt the idol of every draw- 
 ing-room, where he sentimentalized, rattled, 
 and flirted in every style, with every girl under 
 twenty, as diligently as if he were canvassing 
 for an election, while they talked, looked, 
 smiled, and dressed their very best ; and the
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 68 
 
 excellence of any gentleman's wine might be 
 accurately estimated by the thermometer of 
 Mr De Crespigny's attention to the (laughters; 
 but he had a declared abhorrence of family 
 dinners, which looked too business-like and 
 domestic, as if he had really committed him- 
 self ; though, as Lady Towercliffe remarked to 
 her four daughters one day, "he never said 
 anything to the purpose, when the purpose 
 was marriage." 
 
 Though Mr De Crespigny seemed, at the 
 " dignity dinners" in Edinburgh, to live for no 
 other object on earth, but the one fascinating 
 young lady, with whom it was his game at the 
 time to appear epris^ and though she might pro- 
 bably be astonished and piqued during the fol- 
 lowing week, to observe this indefatigable ama- 
 teur in flirtations equally assiduous in his atten- 
 tions to another, and shooting like a brilliant 
 meteor in the ball-room, unheedingly past her- 
 self, yet she might console herself by reflecting, 
 that Mr De Crespigny was in the habit of con- 
 fidentially hinting how much he felt embar- 
 rassed and annoyed by the necessity of gene-
 
 64 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ralizing his intimacies, that no gossiping re- 
 ports might reach his very whimsical relative. 
 " Because actually !" he one day whispered in 
 confidence to Lady Towerchffe, "when my 
 uncle becomes irritable, he threatens to make 
 all sorts of ridiculous marriages himself; and 
 it would be my last hour in his will, if he 
 thought me heretic enough merely to dance 
 with a Protestant partner. He would not en- 
 gage so much as a housemaid of your persua- 
 sion ; but for my own part, I leave all these 
 concerns to the Abbe Mordaunt, who, to do 
 him justice, lets me off very easily." 
 
 The difference of faith made wonderfully 
 little difference in the intentions of those young 
 ladies who believed themselves the objects of 
 Mr De Crespigny's unacknowledged preference, 
 for every bit of millinery in a ball-room was 
 in a flutter of agitation whenever he ap- 
 proached ; and certainly no one ever excelled 
 more in the happy art of making those he 
 conversed with rise in their own opinion, from 
 his tact in showing how very high they stood 
 in his, and the consequence was. that he al-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 6'5 
 
 ready possessed a rare and romantic collection 
 of sentimental valentines, sketches with his 
 figure in the foreground, songs with the ma- 
 gical name of Louis conspicuously introduced, 
 withered bouquets, anagrams, anonymous let- 
 ters, and anonymous verses, all with a too- 
 well-remembered history belonging to them, 
 which called up a smile of derision, or a sigh of 
 self-reproach, according as the case required, 
 but all treasured as relics of former happy 
 hours, which had perhaps been the history of 
 a lifetime to the fair donors, and the diversion 
 of a few days only to himself, while he secretly 
 applauded his own dexterity in always escap- 
 ing the matrimonial noose, and to them there 
 remained only the silent remembrance of that 
 intercourse, now for ever at an end, which 
 they had believed was to last for life. 
 
 Mr De Crespigny's engagement book was 
 nearly as complicated an affair as any ledger 
 or day-book, and much more so than his own 
 banker's account, for he arranged it on the 
 most systematic principles of profit and loss. 
 In whatever house he had been invited to
 
 66 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 dine, he considered himself as " owing a quad- 
 rille" to one of the young ladies at the next 
 assembly. If he had actually " sat under her 
 father's mahogany," as he termed it, she might 
 be perhaps entitled to two dances ; and when 
 he had spent the greater part of a summer in 
 her mother's country house, that established 
 a sort of sinking fund on her behalf, which en- 
 titled her to have the use of him as a partner, 
 whenever he happened accidentally to be dis- 
 engaged, though indeed nothing ever occurred 
 accidentally in Captain De Crespigny's ar- 
 rangements, for he never acted on impulse, 
 but always on systematic calculation. He 
 seemed, with his gay pell-mell manner, the 
 most off-hand, careless, and undesigning of 
 men ; but even in the trifling affair of going 
 to a ball, where he might literally have ex- 
 claimed, " I am monarch of all I survey," he 
 invariably carried in his mind's eye a list of 
 all those partners with whom policy or self-in- 
 terest directed him to dance, and very seldom 
 indeed did he swerve from his preconceived 
 muster-roll.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 67 
 
 It was a singular evidence of young De Cres- 
 pigny's discretion and skill, that, while paying 
 attentions which should either have never been 
 paid at all, or never afterwards discontinued, 
 and while, with all his fascinations. Lady 
 Towercliffe declared it was dangerous to a 
 young lady's happiness to be even introduced 
 to him, still, in not one instance had " his in- 
 tentions" ever yet been asked, and neither 
 fathers, uncles, nor brothers, had betrayed the 
 slightest symptoms of insurrection against his 
 universal dominion, believing, as his excuse for 
 delaying to propose was so perfectly unanswer- 
 able and respectable, that his intentions might 
 safely be allowed to " lie on the table," while 
 they awaited in breathless suspense the de- 
 nouement^ certainly to take place on Lord 
 Doncaster's death. 
 
 Some of Mr De Orespigny's brother officers, 
 envious perhaps of his extraordinary success 
 in society, threw out sceptical hints respecting 
 the certainty of his succession, and laughed 
 sarcastically at the indefatigable vanity with 
 which he evidently liked being thus torn to
 
 68 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 pieces among the chaperons and dowagers of 
 society ; but he laughed as heartily as them- 
 selves. No one could ever get the start of 
 him in a joke ; and his associates, when he 
 came in competition with any one of them, 
 found it no laughing matter. He knew his 
 own power — who does not know that ? — 'and 
 difficulties only enhanced his triumph. 
 
 Lord Doncaster often dryly remarked, that 
 the best economist in Britain must certainly 
 be Louis De Crespigny, as, to his certain 
 knowledge, he possessed only L.300 a-year, 
 and yet he seemed to revel in all the luxuries 
 of life, besides having a great deal over for ex- 
 travagance. There was no occasion for the 
 young Cornet ever to think of dining at his 
 club, as he might be entertained at the houses 
 of three or four friends in a day, if he could 
 have mustered as many appetites. Ii;i summer 
 he incurred no expense, except to pay for his 
 place occasionally on the top of a coach, or in 
 a steam-boat, from one hospitable country- 
 house to another, whore gigs were sent a stage 
 to meet him on the way, if he were expected
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 69 
 
 by the mail, or if by sea, a chariot might be 
 seen waiting on the pier. He got " a mount*^ 
 from one friend, the best seat in a barouche 
 from another, and often the vacant place in a 
 britschska from a third party, even to the 
 expulsion of its more legitimate occupiers. 
 
 " De Crespigny has nothing on earth, and 
 you see how he looks !" remarked his hand- 
 some friend Sir Patrick one day to Sir Ar- 
 thur Dunbar; " yet how magnificently he 
 contrives to live at the expense of all those 
 deluded mortals who have disposable or indis- 
 posable daughters. His future prospects act 
 like a cork jacket in society, keeping him 
 always at the top. Last summer worthy Lord 
 Towercliffe, with his rapidly increasing family 
 and rapidly decreasing income, took De Cres- 
 pigny in his gig to that old tumble-down 
 castle of his in Argyleshire, where he spent 
 six weeks, ruining the family in champagne 
 and wax candles. The house became rather 
 cold in September, so at last he accepted a 
 cast in Lady Winandermere's carriage to that 
 nest of nieces and daughters at Castle High-
 
 70 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 combe, where he found excellent yachting and 
 sea-bathing. There he Hngered a month, till 
 the brother of those four pretty Miss Vava- 
 sours bid still higher for his company, by 
 offering him a mount at Kelso, and mention- 
 ing that he had a first-rate French cook 
 a ' cordon hleu^ who hires his own stall at the 
 opera during the London season, and enjoys a 
 salary and perquisites amounting to more 
 than the best curacy in the English Church ; 
 and all this De Crespigny repays with a few- 
 frothy nothings, which he is for ever repeat- 
 ing to any young lady who will lend an ear. 
 Those who beat the bush do not always snare 
 the bird; and I wonder the manoeuvring 
 world does not yet see that he is evidently no 
 marrying man." 
 
 " What sort of looking individual is ' a 
 marrying man V '" asked Sir Arthur, slyly. 
 " I am often told that you, for instance, do 
 not look like a marrying man ; but pray point 
 me out any one who does, that I may become 
 more a connoisseur on the subject than I am. 
 As for what you say of Louis De Crespigny,
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 71 
 
 it sounds to my unpractised ear very like 
 swindling; and he is not the youth I took him 
 for if he live in such an element of deceit, 
 sacrificing all sense of honour, all confidence, 
 and all good feeling, for a worthless and tran- 
 sient popularity, or worse than all, for motives 
 of mean heartless self-interest. Such a man 
 is not worth the space he occupies in the 
 world r 
 
 The Admiral's honest indignation would 
 have been vented in still stronger terms, 
 could his upright and honourable mind have 
 been made to understand how entirely every 
 thought, word, and action of Mr De Cres- 
 pigny's life was based on the most unswerving 
 principles of cold, hard, unrelenting selfish- 
 ness, and with what utter carelessness he 
 seemed ready to trample on the wounded 
 feeUngs of others ; for it mattered not to him 
 what degree of confidence he betrayed, or 
 what degree of sorrow he inflicted. If in one 
 house where he had been received as a son 
 or a brother, he no longer found the cordial 
 welcome of other days, a hundred other doors
 
 72 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 were still opened wide to receive him, where 
 he could boast of having been " very nearly 
 caught,'' and carry on the same game as be- 
 fore, which was a pastime to him, though 
 fatal to the peace of many, who would will- 
 ingly have died, rather than betray the injury 
 their feelings had suffered, when, after passing 
 through the ordeal of his assiduities, they 
 found themselves beguiled and cheated of all 
 that was deepest and most sacred in their 
 earthly affections — robbed without compunc- 
 tion by one who gave no return — who watched 
 with elated triumph the growing delusion of 
 those whom he had marked as victims to his 
 own self-love, and whom he appeared to con- 
 sider all in all to his happiness, till they found 
 out at last that they were in reality less than 
 nothing to him; yet the deception admitted 
 of no redress. He lived on in a sort of 
 cowardly impunity; for no young girl en- 
 dowed with sensibility, and conscious of her 
 own injuries, could desire, after entrusting 
 him with the whole story of her hopes and 
 affections, that the truth should be known;
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 73 
 
 and his was a crime against which no evidence 
 can be brought ; for who could describe the 
 tender nothings — the refined insinuations — 
 the looks which say everything and mean no- 
 thing — the wordless language of the eyes, with 
 which an undeclared love may be safely and 
 yet obviously professed? What but a smile 
 of ridicule or of censure could attend on such 
 a detail of " unutterable things?"' But with 
 Louis De Crespigny nothing was unutterable ; 
 for he could say and unsay the same things 
 two hundred times, and they always seemed 
 to carry as much or as little weight as he 
 pleased at the moment, while he entered so- 
 ciety as a school-boy rushes into a garden, 
 eagerly to pursue the brilliant insects flutter- 
 ing in the sunbeams, ready to crush and in- 
 jure them all for his momentary diversion, 
 and yet on his guard to retreat in good order, 
 should there appear to be the slightest danger 
 of annoyance or discomfort to himself. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 74 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Search, seek, and know how this foul murder comes ! 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 It was impossible to pass an hour in the so- 
 ciety of Sir Arthur Dunbar, without seeing 
 much to admire, and much also to love, — 
 there was a sturdy, resolute, old-fashioned 
 sense of honour in all his actions, tempered by 
 the kindest and most considerate attention to 
 the feelings, as well as to the interests of all 
 with whom he might be associated, and his 
 sentiments were tinctured by a generous liber- 
 ality, only limited in action by the rigid re- 
 straints consequent on a very narrow income, 
 which he had never been known to exceed, 
 though he was often heard jocularly to re- 
 
 i
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 75 
 
 mark, that the surplus, after his yearly ac- 
 counts were paid, would scarcely buy him a 
 pair of gloves. 
 
 Though the fire of Sir Arthur's eyes had 
 been quenched by approaching blindness, and 
 his weather-beaten countenance had been 
 scarred in battle, and hardened by facing 
 every tempest which had blown for half a 
 century, yet his aspect had an air of habitual 
 distinction and conscious dignity which com- 
 manded instant respect. There was an ener- 
 gy in the expression of his feelings, and a 
 straight-forward pursuit of what he thought 
 right in all his actions, which gave him a sin- 
 gular influence over the affections and the 
 conduct of those with whom he wished to as- 
 sociate, and the admirable use he made of 
 which no one afterwards ever had cause to 
 regret. His early life had been one full of 
 action and of vigorous exertion, seeking, with 
 old-fashioned patriotism, the honour of his 
 country, more than the promotion of his own 
 interests; but in advanced years, when no 
 longer able pubHcly to distinguish himself.
 
 76 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 he directed his time and talents to the diffu- 
 sion of happiness at home, and to a zealous^ 
 dihgent, and hmnble preparation for that long 
 and quiet home to which he believed himself 
 rapidly approaching, and which he contem- 
 plated with the best of all philosophy, — that 
 of a truly devoted Christian. 
 
 With all the blunt frankness of his sailor- 
 like manner, Sir Arthur could nevertheless 
 testify an almost feminine gentleness and sym- 
 pathy towards the unfortunate. He was often 
 discovered to have exerted clandestinely, a 
 degree of activity and zeal in serving the most 
 needy and desolate, which, to a mind less 
 eager and generous, would have seemed almost 
 incredible, — he never lacerated the feelings of 
 those who came to him for comfort, by at- 
 tempting to convince the sufferer, as most 
 people begin by doing, on such occasions, that 
 the misfortune, whatever it be, is all his o\^ti 
 fault, — and he w^as quite as ready, as well as 
 much better pleased, to rejoice with those 
 that rejoiced, than to weep with those that 
 wept, without ever, at any period of life, hav-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 77 
 
 ing found a place for envy in his kindest of 
 hearts, which 
 
 " Turn'd at the touch of joy or woe, 
 And turning trembled too." 
 
 With a good-humoured smile at his own 
 credulity in having believed that Louis De 
 Crespigny could ever be serious in proposing 
 to sacrifice a day of his gay and busy life, to 
 a prosing tete-a-tete on the sea-beach with an 
 old man like himself, Sir Arthur dismissed the 
 subject from his thoughts, and finally relin- 
 quished all hope of seeing his young friend, 
 after a short soliloquy, in which he ended, by 
 slyly hoping that the gay Cornet would never 
 cause those who might feel it more, to regret 
 his having jilted them. 
 
 Not many days following, the Admiral had 
 retired at his usual early hour to bed, and 
 after some time passed in profound repose, he 
 was suddenly startled into wakefulness at the 
 dawn of day, while the watchman was calling 
 the hour of " Past four o'clock,"" by a loud 
 and vehement knocking at the front-door of
 
 78 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 his house, accompanied by the most fearful 
 and vociferous out-cries of " murder !" It was 
 the sharp, shrill tone of a woman in the agony 
 of fear, becoming more and more vehement at 
 every repetition of the cry, while Sir Arthur 
 dressed with the rapidity of a practised sea- 
 man, and hurried down stairs, where he found 
 his maid-of-all-work, and his man-of-all-work, 
 already assembled in breathless consternation 
 round a trembling, terrified-looking servant 
 girl, whose eyes were gleaming with an ex- 
 pression of frantic alarm, while, from her in- 
 coherent exclamations. Sir Arthur could only 
 gather that some act of unutterable horror 
 had been perpetrated in an opposite house, 
 the windows of which were all partially closed, 
 except one in the upper story, which was wide 
 open, and seemed to be much broken and 
 shattered. 
 
 Without waiting another moment to inves- 
 tigate the business, Sir Arthur strode across 
 the street, hurried in at the open door, and 
 guided by a momentary cry of childish dis- 
 tress, he mounted the staircase, with an acti-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 79 
 
 vity beyond his years, three steps at a time, 
 and precipitately entered the nearest room he 
 could find. There he paused for a moment 
 on finding himself in a splendidly-furnished 
 bed-room, adorned with a degree of taste and 
 elegance, far excelling what was customary in 
 so obscure-looking a lodging, and the Admiral 
 was about hastily to withdraw, when he be- 
 came suddenly transfixed to the spot, and his 
 eye seemed perfectly blasted by the spectacle 
 which met his agitated and astonished gaze, 
 while several moments elapsed before he had 
 nerve to advance, and ascertain the reality of 
 a scene, which filled him with horror. 
 
 On a magnificent couch, the rich coverlet 
 of which was drenched in blood, that had 
 sprinkled* the floor, and spouted to the very 
 roof of the room, lay the cold stiffened corpse 
 of a young female, whose head seemed to have 
 been nearly severed from her body, while a 
 violent contusion appeared upon her forehead. 
 The wrist of her right hand, with which she 
 had probably attempted to defend herself, had 
 also been deeply cut, and in her hand she
 
 80 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 grasped a quantity of dark hair, which seem- 
 ed to have been torn from the head of her 
 assassin in the struggle for life. Her teeth 
 were clenched, and her eye-balls were starting 
 from their sockets with a look of agonised 
 fear, most appalling to behold, and her long 
 fair hair which lay in disordered billows on 
 her shoulders, was matted with gore. 
 
 A table near the bed had been overturned 
 and broken, — a knife of very peculiar form. 
 bent and distorted, lay conspicuously upon 
 the pillow, as if placed there on purpose to 
 attract notice, and the carpet, on which a 
 pool of congealed blood had gathered, was 
 likewise strewed with money, rings, bijouterie, 
 trinkets, and plate. 
 
 Nestled in a little crib, close beside the 
 murdered woman, but plunged in a slumber so 
 profound, that it could not be natural, slept 
 undisturbed and uninjured, a lovely boy of 
 about eight years old. His head rested on 
 his arm, and a clustering profusion of jet- 
 ])lack hair fell over his blooming countenance, 
 in which there was a look of almost death-like
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. bl 
 
 repose. Awakened with the utmost (lifficulty 
 by Sir Arthur, the child, who appeared to be 
 of wondrous beauty, opened for a moment, a 
 pair of bright blue, star-like eyes, and with a 
 cry of terror, called for his mother, but a 
 moment afterwards, overcome by irresistible 
 drowsiness, his rosy cheek dropped upon the 
 pillow, his heavy eyes were closed, and he re- 
 lapsed into the same strange, mysterious in- 
 sensibility as before. 
 
 It was a fearful sight, that young mother, 
 with her look of ghastly agony turned towards 
 the ruddy healthful countenance of her child 
 in his peaceful slumbers, and it was evident 
 that her last thought had been for him, as his 
 clothes were still convulsively held in her left 
 hand, while a vain attempt had obviously been 
 made to tear them asunder, — many deep cuts 
 being visible on the child's night-gown, though 
 his person had been left uninjured. 
 
 Sir Arthur compassionately snatched the 
 boy up in his arms, to hurry him away from 
 the dreadful scene, and called the watchman, 
 who instantly raised an alarm, and summoned
 
 82 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 the whole neighbourhood to his assistance, 
 when before ten minutes had elapsed, the 
 room was filled with a crowd of agitated spec- 
 tators, scared by the tremendous event, and 
 crowding around the bed in every attitude of 
 astonishment, terror, and commiseration, ut- 
 tering exclamations of alarm, gazing helpless- 
 ly at the frightful spectacle, and forming a 
 thousand conjectures respecting the tragical 
 event, instead of attempting to give any ra- 
 tional assistance. 
 
 " Not a moment is to be lost !"' said Sir 
 Arthur, in the steady authoritative tone of 
 one accustomed in great emergencies, to com- 
 mand, " Where are the other servants r 
 asked he, turning to the girl who had first 
 given an alarm, '' and where is your master i" 
 
 " I have no master. Sir !" replied she in a 
 low incoherent w4iisper. " I think the lady 
 was not married ; but perhaps, Sir, she might 
 be ! A gentleman called here last week." 
 
 •• What was he like r asked Sir Arthur, 
 earnestly. 
 
 *" A sort of clergyman, or gentleman, Sir !
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 83 
 
 I don't know nothing about him, but he visits 
 ed sometimes at this here house. No good 
 ever came of it though, for my poor young 
 mistress was always in sore distress after heVl 
 be gone away. Last time there be much 
 loud talking and argufying in the parlour, 
 but it was none of my business to listen. I 
 never pays no attention to what the quality 
 says !'"* 
 
 " Here is a most disastrous business !*' 
 exclaimed Sir Arthur, in a deep and solemn 
 tone, while he glanced at the crowd of white, 
 livid, ashy faces, collected around him. " Let 
 us remember, my friends, that every trifle we 
 can observe here, may be of the utmost im- 
 portance in bringing this dreadful mystery to 
 light. Touch nothing, but have all your eyes 
 about you to detect what you can, and let us 
 instantly search the house." 
 
 With the little boy in his arms, who had 
 awakened, bewildered and terrified by the 
 sight of so many strangers. Sir Arthur, fol- 
 lowed by the whole troop of spectators, who 
 huddled together with evident symptoms of
 
 84 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 fearful apprehension, proceeded minutely to 
 scrutinize the whole house. 
 
 In one apartment on the garret floor, be- 
 longing, as the terrified housemaid declared, 
 to a person who had been taken in, she be- 
 lieved out of charity, to teach the little boy, 
 the bed was disordered, as if the sleeper, 
 when hastily rising, had thrown the bed- 
 clothes almost upon the floor. The window- 
 frame was broken to shivers, by some one 
 violently forcing his way out ; but no other 
 sign appeared of the room having been in- 
 habited. Not an article of clothing could 
 be found in the drawers ; not a book or a 
 paper ; and the search was about to be aban- 
 doned, when Sir Arthur perceived in an ob- 
 scure corner of the room, a man's glove, 
 stained with blood, and a red silk handker- 
 chief, from which the initials had evidently 
 been erased with great care, though he hoped 
 that some one more accustomed to such in- 
 vestigations might yet be able to trace 
 them. 
 
 The next room which Sir Arthur attempt- 
 
 fe.,
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 85 
 
 ed to enter had the door double-locked ; and 
 though the party which accompanied him 
 made a noise of knocking and hammering 
 that might have raised the dead, no answer 
 was returned, till at length, losing all pati- 
 ence, they broke it open, and impetuously 
 rushed forward, all gazing eagerly around, as 
 if they expected an immediate denouement of 
 the mystery to take place ; but some of those 
 who were foremost shrunk back in astonish- 
 ment, and hastily made way for Sir Arthur, 
 while the servant girl earnestly whispered in 
 his ear, with a look of anxiety and alarm, 
 " This is Sarah Davenport's room ! the child's 
 maid ! Better not disturb her. Sir ! She 
 is sometimes hardly right in her mind, I 
 think !'' 
 
 When Sir Arthur, disregarding the simple 
 girl's warning, advanced, he perceived with 
 surprise, a very young woman, scarcely twen- 
 ty, who started up in bed, with a look of be- 
 wildered perplexity, as he approached, asking 
 in accents of tremulous alarm, what had oc- 
 curred to cause this extraordinary disturb-
 
 86 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ance. Her cheek was of an ashy paleness, 
 her very lips were blanched, and her voice 
 sounded husky and hollow with agitation ; 
 but all this might be attributed to so sudden 
 an inroad of strangers, while again and again 
 she asked with quivering accents, whether any 
 accident had occurred, and why they all ap- 
 peared so alarmed. 
 
 " At all events, my darling boy is safe !"' 
 added she, holding out her arms to the child, 
 who instantly recoiled from her, with looks of 
 unequivocal terror, and hiding his face on the 
 shoulder of Sir Arthur, he sobbed aloud with 
 a degree of passionate grief and agitation, 
 which seemed almost beyond his years. The 
 observant eye of Sir Arthur perceived that 
 a dark scowl of malignity flitted for a mo- 
 ment across the beautiful features of Sarah, 
 whose brow became singularly contracted over 
 her flashing eyes ; but making an effort in- 
 stantly to recover herself, she averted her 
 countenance, and added in a subdued voice of 
 assumed tranquillity, '' The child never knows; 
 me in a cap ! I forgot to take it oft', but thf
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 87 
 
 hurry of seeing so many strangers has con- 
 fused me !'"* 
 
 In an instant she snatched off her night- 
 cap, when her shoulders and neck became 
 covered with a cloud of dark massy ringlets, 
 floating down below her waist, and shading 
 her pallid countenance, which had assumed 
 an expression of livid horror, and unnatural 
 wildness. " Let him come to me now !" add- 
 ed she again, stretching out her arms with a 
 ghastly smile; but the boy struggled more 
 vehemently than before, and clung to Sir 
 Arthur with a tenacity and confidence, which 
 deeply touched the old veteran's heart, who 
 tried to soothe the terrified child by every en- 
 dearment which his kind nature could sug- 
 gest, while his attention was nevertheless en- 
 chained by observing the rigid, marble look 
 of the young woman's countenance ; the drag- 
 ged and corpse-like appearance which stole 
 over her features, as if she had suffered a 
 stroke of paralysis. 
 
 " You hav<3 been frightened enough ah*eady, 
 poor boy !" said Sir Arthur, soothingly. " No
 
 88 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 one shall hurt you ! With me at least, you 
 are safe ! Stay where you are, and do not 
 be alarmed ! No one shall touch you but my- 
 self !" 
 
 The child seemed to understand Sir Ar- 
 thur's promise of protection, and his head 
 drooped sleepily down, while his eyes again 
 closed in that deep unnatural slumber, from 
 which he had been with so much difficulty 
 aroused, till at length, 
 
 " Now like a shutting flower, the senses close, 
 And on him lies the beauty of repose." 
 
 " Young woman !"' said Sir Arthur, bend- 
 ing a look of penetrating scrutiny on Sarah 
 Davenport, " how came you to be quietly 
 asleep, and partly dressed too ! while your 
 mistress was murdered in the room immedi- 
 ately below ! Did you hear no disturbance • 
 Was no alarm given V 
 
 " My mistress ! !'' exclaimed Sarah, clasp- 
 ing her hands in an attitude of astonishment, 
 and speaking as if every word would choke her, 
 though not a muscle of her face was altered
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 89 
 
 from the fixed and rigid look it had previ- 
 ously worn. " Oh ! what will become of me !" 
 
 "What will become of you!!" exclaimed 
 Sir Arthur, sternly, fixing his penetrating eye 
 upon her. " Think rather of your murdered 
 mistress ! Come, come, girl ! you performed 
 that start very well ; but I know good act- 
 ing ! I greatly fear you are more concerned 
 in this horrid business than we at first sus- 
 pected, and much more than you would wish 
 to acknowledge. Get up instantly, and fol- 
 low me !" 
 
 There was something fearful and appalling 
 in the silence which reigned among the many 
 persons who had gathered around, when Sa- 
 rah, as a prisoner, was led into the chamber 
 of death. A look of shuddering horror dis- 
 torted for a moment, her pale and haggard 
 countenance, when she was unwillingly drawn 
 forward to the place where her deceased mis- 
 tress lay, and Sir Arthur with silent solem- 
 nity, pointed to the ghastly spectacle. His 
 eyes were intensely and most mournfully fixed 
 on the prisoner's sullen and nearly livid coun-
 
 90 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 tenance, while she silently clung to a chair to 
 support herself. 
 
 Sarah appeared neither startled nor asto- 
 nished after the first thrill of horror, but with 
 a cold stony look of almost preternatural 
 calmness, she muttered to herself in a low 
 tone, which became nevertheless distinctly 
 audible to all the spectators, and was evidently 
 meant to be heard, — 
 
 " Why am I brought here ! I know nothing 
 about this ! The poor lady has committed 
 suicide ! No wonder ! She often wished her- 
 self dead ! She had a miserable life of it, and 
 has got rest at last ! I wish !" added Sarah 
 suddenly, with vehement and almost frantic 
 energy, " O how I wish that I could change 
 places with her ! that I could be that cold 
 senseless image, without memory or feeling, 
 without hope or fear, shut up from living 
 wretchedness in everlasting sleep !" 
 
 " Let us hope that the Almighty has in 
 mercy received her never-dying soul, and that 
 in His own good time he will reveal the guilty 
 assassins, who sent her so suddenly to judg-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 91 
 
 ment," said Sir Arthur, solemnly. " Unbur- 
 den your own mind now, by confessing all, 
 and be assured it will relieve the agony you 
 are evidently suffering. Murder is like fire, 
 it cannot be smothered long." 
 
 " I know nothing ! What could I know !" 
 replied Sarah, hurriedly. " She has destroy- 
 ed herself, or thieves have broken into the 
 house and robbed her. Could I help that V 
 
 " No one has broken into this house," re- 
 plied Sir Arthur, scanning the expression of 
 her fixed, and apparently unalterable features. 
 " But you can perhaps tell us who escaped 
 by that shattered window above ? Not a lock 
 is broken — not a door is injured — not a trin- 
 ket seems missing, among the many scattered 
 around the room ! Here is money in abun- 
 dance, if gold had been the inducement ! 
 Some other motive has provoked this crime — 
 jealousy perhaps — or revenge — " 
 
 At the last word an angry hectic rushed 
 over the face, arms, and neck of the prisoner, 
 and her eye glittered for a moment with an 
 unnatural fire, which rapidly faded away,
 
 92 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 leaving her as pale and death-like as the 
 corpse beside which she stood, and on which 
 her eye now rested with a look of cold and 
 passionless indifference. 
 
 " It was only yesterday that she wished 
 herself dead ! this is her own doing !'' said 
 Sarah, turning away. " Why am I brought 
 here ! This is too dreadful ! too shocking ! 
 It will drive me mad — it will ! it will r added 
 she, with rising agitation ; and then suddenly 
 bursting into a hideous maniacal laugh, which 
 rang with fearful sound through the gloomy 
 chamber, and caused the horror-struck spec- 
 tators to fall hastily back, — " I would have 
 saved her ! I would i What woman ever sheds 
 blood ! but it was too late ! I would have 
 saved her, as I saved the child ; but it was 
 done — kill me ! kill me ! if you have any 
 mercy, let me die ! let me hide myself in the 
 grave for ever !"" Saying these words, with a 
 scream of agony, she fell upon the floor in 
 violent convulsions, from which it was nearly an 
 hour before she entirely recovered, when faint, 
 weak, and exhausted. Sir Arthur suggested 
 
 i
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 93 
 
 that she should be carried to bed ; but before 
 she left the room, anxious if possible to eluci- 
 date the mystery, and to gain some clue for 
 pursuing the actual murderer, he detained 
 Sarah during a moment, and desired that a 
 glass of water might be brought for her, hop- 
 ing that the violent emotion she had betrayed 
 might lead her to a full confession. Laying 
 his hand then upon her arm, in tones of deep 
 and awful solemnity, he looked at her, and 
 pointed once more to the corpse, saying, — 
 
 " By a dark and harrowing crime those 
 lips are sealed in the silence of death ! What 
 a tale they could disclose, if they might but 
 once describe all that passed in this room a 
 few hours ago ! Those very walls have echoed 
 this night to her cries ! You alone seem able 
 to throw any light upon the horrid deed. 
 You could tell all, or I am greatly mistaken. 
 We shall yet know, at the day of judgment, 
 if not sooner, how this fearful act was done. 
 Consider, Sarah Davenport, that undying re- 
 morse will pursue you through life, and be the 
 fitting tenant of your soul, unless by timely
 
 94 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 repentance you avert the fearful doom, and 
 hereafter your heart will be tortured by 
 the pangs of eternal despair. Unfortunate 
 woman ! consider now, or during the long 
 period of your approaching imprisonment, 
 whether it be better to repent and confess at 
 once, or to confess and suffer everlastingly." 
 
 Not a word or a look gave evidence that 
 Sarah so much as heard Sir Arthur speak. 
 Her large eyes were vacantly fixed on the 
 ground, her hands were firmly clenched, and 
 her teeth were set with an air of resolute de- 
 termination, when, after a silence of several 
 minutes, during which her very stillness was 
 frightful, supported by some of the strangers 
 around, she walked with almost mechanical 
 unconsciousness out of the room. 
 
 Again and again the house was searched 
 that day — the very floors and wainscots torn 
 up ; but not a trace could be discovered to 
 throw light upon the cause or circumstances 
 of this disastrous event ; and equally remark- 
 able was it, that no hint could be obtained of 
 who or what the murdered lady had been.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 95 
 
 There were books on the table in various lan- 
 guages, but not one retained any name writ- 
 ten on the boards, though it was evident that 
 on some a coat of arms had once been pasted, 
 and subsequently defaced. Not a letter or 
 paper could be found with either signature or 
 direction, though one or two notes were dis- 
 covered beneath the pillow of the bed, all 
 anonymous, but written in a similar hand, 
 and containing nothing that could identify 
 the writer ; and several sketches of the child, 
 beautifully executed in various attitudes, were 
 found in a portfolio, beside which were writ- 
 ten many simple verses, containing the most 
 fervent expressions of tender affection and 
 anxious solicitude for the boy, and the most 
 passionate bursts of melancholy, but all con- 
 ceived in general terms, which baffled the re- 
 searches of curiosity. 
 
 " This hand is disguised, yet surely I have 
 seen it before," said Sir Arthur, musingly ex- 
 amining the anonymous notes, which related 
 chiefly to remittances of money. " The face 
 of that appalling spectacle sometimes seems
 
 96 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 also familiar to me. Have I not met with it 
 already, or is this only the delusion of an ex- 
 cited mind ? These deep and prominent eye- 
 lids — the small aquiline nose — the delicately- 
 pencilled eye-brows — and that mouth of per- 
 fect grace and beauty, which seems still 
 almost to speak without a tongue, in the lan- 
 guage of heart-broken misery, telling of de- 
 ceived affections — of blighted hopes — of un- 
 pitied and solitary tears." 
 
 Sir Arthur seated himself on a chair beside 
 the couch for some moments in agitated re- 
 flection, vainly endeavouring to collect his 
 thoughts, and form them into some tangible 
 remembrance. "It is a strange and bewil- 
 dering sensation, to look at the mute features 
 of this death-like image, and to feel as if once 
 she had been known to me in her days of 
 youth and bloom. A vague harassing per- 
 plexity besets me in trying to realize the 
 floating and flickering remembrances, which 
 dimly mock my efforts to catch them. It 
 seems like staring out on a dark night, and 
 trying to distinguish some busy scene, where
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 97 
 
 figures and lights appear, and vanish again 
 before they can be identified. Where have 
 we met before ? Surely in some dream of for- 
 mer days I once saw a smile of joy on those 
 pallid lips — I once beheld those fixed and 
 glassy eyes lighted up with intelligence ! but 
 my treacherous memory will not help me — it 
 recalls enough to torture me with perplexity, 
 and not enough to be of any actual avail."" 
 
 Sir Arthur wearied himself with intense 
 efforts to identify the lineaments before him, 
 but in vain. They were lovely indeed, and 
 many a stranger came likewise to try whether 
 they could be recognized, but without success. 
 The fearful story circulated like wild-fire — the 
 excitement and curiosity it produced became 
 intense ; but not a gleam of light was thrown 
 upon the dark and mysterious event. 
 
 Among the many who hurried to behold 
 the murdered woman before her remains were 
 disturbed, two gentlemen arrived one evening 
 after dusk, and having ascertained that nei- 
 ther the Admiral nor any other stranger was 
 in the house, they gave Sir Arthur's servant, 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 98 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Martin, who was in attendance, a handsome 
 donation, and desiring him not to follow, hur- 
 ried up stairs, and remained in the room 
 alone for several minutes. Both were much 
 muffled up, and evidently avoided any scru- 
 tiny of their countenances ; but they seemed 
 greatly agitated on leaving the room ; and as 
 they hastened past Martin, and threw them- 
 selves into a hackney coach which awaited 
 them at some distance, one of the party had 
 appeared so overcome, that he could not 
 walk without support. Much conjecture was 
 aroused by this incident, which seemed to in- 
 crease the mystery and interest attached to 
 the melancholy circumstances, and not a 
 doubt could be entertained that these untime- 
 ly visitors had a more than common connec- 
 tion with the affair, but of what nature, and to 
 what degree, could only admit of very vague 
 conjecture. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the active interest 
 taken in all the proceedings by Sir Arthur, 
 who seemed to forget all his years and infir- 
 mities, while keenly promoting the cause of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 99 
 
 truth and justice. Much as he had formerly 
 bemoaned the trouble entailed upon him by 
 deceased friends, many of whom had be- 
 queathed their estates and children to his 
 guardianship, he felt on this occasion, a pity 
 so intense, for the nameless, friendless, and 
 helpless boy, thus unexpectedly and tragically 
 thrown on his compassion, that he publicly 
 pledged himself to harbour and protect the 
 child in the mean time, trusting that some 
 connections might at last be found, to whom 
 he more naturally belonged. " Life has had a 
 mournful commencement for him, poor boy ! 
 His days are dark, and his friends are few," 
 said Sir Arthur, with a strong emotion of 
 pity , " but we must hope the best hereafter, 
 and do the best that can be done in the mean 
 time, trusting that a wise Providence, who 
 cast him on my care and kindness, will also 
 watch over his future welfare." 
 
 On the night previous to that appointed by 
 Sir Arthur for committing to the grave the 
 last remains of the murdered lady, he who 
 had so often faced death in every form, and
 
 100 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 " kiss'd the mouth of a cannon in battle,^' yet 
 felt himself awed and deeply affected in con- 
 templating the solemn preparations for com- 
 mitting to the tomb one so young, so deeply 
 injured, and so apparently unlamented. It 
 was with mournful and mysterious wonder 
 that he stood beside the corpse, and contem- 
 plated that mortal frame, from which the 
 spirit had been so suddenly and so crueUy 
 driven; and he could not but imagine the 
 scenes of love and joy which those eyes had 
 once probably looked upon — the busy thoughts 
 that had hurried through that lifeless head — 
 the warm affections that had flowed through 
 that heart, now for ever at rest. 
 
 While yet his mind was dwelling with pain- 
 ful interest on all the thoughts which crowded 
 through his fancy, Martin hastily entered the 
 room, and in an agitated voice requested Sir 
 Arthur's immediate presence in the entrance- 
 hall, as some persons were there who had or- 
 ders to communicate only with himself. 
 
 On arriving in the passage, Sir Arthur was 
 astonished, and almost startled, to find seve-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 101 
 
 ral porters in the passage, carrying a coffin 
 magnificently decorated, and covered with a 
 velvet pall, on the summit of which was con- 
 spicuously placed a large brass plate, with the 
 date of the murder engraved, and bearing 
 no other inscription, but these two words in 
 German characters — 
 
 " This is strange !'' said Sir Arthur, turn- 
 ing anxiously to the men. *' Who sent you 
 hereT 
 
 " A gentleman left his orders with the un- 
 dertaker, Sir. No questions were to be asked ; 
 and he paid for everything at once, leaving 
 neither name nor direction,'*'' said the man 
 who seemed to have charge of the business. 
 " We know nothing of him ; but he desired 
 us to deliver this note into your own hands, 
 and perhaps it may tell you more." 
 
 Sir Arthur hastily tore open the letter 
 offered to him, giving an impatient glanct^ 
 at the handwriting, which was exactly simi- 
 lar to that of the anonymous notes he liad
 
 102 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 already so carefully and so vainly scrutinized. 
 He was astonished ; and solemn as the occa- 
 sion was, almost amused to observe that his 
 name and direction had been carefully cut 
 out of the newspaper paragraph which he 
 quarrelled with some weeks before at the 
 Club, and that this unknown correspondent, 
 to prevent the possibility of his writing being 
 detected by those who examined the outside, 
 had pasted these printed letters on the cover, 
 '^ Sir Arthur Dunbar, Portobello." The 
 packet was sealed with a plain impression on 
 black wax; the paper bore a broad black 
 border ; and there was an evident tremulous- 
 ness in the pen which had inscribed these 
 words : — 
 
 " Enclosed is the sum of L.200, for the 
 benefit of Sir Arthur Dunbar s adopted ward, 
 Henry De Lancey. The same amount shall 
 be transmitted annually, so long as no effort 
 is made to trace from whence it originates ; 
 and the day he comes of age, it shall be in- 
 creased to L.500 per annum. Tlie first at- 
 tempt to find out his connections will be de-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 103 
 
 tected, and shall put a final period to all in- 
 tercourse. The unfortunate woman was mar- 
 ried to one who remained io^norant, till a few 
 hours ago, of the circumstances attending her 
 death. She disgraced his name, and aban- 
 doned his house ; nevertheless her child may 
 one day, perhaps, be acknowledged ; and the 
 whole expenses of his education shall be libe- 
 rally defrayed, till he is grown up and has 
 chosen a profession." 
 
 It was a strange, cold, heartless communi- 
 cation from a parent, withoiit one expression 
 of relenting affection, one word of solicitude 
 for his happiness, or one expression of grati- 
 tude to Sir Arthur for taking upon himself so 
 arduous a charge ; but still it was to a cer- 
 tain extent most satisfactory, the Admiral 
 being relieved of a great perplexity, by hav- 
 ing thus ascertained in what rank of life the 
 interesting boy should be educated, as he felt 
 justified now in obtaining for him the highest 
 cultivation, an advantage to which he attach- 
 ed the utmost importance, often repeating his 
 favourite aphorism, that " principle is the
 
 104 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 helm, and learning the main-sail, which car- 
 ries a young man forward in life ; but both 
 would be useless, unless the wind, which 
 ' bloweth where it listeth," be sent from 
 Heaven to guide and direct him safely into 
 harbour."
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. lOi 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 I sum up half mankind, 
 
 And add two-thirds of the remaining half, 
 And find the total of their hopes and fears 
 Dreams, empty dreams. Cow per. 
 
 The day of trial at length arrived, and the 
 court, from the roof to the floor, seemed one 
 sea of faces, crowded together like the 
 '' studies of heads'' on a painter's canvass. 
 During the legal investigation, which was 
 conducted with deep solemnity and anxious 
 perseverance, the mystery became still deep- 
 er, and more inscrutable. No appearance of 
 a robbery could be observed, except that the 
 finger of the lady's hand, on which a wedding 
 ring had probably been worn, was much bruis-
 
 106 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ed and discoloured, as if, immediately after 
 her decease, it had been violently torn off; 
 and a vain attempt had evidently been made 
 to snatch away a gold chain hung round 
 her neck, to which was appended a small bro- 
 ken miniature frame, set with brilliants, and 
 adorned with what seemed to represent a 
 very antique coronet. The portrait which it 
 once enclosed, had been, with obvious difficul- 
 ty, removed, as the marks w^ere visible all 
 round, of some sharp-pointed instrument hav- 
 ing been inserted in the frame, to which there 
 still adhered several broken fragments of 
 
 Sarah Davenport, who had been fully com- 
 mitted for trial, on suspicion of being an ac- 
 complice, refused to give any references as to 
 character, and was strongly suspected of ha- 
 bitually concealing her real name, and of more 
 than once assuming those that were fictitious, 
 as her clothes and linen appeared to be mark- 
 ed with various initials, but in not one case 
 did they bear those that she pretended were 
 her own. It was evident that she laboured
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 107 
 
 under a powerful, but forcibly-subdued excite- 
 ment ; yet, with a tone and manner externally 
 cold and hard as Siberian ice, she persisted in 
 professing her own perfect innocence, and her 
 utter unconsciousness of anything that might 
 by possibility lead to a discovery of the per- 
 petrators. She coldly, and almost calmly, 
 threw back glance for glance, on the specta- 
 tors nearest her, who were keenly watching 
 every turn of her countenance, while dark 
 surmises, and fearful conjectures, were whis- 
 pered in murmurs of horror on every side ; 
 but at length her eye wandered to a distant 
 part of the court, when suddenly a livid pale- 
 ness flashed upon her face — an indescribable 
 but startling lustre glittered in her eyes — her 
 whole frame shook, as in the coldest blast of 
 winter, and with a suppressed groan of agony 
 and fear, she bowed her head upon her hands, 
 and sunk fainting upon the floor. At the 
 same time, a man was observed hastily to 
 leave the court, and, gliding with rapid steps 
 through the narrow passages, disappeared, 
 before any of those who stood near had pre-
 
 108 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 sence of mind to stop him, or could even iden- 
 tify his appearance. 
 
 Nothing apparently touched the feelings of 
 Sarah Davenport, except when a suspicion 
 seemed to be implied that she wished to in- 
 jure the boy ; and when a question to this 
 effect was put to her by the court, she wrung 
 her hands, and burst into tears, saying, in ac- 
 cents of piercing anguish, though with a shud- 
 der, as if death itself were upon her, " No ! 
 oh no ! Who suspects that I would injure a 
 hair of his head ! He once loved me ! Few 
 
 — few but he, ever did ! none that have 
 
 not afterwards given me reason to hate them ! 
 I am a solitary, lost, and desolate being ; but 
 let him not forget in after years, that I saved 
 his Hfe ! — that I saved it at a risk you never 
 can conceive !"' 
 
 An impulse of mournful interest and as- 
 tonishment ran through the assembled multi- 
 tude, when they beheld the rare and singular 
 beauty of the child, after he was led into 
 court ; and it seemed as if the spectators had 
 ceased to breathe as soon as he began to an-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 109 
 
 swer some of the questions which were skil- 
 fully put, to draw out his recollections of past 
 times, and especially the dark history of the 
 last few weeks. He was at first shy and in- 
 timidated, but gradually regained an unex- 
 pected degree of self-possession, and spoke 
 with surprising intelligence and distinctness 
 of all he remembered. 
 
 The boy retained a faint recollection of 
 having been awakened, on the night of the 
 murder, by some violent scene of strife and 
 horror ; but his faculties had evidently been 
 so benumbed by opiates, that no distinct im- 
 pression remained ; and to his own young 
 mind, the whole seemed like a fearful dream, 
 too dreadful to look back upon even yet, ex- 
 cept with bewildering terror. He gave a* 
 clear account, however, of the last evening 
 he had passed with his mother, of whom he 
 spoke in accents of infantine affection, evi- 
 dently unable yet to conceive that he should 
 see her face no more. 
 
 An old gentleman, he said, had come into 
 the room, and spoken angrily to her ; while,
 
 110 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 with astonishing precision, the boy acted over 
 the whole scene, recapitulated some of the 
 language they had used, and described how 
 his mother had clung to him with frantic 
 eagerness, saying she would promise any- 
 thing, if she might only retain her child ; 
 how the stranger, who was very tall, and 
 wore a black coat, had spoken again with 
 angry vehemence before he left the room ; 
 and how his mother, when alone, had prayed 
 and wept over him with looks of agonized 
 and desolate grief, until he had been carried 
 away to bed by the maid, who administered 
 some medicine to him. which she said the 
 doctor had ordered. 
 
 He spoke much also of a large old room, 
 hung with pictures, in which his earliest 
 days had been passed, and of a small dark 
 apartment close beside it, into which he 
 had often been precipitately hurried, appa- 
 rently for concealment, and where toys and 
 sweetmeats had been always provided to keep 
 him quiet, while he was punished with the 
 utmost severity, for making the slightest
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. HI 
 
 noise; and he still remembered with looks 
 of apprehension, the gentleman dressed in 
 black, who most frequently visited him there, 
 and often caused his mother to weep bit- 
 terly. 
 
 Sarah Davenport was then recalled, and 
 rigidly cross-examined, respecting the gentle- 
 man who had visited at the house ; but she 
 doggedly asserted her entire ignorance re- 
 specting his rank in life, or connections, and 
 pertinaciously maintained that the lady's 
 death had been her own voluntary act, and 
 that the sleeping potion had been given to 
 the boy by his mother's own imperative or- 
 ders, as she did not herself know even what 
 it contained. 
 
 During a long and anxious consultation of 
 the jury, there was a hushed and intense si- 
 lence in the crowded court, so still and un- 
 broken, that the breathing of an infant would 
 have been audible, while every eye perused 
 the countenance of the prisoner, with an in- 
 tensity that brought a hectic flush, burning 
 like fire, upon her cheek, and she gazed
 
 112 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 around with a glance of anger that caused 
 her beauty for the moment to look like that 
 of a fiend or a fury. 
 
 At length, after arduously scrutinising every 
 atom of evidence that could be gathered, the 
 jury, though morally certain of the prisoner's 
 being an accomplice in the crime, felt unwill- 
 ingly obliged to bring in a verdict of " not 
 proven," and she was immediately liberated, 
 after which, amidst the yells, jeers, and exe- 
 crations of the populace, who were convinced 
 of her criminality, she hurried from the court, 
 and was seen no more. 
 
 Nothing is half so attractive as a mystery, 
 and many crowded at first, with a tempo- 
 rary enthusiasm, to see the beautiful boy. so 
 strangely bereaved, and so cruelly abandon- 
 ed ; but the interest and excitement of hear- 
 ing and relating his story were soon super- 
 seded by greater wonders and fresher news. 
 In a world where all are rushing on headlong 
 in pursuit of novelty, and where events, great 
 «>r small, are speedily hurried into one com- 
 mon oblivion, people were tired at last of think-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 1 1 -3 
 
 ing or talking about young Henry and his 
 concerns. 
 
 Every one of the Admiral's friends hinted 
 that he could have managed the whole affair 
 ten times better than Sir Arthur ; all blam- 
 ed him for many things, and praised him 
 for very few ; the Admiral was wondered at, 
 criticised, discussed, admired, pitied, and cen- 
 sured, more than he remembered to have been 
 for many years before ; and the givers of ad- 
 vice were lavish of propositions and objec- 
 tions, all which were borne by their venerable 
 friend with good-humoured indifference, whe- 
 ther adopted or not. At length several per- 
 fectly new murders from London came on the 
 tapis in society ; those who liked reading in 
 the Jack Sheppard style were satiated with 
 studies from the life ; the Morning Post as- 
 sumed a terrifying interest ; and the lady of 
 fashion who consulted Sir Henry Halford 
 about her appetite, because she could no 
 longer enjoy her murders and robberies at 
 breakfast, would have thought, when they 
 were coming out hot and hot every week, that
 
 114 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 it was a wearisome repetition to speculate an- 
 other hour upon a murder nearly a month old. 
 
 In short, " the Portobello story'' ceased 
 to be told or listened to. Henry had had his 
 day. There is no such thing now as a nine 
 days' wonder, because nothing lasts so long. 
 Young De Lancey had been talked of as much 
 as any reasonable being could expect to be 
 talked of; and now it was universally voted a 
 bore whenever the subject occurred in con- 
 versation ; for, as Lady Towercliffe remarked, 
 with a very long-drawn yawn, when, for the 
 last time, it was alluded to in her presence, 
 " It was a shocking, barbarous, and really 
 startling affair ; but all stories should be al- 
 lowed to die out like an echo, which grows 
 fainter and fainter at every repetition. One 
 cannot be for ever talking of the same thing.'" 
 
 When Henry De Lancey lost one parent, he 
 certainly gained another in Sir Arthur, wlio 
 often afterwards remarked, that in no instance 
 could virtue be more obviously its own re- 
 ward, than in the case of any kindness he had 
 shewn to this fascinating boy, whose gay joy-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 115 
 
 ous spirits became a source of perpetual amuse- 
 ment to him, while the Admiral seemed to 
 derive new life from watching the frolicsome 
 gambols of his young companion, occasionally 
 enlivened by the gleeful vivacity of his niece 
 Marion, when she escaped a single day from 
 the trammels of school, bringing generally in 
 her train two of her favourite juvenile com- 
 panions, Clara Granville and Caroline Smythe, 
 both several years older than herself. 
 
 On many occasions the sensibility of Henry 
 De Lancey seemed already to have attained 
 almost the depth and intensity of manhood, 
 so strong were the bursts of natural feeling 
 with which he occasionally spoke or acted, 
 while it was deeply affecting to trace through- 
 out the extraordinary progress thus early 
 made in his education, the careful culture 
 given to his remarkable abilities — the pains 
 bestowed by his solitary parent to strengthen 
 his mind for future difficulties and sorrows, 
 the earliest and worst of which she could so 
 little have foreseen or apprehended. 
 
 With considerable though tfulness of cha-
 
 116 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 racter^ however, and natural integrity of mind, 
 which Sir Arthur was delighted from the first 
 to remark, yet, when the merry group of 
 young friends assembled together on the 
 shore at Portobello, building houses of sand, 
 or running eagerly in search of shells, it would 
 have been difficult to say which was the most 
 carelessly happy, while the Admiral seemed 
 to borrow their young spirits for the time, 
 and gazed with ceaseless delight on those 
 joyous countenances, radiant w^ith laughter 
 and smiles, which were archly turned towards 
 their aged playmate, sometimes with a chal- 
 lenge to run after them, or lighted up with 
 smiles of affection when they brought him a 
 bouquet of his favourite flowers, torn roughly 
 from the stems, and crushed and crumpled in 
 their little hands. 
 
 Sir Arthur often seemed almost ashamed 
 to betray the engrossing interest and delight 
 he felt in his young companion, who gained 
 every day a stronger hold upon his affections, 
 and it appeared as if he were anxious to for- 
 get that a time had ever existed when the
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 117 
 
 playful and interesting boy was unknown to 
 his heart; but a circumstance occurred, not 
 long after Henry's adoption, which brought 
 painfully to mind, with greatly increased soli- 
 citude, the fearful mystery that hung over his 
 origin, proving also that danger still threaten- 
 ed him from some unforeseen quarter. 
 
 While the whole party of his young guests 
 were noisily engaged on the shore in a game 
 at hide-and-seek, one day in the month of 
 July, Sir Arthur had seated himself on a 
 bench within sight of them, sometimes watch- 
 ing their gambols with pleasure, and frequent- 
 ly conning over a newspaper, which proved by 
 undeniable and satisfactory demonstration, 
 that the country was entirely ruined — that 
 the Government was coming to an end — that 
 the Houses of Lords and Commons would be 
 completely demolished — that the ministry had 
 not another day to exist — and, as a grand 
 climax, that anarchy, confusion, bankruptcy, 
 and revolution, were about finally to drop 
 their extinguisher over Great Britain. Sir 
 Arthur had read the same thing in different
 
 118 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 words every day during fifty years, and under 
 twenty varied administrations ; yet still the 
 wonder grew, how a constitution so misma- 
 naged could so long survive, and that when 
 all was wrong at the head of the country, it 
 still had a leg to stand on. The Admiral's 
 patriotic meditations had been several times 
 interrupted by repeated complaints from the 
 little girls, that Henry had hid himself so well, 
 they could not possibly find him ; but he was 
 too much pre-occupied to give the subject 
 much attention, till at length Martin an- 
 nounced that the children's dinner had waited 
 some time, and that still the boy was not to 
 be found, though his companions had been 
 searching for him at least half an hour. 
 
 Upon hearing this, Sir Arthur hastily 
 started up, making a considerable expendi- 
 ture of energetic and wondrous exclamations, 
 while he gazed around with increasing sur- 
 prise at the wide waste of sand, like an Ara- 
 bian desert, with which he was on every side 
 encompassed, and where it seemed to him as 
 if a mouse could not be long concealed.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 119 
 
 A hasty and most anxious search was in- 
 stantly commenced in the garden, while Sir 
 Arthur and Martin shouted the name of 
 Henry at the full pitch of their voices, but in 
 vain ; not a sound was heard in reply, nor 
 was there a spot unexamined in which he 
 could by possibility be lurking. 
 
 The Admiral now became seriously alarmed 
 at so unaccountable a disappearance, especial- 
 ly when the child's gardening tools, with which 
 he had been last observed, were found muti- 
 lated and broken, at a great distance, on the 
 beach — one of his shoes had fallen off close to 
 the water — and his hat lay nearly buried in 
 the tide. Sir Arthur instantly summoned the 
 police to his aid, but the search continued 
 fruitless, till at length the dreadful conjecture 
 became more and more probable, that Henry 
 must have rashly ventured into the water, 
 and been washed away by the waves — in pur- 
 suance of which apprehension Sir Arthur 
 summoned more assistance, that the water 
 might instantly be dragged.
 
 1 20 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Martin, meantime, no less active than his 
 master, had accidentally met a stranger on 
 the beach, who mentioned, on hearing of his 
 alarm, that on the road to Leith, half an hour 
 before, he had observed a boy struggling and 
 screaming in the arms of a female, dressed 
 like a nursery-maid, who complained loudly 
 that the child would not go home, when a 
 young man, rather strangely dressed, and of 
 very singular appearance, had instantly offer- 
 ed his assistance, and carried him forcibly on- 
 wards. This gentleman said he had stopped 
 the woman to remonstrate with her on using 
 the boy so roughly, as a cap was drawn over 
 his eyes, and he seemed to suffer agonies of 
 terror, sobbing convulsively, and trembling in 
 every limb ; but the man had answered in 
 reply, with a strong Irish accent, that he 
 would see the child safe to his friends, and let 
 no one do the poor boy " a taste of harm." 
 The stranger added indifferently, that it was 
 no affair of his, therefore he ceased to inter- 
 fere ; but he thought both the man and tlio
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 121 
 
 woman had a very bad expression, and he 
 would not trust either of them with his dog 
 for an hour, to use it kindly. 
 
 Without wasting time in returning to com- 
 municate what he had heard, Martin hurried 
 forward to Leith, where, with reckless speed 
 and untiring diligence, he threaded all the 
 narrow streets, and elbowed his way among 
 carts, carriages, parcels, and passengers, till 
 at length he reached the pier, to which he 
 had been so eagerly aiming his steps. At its 
 farthest point stood a smoking steam-boat in 
 full boil, while men and women, boxes, pack- 
 ages, bags, and trunks, were pouring in ; and 
 at length, as he breathlessly approached with- 
 in some hundred yards, an arbitrary little bell 
 was rung, to summon stragglers on board, 
 and to hurry stragglers away. 
 
 A single plank, connecting the steam-boat 
 with the pier, was on the point of being with- 
 drawn, when Martin approached ; and while 
 he paused, in momentary hesitation whether 
 to pursue his almost hopeless search, the 
 steward peremptorily desired him to hasten 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 122 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 on board instantly, if he were coming at all. 
 as not a moment more could be lost. 
 
 At this moment a cry, almost amounting 
 to a scream of childish joy, became audible on 
 the deck — a young boy was seen vehemently 
 struggling in the arms of a female ; and in an 
 instant, pursued by a man who vainly endea- 
 voured to overtake him, he rushed past the 
 steward, ran across the temporary bridge, and 
 clasped Martin round the knees, exclaiming, 
 wdth eager incoherent exclamations of almost 
 hysterical delight, " Take me, Martin ! take 
 me ! let me go home to Sir Arthur ! I did 
 not come away without leave ! I did not in- 
 deed ! That naughty horrid woman forced 
 me ! She tied a cap over my face, and would 
 not let me go back ! I have been so frighten- 
 ed and so sorry," added the child, bursting 
 into tears, and sobbing as if his heart would 
 break ; " I thought Sir Arthur would be 
 angry, and I thought, perhaps, I would never 
 see him again ! O take me home, Martin ! 
 take me home ! and let me never see these 
 people again !"
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 123 
 
 The boy put his hand, with an air of happy 
 confidence and security, into that of Martin, 
 who snatched him up in his arms, with a 
 thousand expressions of joyful surprise ; but 
 a moment afterwards, when he recollected 
 himself, his first impulse was to secure the 
 culprits who had decoyed Henry away, and 
 to deliver them up to a magistrate for exami- 
 nation. With this intention, he looked has- 
 tily round, intending to cause their immediate 
 apprehension ; but the steam-boat had sailed 
 off*; and all the gesticulations he could make 
 to bring them back, only caused the steward 
 laughingly to shake his head, thinking that 
 Martin had merely missed his passage, as he 
 deserved, for not showing more alacrity in 
 obeying his injunctions to embark. 
 
 At Portobello, meantime, Sir Arthur had 
 suffered agonies of grief, and even of self-re- 
 proach, thinking he had too securely relied 
 on the safety of his young protege ; and with 
 a heavy heart he was still directing his steps, 
 and conducting his assistants to the most pro- 
 bable places for finding the child's body, hav-
 
 124 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ing already ordered his maid to have every 
 thing in readiness, in case a chance remained 
 of his being restored to life, when he felt a 
 gentle pull at the skirt of his coat, and, on 
 looking down, he uttered a volley of joyful 
 exclamations, on beholding the radiant coun- 
 tenance of Henry, whom he clasped in his 
 arms with unutterable joy. While' Martin 
 and the boy himself, gave each his own his- 
 tory of the strange adventure. Sir Arthur 
 walked up and down in a state of irrepressi- 
 ble irritation, clenching his teeth, and grasp- 
 ing his walking-stick firmly in his hand, as if 
 about to wreak instant vengeance on the mis- 
 creants. At length, after exhausting his in- 
 dignation, he took Henry again in his arms, 
 declaring he would never for a moment lose 
 sight of him again. 
 
 Nothing in Henry's narrative threw the 
 smallest gleam of light on the plans or inten- 
 tions of the strange man and woman, which 
 seemed destined to remain buried in impene- 
 trable obscurity. They had evidently been 
 accomplices in decoying him from home ; and
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 125 
 
 the boy had brought away from the steam- 
 boat, a small book which they had given 
 him, full of ribald songs, and profane jests, 
 but covered with magnificent boards, and 
 clasped with silver hinges, which seemed to 
 have once belonged to some ancient missal, 
 and still retained in the inside, a collection of 
 texts beautifully written in a very remarkable 
 hand, which seemed to be that of a highly- 
 educated female. 
 
 For some time afterwards, several suspi- 
 cious-looking people were seen lurking about 
 Sir Arthur's premises, late at night ; and one 
 evening a shot was fired suddenly in at the 
 drawing-room window, which passed so near 
 to Henry's head, that his hair was actually 
 disturbed; but though an active police had 
 been placed on the watch, not a trace could 
 be obtained of the authors of this outrage. 
 
 As time wore on, and the mind of Henry 
 rapidly expanded on all subjects of classical 
 learning and general science, the fearful and 
 melancholy events of his early years faded 
 considerably from his mind, while he madf
 
 126 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 astonishing progress at the excellent school 
 where Sir Arthur placed him, exhibiting that 
 happy, but rare combination of deep thought, 
 and refinement of mind, with extreme liveli- 
 liness of fancy, and enthusiasm of character. 
 This threw a perfect witchery over his con- 
 versation, which sparkled with vivacity, or 
 flowed with uncommon depth and power, as 
 best suited the occasion, while at the same 
 time, during his intercourse with Sir Arthur, 
 he became imbued with the highest princi- 
 ples of honour and good feeling ; and from 
 his master he imbibed the most enlightened 
 knowledge of the doctrines and duties of 
 Christianity, with the profoundest reverence 
 for its precepts and practice. 
 
 Sir Arthur felt a dreary blank during 
 Henry's absence at school, which became 
 more and more intolerable as his eyesight 
 was at length nearly extinct ; and he had se- 
 rious thoughts of engaging a person to walk 
 out with him during the day, and to read 
 to him during the evening, being of opinion 
 that it is the highest wisdom, as well* as the
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 127 
 
 best Christianity, cheerfully to meet every ap- 
 pointed privation, and derive from the bless- 
 ings that remain, as much enjoyment as they 
 can afford. 
 
 Sir Arthur often remarked to his friend, 
 Lady Towercliffe, that it is a misfortune to 
 wear out a taste for any inoffensive occupa- 
 tion ; and he began to fear it might be pos- 
 sible for him to survive his enjoyment of 
 reading. " In my long life,"" he observed, 
 " I have myself travelled all the travels de- 
 scribed by others, thought all the thoughts, 
 and felt all the feelings. If I read such a 
 book as Robertson's America, for instance, 
 the question forces itself upon me, ' what the 
 better would I be of knowing this whole vo- 
 lume by heart V The time was once, when a 
 romance carried me off into another existence 
 altogether, and I seemed to awaken as from 
 a dream, when called back to the ordinary 
 business of life ; but now I can anticipate 
 from the first page, the whole denouement of 
 every novel, and never for an instant forget 
 my own identity in reading the story."
 
 128 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 " It is a shocking symptom of advancing 
 years," said Lady Towercliffe. " But you 
 must wait till I publish."" 
 
 " Yet," continued Sir Arthur, " there is 
 one volume always new, in which I never can 
 tire of reading my own heart and character 5 
 and in the Bible, the descriptions of eastern 
 countries are so like what I have observed 
 myself of the scenery, customs, and manners, 
 that they fill me with recollections and asso- 
 ciations that are of endless interest." 
 
 No sooner had Sir Arthur mentioned in- 
 cidentally, to Lady Towercliffe, and several 
 friends, that he would willingly give a hand- 
 some salary to a person of good reading and 
 writing abilities, than it seemed as if all the 
 meritorious young men in Scotland happened 
 at that very time to be looking out for pre- 
 cisely such a situation ; and it made Sir 
 Arthur almost melancholy in examining tes- 
 timonials, which ought to have procured 
 any one of them a bishopric, to think that 
 so many admirable youths, of learning and 
 talents, were ready to sacrifice themselves
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 129 
 
 for a mere home, and a pittance of L.50 per 
 annum ! 
 
 No situation ever became vacant in the 
 memory of man, for which Lady Towercliffe 
 had not some protege exactly suited ; and no 
 sooner did she hear that Sir Arthur required 
 a secretary and reader, than she wrote him a 
 note of seven pages, closely penned, in which 
 she made it evident that there was but one 
 individual in the world who could suit, or 
 ought to suit, and that one individual was 
 the bearer of her despatch, who waited below 
 for an answer. 
 
 It appeared that, with all her zeal in the 
 cause, Lady Towercliffe knew very little of 
 the young man she so vehemently recom- 
 mended ; but having accidentally met him in 
 a bookseller s shop, he had been employed by 
 her to copy some verses in an album, and she 
 thought him, without exception, one of the 
 most civil and grateful creatures in the world, 
 who really deserved encouragement. 
 
 When Sir Arthur sent for Mr Howard up 
 stairs, his kind heart was almost shocked at
 
 ISO MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 the tone of wild energy, and the look of fe- 
 verish anxiety with which he entreated that 
 his capabilities might be tried. His figure, 
 though youthful, was tall, gaunt, and meagre, 
 while his care-worn countenance, which bore 
 a stern and melancholy aspect, was lighted 
 up by large dark flashing eyes, in which there 
 gleamed an expression of singular excitement. 
 He appeared young and handsome, but not 
 prepossessing — so gloomy and determined was 
 the expression of his firmly-compressed mouth, 
 that it seemed almost indicative of ferocity ; 
 and his eye had that peculiarity invariably 
 expressing evil — an impossibility of looking 
 any one steadily in the face. 
 
 " You see me under great disadvantage, 
 Sir Arthur ; friendless, homeless, and pover- 
 ty-struck," said Mr Howard, with a look of 
 eager, deprecating solicitude, which spoke at 
 once to the generous heart of the Admiral, 
 and filled him with commiseration. '' Fate 
 and fortune have hitherto frustrated my ef- 
 forts, and weighed me down with life-crush- 
 ing sorrows ; but only give me employment.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 131 
 
 and I would not thank the Queen to be my 
 cousin !" 
 
 It was a favourite saying with Sir Arthur, 
 that he would be more ashamed to suspect 
 mankind, than to be deceived by them ; and 
 if he had a weakness in the world, it was a 
 total incapacity to give pain. Touched by 
 the nervous excitement in Mr Howard's eye 
 and manner, which he attributed entirely to 
 his necessitous circumstances, he almost im- 
 mediately engaged him, to the entire satisfac- 
 tion of Lady Towercliffe, who never asked or 
 cared any more about her protege, gratified 
 that she had achieved " a job," and that by 
 her interest, and hers only, a place in the 
 world had been filled up, which would have been 
 occupied by some one else, perhaps equally 
 deserving, if she had not interfered, and she 
 v/as satisfied for the present, to have been of 
 consequence to somebody, no matter Avhom. 
 
 Mr Howard generally spoke in a subdued, 
 mysterious voice, as if afraid to let himself 
 know what he was saying ; yet sometimes his 
 words came forth with a rushing impetuosity.
 
 132 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 full of energy and fire, like lightning itself. 
 His hollow, blood-shot eyes, betrayed a wild, 
 watchful, suspicious expression, by no means 
 prepossessing ; and there was something in- 
 scrutable in the bland, perpetual smile he 
 always wore upon his countenance, and in the 
 frozen tranquillity of his manner, which occa- 
 sionally, though seldom, gave way to bursts 
 of tempestuous emotion. The very pupils of 
 his eyes seemed to become darker, with a 
 fearfully wild and ferocious expression when 
 irritated, while the fierce fire flashed out from 
 beneath his lowering brows, with a blaze of 
 inexpressible fury ; yet in a moment he could 
 command himself again into a cold, calm, and 
 almost haughty exterior, while the spectral 
 paleness of his handsome countenance, made 
 him look like marble itself. 
 
 Years passed on, during which Sir Arthur 
 endured, rather than enjoyed, ^Ir Howard's 
 attendance, whose pre-occupied air and vague 
 manner, continually annoyed him; but his be- 
 nevolent heart shrunk from consigning the 
 poor man to that hopeless and solitary want
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 138 
 
 which he seemed to apprehend must inevitably 
 follow the loss of his present situation, and 
 from day to day he postponed the decision, 
 till habit grew into second nature, and he be- 
 came so accustomed to hear " The Times,'' 
 column after column, spouted forth in a rather 
 theatrical tone by his reader, and to dictate 
 notes and letters to his very silent and dili- 
 gent secretary, that he almost forgot at last 
 to think of parting with him. 
 
 When Henry returned for the first time 
 from school, six or seven months after Mr 
 Howard had become domesticated at Porto- 
 bello, the secretary professed a vehement 
 fancy for the boy, would fetch and carry for 
 him like a tame dog, and loaded him with 
 attentions; yet, though in general most affec- 
 .tionately grateful to all who showed him 
 even a trifling kindness, these assiduities and 
 flatteries were lavished upon him in vain. 
 The boy shrunk instinctively from Mr How- 
 ard's notice, but could assign no other reason 
 to himself or to others for this apparently un- 
 reasonable antipathy, except merely that the
 
 134 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 stranger resembled somebody he had seen 
 before, but how, when, or where, not a trace 
 remained in his memory. This little caprice 
 did not appear to be noticed or resented by 
 the secretary, till one day, when Henry re- 
 fused some bon-bons which Mr Howard offer- 
 ed him, saying, the last he accepted had made 
 him sick, and when the boy soon after flew 
 gayly out of the room, Marion was for a mo- 
 ment startled and surprised to observe the 
 malignant scowl with which the eye of Mr 
 Howard followed Henry. It was a glance, fell 
 and malignant, that feared to be seen, while 
 his cheek became pale as death, but whether 
 in anger or in sorrow, Marion thought it im- 
 possible to divine. 
 
 As Henry grew older, his instinctive dread 
 of Mr Howard seemed only to increase, but 
 he wp-s too considerate to disturb the tran- 
 quillity of Sir Arthur by mentioning it, or to 
 injure the poor man himself, by giving way to 
 a feeling of dislike so unaccountable, and yet 
 so perfectly unconquerable ; but at length, 
 after many years of such prudent self-restraint.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. loO 
 
 when nearly grown up to manhood, he could 
 not help saying one day, in a careless tone, to 
 the Admiral, after witnessing a sudden out- 
 break of temper in Mr Howard that morn- 
 ing. 
 
 " Your secretary always reminds me. Sir 
 Arthur, of Sinbad's Old Man of the Sea. It 
 seems impossible to get handsomely rid of 
 him, and he will never certainly make a volun- 
 tary departure !" 
 
 " I fear not !'' replied the Admiral, with 
 something between a smile and a sigh. " He 
 does all I desire him, but without interest or 
 pleasure, and he has the most undisguised con- 
 tempt for every living being, almost amount- 
 ing to hatred, yet he expresses unbounded 
 gratitude for being harboured in my house. 
 What can I do ? It would be cruel to kick 
 the man out of doors, merely because he is 
 unhappy; but I have often observed, Henry, 
 that he i^ no favourite of yours, though that 
 is the only subject on which you have never 
 been entirely open with me." 
 
 " Because I am heartily ashamed of my
 
 136 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 feelings, Sir Arthur, and you are the last per- 
 son on earth to whom I wish to tell anything 
 against myself. You have told me there are 
 people with a loathing antipathy to cats, and 
 somewhat similar is the shuddering sensation 
 with which I see your worthy secretary enter 
 the room. A sort of shiver comes over me. 
 and a wish to keep him off, — to avoid his very 
 glance and touch. He has a strange imder- 
 look certainly ! His smile makes me shudder ! 
 and yet the feeling is quite undefinable ! They 
 say dogs and children have an instinctive lik- 
 ing or antipathy to those who secretly like or 
 hate them, and perhaps my sensation is on 
 somewhat similar grounds. 
 
 " There is something fearful in the eye of 
 Mr Howard, occasionally, when I catch it 
 fixed upon myself," added Henry rapidly, but 
 in a sort of musing absent under-tone, while 
 his voice acquired a deeper tinge of thought. 
 " I seem to have beheld him once in a dream ! 
 When he looks at me in that strange and ex- 
 traordinary manner, his eyes Hke the flicker- 
 ing glare of light in a gloomy cavern, I feel
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 187 
 
 and know that at some period in my life I 
 have seen such a countenance before ! The 
 time and place have escaped me, but the re- 
 membrance is painful, and in his presence I 
 cannot but be convinced that I am in the 
 presence of an enemy. It is a feeling I can 
 neither drive away, nor distinctly reahze !" 
 
 " Why did you never tell me this before 
 Henry ?" asked the Admiral, rising with agi- 
 tation. " He has been hardly dealt with by 
 fortune, but surely you do not think 
 
 " Think ! ! ; I think nothing, Sir 
 
 Arthur, for I know nothing, and I ought not 
 to have spoken as I have done, — it was wrong 
 and rash. I shall try to conquer this, — to 
 conquer myself, — and, as they say, acquired 
 tastes are always the strongest, I may yet 
 learn to like Mr Howard better than any one 
 living; but, in the mean time, Sir Arthur, he 
 does occasionally look to me, very like some 
 stray member of the Lunatic Asylum !" 
 
 " I sometimes think," said Sir Arthur, 
 " that Howard has a bee in his bonnet."
 
 138 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 " He has a whole hive of bees in his bon- 
 net !" replied Henry in his usual off-hand 
 tone; but when he looked round, as is usual, 
 when people are spoken of, the individual 
 himself, Mr Howard, stood before him. A 
 ^Snortal paleness had overspread his counte- 
 tenance, contending emotions seemed flitting 
 across his lowering brow, like shifting clouds 
 in a threatening sky, and his eyes gleamed 
 upon young De Lancey with a look of maniacal 
 fury; but the same artificial smile was on his 
 lips which he habitually assumed, while, in the 
 blandest voice of courtesy he turned from the 
 steady penetrating gaze of Henry to Sir Ar- 
 thur, saying, in a tone of servile cunning, but 
 with a smile the most ghastly that was ever 
 seen on a human face, 
 
 " Every fool can find fault, but my live- 
 lihood fortunately depends not on any boyish 
 caprice. It is derived from the generosity 
 of a noble mind, unbiassed by cruel and 
 unfounded prejudices, which may, however, 
 yet be my ruin. A small leak sinks a great 
 ship, and even you, my benefactor, may
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 139 
 
 hereafter be influenced by the opinion of 
 one who avowedly hates me, though without 
 cause, — I should have little to dread if he 
 were like you, but then who is ? Come what 
 may, however, you deserve and shall ever re- 
 tain my undying gratitude and attachment. 
 I have met with little kindness in life, and 
 am never likely to forget that little, from 
 whatever benevolent heart it comes. In this 
 bleak, desolate, most harsh and cruel world, 
 you are now my only friend." 
 
 " Those who have deserved friends, Mr 
 Howard, are seldom so entirely destitute of 
 them !" said Sir Arthur, with a certain tone 
 of interrogation in his voice, for he abhorred 
 the slightest approach to flattery, and always 
 had an instinctive apprehension that it was 
 accompanied by deceit. " We are too ready 
 often to throw the blame upon human nature, 
 when our own individual nature is to blame. 
 For my own part, I have met with little un- 
 kindness or ingratitude hitherto, and would 
 willingly look upon the sunny side of life, 
 hoping all things, and believing all things, of
 
 140 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 mankind in general, and of yourself among the 
 number."" 
 
 The darkened sight of Sir Arthur prevent- 
 ed his perceiving that in the countenance of 
 Mr Howard there flitted a quick succession 
 of emotions, fiery and vivid as summer light- 
 ning, but Henry observed with astonishment 
 the powerful though ineffectual efforts he 
 made to control his agitation. His hands 
 were clenched, till the very blood seemed 
 ready to spring; he gnawed his nether lip 
 with frightful vehemence, and his eyes shot 
 lire from beneath his dark and frowning brow. 
 With a glance of unspeakable malevolence at 
 Henry, and a hurried bow to Sir Arthur, he 
 hastened with rapid steps out of the room, 
 and subsequently out of the house. 
 
 " If there be a madman out of bedlam, Sir 
 Arthur, that is he !'' exclaimed Henry, fol- 
 lowing with his eyes the rushing steps of 
 Howard, as he crossed the garden. " Before 
 I go to college, let me hope you will dismiss 
 him. Give the poor man a trifling pension, 
 or do any thing for him, rather than trust
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 141 
 
 yourself in his hands, for I am mistaken, in- 
 deed, if he is not a bad and dangerous man."" 
 
 " Before you return here, I may perhaps 
 be able to find some other situation for him ; 
 but he has done nothing yet, Henry, to for- 
 feit my protection, and I scarcely think he 
 would live, if I dismissed him. He has drunk 
 a bitter cup of wretchedness, and without 
 principle or hope, he has more than hinted to 
 me, that death itself will be his resource if I 
 turn him adrift. It was a well-meant offi- 
 ciousness of Lady Towercliffe to force him 
 upon my good offices, and I cannot yet see 
 any easy way to relieve myself of the charge, 
 without causing more distress than I can re- 
 concile myself to occasioning." 
 
 " He is certainly a strange mysterious be- 
 ing," replied Henry, wishing to turn off a sub- 
 ject which he saw was agitating Sir Arthur 
 with perplexity ; " but Mr Howard is not 
 probably the only man on earth whom in the 
 course of my existence I shall not be able to 
 comprehend."
 
 142 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 She was a phantom of delight. 
 When first she gleam'd upon my sight, 
 A lovely apparition sent, 
 To be a moment's ornament ; 
 Her eyes as stars of twilight fair. 
 Like twilight too her dusky hair. 
 But all things else about her drawn, 
 From May-time, and the cheerful daNvn, 
 A dancing shape, an image gay, 
 To haunt, to startle, and way-lay. 
 
 The most popular girl at Mrs Penfold's " Se- 
 minary for Young Ladies,'' near Edinburgh, 
 was Marion Dunbar, too much loved by her 
 companions to be envied ; admired by all, 
 and almost idolized by each, while beneath 
 the gay, sparkling surface of her joyous dis- 
 position, there rolled on a waim current of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 143 
 
 sensibility and feeling sufficient to repay, and 
 more than repay, all the deep tenderness and 
 enthusiastic affection she excited among the 
 little circle of her young and ardent friends. 
 
 Cast in the finest mould of classical beauty, 
 and formed mentally as well as personally in 
 the very poetry of nature, the perfect grace 
 and symmetry of her features became en- 
 livened frequently by an arch and radiant 
 smile, like a Hebe, glowing with the richest 
 hues of health and joy. Her splendid eyes 
 sparkled with every passing emotion, some- 
 times dimmed for a moment by tears of sensi- 
 bility, but usually glittering with smiles, while 
 occasionally, when amused or delighted, she 
 burst into a comic elfish laugh, the very es- 
 sence of glee and joyousness, — a most en- 
 livening accompaniment to what she said, 
 while her conversation, always fresh and un- 
 premeditated, rushed straight from her heart, 
 fresh and natural as a mountain stream. 
 
 The colour of a violet was not more deeply 
 blue than the dark unfathomable eyes of 
 Marion, shaded by a fringe of eye-lashes that
 
 144 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 niiorht have been mistaken for black. No de- 
 script ion could do justice to the fascination of 
 her smile, without one shade of affectation, 
 while her pure transparent complexion, fresh 
 as a bouquet of roses, took a richer tint from 
 all the flitting emotions which chased each 
 other through her mind. A rich profusion of 
 nut-brown hair played around her high arch- 
 ed forehead of alabaster whiteness, and a 
 thousand laughing dimples quivered around 
 her delicately-formed mouth, giving her a 
 merry, joyous look of girlish beauty, varied 
 occasionally by a melting softness of expres- 
 sion when she looked in any countenance that 
 she loved. On one occasion, a celebrated 
 sculptor asked Sir Patrick's permission to 
 take a cast of Marion's head, and on obtain- 
 ing the desired permission, he observed, that 
 if those features could be turned into marble, 
 he would stake his whole fame on the impos- 
 sibility of any critic pointing out a single de- 
 fect. But while admiration is given by the 
 eye of an artist merely to symmetry, expres- 
 sion is the mystery of beauty ; and the charm
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 145 
 
 of Marion, in the estimation of her friends, 
 was, that her face seemed like a mirror 
 formed to reflect every emotion of their own 
 hearts. 
 
 The most stern and morose of human be- 
 ings must have been conciliated into some de- 
 gree of regard, by the deep tenderness of a 
 character " without one jarring atom form'd," 
 which seemed made only to love and to be 
 loved. While her gay fancy revelled in 
 " cheerful yesterdays and confident to-mor- 
 rows," the flowers that grew around her path, 
 the birds that sang as she passed, the very 
 turf beneath her feet, and the sky above her 
 head, called forth her feelings. She had a 
 tear to spare for the sorrows of every one who 
 claimed her sympathy, and a ready smile for 
 the joys of all her companions, while yet a 
 great deal of unoccupied love remained at 
 her disposal, the chief portion of which was 
 bestowed with prodigal enthusiasm on her in- 
 dulgent uncle Sir Arthur, whose doting af- 
 fection would have spoiled any other disposi- 
 tion, but only rendered her more keenly de- 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 146 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 sirous to merit, and to preserve his par- 
 tiality. 
 
 In the estimation of Sir Arthur, his " little 
 Marion"' never became a day older, and he 
 considered her a perfect prodigy in every 
 thing she said or did, watching all her words, 
 and entering into all her juvenile feelings 
 with a versatility of mind astonishing at his 
 advanced age. Nothing on earth is more 
 touching than to see the warmth of sensibi- 
 lity and enthusiasm yet surviving the chill of 
 many a year in this disappointing and sor- 
 rowful world ; but there was a degree of mu- 
 tual confidence between Sir Arthur and his 
 young niece, which can seldom exist with a 
 disparity of years and circumstances. Be- 
 sides all her feminine gentleness, and almost 
 poetical gracefulness of character, Marion yet 
 displayed at times a power of intellect, and 
 an energetic strength of character, for which 
 a superficial observer would have been totally 
 unprepared; for her mind seemed always to 
 rise in proportion to the occasion, while she 
 had been born apparently to practise without
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 147 
 
 reserve, that beautiful Christian rule, for 
 each individual always to consider himself 
 last. Rarely are deep feelings, and in- 
 tense sensibility united with that high in- 
 telligence of mind, and that vivid gladness of 
 spirit peculiar to Marion ; but the stream of 
 her mind was deep as well as sparkling, while 
 during her early years sorrow flitted through 
 her cheerful, laughter-loving mind, like the 
 shadow of a butterfly in a bright sunny 
 flower-bed. Pleased " she knew not why, 
 and car'd not wherefore,'' there was a pecu- 
 liar grace in all she did, and an infectious 
 merriment in all she said, which attracted a 
 joyous group of gay companions continually 
 around her, on whom the light of her own 
 buoyant vivacity seemed to be continually 
 and brightly reflected. 
 
 Nothing could be more pleasing and char- 
 acteristic than to observe the refined in- 
 genuity with which, from the earliest age, 
 Marion tried to evade receiving the multi- 
 tude of little presents with which it was Sir 
 Arthur's delight to surprise her. Trinkets
 
 148 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 and toys would have multiplied around her, if 
 she had not frequently made an ostentation 
 of possessing more than it was possible for 
 her to use, and when Sir Arthur allowed her 
 a choice, in any gift he was about to force 
 on her acceptance, she invariably selected 
 that which seemed least expensive ; and her 
 uncle afterwards told, that when, on the 
 twelfth anniversary of her birth-day, he clasp- 
 ed a beautiful Maltese chain round her neck, 
 she said to him with a deepening colour and 
 faltering voice, " I would like better to 
 love you for nothing, uncle Arthur ! My 
 drawer up stairs is like a jeweller's shop 
 already. You know I inherited half dear 
 mamma's ornaments, and Patrick says you 
 bring Rundell and Bridge in your pocket 
 every time I have a holiday, but I would be 
 quite as happy to see you all for yourself."" 
 
 The merry-eyed Marion seemed to " wear 
 her heart upon her sleeve,"" and to see only 
 what was best in all those with whom she 
 associated. With her small means, it was 
 truly astonishing how frequently and ingeni-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 149 
 
 ously she invented some unobtrusive way of 
 conferring a favour on her companions, as if 
 she were receiving rather than bestowing one, 
 and it certainly appeared as if she scarcely 
 knew the difference. There was not an in- 
 dividual among her numerous young contem- 
 poraries, who did not often relate traits of 
 goodness in one whom they always found 
 ready to answer the largest drafts that could 
 be drawn upon her good offices, while the 
 cheerfulness of her mind reflected itself on all. 
 If one of her young friends rushed joyously 
 forward to announce some unexpected success, 
 Marion's features seemed as if they had been 
 put together only for smiles and laughter, 
 while her bright eye glittered with instant 
 gladness, and a glow of colour mounted to 
 her dimpling cheek, as she felt and expressed 
 with spontaneous warmth all that kindness 
 
 could dictate, and more ; but if 
 
 some unforeseen affliction visited the hearts 
 of her juvenile associates, there seemed no 
 limits to the patience with which she listened 
 to their complaints, or to the eager assiduit}-
 
 150 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 with which she endeavoured to alleviate their 
 sorrow. The most trifling attentions she 
 never overlooked, were it merely the tying of 
 a string, or the picking up of a handkerchief, 
 which she did with a good-humoured grace 
 all her own, and the trifling actions of life are 
 those by which the character can generally be 
 most justly appreciated. Great achievements 
 are a conspicuous embroidery laid on the sur- 
 face often for effect, but the ground-work and 
 material are formed of what is most unobtru- 
 sive and often scarcely noticed. With Marion, 
 every kind and generous feeling was as natural 
 as perfume to the violet, and equally insepar- 
 able from her daily existence; her ideas 
 were fresh and vivid, while her manner was 
 thoroughly fascinating and thoroughly femi- 
 nine, at the same time that all the grace of 
 look and expression added a surpassing charm 
 to her lively and intelligent conversation, every 
 word of which sprang from the spontaneous 
 impulse of a heart full of natural emotion and 
 straightforward sentiments. 
 
 Many a difficult exercise she had secretly
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 1^1 
 
 assisted to write for her young contempor- 
 aries, many an unintelligible drawing she had 
 touched up, many a dress she had privately 
 mended, many a little debt she had clandes- 
 tinely paid for her juvenile friends, and far 
 from wishing to be thanked, she shrunk with 
 modest sensibility from letting her services be 
 over-estimated, even by those whom she had 
 most exerted herself to obHge. Whenever a 
 kindness had been privately done at school, 
 the author of which could not be guessed 
 at nor discovered, few hesitated to declare 
 that it must have proceeded from Marion 
 Dunbar, and none were ever mistaken in say- 
 ing so. 
 
 It was indeed wonderful that the lovely 
 and gay young school-girl found time for a 
 tenth part of her kind and tender affections, 
 at Mrs Penfold's first-rate seminary for what 
 Sir Arthur called " fiddle-faddle education."' 
 There no taste was inculcated for quiet pur- 
 suits or domestic intercourse, and it was one 
 of Mrs Penfold's favourite axioms, that nature 
 is always vulgar ; but in her zeal for tlie ho-
 
 152 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 nour of her establishment she seemed resolute 
 to make every pupil an Admirable Crichton, 
 — or more, — not in studying the experience 
 of past ages, and reading the thoughts and 
 feelings which have been recorded for their 
 instruction by millions of the best and wisest 
 of their predecessors in life, but in all the 
 frivolities of existence; and to this end the 
 pupils were stinted in sleep and food, while 
 they pursued a course of application more 
 incessant, though not so profound, as that 
 of students for a double first class at Ox- 
 ford. The most eminent masters were in 
 hourly attendance to cultivate every thing 
 but the heart or understanding. The various 
 arts of killing or of wasting time were taught 
 in perfection, by the best, or at least by the 
 most fashionable teachers ; and, as the Admi- 
 ral disapprovingly remarked to her brother, 
 " little jSIarion was surrounded by professors 
 of every thing on earth, — by professors of 
 trumpery in all its branches, but by no profes- 
 sors of common sense !^' 
 
 With Mrs Penfold each pupil was a favou-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 15o 
 
 rite in exact proportion as she appeared likely 
 to acquire a talent for the difficult art of ris- 
 ing in the world, by which she might reflect 
 credit and celebrity on the theatre of her edu- 
 cation ; and it seemed, therefore, by no means 
 intended as an expression of kindness, when 
 that lady was heard one day impatiently to 
 exclaim in accents of reproach, " Marion 
 Dunbar is all heart and no head ! Some girls 
 do nothing, but she does less than nothing; 
 and though she gets on in years, she gets on 
 in no other thing !" 
 
 Wearily busied in being taught, Marion 
 yet felt that there was one incitement, and 
 one only, which made every effort a pleasure, 
 while it gave life to the dull routine of her 
 heartless labours, and that incitement was her 
 fervent, incessant desire to please, not the 
 dictate of vanity, but of spontaneous sensibi- 
 lity ; and while, with her bright and beaming 
 looks, she was by no means a prodigy, Marion 
 very much under-rated her own powers, be- 
 lieving, in the simplicity of her heart, that 
 she really was the most hopeless dunce on
 
 154 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 many subjects, only able to recommend her- 
 self by diligence and by alacrity to oblige. 
 
 Even Mrs Penfold was disarmed of half 
 her severity, by the eagerness with which 
 Marion, buoyant with youth, and joyous as a 
 bird on wing, undertook any task, or suffered 
 any penance to compensate for such little 
 etourd^ries as had caused her to be in tempo- 
 rary disgrace ; and the stern schoolmistress 
 herself could not but smile sometimes in the 
 midst of her gravest lecture, to observe the 
 look of extreme anxiety and self-reproach with 
 which Marion listened to the catalogue of her 
 small indiscretions, and the grateful joy with 
 which she heard that there were any terms 
 on which she might yet be restored to favour. 
 Caroline Smythe, her most frolicsome com- 
 panion, frequently amused herself by invent- 
 ing imaginary scrapes into which Marion was 
 supposed to have fallen, and by sending her 
 express to Mrs Penfold for a reprimand, 
 while the lively girl watched, in laughing am- 
 buscade, for the bright beaming smile which 
 flashed into the supposed culprit's counte*
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 155 
 
 nance, the instant she unexpectedly found her- 
 self honourably acquitted. 
 
 Thus the foundation of Marion's mind was 
 laid, and these were the light breezes that 
 ruffled the smooth current of her life; but en- 
 chanted by the slightest pleasures, few ever 
 bore the burden of her annoyances so lightly, 
 while a brilliant painted curtain hung over 
 the future, filled with images of anticipated 
 joy, to be realised in all their brightness and 
 beauty, as soon as she became emancipated 
 from the dreary thraldom of Mrs Penfold's 
 manufactory of young ladies. 
 
 Meantime, Marion's mind grew and flour- 
 ished, like some rare and beautiful plant in- 
 judiciously cultivated, yet glowing in almost 
 unprecedented luxuriance. Plunged in this 
 inextricable labyrinth of educational troubles, 
 she had to undergo lessons from sun-rise till 
 sun-set, while all the varied arts, sciences, 
 and languages were piled promiscuously on 
 her brain, like an ill-grown coppice, distorted 
 and stunted for want of more judicious thin- 
 ning and training. She could name things in
 
 156 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 every language, but was told nothing of their 
 nature and properties ; while, as Sir Arthur 
 complained, " poor little Marion was taught 
 plenty of sound, but no sound sense, except 
 what she had inherited by nature, without 
 paying i?100 a-year for it.'' 
 
 In music Marion displayed great taste and 
 expression, wdiile her flexible, richly-toned 
 voice poured out sometimes a flood of har- 
 mony most exquisite to hear, as the pathos of 
 her full round intonations drew forth the 
 feeling and sympathy of all her auditors. 
 Expression in music is like expression of 
 countenance, not to be taught or acquired, 
 but the spontaneous result of natural emo- 
 tion, and with Marion music was almost a 
 passion, for her whole spirit seemed instinct 
 with melody, while her lark-like voice trilled 
 its liquid notes with joyful hilarity. 
 
 Signiors and Signioras, who might have 
 fitted their pupils to become chorus-singers at 
 the opera, were multiplied around the young 
 ladies at Mrs Penfold's " College of Frivo- 
 lity,'' followed in ceaseless succession by Mes-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. J 57 
 
 sieurs and Mesdames, who taught the yoiinj/ 
 ladies to maltreat pianofortes, by playing on 
 them at the rate of 100 miles an hour, or to 
 speak foreign languages better than the na- 
 tives, and to write them better than they could 
 write their own : — 
 
 While hands, Hps, and eyes were put to school, 
 And each instructed feature had its rule. 
 
 On Sunday evenings, for the sake of effect, 
 the girls were regularly assembled to prayers, 
 which were conducted like those of Frederick 
 the Great's soldiers, being performed simul- 
 taneously at the word of command as a part 
 of their exercise, without a semblance of re- 
 verence, and within a very limited number of 
 minutes, while they were hastily slurred over 
 by Mrs Penfold herself, with scarcely an ex- 
 ternal aspect of solemnity or interest. Sun- 
 day had long been considered by all the 
 pupils at Mrs Penfold's as a privileged day 
 for writing letters, wearing best bonnets, 
 peeping from behind a red-silk curtain at the 
 congregation, criticising the clergyman's man-
 
 158 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ner, dress, and appearance, discussing, in sup- 
 pressed whispers, who it would be possible or 
 impossible for them to think of marrying, and 
 enjoying rather a longer walk than common 
 in strolling to church and returning again. 
 
 Any knowledge of the Bible inculcated at 
 Mrs Penfold's, was like all the other acquire- 
 ments taught in that establishment, more for 
 show than use. Each young pupil could re- 
 peat by heart, without hesitation or mistake, 
 the whole history of Jacob, Abraham, and 
 any of the patriarchs, prophets, or apostles, 
 and enumerate all the kings who ever reigned 
 over Israel, but they remained utterly unin- 
 structed respecting the influence which the 
 Divine revelation should obtain over their 
 own life and character, nor were they ever 
 taught to inquire what was their own nature, 
 why they were placed upon the earth, and 
 whither they were likely to go after this pe- 
 rishable world had passed from their sight. 
 Summer-flowers alone were implanted in their 
 minds, but no thoughts, hopes, or affections, 
 such as may last for winter wear. To them
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 159 
 
 their birth seemed merely to have been the 
 commencement of an existence, given entirely 
 for their own individual pleasure or advan- 
 tage, w^hich was finally to terminate at their 
 death. 
 
 Before Marion had been long at school, 
 however, she formed an intimacy which pro- 
 duced a permanent and most happy effect on 
 all her subsequent life and feelings. Clara 
 Granville, several years older than herself, had 
 been nurtured, like her brother, in holiness, 
 and in every domestic excellence, while she 
 lived only for the dictates of a chastened and 
 sanctified heart. Delicate in health, and fra- 
 gile in extreme to appearance, there was some- 
 thing almost seraphic in the delicate purity of 
 her lovely countenance, and in the tranquil 
 composure of her graceful manner. During a 
 long and tedious illness, with which Clara was 
 seized, a short time before leaving school, she 
 testified a tender and almost exclusive affec- 
 tion for Marion, who spent all her leisure 
 hours, — or rather moments, for hours were 
 scarce at Mrs Penf old's, — in the most assiduous
 
 160 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 attention to the beloved invalid, and in imbib- 
 ing those elements of good, those feelings and 
 principles of religion which were to be guides 
 of all her future life, and thus she became, 
 before long, an enlightened, well informed, and 
 deeply pious Christian, not shrinking from the 
 society of one who excelled herself, but hum- 
 bly and gratefully seeking, on all occasions, 
 her advice and instruction, while both had 
 their hearts filled with a fervent desire, steadily 
 and consistently to pursue their own best in- 
 terests, and an anxious wish also to succour 
 and benefit others, in all the troubles and 
 sorrows of life, though Marion was apt to feel 
 like the poet, 
 
 Ready to aid all beings, I would go 
 
 The ivorld around to succour human woe, 
 
 Yet am so largely happy, that it seems, 
 
 There are no woes, and sorrows are but dreams. 
 
 Marion's health and spirits were refreshed 
 and invigorated by frequent excursions to visit 
 Sir Arthur, who endeared himself to his eager 
 young auditors, Henry and Marion, by expa- 
 tiating with all the freshness of youth, to their
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 161 
 
 wondering ears, on the times long past, 
 when holidays, romping, sight-seeing, birth- 
 days, and festivals, were still in fashion, but 
 these were the days of his own boyhood, before 
 children were too wise and busy to have time 
 for natural enjoyment. The Admiral was 
 thought, by Mrs Penfold, a sad marplot, hav- 
 ing already, as she knew, done all in his 
 power to dissuade Sir Patrick from placing 
 the " little fairy," as he called his favourite, 
 in such a tread-mill as her school-room, where 
 he said the only knowledge to be acquired 
 was, that knowledge of the world which 
 ruins the heart, and where fascination was 
 to be taught as one of the fine arts, but all 
 his representations, whether in jest or in 
 earnest, were vain. Sir Patrick, being the 
 guardian of both his sisters, had determined 
 to expend a considerable part of the provision 
 bequeathed by their father in training them 
 up as carefully, for the course of fashionable 
 life, as he would have trained a promising 
 race-horse which was expected to win the 
 St Leger, confidently anticipating a short
 
 162 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 and brilliant career of admiration and suc- 
 cess, ending with a splendid trousseau, a 
 chariot and four, and a profusion of wedding 
 favours. 
 
 Even the gay, frolicsome Caroline Smythe, 
 many years older than Marion, and the most 
 unruly and seditious of pupils, became speedily 
 tamed down to mechanical obedience at school, 
 where, losing her naturally intense enjoy- 
 ment of mere existence, she seemed at best 
 almost a habitual drudge in the usual routine 
 of labour. There was a mystery never ap- 
 parently to be fathomed about this Uvely girl, 
 which excited the most intense curiosity among 
 her companions, but though she was gifted 
 with an extraordinary degree of apparently 
 heedless volubility, which astonished and di- 
 verted the whole school, talking in a rapid, 
 irregular manner of all events, past, present, 
 or to come, with a brilliant confusion of drol- 
 lery and humour, still she never dropped a 
 hint which threw the most transient light on 
 her own situation and affairs. No one knew 
 whence she came, or who she was, but though
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 163 
 
 defying all the powers of all the masters to 
 render her accompHshed, yet Mrs Penfold 
 evidently treated her with extraordinary con- 
 sideration, and almost with respect. 
 
 Many were the restrictions and directions 
 given respecting her to the scholars and teach- 
 ers, which seemed to them most unaccountable, 
 and several of which were voted by the juve- 
 nile community to be so peculiarly barbarous 
 and oppressive, that though the young lady 
 herself seemed neither surprised nor annoyed 
 by the rigid watchfulness exercised over all 
 her motions, it excited among her companions 
 an indignant pity, and a keen spirit of parti- 
 zanship. She was never on any occasion 
 known to walk with the governesses and the 
 other girls beyond the narrow limits of the 
 high garden walls, and on Sundays, instead of 
 attending the parish church, it was observed 
 with surprise that one of the teachers invari- 
 ably remained at home to read prayers with 
 her. No general invitations sent for all the 
 pupils by the friends of other girls, were ever 
 accepted for Caroline, who had special per-
 
 164 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 mission to visit with Marion at Sir Arthur 
 Dunbar's, but at no other house in the visible 
 world. 
 
 She never spoke of home, — received no 
 letters, and once only had a visitor, an ob- 
 ject of keen and eager scrutiny to the little 
 gossiping community of Dartmore House, 
 who discovered nothing more, however, than 
 that Caroline's aunt, Mrs Smythe, was a gay 
 fantastic-looking showily-dressed little woman 
 of no certain age, for whom her niece seemed 
 to care very little, as the whole flood of her 
 affections was concentrated on her companions 
 at school. Money she had in the most lavish 
 abundance, while she squandered it with a 
 degree of reckless, and almost contemptuous 
 profusion, perfectly startling to those who 
 scarcely received as much in a year as she 
 seemed able to spend in a day on presents for 
 those she loved, which was the chief use to 
 which her large funds were devoted. 
 
 Marion, the companion and the pet of her 
 two elder companions, Clara and Caroline, 
 tried with all her powers to extend her affec-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 165 
 
 tion also to Mrs Penfold, but her feelings 
 found nothing to feed upon in the cold, formal, 
 rigid manner, and stern upright appearance of 
 the schoolmistress, who repelled all intercourse 
 with her pupils, considering them necessary 
 grievances to be endured in her house, as 
 a source of existence to herself, but not of 
 pleasure. Towards these little slaves of edu- 
 cation, driven from task to task with ceaseless 
 pertinacity, no confidence was shown, and 
 between them conversation became systemati- 
 cally discouraged. A governess was appointed 
 to sleep in each room to secure silence among 
 the pupils, few of whom had that glow of heart 
 and imagination peculiar to Marion, and it 
 was fortunate, perhaps, that her large stock 
 of sympathy was not more frequently in re- 
 quisition, as the most astounding confidences 
 were sometimes imparted to her wondering 
 ears. 
 
 One young lady, in a high fever of ro- 
 mance, described to Marion at great length, 
 in the strictest confidence, an elopement which 
 took place from the school where she had last
 
 ] 6f) MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 been educated, on which occasion the young 
 narrator had accompanied the bride part of 
 her way, and returned home without detec- 
 tion, by cHmbing in at an open window. An- 
 other of the pupils asked if she did not think 
 Monsieur D'Ambereau, the Itahan master, 
 wore singularly handsome mustachios, adding, 
 that it was a very common custom now for 
 noblemen to go about in disguise, teaching at 
 boarding-schools, in order to see the young 
 ladies ; and a third of Marion^s young friends 
 pointed out to her notice, that many a ringlet 
 appeared to be more carefully curled than 
 usual, and many a dress to be put on with 
 unwonted solicitude, when Monsieur Frescati, 
 the singing-master, was expected. 
 
 Girls in a boarding-school are as unnatu- 
 rally situated as nuns in a convent, where the 
 feelings and emotions, being checked in their 
 spontaneous course, are thrust into channels 
 for which they never w^ere originally intended. 
 Marion had a sufficient object in view, every 
 time she entered a room, from the desire she 
 felt to please all' with whom she associated.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 167 
 
 which gave a vent to the warmth of her af- 
 fections in seeking the reciprocal attachment 
 of her companions ; but many of the other 
 pupils, shut out from nature with her sun- 
 shine and flowers, her feelings and emotions, 
 and wearied by a monotonous, uneventful life 
 of dictionaries and grammars, snatched at 
 every legitimate or illegitimate source of no- 
 velty or excitement, and their conversation 
 became as frivolous as a toyshop, while the 
 hopeless vacancy of their thoughts obtained 
 relief if even a blind fiddler or a hand-organ 
 appeared beneath their windows. It was an 
 object of romantic interest for the day, to 
 most of the girls, if an officer in uniform 
 passed along the high-road within sight ; an 
 equestrian in plain clothes, if tolerably mount- 
 ed, furnished them with a subject for exclama- 
 tions during the following half-hour, and even 
 the very Doctor, a mere country pill-box, 
 who prescribed for Mrs Penfold's pupils, be- 
 ing well-dressed, and not much above forty, 
 would himself have been astonished could he 
 possibly have guessed the interest excited by
 
 168 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 his visits, and the keen discussion which en- 
 sued after his exit, respecting his shghtly 
 grey hair, and briUiant yellow gloves. 
 
 Each young lady at school had a large as- 
 sortment of romantic stories to relate, in a 
 confidential under-tone, to her listening com- 
 panions, of lovers who had committed suicide, 
 gone mad, or been at the ver^^ least rendered 
 miserable for life in consequence of a disap- 
 pointed attachment, while the whole party 
 impatiently anticipated the time, not perhaps 
 far distant, when their own turn would come 
 to be idolized, admired, courted, and finally 
 married to some " perfect love," with title, 
 fortune, and establishment all pre-eminently 
 superlative. Pure as the swan that passes 
 through the darkest and most turbid stream 
 with plumage unsoiled, Marion's mind in the 
 mean time remained untainted by the atmos- 
 phere of evil and frivolity around her. She 
 caught at all that seemed good, avoided what 
 was evil, and rejected every thought that 
 might injure the unsophisticated excellence of 
 her artless mind.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 169 
 
 There arose, however, in time, one source 
 of individual anxiety to Marion, known only 
 to herself and Mrs Penfold, but it increased 
 in weight and urgency every year, throwing 
 occasionally a shadow of care over that bright 
 young countenance, in general so beaming 
 with joy, though with true philosophy Marion 
 tried often to forget what it had proved im- 
 possible for her to remedy. Once a-quarter, 
 or at least during every successive " half," 
 the mortifying fact forced itself upon her ob- 
 servation, that no bills were so irregularly 
 paid as her own, for while their amount 
 rapidly accumulated, Sir Patrick's agent 
 forwarded annually the very . smallest in- 
 stalments, with a thousand apologies, and 
 many promises of a final satisfactory settle- 
 ment at some future period, which period 
 never seemed any nearer ; and Mrs Penfold 
 often dryly remarked, in the hearing of 
 Marion, that " short accounts make long 
 friends." 
 
 An appeal to Sir Arthur for his inter- 
 ference, occasionally suggested itself to the 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 1 70 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 mind of Marion, but she knew that his in- 
 fluence was less than nothing, and she greatly 
 feared lest his vehement partiality to herself 
 might lead him to overlook the very limited 
 nature of his own income, and to volunteer 
 some generous sacrifice, such as she would 
 rather suffer any privations than occasion. 
 The pension and half-pay of Sir Arthur very 
 barely sufficed, she knew, to defray his exten- 
 sive charities, and to furnish sometimes the 
 hospitable table, and the bottle of first-rate 
 claret, round which it was his delight to ga- 
 ther a frequent circle of old brother admi- 
 rals; but his purse was little calculated to 
 stand the shock of such a draft as Sir Patrick 
 would unhesitatingly have drawn upon it, had 
 the idea occurred to him that Sir Arthur 
 might perhaps be induced to take Marion's 
 school bills upon himself. 
 
 In no instance was it more obvious than in 
 that of Sir Patrick Dunbar, how precisely in 
 society men are generally estimated at their 
 own valuation. He was, like his sisters, pre- 
 eminently handsome, while the hauteur of his
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 171 
 
 demeanour, bordering on a sort of well-bred 
 contempt for others, rendered his slightest 
 notice an event of considerable magnitude 
 even to many whom the world might have 
 deemed his superiors in rank, fortune, and 
 talents. There were a few exclusives, how- 
 ever, among his own exclusive set, whom he 
 admitted to the most unbounded familiarity 
 and good fellowship, inviting them to enter- 
 tainments, given much more as an ostenta- 
 tious display of wealth and taste, than from 
 any feeling that might be dignified with the 
 name of friendship, and thus by a reckless 
 and unbounded profusion in dress, equipage, 
 and hospitality, unchecked by one sentiment 
 of justice or of prudence, the young Baronet 
 obtained universal celebrity for his generosity 
 and good-humour, — anecdotes of which were 
 circulated with delighted approbation in every 
 house. 
 
 He was known to have tossed a sove- 
 reign one day to an old woman at a cottage 
 door, for merely reaching him a glass of 
 water ; he paid the post-boys double always,
 
 172 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 when travelling; he gave ten pounds at a 
 ladies' bazaar, for a paper card-case, which he 
 presented the next moment to Clara Gran- 
 ville ; and he sent Marion a magnificent rose- 
 wood box, filled with crystal perfume-bottles, 
 and gold tops, which cost L.20, when at that 
 very time she had scarcely a frock to put on, 
 and was in agonies of vexation over an un- 
 paid shoemaker's bill. 
 
 Sir Patrick's grooms and footmen always 
 roundly estimated his income at L. 20,000 a- 
 year, and his rent-roll certainly exceeded that 
 of all the parents united, who paid Mrs Pen- 
 fold regularly for cramming their children's 
 understandings ; but while Sir Patrick made 
 it a matter of accurate calculation, to train 
 Marion with skill and sagacity in the way 
 most likely to take her speedily off his hands, 
 yet it was no part of his calculation to pay 
 for any thing in money, if he could do so in 
 words, and while he rattled off whole estates 
 in a dice-box, and raced himself into difiicul- 
 ties, entering horses for every cup, and dogs 
 for every coursing-match, he privately re-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 178 
 
 solved that Marion and her embarrassments 
 should always remain both out of sight and 
 out of mind. 
 
 Mrs Penfold's grave and dry expression of 
 countenance, became graver and drier every 
 time she contemplated the rapidly increasing 
 amount of Marion's bill, while she urgently 
 impressed on her pupil's mind the absolute 
 necessity of entreating more zealously than 
 ever for the speedy payment of such very old 
 scores. 
 
 Observing Sir Patrick so exceedingly pro- 
 fuse in his expenditure, however, Mrs Pen- 
 fold believed there could be no cause to ap- 
 prehend any defalcation at last, being con- 
 vinced that he might at any time defray her 
 demands with ease, though the only thing he 
 never found it convenient to command, was 
 ready money; and Marion soon discovered 
 that it made him frantic with ill humour to 
 be asked for any. Of this peculiarity she 
 had once an early instance, never afterwards 
 to be forgotten. Having received from Sir 
 Arthur, on her fifteenth birth-day, the first
 
 174 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 five sovereigns which it had ever been her 
 good fortune to possess, she accidentally 
 heard Sir Patrick laughingly complain du- 
 ring her midsummer holidays at home, to 
 Mr De Crespigny, that he had arrived at 
 the bank that morning, too late to present 
 a draft for money, and having given his last 
 shilling to a beggar, he was, according to his 
 own expression, " completely cleaned out," 
 not having enough even to pay for being ad- 
 mitted to the exhibition of pictures, and ac- 
 tually put to some temporary inconvenience 
 by his penniless condition for that day. 
 
 In all the pride of exhaustless wealth, 
 Marion soon after stole up to her brother s 
 side, and displayed her glittering treasure; 
 but afraid to be suspected of conferring a fa- 
 vour, with intuitive delicacy she asked Sir 
 Patrick to take charge of it until the follow- 
 ing Saturday, that she might consider what 
 to purchase on that day. Scarcely conscious 
 of what she said or did, the young baronet 
 mechanically dropped the sovereigns into his 
 pocket, where sovereigns in general had a
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 175 
 
 very short reign, and soon after sauntered 
 away to the club. 
 
 Day after day elapsed, week after week, 
 and every time Sir Patrick entered the room, 
 or drew out his pocket handkerchief, Marion 
 thought she was on the eve of being paid ; 
 but at length her holidays came to a close, 
 and still not a syllable transpired respecting 
 her funds. Rendered desperate at last by 
 anxiety to re-enter school, laden with pre- 
 sents to her favourite companions, Marion, 
 who valued money only as a means of being 
 kind to others, ventured one day, with glow- 
 ing cheeks, and faultering voice, to remind 
 Sir Patrick, for the first time, of their little 
 pecuniary transaction, which was so very trif- 
 ling that he had probably forgotten it. 
 
 " You tiresome little dear ! am I never 
 to hear the last of those sovereigns !'' ex- 
 claimed he angrily, throwing down his news- 
 paper. " You deserve not to be paid till 
 
 Christmas ! But here they are ! 
 
 No ! I have no change, I see, at present. 
 Well ! I shall remember it some other time V
 
 1 76 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 That " other time" never came, however, 
 and Marion returned penniless to school, Bym- 
 pathizing more fully than she had ever done 
 before, in Mrs Penfold's lamentations respect- 
 ing Sir Patrick's carelessness about money, — 
 a subject which supplied that lady with a 
 ready-made excuse, whenever she was out of 
 humour at any rate, for venting it all on her 
 unoffending pupil, whose sensitive heart be- 
 came so imbued at last with vexation and 
 anxiety, that on attaining the age of sixteen, 
 she ventured to pen an earnest appeal to Sir 
 Patrick, begging with all the eloquence of 
 natural feeling, that if the expenses of her 
 education were inconvenient, she might re- 
 turn home, where she would willingly shew 
 all the benefit derived from the advantages 
 he had already afforded her, by continuing 
 her studies alone, and by devoting herself 
 entirely to his comfort, amusement, and hap- 
 piness. 
 
 This letter, which cost Marion agonies of 
 thought, and a shower of tears, received no 
 answer whatever ; and with a sisrh of unwont-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 177 
 
 ed depression, she dismissed the subject from 
 her thoughts, and trying to hope the best, 
 quietly resumed the course of her occupa- 
 tions, comforted by the consolatory reflection, 
 that in two years she would have nothing 
 more to learn — the whole range of human ac- 
 quirement being supposed to attain its com- 
 pletion by each of Mrs Penfold's pupils at the 
 age of eighteen. 
 
 Clara Granville, and Caroline Smythe, hav- 
 ing attained the highest acme of perfection 
 under the finishing hand of Mrs Penfold, were 
 about to be emancipated in a few months from 
 the thraldom of school, and to astonish so- 
 ciety by their brilliant acquirements ; respect- 
 ing the most advantageous mode of displaying 
 which, great pains had been taken to instruct 
 them, though the inclination seemed wanting 
 in both girls, being already surfeited with ad- 
 miration and panegyric among their masters 
 and governesses, who vied with each other in 
 praising their two most advanced pupils, by 
 whose influence they hoped hereafter to ob- 
 tain recommendations and employment.
 
 178 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Marion had strolled one evening with Caro- 
 line, farther than Miss Smythe had ever been 
 known to venture before ; and the two young 
 friends were seated in an arbour at the ex- 
 treme verge of the bounds prescribed by Mrs 
 Penfold, in earnest conversation, while watch- 
 ing with delight the declining sun, which su- 
 perbly illuminated a heavy mass of clouds in 
 the western horizon. Time flew on, and dark- 
 ness nearly closed around them, while they 
 discussed with lively, careless humour, all the 
 petty annoyances of their daily life, and com- 
 pared the little hopes and fears they enter- 
 tained for the future. As the hour became 
 later, Marion felt that the high exhilarating 
 key in which Caroline spoke, and her gay, well- 
 rung-out laugh, made her almost nervous in 
 the obscure and solitary retreat to which they 
 had withdrawn ; but ashamed of her ovnn ti- 
 midity, she determined to conquer or conceal 
 it. 
 
 Marion was flattered when a companion 
 like Caroline, some years older than herself, 
 thus treated her with familiarity ; though
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 179 
 
 certainly, neither on this occasion, nor on any 
 other, was it with confidence, as no living be- 
 ing seemed entirely in the confidence of Miss 
 Smythe, who, while she appeared gayly and 
 heedlessly to rattle on in conversation, yet 
 kept a cautious silence respecting all that 
 concerned herself. 
 
 Many very reserved persons pass for being 
 perfectly open, by means of a frank, free man- 
 ner, and by speaking in a confidential tone 
 concerning the most private affkirs of those 
 with whom they converse ; and this Caroline 
 did to excess, asking Marion, with every ap- 
 pearance of kindness, a hundred questions, 
 which in her own case she either could not, 
 or would not have answered, and testifying 
 the most cordial, unfeigned interest in all 
 that related to the prospects or feelings of 
 her companion, who never attempted to con- 
 ceal a wish or a thought, and often forgot 
 that the trust was not mutual. 
 
 Caroline was talking eagerly with great 
 animation, and telling Marion that the only 
 injury she never would forgive, was, if any of
 
 180 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 those she loved had a sorrow they did not al- 
 low her to share with them; and especially if 
 they permitted themselves to suffer from any 
 pecuniary difficulties which it was within her 
 power to relieve, when suddenly Marion laid 
 a hand on her arm, making a hurried signal 
 for silence, while she whispered in a low under- 
 tone, 
 
 " I have scarcely heard you for the last five 
 minutes. Did you observe that strange-look- 
 ing man, very much muffled up, who scrambled 
 several minutes ago to the top of the garden- 
 wall ? He was staring wildly about him for 
 some time, then glided noiselessly down, and 
 has suddenly disappeared T' 
 
 " Where ? where V whispered Caroline, 
 grasping Marion's hand with a look of wild 
 alarm, and speaking in a low hoarse tone of 
 extreme terror. " For your life, Marion, do 
 not stir ! Tell me which way he w^ent ? He 
 must not see us. how on earth has he 
 traced me out !'" 
 
 " WhoT' asked Marion, bewildered and 
 terrified, when she beheld a degree of frantic
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS, 181 
 
 alarm depicted on the countenance of her com- 
 panion, which seemed almost unaccountable. 
 " Dear Caroline ! whom do you fear V 
 
 " A madman !*" replied Miss Smythe, in 
 accents of mingled anger and disgust. " He 
 has haunted me for years ! He threatens 
 either to murder or to marry me ; and you 
 may guess which I think the worst ! He has 
 even adopted my name ! Did you never hear, 
 Marion, that he actually put his marriage to 
 me last year in the newspapers ! He besets 
 my footsteps — besieges my dwelling-place, 
 peKsecutes me with letters, sends me his pic- 
 ture, follows me to church, throws stones at 
 my windows in the night, and frightens my 
 very life out, yet the law leaves me unprotect- 
 ed, because he commits no actual breach of 
 the peace. It was to avoid him that I beg- 
 ged my aunt to let me live here ! How did he 
 discover my retreat V 
 
 Caroline seemed to have lost all command 
 of herself in the agony of her fear, and pour- 
 ed out a flood of words in the rapid and sub- 
 dued accents of extreme terror, while she re-
 
 182 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 treated into the darkest corner of the arbour 
 to screen herself from observation, hastily 
 dragging Marion along with her, and whisper- 
 ing an eager request, if they were discovered, 
 that she would endeavour herself to get off!, 
 and fly towards the house for assistance. 
 " Meantime I shall engage his attention; but 
 if he once sees me, all hope of escape on my 
 part would be vain, while the very endeavour 
 might in-itate him ! Every thing depends on 
 you, Marion ! be resolute, and lose not a mo- 
 ment, or you may be too late." 
 
 In agonized suspense and apprehension ^he 
 two friends remained during several minutes, 
 cowering behind the overhanging branches, 
 and scarcely venturing to breathe, while Caro- 
 line bent her head eagerly forward to catch 
 the slightest sound, and grasped Marion's 
 arm almost convulsively, as if to secure her 
 being perfectly immoveable; at length, after 
 sometime, she heaved a deep sigh expressive 
 of relief, and looked up, saying, 
 
 " He is surely gone ! he must be gone ! I 
 never eluded his eye before ! — his sight is
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 183 
 
 almost supernatural, but he must be gone at 
 last ! let us hurry home !"" 
 
 " Stop !"" whispered Marion in an under 
 tone, " I heard a rustHng close behind us 
 among the leaves and branches. Some one 
 certainly approaches !" 
 
 " Fly then, Marion ! all is over, and I must 
 face the danger !" said Caroline with sudden 
 energy, while rising and drawing herself up to 
 her full height, with a resolute countenance, 
 though her limbs evidently trembled beneath 
 her, she walked towards the door, saying, in 
 a loud commanding accent, to a tall man 
 much muffled up in a loose great-coat, who 
 had now appeared at the door, " Who goes 
 there ? Ernest ! !" added she, in tones of 
 angry remonstrance. " How dare you enter 
 my presence again ! How dare you intrude 
 here !" 
 
 " Be true to yourself and me !" replied the 
 stranger, in a voice which sounded harsh and 
 excited, while the deep full tones appeared to 
 Marion as if she had heard them before, but 
 the darkness prevented her from seeing him
 
 184 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 distinctly, even if his dress had not been suffi- 
 cient to disguise him from the most penetrating 
 eye. " Say what you will, I know you are glad 
 to meet me," added he, in accents of increas- 
 ing wildness. " All that you do is dictated 
 by others; but Caroline, in her secret heart, 
 loves me ! I know that ! By your looks, by 
 your voice, by your manner it was revealed to 
 me years ago ! Yes, you love me, and cannot 
 deny it ! Speak but the word, and we may 
 both be happy, — happier than the wildest 
 dreams of fancy. No impediment can prevent 
 it. Let your aunt conceal you where she will, 
 she cannot hide you from me, — in the farthest 
 corner of the earth,— in the deepest dungeon 
 that ever was dug, I shall find you out, and 
 still free you from persecution. She may do 
 her worst, but love laughs at locksmiths, and 
 I can still enable you to elude her vigilance. 
 I come now prepared, if you will but consent 
 to fly with me ! — now, — this moment. — If not. 
 
 The madman's voice, which had been loud 
 and vehement, here dropped into a low, stern.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 185 
 
 inaudible murmur, and his hand plunged into 
 the breast of his coat, seemed as if it grasped 
 some weapon there, while Marion, taking ad- 
 vantage of his pre-occupied attention, darted 
 off with the speed of thought, and almost as 
 noiselessly fled towards the house. A loud 
 angry cry to stop her, mingled with curses 
 and imprecations, from the madman, while he 
 waved his singularly long arms menacingly 
 above his head, only accelerated her pace, 
 while he followed some steps in pursuit; but 
 terror gave wings to her feet, and rushing 
 into the entrance-hall, she instantly rang 
 the large dinner bell, and raised an alarm, 
 which assembled the whole household, all 
 of whom gazed with looks of panic-struck 
 astonishment at Marion's pale and ghastly 
 countenance. 
 
 Not a moment required to be lost in expla- 
 nation, for Mrs Penfold seemed at once to 
 guess the whole nature and extent of Caro- 
 line's danger, the instant her name was men- 
 tioned ; therefore JSIarion had but to point out 
 the direction in which she might be found,
 
 186 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 when Mrs Penfold hastened forward, prece<led 
 by several of the more active servants. 
 
 When Marion had rapidly executed some 
 orders committed to her, she quickly returned 
 towards the arbour, but not a trace remained 
 there of any one. The little table had been 
 upset, several branches torn down that sur- 
 rounded the entrance, and the grass beneath 
 was much trampled and disfigured ; but all was 
 silent and deserted. After one hurried glance 
 of alarm and perplexity, Marion hastened for- 
 ward to the garden gate, which she found had 
 been violently burst open, and on emerging 
 into the high road beyond, she there found 
 Mrs Penfold and her servants all crowding 
 round Caroline, who remained in a dead faint 
 on the ground for nearly half an hour. 
 
 A carriage was rapidly disappearing at full 
 speed in the distance, but already almost too far 
 off to be distinguished ; and Marion perceived 
 the figure of a man lurking behind the hedge 
 close beside her; but when she made it evident 
 that he was observed, he rushed up close to 
 her side, saying, in a threatening tone, between
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 187 
 
 his clenched teeth, " You have provoked a 
 madman !" 
 
 Scarcely had Marion time to utter an ex- 
 clamation of sudden affright, before he sprung 
 over the hedge, and was seen running across 
 the neighbouring fields, until his figure min- 
 gled with the surrounding gloom, and vanish- 
 ed out of sight. 
 
 Mrs Penfold's chief care, after CaroHne's 
 recovery from her alarming swoon, was ear- 
 nestly to enjoin that the circumstances of this 
 adventure should never be mentioned, or so 
 much as remembered by those who had wit- 
 nessed them; a story so extraordinary and 
 alarming, being likely to injure her establish- 
 ment, besides causing much unnecessary gos- 
 sip among the younger pupils ; but had Marion 
 even been disposed to consign, as desired, the 
 whole adventure to oblivion, she could not but 
 be continually reminded of it for several 
 weeks afterwards, by the startled and agitated 
 manner of Caroline, whose frolicsome spirits 
 had entirely deserted her, while she seemed 
 for some time to be in imminent danger of
 
 188 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 a nervous fever. If any one appeared suddenly 
 in the room, she almost screamed with the 
 start it occasioned her ; she could not bear 
 for a moment to remain alone, and seemed as 
 if continually listening, even when safe in the 
 house, for the sound of steps in pursuit of 
 her. Gradually, however, her mind became 
 more composed, and she ventured one day to 
 take a stroll with Marion in some of the 
 nearer parts of the garden, though even there 
 she scarcely spoke above her breath, and 
 turned hastily round several times, as if ap- 
 prehensive that some one approached. 
 
 Had the far-famed Upas tree grown over 
 the arbour, Caroline could scarcely have 
 shunned more fearfully the slightest approach 
 in that direction, and w^ith equal care did she 
 avoid any allusion to what had occurred 
 there, not a hint of which ever transpired in 
 her most confidential moments. The very 
 sound of her own feet on the gravel seemed 
 to startle her, and as she walked beneath the 
 shade of some tall forest trees which over- 
 hung the garden-wall, Clarion observed that
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 189 
 
 Caroline trod more cautiously ; and though 
 she dropped not a word respecting her feel- 
 ings or fears, it was evident that her nerves 
 were strung to an agony of sensitiveness, for 
 the fluttering of a bird in a hedge, or the fall 
 of a leaf, made her start, and she seemed 
 about at last to give up the point in despair, 
 and hurry homewards, when suddenly a loud 
 shrill whistle arose amidst the branches of an 
 ash-tree, almost directly over their heads, and 
 before Marion had time to look round, a 
 small packet had dropped at the feet of 
 Caroline. 
 
 With a half-suppressed cry of alarm, the 
 terrified girl fled, while Marion, scarcely less 
 frightened, instinctively picked up the parcel, 
 and followed, while again she was pursued by 
 a volley of oaths and imprecations, which 
 ended in a laugh so wild, so maniacal, and so 
 fearful, that for months afterwards it rung in 
 her ears, causing her a shudder of horror and 
 alarm. 
 
 When Mrs Penfold tore open an innumer- 
 able multitude of seals which closed the
 
 190 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 packet addressed to Caroline, she discovered 
 within only a long incoherent letter of several 
 sheets, filled with the most extravagant pro- 
 fessions of ardent love, and the most vehe- 
 ment declarations, that nothing on earth 
 could impede or discourage him in his resolu- 
 tion to carry her off, which he seemed still 
 persuaded, with the self-delusion peculiar to 
 madness, must be a welcome assurance to 
 Caroline, whose words and actions he perse- 
 veringly attributed to the arbitrary influence 
 of others. Accompanying this farrago of 
 most intolerable nonsense, was a black shade 
 in a wooden frame, representing the profile 
 of a young man, certainly handsome, and 
 which seemed to Marion like features she 
 had known elsewhere, but being frequently 
 addicted to observing resemblances, she felt 
 at once persuaded that this must be some 
 such vague and unaccountable likeness as she 
 had frequently found or fancied before. 
 
 Tinae wore on, and still Caroline lingered 
 at school, unwilling apparently to forsake 
 the comparative quietness of Mrs Penfold's.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 191 
 
 where, though her age exceeded by some 
 years that of the other pupils, and though 
 her cotemporary Clara had been already in- 
 troduced into society, she still seemed anxious 
 to forget herself and her affairs in the multi- 
 tude of her masters and studies, so complete- 
 ly was she engrossed by which, that she evi- 
 dently grudged every moment and every 
 thought which interrupted her progress. At 
 length, on the evening previous to that fixed 
 on for her final departure from school, when 
 Mrs Smythe was expected to convey her 
 home, Mrs Penfold was bestowing on Caro- 
 line some of her last advice, on the most ap- 
 proved modes of " getting on" in society, and 
 especially on the manners and conversation 
 most attractive to gentlemen, when a note 
 was brought into the room, which had ar- 
 rived by express, bringing the melancholy in- 
 telligence that Mrs Smythe's carriage had 
 been upset a few miles off*, causing so severe a 
 blow on the head, that a concussion of the 
 brain had taken place, and she continued in- 
 onsible, at a village some miles off, where
 
 192 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 little hope remained of her recovery. The 
 Doctor who wrote these hurried particulars 
 had obligingly sent his own carriage and ser- 
 vant to convey Miss Smythe to the spot, that 
 she might take a last leave of her dying rela- 
 tive, and he recommended that she should 
 not lose an instant, or it might be too late to 
 find the sufferer in life. 
 
 Struck with grief and consternation by this 
 most unexpected and calamitous intelligence, 
 Caroline, though she had never before seemed 
 much to love her aunt, yet now became over- 
 whelmed with the shock, and lost not an in- 
 stant in hastily preparing to obey the melan- 
 choly summons, by throwing on her cloak and 
 bonnet, while she rushed into the arms of 
 Marion, and burst into an agony of tears in 
 bidding her farewell. 
 
 The French governess who had been sum- 
 moned to escort Caroline in the carriage, was 
 one of those nervous persons, wdio became 
 perfectly frantic when hurried, and she flew 
 about the room, uttering a volley of inco- 
 herent exclamations, expressive of her wonder
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 193 
 
 and perplexity at so sudden a call on her ac- 
 tivity, while her preparations seemed to make 
 no visible progress. There is a secret, mys- 
 terious pleasure in being waited for, w^hich 
 every living mortal seems to enjoy when they 
 have the opportunity ; and without a thought 
 of Caroline's impatience, her anxiety, and her 
 sorrow, Madame D'Aubert expressed the 
 most eager and vehement solicitude about her 
 own dress, and a resolution not to stir till 
 equipped to her entire satisfaction, for so 
 rare and almost unprecedented an event, as 
 leaving the boundaries of Dartmore House. 
 
 Every thing that has a limit, however, 
 must come to an end, and Madame D'Au- 
 bert's toilette being at last completed, she 
 leisurely advanced, talking to herself and to 
 everybody else, arranging her shawl, and 
 giving a last finish to the contour of her bon- 
 net, before she threw herself with dignified 
 deliberation into the chariot. 
 
 Marion had affectionately insisted on con- 
 veying her weeping friend to the carriage, 
 while, with all the little arts of affection, she 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 1.94 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 tried to console and encourage her, till at 
 length they exchanged a final embrace, and 
 parted. Scarcely, however, had Miss Smythe 
 placed her foot upon the steps, while the 
 man-servant who accompanied the carriage 
 carefully assisted her in, before Marion sud- 
 denly sprung forward with an exclamation of 
 terror, seized hold of Caroline's dress, and be- 
 fore she could speak, dragged her forcibly 
 into the house, exclaiming in accents almost 
 inarticulate from alarm, 
 
 " Come back, Caroline ! come back ! This 
 is some mistake ! some dreadful trick I Caro- 
 line ! dear Caroline ! come back ! That ser- 
 vant wears the very dress of the person who 
 attacked you in the garden ! I cannot see 
 his face, but I am certain it is he !"' 
 
 Before Marion could finish her sentence, 
 the supposed servant had violently seized 
 Miss Smythe by the arms, and was about 
 forcibly to drag her towards the carriage, 
 when the loud cries of Marion brought as- 
 sistance. The almost fainting girl was res- 
 cued, and the post-chaise secured; but not
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 195 
 
 a trace could be seen of the madman, who 
 instantly vanished ; and the post-boy could 
 give no intelligence respecting him, except 
 that he had been ordered out at an inn close 
 by, in urgent haste, that evening, v^^ith a 
 promise of double payment if he implicitly 
 obeyed the gentleman, who seemed highly 
 irritable, and swore at him in a most fearful 
 manner, if he made the slightest delay, or so 
 much as asked a direction which way to turn. 
 The most diligent search was made, but 
 made in vain, by the officers of police, to find 
 out the lunatic's retreat, which eluded their 
 utmost research ; and as Caroline Smytho 
 was privately removed soon afterwards from 
 school, where the subject was forbidden ever 
 to be mentioned, the whole story seemed al- 
 most buried in oblivion, and Marion herself 
 felt at last as if the entire adventure had 
 been an agitating dream, remembered by no 
 one but herself. 
 
 ••..•••;
 
 I'^'i MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 " Hear ! hear ! and a laugh ! 
 
 pARUAllL.VrART DeBATI^w 
 
 Marion's sister, Agnes, five years older than 
 herself, after being distinguished as the best 
 musician, best sketcher, best linguist, best 
 everything, at Mrs Penfold's, had left school 
 ^vith no real knowledge, except of the most 
 frivolous kind, accidentally gathered in con- 
 versation, and repeated again in society like 
 a parrot. Formed to excite the most rap- 
 turous admiratioD, by the gorgeous magnifi- 
 cence of her almost regal beauty, art had act- 
 ed the part of the Fairy Bountiful in fonn- 
 ing Agnes, while nature had showered her 
 choicest gifts on Marion.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 197 
 
 Agnes was brilliant without being interest- 
 ing, and dazzling without being attractive, for 
 her mind seemed irremediably and incorrigi- 
 bly vulgar, selfish, and vain. A good actress, 
 an inimitable mimic, and incomparable in a 
 tableau, she assumed generally a queen-like 
 dignity of manner, " stalking through life," 
 as Sir Arthur said, " with an assured and 
 stately step, as if practising for her appear- 
 ance as a Duchess at the next coronation." 
 
 Admiration seemed to Agnes the only plea- 
 sure of life, and amusement its only business ; 
 while, if ever she had possessed any sensibi- 
 lity, it was frittered away on the fictitious 
 sorrows of the Adelines and Julias in the 
 volumes which she read with surpassing dili- 
 gence from a circulating library ; though in 
 all other respects, Agnes wasted her time 
 amidst such listless idleness, that she might 
 have let her nails grow, like those of a Chi- 
 nese mandarin, to testify how literally she 
 did nothing. ^ 
 
 No one, certainly, could excel Agnes in 
 turning up her hands and eyes at the faults
 
 J. 08 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 of others ; but those who trace nothing ex- 
 cept evil in their companions, have seldom 
 much good in themselves. Marion found it 
 one of the most important and pleasing stu- 
 dies in the world, to comprehend the charac- 
 ter and temper of her friends and connexions, 
 besides her own, with a wish to render her- 
 self suitable to them, as her mind, pliable 
 without weakness, was bent on constantly 
 yielding her own wishes to those she loved ; 
 but this unobtrusive generosity was only a 
 subject of satirical remark to her sister, who 
 could neither understand nor believe in Ma- 
 rion's utter singleness of heart, and disinter- 
 estedness ; her own sole aim being selfish in- 
 dulgence, and her sole rule to obtain it in the 
 easiest possible way. 
 
 Self-love was the ruling passion of Agnes ; 
 love of others the quickening principle, or 
 rather impulse with Marion, who would have 
 zealously planted flowers for even strangers 
 to enjoy ; but Aapes would have plucked all 
 those of her friends, and scarcely taken the 
 trouble to rear any even for her own use.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 199 
 
 Agnes, cold, vain, heartless, and self-suffici- 
 ent, thought she was made only for this 
 world, and this world for her, and for such 
 as herself, young, gay, rich, and lovely, while 
 all others were mere intruders on the crea- 
 tion. But Marion, on the contrary, followed 
 the dictates of her own heart, in wishing to 
 do good of every kind to every person, while 
 still she had learned to aim above nature, to 
 that high standard of Christian perfection, so 
 exalted, that those who have gained the most 
 elevated human attainment in virtue and ex- 
 cellence, must still consider the structure of 
 their minds, however beautifully decorated 
 with generous sympathies and kind emotions, 
 as being only begun, while they perseveringly 
 aspire upwards, even to the measurement of 
 that Divine Being who left us an example 
 that we should follow his steps. 
 
 Agnes had now been, for three seasons, the 
 reigning beauty of Edinburgh ! There it is 
 the privilege of every tolerable-looking girl to 
 be considered in her own set pre-eminent, 
 during the first winter after she is intro-
 
 200 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 (luced ; but though the public eye usually 
 grows weary of the same features, however 
 perfect, during a second campaign, Agnes had 
 apparently taken out a diploma of beauty- 
 the reputation for which seemed confirmed to 
 others by her o\mi thorough conviction of be- 
 ing completely unrivalled, and by the exult- 
 ing consciousness she displayed of her own 
 supreme loveliness. Three seasons of tumul- 
 tuous joy, triumph, and conquest, had already 
 succeeded each other, during which Agnes 
 was, to use her own expression, " fiercely 
 gay," yet still no younger rival had appeared 
 to eclipse the dazzling array of her charms ; 
 and not a w^hisper was heard that the fresh- 
 ness of her Raphael-like beauty was at all im- 
 paired; nor were any ladies ever heard to 
 " wonder"" what gentlemen could possibly* see 
 to admire in Agnes Dunbar, as not a dissent- 
 ing voice had yet ventured to make itself au- 
 dible on that subject. 
 
 Agnes began life with that perfect confi- 
 dence in her own knowledge of the world, 
 universally felt by young ladies under twenty.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 201 
 
 especially when they have seen very little of 
 it, and with a thousand schemes and projects 
 of perfect happiness. Though one after an- 
 other her castles of cards fell to the ground, 
 still, in the exercise of persevering energy, 
 she rebuilt the edifice again with new mate- 
 rials, and on what she imagined a better con- 
 struction, but still in every instance, to her 
 own unutterable astonishment, she found that 
 most unaccountably, "hope told a flattering 
 tale !" 
 
 Considering every officer she danced with 
 as a hero, and every gentleman who paid her 
 a comphment as a lover, Agnes wasted her 
 first season, as most young ladies do, in flirt- 
 ing with scarlet uniforms, the inhabitants of 
 which were generally so much alike in ideas 
 and conversation, that if blindfolded, she 
 might have found it difficult or impossible to 
 distinguish which of her countless red and 
 gold admirers happened at the moment to be 
 " doing the agreeable.'"* 
 
 All her military victims were dying to know 
 what Agnes thought of their brother officers ;
 
 202 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 whether she intended to adorn the next ball 
 by her presence, or the next concert ; how 
 she liked their mihtary band ; if she proposed 
 patronising their night at the theatre ; whe- 
 ther she preferred a galope fast or slow ; how- 
 she thought the colonel's daughter looked on 
 horseback ; whether she did not think it bar- 
 barously tyrannical of the commander-in-chief 
 to insist on their all wearing uniforms ; how 
 she liked the new regulation jacket ; and 
 above all, whether she thought the order 
 for their wearing mustachios an improvement 
 or not ! 
 
 To all these subjects, and many more of 
 similar import, Agnes lent her very profound 
 attention, not only during the discussion, but 
 in many a solitary hour, while her whole 
 head, heart, and understanding were crowded 
 with the recollection of epaulettes, musta- 
 chios, spurs, and gold lace, and she privately 
 believed that the supreme felicity of earth, — 
 all the most refined sensibilities of life, and 
 all its brightest joys, were to be found at 
 Piershill Barracks.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. '20S 
 
 Sir Patrick laughingly alleged that Agnes 
 had rehearsed a set of prepared conversations 
 suited to every different occasion, — a musical 
 conversation for amateurs, full of crotchets 
 and quavers, — a hunting conversation about 
 foxes, dogs, and steeple-chases, — a Court of 
 Session conversation for the lawyers, — and a 
 dragoon conversation, discussing at great 
 length whether officers should dance with 
 spurs or without them, and in which she had 
 been known to enumerate correctly, the fac- 
 ings of every regiment in Her Majesty's ser- 
 vice. 
 
 Her brother often and loudly declared that 
 nothing is more perfectly hopeless, than for 
 any young lady to expect a serious attach- 
 ment from an officer actually quartered with 
 his regiment, as it was against all rule, and 
 contrary to all nature or custom, for Cupid to 
 attack the army. The mess- table, he assured 
 her, invariably sets its face against matri- 
 mony, and the mess-table conversation was an 
 ordeal, through which he protested that few 
 young ladies could wish their names to pass:
 
 204 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 but nevertheless, Agnes, full of groundless ex- 
 pectations and lively vanity, continued to en- 
 dure a succession of heart-rending and unac- 
 countable disappointments, from very promis- 
 ing military admirers, who had stolen her 
 bouquets, listened to her music, and drunk Sir 
 Patrick's claret month after month; but no 
 sooner did marching orders come for Dublin. 
 Leeds, or Canada, than these interesting 
 affairs came to an untimely end with a P.P.C. 
 card, or a sort of never-expect-to-meet-again 
 bow, and Agnes was left with the army list 
 in her hand, wondering what regiment would 
 come next, and whether there were many un- 
 married officers in it. 
 
 " How amusing it is,'' said Agnes, in a 
 confidential mood, one day to Clara and Caro- 
 line, " when 1 walk about with Captain De 
 Crespigny at the promenades or balls, and see 
 all the other beaux looking angry or disap- 
 pointed !" 
 
 " Nothing on earth is so charming, I sup- 
 pose, as to be a beauty !'' exclaimed Carohne, 
 with a ffood-humoured sii^h. and a look of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 205 
 
 comic humility, " I would sacrifice ten years 
 of my life to be admired for one ! To hear 
 people saying, ' Have you seen the lovely 
 Miss Smythe ? Is Miss Smythe to show her- 
 self at Lady Towercliffe's party T and then, 
 hke you, Agnes, to have all the beaux dying 
 for me !" 
 
 " I would rather be married for any at- 
 traction in the world, than mere beauty," 
 said Clara, earnestly ; " even money is a more 
 tolerable motive. How insufferable it would 
 be, to live with a person whose affection de- 
 pended on whether your hair were well dress- 
 ed, or your shoes well made !" 
 
 " That is the very thing I should like !'" 
 exclaimed Agnes, " to see it considered of the 
 greatest consequence whether I wore pink or 
 blue, and whether it were one of my well- 
 looking days or not !" 
 
 " But then, Agnes, your well-looking days 
 would occur seldomer and seldomer, while, 
 during the very periods of illness and depres- 
 sion, when attention and kindness are most 
 needed, a fastidious husband would feci in-
 
 206 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 jured if* your complexion were not at its 
 best," replied Clara, laughing. " No ! no ! 
 give me the happiness that will, as my milliner 
 says, ' wash and wear well !"* — good fire-side 
 domestic comfort." 
 
 " Comfort ! I hate comfort !" said Agnes 
 indignantly, " a stupid, detestable word, as 
 opposite to real happiness as night is to day ! 
 I shall be satisfied with nothing short of feli- 
 city." 
 
 " But felicity can last only a day, while 
 peace and comfort may be enjoyed for life.'' 
 replied Clara. " In talking of marriage, you 
 seem to think of nothing beyond the honey- 
 moon, and to forget the hours, days, and 
 years of actual life that must follow !" 
 
 " It is absolute nonsense looking so far out 
 to sea, as you do, Clara," said Agnes, impa- 
 tiently. " How I shall enjoy, next winter, 
 perhaps, chaperoning you both to parties if I 
 can find any fascinating victim, tall, thin, and 
 handsome enough to please me." 
 
 •' But surely you would not, for any consi- 
 deration, marry yet !" exclaimed Caroline.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 207 
 
 " Lady Towercliffe says, that the holiday of a 
 girFs life is from the time she leaves school 
 till the day she marries, and you should enjoy 
 ten years at least, Agnes, before you are 
 tempted to begin the cares of life." 
 
 " Cares !" exclaimed Agnes, with a con- 
 temptuous laugh, " I do not mean ever to 
 take any cares upon myself ! but, as Captain 
 De Crespigny very sensibly observed yester- 
 day, the husband worthy of me should be made 
 on purpose. In the first place, he must be 
 rich, for I have a scruple of conscience in 
 even witnessing a poor marriage, where, after 
 the wedding-cake has been eaten, there is no- 
 thing else left. In every thing, — even the 
 mere choice of a ribbon, — I am fastidious, and 
 would rather not have a thing at all, than 
 dispense with getting precisely what I like. 
 My intended, then, must have been educated 
 at Eton, for I do think the ugliest bit of hu- 
 man nature on earth is a Scotch school-boy of 
 about fourteen. He must have such a foot ! 
 so small ! oh ! no foot at all. He must em- 
 ploy Buckmaster the tailor, get his shoes from
 
 208 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Paris, and never wear the same gloves twice. 
 He must ." 
 
 " My dear Agnes ! this should be all put 
 into the contract !" said Clara, laughing. " It 
 perfectly ruins me to hear you talk so extra- 
 vagantly; and, besides, pray be warned in time 
 of your own probable fate, that the beauty of 
 a family, or the beauty of a winter, is said 
 always to make a poor marriage. I never 
 could understand the reason of that; but 
 Lady Towercliffe says, men are perverse be- 
 ings, who like to criticise and undervalue a. 
 professed beauty, while, in the mean time, they 
 are taken by surprise, and fall in love unex- 
 pectedly with some obscure girl, whose charms 
 they discover, or fancy for themselves, and 
 whom, probably, not another man living ever 
 thought tolerable." 
 
 " For my part," said Caroline, " I shall 
 wait till a person can be found as handsome 
 as Sir Patrick, as agreeable as you tell me 
 Captain De Crespigny is, as clever as Mr 
 Granville, as merry as young De Lancey
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 209 
 
 " And as rich as Lord Doncaster !" inter- 
 rupted Agnes. 
 
 " No ! no ! , a hundred times no !" re- 
 
 pHed Carohne, colouring, speaking in a singu- 
 lar tone of asperity, " I hate and abhor 
 money as a consideration in marrying ! I 
 wish money had never been invented ! It 
 becomes a misery for those who have too 
 much, as well as for those who have too 
 little." 
 
 " Well ! give me money," said Agnes, 
 laughing. " And let me tell you, Caroline, 
 that even if you have eight or ten thousand 
 pounds, which is probably the utmost, you 
 will find it no great inconvenience during 
 the long run of life. Money has its merits, 
 and I should be afraid to marry any man, 
 even the most romantic of my lovers, if it in- 
 volved the necessity for his sacrificing one of 
 his usual comforts ;^f it obliged him to drink 
 his bottle of sherry instead of claret every 
 day, I am not quite sure that he would never 
 begin to grumble ! They tell me it should 
 be considered a happy marriage where a man
 
 210 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 does not wish himself twice every day un- 
 married again. No, no, money is no bad 
 thing, and if you have any to spare, pray let 
 me have the surplus.'" 
 
 " Who, and what are Mrs and Miss 
 Smythe ?" was a frequent question of Agnes 
 to herself, never apparently to obtain a satis- 
 factory answer. On Carohne leaving school, 
 her aunt had taken a villa at Portobello, 
 where the two Enghsh strangers excited ex- 
 treme attention, more from their evident de- 
 sire to avoid it, than from any thing very 
 remarkable in their appearance or manner, 
 though Mrs Smythe was certainly of that 
 genus old maid so common in England, with a 
 handsome independence, a suite of servants, a 
 pony-carriage, most splendid dress, and some 
 pretensions still to youth and beauty, as any 
 fragment of good looks that yet remained she 
 most liberally displayed ; while her manner 
 had a flirting tone of coquetry most unsuit- 
 able to her apparent ago, forming a singular 
 contrast to the quaker-like simplicity of Ca- 
 roline's dress.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 211 
 
 There was a singular contrast between the 
 gravity of costume affected by Miss Smythe, 
 and the keen festivity of spirit with which she 
 entered into every scheme of amusement, or 
 even, it might be said, of mischief. Her viva- 
 city was occasionally almost overpowering, 
 her fancy lively beyond example, while with 
 her brilliant, yet interesting animation, there 
 was mingled a rare acuteness of mind, a swift 
 comprehension, and an innate passion for all 
 that was amiable or beautiful, which gave live- 
 liness and vigour to what she said, though the 
 rapidity of her mind sometimes led Caroline to 
 a false estimate of persons and circumstances, 
 as she always judged or acted from instantane- 
 ous impulse ; yet there was a generous frank- 
 ness in her disposition, which captivated those 
 who knew her, and a graceful simplicity in all 
 she did, which gave it interest ; for, without 
 intention, there was something in all her 
 thoughts or actions, striking and peculiar. 
 
 Her features, though irregular, attracted 
 and enchained the eye, from the magical 
 variety of their expression, and though an
 
 212 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 amateur of mere beauty might have been sur- 
 prised and perplexed to divine why her light 
 grey eyes, pale cheeks, and chesnut hair 
 could beguile his attention away from the 
 more perfect contour of others, the amateur 
 of physiognomy was delighted to find there 
 an ever-varying source of interest in watch- 
 ing the bright emanations of thought, feel- 
 ing, and vivacity, which glittered or spark- 
 led in her eye, or played about her mouth. 
 
 When Mrs Smythe first settled at Porto- 
 bello, scarcely a week of gossiping, wonder, 
 and conjecture had elapsed, in the little 
 community around, when she requested to 
 have an interview with Sir Arthur alone, 
 which took place immediately, and must have 
 excited much interest in his mind, as the 
 Admiral remained silent and abstracted dur- 
 ing the whole subsequent evening, while he 
 strolled slowly up and down the drawing- 
 room, " pacing the quarter-deck,"' as he called 
 it, for a length of time ; and, after being 
 closeted some hours the following day with 
 Mrs Smythe and his confidential agent, they
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 213 
 
 proceeded to a magistrate's house together, 
 with whom they requested a private confer- 
 ence, the purport of which did not transpire. 
 
 From that day, an intimacy, amounting 
 to friendship, was established between Sir 
 Arthur and the two ladies, who seemed on all 
 occasions to look to him for advice and pro- 
 tection, and in whose house they spent a part 
 of every day, to the unspeakable delight of 
 Henry De Lancey, who was charmed, on his 
 return from college, to find so agreeable an 
 addition to the small circle at Seabeach 
 cottage. 
 
 " Years rush by us like the wind ;"' and 
 how rapid seems the transition from boyhood 
 to mature years ! Henry had early attained 
 an extraordinary development of mind and 
 appearance, a strength of intellect and a deci- 
 sion of purpose which seemed to Sir Arthur 
 almost precocious, while every day discovered 
 some new talent, or enlarged those he already 
 possessed, for his mind seemed ever on the 
 wing and full of energy. " Either he is nobly 
 born, or nature has a nobility of her own,"
 
 214 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 thought the Admiral, when viewing the char- 
 acter of his young protege, as it gradually 
 arose to personal and intellectual supremacy. 
 His mind was ardent, courageous, and deeply 
 contemplative, full of generous impulses, but 
 apt to view all that happened to himself 
 through an exaggerated medium. His mys- 
 terious history, and the fascination of his 
 manner and appearance cast a spell over the 
 interest and affections of all who beheld his 
 countenance, or heard the sound of his har- 
 monious voice. With a strikingly handsome 
 person, he had already acquired a decided air 
 of fashion and refinement, while a bright vein 
 of almost chivalrous romance which enlivened 
 his mind, was subdued by a poetical tempera- 
 ment, inclining him to dwell much on melan- 
 choly musings, relating to the strange circum- 
 stances of his own early history. Keenly sen- 
 sitive to kindness or neglect, his love and gra- 
 titude to Sir Arthur were without bounds, 
 and his brotherly affection for Marion was 
 tinged with the natural enthusiasm of his dis- 
 position, but before long the warmest and 
 
 ^
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 215 
 
 deepest feelings of his nature were secretly 
 concentrated on the gay, giddy, and fascinat- 
 ing Caroline Smythe. Every scrap of paper 
 that came in his way became covered with 
 sketches of her buoyant figure and graceful 
 profile, in a variety of animated attitudes ; or, 
 on other occasions, verses in Latin or English, 
 little better certainly than the nonsense verses 
 at school, immortalised her charms. 
 
 Young as he was, however, Henry's spirit 
 recoiled already from the danger of loving too 
 well, or being beloved by any, when he was 
 taught, in hours of solitary reflection, to re- 
 member that principle and honour must for- 
 bid him to seek a mutual attachment, while 
 his name and station remained unknown, and, 
 perhaps, disgraceful. There was a bewilder- 
 ing power in Caroline's society, which chained 
 him to her side wherever they met, while, con- 
 trary to his resolutions and wishes, his every 
 look, smile, word, and action became steeped 
 in love. Often and severely did he upbraid 
 himself for this vain and dangerous iadul- 
 gence, but he seemed spell-bound and unable
 
 216 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 to remember, in her presence, any thing but 
 the deh'ght of listening to her gay saUies and 
 her delicious laugh ; though the mirth of her 
 young eyes became veiled often by a look of 
 care as sudden, as it was to him unaccount- 
 able, being so foreign to the sparkling, almost 
 mischievous gayety of her nature. 
 
 Henry's devoted, and nearly boyish attach- 
 ment, raised in his heart many a high aspira- 
 tion after future distinction, many a bright 
 hope of honour, promotion, and usefulness. 
 The model for his imitation in ever}^ thing 
 noble and distinguished was Sir Arthur, and 
 he resolved to sacrifice love itself, till he had 
 attained, like him, a name and a station for 
 himself. The very sound of Sir Arthur s step, 
 the very tones of his voice, were dear to him ; 
 and, casting aside every softer emotion con- 
 nected with his romantic reveries respecting 
 Caroline, he became impatient to face the 
 bitter blasts of the world's trials, taking his 
 beloved benefactor for his example, and the 
 Holy Scriptures as his guide. 
 
 " Perhaps," thought he, allowing his young
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 217 
 
 mind to wander away from the dull inexorable 
 realities of life, while a rapturous smile of an- 
 ticipated joy lighted up his countenance. 
 " Perhaps, when honour and distinction have 
 at last crowned my efforts, I may yet be ac- 
 knowledged in the face of the world, by those 
 connexions who have now so mysteriously 
 cast me off. Perhaps Caroline herself may at 
 last be proud to return that fervent attach- 
 ment, of which she has not yet even a suspi- 
 cion ! The old proverb says, ' all men know 
 what they are, but none know what they shall 
 be I' I know neither the one nor the other; 
 but I must not be satisfied with vaguely co- 
 veting learning, honour, or usefulness hereaf- 
 ter, contemplating like a mere child the end 
 without the way, but seek them energetically. 
 Nothing is impossible to those who persevere ! 
 This may and must be a rough world of diffi- 
 culty to me, but amidst a thousand buffetings 
 and humiliations to come, I feel an undying 
 hope of success, while even in this scene of 
 hard and trying discipline, my best comfort 
 and encouragement shall ever be drawn from 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 218 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 the august truths of rehgion, in all their 
 awfulness and solemn obligations." 
 
 Knowledge is power, and knowledge of 
 character is the greatest power of all, but 
 Henry, in general very penetrating, was per- 
 plexed by the flirting, light-headed manner of 
 Mrs Smythe, whenever she was in the society 
 of gentlemen her own contemporaries in age, 
 and the grave deferential manner she adopted 
 towards her young companion, whom she 
 seemed to treat almost inadvertently as her 
 superior, though the slightest indication of her 
 doing so usually brought the ready colour of 
 Caroline in vivid flashes to her cheek, and 
 caused an appearance of mutual embarrass- 
 ment between the aunt and niece, w^hich sur- 
 prised and puzzled him. Their extraordinary 
 munificence to the poor and public charities 
 also astonished him, as that appeared so 
 viddely disproportioned to their visible means 
 and usual expenditure, though it seemed only 
 to please without surprising Sir Arthur, who 
 was accustomed to give so liberally himself, 
 that Henry sometimes feared he encouraged
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 219 
 
 his newly-found friends in a degree of lavish 
 extravagance, inconsistent with the ordinary 
 means of single ladies ; yet all was given with 
 a graceful negligent indifference to the vulgar 
 subject of pounds, shillings, and pence, quite 
 unprecedented. Subscriptions to church ex- 
 tension, missionaries, schools. Bibles, blankets, 
 food, clothing, coals, money, and medicine, 
 were scattered around them with unsparing 
 profusion, though it appeared to Henry, that, 
 in the case of Mrs Smythe herself, whose 
 name always appeared ostensibly on the list 
 as the larger contributor, there was less ala- 
 crity in giving, than in Caroline who seemed 
 to be purse-bearer for both, and always de- 
 frayed the whole amount. 
 
 Among the many things which surprised 
 Henry in Mrs and Miss Smythe, nothing had 
 that effect more than the keen, intense, and 
 rather satirical interest with which both ladies 
 gathered up every particular relating to the 
 manners, flirtations, and adventures of Cap- 
 tain De Crespigny, though it was evident, 
 that while both ladies could relate every par-
 
 220 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ticular of his former history and character, 
 neither knew him by sight. Mrs Smythe 
 mentioned rather contemptuously some vague 
 recollections of him formerly as a pert, awk- 
 ward school-boy, while, to Henry's increasing 
 perplexity, the young lady's colour visibly 
 rose to carnation whenever he was unexpect- 
 edly named, and her eyes usually glittered 
 with a suppressed smile, if any anecdote or 
 description in Sir Arthur's conversation re- 
 lated to him, till at length the curiosity which 
 had so long been evidently fermenting in the 
 minds of Mrs and Miss Smythe, exploded one 
 day in the form of an eager request, that Sir 
 Arthur would invite Captain De Crespigny to 
 meet them at dinner. 
 
 Marion and Henry were amused at the 
 laughing alacrity with which Sir Arthur at 
 once consented, and they observed, after the 
 note was despatched, that many a whispered 
 consultation took place, and many a merry 
 jest passed among the lively trio, to which 
 they were not made a party, while the two 
 ladies appeared evidently in extacies of amuse-
 
 MODERN FLIETATIONS. 221 
 
 ment at their anticipated introduction* Ma- 
 rion would have given worlds to witness the 
 scene, but her furlugh from Mrs Penfold's 
 had expired on the very day of Sir Arthur's 
 party, and she was most unwillingly deposited 
 in a carriage with her baggage, at the mo- 
 ment when Captain De Crespigny alighted in 
 full huzzar uniform, out of the minibus which 
 had conveyed him from Piershill. 
 
 The Admiral's party was exceedingly small 
 and select, but the guests appeared all in gay 
 buoyant spirits, while Captain De Crespigny, 
 seeing but one young lady in the room, looked 
 upon himself as her natural property, and 
 handed her to dinner, though no formal pre- 
 sentation had taken place. 
 
 With Caroline he was, before long, flirting 
 to the top of his bent, while she assumed a 
 charming look of consciousness when he ad- 
 dressed her, receiving the whole artillery of 
 his small talk and civilities with a most inter- 
 esting expression of naivete, though once 
 Henry observed in her smile so odd a mixture 
 of mirth and malice, while, at the same time,
 
 222 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 a look of covert humour lurked in her eye. 
 and quivered on her lip, that he could not 
 but wonder at the grave demure look which 
 she affected. 
 
 Nothing was ever more enchanting to Cap- 
 tain De Crespigny than the blushing averted 
 looks with which Caroline listened to all his 
 insinuated admiration, while now and then 
 she nodded and smiled with the prettiest air 
 of incredulity imaginable, if he professed it 
 more openly. Occasionally, however, Captain 
 De Crespigny was almost put out of counte- 
 nance by her very unexpected replies, or very 
 mal-apropos questions, which gradually led 
 him on, he scarcely knew how, into flirting 
 perfectly a Poutrance, while opportunities 
 seemed purposely afforded him with a degree 
 of tact perfectly incredible in one so young, 
 and apparently unsophisticated, to say even 
 more than he had ever said before. With a 
 gay, laughing animation, almost amounting to 
 silliness, the young lady archly doubted his 
 sincerity, admired his wit, and slyly misunder- 
 stood all his compliments, till he was obliged
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 223 
 
 to repeat his meaning, and explain his insinu- 
 ations, making his professions and speeches 
 all so exceedingly plain and undisguised, that, 
 to his own astonishment, he found himself 
 positively making love, on a very few hours' 
 acquaintance, with a degree of explicitness 
 which had never occurred to him in the whole 
 course of his practice before. 
 
 In the evening Caroline was, after many en- 
 treaties, prevailed on to favour Captain De 
 Crespigny with a song, and never had he been 
 so completely perplexed, as by those with 
 which the young lady, preserving a look of 
 most imperturbable gravity, proceeded to fa- 
 vour him. She seemed to have a dozen differ- 
 ent voices, and half-a-dozen different styles of 
 performance, but had evidently been well 
 taught, and displayed occasionally some beau- 
 tiful notes. At first her tones were clear and 
 sharp, accompanied by the strangest flourishes 
 and cadences that Captain Be Crespigny had 
 ever heard or imagined. In the next song, 
 her voice was low and husky, while her eyes 
 were most sentimentally elevated to the ceil-
 
 224 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ing, with a sort of St Cecilia expression, rather 
 partaking, however, of the ludicrous, and in 
 her voice another like a mouse in a cupboard. 
 At one time her tone reminded him of a well- 
 known singer at Vauxhall; at another he felt 
 persuaded she was taking off Clara Novello ; 
 occasionally there was so considerable a tinge 
 of the brogue, that he became convinced she 
 must be Irish, and she ended by singing, 
 " The Dog's Meat Man," in a tone out- 
 screaming a peacock, but adopting the air 
 and attitude of a Catalani, and concluded with 
 looking exultingly round in expectation of rap- 
 turous applause, which Sir Arthur bestowed 
 in abundance, and Captain De Crespigny in 
 comparative moderation, being for the first 
 time in his life at a loss to know whether he 
 were treated on this occasion in jest or in 
 earnest. 
 
 Repeated subsequent meetings at Seabeach 
 Cottage continued the intimacy which Cap- 
 tain De Crespigny had so oddly begun, and 
 his curiosity became more and more piqued, 
 by the singularity of Miss Smythe's manner
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 225 
 
 and conversation. She displayed, along with 
 a most extravagant love of amusement, a ge- 
 nius for satire and mimicry quite unprece- 
 dented, and in which she most freely in- 
 dulged. Many a scene was acted over by 
 her, and supported by Henry with astonish- 
 ing talent and vivacity, for both seemed to 
 have a similar propensity, being able, after an 
 hour's intercourse with any individual, to imi- 
 tate his whole peculiarities with almost magi- 
 cal precision, — to follow in an imaginary con- 
 versation the very train of his ideas, and to 
 represent every little trick or habitual expres- 
 sion, every turn of the head, and every tone 
 of the voice, with a gay look of mockery 
 which would have made their fortunes on the 
 stage. 
 
 One evening. Sir Arthur having delivered 
 up to his young friends the key of an old 
 chest, filled with velvet coats and brocaded 
 silk dresses, formerly worn by his bye-gone 
 ancestors, Caroline, Henry, and Captain De 
 Crespigny amused themselves by grouping 
 some beautiful tableaux, and by acting cha-
 
 226 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 rades. At one time, both the gentlemen ap- 
 peared in similar costumes, as Shakespeare's 
 two Dromios in the Comedy of Errors, when 
 Sir Arthur suddenly exclaimed, as if he had 
 made some great discovery, " How very 
 strange that I never before observed the like- 
 ness between you two good-looking young fel- 
 lows ! I declare it is quite remarkable ! If 
 you were brothers in reality as well as in pre- 
 tence, it could scarcely be more striking ! 
 Do pray Captain De Crespigny, turn your 
 profile more towards Mrs Smythe, that she 
 may see what I mean !" 
 
 Henry laughingly received these remarks 
 as an undoubted compliment, and bowed with 
 good-humoured grace to Sir Arthur, who ob- 
 served with astonishment that Captain De 
 Crespigny's colour rushed to his very temples, 
 and receded again, leaving his countenance 
 pale and almost ghastly, while he suddenly 
 broke off the entertainment, and strode up to 
 the fire-place, where for some minutes he 
 stood, with his back to the company, in evi- 
 dent agitation, while a dead silence ensued.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 227 
 
 " Well !'' whispered Sir Arthur to Caro- 
 line, " I have often been told that people are 
 never pleased with a likeness, but certainly 
 Louis De Crespigny is the most conceited of 
 men, to feel so intolerably angry at being 
 compared to my young friend here. There 
 are certainly worse-looking people in the 
 world than Henry !"" added the Admiral, 
 with a look of partial affection. " And it 
 was no such insult as De Crespigny seems 
 to think, when I paid him the compliment, 
 to say that he resembled my boy, who 
 is in every respect the very pride of my 
 heart." 
 
 " I wish the Captain may never meet with 
 a greater mortification," replied Caroline, 
 laughing ; " and I am sure he would be much 
 the better of a few pretty severe ones to 
 keep him in his senses !" 
 
 Henry meantime had observed with good- 
 humoured surprise, and no small degree of 
 perplexity, the excitement, so disproportioned 
 to the occasion, into which Captain De Cres- 
 pigny had been thrown by Sir Arthur's re-
 
 ^28 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 mark, but with boyish frankness he instantly 
 went up to him, saying, in a lively and rally- 
 ing tone, 
 
 " I am sure Sir Arthur did not mean any- 
 thing personal, Captain De Crespigny ; but 
 his remark only proves my uncommon skill in 
 assuming a likeness to any one I please. My 
 success in disguising myself at college, was 
 often beyond my intentions or utmost hopes. 
 You would not know me yourself, if I repre- 
 sented an old man, or a French hair-dresser, 
 as I have sometimes done !" 
 
 " Indeed !" rephed Captain De Crespigny. 
 trying to recover himself, " I should think 
 there was not the dress upon earth in which 
 I would not know you again !'' 
 
 " Well ! some day perhaps, as a beggar. I 
 may, with your leave, beguile you of half- 
 a-crown.'"* 
 
 '' It would be a clever beggar who suc- 
 ceeded in that ! but I defy you there. Haif- 
 a-crown ! why ! I have only as much as that 
 to keep me till midsummer ! You have my 
 free leave to trv me at anv time, or in any
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 229 
 
 way you please, and my pardon for all your 
 success !" 
 
 " I can only say," interposed Sir Arthur, 
 " that the impudent rascal brought real tears 
 into my eyes, not long ago, by a story he 
 trumped up at my door, which would have 
 deceived the whole Mendicity Society. He 
 can make himself appear as old as myself, — 
 and I declare one day he looked not very 
 unlike your uncle. Lord Doncaster !" 
 
 A vivid flush passed over the whole fore* 
 head and features of Captain De Crespigny 
 at these words ; but assuming a sudden tone 
 of liveliness and vivacity, he summoned Henry 
 to continue their entertainments for the even^ 
 ing, which were to be concluded by acting a 
 proverb, of which Sir Arthur and his guests 
 were to discover the design. Miss Smythe, 
 dressed in cottage costume, seated herself 
 pensively on a stool, after which Captain De 
 Crespigny, equipped with a bow in his hand, 
 and carrying on his back a quiver filled with 
 all the old pens in the house to represent ar- 
 rows, entered in the character of Love, and
 
 230 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 was about to aim his darts at the peasant 
 girl, when Henry, disguised in a tattered old 
 cloak, to personate poverty, limped slowly 
 into the room. On seeing this beggarly ap- 
 parition, Cupid, pushing his hair up till it 
 stood on end, assumed an expression of comic 
 horror, and with a shriek of dismay, rushed 
 to the window, as if about to jump out. 
 
 The whole party laughed heartily, and de- 
 clared that the denouement of this piece con- 
 tained a most salutary lesson against a mere 
 love-match ; and Sir Arthur said, for his own 
 part he would attend to the warning, — that 
 all portionless young ladies might consider 
 the case hopeless with him, and he trusted 
 every one present intended to be equally pru- 
 dent ! 
 
 " Yes ! most assuredly !" exclaimed Cap- 
 tain De Crespigny. *' I am almost tempted 
 now to take my uncle's advice, and propose to 
 my cousin. Miss Howard the heiress, thougli 
 love flies out of the window whenever I think 
 of her. She was a little pert, red-fingered, 
 flaxen-haired child when we parted last ! The
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 231 
 
 memory of that girl often haunts me Hke a 
 night-mare since, for my poor mother on her 
 death-bed, got a promise made about our be- 
 ing married, or something of that kind. I 
 never heard the particulars, but I believe we 
 were to be made acquainted, and refuse one 
 another, before either of us could accept any 
 one else, but I should think there could be 
 little chance of anything that depended on 
 my being refused !" 
 
 Captain De Crespigny was bowing himself 
 off late in the evening, and taking a very par- 
 ticular leave of Miss Smythe, having called 
 up all his most fascinating graces for the oc- 
 casion, while he felt inwardly gratified by the 
 pleasing conviction that another had been 
 added to the list of young ladies whom he 
 had made miserable for life, when he was 
 surprised to observe her mouth perfectly qui- 
 vering with suppressed laughter, and an arch 
 satirical gleam in her eye, for which he could 
 not account, though it made him feel some- 
 what uncomfortable and dissatisfied. If it 
 were possible that any one could be laughing
 
 232 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 at him, she certainly was ! A world of most 
 intolerable ridicule appeared in her expres- 
 sion, — an air almost of contempt ! and he 
 turned to leave the room with a feeling of 
 mortification and anger which he was ashamed 
 to allow even to himself. 
 
 When Captain De Crespigny hurriedly 
 opened the drawing-room door, near which 
 he and Caroline had been standing, he was 
 surprised to see a person lurking close behind 
 it, who darted instantly away and disappeared; 
 but before the intruder was out of sight, an 
 exclamation of terror and dismay escaped 
 from the lips of Caroline, who rushed towards 
 Sir Arthur, exclaiming in accents of almost 
 frantic alarm, " He is there ! he is there ! 
 oh ! save me. Sir Arthur ! he is there ! That 
 horrid, dreadful man ! he is there ! stop him ! 
 stop him r 
 
 Captain De Crespigny instinctively ran in 
 pursuit of the retreating figure, and eagerly 
 attempted to seize him, but the fugitive in- 
 stantaneously opened the house door, and 
 escaped in the darkness, while, apparently to
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 233 
 
 intimidate his pursuer, he fired a pistol in the 
 air, and waved another above his head with 
 frantic gestures of rage and violence. 
 
 " It is beyond all measure extraordinary 
 how he got into the house !" exclaimed Sir 
 Arthur, in discussing the event with an aspect 
 of grave perplexity. " My doors are most 
 systematically locked after dusk, and not a 
 window is unbarred, yet the locks are unbrok- 
 en, and the bars untouched !" 
 
 " There is something next to supernatural 
 in the way he invariably finds us out, and gets 
 access everywhere,'' said Mrs Smythe, in al- 
 most breathless agitation. " One would ima- 
 gine he had some unearthly accomplice to dis- 
 cover where we are concealed, and to assist 
 him in escaping the vigilance of the police. 
 Night and day we have been liable to his in- 
 cursions. In town or country — in the draw- 
 ing-room or beside our carriage — in church, or 
 going to a party — there he is, lurking secret- 
 ly near us, or terrifying Caroline by his sud- 
 den appearance, and gliding away like a sha^ 
 dow. He baffles every attempt to overtake
 
 234 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 or arrest him, but seems for ever on the 
 watch ! Sometimes he used to make his pre- 
 sence known by throwing a stone at our win- 
 dows; often at midnight, by singing hoarsely 
 beneath them, and even occasionally by firing 
 a pistol in the air; but I did hope in this re- 
 mote corner we might have enjoyed peace and 
 safety. How are we ever to venture home.'"' 
 
 " I shall escort you with the whole party in 
 close phalanx," replied Sir Arthur, trying to 
 assume a rallying tone. " Old Martin and 
 myself are quite invulnerable, and I only wish 
 my secretary were also here, as he would be a 
 host in himself; but he is absent on a month's 
 leave, and for the first time in my life I miss 
 him !" 
 
 The night being impenetrably dark, and 
 not a sound to be heard but the echo of their 
 footsteps on the gravel, when Mrs Smythe 
 alighted from her carriage to walk across the 
 garden leading towards her house, Sir Arthur 
 immediately desired the servants to bring out 
 lights, when one of the candles having flared 
 up suddenly near Caroline, she thought she
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 235 
 
 perceived the madman close beside her, lurk- 
 ing behind the stem of a large tree. The 
 dark shadows concealed all but his face, 
 in which there gleamed a look of maniacal 
 triumph and malignity, while rushing close up 
 to Captain De Crespigny, he said in a threat- 
 ening tone, low and distinct, " He who crosses 
 my path shall die !" and instantly disappeared 
 through the hedge. When Miss Smythe, on 
 hearing his voice, with a stifled scream of ter- 
 ror fled into the house, again that loud and 
 fiendish laugh, which she had already heard 
 once, arose behind her, and rung through the 
 night air in tones of high delirium, causing a 
 cold shudder to thrill through the hearts of 
 even the boldest among her companions, while 
 they hastily followed her, and having placed 
 the trembling girl in apparent safety, soon 
 after took leave, charging the servants to 
 chain and double-lock the door. 
 
 It was some hours before Caroline could 
 sufliciently compose her mind to retire; but af- 
 ter the house was perfectly quiet, and the ser- 
 vants in bed, she sat up reading with the hope
 
 236 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 that her nerves might become less painfully 
 agitated. The slightest noise caused her heart 
 to beat almost audibly, and she was conscious 
 that a mouse rattling in the wainscot would 
 have caused her to faint. Mrs Smythe could 
 scarcely be prevailed upon to leave her alone, 
 but as they both slept on the drawing-room 
 floor, only divided by a thin partition, Caro- 
 line induced her at a late hour to withdraw, 
 while not a sound now disturbed the deep re- 
 pose of nature, but " the wailing sorrows of 
 some midnight bird.*" 
 
 The moon had arisen, shining with softened 
 radiance into her apartment, when Miss 
 Smythe arose from her devotions, and she 
 could not but think at the moment what a 
 bright emblem of her divine Saviour that glo- 
 rious luminary presented to the mind, not 
 glowing like the sun with a radiance which no 
 human eye can gaze upon, but reflecting upon 
 the darkened earth a mild subdued refulgence, 
 perfectly suited for the steady contemplation 
 of those whom it had arisen to benefit and 
 cheer.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 237 
 
 Nature was hush'd, as if her works ador'd 
 The night-felt presence of creation's Lord ! 
 
 Pleased with such thoughts, a gradual com- 
 posure stole over her senses, and Caroline at 
 length, seeing her candle nearly burned out, 
 consequently determined to retire for the 
 night. Not a sound was to be heard in the 
 house, but her own light step, as she mov- 
 ed about the room, — the very opening of a 
 drawer, or the shutting of her book, sounded 
 unnaturally loud, jarring upon her nerves with 
 a startling effect, — the shadows in the more 
 distant part of the room looked darker than 
 usual, and the least moan of the wind in- 
 creased the painful tension of her nerves to 
 agony. Scarcely had she begun to undress, 
 when a sudden noise not far off caused her to 
 start with convulsive terror, her heart became 
 chilled with apprehension, the candlestick 
 which she carried in her hand fell to the 
 ground, the light was extinguished, and she 
 stood trembling and alone in total impenetra- 
 ble darkness.
 
 238 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Caroline tried to persuade herself that the 
 sound must have been produced by her own 
 excited fancy, — she looked around and all was 
 quiet, — she listened and all was perfectly still, 
 — she reasoned with herself, and became re- 
 solute to try whether sleep might not plunge 
 her into forgetfulness and peace, when her 
 attention was accidentally attracted towards 
 one of the windows, where the bright moon- 
 beams rested on an object which seemed to 
 blast her eyes with horror, and paralyzed her 
 at once in a speechless agony of fear. The 
 top of a ladder rested on the window-sill, 
 upon the summit of which stood the dark 
 figure of a man, his face plastered so close 
 upon the' glass, that his nose was perfectly 
 flattened against it, and his hands raised in a 
 menacing attitude towards her. The instfint 
 he saw, by Caroline's look of frantic alarm, 
 that she had seen him, he dashed in the win- 
 dow-frame by a single stroke of his powerful 
 arm, and seemed about to make a forcible en- 
 trance, when Miss Smythe, with the energy of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 239 
 
 despair, threw open the door and fled, calling 
 aloud in the sharp shrill accents of despera- 
 tion for help. 
 
 The servants were speedily assembled around 
 her, and the instant she felt herself in compa- 
 rative safety, nature could sustain no more, 
 but, convulsed in every nerve, and throwing 
 herself into the arms of Mrs Smythe, with 
 a cry of thankfulness and agitation, she 
 fainted. 
 
 An instant alarm was given in the neigh- 
 bourhood, — a diligent search was made, — and 
 the police for several days exerted their ut- 
 most activity to detect the miscreant, but in 
 vain. Not a trace remained to convince Caro- 
 line that the whole had not been a hideous 
 dream, except that the ladder had been left 
 standing at her window, and turned out to 
 have been stolen from a neighbouring garden, 
 — the window-frame exhibited a frightful pic- 
 ture of devastation, being literally broken to 
 fragments, — and at some distance in the gar- 
 den, a loaded pistol was discovered, perfectly
 
 240 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 new, which it was hoped might lead to a dis- 
 covery, by the police tracing out the maker 
 and purchaser, seeing that it had been so re- 
 cently obtained.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 241 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 On his bold forehead middle age 
 
 Had slightly prest his signet sage, 
 
 But mirth and froHc glee were there, 
 
 The will to do, the soul to dare. Scott. 
 
 Several meetings now took place at Sir Ar- 
 thur's, for the purpose of considering what 
 plans would be best adapted to secure the 
 safety of Mrs and Miss Smythe, till the dan- 
 gerous madman who persecuted them could 
 be secured and confined, on all which occa- 
 sions Captain De Crespigny attended, as he 
 rather enjoyed the excitement and interest 
 with which the &tory filled up his vacant hours, 
 and, careless of the impression he believed 
 himself to be making on the affections of Miss 
 
 VOL. I. ' L
 
 242 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Smythe, he felt some solicitude respecting her 
 safety, while he expressed ten times more than 
 he felt, and observed, in his usual off-hand style, 
 that this was not the only man whose head she 
 would probably turn, but in his own case, 
 though she had. almost put him out of his 
 senses already, yet he would rather make an 
 end of himself than of her. 
 
 Caroline dryly thanked him for his obhging 
 intentions on her behalf, and after a lively 
 dialogue, in which the gay huzzar actually ex- 
 celled himself, in his fervent expressions of ad- 
 miration and regard, he took leave, rather 
 wondering to think how he had been led on in 
 professing so much, and giving himself a lec- 
 ture as he rode home, on the propriety of be- 
 ginning to " back out,'' seeing that he was 
 getting rather beyond his depth. Still there 
 were several of the reasons for meeting next 
 day, usual with those who have a natural 
 desire to improve an agreeable intimacy, — a 
 song to be practised, — a drawing to be admir- 
 ed, — and Miss Smythe having made a sort of 
 promise to let Captain De Crespigny sit to
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 24-3 
 
 her for his picture in the character of Dromio, 
 as she was an admirable artist, the offer be- 
 came irresistible. He had never yet entered 
 their own house, as meetings were always 
 hitherto arranged at Sir Arthur's, and a 
 slight feeling of curiosity likewise helped him 
 to the agreeable conclusion, that he must for 
 once, and only once, call on " the Smythes," 
 were it only to ascertain what sort of esta- 
 blishment they had. 
 
 Punctual to the appointed hour. Captain 
 De Crespigny's groom rung a consequential 
 peal for his master at the gate of Rosemount 
 Villa, such as had not been heard there since 
 bells were invented, and after a considerable 
 delay, the door was opened by a shabby awk- 
 ward-looking Irish girl, speaking with a pow- 
 erful brogue, who courtesyed with an appear- 
 ance of most preposterous respect to Captain 
 De Crespigny as he alighted, and pointed up 
 stairs, begging him to walk in, but without 
 having an idea apparently, that she ought her- 
 self to usher him into the drawing-room. 
 
 Being always pretty confident of making
 
 244 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 himself welcome, Captain De Crespigny ad- 
 vanced, and in his usual gay humorous tone, 
 announced his own name at the drawing-room 
 door, while he threw it open and entered. To 
 his surprise he now found himself in a small, 
 not very splendidly furnished apartment, 
 stretched on the only sofa belonging to which, 
 there lounged in solitary indolence, with a 
 quite-at-home-look, a young man whom he 
 had never seen before. His aspect and dress 
 were equally singular, presenting that happy 
 mixture of the ruffian and the gentleman, not 
 very uncommon in Irela:id. Attired in a mili- 
 tary great-coat, he wore a most preposter- 
 ous pair of whiskers and mustachios, long, 
 coarse, and dirty, which looked as if they had 
 been curled over knitting wires. Taking the 
 last remnant of a cigar out of his mouth when 
 the visitor entered, and showing not the small- 
 est surprise, with a smile which betrayed a set 
 of dingy decayed teeth, and a very disfiguring 
 squint, he watched the approaching step of 
 Captain De Crespigny with a droapc look of 
 indifference, saying in a tone of easy familiarity.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 254 
 
 " Och ! sure ! I always know a milithary man 
 for he enters with his Hft foot first ! Many 
 deserters who would may-be have escaped but 
 the thrick betrayed 'em. A curious fact ! Will 
 ye be pleased to sit on your four quarthers, 
 Captain V 
 
 A smile of contempt and ridicule curled on 
 the haughty lip of Captain De Crespigny, 
 while he proudly drew back, saying, in a tone 
 of great reserve, and with the very slightest 
 possible soupgon of a bow, " Excuse me, sir ! 
 I must have mistaken the house !" 
 
 " Arrah ! not at all ! not in the very laste ! 
 Sure ! I'm here for the purpose !" exclaimed 
 the stranger, starting up from his recumbent 
 position with astonishing agility, and closing 
 the door, " Is n't it relations we shall bo 
 before long, and why should wc meet as 
 strangers !" 
 
 " Relations ! what do you mean, Sir I Here 
 is some ridiculous blunder !" replied Captain 
 De Crespigny, turning contemptuously on his 
 heel. " Allow me to pass ! Good morning !" 
 
 " Well ! relations or connections, it's all
 
 246 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 one,*" continued the Irishman, with a look of 
 easy good humour. " My aunt, Mrs Smythe, 
 dropped me a line, to say I would be wanted 
 about the settlement, though for the matter of 
 that, there is not much, I fancy, on either of 
 your parts to settle. ^lore gold on the out- 
 side of the pocket, than the inside,- Captain ! 
 Hey ! excuse me ! but as my aunt says, in 
 the matther of money, we take the will for the 
 deed r 
 
 " You must be slightly deranged, sir,"' in- 
 terrupted Captain De Crespigny, in a tone of 
 angry perplexity; " I have heard that a mad- 
 man is loose about this neighbourhood, and I 
 need not go far, I see, to find him !" 
 
 " What ! Hey ! Sure you're not going to 
 forswear all or any thing you have said to my 
 pretty cousin, Caroline. We do make short 
 work of our courtships in Dublin sure enough; 
 but when my aunt told me this morning how 
 soon you had come to the point with Caro- 
 line, and nothing left but to> fix the day, I 
 laughed ready to kill myself, and says I, ' you 
 beat all Ireland to sticks !"* '^
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 247 
 
 •' No more of this folly, Sir !" exclaimed 
 Captain De Orespigny, with rising irritation, 
 and in his most peremptory tone. " Detain 
 me here one moment longer, and I shall send 
 you a shorter way down stairs than you ever 
 tried before !" 
 
 " Och, murder ! you'll excuse me, Sir, but 
 I've not been dipped in the Shannon for no- 
 thing ! This must all be settled as gintlemen 
 usually settle these affairs in our counthry ? 
 Sure you met my cousin at Sir Arthur's many 
 a time, and you'll not be afther denying that 
 she convarsed with you every day for a 
 matther of four hours !" 
 
 " Perhaps she had that honour, but what 
 then?" 
 
 " Why thin, Sir ! such things as you said, 
 from such a gintleman, are not easily to be 
 forgotten !" 
 
 " You are pleased to be complimentary !" 
 replied Captain De Crespigny, turning round 
 his magnificent head with an air of bitter 
 contempt ; " but what of that ?" 
 
 " I heartily wish," continued the Irishman,
 
 248 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 with a still stronger brogue than before, 
 " that every young lady who meets ^^^th a 
 gintleman such as you, had a cousin like 
 Paddy Smythe to take up her cause, and I 
 am as little to be thrifled with as any man in 
 Ireland ! The tongue that deceives me or mine 
 shall never spake again. I have exchanged 
 shots before now on a slighter occasion !'' 
 
 A momentary pause ensued, during which 
 Captain De Crespigny frowned and bit his 
 lip, in angry embarrassment, while, with a 
 look of unutterable contempt and disgust, he 
 eyed his companion, who thrust his hands into 
 his ample pockets, and paced up and down 
 the room with rapid strides and determined 
 emphasis. At length, stopping opposite to 
 his irritated companion, he eyed him for some 
 moments, with a look of stern reproach, say- 
 ing, in a stronger Irish brogue than ever, and 
 with a torrent of indignation, which gave al- 
 most the dignity of eloquence to what he ut- 
 tered, 
 
 " You think there are no feelings in the 
 world to be consulted but your own ! perhaps
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 249 
 
 we may prove this a slight mistake ! I have 
 married seven of my cousins already to officers 
 quarthered in our neighbourhood at Lime- 
 rick, and Caroline is the last ! Captain Mor- 
 timer was introduced to Mary at the top of a 
 country dance, and engaged her for life be- 
 fore he reached the bottom. Lieutenant 
 Murray gave his arm to Bessy for the first 
 time going down to dinner at Mrs Fitz- 
 Patrick's, and offered her his hand before the 
 fish was off the table ! We understand these 
 things very soon in Ireland ! and I would 
 shed every drop of my blood before Caroline 
 shall be disappointed !" 
 
 Captain De Crespigny began now to feel 
 seriously annoyed at his own position ! Not 
 having lately been quartered in Ireland, he 
 had forgotten how such affairs are managed 
 there, but at this moment a thousand recol- 
 lections crowded upon him, of warnings he 
 had received from his brother officers respect- 
 ing the prudence and circumspection to be 
 exercised beside the Shannon, though most of 
 what they said, had been listened to with the
 
 250 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 same incredulous attention usually bestowed 
 upon stories of ghosts and witchcraft. Here 
 he was, however, snared like a fly in a spider s 
 web, though without a single doubt of his 
 own powers to escape, and with no stronger 
 objection to call out this insolent ruffian be- 
 side him, than the publicity and ridicule 
 which he must inevitably incur, if involved in 
 a vulgar every-day duel with a hot-headed 
 Irishman. 
 
 Seeing that the affair was likely to take a 
 graver turn than he had imagined, Captain 
 De Crespigny now slowly and resolutely 
 strode towards the hearth-rug, and turning 
 his back to the fire, in that attitude peculiar 
 to Englishmen, calmly and sternly looked in 
 the face of his insolent companion, whose lip 
 became compressed with an air of fierce de- 
 termination, while his dark eye glittered with 
 a triumphant smile, and in an attitude of per- 
 fect nonchalance^ he returned Captain De 
 Crespigny gaze for gaze, while leisurely re- 
 suming his lounging attitude on the sofa. 
 Neither gentleman seemed at all inclined to
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 251 
 
 recommence the discussion immediately, and 
 both looked equally angry, till the Irishman 
 at length opened a pocket-book, to which he 
 frequently afterwards referred, with a busi- 
 ness-like air, and in a tone of conscious 
 triumph, saying, 
 
 " Will you be afther denying all you said 
 to my cousin only last night f 
 
 " I deny nothing. Sir, except the right 
 you, or any human being can have, with what 
 I choose to say, five minutes after it has been 
 uttered !" replied Captain De Crespigny, al- 
 most delirious with rage, and drawing in his 
 breath between his clenched teeth, while the 
 Irishman eyed him with provoking coolness, 
 and merely muttered in reply, while still re- 
 ferring to the pocket-book, 
 
 " That is not our way in Limerick ! 
 Scarcely one of my cousins had a case like 
 this ! Breach of promise ! Sure it would 
 fetch a verdict to-morrow; but the short- 
 est way is the best ! Why, Sir ! you 
 told my cousin, poor girl ! that you wish- 
 ed there were not another man on the
 
 252 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 earth, in case she might prefer him to 
 you !'' 
 
 " But luckily there are many, or she would 
 have little chance of a husband !" replied 
 Captain De Crespigny, almost beside himself 
 with rage. " I have said the same thing a 
 thousand times, to a thousand different young 
 ladies, without expecting them ever to think 
 of it more !'' 
 
 The Irishman looked away for a moment, 
 as if some irresistible feeling had come over 
 him, which he could scarcely suppress, and 
 with a slight quiver in his voice, as if on the 
 very eve of laughter, tliough Captain De 
 Crespigny was too angry to notice it, he sang, 
 while looking out of the window, these words, 
 with very marked emphasis, — 
 
 " Erin, oh ! Eriu's the land of delight, 
 Where the women all love, and the men they all fight.'* 
 
 At length, Captain De Crespigny, losing all 
 patience, followed his antagonist to the win- 
 dow, and said, in a tone of angry command, 
 
 " Let there be a truce to this most con-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 253 
 
 temptible farce ! If you are a gentleman, 
 which I very much doubt, send any respect- 
 able friend — a man of honour, if you happen 
 by chance to know such a person — to my bar- 
 racks, and before to-morrow I shall find, if 
 possible, some blundering Irishman who can 
 understand you, to settle this absurd affair." 
 
 " That may soon be done," replied Mr 
 Smythe, " if I am not satisfied with your in- 
 tentions." 
 
 " Intentions !" re-echoed Captain De Cres- 
 pigny, in a frenzy of contempt. " My in- 
 tentions were merely to amuse myself for an 
 hour or two with a rather pleasing young 
 
 lady, and ." 
 
 " Rather pleasing ! ! you may be proud of 
 your gallanthry !" replied the Irishman, with 
 more real indignation in his voice, than it had 
 yet exhibited. " Perhaps, Sir, being the lady's 
 
 cousin ." 
 
 " It is no matter who you are ! I am not 
 here to be questioned like a member before 
 his constituents. I did not know the young 
 lady had a relation on earth."
 
 254 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 " The more shame to you, Sir, for meaning 
 to deceive her !'' replied the Irishman in a 
 tone of stern reproach. " If I were to get 
 all Ireland for holding my tongue, you should 
 hear the truth. But maybe you would be 
 afther giving me satisfaction in another way. 
 I'm not such a wild beast as to thirst for 
 blood, if it can be done with pen and ink !'' 
 
 Captain De Crespigny fixed his eyes with 
 stern contempt upon his free and easy com- 
 panion, who passed his fingers through his 
 long bushy wig, stretched his leg upon the 
 sofa, and spoke with a yawning voice, while 
 he added in a careless off-hand way, "If my 
 cousin could only be persuaded you meant 
 nothing from first to last, there's an ensign 
 in the 42d, with very good prospects, she 
 might have for the asking ! Here is a paper. 
 I prepared it in case you might object to the 
 match ; and if you'll only sign this assurance 
 that you meant nothing, for the lady's own 
 satisfaction, you are a free man. It will save 
 us both a deal of bother and fighting. A 
 man who has fought a dozen times like me.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. iiOD 
 
 may go out once too often ; and my pistols 
 are all at Dublin !" 
 
 Captain De Crespigny paused a moment, 
 irresolute what to do. It was a condescen- 
 sion quite intolerable, to have another mo- 
 ment's intercourse with such a man ; and to 
 sign any paper at his request, seemed almost 
 a degradation; but then he saw before him 
 a long vista of vulgar annoyances from this 
 forward Irishman. He was aware that hun- 
 dreds of gentlemen would laugh, if the story 
 got any publicity, and that dozens of young 
 ladies would feel themselves aggrieved, if it 
 became circulated that his attentions had 
 been so very marked to an obscure Miss 
 Smythe. 
 
 The tea-tables, the newspapers, the club, 
 and the mess, were all to be dreaded; and 
 seeing that the Irishman had, with an air of 
 perfect nonchalance^ buried himself behind a 
 double number of the " Times," which he 
 seemed to be attentively reading, Captain De 
 Crespigny glanced his eye over the paper, 
 and finding that it contained only a short and
 
 250 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 simple declaration that he never had intend- 
 ed to marry the young lady introduced to him 
 by Sir Arthur Dunbar, he hastily signed his 
 name, tossed the paper contemptuously across 
 the table, and, with infinite dignity, strode 
 out of the house. 
 
 Great was his surprise when descending 
 the staircase, to hear in the room he had so 
 recently left, a simultaneous burst of smother- 
 ed laughter from several persons. He could 
 not be mistaken ! It seemed even as if there 
 were female voices in the number; but al- 
 most bewildered with anger, and happy also 
 to escape, he hastened onwards, threw him- 
 self on horseback, and galloped for three 
 hours before he had regained any portion of 
 his usual equanimity. 
 
 Had Captain De Crespigny followed his first 
 impulse, on hearing the laughter behind him. 
 it would have been to retrace his steps, and 
 re-enter the drawing-room of Mrs Smythe, 
 when his astonishment would certainly not 
 have been small, to see Henry De Lancey 
 laughingly disencumbering himself of his
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 257 
 
 whiskers, wig, and miistachios, while Mrs 
 Smythe exclaimed, in accents of almost con- 
 vulsive risibility, 
 
 " Well done, my adopted nephew ! You 
 deserve to be my heir ! I have often heard 
 that my old aversion Louis de Crespigny's 
 exploits were inimitable in his line, but we 
 needed such a specimen as this. I bestow 
 the fright upon him, with all the pleasure in 
 life !" 
 
 " I only hope, if we ever in the course of 
 years meet again, that my cousin will not 
 recognise me !" added Caroline, smiling. " It 
 was not particularly flattering to see Louis 
 in so much alarm ! Yesterday, however, 
 when he saw me last, I was certainly looking 
 my very worst !'' 
 
 " Your worst is better than the best of 
 anybody else r exclaimed Henry, in a tone 
 so exactly resembling that of Captain De 
 Crespigny, that Mrs Smythe started, and 
 looked round with alarm; while Caroline, 
 and young De Lancey burst into a simul- 
 taneous laugh of frolicsome glee, and con-
 
 258 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 tinued the dialogue during several minutes, 
 with great spirit and vivacity, till Henr}' sud- 
 denly became conscious, that in imagining the 
 words of another, he was gradually betrayed 
 into expressing his own real feelings, and that 
 too, with a depth and fervour which sincerity 
 alone could have dictated. 
 
 Checking himself in a moment, while the 
 colour rushed to his face, dyeing it red to the 
 very roots of his hair, and instantly receded 
 again, he took a hurried leave of Mrs Smythe, 
 and turning to Caroline with a quivering lip, 
 he said, in a voice which none but herself 
 could hear, " I must not say in jest what I 
 feel in earnest ! Farewell ! There are wishes 
 known only to my own heart, and never to be 
 realised, which I must try to forget. You go 
 to-morrow, and we shall probably meet no 
 more ! Forgive me, then, if I say, that so 
 long as I live, you shall be first in my most 
 respectful and devoted afifections ; and death 
 only can ever make me forget you.**' 
 
 Before Henry left the ante-room, being in 
 search of his hat, he found it laid beside an
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 259 
 
 open portfolio on the table, which, having in 
 his haste accidentally thrown down, he began 
 hastily collecting its contents, when his sur- 
 prise was great, on turning up one sheet of 
 the drawing paper, to find there a finely-exe- 
 cuted sketch, done with all the skill and spirit 
 of an accomplished artist, representing the 
 venerable head of Sir Arthur ; and on the 
 same paper — could it be possible ! — an al- 
 most Jiving representation of himself. The 
 likeness very much flattered, he thought — 
 exceedingly flattered ; but still it could be no 
 other ; and the picture dropped from his 
 hand in the transport of his delight. 
 
 Henry again returned to the portfolio, hur- 
 riedly turning the leaves over ; and amidst a 
 variety of superbly- finished miniatures, he 
 found his own countenance over and over 
 again grouped in animated contrast with that 
 of Sir Arthur. His heart throbbed with joy, 
 when, after hastily turning to the title-page, 
 he discovered, according to his hopes and 
 wishes, the name of Caroline Smythe ; and 
 he leaned his head on his hand, contemplat-
 
 260 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ing that name in silent extacy, while indulg- 
 ing for one moment, the pleasing, but per- 
 haps presumptuous hope, that he had been 
 remembered with unacknowledged partiahty, 
 and that the secret of Caroline's heart was 
 here portrayed with her own pencil. 
 
 He was about then to withdraw, when sud- 
 denly the raised and irritated tones of Mrs 
 Smythe became unavoidably audible to him, 
 from the room he had so recently left, saying, 
 in accents of angry remonstrance, 
 
 " That look of girlish joy when he comes, 
 and the sadness of your eye when he departs, 
 might betray it to any one less interested than 
 myself; but he has met few ladies hitherto, 
 and on his part it is a mere boyish fancy, 
 which, if properly discouraged, will of itself 
 wear out." 
 
 Henry had fled to avoid hearing what was 
 not intended for him, before Caroline replied, 
 in a low, agitated voice, 
 
 " I think and hope you are mistaken ; but 
 his constancy and disinterestedness shall be 
 tried and proved. 1 would rather any man
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 261 
 
 should cut my throat for money, than marry 
 me for it. A girl of fortune, like Midas, turns 
 all who look on her to gold ; and I am not a 
 gem to attract many lovers, without a very 
 brilliant setting. I have a romantic desire 
 to be chosen for myself alone — a vain dream 
 perhaps never to be realized, unless young 
 De Lancey prove constant. If not, I mean 
 to declare war upon all mankind, — to be a 
 perfect Captain De Crespigny for flirtations ! 
 to talk to gentlemen, ridicule, mortify, and 
 humble them! — to do every thing in short, 
 but love or marry any one of them !'' 
 
 Though Caroline spoke these words in a 
 tone of lively hadinage^ there was a tremulous 
 bitterness in her manner, as she turned away, 
 and contemptuously threw upon the table a 
 massive gold chain which she usually wore, 
 saying, " Lovers ! I'll get fifty, and break the 
 heart of every one of them !" 
 
 When Captain De Crespigny next visited 
 Portobello, during a review of his regiment, 
 he was surprised to see the well-remembered 
 windows of Rosemount Villa closed, and a
 
 262 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ticket suspended over the door, intimating 
 that it was "to be sold or let, furnished qr 
 unfurnished ; entrance immediately ; rent mo- 
 derate !" and with a feeling of relief he dis- 
 missed the whole affair from his thoughts, 
 and the whole family of Smythes from his 
 memory for ever, while humming one of his 
 favourite airs, 
 
 " It is good to be merry and wise, 
 It is good to be honest and true ; 
 It is good to be off with the old lov€, 
 Before you be on with the new."
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 263 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 Has sorrow thy young days shaded^ 
 As clouds o'er the morning fleet ? 
 Too fast have those young days faded. 
 That, even m sorrow, were sweet. 
 
 Among the companions of Agnes and Marion 
 Dunbar, none was more calculated to excite a 
 feeling of enthusiastic tenderness and regard 
 than Clara Granville, whom all approached 
 with a feeling of nearly romantic interest, oc- 
 casioned by the etherealized delicacy of her 
 lovely countenance and fragile form. Sir 
 Patrick, from her earliest childhood, had 
 always mentioned Clara in terms of such ex- 
 aggerated enthusiasm, that Agnes, imagining 
 his taste to be very different, believed him to
 
 2f)4 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 be more than half in jest, though his language 
 and manner seemed daily to become more in 
 earnest, while in terms of rapture he admired 
 her eloquent and intelligent conversation, so 
 different from the flippant nonsense of most 
 girls, and the light gracefulness of her step, 
 saying she looked like some beautiful appari- 
 tion, less encumbered with body, and more en- 
 dowed with spirit, than any one who ever be- 
 fore stepped upon the earth. Her pale golden 
 hair, falling like a halo round her fair bright 
 countenance, and the rare beauty of her large 
 downcast eyes, which were generally veiled 
 with a look of deep thought and sensibility, 
 gave a charm so peculiar to her aspect, that 
 the eye loved to dwell upon it as upon some 
 lovely twilight scene, over which the light of 
 heaven was casting its pure and peaceful, 
 yet fading refulgence. None looked at Clara 
 without fearing that she could not be long in- 
 tended for this world, as the fervour of her 
 mind and feelings appeared so little in propor- 
 tion to the extreme delicacy of her com- 
 plexion, which was tinted like a rose-leaf on
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 265 
 
 her transparent cheek, the colour flitting with 
 every passing emotion. It did indeed seem 
 as if the sword within must quickly wear out 
 the scabbard ; yet Clara enjoyed society be- 
 yond measure, and mingled in it with a zest 
 which caused Sir Patrick i[)ften to say she 
 must be stronger certainly than she looked, 
 and that there was nothing, he thought, more 
 odious in a woman than rude health — a sort 
 of rudeness never certainly attributable to 
 Miss Granville. 
 
 Agnes's favourite aversion had always been 
 Clara, formerly her cotemporary and rival at 
 school, though the rivalship was only felt on 
 one side, as Miss Granville would have re- 
 mained unconscious of its very existence, but 
 for the bitter taunts occasionally levelled at 
 her, and the tone of evident irritability in 
 which Agnes took it always for granted that 
 the jealousy was mutual, attributing thoughts 
 and motives perpetually to her gentle com- 
 panion, of which so amiable and well-regulated 
 a disposition was incapable. It may generally 
 be observed, that many more quarrels arise 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 266 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 from people wilfully taking offence, than from 
 people wilfully giving it ; and there is quite as 
 much ill-temper in the one case as in the other. 
 Clara had suffered much on account of her 
 every inadvertent word or action being pur- 
 posely misconstrued ; but she very properly 
 viewed the annoyance as a salutary lesson in 
 circumspection, before entering the great arena 
 of society, and mildly avoided all collision of 
 interests or opinions with Agnes, though her 
 whole powers of conciliation were worse than 
 useless, if any attentions on the part of Sir 
 Patrick gave his sister reason to apprehend 
 that his affections might by possibility be en- 
 gaged to her. Nothing could be more painfully 
 irritating than the tone of contempt with 
 which Agnes " spoke at" Clara respecting the 
 art and cunning with which some manoeuvring 
 misses endeavoured to push their foi*tune in 
 the matrimonial world, by making advances 
 to gentlemen, which she would despise herself 
 for condescending to, and that lookers on see 
 more of the game than is intended. All this 
 was said in such an accidental tone, ajid in
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 267 
 
 such general terms, that no decided notice 
 could be taken of it by Clara, who neverthe- 
 less felt so painful a consciousness of what 
 was meant and insinuated, that she ceased 
 almost entirely to visit Agnes, or to associate 
 with her. 
 
 About the time when Mrs Smythe left Por- 
 tobello, Sir Patrick returned from spending a 
 month at Lady Towercliife's in Fife, evidently 
 labouring under a depression of spirits very 
 unusual with him ; and when Agnes, perplex- 
 ed by observing that he did not attempt to 
 throw off the cloud of melancholy, tinged very 
 strongly with ill-humour, which had so sud- 
 denly come over him, tried to guess or dis- 
 cover the cause, she found it for some time 
 impossible to gain a glimpse of the truth, 
 though she asked as many questions as 
 might have filled a volume of Pinnock's Cate- 
 chisms. 
 
 At length, after some miscellaneous conver- 
 sation one day, Agnes inquired for the twen- 
 tieth time whether the party in Fife had been
 
 268 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 agreeable, when Sir Patrick shortly and drily 
 replied, 
 
 " Clara Granville was there !" 
 
 " But had you any new beauties V 
 
 " Clara Granville !'' 
 
 " Pshaw ! Well, then ! were there any 
 agreeable people ?" 
 
 " Clara Granville !" 
 
 " You are beyond all bearing absurd and 
 tormenting, Pat !" continued Agnes, with a 
 contemptuous toss of her head ; " but I may 
 at least venture with impunity to ask, were 
 any of the ladies well dressed V^ 
 
 " Clara Granville !" 
 
 " That ends my curiosity on the subject of 
 your visit,'"* replied Agnes, angrily affecting to 
 yawn. " Never try to persuade me you care 
 for Clara. She is the most unflirtable girl in 
 the world ! As cold as a statue of ice in an 
 east wind ! She has the most tiresome style 
 of prettiness that can be conceived, with that 
 alabaster paleness, that petrifying calmness of 
 manner, and a heai't like a cucumber ! The
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 269 
 
 very style of her dress is wearying, with not a 
 colour that one could give a name to; and 
 then her long under-toned tete-a-tete conver- 
 sations about nobody knows what, as dull and 
 monotonous as a dinner-bell, never enlivened 
 with a bit of gossip, nor spiced with any scan- 
 dal ! There is a whole ' Society for the sup- 
 pression of vice' in her eye every time she 
 looks at one ! She would evidently be terrified 
 for the echo of her own voice, and never yet 
 committed the indiscretion of a laugh !" 
 
 " Are you done V asked Sir Patrick, in a 
 tone of concentrated anger, which would have 
 silenced any one but Agnes. 
 
 " Done ! I could speak for two hours with- 
 out telling you half how little I think of Clara 
 Granville !'' said she, in a paroxysm of elo- 
 quence. " One comfort is, however, she will 
 never take !" 
 
 " But Clara has already ' taken," as you 
 elegantly express yourself," exclaimed Sir 
 Patrick, who had been walking vehemently 
 up and down the room during this tirade from 
 Agnes, and now stood opposite to her, with a
 
 270 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 look of angry defiance. " Clara is surpassing- 
 ly lovely ! Her portrait should be the frontis- 
 piece to Finden's next Book of Beauty ! She 
 has the loveliness of a seraph !" 
 
 " Certainly, if you mean that she looks as 
 if the first breath of wind would blow her 
 down ! like afi overgrown geranium, that 
 should be tied up to a stick !" 
 
 " Clara is delicate and graceful as the first 
 frail blossoms of spring," interrupted Sir 
 Patrick. " She has but one fault in the 
 world, and that is, being faultless ! Clara is 
 worth a whole creation of ordinary girls ! 
 That look of mild serenity, and those deep, 
 thoughtful eyes, looking as serene as the blue 
 firmament above. Her every attitude is what 
 a Guido might have delighted to paint. Ag- 
 nes, there is music and rapture in every tone 
 of her voice ! At Lady Towercliffe's no one 
 was looked at, nor spoken to, but Miss Gran- 
 ville ! She stole into all hearts, without any 
 man guessing his danger till too late ! Every- 
 body admired, or, I should rather say, loved 
 her !"
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 27l 
 
 " You are ' everybody,"* then, I suppose, for 
 I never heard of any one else, who for half a 
 moment thought her tolerable. All this non- 
 sense is merely to tease me, Pat. Do confess 
 it at once, and be serious !" 
 
 " That I never am when I can help it !'' 
 
 " Well, then, let it always be a jest, and I 
 have no objection to call up a laugh, if it be 
 your humour; but I would engfge to walk 
 out of the world at once, whenever Clara has 
 a serious, downright proposal from any pre- 
 sentable-looking man, such as one would not 
 be ashamed to sit in a room with !" 
 
 " What do you think of me, Agnes f ' ask- 
 ed Sir Patrick, walking straight up to her 
 and looking his sister full in the face, with 
 a momentary attempt to be facetious, while 
 his countenance betrayed considerable agita- 
 tion. " Would you be much astonished if I 
 had made her an offer ?" 
 
 " Nonsense, Pat ! I would disown you for 
 a brother ! Now, do not look like an ogre 
 at me ! You will say any absurdity in jest !'' 
 
 " You know, Agnes, T have been a month
 
 272 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 in the house lately with Clara !" replied Sir 
 Patrick, in a voice which sounded by no 
 means like jest ; " and that month was more 
 than a lifetime in showing me the worth of 
 a real and heartfelt attachment. Even I, 
 mercenary as I am, could value it more than 
 gold ! I date the beginning of my existence 
 from the hour I first knew her. There is a 
 depth of mind and heart in the character 
 of Clara Granville, utterly incomprehensible 
 to ordinary observ^ers. She does everything 
 well, and says everything with a grace pecu- 
 liarly her own. Her manner is the very 
 essence of fascination. Every other person 
 seems coarse and vulgar in comparison ; and 
 I even feel so myself ! I know you will treat 
 me to a cannonade of abuse against Clara; 
 but that is no matter now," added Su' Pa- 
 trick, in a tone of deep dejection ; " perhaps 
 it may do me good !" 
 
 " Wonders occur every hour of every day, 
 but this is the greatest of all !" observed 
 Agnes, drily. " I never thought you would 
 commit such a piece of disinterested non-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 273 
 
 sense, as to fall in love, gratis, with any 
 penniless girl, and least of all with Clara. 
 If you were to choose among all the young 
 ladies I know, blindfold, you could scarcely 
 choose any one more unsuitable ! If this in- 
 deed be true, Clara may be proud of her con- 
 quest !" 
 
 " She ought !" replied Sir Patrick, glanc- 
 ing at his own magnificent head in a mirror ; 
 " but being in many respects peculiar, she by 
 no means appreciated the honour as you ex- 
 pect !" 
 
 " You are possessed by the very genius of 
 nonsense to-day, Pat ! but if such a catch as 
 you were to fall in Clara Granville's way, I 
 should like to see her, and all her family, not 
 more than happy on the occasion !" 
 
 " Well then ! open your ears of astonish- 
 ment, Agnes ! She has actually rather re- 
 fused me than otherwise ! I am positively 
 more in love with Clara, than language can 
 express ! I could pursue her to the very 
 ends of the earth ! I must, and shall marry 
 her ! I would shoot myself to-morrow, if I
 
 274 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 thought there could be a doubt of it,'" exclaim- 
 ed Sir Patrick, vehemently, while Agnes be- 
 came gradually as grave as night. " Clara 
 at first actually accepted me ! She was your 
 sister-in-law elect, for three long and happy 
 weeks, and I did not think life could have 
 given me so much to live for ; but she after- 
 wards most perversely and unaccountably re- 
 voked ! What do you think was the reason, 
 Agnes, of all reasons in the world V 
 
 " I am bad at guessing absurdities," repli- 
 ed Agnes, who would have hurled a more 
 angry answer at her brother, had she dared. 
 " Whatever might be the cause, it was ver}' 
 lucky for you, who may, if you know your 
 own value, make the first match in the king- 
 dom !" 
 
 " Well, then ! actually that she thought 
 my religious principles not sufficiently seri- 
 ous ! That her brother disapproved of my 
 morals and conduct ! I offered her any 
 terms ! To attend chapel with her once 
 every Sunday ; to refrain from Sunday din- 
 ners, and Sunday travelling ! Not even to
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 275 
 
 ride out on horseback that day ; and, in 
 short, to pass Sir Andrew's whole Sunday 
 bill in my house ; but it did not satisfy her ! 
 What would they have !" continued Sir Pa- 
 trick, gnawing his lip with vexation. " I 
 gave her a carte hlanche to put my name 
 down as a subscriber to as many tract, mis- 
 sionary, and slave-abolition societies, as she 
 pleased, and asked her how many distressed 
 famihes she wished me to maintain." 
 
 " How excessively handsome !" said Agnes, 
 satirically. " All I need say is, it was very 
 genteel !" 
 
 " Yet Clara persevered in giving me a 
 plump decline ! No wonder you look incre- 
 dulous ! I can scarcely yet believe it myself ! 
 This shall not last, however ! I felt piqued 
 at first, and left her. I am always too soon, 
 or too late, in all I do ; but it must be tried 
 again and again ! I would rather live with- 
 out the sun and stars, than without Clara 
 Granville ! The very repetition of her name 
 is a pleasure ! Agnes, what can you do to 
 assist me !"
 
 276 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 " Assist ! I shall do everything in the 
 world to bring you back to your senses, 
 Pat ! Rather than see that grave, prig- 
 gish, matter-of-fact Clara, my sister-in-law, 
 
 I would r 
 
 Agnes could not, at the moment, think of 
 any illustration sufficiently strong to exem- 
 plify her abhorrence of such a catastrophe, 
 and twisted her ringlets over her finger for 
 some moments, in dignified and portentous 
 silence. At length she said, with an air of 
 supreme contempt, " You know, Pat ! Clara 
 Granville has not a shilling in the wide 
 world ! — never had ! At school she used to 
 be like a bale of cotton from the manufacto- 
 ries ; cotton stockings, pink gingham frocks, 
 and horrid grey beaver gloves ! She once 
 had a silk dress, and it was turned, I think, 
 three times !" 
 
 " Fiddlesticks and nonsense ! So much the 
 better ! She will be an excellent wife for a 
 poor man ; and poor enough I shall soon be ! 
 You need not argue with a milestone, but 
 put a good face on the matter in time, Agnes ;
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 277 
 
 for during all the four thousand years that 
 men have been falling in love, and marrying, 
 I believe no one ever did so merely to please 
 his sister, and I am not the man to begin ! 
 In most respects, I may, perhaps, be sordidly 
 anxious for money, but in the matter of love 
 I have taken the whim of being disinterested. 
 If Clara had the Bank of England for her 
 portion, I could not love her more. As for 
 heiresses, I hear that the only one worth a 
 thought, Miss Howard Smytheson, with her 
 million a-year, is bespoke to order for De 
 Crespigny." 
 
 " Perhaps he has taken the whim of being 
 disinterested also !'*'' replied Agnes, arranging 
 a favourite curl with great complacency at 
 the mirror. " His uncle is very arbitrary ; 
 and like all uncles, continues for ever to think 
 his nephew a perfect boy. He threatened 
 lately to marry himself, if Captain De Cres- 
 pigny declined ! That old dot has some 
 spirit ! He seems not to be aware that 
 there is such a thing in the world for him- 
 self as a refusal ; and certainly, Pat, I can
 
 278 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 scarcely fancy the woman in existence who 
 could refuse you. I hardly know whether to 
 wonder most that Clara had the opportunity, 
 or that she had the inclination ! 
 
 "The whim will wear off! She loves me, 
 that is certain ; but if she even hated me. it 
 would make no difference in my attachment. 
 I like her the better for showing some spirit, 
 and great disinterestedness. Clara's conduct 
 was, like herself, beautiful. Her affections 
 are mine ! I see it, and no earthly power 
 can tear her from me ! I would follow her 
 to the very grave.^"* 
 
 Sir Patrick did not by any means find 
 Clara's resolutions, which were formed upon 
 principle, of such very malleable materials as 
 he had prophesied. His own feelings were, 
 on all occasions, like a whirlwind ; and his 
 eagerness, excited to excess by opposition, 
 became unbounded to meet Clara, or to catch 
 the most distant glimpse of her shadow, — but 
 in vain. Day after day he contrived to pa«s 
 beneath her window, but she had adopted 
 invisibility ; and evening after evening, he
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 279 
 
 obliged Agnes, greatly against her inclina- 
 tion, to send the very kindest notes of invi- 
 tation, which he dictated himself, asking her 
 to the house ; but the polite apology which 
 was invariably returned, might almost have 
 been lithographed, it became so frequently ne- 
 cessary ; yet still Sir Patrick persevered and 
 hoped, saying one day, in a voice of irritabi- 
 hty and depression, to Agnes, " It seems as if 
 we were never destined to see Clara again !" 
 
 " That would be too much happiness,"' 
 exclaimed Agnes peevishly ; twisting Clara's 
 last reply into a thousand shapes and tossing 
 it into the fire. " This is all so like you, 
 Pat ! You invent a thousand reasons for 
 wishing something till it is obtained, and 
 then you care for it no more ! If Clara 
 Granville consented, you would be, like Sir 
 Peter Teazle, ' the most miserable man 
 alive before people were done wishing you 
 joy !' Men are all so changeable and selfish !" 
 
 " Whether are men or women most selfish, 
 I should like to know V 
 
 " Men, decidedly i From six years old,
 
 280 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 till sixty, they seem born and brought up to 
 think of no one's comfort but their own, and 
 they always marry to please themselves !" 
 " Of course ! and very right they should !'' 
 Agnes had now got upon a favourite subject 
 of declamation, the selfishness of mankind, — 
 for those who are selfish or ill-tempered 
 themselves, live always under the delusion 
 that they are the only persons living entirely 
 exempt from such faults, — but her eloquence 
 now soon left her " in possession of the 
 house," as Sir Patrick made a rapid retreat, 
 followed by that very effective slamming of 
 the door, so infallible a receipt for obtaining 
 the last word in an argument, and for assert- 
 ing in undoubted terms, a very decided view 
 of the subject in question. 
 
 Though Sir Patrick Dunbar had long been 
 known as a Tattersall and Doncaster man, 
 yet Clara Granville had little suspected that 
 his name was implicated in transactions of 
 rather an equivocal complexion, while the 
 good-natured half of the world persevered 
 in calling it scandal, being unwilling very
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 281 
 
 severely to censure the peccadilloes of the 
 handsomest and most agreeable man in their 
 circle of society, living only for the enjoyment 
 of the senses and the happiness of the present 
 hour, while he thought it too long a look-out 
 to anticipate what might happen the day 
 after to-morrow. In respect to Sir Patrick's 
 reputation, a vague understanding seemed to 
 prevail that all was not right, yet no explicit 
 explanation seemed ever to be obtained. 
 
 Something there was what, none presumed to say, 
 
 Clouds hghtly passmg as the summer day. 
 
 There are not only faults in the very best 
 characters, but redeeming qualities also in the 
 very worst, and with much selfishness, the 
 result of a perverted education, the handsome 
 and fascinating Sir Patrick had naturally a 
 good temper and excitable affections, though 
 these were wound up occasionally to the 
 wildest excess, while his fortune was not more 
 recklessly squandered than his attachment in 
 the momentary impulse of an hour. 
 
 As, therefore, no man is so thoroughly ex-
 
 282 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 cellent as to be without errors, neither is any 
 Hving mortal so depraved as to be without 
 virtues, and the utmost extreme, in one re- 
 spect or the other, will only be perfected in 
 an eternal world. It often seems to an ob- 
 server, as if two opposite beings had been 
 kneaded into one, since qualities so contradic- 
 tory may be traced in the same individual. 
 
 Though Sir Patrick Dunbar was eager and 
 rapacious in acquiring money, and would in- 
 cur any meanness to avoid paying it, he seem- 
 ed, nevertheless, lavish, and what some people 
 mis-called generous, in squandering what he 
 called his own. Though cold and selfish in 
 general, some fine impulses had been in his 
 nature, which proved him capable of vehe- 
 ment, persevering, and passionate attachment, 
 where his affections, or rather his fancy, had 
 been once engaged ; while, at the same time, 
 he was more ashamed to testify any feeling 
 than he would have been to commit a crime, 
 and endeavoured to blind people towards 
 that sensibility which was in reality the re- 
 deeming point in his character, by talking
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 283 
 
 often with the utmost contempt and even 
 ridicule of all those for whom he might have 
 been supposed to feel the weakness of a real 
 attachment. 
 
 Sir Patrick had indeed been, what his com- 
 panions called, " fairly caught" by Clara ; 
 and his heart, till now hermetically sealed 
 against all real confidence and friendship, 
 was now for the first time unclosed, in its in- 
 most recesses, while even his hackneyed mind 
 seemed to catch a ray of light and warmth 
 from the sunny freshness and purity of Clara's 
 intellectual mind. Her intelligent conversa- 
 tion, enlivened by a vein of sly pleasing 
 humour, had completely taken him by sur- 
 prise, being as fresh and gentle as a summer 
 breeze, while her appearance, so young, timid, 
 and lovely, caused the eye to rest on her with 
 a sentiment of almost melancholy interest. 
 Clara had only emerged from school, finally? 
 a few days before Sir Patrick met her at 
 Lady Towercliffe's, and her extreme ndivetc 
 was her first attraction, though that was 
 superseded before long by still greater ad-
 
 284 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 miration, while he became hourly more fasci- 
 nated by her melancholy songs and thought- 
 ful conversation. 
 
 To Clara, Sir Patrick had only hitherto 
 been known as a school companion of her 
 brother's, but so conscientiously did Richard 
 Granville invariably abstain from evil-speak- 
 ing, that, even where justice might have war- 
 ranted the severest censure, he merely became 
 silent. It is observable that, in the wisdom of 
 Providence, nothing is made in vain. Even 
 the very weeds that encumber our path have, 
 when under proper restraint, their important 
 uses, and in the mind of man, the tendency 
 implanted by nature, to discuss and criticize 
 the conduct of others, has, when properly ex- 
 ercised, its own advantages, by acting as a 
 salutary restraint on the conduct of those 
 who would otherwise do evil with impunity, 
 and by also giving a timely warning, and 
 hanging out a beacon-light to those who 
 would otherwise trust their interest and hap- 
 piness where such confidence was unmerited, 
 and where all contact is dangerous.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 285 
 
 Captain De Crespigny^s jilting propensities 
 were the less dangerous, from their being so 
 generally discussed in society, as few were 
 willing that the unwary should suffer, rather 
 than his faults be exposed to censure ; but 
 Mr Granville, by not giving his sister timely 
 warning against the dissipated extravagance 
 and almost infidel principles of his old school- 
 companion, had now unfortunately exposed 
 her to a danger he had not anticipated, as it 
 never occurred to his imagination, in its wild- 
 est fancies, that the reckless dissolute Sir 
 Patrick, who had long sneered at marriage, 
 and even broken that holy tie for others, 
 might find a charm in the pure, calm, high- 
 minded Clara, which raised him above his 
 ordinary self, and made him appear all she 
 could most like or admire. During their 
 earlier intercourse she saw nothing in his con- 
 versation to disapprove, because Sir Patrick 
 most unintentionally deceived her into a be- 
 lief of his being very different from what 
 he really was, owing to the respect with 
 which he treated all her opinions, and only
 
 286 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 when he talked to others did she become 
 startled occasionally by the tone of careless 
 defiance with which he spoke of all those per- 
 sons and things which she was most accus- 
 tomed to reverence and esteem. Before long 
 his attachment had become so unbounded 
 that, conscious he could not obtain Clara's 
 hand if she knew his real character, he as- 
 sumed all that seemed most likely to secure 
 her confidence, and, for the pleasure of being 
 with her, attended church regularly on Sun- 
 day at the village. Clara was astonished at 
 his evident ignorance of the forms of devo- 
 tion; yet knowing his education had been 
 finished by a clergyman, she supposed he 
 must have imbibed a due respect for the or- 
 dinances ; while Lady Towercliffe, indulging 
 her usual jobbing propensities, was enchanted 
 to make up a match of any kind in her own 
 house, and praised Sir Patrick as the most 
 immaculate and perfect of men. 
 
 Clara's intimacy with Sir Patrick had been 
 continually increasing for some time, before 
 his attention became so very obvious as to ex-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 287 
 
 cite her peculiar interest, or to make her con- 
 scious of a necessity for inquiring into the 
 state of her own heart ; but, upon doing so, 
 she became instantly aware of the deep hold 
 he had acquired o*^er her thoughts and affec- 
 tions. His frank, off-hand, good-humoured 
 manner had pleased her, his amusing conver- 
 sation had enlivened her, and at length his 
 ardent professions of attachment interested 
 her deeply, being expressed with all the elo- 
 quence of natural feeling. 
 
 Clara, in the gloomy recesses of Mrs Pen- 
 fokFs school-room, had learned nothing of the 
 world, and her heart at once, therefore, en- 
 dowed Sir Patrick with all those amiable 
 qualities which he assumed, while she yielded 
 herself to the most pleasing of all earthly 
 dreams, that of loving and being beloved by 
 one who seemed to deserve and to return her 
 attachment ; while her sole hesitation in ac- 
 cepting the offer he soon after made of his 
 hand, arose from her doubts whether, in the 
 chief essential to mutual happiness, in reli- 
 gious faith, hope, and morality, they were so
 
 288 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 far of similar mind as to afford a well-ground- 
 ed prospect of happiness. 
 
 In almost undoubting confidence of a satis- 
 factory answer, Clara wrote to consult her 
 brother, then studying for holy orders at 
 Oxford, in whose opinion, on all occasions, 
 she implicitly relied ; and it was with grief and 
 astonishment, which no words could describe, 
 that she received a reply, in which Mr Gran- 
 ville, with affectionate earnestness reproached 
 himself for not having explicitly laid open to 
 her the character of his former companion 
 and ci-devant friend, who was, he grieved to 
 say, a ruined gamester, a bankrupt in fame, as 
 much as in fortune, dreaded by the most re- 
 spectable among women, and shunned by the 
 most respectable among men, even by his 
 kind, indulgent, but high-minded uncle. Sir 
 Arthur. An open scoffer frequently at the 
 decencies of life, and still more at its most 
 sacred duties and hopes. " Sir Patrick makes 
 no secret of his profligacy,'' continued Mr 
 Granville, " showing the most flagrant dis- 
 honesty in the only way a gentleman can l^^
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 289 
 
 tempted to do so, by not paying his debts, 
 while many poor tradesmen have already been 
 ruined by his extravagance, and he has openly 
 entered into a perfect crusade against religion 
 and morality. In short, my dear Clara, Sir 
 Patrick is by no means to be trusted with the 
 happiness of another, and least of all with 
 yours, being a confirmed roue, still pursuing 
 the very wildest career of unprincipled dis- 
 sipation. Many have already had reason to 
 mourn they ever trusted him or knew him, 
 for he is the very reverse of all you believe 
 and wish. It would be extravagant to waste 
 a hope upon the reformation of a reckless 
 libertine, who thus outrages every law of God 
 and man, and often have you and I agreed, 
 that it was a thing not to be conceived, a 
 woman who rightly valued her immortal soul, 
 placing herself under the authority and influ- 
 ence of a husband who did not ! The risk is 
 too great, and how much better to suffer now 
 the sorrow of a separation, than to endure the 
 long agony of an unsuitable union, for which 
 your own heart and conscience would conti- 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 ^90 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 nually upbraid you. If the tenderest affec- 
 tion of a brother can in any degree compen- 
 sate for the sacrifice, you need not be told. 
 my dear Clara, that I shall bestow it upon you 
 more lavishly than ever, and it will be my first 
 earthly wish, as well as my sacred duty, to 
 render you happier than you could ever be 
 
 with a man of principles , or rather of no 
 
 principles, like Sir Patrick."' 
 
 Had the grave opened at Clara's feet, she 
 could scarcely have been more startled and 
 astonished, than by the contents of this most 
 unforeseen letter, the first unwelcome line ever 
 received from Richard. She could have borne 
 anything but to find her lover unprincipled or 
 unworthy, and a wintry chill seemed to ga- 
 ther round her heart, while, with a stifled 
 groan which struggled for utterance, she cover- 
 ed her face with her hand, and sank back 
 upon a sofa. By a powerful effort Clara pre- 
 served herself from fainting, — she was resolved 
 not to faint, and she did not, — but in the 
 secret chamber of her heart, all was darkness, 
 loneliness, and grief. Visions of earthly hap-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 291 
 
 piness had glittered for a time in brightest 
 colouring before her mind, but now they must 
 be blotted out by her tears. They all lay 
 prostrate and disfigured at her feet, scorch- 
 ed and blasted as if by lightning, and her 
 heart, bewildered by a multitude of thoughts 
 and emotions, seemed full almost to burst 
 ing. 
 
 Clara wept many bitter tears over her let- 
 ter, and she not only wept but acted. With- 
 out delay, Clara prepared to return to the 
 relation with whom, during her brother's ab- 
 sence, she usually found a home; and before 
 her departure, not only wrote to Sir Patrick, 
 stating in terms of touching grief, all her rea- 
 sons for so suddenly and unwillingly withdraw- 
 ing from her engagement to him; but she had 
 a long and most afflicting interview with him, 
 vainly endeavouring to convince her lover, that 
 their total incompatibility of sentiment raised 
 a barrier between them, which forbade the 
 possibility of their union. 
 
 Sir Patrick became nearly frantic with vex- 
 ation, while he could not but admire the
 
 2.92 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 beautiful grace of her manner, and the sor- 
 rowful modulations of her voice when she 
 spoke, yet unconscious how completely the 
 gentle Clara was ruled by principle as with a 
 sceptre of iron, he seemed utterly unable to 
 comprehend why his talking carelessly, or even 
 contemptuously of religion, should in any de- 
 gree affect the preference which she had once 
 confessed for him, and which he felt assur- 
 ed she still entertained. With passionate 
 vehemence he urged the depth of his at- 
 tachment, and his total indifference to every- 
 thing in life but herself, while he warmly pro- 
 tested that she, and she only, could complete 
 the reformation which her own influence had 
 already begun. 
 
 " You love me, Clara, and would ca^t me 
 off for ever ! Impossible ! Let us forget all 
 my early indiscretions, — my vices then if it 
 must be so, — but why should every leaf of my 
 past life be turned over now ! Since we met I 
 have been an altered being ! I am astonished 
 even at myself ! If I have deceived you, it is 
 because I deceived myself, but now I am en-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 293 
 
 tirely in your power. Use it then kindly, and 
 forget all but my attachment ; I have staked 
 my whole happiness in life on the hope of your 
 accepting me. The wish to deserve you shall 
 be a sufficient motive to fit me for all the 
 duties of life. Without you I shall have no 
 object, no hope, not even a home, for never 
 more shall I have one unless you share it. 
 Clara, let me throw myself on your compas- 
 sion, if not on your love." 
 
 " Oh no !" said Clara, hurriedly, yet with a 
 look of pale and tearful distress, " I dare not 
 hesitate ! All must be as I have said. It will 
 be most for the happiness of both !" 
 
 " Happiness ! speak not to me of happiness 
 without you ! It is a mockery ! Every tie to 
 peace or virtue would then be ruptured." 
 
 " There are better ties to virtue, and 
 stronger," whispered Clara, in a faltering 
 voice, while she gasped for utterance, and a 
 glow like sunset was on her cheek. 
 
 " No ! no ! not for me ! There may be 
 amusement, frivolity, gayety, and dissipation; 
 but I never understood the real meaning of
 
 294 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 happiness till we met. My whole thoughts, 
 feelings, and character have been revolution- 
 ised to please you, Clara, but your influence 
 alone could snatch me from evil, — from my- 
 self, — from all on which I have hitherto wasted 
 my existence. For your sake, and for yours 
 alone, I could be all, and more than you wish. 
 Years spent in your society shall prove the 
 extent of your influence.'' 
 
 " By trusting to such a hope, many, like me, 
 have wrecked their whole peace both now and 
 hereafter," said Clara, trying to speak with 
 firmness, but her voice became almost inau- 
 dible. " If it were the same thing to will, as 
 to do, I have not a doubt of your sincerity; 
 but the mere resolution to change established 
 habits, unless the power be derived from 
 above, is only an air-built castle to which I 
 dare not trust. It would be easy still to in- 
 dulge myself in romantic schemes of domestic 
 happiness, such as I have lately anticipated, 
 but these hopes could only be blossoms with- 
 out root or durability, unless they arise from 
 firm principles of religion. Without such a
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 295 
 
 cement happiness has neither worth nor dura- 
 bihty." 
 
 " Clara I you have never loved as I do !" 
 exclaimed Sir Patrick, reproachfully. " I 
 never did, and never can express half what I 
 feel ; but you do not yet know the heart you 
 so cruelly undervalue ! It seems now as if you 
 would rather cut off your hand than bestow it 
 on me !" 
 
 " Perhaps in future years — '' stammered 
 Clara. " We are both young; and if, for 
 your own sake, you alter in some respects, we 
 might yet look forward to — to — " 
 
 " Speak not of delay ! that is worse than 
 death ! I never in my life could endure sus- 
 pense ! No ! it must — it shall be now, or 
 never !" 
 
 " Never, then," replied Clara, in a low, 
 husky, indistinct voice, while, in spite of her- 
 self, tears rolled over her face. " It ought 
 indeed to be never ! Forget me, as if I were 
 already dead ! I must only consent to pass my 
 life with a confirmed and consistent Christian, 
 completely master of himself and of his ac-
 
 296 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 tions. If we lived for each other, I should 
 have a thousand anxieties, regrets, and sor- 
 rows, which you could neither foresee nor un- 
 derstand ! Oh no ! I must only love on earth 
 one whom I may hope to love hereafter for 
 ever !" 
 
 " Must it be my misfortune, Clara, to have 
 known you V exclaimed Sir Patrick, with agi- 
 tated energy. " Do you not see that with 
 me, to know excellence is to love it, and that 
 if we were constantly together, I should al- 
 ways be like you. The loss of honour, for- 
 tune, or reputation. I might endure ; but your 
 loss I cannot, and will not. Tell me, then, 
 are my whole affections to be buried in dark- 
 ness, never to see a dawn r 
 
 " If my happiness in this world only were 
 at hazard, I would venture all for your sake !'' 
 replied Clara, in a low, gentle, tremulous voice. 
 " I feel grateful for your attachment — more 
 than grateful ; but marriage is so very awful 
 and sacred a tie ! to devote every earthly 
 thought, every feeling, every hope, every hour 
 of my life to one ! I could not and dare not
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 297 
 
 enter on such a duty, without a perfect and 
 unalterable confidence. I feel, that to be 
 united in love and duty where I did not 
 esteem, is a misfortune I could not survive — 
 which I could scarcely even wish to survive. 
 In giving you my heart, as I have already 
 done, I ventured my all of worldly happiness 
 on that one stake, and have lost it ; but there 
 are better hopes and higher duties, which bind 
 me to follow them, even though death were 
 the consequence." 
 
 Sir Patrick clenched his hands vehement- 
 ly together, while his countenance burned, 
 and muttering a curse between his teeth, 
 which chilled the blood of Clara in her v^ns, 
 he walked about the room with rapidly in- 
 creasing excitement, till at length, stopping 
 before her, he said in accents of angry re- 
 proach, " You have spoken my doom, Clara ; 
 and only from your own lips would I have 
 believed it." 
 
 Clara buried her face in her hands, and 
 feeling that her high-wrought fortitude was 
 giving way, she hurried towards the door;
 
 298 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 but as she tremblingly endeavoured to open 
 it, Sir Patrick again seized her hand, saying, 
 " You are mine, Clara ; you are bound by a 
 promise that must not be broken !"" 
 
 " I shall never give myself to another,"' said 
 she, still hastening away. " Be happy in 
 making others happy. May you yet find one 
 who loves you as I have done, and who shall 
 not hereafter find the same reasons for giving 
 you up. I shall pray for you, and rejoice in 
 all the good I hear. Farewell." 
 
 No words could do justice to the silent 
 agony of Clara's young heart, when in solitar}* 
 grief she retraced her whole intimacy with Sir 
 Patrick, and reflected that she had bid a last 
 adieu to one whom she must not esteem, and 
 yet could not but love. All that this world 
 could offer she had rejected for conscience 
 sake. A cold frost seemed to gather around 
 her spirit, while trembling and depressed, she 
 viewed the desolation of all her lately cherish- 
 ed hopes ; and amidst the ruined fabric of her 
 happiness, she now seemed like some solitary 
 pillar, surrounded by the broken fragments of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 299 
 
 what once supported and adorned it; yet 
 summoning to her aid that Christian firmness, 
 which in her amounted to heroism, she gazed 
 on the shattered wreck, without a wish to re- 
 store it at the sacrifice of principle, determin- 
 ed, as far as her sensitive nature would ad- 
 mit, to adopt the rule of an aged and expe- 
 rienced Christian, " Hope nothing, fear no- 
 thing, expect anything, and be prepared for 
 everything !''
 
 300 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Thus always teasing others, always teased, 
 The only pleasure is, to be displeased." 
 
 Cow PER. 
 
 Years having thus rolled on, bringing joy to 
 some, and laying sorrow more or less on all, 
 Marion Dunbar, fresh in the spring-tide of 
 youthful bloom, had nearly completed her 
 seventeenth year, and was hurrying on still 
 in a whirlpool of education at Mrs Penfold's. 
 exerting herself more zealously for the credit 
 of her teachers than she ever would have done 
 for her own. 
 
 One evening about this time, a message 
 reached Marion, desiring that she would in- 
 stantly hasten to Mrs Penfokrs private sit-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. -SOI 
 
 ting-room, which was on all extraordinary oc- 
 casions that lady^s hall of audience, and a 
 solemn summons to which was usually of omi- 
 nous import. Marion, however, conscious 
 that her own recent diligence had been quite 
 pre-eminent, and her success most distin- 
 guished, heard the word of command with a 
 flutter of pleasing anticipation, for to her the 
 future was always full of hope. Too old now 
 for medals and ribbons, she yet indulged in 
 the gay recollection of former triumphs, and 
 remembered, with a smile, as she hurried up 
 stairs, how often Sir Arthur had formerly de- 
 clared, while pretending to frown upon her, 
 that " he hated to see girls flouncing about 
 with medals, and defying the world!" yet how 
 slily, when she one day entered his drawing- 
 room, with deepening colour, and a look of 
 modest consciousness, half concealing and 
 half displaying her honours, he had advanced 
 to meet her, wearing his own Grand Cross of 
 the Bath, to prove, as he said, that he was 
 indeed fit company for so meritorious a young 
 ladv.
 
 302 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Humming a favourite air, with a buoyant 
 joyful step, and radiant smile, Marion hasten- 
 ed to the door of Mrs Penfold's apartment, 
 where, after trying to compose her features 
 into a suitable expression of sober respect, 
 with dimpling cheek, and still almost laugh- 
 ing eyes, she entered, making, as she had been 
 taught, the usual respectful courtesy exacted 
 by Mrs Penfold, such as might have been suit- 
 able for an introduction at Court, or for a 
 public performer receiving the plaudits of a 
 numerous audience, and then, with a bright 
 speaking look, full of hope and vivacity, she 
 paused, to ascertain the object of her unex- 
 pected summons. 
 
 To Marion's astonishment and dismay, Mrs 
 Penfold was pacing about the room, evidently 
 in a state of furious irritation, while in her 
 hand she carried that endless bill, the growi:h 
 of many years, for board, education, masters, 
 and sundries, which had so often already 
 greeted the unw^illing eyes of her young pu- 
 pil, w^hose whole inward spirit recoiled with 
 shame and apprehension, while she silently
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 303 
 
 measured the length and breadth of its con- 
 tents, every item of which she already knew 
 by heart, and could almost have recapitulated 
 without a prompter. 
 
 Had Marion herself been a ruined gamester 
 or a spendthift, she could scarcely have felt 
 more guilty and ashamed than now ; but af- 
 ter standing an entire minute without being 
 observed, and perceiving Mrs Penfold un- 
 able to speak, from the effort it cost to re- 
 strain her anger within decent bounds, Marion, 
 with the frankness natural to her candid dis- 
 position, came at once to the point, saying, 
 with heightened colour, and scarcely articulate 
 voice, while her beautiful deep intelligent eyes 
 were fixed with an earnest gaze on Mrs Pen- 
 fold. 
 
 " I fear no satisfactory answer has come 
 this term from my brother V 
 
 " No ! nor there never will be !'' thundered 
 Mrs Penfold, in a voice that made the gentle 
 Marion absolutely cower before her. " There, 
 Miss Dunbar ! look at that bill !" added she, 
 flinging it furiously into the lap of Marion,
 
 304 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 who had sunk upon a seat. " How much 
 will a shilling in the pound be for that ? Four 
 hundred guineas absolutely lost — wasted — 
 squandered upon you '" 
 
 Unable to speak from consternation, though 
 such scenes were already but too familar to 
 her memory, Marion fixed her eyes on the un- 
 welcome bill, apparently examining its con- 
 tents, while her thoughts were in the mean time 
 painfully occupied in devising what would be 
 right for her to say or do in this unexpected 
 crisis. A long pause ensued, during which 
 Mrs Penfold seemed resolute not to speak ; 
 therefore Marion, with a strenuous effort, en- 
 deavoured to new-string her nerves, and say 
 something, while the large heavy tears forced 
 themselves into her eyes. 
 
 " Mrs Penfold,"' replied she earnestly. 
 " you know how ready I would be to send my 
 brother another letter of remonstrance, if 
 that could be of any avail, but now he never 
 so much as answers me. I seem indeed to be 
 quite forgotten by both Patrick and Agnes !" 
 
 Marion paused to recover her voice, and to
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 305 
 
 choke back her tears, after which she con- 
 tinued in a firmer tone, while Mrs Penfold 
 listened, with a dry, harsh, unmoved expres- 
 sion of countenance. 
 
 " You are justly dissatisfied about my 
 brother's payments, but if there be the least 
 cause to doubt your being ultimately remune- 
 rated, send me immediately home. I dare 
 not go of myself, but you have power to dis- 
 miss me, and let it be done. The sorrow and 
 mortification must all be mine, but whatever 
 falls on myself alone, I shall always be able 
 to bear.'" 
 
 " Miss Dunbar ! you have anticipated ex- 
 actly what I am obliged to do, and what it 
 would have been well for me if I had done 
 sooner !'' replied Mrs Penfold, angrily flounc- 
 ing into a chair, and pirouetting it almost 
 round, so as to look Marion full in the 
 face. " I am sorry for you certainly, because, 
 though your music is not yet exactly such as 
 to do me much credit, and your Italian is 
 sometimes far from grammatical, yet on the 
 whole there cannot be a better-disposed girl,
 
 306 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 nor one who has testified a more constant de- 
 sire to please me." 
 
 Marion's heart was melted by even this 
 very slight expression of regard, and nothing 
 could exceed the troubled beauty of her eyes, 
 when she raised them gratefully to Mrs Pen- 
 fold, but conscious that her presence was not 
 exactly the place for a scene, as that lady had 
 long been considered incapable of a tear or a 
 smile, she averted her face, and struggled for 
 composure. 
 
 " I have learned for the first time to-day,'' 
 resumed Mrs Penfold, her voice becoming 
 more stern as she proceeded, " that before 
 your father's death, Sir Patrick twice, in the 
 most profligate manner, paid off his creditors 
 with a shilling in the pound ! In consequence 
 of great losses now at the Doncaster races, 
 and having paid what he calls his debts of ho- 
 nour to a ruinous amount, Sir Patrick has 
 yesterday fled to the sanctuary at Holy rood 
 House for refuge, and the creditors have al- 
 ready seized everything. No wonder indeed ! 
 it was full time ! He is all promise and no
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 307 
 
 performance, — for ever feeding us with empty 
 spoons !" 
 
 Mrs Penfold angrily changed her position, 
 and with another indignant glance at Marion, 
 continued, 
 
 •' Even Sir Patrick''s large rent-roll would 
 scarcely suffice in a life-time to pay the half 
 of us off. Good worthy Sir Arthur too, his 
 own uncle, he has cheated, and the property 
 being entailed, we have only Sir Patrick's life 
 to depend upon for what he owes us ! This 
 is a very heavy blow to me, and extremely 
 hard to bear !" 
 
 While thus bemoaning herself, Mrs Pen- 
 fold forgot, like most selfish people, that any 
 one had to suffer besides, though the parted 
 lips, the tearful eyes, and the pallid cheek of 
 Marion testified in a language not to be mis- 
 taken, the depth and intensity of her grief, 
 while with astonishment and dismay, she 
 heard this short summary of Sir Patrick's 
 history and circumstances. 
 
 Long after Mrs Penfold had ceased to 
 speak, Marion gazed in her face, as if expect-
 
 308 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ing more, while her every nerve continued 
 quivering with agitation, till at length she 
 closed her eyes in speechless agony, bewilder- 
 ed by the sudden transition from joyful anti- 
 cipation to blank despair. Formerly she had 
 heard of difficulties and bankruptcies, as she , 
 had heard of the plague or the bow-string at 
 Constantinople — things dreadful to those who 
 might be affected by them, but quite foreign 
 to herself, and now, like a clap of thunder, all 
 had suddenly burst over the heads of those 
 who were nearest and dearest to her, with ap- 
 parently destructive effect. She yet felt as if 
 the whole were some hideous dream from 
 which it might be possible to awaken, — the 
 voice of Mrs Penfold rang painfully on her 
 ears, — every surrounding object faded from 
 her vision, — her thoughts became confused, — 
 a vague sense of burning misery was at her 
 heart, — and one only wish remained distinctly 
 prominent on her mind — the wish to be 
 alone. 
 
 " Indeed, Miss Dunbar," continued Mrs 
 Penfold, in a monotonous complaining voice.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 309 
 
 " no wonder you are shocked that I who have 
 laboured so hard to realise a small independ- 
 ence, should be swindled out of it in this way 
 by your brother. Lady Towercliffe tells me 
 that among his intimate friends he is known 
 by the nick-name of ' Sixpenny Dunbar !' 
 on account of his having so often already 
 played a similar game, but once catch him 
 beyond the bounds of Holyrood now, and 
 he'll never be at liberty to try such ma- 
 noeuvres again. We are to offer a reward of 
 L.500 for his apprehension !'' 
 
 " My poor uncle and Agnes !" exclaimed 
 Marion, in a voice of anguish, while hot tears 
 fell like rain over her cheek, and a confused 
 apprehension of ruin, bankruptcy, and dis- 
 grace hovered darkly through her mind, though 
 she scarcely yet knew^ what to think or to 
 fear. " I must go home, if I yet have a 
 home ! Wherever they are, let me find them ! 
 I must see my uncle, — Patrick cannot be all 
 you say ! oh no ! It is some dreadful mis- 
 take ! Whatever happens, I trust and hope, 
 Mrs Peijfold, you will be repaid. It shall be
 
 310 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 my first earthly wish — my duty sooner or 
 later, to see it done ! Now let me go in- 
 stantly home !" 
 
 Mrs Penfold most heartily seconded her 
 pupiPs desire to depart, while one of the hea- 
 viest pangs which Marion had to endure on 
 this occasion, sprang from the stem angry 
 coldness with which her ci-devant preceptress 
 appeared about to bid her a last farewell. 
 
 A tumult of gossiping wonder and cu- 
 riosity arose among the pupils, when it be- 
 came whispered that Marion was to " leave" 
 on an hour's notice. Many questions were 
 asked, much astonishment was expressed, and 
 even a great deal of real sympathy excited, 
 but Marion shrank from the clamorous ex- 
 clamations of her young companions, who 
 could not so much as guess the measure and 
 depth of her misfortunes. Often had she 
 shared their sorrows, and willingly would she 
 liave accepted any consolation they could 
 offer, but the worst of her trials could not be 
 spoken to mortal ears, and in lamenting for 
 her brother's disgrace, she could only bear
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 311 
 
 her wound, like a stricken deer, into solitude 
 and silence. 
 
 There are insects that live a life-time in an 
 hour, and it seemed to Marion as if she had 
 really done so, since the time when sparkling 
 with gladness, she flew to Mrs Penfold's pre- 
 sence. Now, heavy with sorrow and anxiety, 
 she slowly retraced her steps, and on reach- 
 ing her room, sank upon the bed in a parox- 
 ysm of tears, delivering herself up to many 
 painful thoughts, or rather to her feehngs, for 
 she could not think amidst the tumult of an 
 agitated mind, when suffering thus under the 
 most painful of all transitions, from hope to 
 despair. 
 
 It was during the unoccupied half-hour 
 after dinner, when Mrs Penfold allowed her 
 pupils a gasp of rest from their labours du- 
 ring the day, that they gathered in groups at 
 every window, to criticise a hackney-coach 
 and very tired broken-down looking horses in 
 waiting, while the pupils all watched for Ma- 
 rion's departure, anxious to catch a last 
 glimpse of their favourite companion. She
 
 312 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 had been shut up alone, ever since her inter- 
 view with Mrs Penfold, and tried to occupy 
 herself in packing up her few possessions, 
 while endeavouring to compose her mind, 
 both of which tasks occupied more time than 
 she wished or expected. But all was now 
 over, and trying to assume an aspect of se- 
 renity, with pale cheeks and swollen eyes, she 
 entered the school-room, carrj-ing in her 
 hand a large and very heavy-looking casket. 
 
 The young community crowded round to 
 say a thousand affectionate farewells, when, 
 for a moment, Marion looked at them all 
 with her own beautiful smile, but unable to 
 control her emotion, she turned away her 
 head, and burst into an agony of tears. 
 
 " Miss Dunbar, my dear ! the sooner this 
 is all over the better !" said Mrs Penfold, 
 hastily advancing, with a look of irritable 
 vexation. " No wonder you are sorry to 
 leave us ; but what can't be cured must be 
 endured. Remember to be diligent in prac- 
 tising your music, as the success of my esta- 
 blishment depends on the conduct of all my
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 313 
 
 young ladies. The only recompense I am 
 ever likely to receive for my care, will pro- 
 ceed from your attention not to do me any 
 discredit. Now, farewell, my dear, and try 
 to bear up the best way you can !" 
 
 " Mrs Penfold !" faltered Marion, while 
 a flash of bright intelligence lighted up her 
 eyes ; " allow me, for a single moment, to see 
 you alone !" 
 
 " No ! no ! my dear ! I hate scenes ; 
 therefore let us now take leave. I wish you 
 well !" added Mrs Penfold, in a tone that 
 sounded marvellously sincere. " I really do ! 
 Whatever has happened is your misfortune, 
 not your fault V 
 
 " One single word, if you please," whisper- 
 ed Marion, colouring the deepest carnation, 
 and leading the way to an inner room, while 
 Mrs Penfold followed, with an air of royal 
 condescension. " The fault is indeed, as you 
 kindly remark, not my own ; but for my sake, 
 Mrs Penfold, spare my brother's name in all 
 you say. It gives me pleasure to think that 
 I can do something towards settling our ac- 
 
 VOL. I. o
 
 314 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 count myself; and I would think no sacrifice 
 worth a thought, that enabled me to do so. 
 My mother's trinkets were divided between 
 Agnes and me ; besides which my dear kind 
 uncle has been lavish in his gifts. This gold 
 repeater cost a great sum, and that locket is 
 set in diamonds." 
 
 " Well, my dear !'* interrupted Mrs Pen- 
 fold, relaxing into a look of graciousness, 
 "such honourable sentiments show that you 
 have not been under my care in vain ; and 
 though these pretty trifles are not equivalent 
 to what you owe, yet half a loaf is better 
 than no bread !" 
 
 " All that I ever possessed, the gifts or 
 legacies of friends and relations, I leave in 
 pledge with you, Mrs Penfold, as an assur- 
 ance, that if brighter days ever come, I would 
 redeem them at twenty times their value. 
 Keep these till then. Whatever ornaments 
 I might ever wear, would be a reproach till 
 you are paid. Some debts never can be suf- 
 ficiently discharged, and among these is what 
 I owe to your care during many past years."
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 315 
 
 The bright eyes of Marion were dimmed 
 with tears of sincerity and emotion, when she 
 concluded ; and, placing the casket in Mrs 
 PenfokFs astonished hands, she hastened out 
 of the room. Giving a last long look at those 
 inanimate objects to which she had been ac- 
 customed, and feeling that even to these she 
 could not without regret bid a final adieu, 
 Marion threw herself into the carriage, and 
 drove off, so overpowered with anguish and 
 anxiety respecting her brother, that she 
 scarcely noticed the phalanx of white pocket 
 handkerchiefs, waved to her as a last fare- 
 well from those beloved companions, among 
 whom so large a share of her young affections 
 had hitherto been lavished ; and thus she 
 took a final farewell of Mrs Penfold's finish- 
 ing seminary for young ladies, where she was 
 never destined to be finished !
 
 3 1 6 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " Pleasure is a very pleasant thing.' 
 
 The storm around might roar and rustle, 
 He did na' mind the storm a whistle ? 
 
 Burns, 
 
 Marion Dunbar being by no means an arrant 
 novel reader, knew nothing of those artificial 
 feelings which too often obliterate the reality. 
 Simple as a field-flower, her natural sensibi- 
 lity remain perfectly fresh and unimpaired, 
 while now, for the first time, experiencing the 
 withering disappointments, and blighting anx- 
 ieties of life. 
 
 As she drove slowly along towards the 
 sanctuary where Sir Patrick had taken re-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 317 
 
 fuge, the most prominent apprehension on 
 her mind, was that of finding him on the eve 
 of imprisonment ; but she in some degree 
 consoled herself by imagining the services 
 that in such circumstances she might perhaps 
 be able to do him, and the privations she 
 could endure for his sake. The more proud, 
 overbearing, and arbitrary, he had hitherto 
 been, the more touching it appeared to her 
 affectionate spirit, that one who seemed born 
 to command, should now be so humbled ; and 
 impatiently did she long to prove, that, how- 
 ever all things might alter, yet, in prosperity 
 or adversity, in sickness or in health, she was 
 unchangeably the same ; while her young 
 heart glowed with the paramount hope of at 
 last becoming useful to her brother, and 
 therefore welcome. 
 
 As she proceeded, visions of deep distress 
 and difficulty floated dimly through the mind 
 of Marion, who could not entirely close her 
 eyes against the iron truths, and stern reali- 
 ties of life, while considering how totally un- 
 suited her brother was, to endure the pri-
 
 318 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 vation of a single luxury, and now he could 
 scarcely have enough to command the most 
 ordinary necessaries. 
 
 In the mind of Marion, immediate starva- 
 tion, and going out as a governess, were the 
 two ideas that most prominently connected 
 themselves with the consciousness of being 
 ruined ; for her conception of bankruptcy 
 was of the most terrifying description. 
 
 In the few novels she had ever seen, the 
 heroines could always support themselves by 
 selling their drawings ; but Marion did not 
 hope to gain an independent livelihood by 
 her slanting castles, and top-hea^'y trees, 
 though taking in plain work, or teaching 
 music, suggested themselves as possible re- 
 sources. Marion thought of arrests, bailiffs, 
 writs, and of the world come to an end. 
 The sunny hours of her life seemed suddenly 
 darkened, and she had grown old in a day ! 
 In the simplicity of her heart, she imagined 
 that a ruined man of rank and fashion, was 
 like a ruined man in earnest ; obliged actu- 
 ally to reduce his establishment ! to dismiss
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS, 319 
 
 his servants ! to dispose of his equipages ! to 
 make an auction of his furniture ! to part 
 with his plate ! and really to live as if he were 
 in downright matter-of-fact earnest, poor ! 
 " to exist," as Sir Patrick once contemptu- 
 ously said of Eichard Granville, " on two- 
 pence a-year, paid quarterly !" 
 
 The slow-moving hackney-coach stopped at 
 last before the gate of Sir Patrick's new resi- 
 dence, St John's Lodge, a gloomy antique 
 villa near Holyrood House, with gabled win- 
 dows, stone balconies, richly carved balus- 
 trades, and pointed roof, surrounded by dusty 
 beech-trees, and formal yew hedges, clipped 
 into fifty unimaginable shapes. Marion was 
 surprised, on hastily alighting, to perceive the 
 whole house glittering with lights, and would 
 have supposed she had made some mistake, 
 had not the bell been instantly answered by 
 Sir Patrick's own man, followed by the usual 
 three yellow-plush footmen. 
 
 " Faithful creatures !" thought she, hav- 
 ing often heard of old servants who insisted 
 on being retained for nothing ; " amidst all
 
 320 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Patrick's distress, this must indeed be grati- 
 fying!" 
 
 In a tumult of emotion, Marion, throwing 
 off her bonnet, rushed up a broad well-lighted 
 flight of stairs, while, wound up to a pitch 
 of heroism and romantic self-devotion, she 
 thought only of her brother, impatiently long- 
 ing to fly into his arms, and to express the 
 whole fulness of her affection, and the whole 
 depth of her sympathy. While her heart 
 sprang forward to meet him, she eagerly 
 threw open a door next the staircase, and 
 entered with a hurried and tremulous step ; 
 but suddenly her eyes were dazzled and be- 
 wildered by the sight which met her agitated 
 glance, while for a moment she became root- 
 ed to the floor, like one who had been stunned 
 by a sudden blow. Marion gazed without 
 seeing, and heard without knowing what was 
 said, so unexpected and surprising was the 
 scene to which she had thus suddenly intro- 
 duced herself ! 
 
 A murmur of noise and gayety rang in her 
 ears, w'hile the whole apartment was brilliant-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 321 
 
 ly illuminated, and the first object which be- 
 came distinct to her vision was Sir Patrick, 
 seated at the head of a superbly-decorated 
 dinner-table, in a perfect uproar of merriment 
 and hilarity. Around him were placed five or 
 six of his gayest associates, dressed in their 
 scarlet hunting-coats, and evidently in joyous 
 spirits, like school-boys during the vacation, 
 while the whole party presented a most con- 
 vivial aspect, laughing in merry chorus, and 
 with claret circulating at full speed round the 
 hospitable board. 
 
 Marion felt as if her feet had lost all power 
 of motion, while, grasping the handle of the 
 door with one hand, and shading her eyes 
 with the other, she became transfixed to the 
 spot. It was a shock of unexpected joy, and 
 while standing in the deep embrasure of 
 the door, her large eyes dilated, and her 
 lips parted, with an expression of speech- 
 less amazement, she looked like a breath- 
 ing portrait, which an artist might have 
 shown as his master-piece, — young, bright, 
 and graceful, as the first crescent of the
 
 322 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 moon, or like the fabled houri of an eastern 
 tale. 
 
 The gentlemen all instinctively stood up 
 with one accord the moment she appeared, 
 giving her looks of embarrassed astonish- 
 ment and admiration, while Marion hastily 
 retreating, in an agony of confusion, heard 
 her own voice inadvertently exclaim. '" Pat- 
 rick !" 
 
 " Marion !" cried her brother, in a frenzy 
 of astonishment more than equal to her own, 
 while the flowing bumper which had been 
 raised to his lips remained suspended there, 
 and in an instant afterwards, his tone of sur- 
 prise became changed into angry imperative 
 remonstrance. " Marion ! what brought you 
 here, child r 
 
 Before she had quite retreated, suspecting 
 the real state of the case, and not wishing tor 
 any public explanation, Sir Patrick added, in 
 an accent of careless good-humour, '* Agnes 
 is up stairs dressing for the ball, so make 
 yourself scarce, and find her if possible. The 
 house is not large enough to puzzle any one
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 323 
 
 long, but I suppose you mistook this room for 
 hers !" 
 
 " Patrick is not ruined after all !" thought 
 the delighted Marion, vanishing in a trans- 
 port of joy, while her brother's jovial compa- 
 nions became vehemently energetic in express- 
 ing their admiration of the beautiful appari- 
 tion. 
 
 " Can that be the darling cherub Marion, 
 who used to call herself my little wife? I 
 wish she may do so in earnest now ! She is 
 undoubtedly the loveliest creature that my 
 sight ever looked upon, her eyes glittering 
 like stars beneath that rich cloud of hair ! 
 Let us drink a bumper to her health !"' ex- 
 claimed Captain De Crespigny, in a sponta- 
 neous impulse of enthusiasm, filling his glass, 
 and singing in a fine, full-toned tenor, the 
 favourite ballad, 
 
 " I saw her but a moment, 
 And methinks I see her yet, 
 With the wreath of summer flow'rs 
 Beneath her curls of jet." 
 
 '' That must mean Agnes, for Marion's
 
 324 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 hair is brown," interrupted Sir Patrick, in a 
 rallying tone, yet his manner betrayed the ex- 
 cited and exaggerated vivacity of one, who 
 evidently forced his spirits, endeavouring to 
 banish care by ceasing to think. " Be con- 
 stant for one entire week, and I shall then 
 think Agnes has achieved a wonder in- 
 deed."" 
 
 " You do me injustice, Dunbar ! I must 
 be allowed to beg your pardon ! I have not 
 been what is called ' in love' above nine 
 times in my life ! Well ! you may laugh. — 
 anybody can laugh, but I consider that smile 
 of yours exceedingly malicious !'' 
 
 " When a man is on the ice, you know his 
 best safety is to keep moving," replied Sir 
 Patrick, dryly. " People talk of two strings 
 to their bow, De Crespigny, but you are never 
 satisfied under two dozen !" 
 
 " Tant mieux et tant pis T As Rosamond 
 says, ' Thou canst not tell yet, how many 
 fathoms deep I am in lovef how concealment is 
 preying on my damask check, and what vio- 
 lent heart-quakes I am continually enduring !
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 325 
 
 The girl before last that I died for, was my 
 idol for an eternity of three months' duration. 
 I might have continued most deplorably in 
 love yet, if she had not imprudently appeared 
 before me one day in an unbecoming east 
 wind, with considerably more colour in her 
 nose than in her cheek !" 
 
 " You are the most observant of men, De 
 Crespigny ! If you only pass a young lady at 
 full speed on a staircase, you can describe her 
 eyes, complexion, figure, and expression, be- 
 fore I could be certain whether she has one eye 
 or two ! But what is this Irish story I heard 
 about you! Some lady with seven brothers, 
 and you threatened to shoot them all that she 
 might become an heiress ! What were the par- 
 ticulars f 
 
 " You seem to know more than I do, or 
 anybody else !" replied Captain De Crespigny, 
 hastily tossing off a bumper to conceal his con- 
 fusion. " There are so many girls whose 
 peace of mind I annihilate, that it is next to 
 impossible for me to remember them, but I 
 can think of nothing now except my cousin
 
 326 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Marion, who always promised to be beautiful, 
 and has more than fulfilled her promise. Tell 
 me, Dunbar! when does that pearl come out 
 of the shell r 
 
 " If you please, sir!" said a servant, enter- 
 ing, " the hackney coachman is waiting to be 
 paid seven shillings for bringing Miss Dunbar 
 from Dartmore House!" 
 
 " Let him wait all night if he chooses!" re- 
 plied Sir Patrick, angrily frowning away his 
 footman, " as the Irishman said, ' may he live 
 till I pay him !' Tell the man to call again to- 
 morrow, — and next day, — and the next, — to 
 come back in short, whenever he has nothing 
 else to do ! Perhaps in a delirium of generosity 
 I may some day think of paying him." 
 
 " At our usual rate of payment, seven shil- 
 lings from you would be equal to L.7!" said 
 Captain De Crespigny, laughing, '' let him put 
 it down to your account !" 
 
 " Yes! I have already more creditors than 
 pence, therefore one more or less can be of no 
 consequence ! That fellow of mine is the most 
 officious rascal! — and he begins every sentence
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 327 
 
 the same, ' If you please sir, the plate-chest 
 has been robbed!' or, ' If you please, sir, the 
 bay mare is dead!' But I am never pleased to 
 pay when it can be avoided, and especially 
 now. This is one of my moneyless days ! My 
 banker's bulletins continue unfavourable! I 
 cannot raise another shilling! The handle of 
 the pump is chained! All my relations have 
 made wills in my favour, but not one of them 
 will die!" As Falstaff says, ' What money's 
 in my purse? seven groats and twopence!' " 
 
 " I shall set up a hackney coach, and drive 
 one myself if it pays so well!" exclaimed Cap- 
 tain De Crespigny indignantly, " What an ex- 
 tortioner the fellow is ! up to snuff and a pinch 
 above it! He deserves to be executed!" 
 
 " Don't speak of executions in this house! 
 we have had enough of them already," replied 
 Sir Patrick, forcing a laugh which sounded 
 very like a stage laugh, " What brings me 
 here, if I am to be dunned in the very sanc- 
 tuary by a set of rascally creditors ! You can 
 take the hackney coach home, if the man waits 
 a few hours longer, De Crespigny, and pay
 
 •328 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 him off! It would be difficult generally to say 
 which of us is best ofP for ready money, but as 
 Jeremy Diddler says, ' You don't happen to 
 have such a thing as ten-pence there, have 
 your " 
 
 " No! I make it a principle never now to 
 patronize the paper currency or bullion ca 
 mest egal. Scotch notes are so atrociously 
 filthy, and gold is too heavy for the pocket. 
 I am hastening as fast as possible to my last 
 shilling ! Money is a bore ! As for you, Dun- 
 bar, if you wished to borrow a glass of water, 
 I shall not be the man to lend it ! I would not 
 for worlds be included among your ' rascally 
 creditors!' '' 
 
 " They beset my door so incessantly the 
 week before we came here," said Sir Patrick, 
 laughing, " that 1 played the fellows an ad- 
 mirable trick by connecting a strong galvanic 
 battery with the knocker of the door, so that 
 the more angrily they grasped it. the stronger 
 was the shock they received. I sat with AN ig- 
 ton for an hour at the window in perfect fits, 
 when we saw the look of astonishment and
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 329 
 
 terror with which, one after another, they 
 staggered away. One impudent rascal abso- 
 lutely succeeded in serving a writ upon me for 
 L.200, but happening to have as much in the 
 house, I thought it best for once to pay him 
 off, and " 
 
 " That is a most remarkable story ! almost 
 incredible!" exclaimed Captain De Orespigny, 
 laughing; " not so much your being arrested, 
 for that might happen to any of us, any day, 
 but your having L.200 in the house, Dunbar! 
 Excuse me there ! I have as much credulity as 
 most people, but you should keep to probabi- 
 lities!" 
 
 " If one could pay people off with golden 
 opinions," observed Sir Patrick conceitedly, 
 " I flatter myself in that case, that all my cre- 
 ditors might be more than satisfied." 
 
 " When are those fellows to have their next 
 meeting?" 
 
 " I wish we knew, that I might give them 
 a harangue on agricultural distress!'' repHed 
 Sir Patrick, carelessly plunging his whole hand 
 into his luxuriant hair. " It gives me no scru-
 
 330 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 pie to disappoint the shop-keeping world! 
 None whatever! These rascals have not the 
 slightest hesitation in making punctual cus- 
 tomers pay their bills twice, therefore it is 
 quite fair that others should not pay at all. 
 I could point out a dozen of my trades-people 
 who, knowing they risk only a sheet of paper 
 by re-sending their bills a year after they are 
 paid, make a practice of doing so. If the ill- 
 used customer produces a receipt, why then! 
 an angry bow and a sulky apology are all the 
 satisfaction to be got ; but if the receipt, by 
 good chance, be lost, then he becomes per- 
 fectly cheatable, and no remedy can be had 
 but to pay over again ! I have seen the thing 
 happen fifty times, long ago, when I really did 
 sometimes pay my debts, and of course never 
 took the trouble to keep any receipts."" 
 
 " On such occasions,"*' said Captain De Cres- 
 pigny, "the offending shopkeeper, when proved 
 in the wrong, should be fined double the 
 amount of his bill, to be expended for the be- 
 nefit of meritorious men like you and me. 
 Dunbar, who cannot pay once. The sight of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. S31 
 
 every poor man I meet gives me a moral 
 lesson to avoid poverty, coute qui coiite; but as 
 for you, Dunbar, prudence and economy are 
 not certainly to be enumerated in the cata- 
 logue of your many virtues! As sure as your 
 name is Patrick, if L.l 000 dropped into your 
 pocket now, it would be squandered with the 
 liberality of a prince before you walked to the 
 next street.'' 
 
 " Most uncommonly true, De Crespigny!'' 
 replied Sir Patrick, ringing to order a fresh 
 bottle of claret. " But in these days of bank- 
 ruptcies, revolutions, robberies, sudden deaths, 
 and murders, the only way to make sure of 
 enjoying my own is, to spend it immediately. 
 In that case there can be no mistake! I long 
 ago discovered that it is impossible to be both 
 merry and wise ; therefore give me joy at any 
 price. Happiness is to be bought, like every- 
 thing else, if people have only the heart to pay 
 for it. In my opinion a long face and a short 
 purse are the two great evils of existence, both 
 to be avoided at the risk of one's life." 
 
 " Perfectly unanswerable, Dunbar! Money
 
 332 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 is the patent sauce for giving a relish to even- 
 thing! It throws dust in the eyes of all the 
 world, till they can observe none of our faults, 
 and yet see all our perfections magnified and 
 enlarged, as we see them ourselves. Misers 
 make money the end of life, but we make it 
 only the means of enjoying existence; a sure 
 ticket to pleasure of every kind and of ever}- 
 degree !" 
 
 " One of these years, De Crespigny, your 
 grave will be dug with a golden spade ! You 
 are growing mercenary ! But every man living 
 is, in one way or other, deranged about money ; 
 — those who have none, spending, like myself, 
 to a frantic excess, and those who have much, 
 hoarding as if their very lives depended on 
 amassing another shilling." 
 
 " I wish, Dunbar, you would write a trea- 
 tise on the art of living well, after we have 
 been obliged to calculate that difficult sum in 
 arithmetic, ' take nothing from nothing, and 
 nothing remains !' " 
 
 " Why, really, as a shillingless spendthrift, 
 I could say enough to make all of you misers
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 333 
 
 during life ; but for my own part, as long as 
 I possess a guinea, the first man who wants it 
 may get the half. Hoarding is the only en- 
 joyment which increases, I am told, with in- 
 creasing years; but it is the only enjoyment 
 of life I never intend to taste. I mean always 
 to live rich, that I am determined on ; and if 
 I die rich, I shall out-hospital every fool who 
 ever left a will, by endowing a ' Dunbar Dis- 
 pensary for superannuated hon-vivants P " 
 
 " How well the world would get on if every- 
 body were of your way of thinking !" 
 
 " Thinking ! my dear fellow, I never think ! 
 What do you take me for V 
 
 " For a strange being certainly, and for my 
 own particular friend. Besides, as the poet 
 beautifully expresses it in speaking of such 
 friendship as ours : — 
 
 " We have lived and laughed together, 
 Through many changing years ; 
 We have smiled each other's smiles, 
 And — and paid each other^s hills.'''' 
 
 " Thank you, De Crespigny ! I shall send a 
 file of mine to you to-morrow ! Do you remem-
 
 334 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 ber the memorable hour at old Brownlow's, 
 long ago, when my first bright guinea glitter- 
 ed in our hands, while he detained us to enu- 
 merate all the various uses it might and ought 
 to be put to. I never forgot his oration ; 
 that is to say, I have thought of other things 
 certainly during the intervening ten years ; 
 but it has often occurred to me, that if I had, 
 as he proposed, hoarded my treasure till ano- 
 ther came, I should have been a miser for life. 
 I did, however, squander it then, with the 
 spirit of a gentleman ; and ever since, when- 
 ever any one lectures on economy, I put cot- 
 ton in my ears. Wigton, the wine stands 
 with you !"" 
 
 " Capital claret this, Dunbar ! My uncle 
 Doncaster would not have quarrelled with 
 Crockford, if he had given him such a bottle 
 as this ! Claret is certainly the poetry of wine, 
 and I should like to have a cascade of this 
 pouring down my throat all day and every 
 day ! Your o\\ti importation, I suppose ! It 
 does your cellar great credit !'' 
 
 " It has been, at any rate, placed to my
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 335 
 
 credit in Morton's books. I am very fasti- 
 dious now, and owe it to myself to have the 
 best." 
 
 " I can't tell what you may owe to yourself," 
 said Captain De Crespigny, laughingly turning 
 his dark keen eyes on Sir Patrick ; " but you 
 certainly owe a great deal to other people." 
 
 " Very true ; and I owe you a grudge for 
 saying so. 1 never can forgive myself for not 
 having been born to a larger estate ! L. 5 0,000 
 a-year would have suited me so much better 
 than my paltry pittance of twenty ! These 
 are very hard times ! The fellow who supplied 
 this claret might have enjoyed my custom for 
 ten years to come, if he would have waited as 
 long for payment ! It is a man's own fault 
 always when he loses my business ! The mo- 
 ment he takes to dunning we part ! It is a 
 rule with me, and I told him so. He did 
 not take warning ! actually sent in his ac- 
 count a second time ! a most ungentlemanlike 
 thing to do ! an offence I never pardon ! so 
 now " 
 
 " He may retire from business at once !"
 
 336 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 added Captain De Crespigny, filling his glass. 
 " Did I not hear that the house had failed 
 next morning ! We all know what your coun- 
 tenance is worth !"' 
 
 " Three farthings a-year, paid at sight ! 
 We should make it a principle to discourage 
 duns; but they do occasionally force their 
 way upon me in some unaccountable manner, 
 like a draught of air through the key-hole, 
 and then I can look as grand and immoveable 
 as George the Fourth's statue ; but fortune 
 will be in good-humour with us again some 
 day, and take me under her especial patron- 
 age, when I shall pay everybody thirty shil- 
 lings in the pound, and " 
 
 " Hear ! hear ! and a laugh ! as they say 
 in the House of Commons !" exclaimed Lord 
 Wigton. " Well done. Sir Patrick the 
 Great '' 
 
 " The great what ? Your speech is a frag- 
 ment !'' said Sir Patrick, in his liveliest ac- 
 cents ; " besides which, it was an interruption 
 to mine, Wigton; and I intended to have 
 said something particularly amusing, if you
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 337 
 
 had not broken the thread prematurely. It 
 is lost to you for ever now ! I am dumb as a 
 flounder; and you may pity all the present 
 company, as they have really missed a very 
 good thing.'"* 
 
 " We shall place it to your credit accord- 
 ingly, Dunbar," said Captain De Crespigny, 
 laughing. " It was rather annoying to have 
 perhaps the only good thing you ever could 
 have said in your life, nipped in the bud. I 
 hate sometimes to see a joke of mine standing 
 with its back to the wall, and struggling in 
 vain for existence.'"* 
 
 " Dunbar has talked himself into such a fit 
 of parsimony," said Lord Wigton, laughing, 
 '' that he is even economizing his words." 
 
 •' JSrimporUr replied Sir Patrick, gaily 
 circulating the bottles. " You are all mista- 
 ken, and you particularly, Wigton. I can 
 economize my way up the hill of life as well 
 as any one of you, and shall yet live upon an 
 income of nothing per annum. My plan is, 
 to keep only five hunters — to stay but one 
 month at Melton — to feed upon sunshine — to 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 338 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 fill my head with the rule of three — in short, 
 to become actually quite a pauper in my style 
 of life; and if all things else should fail, I 
 can, as a last resource, turn patriot, and sub- 
 sist upon liberalism and mob-popularity !'' 
 
 " That sounds vastly prudent and proper, 
 Dunbar ; but all I say is, whatever desperate 
 extremes you arrive at in the way of retrench- 
 ment, give me the income you spend rather 
 than the income you have I"" replied Captain 
 De Crespigny. " I took a fit of arithmetic 
 one day, and discovered, upon accurate cal- 
 culation, that scattering L.20,000 a-year on 
 an income of ten, gradually drains off the 
 whole !" 
 
 " You are a perfect Babbage, my good 
 fellow ! but you know^ I have expectations 
 from three uncles in Australia, and one in the 
 West Indies !" 
 
 " Uncles ! except the brave old Admiral, 
 you scarcely possess a relation besides myself 
 in the world ; but as long as Sir Arthur lives, 
 you have something to be proud of. The only 
 thing I envy you on earth, is for being his
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 389 
 
 nephew. I reverence him. I never pass him, 
 rain, hail, or sunshine, without taking off my 
 hat. He is quite a jewel of a man." 
 
 " You shall have him very cheap !" replied 
 Sir Patrick, assuming a careless tone, to con- 
 ceal a great deal of irritation. " What will 
 you bid ? I wish he were ' going ! going ! and 
 gone V I never knew such an old bore as he 
 is, always interfering about my sisters, and 
 fussing about my debts. The world ought to 
 be entirely peopled with uncles, aunts, and 
 grandmothers, for they all know so much bet- 
 ter how to act than anybody else." 
 
 "It is setting a very bad example for old 
 people to live very long. My uncle Doncaster 
 took a twenty years' lease of his house in Bel- 
 grave Square lately, and told me afterwards, 
 he thought of having the term ' extended' to 
 the period of his natural life ! I am sure his 
 life is perfectly supernatural already ! What 
 would the old fellow have !" 
 
 " Those superannuated people who outlive 
 themselves have nothing else to do but to sit 
 in their arm chairs and find fault ! The world
 
 .340 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 is good enough if they would only think so : 
 but all their world-before-the-flood ideas are 
 picked up in a different state of existence from 
 ours. Every thing changes in half a cen- 
 tury — customs, dress, modes of thinking, no- 
 tions of honour, ideas of pleasure, habits of 
 society — all are turned upside down ; so there 
 can be no use in your uncle or mine prosing 
 about the past and the future. There is 
 neither past nor future in my plans of exist- 
 ence now." 
 
 " Why, really, if men would neither look 
 backwards nor forwards, there is scarcely a 
 moment of any man's life which is not very 
 tolerably agreeable. The rule that carries 
 me joyously forward through life, is to make 
 the best of everything. We borrow all our 
 annoyances from anticipation of the future, 
 which often turns out perfectly groundless, or 
 from regret for the past. We cannot alter 
 the stream of events; therefore I am for 
 floating along the tide with my arms folded, 
 and looking neither to the right hand nor to 
 the left."
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 341 
 
 " Quite right ; and take my word for it, 
 that in this little trumpery world of ours, 
 ruined men enjoy the best of it. We have 
 nothing to lose — our estates are managed for 
 us — we care not the toss of a farthing about 
 politics — we have no fear of a reverse — we 
 are always the most liberal of what we have — 
 and in short, it is true enough, that the ' me- 
 nage sans souci is the menage sans six sous — ' '' 
 
 " I have generally got through all the diffi- 
 culties of life hitherto with a hop-skip-and-a- 
 jump; so I mean always to keep myself in 
 practice; but after all, Dunbar, money has its 
 merits, and the best profession for a ruined 
 man is to marry an heiress. They always 
 select the greatest roue who makes them an 
 offer ! Why do you not propose to Miss 
 Crawford and her L.60,000 T 
 
 " I never answer questions in the dog-days ! 
 My dear fellow ! L.60,000 would not be a 
 breakfast to me ! It v/ould scarcely supply 
 copper-caps to my gun ! Besides which, I 
 cannot make a low marriage, and pick money 
 out of the puddle ! An heiress at best, always
 
 342 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 seems to me, a personification of all my credi- 
 tors ! A person one should marry to please 
 them ! but the only thing on earth I would 
 not sell is myself !" 
 
 " Being beyond all price, of course, Dun- 
 bar ! I am still insufferably bored at Beaujolie 
 Castle to marry that cousin of mine with a 
 purse as long as her nose, and both I believe 
 are miraculous, but we have not met in the 
 memory of man ! Perhaps I may some day 
 yet be obliged to welcome gold from whatever 
 pocket it comes, but I am not very impatient 
 to see Miss Howard at the head of my table !" 
 
 " My dear fellow ! you would be sitting at 
 the bottom of her table, if Miss Howard 
 Smytheson accepted you ! It is unlucky that 
 a fairy-like fortune, and a fairy-like person 
 are so seldom united in one individual." 
 
 " I have no objection to marry for money 
 as soon as they are ! Love among the roses 
 would not be in my line at all, but when I see 
 gold in a beautiful enough casket, then ' les 
 hemix yeiix de sa casette pour moiT ' Mammon 
 wins its way, where seraphs might despair !'''
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 343 
 
 " But if we must choose between them, 
 give me love, and let money take care of it- 
 self!" 
 
 " Splendidly said ! you are growing magna- 
 nimous, Dunbar. What has happened to you 
 since we met last ? Did I not hear some ro- 
 mantic tale of true-love lately, connected with 
 yourself and Granville's pretty sister, Clara ! 
 ' a portionless lass wi' a lang pedigree !" I 
 vehemently contradicted the whole aifair, as 
 Lady Towercliffe's entire story was so very 
 unlike you, but *" 
 
 Captain De Crespigny paused suddenly, — 
 filled his glass, — averted his eye, — and pushed 
 the bottles hastily round, for he had observed 
 with astonishment that Sir Patrick's under 
 lip became violently compressed, his white 
 forehead became visibly paler, a bright flash 
 was emitted from his eye, and his agitation 
 became so obvious to every one around, that 
 a deep silence fell over the whole party, 
 which soon after dispersed.
 
 344 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 At ev'ry pause they stretch, they yawn, they dose, 
 And now to this side, now to that they nod. 
 
 DUNCIAD. 
 
 One of the greatest pleasures in life is derived 
 from the unexpectedness of events, without 
 which existence would lose much of its in- 
 terest, and finding herself thus emancipated 
 from school, settled at home, and relieved 
 from her worst fears respecting Sir Patrick. 
 Marion no sooner escaped from her unex- 
 pected glimpse of the jovial party in the 
 dining-room, than, lightly carolling some 
 snatches of a popular song, she flew up stairs 
 the happiest of the happy, to find the scene of 
 Agnes' toilette, whom she discovered at la^t
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 345 
 
 all joy and flutter at the prospect of a ball at 
 Lady Tovvercliffe''s in the palace. 
 
 The softening effect of happiness on stern 
 and rugged natures has been often remarked, 
 but selfishness never slumbers, and the recep- 
 tion Agnes bestowed on Marion partook more 
 of astonishment than of pleasure, and was 
 mingled much more with censure than with 
 approbation. Still, after expressing more won- 
 der than the occasion called for, what could 
 possibly have brought her home, and the most 
 unbounded censure of Mrs Penfold for her 
 " unjustifiable conduct'' in sending her, Agnes, 
 having no one better, or rather no one else 
 to talk to, though not violently delighted at 
 the unexpected meeting, gave some frag- 
 ments of her attention to Marion, whose 
 deep tender eyes were sparkling with affec- 
 tionate pleasure on again seeing her sister, 
 while her countenance, from recent agita- 
 tion, looked like an April face of smiles and 
 tears. 
 
 *■' What a storm in a tea-cup you have had 
 at Mrs Penfold's ! tiresome old cat ! I am
 
 346 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 glad it teased her ! Dixon ! pin that wreath 
 more to the right ; — not quite so far ! there ! — 
 oh ! how perfect !" said Agnes, gazing with 
 exultation at her own extraordinary beauty. 
 " Pat must find out some other school for you. 
 Marion ! It would never do to stay idling 
 here ! Dixon ! never shew me that dress 
 again ! Wear it yourself or burn it, but blue 
 always looks vulgar ! I have lucky and un- 
 lucky gowns ! Some in which I meet with all 
 the friends I wish to meet, and dance with all 
 the partners I prefer, but that dress is a 
 happy riddance. I remember once being 
 obliged, when wearing it, to dance three times 
 and go to supper with stupid tiresome Lord 
 Wigton I Dixon ! fetch my bouquet ! not 
 that withered old thing, but the one Captain 
 De Crespigny brought me to-night. Fetch it 
 from the drawing-room.'' 
 
 '' So that horrid Dixon is still with you !'" 
 wdiispered Marion, as soon as the abigail's 
 last frill disappeared. " I very seldom dis- 
 like anybody, Agnes, but she is very odd. 
 There is a strange gleam about her eyes,
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 347 
 
 which look so sharp and penetrating, they 
 have prongs that pierce when they are turned 
 on me." 
 
 '' Yes !'' said Agnes, laughing, " she does 
 sometimes look through me till I feel myself 
 nailed to the wall. 
 
 " Moreover, she has such a flattering, fawn- 
 ing, cunning manner, that I wonder you can 
 tolerate her for an hour," continued Marion. 
 " We know so little of her, too, that she is 
 like a person fallen from the clouds !" 
 
 " Oh ! there you are wrong, for Lady 
 TowercliiFe says she is ' a perfect treasure !"* 
 Consider, too, what low terms she accepts, 
 merely from her desire to serve me ! I never 
 saw a creature so preternaturally anxious to 
 be taken, and now, after two years' practice, 
 she really is excellent. Do you remember at 
 the time I engaged Dixon, what a perfect ro- 
 mance her history was ! Pat did not believe a 
 word of it; but to do her justice, she made it 
 very entertaining. I hope, at least, the greater 
 part was founded on fact !" 
 
 " Why does she wear widow's weeds, — she
 
 348 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 did not mention at first having ever ,been 
 married !"' 
 
 " No more she did ! how strangely beauti- 
 ful she looks in them, — like the abbess of a 
 convent ! Her husband, if she ever had one, 
 which I doubt, is said to have died abroad, 
 and her only wish is never to see strangers. 
 Pat insists she has had some affaire du cceur^ 
 but I tell him it must positively have been 
 with old Sir Arthur, for she started so visibly 
 one day long ago, and became redder than 
 red, when I said he was coming to dinner/' 
 
 Seeing Agnes in so unusually gracious and 
 communicative a mood, Marion ventured now 
 to inquire into the state of her brother's 
 affairs, saying, she supposed he must inevita- 
 bly sell his estate, go abroad, or retrench, as 
 the expedient of planting halfpence, to grow 
 into guineas, had not yet been brought to 
 perfection, even by Sir Patrick, though it had 
 m long been a subject of wonder how he con- 
 trived to get on. 
 
 " This has been a horrid business !"" exclaim- 
 ed Agnes peevishly ; "as for Pat himself, he
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 849 
 
 will do very well ! Trust him for taking care 
 of that. He has always money enough and 
 to spare for his own amusement, though 
 sometimes he would hardly even pay the pos- 
 tage of a letter to save my life. Only think 
 of his bringing me here, out of everybody's 
 way, during the most beautiful years of my 
 existence ! Our friends will scarcely imagine 
 that I think it worth chair hire to travel from 
 this burying-place to the inhabited world ! 
 What can one do. We shall give some 
 quadrille parties ourselves, but scarcely a liv- 
 ing soul is within reach except the Tower- 
 chffes, and those odious Granvilles !'' 
 
 " The Granvilles !" exclaimed Marion, in a 
 blaze of joy and astonishment; " dear Clara! 
 is she here.'"' 
 
 " Yes ; but she cuts this house entirely, 
 and we are hardly on speaking terms, there- 
 fore let me beg you not to attempt any violent 
 missyish, boarding-school friendships in that 
 quarter. I cannot enter into particulars, but 
 rest assured that the less you see of Clara the 
 better for me, — and the better, too, for Pat-
 
 .350 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 rick. Never, for your life, mention her name 
 before him." 
 
 " Why V asked Marion with a look of be- 
 wildered disappointment. '' Agnes, I cannot 
 give up Clara Granville !" 
 
 " Perhaps, then, she may give you up ! 
 She abhors the whole family now ! If I must 
 not veto her without rendering a reason, let 
 me tell you that there is a very awkward 
 pecuniary quarrell between Mr Granville, Pat, 
 and Mr De Crespigny. It is merely one of 
 their madcap tricks, but extremely annoying. 
 You have often heard Sir Arthur tell of 
 three Yorkshire baronets, who signed a mu- 
 tual contract sixty years ago, that the first 
 of them who married should forfeit cf^l 0,000 
 to both the others." 
 
 " Yes ; and not one of them ever ventured 
 to dispose of himself at so great a sacrifice."" 
 
 " Well ! some years afterwards, the sub- 
 ject was discussed one day in pubHc conclave, 
 at the Harrowgate ordinary, and what should 
 the late Mr Granville do, in company with 
 Major De Crespigny and our father, but, Hke
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 351 
 
 a set of madmen, as they must have been at 
 the moment, drew up, for a froHc, precisely 
 such an agreement for themselves, which 
 they signed and sealed, making some of the 
 150 strangers present act as witnesses. The 
 whole affair had been long forgotten, when 
 Mr Granville married some fright of a girl, 
 all nose and freckles, merely because of her 
 being amiable, or some such whim. She lived 
 long enough to make saints of the whole 
 family, and died after her son and daughter 
 were only a few years old." 
 
 "' Then how is your quarrel with Clara 
 tacked on to this affair, Agnes? I cannot 
 quite trace the connexion."' 
 
 " Why ! Pat has been very angry at Mr 
 Granville lately about some unexplainable 
 affront ; so, having accidentally found the old 
 Harrowgate document, and being very hard 
 up for money, he and Captain De Crespigny 
 are threatening to levy the fine of i?l 0,000 
 due to each of them, and poor Mr Granville 
 is, as you may suppose, rather indignant, 
 having been all his life stringing halfpence to-
 
 352 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 gether, to pay off his father's debts, though 
 no one could legally oblige him. As Pat 
 says, ' more fool he !' You know our bro- 
 ther's favourite expression of contempt is, to 
 describe any one as ' the sort of man who 
 would lock up his money.' " 
 
 " What a shocking affair !" exclaimed 
 Marion, colouring with shame and indigna- 
 tion. " As uncle Arthur says, Patrick would 
 do any thing for money short of a highway 
 robbery ! Surely, Agnes, he cannot be in 
 earnest." 
 
 " Pshaw ! never mind being amiable now," 
 replied Agnes impatiently ; " we need not act 
 to empty benches ! I am already aware that 
 you, Marion, are on the exact pattern of what 
 Mrs Hannah More would bespeak to order 
 for a sister or daughter ; but with all you 
 learn at school, pray learn to keep that 
 goodyism out of sight, for I can fancy no- 
 thing more intolerable than a young laiiy 
 turned out on the model of those horrid !?en- 
 tentious books, filled with advice to young 
 ladies. Mrs Ellis writes to the • Women of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 353 
 
 England,' but she luckily leaves the ' Women 
 of Scotland' to their own devices, without 
 troubling us to be exorbitantly amiable/' 
 
 " I shall be in no hurry to see Clara now !" 
 continued Marion, dejectedly. " I suppose 
 Patrick will be cut by all gentlemen for such 
 unjustifiable conduct." 
 
 " Oh dear, no ! Nobody is ever cut for 
 anything now as long as he has money ! I 
 can scarcely tell the thing upon earth, except 
 cheating at cards, that a man of 6^10,000 a- 
 year may not do, and yet be as well received 
 as ever, — and ladies ditto ! Any woman who 
 can afford a court plume, and many even who 
 cannot afford one, may fit on her ostrich 
 feathers, and go to court with as proud a step 
 and as lofty a carriage, as either you or I. 
 Your uncle, Sir Arthur, complains that there 
 is no such thing as ' moral indignation ' in 
 the world now, and so much the better. 
 What good would it do to anybody? If a 
 gentleman once gets into a fashionable club, 
 he is made for life, and may ever afterwards 
 defy the world to look askance at him."
 
 354 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 " Then nobody takes any notice of Pat- 
 rick's affairs V asked Marion doubtfully. 
 
 " No ; except uncle Arthur, who makes 
 himself quite absurd about them ; refuses to 
 dine here ; turns his back on Patrick at the 
 club, in a most un-uncle-like manner ; and per- 
 forms all sorts of antics to testify his annoy- 
 ance ; but we are both rather glad he no 
 longer comes prosing to this house, and that 
 we n^ed never enter his. The Admiral is a 
 fitter companion for these old pictures round 
 the wall than for us. Do not look at me 
 with that hair-standing-on-end expression ! 
 I can't help what Patrick does, and you will 
 soon get accustomed to such things." 
 
 " Oh no, never ! I hope never ! but Pat- 
 rick cannot surely push that claim in earnest 
 against the Granvilles. He will refund the 
 money, will he not, Agnes ?" 
 
 " Perhaps, when all his other creditors are 
 paid off. Now spare the whites of your eyes, 
 and do not look at me as if I had five heads, 
 but pray attend to my injunction, and avoid 
 Clara, who is only fit to be a saint in a niche
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 855 
 
 at her brother's chapel. You may know her 
 at any distance now by her five-year-old 
 dresses and country-cousin bonnets. Richard 
 Grranville has taken orders at last, and be- 
 come a most superb preacher. In short, the 
 Granvilles are good, worthy, dull, respectable 
 people as ever lived, though the very last up- 
 on earth that would suit us." 
 
 " Do you mean to be severe, Agnes ? I 
 hope you are mistaken !" repHed Marion, 
 humbled and depressed by all she had heard, 
 " I have sometimes felt, when with Clara, as 
 if goodness were infectious, and never hear of 
 any people better than myself without wishing 
 at least to be in the same room with them."' 
 
 " Take my word for it, Marion, these enor- 
 mously good, sagacious persons are better to 
 look at than to converse with. They may be 
 admired at a distance, but the greater the 
 distance is the better; and pray never set 
 up in that line yourself, as nothing is more 
 unpopular. Clara invited me, when we first 
 arrived here, to one of her tea parties ! 
 some horrid Granville-ish affair, I have no
 
 356 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 doubt ! But I knew my own value better 
 than to go. Fancy me, Agnes Dunbar, at a 
 good party !' " 
 
 " I hope you might not be so very much 
 out of place, Agnes !" rephed Marion, with 
 an arch and pretty smile. " Whenever t give 
 ' good parties ' you shall be the very first 
 person invited !" 
 
 " Then take my apology now, — previously 
 engaged ! Indeed, I may perhaps consider 
 myself an engaged person in every sense, 
 Marion ! Captain De Crespigny has already 
 almost proposed several times, and makes no 
 secret of his attachment. Oh, never mind 
 Dixon ! She knows who sent me this bou- 
 quet and all about it. Captain De Crespigny 
 tells me he has planted all my favourite 
 flowers at Kilmarnock Abbey, and often says 
 what a resource they will hereafter become to 
 me ! Here are all the letters of my name 
 grouped together. Anemone, Geranium, Nar- 
 cissus, Everlasting, and Sweet William." 
 
 " Very ingenious,'' observed Marion, smil-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 357 
 
 " I promised not to mention whose device 
 it was ; therefore, Marion, as I am exceeding- 
 ly particular about keeping my word, if any 
 one guesses where I got this, remember to 
 recollect that I 'did not tell ! But, Dixon, 
 what is the meaning of this ! the geranium is 
 broken and these flowers are so withered, 
 they have not surely been in water." 
 
 When Marion accidentally looked at Dixon, 
 she was startled to perceive that a mortal 
 paleness had overspread her features, which 
 bore a strange bewildered expression, while 
 her hand, in which she held the flowers, trem- 
 bled visibly, but she said nothing, and Agnes, 
 in the triumphant gayety of her spirits, rat- 
 tled heedlessly on. 
 
 " One of the rooms at Beaujolie castle, 
 which Captain De Crespigny already calls 
 ' my houdoir^ opens into a conservatory filled 
 with rare exotics, but he says I shall be the 
 brightest flower of the whole, though never 
 born to blush unseen, if he can help it ! How 
 very droll he is, paying compliments often 
 that would make one feel beautiful for a year.
 
 S58 MODERN FLIRTATIOXS. 
 
 He said this morning, when Patrick com- 
 plained of the room being hot, that he wished 
 I would fan it with my eyelashes, and asked 
 for one of them to wear as a feather in his 
 Highland bonnet ! Yesterday, when I show- 
 ed Captain De Crespigny this new pearl 
 hoop, he said I spoiled the symmetry of my 
 hand with rings, as there was not a jewel in 
 the world fit for me to wear, and only one 
 ring that ought ever to be placed here ! You 
 should have seen his sentimental look on the 
 occasion, which might have done for twenty 
 proposals !" 
 
 " One would have been enough,'" said Ma- 
 rion, smiling. 
 
 " What he said was quite sufficiently expli- 
 cit, and I only wish he would appear a little 
 more diffident, as his look was most provok- 
 ingly self-satisfied, when he added, ' how for- 
 tunate will be the happy man who places a 
 ring on that finger !** When speaking of the 
 Admiral, too, he always now calls him ' uncle 
 Arthur V and yesterday, at taking leave, he 
 said in his half jocular, half serious tone, * I
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 359 
 
 shall live upon the Bridge of Sighs till we 
 meet again !' " 
 
 " Then, pray let him stay there, till he is a 
 little less confident," replied Marion, laugh- 
 ing. " You should teach diffidence in three 
 lessons, Agnes ; he has no right to seem sure 
 of success, till he has obtained your consent 
 point blank. You have many admirers to 
 choose among !" 
 
 " Squadrons of admirers, but not so many 
 lovers as you think, Marion ! The race of 
 marrying men is becoming extinct in the 
 world, so I must not be severely discouraging 
 to poor diffident Captain De Crespigny, w^ho 
 has been setting his mustachios at me so long. 
 Your notions about keeping people in sus- 
 pense, are quite of the old school, when 
 ladies used all to be upon stilts, but ' nous 
 avons change tout cela.'' '' 
 
 " I am sorry for it ! We should all have 
 been born when Sir Arthur was, and I wish 
 everybody were like him.'"' 
 
 " Spectacles, grey hair, and all ! Thank 
 you, Marion, but I am not particular, and
 
 SfiO MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 feel quite satisfied to be a contemporary of 
 Captain De Crespigny. If you could but have 
 heard him this morning when he sang the 
 ' Pirate's Serenade," said Agnes, warbling the 
 words to herself, 
 
 ' This night, or never, my bride thou shalt be.' " 
 
 While Agnes continued singing sotto voce 
 for some minutes, her whole heart and 
 thoughts occupied with agreeable retrospec- 
 tions, the eye of Marion again accidentally 
 wandered towards Dixon, and she was start- 
 led out of a reverie, into something almost 
 approaching alarm, by observing her attitude 
 and expression. With features as pale and 
 rigid as those of a corpse, she gazed at Agnes, 
 and there was an intensity in her look, per- 
 fectly unaccountable, while a dazzling and ter- 
 rible light glittered in her eyes. Marion with 
 difficulty suppressed an exclamation of aston- 
 ishment, when she perceived the extraordi- 
 nary change in Dixon's countenance, but with 
 a private resolution to watch more narrowly 
 than before, what such evident agitation could
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 361 
 
 mean, she determined as yet to make no re- 
 mark, but allowed Agnes to rattle on undis- 
 turbed, while her own thoughts were filled 
 with perplexity and surprise. 
 
 " Yesterday, Marion, Captain De Crespig- 
 ny actually made me read over with him that 
 proposal scene in the new novel, ' Matrimonial 
 Felicity.' I nearly died of confusion when he 
 doubled down the page, saying, he hoped this 
 was not the last time we should study it toge- 
 ther. The story has but one fault, that the 
 hero makes rather a low marriage, and of that 
 Captain De Crespigny expressed an utter ab- 
 horrence! I remember ages ago, his making 
 me laugh so excessively with a description of 
 some school-boy attachment he had in York- 
 shire! Such a burlesque upon love! It was 
 exquisite! The silver thimbles and wall-flowers 
 he presented to a fair damsel in prunella shoes, 
 and no gloves, while his gages d^ amour were ac- 
 companied with verses borrowed from the Irish 
 Melodies, and passed off as his own. I forgot 
 always to ask what became of the poor de- 
 luded girl at last, — probably married before 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 362 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 this time to some fat farmer or tliriving shop- 
 keeper, but for my own part, the miser>' of an 
 unrequited attachment is what I never can 
 know ! Captain De Crespigny really is the only 
 person one could possibly have fancied/' 
 
 A loud and startling crash at this moment 
 interrupted Agnes' delightful reminiscences. 
 Marion instinctively sprang from her seat with 
 alarm, and looked hastily round, when she 
 perceived that Dixon had tripped over and 
 thrown down a table covered with china or- 
 naments, on which Miss Dunbar had frequent- 
 ly squandered half her income, even at times 
 when she could scarcely afford a dress. The 
 etiquette being now established that all young 
 ladies, of whatever means, shall cultivate a 
 passion for china and hot-house plants, Agnes 
 had made a collection of second-rate vases, 
 and third-rate tea-cups, interspersed with 
 stunted hyacinths and drooping cameUias, at 
 so great an expense that Sir Patrick often re- 
 commended her to take a wing of the bazaar 
 and sell off all her trumpery again. The whole 
 assortment now lay in fragments on the floor.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 363 
 
 while Agnes delivered herself up to agonies of 
 lamentation, scolding, and wondering, over the 
 ruin of her hoarded treasures, while she point- 
 ed out with consternation, how nearly the 
 table had fallen with its edge upon her own 
 foot, which might have lamed her for hfe. 
 The " fall of china'' is a proverbial trial of 
 temper, and that of Agnes did not prove on 
 this occasion invulnerable, while the epithets, 
 " awkward wretch!" and " stupid idiot !'' were 
 audibly lavished on the offending abigail. 
 
 Marion appeared exclusively occupied in 
 gathering up the scattered fragments of china, 
 and arranging them together, but her eye was 
 secretly observing Dixon, the strange wild ex- 
 pression of whose features filled her with in- 
 definite apprehension. In her countenance 
 there gleamed, certainly, for an instant, a dark 
 smile of malignant satisfaction. Marion felt 
 sure that it was so ! Could the poor creature's 
 mind be shipwrecked? Was she insane! — 
 Her look had become fierce and haggard, her 
 forehead of a deadly paleness, and when she 
 caught the eye of Marion earnestly fixed upon
 
 364 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 her, she started up, with a frown of angr}' 
 defiance, and hurried out of the room. 
 
 " This is a most calamitous catastrophe!*" 
 exclaimed Agnes, disconsolately, " How could 
 Dixon be so intolerably stupid !"" 
 
 " Are you quite certain it proceeded from 
 stupidity? The accident is altogether very 
 strange," observed Marion, going close up to 
 her sister, and relating all she had observed 
 during that evening in the very lowest whisper, 
 for Marion felt a nervous consciousness that 
 Dixon was not far off, and might attempt to 
 overhear them. A stealthy step was heard on 
 the stair after she concluded, but Marion, 
 thoroughly engrossed with the subject, reiter- 
 ated once more her conviction that there had 
 been somethinor more than common in the 
 manner of Dixon, whom she advised Agnes to 
 watch very carefully, if she did not part with 
 her soon. 
 
 " You were always prejudiced against Dixon, 
 poor stupid fool that she is, Marion. I wish 
 I had sent her adrift before she broke all the 
 china, but it is very unlike you to be so severe!
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 365 
 
 How can you fancy the creature did it on pur- 
 pose? That is too bad, when you might have 
 seen how ghastly pale she became!" 
 
 " I did see, Agnes! and that makes me 
 wonder only the more! No one ever looked 
 like that, surely, for breaking a few china 
 gewgaws!" 
 
 " Marion! speak respectfully of my trea- 
 sures ! But you are in a most censorious mood 
 this evening! very different from common, 
 when you are generally a knight-errant in all 
 our conversations, defending everybody ! But 
 nothing pleases you to-night! My admirer 
 first, then my maid, my china, and even Pat- 
 rick, who certainly behaved exceedingly ill 
 to-day, in not asking me to preside at his par- 
 ty. The pretext was, that we had no cha- 
 peron, but I had the greatest mind, in a fit of 
 offended dignity, to leave his house !" 
 
 " Your dignity would have been rather put 
 out of countenance, by having to borrow my 
 carriage if you did go!" said Sir Patrick, who 
 had laughingly entered the room unobserved. 
 " Lady Towercliffe may perhaps receive you
 
 S66 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 in time for her six o'clock breakfast to-morrow 
 morning, Agnes, but unless you make more 
 haste, the supper and dancing will be quite 
 out of the question. Past twelve o'clock, and 
 a rainy night!" 
 
 Sir Patrick was a good-natured, selfish 
 man, willing that everybody should be happy, 
 provided it put him to no personal inconveni- 
 ence, and when Marion took this opportunity 
 to explain the circumstances of her ver\' unex- 
 pected return, he merely bestowed a contemp- 
 tuous whistle on the description of Mrs Pen- 
 fold's wrath, laughed at Marion's evident anx- 
 iety about his embarrassments, and then de- 
 sired her to set about being happy at home 
 the best way she could, as he thought she 
 might make the rest of her life a holiday now; 
 " And," added he, in his usual gay rallying 
 tone, " forget for ever, all your grievances at 
 Mrs Penfold's, or rather, Mrs Tenfold's, as 
 she ought to be called, on account of the 
 breadth of her person and the length of her 
 bills!"
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 367 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 Lively he seem'd, and spoke of all he knew, 
 
 The friendly many, and the favourite few. — Crabbe. 
 
 Sir Patrick, like most men who are gifted 
 with more head than heart, disbeheved in all 
 such generous emotions and exalted affections 
 as he had not himself experienced. With a 
 lively defiance of received opinions, his viva- 
 city was unchecked by the fear of giving pain 
 or of causing offence, being perfectly reckless 
 on that score, provided only he could enliven 
 the dull routine of ordinary society. Marion's 
 mingled expression of shyness and animation, 
 her light laughter and ardent feelings, were
 
 368 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 refreshing to a mind so hackneyed as his, and 
 though he often checked her sensitive spirit 
 in its full flow of affectionate confidence, by 
 a retort courteous, or rather discourteous, he 
 was nevertheless vain of the admiration she 
 invariably excited, and read, in the eyes of 
 others, the value he ought to place on her 
 beauty and talents. 
 
 Agnes' whole mind was so frothed over 
 with folly, and encrusted with selfishness, that 
 unless the wheel of fortune touched upon her 
 personal comforts, she was as impervious to all 
 external impressions as a tortoise beneath the 
 shell, and it was a useless waste of generous 
 sentiments and kind emotions, whenever the 
 heart of Marion was laid open to her. Agnes, 
 who had long since adopted a company man- 
 ner, and even a company voice, persuaded her- 
 self that Marion also, had very cleverly " got 
 up" a character on some imaginary model of 
 excellence, which she acted over to the very 
 life. It seemed to her a naked certainty that 
 the refinement and delicacy natural to Ma-
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 369 
 
 rion's mind, were in reality artificial ; and 
 though the radiance of her intellect, and the 
 sensibility of her eye, were but in harmony 
 with her actions, all testifying disinterested 
 self-denial and invariable affection, still Agnes 
 convinced herself that Marion lived " for 
 effect." 
 
 If Marion ever acted a part at all, it was 
 only in concealing from those who might have 
 ridiculed her, the unfathomable depth of her 
 feelings, since she might as well have asked 
 for sympathy from an ice-berg as from Agnes. 
 Knowing that every evidence of sensibility 
 would be received with scepticism, she silently 
 and hopefully waited till some scope might be 
 afforded her for testifying that all which she 
 might have wished to profess, was nothing to 
 what she would do or suffer for those she 
 loved ; and if ever Marion repined at any one 
 circumstance in her lot, it was, that she might 
 perhaps pass through life unknown to those 
 she loved the best, because she dared not ex- 
 press, even by a few insignificant words, that 
 affectionate attachment to Agnes and Sir
 
 S70 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 Patrick, which she would have thought any 
 sacrifice a pleasure, to evince in itfl full and 
 heartfelt measure. 
 
 One privilege of friendship Marion enjoyed 
 in unbounded measure with both her brother 
 and sister. She became the usual depositary' 
 of their many grievances and disappointments. 
 Marion had the art, — or rather the instinct, 
 for to her all art was unknown, — of listening 
 in perfection. If Agnes received a dress from 
 her London milliner which did not fit, or if Sir 
 Patrick did not obtain an invitation to some 
 jovial party which he had expected to enliven, 
 Marion became of immediate importance. 
 The annoyance he felt on such occasions could 
 scarcely be exceeded — the death of his nearest 
 relation, or of all his relations together, would 
 have been nothing to it; but ^Marion could 
 always administer some gentle anodyne to the 
 irritated sufferer, and displayed a wonderful 
 ingenuity in turning up the best side of every- 
 thing, for the advantage and comfort of others. 
 Nothing melted Marion s heai-t so entirely as 
 to see Sir Patrick for a moment depressed, as
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 371 
 
 the very pride and haughtiness of his spirit ren- 
 dered it, in her estimation, the more affecting 
 when he seemed at all subdued, and on the 
 evening of Lady Towercliffe's ball, 'she could 
 not but fancy, before he set off with Agnes, 
 that there was a forced vivacity in his spirits 
 which she had never perceived before, and 
 that the tone of his voice had a melanpholy 
 modulation when he bid her good night, ac- 
 companied by an unusual degree of kindness, 
 always the very worst indication of Sir Pa- 
 trick's spirits, the consciousness of which, and 
 a thousand conjectures respecting its cause 
 and extent, dismissed her to bed with an anx- 
 ious mind, and a prayer, even more fervent 
 than usual, for his happiness. 
 
 In one house, Marion was understood and 
 loved as she wished to be, and all her young 
 enthusiasm found its best refuge and welcome 
 in the aged heart of Sir Arthur, who felt re- 
 freshed and cheered by the companionship of 
 thoughts and feelings as fresh and natural 
 as the flowers in spring, while they reminded 
 him of the time when his own had been as
 
 372 MODERN FLIRTATIOXS. 
 
 buoyant and untrodden, as hopeful and ^ay, 
 as full of kind intentions and generous 
 wishes. 
 
 The morning after Marion's arrival at St 
 John's Lodge, she arose by the peep of day, 
 intent on surprising her uncle with a visit 
 during his early breakfast, and gayly antici- 
 pating the look of joyful surprise and perplex- 
 ity with which she would be welcomed, while 
 she rehearsed in her own happy mind, how 
 best to increase Sir Arthur's astonishment. 
 The day was indeed one of matchless beauty, 
 the sunshine perfectly superb, and all around 
 resplendent with light, gayety, and happiness, 
 the white clouds skimmino^ alon<; like swans on 
 the blue sky, the air perfumed with blossoms, 
 every leaf spangled with dew, the painted 
 butterflies, like winged flowers, hovering over 
 the meadows, and the country people exhibiting 
 looks full of mirth, hilarity, and good-humour, 
 as they hastened past to their tasks of daily 
 toil, enjoying those common gifts of a bounti- 
 ful Providence, the light breeze, the balmy sun- 
 shine, the music of birds, the perfume of
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 373 
 
 flowers, and the joy of natural unfevered 
 spirits. 
 
 " And now, while bloom and breeze their charms unite. 
 And all is glowing with a rich dehght, 
 God ! who can tread upon the breathing ground, 
 Nor feel Thee present, where Thy smiles abound ?" 
 
 The whole air seemed full of incense and 
 poetry when the light-footed Marion, with a 
 bounding and elastic step, set forth on her 
 solitary walk towards Portobello, joyous as a 
 bird in spring, pleased with the whole world, 
 and admiring everything with a lightness of 
 heart that cast its sunshine on all she saw. 
 Marion delighted in a wild sense of liberty 
 now, when she contrasted it with her long 
 years of endurance at Mrs Penfold's ; and 
 equipped in exactly such a pink gingham 
 dress as Agnes had censured on Clara Gran- 
 ville, with the free air, like liquid sunshine, 
 playing about her glowing cheek, and her 
 light ringlets fluttering in the breeze, the ex- 
 citement of her spirits became such that she 
 could have run with pleasure across the daisied 
 meadows, and, " glad as the wild bee on his
 
 374 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 glossy wing,'' longed to reach the craggy 
 heights of Arthur Seat, or to linger beneath 
 the old thorns already fragrant with blossom, 
 and steeped in dew. 
 
 Marion had picked some flowers as fresh 
 and blooming as herself, while she hurried 
 through the more inhabited parts of the sanc- 
 tuary, but when passing beneath the palace 
 windows, her steps were arrested for a mo- 
 ment by hearing the sounds of mirth and 
 music. '• Can it be !" thought she, in asto- 
 nishment, " Lady Towercliffe's ball is yet at 
 its zenith !" 
 
 Pitying the dancers much more than she 
 envied them, Marion looked at the scene of 
 glorious beauty around her, and was hurrying 
 forward, humming a light barcarolle in con- 
 cert with the thousand birds in full chorus on 
 every side, when suddenly a loud shout caus- 
 ed her to start and turn round. Marion now 
 perceived with astonishment that a window 
 of Lady Towercliffe's apartments had been 
 hastily opened, and Sir Patrick stood on the 
 balcony waving his handkerchief impetuously
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 375 
 
 for her to stop, and a moment afterwards she 
 saw him eagerly running after her across the 
 fields without his hat. 
 
 " Marion ! you lucky girl ! stop there !" 
 exclaimed he with breathless animation. 
 " We are all at breakfast, and require one 
 young lady more to make up a last quadrille, 
 so come along ; you are my prisoner ! What 
 makes you look so aghast ! Who ever heard 
 of a girl not liking her first ball !^' 
 
 " Patrick, you are certainly mad V said 
 Marion, unable to help laughing at the almost 
 delirious eagerness of his manner. " Pray 
 consider ! I am not in a ball dress ! I am 
 not invited ! I shall look like a house- 
 maid ! " 
 
 " Nonsense ! I wish everybody looked 
 half as well ! All these reasons, and fifty 
 more, go for nothing. I have set my heart 
 upon it, and you shall not stand in your own 
 light, like the man in the moon. No, Marion ! 
 you are to be published immediately under 
 my auspices. You have often expressed a 
 willingness to die for me any day, but that is
 
 376 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 not necessary just at present. All I ask is 
 that you shall dance for me ! Now, fling that 
 bonnet off, shake your little forest of ring- 
 lets, and come along. You will pass muster 
 very well without Cinderella's god-mother to 
 make a metamorphosis." 
 
 Unable to resist the out-burst of her bro- 
 ther's extravagant mirth, yet shrinking and 
 abashed, almost ready to cry with vexation, 
 Marion was unwillingly led, or almost drag- 
 ged by her laughing persecutor into the draw- 
 ing-room, where, with a look of naivete^ and 
 an aspect lovely in the first blush and fresh- 
 ness of girlhood, she gazed in mute astonish- 
 ment and almost with dismay at this her first 
 peep into the great world of fashion, wishing 
 for her own part that she could have adopted 
 invisibility, and enjoyed the scene as if she 
 were in a private box at the theatre, for as 
 yet her feelings were " troj) prh de la peinr 
 pour etre un plaisirT 
 
 A bright sunshine streamed into the room, 
 while the gas lamps still dimly glared over 
 the breakfast table, at present surrounded by
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 377 
 
 three or four hot, flushed, dusty-looking 
 young ladies, with exaggerated colours, soiled 
 dresses, torn gloves, withered bouquets, and 
 exceedingly disordered ringlets, falling in 
 dishevelled masses over their naked shoulders. 
 These ladies, assuming forced spirits, and an 
 appearance of over-done gayety, kept up a 
 rattling, flippant dialogue with about twice or 
 three times the number of gentlemen, some in 
 glittering uniforms, padded and stufled to the 
 very chin, and others in plain clothes, but all 
 over-heated, over-excited, and over-fatigued, 
 while, in spite of parched lips and blood-shot 
 eyes, they were still endeavouring, with all 
 their might, to be fascinating. 
 
 To Marion's unaccustomed eye the whole 
 party seemed like a set of second-rate actors 
 from the theatre, not calculated, by their 
 aspect, to elicit very rapturous applauses, and 
 she privately wondered they were not asham- 
 ed to look each other in the face when in so 
 ridiculous a plight. Even Agnes, her own 
 beautiful sister, looked very unlike Agnes ! 
 and she felt astonished to find that it might
 
 378 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 actually be possible to spend an hour in her 
 company and not be admiring her, but in 
 Marion's very private opinion, her appearance 
 was now as if some sign-post painter had 
 done a resemblance of her sister in the very 
 coarsest colouring, and in the most over-done 
 style of dress and expression. 
 
 Agnes had a great deal to say, and no diffi- 
 dence to prevent her saying it all, therefore 
 she was now plunged into the midst of a very 
 animated dialogue with Captain De Cres- 
 pigny, talking with a look of conscious beauty 
 and conscious success, in the only style she 
 could talk, nonsense, and making a lavish ex- 
 penditure of smiles, attitudes, and exclama- 
 tions, to give herself the appearance of viva- 
 city. Her hair w^as in a most disastrous 
 state, and her complexion everything but 
 what it should be, while her dress had so 
 completely fallen off at the shoulders, that she 
 might appropriately have sung her favourite 
 air, " One struggle more, and I am free.*' 
 
 The expression of Agnes' countenance be- 
 came at once perfectly natural, when she
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 379 
 
 turned round, and for the first time observed, 
 with a start of genuine astonishment, that 
 Marion was beside her, looking at the mo- 
 ment hke some being of a better world, or 
 like a graceful water-lily rearing its pure and 
 beautiful head above the turbid pool. 
 
 Marion glanced at her sister in a state of 
 smiling embarrassment, as if desirous to claim 
 her protection amidst a scene so new and 
 strange, and taking possession, with a con- 
 fiding look, of Agnes' arm, joy seemed rush- 
 ing out of her bright animated eyes, and 
 dimpling in her cheeks, when, under her 
 sister's protection, she gazed around with an 
 expression of timid amusement and curiosity. 
 
 " Marion, what mad freak is this !" ex- 
 claimed Agnes, with a hot red blush of angry 
 surprise ; " Patrick, do take her home !" 
 
 " Not till she has been my vis a vis in this 
 quadrille, and then we must all disperse," re- 
 plied Sir Patrick, with a boyish mischievous 
 laugh, while noticing a haughty flash pass 
 swiftly over the brow of Agnes ; " I had diffi- 
 culty enough in getting Marion to come at
 
 380 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 all, so she shall not escape me now, De 
 Crespigny, have you engaged a partner T 
 
 " If I had, I would have strangled her !" 
 replied Captain De Crespigny, with an admir- 
 ing glance at Marion, who stood with her 
 downcast eyes shaded with their long deep 
 fringes, while an arch young smile played 
 round her mouth, and dimpled her cheek. 
 
 " Will you then take the very great trouble 
 of dancing with Marion." 
 
 " I shall be too happy," replied he, throw- 
 ing a world of expression into his fine animat- 
 ed eyes. " I shall do so with all my heart !" 
 
 " Marion, your old friend and cousin, Louis 
 de Crespigny. Did you ever see such an ugly 
 fellow !" 
 
 " That is the very thing I pique myself 
 upon ! I am like the Skye terriers, admired 
 chiefly for my surpassing ugliness," said Cap- 
 tain De Crespigny laughingly, observing the 
 smile and the blush with which Marion listen- 
 ed. " You think me plain ; but I wish you 
 saw my uncle !" 
 
 '' Wear a mask, De Crespigny, if you ever
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 381 
 
 become as hideous ! But in respect to looks, 
 the most unendurable of all living beings is a 
 handsome vulgar man, like the description I 
 hear of that creature Howard, Sir Arthur's 
 pen-and-ink man. I could forgive his vulga- 
 rity, if Marion did not tell me that he pre- 
 sumes to be handsome, which renders him ut- 
 terly insufferable ! I wish somebody would 
 put him to death !" 
 
 " The fellow has never yet shewn himself 
 to me,'*'' replied Captain De Crespigny, care- 
 lessly. " Now, Miss Dunbar, allow me the 
 honour of the next quadrille with you ; and if 
 there be a dozen more,'" added he, with his 
 most ineffable smile, " so much the better ! 
 I consider any other gentleman who asks you 
 to-night as my personal enemy !" 
 
 Marion stole a frightened glance at Agnes, 
 while timidly accepting the offered arm of 
 Captain De Crespigny ; but her sister had 
 turned away with a look of superb disdain, 
 and was engaged in lively conversation with 
 Lord Wigton, a tall stripling, who seemed as 
 if he were never to be done growing, and who
 
 o82 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 copied Captain De Crespigny in everything, 
 from the pattern of his watch-chain to the 
 choice of his partners. 
 
 Agnes felt invariably more astonished at 
 any deficiency of attention, than at the most 
 devoted assiduity, having accustomed herself 
 to believe that she was always the first object 
 of interest to every gentleman in the room, 
 though diffidence or caution might cause them 
 to exercise their self-denial for a time, by 
 keeping aloof; and it was with more com- 
 miseration for Captain De Crespigny's priva- 
 tion in losing her, than for her own, that she 
 accepted the school-boy Peer as a partner, 
 while secretly amused and flattered by the 
 ludicrous expression of awe and admiration 
 with which he usually offered himself. Hav- 
 ing talked, flirted, and laughed, through one 
 quadrille and several reels, the clock struck 
 eight ! It was an unspeakable triumph to 
 Lady Towerclifife, that her ball had thus been 
 kept up the latest of any during the season ; 
 and now the whole party prepared for retiring 
 to their fevered pillows.
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 388 
 
 Captain De Orespigny, after uttering, as 
 usual, in his most ingratiating manner, a mil- 
 lion of absurd nothings, took a sentimental 
 leave of Marion, saying, with his very best 
 smile, and a sigh to correspond, " I shall al- 
 ways remember this evening with pleasure — 
 always ! Ten minutes of unmixed happiness 
 are something in this world to be thankful for 
 Life has nothing more delightful !'*" 
 
 These words were said in his usual gay, 
 off-hand tone, while Captain De Crespigny 
 felt perfectly charmed to think what an im- 
 pression they must be making on the heart of 
 his young and unsophisticated partner. He 
 was at the same time astonished himself, to 
 find on this occasion how much more his heart 
 was on his lips than it had ever been before. 
 Marion was the only girl Captain De Cres- 
 pigny had yet seen whom he did not feel a wish 
 to trifle with ; for during the last half hour, 
 he had been not only amused, but deeply in- 
 terested, by discovering in her conversation a 
 degree of matured reflection, of naivete^ hu- 
 mour, and good-sense, accompanied by a bright-
 
 384 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 iiess of expression in her deeply-speaking eyes, 
 much in contrast with what he had ever been 
 accustomed to before. Nothing is so rare in 
 manner as to be perfectly natural, without a 
 soup^on of affectation ; and to this charm was 
 added another, quite as new and unexpected 
 to Captain De Crespigny, though by no means 
 so acceptable, as he became not only asto- 
 nished, but piqued, at the gay, indifferent 
 carelessness, with which Marion heard, as 
 words of course, not more belonging to her. 
 than if they had been addressed to any one 
 else, his well-turned compliments and insinu- 
 ated admiration. 
 
 Not to be met half-way was new and asto- 
 nishing to Captain De Crespigny ! It seemed 
 perfectly unaccountable, little as he knew how 
 long his character for a ruthless flirt had been 
 placarded before the eyes of Marion, who no 
 more credited the sincerity of his professions 
 now, than if he had been an actor performing 
 on the stage. She considered that it was his 
 part for the evening to scatter civilities indis- 
 criminately around him, while his real feelings
 
 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 385 
 
 were, she believed, privately consecrated to 
 one, and to one only. Marion's own heart 
 was in armour, protected by the belief of Cap- 
 tain De Crespigny being her affianced brother ; 
 and therefore she received his adieux with a 
 quiet demure look, succeeded by an arch smile, 
 as the idea crossed her mind how completely 
 she was in the secret of his attachment, and 
 how little he seemed to guess that she was. 
 
 When Captain De Crespigny observed 
 Marion's good-humoured careless manner in 
 taking leave of him, he began to fancy it just 
 possible she might still be quite indifferent to 
 his attentions ; but he rather indignantly re- 
 solved that this should not continue long. It 
 would be a distinction, he knew, to follow in 
 the train of a young beauty so admired as he 
 saw that Marion must be; for a hundred 
 tongues were already talking around him of 
 her matchless loveliness, while he alone had 
 yet enjoyed an opportunity of discovering, 
 that much as she was to be admired by those 
 who saw her, she was still more to be loved 
 by those who knew her ; for she seemed to 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 SS6 MODERN FLIRTATIONS. 
 
 unite in herself all that he had ever praised in 
 a thousand others before, though he carried 
 no plummet in his mind fitted to measure the 
 depth of hers. Captain De Crespigny had 
 been accustomed, hitherto, always to feign 
 more than he felt ; but now, for the first time, 
 he found it necessary to conceal, even from 
 himself, the extent of his feelings ; for it 
 seemed as if the last few hours had rendered 
 Marion perfectly known, and for ever dear to 
 him. Slowly strolling homewards, therefore, 
 he gave vent to his thoughts, by singing, in a 
 voice like moonlight, soft and clear, the words 
 of a favourite song : — 
 
 " And fare thee well, my only love ! 
 And fare thee well a while ! 
 And I will come again my love, 
 Thoufjh it were ten thousand mile." 
 
 END OF VOLUME FIRST. 
 
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