burstsof
music
,
clustered
and
sauntered
on
the
green
turf
of
bowery
lawns
.
Mrs.
Ferrars
,
on
a
rustic
throne
,
with
the
wondrous
twins
in
still
more
wonderful
attire
,
distributed
alternate
observations
of
sympathetic
gaiety
to
a
Russian
Grand
Duke
and
to
the
serene
heir
of
a
German
principality
.
And
yet
there
was
really
an
expression
on
her
countenance
of
restlessness
,
not
to
say
anxiety
,
which
ill
accorded
with
the
dulcet
tones
and
the
wreathed
smiles
which
charmed
her
august
companions
.
Zenobia
,
the
great
Zenobia
,
had
not
arrived
,
and
the
hours
were
advancing
.
The
Grand
Duke
played
with
the
beautiful
and
haughty
infants
,
and
the
German
Prince
inquired
of
Endymion
whether
he
were
destined
to
be
one
of
His
Majesty’s
guards
;
but
still
Zenobia
did
not
come
,
and
Mrs.
Ferrars
could
scarcely
conceal
her
vexation
.
But
there
was
no
real
occasion
for
it
.
For
even
at
this
moment
,
with
avant-courier
and
outriders
and
badged
postillions
on
her
four
horses
of
race
,
the
lodge-gates
were
opening
for
the
great
lady
,
who
herself
appeared
in
the
distance
;
and
Mrs.
Ferrars
,
accompanied
by
her
distinguished
guests
,
immediately
rose
and
advanced
to
receive
the
Queen
of
Fashion
.
No
one
appreciated
a
royal
presence
more
highly
than
Zenobia
.
It
was
her
habit
to
impress
upon
her
noble
fellows
of
both
sexes
that
there
were
relations
of
intimacy
between
herself
and
the
royal
houses
of
Europe
,
which
were
not
shared
by
her
class
.
She
liked
to
play
the
part
of
a
social
mediator
between
the
aristocracy
and
royal
houses
.
A
German
Serenity
was
her
delight
,
but
a
Russian
Grand
Duke
was
her
embodiment
of
power
and
pomp
,
and
sound
principles
in
their
most
authentic
and
orthodox
form
.
And
yet
though
she
addressed
their
highnesses
with
her
usual
courtly
vivacity
,
and
poured
forth
inquiries
which
seemed
to
indicate
the
most
familiar
acquaintance
with
the
latest
incidents
from
Schonbrunn
or
the
Rhine
,
though
she
embraced
her
hostess
,
and
even
kissed
the
children
,
the
practised
eye
of
Mrs.
Ferrars
,
whose
life
was
a
study
of
Zenobia
,
detected
that
her
late
appearance
had
been
occasioned
by
an
important
cause
,
and
,
what
was
more
,
that
Zenobia
was
anxious
to
communicate
it
to
her
.
With
feminine
tact
Mrs.
Ferrars
moved
on
with
her
guests
until
the
occasion
offered
when
she
could
present
some
great
ladies
to
the
princes
;
and
then
dismissing
the
children
on
appropriate
missions
,
she
was
not
surprised
when
Zenobia
immediately
exclaimed
:
“
Thank
heaven
,
we
are
at
last
alone
!
You
must
have
been
surprised
I
was
so
late
.
Well
,
guess
what
has
happened
?
”
and
then
as
Mrs.
Ferrars
shook
her
head
,
she
continued
:
“
They
are
all
four
out
!
”
“
All
four
!
”
“
Yes
;
Lord
Dudley
,
Lord
Palmerston
,
and
Charles
Grant
follow
Huskisson
.
I
do
not
believe
the
first
ever
meant
to
go
,
but
the
Duke
would
not
listen
to
his
hypocritical
explanations
,
and
the
rest
have
followed
.
I
am
surprised
about
Lord
Dudley
,
as
I
know
he
loved
his
office
.
”
“
I
am
alarmed
,
”
said
Mrs.
Ferrars
.
“
Not
the
slightest
cause
for
fear
,
”
exclaimed
the
intrepid
Zenobia
.
“
It
must
have
happened
sooner
or
later
.
I
am
delighted
at
it
.
We
shall
now
have
a
cabinet
of
our
own
.
They
never
would
have
rested
till
they
had
brought
in
some
Whigs
,
and
the
country
hates
the
Whigs
.
No
wonder
,
when
we
remember
that
if
they
had
had
their
way
we
should
have
been
wearing
sabots
at
this
time
,
with
a
French
prefect
probably
in
Holland
House
.
”
“
And
whom
will
they
put
in
the
cabinet
?
”
inquired
Mrs.
Ferrars
.
“
Our
good
friends
,
I
hope
,
”
said
Zenobia
,
with
an
inspiring
smile
;
“
but
I
have
heard
nothing
about
that
yet
.
I
am
a
little
sorry
about
Lord
Dudley
,
as
I
think
they
have
drawn
him
into
their
mesh
;
but
as
for
the
other
three
,
especially
Huskisson
and
Lord
Palmerston
,
I
can
tell
you
the
Duke
has
never
had
a
quiet
moment
since
they
joined
him
.
We
shall
now
begin
to
reign
.
The
only
mistake
was
ever
to
have
admitted
them
.
I
think
now
we
have
got
rid
of
Liberalism
for
ever
.
”
CHAPTER
VI
Mr.
Ferrars
did
not
become
a
cabinet
minister
,
but
this
was
a
vexation
rather
than
a
disappointment
,
and
transient
.
The
unexpected
vacancies
were
filled
by
unexpected
personages
.
So
great
a
change
in
the
frame
of
the
ministry
,
without
any
promotion
for
himself
,
was
on
the
first
impression
not
agreeable
,
but
reflection
and
the
sanguine
wisdom
of
Zenobia
soon
convinced
him
that
all
was
for
the
best
,
that
the
thought
of
such
rapid
preferment
was
unreasonable
,
and
that
time
and
the
due
season
must
inevitably
bring
all
that
he
could
desire
,
especially
as
any
term
to
the
duration
of
the
ministry
was
not
now
to
be
foreseen
:
scarcely
indeed
possible
.
In
short
,
it
was
shown
to
him
that
the
Tory
party
,
renovated
and
restored
,
had
entered
upon
a
new
lease
of
authority
,
which
would
stamp
its
character
on
the
remainder
of
the
nineteenth
century
,
as
Mr.
Pitt
and
his
school
had
marked
its
earlier
and
memorable
years
.
And
yet
this
very
reconstruction
of
the
government
necessarily
led
to
an
incident
which
,
in
its
consequences
,
changed
the
whole
character
of
English
politics
,
and
commenced
a
series
of
revolutions
which
has
not
yet
closed
.
One
of
the
new
ministers
who
had
been
preferred
to
a
place
which
Mr.
Ferrars
might
have
filled
was
an
Irish
gentleman
,
and
a
member
for
one
of
the
most
considerable
counties
in
his
country
.
He
was
a
good
speaker
,
and
the
government
was
deficient
in
debating
power
in
the
House
of
Commons
;
he
was
popular
and
influential
.
The
return
of
a
cabinet
minister
by
a
large
constituency
was
more
appreciated
in
the
days
of
close
boroughs
than
at
present
.
There
was
a
rumour
that
the
new
minister
was
to
be
opposed
,
but
Zenobia
laughed
the
rumour
to
scorn
.
As
she
irresistibly
remarked
at
one
of
her
evening
gatherings
,
“
Every
landowner
in
the
county
is
in
his
favour
;
therefore
it
is
impossible
.
”
The
statistics
of
Zenobia
were
quite
correct
,
yet
the
result
was
different
from
what
she
anticipated
.
An
Irish
lawyer
,
a
professional
agitator
,
himself
a
Roman
Catholic
and
therefore
ineligible
,
announced
himself
as
a
candidate
in
opposition
to
the
new
minister
,
and
on
the
day
of
election
,
thirty
thousand
peasants
,
setting
at
defiance
all
the
landowners
of
the
county
,
returned
O’Connell
at
the
head
of
the
poll
,
and
placed
among
not
the
least
memorable
of
historical
events
—
the
Clare
election
.
This
event
did
not
,
however
,
occur
until
the
end
of
the
year
1828
,
for
the
state
of
the
law
then
prevented
the
writ
from
being
moved
until
that
time
,
and
during
the
whole
of
that
year
the
Ferrars
family
had
pursued
a
course
of
unflagging
display
.
Courage
,
expenditure
,
and
tact
combined
,
had
realised
almost
the
height
of
that
social
ambition
to
which
Mrs.
Ferrars
soared
.
Even
in
the
limited
and
exclusive
circle
which
then
prevailed
,
she
began
to
be
counted
among
the
great
dames
.
As
for
the
twins
,
they
seemed
quite
worthy
of
their
beautiful
and
luxurious
mother
.
Proud
,
wilful
,
and
selfish
,
they
had
one
redeeming
quality
,
an
intense
affection
for
each
other
.
The
sister
seemed
to
have
the
commanding
spirit
,
for
Endymion
was
calm
,
but
if
he
were
ruled
by
his
sister
,
she
was
ever
willing
to
be
his
slave
,
and
to
sacrifice
every
consideration
to
his
caprice
and
his
convenience
.
The
year
1829
was
eventful
,
but
to
Ferrars
more
agitating
than
anxious
.
When
it
was
first
known
that
the
head
of
the
cabinet
,
whose
colleague
had
been
defeated
at
Clare
,
was
himself
about
to
propose
the
emancipation
of
the
Roman
Catholics
,
there
was
a
thrill
throughout
the
country
;
but
after
a
time
the
success
of
the
operation
was
not
doubted
,
and
was
anticipated
as
a
fresh
proof
of
the
irresistible
fortunes
of
the
heroic
statesman
.
There
was
some
popular
discontent
in
the
country
at
the
proposal
,
but
it
was
mainly
organised
and
stimulated
by
the
Dissenters
,
and
that
section
of
Churchmen
who
most
resembled
them
.
The
High
Church
party
,
the
descendants
of
the
old
connection
which
had
rallied
round
Sacheverell
,
had
subsided
into
formalism
,
and
shrank
from
any
very
active
co-operation
with
their
evangelical
brethren
.
The
English
Church
had
no
competent
leaders
among
the
clergy
.
The
spirit
that
has
animated
and
disturbed
our
latter
times
seemed
quite
dead
,
and
no
one
anticipated
its
resurrection
.
The
bishops
had
been
selected
from
college
dons
,
men
profoundly
ignorant
of
the
condition
and
the
wants
of
the
country
.
To
have
edited
a
Greek
play
with
second-rate
success
,
or
to
have
been
the
tutor
of
some
considerable
patrician
,
was
the
qualification
then
deemed
desirable
and
sufficient
for
an
office
,
which
at
this
day
is
at
least
reserved
for
eloquence
and
energy
.
The
social
influence
of
the
episcopal
bench
was
nothing
.
A
prelate
was
rarely
seen
in
the
saloons
of
Zenobia
.
It
is
since
the
depths
of
religious
thought
have
been
probed
,
and
the
influence
of
woman
in
the
spread
and
sustenance
of
religious
feeling
has
again
been
recognised
,
that
fascinating
and
fashionable
prelates
have
become
favoured
guests
in
the
refined
saloons
of
the
mighty
,
and
,
while
apparently
indulging
in
the
vanities
of
the
hour
,
have
re-established
the
influence
which
in
old
days
guided
a
Matilda
or
the
mother
of
Constantine
.
The
end
of
the
year
1829
,
however
,
brought
a
private
event
of
moment
to
the
Ferrars
family
.
The
elder
Mr.
Ferrars
died
.
The
world
observed
at
the
time
how
deeply
affected
his
son
was
at
this
event
.
The
relations
between
father
and
son
had
always
been
commendable
,
but
the
world
was
hardly
prepared
for
Mr.
Ferrars
,
junior
,
being
so
entirely
overwhelmed
.
It
would
seem
that
nothing
but
the
duties
of
public
life
could
have
restored
him
to
his
friends
,
and
even
these
duties
he
relinquished
for
an
unusual
time
.
The
world
was
curious
to
know
the
amount
of
his
inheritance
,
but
the
proof
of
the
will
was
unusually
delayed
,
and
public
events
soon
occurred
which
alike
consigned
the
will
and
the
will-maker
to
oblivion
.
CHAPTER
VII
The
Duke
of
Wellington
applied
himself
to
the
treatment
of
the
critical
circumstances
of
1830
with
that
blended
patience
and
quickness
of
perception
to
which
he
owed
the
success
of
so
many
campaigns
.
Quite
conscious
of
the
difficulties
he
had
to
encounter
,
he
was
nevertheless
full
of
confidence
in
his
ability
to
control
them
.
It
is
probable
that
the
paramount
desire
of
the
Duke
in
his
effort
to
confirm
his
power
was
to
rally
and
restore
the
ranks
of
the
Tory
party
,
disturbed
rather
than
broken
up
by
the
passing
of
the
Relief
Bill
.
During
the
very
heat
of
the
struggle
it
was
significantly
observed
that
the
head
of
the
powerful
family
of
Lowther
,
in
the
House
of
Commons
,
was
never
asked
to
resign
his
office
,
although
he
himself
and
his
following
voted
invariably
against
the
Government
measure
.
The
order
of
the
day
was
the
utmost
courtesy
to
the
rebels
,
who
were
treated
,
as
some
alleged
,
with
more
consideration
than
the
compliant
.
At
the
same
time
the
desire
of
the
Whigs
to
connect
,
perhaps
even
to
merge
themselves
with
the
ministerial
ranks
,
was
not
neglected
.
A
Whig
had
been
appointed
to
succeed
the
eccentric
and
too
uncompromising
Wetherell
in
the
office
of
attorney-general
,
other
posts
had
been
placed
at
their
disposal
,
and
one
even
,
an
old
companion
in
arms
of
the
Duke
,
had
entered
the
cabinet
.
The
confidence
in
the
Duke’s
star
was
not
diminished
,
and
under
ordinary
circumstances
this
balanced
strategy
would
probably
have
been
successful
.
But
it
was
destined
to
cope
with
great
and
unexpected
events
.
The
first
was
the
unexpected
demise
of
the
crown
.
The
death
of
King
George
the
Fourth
at
the
end
of
the
month
of
June
,
according
to
the
then
existing
constitution
,
necessitated
a
dissolution
of
parliament
,
and
so
deprived
the
minister
of
that
invaluable
quality
of
time
,
necessary
to
soften
and
win
back
his
estranged
friends
.
Nevertheless
,
it
is
not
improbable
,
that
the
Duke
might
still
have
succeeded
,
had
it
not
been
for
the
occurrence
of
the
French
insurrection
of
1830
,
in
the
very
heat
of
the
preparations
for
the
general
election
in
England
.
The
Whigs
who
found
the
Duke
going
to
the
country
without
that
reconstruction
of
his
ministry
on
which
they
had
counted
,
saw
their
opportunity
and
seized
it
.
The
triumphant
riots
of
Paris
were
dignified
into
“
the
three
glorious
days
,
”
and
the
three
glorious
days
were
universally
recognised
as
the
triumph
of
civil
and
religious
liberty
.
The
names
of
Polignac
and
Wellington
were
adroitly
connected
together
,
and
the
phrase
Parliamentary
Reform
began
to
circulate
.
It
was
Zenobia’s
last
reception
for
the
season
;
on
the
morrow
she
was
about
to
depart
for
her
county
,
and
canvass
for
her
candidates
.
She
was
still
undaunted
,
and
never
more
inspiring
.
The
excitement
of
the
times
was
reflected
in
her
manner
.
She
addressed
her
arriving
guests
as
they
made
their
obeisance
to
her
,
asked
for
news
and
imparted
it
before
she
could
be
answered
,
declared
that
nothing
had
been
more
critical
since
‘93
,
that
there
was
only
one
man
who
was
able
to
deal
with
the
situation
,
and
thanked
Heaven
that
he
was
not
only
in
England
,
but
in
her
drawing-room
.
Ferrars
,
who
had
been
dining
with
his
patron
,
Lord
Pomeroy
,
and
had
the
satisfaction
of
feeling
,
that
at
any
rate
his
return
to
the
new
parliament
was
certain
,
while
helping
himself
to
coffee
could
not
refrain
from
saying
in
a
low
tone
to
a
gentleman
who
was
performing
the
same
office
,
“
Our
Whig
friends
seem
in
high
spirits
,
baron
.
”
The
gentleman
thus
addressed
was
Baron
Sergius
,
a
man
of
middle
age
.
His
countenance
was
singularly
intelligent
,
tempered
with
an
expression
mild
and
winning
.
He
had
attended
the
Congress
of
Vienna
to
represent
a
fallen
party
,
a
difficult
and
ungracious
task
,
but
he
had
shown
such
high
qualities
in
the
fulfilment
of
his
painful
duties
—
so
much
knowledge
,
so
much
self-control
,
and
so
much
wise
and
unaffected
conciliation
—
that
he
had
won
universal
respect
,
and
especially
with
the
English
plenipotentiaries
,
so
that
when
he
visited
England
,
which
he
did
frequently
,
the
houses
of
both
parties
were
open
to
him
,
and
he
was
as
intimate
with
the
Whigs
as
he
was
with
the
great
Duke
,
by
whom
he
was
highly
esteemed
.
“
As
we
have
got
our
coffee
,
let
us
sit
down
,
”
said
the
baron
,
and
they
withdrew
to
a
settee
against
the
wall
.
“
You
know
I
am
a
Liberal
,
and
have
always
been
a
Liberal
,
”
said
the
baron
;
“
I
know
the
value
of
civil
and
religious
liberty
,
for
I
was
born
in
a
country
where
we
had
neither
,
and
where
we
have
since
enjoyed
either
very
fitfully
.
Nothing
can
be
much
drearier
than
the
present
lot
of
my
country
,
and
it
is
probable
that
these
doings
at
Paris
may
help
my
friends
a
little
,
and
they
may
again
hold
up
their
heads
for
a
time
;
but
I
have
seen
too
much
,
and
am
too
old
,
to
indulge
in
dreams
.
You
are
a
young
man
and
will
live
to
see
what
I
can
only
predict
.
The
world
is
thinking
of
something
else
than
civil
and
religious
liberty
.
Those
are
phrases
of
the
eighteenth
century
.
The
men
who
have
won
these
‘three
glorious
days’
at
Paris
,
want
neither
civilisation
nor
religion
.
They
will
not
be
content
till
they
have
destroyed
both
.
It
is
possible
that
they
may
be
parried
for
a
time
;
that
the
adroit
wisdom
of
the
house
of
Orleans
,
guided
by
Talleyrand
,
may
give
this
movement
the
resemblance
,
and
even
the
character
,
of
a
middle-class
revolution
.
It
is
no
such
thing
;
the
barricades
were
not
erected
by
the
middle
class
.
I
know
these
people
;
it
is
a
fraternity
,
not
a
nation
.
Europe
is
honeycombed
with
their
secret
societies
.
They
are
spread
all
over
Spain
.
Italy
is
entirely
mined
.
I
know
more
of
the
southern
than
the
northern
nations
;
but
I
have
been
assured
by
one
who
should
know
that
the
brotherhood
are
organised
throughout
Germany
and
even
in
Russia
.
I
have
spoken
to
the
Duke
about
these
things
.
He
is
not
indifferent
,
or
altogether
incredulous
,
but
he
is
so
essentially
practical
that
he
can
only
deal
with
what
he
sees
.
I
have
spoken
to
the
Whig
leaders
.
They
tell
me
that
there
is
only
one
specific
,
and
that
a
complete
one
—
constitutional
government
;
that
with
representative
institutions
,
secret
societies
cannot
co-exist
.
I
may
be
wrong
,
but
it
seems
to
me
that
with
these
secret
societies
representative
institutions
rather
will
disappear
.
”
CHAPTER
VIII
What
unexpectedly
took
place
in
the
southern
part
of
England
,
and
especially
in
the
maritime
counties
,
during
the
autumn
of
1830
,
seemed
rather
to
confirm
the
intimations
of
Baron
Sergius
.
The
people
in
the
rural
districts
had
become
disaffected
.
Their
discontent
was
generally
attributed
to
the
abuses
of
the
Poor
Law
,
and
to
the
lowness
of
their
wages
.
But
the
abuses
of
the
Poor
Law
,
though
intolerable
,
were
generally
in
favour
of
the
labourer
,
and
though
wages
in
some
parts
were
unquestionably
low
,
it
was
observed
that
the
tumultuous
assemblies
,
ending
frequently
in
riot
,
were
held
in
districts
where
this
cause
did
not
prevail
.
The
most
fearful
feature
of
the
approaching
anarchy
was
the
frequent
acts
of
incendiaries
.
The
blazing
homesteads
baffled
the
feeble
police
and
the
helpless
magistrates
;
and
the
government
had
reason
to
believe
that
foreign
agents
were
actively
promoting
these
mysterious
crimes
.
Amid
partial
discontent
and
general
dejection
came
the
crash
of
the
Wellington
ministry
,
and
it
required
all
the
inspiration
of
Zenobia
to
sustain
William
Ferrars
under
the
trial
.
But
she
was
undaunted
and
sanguine
as
a
morning
in
spring
.
Nothing
could
persuade
her
that
the
Whigs
could
ever
form
a
government
,
and
she
was
quite
sure
that
the
clerks
in
the
public
offices
alone
could
turn
them
out
.
When
the
Whig
government
was
formed
,
and
its
terrible
programme
announced
,
she
laughed
it
to
scorn
,
and
derided
with
inexhaustible
merriment
the
idea
of
the
House
of
Commons
passing
a
Reform
Bill
.
She
held
a
great
assembly
the
night
that
General
Gascoyne
defeated
the
first
measure
,
and
passed
an
evening
of
ecstasy
in
giving
and
receiving
congratulations
.
The
morrow
brought
a
graver
brow
,
but
still
an
indomitable
spirit
,
and
through
all
these
tempestuous
times
Zenobia
never
quailed
,
though
mobs
burnt
the
castles
of
dukes
and
the
palaces
of
bishops
.
Serious
as
was
the
state
of
affairs
to
William
Ferrars
,
his
condition
was
not
so
desperate
as
that
of
some
of
his
friends
.
His
seat
at
least
was
safe
in
the
new
parliament
that
was
to
pass
a
Reform
Bill
.
As
for
the
Tories
generally
,
they
were
swept
off
the
board
.
Scarcely
a
constituency
,
in
which
was
a
popular
element
,
was
faithful
to
them
.
The
counties
in
those
days
were
the
great
expounders
of
popular
principles
,
and
whenever
England
was
excited
,
which
was
rare
,
she
spoke
through
her
freeholders
.
In
this
instance
almost
every
Tory
knight
of
the
shire
lost
his
seat
except
Lord
Chandos
,
the
member
for
Buckinghamshire
,
who
owed
his
success
entirely
to
his
personal
popularity
.
“
Never
mind
,
”
said
Zenobia
,
“
what
does
it
signify
?
The
Lords
will
throw
it
out
.
”
And
bravely
and
unceasingly
she
worked
for
this
end
.
To
assist
this
purpose
it
was
necessary
that
a
lengthened
and
powerful
resistance
to
the
measure
should
be
made
in
the
Commons
;
that
the
public
mind
should
be
impressed
with
its
dangerous
principles
,
and
its
promoters
cheapened
by
the
exposure
of
their
corrupt
arrangements
and
their
inaccurate
details
.
It
must
be
confessed
that
these
objects
were
resolutely
kept
in
view
,
and
that
the
Tory
opposition
evinced
energy
and
abilities
not
unworthy
of
a
great
parliamentary
occasion
.
Ferrars
particularly
distinguished
himself
.
He
rose
immensely
in
the
estimation
of
the
House
,
and
soon
the
public
began
to
talk
of
him
.
His
statistics
about
the
condemned
boroughs
were
astounding
and
unanswerable
:
he
was
the
only
man
who
seemed
to
know
anything
of
the
elements
of
the
new
ones
.
He
was
as
eloquent
too
as
exact
,
—
sometimes
as
fervent
as
Burke
,
and
always
as
accurate
as
Cocker
.
“
I
never
thought
it
was
in
William
Ferrars
,
”
said
a
member
,
musingly
,
to
a
companion
as
they
walked
home
one
night
;
“
I
always
thought
him
a
good
man
of
business
,
and
all
that
sort
of
thing
—
but
,
somehow
or
other
,
I
did
not
think
this
was
in
him
.
”
“
Well
,
he
has
a
good
deal
at
stake
,
and
that
brings
it
out
of
a
fellow
,
”
said
his
friend
.
It
was
,
however
,
pouring
water
upon
sand
.
Any
substantial
resistance
to
the
measure
was
from
the
first
out
of
the
question
.
Lord
Chandos
accomplished
the
only
important
feat
,
and
that
was
the
enfranchisement
of
the
farmers
.
This
perpetual
struggle
,
however
,
occasioned
a
vast
deal
of
excitement
,
and
the
actors
in
it
often
indulged
in
the
wild
credulity
of
impossible
expectations
.
The
saloon
of
Zenobia
was
ever
thronged
,
and
she
was
never
more
confident
than
when
the
bill
passed
the
Commons
.
She
knew
that
the
King
would
never
give
his
assent
to
the
bill
.
His
Majesty
had
had
quite
enough
of
going
down
in
hackney
coaches
to
carry
revolutions
.
After
all
,
he
was
the
son
of
good
King
George
,
and
the
court
would
save
the
country
,
as
it
had
often
done
before
.
“
But
it
will
not
come
to
that
,
”
she
added
.
“
The
Lords
will
do
their
duty
.
”
“
But
Lord
Waverley
tells
me
,
”
said
Ferrars
,
“
that
there
are
forty
of
them
who
were
against
the
bill
last
year
who
will
vote
for
the
second
reading
.
”
“
Never
mind
Lord
Waverley
and
such
addlebrains
,
”
said
Zenobia
,
with
a
smile
of
triumphant
mystery
.
“
So
long
as
we
have
the
court
,
the
Duke
,
and
Lord
Lyndhurst
on
our
side
,
we
can
afford
to
laugh
at
such
conceited
poltroons
.
His
mother
was
my
dearest
friend
,
and
I
know
he
used
to
have
fits
.
Look
bright
,
”
she
continued
;
“
things
never
were
better
.
Before
a
week
has
passed
these
people
will
be
nowhere
.
”
“
But
how
it
is
possible
?
”
“
Trust
me
.
”
“
I
always
do
—
and
yet
”
—
—
“
You
never
were
nearer
being
a
cabinet
minister
,
”
she
said
,
with
a
radiant
glance
.
And
Zenobia
was
right
.
Though
the
government
,
with
the
aid
of
the
waverers
,
carried
the
second
reading
of
the
bill
,
a
week
afterwards
,
on
May
7
,
Lord
Lyndhurst
rallied
the
waverers
again
to
his
standard
and
carried
his
famous
resolution
,
that
the
enfranchising
clauses
should
precede
the
disenfranchisement
in
the
great
measure
.
Lord
Grey
and
his
colleagues
resigned
,
and
the
King
sent
for
Lord
Lyndhurst
.
The
bold
chief
baron
advised
His
Majesty
to
consult
the
Duke
of
Wellington
,
and
was
himself
the
bearer
of
the
King’s
message
to
Apsley
House
.
The
Duke
found
the
King
“
in
great
distress
,
”
and
he
therefore
did
not
hesitate
in
promising
to
endeavour
to
form
a
ministry
.
“
Who
was
right
?
”
said
Zenobia
to
Mr.
Ferrars
.
“
He
is
so
busy
he
could
not
write
to
you
,
but
he
told
me
to
tell
you
to
call
at
Apsley
House
at
twelve
to-morrow
.
You
will
be
in
the
cabinet
.
”
“
I
have
got
it
at
last
!
”
said
Ferrars
to
himself
.
“
It
is
worth
living
for
and
at
any
peril
.
All
the
cares
of
life
sink
into
insignificance
under
such
circumstances
.
The
difficulties
are
great
,
but
their
very
greatness
will
furnish
the
means
of
their
solution
.
The
Crown
cannot
be
dragged
in
the
mud
,
and
the
Duke
was
born
for
conquest
.
”
A
day
passed
,
and
another
day
,
and
Ferrars
was
not
again
summoned
.
The
affair
seemed
to
hang
fire
.
Zenobia
was
still
brave
,
but
Ferrars
,
who
knew
her
thoroughly
,
could
detect
her
lurking
anxiety
.
Then
she
told
him
in
confidence
that
Sir
Robert
made
difficulties
,
“
but
there
is
nothing
in
it
,
”
she
added
.
“
The
Duke
has
provided
for
everything
,
and
he
means
Sir
Robert
to
be
Premier
.
He
could
not
refuse
that
;
it
would
be
almost
an
act
of
treason
.
”
Two
days
after
she
sent
for
Mr.
Ferrars
,
early
in
the
morning
,
and
received
him
in
her
boudoir
.
Her
countenance
was
excited
,
but
serious
.
“
Don’t
be
alarmed
,
”
she
said
;
“
nothing
will
prevent
a
government
being
formed
,
but
Sir
Robert
has
thrown
us
over
;
I
never
had
confidence
in
him
.
It
is
most
provoking
,
as
Mr.
Baring
had
joined
us
,
and
it
was
such
a
good
name
for
the
City
.
But
the
failure
of
one
man
is
the
opportunity
of
another
.
We
want
a
leader
in
the
House
of
Commons
.
He
must
be
a
man
who
can
speak
;
of
experience
,
who
knows
the
House
,
its
forms
,
and
all
that
.
There
is
only
one
man
indicated
.
You
cannot
doubt
about
him
.
I
told
you
honours
would
be
tumbling
on
your
head
.
You
are
the
man
;
you
are
to
have
one
of
the
highest
offices
in
the
cabinet
,
and
lead
the
House
of
Commons
.
”
“
Peel
declines
,
”
said
Ferrars
,
speaking
slowly
and
shaking
his
head
.
“
That
is
very
serious
.
”
“
For
himself
,
”
said
Zenobia
,
“
not
for
you
.
It
makes
your
fortune
.
”
“
The
difficulties
seem
too
great
to
contend
with
.
”
“
What
difficulties
are
there
?
You
have
got
the
court
,
and
you
have
got
the
House
of
Lords
.
Mr.
Pitt
was
not
nearly
so
well
off
,
for
he
had
never
been
in
office
,
and
had
at
the
same
time
to
fight
Lord
North
and
that
wicked
Mr.
Fox
,
the
orator
of
the
day
,
while
you
have
only
got
Lord
Althorp
,
who
can’t
order
his
own
dinner
.
”
“
I
am
in
amazement
,
”
said
Ferrars
,
and
he
seemed
plunged
in
thought
.
“
But
you
do
not
hesitate
?
”
“
No
,
”
he
said
,
looking
up
dreamily
,
for
he
had
been
lost
in
abstraction
;
and
speaking
in
a
measured
and
hollow
voice
,
“
I
do
not
hesitate
.
”
Then
resuming
a
brisk
tone
he
said
,
“
This
is
not
an
age
for
hesitation
;
if
asked
,
I
will
do
the
deed
.
”
At
this
moment
there
was
a
tap
at
the
door
,
and
the
groom
of
the
chambers
brought
in
a
note
for
Mr.
Ferrars
,
which
had
been
forwarded
from
his
own
residence
,
and
which
requested
his
presence
at
Apsley
House
.
Having
read
it
,
he
gave
it
to
Zenobia
,
who
exclaimed
with
delight
,
“
Do
not
lose
a
moment
.
I
am
so
glad
to
have
got
rid
of
Sir
Robert
with
his
doubts
and
his
difficulties
.
We
want
new
blood
.
”
That
was
a
wonderful
walk
for
William
Ferrars
,
from
St.
James’
Square
to
Apsley
House
.
As
he
moved
along
,
he
was
testing
his
courage
and
capacity
for
the
sharp
trials
that
awaited
him
.
He
felt
himself
not
unequal
to
conjectures
in
which
he
had
never
previously
indulged
even
in
imagination
.
His
had
been
an
ambitious
,
rather
than
a
soaring
spirit
.
He
had
never
contemplated
the
possession
of
power
except
under
the
aegis
of
some
commanding
chief
.
Now
it
was
for
him
to
control
senates
and
guide
councils
.
He
screwed
himself
up
to
the
sticking-point
.
Desperation
is
sometimes
as
powerful
an
inspirer
as
genius
.
The
great
man
was
alone
,
—
calm
,
easy
,
and
courteous
.
He
had
sent
for
Mr.
Ferrars
,
because
having
had
one
interview
with
him
,
in
which
his
co-operation
had
been
requested
in
the
conduct
of
affairs
,
the
Duke
thought
it
was
due
to
him
to
give
him
the
earliest
intimation
of
the
change
of
circumstances
.
The
vote
of
the
house
of
Commons
on
the
motion
of
Lord
Ebrington
had
placed
an
insurmountable
barrier
to
the
formation
of
a
government
,
and
his
Grace
had
accordingly
relinquished
the
commission
with
which
he
had
been
entrusted
by
the
King
.
CHAPTER
IX
Availing
himself
of
his
latch-key
,
Ferrars
re-entered
his
home
unnoticed
.
He
went
at
once
to
his
library
,
and
locked
the
door
of
the
apartment
.
There
sitting
before
his
desk
,
he
buried
his
face
in
his
hands
and
remained
in
that
posture
for
a
considerable
time
.
They
were
tumultuous
and
awful
thoughts
that
passed
over
his
brain
.
The
dreams
of
a
life
were
dissipated
,
and
he
had
to
encounter
the
stern
reality
of
his
position
—
and
that
was
Ruin
.
He
was
without
hope
and
without
resource
.
His
debts
were
vast
;
his
patrimony
was
a
fable
;
and
the
mysterious
inheritance
of
his
wife
had
been
tampered
with
.
The
elder
Ferrars
had
left
an
insolvent
estate
;
he
had
supported
his
son
liberally
,
but
latterly
from
his
son’s
own
resources
.
The
father
had
made
himself
the
principal
trustee
of
the
son’s
marriage
settlement
.
His
colleague
,
a
relative
of
the
heiress
,
had
died
,
and
care
was
taken
that
no
one
should
be
substituted
in
his
stead
.
All
this
had
been
discovered
by
Ferrars
on
his
father’s
death
,
but
ambition
,
and
the
excitement
of
a
life
of
blended
elation
and
peril
,
had
sustained
him
under
the
concussion
.
One
by
one
every
chance
had
vanished
:
first
his
private
means
and
then
his
public
prospects
;
he
had
lost
office
,
and
now
he
was
about
to
lose
parliament
.
His
whole
position
,
so
long
,
and
carefully
,
and
skilfully
built
up
,
seemed
to
dissolve
and
dissipate
into
insignificant
fragments
.
And
now
he
had
to
break
the
situation
to
his
wife
.
She
was
to
become
the
unprepared
partner
of
the
secret
which
had
gnawed
at
his
heart
for
years
,
during
which
to
her
his
mien
had
often
been
smiling
and
always
serene
.
Mrs.
Ferrars
was
at
home
,
and
alone
,
in
her
luxurious
boudoir
,
and
he
went
to
her
at
once
.
After
years
of
dissimulation
,
now
that
all
was
over
,
Ferrars
could
not
bear
the
suspense
of
four-and-twenty
hours
.
It
was
difficult
to
bring
her
into
a
mood
of
mind
capable
of
comprehending
a
tithe
of
what
she
had
to
learn
;
and
yet
the
darkest
part
of
the
tale
she
was
never
to
know
.
Mrs.
Ferrars
,
though
singularly
intuitive
,
shrank
from
controversy
,
and
settled
everything
by
contradiction
and
assertion
.
She
maintained
for
a
long
time
that
what
her
husband
communicated
to
her
could
not
be
;
that
it
was
absurd
and
even
impossible
.
After
a
while
,
she
talked
of
selling
her
diamonds
and
reducing
her
equipage
,
sacrificing
which
she
assumed
would
put
everything
right
.
And
when
she
found
her
husband
still
grave
and
still
intimating
that
the
sacrifices
must
be
beyond
all
this
,
and
that
they
must
prepare
for
the
life
and
habits
of
another
social
sphere
,
she
became
violent
,
and
wept
and
declared
her
wrongs
;
that
she
had
been
deceived
and
outraged
and
infamously
treated
.
Remembering
how
long
and
with
what
apparent
serenity
in
her
presence
he
had
endured
his
secret
woes
,
and
how
one
of
the
principal
objects
of
his
life
had
ever
been
to
guard
her
even
from
a
shade
of
solicitude
,
even
the
restrained
Ferrars
was
affected
;
his
countenance
changed
and
his
eyes
became
suffused
.
When
she
observed
this
,
she
suddenly
threw
her
arms
round
his
neck
and
with
many
embraces
,
amid
sighs
and
tears
,
exclaimed
,
“
O
William
!
if
we
love
each
other
,
what
does
anything
signify
?
”
And
what
could
anything
signify
under
such
circumstances
and
on
such
conditions
?
As
Ferrars
pressed
his
beautiful
wife
to
his
heart
,
he
remembered
only
his
early
love
,
which
seemed
entirely
to
revive
.
Unconsciously
to
himself
,
too
,
he
was
greatly
relieved
by
this
burst
of
tenderness
on
her
part
,
for
the
prospect
of
this
interview
had
been
most
distressful
to
him
.
“
My
darling
,
”
he
said
,
“
ours
is
not
a
case
of
common
imprudence
or
misfortune
.
We
are
the
victims
of
a
revolution
,
and
we
must
bear
our
lot
as
becomes
us
under
such
circumstances
.
Individual
misfortunes
are
merged
in
the
greater
catastrophe
of
the
country
.
”
“
That
is
the
true
view
,
”
said
his
wife
;
“
and
,
after
all
,
the
poor
King
of
France
is
much
worse
off
than
we
are
.
However
,
I
cannot
now
buy
the
Duchesse
of
Sevres’
lace
,
which
I
had
promised
her
to
do
.
It
is
rather
awkward
.
However
,
the
best
way
always
is
to
speak
the
truth
.
I
must
tell
the
duchess
I
am
powerless
,
and
that
we
are
the
victims
of
a
revolution
,
like
herself
.
”
Then
they
began
to
talk
quite
cosily
together
over
their
prospects
,
he
sitting
on
the
sofa
by
her
side
and
holding
her
hand
.
Mrs.
Ferrars
would
not
hear
of
retiring
to
the
continent
.
“
No
,
”
she
said
,
with
all
her
sanguine
vein
returning
,
“
you
always
used
to
say
I
brought
you
luck
,
and
I
will
bring
you
luck
yet
.
There
must
be
a
reaction
.
The
wheel
will
turn
and
bring
round
our
friends
again
.
Do
not
let
us
then
be
out
of
the
way
.
Your
claims
are
immense
.
They
must
do
something
for
you
.
They
ought
to
give
you
India
,
and
if
we
only
set
our
mind
upon
it
,
we
shall
get
it
.
Depend
upon
it
,
things
are
not
so
bad
as
they
seem
.
What
appear
to
be
calamities
are
often
the
sources
of
fortune
.
I
would
much
sooner
that
you
should
be
Governor-General
than
a
cabinet
minister
.
That
odious
House
of
Commons
is
very
wearisome
.
I
am
not
sure
any
constitution
can
bear
it
very
long
.
I
am
not
sure
whether
I
would
not
prefer
being
Governor-General
of
India
even
to
being
Prime-Minister
.
”
CHAPTER
X
In
consequence
of
the
registration
under
the
Reform
Act
it
was
not
possible
for
parliament
to
be
dissolved
,
and
an
appeal
made
to
the
new
constituency
,
until
the
end
of
the
year
.
This
was
advantageous
to
Mr.
Ferrars
,
and
afforded
him
six
months
of
personal
security
to
arrange
his
affairs
.
Both
husband
and
wife
were
proud
,
and
were
anxious
to
quit
the
world
with
dignity
.
All
were
so
busy
about
themselves
at
that
period
,
and
the
vicissitudes
of
life
between
continental
revolutions
and
English
reform
so
various
and
extensive
,
that
it
was
not
difficult
to
avoid
the
scrutiny
of
society
.
Mrs.
Ferrars
broke
to
Zenobia
that
,
as
her
husband
was
no
longer
to
be
in
parliament
,
they
had
resolved
to
retire
for
some
time
to
a
country
life
,
though
,
as
Mr.
Ferrars
had
at
length
succeeded
in
impressing
on
his
wife
that
their
future
income
was
to
be
counted
by
hundreds
,
rather
than
thousands
,
it
was
difficult
for
her
to
realise
a
rural
establishment
that
should
combine
dignity
and
economy
.
Without
,
however
,
absolutely
alleging
the
cause
,
she
contrived
to
baffle
the
various
propositions
of
this
kind
which
the
energetic
Zenobia
made
to
her
,
and
while
she
listened
with
apparent
interest
to
accounts
of
deer
parks
,
and
extensive
shooting
,
and
delightful
neighbourhoods
,
would
just
exclaim
,
“
Charming
!
but
rather
more
,
I
fancy
,
than
we
require
,
for
we
mean
to
be
very
quiet
till
my
girl
is
presented
.
”
That
young
lady
was
now
thirteen
,
and
though
her
parents
were
careful
to
say
nothing
in
her
presence
which
would
materially
reveal
their
real
situation
,
for
which
they
intended
very
gradually
to
prepare
her
,
the
scrutinising
powers
with
which
nature
had
prodigally
invested
their
daughter
were
not
easily
baffled
.
She
asked
no
questions
,
but
nothing
seemed
to
escape
the
penetrative
glance
of
that
large
dark
blue
eye
,
calm
amid
all
the
mystery
,
and
tolerating
rather
than
sharing
the
frequent
embrace
of
her
parents
.
After
a
while
her
brother
came
home
from
Eton
,
to
which
he
was
never
to
return
.
A
few
days
before
this
event
she
became
unusually
restless
,
and
even
agitated
.
When
he
arrived
,
neither
Mr.
nor
Mrs.
Ferrars
was
at
home
.
He
knocked
gaily
at
the
door
,
a
schoolboy’s
knock
,
and
was
hardly
in
the
hall
when
his
name
was
called
,
and
he
caught
the
face
of
his
sister
,
leaning
over
the
balustrade
of
the
landing-place
.
He
ran
upstairs
with
wondrous
speed
,
and
was
in
an
instant
locked
in
her
arms
.
She
kissed
him
and
kissed
him
again
,
and
when
he
tried
to
speak
,
she
stopped
his
mouth
with
kisses
.
And
then
she
said
,
“
Something
has
happened
.
What
it
is
I
cannot
make
out
,
but
we
are
to
have
no
more
ponies
.
”
CHAPTER
XI
At
the
foot
of
the
Berkshire
downs
,
and
itself
on
a
gentle
elevation
,
there
is
an
old
hall
with
gable
ends
and
lattice
windows
,
standing
in
grounds
which
once
were
stately
,
and
where
there
are
yet
glade-like
terraces
of
yew
trees
,
which
give
an
air
of
dignity
to
a
neglected
scene
.
In
the
front
of
the
hall
huge
gates
of
iron
,
highly
wrought
,
and
bearing
an
ancient
date
as
well
as
the
shield
of
a
noble
house
,
opened
on
a
village
green
,
round
which
were
clustered
the
cottages
of
the
parish
with
only
one
exception
,
and
that
was
the
vicarage
house
,
a
modern
building
,
not
without
taste
,
and
surrounded
by
a
small
but
brilliant
garden
.
The
church
was
contiguous
to
the
hall
,
and
had
been
raised
by
the
lord
on
a
portion
of
his
domain
.
Behind
the
hall
and
its
enclosure
,
the
country
was
common
land
but
picturesque
.
It
had
once
been
a
beech
forest
,
and
though
the
timber
had
been
greatly
cleared
,
the
green
land
was
still
occasionally
dotted
,
sometimes
with
groups
and
sometimes
with
single
trees
,
while
the
juniper
which
here
abounded
,
and
rose
to
a
great
height
,
gave
a
rich
wildness
to
the
scene
,
and
sustained
its
forest
character
.
Hurstley
had
for
many
years
been
deserted
by
the
family
to
which
it
belonged
.
Indeed
,
it
was
rather
difficult
to
say
to
whom
it
did
belong
.
A
dreary
fate
had
awaited
an
ancient
,
and
,
in
its
time
,
even
not
immemorable
home
.
It
had
fallen
into
chancery
,
and
for
the
last
half-century
had
either
been
uninhabited
or
let
to
strangers
.
Mr.
Ferrars’
lawyer
was
in
the
chancery
suit
,
and
knew
all
about
it
.
The
difficulty
of
finding
a
tenant
for
such
a
place
,
never
easy
,
was
increased
by
its
remoteness
from
any
railway
communication
,
which
was
now
beginning
to
figure
as
an
important
element
in
such
arrangements
.
The
Master
in
Chancery
would
be
satisfied
with
a
nominal
rent
,
provided
only
he
could
obtain
a
family
of
consideration
to
hold
under
him
.
Mr.
Ferrars
was
persuaded
to
go
down
alone
to
reconnoitre
the
place
.
It
pleased
him
.
It
was
aristocratic
,
yet
singularly
inexpensive
.
The
house
contained
an
immense
hall
,
which
reached
the
roof
,
and
which
would
have
become
a
baronial
mansion
,
and
a
vast
staircase
in
keeping
;
but
the
living
rooms
were
moderate
,
even
small
,
in
dimensions
,
and
not
numerous
.
The
land
he
was
expected
to
take
consisted
only
of
a
few
meadows
,
which
he
could
let
if
necessary
,
and
a
single
labourer
could
manage
the
garden
.
Mrs.
Ferrars
was
so
delighted
with
the
description
of
the
galleried
hall
,
that
she
resolved
on
their
taking
Hurstley
without
even
her
previously
visiting
it
.
The
only
things
she
cared
for
in
the
country
were
a
hall
and
a
pony-chair
.
All
the
carriages
were
sold
,
and
all
the
servants
discharged
.
Two
or
three
maid-servants
and
a
man
who
must
be
found
in
the
country
,
who
could
attend
them
at
table
,
and
valet
alike
his
master
and
the
pony
,
was
the
establishment
which
was
to
succeed
the
crowd
of
retainers
who
had
so
long
lounged
away
their
lives
in
the
saloons
of
Hill
Street
,
and
the
groves
and
gardens
of
Wimbledon
.
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Ferrars
and
their
daughter
travelled
down
to
Hurstley
in
a
post-chaise
;
Endymion
,
with
the
servants
,
was
sent
by
the
stage-coach
,
which
accomplished
the
journey
of
sixty
miles
in
ten
hours
.
Myra
said
little
during
the
journey
,
but
an
expression
of
ineffable
contempt
and
disgust
seemed
permanent
on
her
countenance
.
Sometimes
she
shrugged
her
shoulders
,
sometimes
she
raised
her
eyebrows
,
and
sometimes
she
turned
up
her
nose
.
And
then
she
gave
a
sigh
;
but
it
was
a
sigh
not
of
sorrow
,
but
of
impatience
.
Her
parents
lavished
attentions
on
her
which
she
accepted
without
recognition
,
only
occasionally
observing
that
she
wished
she
had
gone
with
Endymion
.
It
was
dusk
when
they
arrived
at
Hurstley
,
and
the
melancholy
hour
did
not
tend
to
raise
their
spirits
.
However
,
the
gardener’s
wife
had
lit
a
good
fire
of
beechwood
in
the
drawing-room
,
and
threw
as
they
entered
a
pannier
of
cones
upon
the
logs
,
which
crackled
and
cheerfully
blazed
away
.
Even
Myra
seemed
interested
by
the
novelty
of
the
wood
fire
and
the
iron
dogs
.
She
remained
by
their
side
,
looking
abstractedly
on
the
expiring
logs
,
while
her
parents
wandered
about
the
house
and
examined
or
prepared
the
requisite
arrangements
.
While
they
were
yet
absent
,
there
was
some
noise
and
a
considerable
bustle
in
the
hall
.
Endymion
and
his
retinue
had
arrived
.
Then
Myra
immediately
roused
herself
,
and
listened
like
a
startled
deer
.
But
the
moment
she
caught
his
voice
,
an
expression
of
rapture
suffused
her
countenance
.
It
beamed
with
vivacity
and
delight
.
She
rushed
away
,
pushed
through
the
servants
and
the
luggage
,
embraced
him
and
said
,
“
We
will
go
over
the
house
and
see
our
rooms
together
.
”
Wandering
without
a
guide
and
making
many
mistakes
,
fortunately
they
soon
met
their
parents
.
Mrs.
Ferrars
good-naturedly
recommenced
her
labours
of
inspection
,
and
explained
all
her
plans
.
There
was
a
very
pretty
room
for
Endymion
,
and
to-morrow
it
was
to
be
very
comfortable
.
He
was
quite
pleased
.
Then
they
were
shown
Myra’s
room
,
but
she
said
nothing
,
standing
by
with
a
sweet
scoff
,
as
it
were
,
lingering
on
her
lips
,
while
her
mother
disserted
on
all
the
excellences
of
the
chamber
.
Then
they
were
summoned
to
tea
.
The
gardener’s
wife
was
quite
a
leading
spirit
,
and
had
prepared
everything
;
the
curtains
were
drawn
,
and
the
room
lighted
;
an
urn
hissed
;
there
were
piles
of
bread
and
butter
and
a
pyramid
of
buttered
toast
.
It
was
wonderful
what
an
air
of
comfort
had
been
conjured
up
in
this
dreary
mansion
,
and
it
was
impossible
for
the
travellers
,
however
wearied
or
chagrined
,
to
be
insensible
to
the
convenience
and
cheerfulness
of
all
around
them
.
When
the
meal
was
over
,
the
children
sate
together
in
whispering
tattle
.
Mrs.
Ferrars
had
left
the
room
to
see
if
all
was
ready
for
their
hour
of
retirement
,
and
Mr.
Ferrars
was
walking
up
and
down
the
room
,
absorbed
in
thought
.
“
What
do
you
think
of
it
all
,
Endymion
?
”
whispered
Myra
to
her
twin
.
“
I
rather
like
it
,
”
he
said
.
She
looked
at
him
with
a
glance
of
blended
love
and
mockery
,
and
then
she
said
in
his
ear
,
“
I
feel
as
if
we
had
fallen
from
some
star
.
”
CHAPTER
XII
The
morrow
brought
a
bright
autumnal
morn
,
and
every
one
woke
,
if
not
happy
,
interested
.
There
was
much
to
see
and
much
to
do
.
The
dew
was
so
heavy
that
the
children
were
not
allowed
to
quit
the
broad
gravel
walk
that
bounded
one
side
of
the
old
house
,
but
they
caught
enticing
vistas
of
the
gleamy
glades
,
and
the
abounding
light
and
shade
softened
and
adorned
everything
.
Every
sight
and
sound
too
was
novel
,
and
from
the
rabbit
that
started
out
of
the
grove
,
stared
at
them
and
then
disappeared
,
to
the
jays
chattering
in
the
more
distant
woods
,
all
was
wonderment
at
least
for
a
week
.
They
saw
squirrels
for
the
first
time
,
and
for
the
first
time
beheld
a
hedgehog
.
Their
parents
were
busy
in
the
house
;
Mr.
Ferrars
unpacking
and
settling
his
books
,
and
his
wife
arranging
some
few
articles
of
ornamental
furniture
that
had
been
saved
from
the
London
wreck
,
and
rendering
their
usual
room
of
residence
as
refined
as
was
in
her
power
.
It
is
astonishing
how
much
effect
a
woman
of
taste
can
produce
with
a
pretty
chair
or
two
full
of
fancy
and
colour
,
a
table
clothed
with
a
few
books
,
some
family
miniatures
,
a
workbag
of
rich
material
,
and
some
toys
that
we
never
desert
.
“
I
have
not
much
to
work
with
,
”
said
Mrs.
Ferrars
,
with
a
sigh
,
“
but
I
think
the
colouring
is
pretty
.
”
On
the
second
day
after
their
arrival
,
the
rector
and
his
wife
made
them
a
visit
.
Mr.
Penruddock
was
a
naturalist
,
and
had
written
the
history
of
his
parish
.
He
had
escaped
being
an
Oxford
don
by
being
preferred
early
to
this
college
living
,
but
he
had
married
the
daughter
of
a
don
,
who
appreciated
the
grand
manners
of
their
new
acquaintances
,
and
who
,
when
she
had
overcome
their
first
rather
awe-inspiring
impression
,
became
communicative
and
amused
them
much
with
her
details
respecting
the
little
world
in
which
they
were
now
to
live
.
She
could
not
conceal
her
wonderment
at
the
beauty
of
the
twins
,
though
they
were
no
longer
habited
in
those
dresses
which
had
once
astonished
even
Mayfair
.
Part
of
the
scheme
of
the
new
life
was
the
education
of
the
children
by
their
parents
.
Mr.
Ferrars
had
been
a
distinguished
scholar
,
and
was
still
a
good
one
.
He
was
patient
and
methodical
,
and
deeply
interested
in
his
contemplated
task
.
So
far
as
disposition
was
concerned
the
pupil
was
not
disappointing
.
Endymion
was
of
an
affectionate
disposition
and
inclined
to
treat
his
father
with
deference
.
He
was
gentle
and
docile
;
but
he
did
not
acquire
knowledge
with
facility
,
and
was
remarkably
deficient
in
that
previous
information
on
which
his
father
counted
.
The
other
pupil
was
of
a
different
temperament
.
She
learned
with
a
glance
,
and
remembered
with
extraordinary
tenacity
everything
she
had
acquired
.
But
she
was
neither
tender
nor
deferential
,
and
to
induce
her
to
study
you
could
not
depend
on
the
affections
,
but
only
on
her
intelligence
.
So
she
was
often
fitful
,
capricious
,
or
provoking
,
and
her
mother
,
who
,
though
accomplished
and
eager
,
had
neither
the
method
nor
the
self-restraint
of
Mr.
Ferrars
,
was
often
annoyed
and
irritable
.
Then
there
were
scenes
,
or
rather
ebullitions
on
one
side
,
for
Myra
was
always
unmoved
and
enraging
from
her
total
want
of
sensibility
.
Sometimes
it
became
necessary
to
appeal
to
Mr.
Ferrars
,
and
her
manner
to
her
father
,
though
devoid
of
feeling
,
was
at
least
not
contemptuous
.
Nevertheless
,
on
the
whole
the
scheme
,
as
time
went
on
,
promised
to
be
not
unsuccessful
.
Endymion
,
though
not
rapidly
,
advanced
surely
,
and
made
some
amends
for
the
years
that
had
been
wasted
in
fashionable
private
schools
and
the
then
frivolity
of
Eton
.
Myra
,
who
,
notwithstanding
her
early
days
of
indulgence
,
had
enjoyed
the
advantage
of
admirable
governesses
,
was
well
grounded
in
more
than
one
modern
language
,
and
she
soon
mastered
them
.
And
in
due
time
,
though
much
after
the
period
on
which
we
are
now
touching
,
she
announced
her
desire
to
become
acquainted
with
German
,
in
those
days
a
much
rarer
acquirement
than
at
present
.
Her
mother
could
not
help
her
in
this
respect
,
and
that
was
perhaps
an
additional
reason
for
the
study
of
this
tongue
,
for
Myra
was
impatient
of
tuition
,
and
not
unjustly
full
of
self-confidence
.
She
took
also
the
keenest
interest
in
the
progress
of
her
brother
,
made
herself
acquainted
with
all
his
lessons
,
and
sometimes
helped
him
in
their
achievement
.
Though
they
had
absolutely
no
acquaintance
of
any
kind
except
the
rector
and
his
family
,
life
was
not
dull
.
Mr.
Ferrars
was
always
employed
,
for
besides
the
education
of
his
children
,
he
had
systematically
resumed
a
habit
in
which
he
had
before
occasionally
indulged
,
and
that
was
political
composition
.
He
had
in
his
lofty
days
been
the
author
of
more
than
one
essay
,
in
the
most
celebrated
political
publication
of
the
Tories
,
which
had
commanded
attention
and
obtained
celebrity
.
Many
a
public
man
of
high
rank
and
reputation
,
and
even
more
than
one
Prime
Minister
,
had
contributed
in
their
time
to
its
famous
pages
,
but
never
without
being
paid
.
It
was
the
organic
law
of
this
publication
,
that
gratuitous
contributions
should
never
be
admitted
.
And
in
this
principle
there
was
as
much
wisdom
as
pride
.
Celebrated
statesmen
would
point
with
complacency
to
the
snuff-box
or
the
picture
which
had
been
purchased
by
their
literary
labour
,
and
there
was
more
than
one
bracelet
on
the
arm
of
Mrs.
Ferrars
,
and
more
than
one
genet
in
her
stable
,
which
had
been
the
reward
of
a
profound
or
a
slashing
article
by
William
.
What
had
been
the
occasional
diversion
of
political
life
was
now
to
be
the
source
of
regular
income
.
Though
living
in
profound
solitude
,
Ferrars
had
a
vast
sum
of
political
experience
to
draw
upon
,
and
though
his
training
and
general
intelligence
were
in
reality
too
exclusive
and
academical
for
the
stirring
age
which
had
now
opened
,
and
on
which
he
had
unhappily
fallen
,
they
nevertheless
suited
the
audience
to
which
they
were
particularly
addressed
.
His
Corinthian
style
,
in
which
the
Maenad
of
Mr.
Burke
was
habited
in
the
last
mode
of
Almack’s
,
his
sarcasms
against
the
illiterate
and
his
invectives
against
the
low
,
his
descriptions
of
the
country
life
of
the
aristocracy
contrasted
with
the
horrors
of
the
guillotine
,
his
Horatian
allusions
and
his
Virgilian
passages
,
combined
to
produce
a
whole
which
equally
fascinated
and
alarmed
his
readers
.
These
contributions
occasioned
some
communications
with
the
editor
or
publisher
of
the
Review
,
which
were
not
without
interest
.
Parcels
came
down
by
the
coach
,
enclosing
not
merely
proof
sheets
,
but
frequently
new
books
—
the
pamphlet
of
the
hour
before
it
was
published
,
or
a
volume
of
discoveries
in
unknown
lands
.
It
was
a
link
to
the
world
they
had
quitted
without
any
painful
associations
.
Otherwise
their
communications
with
the
outside
world
were
slight
and
rare
.
It
is
difficult
for
us
,
who
live
in
an
age
of
railroads
,
telegraphs
,
penny
posts
and
penny
newspapers
,
to
realise
how
uneventful
,
how
limited
in
thought
and
feeling
,
as
well
as
in
incident
,
was
the
life
of
an
English
family
of
retired
habits
and
limited
means
,
only
forty
years
ago
.
The
whole
world
seemed
to
be
morally
,
as
well
as
materially
,
“
adscripti
glebae
.
”
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Ferrars
did
not
wish
to
move
,
but
had
they
so
wished
,
it
would
have
been
under
any
circumstances
for
them
a
laborious
and
costly
affair
.
The
only
newspaper
they
saw
was
the
“
Evening
Mail
,
”
which
arrived
three
times
a
week
,
and
was
the
“
Times
”
newspaper
with
all
its
contents
except
its
advertisements
.
As
the
“
Times
”
newspaper
had
the
credit
of
mainly
contributing
to
the
passing
of
Lord
Grey’s
Reform
Bill
,
and
was
then
whispered
to
enjoy
the
incredible
sale
of
twelve
thousand
copies
daily
,
Mr.
Ferrars
assumed
that
in
its
columns
he
would
trace
the
most
authentic
intimations
of
coming
events
.
The
cost
of
postage
was
then
so
heavy
,
that
domestic
correspondence
was
necessarily
very
restricted
.
But
this
vexatious
limitation
hardly
applied
to
the
Ferrars
.
They
had
never
paid
postage
.
They
were
born
and
had
always
lived
in
the
franking
world
,
and
although
Mr.
Ferrars
had
now
himself
lost
the
privilege
,
both
official
and
parliamentary
,
still
all
their
correspondents
were
frankers
,
and
they
addressed
their
replies
without
compunction
to
those
who
were
free
.
Nevertheless
,
it
was
astonishing
how
little
in
their
new
life
they
cared
to
avail
themselves
of
this
correspondence
.
At
first
Zenobia
wrote
every
week
,
almost
every
day
,
to
Mrs.
Ferrars
,
but
after
a
time
Mrs.
Ferrars
,
though
at
first
pleased
by
the
attention
,
felt
its
recognition
a
burthen
.
Then
Zenobia
,
who
at
length
,
for
the
first
time
in
her
life
,
had
taken
a
gloomy
view
of
affairs
,
relapsed
into
a
long
silence
,
and
in
fact
had
nearly
forgotten
the
Ferrars
,
for
as
she
herself
used
to
say
,
“
How
can
one
recollect
people
whom
one
never
meets
?
”
In
the
meantime
,
for
we
have
been
a
little
anticipating
in
our
last
remarks
,
the
family
at
Hurstley
were
much
pleased
with
the
country
they
now
inhabited
.
They
made
excursions
of
discovery
into
the
interior
of
their
world
,
Mrs.
Ferrars
and
Myra
in
the
pony-chair
,
her
husband
and
Endymion
walking
by
their
side
,
and
Endymion
sometimes
taking
his
sister’s
seat
against
his
wish
,
but
in
deference
to
her
irresistible
will
.
Even
Myra
could
hardly
be
insensible
to
the
sylvan
wildness
of
the
old
chase
,
and
the
romantic
villages
in
the
wooded
clefts
of
the
downs
.
As
for
Endymion
he
was
delighted
,
and
it
seemed
to
him
,
perhaps
he
unconsciously
felt
it
,
that
this
larger
and
more
frequent
experience
of
nature
was
a
compensation
for
much
which
they
had
lost
.
After
a
time
,
when
they
had
become
a
little
acquainted
with
simple
neighbourhood
,
and
the
first
impression
of
wildness
and
novelty
had
worn
out
,
the
twins
were
permitted
to
walk
together
alone
,
though
within
certain
limits
.
The
village
and
its
vicinity
was
quite
free
,
but
they
were
not
permitted
to
enter
the
woods
,
and
not
to
wander
on
the
chase
out
of
sight
of
the
mansion
.
These
walks
alone
with
Endymion
were
the
greatest
pleasure
of
his
sister
.
She
delighted
to
make
him
tell
her
of
his
life
at
Eton
,
and
if
she
ever
sighed
it
was
when
she
lamented
that
his
residence
there
had
been
so
short
.
Then
they
found
an
inexhaustible
fund
of
interest
and
sympathy
in
the
past
.
They
wondered
if
they
ever
should
have
ponies
again
.
“
I
think
not
,
”
said
Myra
,
“
and
yet
how
merry
to
scamper
together
over
this
chase
!
”
“
But
they
would
not
let
us
go
,
”
said
Endymion
,
“
without
a
groom
.
”
“
A
groom
!
