When all these affairs were settled, and my young Lord Masterton and
fair lady were looking as pleased as heart could wish, going about
with each other from morning till night, and seeming perfectly
contented in every respect, the house began to grow tedious enough;
for though, perhaps, in the wide range of human enjoyments there is no
greater pleasure than that of contributing to render other people
happy, there are few things more tiresome than looking on after the
work is complete. I loved Lord Masterton, it is true, as sincerely as
it was possible; for dangers encountered with him, and services both
rendered to him and received from him, had of course made him very
dear to me. I loved Lady Emily, too, just enough less dearly than I
did my lord to make my affection distant and respectful; and they both
loved me, very much, from the same motives that I loved them.
Nevertheless, I acknowledge again that the time hung very heavy upon
my hands; and after the first week of the honeymoon, with all its
bustle and its gaiety was over, I began to long for something new.
I have no doubt that Lord Masterton, who was keen enough in perceiving
other people's feelings, had no difficulty in understanding that the
happiness of himself and his wife was too quiet and tranquil in its
nature to be very amusing to other people; and knowing perfectly that
I was of a disposition to which activity, either mental or corporeal,
was absolutely necessary, he took no small pains, as soon as he could
think of anything besides his bride, to give me full occupation, in
supplying, what he called, the defects in my education. I was taught
French thoroughly, which, to say truth, has been of great use to me;
but, at the same time, I was filled with a great deal more Latin than
I ever knew what to do with; and an attempt was made to cram me with
Greek, which I resisted with all the repugnance of a child for an
emetic. Still Lord Masterton, thinking himself bound to act the part
of an elder brother to the orphan boy he had taken under his
protection, persevered in the attempt, and several other branches of
science were added to my daily routine of instruction; but I need
hardly tell the reader, that this sort of occupation was the least
palatable that it is possible to conceive in the estimation of a boy
brought up as I had been.
I believe, and indeed, am sure, that my good young lord saw how
distasteful the whole was to me; for I have often remarked, when he
casually entered my place of study, that a slight smile would play
upon his lip, as he noticed any of the fretful and impatient movements
with which I accompanied my lessons. He persevered for nearly nine
months, however, thinking it absolutely necessary, I imagine, both to
give me such instructions, and to tame, in some degree, my wild and
restless spirit. For my part I was too grateful for all that he had
done for me, too sensible of the kindness of his motives, and too well
aware of the superiority of his mind, to complain aloud of anything
that he might think beneficial for me to do. Repine, I did, in secret,
and that most heartily; but nevertheless, as I was quick and active in
mind as well as body, and applied myself diligently to learn while I
was about it, I probably gained more in the same space of time than
many other people would have done. At length, one day, to my surprise,
my usual masters did not appear from Paris, and I received directions
from my lord to prepare to accompany him on a long ride.
This was all very pleasant to me, especially as it seemed to augur
something new; and no language that ever yet I heard is adequate to
describe the sort of thirst for some novelty--some change in my
situation--which then consumed me. Gladly did I get myself ready,
gladly did I mount my horse; and, riding forward with Lord Masterton
alone, while the grooms remained at a good distance behind, I gave way
to all the wild gladness of my heart.
Lord Masterton suffered the first burst of joy to have its full
course, and smiled as he remarked it; but in a few minutes he assumed
a more serious tone, saying, "Come come, Little Ball-o'-Fire, let us
ride on calmly, and converse like rational people, for I have
something serious to say to you."
In a moment I was all attention, and he proceeded:--
"I was in hopes," he said, "to have kept you with me yet for several
years--till such time, indeed, as young men usually set forth in the
world; and even then only to have parted with you in order to have
placed you in some station where you might win honour, and make your
way to fame. For such a purpose, however, it was necessary that all
those points which circumstances had caused your father to neglect in
your education should be supplied here, and I consequently have
endeavoured to obtain for you every sort of instruction which this
country can afford."
"Indeed, my lord," I cried, as he paused for a moment, "I am not of
the wood of which men make a scholar, and I am afraid, if my getting
on in the world is ever to depend upon my learning, that I shall drop
by the wayside from pure weariness."
"I have come to the same conclusion too," he answered, in a tone which
expressed some degree of mortification, but not a touch of anger,--"I
have come to the same conclusion too; for you must not suppose that I
have been blind to your impatience. I had hoped, indeed, that it would
wear away, though Lord Langleigh assured me that it would not; but now
having given you a trial, having added something to your stock of
knowledge, and having found that your distaste to study increased
rather than diminished, I have determined to abandon the attempt, and
to let you follow out that way of life for which nature seems to have
formed you, and in which Fortune herself had placed you."
Never did such joyful words ring in my ears before; and had we not
been on horseback, I should have thrown myself at his feet to pour
forth the gratitude that swelled in my heart. Words, however, were not
wanting; and although I never made use of more than served my purpose,
yet I contrived to make him understand how very happy he had made me.
"Well, well," he replied, "all I can wish is to advance your
interests; but you are of course aware, that such a change of
prospects implies that you must leave me."
Although I had thought the matter over a thousand times, and pictured
to myself all I should like to do, yet I had certainly never
contemplated the necessity of quitting a friend and protector that I
loved, as a part of the scheme; and when he placed it thus plainly
before me the tears rose in my eyes.
"Such, nevertheless, must be the case," he continued; "for, of course,
to pass your time in idleness here would be as disagreeable to you as
to pass it in dry study."
"But cannot you go to the wars," I cried, "and let me go with you?"
Lord Masterton smiled.--"I am afraid," he replied, "that I cannot
mingle in the scenes of civil strife that are going on here, solely to
find occupation for your active spirit. No, no, my good boy, Lord
Langleigh and myself agree in thinking, that foreigners, casting
themselves upon the protection and hospitality of a nation like this,
should take no part in the factious intrigues that agitate the
country; and we have determined to remain as quiet as possible till
they are all over, which we both hope and believe will be the case ere
many years be past; for the most turbulent cannot long remain blind to
the dreadful evils which such a state of distrust, uncertainty, and
apprehension inflicts upon every class in the community. But to return
to our subject: it becomes us now to think of how we can place you to
the best advantage. You are too young, of course, to serve in any of
the regiments at present in activity, and if we place you as page to
any one else, it must solely be with a view to your military promotion
hereafter. A gentleman who was here the other day, with our good
friend Monsieur de Vitray, was pleased with your history, and
expressed a desire for just such a boy as you, to bring up in his own
steps, which have ever been foremost in the field of battle."
"Who, who was that?" I cried, eagerly. "I saw them all. Was it the
dark man with the heavy hanging brow? I do not like him."
"No, no," he answered. "It was Monsieur de Villardin, who sat at table
on Lord Langleigh's left, with dark hair, just mingled with grey, and
a scar across his forehead."
"I like him," I replied, "I like him!" and Lord Masterton went
on.--"Well," he said, "he luckily liked you and your character; and
after a long consultation with myself upon the subject, and the
fullest consideration of your interests and your happiness, Lord
Langleigh is now gone to speak with Monsieur de Villardin on your
account, and to see whether he is willing to receive you in the
capacity which we wish you to fill. Although the usages of this
country would render it in no degree degrading for the son of the
first nobleman in the land to become the page of the Duc de Villardin,
yet we wish you, as it were, in quitting me, to gain a step in life.
Lord Langleigh, therefore, will tell him that if he will receive you
as superior to his common pages, and promise to obtain for you a
commission in the service of the state, when you reach the usual age,
we are willing to place you under his care. At the same time, to
enable you always to maintain the station which we wish you to take,
we have determined to grant you a pension of a thousand crowns per
annum, chargeable upon a farm of Lord Langleigh's in Normandy. You
will thus be independent of any one, for the deed of gift shall be
drawn out, giving you that revenue irrevocably."
The confused whirl of joyful ideas that took place in my brain at
these tidings, would be difficult to express. The idea of seeing the
_world_, and mingling in scenes of warlike activity once more, was all
joy; and if there had been anything which could have given me a
moment's uneasiness in the prospect of going forth again into that
world alone, it was the chance of being reduced to the state of
poverty and destitution which I had suffered for one whole year. I do
not mean to say that I did fear it, for I was not of a character to
fear any of earth's evils, or even to take them into consideration in
my lookings forward towards the future; but the memory of some pains
and some degradations which I had suffered did certainly cross my mind
for a single moment, though without any power to affect my hopes or
purposes. By the liberality, however, of my kind protectors, all such
apprehensions were entirely removed. I had now always a resource, and
that resource greater in amount than the pecuniary means of many a
nobleman's son. Sorry I am to say, that for the time these joyful
feelings, and all the gay dreams to which they gave rise, very nearly
wiped away the grief I had felt at the prospect of quitting Lord
Masterton; and although I was deeply grateful, and expressed my
gratitude for the new proofs of his generous kindness which he had
just given me, I could not help, as we rode home, raving upon all the
bright anticipations which I entertained in regard to the future.
He smiled at my delight; and though perhaps another man might have
been offended at the little regret I expressed at leaving him, he had
himself known what the spirit of adventure was too well not to make
full allowance for the passionate desire of novelty that I felt, and
for the restless love of change which habit had, in my case, rendered
second nature.
To hear the success of Lord Langleigh's mission was now my thirst. But
he did not return for several hours, and I was obliged to bridle my
impatience the best way I could. When he did appear, however, his
countenance, which was a very expressive one, showed me at once that
he was well pleased with the event of his errand. Nevertheless, he
said nothing to me on the subject; and as Lord Masterton was out of
the way, I was still compelled to digest my curiosity till the next
morning. Before breakfast, however, I observed them in close
conference for some time; and Lord Langleigh, whose custom it was
never to talk upon any subject of importance sitting still, called me
to him as he rose from the breakfast-table, and in a walk through the
park informed me, with his usual prompt but somewhat sparkling manner,
that the Duc de Villardin had very willingly agreed to all that he
proposed.
"You are not to think," he added, "from his readiness to take you,
urchin,"--the name by which he always called me,--"that you are any
great acquisition, after all. Nevertheless, you are a good,
quick-handed boy; and if you go on as you have begun, you are in a
fair way to get yourself hanged, shot, or made a field-marshal of. My
son-in-law tells me, what indeed I very well knew without his telling,
that your heart is all on fire for activity and new scenes. Now, with
Monsieur de Villardin, it is probable that you will have as much as
you could well desire; for he is one of those men who let no moment
fly by them unmarked by some deed or some event. He is in the midst of
all the Parisian factions, too; and, if one-half of the rumours of the
day be true, they will soon bring down Spanish cunning to aid French
intrigue, and make a mess of it fit for the palate of the devil
himself. So, now you will be in your right element, urchin, and I will
only give you one piece of advice before you go. Never let your zeal
for any one's service make you act ill, even to his greatest enemy."
I felt myself turn as red as fire, for, to say the truth, the good old
lord had touched upon a tender point; and, though I was young enough
to think of such matters lightly, yet, during the nine months which I
had lately passed in a much more contemplative manner than pleased me,
a suspicion would now and then come across my mind, that one or two
things in my past life might as well have been left undone. Lord
Langleigh observed me colour, and adding, with a nod, "It is worth
your thinking of," he left me, and returned to the house. I did think
of his advice long and eagerly; and his words sunk down into my heart,
producing therein the first of many changes which I shall yet have to
notice in my principles and conduct, as in passing through life I
every now and then gained a lesson or an admonition, which taught me
my own weaknesses, or restrained my wild passions. It was in vain, I
soon felt, to look back and regret the past; but from that moment I
formed my determination for the future, and tried never to forget,
that no cause could ever justify an evil action.
All after arrangements were soon concluded. My dress was already more
splendid than was at all necessary. My purse was well furnished by the
liberality of my kind benefactors; and a pass having been procured for
me to enter Paris, I took leave of the family at St. Maur three days
after the conversation I have just detailed, and was delivered over
into the hands of Monsieur de Villardin himself by the chief _écuyer_
of Lord Langleigh, who accompanied me into Paris.
My new lord received me very graciously, and promised me great things
if I attached myself to him as zealously as I had done to Lord
Masterton. His countenance, I have already said, had pleased me from
the first; and it certainly was one well calculated to command both
respect and regard. Nevertheless, as I came to know him better, I
remarked occasionally two expressions which I had not at first
observed, but which were strongly indicative of his real character,
or, rather, of his faults. The first was a quick, sharp, inquiring,
perhaps fierce expression, when anything was said in an under tone by
the persons around him. This, however, passed away in a minute; but
the second, which consisted in a tremendous gathering together of the
brows when any one seriously offended him, would last for some hours,
and it was evidently with difficulty that he could reassume his usual
gay and cheerful manner, through the whole of the rest of the day.
I had early learned to watch people's countenances as the
weather-glasses of their minds, and thence to judge, not only of what
was passing within at the moment, but also of their habitual feelings
and inherent disposition. This had been taught me by my father, who
had established his criterions for judging by long experience; and I
had not seen the fierce, sharp look, and the deep, heavy scowl, upon
the face of the Duke more than twice, when I established it in my own
mind, as a fact beyond doubt, that he was both suspicious and
revengeful. At the same time I discovered, by other circumstances,
that he was highly sensitive to ridicule; and that, knowing well to
how many jests he would expose himself if he suffered his irritable
jealousy to appear, he laboured strenuously to cover it by the same
light and witty manner of treating everything, which in that day was
universally affected by all Frenchmen. In this he was not particularly
successful; for, though his mind was quick and brilliant enough, his
heart was too full of deep and powerful feelings to harmonise well
with that playful badinage which alone affects the surface.
So much for my new master; but there are other members of his family
who yet remain to be noticed. The first of these, of course, is Madame
la Duchesse, to whom he led me immediately after I had been presented
to himself, and introduced me as his new page, of whom she had heard
so much. She was a very lovely woman, and at heart a most amiable one;
considerably younger than her husband, perhaps about four-and-twenty
years of age; and though, I believe, it would be doing Diana herself
no injustice to compare her to Madame de Villardin in point of
chastity, yet at the time I was first presented to her, ere sorrow or
domestic discomfort had tamed the light heart and banished the
vanities of youth, she had decidedly that love of admiration which has
often, in this world, done more harm to a woman's character than
half-a-dozen _faux pas_. It mattered not with whom she was in
company--rank, station, age, made no difference--admired she was
determined to be by every one who came within the sphere of her
influence: a thousand little airs would she assume to excite
attention; and bright and sparkling was the triumph which lighted up
her eyes when she had succeeded in captivating or attracting. In the
case of myself even, a boy of twelve years old, she could not resist
the desire of displaying the same graces which she spread out before
others; and when her husband brought me forward to her, the smile that
played around her lips, the flash that glistened from her fine eyes,
and the elegant attitude with which she held me by the arm, and gazed
for a moment in my face, were all a little more than natural, and
very, very different from the calm, sweet manners of the beautiful
Emily Langleigh.
Besides herself, I found in the saloon where she was sitting her only
child, a fine lively girl of little more than six years old, who
afterwards became my frequent playfellow. Having introduced me to his
lady, and told her several particulars of my history, adding no small
commendations thereunto on my own behaviour, the Duke summoned his
major-domo, to whose hands he consigned me, bidding him make me
familiar with the house, and all that it contained. The old man, who
had been in the family of De Villardin from infancy, took me by the
hand kindly enough, and led me away to his own apartment, which
consisted of two small, neat chambers, on the lower story, looking out
into the court. Excellent old Jerome Laborde, for such was the name of
the major-domo, took care, as we went along, to give me many a
consolatory assurance of my being well taken care of, and rendered
very happy, in the mansion of his master, conceiving me to be one of
those young and inexperienced boys who are generally preferred to the
place of page in a nobleman's house at a tender age, and who,
commencing with timidity and innocence, generally end in impudence and
intrigue. His compassion was also moved towards me from the
misfortune, as he thought it, of my being an Englishman. But by this
time I had learned to speak French almost as fluently as my native
tongue; and, before I had been half an hour with the old major-domo, I
had convinced him thoroughly that I was a person to make myself very
much at home anywhere, and in any circumstances. His ideas of a page,
however, did not permit him to imagine that, as I had not the bashful
fears of the earlier stages of pagehood, I could have anything better
in my character than the pert sauciness of its latter epoch; and,
having conceived this bad opinion of me, the good old man very soon
civilly told me, that he would lead me to the pages' room, where I
would find three others, as gay and bold as myself. But before I
proceed to this new theatre on which my young abilities were destined
to display themselves, let me add that, ere many days had passed, I
found means to convince worthy Jerome Laborde that the circumstances
of my former life had rendered me a very different creature from any
he had yet met with in all his long experience of pages. The injustice
that he found he had done me, added to the favourable impression he
afterwards received, gained me a place in his good will, which I did
not lose till his death.
A scene, however, was yet to take place which was to signalise my
entrance into the house of Monsieur de Villardin, and to place me, by
my own exertions, in that station in his family which Lord Langleigh
had previously stipulated that I should enjoy. On entering the pages'
room, as it was called, I found, indeed, three boys as gay and bold as
myself, full of saucy conceit and pert jocularity. They were all older
than I was, and one seemed little less than fifteen years of age. No
sooner was I left there by the major-domo, than, of course, I became
the subject of their raillery, and for some time submitted to afford
them matter for amusement. Their first employment was, naturally, the
examination of my dress, which I could see, by a frequent shrug of the
shoulders, and the words _mauvais goût_, did not particularly please
these juvenile _petit-maîtres_. Going from that, however, to other
matters, they carried their jocularity so far, that I soon found it
would be necessary to exert one or two of the qualities which I had
acquired in a harder school than any to which they had ever been
subjected, in order to put them in that place which I intended them to
occupy during the rest of my stay in the family. I consequently took
advantage of the first insolent word spoken by the eldest--who
appeared to have a right prescriptive to tyrannise--and, having
drubbed him more heartily than ever he was drubbed before, I proceeded
to reduce the two others to a complete state of discipline and
subordination.
It may easily be supposed that all this was not effected without
considerable noise; for though we were all small enough to have lain
quiet in any house, my three companions were very vociferous. Just as
I was putting what may be called the finishing stroke to the affair,
by once more knocking down the eldest, who--on finding that his two
fellow-pages, notwithstanding all they had suffered from him in former
times, were now willing to espouse his cause against the new comer,
had roused himself again to the combat--I perceived that the door of
the apartment was ajar, and that the face of Monsieur de Villardin
(with two or three _écuyers_ behind) was gazing in upon the conflict.
This discovery, however, did not prevent my giving full force to my
blow, and my antagonist measured his length upon the floor at his
master's feet.
"Very well struck for a _coup d'essai_" cried the Duke, walking in;
"every fresh dog must of course fight his way through the pack; but
now, young gentlemen, as your new comrade seems to have satisfied you
pretty well that his must be the first station amongst you, by right
of superior strength and activity, I also tell you that it is by my
will, Gaspard," he continued, turning to his eldest page, "you are but
a boy, and not fit to cope with one who has slain men. So submit with
a good grace, and give him your hand."
The boy, who had by this time risen from the floor, obeyed; but, as he
did so, he eyed me from under his bent brows with a look that was
sufficient warning that I had gained an enemy. This was an acquisition
not particularly disagreeable to me; for, to tell the truth, I had at
that time been so much more accustomed to deal with enemies than
friends, that I hardly felt in my element without them; and, indeed,
as I looked upon man's natural position to be a state of warfare, I
was always prepared to bear my share in it with good will. These
opinions, it is true, changed greatly afterwards; but how the
alteration was brought about is to be found in the history of my after
life.
The mortification of Gaspard de Belleville, which was the name of my
chief opponent, was rendered complete by the Duke selecting me as the
companion of his ride to the _palais_, where the Parliament was then
sitting. But I must speak of the events which occurred to me in Paris
by themselves; nor, indeed, should I have mentioned the childish
squabble which took place between me and the other pages, had it not
been necessary to explain the origin of a good solid hatred which
Gaspard de Belleville conceived towards me, and which lasted,
undiminished, through life, rendering his own days miserable, and
having quite sufficient effect upon my fate to show me that we should
never make an enemy when we can make a friend.