"I am your guest, sir," said he, with a most hypocritical air of

deference and courtesy. "It is surely scant politeness to drive me hence

when I am not in a position to find another shelter; we are upon the

high seas; I cannot walk forth and take my leave. Believe me, sir, the

character you would fain perform before the world would not act so."

Notwithstanding the insult conveyed in the last words, I determined

that I would respect "him who had eaten my salt;" and with a gesture of

assent, for I could not speak, I moved away.

No sooner was I alone than I repented me of the rash folly into which,

for the indulgence of a mere petty vengeance, I had been betrayed. I saw

that by this absurd piece of malice I had made an enemy of a man whose

whole career vouched for the danger of his malevolence.

How could he injure me? What species of attack could he make upon me?

Whether was it more likely that he would avoid me as one dangerous to

himself, or pursue me wherever I went by his vengeance? These were hard

questions to solve, and they filled my mind so completely that I neither

heeded the bustle which heralded the arrival on board of the pilot,

or the still busier movement which told that we were approaching the

harbor. At last I went on deck and approached the bulwark, over which

a number of the crew were leaning, watching the course of a boat that,

with all her canvas spread, was making for land. "The pilot-boat," said

the captain, in reply to my glance of inquiry; "she is lying straight

in, as the consul is anxious to land at once."

"Is he on board of her?" said I, with an anxiety I could not conceal.

"Yes, Señhor Condé, and your Excellency's secretary too."

Was it my fear suggested the notion, or was it the simple fact, but I

thought that the words "Count" and "Excellency" were articulated with

something like a sneer? I had no opportunity to put the matter to the

test, for the captain had already quitted the spot, and was busy with

the multifarious cares the near approach to land enforces. My next

thought was, Why had my secretary gone ashore without my orders?

Was this a piece of zeal on his part to make preparations for our

disembarking, or might it be something worse? and, if so, what? Every

moment increased the trouble of my thoughts. Certainly, misfortunes do

cast their shadows before them, for I felt that strange and overwhelming

sense of depression that never is causeless. I ran over every species

of casualty that I could imagine, but except highway robbery, actual

"brigandage," I could not fancy any real positive danger to be

anticipated from the Chevalier.

How different was my mood from what I expected it would have been on

nearing shore! Where were all my visions of pomp and splendor? Where the

proud circumstances of my more than princely state? Alas! I would have

given a full fourth of my wealth to be landed unostentatiously and

quietly, and to have my mind relieved from all dread of the cursed

Chevalier.

That I did not overrate the peril before me, events soon proved.

CHAPTER XXIX. THE CARCEL MORENA AT MALAGA

As we sailed proudly into the harbor of Malaga, my attention--at

first directed to the striking features of the shore, where lay a

city actually embowered amid orange-groves--was soon drawn off by the

appearance of a boat, rowed by twelve men, which approached the ship.

The national flag of Spain floated from a standard in her stern, and I

could mark the glitter of arms and uniforms on board of her.

"The officers of health, I suppose?" said I, carelessly, to the captain.

"No, Señhor, these are soldiers of the garrison."

"Ah, I understand," said I, "they are on the alert as to whom they land

in these troublous times; for it was the period of the great Carlist

struggle.

"Possibly," was his dry remark, and he moved away.

A hoarse challenge from the boat was answered by something from the

ship; and the "accommodation-ladder" was immediately lowered, and an

officer ascended to the deck, followed by two of his men, with their

side-arms.

Some of the ordinary greetings being interchanged between the captain

and the officer, the latter said, "My business here is with the person

styling himself the Condé de Cregano. Where is he?"

"That is my name, Señhor," said I, with a studious admixture of civility

and condescension.

"Please to walk this way, sir," said the officer, leading towards the

poop cabin, and preceding me with a degree of assurance that boded ill

for his impression of my dignity.

As we entered the cabin, I could hear the two soldiers taking up their

places as sentries at the door.

"I wish to see your passport, Señhor," said he, as he seated himself at

the table.

"My passport shall be produced at the fitting time," said I, "when I

arrive on shore. Here I have no need of any."

"You are wrong, sir; once within that circle of buoys, at the mouth of

the port, you are within the limits of the shore authorities; but were

it even otherwise, these are not the times for scruples, and I, for one,

would not hesitate to arrest you on the information I have received."

"Information you have received, sir!" exclaimed I, in terror and

amazement.

"Yes, sir; I may as well tell you that Malaga is not in the possession

of your friends,--you will not find a Carlist garrison ready to give

you a salute of honor at your landing. Far less formal, but not less

peremptory attentions await you. But produce your papers, for I have no

time to lose."

I saw at a glance that my position was most perilous, and as rapidly

resolved to make an effort for safety. "Señhor Capitana," said I,

placing an open pocket-book stuffed with bank-notes before him, "please

to accept my passport, and to keep it in your own safe possession. I

shall put to sea again, and order the captain to land me at some port in

Italy."

"It is too late," said he, with a sigh, as he pushed the pocket-book

away; "the informations against you are already transmitted to Madrid."

"Great heavens! and for whom do they take me?" cried I.

"I cannot tell; I never heard. I only know that I have the order for

your arrest as the person assuming to be 'the Condé Cregano.'"

"What crime is laid to my charge? Have I defrauded any one? What is

alleged against me?"

"Show me your passport," said he again.

"There it is," said I, producing the document which by Don Estaban's

intervention I had obtained from the authorities of Guajuaqualla, and

wherein I was called a native of Grenada and a noble of Spain.

"And all this is true as set forth?" said the officer.

"It is a principle of law in my native land that no prisoner is called

upon to criminate himself," said I.

"In that case you are no Spaniard," said the officer, shrewdly, "nor,

indeed, does your accent so bespeak you. You are now under arrest."

He opened the door as he said this, and, pointing me out to the two

sentries, whispered something too low for me to overhear. This done, he

left the cabin and went upon deck.

I looked up from the chair where I sat, into the faces of my two

guardians, and a more ill-favored pair of gentlemen I never beheld.

Ill-fed but dissipated-looking rascals, they seemed more like highwaymen

than soldiers. Still, even a chance was not to be thrown away, and so

I whispered in a soft voice: "My worthy friends, in that writing-case

yonder there are bank-notes to a very large amount. In a few moments

they will be taken away from me, never to be restored. I may as well

have the satisfaction of knowing that two brave but poor men are

benefited by them. Bring me the desk, and I'll give them to you." They

looked at each other and they looked at me; they then looked towards

the door and the skylight, and although without speaking, it was plain

enough to see what was passing in their minds.

"Remember," said I, "I ask nothing in return from you. I shall not

attempt to escape, nor, were I to do so, could you aid me in any way. I

merely wish to assist two worthy fellows who certainly do not look like

the 'spoiled children of fortune.'"

They hesitated and seemed afraid, and at last they whispered for a few

seconds together; and then one of them went over, and, taking up the

desk, laid it down before me. "You can make a fair division at another

time," said I; "it is better not to waste precious moments now, but at

once conceal the money about your persons. Here are some eight or ten

thousand piastres,--and here, fully as much more for you. These are

Mexican notes for a large sum, and these are bills on Amsterdam and

Hamburgh for great amounts. That's right, my lads, make short work of

it,--in your boots, in your shakos; anywhere for the present, only be

quiet!"

Truly they merited all my encomiums! To "stow away" plunder, I 'd back

them against any pair who ever stopped a diligence on the high road; nor

was it without some little difficulty I could persuade them to leave any

money in the desk, as a precaution to prevent the suspicion of what

had actually occurred. As I aided them in the work of concealment,

I artfully contrived to possess myself of one paper,--the Havannah

banker's receipt for the large deposits I had left in his hands; and

this I managed to slip within the lining of my travelling-cap. It was a

last anchor of hope, if ever I were to weather the storm around me!

Our work had scarcely been completed, and the desk replaced in its

former situation, when the officer returned. He briefly informed me that

seals had been placed on all my effects, that my household was placed

under an arrest similar to my own, and that when I had pointed out the

various articles of my property in the cabin, there was nothing more for

me to do but to accompany him on shore.

As I was not suffered to take any portion of my baggage with me, even of

my clothes, I was soon in the boat and pulling rapidly for the land. The

quays and the jetty were crowded with people whose curiosity I at once

perceived had no other object than myself; and although some did not

scruple to exhibit towards me signs of dislike and dissatisfaction, I

could remark that others regarded me with a compassionate, and even a

kindly look. All were, however, scrupulously silent and respectful,

and touched their hats in salutation as I ascended the stairs of the

landing-place.

This feeling, to my considerable astonishment, I perceived extended even

to the soldiery, one or two of whom saluted as I passed. In any case,

thought I, it is for no insignificant offender I am taken; and even that

is some comfort, provided my crime be not high treason.

I was conducted straight to the "Carcel Morena," a large, sombre-looking

building which was at once fortress, prison, and residence of the

Governor, exhibiting a curious mixture of these incongruous functions in

all its details.

The apartment into which I was ushered was a large saloon, dimly lighted

by narrow windows piercing the thick walls. The furniture had once been

handsome, but from time and neglect had become worn and disfigured. A

small table, spread with a very tolerable breakfast, stood in one of

the windows, at which I was invited to seat myself, and then I was

left alone to my own lucubrations. Hunger prevailed over grief, I ate

heartily; and having concluded my meal, amused myself by studying

the Trojan war, which was displayed upon the walls in a very ancient

tapestry.

I had traced the fortunes of Greeks and Trojans on the walls till 1 was

well-nigh wearied. I had even gazed upon the little patches of brown

grass beneath the windows till my eyes grew dim with watching; but no

one came to look after me, and, in the unbroken silence around, I

half feared that I should be utterly forgotten, and left, like the old

tapestry, to die of moths and years; but at last, as day was declining,

I heard something like the clank of arms and the tramp of soldiery,

and soon the sounds were more distinctly marked, approaching my door.

Suddenly the two leaves of the folding-door were thrown wide, and an

elderly man, in a general's uniform, followed by two other officers,

entered.

Without taking any notice of the salute I made him, he walked towards

the fireplace, and, standing with his back to it, said to one of his

aides-de-camp, "Read the 'procès-verbal,' José."

José bowed, and, taking from his sabretache a very lengthy roll

of paper, began to read aloud, but with such rapidity and such

indistinctness withal that I could only, and with the greatest

difficulty, catch a stray word here and there. The titles of her Majesty

the Queen appeared to occupy full ten minutes, and an equal time to be

passed in setting forth the authority under whose jurisdiction I then

stood. These over, there came something about an individual who, born a

Mexican or a native of Texas, has assumed the style, title, and dignity

of a Count of Spain, such rank being taken for purposes of deception,

and the better to effect certain treasonable designs, to be set forth

hereafter. After this there came a flourish about the duties of

loyalty and fidelity to the sovereign, whose private virtues came in by

parenthesis, together with a very energetic denunciation on all base

and wicked men who sought to carry dissension into the bosom of

their country, and convulse with the passions of a civil war a nation

proverbially tranquil and peace-loving.

Nothing could be less interesting than the style of this paper, except

the manner of him who recited it. State truisms, in inflated language,

and wearisome platitudes about nothing, received no additional grace

from a snuffling nasal intonation and a short cough.

I listened at first with the anxiety of a man whose fortunes hung on the

issue; then, as the vague, rambling character of the document diminished

this interest, I heard with more indifference; and, lastly, completely

wearied by the monotony of the voice, and the tiresome iterations of

the style, I could not prevent my thoughts from wandering far from the

affair in hand.

What fearful crimes were alleged against me,--what dire offences I was

charged with,--I was not to hear, since, lost in the pleasant land of

day-dreams, I fancied myself strolling in the shade of a forest, with

Donna Maria beside me, while I poured out a most impassioned narrative

of my love and fidelity. Nor was it till the reading was concluded, and

a loud "Hem!" from the General resounded through the chamber, that I

remembered where I was.

"Prisoner!" said he, in a stern, authoritative tone, "you have now heard

the nature of the charge against you, and the reasons of your arrest;

you will answer certain questions, the replies to which, if not in

accordance with truth, constitute the crime of 'Traicion,' the penalty

being death. What is your name?"

"Con Cregan."

"Native of what country?"

"Ireland."

"What rank and position do you hold in society?"

"A variable one,--as luck favors me."

"What trade or profession do you follow?"

"Whatever seems most convenient at the moment."

"Have you served?"

"I have."

"In the land or sea service?"

"In both."

"With what grade?"

"Nothing very distinguished."

"Have you ever held the command of an expedition?"

"I have."

"With what object, and where?"

"In the prairies of South America, to shoot red-deer."

"Remember, sir," said the General, "this is no occasion for untimely

jest; these sallies may cost you more dearly than you think for."

"If I am to speak the truth," said I, boldly, "I must answer as I have

done. If you want fiction, I 'm ready for you at a moment's notice."

"Make a note of that, José!--' says that he is perfectly indifferent

whether he tells truth or falsehood.'"

"And add, by way of parenthesis," said I, "that the General is precisely

of my own way of thinking."

"Write down,' insults the commission,'" said the General, boiling with

rage.

The paragraph seemed a full one, for the interrogating was not resumed

for some minutes.

"Now, sir," resumed the General, "state your object in coming to the

country."

"To get out of it as fast as I could."

"For whose use were the arms provided,--the horses and horse equipage

with which you embarked?"

"My own."

"Name the agent or agents of Don Carlos with whom you have held

correspondence?"

"None. I never knew any."

"By whose hands were the large sums of money in your possession

intrusted to you?"

"I found them."

"How, and where?"

"In a hole."

The General's face grew purple; and more than once I could see the

struggle it cost him to repress his bursting indignation. And in the

mutterings he let fall to his secretary, it was easy to mark that his

comments on the evidence were not too favorable.

"Were you acquainted with Brigadier Hermose Gonzillos?"

"No."

"Nor with his brother, the Canon Gonzillos?"

"No."

"When did you first meet Señhor Ruy Peres Y' Hacho?"

"Never saw him in my life."

"Nor held intercourse with him?"

"Never."

"Were not much in his company, nor intrusted to him the secret details

of the expedition?"

"I know nothing of what you're talking about."

"Produce Ruy Peres," said the General; and the door opened, and the

Chevalier, dressed in a military uniform and with several decorations of

foreign orders, entered.

"Do you know this gentleman?" said the General, dryly.

"I know him for a Pole whose name is Alexis Radchoffsky--at least, under

such a name he once lived in London, and is well known to the police

there."

"Go on," said the General to the secretary. "On being confronted with

the Señhor Ruy Peres, the prisoner became suddenly abashed, and at

once confessed that he had known him intimately several years before in

London."

"Is that man a witness against me?" asked I, eagerly.

"Attend to me, sir," said the General, while he made a sign to the

Chevalier to retire. "Neither subterfuge nor insolence will avail you

here. You are perfectly well known to us,--your early history, your late

intrigues, your present intentions."

"With such intimate knowledge of all about me, General," said I,

coolly, "have n't we been wasting a great deal of valuable time in this

interrogatory?"

"And, notwithstanding repeated admonitions, persisted in using the most

indecorous language to the commission." These words the General dictated

in a loud voice, and they were immediately taken down by his secretary.

"Señhor Concregan," said he, addressing me, "you stand now committed,

by virtue of a royal warrant, a copy of which, and of the charges laid

against you, will be duly transmitted to you. Whenever the authorities

have decided whether your offence should be submitted to a civil or

military tribunal, you will be brought up for trial."

"I am an English subject, sir," said I; "I belong to a nation that never

permits its meanest member to be trampled on by foreign tyranny, far

less will it suffer his liberty or life to be sacrificed to a false and

infamous calumny. I claim the protection of my ambassador, or at least

of such a representative of my country as your petty locality may

possess. I desire--" What I was about to demand as my birthright was not

destined to be made public on this occasion, since at a signal from the

General the door opened, and two soldiers, advancing, adjusted handcuffs

on my wrists, and led me away even before I had recovered from the

surprise the whole proceeding occasioned me.

Whether it was that I enjoyed the prerogative of a State prisoner, or

that the authorities were not quite clear that they were justified in

what they were doing, I cannot say; but my prison discipline was of the

very mildest order. I had a most comfortable room, with a window looking

seaward over the beautiful bay of Malaga, taking a wide range along

shore, where gardens and villas and orange-groves extended for miles.

The furniture was neat, and with some pretensions to luxury; and the

fare, I am bound to own, was excellent. Books, and even newspapers, were

freely supplied to me, and, save that at certain intervals the clank of

a musket, and the shuffling of feet in the corridor without, told that

the sentry of my guard was being relieved, I could have fancied myself

in some homely inn, without a restriction upon my liberty. My handcuffs

had been removed the moment I had entered my chamber, and now the iron

stanchions of my window were the only reminders of a jail around me.

CHAPTER XXX. CONSOLATIONS OF DIPLOMACY

The first revulsion of feeling over, the terrible shock of that fall

from the pinnacle of wealth and greatness to the lowly condition of a

prisoner unfriended and destitute,--I actually began to enjoy my life,

and feel something wonderfully like happiness. I do not pretend to

say that my disappointment was not most acute and painful, or that I

suffered little from the contemplation of my ruined hopes. No, far from

it; but my grief, like the course of a mountain torrent, soon ran off,

and left the stream of my life clear and untroubled as ever. It is true,

thought I, this is a terrible contrast to what I was a week ago; but

still, is it not a long way in advance of what my original condition

promised? I am a prisoner in a Spanish fortress: is not even that

better than a peasant in an Irish hovel? The very cares with which I am

surrounded bespeak a certain consequence pertaining to me; I am one whom

ministers of State think and speak about, whose name is often on their

lips, whose memory haunts them in their half-waking moments. Is not this

something? Is it not a great deal to one whose whole ideal was to avoid

the bypaths of life, and take his course in its very widest and busiest

thoroughfares?

The occupations in which I passed my days greatly contributed to sustain

this pleasant illusion. I was eternally writing letters, memorials,

statements of facts, and what not, of interminable narratives, to all

our ministers and consuls, invoking their aid, and protesting in the

name of the British nation against the unwarrantable tyranny of my

imprisonment. It is quite true that these lengthy documents of

mine seemed to meet but sorry acceptance. For a length of time no

acknowledgment of their reception ever reached me; but at last the

following dry epistle informed me that my memorials had reached their

destination:--

"Sir,--I am directed by the Secretary of State for

Foreign Affairs to acknowledge the receipt of your memorials

dated the 9th, 12th, 18th, 23rd, and 25th of last month,

together with various letters bearing on the same subjects

since that time, and to state, in reply, that the matter of

your complaint is at present under investigation with the

authorities of the Spanish Government.

"His Lordship the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

desires me to add his regrets that even in the event of your

liberation he can hold out no prospect whatever that any

compensation will be made to you for the loss of property

you allege to have suffered, and which, of course, was

incurred as one of the many risks natural to the course of

such an expedition as you were engaged in.

"I have the honor to be, sir,

"F. O., London,

"Your most obedient servant,

"Oct. 18--.

"Joseph Backslip.

"To Cornelius Cregan, Esq."

This was a sad damper! To think that I was to lose the immense amount

of property with which I had embarked,--the gems and jewels, the rare

objects of art, the equipages, the beautiful horses of purest Mexican

blood! not to speak of that far greater loss,--the large sum in actual

money! But, then, what a consolation to remember that a Secretary of

State was mingling his sorrows with my own on the subject; that he

actually gave an official character to his grief, by desiring the

Under-Secretary to convey "his regrets" in a despatch! his regrets--to

me, Con Cregan! What inestimable words! That ever I should live to know

that the Right Honorable Lord Puzzleton, the adored cherub of fashion,

the admired of _coteries_, the worshipped of "the Commons," the favored

guest of Windsor, should, under the big seal of his office, assure me of

his heartfelt sympathy!

I closed my eyes as I read the paragraph, and imagined that we were

weeping together, like the "Babes in the Wood." "How they wrong this

man," thought I, "in England; what calumnies they circulate about his

levity, his heartlessness, and so forth; and see! look at him here

mingling in the private sorrows of an individual, and taking part in all

the private woes of Con Cregan." By this beautiful artifice I contrived

to raise the aforesaid Con to a very considerable elevation in his

own esteem; and thus, worthy reader, by pleasant fancies and ingenious

illusions,--wares that every man can fashion at will,--did I contrive to

make my prison at Malaga a most endurable resting-place, and even now to

make its retrospect full of sweet memories.

Nor were my imaginings limited to such visions as these, for I loved to

compare my condition with that of other exalted prisoners, and fancy how

_my_ conduct would read by the side of _theirs_. If I were less piously

resigned, less submissive, than Silvio Pellico, assuredly I showed more

dignity in my fall than the Exile of St. Helena. I bore all the little

vexations of my lot with a haughty reserve that entirely subdued every

sign of a querulous nature, and seemed to say, "My time will come yet!"

At last it appeared either as if my memorials were never opened, or,

if opened, never read. No answer came whatever! and even the Malaga

newspapers, which, in the dearth of shipping intelligence, would

often insert some little notice of me, stating how "the 'Conde' walked

yesterday for an hour upon 'the leads';" "the 'Condé' partook with an

appetite of a partridge, and conversed freely with the officer on duty,"

and so on,--now they never by any chance alluded to me; and I seemed,

for all the interest the world manifested about me, to have suffered a

species of moral decease. It was the unhealthy season of the year, and

the Consul had absented himself, leaving his functions to his "Vice,"

who, having also a "constitution," had departed likewise, bequeathing

the traditions and cares of office to his Dutch colleague, who neither

spoke nor read any other tongue than that muddy language begotten of

dikes and fogs. Wearied possibly by the daily arrival of half a quire

of my remonstrances, or curious to see the machine by which these broad

sheets were struck off with such unfailing celerity, this official

arrived one day at the prison with an order from the Governor,

permitting him to see the "Condé."

I was, as usual, writing away, when the turnkey announced his Excellency

(every official is Excellency if too low for Highness), Mynheer van

Hoagendrius, and a very short and immensely fat personage, dressed in

a kind of black-and-white plaid jacket and trousers, entered. He looked

like a huge chess-board set on legs. A grunt, a snort, a thick sound

like a struggle between choking and gurgling, ensued, which I concluded

to be something in Dutch, and he seated himself opposite me.

I made my compliments to him, polyglot-wise, in French, English,

Spanish, and at last German,--the last evidently striking a spark out of

the embers of his cold intelligence, for he fixed his dull eyes upon

me, and seemed as though he would soon wake up. Animated by this hope,

I proceeded in my very best "Deutsch" to expound my sorrows to him.

Fortunately for me, my German had been acquired in the low companionship

of "skippers" and sailors, and consequently bore a nearer resemblance

to its half-brother of Holland than the more cultivated tongues of

professors and philosophers.

I cannot, to this hour, say whether it arose from any interest in the

narrative, or whether proceeding from the laudable desire to come at the

truth in a question of much difficulty, but the Mynheer now came to me

each morning, and usually stayed two hours, during which I talked and

he smoked incessantly. Often, when he left me, have I asked myself "what

progress I had made in his good opinion? how far had I made him master

of my case?" but the question remained without an answer; for if

occasionally a stray flash of intelligence would light up his dull

features, on following the direction of his eyes I could perceive that

the animation arose from the sight of some fishing-boat returning loaded

with turbot, or that the savory odor of salt cod had saluted him

from the shore. I felt at length as though I were sailing without

a log-line,--nothing to mark my progress or say in what latitude I

cruised.

My Dutch friend had now been visiting me for above six weeks, during

which, if he had not supplied himself with every detail of my calamity,

he had at least smoked all the choice tobacco which, as a favor from

the Governor, I was permitted to land for my own use; and as yet he had

given no signs of life other than the act of fumigation aforesaid. I was

half angry, half amused, at the little act of dexterity with which he

emptied the last remnant of my pure Havannah into his pipe, and heard,

with a kind of malicious satisfaction, the little sigh with which he

pushed the empty canister from him.

He seemed lost for some time in the slough of his Dutch reflections,

but at length he fixed his eyes upon me, and in a low, suffocating tone

said, "Hast a file?"

"No," said I.

"There, then," said he, giving me a small parcel tightly tied up in

paper. "Farewell!" and he moved towards the door before I could recover

from my surprise to thank him. As he reached it, he turned about, and

in a very significant voice said, "Der bood est hardt,"--a species of

Plat-Deutsch I might not have understood if unaccompanied by a gesture

which implied that the ground was hard beneath my window, as a caution

to me in the event of a leap.

No sooner was I alone than I opened my precious packet, which, besides

two files, contained a small phial of aquafortis and another of

oil,--the latter a useful adjunct to prevent the grating noise being

heard. Having concealed the implements in a rat-hole, I proceeded to

examine the iron bars of the window, which, although seemingly of great

size and strength, were in reality coated with a rust of more than half

their actual thickness. This was a most inspiriting discovery, and at

once animated me with glowing hopes of success.

As I could only work during the night, I affected illness as a

reason for keeping my bed during the day, when I slept profoundly and

refreshingly.

The non-success of all my efforts to interest diplomacy in my cause was

just beginning to impress me with a sense of gloom and despondency, when

this new incident occurred to rally my drooping courage. Life had now an

object; and that, if not always enough for happiness, is sufficient at

least to rouse those energies which, when stagnant, produce despair.

How I longed for night to come, that I might resume my labor! with what

resolute industry I worked on during the dark hours, only ceasing when

the change of the sentries brought the guard close beneath my window,

and even grudging the few seconds thus wasted! With what delight I used

to measure the fissure which, at first only deep enough for my nail, was

now sufficient to cover the file! This I used to conceal each morning

with bread colored by the rusty powder that fell from the filing, so

that, to all seeming, everything was in its usual order.

This was almost the only period of my life in which I remembered my

father: from some similarity in our condition, perhaps, he was now

seldom out of my thoughts. I used to wonder if he were still alive,

and how situated; whether he was yet a convict going forth in chains to

daily toil, or a "ticket-of-leave" man working at some settlement in the

"Bush." Did he ever think of me? Did he ever dream of his native land,

or wish to return to it? And what prospect of escape did fortune hold

out to him? That, after all, was the great link which bound him to my

thoughts! Was there any silent and sympathizing Dutchman to take pity on

his captivity?

At the close of the fifth week, I had the inestimable pleasure of

"reporting the breach practicable," or, in less sounding phrase, of

assuring myself that the middle bar of the window was removable at will,

and thus a free egress was permitted me to an extensive terrace,

which, with a low parapet, overlooked the bay for miles. This was about

five-and-twenty feet from the ground, and was guarded beneath by a

sentry, one of a chain of sentinels, whose "watch" extended around

the entire fortress. The descent and the guard were then the only

difficulties which now remained to be overcome,--so far, at least, as

mere liberation from the prison walls extended. I am sure I invented

at least fifty choice stratagems which afterthought always showed were

perfectly worthless. I bethought me of bribing the sentry with the few

gold pieces which I still possessed; but what security had I that he

might not resist the seduction, or betray me even after receiving the

money?

The fall, too, was considerable; nor was there anything to which I could

attach my bedclothes to lower myself to the ground. It must be "a drop;"

and what a situation should I be in were I to break a bone, or even

sprain my ankle in the effort! Alas! I now perceived that although the

most laborious portion of my work was accomplished, the most difficult

still remained to be done.

The obstacles to mere escape were sufficiently great to prevent me

even thinking of the course to be pursued after I reached the ground

in safety, for I was without friend, shelter, passport, or any means of

disguise or concealment whatever.

I pondered long and carefully over the question; and already had two

dreary weeks passed over since I had cut through the bar, and yet, so

far as I could see, no nearer to liberation than when the solid iron

enclosed me. My mind began to sink under the fatigue of unceasing

contrivance, and a dreamy, dreary sense of hopelessness seemed gaining

on me. It had been a dark, cloudy day, with gusts of wind, followed by

intervals of calm. The air was moist and heavy, and charged with the

depressing influences which the "mestrale," that sickliest of all winds,

ever brings. Masses of leaden-colored clouds floated low over the sea,

which was broken into a short angry "jobbe," as if after a storm.

All betokened the approach of a gale of wind, and, as night set in, the

signs of bad weather thickened. Scarcely had the sun set, when it became

dark as pitch; the wind, which had lulled for a brief space previous,

now sprung up, and the sea fretted and chafed against the rocks with

that peculiar sharp chirping sound that presages "wind." The clank of

chain cables, the plashing noise of falling anchors, the loud shouts

of the sailors as they prepared to meet the gathering storm, even now

heard, while in the changing position of the different lights of the

bay I could discern the movements of the various vessels as they

sought shelter or made ready for sea, in expectation of the "gale." The

impenetrable darkness, the roaring wind, the flashing of the lights,

the cries of the seamen, the hurrying of feet along the quays, and the

sounds of different boats' crews departing in haste,--all gave a charm

to a scene of which the obscurity increased the interest. A large French

steamer was to have sailed that night for Marseilles; but I overheard a

voice from the street foretelling that the "Gazonne" might leave without

her passengers, "as no one would go on board of her on such a night." A

red lantern at the peak indicated the vessel, and I could see that she

had changed her position and "taken up a berth" farther out in the bay.

I cannot tell by what instinct I selected her as a peculiar object of my

interest, but so it was. I watched her unceasingly, and rarely took my

eyes from the quarter where she lay; and when the heaving motion of the

"red light" showed that she was tossing in a heavy sea, I listened too

with eagerness to catch anything from those that passed beneath that

might concern this vessel, which now engrossed all my sympathy. "Were I

once but on board of her," thought I, "the wildest hurricane that ever

blew would be sweeter to me than all the balmy airs that ever bore the

odor of orange-blossom through my barred window!" I would have braved

the stormiest seas, the maddest gale, shipwreck itself, rather than

longer remain the helpless, hopeless thing a life of imprisonment was

making of me. "Would that the alternative were given me," said I to

myself: "the free choice to change these four walls for the deck over

which the waves are dancing in foamy sheets! with what a thankful heart

would I take the offer!"

The last visit of the turnkey, who came to see all safe, broke in for

a moment upon these musings; and now the double-locked door, and his

retiring footsteps, told me that no further molestation was to be

feared, and that I was, at least till daybreak, the undisturbed master

of my own reveries. I opened the window, pushed back the iron stanchion,

and walked out upon the terrace. It was a night of storm and wild

hurricane. The rain swept by in great plashes, increasing the darkness,

and mingling its hissing noise, with the breaking crash of the sea, as

it beat furiously against the rocks. The dancing, bobbing motion of the

lights on board the different craft showed what "a sea" was raging in

the bay; while, even in the city itself, the clatter of falling tiles

and chimneys told the violence of the gale. I stood upon the terrace;

and as the rain penetrated my frail garment, and the wind wafted my wet

hair across my cheeks, I felt a sense of ecstasy that nothing in all my

previous life had ever equalled. It was the sensation of freedom; it

was the burst of delight with which the captive welcomes the long-lost

liberty. "Better this," thought I, "than the snuggest chamber that ever

called itself a prison."

It was past the hour when any further visit from the turnkey might

be expected. Already the outer door of my chamber had been locked and

barred with all that scrupulous attention to noise and clank that

are supposed only essential in a melodrama. The sentry had just been

relieved on the esplanade beneath the terrace, so that I might consider

myself disencumbered from all fear of interruption in any quarter. I sat

down upon the parapet, and peered into the dark depth below me, where

the hazy glimmer of the sentry's lamp served to mark the height. At

first it seemed a terrific drop; but after a while I began to satisfy

myself that the darkness contributed to this effect; and as my sight

grew more accustomed to the gloom, I was able to trace different

objects,--among others, the conical roof of the sentry-box, at a

distance of scarcely more than fifteen feet beneath me.

Thus far I could reach by making a rope of my bed-clothes, and attach

one end to a portion of the battlement of the parapet; but how should I

venture on a descent in such a place? how risk the almost certainty of

recapture by the sentry himself? This was a formidable difficulty, and

demanded much consideration; and yet, were I to select any other spot,

I might chance to be disabled by the fall, and then all my efforts

were fruitless, since a broken bone, or even a sprained ankle, would be

certain ruin.

Never was a knotty point more canvassed, nor the clew to a difficulty

more zealously searched for! As generally happens in such cases, first

thoughts are best, and the bold course the safest. By descending on the

sentry-box, I should at least reach the ground without injury; and if I

were to have a "tussle" for it with the guard, it would be without the

disadvantage of a previous damage. Besides this, the incessant noise

of the tempest, the crashing of the sea, and the deep booming of the

thunder gave hopes that my descent might be unheard. Nay, more, the

sound of my heavy body over his head would be rather an admonition to

stay quietly within than risk himself outside, to the danger of tumbling

tiles or masses of masonry from the parapet. The more I reflected upon

this, the clearer I saw that the storm was a Heaven-sent accident for

me; that the darkness, the tumult, and the deserted streets were all

accessories the most favorable; that to neglect such an occasion of

escape would be downright madness. If I took some time to arrive at this

conclusion, I made up for the delay by the rapidity of my subsequent

movements. I hastily returned to my room; and had I been bred a

ropemaker, my two sheets and counterpane could not have been fashioned

into a three-stranded rope more handily; and, my sailor's experience

favoring, I adjusted the cord in a "timber hitch" round one of the

battlements, and well satisfied myself that I might trust to the other

extremity,--"Con Cregan and his fortunes."

I then took a hurried survey of my room, trimmed my lamp that it might

burn till morning, secured the three or four papers of value which still

remained to me, and then issued forth to my enterprise.

A cannon-shot from the bay rung out as I again stepped upon the terrace,

and I accepted the augury as an omen of welcome. I will not deny that

my hands trembled as I examined, for the last time, the fastening of the

cord; nor do I seek to conceal that as I buttoned my coat, the beating

of my heart smote heavily against my fingers. I even hesitated for an

instant; and during that instant, brief as it was, I could have faced

death itself rather than the uncertainty before me. The weakness passed

quickly away, and, with a short but fervent prayer, I grasped the rope

and slipped noiselessly over the parapet.

A sudden gust of wind swept past at the moment, and swung me out from

the wall as though I had been a thing of no weight, calling for all my

strength to prevent me from being blown away! And now I was buffeted

about, tossed here and thrown there, with a violence that almost

dislocated every joint in my body. The jerking motion and the chafing of

my rope on the parapet made me tremble for my security, and not without

cause; for in one great swing, in which I described an arc no other

pendulum, living or dead, ever compassed before, I came back with such

force against the roof of the sentry-box, striking it with both my feet

together at the same instant, that my cord snapped short in the very

centre.

The force of my fall, added to the previous blow, capsized the

sentry-box, and I came to the ground along with it, in a state of

fright that even to this very hour I cannot recall without shuddering.

Half-stunned by the fall, bruised and almost lifeless from terror, I sat

there waiting for the moment when the sentry would issue forth and seize

me; nor was it till after the lapse of several minutes that I perceived

that the soldier was in a trap, the weighty sentry-box had fallen

over on the front, and effectually debarred him from any chance of

self-extrication.

I stooped over to listen, but all was still; he never spoke a

word,--probably stunned by the shock, or he might have fainted from

terror. Whatever the cause, neither my humanity nor my curiosity cared

to explore further, but, rising to my feet, and ascertaining, to my

inexpressible delight, that I was uninjured, I set off at full speed

toward the shore. The sea suggested escape, and thither I bent my way,

without thinking more on the matter.

I could see, from the hurried movement of lights along the pier, that

boats were rapidly leaving for the various ships in the harbor. To get

on board any of these, no matter what, or whither bound, was all my

object,--a Tunis pirate or a Malay prow would have been a happy exchange

for the black prison at Malaga.

I had almost run myself out of breath, when I came up with a knot of

some dozen people who were hastening onward as fast as they could. Two

heavily laden barrows with luggage, and a multitude of cloaks, shawls,

and mantles, pronounced them to be travellers; and I soon collected,

from the expressions dropped by the boatmen, that they were about to

embark in the French steamer for Leghorn. Mingling with the group,

which the darkness freely permitted, I heard a voice say, in English,

something about the weather; and now, listening more attentively, I

picked up that they were an English family hurrying to Pisa to see a son

whose failing health gave them no time for delay. I gathered, too, that

the packet, which should not have started till the next day, was now

leaving suddenly; the captain haviug sent a message to say that he had

determined to put to sea rather than ride out the gale so near shore.

The travellers were mingling their complaints at this peremptory

summons, with others over the absence of their courier, who had got

leave to see some of his friends about a league away, and must now

inevitably be left behind. In the course of their lamentings, I could

learn that they had only engaged the man the evening before at the

recommendation of the landlord, and had scarcely seen him above a couple

of times.

In fact, except that he was an Italian, and his name Raffaello, they

knew nothing about him. At last they reached the jetty where the boat

lay, and now I could hear their discussion, whether it were better to

leave the courier's effects behind, or take them on, in the hope that he

might yet come up.

"He's a smart fellow, and depend upon it he 'll be here before we sail,"

said a young man of the party.

"No, no," cried another, "he 'll never hear a word of the packet till

she's half way to Leghorn."

"What did you tell him, William?" asked an elderly lady.

"To be back by six o'clock to-morrow morning," said the first speaker.

"Ay, but in what language did you speak?"

"I spoke Italian, and afterwards I said it in French; for he does n't

know one word of English."

This was all I wanted; I slipped noiselessly away, and, retiring to some

distance behind the party, waited till I saw them descend the stairs

to the boat. This occupied some time, for the party were numerous, and

their trunks and portmanteaus were without end. At last, just as the

word to shove off was given, I dashed forward at the top of my speed,

crying out in Spanish, "Hold fast there! wait for the courier!"

"What's the matter?" asked one of the Englishmen.

"A courier, Señhor," said a sailor, "wants to come with us."

"Oh, Raffaello, by George!" exclaimed the other; "I knew he 'd be up.

Put back, men; he belongs to us."

"Pardon, signori," said I, stepping lightly over the gunwale, "I have

had a sharp run for it;" and away we went! Seated on a great-coat of

black sheepskin, which from its style and cut I knew must have belonged

to my predecessor, Raffaello, I could see the rapid passage of lights on

the shore in the direction of my late prison, and at last could detect

one glimmering from a part of the building where my cell stood. The roll

of drums beating to arms was soon heard, and it was evident to me that

my escape had become known,--that the garrison of the fortress was on

the alert to recapture me. Although fully a mile from land, and rowing

with all the vigor of twelve stout sailors towards a vessel whose steam

was already whizzing through the escape funnel, my heart almost sunk

within me from very fear; and rather than be retaken I would have jumped

into the boiling tide that swelled and broke around me.

The sailors more than once relaxed their efforts to watch what was

going forward on shore; and how fervently did I, in silence, curse their

curiosity! Externally, however, I maintained my calm demeanor, and even

ventured to conjecture that a fire must have broken out in the fortress,

such was the commotion and excitement discernible in that quarter.

Another suggested the possibility of its being some prisoner that

had made his escape,--a notion which I took occasion to ridicule, by

averring that the Carcel was reputed to be the strongest prison in

Spain, and an instance of evasion altogether unknown.

Thus chatting, we reached the steamer. To my intense delight, the anchor

was already weighed; and scarcely had we mounted the ladder than she

broached round, head to sea, and clove through the water like a fish.

Every plunge of the great ship shook the strong timbers and made her

huge framework tremble, sending a thrill of pleasure through me. With

each mountain wave that rolled past, I saw my chance of safety increase,

and knew that no boat--manned by Spaniards, at least--would dare pursuit

in such a storm. I had abundant leisure for these reflections, since

my "masters" had only time to get on board when they retired to their

berths, overcome by sea-sickness, so that I was at full liberty to

indulge my own thoughts, and dispose of myself without the slightest

interruption. From a smart little French maid I learned that the family

was called Grimes; that they had recently come from England by way of

Gibraltar, where one of the sons, now with them, was quartered with his

regiment; that the party consisted of a widow lady with three daughters

and two sons, a third being the invalid at Pisa. They were rich, good

sort of folks, very ignorant of the Continent, very credulous, and

altogether a satisfactory kind of connection for a cunning French

_femme-de-chambre_ and a roguish courier to fall in with. This latter

fact Mademoiselle Virginie insisted upon with no small degree of

self-gratulation, giving me to understand that we might have a very

thriving career as fellow-laborers in the same vineyard.

Her sketches of English life, manners, and prejudices were not a little

amusing, while the rules she laid down for the due management and

control of her masters were a perfect chapter in domestic machiavelism.

There had once been a time when I would have enlisted willingly under

such a banner,--glad to reach the upper story of life, even by such a

back stair; but now that I had tasted the glorious supremacy of command

myself, that I had revelled in the mastery of a great household, that

I had rolled along in my own chariot, clothed in fine linen and

faring sumptuously every day, I felt my return to a menial situation

a degradation unendurable. I determined that, once in Italy, I would

escape from the thraldom of such servitude, come what might of it.

By long dwelling on the theme, I had contrived to impress myself with

the most profound conviction that I was a much-injured individual, that

my case, if not sufficient for a war with Spain, was a fair ground for a

parliamentary "flare-up," angry diplomatic notes, and Heaven knows what

threats of our outraged Foreign Office. That a man with such a glorious

grievance should sink down into a courier, to wrangle with landlords,

bully waiters, and flirt with the "maid in the rumble," was not to be

thought of. I felt that I was sworn at Highgate, and destined for the

inside of the travelling-carriage, and not the "out."

Scarcely were we arrived at Leghorn, and installed at the San Marco,

than I began to prepare for my emancipation,--a bold step, considering

that all the available resources I possessed was a ruby ring set round

with brilliants, which I had concealed in my cap along with my papers.

I was admonished to lose no time in my departure, by remarking that

another packet from Malaga was expected within a week, which probably

would convey the rightful courier, in search of his missing baggage, and

I was by no means desirous of being confronted with the real Simon Pure.

I am not sure that this latter consideration did not weigh most with me

in the matter, since the novelty of my situation and the sense of its

creature-comforts might have induced me to linger a little longer in a

capacity even as humble. With such people as the Grimes's, the courier

was supreme, and his rule despotic. From the hour at which they were to

dine, to what they were to eat,--how they were to spend the day, what

to see, and what to avoid,--were all at his dictation; while from the

landlord came a perfect volley of civilities that plainly showed who was

the real personage to whom adulation was due. If my masters dined on a

chicken, _I_ fed upon ortolans; while _they_ made wry faces over their

"Chianté," I luxuriated on Château La Rose or Chambertin. For _my_ table

were reserved the oysters of Venice, the fresh "sardines" of Gorgona,

the delicate mutton of Pistoja, the delicious Becafica of the Vai

d'Arno, while Piscia was ransacked for my dessert, till I saw myself

surrounded with rarities that even in my great days I scarcely dreamed

of.

There was a kind of "abandon," too, in this mode of life that pleased me

well,--a delightful sense of irresponsibility pervaded everything I did

or imagined.

The courier knows nothing of that hesitation which besets his master at

the thought of some costly indulgence. _He_ neither doubts nor denies

himself. The Emperor of Russia may have bespoke the post-horses,

but _he_ knows how to bribe even against the Czar himself, and would

intrigue for the fish intended for a cardinal's Friday dinner. He is

perhaps the only traveller who is indifferent to the bill,--nay, he even

glories in its extravagance, as increasing his own percentage. I was

beginning to see and appreciate all these advantages when caution

admonished me to escape. The real Raflfaello was doubtless already at

sea, and might arrive ere I had evacuated the territory.

I only waited, then, to see "my family" snugly housed at Pisa, when I

proceeded to tender my resignation. It was very flattering to my vanity

to see the distress my announcement created; they evidently felt like a

crew about to be deserted by the pilot in a difficult navigation. They

were but indifferent linguists, and worse travellers; and I almost

repented of my resolve as I perceived the dismay it occasioned, the

full measure of which I was admitted to witness, since--from my supposed

ignorance of English--they discussed the question very freely in my

presence.

"Does he say he 's dissatisfied with his situation?" asked the old lady.

"It is difficult to make out what he means, Mamma," replied a daughter.

"These fellows are always intriguing for higher wages," observed the

subaltern.

"Or to engage with people of greater consequence," remarked the second

son.

"We had better send for the tutor, Mamma; he speaks French better than

we do."

This proposition--albeit not accepted as a compliment to themselves by

the two brothers--was at last acceded to, and, after a brief delay, the

individual in question made his appearance. To avoid any semblance of

understanding what went forward, I stood in patient silence, not even

turning my head in the direction where the family were now grouped

around the "Dragoman."

"You are to find out what he wants," said the old lady, eagerly. "Say

that we are perfectly satisfied with him; and if it be an increase--"

"That he 'll not get a sou more with my consent," broke in the sub. "He

receives already more than a captain in the line."

"I only know that I never had as much to spend at Cambridge," echoed the

other.

"They are always extravagantly paid," said the elder daughter.

"The creatures give themselves such airs," observed number two.

"And when they are at all well-looking they're intolerable," broke in

number three, who had been coolly scanning me through her eyeglass.

The tutor by this time had evidently received his instructions in full,

and beckoned me to follow him into a small room adjoining the saloon.

I obeyed; and scarcely had the door closed upon us than I started, and

broke out into an involuntary exclamation of surprise. The individual

before me was no other than my first friend, the kind youth who had

taken me by the hand at the very outset of my career, the student of

Trinity, Dublin, named Lyndsay.

As I perceived that he did not recognize me, I had time enough to

observe him well, and mark the change which more than twelve years had

wrought upon him. Though still young, anxiety and mental exertion had

worn him into premature age. His eye was dulled, his cheeks pale and

sunken, and in his manner there was that timid hesitation that stood

abashed in the presence of my own cool effrontery. I could see easily

that the man of thought and reflection was succumbing before the man

of action and of the world, and I was selfish enough to revel in the

triumph.

In a low, diffident voice he proceeded to ask me if there was anything

in the nature of my situation that induced me to quit a service where I

had given the fullest satisfaction.

I replied by an easy caress of my long black moustache, and a certain

expressive gesture of the shoulders, meant to convey that my objections

were of a nature that did not admit exactly of discussion,--rather

questions of delicate personal feeling than of actual difficulty. Hinted

that I had rarely served anything less than a royal highness, and feared

that I should be likely to injure myself,--of degenerating into an

easy and familiar manner, by associating with those so nearly of my own

level.

I saw the blood mantle in the pale cheek of the student as he listened

to this impertinence, and thought that I could mark the struggle that

was passing within him, while, in a calm, collected tone, he said that

those were questions on which he could not give any opinion, and that

if I desired to leave, of course no further objections would be offered.

"Might I ask," added he, with a manner where a most courteous politeness

prevailed,--"might I ask what are the qualifications of a person in your

condition of life?"

"I think," replied I, "that I appreciate the meaning of your question.

You would ask by what right a man humbly born, educated to mere menial

duties, can aspire to the position and the pay a courier claims. I

am willing to tell you. To begin, then: He must be familiar with

the geography of Europe,--I speak here of the merely Continental

courier,--he must know the boundaries, the high roads, the coinage,

the customs, the privileges of every petty State, from the smallest

principality of Germany to the greatest sovereignty of a Czar. He must

know the languages, not as scholars and grammarians know them, but in

all their dialects and 'patois.' It is not enough that he has learned

the tongue in which Dante wrote, or Metastasio sung, he must speak

Venetian and Milanese, Neapolitan and Piedmontese. He should know the

Low German of the Black Forest, the Wiener dialect of the Austrian, and

talk every gradation of French, from the frontiers of Flanders to the

vine-groves of Provence and Auvergne. He must be as familiar with every

city of Europe as though it were his birthplace; with the churches,

the galleries, their monuments, and their history. He must know the

delicacies of each land, and every rarity it can produce for the palate

of the epicure. He must be a connoisseur in wine, pictures, china,

cuisine, statuary, engravings, armor, ancient furniture, manuscripts,

horseflesh, the drama, and Bohemian glass; able to pack a trunk,

or expatiate upon a Titian; to illustrate a fresco, to cheat a

custom-house, to bully a prefect, make an omelette, ride postilion.

These, with a running knowledge of international law and the Code

Napoléon, and some skill in all the minor operations of surgery,--these

are a brief summary of a courier's qualifications."

"And do you tell me, friend," said he, earnestly, "that you can do all

this?"

"Indifferent well," said I, carelessly. "There are, doubtless, others

who have gained a higher proficiency in the craft; but as I am still

young, I'll not despair of future eminence."

He heaved a deep sigh, and leaned his head upon his hand.

I fancied I could read what was passing in his mind, and, at a

haphazard, said, "You are contrasting the catalogue with that of your

own acquirements, and perhaps asking yourself, to what end all the

midnight toil of scholarship? Why have I labored hard, with aching brow

and fevered heart, when one with vulgar attainments like these,--the

scattered fragments, the crumbs that fall from the table of real

knowledge,--can secure a better livelihood and more real independence

than myself; and the reason is, mine are marketable wares that find

purchasers in every class, and among every gradation of society. 'My

lord' must have his courier; so must the rich cotton-spinner or the

barrister on his wedding-tour. The wealthy dowager, the blooming widow,

the ex-minister travelling for 'distraction' the young heir journeying

for dissipation, the prelate, the banker, the ruined duke, the newly

enriched mill-owner,--all, however differing in other points, agree in

this one want, and must have one who will think for them and speak

for them, bargain and bully for them, assert their rank and importance

wherever they appear; so that of the obstacles of travel, its

difficulties and contrarieties, they should know as little as though

their road lay between London and Croydon."

"Still, it is a puzzle to me," sighed the young man, "how these

people achieve the attainments you speak of. Even a smattering of such

knowledge would seem to require both time and study."

"They have but a smattering," said I; "yet it is gained exactly in

the very school where such small proficiency goes farthest,--'the

world'--and which you will one day discover has its sources of

knowledge, its tests of ability, ay, and its degrees of honor, marked

out as palpably as Oxford and Cambridge. There is this advantage, too,

sir, over the university,--the track in which you are to travel

is marked out for you; you must not stray to the right or to the

left,--while in 'the world' the field of direction is wide, open, and

expanded; there's a path for every one, if they 'll only look for it."

He started as I said these words; and as his cheeks flushed up, he

said, "I remember once upon a time hearing those very words from a poor

friendless boy in my own country. He was setting out, as he said, to

seek his fortune, and his whole stock in life was the hope inspired by

that sentiment."

"And what became of him?"

"I never could learn. He disappeared suddenly; and whether he enlisted

into some regiment abroad, or died at home, I never ascertained."

"Then I can tell you, sir,--he now stands before you, the same whom

once you so kindly succored! the houseless, friendless child whom you

protected and sheltered. I am Con Cregan."

It would be difficult to describe the bewilderment of poor Lyndsay as I

said this; he sat down, closed his eyes, opened them again, rubbed them,

stared at me, tried to speak, and at last, rising up, grasped my hand

warmly, and cried, "Then, of course, you remember _my_ name?"

"I could never forget it, Mr. Lyndsay," said I, affectionately.

This was enough, and he now shook me by both hands with all the warmth

of old friendship.

As he was madly eager to learn the story of my life, and as I was bent

on my departure by the morning mail for Genoa, we agreed to meet at an

hour when the household had retired to bed; meanwhile, he was to charge

himself with the office of making an explanation to the family, and

informing them that matters of urgency required my presence at Paris

without delay. This agreed upon, we separated.

The entire night we passed in talking, for he insisted upon hearing my

adventures from the very hour we had parted company in Dublin, down to

the moment we were then seated together. It was evident, at times, from

the tone of questioning, that he accepted several of my statements at

least as doubtful; but gradually, as he discovered my acquaintance

with various languages, the knowledge I possessed of different remote

countries, their habits and natural productions, this incredulity gave

way; and when finally I produced the letters of the Havannah banker,

with the receipts for my instalments, he showed that every shade of

hesitation had vanished, and that he no longer entertained a doubt of my

veracity.

As the hour of separating drew nigh, he turned the subject to my own

immediate requirements; and although I assured him that my ring, which

I had already disposed of, was sufficient for all immediate wants, he

insisted upon my accepting a loan of one hundred dollars, to be repaid,

as he himself said, "when I resumed my countship." These were his

parting words as I ascended to the roof of the diligence.

CHAPTER XXXI A NEW WALK IN PROGRESSIVE LIFE

I will not trespass on my reader's patience with the details of my

journey, nor ask him to form acquaintance with any of those pleasant

travelling companions whose whims, caprices, and merry fancies lightened

the road. The company of a diligence is a little world in all its

features of selfishness, apathy, trustfulness, credulity, and unbelief.

It has its mock humilities and absurd pretensions even more glaringly

displayed than every-day life exhibits them. Enough, then, if I say

ours were fair specimens of the class; and when, on arriving at the

Messageries Royales, the heavy "conveniency" deposited us in the court,

we shook hands all round ere separating, like people who were well

pleased when together, but yet not broken-hearted at the thought of

parting.

And now I found myself at Paris, that glorious capital, whose very air

is the champagne of atmospheres, and where, amid the brilliant objects

so lavishly thrown on every side, even the poor man forgets his poverty,

and actually thinks he has some share in the gorgeous scene around him.

I heaved one heavy sigh from the very bottom of my heart as I thought

what might have been the condition in which I could once have rolled

along these same streets; and with this brief tribute to the past, I

trudged along towards the Embassy. All my hope lay in the prospect of an

interference on the part of the English Government, and the demand of an

indemnification for my loss.

After some little delay, and a slight catechizing on the part of a bulky

porter in scarlet livery, I was admitted to a room where a number of

people, chiefly couriers and "Laquais de Place," were assembled, to

obtain signatures or passports, and who were summoned from time to time

to enter an inner chamber where the official sat. _My_ turn came at

length, and, with a heart almost swelling to suffocation, I entered.

"For England, I suppose," said a pale young gentleman, with black

moustaches, not looking up from the table, where he sat reading his

"Galignaui."

"No, sir, mine is not a passport case. I am here to make a charge

against the Spanish Government for false imprisonment and spoliation."

The young gentleman raised his head, and stared at me fixedly for a

couple of seconds, and then, in the most silvery of accents, said, "Be

good enough to repeat what you have said."

I did so; adding, "As my case has occupied the attention of the

Foreign Office for some time back, you may possibly have heard of my

name,--Count Cregan."

The youth sprang up from his chair, and hastened into another room,

whence I could hear loud shouts of laughter immediately proceeding.

"No, no, Barrington," said a deeper and an older voice; "I don't want to

see the fellow, and I advise you to get rid of him at once. He 'll be

a bore to us every day of the week, if you give him the slightest

encouragement."

"But is there really nothing in his case?"

"Nothing whatever; he is a downright impostor."

"But Puzzleton certainly corresponded with him.''

"Of course he did, to prevent the Opposition making a handle of his case

in 'the House;' but he soon saw the whole thing was a trumped-up charge,

and as we want to go on smoothly with the Madrid Government, it would be

absurd to disturb our relations for the sake of a fellow like this."

"Oh, that's it," said the _attaché_, catching a faint glimmering of the

secret machinery of diplomacy.

"To be sure," added the other; "if we wanted a grievance, that man's

would do as well as another; but there is no need to hold him over, we

can always catch the Spaniards tripping when we want it. My advice is,

therefore, get rid of him. Say that he must embody his statement in the

form of a memorial, supported by whatever he can adduce in the way of

evidence; that a personal interview can lead to nothing; and, in fact,

dismiss him in the usual way."

And with these lucid instructions,--given in a tone far too loud to be

diplomatic,--the _attaché_ returned to the room where I waited.

"You 'll have to reduce this to writing, Count Cregan," said he,

standing with his back to the fire, and assuming an air that he fancied

was quite that of a Talleyrand,--"something in the form of a memorial,

you understand."

"I have already done so, unsuccessfully," said I, shortly.

"Ah, wasn't aware," sighed the young gentleman, stroking his moustache.

"The Secretary of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the receipt of my

statement, and at one time held out some hope of redress."

"Ah, indeed!" echoed the other.

"The state of our relations with Spain, however," added I, "not

requiring a grievance just then, my case was naturally shelved."

He started, bit his lip, and evinced unmistakable signs of being ill at

ease. "In fact," resumed I, growing warmer as I proceeded, "no further

notice was taken of me than what barely sufficed to take my case out

of the hands of Opposition members. I was assumed to be an impostor,

because the moment was not favorable to believe me honest. Good

diplomacy, perhaps, but rather lax morality. Now, sir, I have lost _my_

cause,--that is quite evident; let us see if _you_ have gained _yours_.

The press is the great vindicator of individual wrongs, and I 'll make

its columns the arena in which this struggle shall be decided."

"Be good enough to wait one instant,--take a seat, Count," observed the

young gentleman, in his very politest of tones, while he hastily retired

into the inner room once more. This time the conversation was so low

that not a whisper reached me. After a few seconds he re-entered.

"Your case will be inquired into, Count, and representation made to the

Spanish minister at this court. May I ask where you are staying here?"

"I have not yet taken up my residence at Paris." "Your passport is

of course with the police?" I bowed an assent, while a sudden thought

flashed across me. "They mean to send me out of the country!" The

_attaché_ had twice said "Good morning," ere I remarked it, and with a

hurried leave-taking I quitted the room, well aware of the folly into

which a momentary fit of passion had betrayed me.

It was palpable enough,--my passport would at once offer a ground for my

expulsion: I was an English subject, travelling on a Spanish passport. I

must, of course, expect to be disowned by the Spanish minister, and not

acknowledged by my own.

This was a sorry beginning, and I sauntered out into the streets in a

very depressed state of mind. What was I to do? My funds were at a low

ebb,--I had not above four hundred francs in the world. Into what

career could I throw myself, and, while obtaining a livelihood, avoid

discovery? I knew various things, in that smattering sort of way which,

by the aid of puffing and notoriety, often succeeds with the world; but

yet notoriety was the very thing I most dreaded! There was nothing for

it but to change my name. Many would doubtless say that this was not any

great sacrifice,--need not have cost me any very poignant sufferings;

but they would be wrong. I had clung to my name through all the changes

and vicissitudes of my fortune, as though it embodied my very identity.

It was to make that humble name a great one that I had toiled and

struggled through my whole life. In that obscure name lay the whole

impulse of my darings. Take that from me, and you took away the energy

that sustained me, and I sunk down into the mere adventurer, living on

from day to day, and hour to hour, without purpose or ambition. I had

borne my name in the very lowest passages of my fortune, hoping one day

or other to contrast these dark periods with the brilliant hours of my

destiny. And now I must abandon it! "Well, be it so," thought I, "and,

by way of compromise, I 'll keep half of it, and call myself Monsieur

Corneille; and as to nationality, there need be little difficulty.

Whenever a man talks indifferent Spanish, he says he is from the Basque.

If he speaks bad German, he calls himself an Austrian. So I, if there be

any irregularities in my regular verbs, will coolly assert that I am a

brave Belge and a subject of King Leopold; and if humility be a virtue,

this choice of a native land ought to do me credit."

I raised my head from my musings at this moment, and found myself at

the corner of the Rue Goguenarde, exactly opposite a house covered with

placards and announcements, from the street to the third story, a great

board with gilt letters, over the entrance, proclaiming it the "Bureau

des Affiches" for all nations. Nor was the universality a mere pretence,

as a single glance could show the range of advertisements, taking

in everything, from an estate in Guadaloupe to a neat chamber in the

Marais; from a foundry at Lyons to the sweeping of a passage in the Rue

Rivoli. All the nostrums of medicine, all the cheap appliances of the

toilet, remedies against corpulence, perventives to extreme emaciation,

how to grow hair, how to get rid of it, governesses, ballet-dancers,

even ladies "with suitable portions and great personal attractions,"

were all at the command of him rich enough to indulge his indolence.

"There must surely be something applicable to me in all those varied

wants," thought I; and I entered a great room where several knots of men

and women, of different ranks and conditions, were gathered around large

tablets of advertisements.

Some were in search of lost articles of dress or jewelry, a runaway

child or a missing spaniel; some inquiring for cheap apartments, or

economical modes of travel with others going the same road: but the

greater number were in pursuit of some means of livelihood,--and what

a host they were! Professors of every art, science, and language;

journalists, poets, tenors, gardeners, governesses, missionaries,

rope-dancers, frail little damsels who performed as goddesses in a

pantomime, and powerful fellows who performed the "life-models" of

academies, together with a number of well-dressed gentlemen of a certain

age who announced themselves as "discreet friends to any party engaged

in a delicate and difficult transaction."

My heart sunk within me as I saw the mass of capability by which I was

surrounded. "What could the world want with me," thought I, "in such a

glut of acquirements as I see here?" And I was about to turn away,

when my attention was drawn to a very little elderly man who was most

importunately entreating one of the clerks to do him some service or

other. The old man's eagerness was actually painful to witness. "I will

sell it for a mere nothing," said he, "although it cost me five hundred

francs!"

"You'll be fortunate if you get one hundred for it," said the clerk.

"I would accept of even one hundred,--nay! I'd take eighty," sighed the

old man.

"So you ought," said the other. "These things are all at a discount now;

men like more active and energetic situations. Retirement is not the

taste of our day."

"Retirement!" thought I; "that may be exactly what would suit _me_ at

this moment," and I drew near to listen.

"Find me a purchaser with seventy francs," ejaculated the old man, "and

I'll close with him."

"What is it, Monsieur?" said I, bowing civilly to both.

"A 'quatorzième,' sir," said the clerk, interposing, that he might earn

his commission, in the event of a deal. "A quatorzième; and I am bound

to say one of the best in this quarter of Paris. It takes in the Rue

de la Chuine, the Place de la Boucherie, with a very large sweep of the

Boulevard Mont Parnasse."

"A quatorzième!" cried I, in amazement; "I never heard of any one living

so high up. Are there really houses in Paris fourteen stories high?"

They both burst into a fit of laughter as I said this, and it was some

time ere the clerk could recover his gravity sufficiently to reply; at

last he said, "I perceive that Monsieur is a stranger to Paris and its

ways, or he would know that a quatorzième is not an apartment fourteen

stories high, but an individual who holds himself always in readiness

at the dining-hours of his neighborhood, to make the fourteenth at any

table, where, by accident, the unlucky number of thirteen should be

assembled,--a party which every well-informed person would otherwise

scruple to sit down with. This, sir, is a quatorzième; and here is a

gentleman desirous of disposing of his interest in such an enviable

property."

To my question as to what were the necessary qualifications, they both

answered in a kind of duet, by volubly recapitulating that nothing was

needed but a suit of black, and clean gloves; unobtrusive demeanor and

a moderate appetite being the certain recommendations to a high

professional success. I saw the chief requirement well,--to eat little,

and to talk less; to come in with the soup, and go out with the salad;

never to partake of an _entrée_, nor drink save the "ordinaire:" these

were the duties; the reward was ten francs. "It used to be a Napoleon,

Monsieur," said the old mau, wiping his eyes. "In the time of Charles

the Tenth it was always a Napoleon; but these 'canailles' nowadays have

no reverence for anything; I have known even the ministry dine thirteen

on a Friday,--to be sure, the king was fired at two days afterwards for

it; but nothing can teach them."

The old gentleman grew most communicative on the subject of his "walk,"

which he was only abandoning in consequence of the rheumatism, and

the difficulty of ascending to dinner-parties on a high elevation. He

depicted with enthusiasm the enjoyments of a profession that demanded,

as he observed, so little previous study, was removed from all the

vicissitudes of commerce, pleasant in practice, and remunerative in pay.

He also insinuated the possible advantages to a young and handsome

man, who could scarcely fail to secure a good marriage, by observing a

discreet and decorous demeanor; and, in fact, he represented his calling

in such a light as at least to give me the liveliest curiosity to enter

upon it for a brief space, and while meditating what future steps I

should take in life.

That same afternoon I saw myself announced at the porter's window of

a very shabby-looking house in the Rue de la Forge as "Monsieur de

Corneille,"--the "de" being advised by my predecessor,--"Quatorzième

prêt à toute heure," and thus opened my professional career. I was told

that it was all important in my vocation that I should not be seen much

abroad in the world. There should be a certain mysteriousness about me,

when I appeared at a dinner-table, that might permit the host to speak

of me--to strangers--as his old friend the Baron de So-and-so, who

rarely ventured out even to dine with him. In fact, I should be as

guarded against publicity as though I were a royal personage. This

was not a hard condition at the time, since I was desirous of escaping

notice. I passed all my mornings, therefore, in writing--sometimes

memorials to a minister, sometimes statements for the press; now, they

were letters to the banker at Guajuaqualla, or to Don Estaban, or to

the great firm at the Havannah. The cost of postage deterred me from

despatching most of them, but I continued to write them, as though to

feed the cravings of my hope. When evening drew nigh, I abandoned the

desk for the toilet; and having arrayed myself in most austere black,

waited for the summons which should invite me to some unknown feast.

I have often perused records of the early struggles of a professional

life,--the nervous vacillations between hope and fear which haunt him

who watches day after day, for some time, that he is not forgotten

of the world; the fretful jealousies of the fortunate rival; the sad

depression over his own failures; the eager watching lest the footfall

on the stairs stop not at his door, and the wearisome sinking of the

heart as the sounds die away in the distance, and leave him to the

silence of his own despair. If I had not to feel the corroding regrets

of him who has toiled long and ardently for the attainment of a

knowledge that now lies in rust, unused, unasked for, unwanted, I had to

learn what are his tortures who waits till the world call him.

There I sat in all my "bravery." What a contrast between my sleek

exterior and the half-famished creature within! Sometimes my impatience

would break out into a fit of passion, in which I railed at the old

knave who had entrapped me, at fortune that deserted me, at myself, who

had grown indolent, and void of enterprise. Sometimes I became almost

stupid by long reflection, and would sit to a late hour of the night,

unconscious of everything; and sometimes I would actually laugh outright

at the absurdity of my assumed calling, wondering how I ever could have

been fool enough to embrace it.

The world had evidently grown out of its superstitions; republicanism

and socialism, and all the other free and easy notions by which men

persuaded themselves that the rich are thieves, and the poor the just

inheritors of the gains, had knocked down many a mock idol besides

monarchy. Men no longer threw a pinch of salt over their left shoulder

when they upset the salt-cellar; did n't pierce their egg-shell, lest

the fairies might make a boat of it; and so, among many other remains of

the custom of our ancestors abandoned, they sat down to dinner, careless

whether the party were thirteen or thirty.

"I might as well try and revive astrology," thought I, "as seek to trade

upon superstition in this unbelieving age! I doubt if all Paris contains

another quatorzième than myself; the old villain knew the trade was

ruined, when he sold me his 'goodwill' of the business."

I was in the very deepest and darkest abyss of these gloomy thoughts

one evening, when a heavy down-pour of rain, and the sorrowful moan of

a December wind, added melancholy to my wearied spirit. It was such

a night that none would have ventured out who could have claimed the

humblest roof to shelter him. The streets were perfectly deserted, and,

early as it was, the shops were already closed for the night. The very

lamps that swung to and fro with the wind, looked hazy and dim amid

the sweeping rain, and the chains clanked with the dreary cadence of a

gibbet.

I knew it was needless to go through the ceremony of dressing on such a

night. "Better face all the imaginary terrors of a thirteen party than

brave the real danger of a storm like this,"--so I reasoned; and, in all

the freedom of my tattered dressing-gown, I paced my room in a frame of

mind very little above despair. "And this in Paris," cried I; "this the

city where in some hundred gilded saloons,--at this very moment--are met

men brilliant in all the gifts of genius, and women more beautiful and

more fascinating than the houris of Paradise. Wit and polished raillery,

bright glances and soft smiles, are now mingling amid the glitter of

stars, and crosses, and diamonds; while some thousands, like me, are

actually famishing with hunger,--too poor even to have a fire to thaw

the icicles of despair that are gathering around the heart!"

Had it not been better for me if I had lived on in the same humble

condition to which I was born, than have tasted of the fascinations of

riches, to love and pine after them forever? No! this I could not agree

to. There were some moments of my glorious prosperity that well repaid

me for all I had, or all I could suffer for them; and to whatever depth

of evil destiny I might yet be reserved, I should carry with me

the delicious memory of my once happiness. Con Cregan--the

light-hearted--was himself again! Con,--the vagrant, the passionate

lover of whatever life offered of pleasure, of beauty, and of

splendor,--who only needed a good cash account with Coutts to make his

existence a "fairy tale"! I forgot for a moment that I lived in a mean

chamber with a broken window, a fireless grate, a table that never was

graced with a meal! a bed that resembled a "board," and a chair, to sit

upon which without smashing, required the dexterity of a juggler!

A sharp knocking at my door cut short these meditations, and a voice at

the same time cried out my name. "Come in," said I, authoritatively. I

fancied it might be the landlord, and was not sorry to brave him--by the

darkness. The door opened, and a figure, which even in the gloom I could

perceive was that of a stranger, entered. "Monsieur de Corneille lives

here?" said he.

"I have the humble honor to be that individual," responded I.

"Have you got no light? I have smashed my shins across a confounded

chair," said he, querulously.

"You 're all safe now," said I; "keep round by the wall, but take care

of the rat-trap near the corner."

"Let's have a light, mon cher," said the other, half coaxingly.

"I never have a light," said I; "I detest glare, hate snuffing a candle,

and can't endure the thought of patronizing Russia and her tallow."

"Could n't we have a bit of fire, then?" asked he.

"Fire before Christmas!" exclaimed I. "Are we in Tobolsk? What Sybarite

talks of fire in Paris at this season?"

"I really am ambitious of seeing you, Monsieur," said the other: "can we

not compass this object without any violence to your feelings?"

"Have you a cigar-case?" said I.

"Yes."

"Well, strike a light; and here 's a letter which you may set fire to:

you can thus make an inspection of me by 'inch of paper.'"

He laughed pleasantly at the conceit, and lighted the letter, by the aid

of which, as he held it above his head, he took a rapid survey of the

chamber and its contents, myself being the chief movable it boasted.

"Of a truth, my friend," said he, "this apartment has nothing

superfluous about it."

"Cool and airy," said I, calmly, "with a magnificent view of red-tiled

roofs and chimney-pots."

"And you--would it be an impertinence to ask if you ever condescend

to the restriction of anything more limited than that very graceful

dressing-room?"

"Oh, certainly!" exclaimed I; "only be good enough to say why you ask

the question." By this time the stranger's torch had burned down so

close to his fingers as to cause an exclamation of pain as he threw it

on the ground, and thus were we once more in the dark.

"Not from mere motives of idle curiosity, Monsieur," said he, "did

I ask, but simply, having come here to request the pleasure of your

company at dinner to-day. I made the inquiry with a direct object. My

name is Paul de Minérale."

"Not the distinguished writer, the inimitable novelist, the delightful

composer of the 'Curate's Niece,' 'The Path through the Vineyard,' 'The

Rose of Auteuil'?"

"I am much flattered," said he, cutting short my enumeration, "to

discover so ardent an admirer of my poor productions; but, as time

presses, will you be good enough to hasten your toilet, for my 'cottage'

is near Belleville, and will take us nigh an hour to reach."

I proceeded accordingly to array myself in cleaner costume, while my

visitor kept up an agreeable conversation, chiefly bearing upon my line

of life, the changeful passages of which, he seemed to think, ought to

offer much amusement; nor could he conceal his astonishment on learning

that he himself was my first and only client. "What an age we live in

I" cried he; "where is that 'ancient faith' departed? Can men so openly

disparage the gods?"

"Though my theology has been changed," said I, "that's all. The Bourse

and the Ballet are the modern deities, and he must be a rare sceptic who

refuses to believe in them."

"You are a philosopher, I perceive," said he.

"Only before dinner," replied I. "I am speculative with the soup, and

grave with my 'petit pâté;' reserved with the first entrée; blandly

communicative after the pièce de résistance; playful over the asparagus

or the peas; soothing with the rôti; and so descend into a soft and

gentle sadness as the dessert appears. I leave digestion to take its

course, waiting for my mocha and maraschino. In the drawing-room I blaze

forth in all the vividness of agreeability."

"What could have induced one so evidently intended for a foreground

figure to prefer the humble and shadowy part of a 'quatorzième '?" said

he, in surprise.

"The 'Res Dura' that crosses every man's destiny, and a spice of that

spirit of investigation which teaches one to explore very unwholesome

depths and very unrewarding regions,--a blending of that which made the

Czar a carpenter, and Louis Philippe a teacher of mathematics."

"Ah! that reminds me," interposed he, "that I ought to put you on your

guard. To-day a Royal Prince will honor us with his company. There are

a couple of ministers and a general. The rest of the party are of

the artiste class, whose susceptibilities you cannot wound; authors,

actresses, journalists, and danseuses, however touchy in the great

world, are angels of good temper in small societies." With this he

proceeded to give me a nearer insight into the kind of company into

which I was to be introduced,--a society, so far as I could learn, that

a rigid moralist might have deemed "more fair than honest." I learned,

too, that I owed the distinction of my invitation to a wager between his

Royal Highness the Duc de St. Cloud and my host; the bet being that De

Minérale was to find out a "quatorzième" and bring him to dinner, his

search for one not to begin till after five o'clock p.m.; the Prince

being fully convinced that no regular practitioner in that walk any

longer existed. "Your presence, my dear sir," continued he, "is worth,

independent of the charm of your conversation, fifty Napoleons;

one-half of which I must beg you to accept;" saying which, he gracefully

presented me with a purse, whose pleasant weight descended into my palm

with a sensation indescribably soft and soothing.

All this time we were rattling along towards Belleville at a rapid pace;

and although the rain swept past in torrents, the lightning flashed, and

the wind tore the strong trees from their roots, and strewed the ground

with their gigantic limbs, I sat in a revery of sweet and delightful

fancies, the only alloy to my ecstasy being a passing fear that at

each moment shot through me: Can this be real? Am I awake? or has

long fasting so weakened my faculties that this is but a delusion; and

instead of hastening to a dinner-party with a royal guest, I am speeding

onwards to a prison, or, mayhap, a madhouse. These fancies, at first but

fitful and at intervals, became at length so distressing that I was on

the very point of communicating them to my companion, and asking for his

counsel and comfort, when we drove into a small avenue, and then almost

immediately drew up in front of a porch, where, amid a blaze of light,

stood three or four servants in gaudy liveries, awaiting our arrival.

"Well, Paul!" cried a young, fashionable-looking fellow, with a very

imposing black beard, "what success?"

"I 've won,--here he is!" cried my companion. "Have I much time to

spare?"

"Something less than two minutes," said the other, as he coolly surveyed

me through his glass. "Present me, Paul."

"Mons. Alphonse de Langeron--Mons. de Corneille."

"The author of the 'Fancies by Starlight,'" said I, bowing with a most

respectful devotion.

"Guilty, sir! and of fifty other indiscretions to the full as great,"

said he, laughing.

"Ah, sir, I know it by heart; that stanza on the 'Waled Letty' haunts me

like a dream."

"Sharp fellow, our friend the 'quatorzième'!" whispered Alphonse to Paul

as we walked along towards the drawing-room.

How I should like to dwell upon the details of that dinner, the most

delightful entertainment of my whole life! It needed not the sudden

transition from the dark and dreary chamber I inhabited to the gilded

saloon, all in a blaze with wax-lights, to make me feel it such. The

"service" was splendid--the cookery perfection--the wines the rarest of

every vintage--the apartment itself had all the chastened grandeur of

a mediaeval chamber, with the gorgeous splendor contributed by a

magnificent beauffet of silver;--and the guests! what beauty and

fascination of female loveliness--what charm of wit and agreeability

among the men! The great damper upon my enjoyment was my actual doubt of

the reality of the whole scene. It was not, alone, that all the splendor

appeared so wonderful--that the glitter of gold and the beauty of

porcelain dazzled the eye; but the very names of the illustrious guests

themselves suggested incredulity. What wonder if I could not credit my

senses, as I heard the first names in all the genius of France on every

side of me! Here, the great historian, and philosopher, and statesman;

there, the delightful lyric poet; yonder, the first novelist of Europe;

and next to him the distinguished painter, whose great battle-piece

was in commemoration of the young Prince beside him, a hero of

"two-and-twenty."

Nothing could be more easy or familiar than the tone of

conversation,--that happy pleasantry that tickles but never wounds, so

unlike the English propensity for "quizzing"--that vulgar version

of Gallic "badinage;" and then how eloquent, without pedantry, how

sparkling, and how suggestive! Ah, my kind reader, I see the rippling

smile over the broad Atlantic of your countenance. You have guessed all

the secret of my enthusiasm, and you know the mystery of my admiration.

Be it so; I am ready to confess all. It was my own success that made

the chief enchantment of the scene. I was the lion of the evening. Not

a theme on which I did not hold forth, not a subject I did not

discuss,--politics, bull-fighting, cookery, dress, literature, duelling,

the ballet, horse-racing, play, scandal, naval tactics, colonization,

cotton-spinning, music, railroads, and the "dry-rot." I was profound,

playful, serious, jocose, instructive, and amusing by turns. Madmlle. de

la Bourdonaye, the first actress of the "Français," was charmed with my

dramatic criticism; the poet--enthusiastic at my recital of a stanza

of his own; the general pronounced me the very best judge of cavalry

evolutions he had ever met; the great painter begged the favor of a

visit from me at his studio; and the Prince's aide-de-camp--himself a

distinguished soldier--told me, in a whisper, to hold myself disengaged

for the following Wednesday.

These were, after all, but the precursors of greater triumphs in the

drawing-room, where I played and sang several Mexican ballads; danced

the Bollero with Madmlle. Rose Jasmin, of the Grand Opéra; and lassoed

a Mount St. Bernard mastiff with the bell-rope. After this, beat the

statesman at chess; rolled up Indian cigarettes for the ladies, whom

I taught to sit squaw fashion; told various anecdotes of my prairie

adventures; and wound up all by concocting a bowl of "ponch à

l'Américaine," at once the astonishment and the delight of all. I must

not suffer myself to dwell longer on this theme, nor speak of that

supper, with its champagne and culembourgs, its lyrics and its lobster

salads, with ortolans, epigrams, seductive smiles, and maraschino jelly.

Enough. The orgies--for it was no less--lasted till nigh morning; and

when we arose from table, a pale streak of coming day was struggling

between the margins of the curtains.

"His Royal Highness will set you down, Mons. de Corneille," said the

aide-de-camp, advancing to me.

Blushing with pleasure and shame together, I accepted what could not be

declined, and proceeded to take leave of my kind host and his friends.

Cordial greetings, and flattering wishes soon to meet again, met me on

every side, and I retired actually overwhelmed with civil attentions.

"Do we pass by your quarter, Monsieur?" said his Royal Highness, as I

took my seat in the carriage.

I would have given all my worldly wealth, and expectations to boot, to

be able to say that I lived in the Place Vendôme or the Rue Royale; but

there was no help for it, the murder would out one day, since my host

knew my address; and with an easy, unabashed air, I said that I lodged

in the Rue de la Forge, near the Mount St. Parnasse.

The Prince bowed, and took no notice of the announcement; but I

thought that I could read a very peculiar twinkle in the eye of the

aide-de-camp. I might have easily been mistaken, however, for I

felt myself on my trial, and thought everything an accusation. How

gratuitously I tortured myself, subsequent knowledge of life has

repeatedly convinced me; for while to some upstart rich man, the

acknowledgment of my humble abode would have been a shock sufficient

to sever us forever, to the Prince the matter had no other significance

than that it suited my means, with which, whether ample or the reverse,

he had no right to meddle. Indeed, I was not sorry to remain in

doubt upon the fact, since in the difficult negotiation between the

aide-de-camp and the coachman, who had never so much as heard of my

unhappy street, his Royal Highness never evinced any surprise whatever,

but sat patiently to the end of the discussion, without vouchsafing even

a word upon the subject.

"This must be the house, number 21,748," said the chasseur, at length;

and we drew up at the well-known door, where the old porter sat reading

on one side, while his wife was peeling carrots at the other.

It was the first moment of confusion I suffered, since I had left the

same spot; but my cheek was in a flame as the lacquey let down the

steps, and offered me his arm to descend. The lowly veneration of the

old porter, as he stared at the royal liveries and the emblazoned panels

of the carriage, was but a sorry compensation for the mock servility of

the chasseur, whose eyes seemed to look through into my very heart,

so that I actually did not hear the parting words of the Prince as the

equipage drove away.

Curious anomaly! the half-insolent glances of the lacqueys sank deeper

into my spirit than the flattering smile of the Prince's adieu. How

much more alive is our nature to the pang of scorn than to the balm

of kindness! These were my reflections as I entered my humble chamber,

every portion of which seemed doubly miserable to me now. "Is it

possible," thought I, "that I have endured this hitherto? Have I really

sat in that crazy old chair, and stretched my limbs upon that wretched

pallet? Can it be real? or which is the delusion,--my recent splendor,

or my present squalor?" Although up all night, I was far too much

excited for sleep, even could I have persuaded myself to seek it on so

humble a couch. I therefore set myself to think over the future, and

wonder whether the brilliant scene in which I had so lately mixed would

remain in its isolated brightness amid the desolation of my life, or

be the guide-star to future greatness and distinction. My late success

emboldened me to think that Fortune had not yet deserted me. "Who

knows," thought I, "but the Spaniards may behave handsomely yet, and

make restitution of my property; or what if the Mexican banker should be

a true man, and acknowledge my claim upon him?" "If I could but enlist

the Prince in my cause," thought I again, "how certain should I be of

the issue! French influence always was powerful in Spain. Napoleon used

to say, 'There were no Pyrenees;' I should be content if there were only

a good road over them to convey the despatches that might assert my just

right."

A quick step upon the stairs at that instant caught my ear; few ever

ascended so high up as my story, so I listened, and almost at once my

door was thrown open, and my host of the preceding evening rushed into

the room. Having shaken hands with me cordially, he said, "Corneille,

mon ami! I have made another wager about you; and although the sum is

a trifling one, I am curious to ascertain if I am the winner. Jules de

Montserrat and Emile de Gency and myself had a dispute last night about

your nationality, which ended in a bet. I am bound in honor not to tell

you what our several opinions and guesses were, but still at liberty to

ask you, what is your native country?"

"I am an Irishman, and derive my name from the ancient family of

Cregan. Cornelius is but my Christian name, which I assumed to cover the

disgrace of my altered fortune."

"As to our wager, then, we were all in error,--none of us guessed

Ireland. As to your being a man of birth and station, I need scarcely

say, we were all agreed."

"Would it were otherwise," said I, with a deep sigh; "a humble position

might be endured well enough, if unalloyed by the regrets of a condition

forfeited forever. If you are curious to hear a very unhappy story, I am

willing to relate it."

"You couldn't do me a greater favor," said he, seating himself like one

eager to listen.

"First, then, we'll have some breakfast," said I; "and then, with a good

fire and no fear of interruption,--for I have not one acquaintance in

Paris,--you shall hear my history from beginning to end."

Chocolate and cutlets, champagne and devilled kidneys, brioches,

sardines, and coffee, made their appearance as rapidly as though such

delicacies were in the habit of daily mounting these steep stairs; and

a cheerful blaze glowed once more in a grate where the oldest inhabitant

had never beheld a fire.

These preparations being made, we began our meal, and I opened my

narrative. The reader must not feel offended with me if I ventured to

draw upon my imagination for the earlier facts of my history. Nature had

not been generous to me in the article of a father: what great harm if

I invented one for myself? Fortune had placed my birth beneath the

thatched roof of an Irish cabin: was it not generous of me to call it

the ancient baronial seat of the Cregans? She started me poor and in

rags: I was above repining, and called myself rich and well-nurtured.

But why weary my reader with such a recital? If it was necessary to

raise the foundation on fiction, the after-events of my career I was

satisfied to state pretty nearly as they happened, merely altering the

reasons for my journey to the New World, which I ascribed to my search

after a great inheritance belonging to my family, who were originally

from Andalusia, and grandees of Spain.

"And this of course you failed in," said my friend, who rather felt

this portion of my story less interesting than certain other and more

stirring passages.

"On the contrary," said I, "I succeeded perfectly. I not only

discovered the banker in whose hands my family wealth was deposited, but

established my claim most satisfactorily, and received a very large

sum in gold, with bills to a high amount on various mercantile houses,

besides leaving in his hands an important balance, for which I had

no immediate necessity." After a slight sketch of my Mexican

progress,--very little embellished or exaggerated,--I narrated my

voyage to Europe and my capture at Malaga exactly as they occurred,

circumstantially recording every detail of name and date I could

remember down to the very moment of my reaching Paris.

"One question more, my dear friend," said M. Paul, after some fifty very

searching interrogatories, as closely argued as the cross-examination

of a counsel at law. "One question more, and I have done. I know you 'll

not be offended at the liberty I am about to take,--nay, I feel you 'll

be even gratified with my candor. Tell me frankly, as between man and

man, is there one word of truth in all this, or is it not downright

moonshine,--sheer invention from beginning to end?"

I started to my legs, my face crimson with anger, but, as suddenly

recovering myself, said, "You were right, sir, to bespeak a degree of

command over my feelings before you ventured upon this freedom, which if

I cannot altogether pardon, yet I will not resent."

"So it is true, then," said he, with a degree of melancholy in his voice

I could not fathom.

"Of course it is," rejoined I.

"Sorry to hear it; deeply, sincerely sorry,--that's all," replied he,

in the self-same manner; "I cannot express to you one-half of my

disappointment."

"Sorrow! disappointment!" exclaimed I. "May I ask what possible interest

you could have in supposing me to be an impostor and a cheat?"

"Hard names these," said he, laughing, "but I will explain myself. If

the story that you have just told me were fiction, I could give you

three hundred francs a day to write feuilletons for the 'Débats.' If

one-half of it were even invention, you 'd be worth two hundred on the

'Siècle' or the 'Presse;' say you stole the material, and you 'd still

do admirably for the 'Mode.'

"Are you--so conversant with a hundred thousand things--ignorant that

the grand principle of division of labor has extended itself from

the common arts of manufacture to the operations of genius; and that,

nowadays, no man would think of composing an entire work himself, any

more than he would of turning mason, carpenter, slater, locksmith, and

glazier, were he about to build a house? On the contrary, having fixed

upon the site, and determined the proportions of his future edifice, he

surrounds himself with competent and skilful hands in all the several

walks of constructiveuess, reserving to himself that supervision and

direction which could not be practicable were he engaged in actual

labor. Thus is he a master-builder in fiction, selecting his artificers,

storing his materials, apportioning the quantity, keenly watching the

variations in public taste, and producing at last a mass and variety

that no one brain--however fertile and assiduous--could be capable of.

This," said he, drawing himself up proudly, "this is my walk. By the aid

of this discovery,--for it is mine, and mine only,--I am enabled to

draw tears in the 'Débats,' and convulse with laughter in the

'Constitutionnel;' and while writing of the torrid zone in one journal,

I have an Icelander as my hero in another. Men stare at the range of my

knowledge of life under aspects so various and discordant; and well may

they wonder, were I to draw upon my own unassisted faculties. But it is

men like you, Cregan, I want,--shrewd, sharp, ready-witted dogs; quick

to remark, and quicker to report. What say you, then, will you join my

corps in the fiction-foundry over which I preside?"

"Were I but capable--"

"You are eminently so. We need no literary ability, no craft of

authorship,--no more than the child who picks the wool in the factory

is called on to direct the loom that weaves it into cloth. Let me

finish the article; I 'II give it the gloss for sale! What say you? Five

thousand francs a year, free admission to every theatre in Paris, and a

dinner at 'La Trou aux Bois '--where you dined yesterday--every Sunday?"

"A bargain," cried I, in ecstasy.

"Concluded by both parties, who thus acknowledge their hand and seal,"

cried he, tossing off a glass of champagne; and then, rising from the

table, he prepared to take his leave. "I conclude," said he, "that you

'll not continue your residence here much longer. Seek out some quarter

less near to heaven, and more accessible to poor human nature."

I promised to follow the advice, and we separated: he to repair to his

haunts,--the cafés, the editorial snuggeries, and other gossip shops of

Paris; and I to seek out a more congenial abode, and one more befitting

the favorable turn which Fate had now imparted to my fortune.

The afternoon of that same day saw me installed in a pleasant little

apartment overlooking the garden of the Luxembourg, and where, from a

little terrace, I could inhale the odor of the orange blossoms, and see

the children at play amid the plashing of fountains and the waving

of the tall grass. It was, as I discovered, the quarter of the whole

artiste class,--poets, painters, actors, sculptors, feuilletonists, and

caricaturists; nor was it difficult to ascertain the fact, as a certain

extravagance of beard, various modifications of hat, and peculiarly cut

coats and trousers presented themselves at every moment. Resolving

to don "the livery of my race," I made my appearance in a suit of

coffee-brown, hat and russet boots to match; as for beard, a life of

seclusion for several weeks had only left me the task of retrenchment;

and the barber whose services I invoked had but to ask my career to

impress me with that artiste stamp that makes every full-faced man a

mock "Holbein," and every thin one a bad Vandyke.

"The novelists wear it straight across, and square below the chin, sir,"

said he. "This is a plate of Monsieur Eugène Sue; but there is a certain

dash of energy about Monsieur's eyes--a kind of 'beauté insolente,' if I

may be pardoned the phrase--that would warrant the beard to be pointed.

May I venture to trim Monsieur as Salvator Rosa?"

"Use your own discretion, Monsieur Palmyre," said I; "the responsibility

is great, and I will not clog it by even a suggestion."

To say that I could not have known myself on arising from his hands is

no exaggeration, so perfectly changed had my features become in their

expression. As a disguise, it was perfect; and this alone was no small

recommendation.

As I walked the alleys of the Luxembourg, where at every instant men

travestied like myself came and went, I could not help recalling the

classical assertion that "no two augurs could meet face to face without

laughing," and I wondered excessively how we artistes surveyed each

other and preserved even a decent gravity.

My career as a _litterateur_ began the next day, and I received a

short editorial summons from the office of "La Tempête" to furnish a

feuilleton of a hundred and twenty-four lines; the postscript adding

that as Admiral Du Guesclin had just arrived from Macao, some "esquisses

des moeurs Chinoises" would be well timed. Of China I only knew what a

lacquered tea-tray and the willow pattern could teach me; but I set to

work at once, and by assuming my sketches to be personal adventures and

experiences, made up a most imposing account of Chinese domesticity.

The article had an immense success: the air of veracity was perfect; and

the very officers of the fleet were so deluded by the imposition as

to believe they must have frequently met me at Shang-kee-shing or

Fong-wong-loo.

Thus was I launched into a career, of all others the most amusing, the

most exciting, and, I must also add, the most dissipated. Living apart

from all mankind in a little circle of our own, where we only recognized

the world as we ourselves were pleased to paint it, our whole lives were

one long scoff and sneer at everybody and everything. Friendship meant

the habit of meeting at dinner; the highest nobility of soul was his who

paid the reckoning.

If there was little actual happiness among us, there was certainly no

care nor any touch of sorrow. A great picture condemned, a poem cut to

pieces, a play hissed off, only suggested a "souper de consolation,"

when the unlucky author would be the first to cut jokes upon his own

failure, and ridicule the offspring of his own brains. Who could look

for sympathy where men had no feeling for themselves? Even thieves, the

proverb tells us, observe "honor" with each other; but we were worse

than thieves, since we actually lived and grew fat upon each other's

mishaps. If one exhibited a statue at the Louvre, another was sure to

caricature it for the Passage de l'Opéra. If one brought out a grand

drama at the Français, a burlesque was certain to follow it at the

Palais-Royal. Every little trait that near intercourse and familiarity

discloses, every weakness that is laid bare in the freedom of friendly

association, were made venal, and worth so much a line for "Le Voleur"

or "L'Espion."

As to any sulking, or dreaming of resenting these infractions, he might

as well try to repress the free-and-easy habits of a midshipman's berth.

They were the "masonry of the craft," which each tacitly subscribed to

when he entered it.

All intercourse was completely gladiatorial, not for display, but for

defence. Everlasting badinage on every subject and on everybody was the

order of each day; and as success was to the full as much quizzed

as failure, any exhibition of vanity or self-gratulation met a heavy

retribution. Woe unto him whose romance went through three editions in

a fortnight, or whom the audience called for at the conclusion of his

drama!

As for the fairer portion of our guild, being for the most part

ostracized in general society, they bore a grudge against their sex,

and affected a thousand airs of mannishness. Some always dressed in male

attire; many sported little moustaches and chin-tufts, rode man-fashion

in the Bois de Boulogne, fought duels; and all smoked. Like other

converts, they went farther in their faith than the old believers, and

talked Communism, Socialism, and Saint Simonianism, with a freedom that

rose high above all the little prejudices ordinary life fosters.

If great crimes, such as shock the world by their enormity, were quite

unknown among us, all the vices practicable within the Law and the Code

Napoléon were widely popular; and the worst of it all was, none seemed

to have the remotest conception that he was not the beau-ideal of

morality. The simple fact was, we assumed a very low standard of

_right_, and chose to walk even under _that_.

With Paris and all its varied forms of life I soon became perfectly

familiar,--not merely that city which occupies the Faubourg St. Honoré,

or St. Germain, not the Paris of the Boulevards or the Palais-Royal

only, but with Quartier St. Denis, the Batignolles, the Cité, and the

Pays Latin. I knew every dialect, from the slang of fashion to the

conventional language of its lowest populace. I heard every rumor,

from the cabinet of the Minister down to the latest gossip of the

"Coulisses:" what the world said and thought, in each of its varying and

dissimilar sections; how each political move was judged; what was the

public feeling for this or that measure; how the "many-headed" were

satisfied or dissatisfied, whether with the measures of the Ministry, or

the legs of the new danseuse; and thus I became the very perfection of

a feuilletoniste. There is but one secret in this species of

literature,--the ever-watchful observation of the public; and when it is

considered that this is a Parisian public, the task is not quite so easy

as some would deem it. This watchfulness, and a certain hardihood

that never shrinks from any theme, however sacred to the conventional

reserves of the general world, are all the requisites.

I have said it was a most amusing life; and if eternal excitement, if

the onward rush of new emotions, the never-ceasing flow of stimulating

thoughts, could have sufficed for happiness, I might have been, and

ought to have been, contented. Still, the whole was unreal. Not only was

the world we had made for ourselves unreal, but all our judgments, all

our speculations, our hopes, fears, anticipations, our very likings and

dislikings! Our antipathies were mock, and what we denounced with all

the pretended seriousness of heartfelt conviction in one journal, we not

unfrequently pronounced to be a heaven-sent blessing in another. Bravos

of the pen, we had no other principle than our pay, and were utterly

indifferent at whom we struck, even though the blow should prove fatal.

That we should become sceptical on every subject; that we should cease

to bestow credence on anything, believing that all around was false,

hypocritical, and unreal as ourselves, was natural enough; but this

frame of mind bears its own weighty retribution, and not even the

miserable victim of superstitious fear dreads solitude like him whose

mind demands the constant stimulant of intercourse, the torrent of new

ideas, that whirls him along, unreflecting and unthinking.

It will be easily seen that all my narrative of myself met but little

faith in such company. They unhesitatingly rejected the whole story

of my wealth; and my future restoration to rank and riches used to be

employed as a kind of synonym for the Greek calends. The worst of all

this was, their disbelief infected even me, and I gradually began to

look upon myself as an impostor. My hope--the guide-star that cheered

me in many a dark and gloomy period--began to wane, and I felt that ere

long all those aspirations which had spirited me on in life would lie

cold and dead within me, and that my horizon, would extend no further

than where each daily sun sunk to rest. To show any discontent with my

walk, to evince in the slightest degree any misgivings that we of "La

petite Presse" did not give laws to taste, morals, jurisprudence, and

legislation, would have been high treason. To imply a doubt that we held

in our hands, not alone the destinies of Paris, but of Europe,--of all

civilization,--would have been a rank and outrageous heresy. Like the

priest, the journalist can never unfrock himself. The mark of the ink,

more tenacious than the blood on Lady Macbeth's fingers, will "never

out." What, then, could I do? For, wearied of my calling, I yearned

for a little truth, for a new glimpse of reality, however short and

fleeting.

Full of these thoughts, I repaired one morning to the Trou-aux-Bois,

where fortunately I found my friend Paul alone,--at least, except three

secretaries, to whom he was dictating by turns, he had no one with him!

"Wait till I have finished this 'Attack of Wolves on a Caravan,'" said

he, "and the 'Death of Jules de Tavanne by Poison,' and I 'm your

man. Meanwhile, step into my study; there are masses of newspapers and

letters which you can read freely."

He did not detain me long. Apparently the wolves were weak, and soon

beaten off, and the poison was strong, and soon did its work; for he

joined me in less than half an hour.

My explanation was listened to patiently, and, what surprised me more,

without astonishment. He saw nothing exaggerated or high-flown in the

difficulties I started, and even went the length of confessing that

many of my objections had occurred to his own mind. "But then," said he,

"what is to be done? If you turn soldier, are you always certain that

you will concur in the justice of the cause for which you fight? Become

a lawyer, and is not half your life passed in arraigning the right and

defending the wrong? Try medicine; and where will be your 'practice'

if you only prescribe for the really afflicted, and do not indulge the

caprices and foster the complainings of the 'malade imaginaire '? As an

apothecary, you would vend poisons; as an architect, you would devise

jails and penitentiaries; and so to the end of the chapter. Optimism is

just as impracticable as it is dangerous. Accept the world as you find

it, not because it is the best, but because it is the only policy; and,

above all, be slow in changing a career where you have met with success.

The best proof that it suits you is, that the public think so."

Being determined on my course, I now affected a desire to see life in

some other form, and observe mankind under some other aspect. To this

he assented freely, and, after a few moments' discussion, suddenly

bethought him of a letter he had received that very morning. "You

remember the Duc de St. Cloud, whom you met at dinner the first day you

spent here?"

"Perfectly."