CHAPTER XXX.
It must be confessed, that flattery comes mighty easily to one's mouthin the presence of royalty.--Letters of Stephen Montague.
'Tis he.--How came he thence--what doth he here?--Lara.
I had received for that evening (my last at Paris) an invitation fromthe Duchesse de B----. I knew that the party was to be small, and thatvery few besides the royal family would compose it. I had owed thehonour of this invitation to my intimacy with the----s, the greatfriends of the duchesse, and I promised myself some pleasure in theengagement.
There were but eight or nine persons present when I entered the royalchamber. The most distingue of these I recognized immediately as the--.He came forward with much grace as I approached, and expressed hispleasure at seeing me.
"You were presented, I think, about a month ago," added the--, with asmile of singular fascination; "I remember it well."
I bowed low to this compliment.
"Do you propose staying long at Paris?" continued the--.
"I protracted," I replied, "my departure solely for the honour thisevening affords me. In so doing, please your--, I have followed the wisemaxim of keeping the greatest pleasure to the last."
The royal chevalier bowed to my answer with a smile still sweeterthan before, and began a conversation with me which lasted for severalminutes. I was much struck with the--'s air and bearing. They possessgreat dignity, without any affectation of its assumption. He speakspeculiarly good English, and the compliment of addressing me in thatlanguage was therefore as judicious as delicate. His observations owedlittle to his rank; they would have struck you as appropriate, and theair which accompanied them pleased you as graceful, even in a simpleindividual. Judge, then, if they charmed me in the--. The upper partof his countenance is prominent and handsome, and his eyes have muchsoftness of expression. His figure is slight and particularly wellknit; perhaps he is altogether more adapted to strike in private thanin public effect. Upon the whole, he is one of those very few personsof great rank whom you would have had pride in knowing as an equal, andhave pleasure in acknowledging as a superior.
As the--paused, and turned with great courtesy to the Duc de--, I bowedmy way to the Duchesse de B--. That personage, whose liveliness andpiquancy of manner always make one wish for one's own sake that her rankwas less exalted, was speaking with great volubility to a tall, stupidlooking man, one of the ministers, and smiled most graciously upon me asI drew near. She spoke to me of our national amusements. "You are not,"said she, "so fond of dancing as we are."
"We have not the same exalted example to be at once our motive and ourmodel," said I, in allusion to the duchesse's well known attachment tothat accomplishment. The Duchesse D'A--came up as I said this, andthe conversation flowed on evenly enough till the--'s whist party wasformed. His partner was Madame de la R--, the heroine of La Vendee. Shewas a tall and very stout woman, singularly lively and entertaining, andappeared to possess both the moral and the physical energy to accomplishfeats still more noble than those she performed.
I soon saw that it would not do for me to stay very long. I had alreadymade a favourable impression, and, in such cases, it is my constantrule immediately to retire. Stay, if it be whole hours, until you havepleased, but leave the moment after your success. A great genius shouldnot linger too long either in the salon or the world. He must quit eachwith eclat. In obedience to this rule, I no sooner found that my courthad been effectually made than I rose to withdraw.
"You will return soon to Paris," said the Duchesse de B--.
"I cannot resist it," I replied. "Mon corps reviendra pour chercher moncoeur."
"We shall not forget you," said the duchesse.
"Your Highness has now given me my only inducement not to return," Ianswered, as I bowed out of the room.
It was much too early to go home; at that time I was too young andrestless to sleep till long after midnight; and while I was deliberatingin what manner to pass the hours, I suddenly recollected the hotel inthe Rue St. Honore, to which Vincent and I had paid so unceremoniousa visit the night before. Impressed with the hope that I might be moresuccessful in meeting Warburton than I had then been, I ordered thecoachman to drive to the abode of the old Marquis--The salon was ascrowded as usual. I lost a few Napoleons at ecarte in order to pay myentree, and then commenced a desultory flirtation with one of the fairdecoys. In this occupation my eye and my mind frequently wandered. Icould not divest myself of the hope of once more seeing Warburtonbefore my departure from Paris, and every reflection which confirmed mysuspicions of his identity redoubled my interest in his connection withTyrrell and the vulgar debauche of the Rue St. Dominique. I was makingsome languid reply to my Cynthia of the minute, when my ear was suddenlygreeted by an English voice. I looked round, and saw Thornton in closeconversation with a man whose back was turned to me, but whom I rightlyconjectured to be Tyrrell.
"Oh! he'll be here soon," said the former, "and we'll bleed himregularly to-night. It is very singular that you who play so much bettershould not have floored him yesterday evening."
Tyrrell replied in a tone so low as to be inaudible, and a minuteafterwards the door opened, and Warburton entered. He came up instantlyto Thornton and his companion; and after a few words of ordinarysalutation, Warburton said, in one of those modulated tones so peculiarto himself, "I am sure, Tyrrell, that you must be eager for yourrevenge. To lose to such a mere Tyro as myself, is quite enough todouble the pain of defeat, and the desire of retaliation."
I did not hear Tyrrell's reply, but the trio presently moved towardsthe door, which till then I had not noticed, and which was probably theentrance to our hostess's boudoir. The soi-disant marquise opened itherself, for which kind office Thornton gave her a leer and a wink,characteristic of his claims to gallantry. When the door wasagain closed upon them, I went up to the marquise, and after a fewcompliments, asked whether the room Messieurs les Anglois had entered,was equally open to all guests?
"Why," said she, with a slight hesitation, "those gentlemen play forhigher stakes than we usually do here, and one of them is apt to getirritated by the advice and expostulations of the lookers on; and soafter they had played a short time in the salon last night, MonsieurThornton, a very old friend of mine," (here the lady looked down) "askedme permission to occupy the inner room; and as I knew him so well, Icould have no scruple in obliging him."
"Then, I suppose," said I, "that, as a stranger, I have not permissionto intrude upon them?"
"Shall I inquire?" answered the marquise.
"No!" said I, "it is not worth while;" and accordingly I re-seatedmyself, and appeared once more occupied in saying des belles chosesto my kind-hearted neighbour. I could not, however, with all mydissimulation, sustain a conversation from which my present feelingswere so estranged, for more than a few minutes; and I was never moreglad than when my companion, displeased with my inattention, rose, andleft me to my own reflections.
What could Warburton (if he were the person I suspected) gain by thedisguise he had assumed? He was too rich to profit by any sums he couldwin from Tyrrell, and too much removed from Thornton's station inlife, to derive any pleasure or benefit from his acquaintance with thatperson. His dark threats of vengeance in the Jardin des Plantes, and hisreference to the two hundred pounds Tyrrell possessed, gave me, indeed,some clue as to his real object; but then--why this disguise! Had heknown Tyrrell before, in his proper semblance, and had anything passedbetween them, which rendered this concealment now expedient?--this,indeed, seemed probable enough; but, was Thornton entrusted with thesecret?--and, if revenge was the object, was that low man a partakerin its execution?--or was he not, more probably, playing the traitorto both? As for Tyrrell himself, his own designs upon Warburton weresufficient to prevent pity for any fall into the pit he had dug forothers.
Meanwhile, time passed on, the hour grew late, and the greater part ofthe guests were gone; still I could not tear myself away; I looked fromtime to time at the door, with an indescribable feeling of a
nxiety. Ilonged, yet dreaded, for it to open; I felt as if my own fate were insome degree implicated in what was then agitating within, and I couldnot resolve to depart, until I had formed some conclusions on theresult.
At length the door opened; Tyrrell came forth--his countenance wasperfectly hueless, his cheek was sunk and hollow, the excitement of twohours had been sufficient to render it so. I observed that his teethwere set, and his hand clenched, as they are when we idly seek, by thestrained and extreme tension of the nerves, to sustain the fever and theagony of the mind. Warburton and Thornton followed him; the latter withhis usual air of reckless indifference--his quick rolling eye glancedfrom the marquis to myself, and though his colour changed slightly,his nod of recognition was made with its wonted impudence and ease; butWarburton passed on, like Tyrrell, without noticing or heeding any thingaround. He fixed his large bright eye upon the figure which precededhim, without once altering its direction, and the extreme beauty of hisfeatures, which, not all the dishevelled length of his hair and whiskerscould disguise, was lighted up with a joyous but savage expression,which made me turn away, almost with a sensation of fear.
Just as Tyrrell was leaving the room, Warburton put his hand upon hisshoulder--"Stay," said he, "I am going your way, and will accompanyyou." He turned round to Thornton (who was already talking with themarquis) as he said this, and waved his hand, as if to prevent hisfollowing; the next moment, Tyrrell and himself had left the room.
I could not now remain longer. I felt a feverish restlessness, whichimpelled me onwards. I quitted the salon, and was on the escalier beforethe gamesters had descended. Warburton was, indeed, but a few stepsbefore me; the stairs were but very dimly lighted by one expiring lamp;he did not turn round to see me, and was probably too much engrossed tohear me.
"You may yet have a favourable reverse," said he to Tyrrell.
"Impossible!" replied the latter, in a tone of such deep anguish, thatit thrilled me to the very heart. "I am an utter beggar--I have nothingin the world--I have no expectation but to starve!"
While he was saying this, I perceived by the faint and uncertain light,that Warburton's hand was raised to his own countenance.
"Have you no hope--no spot wherein to look for comfort--is beggary yourabsolute and only possible resource from famine?" he replied, in a lowand suppressed tone.
At that moment we were just descending into the court-yard. Warburtonwas but one step behind Tyrrell: the latter made no answer; but as hepassed from the dark staircase into the clear moonlight of the court, Icaught a glimpse of the big tears which rolled heavily and silently downhis cheeks. Warburton laid his hand upon him.
"Turn," he cried, suddenly, "your cup is not yet full--look upon me--andremember!"
I pressed forward--the light shone full upon the countenance of thespeaker--the dark hair was gone--my suspicions were true--I discoveredat one glance the bright locks and lofty brow of Reginald Glanville.Slowly Tyrrell gazed, as if he were endeavouring to repel some terribleremembrance, which gathered, with every instant, more fearfully uponhim; until, as the stern countenance of Glanville grew darker and darkerin its mingled scorn and defiance, he uttered one low cry, and sanksenseless upon the earth.