THE PRIMA SERA; LETTERS, SNARES.
Lady Hamlet Vernon, in consequence of her recent accident, received
society at home instead of seeking it abroad; and for several evenings
the _élite_ of _ton_, passed their _prima sera_ at her house. Lord
Albert D'Esterre was constant too in his attendance there, and was
evidently much occupied with Lady Hamlet Vernon. His attentions did not
escape remark, and though Lady Tilney's object, in wishing to possess
an influence over Lord Albert, was quite of another nature, still
she felt some disappointment at finding he was interested in another
quarter, and therefore less likely to yield to the designs which she
had formed upon his political independence.
"I'll tell you how that matter stands," replied Lord Rainham, as she
inquired his opinion on the subject, "the _love_ is at present entirely
on the lady's side; Lord Albert is not at all captive, and he has such
obsolete ways of thinking, that I imagine he will not be easily caught.
I should recommend his being given up altogether, he will never play a
part among us, depend upon that; and you will not find him worth the
trouble of educating."
"Oh! as to playing a part, my dear Lord, one does not want every body
to play a part, at least not a _first_ part you know; and as for
_educating_ them, that is quite out of the question."
"But," rejoined Lord Rainham, "you forget there is such a thing as
persuasion; and it is said D'Esterre took his seat on the side of
ministers by some means of that sort. Now it is possible, that although
no _liaison de cœur_ exists between him and Lady Hamlet Vernon, yet as
a clever woman, she may have decided his vacillating judgment; to say
the truth, I believe she has." Lady Tilney bit her lip, and something
like the word provoking, escaped her, as she replied, "I would scorn
to persuade any body to any thing against his will; there is nothing
I have ever maintained more strenuously, than that every individual
should have a free choice in all the different elections of life."
Lord Rainham smiled. "But after all," she added with an affected
indifference, by which she attempted ineffectually to conceal her
mortification, "it is of very little importance which side Lord Albert
has taken."
"One would have thought so indeed but for the disappointment which is
evident since he has declared himself," replied Lord Rainham, drily.
However much Lady Tilney felt chagrined at the thought that another had
succeeded in turning Lord Albert's mind in a direction contrary to her
wishes, yet she was too politic to betray her disappointment to the
person who had triumphed; and therefore, on the evening in question,
she paid more than usual attention to Lady Hamlet Vernon.
"Dear Lady Hamlet Vernon," said Lady Tilney addressing her, as she
took a seat by her, "you must not pretend to be ill any longer, we
positively cannot do without you;" and then turning to Comtesse
Leinsengen, she added, "did you ever see any thing to equal the beauty
of her fairy foot?"
This was a sore subject, as the reverse of the proposition always
suggested itself to the Comtesse's fancy, in respect of her own; and
she pretended on the present occasion not to hear it, but tossing up
her head, took Lady Baskerville's arm, who was sitting on the other
side of her, and whispered in her ear, "Lady Tilney does take such
_engouements_, and then is as quickly tired of them, _des feus de
pailles_," shrugging her shoulders contemptuously; "but I wonder she
_like_ to dat old story of her admiration for feet, when she made
herself so very ridiculous in her affected praises of dat _soi-disant_
princesse. De lady who professes to worship liberty, independence,
and all dat sort of ting, to sit holding anoder woman's foot upon her
knee, and making all dat sort of fuss, for my part, _je n'ai jamais pu
conçevoir ce plaisir là_."
"It does seem to me rather extraordinary," replied Lady Baskerville;
"but then Lady Tilney is so very good-humoured, she always protects
every body she thinks put down or in distress." This was a prudent
answer on Lady Baskerville's part, but not well received, which on
perceiving, she quickly added:
"As to myself, I confess I do not take any pleasure in those sort of
out-of-the-way admirations; I can admire beauty in other women; but I
cannot affect to be so exceedingly enchanted by it as to turn _fille de
chambre_ in its honour. But there are many things in the world vastly
ridiculous; for instance, can any thing be more so in its way than
that Duke and Duchess D'Hermanton, who have been married I don't know
how long, and are still _aux premiers amours_; one sees them eternally
dawdling about together, as if persons came into company to be always
setting a pattern of conjugal felicity. It is pardonable, perhaps,
for very young people, during a few months to fancy themselves vastly
in love; but after that time it is sickening--don't you think so,
Comtesse?"
"Oui, vraiment; _au reste_ it is only in dis country that people do
give themselves such _ridicule_, and to say truth, not often, even
here."
"But pardon me, Comtesse," said Lady Baskerville, withdrawing from her;
"I must go away, for I see Lord Boileau waiting for me, whom I had
promised to take to Almack's, and had nearly forgotten;" so saying she
passed into an adjoining room, and addressing him said:
"Lord Boileau we are very late, and if we do not make haste we shall be
shut out."
"Oh, no--all _that_ is left out of the evening's entertainment, I can
assure you, for they begin to be afraid that nobody will go in, though
the doors are left wide open all night."
"I am not surprised, for I hate the whole thing, and think it is become
quite detestable, only I promised Lady Aveling to go to-night, so if
you are ready let us begone;--but I have not made my curtsey to Lady
Hamlet."
"Indeed, Lady Baskerville, you may spare yourself that trouble, if you
mean to be agreeable, for do you not see she is enamoured _pardessus
les yeux_ with _that_ Lord Albert D'Esterre."
"Ah," rejoined Lady Baskerville, looking in the direction where they
sat, "is it so? Well, every one has her taste; but I cannot say such a
person would ever touch my heart."
"Oh! _your_ heart we all know is assailable but _by one_, and that
Baskerville is the man, the most to be envied in all the world; to be
sure there never was _such_ a wife as you are, quite perfect, Lady
Baskerville, only too perfect." Lady Baskerville cast back her head,
and looking at Lord Boileau with one of her _intelligent_ smiles, they
passed on, and stepping into the carriage, drove off to finish their
evening amusements in the insipid glitter of an Almack's ball.
After the lapse of some weeks Lady Hamlet Vernon was completely
restored to health and beauty, and again resumed her usual routine of
existence. She sought dissipation at all times eagerly, from habit;
but now there was added to this impulse a restlessness of feeling, an
anxiety if alone, and a void in her heart, from the evening in which
her accident happened, such as she had never before experienced. It
was in vain for her to conceal from herself, that she had perhaps
_hitherto_ unconsciously courted the society of Lord Albert D'Esterre
more than of any other person, without considering how far she was
yielding to the gratification consistently with any probable chance
of happiness to herself in the ultimate issue. She certainly had a
decided preference for Lord Albert D'Esterre, or why did she seek
every opportunity of seeing him; or why feel uneasy when she heard of
his acknowledged affiance to another? These feelings prompted her to
know more of the appearance and character of his intended bride, whom
circumstances had as yet prevented from appearing in the great world of
London, and to whom she was an utter stranger.
Under this influence, she determined to address a letter to one with
whom she was in the habit of corresponding, and whom she knew to be on
a visit to Dunmelraise, the seat of Lady Adeline's mother. She felt
confident that she might take this step without compromising herself,
and without her inquiries being deemed strange, or indicative of any
thing beyond a natural curiosity. Shortly after this letter had been
written, the following reply came from her friend, Mr. G. Foley; the
contents of which were not at all calculated to tranquillize Lady
Hamlet Vernon's feelings, if she really had any affection for Lord
Albert.
_Letter from Mr. Foley to Lady Hamlet Vernon._
"When one is not to write of that which one is thinking about,
it is the most difficult thing in the world to write at all. But
you command, and I must endeavour to obey. Let me see how am I to
commence? Perhaps it is best that I do so by giving you _the history_,
as one young lady writing to another would say, of the Lady Adeline
Seymour. You know that Lady Dunmelraise, her mother, lost her husband
and an only son soon after Lady Adeline's birth; she then fell into
low spirits and bad health, but by degrees roused herself to live for
this child; and I must do her the justice to say, she has fulfilled
her task admirably.
"As to personal appearance, Lady Adeline Seymour is of that height
which just escapes being too tall; of that slimness which just escapes
being too thin; of that untutored manner which is often nearly being
_gauche_, were it not that it is accompanied by a childish grace which
evades the charge. Quick of perception, and quicker still in feeling,
she has a peculiar way of checking these impulses so as never to
allow them to betray her into any unbecoming harshness or abruptness
of manner; the very fear one entertains that she may overstep the
boundary of polished _rétenu_ gives an additional zest to her, but
_gare a ceux qui voudroit l'imiter_--for she is perfectly original and
defies all copyists. As to her face it is not marvellously beautiful,
still less regularly so, but it is of such love-like paleness, chased
by such sunny gleams of joyous youth continually playing over her
features, that one could not wish it changed even for a more regular
beauty. She is the very model of the poet's dream when he wrote--
----'Her pure and eloquent blood
Spoke in her cheeks, and so distinctly wrought,
That one would almost say her body thought.'
"Thus much for Lady Adeline's appearance and manners. In regard to
the acquirements and endowments of her mental being, I am perhaps not
myself qualified to speak--she is not precisely what the laborious
educating mammas would call accomplished, but she has a master genius
for _one_ art and a love for all. Her musical talent certainly
requires much instruction to bring it to any perfection, but the
scraps of airs she warbles as she flies about the house, are in the
best taste as far as they go--and a few Venetian ballads which she
sings to her guitar, and which she says her cousin taught her, are
quite inebriating.
"She unfeignedly undervalues all she does; perhaps too much so; but
you read in her countenance that she is perfectly sincere; that all
_spoken_ praise distresses her; and you are involuntarily led to seek
to give her homage in some more palatable shape.
"What do you think of this portrait of the young Adeline? It looks
like that of a heroine in romance, as I glance my eyes over the
words, and yet I have such a nausea at all the persons bearing that
designation, that I would fain save the delightful one of whom I am
writing from that hacknied name. You must have heard, of course, that
she is engaged to her cousin Lord Albert D'Esterre; but like all those
engagements made for people when they are children, I do not think
it will be fulfilled _con amore_--not but what she blushes whenever
she speaks of him, and _that_ she does pretty frequently; and if he
is grown up like a certain bust (for I have not seen him these three
years, and boys change so from eighteen to one and twenty), he really
must be _un bel Giovane_. By the way, she has made an exquisite
drawing of _mon beau cousin_, but that is neither here nor there,
the fiction of seventeen is always beautiful. Pray in your next
gracious letter inform me what sort of man he has become, for I feel a
brotherly regard for this very nice person, Lady Adeline Seymour, and
should like to think she had a chance of happiness. Happiness, what a
sound! but the reality, where is it?
'Come L'Araba Fenicè
Che ci sia, ciascun lo dicè
Dove sia, nessun lo sà.'
"I should have told you, by the bye, that with all the gaiety,
which is one of her greatest charms, Lady Adeline has a tincture of
seriousness mingled with it, which some might suppose approached to
Methodism; but even if it is so, _à son age elle en guérira_.
"I have been a long time here: but it has been a great gratification
to me, and time has glided softly by; for in addition to the charms
of the daughter, Lady Dunmelraise is in all respects a very agreeable
and sensible woman, has seen a great deal of the world, and besides
all that, honours your humble servant with her very particular regard;
which she tells me is bestowed entirely for the sake of my mother,
the friend whom she loved most in the world next to her own family;
but I am vain enough to flatter myself that she likes me a little for
mine own sake too. And you, who understand every thing _à demi mot_,
will know how soothing it is to a sick heart to receive kindness; this
has induced me hitherto to linger on from day to day; but I shall
vary the scene soon, for I begin to think that even I may be _de
trop_; for I hear frequent mention made of Lord Albert D'Esterre's
expected arrival; so to-morrow I set off for Luryddicath Park. Lord
Tresyllian's; who, you know, is father to Lord Albert.
"And now, my dear Lady Hamlet Vernon, having given you the particulars
you required, I will not weary you with more of myself: but in pity to
me, seeing that I am still for a time cut off from that only tolerable
place in England, London, do write me a brief, gracious missive, that
I may feast upon it till I am once more restored to your presence, and
in the mean while believe me to be the most devoted of your slaves.
Can I say more?
"G. FOLEY."
Lady Hamlet Vernon, after perusing this letter, fell into a deep train
of reflection, if such can be called intense feeling usurping the mind,
to the exclusion of every other idea. The image of Lady Adeline, thus
vividly pourtrayed by Mr. Foley's pen, stood in actual presence before
her; and combined with that image, rose the vision of Lord Albert
D'Esterre. The happiness which would be the growth of an union between
two such persons as her knowledge of the one, and her fancied knowledge
of the other, represented them, was embodied with forcible reality, and
tears coursed each other involuntarily down her cheeks as she sat, more
like a marble image than a living being.
From this state she was suddenly roused by the servants announcing
Lord Albert D'Esterre himself; and making an effort to subdue the
feeling which either she was too much ashamed, or too proud to own,
she endeavoured to receive him with as much composure as she could
assume. After the first words of course had passed, Lady Hamlet Vernon
was too deeply absorbed in one subject for her readily to turn to any
indifferent topic; and she at length addressed Lord Albert on the
subject of her solicitude, saying, "Do you know I have received a
letter this morning full of the praises of a person, in whom I believe
you are much interested; it is from a friend of mine now staying at
Dunmelraise, and who draws such a picture of the charms of Lady Adeline
Seymour, that I wonder, Lord Albert, to see you here--but you are going
to Dunmelraise, are you not, immediately?" Her tears almost flowed
afresh as she pronounced these words; and unconsciously she cast a
look of tender intreaty on Lord Albert. The latter had involuntarily
started, coloured, and hesitated to reply to this unexpected question;
at length he answered:
"No, not immediately; I am unable to leave town yet."
"You are not in love," Lady Hamlet Vernon exclaimed, "no, you are _not_
in love with Lady Adeline Seymour--I read your heart in the measured
calmness of your words; she is _not_ the mistress of your affections."
The sentence seemed to have escaped Lady Hamlet Vernon's lips without
the power of control, in a moment of excitement; and her eyes, which
had been fixed on Lord Albert, now as suddenly fell beneath his gaze as
he exclaimed with astonishment,
"What can you mean, what _do_ you mean, Lady Hamlet Vernon?" At that
moment Lady Tilney was announced, and a minute after Lord Gascoigne.
Conversation became general; but Lord Albert, evidently labouring under
some painful feeling, took no part in it. Still he seemed determined to
remain, to await the departure of the others, when Lady Tilney proposed
to Lady Hamlet Vernon to accompany her to the Park; and the latter,
fearing that she had compromised herself in the too open expression of
her feelings relative to Lord Albert and Lady Adeline Seymour, availed
herself of the opportunity to avoid any renewal of the theme. With a
heart ill at ease, she prepared to attend Lady Tilney to the dazzling
throng of Hyde Park; while Lord Albert, seeing it was vain to look for
any explanation of Lady Hamlet Vernon's extraordinary address to him
at the moment, reluctantly handed her to Lady Tilney's carriage; and,
trusting to some future opportunity to ask an explanation, he mounted
his horse and rode off; but not with a mind so tranquil or a heart so
buoyant as he had possessed a short time before.
In proposing to take Lady Hamlet Vernon to the Park, Lady Tilney's
real object was to withdraw her from Lord Albert, whose anxiety had
not escaped her observation, and whose political career she still had
hopes might not be positively decided; at any rate, if hope remained,
it was worth the trial; and should she have been correct in her idea
that Lord Albert had not committed himself irrevocably, no time was
to be lost; that very moment perhaps he waited only the voice of Lady
Hamlet's influence, to decide his wavering intentions. Lady Tilney's
part was therefore quickly taken; and as they proceeded to the Park,
she endeavoured to turn Lady Hamlet Vernon's mind from Lord Albert, if
he really occupied any share in it, by adverting to every topic of the
day; among other things she said:
"What do you think! Miss Melcomb's marriage with Lord Glenmore is at
length declared. I had long had my suspicions that it would be so; but
I cannot say I approve of the affair; and I am sure you will think
with me, Lord Glenmore is too great a card to be played by that little
miss, who has never left her mamma's wing; and has, of course, imbibed
all her prejudices. But although Lord Glenmore has allied himself with
this family, we must not wholly give him up; besides the Georgina
is pretty, and she may yet not prove quite such a simpleton as she
looks." Lady Tilney, however, in vain endeavoured to interest Lady
Hamlet Vernon in any subject she discussed; the former acquiesced in
every thing her companion said, in order to avoid the argument which
would have followed any dissent from her opinion. Lady Hamlet Vernon's
remarks, when she made any, were short, and little to the purpose; and
at length, wearied and ill at ease, she complained of a head-ache, and
besought Lady Tilney to set her down at home.
When the carriage-door closed, Lady Tilney flung herself back,
exclaiming as she drew up the glass, "How provokingly discreet, she did
not once commit herself!" and Lady Tilney drove once more back to the
Park, in the hope of seeing Lord Albert; and if possible, by courting
his attention, of counteracting any influence which might have been
exercised on his opinion by Lady Hamlet Vernon. She looked, however, in
vain for him in the crowd; and at length drove home, disappointed and
displeased at her want of success, and out of humour with every thing.