CONFESSIONS OF AN ETONIAN. BY CHARLES ROWCROFT, ESQ. AUTHOR OF "TALES OF THE COLONIES," &c. &c. "MONERE RIDENDO." IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. LONDON; COLBURN AND CO,, PUBLISHERS, GREAT MARLBOROUGH-STREET. 1852 LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM TYLER, BOLT-COURT. 823 R782c v. 3 CONFESSIONS OF AN ETONIAN. CHAPTER I. The usual cracking of the postilion's whip heralding our approach, we rolled to the gate, when that obstructive word, so annoying to English ears, greeted our arrival: "Passport?" The functionary first applied to the passengers inside, as entitled to that distinction in virtue of their places. They were all "en regie," and were Returned without comment. He then approached the coupee. I VOL, III. B 2 CONFESSIONS OI1 again cautioned the coachman, to keep his mouth shut, which he replied to with a nod, screwing his lips together with ah air of resolute dotermination. "Passport?55 I handed the paper to the officer with an air of nonchalance, as I thought quite French. "Name?55 " Ohateauville.55 " Yours5? (to the coachman). But coachman, true to his role, remained silent. I answered for him, "Thomas Whippy.55 " Ohateauville et Tomars Weepee.�� Messieurs. Ohateauville and Tomars Wee-pee, ayez la complaisance de descenclre.55 I made a slight remonstrance to this, but the officer repeating his invitation with rather a peremptory air, I saw that I could not refuse, and, accompanied by the coachman, who shook his head with a lugubrious air, but said nothing, followed the officer to the bureau. At a signal from him, the postilion AIST ETONIAN. 3 put his horses in motion on his way to the resting-place where the Diligence was accustomed to stop; but this I did not care for, as I knew where that was; and entering the bureau the officer introduced us to the presence of another and superior functionary, to whom he handed my passport, with an elevation of his cocked hat, and in a silence which struck me as an ominous prognostic. TheCommissaire took it and read it over in the same silence, coachman being very fidgetty, and having the look of a delinquent brought up at a police-office, I assumed a confident air, although I saw 'there was something wrong, but I could not guess what. "Your name?" said the Chief of .the Bureau, with a grave air. " Chateauville." " Where are you going ?" �" To Paris." " What is your object in going to Paris?55 I hesitated at this question a little at b 2 4 CONFESSIONS OE first, but presently recovering myself replied: " Voyageant pour mon plaish\" " And this is your passport ? " he asked, displaying it. " Yes," replied I, after having cast my eyes over it, "that is my passport." " I will read it to you/5 he said: Name�Ohateauville. Eyes�blue. Nose�medium (moyen). Hair�light. Age�twenty-one. Height�five feet eleven inches. " This is your description/' said he; "is it correct?" "Precisely," said I; "I have no fault to find with it." " And it is dated this day ?" " Exactly; it was this very day that I procured it." " Monsieur's beard, then, has grown in a marvellous manner since the morn-ing!" All of a sudden the truth now flashed AK ETONIAN. 5 across me. My passport had been made out in my true person, and my-present was the disguised one. " The deuce is in my luck !" thought I. The Commissaire consulted a book, and continued : " Monsieur arrived at Calais seven weeks ago�on the 25th of November?55 " I think that was the day,55 I replied. " He proceeded to M. Dessin's hotel, where he lodged, till he quitted it this morning?55 " I do not deny it,5' said I. " On the 16th of December he was joined by a confederate, an Englishman, in an English dress ?5' 1 pointed to my companion, who winced a little: " This is the person.55 " Bien :�whom Monsieur immediately proceeded to disguise as a Erench postilion?55 I said nothing to this: I began to fear that I had made a mess of it. " "With this man, evidently a person of 6 CONFESSIONS OF inferior rank, Monsieur was accustomed to hold familiar and private conferences ?" I did not know what to say to this, more than to the previous question, so I thought it best to hold my tongue. " Last night Monsieur was observed to prowl about the market-place at Calais at a very late hour. What was Monsieur's business on that occasion?" " It was merely for a walk," said I. " Promenade un peu extraordinaire a cette heure et en hiver;�mais,�bien!� And Monsieur repeated his visit to the market-place at break of day this morning. What was Monsieur's object again, in this renewed visit?" cc I had a curiosity to see the market-people arrive," I replied, not knowing well what to say, and becoming rather uneasy. " Spectacle interessant! � After that, Monsieur returned to his hotel; and at eight o'clock he entered the shop of Monsieur Albert, perruquier, .Hue des Pois-sardes, where he bought a black beard, AN ETONIAN. 7 a black wig, a jacket a la mode des per-ruquiers, a comb, a brush, two razors, curling-tongs, and a bottle of eau-mer-veilleuse. Monsieur then proceeded to disguise himself in the said beard and wig, &c, and repaired to the Hotel Soleil cl'Or, where he contriyed to introduce himself into the apartment of Monsieur Bonke ? " " Eh, bien !" said I; " suppose I did ?5' " Eh, bien I�there is something more. Monsieur Bonke has made complaint at the Bureau de Police at Calais, that he has lost a purse containing thirty-seven sovereigns and fourteen English shillings, which Monsieur Chateauville is suspected to have stolen; voila tout-�that *s all! " "It is an abominable falsehood,53 exclaimed I. " Possible:�but Monsieur must allow that the circumstances are suspicious. Before Monsieur entered the Sieur Bonke's apartment, his purse was there, lying on his dressing-table; and after Monsieur left, the purse was gone. The inference, unfortunately, is against the respectability 8 CONFESSIONS OF of Monsieur. "Why did Monsieur penetrate into the apartment in disguise ?" This was one of those inconvenient questions, more easy to ask than to answer. The Commissaire saw my embarrassment ; and I observed that it made an unfavourable impression. " I am the last person in the world/' he resumed, " to inconvenience a gentleman,�especially one ' voyageant pour son plaisir;5 but I must trouble Monsieur to allow himself to be searched." " "Why 1�who the devil do you take me for ?" said I, a little excited. " Soyez tranquille," said my examiner; " the search shall be conducted with the utmost delicacy to Monsieur's feelings; but it must be done.53 " What!�do you take me for a thief?" said I, indignantly. " Cela depend; but I have no objection to inform Monsieur that we have received intelligence of the design of a gang of thieves in England, which you call ' Swell Mob' there; and Monsieur labours under AN ETONIAN, & the suspicion of being a member of that ingenious fraternity. But we must proceed en regie. Disembarrass Monsieur/' he said to an attendant officer, " of his wig." It was done, and my light hair stood confessed. " Bon!�and of his beard." This i untied myself. " Bon!�now we can have the pleasure of seeing Monsieur's physiognomy without hindrance. The disguise was admirable, and I compliment Monsieur on his ingenious transformation. And now let Monsieur be searched." I was inclined to resist this, but I saw it would be in vain; so I emptied my pockets of their contents, which were ceremoniously deposited on the flat part of the bureau, behind which the Commissaire sat. " Any thing else ?" " Nothing else," said I. " And now for Monsieur's baggage." " My baggage," said I, "is on the Diligence." " Pardon me; we have taken care to 10 CONCESSIONS OF have it removed here for your convenience." It was immediately produced; and the Cpmmissaire requesting me to select the key of the portmanteau, it was opened. The first thing that struck his eye was a pair of pistols lying handy at the top. These pistols, as it happened, were of a peculiarly ferocious aspect, being short, stout, wide in the bore, without useless ornament of any kind, and having a business-like air, as if they had done service, and were ready to do service again. They were just such tools as a housebreaker would have been glad to be provided with in a midnight marauding. The exhibition of these deadly weapons produced a decided " sensation." The next thing that the searcher pulled out was a packet of letters, which had been stuffed into a corner at the bottom. It was handed to the principal, who, after an inspection all round the outside as if it had been a combustible, untied and opened it. As ill-luck would have it, the first that AN ETONIAN. 11 came to hand was one from my friend Linden, who had been confined during the autumn with a gouty old uncle in London, much to his annoyance, as he longed to be in the country, haying strong predilections in favour of the manly exercises of hunting and shooting; and having a new horse and gun lying idle, he chafed sadly under his forced attendance. As he had been my schoolfellow, and was of a hilarious and jocose disposition, his letter was couched in the facetious phraseology in which he was wont to indulge with his intimates, and ran as follows : (The Commissaire de Police, be it observed, piqued himself on his knowledge of the English language; he therefore read the letter aloud, occasionally consulting a dictionary.�It is impossible to describe his pronunciation�human vowels and consonants would fail to convey it. But, as he read�translating it into French for the benefit of his less-informed compeers, among whom was the worshipful the Mayor, his shrugs and grimaces, as my 12 CONFESSIONS OE atrocious character became more and more reyealed to him by every succeeding line of the letter, were of the most serio-comical character; while my own demeanour astonished and almost frightened the standers-by, as my inclination to laugh and my temptation to be savage, by turns, predominated. The first words I observed produced what is called in Prance " a sensation.55 My friend Linden had dated his letter from his uncle's house, but with Ms usual metaphorical playfulness, he began with the astounding words: " From my prison in London."�(Ah ! uttered the Chef; � Ah ! repeated the Mayor; and Ah ! but in a lower tone, echoed the subordinates.) " Old fellow � ... (c'est a dire c vieux camarade,' said the Chef, explaining to the Mayor who sat by his side)� . . . The chap you shot that night is in a bad way, I fear, and you did right to bolt . . . Bolt ? Qu'est ce que c'est que ' bolt:' Ah ! it is a word of the thieves' c argot' in London�- AN ETONIAN- IS & slang word�and means to run away). . . to bolt; for by tlie very ungentlemanlike laws of this country, it is a hanging matter. (Sensation!) ... and at any rate to be shut up in gaol with the gallows . . . (Gallows ?�Ah ! �la potence) . . . with the gallows in perspective is no joke . . . (c'est vrai) . . . and juries are sometimes cantankerous.�(Cantankerous ! Qu'est ce que c'est que c cantankerous.' � Not in the dictionary ; nor in the private dictionary of the thieves' ' argot/ ' slang,' as they call it in English. Cantankerous ? Ah ! il veut dire ' tout au rebours.') This is the worst job . . . (Job ? Ah ! ' escro-querie?) . . . the worst job you were ever engaged in�that's a fact. Do you remember when we used to rob Botham's together long ago . . . (Ma foi! Voleur de profession!) . . . long ago at Eton and were nearly grabbed . . . (Tenez�c grabbed ?'�Ah ! autre mot d'argot�another slang word;�c'est a dire Q attrape') . . . grabbed by the old gardener ? That was a near go, but this is worse. However� 14 CONFESSIONS OF hope for the best. � There has been a queer-looking cove . . . ('Cove!5 another slang word:) prowling about after you, but we contrived to put him off the scent. . . . (off the scent! -� Scent ? � ocleur ; non: � We must look in the argot dictionary. Ah I lui donner le change) ... I have heard hints of a certain prize that you tried to get possession of rather furtively. . . . (furtively! Like a thief!� . . . Ah! ah !) ... rather furtively, and, if reports are true, it would be a jewel worth the stealing. (Un joyau! Ah! ah ! � et bien digne d'etre escamote ! Vraiment! Le prince des escrocs!) ... But for my part, so fond am I of my liberty, (je le crois) that rather than be such a prisoner for life I would prefer being hanged. . . . (C'est un coquin clu premier ordre que celui-la!) , . . But you were always a desperate fellow at every game. (Desperate!� Ah!�Faites appor-ter les menottes) . . . Hoping that it will be long before you go to the JTaltar . . . (Halter � cela veut dire ' corde '�avec AN ETONIAN. 15 laquelle on pend les coquins comme ceux-ci) . . . for then you would be lost to all the good fellows . . . (Ah ! les bons enfans !� entre eux sans doute�inais pour tous les gens de bien�c'est une autre affaire!) . . . all the good fellows who compose our gang . . . (' Gang ?3�a slang word for a troop of robbers). Don't fear that you are not safe, so far as depends on me. The number of lies that I have already told on your account is immense.�(Men-teur effronte I sans doute).�Ever your faithful pal.�(Pal ? Qui est ce que c'est que pal ? Ah ! encore de 1'argot; more slang; ^aZ'�-mot en usage avec des vo~ leurs pour signifier un ami, ou un associe ; terme de camaraderie. Ah 1)�Ever faithful pal and confederate, G. L.")�Con-feclere! Ah! II y en a d'autres sans doute; mais nous verrons.) " "What do you think of this ?" said the Commissaire to the Mayor, as he laid down the letter. "It is pretty clear what sort of people we have before us, is it not ?55 16 CONEESSIONS OE The Mayor shook his head; while the bystanders regarded me with a curious look, in silent dread of such a desperate malefactor. " He is a second Cartouche/' said the Commissaire. " He is very young," said the Mayor, " and his countenance does not correspond with the character which the letter gives him." %" He is the more dangerous," replied the other. " The elder man beside him looks honest and simple enough," observed the Mayor. " One of the gang; they always have one of that appearance with them to throw the unwary off their guard. But I will interrogate him. " Here�you (fixing the coachman, whose wits had been " in a muz," as he afterwards said, during the whole of the examination,) �" you�what's your name ?" But my faithful servitor, true to the caution which I had given him to hold his tongue, under any circumstances, and AN ETONIAN. 17 wisely deeming,�especially on such an occasion as the present one,�that " the least said is soonest mended/' obstinately kept his mouth shut, and neither the coaxings nor the threats of the Chief of the Bureau could get a word out of him. "1 told you so," said the Chief to the Mayor;�" an old offender, no doubt, and has often been in the same strait before. However, we shall find a way to make Mm speak by-and-by." A I could easily have broken the coachman's silence; but as I was sure that nothing he could say, under present circumstances, could avail us, and as I was desirous that my intentions in respect to Lavinia should be kept secret, I thought it best to keep his tongue tied, lest, in his terror, he should blurt out something that would discover my identity to Mr. B. and the aunt. I was compelled, therefore, to let the poor coachman take his chance, being sure that no harm could eventually happen to him: but I had no idea, even then^ that vol. in, c 18 CONCESSIONS OP the Police Chief would go so far as tof confine me, notwithstanding the seemingly corroborative evidence of Linden's (my pal's) suspicious letter. But I- thought I should be able easily to explain matters,, and that the greatest mischief that could happen to me was my present temporary detention. However, that was mortifying enough, for I calculated that while the formal old prig of a police-officer was examining me, the Diligence which contained Lavinia must already have taken its departure from Abbeville. But I had no doubt I could find her again at Paris,, before her father quitted the French capital on his way to Spain. "While these thoughts were passing through my mind, I remained silent,, the Oheif being engaged in writing out his authority for my committal, with my companion, to the town prison. Having completed it, and affixed his signature, with an extraordinary involution of flourishes calculated to defy the imitation of the most ingenious, he handed AN ETONIAN. 19 it to an official, who advanced towards us, accompanied by two others, bearing a pair of. handcuffs each for our accommodation ; six gens d'armes being stationed as a supporting party before the door. This roused me, and I made an indignant remonstrance to the presiding functionary, appealing to the Mayor, also, against such an insult being offered to me; declaring that I was an English gentleman of fortune, and that I could easily procure abundant testimonials to my character and respectability. In reply to this, the Commissaire took up Linden's letter, and pointed to it derisively. I declared that the writer was a gentleman of fortune also, and allied to some of the highest nobility in England; and I requested the Mayor to read some of the other letters, which formed the packet from which Linden's had been taken ; but the Commissaire was inexorable. "Assez," said he, "for the present; this one letter is quite enough to condemn you, without troubling myself to c 2 20 CONFESSIONS OE look at others. Tou must go to prison; but if you can procure any person of respectability to speak to your character �very well; you are at liberty to do so; and then we shall see what will come of it. But as the case stands, the suspicion against you is strong, that it is you who stole the purse of the English gentleman, Monsieur Bonke." " Mr. Bunk!" said I, for the first time pronouncing that forbidden name; " Mr. Bunk is a friend of my family, and knows me perfectly well." "Eh bien!" said the Prefect, "why did you not appeal to him before he left Abbeville in the Diligence ?" " Because," I replied, " there was a private reason, which, under the particular circumstances of my relations with him, rendered it inexpedient.53 UI do not doubt you," said the Chef, with a slight laugh. "Aliens,�we are aware here that you < gentlemen5 of the swell mob know how to speak for yourselves as eloquently as an s avocat' him- AN ETONIAN. 21 self; but it won't do here; the French police is not to be deceived. Put on his handcuffs,�the letter of his confederate says he is a desperate character, and we must take our precautions." " I request you," said I, " as a very particular favour, not to put those things on my hands. If you are afraid of my escaping, I will give you my word that I will not make the attempt, but wait until my friends arrive to justify me. I will not attempt to escape," I added, earnestly, as the officials came nearer, " parole d'honneur." " Parole d'honneur d'un escroc ! Ma foi! e'est trop fort 1" I now appealed vehemently and passionately to the Mayor, who had a compassionate countenance, to save me from the indignity, while the coachman surveyed the handcuffs with a very rueful countenance. I assured the Mayor, that if he would honour me with a private audience, I was confident I could make it clear to him that all this was a mis- 22 CONFESSIONS OF take, and that I really was what I represented myself to be, a gentleman of good family and fortune, whom accidents, which I could not publicly explain, had placed in what, I allowed, was a suspicious situation. The Mayor, not being composed of the same unimpenetrable stuff as the police officer, who was hardened in his vocation, was touched by my appeal. He whispered something to his colleague, at which, for some time, the old Chief shook his head; but at last, it seemed, he assented, although with visible reluctance, to the Mayor's suggestions, and bidding his underlings postpone for the present the investiture of the handcuffs, but to have them ready at the slightest indication of resistance on our part, he dismissed us; and with three soldiers, with muskets and fixed bayonets, going before, and three behind, and a police-officer on each side of us � the usual concourse of men, women, and boys preceding, following, and surrounding us, and all gazing on AN ETONIAN.. 23 ithe two English desperadoes with intense curiosity, and uttering various exclamations, in which " voleur," " assassin," and *' foi^at," were liberally scattered, we were marched in state to the town prison. 24 CONFESSIONS 01 CHAPTEPv II. " It seems to me/' said the coachman, in a very dolorous tone of voice, when the key had heen turned on us, and he had taken a survey of our cell; "it seems to me, Master Leander, that we have got into the wrong stable ! " " We must make the best of it,55 said I, a little depressed, but trying to speak cheerfully. "They don't litter us down very well," said he, casting his eyes on the beds,, which were by no means of an inviting description. " It doesn't matter," said I; "we shall not be here long." "Hope not. And those cuffs�darbies AN ET0NIAH. 25 as we call 'em at home�-they didn't look very pleasant neither ? " " We must try to get out," said I. " Not so easy as to get in, I'm thinking," said the coachman, examining the bars of the cell, which were of substantial iron. "What would master and missus say if they were to see you shut up in prison by these Trench fellows !" " It's an unlucky mishap," said I, " but there is no help for it for a little while The worst of it is, that the Diligence has gone without us." " Let it go, and bad luck with it; I'm sure it has done no good to us. Better here than sitting behind that outlandish chap, driving without reins, and his horses all running astray, as if they were kicking about in a hayfield. There will be a smash before that thing gets much farther, as sure as oats is oats." " God forbid!" said L " Confound it! And I shut up here!" " I tell you what it is, Master Leancler; you know I've know'd you from a babby^ �26 CONFESSIONS OF and you've sat upon rny knee, and many's the sip you've had out of my pot of porter, let alone that it was I who first set you on your pony, and taught you how to ride; and I love you, Master Leander, as much as if you were one of my own horses, and more, too, and I should like to speak my mind . . . . " " Pray speak it,55 said I; "I am sure you are attached to me." "Well, then, Master Leander, what I say is this;� I think this is a bad business; it has been up-hili work all the way, and there's been nothing but jolts and all sorts of unpleasantness on the road. First you was nigh drownded, and your horse, too, which would have l3een a bad job either way; and as it was, rfche saddle was so spoiled, that no gen'le-man could use it again; and then there was the duel, in which, no doubt, you was in the right, as I will always maintain you was, whoever says anything agin it; .and then come your fight with the bailiff* AN ETONIAN. 27 and I'm - glad yon sarved him out, as such chaps should be sarved out, who have the impertinence to molest a genie-man; but it might have turned out contrary, for those people are all reg'lar fighters, and I've often wondered you got off so well. And then, you see, Master Leander, here's this last business, and this is worst of all, for here we are shut up, with the stable-door locked, and it seems to me as if we were on the road to the knacker's,�that's the truth." " Why," said I, " what would you have me do?" " I '11 tell you what I 'd have you do, Master Leander,�soonest done, soonest mended, as the saying is; you see, the old gen'leman at Willow Lodge won't have you in his team noways; and as to the young lady, if you can't get a filly to your mind at one fair, you may at another, �-that's my mind, Master Leander." " Thomas," said I, very solemnly, " that cannot be. The young lady to whom you 28 CONFESSIONS OE allude is the most beautiful, as well as the most perfect creature, in the world." " Ah! that 's what every gen'leman says of his horse; it's always the beautifullest and perfectest creature in the world, till he gets another; and then it's the new one that 's quite the thing! But, trust me, Master Leander, who is older than you, and have seed more of the world from the top of my box than a young gen'leman like you can ever have knowed,�there 's always young fillies rising up, and getting full-mouthed for those as wants 'em; and as fast as the first goes off, there's others to supply their places. It's the order of Natur, Master Leander, with humans as well as horses.'5 " However plentiful they may be, friend Thomas," said I, " there is only one for me." " Don't say so, Master Leander; it's hard to know which is the best horse in the fair till you have tried it; and, if you 're taken with the looks of 'em, you are as like to be wrong as right. They AN ETONIAN. 29 are so made up for sale, and so curry-combed up, with their manes all so jaunty, and their fetlocks so clean cut, and their tails so busked out, that there 's no knowing what they really are till you 'ye backed 'em; and then, when the sale's complete, and the money paid down, there you are left with a bad bargain, and you must ride 'em whether you will or no ! And then, mayhap, they show that they 're not worth their hay; and instead of haying a good easy-going roadster, that knows its paces, you find you've got a skittish cretur, perhaps, that one moment's throwing her heels up, and at another down on her knees, never obeying the rein, and sometimes taking the bit between her teeth, so that there's no holding her, and never to be trusted . . . ." " I think," said I, laughing at the coachman's mixed description, " with a good pair of spurs one might be able to manage it." "No use! when it comes to that, be sure, whether it's horses or women, 30 CONFESSIONS 01? they 're no good. Depend upon it, Master Leander, that a horse or a gal that is always wanting the spur to make her go, or a sharp bit to make her stop, isn't worth the riding, let her be never so well shaped and comely :�I 'ye seed it." I was much amused at my humble friend's observations, and I admired the mingled vein of philosophical and professional acuteness which characterised them so curiously. But I was obliged to defer hearing his further admonitions from my desire not to lose time in taking the proper steps to procure my liberation. "With this view, I made a thundering noise at the door to attract attention, and presently it was opened by a gaoler, attended by two of his fellows, and backed bv half-a-dozen of the eternal soldiers, who seemed to be terribly in fear of our English prowess, seeing that so many were assembled to guard against the possible attacks of only two men desperate though they might be. I immediately demanded pens, ink, and AN ETONIAN. 31 paper, in order that I might address a complaint of my treatment to the English ambassador at Paris; and I threatened onr gaolers with all sorts of pains and penalties, with some hints of a national war, and a hostile descent on the part of my countrymen, if my incarceration should be continued. The gaoler quietly slammed the door in my face.�In a short time, however, he returned, bearing the required writing materials, which he handed to me at arms5 length, and was about to close the door, when the coachman rather piteously exclaimed :� " Pray, Master Leander, as they seem inclined to be civil, do ask them to lei-us have something to eat; for I've eat scarcely nothing this blessed day, and my belly rumbles terribly for want of its corn, Sure, they won't shut us up, and starve us too!" I communicated my domestic's want to the official, stating, that the chief of the police had plenty of my money in hi& 32 CONFESSIONS OF hands to purchase what we required., and requesting, in a mild but dignified manner, that my desire might be attended to. The gaoler smiled; put his finger on his nose ; winked; and retired; carefully locking the door, and drawing the bolts behind him* As there was no table, I laid down on the floor, and began my epistle to the ambassador; but I had not written far before the door was again unlocked, and the Mayor entered. I rose up to receive him, bowing profoundly; and, apologizing for the absence of a chair, I invited him to sit down on the truckle bedstead, which he was pleased to do�I and my fellow-prisoner remaining in a standing position, �the coachman with a surly and bull-dog air, and I with every demonstration of polite and profound respect for the dignified functionary " who had done me the honour," I said, " to visit me in so inconvenient a place of reception." The Mayor then was pleased to say, that being much struck with the incongruity AN ETONIAN. 33 of my air and gentleman-like appearance with the heinous character of the offences with which I was charged, he had come, in pursuance of my request, to hear anything which I might think fit to say to him; and he hoped,�indeed, he felt the strongest confidence, he had the politeness to say,�that I should be able to give explanations which might prove satisfactory. Finding Jlim in this kindly disposition, I thought I might venture to tell him, that my disguise had been assumed in pursuance of a " love55 adventure .... "Ah! Tamour! Je m9en etais bien doute!55 . . . And I assured him, that if he would have the goodness to inspect some of the letters which accompanied the one which had produced so unfavourable an impression against me, he would see that they were sufficient to prove, to any reasonable person, that I was what I represented myself to be ... .55 "'But that letter from the scelerat in VOL. III. T> 34 CONFESSIONS OF prison in London,�-how can you explain that?55 I endeavoured to make him understand the character of the gentleman who had written it, and I took an infinite deal of pains to make him comprehend the meaning of the English sort of humour in which my friend was apt to indulge; in which, at last, I succeeded; and the packet of letters being sent for, I selected such as were sufficient to show the reql state of the case, and which I read to the Mayor, translating them into Erench, and requesting him to take them to the police chief for his inspection. These letters showed clearly that the reason of my quitting England was the probably fatal termination of the duel to the adversary with whom I had been engaged, and which had been caused .by a misunderstanding relative to the lady whom I was then in pursuit of. And I pointed out to him how these facts bore on the letter of my friend Linden. The good-natured Mayor assented to this view AN ETONIAN. 35 of the question, and quitted me to bear my letters and explanations to the chief of the police. That functionary, however, being accustomed to the plausible stories of the slippery gentry who passed through his hands, was not so easy to be persuaded. He granted that my representations put my case in a somewhat different light; but still the suspicion was too strong against me, especially in the matter of the purse of Monsieur Bonke, to allow me to be set at large. He must detain me, he said, for further inquiries. However, he was so far acted on as to give directions to have me removed to a room of a superior description to the cell in which I was first confined, allowing my domestic free access to me. He permitted me also to make use of some of the money which I had been obliged to deliver up to his custody when I was searched. A purse, containing gold and silver, he would not allow to be disturbed; but he consented to one of the five-pound d 2 86 CONFESSIONS OP notes which he found in my pocket-book being placed at my disposal.�With respect to my final release, he left it to me to work that out as I best could. This change was so far a benefit to me, as it relieved me from the abject nature of the incarceration to which I had been at first exposed; for I was removed to. one which, by contrast, appeared to me a very cheerful room, near the top of the building, furnished with a table and chairs, and with my domestic's room communicating with mine conveniently. In the way of eating and drinking, I was supplied with whatever I chose to pay for; and as my apartment was airy, and had an extensive view of the surrounding country, I was not so badly off�barring the confinement. I now resumed my letter to the British Ambassador at Paris, but I soon stuck fast. I found that I could not bring myself to write to a stranger particulars of a delicate nature, � explanatory of my relations with a young lady to whom I AN ETONIAN. 37 was paying my addresses, in opposition to the wishes of her family. I tried it again and again, but it would not do. It then occurred to me, that an intermediate friend might be able to make viva voce explanations sufficient to interest the Ambassador in my behalf, without saying more than might be called for to effect the object;�but who could I get to do it? I thought of asking the Mayor to do this favour for me; but then I remembered that he could do no more than repeat what I told him, without being able personally to testify to my respectability or my identity even. At last I thought I would summon Linden to me; and then I wondered that I had not done so at first; but I was restrained, perhaps, by the consideration that he was in attendance on an uncle, who was his nearest relation, and whose illness, I had heard incidentally, had recently become alarming. However, I thought the old lord might be better, and that Linden might 38 CONFESSIONS OF be able to leave him; so I wrote to him an urgent letter, enjoining him to come to me instantly, and deferring all explanation till we met. This I enclosed to my new friend, the Mayor, requesting him to forward it by post without delay, which he had the kindness to do. The flurry and excitement of my arrest and detention being now over, and having written to Linden, for whose reply I had to wait, I began to be more sensible to the annoyance and embarrassment of my position. I had lost sight of Lavinia; and in the interim before I should be able to see her again, how many accidents might happen, and what difficulties might perhaps start up to prevent my joining her! These thoughts saddened me. And now the landscape, which at first view, although it was the winter season, had appeared to me so cheerful, presented to me only a mournful aspect of leafless trees, blighted verdure, and deserted pastures. Besides, I longed for liberty. Nor was the view AN ETONIAN.. 39 within more inviting. The fire was low ; there was no wood to replenish it; and although the dusk had now come on, no one had thought to bring me a candle. The coldness of the scene without, and the chilliness of the air Avithin, benumbed me, Neither was I enlivened by the sententious consolations of any philosophic friend, the coachman. After a very hearty dinner and a bottle of wine, the acidity of which he had been obliged to correct by a liberal qualification of brandy, he had, with a wise regard to practical philosophy, allowed himself to forget his troubles in a sound sleep, from which I had not the heart to disturb him. But I felt very lonely, and my spirits usunk as the night advanced ; and as I sat in darkness and solitariness in my gloomy chamber, I thought of Sterne's " captive," and my heart saddened as from hour to hour, and more and more, I began in my own person to taste of the bitter flavour of captivity. My thoughts all the time still ran on m CONFESSIONS OE Lavinia; and amidst the phantasmagoria which my morbid brain conjured up, I seemed to feel, in a strange and supernatural manner, the act of her physical recession from me in the Diligence, till at last her form seemed reduced to a point, and gradually faded away in the dim distance. The last thing that I remember was, that I fancied myself a captive knight, who had been taken prisoner in defending the object of his idolatry, and was confined in a lonely tower, with the only thought for his consolation that he was suffering for heti sake, and that every pang that he endured was a further claim to her gratitude and love! And then I thought no more, for at that point of my semi-dreamy hallucination, I suppose, I fell asleep. AN ETONIAN. 41 CHAPTER III. Three dreary days and three dreary nights passed away without any reply from Linden, and I began to fear at last that I was deserted by him and all the world. I grew mopish and melancholy; and it was then that I came to understand the sickness of the heart that longs for liberty. In vain the affectionate coachman tried to raise my spirits. He told rne curious stories, and old legends of rare horses; how the most knowing ones had been deceived in the result of the race; how the first had been last, and the last that had started had been first at the winning* �42 CONFESSIONS OP post; and so, he said, it might be with me;�but I was not to be comforted. Then he searched back in his memory, and related�to amuse me�the curious circumstance of a hunter who had got loose in the field on the borders of Northumberland; and how he had made his way into a deserted shepherd's hovel, which he mistook for a stable; and how it was supposed that in turning about he had shut the door, which, of course, he could not open again, so that he could not get out; and how he was discovered a long time after, a perfect skeleton, having been starved to death in his prison. But this agreeable story failed to enliven me. Then he bid me be of good cheer, for he had known a man who had been in prison fifteen years, in France, and thought he never should get out, but who got out at last; and then the joy with which he was welcomed at his native village! And how he found his father and mother were dead, which grieved him very much; and how AN ETONIAN. 43 exceedingly surprised his old sweetheart was at his return, and how she introduced him to her husband; and how pleased he was to find her the mother of six children, and looking so stout and hearty ! But the anecdote, interesting and illustrative as it was, by no means tended to exhilarate me. He made me some " bishop"�thinking to tempt me by the memory of old times �out of the light Prench wine; but I could not drink it, which did not surprise him, however, for " as to such thin washy stuff, what was it fit for ? You might drink a gallon of it, and then be obliged to take no end of brandy to prevent its cur-murring in the inside !" On the fourth morning I began to meditate seriously on some plan of escape; my honest friend the coachman said that he was ready to run any risk rather than be confined to that rack any longer, and proposed that he should knock down the gaoler on his appearance, and possess himself of the keys, and after we had bound 44 confessions or and gagged him, take our chance for the rest; hitterly regretting that he had no weapon�not even a pitchfork. I was almost inclined to agree to this mad scheme; so chafed and enraged was I from my confinement, and from its seemingly indefinite duration, when our attention was aroused by the sound of a loud voice in the passage leading to my room, which we could distinctly hear through the two thick doors which intervened, and the tones of which I instantly fancied I recognised. Nor was I mistaken, for in a few seconds both doors were opened, and my friend Linden appeared, loudly exclaiming against the slowness of the officer in clearing the way for him to my room. When the first transports of this sudden meeting had subsided, we began to compare notes, and to enter into mutual explanations. He had little to say. The moment he received my letter, he had set out for Prance, and had travelled day and night, till he arrived early that morning. I perceived that he was in mourning I AN ETONIAN. 45 and he informed me that his uncle, Lord Brocas, died only a few weeks ago, at so advanced an age, and labouring under so painful a decay of his faculties, physical and mental, as to cause his death to be considered rather as a happy release from suffering than as an event to be deplored. I was aware that the title and estates devolved on Linden, therefore I said nothing about that ; and without wasting time in useless talk, we set about considering the best way to effect my release. The chief of police was inexorable. In deference to Lord Br ocas's rank (although I doubt if he really believed it at first), he consented to allow me any indulgence short of my liberty; but he said that a mandate had been directed to " Monsieur iBonke," to appear against me; and until that matter had been disposed of, it would be contrary to his duty to allow me to be at large. Seeing that this old prig, as Linden called him, was an obstinate ass, and fearing that it would be only losing time to 46 CONFESSIONS OF try to make any impression on other local authorities, we determined that it would be best for Linden to go at once to Paris; the more especially as he was acquainted personally with the Ambassador, whom he had frequently met at his uncle's house in London. This was no sooner agreed on than he set out, and I was again left alone, but in better spirits than before; and the coachman, seeing the promptitude with which I had been responded to by my friend Linden, recovered his usual serenity, making sure that a refusal could not be given to the British Ambassador to release one of the King's subjects, whatever misdemeanours or crimes he might have committed. It was decreed, however, that all things should not go on quite so smoothly as I expected. On his ^arrival at Paris, Linden found the ambassador absent, but expected daily. In this daily expectation he was kept nearly a fortnight, as he communicated to me every post, until the disap- AN ETONIAN. 47' pointment and suspense almost drove me mad with vexation. But he had no sooner seen him than he engaged him, without difficulty, to interfere for me; and, as Linden afterwards told me, he was exceedingly amused at my disguise, and at my being shut up in a Prench prison on such a suspicion; and he laughed heartily at the account of my adventures, and especially at the reading of Linden's overwhelming letter during my interrogation at the police-office. It was only necessary for the British Ambassador to make a representation in the proper quarter to procure my immediate release, the tidings of which were brought by Linden himself, who said, that he thought he had the best right to the pleasure of first announcing it. Having completed this friendly task, he told me that he must now leave me, and return to England, for there were most urgent matters to settle relative to the estates of his deceased uncle, which he 48 CONFESSIONS OP would not mention before, but which peremptorily required his presence. But we would not separate without dining together, and we forthwith ordered the best dinner which the principal hotel could furnish; and it may be easily supposed that on such an occasion it was a mirthful one. Of course it is fco be understood, that no longer haying any necessity for disguise, I had resumed my ordinary costume of a plainly-dressed gentleman. I was obliged to retain my assumed Prench name of "Oh, it is a word with us to signify living on credit. The State lives on credit; the whole country is supported by credit; every one lives on credit; it is one vast system of universal' tick.5 55 "Ah! I understand; but is not that custom very pernicious to the nation generally, and detrimental to individuals ?55 I felt a little sore at this observation, which touched me personally, and I replied, a little pettishly perhaps, " Oh, we are so rich,, that it don't matter with us.55 AN ETONIAN. 73 "You are always saying that you English people are so rich; but I want to know if you are a happier people than we are; that is the question. "What is the use of your national wealth, if it does not promote individual happiness ?" "We should all be happy enough, I believe,55 said I, laughing again, " if we were not always in debt." "Ah! there is your vice; excuse me, but there, I say, is the great vice of the English nation; nationally and individually, they are a spendthrift nation. This practice is pernicious enough when it is practised by a nation as a whole in its governmental capacity; but it is worse when it spreads to the individuals of a nation in their social habits; and, to my mind,'5 he added, " this is a principal reason why the Erench people are a happier people than the English; more light-hearted, and more capable of social enjoyment.55 "You seem to have formed strong opinions on this subject ?" 74 CONCESSIONS OF " I have, because I have reflected much on the subject, and the contrast between the two. countries on this point leads to some curious results in the national character of each." " I should much like to hear the result you have arrived at," said I. " It may not be amiss, as we have began the discussion," said the Frenchman, "to say a few words on the custom in France in respect to the c credit system,' as the contrast which it presents to that which you pursue in England is favourable to my own country, and may possibly afford to an English gentleman matter for profitable contemplation." I was rather taken with this exordium, and listened with much interest. " In this country," continued the Erenchman, " that universal state of debt which in my opinion is the curse of the English people, does not exist." " Are not all your cultivators of the soil," said I � "I mean your immense number of small farmers, who are small AN ETONIAN. 75 landed proprietors�-in a constant state of debt to those who are under advances to them for the carrying on of their operations?" " It is not the same sort of debt, and we may dismiss it from our present consideration. In "France, I repeat, the rule with us is ready-money; credit is the exception : but with you, in England, credit is the rule, and ready-money the exception." " That is true enough," said I. " In such a state of things," he continued, " it may readily be understood, a different state of society exists in Erance in respect to family and personal expenditure. There being less credit, there is less expenditure, and a more thrifty habit prevails than with your people." " But then there is less facility for speculation." " I don't know that we are the worse for that, so far as our individual happiness is concerned. "For, observe, that in compensation of that facility of speculation which you seem to prize, we have less of 76 CONFESSIONS OF that corroding care and of those fearful forebodings of failure which the universal state of indebtedness inflicts on the English people. There must be always present to their minds the dreadful consciousness of the coming pay-day, for which they may fail, from unavoidable accidents, to be provided, and which, however postponed and fenced off, must come at last.5' This last observation hit me rather hard, and I winced as I thought of my marble notes in my boyish days, and of my confounded bill, which had been the cause of so much suffering on my part, and had ended in so much disaster. The [Frenchman went on: " Perhaps this is a main reason why the English enjoy life less than the Erench. The Erench are happy to-day and every day; the English people are never happy today ; they intend to be happy to-morrow, when they shall have paid their debts, and shall be free from that anxiety; but then i to-morrow ' never comes; and they live AN ETONIAN. 77 sadly, and work on, and get into more debt, and work hard again to get out of debt, and are obliged to get into new debt to get out of the old one in an everlasting round of toil and trouble; ever resolving to enjoy life, and never having the opportunity; always in debt, and always at work to get out of it; till at last they sink into the grave, glad to get rid of life and of all their debts at once by paying nature's last one, and so to escape from the cares and anxieties of living." " What you say I fear is too true," said I; " tick is the devil!" " But the Trench do not act thus; they better understand the art of living; they do not create for themselves the troubles and the difficulties which, in this respect, the English do. And in this it seems to me you might take a lesson from us. The English may be, as you say, a more wealthy and a more powerful nation than the Erench; but I repeat, are they a happier nation? I think not. But that is the real question to be resolved under 78 CONFESSIONS OF all social systems; and it is one which I think no one who is acquainted with the actual condition of the people in the two countries can fail to answer in our favour." ":I must own/' I said, " that I am inclined to think myself that the French are the happier people of the two; at least, they seem so. " Believe me, they not only seem so, hut are. They do, in fact, enjoy life more than the English people. They are more cheerful, more gay, more social, more accessible and communicative, than the English. And why are they so ? I am strongly inclined to believe that one very powerful reason is their natural habit of paying ready money instead of running into debt. This preserves them from some of the most prolific sources of those cares and anxieties which infest all classes of the English." " It is the best practice of the two, assuredly," said I, "when it can be done." AN ETONIAN. 79 " There is one good practice in use among us/' said the Frenchman, " which, it is right to observe, greatly facilitates our habit of paying ready money for our usual commodities. It is the custom with us either to prepay salaries, or at least to pay them at short intervals. Thus people, for the most part, have the means in their hands to pay for the necessaries which they require. Our general practice, also, of buying at markets instead; of retail-shops, adds great facility to the doing of it. Indeed, our custom of buying at open markets in a manner necessitates the ready ?money system, and the two systems re-act on each other/' " In England," said I, " we cannot do this; we seldom buy at markets^ because those who, perhaps* would buy there, seldom have the ready money wherewith to pay. Thus we have few markets in our country;, and this, by-the-by, enhances the price of provisions and of necessaries generally; for in buying at the shopkeeper's.we have to pay not only 80 CONFESSIONS OF for the cost of growing them, but also the superadded price of the shopkeeper's expenses and profits; to which is to be added besides, the increased price which is obliged to be paid in order to cover the shopkeeper's bad debts." " Observe the effect of it," said the Frenchman; "what a Prench family has is its own; its house, its furniture, its goods and estate; what the members of an English family are nominally in possession of, is, in most cases, not its own; their houses, their furniture, their carriages, their horses, and their estates, are, in too many cases, the property of their creditors. Let us follow out the consequences of this English system into some particulars relative to the children of parents in such fallacious circumstances. You may be ashamed to find yourselves inferior to the Erench people on any point; but if from accident or better judgment they have established some social usages superior to your own, it may be well for our neighbours to note AN ETONIAN. 81 them, in order that they fnay profit by the knowledge of it." " The English are always ready to profit by the wisdom of others/' said I. " Excuse me,�not always r; it would be better for them in some respects, perhaps, if they were. But mark the consequence of the English national vice in another way. A further evil of the habit of living on credit, instead of paying ready money, is the temptation which it affords to people to exceed their income; for credit being a purse of unknown depth, those who have recourse to it are apt to think that it has no bottom ; so that they are prone to act as if they never knew what their income really is." " I have known that," said I, " in many cases." " Just so; and thus, as might be anticipated, the English people, as a rule, always live above their income; whereas the Erench, as a rule, always live below it. Among the different consequences of these different systems is this most important vol. in. a 82 CONFESSIONS OP one;�-that*the English, from always living above, or at least up to their income, are generally embarrassed to provide suitably for their children; they are, generally, unable to contrive some suitable profession or calling for their sons, and some fitting dowry for the daughters; indeed, I may say, they are for the most part culpably regardless of this duty; such is the demoralising effect of the credit system, from the unreflecting expenditure which it encourages. The French people, on the contrary, never depart from their inviolable rule�I speak emphatically of French parents�of spending less than their income, in order that they may treasure up sufficient means for the sacred object of providing an Hat for the son, and an equitable dot for the daughter/5 "I approve and admire the system/5 said I, " most heartily." " From this admirable rule alone in their social system," he continued, "the French people are relieved from that most painful and almost intolerable load of care AN ETONIAN. 83 and anxiety which weighs down the spirits of the English parent; and the Erench, in consequence, are more light-hearted,� the parents from the satisfaction that they shall not leave their children to struggle in penury after them, and the children from the consciousness that their parents are not neglectful of the claims of those who are dependent on their thrift; and here is one explanation of the superior state of social ease and happiness which exists in Prance, compared with England; and the root of which, as it appears to me, lies in the absence of the general abuse of the credit system, the existence of which is the great social evil in your country. Well, what do you say? Do you. agree with me?" " Sir," said I, " I thank you for the favour of your interesting conversation, and I shall endeavour to profit by it." " You are too young," said he, " to have had any personal experience of getting into debt (Humph! thought I); but excuse the liberty of a man much G 2 84 CONFESSIONS OF older than yourself�let me advise you never to do it." " Sir," said I, a little confused, " I thank you for your advice." " For my part," he added, " so great is my aversion to borrowing, that I would not even wear borrowed clothes." " I think you are quite right," said I, (and indeed I did). " I would not even assume a name that was not my own, for that I look on as borrowing." " I can easily imagine," said I, "that it might lead to inconveniences." " Depend upon it it always does, especially in France." " I trust I shall never experience them," said I, a little abashed. Here the Diligence, to my great relief, stopped. " I am sorry," said the old gentleman, " to leave so interesting a companion." " The loss is on my side," said I, with equal politeness. " By-the-by, what is that word you AH ETONIAN. 85 made use of, to express the English custom! of getting into debt ?" "Tick." " Ah! teek; I shall not forget it." " Nor shall I" (thought X to myself). In a short time afterwards we arrived at Paris, and I immediately took steps to gain intelligence of Lavinia, and of the party with whom she travelled. But first I wrote some letters home,, acquainting my Mher and mother of my intention to> extend my journey to the south of Prance, and requesting them to forward their letters for wb at the (i poste restante" as before. I took care also to call on General Rocket, whose appearance struck me as remarkable, for he had lost an eye, an arm, and a leg all on the same side, so that looking at him on the right-hand side he was a fine handsome man, without personal deficiency or blemish of any sort, except that his hair was rather gray; but viewed at the left side he presented the appearance of a mutilation. 86 CONFESSIONS OF Having performed these duties I resumed my search after Lavinia, in order that I might follow on her track without delay. This I was enabled to do without much difficulty; and now, like the huntsman who has recovered the scent, I went on my way at full speed and joyously; but in like manner, as it frequently happens in that dangerous pastime, it was destined that in my present pursuit I was not to be easily quit from some hard knocks and narrow escapes to which I was exposed in my adventures on the way. AN ETONIAN. 87 CHAPTER V. " May I be so bold, Master Leander," said the coachman, riding up to me, " as to ask the name of the town we are coming down on ? " "Bayonne, on the frontiers of Prance, the end of the French territory on the Spanish side." " Well, I must say I am glad we have come to the end of something; for to tell you the truth, Master Leander�you see I am somewhat lusty,�that is, was,� and the riding these French horses on the things they call saddles don't suit me so well as sitting on the box; in short, Master Leander, the fact is, I have lost leather." 88 CONFESSIONS OF "We shall have a rest here, and then yon will be all right." "It's time; for, a long while it's been all wrong; and I hope, Master Leander, you will stop for good, and go no farther; this chase must come to an end some time." " Not till I come up with them," said I, " if it were to the end of the world." "The end of the world ! that's a pretty goodish step. But there's one thing. Master Meander, I can't make out, and that is, I have heerd say the world is round; now wherever I have been, at home and ever so far over here, it is all flat,�that is, barring some of those dreadful hills we have come over, which are murder to Christian cattle; and this puzzles me." I was spared the necessity of a reply to this geographical inquiry by our arrival at the gates of the town, leaving my passport for the inspection of the official, I immediately proceeded to the inn at which it was agreed that I should leave our horses; and this being done, I set AN ETONIAN. 89 about tracing the party of whom I was in pursuit. This was easy; and I soon ascertained that their passport had been vised for the route to Madrid. Some talk which I heard of the danger of passing the Pyrenees, owing to an unusual fall of snow on the mountains, caused me to redouble my efforts to quit the town without delay. It was not without much difficulty that I was able to have my passport put in order in time; but by the aid of urgent representations of the importance of my business* and by the judicious distribution of liberal gratuities, I succeeded in expediting the process in an almost unprecedented short space of time. I regretted not being able to take a more particular view of the picturesque town of Bayonne; and my friend the coachman did his best to induce me to curb my impetuous style of travelling. But I was too anxious to allow myself to be detained for a moment beyond the 90 CONFESSIONS OF time necessary for the perfecting of my passport. We left the place, therefore, much to the dissatisfaction of Mr. Thomas Whippy, almost as soon as we entered; and bending our course southward, I did not relax my pace until we had crossed the Bidassoa, &nd entered the Spanish frontier. This being effected, and the arrangements relative to. my passport being completed, I proceeded to make inquiries as to the best and quickest mode of passing the Pyrenees. I found that the passage at that season was considered as one not unaccompanied with difficulty, and even danger, as the wolves had appeared in the mountains in unusual numbers. But I was not to be deterred by such considerations; and I repaired, therefore, to the residence of a person who was pointed out to me as one well acquainted with the passes, and who had recently returned from a journey to the Spanish side of the mountains. To my great satisfaction, I discovered AN ETONIAN. 91 that the son of this man had been engaged, in the absence of his father, to convey a "Monsieur Bunk" over the Pyrenees, into Spain. The son had not returned; but there could be no mistake as to the name, as a memorandum had been made of it before his departure. It was noted, also, that the English monsieur was accompanied by an elderly "dame," a young lady, and a naval officer,�mentioning their names respectively. These professional guides over the Pyrenees, it appeared, were thus particular on account of the dangers of the passage, and because they were personally accountable to the authorities for the safety of the travellers who entrusted themselves to their care. The circumstance of the son not having returned gave me much alarm; and the fear of harm having happened to Lavinia in the passage of the party over the mountains, excited in me a vehement desire to follow by the same passage. Without a 92 CONCESSIONS OF moment's delay, therefore, I engaged the guide, and by a liberal addition to his giierdon, in acknowledgment of his promptitude, I prevailed on him to set out immediately. His preparations were soon made; and having left directions at his house for my baggage to be forwarded the first opportunity, we set off towards the close of the evening, mounted on strong muleSj and well armed; I carrying the pistols which had produced so great a sensation at Abbeville, and the guide and coachman bearing a musket each. Had not my mind been preoccupied with fears for the safety of Lavinia, I should have smiled at the face of my excellent friend and comrade, " Tom," as he rose and fell.in his seat with infinite precaution, having shortened the stirrup-leathers for his better alleviation, and looking out on all sides for the wolves, of which he had conceived a lively terror; the musket, also, which he bore, being a continual memento of the use which he AN ETONIAN. 93 would probably have to make of it, in the case of their insisting on being introduced to us. As to robbers and all ordinary dangers, he cared little for them, his English pluck being sufficient to brace him against such contingencies; but the wolves were a different affair, as being enemies which he was unused to contemplate, and the sharpness of whose teeth and strength of whose jaws he contemplated with undisguised dismay. However, his affection for " Master Leander " would not allow him .to show any signs of flinching, although the appearance of a stray dog now and then in the distance caused him to keep his musket in constant readiness. We proceeded, however, without accident till the darkness of the night made it necessary for us to seek a place of shelter; for we had neglected the refuge of the last hostel, in order to push on to a place where our guide thought we could procure better accommodation, so that we were fain to take advantage of the first cover we 94 CONFESSIONS OF could find. This proved to be the place of residence of a shepherd by profession, but " contrebandier" by practice, and was situated, as well as I could observe in the obscurity, in a lonely part of the road, at which a traveller would not for light reasons be led to stop. Our guide knocked at the door, which after a short parley was opened, and we soon found ourselves seated in this cottage, or rather hovel, into which the owner had very readily invited us as soon as he was informed that his hospitality was claimed by an Englishman travelling with his domestic to Madrid. The idea of the great wealth of the English is very prevalent on the Continent, as everybody knows; and the expectation of obtaining the gold, which it is their usual practice to dispense very liberally in their travels, seldom fails to procure them the ready reception and subservient attention which money almost always commands. The occupant of the hut threw some AN ETONIAN. 95 fresh wood on the fire, for the night was very cold, and the blaze which ensued enabled me to take a survey of the apartment as well as of our host's features. They were by no means prepossessing. He seemed to be about forty years of age, sunburnt, with the hard and tanned skin which betokens constant exposure to the sun and air, and with an inflexible cast of countenance as of one used to confront danger and to despise it. Luxuriant whiskers, black as jet, reaching round and covering a large portion of his chin, and which presented a matted and frizzly appearance, added to the ferocity of a face which, under any advantages, could not have been an agreeable one to look on. The circumstance also of his having gray eyes, small, but intensely keen, and striking the beholder as an incongruous accompaniment to his southern and swarthy features, increased the peculiar air of wild and savage fierceness which his whole mien exhibited. My guide, it presently appeared, was 96 CONFESSIONS OE well acquainted with his person, for, addressing him familiarly by the appellation of " Oarnicero," or " butcher/' an epithet which he had acquired by his known savageness of disposition, he asked him what he could contrive for the English gentleman's supper. " English gentlemen," he replied, speaking very good French, but with the Basque accent, " are rather particular ; and I fear that what we poor shepherds have to offer will not suit dainty appetites." At the same time he consulted a rough sort of cupboard in a corner, and produced a tolerably-sized loaf of black bread, a bunch of onions, and a fragment of cheese, which, from the sound it made as it was placed on a massive wooden table, seemed to partake rather of the nature of Pyrenean rock than of edible aliment. " This," said he, " is all I have to offer;" taking a scrutinizing gaze at me and then at the coachman, as if to measure our muscular capabilities. The viands certainly were not inviting ; AN ETONIAN. 91 but I was very hungry, and i set to without further ceremony, bidding my attendant to sit beside me, the guide occupying a stool by the side of the fire. The onions were, I dare say, very good, for the coachman devoured one with evident relish; but the black bread required some little courage on my part to pass down. As Tom, however, munched it philosophically, without complaining, I was ashamed to appear fastidious. As to the cheese, I made an attack on it; but I found it beyond the capacity of my grinders, and the coachman was obliged to lay it down in despair. A pause in our repast, which in truth was a very dry one, was a hint to our host that we wanted liquid to assist in the process. Taking up a strong earthern pitcher, he went out, and from an energetic thumping on some hard substance, we concluded that it was necessary to break the ice of some neighbouring pond or stream in order to procure it. Such proved to be the case, as he in- VOL, III. H 98 CONFESSIONS- OE formed us on his re-entrance; but he boasted as he set down the pitcher, that it was the finest water on this side of the Pyrenees. This assertion might possibly have been very correct; but it was impossible for me to do justice to it, for being only a few degrees aboye freezing point, nothing but a thermometer could have borne more than temporary contact with such a cooling draught. I handed it to my comrade; but he had no sooner taken a sip than his teeth began to chatter, and he complained that it gaye him an instantaneous feeling of being " fruz up.53 Our guide, seeing our disappointment, and doubtless having his own predilections for a potation of a more comforting character, turned to our host : " Oarnicero, my friend, shall it be said that the Basques can offer to their guests nothing better than cold water on a winter's night ? There was a time when there was no lack of aguardiente on this side of the mountains." AN ETONIAN. 99 " Bad times," answered our host, " make bad fare. Trade on the . mountains�that is our sheep�has been in bad case this some time past; and brandy costs money.55 " If that is all that is wanted,55 said I, briskly, " brandy shall not be scarce tonight for the lack of that.55 I said this the more readily as I* thought that our guide showed an inclination for it, and as I deemed it might be the means of softening the moroseness of our host; besides, I had no objection to a glass of brandy-and-water myself, and I judged that my friend Tom required that succedaneum medicinally as well as gastronomically; for notwithstanding there was a good fire, he was looking very blue, and rather lax about the gills; the loneliness of the place and the meagreness of our fare having rather damped his spirits. And, moreover, he was not supported as I was by the ardent love-thoughts which burned within me. h 2 100 CONFESSIONS OF " With money," said the shepherd, " one may get anything." I forthwith pulled out my purse from a side pocket in my coat, the weight of which, I remember, had rather annoyed me during my ride, for I had deposited in it the hundred and twenty-five Napoleons which I had received at Paris, in exchange for my father's order on Lafitte for a hundred pounds. Having extracted one from the lot, I placed it in our host's hand, and requested him, as a particular favour, to endeavour to buy some brandy, and wine, too, if he could, for we wanted it that cold night to warm us. I added, that if it was in his power to procure a further supply of provisions they would be very acceptable�without disparagement to his own fare, which was excellent, I said, as far as it went, but the unexpected arrival of so many guests necessitated an extraordinary supply. The man's countenance changed in a peculiar manner at the sight of the money : AN ETONIAN. 101 " Gold !"�said he, as he gazed on the coin in the open palm of his hand, which resembled in colour and hardness a piece of old Spanish mahogany ; " ah 1 the English are rich! Gold! nothing but gold ! at the same time that his sharp gray eyes glistened, and followed, as if by irresistible attraction, my plethoric purse into the recess of my side pocket: "gold!" He then reached down a wide-brimmed hat, with a high crown, and taking a stout stick in his hand, he departed with an air of alacrity on his errand. There was a pause after his departure ; then our guide rose, and, after haying bent his head down for a brief space in a listening attitude, he stepped to the door, opened it, and went out, and I could hear his footsteps as he passed round the building. Presently he returned, and sat down again with a thoughtful air. " You did wrong," he said, " to let the Carnicero see your purse ; so much 102 CONFESSIONS OF gold as you appear to have there is a great temptation so near the mountains." " Is he a bad character, then, this shepherd ?" " Shepherd I Certainly he is a sort of shepherd�that is, when he takes care of the sheep, which are usually those of other folks if all tales be true. In point of fact, Monsieur, for it is better that you should know the truth, he is neither more nor less than a contrebandier-�a smuggler by profession�and something worse sometimes, as his name imports, and by no means over scrupulous in his appropriations when gold comes in his way. I wish we had not stopped here, or that you had not shown him your purse." " He would not hesitate, then, to murder us if he could ? " " Well, he would not do that, perhaps, unless it was absolutely necessary; besides, we are three to one.35 " But he may have associates ?" " That is what I was thinking of. Un- AN ETONIAN. 103 luckily the night is so dark, that we could not venture to continue our journey on these difficult roads; nor would it be prudent, perhaps, under the circumstances, to clo so if we could; but at any rate, it will be best to secure our saddles and bridles; as to the mules, they will take no harm, no one will meddle with them." As the horses belonged to him and not to me, I left him to do with them as he thought fit; and when he had retired, I explained in a few words to i^j companion�for companion and comrade he was; our adventures together dn and out of prison having broken down much of the distinction between master and servant�the rather ticklish position in which we were. With true bull-dog phlegm he quietly examined the priming of his musket, and then, placing it handy to his grasp, sat down again without speaking; he .gave me a nod, however, which was as significant as a Demosthenian oration. I, on my side, examined my pistols, and 104 CONCESSIONS OF took care to see that the stops would slide easily. We had scarcely done this before our host returned, laden with a huge basket, from which he quickly extracted a large stone bottle of brandy, a segment of cheese that was not uninviting, a piece of pork, some eggs, and two large fowls, with the feathers on. " There/' said he, as he deposited the provisions on the table, " there is wherewithal for Monsieur to sup like an English prince, and the brandy is as good as ever warmed the inside of a mayor; biit I had some trouble to get it." With these words he tendered me some silver coins, as change for my Napoleon, but I begged him to keep them; which he did, with an air, as it struck me, as if his right to it was at least as great as mine, and he had already con-sidered them as his own, looking on them doubtless as a very contemptible portion of the sum which was to come. The guide now re-entering, busied him- AN ETONIAN. 105 self in plucking the fowls, which was presently completed; anci having taken on himself to brander them on the wood-embers, the pork being grilled at the same time, he placed them on the table, the absence of plates and dishes by no means affecting* the savoury odour of the viands; and with the bread and the new cheese, and the eggs, which were roasted, and the onions, which were again called into requisition, there was exhibited a very respectable spread, which we joined in sociably together. As a mark of distinction a metal cup was assigned to my sole use, the others taking a suck at the brandy bottle as good fellowship or inclination prompted. The liquor, as I expected, put the wanted warmth into the semi-congealecl coachman's heart, and did me good, too; while its effect on our guide and on our host, as they freely imbibed it, was to render them loquacious; and the Garni-cero, under its influence, became almost sentimental, calling Philippe, our guidey 106 CONFESSIONS OE "his dear brother," and protesting there was nothing on earth that he was not ready to do to oblige him, even to the cutting of a throat if that would pleasure him. I observed, however, that he did not fail to take advantage of our guide's disposition to communicativeness, to learn as much of me as he could tell him in respect to my rank, fortune, destination, and personal qualities; and evincing particular anxiety to be informed as to the route I intended to take, and the time when I should be passing certain defiles of the mountains. The worthy Carnicero then turning to me, took occasion to expatiate on the difficulty of the passage of the Pyrenees at that season of the year, as they were for the most part covered with snow, and the wolves, he added, had been unusually bold that winter, exhibiting themselves in considerable numbers, and attacking fearlessly all that came in their way. He concluded by offering, in the most friendly AN ETONIAN. 107 way, to show me a more practicable route than the highway, which was known to him and his fellows�the shepherds�from the opportunity which their avocations afforded them of becoming acquainted with paths unknown to other persons. I thanked him civilly for his polite proposal, which, within myself, I considered as equivalent to offering to cut my throat at his best convenience ; but I said that I had placed myself entirely in the hands of my guide to conduct me across the mountains, and that I did not like to interfere with the arrangements of one who was almost in an official capacity, and who was considered responsible for my safety. He pretended to be satisfied with this, protesting that he was the last man in the world to interfere with the arrangements of another gentleman, and that his offer had been prompted solely by the extreme regard which he had for the English people in general, and for my person in 103 CONFESSIONS OF particular; for which expressions of affection I returned suitable acknowledgments. He now suggested that we should turn our attention to making arrangements for the night; and regretting that his house was so confined, as it contained only one bed in an inner room,�that and the one in which we sate constituting the whole dimensions of the dwelling�he proposed that my guide and my servant should take up their quarters at a cottage about half a mile distant, with, a friend of his who would be delighted to afford them that accommodation. The guide, however, came to my aid here by alleging professional etiquette and the honour of his fraternity, which did not permit him to be absent from my person until he had conveyed me to my place of destination. This intimation was received by the respectable gentleman who made the proposal with the same sort of grin with which it might be supposed a butcher would A1ST ETONIAN. 109 receive the apologies of a bullock declining to be killed; but quickly resuming his amicable air, he said it was for gentlemen to do as they pleased in his house, which of course tfiey would consider as their own; and, that, he presumed then, that Monsieur would take the bed, and that his domestic would make the best use of the outer apartment that he could, while the guide looked after the horses ? As this would have had the effect of dividing us, which was evidently his object, I declared that I had no disposition to sleep, and that if our guide was inclined to sit up, as I was sure my servant was, we would stay where we were, and with the brandy make a night of it! Thus baffled, the Carnicero was obliged to abandon, it seemed, for the present, his amiable designs in our favour, for he made no more suggestions, but sitting down, applied himself with such hearty good-will to the brandy, as well to appease his mortification perhaps, as from pure love of the liquor, that, at the end of 110 CONFESSIONS OF an hour or so, rolling himself up in a coarse cloak, he threw himself on the ground and fell asleep. Our guide quickly followed his example, and shortly after, the coachman, after the most resolute but ineffectual struggles to keep himself awake, gradually allowed himself to slip from his seat, and settling himself with his hack against the wall, soon gave unmistakable tokens of being in a delicious slumber. I found it difficult to avoid yielding to the general contagion; but as I had drank but little of the brandy which had produced its effect on the others, and was more inclined to be wakeful from my anxious thoughts for the. safety of Lavinia, as well as from the hazard of my own position, I contrived to keep my eyes open; and it is well perhaps that I did; for towards the break of day, and while it was still dark, a slight tapping at the door aroused my attention. I had taken the precaution, while the Oarnicero slept, to place a bit of stick AN ETONIAN. Ill �under the latch, so as to prevent it from being opened on the outside, although I was aware that the door coiild not resist a serious attack if numbers were determined to force it. Directing my eyes to the door, I could see by the glimmer of the fire which I had taken care, to keep up, that the latch was slightly moved. I' remained silent; and presently I observed that the attempt on the latch was renewed, and at the same time I could hear the footsteps of more than one person near the door�the silence of the night and my own anxious watchfulness rendering slight sounds audible. On this repetition of the attempt to raise the latch, which argued a perseverance in a determination on the outside which threatened danger, I thought it best to show that its inmates were on. the alert. In a loud voice, therefore, I shouted out, "Who is there ?" This I did, in order to rouse up my companions; for although I was well aware it would wake the Carnicero, I 112 CONFESSIONS OF trusted it would wake the other two as well; and then, being three to one, and having the advantage of being on the inside of & the door, I had no fear of our ability to defend ourselves. Our host was on his feet in a moment, and our guide also. It required two or three vigorous kicks on my part to get the coachman on his feet; but when I had explained to him in a few words of English that the cabin was being attacked, he was broad awake and by my side as soon as the Camicero had time to get to the door. When he put his hand to the latch, he found the obstruction to its being lifted, which I had placed there, and which I had jammed in pretty tightly. This gave time for our guide to interfere; and as he was accustomed, from his habits of perilous travel, to surprises and sudden difficulties, so he was used, as he was necessitated, to form prompt decisions. In the present case, he had no hesitation in the part he should take. He "immediately declared AN ETONIAN. 113 peremptorily that the door should not be opened; and as we were three to one inside,�armed, prepared, and resolute, the Carnicero was obliged to assent: " Not that it mattered," he said, " whether the door was opened or closed, for he had no doubt that they were only friends of his, who had come to join Mm in the early morning in his daily occupations." That they were his friends I had no more doubt than he had; and that they had come to join him in his morning occupation I felt quite convinced; but what that occupation was, I thought was another matter. At any rate, I was as determined as the guide that no one should come in While we were there. The Carnicero, seeing how matters stood, now shouted out from our side of the door, that his house was occupied by strangers; as he had that night had the pleasure to entertain an English gentleman and his friends, who objected to any further addition to their company. VOL. III. I 114 CONFESSIONS OE A gruff voice on the ouside replied to this, that they did not know that; and that they had no desire to intrude themselves where they were not wanted; adding, that he would meet his friend, the Oarnicero, at the foot of the " Wolf's Crag,"�which our host assenting to, they went away, or seemed to go away; and the Carnicero, with many apologies for the interruption, which he feared, he said, had prematurely disturbed his guests from their sleep, invited us to return again to rest. But to this we were by no means inclined ; and as it appeared by my watch (which our host regarded affectionately) to be within half-an-hour of daylight, as nearly as I could calculate, we passed the intervening time as well as we could, while the Carnicero applied himself to the brandy, and to the remains of our supper, with which, without taking any more notice of us, he proceeded to make an early breakfast. At last, to my infinite relief, the day AN ETONIAN. 115 came; and, as soon as the morning was sufficiently advanced, our guide opened the door of the cabin, and wei)t out. I waited for our host to precede me, and then I followed with my companion. There was no one within sight; the guide's hardy mules, used to rough usage and coarse fark, and to lie out at nights, were quietly standing where he had left them the night before, having been contented with such scanty fodder as their master had been able to collect for them. My companion, the coachman, expressed his surprise, that if thieves were abroad, they had not stolen the horses; but subsequent events showed, that to have deprived us of our means of conveyance onwards would have marred the plans of those who had interested themselves in our proceedings. And now, the light of the early morning cheering us, we saddled our steeds, and prepared to depart. Our host made no effort to detain us, and said nothing about the little incident of the night, I 2 116 CONCESSIONS OE which seemed to be forgotten. Thanking him for his hospitality, and presenting him with two Napoleons, which he received sullenly, and without thanks, I gave the signal, and mounting, we pursued our way up the mountains which towered before us. "We had not gone far, however, having reached a short bit of level land, which was formed by the road winding round the base of a hill and which screened us from view, when our guide pulled up, and hesitating a little, seemed disposed to enter into conversation. I guessed that he had a mind to speak of the Carnicero, and said, smilingly: " I am inclined to think we had rather a narrow escape last night ?" " It looks like it, indeed," he replied, gravely; " and I fear we are not safe yet." " What I do you think that ruffianly-looking rascal will try to waylay us on our road?" " The road," he replied, " that we have AN .ETONIAN. 117 to travel is lonely and difficult, and I fear that the sight of Monsieur's gold has roused the cupidity of that man, who will not easily forget it. Is it still your determination to risk the passage of the mountains ?" " I am on a journey of life and death/5 said I, " and I would risk it against all the smugglers of Prance and Spain put together." " Monsieur is bold, and somewhat over-venturesome. Mind, it is against my advice; but if Monsieur is determined, and his journey is of a nature so urgent, it shall never be said that a soldier of the Old Guard feared to lead where others were ready to follow." " Let us see, then," said I, " what your animals are made of." The poor beasts were not in very good heart, but they climbed the steeps better than I expected; and, pushing on as rapidly as the difficulties of the way permitted, we soon became buried in the mountainous recesses of the Pyrenees. 118 CONFESSIONS OE CHAPTER VI. I had made anxious inquiries on our way to learn some tidings of the party of whom I was in quest; but I was unable to gain intelligence of them. However, as I had no doubt of their having preceded me, I did not halt in my course, although the circumstance rather surprised me, and inspired me with vague apprehensions for their safety. It then occurred to me that I had not been sufficiently cautious in ascertaining the fact of their having proceeded beyond the Bidassoa. To be sure, the circumstance of their having engaged the son of our worthy Philippe, as a guide over the moun- AN ETONIAN. 119 tains seemed to render it certain that they had set out with, the intention of pursuing their journey over the Pyrenees into Spain; but the difficulties of the road which I encountered, and which increased as we went on, convinced me of the great risk attending the passage of females at such a season; not that I cared, I will confess, for any mishap that might befall the aunt3 but I was thinking of the niece. The anxiety which these thoughts engendered was increased by the observations of our guide. The snow lay much thicker than he expected; and some marks which he examined, and which he pronounced *to be the tracks of wolves, added to my apprehensions. The coachman, who for some time past had refrained from Ms usual exhortations, being reduced, as it seemed, to a state of mute despair by my rashness and obstinacy, nov/ broke silence; and his remarks, like the croak-ings of a raven in desolate places, were by no means calculated to calm my perturbations :� 120 CONFESSIONS OE " An ugly place this, Master Leander ! It seems to me that the farther we go the higher the mountains grow; it's like one haystack piled on another; and it's as difficult to go backards as forrards. Sorry should I be to have to drive a carriage over these hills. If mortal horses could contrive to drag it up, there isn't a pole that ever was made that would stand the work going down. And these cattle, poor things, are knocked up, and no wonder ploughing through this heavy snow." " This fall of snow is unlucky,3' said I. " Unlucky ? Master Leander ; it's a bad job altogether, that's a fact. Here we are near stuck fast, and these things�that arn't horses � with their heads hanging down worse than their tails behind, almost knocked up ! But what could we expect from the poor creeturs ? Mules !�To think that I should be riding a mule of all things in the world ! I have rid a pig when I was a boy, but I never rid a mule; and mine's more obstinater than any pig in Hampshire. But what is it ? Why AN ETONIAN. 121 it's only a big donkey after all; and as to galloping,�catch'em at that I A pretty sight it wonld be to see one of 'em in a field after the hounds ! They can just shuffle along, like an old woman in pattens, and that's all they can do,�except stand still when you don't want 'em. And now we're come to a dead lock. I'm afeared, Master Leander, we have got on the wrong side of the road again." I began to think so myself, and our guide seemed perplexed. However, as he knew the passes well, and was a cool and resolute fellow, although far beyond the middle time of life, I did not lose confidence. But the way grew more difficult every step. At last we came to a ravine between two stupendous masses of rock, in which the snow had drifted to such a height that, perforce, it brought us to a temporary standstill. Philippe, for the first time, now looked nonplused. " Bo you fear it ?" said I. 122 CONCESSIONS OE " Pear! A soldier of the' Old Guard fears nothing. Monsieur; let alone that he is a Pyrenean guide to boot. It's not the snow here that disturbs roe, but the thought of what we shall meet with a little farther on. You see what the drift has done here; but look forward, and you will observe that the snow lies level." "What of that?" " What of that, Monsieur ? Pardon me, but your courage is the courage of the child, which is prompted by his ignorance of the danger. Look at the depth of the snow, as it lies where we are,�it is already up to our saddles; and further on, as the ravine dips downwards, we shall find it three times the height of our beasts5 heads ! Will you dare that ?" "I will dare anything," said I, "that is possible." ^" Possible! By myself, perhaps, it might be possible, because I should have only my own life to risk; but I am responsible, Monsieur, for the lives of those AN ETONIAN. 123 under my charge, and the honour of an old soldier and a Pyrenean guide is at stake. No�the risk is too great." 6'Then I will go alone." " That would be certain death." " But," said I, " I am in search of a party who, perhaps, themselves may be buried beneath that very snow which obstructs us ! Women,�ladies,�in short,-1 will make the attempt or perish!" " Is it the party about whom you have been making inquiries on our route ?" " The same; their names are recorded in your list at home." - " I know it, but that was ten days ago; and since then I have myself passed from the Spanish side of the mountains. How was it that I did not meet them ?" This communication, on the part of our guide, startled me. On questioning him more closely, I ascertained that he had an accurate recollection of the travellers passing towards Spain, whom he had met on his way. There could be no mistake in this matter, he said, as the habit of such 124 CONFESSIONS OE observation which his profession induced did not allow him to be deceived; and he declared positively that it was impossible for such a party to have passed the Pyrenees towards Spain, within the time specified, without its having come to his knowledge. �" "Was there any other way," I anxiously asked, " which they could have taken ?" " None. But a foot-passenger/5 he said, " might have taken advantage of the opening which we had passed on our left, about a quarter of a mile behind, which was, indeed, the shorter route of the two ; but for a carriage of any sort, or even for a mule, he declared it was impassable.55 I asked him if there was any objection to try it at present ? He replied, " None in the world, if Monsieur was so minded; but for what use?35 I said that it would be satisfactory to me to try that passage, and as it was impossible to go farther, on the direct route of the highway, there would be AN ETONIAN. 125 no harm done if the trying of the other led to no result. But he reminded me that we had no time to lose in retracing our steps to some place of shelter; and as the evening was already drawing to a close, it behoved us to husband our time; for, among the mountains, minutes gained or spent sometimes saved or lost lives. However, seeing I was bent on going, he turned back his horse, and led the way through the snow, which, being already trampled down, made the road comparatively easy. Poor Tom, who saw by my countenance that something was wrong, but was ignorant of what passed between me and the guide, from our conversation being held in the Trench language which he did not understand, followed us with a very disquieted air; but as we were going back, which he thought the most sensible course 1 could take, he made no remonstrance. Besides, it seemed as if the piercing cold of that region had frozen up his tongue. 128 C02ntEESSI0NS OE and had deprived him of that means of easing himself of his internal cogitations. When we had returned on our way to the opening to which Philippe had referred, I was obliged to acknowledge that he was right; for it was plpin that neither carriage nor horse could pass that way. The opening consisted, in fact, of a gorge between two abruptly-shelving sides of mountains which nearly met together; but the snow did not lie nearly so thick on either side as it did on the high road, on which the wind had occasioned the deep drift that had stopped us in that direction. I inquired whither this passage led;� and Philippe informed me that it led in a straight line to the high road, which met it at the curve of the hill on our right; and, that, to the left, one of the forks led to a desolate and unfrequented part of the Pyrenees traversed only by contrebandiers who were jealous of its being visited by strangers. However, with that branch of the gorge AN ETONIAN. 127 it had nothing to do; it was the right side that I had to explore; and with the assistance of the guide, I resolved to attempt it. But on intimating to my friend Tom that he would have to remain to take care of the mules, he protested so violently against that part of the arrangement, that I was obliged to explain my embarrassment to the guide, who quickly got over the difficulty by securing the heads of his beasts together, and hampering their legs; and in that state, he assured me, they would remain for hours, so docile and experienced were they in their work, and so accustomed to that and similar contingencies in their frequent expeditions. All this, however, consumed time, and the dusk came on apace, as, under the guidance of Philippe, we made our way along the precipitous brow of the mountain. Suddenly Philippe stopped, and pointed to the branches of a tree at some distance above us, which were disturbed, for flakes of snow fell from it in a shower as if shaken by the wind. 128 CONFESSIONS OE cc The wind P" said I�pointing. " There is no wind/3 he replied, looking round attentively, it was true; there was no wind; the air was perfectly still. " Wolves, perhaps P" said I. " I\To.�Stay:�-There it is again I�Observe the shaking of the tree below the first one. There is some one between us and that tree, depend upon it. Have you your arms ready ? 55 I explained the danger to Tom. He examined the pan of the lock of his musket, by bringing it close to Ms eye,� slapped the side of the musket coolly, so as to shake the priming in order, and then held his piece ready. I saw that I could depend on him. My own pistols were already in my hands, and the stops drawn back. " Do you think there is mischief brewing?55 I whispered in a low tone of voice to our guide. " No one can be coming down that way for any good purpose,55 he replied, in the same low tone. AN ETONIAN. 129 " Shall we make our way back ?" " No�stand still. Place yourself behind this rock; and your servant too. It is my duty to take the post of observation. The Old Guard have ever a right to the foremost place of danger I " The words were hardly out of his mouth when a shot from the direction of the shaken trees struck the noble fellow on the chest, and he fell where he stood, a stunted bush preventing him from rolling into the hollow. " He has hit me," he said; " but it was an unfair shot, that. To fire at a guide is against the law of the mountains�every way; but it will be returned back to him, whoever did it. Ah ! it is the Carnicero; �depend upon it�it is the Carnicero. Your English gold has tempted him, and he is on your heels. Look to yourselves, Englishmen. You will exonerate me from all blame, and from all accusation of treachery ; and prepare for a hard struggle; for be sure the smuggler is not alone." The last words he pronounced with diffi- VOL. III. K 130 CONFESSIONS OF eulty, which made me fear he had received his death-wound. But the necessity of being prepared for the attack which I could not doubt would presently be made on us, obliged me to disregard the poor fellow for the moment, and to think only of defending ourselves. Bidding Tom lie still with me behind the rock, but to be ready, I waited as coolly as I could for the approach of our assailants. But I had to do with a subtle antagonist. Seeing only one shadow in the gloom, which was poor Philippe, now dead or dying, he guessed that the other two of the three who formed our party were behind the rock. Moving down the precipice* therefore, towards his right, he attempted* as I happily divined, to take us m flank. But the same shaking of the slender trees, of which he was obliged to avail himself in his descent, and to which Philippe had first directed my attention, betrayed his movements. Being thus put on my guard, I moved round the rock towards my right hand, motioning my comrade* the sturdy coach- AN ETONIAN. 131 man, to stick by my side, so as to keep the rock in a line with the enemy, against whose fire it served as a rampart. I was just in time; for now two shots, fired almost together, whistled past the spot which we had quitted. At this moment, Philippe, who had not spoken since his last words, which I have already recorded, uttered a piercing shriek, strangely shrill, as if wrung from the agony of a dying man, and which the solitude and the silence made distinctly audible at a distance. This cry, it seems, deceived those who had fired, who thought, doubtless, that another had been brought down; and they rapidly advanced, not fearing, it is to be presumed, the single man who was left, and making sure that, being three, as I could now perceive, on their nearer approach, they were, they would be able easily to overawe and to overpower him. In this, however, they were mistaken. As they approached, I directed my companion, in a whisper, to pick off the left-hand man, as we could see them over the k 2 132 CONFESSIONS OF rock behind which we had been hitherto crouched, while I took the right one. Haying the advantage of a solid rest for our weapons, each of our shots took effect, for both the men whom we had covered fell. The third, on this, uttered a loud shout, or rather yell, which was answered by another shout from a little distance, which made me aware that a second party was at hand to support the first. In the meantime, but almost at the same moment, the third man of the three who had already attacked us, rushed on towards the rock, and spying two heads above it, stopped short within two yards, and before I had time to take aim, discharged* his piece; and had I not on the instant pulled down my excellent friend and ducked my own head, either he would never have sat on a coach-box again, or these Memoirs would then have been brought to a summary conclusion; for the ball grazed and grated along the projecting rock above us. The further advance, however, of our fierce assailant was suddenly brought to AN ETONIAN. 133 an end by an unexpected shot from the musket of our prostrate guide, in whom, beyond our hope, sufficient life for the deed, as it proved, was yet remaining; at the same time that we heard him exclaim, in a faint but stern voice, in what seemed to be his last words,� " That for the Carnicero ! " Here were three of �the rascals disposed of, to all appearance; but we were not yet safe, for more were coming on. But as I did not know their numbers, I thought it best to retire (I did not like to call it retreating, even to myself,) before the second party should come up close enough to observe and pursue us; for I felt that I was fighting against tremendous odds in combating smugglers or banditti�or both, as they might be�on their own ground, and in their own fastnesses. It pained me to leave our guide, Philippe, wounded as he was, but there was no help for it; and he lay so still as I cast a rapid look at him, that I thought he was dead. Besides, I was not sure about the Carnicero; perhaps he might 134 CONFESSIONS OE start up, like another Ealstaff, and fire again! Communicating my intention, therefore, to my comrade, we immediately moved in the direction of the south,; our road back towards our mules being blocked up by the advancing party of our enemies. The dark had now set in, but the white snow and the clear atmopphere enabled us to pick our way pretty well, although it was rough walking; and we moved forward at as brisk a pace as the difficulty of our road would allow. AN ETONIAN. 135 CHAPTER VII. In this way we soon left our enemies behind us; and as there was no sign of any pursuit, they being occupied, as we conjectured, with their wounded or dead confederates, we presently made a halt, to consider what was best to be done. The question, indeed, was sufficiently embarrassing. On one side of us was a party of banditti, rendered ferocious, as doubtless they would be remorseless, from the death of their comrades; and before us was an unknown country, covered with snow. To increase our difficulties, we had now come to a part of the gorge in which the precipitous sides of the mountains precluded all possibility of climbing to their summits. 136 CONFESSIONS OP As the cold would not allow us to stand still, and as lighting a fire was out of the question, as its light would have served to betray us, we felt ourselves compelled to keep in motion; and we determined, therefore, to continue our way to the point where we expected the gorge would strike the main road, as our guide had previously instructed us. With this intent we pushed forward; but whether it was owing to the darkness of the night, or that we had not sufficiently attended to the description of Philippe, or that he had failed to warn us that the path suddenly narrowed at its junction with the road, so as to present the appearance of an impassable barrier� we took the wrong route, and entered the wider and more inviting passage, which, instead of leading to the highway, led us by an insensible circuit from it; and unconsciously we plunged into the dangerous intricacies of the Pyrenees. But still we were led a little farther on and a little farther on, with the hope of arriving at the highway; and not liking AN ETONIAN. 137 to turn back to where we considered the greater danger lay, and the cold exciting and indeed rendering necessary unceasing motion, we were deluded forward for a long distance, till at last, from sheer fatigue, we were obliged to stop. As the lighting of a fire was now imperative, for it would have been impossible to brave a winter's night in the Pyrenees without its aid, we agreed that the risk must be run, and as there was plenty of wood scattered about, we soon heaped a qiiantity together and made a glorious blaze. I told Tom that he must be readv, as the light would be sure to betray us; but he remarked very sensibly, that if "it would betray us to the two-legged wolves, it would keep away the four-legged ones* and that he would as soon be attacked by the one as the other." The fire warmed and cheered us, and, if it had mot been so very cold, I should have rather enjoyed our mountain bivouac than otherwise; for there was a spice of romance in it which suited my disposition at that age. Besides, the thoughts of La- 138 CONFESSIONS OE vinia, exposed perhaps to difficulties and dangers similar to my own, filled me with the most painful disquietude; for 1 could not get rid of the idea which haunted me, that she was buried in the snow, or lost among the recesses of the Pyrenees ! . In addition to this, emotions of a less romantic character beset me; I was very hungry; my exercise among the mountains and the keenness of the air having sharpened my appetite to an unusual degree. It would not read well* perhaps in a romance, that the hero instead of being satisfied with feeding on his remembrances of his absent fair one, had a longing for a beefsteak. That would be vulgar and common. But as these memoirs are not a romance, and I never had any pretensions to be a hero of any sort, I must tell the plain truth, and confess that my excessive desire at that time for something in the shape of dinner or supper absorbed all other sensations. And here I feel strongly tempted to philosophize a little, and to descant on the lamentable ascendancy of the corporeal AN ETONIAN. 139 over the intellectual in this our mortal state of imperfection; but I will refrain, reserving such valuable thoughts for a future treatise, should I live to write it. I will observe only, that in respect to the passion of love and the passion for a beefsteak, that it is always dangerous for a mistress to treat her lover on the starving system. Good stews and roasts rather are the proper diet. No man ever made a declaration while waiting for his dinner; but after�his feelings become more ardent, and the little god�who is always represented as very fat, as if he did not feed only upon rose-leaves fried in honey� resumes his sway. This mastery of matter over mind is humiliating, but tr#e. A ravenous hunger, as I have said, possessed me, and drove all other thoughts out of my head. I was of a mind almost to attack the bark on the trees. I could not refrain from expressing my feelings to the coachman, when to my unspeakable delight he produced from his pocket a huge piece of the black bread with which the amiable Carnicero had regaled us the night 140 CONFESSIONS OF before, and since when I had scarcely broken my fast. I devoured it with a wolfish eagerness�that is to say, my share of it, for I insisted on dividing it with my comrade; and when he extracted from another pocket two onions as a condiment to our fare, it seemed to me that I had never eaten anything so delicious. This mouthful sustained me surprisingly; and I paced up and down before the fire with renewed vigour. I found it difficult to keep the coachman in motion, who was inclined to sleep, but I contrived to keep him from that fatal indulgence by continual alarms about the wolves; we saw none, however, that night. In this way we wore out the time till the day broke, and then we consulted as to our best course to pursue. "We found ourselves quite buried in the mountains, amidst rocks and precipices; but the place for the most part was covered pretty thickly with trees. The morning was clear and bright, but very cold, and the snow lay very thick on the ground, except in some sheltered positions, where AN ETONIAN. 141 there was but little of it. However, move on wre were obliged somewhere, for it was of no use to stay where we were; so off we started. I endeavoured to keep our course towards the east, with the hope of striking the high road of the principal pass which we had quitted the evening before, and which I knew lay on that side of us; but we wandered on the whole of the day without meeting with the much-hoped-for road; neither did we see any human habitation, nor any human being during our whole day's solitary and weary march. "We caught sight of one or two animals at a distance, which we guessed to be goats, but we were too fatigued to pursue them. Paint from want of food, and exhausted with travel over the rough ground which we had traversed, we sat down for a moment to rest. The cold was intense, and we would gladly have lighted a fire, but there was no wood at hand; and to increase our calamity the night was drawing on, and snoAV was beginning to fall. 142 CONFESSIONS OF My poor friend Tom's courage now began to give way; and thinking more of me than of himself, he broke out into a doleful lament of "the end I was like to come to :�" " A sad thing for master and missus to hear of, that is so fond of you, to die among these rocks, and no one to bury us! or what is more worser, for the wolves to eat us up, and never to be heerd talk of no more! And all because you would go on this wild-goose chase, which has never brought us any good, but quite the contrary! Riding after a fox is bad enough, and, to my mind, fools are they that do it. Better sit quiet on your box, and leave the poor thing alone; but running after a gal that won't be caught,� you must excuse me, Master Leander,� is foolisher still. And the old coach-horse, who will take care of him when I am gone? They'll be putting him into a dung-cart, or something, or may be make him turn a mill in a brick-field ! Ah! Old England for me, where there's no wolves and banditties, as you call 'em, AN ETONIAN. 143 to come arter ye, and no big mountains to be lost in; but when you're tired you can lie down in a warm stable and care for no one. But here we are, with both wheels off, as I may say, the splinter-bar broke, and the coach smashed!55 I endeavoured to cheer my old friend, although I was in want of consolation myself, for I was all but exhausted, and not having had any sleep the last two nights, it was not without the most resolute determination, which I felt could not last much longer, that I was able to sustain myself. " It's no use, Master Leander; I'm as flat as stale beer; foundered; and knocked up. I'm dead beat; that's a fact. And there's the poor horses that we left standing in the road; no one to give 'em a rub down, or a morsel of hay. Hay! lots of hay there is here, I'm thinking; if I could only get hold of a handful, I do believe I could eat it myself." As I had great affection for my old and early friend, and felt besides the importance of his companionship in my present 141 CONFESSIONS OF strait, I redoubled niy endeavours to infuse fresh courage into him. I talked to him of the glorious struggles of the English army in these very mountains, and how the English soldiers endured cold, and hunger, and death without flinching and without repining; what they had done could not we do ? "It's all very well talking, Master Leander, about what the soldiers did, but what does that help us ? Besides, it was their business, and it's the nature of 'em to be starved, and killed, and what not, and they've the glory of doing it,� not that I could ever see any great glory in it myself,�to be poking a bayonet all day long into somebody that you never saw before, and never did you any harm, or else to have one thrust into your own belly,�not that I quarrel with other people's tastes; but I was born in a stable, and in a stable I thought to die, and not in furrin parts, and in a place like this, with only the sky above you, and the snow for a winding-sheet. No, Master Leander, I remember you when AN ETONIAN. 145 you was a babby,�when you was wrapped up in the horse-cloth of my own little 'un, and I've taught you to ride when you got to be a boy, and I've tightened the girths of your horse when you growed up to a man^�though you have always seemed to be a boy to me for that matter;�and now babby, or boy, or man,�it's all one, we must bid our ajew to master and missus, and the horses, and all,�-(my right toe feels just like ice),�-for death is a-coming to us as sure as the tax- gatherer! Starved and fruz up we shall soon be,�that's as sure as a foundered horse is claimed by the knacker,�and never a hayband to wrap round us!" I confess I was not without that fear myself; but I was young, with all the world before me, and with too many hopes to give up life without a further struggle. But to stand still was death; summoning up our remaining strength, therefore, and my faithful friend seeming infused with fresh life in his affectionate desire to save mine, we continued to advance�whither, indeed, we VOL. III. L 146 CONFESSIONS OP knew not�but anything was better than. standing still; and at least we thought we would make our way to where a thick cluster of trees, which we dimly discerned, would enable us to light a fire. But the light of the stars now failed us; for the snow was falling fast, and our progress became more difficult at every step. However, we managed to reach the trees, and were glad to find the space beneath them comparatively free from snow. Here we were obliged to pull up, for we were almost exhausted; but the urgent necessity of gathering wood for a fire made us lose no time in looking about us for the materials ; for we found that the moment we stood still the cold struck us with a deathlike chill. But we did not find dead sticks so plentiful as we expected, and in our search for them we were led through the clump of trees to the space beyond, where we found ourselves before a huge mass of rock abutting on the side of a low hill thickly covered with trees. We approached it; and with the hope of finding some nook AN ETONIAN. 147 which might serve to shelter us, we searched for some opening. We searched for some time in vain; but the urgent necessity of finding some place of shelter from the bitter cold of the night sharpened our wits; and ,on mounting over some detached pieces of rock, which served as rough steps to a part where the surface seemed broken, we suddenly came upon an opening which a projecting shelf concealed from those looking upwards from the level surface of the ground below, and which was wide enough to admit a man. I was about to enter into it, feeling my way in the obscurity, when I was startled by being arrested from behind. It was the coachman who had clutched. me by the coat-tails, and who with the most affectionate earnestness, entreated me not to venture into such a place, which was most likely the dwelling of wolves; and begging of me, as a kindness, if I was determined to try it, to let him go first. He had scarcely done speaking, when a sound, as if in echo to his voice, was heard from the interior of the opening, which L 2 M8 CONCESSIONS OF startled, and il confess, at first frightened me. My companion, whose predominant idea was of wolves, with which he had conceived the notion that every part of the mountains was infested, urged me vehemently tg retreat. But there was an intonation in the sound which struck me as certainly not that of a wolf's cry, and still less that of an echo. I remained where I was, therefore, for a brief space, in a somewhat disordered state I own, for the uncertainty of the nature of the sound acted powerfully on my imagination; but I maintained my self-possession sufficiently to be perfectly master of my weapons, which I immediately drew from my side-pockets, and held ready in my hands. Presently the sound was heard again; and this time, as I was prepared for it, I was better able to judge of its probable cause. It is impossible to describe my surprise and agitation when I distinctly heard the plaintive wail of a female voice in evident distress! AN ETONIAN. 149 CHAPTER VIII. There is certainly something electrifying in the voice of a woman, when raised in appeal for the succour of the. stronger sex, which is at all times irresistible. I say this, not because it has never been said before, but because of its remarkable effect on myself at that moment of depression and exhaustion; for it instantly seemed to inspire me with fresh strength and with the determination to fly to the rescue, though my life should be the instantaneous forfeit. Even the old coachman, as he said, " frothed up," and was eager for the enterprise as I was. "Who speaks?" I called out, at all risks, " and how can we help you ?" The voice now replied in a language 150 CONFESSIONS OF which, although I could not perfectly understand its meaning, I knew to be Spanish; but its tone evinced that it was an earnest appeal for help or mercy. I replied in French, that we were two travellers who had lost our way, and that we were seeking shelter from the inclemency of the night. The voice now answered in French, with an earnest entreaty that we would come to her aid, for she had been shut up in a cave by robbers, who had left her there to perish. Now, I do not mean to say that I would not as willingly have succoured any woman in distress, however old she might be; but I will not deny that the tones of the present one, which were melodiously sweet, and evidently uttered by one who was young, had a powerful effect on me, and stirred me up the more readily to peril my life in her behalf. But it was so dark that we could not see an inch before us. I called out again, explaining our difficulty, and asked the lady if she could not come to us ? AN ETONIAN. 151 "Impossible!" she replied; "I am confined myself in darkness, in a recess without an issue." I could not help thinking that she might come out the way she got in; but as it seemed she could not for some reason,� for I did not suppose there were any doors inside the rock,�I was obliged to seek for the means of getting a light to guide us. My companion had under his arm a quantity of dead wood, which he had collected from among the trees, in the shape of light sticks. He could not help whispering to me that he thought there was something suspicious in this circumstance of a lady being shut up in the middle of a mountain of rock, and not able to get out! Who put her there ? He had heard, he said, queer stories of ghosts and evil spirits that inhabited such places as these Pyrenees,�not that he believed them-�only that it might be so; and if it was a spirit�to be lured in there by the likes of them would be awkward, and as bad as driving a carriage into a blind lane^ that wasn't so easy to back out of." 152 CONCESSIONS OP "Without giving way to the supernatural fears of the honest coachman, I confess I was not without some misgivings myself. * Not that I had any suspicion of the unearthly character of the lady; hut, exposed as I had recently been to the attacks, of banditti, I thought it might, possibly, be some trick to ensnare me. But I quickly banished such thoughts, and applied myself to striking, a light. To do this, I was obliged to extract the charge from one of my pistols, so that I might inflame some powder in the pan without making a loud report, which might give the alarm to others, perhaps, who were within hearing. Having taken that precaution by means of a piece of touch-paper, which I made by moistening a piece of paper with gunpowder, I easily succeeded in obtaining fire, which I fanned into a blaze, and set fire to sopie of the sticks which my companion carried. Thus enlightened, we soon made our way to the spot whence the voice proceeded, when we found ourselves opposite a mass of loose rock of dimen- AN ETONIAN. 153 sions and weight, as it seemed, to defy removal. A dialogue now ensued between me and the lady on the other side ; my companion added more lighted sticks as fast as the first were consumed. I asked her how she got in, and she said she did not know, but she thought it was by the entrance opposite where I was; but that seemed impossible, for it was a mass greater than fifty men could have lifted. This was a very mysterious affair; but on casting my eyes about the antechamber or vault in which I stood, and which was of an irregular shape, but spacious, I observed a heap of dry wood in a corner, which could not have got there�that was certain�except by human hands.. This was alarming, as it indicated that the place was frequented, and most likely by robbers. On continuing my examination of the place, I perceived on one side a recess which had the appearance of having been used as a fireplace; for there were the 154 CONFESSIONS OF remains of charred sticks, and of a tolerably sized log of wood half consumed. This discovery was by no means calculated to quiet my apprehensions; for I could not doubt that I had got into a robber's cave; and it was to be feared that if the proprietors should happen to come in, they would not be pleased to find there company who had not been invited. I mentioned the circumstance to the lady on the other side of the wall, but she declared that it was unknown to her, for that she had been brought in there in a fainting condition, and had not been able therefore to note the appearance of the place; and that when she recovered, she found herself on some sort of rude couch inside. I had a great curiosity to learn more of her history, and of the accidents which had led to so strange an incarceration; but I wanted to see her face; neither was it convenient nor agreeable to carry on a conversation with a lady on one side of a big rock while I was on the other. Besides, it was neither polite nor kind to be wast- AN ETONIAN. 155 ing time in words when the point was to get her out. In the meantime, the coachman, who did not understand what we were saying to each other in the ^French language, and who had lost all fear, in the domestic look of the place, of her ghostly character* had mechanically set his sticks a blazing in the recess which formed the fire-place of the apartment; and adding more fuel in abundance � for he was determined, he said, to make a good fire, and warm himself now he had the opportunity, come what might of it�there was presently an illumination, which enabled me to have a clearer view of the impediment between me and the prisoner. It seemed at first sight to be a solid stone wall, not of an even surface, but an irregular mass, as if the cavern had become hollowed out, either by nature or art, so far, and no farther. But on a closer examination, I perceived an irregular line, or cleft, which I traced till it joined the roof on both sides. If I had not heard a voice on the other side, it cer- 156 CONFESSIONS OP tainly never would have occurred to me that the mass of stone which was between the two lines or cracks on either side was contrived to move; for, as it seemed, no human force could be sufficient to remove an obstruction of so many tons weight. I knocked against it with the butt-end of the musket, but it sounded as solid as the rock itself. I was puzzled, and I asked the lady on the other side if she could help me with any hint. But all she could tell me was her persuasion that she had entered by the way where I stood. In that case it seemed clear that the intermediate block of stone, bearing a semblance to a huge door, could be moved by some means; and which was the more probable, as I found that I could distinctly hear what the lady said from behind it-�a facility which was caused, I did not dmibt, by the long crack or crevice which extended from the ground to the roof. I explored the whole side of the wall narrowly, but I could find no indication of the means of moving the block�if it did AN .ETONIAN. 157 move. I directed the prisoner to push against it from the inside, but that clearly was of no use : then I and the coachman pushed against it on the outside, but we might as well have pushed against a church. I was almost in despair, but I would not give it up; not only was it a duty and a point of honour not to abandon a woman to the fate which inevitably awaited her if not released, but the sweet voice of the young girl�for I felt sure she was young�-had powerfully interested me. "While I was revolving in my mind what could be the secret of opening that wall, and calling to mind the " open sesame " of the story in the "Arabian Mghts"-^-the virtue of which I was almost inclined to try myself, so strongly had the romance and the mystery of the affair excited my imagination�the old coachman was peering about the place on a voyage of discovery on his own account. " Here is a thing like a lamp," he said, taking a brass vessel from the right hand corner from a hollow in the rock, "but 158 CONFESSIONS OF no oil iii it; what wouldn't I give just now for a stable lantern ! " I approached the spot where he had found the vessel, which had the appearance of an ancient lamp of brass, but, as he said, without oil in it. At any other time I should have examined it more curiously, for it had an Arabic air, as it struck me, and I could not help calling to mind Aladdin's lamp, of which it gave me a lively idea; and the place�the rocky cavern�the lonely time of night�and all the attendant circumstances � the lady and the robbers,�all filled me with such strange and wild ideas, that if I did give the lamp a little rub, I am sure those who are at all susceptible to the romance of my situation will excuse it.�But the lamp was a valuable discovery for me and for the lady after all. However, as I had no belief in enchantments, I returned the lamp to its place; but as the part of the rock on which I placed it had an irregitlar surface like all the rest, the lamp slipped clown : I passed my hand over the surface in order to feel for AN ETONIAN. 159 a level part to stand it on, when I ascertained that the part of the rock which formed the bottom of the niche was loose. I don't know what it was that prompted me; perhaps it was that my mental faculty having been powerfully directed towards exploring, the action continued; or it may be that I was naturally of an inquiring turn of mind in matters where a lady is concerned; however it was, I lifted up the loose stone on which the lamp had stood, which weighed, I suppose* about a hundred-weight, and let it clown on.the floor. The removal of this stone left a great chasm; I put my arm down it to fe^l how deep it was, when to my surprise, my hand encountered a ring of iron �or some metal�but I suppose it was iron�not loose, but solidly fixed to something else. I told the coachman to come and feel it too, which he did, remarking that it was a "rum" thing to find there! but as to what -vyas the meaning of it was more than he could undertake to say; however, it was his opinion " it never was put there for nothing." 160 CONFESSIONS OF I thought so too: and as the ring was evidently made to he laid hold of, and, as I argued, consequently to be pulled, I determined to have a pull at it. As I did so, I confess to a certain degree of trepidation. It was not fear; if it had been I would own it; but it was with a quivering, shuddering sensation, that I pulled at this mysterious ring; at first it did not move, but on applying my whole strength, I heard a grating sound within the rock which made me pause for a moment, for positively I began to expect�so excited was my imagination�that some extraordinary transformation would take place similar to the scenic changes in a theatre. But all remained still; so I pulled at the ring again, and the same grating sound was heard again; but this time I persevered, and continued my exertion without stopping, and then, my ears becoming more accustomed to the sound, I could distinctly trace it along the wall of rock to the crevice bounding the inner block of stone which I have before described. After I had drawn up the ring, AN ETONIAN, 161 which was attached to a thick round bar of iron, about a foot, I found that it resisted all my efforts to draw it up farther. Retiring from the corner, therefore, I approached the part of the rock where the right hand crevice was, in order to examine the effect of my exertions with the ring, when, to my amazement, the block moved outwards seemingly with the greatest ease, and a young girl, dark, with long black hair, which hung down on all sides, and of dazzling beauty, suddenly stood before me! I was so startled that I jumped back a few paces, and the coachman seized his musket; but the lady, casting herself on her knees, and clasping her hands, exclaimed in piteous accents of touching sweetness : " O Sen or ! whoever you are, have pity on a wretched maiden, whom a terrible misfortune has cast into a den of robbers; and if you will not spare my life, oh! at least spare my honour! " Then catching sight of the coachman's musket, which he held in a threatening VOL. III. IT 162 CONFESSIONS OE attitude, she uttered a faint shriek, and fainted. Here was a pretty piece of business! No salts, and no lady's-maid! Bufc (of course) I took her immediately in my arms, and bearing her to the fire, did my best to revive her. I slapped the palms of her hands, which I had heard, some time, was useful in such cases. The coachman also looked about for something to rub her down with, as he said he was sure she was only benumbed with the cold, and that that was what was the matter with her. I thought myself it would be right to cut the laces of her stays, if she wore any; but I was prevented having recourse to that expedient, from my excessive modesty. Fortunately she came to, and, raising her long eyelashes, opened the most beautiful eyes in the world, black as night, and, though resplendent, soft. She certainly was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen, although not with the same loveable air as Lavinia. She struck me as too majestic to be loved, and as a creature only to be worshipped. AN ETONIAN. 168 Disengaging herself from my arms with a dignified air, she* moved away a few paces, and leaning her arm on a piece of projecting rock, shaded her face for a moment with her hands. I did not offer to take her again in my arms, because that would have been improper; but as it was plain that she could hardly stand, and I had nothing but my knee to offer her, there being no chair in the place, I was embarrassed, when suddenly I remembered what she had said about the couch in the interior chamber. I and the coachman got it out, and arranging it before the fire, placed her upon it. She thanked me gracefully; strove to say something which I could not distinctly collect; and then, overcome, as I did not doubt, with the novelty of her situation, the suddenness of her release, and the presence of strangers, of whose character she was yet ignorant, she leaned her head upon her hand, and burst into a violent flood of tears. " Depend upon it," said the coachman, who had more common sense than I had M 2 164 CONCESSIONS OE on the occasion, and prompted, perhaps, by his own feelings; " depend upon it, Master Leander, she is faint because she wants somethings to eat. Who knows how long she has been shut up in that horrid hole ? " At these words�the first he had spoken since our entrance into the vault�the young girl started up, and her eyes gleamed with a joyous radiance:� " You are English!" she exclaimed, speaking the language fluently, but with a foreign accent; " You are English !� then I am safe I " I hastened to assure her that we were really English, as she supposed; adding, that I was a gentleman, travelling with my servant to Madrid; that we had been beset by robbers, who had killed our guide; and that having lost ourselves among the recesses of the mountains, we had penetrated into that secret cavern in quest of shelter. " You are an English gentleman! " she repeated, " and I am safe! They are always men of honour; and now I am AN ETONIAN. 165 sure I am safe! Tell me�oh, tell me that you will protect me and save me, and the heart of a Spanish maiden shall be filled with gratitude to you for ever 1 " I again assured her that I would protect her at the hazard of my life; and the coachman joining in the conversation, now that it was conducted in English, swore so too; acquainting her that his master was the son of a gentleman of fortune in England,, and " one of the best young gentlemen "�" although I say it as shouldn't say it, perhaps,�only I nursed him on my knee, and I can't help it�that ever got on the back of a horse;�'cepting," said he, looking at me slily and fondly, �" that he's a terrible one to fall in love�� and then no bit won't hold him! " Out of respect to my excellent friend, whose good opinion I valued more than that of many of 'higher station, I do not withhold this commendatory expression, which he was pleased to bestow on my general character; albeit that it was qualified by a reservation which made the beautiful stranger blush, and lookembar- 166 CONFESSIONS OE rassed. I hastened to reassure her, therefore, by a demeanour of studied respect, and by protesting that she had nothing to apprehend from my attentions on that score. But although there was no fear of my falling in love with her, my sensations informed me that I was quite ready to fall in love with a leg of mutton, if such an object could have presented itself to my view, and on my pressing the lady, she confessed with much bashfulness, that her inclinations coincided with mine. And no wonder; for, as she informed me, she had been shut up there, as well as she could gue&s, more- than four-and-twenty hours, without food or drink, suffering from the extreme cold, and a prey to the most excruciating torture of mind, from the agonising uncertainty of her fate. I was longing to learn her adventures,, and the events which had caused her to be shut up in that living tomb, but as it was necessary first to attend to our most urgent wants, I postponed that inquiry for the present. AN ETONIAN. 167 My first care was to explore the place in which we found ourselves. It consisted, so far as I could ascertain,, only of the two vaults or apartments which constituted the outer one in which we had lighted the fire, and the inner one in which the Spanish lady had been shut up. The moving block of stone, which to ordinary observation seemed part of the solid rock, I found was nicely balanced on two iron pivots fixed above and below, on which it turned, so that a slight pressure from within, on the right hand side, or from without on the left, was sufficient to move it. There was a contrivance also on the inside, to secure it from any one trying to force the entrance�should the assailant-have discovered the secret of the ring. Altogether it was a curious and admirable piece of workmanship; and I was forcibly struck with the ingenuity of the mechanism, and with the skill of the artificer who had effected it, "With respect to its date, it had the appearance of having been finished at a very remote period. As the piece of stone which I had re- 168 CONFESSIONS OF moved from the cavity where I had discovered the ring was in my way on the floor, I begged the coachman to raise it up and put it in its place, and I set the lamp on it again as before; and fortunate it was, as it afterwards appeared, that I did so. Certainly that lamp proved an Aladdin's lamp to me ! Continuing my explorations, I found that leading from this inner cave was a narrow passage, which terminated in a sort of recess, before which skins�bullocks5 hides they seemed to be�were hanging. I raised them with some curiosity, and perhaps not without some slight trepidation, when to my great joy I found a store of provisions on some natural shelves of the rock, and which were still fresh. Among them was nearly half a sheep, many small loaves of coarse bread, several cheeses, and a red earthenware jar of salt. In a deeper recess were about a dozen large stone bottles, which I soon ascertained to be very good brandy. In a sort of well or natural reservoir there was a plentiful supply of water, as clear as crystal. AN ETONIAN. 169 I comnxunicated this agreeable intelligence to my companions; and the coachman taking upon himself the offices of cook and butler, instantly proceeded to dress some of the flesh over the fire, which be was enabled to do artistically by the aid of a gridiron (for the rascals who owned the cave, it seemed, were luxurious); and making use of a flat piece of stone which stood handy, he served up supper to me and the beautiful Spaniard in a manner most respectful and agreeable to her feelings. At the same time he did not neglect himself, but did such substantial justice to the thieves' provender, that the meat, which consisted of half a lamb when we began, was lamentably reduced in its proportions, I observed, when we had finished. In the absence of dinner-knives and forks, the lady condescended to make use of the hack-knife which I always carried, assisted by the partial use of her fingers, which I observed were tapering and delicate, and belonging to a hand of surpassing whiteness. At my urgent entreaty, also, 170 confessions or she was preyailed on to drink a little brandy-and-water �very weak �for the purpose of restoring her strength and spirits. We were thus sociably engaged,, and she had just begun to relate her history, when it suddenly occurred to the coachman that the viands which he had been discussing with so much relish, belonged to a band of robbers, whose place of resort the cave doubtless was, and-�which was the most alarming consideration � who might be expected every moment to return and claim them ! " Mr. Leander," said he, putting down untasted the jug which contained a very liberal mixture of brandy with water, " if you will excuse me�but now that we have eat and drunk our fill, wouldn't it be best to be moving ? Eor if the gentlemen that these things belong to should happen to come back and catch us here, maybe they would take it amiss that we have eat up their hay and corn without leave ? " cc "Where can we go to ?" said I, not liking to move from the comfortable fire, and AN ETONIAN. 171 becoming from minute to minute more reconciled to my situation. " Ah ! that's the worst of it! But if we stay here, they have us safe, like badgers in a hole; and they may smoke us out if they like, without our being able to give a kick for ourselves.5' The senora, understanding the meaning of my man's words, exhibited much alarm at his suggestion, and regretted bitterly the being deprived of her guide, who might have aided us in the difficulty. Upon this, my old Mentor, with great shrewdness, remarked that as they had shut her up in the rock, perhaps they had shut her guide up too; that is, unless they had murdered him already. While we were still speaking we heard a noise beneath us as of one knocking and endeavouring to remove some hard and heavy substances. At first we feared that it was the robbers who had returned, and we prepared our weapons accordingly, determined to sell our lives clearly and to defend ourselves to the last. But the character of the knocking soon 172 CONCESSIONS OE convinced us that it was not occasioned by the enemies whom we feared, but rather by some single person; and it proceeded from some space below us�there could be no doubt of that. Struck with this, I took a lighted stick, and examined the natural stone-floor of the cave narrowly; and after close and repeated investigation, at last discovered an ingeniously contrived trap-door, also of stone, under the heap of fire-wood, the sight of which had alarmed us shortly after our entrance. Desiring my man to stand ready with his musket, after a little hesitation, I opened it, and, retiring backwards a step or two, waited for what would come next. A man's voice was now heard from below, who, speaking in Spanish, which the lady translated to me, called out from the depth : " How long do you mean to keep me here, savages as you are ? Do you mean to break through the most sacred law of the mountains, and put to death one of the Company of Guides ? Of the guides, I say, at whose mercy you all are, if my fellows were inclined to betray you ? AN ETONIAN. 173 Be sure that if you were to be so cruel and mad as to take away my life, my fellows would avenge nie, and would never rest until they had guided the soldiers to hunt you out in the mountains, and destroy you, every man. Be wise, then, I say, and let me depart in peace; and trust to me, as you may always trust to me and mine�that we will never betray, and never molest you, if you never molest us." I was silent as the Spanish lady rendered this speech to me in English, adding, when she had finished, that the voice sounded like the voice of her guide, Fernando. "Who are you?" said I, calling down the hole, " and what is your name ?" " Who am I, and what is my name ? You are mocking me to pretend not to know my name ! Not know Fernando, the Basque, who has travelled backwards and forwards over the Pyrenees these twenty years ? the son of old Philippe of the Bidassoa!" "Come up," said I, "Fernando, and 174 CONFESSIONS OF make haste; for we are much in want of your assistance, and we shall depend," added I, as I helped him through the trap-door, " much, very much, on your skill and fidelity." The guide was sadly benumbed with the cold, and exhausted from want of nourishment. The first thing that I attended to, therefore, was to make him eat and drink, and warm himself, explaining to him at the same time, as succinctly as possible., our present position, and the circumstances which had so happily brought me to the rescue of him and the Spanish lady. I approached the circumstance of the the death, as I feared it was, of his father Philippe, our old guide, as carefully as possible. But the announcement of the remorseless act of the Carnicero inspired him with a grief so violent, and with so fierce a fury, that it was fearful to hear and to behold him. But at last I succeeded in calming him a little, by representing that his honour as a guide was engaged to see the lady whom he had undertaken to conduct over the mountains AN ETONIAN. 175 safe to her place of destination beyond the Spanish frontier. Thus appealed to on a point of honour so sacred to all of his class, he agreed for the present to defer his plans of revenge, and to devote himself to the conducting of his charge, with ourselves*, to some place of safety for the present; but it was plain to perceive the inward emotions which shook him as he struggled to preserve his composure and to repress at once the outward exhibition of his inward grief and his not less bursting desire of revenge. But exerting a mastery over his passion, he busied himself immediately, with professional coolness, with preparations for our departure. He first inquired if our arms were in good order, and how many rounds we could fire. I replied, that we could depend on our weapons, and that we had about four-and-twenty rounds each. Then he directed us, without delay, to provide ourselves with as much of the provisions as we could conveniently carry, as we should want them on our route; at the 178 CONFESSIONS OE same time he drew out an exact list of what we had consumed, as well as of what we took away; stating in it that he would be personally responsible for their value, which he would pay on demand to that note. To this he signed his name punctiliously, and deposited it in a niche in the rock, where those who might be curious would find it. I offered to leave as much money in payment for the amount as he would prescribe ; but he said that his own way was the best, and that it was prudent to keep money out of view among the mountains as much as possible; and that I could settle with him about the matter at my leisure. He then went out to take a survey of the country adjacent, so far as could be observed at night, with the view of seeing if the coast was clear before we started; but returning quickly, he hurriedly informed us, to the infinite dismay of the Spanish lady, and to the alarm of myself also, that a party of men, who seemed familiar to the place, and not less than AN ETONIAN. 177 ten in number were approaching in a direct line to the entrance. I proposed that we should defend ourselves where we were; but he said that would be madness. Our only hope was, that they might make merely a temporary halt at the cave, and that we might escape after their departure. To this effect, he advised that we should all retire into the inner apartment; from which, if it came to the worst, he might be able to make terms for us; for if they were only contre-bandiers, or, if robbers, were at all reasonable, our lives might be secured by the payment of a ransom; but, above all, it was necessary to avoid a conflict and the shedding of blood. There was no time to argue the matter, for we already heard voices at the entrance. Hastily retiring, therefore, into the inner chamber, we swung round the stone on its pivot, and securing the inside with the bolt, to prevent a sudden assault, we awaited the issue in silence, and with all the fortitude we could summon up at such a time of peril. VOL. III. N 178 CONFESSIONS OP CHAPTER IX. Pent up, as we were, like victims waiting for slaughter, it was impossible for me not to be affected powerfully with the extreme hazard of our position. But since my deliverance of the beautiful Spaniard from her tomb, I felt that I had taken on myself a new responsibility ; and such is the influence of female beauty on us all, that I felt inspired with fresh courage.�Something also was due to the leg of lamb and the brandy. With an instinctive feeling, the poor girl crept up to me in the obscurity, and placing her arm in mine, seemed to say that there she rested her hope! That mute appeal went to my heart, and AN ETONIAN. 179 I felt a stronger desire to preserve her life even than my own. The inner cavern, in which we now were, we soon found was not entirely dark. The imperfect closing of the movable stone Avail left crevices round its sides, through which the strong glare of the wood fire penetrated, and our eyes presently becoming accustomed to its light, we were enabled to distinguish objects within. This was a help, and removed the effect of complete darkness which otherwise would have acted unfavourably on our spirits. It allowed us also to move about without jostling one another; but for the present we stood quite still, and preserved the most absolute silence. In the mean time the smugglers, or robbers, entered the outer cavern. " Ah!" said a voice, speaking loudly, and as if with authority, " some of our fellows have been making themselves comfortable here! But ,we have to thank them for a rousing fire�no bad welcome such a night as this ! " So saying, he thrust the couch back n 2 180 CONCESSIONS OP towards the wall behind which I was; standing, and I could distinctly hear it creak, as he threw his heavy form upon it. Sitting there, his words were plainly audible to us within. " By Saint lago, we have had a narrow escape! Those soldiers will soon make the mountains too hot to hold us, if we don't mind our manners. Thank the Virgin for the fall of snow that came so opportunely, and concealed our tracks! What have you done with old Philippe, the Bidassoa guide's mules, which we brought with us ?" " At the back of the rock, between it and the hill, where they are nicely sheltered from the wind and any prying eye at the same time." " Good!�Antonio, you are a careful and discreet young man; and if you study your profession with due diligence, and attend to your devotions, I prophecy, if it should please the Saint not to cut you off too early in your career, that you will rise to be a chief of the sons of Saint Mcholas," AN ETONIAN. 181 " Get up, Captain," said another voice, '" and let us go to our larder; for we are as sharp-set as hunters." " Hunters!�Hunted, you mean. Many a race have I had:; but never so hard a one as this. " Hunters, or hunted, it Vail one now; so let us have our supper, and make a rousing night of it." " Let the larder alone, Pedro; we shall want the provisions there another time; and we have plenty with us without them. Besides, I don't feel inclined to move." " Not go to the larder 1 "Why, this is a new freak! Do you mean to say we are to have no brandy ? " " Pedro, my friend, you are too sensual. It behoves us to-night to fast and pray, in token of the especial protection which has been vouchsafed to us by our patron Saint Nicholas." "Past and pray be-------; I say, brandy I'll have. This is coming captain over us too strong, my bravo. Come�get up and let me pass ? " 182 CONFESSIONS OF " No one shall pass this way, my gossip * to-night.�I have my reasons for it." " Reasons ! By Saint Nicholas, what reason can there be why we should not drink brandy I" "Let him alone, comrade," said another. " The Captain always has good reasons for what he does; don't you know that ? There is a woman in the ease." "A woman!" " Ah !�and a beauty too; young, fresh, and tempting. "We had only time to shut her up yesterday, when we were summoned to the expedition with the Car-nicer o." At the word " Carnicero" Pernando gave a start, and muttered something between his teeth. I laid my hand on his shoulder to keep him quiet. "Then if there?s a woman here," continued the pertinacious Pedro, "we must draw lots for her; that's smugglers' law all over the mountains." "Good Pedro," said the Captain, "moderate your impetuosity! You are too* AN ETONIAN. 183 sensual, my friend; and too prone to covet your neighbour's goods ;�a disposition of mind sinful and reprehensible, and to be expiated only by gifts to St. Nicholas, which it behoves you diligently to obtain from the first traveller who falls in your way." "None of your jeering at me, Captain; you are a bit too fond of that, and it may end in a mischief some day." "I jeer not, my son ; but I give you wholesome counsel and caution, as becomes the father of the troop whom our blessed Saint has called to take care of you. Go \ there are plenty of red and blue petticoats to be had for the asking� or the taking, for the matter of that, if they should be coy�without your breaking into my sheepfold, and taking my pet lamb for your supper !" " By St. Nicholas and St. Iago, I will not go! and I put it to the band whether the Captain is to usurp fresh privileges and make new laws for himself, without the consent of all our fellows ! I vote for brandy; and as for the woman, we will 184 CONFESSIONS OP draw lots for her, and whom the Saint favours, let him have her." There was a confusion of many voices at this, as if all were speaking together; and I could gather only detached words, which seemed to imply, however, that the band were of the contumacious Pedro's opinion. The Captain's voice now waxed loud, in tones of command, insisting on his privilege, and the voices of the men grew louder, still protesting against his assumptions. It seemed, at one time, that they would have come to blows; but suddenly the tumult became hushed. The Captain, I presume, felt that he was stretching his prerogative too far; and like more potent chiefs, Iiq was obliged to succumb to the democratic feeling. " It shall never be said," we heard him call out, " that your Captain, for his own behoof, allowed discord to creep in among Ms troops. Draw lots for the girl, if such is your will, and I will take ip.y chance with the rest." "Long live our Captain!" cried many voices. AN ETONIAN. 185 Eernando drew me aside towards the recess. " Lend me one of your pistols ? " " Have you no weapon ?" " None but my knife; but perhaps I may find one where you discovered their store of provisions. If we must fight, we will sell our lives dearly." I took him to the recess, which the smugglers called their larder; and he felt about for some weapon-�sword, or carabine, or bludgeon. The light which partially gleamed in our hiding-place did not penetrate so far as the nook at the back, and in spite of his caution, his searches made a noise among the utensils and bottles which alarmed us, lest the smugglers should hear it. Suddenly he made an exclamation, which increased our alarm; but at the same moment a cold gust of air apprised me that he had discovered some opening outwards which inspired us with an extraordinary sensation of hope. "Hist!" he whispered to me; "feel here." 186 CONFESSIONS OE I felt in the darkness; and ascertained that the opening through which the outward air came had a square aperture, large enough to admit the passage of a man. "Be quick," said he; "there is not a moment to lose; follow me!" Insinuating himself into the opening, he easily passed through,�being slim, though tall. I rapidly gave instructions to the coachman; as I intended to get out next, out of delicacy to the lady,�and as Mr. Thomas "Whippy was a man of a certain age and Beyond it, and was, or had been, a family man, I thought it proper to consign the service of helping the lady through the opening to his more fatherly manipulation. But there was no opportunity for me ta expatiate on such a subject at the time; the point was to get out as quick as we could. I made a little spring at the hole,, accordingly; and perilous as the occasion was, I could not help feeling a similarity in my evolution to that of the clown when he jumps through the moon in the pantomime�only this was no laughing matteiv AN ETONIAN. 187 There was a descent of five or six feet to a rough piece of rock, on which I alighted on my hands, and instantly drawing my feet after me and standing upright, I prepared for the reception of the lady. There was a little pause before she appeared, and she showed symptoms (as the coachman told me afterwards) of " jibbing,'' as he expressed it. Of the precise arguments he made use of, I am ignorant to this day,�I strongly suspect he took hold of her as he would haye done a truss of hay, and thrust her out; and considering that his own desire to accomplish the same feat was inexpressibly urgent, the gentle violence which he exercised at so critical a juncture must be considered not only pardonable, under the circumstances, but commendable. It was a very awkward affair for her5 poor thing, it must be allowed,�for I was a young man, and a stranger to her; and besides, there were other reasons for the shrinking sensitiveness which she displayed, which I was not aware of at the time. She put out her arms, and with- 188 CONFESSIONS OF drew them; and then extended and withdrew them again ; till, I suppose, the coachman got impatient,�for with a sort of jerk and a stifled scream she fell into my arms, and perforce was obliged to put her own round my neck; but when her cheek touched mine, she gave such a start that I almost lost hold of her, and was obliged to squeeze her the tighter. Altogether it was one of the most awkward affairs I was ever engaged in in my life; �not that it was unpleasant, but the contrary. After I had placed her safe on her feet, it required all my care to get her down the craggy pieces of rock to the ground. Then Pernando, seeing that she was out, moved forward, and we followed him; but surprised not to see the coachman at my heels, as I expected, I halted and looked back. As I did so, I thought I heard a sort of groan from the passage, and straining my eyes through the obscurity, I perceived a substance, similar to the head and body of a man, protruding through the opening. Then re- AN ETONIAN. 189 inembering that he had a ninsket to carry, which might embarrass him, I called to Fernando, in a loud whisper, to come to me. Hastily resigning the lady to his care for a moment, I went back, and re-ascending the rocks, repaired to the opening,�where, to my horror, I found the coachman stuck fast in the entry ! In truth, the worthy Thomas "Whippy, like all those accustomed to sedentary habits, was rather fat, as respectable coachmen should be>�a tendency which, in the present instance, had been encouraged by a liberal indulgence in the beef and ale which Englishmen (when they can get it) are wont nationally to delight in. This corpulent result of a contented mind and a good constitution had fostered a protuberance in that part of his person which corresponds with the equator on the terrestrial globe, and which, being composed, as everybody knows, of squeezable materials, had become jammed in the passage, 190 CONFESSIONS OF and he could neither " drive on nor back out." " Lord love ye, dear Master Leander," he whispered in a stifled voice, for his wind was partially stopped, "don't leave me ! For the love of Heaven, Master Leander, don't leave me ! I do think I hear the robbers breaking into the cave behind, and then they could stick a pitchfork into me as easy as into a truss of straw!" I immediately took his musket from him, to prevent accidents; then catching hold of his hands, I pulled at him to get him through,�but in vain. Terribly alarmed,�and with reason, for every moment of time was invaluable to us,� I made my way down the rocks, reached Fernando, explained to him in few words the difficulty, and returned with him to the assistance of our comrade. Fernando saw the strait he was in, and that nothing but strong measures could be effectual. While he took one arm, therefore, I took hold of the other, and AN ETONIAN. 191 then uniting our strength, although he vehemently protested all the while that he couldn't bear it, we dragged him through. Whatever damage he might have sustained, he did not stop to examine it, but scrambling down the rocks as if all the robbers were at his heels, he rolled over on the ground. " If ever you catch me in such a crib as that any more," be muttered, as soon as he recovered his breath, " may I never sit on a coach-box again! I felt for all the world like a rat squeejfing out of a hole in a corn-bin with a tarrier after him. I'd rather be a waterman and clean hackney-coaches . . . " " Hush ! " said Fernando ; " our next point is to get possession of the mules." We found them where the bandit had described, with their saddles and bridles on them. " Mount quickly," said Fernando; " we shall have to ride for our lives, for the smugglers will never spare any one who has discovered the secrets of their cave. 192 CONFESSIONS OP Of course, Senor, you will take care of the lady ? " "Of course," said I, with alacrity; " but will this poor beast carry double ?" " Never fear, Sefior; he will carry you both as far as we want to go�-and for that matter he inust�-for our only chance is to put four legs against the two which will soon be after us; but the breaking into their own cave will bother them for some time, fortunately, so that we have the start." The Spaniard, who had passively resigned herself to my care, had now been placed behind me by the coachman, who then mounted the third mule, to his infinite satisfaction; for, as he said, he was "not a dab at walking, and of as little use that way almost as an old coach-horse." And now, Fernando leading, with myself following in his mule's footsteps, with my charge firmly embracing me round the waist, in order to hold on, (which, contrary to my expectation, I felt AN .ETONIAN. 198 anything but an incumbrance), and the coachman bringing up the rear, we proceeded as rapidly as the difficulty of the way and the gloom would permit, to place as great a distance as possible between us and the robbers. VOL. III. 0 194 C0NEESSI0NS OF CHAPTER X. Wib continued our way for a considerable distance without speaking; more than two hours had passed, when Fernando pulled up to look about him. The day was now breaking. " Are you in doubt about the road?55 I asked. " Not in doubt about the road, but a little in doubt whether I shall venture by a way which is easier for the mules,� but.. . " ' "But what?55 cc You see that wood on our right; the trees stand thick, but they are not so thick as they seem, and it is easy to pass between them, and the ground is more level, but it has an ugly name ..." AN ETONIAN. 195 " On account of robbers ?" "No�wolves.55 " But it is daylight now ? 55 "They are not always particular about that.55 "There is less danger in encountering wolves than robbers,55 said the Spanish lady; "let us go through the wood! " " The Senora is right; besides, if they should trace us thus far, they will not suspect that we have dared the 'wolves5 forest,5 as they call it ; and the snow, which has begun to fall the last half-hour, will cover our tracks for some distance back. You see, Senor, that the snow of which you were complaining is sometimes the traveller's best friend.55 " Go on, then,55 said I ; " better the wolves than the robbers !55 "We soon plunged into the wood ; which, from the thickness of the trees, again involved us in a gloom resembling th&t of night, but our guide ambled steadily on, threading the trees, and taking the easiest paths, as it seemed, instinctively. We had arrived at about the centre of o 2 196 CONFESSIONS OP it, when suddenly he stopped, and pointed to some marks on the ground. " "Wolves3 tracks." " And in numbers," said I, regarding them rather anxiously. " Yes, Senor, they swarm here sometimes when the weather has been very severe for a long time, as it has been this winter. One would think that all the wolves of the Pyrenees made it their general place of rendezvous. Tou may tell by the snuffling of the mules that they have scented them. Nothing like a,horse or a mule to give you notice of a wolf's neighbourhood," The mules now became more agitated, and Fernando again examined the tracks with attention, and looked about him. The coachman, who saw there was something amiss, but could not tell what, as my conversation with Fernando was conducted in French, although the marks in the snow made him suspect it, now besought me to tell him what was the matter. I explained to him what our guide had said about the wolves, at which AH ETONIAN. 197 he pulled a very long face. But being on horseback, and feeling the confidence which that position professionally gave him, his courage presently returned, and he examined the priming of his musket, and felt in his pockets to see that his cartridges were ready to his hand. I was aware of a certain tremulous-ness that seized the Spanish lady as our guide spoke of our new danger, but she did not lose heart. I addressed a few words to her, with the desire to soothe her spirits, and to reassure her, saying that I was confident we should be able to protect her. " I do not doubt your courage nor your good-will, Sen or, "she said, "but my trust is in Heaven! The same Power who has delivered us from the robbers will protect us also from the wolves ; and at the worst," she added, with a shudder, which I felt vibrate through her whole frame, " better savage wolves than still more savage men ! "' The words of the beautiful Spaniard inspired me with fresh resolution; and 198 CONFESSIONS OF as our mules had now recovered theni-selves a little by our halt, I urged Fernando to push forward. He hesitated for a few moments, looking behind him and before him, as if balancing the risk. Thus making up his mind with the coolness and decision of a practised mountaineer, he put his mule in motion, and we followed. In this way we proceeded a short distance farther, when the mules simultaneously stopped of themselves. They snorted ; trembled ; and showed symptoms of violent agitation. Their master tried to urge them on, but they refused to move �or could not. "If we could only get half a mile farther!" said Fernando; "it's the beasts that are drawmg the wolves on. If we could only get one little half mile further!" He patted his mules; spoke to them; called them by all sorts of endearing names; soothed them; and tried to encourage them. The poor things seemed sensible to the well-known sounds of their master's voice,�but in spite of all AN ETONIAN. 199 his endeavours they remained with their legs rooted to the ground, as if transfixed with fear. Cold and keen as was the air of the mountains, they broke out into a profuse sweat; and they moaned strangely and piteously. " We must prepare for a struggle," said Fernando,�at the same time he dismounted quickly, in order to seize a broken branch of a tree which formed a thick club. Matters now looked serious. Our guide was anxious, but cool; the coachman turned rather pale, and handled his musket with a nervous agitation. I got my pistols ready; the Spanish lady murmured some words in her own language, which I guessed to be a prayer. Suddenly Fernando5 s mule, whom he had continued to coax and flatter, made a step or two in advance; this motion seemed to break the spell which bound the other two, and all three moved forward again. We did not give them time to change their minds, but urging them on they presently broke into their cus- 200 CONCESSIONS OP ternary amble, and in a short time we arrived at a spot where many trees had been felled and formed into a barricade.. Our guide leading the way entered within it, and immediately throwing himself from his mule, and motioning me and my man to do. the same, we commenced piling up the logs of wood at the entrance;. and we were just in time, for we now heard a howling, which the quicker ears of the guide had caught before, and which told us that the wolves were coming on us, The entrenched retreat in which we now found ourselves was an oblong space, about twelve feet by twenty, with three sides barricaded with trunks of trees to above double the height of a man, and the other side not above six feet, as if those who some time before had defended themselves there had not had time to complete* it.. "Within the space were logs of trees of all sizes lying about, with which it instantly struck me, if we had time, we might form an interior line of defence.. The same thought presented itself to> the guide�for,,without a moment's, AN ETONIAN. 201 delay, he led the mules to one of the shorter sides of the enclosure, and then urging us to be brisk, we began to haul the logs across so as to form a second barrier, the narrowed dimensions of which would render our small number more efficient against the expected attack. In the meantime the howling of the wolves, which was noW increased as if the brutes were encouraging one another to the attack, while it increased our fears stimulated our exertions; and we worked with such good will, that in a very short space of time we found ourselves in a fair posture of defence, if our assailants should not be too bold, and in numbers too great to be repelled. As I was a better shot than the coachman, as he said, he gave his musket to me, and the guide taking one pistol and Tom the other, we prepared for the assault, which Fernando told us would quickly be made. He was right. I could see through the trunks of trees opposite a pack of six or seven coming on swiftly and in silence. 202 CONEESSIONS OE When they arrived at the barricade they paused. Presently one bolder than the rest making a leap, scrambled over the topmost tree; then another came; and quickly afterwards the rest. I was about to fire, but Fernando putting his hand on my arm, said: " Wait; this is not the time." I was glad to see he was quite cool; and his courage reassured me, for I was a little tremulous and hurried. The brutes now stood still for a brief space, eying us � as if calculating our strength, and selecting the best point of attack. Then, simultaneously, they rushed on. 66 Eire at that one," said Fernando, pointing to his right. I fired, and he fell dead as a stone. " A good shot," said he, selecting another, which he wounded; the coachman fired his pistol at the same time, and wounded one too. At this the rest turned tail and leaped over the fence quicker than they came, the wounded ones limping AN ETONIAN. 203 after; these latter boggled for a while at the fence/ but they contrived to scramble oyer, and with their fellows disappeared. " What next P" said I. " They will not come on again, for some time at least/' said the guide; " and perhaps not at all while the daylight lasts." " Then we may continue our journey ? " But this the experienced mountaineer said would be rash in the extreme, and indeed too imprudent to be attempted. He explained to me that it was the nature of the animal not to make a second attack at the same place in the daytime when once repulsed; but that if we ventured beyond our fortification, the sight of our mules would excite them, and they would be sure to set on us, reinforced most likely by others; and that our only chance of ultimate safety was to beat them off at night, after which, when daylight appeared, we might resume our journey in comparative safety, as it was the nature of the creatures to flee from the spot where they had suffered damage, and to which they would not return until they had forgotten it, or 204 CONFESSIONS OF the stimulus of hunger again incited them to a fresh incursion. This was but slender comfort; but I had confidence in our guide's experience; and as there was no help for it, we were obliged to make the best of the matter, and prepare for the night's entertainment. Fernando waited for about half an hour; and then seeing that no fresh attack was made, he directed us to sally out, and take advantage of the daylight, for the darkness would come on quicker in the wood than in the more open country; and we had enough to do. But first, he advised us to take advantage of the time and recruit ourselves with the provisions which we had brought from the robbers' cave, as we should have occasion for all our strength; but he bid us drink little of the brandy, as that prevented watchfulness. After we had recruited our spirits,�not forgetting the lady, for whose sake we regretted the want of water, but we could get none where we were, and the snow being a poor substitute,�we set ourselves lustily to work. A1ST ETONIAN. 205 Acting under the guide's directions, we first heaped up abundance of fuel, and there was plenty about, so as to make a line of dead stuflF in front of us nearly from side to side ready to be lighted; reserving such pieces as our guide said would be wanted for another task. "We took care also to carry within our inclosure as much of the dead wood as we had time to collect, to keep up the fire in front of us the whole of the night. This being done to our mind, we turned our attention to the comfort of the lady. To this end the ready Fernando constructed at one corner of our inner rampart a sort of extempore hut, formed of the boughs and logs of wood which he had reserved for that purpose, and into which we built her; putting logs also over the top, so as to secure her as well as possible that way. When this was completed, I had the satisfaction to see that she was inclosed in a strong place of refuge, and that, at any rate, whatever might be our own fate, she was so far safe. This conviction made us all feel more easy, and it 206 CONFESSIONS OE had the effect of making us more cool and self-collected when the struggle took place. All this work consumed a good deal of time, and the darkness came on apace; and with the darkness came on the renewed howling of the wolves, but at some distance, which made me guess the rascals were assembling their forces, and waiting for the dark to attack us at a disadvantage. Their howlings, however, warned our guide that the proper time had come to set fire to our exterior line of wood, which he did accordingly. For some minutes the wood, being moist on the outside from the snow, burned but slowly, but in a short time it blazed up brightly, and while it cheered us with its warmth, its light also served to discover to us the approach of our enemies. Fernando told us, that on the side of the fire we might consider ourselves pretty safe, if we could contrive to keep it up; that the attack of the wolves would be made principally at the point where our mules were; and although our fortification on that side was about twelve feet high, AN ETONIAN. 207 that we could by no means consider ourselves secure, as our active enemies could take advantage of the inequalities of the logs to scale it; but that�so long as our ammunition lasted�we might hope to beat them off. A lighted fire-stick also, he said, would sometimes scare them. He had scarcely ended his instructions before the wolves appeared, and, as he had predicted, on the side where the mules stood. The poor creatures evinced their consciousness of the danger by the same snortings and tremblings which had seized them before; but they stood quiet. Fernando had placed them with their faces towards us, and the retreat in which the Spanish lady was placed, so that their heels were turned towards their enemies, there being a space between them and the rampart of a few feet. We took up our own post between the two extremities. The battle now began. The wolves, as before, rushed up in silence to within a few feet of the rampart; then paused, and surveyed us. Then one large one, which seemed to be the leader of the gang, made 208 CONFESSIONS OP repeated leaps at the top of the logs, and as often tumbled back again, the others waiting to see the result of their leader's attempts before commencing operations themselyes. All this we could see clearly by the blaze of our fire, which gave us a glorious light and at the same time inspired us with a feeling of security on that side, which allowed us to give our whole attention to the attack on the mules. Again the old wolf resumed his attempts to climb over the logs, and this time he was accompanied by others, and again they were baffled. But they were not so easily to be put off from their prey; and their experience of the difficulty which they had to surmount teaching them better how to go about it, one of them, climbing more leisurely and carefully, contrived to get on the top, and was about to spring down on the mules, when Fernando, who had previously instructed me not to expend my charge before I had the whole body of the animal well in view, and in a favourable position for taking aim, gave me the word to fire. AN ETONIAN. 209 I fired-�and this time also was as successful as at their day attack, and the brute fell dead on the outside. But almost at the same moment two others also had surmounted the barricade. Eernando and the coachman firing together, wounded them both; one of them severely, and he fell on the outside; the other one slightly only, but he fell within. But the mules now acted as powerful auxiliaries; the wolf, wounded though he was, made a spring at the back of the centre one; but the mule received him with such a desperate kick of his heels, that he knocked the wolf over against the logs. It quickly contrived to disengage itself, however, and gliding under the mules' bellies, came on towards us, bleeding, but still determined and savage. But Eernando was ready; and with his club he bestowed on it so powerful a blow5 hitting it on its loins�the most vulnerable part of the creature�that he stopped it, and repeating his blows, so far disabled it that it was unable to move; then put- VOL. III. F 210 CONFESSIONS OE ting his pistol to its head, he "finished! him." In the meantime I was not idle. More wolves were clambering over; and as fast as I fired and killed one, another supplied his place,�and the deaths of their companions only seemed to render the remainder more ferocious. As they huddled themselves together in a heap oiitside, in their eagerness each to get up first, Fernando seeing that the opportunity was favourable, jumped over our inner barricade, and seizing a blazing fragment from the fire, hurled it over the fence, on to the mob. The suddenness of the act, the shower of sparks which the burning wood threw out wheil it fell, and the singeing of some of their coats besides, so startled and scared them, that with one accord they turned tail, and disappeared in the wood. This gave us the opportunity to heap more fuel on our fire in front, and to say a few words of comfort to the lady. She informed us that one or two of the animals had been smelling at her from the outside, AN ETONIAN". 211 but they had not made any attenupt to break in, being allured to the other side by the superior attraction of the mules. The composure, the self-possession, and the reliance on Providence of that noble girl, had an extraordinary effect on me; and it would have been a shame indeed to my manhood, I thought, if I blenched, when one of the gentler sex exhibited such an example of coolness and courage. We had time only to take a cup of brandy each, when our enemies were on us again; but this time in another quarter. We were looking out for them on the side of the mules, when we were suddenly startled by a cry from the lady's retreat, and hastily turning our eyes that way, we beheld an immense brute on the top of the logs which we had placed to secure her from above, and which was furiously working away with his feet to make an opening for himself to get at the morsel inside. At the same time Fernando called out that the wolves wem on us again, on the side of the mules. I was just on the point of firing at the p 2 212 CONFESSIONS OE one on the top of the platform of logs on my right, when I saw it disappear through the opening it had contrived to make. I was in a terrible alarm for the beautiful girl now exposed, without defence, to the wolf's attack. But, fortunately, the creature's hind legs got entangled or jammed for a few seconds between the boughs and logs which formed the covering, and this gave me time to tear down a part of her fortress, and to bear her out in my arms �-for she was so appalled at the sight of the wolf coming through, struggling with its head downwards, its fore-paws sprawling out, and its mouth wide open, that she could not move from terror. I had no sooner released her from the impending assault of the ferocious brute, than it became necessary for me to summon up all my coolness to repel the enemy which had now established himself within our camp. Guessing that the animal would make a dash out through the opening which I had been obliged to make to rescue the lady, I fell instantly on one knee before it, with my musket pointed, AN ETONIAN, 213 and my finger on the trigger. As I expected, the moment the wolf found itself on its feet, it turned to the opening, and made a spring at me ; but I was prepared; and as the forepart of his body was elevated in the act of jumping, and the under and most vulnerable part exposed, I had nothing to do but to fire, and shoot it through and through. But the shot did not kill the creature; and I may observe, by the way, that of almost all wild animals, those brutes of wolves are the most difficult to be killed; you may shoot them through the body, and batter them aboiit the skull, and still the brutes will fight, and bite, and run too. I hammered the present one on the head till I feared I should break the musket, but I could not get the life out of him; but as he was disabled, I got hold of his tail and pulled him into a corner, and giving him another whack, left him there. Fernando and the coachman, in the mean time, were hotly engaged on their own parts, and Fernando directed him to get a brand from the fire and do as he had 214 CONFESSIONS OE done before, that is, cast it oyer the fence among the pack on the outside. The coachman got oyer the fence from the inside without much difficulty, notwithstanding that his person was by no means fitted for such feats of activity, and advancing to the fire, pulled out the first blazing faggot he could find handy, which happened to be the one at the corner, between which and the longer side of our entrenchment was a space to prevent the fire from communicating with the woodwork. This undefended gap afforded the opportunity to one of our assailants, either more bold or more subtle than the rest, to turn our flank in that direction; and as the coachman turned round with the blazing faggot projecting forward in his hand, the insidious enemy made an attack on his rear. Happily for the worthy coachman, the teeth of his foe first encountered his ample coat-tails, at which he gave so vigorous a pull, however, that the wolf almost brought his intended prey backwards to the ground. AN ETONIAN. 215 Poor Tom being thus unexpectedly assailed, set up a ery louder than all the howling of the entire pack:! and whether it was that the wolf was frightened at his voice, or that he had no mind to sup on broad-cloth, he let go his hold of the coat, and Tom, turning his head, beheld him rushing on him again with his mouth distended to an extraordinary width, � a greediness on the part of the marauder, whose sensuality had been highly excited by the flatness and plumpness of the gentleman whom he had selected to make a meal of, which caused his ruin; for Tom in his terror, having no other weapon, and gathering courage from despair, stopped short, and suddenly shifting his arm, rammed the glowing faggot clown his enemy's throat. This unusual mouthful so astonished the wolf, that he stopped short in his career, and began to shake 'his head in a very confused manner, which gave Tom the opportunity gently to shoot him through the fore part of liis body, and tthen seizing him by the hind legs, he 216 CONFESSIONS OP swung him onto the fire, where the brute's howlings were of the most expressive character. It seemed that the others understood the language of their fellow's distress, for suddenly they all went off, and Ave had time to breathe again. Taking advantage of the pause, Fernando immediately directed us to replenish the fire in front, at the same time that he cast some lighted faggots over the fence, sending after them as much of the dead wood as he could lay his hands on, and directing us to do the same. Then seeing that some risk must be run, he got over the fence and heaped up the dead wood over the lighted faggots, so as to make a good blaze, and to check the advance of the enemy on the mules' side. Whether that plan was effectual, or the wolves were tired of us, I cannot say;�I am inclined to think the latter; but we saw no more of them. But we were obliged to be on our guard; and a weary night it was, for I was exhausted from want of sleep. Fernando wished the Spanish lady to return to her retreat, but AN ETONIAN. 217 she had conceived a horror of it; besides the body of the dead wolf�if it was dead �sickened her, and she preferred to re^ main in the open air with us. And certainly, her presence served to cheer and to animate us; and as she stood, pale, pensive, with folded arms, and with her eyes frequently turned up towards heaven, as if in earnest prayer, she looked like the queen of night, so commanding did she appear in her majestic and lustrous beauty. At last daylight appeared; and most sincerely did we bless the light of the sun that morning ! Our guide now desired us to prepare to move, as he did not apprehend any further clanger from the wolves �at least from those who already had smelled our gunpowder. We were soon ready. The Spanish lady was again mounted behind me, and we quitted our stronghold, fatigued and anxious to be sure, but with much lighter hearts than we had entered it; and although our poor mules were not in good condition for work, they seemed as anxious to get out 218 CONFESSIONS OF of the wood as ourselves, and we made pretty good way for several hours. Our mules now showed symptoms of exhaustion,�-but we were safe out of the wood, and that was a matter of great rejoicing with us; and after a little rest and coaxing, the hardy beasts, with that patience and endurance of hunger and fatigue which characterises their race so remarkably, still kept up, and our guide, leading us through passes known to him, and seldom traversed by ordinary travellers, at last, just before night-fall, we arrived at the high road. The mules were now completely knocked up; and I observed that the strength of my charge, who sat behind, began to fail. Fortunately there was a small road-side inn which we saw not far off, to which we bent our steps on foot, for the mules could not carry us any farther; however, we contrived to get them to the inn. I immediately advised the Spanish lady to retire to a spare room, in which there was a fire, and go to bed,�which she did. The hostess, after we had briefly informed her AN ETONIAN. 219 of our adventures, was prodigal of her kindness to the beautiful Spaniard, and cooked up for her some warm mess, which she declared was a sovereign remedy in such cases. For my own part, I longed to hear her history; and I wanted also to have some explanations from Fernando, with whom I had no opportunity of conversing on my own affairs; and I was altogether vexed, and perplexed, and undecided how to act. "Was I to go on to Madrid, or back to Bayonne ? What had become of Lavinia ? As I revolved these thoughts in a huge old-fashioned arm-chair by the fire, my ideas grew more and more confused; the images of Lavinia and the Spanish lady became blended together in a dim and mysterious way; the remembrance of the robbers and the wolves, and of the dangers we had run, grew less and less intelligible. The last thing that I remember was an indistinct idea of the coachman bein^ stretched on the floor, and snoring loudly; and then, I suppose, I fell asleep, for I remembered and heard no more. 220 CONFESSIONS OE CHAPTER XI. When I awoke, I found Fernando sitting by my side, with a huge slice of bread in his hand, flavoured by an onion of an uncommon size, which he seemed to be discussing with considerable relish. The coachman, also, was sitting by a small table, with the remains of some sort of fowl before him, and with a glass vessel in the shape of a tumbler, but of prodigious dimensions, in both hands, and which contained a red liquid, which I guessed to be wine. At first I coiild not readily make out where I was, or what I was doing. It was in the evening when I sat down in the arm-chair; now it was daylight. I looked at my watch, but I had neglected to wind AN ETONIAN. 221 it up. Is it possible, thought I, that I have slept since last evening until this hour without waking ! But so it was ; I had made but one nap of it. "Whether this is what is called " enjoying your sleep," I leave for others to say. The appearance of my two friends thus satisfactorily engaged made me feel comfortable myself; and in truth the view was much more pleasing than either the cave of the robbers or the muzzles of the wolves; and as eating and drinking has a sympathetic influence, I began to feel inclined that way myself. But I first made inquiries after the health and condition of the Spanish lady, and was glad to hear that she had been refreshed by sleep, and was up, and eager to continue her journey into France, near the frontier of which we now were. The intimation of this desire on her part made me the more anxious to learn some important particulars from Fernando necessary for my own guidance. However, I considered that, at all events, it would not be 222 CONCESSIONS OP kind nor honourable for me to relinquish my care of the beautiful Spaniard before I had conveyed her safely to her place of destination in Prance�or, at the least, until I had seen her securely established at some hotel of repute within the Trench frontier. But I could not satisfactorily make up my mind what to clo exactly in the matter; and I addressed myself, therefore, to Pernando, for the information which would enable me to decide. But before he could speak of anything else, he hastened to communicate to me the joyful tidings that his father Philippe's wound was not mortal; that the soldiers had come up with the robbers at the moment almost when the travellers whom they had attacked (me and the coachman) had retreated; that they found the three robbers dead, and his father severely wounded, but still alive; and that they had caused him to be immediately conveyed to his own house near the banks of the Bidassoa; and that the last accounts of him were very favourable. AN ETONIAN. 223 Having expressed my great satisfaction at this good news, I pressed him to reply to my inquiries. He informed file first of that which I knewbefbre,�-that a Monsieur " Bunk" had engaged Mm, under circumstances of pressing haste, to act as his guide and courier through the Pyrenees; and that he had been accompanied by two ladies and a sailor-officer, whose names had been registered in his book at home, according to his custom. It was intended at first that the whole party should cross the Pyrenees; but the reports which were abroad of the unusual quantity of snow on the mountains, as well as of the appearance of the wolves, had frightened the elder of the two ladies; and it was arranged, therefore, that they should remain behind, under the care of the officer, until the passes should be favourable for travelling. I asked him where they were to remain; and he replied, he believed at Bayonne, but he was not sure. Having seen the English traveller safely 224 CONFESSIONS OF over the mountains, he was waiting, he said, at the inn where he had parted from him, when a lady, mounted on a mule, and attended by a peasant, entered the yard. Having dismounted, she dismissed the peasant; who forthwith returned with his mule to his own habitation. The lady, whom they now perceived was young, and with a noble air, then entered the inn, and inquired eagerly if they could assist her with some means of conveyance, and with a guide over the Pyrenees into France. Fernando immediately offered himself; and as his character for ability and integrity was well known at the inn, and he wTas provided with abundance of testimonials besides, she accepted him at once; and after a short rest, they set out on their way. Since Fernando's journey from the French frontier, however, much snow had fallen; and from the accounts which he received as he went on, he became convinced that to pass by the usual route was impossible. But as the Spanish lady evinced the greatest anxiety to arrive in AN ETONIAN, 225 France,�entreating him not to delay the passing of the mountains, and, under any circumstances, not to stop where they were�he had determined to take her by passages known to him, which, although circuitous and much longer, he expected to find more easy, and, at any rate, such as would be possible to be traversed. lie was the more induced to make this venture, he said, as the Senora had more than once exhibited great alarm when they were overtaken by travellers who rode faster than themselves, and that she was constantly scrutinising the road behind them, as if in fear of being pursued. He cautioned her, that the route by which he proposed to take her would expose her to great fatigue; and that she could count on no other resting-places than shepherds' or goatherds' deserted huts; and that even those would be few and far between; but all such inconveniences, she said, she was willing to bear, and, indeed, to brave any danger rather than delay her journey. VOL. III. Q 226 CONFESSIONS OE "All this," said Fernando, "made me suspect that the Seiiora was some young lady who had escaped from a convent, most likely, and that she was engaged in some love affair; and you know, Senor, when that is the case, the party possessed with the passion will run any risk in the pursuit of it.55 "Yes," said I, " I do.'5 " Ah ! I have felt so myself!" exclaimed the Basque, " twenty years ago I But when a man has been married twenty years, Senor, he comes to view the matter in a different light." " I have been told so," said I. " It is so, Senor, depend iipon it." " You have been married twenty years," said I; " why how old are you now ?" "Forty-two, Senor; and I have been married now four-and-twenty years." " Four-ancl-twenty years !" "We marry young under the mountains." " And you have been happy, doubtless, in that blissful union ?" "Well�Senor, I must not complain AN ETONIAN. 227 more than another; it is sometimes rain and sometimes sunshine." "Your profession, I remarked, must keep you in a painful state of suspense very frequently; the one fearing for the other dear one's safety, and the absent for his anxious wife whom he has left behind!" " Well, Sefior, I am happy when I return, and I am happy when I go away again. And if either should lose the other, we must submit to Providence.55 " And get another, I suppose ?" " Another ! Mon Dieu, Sen or ! in your country do people marry twice ! " " Marry twice ! What do you mean ?" � Why, I mean, when one of the married folks dies, does the other marry again ?" " Widows," I replied, " do so frequently; but widowers very seldom," " Ah ! I see; then it's like the measles, or the scarlet-fever, or any other disease; when you have had it once, you don't catch it again?" " Proceed," said I, " with your account 228 CONCESSIONS OE of your adventures with the Spanish lady." He then narrated to me how they had encountered a party of freebooters, who seized the lady and the mules ; and on his uttering some threats which gave them umbrage, they seized him too, although it was very seldom that they meddled with a guide. "While they were on their way, they were met by a smuggler, who communicated something to their captors privately, upon which they made all haste to the robber's ��pre, where I had found them, and shutting the lady tip in the inner cavern, and confining him in a vault below, he presumed they went away; for he had neither seen nor heard of them since, until he recognised the voice of the one they called the Captain, while we were hid in the inner cavern shortly previous to our escape. Fernando's information respecting La-vinia at once decided me. There was now no motive for my continuing my journey to Madrid; and I was as desirous of returning to Bayonne as I had before been AN ETONIAN. 229 eager to leave it. The Senora's desire to continue our route into Erance being as strong as mine, we set out without delay in the same fashion as before; but on meeting with & sort of open carriage drawn by two horses, she proposed that we should take advantage of it, as �he was fatigued with her position�dinging behind me on the same mule. "We exchanged our mule for the carriage accordingly, and in that conveyance shortly,arrived on the Spanish side of the Bidassoa. Here our trusty Fernando had the happiness to find his staunch old father in a fair way of recovery ; and after having rewarded them both with English liberality, the Senora also pressing Fernando to accept a valuable jewel, which lie refused, we hastened on, attended by the faithful coachman, who rode on horseback behind us, has round red face growing rounder and redder every mile as we advanced in a homeward direction. There was sme difficulty at first will respect to the Spanish lady, on aecowrt of her not being provided with a passport; 230 CONFESSIONS OF but on explaining our adventure with the robbers, who I took upon myself to declare had deprived her of that document, and my story being corroborated by our guide Fernando^ who was, of course, well known to the authorities, they allowed us to pass through; being very particular, however, in recording our names and occupations ; and it was then that I learnt that the Senora's name was " Isabella Velasco," proceeding, as she declared, to join her friends at Paris. We continued our journey in this way until we arrived within three miles of the town of Bayonne. I had already begun to feel the awkwardness of travelling in this intimate sort of way with a beautiful young girl, who was neither my wife nor my sister; and now that danger and its concomitant excitement was over, I perceived that she shared my embarrassment in that respect; for she frequently shrunk back with a feeling of shyness and shame when a chance passenger looked at her earnestly�an observation which her extreme beauty was calculated to attract. AN ETONIAN. 231 She often complained, also, that our horses went too slow; and she frequently looked back, as Fernando had told me she had done with him, as if she feared that some one was in pursuit of her. The reason of this I was curious to know, but I forbore to question her about it. "We had arrived at this point, and I was considering in my mind how fortunate it would be if Lavinia, with her aunt and Lieutenant Montague, should be at Bayonne, as it would enable me to place my charge under female protection, when, raising up my eyes, I beheld, to my extreme surprise, the very Lieutenant Montague of whom I was thinking, walking leisurely on the side of the road, and advancing towards us. The Senora was looking another way at the moment, but the Lieutenant, who had an eye like a hawk, no sooner caught sight of us, than he stood as if transfixed, staring at us with a countenance on which was visible the most extraordinary emotion! As the expression 232 CONFESSIONS OF which it exhibited was one by no means favourable to myself, and wishing not to have any communion with hini in such a temper, I drew the leather curtains of our chaise hastily down before us, and directed our driver to proceed; The Lieutenant was, indeed, so confounded with the unaccountable sight which so suddenly met his view, and so overcome with astonishment, rage, and the ten thousand other emotions which assailed him, that, for nearly a minute, he was not able to move from the spot, nor to give utterance to a sound ! But presently recovering himself, and before we had got more than a couple of hundred yards from the place where he had met us, he set off furiously after our carriage. I saw this movement as I happened to look behind, and being desirous to avoid any personal altercation with him until I had deposited my charge in some house and family where she might consider herself comfortable and pro- AN ETONIAN. 233 tected, I directed the driver to quicken his pace. The Senora catching alarm at this, looked instinctively behind her, and seeing a man pursuing us with all the speed he could, and still in terror lest she should be overtaken so near the Spanish frontier, added her commands and entreaties to the man to urge on his horses as fast as he possibly could, and promising him any reward if he would make his horses gallop on with all their might! Thus adjured by the gentleman and the lady, and the promise of the reward stimulating his zeal, he lashed on his horses without stint, and performed the rest of our journey at full gallop till he arrived at the gates of the town. There the confounded passport again detained us; however, we got through the gate at last, and having * inquired the name of the principal hotel in the town, I directed the postilion to drive to it. At the door another surprise awaited me. A travelling carriage, which, from 234 CONFESSIONS OF its appointments, was evidently English, stopped the way. When it made room for us to draw up to the door, the first person I met was my old schoolfellow Linden�I beg his pardon�Lord Brocas, who instantly seized hold of me. "I say, old fellow, where are you rushing to in such a devil of a hurry ..." But at the same moment I perceived Lavinia at a window of the first-floor, whose curiosity had been excited by the arrival of an English carriage. She saw me as I lifted my beautiful companion out of the chaise, and I observed that changing countenance, and clasping her hands in surprise, she instantly retired. Shaking my companion by the hand, and without heeding the repeated exclamations of my old schoolfellow at my extraordinary haste, I rushed up the staircase and burst into a room, where I found Lavinia with her aunt, and Miss Montague with her mother. I had heard a voice on the stairs after me, crying out, "Where is he? where AN ETONIAN, 235 is he ?" and I had hardly entered the room when the Lieutenant burst in after me with loud and angry exclamations ! The moment he appeared, the beautiful Spaniard uttered a piercing shriek, and murmuring some unintelligible words in her own language, fainted in my arms ! "Infernal scoundrel!" the Lieutenant cried out in a transport of rage, " what are you doing with that young lady?" At the same time he advanced, as if with the intention of tearing her from me. " This young lady," said I, provoked at the Lieutenant's extraordinary interference, " has placed herself under my protection, and neither you nor any other man under heaven shall touch her, or come near her while I have life to guard her!" Lavinia no sooner heard this speech than she uttered a loud scream, and falling from her chair was caught by her aunt, in w^hose arms she remained in a dead faint, without sense or motion. At this moment Lord Brocas hastily 236 CONFESSIONS OP entered the room, and at sight of him Miss Montague gave a start of surprise and a little scream, and threw herself into the arms of her mother. This succession of cries reaching the ears of the master and mistress of the hotel, they ran up stairs as fast as they could to see what was the matter, followed by chambermaids and waiters; and two gens d'armes, who were lounging at the entrance below, hearing the tumult, and thinking that something was amiss which called for their presence, tramped up the stairs and advanced to the withinside of the door, where they assumed a position ready for attack or defence, as the case might require. " Infamous villain!" repeated the Lieutenant, addressing that compliment to me; " by what infernal arts have you seduced that poor girl from her place of refuge to follow you as your companion ?" "I seduced her!55 exclaimed I; " let me explain; it was she. .. . " " I want no explanation, Mr. Oastleton; the fact explains itself too well! But AN ETONIAN. 237 you shall give me satisfaction for this infamy!'5 " Oh, Leander I Leander !" exclaimed Lavinia, who had now sufficiently recovered herself to hear what was going forward. 55Oh! the villain!5' exclaimed Miss McDragon. " I always told you what he was! The vile seducer ! " " You are all mad!" said I, still holding the Spanish girl on my arm, and with the other keeping off the enraged Lieutenant ; " you are all mad! Hear me; we have been attacked by robbers ..." " Robbers !" exclaimed the aunt; " you are the robber!" At these words, both the gens d'armes looked at me, the one doubtingiy, and the other threateningly, and one of them half drew his sword. "By George, Castleton," said Brocas, " what have you been about ? Running away with the girls right and left! But see! your dark beauty is recovering. Can nobody give us salts or hartshorn, or cold water, or something?" 238 CONFESSIONS OF Three waiters instantly started off in frantic haste, and simultaneously returned with three goblets of water, one each ; while the three chambermaids rushed out and returned with three bottles, the same being "esprit des millefleurs," "pom-made divine," and " rouge celeste," respectively. " You had better lay her on the sofa," said Brocas to me. The Lieutenant, who had now recovered himself a little, at this suggestion advanced to perform that office, but seeming suddenly to recollect himself, he shrunk back from us both, surveying her and me in moody silence. I was accordingly about to place her as Brocas had advised, when, opening her eyes, and perceiving the Lieutenant, who was standing near, she suddenly sprung from me, and threw herself into his arms, exclaiming, in passionate accents, " Oh ! Frederick ! Frederick !" and burst into tears. He did not push her from him; but averting his face, he covered it with the hand that was at liberty, and groaned aloud. AN ETONIAN. 239 Lord Brocas seeing that there was some mystery in this which he guessed the parties concerned would not desire the populace to penetrate, directed the supernumeraries to retire, and the master and mistress, with wondering looks, immediately left the room�preceded by the waiters with their napkins, and followed by the chambermaids, each exhibiting undisguised symptoms of intense and painful curiosity. " Frederick," said the Spaniard, astonished at his look, and releasing herself from his arms�assuming that same air of dignity which I had observed in her before�" what is the meaning of this ?" He did not speak; indeed at that moment I don't think he could; but slowly raising his arm, pointed to me. " He is my saviour!" she exclaimed. " Your saviour ? " " He has twice saved my life; once at the robber's cave, and once again from the attack of the wolf. I owe him my eternal gratitude!" Lavinia, at these passionate expressions 240 CONFESSIONS OE of gratitude from the beautiful Spaniard, turned pale, and seemed uneasy; the Lieutenant hesitated; Miss McDragon gave a scornful sniff with her nose; Emily's mother regarded me with interest, and Emily herself (remembering probably her own adventure) with a kind smile, which made Lord Brocas bend his eyes on me, as I thought, with an expression the reverse of amicable. But I hastened to explain, and as briefly as possible narrated our adventures and escapes. " He does not do himself justice!" said the generous Spanish girl, with enthusiasm. Then she proceeded to describe with animation my rescue of her from the cave of the robbers, and from the attack of the wolf (making much of nothing), and breathing forth my praises in the highest terms (which made the Lieutenant change colour), and lauding my attention and delicate respect towards herself with the strongest expressions of grateful acknowledgment, which had the effect, I thought, of calming the perturbation of AN ETONIAN. 241 Lavinia, who now condescended to regard me with a tender look, and with eyes which were slightly tearful. The Lieutenant extended his hand to me: " I am wrong," said he. I took it, and shook it warmly; and we were friends in a moment; nor has any difference from that time to this ever disturbed that tacit compact. Mutual explanations were now entered into more in detail, and all seemed pleased with one another, except my ancient enemy Miss McDragon. She still continued to hold me at arms5 length; but I thought that the united opinion of the combined party would now be too strong for her, and I cared little for her opposition; the more especially as Lavinia, with her imagination excited by the perils I had overcome, and by my new character of a knight-errant and the deliverer of damsels, openly testified her preference for me in a way which, in spite of her aunt's frowns and ugly faces, convinced me that under any circumstances she would remain firm to the troth which she had plighted. VOL. III. R 242 CONFESSIONS- OF "We were all so desirous to learn something of the history of Dona Isabella, that the Lieutenant, in pity to the curiosity of the ladies, briefly explained that the Senora was the Spanish lady to whom the packet was addressed when he thought that he was on his death-bed at Willow Lodge in England;�that she had escaped from the persecutions of a guardian, who had wished to marry her to a son whom she hated, and that to avoid the wretched fate with which she was threatened, she had taken the bold resolution to fly to a female relation at Paris, and to place herself under her protection. But now, he said, she had found a protector who did not care the end of a rope-yarn for all the Grandees in Spain! The recital of this story, which so closely resembled my own relations with Lavinia, caused us to exchange glances; and the favourable issue which had attended the Lieutenant and the Senora inspired us with the secret hope that a similar happy termination would reward ourselves. AH EOTNIAH. 248 While these interludes were going forward, I observed that Lord Brocas was exceedingly assiduous in his respects to Miss Montague, who received them, I thought, very graciously, but with a great deal of diffidence and blushing. He was particularly eager also to make friends with the Lieutenant, who received his advances with a manly frankness, which just suited Brocas, and they were soon the best friends in the* world. Emily's mother, however, had a very serious air, and, I observed, that she watched Lord Brocas's attentions to her daughter, and her daughter's reception of them, with great anxiety. I learnt incidentally that, the information of her son's stay at Bayonne having been communicated to her by him, with the reports of the dangerous state of the mountain passes, had induced her to set off immediately to join him, in order to dissuade him from the journey. Lord Brocas, also, seeing that explanations were the order of the day, took occasion to state, with a very red face, that k 2 244 CONFESSIONS OF " having most particular business at Bay-onne 1" looking at the same time very hard at Emily, who blushed to her fingers' ends, " he had proceeded thither for that purpose." On my inquiring, with the freedom of an old schoolfellow, what that business was, he replied, after some hesitation, that it was diplomatic business of a secret nature; to which I said, "Oh!" It came out, however, that having sought me at home before my flight from England, and having proceeded to "Willow Lodge, at my father's request, to make inquiries relative to the unfortunate duel, he had there met Miss Montague, with whom he had instantly fallen desperately in love.�This accounted for the young lady's agitation when she beheld him so unexpectedly in Erance.�But Lord Brocas hearing of her departure from her own home, and not liking his bird to fly away from him in that fashion, had set off after her with his usual impetuosity. And now harmony being restored, and all countenances beaming with kindly feelings towards each other (except me and AN ETONIAN. 245 Miss McDragon), we presently sat down to a social dinner, during which my adventures were the principal topic of conversation ; and Brocas taking care that the champagne was distributed liberally, we were all in high glee; when siiddenly a new visitor was announced, and to the astonishment of the whole party, and not less to his own, Mr. B., the father of Lavinia, entered. He looked pale and haggard, and was evidently in a state of mind very little in accordance with the hilarious faces assembled round the table. But the narration of his affairs, and their effect on me, are of too important a character to be introduced at the end of a chapter. %m CONFESSIONS OE CHAPTER XII. My first idea was that Lavinia's father also had passed through the hands of the Pyrenean banditti; but it was a much worse matter than that, as we presently learned; it was not the robber of the mountains that he had been exposed to, but the more polite and finished rascal of genteel society. The poor old gentleman seemed exhausted in body and mind; making his way languidly to a chair, while we all rose, regarding one another with curiosity, and him with the commiseration which his sadness called for, he slowly sat clown; then, turning his face towards us, he surveyed us one by one, but with a wandering and vacant eye, and without greeting us; AN ETONIAN. 247 ^bending his body forward, he covered his face with his hands, and sighed heavily. Meanwhile his daughter had taken her place by his chair, and with affectionate solicitude endeavoured to soothe him, but without presuming to question him as to the cause of his trouble. She kissed him, and kneeling down by his side, waited for him to make some sign of the consciousness of her presence. It burst suddenly from him with a groan of pain and humiliation : " I am ruined ! my child.; I am ruined ! and we are heggars !" " Ruined!" shrieked out Miss McDra-gon; " why, what have you been doing ? " " Dear papa," said his daughter, softly and sweetly, " at least you are safe, and compared with that the rest is nothing !" Lord Brocas, seeing that family explanations were about to take place of a delicate nature, which people usually prefer to keep to themselves, now made a whispered suggestion that it would be better, perhaps, for strangers to withdraw. He immediately gave his hand to Emily 248 CONFESSIONS OF who allowed hers to lie in it timidly; and Montague leading out his beautiful Spaniard, I was about to follow with Mrs. Montague, when Lavinia requested me aloud to remain. I hesitated at first; but her father making no sign of objection (although the aunt looked at me very grimly), and Lavinia seconding her request by an imploring look, I walked back towards the window, and standing a little aloof, waited for the issue of a scene in which I could not yet tell whether I was to be considered as a comforter or an intruder. " My poor child," he repeated, after a short pause, " we must now hide our heads from all the world;�I have lost all!" "How! Why? What! How! Lost all, Mr. B. ? You don't mean to say you have been such a fool as to lose all your money ?" " Yes, sister, all! The Agent to whom I entrusted my funds at Madrid has not only appropriated the whole to his own use, but he has also committed my name AN ETONIAN. 249 to responsibilities�to an immense amount �and now I am ruined !�ruined!�beggared !�and bankrupt!�and my poor child here must share my fate ! " " Lord! brother B.,�what a fool you have been!" " Oh, aunt�consider !" " Consider ! I should like to know who has considered me! Mr. B. ! Mr. B.! what could have led you to make such a fool of yourself ?" " Spanish bonds, which your nephew Peter instigated me to buy." " What a fool you were to buy Spanish bonds!" "It is the only time in my whole life that I ever allowed myself to be tempted by any such speculation . . . ." " What a fool you were to allow yourself to be tempted 1" " And certainly it will be the last. For now I am without a shilling in the world!" " Dear papa," said Lavinia, " do not allow yourself to be weighed down by a 250 CONFESSIONS OE disaster which affects only our pecuniary means ; what is the worth of money after all ? It cannot make one happy !" " What is the worth of it ? my child ;� what is the worth of it ? "What is the worth of any one without it ?�Do you think consideration is paid to worth, to virtue, or to talent ? No; it is money �money alone to which respect is paid. With money, all other qualities�talents, virtues, merits, accomplishments,�accompany its possessor;�without it, all merits are useless, valueless. I was rich, and the homage of the crowd was paid to me ! i am poor, and now I shall be trampled on ! And�you�you, my poor Lavinia,�you have now to learn the bitter truth. You have been flattered, and courted, � but why ? Because you were beautiful ? Oh, no ! Because you were amiable ?�Amiable without money ! Oh, no ! It was because you were a prize in the market;�because you were the heiress of the rich old man who had hoarded up his wealth for your sake; that was why you were followed�� AN ETONIAN. 251 flattered�courted ! But now!�Prepare yourself;�prepare yourself, I say, to be, slighted and despised as I am!" " That, your daughter shall never be! '* said I, coming forward; " it is not as an heiress, sir, that I have followed, courted, and loved your daughter; and although I sincerely feel for the losses which you have suffered, forgive me if I say, that I cannot help feeling rejoiced at one consequence�that it gives me the opportunity of proving the disinterestedness of my attachment to your daughter." Lavinia, at these words, gave me her hand, which she extended behind her, and which I bent down and kissed reverently, while she endeavoured to stop the tears which chased each other down her cheeks, �but they were tears of gladness ! u Sir," said the old man, sternly, " I refused my daughter to you when she was rich ; I will not allow you to wed her now that she is poor." " Besides, there is Mr. Peter McBra-gon," said the aunt,�whose speech, however, I thought was a little embarrassed; 252 CONFESSIONS OF " he has your promise, brother; not that he would wish to force any young lady against her inclinations,�by no means; but still/' said she, giving me a very malignant side-look, � " you will wait until you hear from him ?" "Read!" said the old man,�taking a letter from his pocket, and handing it to his sister-in-law,�"read; here is a letter which I have received from your worthy nephew, Mr. Peter MeDragon;�your very worthy nephew! That was the first sample of my humiliations to come !" The letter from that discreet person was as follows: " OVEREACH-COURT, GOLDEN-LANE, " January 28, 18�. "Dear Sir,�Tours of 14th ult. received. Sorry to hear bad account of Spanish stock; hope news at Madrid will be to your satisfaction. Have considered matter retransfer of your daughter; but as young lady is unwilling to enter that line of business with me, beg to decline the same, as no partnership can be satisfactorily carried on unless parties are agreed. Con- AN ETONIAN. 253 sols 841; Exchequer bills 9 premium; Bank stock 192 ex diy.; Spanish bonds 67 dis. Yours to command, " Peter McDragon." " Poor Peter!" exclaimed Miss McDra-gon; "what a sad disappointment to him!" " It seems, however," said the old gentleman, bitterly, " that he did not make up his mind till Spanish bonds fell to 67 discount." To this insinuation Miss McDragon made no reply, but betook herself to the resolution of some mental problem which occupied her thoughts; and I again pressed my suit with Mr. B.; but his only reply was, " No; I refused her to you when she was rich, and you shall not wed her now she is poor; broken as I am, I have pride enough left for that." Miss McDragon now caught up the same words, and confronting me with a malicious look, repeated:� "No, Mr. Oastleton; we have refused her to you when she was rich, and you 254 CONFESSIONS OF shall not have her now she is poor; no," she added, with a very significant expression, "you shall not have her; I, yes J, will take care of that, Mister Leander Castleton !" I perfectly well understood what the old cat meant by this pretended assumption of the pride of poverty�to back up, as it was intended, the resolution of her brother-in-law ; and I confess it gave me some concern ; and I was the more annoyed at it, as I thought my declaration to the father of my unchanged devotion to his daughter deserved a better return from his family. But such and so great was the spite of that wicked old woman against me, and such was the rancour which she cherished for the deadly offence of having called her old and ugly, that she would willingly have sacrificed her niece, her brother-in-law, and the whole world besides (including myself in an especial manner), in her fixed determination of revenge ! The condition of Lavinia's father, however, excited my deep and sincere commiseration. The total change which had AN ETONIAN. 255 come oyer him was painful to witness. Instead of the man of money, the " Henry Hase" of former days, with his hands in his breeches-pockets, his head erect, and his air of defiance of all the world, he was now collapsed, shrunk up, and unable even to stand upright�like a money-bag deprived of the coins which had swelled it out, and which, now a piece of dirty canvas, lies unregarded on the ground.*; As some such ideas as these presented themselves to me, I thought that although money is an exceedingly desirable thing, there is something better than money after all; for deprived by any accident of that, you are nothing; but " When lands are gone and money spent, Then learning is most excellent;" a homely proverb, but the application of which has stood many in good stead wherewith to battle against neglect and poverty. I had observed that when her father declared he would not allow his daughter to wed me now she was poor, Lavinia had suddenly changed countenance, and casting her eyes on the ground, remained in 256 CONFESSIONS OP an attitude of fixed contemplation, as if revolving the force of her father's words, and schooling herself to the adoption of some painful resolution. This change of demeanour troubled me, but I did not suspect the extent of the mischief. It appeared, however, that the leaven of pride which her father's words infused into his daughter had already disturbed her feelings towards me in a way as painful as unexpected. Breaking the silence which had lasted for some time, I said: " It is on you, then, Lavinia, that I must rely ; on you to whom....." Interrupting me to avoid hearing the remainder of my sentence, the purport of which she guessed, she said, with a mournful and solemn air : "Leander�I mean Mr. Castleton,�I thank you for the preference which you have done me the honour to express for me, notwithstanding the humiliating change which has befallen us. I expected no less of Mr. Castleton ;�I was sure of your disinterested affection, Leander. But A1SF STOKIAK. 257 I agree with my father; not only would I not add to his sorrows by any disobedience to his will, but I agree with him," she continued, in a sad voice, with the tears fast streaming down her face; " I agree with him, that it would not be well that he should, in his adversity, thrust his portionless daughter on a family whose alliance he had refused in his prosperity. Fairewell, Leander, for the last time. Forget ine if you can (I can never forget) ! but indeed my resolution is fixed, and for ever I I may see you no more!" Having thus spoken, she hastily fled to an inner chamber; and I, seeing nothing in the countenance of her father but a fixed and moody obstinacy, and in that of the aunt an expression of malignant exultation, rushed out of the apartment mortified with Lavinia, angry with her father, and in a rage at the triumph of my old enemy, who had so dexterously seized the opportunity to abet the resolve of the father and daughter for the sake of spiting me. On my way,* I met Brocas, who of VOL. III. S 258 CONFESSIONS OF course inquired into the cause of my agitation. As he was my oldest and most intimate friend, I immediately told him all my story. In return, he acquainted me with his passion for Miss Montague; but he found difficulties, he said, on the part of the mother and the brother, who had taken it into their heads, he had reason to suspect, that he was a wild, unsettled fellow; whereas he was exactly the contrary�the most steady, sober, quiet, and domestic person in the universe !�and he appealed to me for the confirmation of this character, which I declared I would do on all occasions. Having now entered into a treaty offensive and defensive in aid of each other's objects respectively, we agreed to engage the Lieutenant's services in my favour, as his sense of obligation on account of " his Isabella" would doubless render him zealous in his assistance. Accordingly we repaired to the saloon where he was engaged with his mistress, and calling AN ETONIAN. 259 him aside, I at once frankly communicated to him my difficulty. As he was already aware of my attachment to Lavinia from his sister's information, it was no secret for him to learn. He saw at once that my chief difficulty was with the aunt, who heing in immediate proximity with Mr. B. and his daughter, had the constant opportunity of hardening them in the determination which they had expressed. Brocas proposed that we should make a journey into the Pyrenees, where he had no doubt robbers of some description might be bribed to bear off the old woman, and shut her up in one of their caves, until Mr. B. had listened to reason. The Lieutenant suggested that she might be enticed on board some vessel,�for he averred, she did not know one end of a craft from the other,� and shipped off to Algeria, to which place a French vessel in port which he knew of was then bound. Brocas instantly embraced this latter idea with enthusiasm, declaring that he s 2 260 CONFESSIONS OF was ready to support it from public and patriotic motives, as it might be justly calculated that the presence of such a spiteful crabbed old �� (the sailor making use of an epithet more energetic than polite, and which can be most delicately paraphrased by " female bow-wow,3 ?) would be enough to create inextinguishable discord in the settlement, and would oblige the French to abandon the colony � a result which would tend to pacification and the balance of power in Europe. The Lieutenant's scheme therefore was unanimously adopted, provisionally however, and reserving to ourselves the right to carry any other plan of aggression into effect according to circumstances. The confidence which I had reposed in the Lieutenant flattered him, and the unreserved and natural character of Brocas being congenial with his own, he now prayed us, in his turn, to listen to some scruples of conscience which had beset him in respect to his position with the lady of his own affections. He informed us that he had become AN ETONIAN. 261 acquainted with his mistress on the occasion of a voyage which he had made to one of the ports of Spain, the name of which 1 forget, and that somehow, he said,�he couldn't help it,�lie fell in love "with her; that her guardian had objected to her marriage with a poor lieutenant' (although he had distant expectations) v/as a matter of course; and that he and the lady had sworn to mutual constancy was a matter of course too; and she had proved it, and he was ready enough to prove it too,�but here was a difficulty. " What difficulty can there be," said Brocas, " if you are both agreed ?" "Ah!" replied the sailor, "that is just the difficulty; but is it fair for me to take advantage of it ? " " How so?" said I. " "Why, this way. When I first courted her I thought she was poor, or at least not rich, but now I have discovered, from what she has told me, that she is heir to immense wealth, and all at her own disposal. Nov/ would it be fair for me to 262 CONFESSIONS OF allow her to throw herself away on a poor lieutenant? And what would the world say of me for running away with a foreign girl, and marrying her for the sake of her money ? That's my difficulty," We both admired and lauded the delicacy of sentiment and the nice sense of honour which this statement of the gallant officer's difficulty displayed; but we said we were of opinion that, under the circumstances, he carried his scruples a little too far. But Montague declared that he could not imagine how any man could act otherwise; and that at all events Dona Isabella should have time to look about her; and in the mean time, as she would reside with his mother and sister, she would be comfortably and respectably situated in that respect. A summons from Mrs. Montague brote up our conference at this point. She informed her son, that Mr. B. being anxious to return to England, to attend to the wreck of his affairs, and as she would not leave him and his family in their present affliction, it was her inten- AN ETONIAN. 263 tion to accompany them; an intention in which her son heartily acquiesced. And this departure of the three young ladies naturally produced the offer of their three admirers to accompany them; each of us struck with the peculiarity of our individual position towards the object of our regard, whose respective inclinations Fortune seemed to take a pleasure in thwarting ; hut we were obliged to console ourselves with the adage of " The course of true love never did run smooth," and to hope for a successful issue at last. Pilled with such thoughts, and not neglecting the opportunity of paying those little attentions which travelling in company afforded, we journeyed on to Paris, on our way to England. During the route, Lavinia was all reserve, Emily all timidity, and the beautiful Spaniard all love. Eor my own part, I was serious; Brocas was ardent, and the scruples of the Lieutenant melted away at every stage. Old Mr, B. scarcely spoke a word, but seemed utterly prostrate; Miss McDragon scolded and screamed at the postilions, 26-4 CONFESSIONS OE the passports, the waiters, and the chambermaids, all the way. Mrs. Montague seemed satisfied, now that she was carrying her son home with her; and she lavished the fondest attentions on the beautiful stranger; while she did not forbid the attentions of Lord Brocas to her daughter, but at the same time established such barriers to familiarity as that young nobleman, forward and impetuous as lie was, found it impossible to pass. On our arrival at Paris, new events awaited us, which changed the face of affairs for all parties, but which, it was fated, was not to be unaccompanied by one disastrous event,�as if to verify the ancient proverb, that " life is a mingled yarn of good and ill,5' in inseparable union together. AN ETONIAN. 265 CHAPTER XIII. Que, most pressing business, on our arrival at Pp^ris, was to repair to the post-office; and this duty I undertook, as Lord Brocas was attending to Miss Montague, and the Lieutenant showed no inclination to leave Miss Velasco. On my way I met old General Rocket. He hailed me; and after rating me severely for scouring away from Paris like a courier with foreign despatches, he told me he had two letters for me at his " apartment," which I promised to call for on my way back; and hurrying off to the post-office, I found there two letters for the Lieutenant, one with a black seal,�and a letter, also with a black seal, for Mrs. Montague,�and two 266 CONFESSIONS OP letters for Mr. B. There was no letter for Brocas. Having received these, I hastened back, and called on General Bocket on my way, for my own letters; when, who should I find there but my old acquaintance, Captain 0'Sullivan, who was comfortably regaling himself with a bottle of Lafitte and a section of Perigord-pie, for his " intermediate sustentation," as he was pleased to denominate that auxiliary refection between breakfast and dinner. At the sight of me he uttered an exclamation of joy: " Ah, my dear fellow!�is it you ?�The very boy I wanted to see!�And now we can settle that little affair about the young lady." " Which young lady ?" said I. " No matter which, so long as it is a young lady. Ah, you are young in these matters, or you wouldn't be after questioning, and asking, and poking about it. When there is a good reason for a meeting, never go bothering and explaining it away; let it stand where it is,�and AN ETONIAN. 267 good luck to it! And now, my dear fellow ! sit down, and have a taste of this pie�it's not so bad for a Erench pie (if they would only give one a potato with it) ; and let us have a glass of wine together, before we go out ; you have got your tools with you, of course ? " I apologised for not being able to join him at that moment, as friends, whose names I took the occasion to enumerate to the General, who stood %, were waiting for me at the hotel, which I named, and where the Captain might hear of me. He shook me warmly by the hand, congratulated me on my return to Paris, hoped that our little affair might be settled out-of-hand; and promised to come up and see Montague directly he had finished that single bottle of wine. With similar compliments on my part, and assurances of my readiness to meet him when he wished, for any purpose that it might be his pleasure to require of me, I took my leave,�the General looking flushed at the mention of a duel, and 268 CONFESSIONS OE snuffing tlie air,, like an old war-horse, at the smell of gunpowder. I said nothing to my friends of the invitation of O'Sullivan; but delivering their letters to the respective parties, retired on one side to peruse my own. They were affectionate remembrances on the part of my father and mother, but containing no communication of importance, except a single phrase in my mother's letter touching on the public rumour of Mr. B.'s ruin, and'repeating an observation of my father, that " as my addresses to Mr. B.5s daughter had been permitted by them in their time of prosperity, it should never be said that he withdrew his approbation of them now that they were in adversity.55 This expression on the part of my generous parent filled me with a surpassing feeling of delight and satisfaction, and I was revolving in my mind how I should turn it to account with Lavinia, when an exclamation of surprise which came from the Lieutenant attracted my attention to that quarter. AN ETONIAN. 269 " A ship ! a ship ! made! and a ship !" he cried out. " By George! I've got a ship! But what could make the first lord think of me? I never saw him in my life!" " Perhaps your other letter may explain the mystery," said Mrs. Montague. " By George! I forgot that ; and a black seal too; � hope there's nothing wrong anywhere." Breaking the black seal with a misgiving look, as if he feared the contents would communicate something painful, he ran his eyes over the letter with signs of so great agitation, that his mother and sister were too eager to learn its tidings to allow him to keep it to himself. He therefore read it aloud: " COPTHALL-COURT, " February 1st, 18�. " Sir,�Herewith we forward to you the account of the death of Sir Edward Montague, your great uncle; and at the same time have to announce the loss of the late Sir Edward's son, Captain George Montague, who perished by shipwreck in his 270 CONFESSIONS OP voyage home from India, with the wiiole of the crew and passengers, not one having been saved. By this latter demise you are aware that you have become heir to the title and estates of your great uncle, as he has died without a will, and before the news arrived of the loss of his only son. We shall be happy to continue our management of your property, as we have heretofore acted for the late Sir Edward; and we may venture to say, that without bearing hard on your tenantry, the rental might easily be increased from fifteen to eighteen thousand pounds a year. Enclosed you will find an order made out to your receipt personally for two thousand pounds, part of moneys in our hands belonging to you. "We would at the same time respectfully call your attention to the state of the borough of Guzzleham, at your command, with reference to the speedy dissolution of Parliament which is daily expected, and which makes your speedy return to England desirable. We take the opportunity to add, that having business to transact AN ETONIAN. 271 with Lord Rottenborough, we took occasion to allude to the cutting out of the French frigate, in which you were engaged, and which Admiral Prankfield had represented in his despatches as having been principally caused by your skill and intrepidity on that occasion; but we found the first lord had entirely forgotten that affair; but on our mentioning that you had succeeded to the title and estates of Sir Edward, and of our having written to advise your immediate return with reference to your borough, his lordship was pleased to make very particular inquiries concerning you, and to express his high opinion of your services and knowledge of your profession. " We are, Sir, " Yours obediently, " Hack and Sckewham. " To Sir Frederick Montague, Bart., " &c, &c, &c. " Poste Restante, Paris." The first thing that the Captain did was to throw his letter in the air, and cut sundry capers with extraordinary force and 272 CONCESSIONS OE agility; the next was to seize the amazed Spaniard by the waist, and whirl her round and round the room, ending with a hearty kiss which sounded like the report of a moderate-sized carronade. Then he kissed his mother and his sister, and Lord Broeas standing next in line, he gave him such a hearty squeeze of the hand as made that noble peer roar aloud. He revenged himself, however, by seizing the Captain's sister; and before she could defend herself, he had imprinted a kiss on her lips, most respectful but not less hearty than the Captain's, saying, that as kissing was going forward, he would have his share. While these felicitations were going forward, I remained the only one of the party with a serious air, the perusal of his letters by Lavinia's father having suddenly changed his melancholy into a joy which was visible on his countenance. Seeing this, I thought it a favourable opportunity to show to him that part of my mother's letter relating to me and his daughter, which I requested her to read and place under his eyes. AN ETONIAN. 273 &he took it�read it�burst into tears, and extending one hand with the letter to her father, while she endeavoured to conceal her blushing face with the other, she remained with her head bent down while he perused the passage. He read it over deliberately; then taking up his own letters, he placed them in my hands. This confidence augured favourably, and I read them with eagerness. The first ran thus, and was addressed to Miss M^Dragon, who had a petrified air: Dear Aunt,�I write to communicate disagreeable intelligence; but it was entirely for the sake of serving my dear uncle that I engaged in this disastrous affair. In short, I am married. There was a widow who was reported to have forty thousand pounds in the three per cents., and after a very short courtship, she consented to have me, which, for my misfortune, she did; and now it turns out that instead of having forty ttiousand pounds, she has not a shilling! and worse than that, is in debt some thousands be- vol. in. t 274 CONFESSIONS OP sides, all of which I shall have to pay! Besides this, she has the temper of a fury, and talks to me night and day of her rights as my wedded wife ! All which is very painful. I have consulted a lawyer to know whether 1 cannot break the articles of partnership, and dissolve the marriage, as the goods are not according to sample; but he says, that when once you are married, there is no getting out of it, the law being very strict in that respect ; it being feared that if once relaxed, almost everybody would be seeking the same remedy, which would interrupt the trade, and lead to great confusion. " Your unhappy nephew, "Teteh McDeagk)N. " P.S. I forgot to say that she drinks." The other letter was from Mr. Smart, the broker whom Mr. B. had employed in London relative to his Spanish bonds. As I was about to read it, he laid his finger on the letter in an emphatic way, and said very earnestly, " Mind, I don't approve of it�I don't approve of it, mind that." AN ETONIAN, 275 This repudiation of a letter which evidently contained joyful tidings, increased my curiosity to learn its contents; they were as follows: "Dear Sb,�I hasten to inform you that Mr. Estanja, your Spanish agent, has arrived in London; and you will be glad to hear, that your funds are not only safe, but that you will be a gainer to a very large extent by his bold and skilful manoeuvre, which has excited the admiration of the oldest members of the Stock Exchange. He first caused reports to be spread abroad of the tremendous fall in Spanish stock at Madrid, and which he furthered by his own operations there; and when the stock was sufficiently depressed, he suddenly quitted Madrid clandestinely, which gave rise to the rumour that he had fraudulently absconded. And before the fallacy of either report could be ascertained in London, and Spanish stock having ruinously declined here, in consequence of the fall at Madrid, he employed an agent to buy it up here, at 2 T 276 CONFESSIONS OF its then awful discount in the London market. " This manoeuvre has been attended with the most brilliant result to himself and to you; and I have the satisfaction to inform you, that jointly with him we have cleared one hundred and thirty-three thousand pounds, three-fifths of which belong to you according to agreement. " Congratulating you on this result, and hoping that this success will encourage you to still more brilliant speculations, (i I am, dear Sir, " Yours very truly, "Theophilus Smart." I had read this letter to myself, not knowing whether he would like the state of his affairs to be made known to the rest of the company; but when I had finished, at an approving nod from him, I flew to Lavinia, and was about to take her in my arms, when the coachman appeared, and announced: " Captain O'Sullivan!" Poor Tom, when I scolded him after- AN ETONIAN. 277 wards for having interrupted me at such a moment, professed his extreme regret at the inopportune occurrence, declaring that " it was a sight to see, was Miss Lavinia, poor thing! regarding me so tenderly, and that it affected him almost as much as when the old coach-horse looked round at him in his stall one time when he had forgotten to give him his corn." " Captain O'Sullivan!" "My dear fellow," said he to me, in passing, " I am glad to see you again; and you, Montague, my boy; why you look as joyful as if you were going to cut out another frigate; but I want your friendly assistance for a little matter which won't wait. I can't bear to be waiting either for my dinner or for anything else that's pleasant to discuss. Come on one side, just this way, my boy." Taking Montague's arm, he drew him to a recess at the end of the room, and there in a few words communicated the occasion which he had for his services, and which, as I anticipated, was to act as his second at the meeting to which he 2TB concessions of had already invited me. I observed that Montague expostulated with him warmly,, but, as it seemed, without effect, the O'Sullivan insisting on having a shot at me according to his promise before I left England. They then retired together, Montague looking vexed and undetermined, and 0'Sullivan with the air of one who was about to do a virtuous action. This conference-,, and the sudden retirement of Sir Frederick with the choleric captain, rather disturbed the pleasurable feelings of the rest of the company, and mine also I must confess; for it was by no means pleasant, when all difficulties had been smoothed in respect to my union with Lavinia,�when I had the approbation of the Home Department, the consent of her father, and the cordial affection of herself,�it was by no means pleasant, I repeat, to be called out to fight a duel with a man who had the reputation of being an excellent shot, and who had a particular inclination for a little practice on my person. AN ETONIAN. 279; While I was pondering on this, much to the surprise of Lavinia, who. could not imagine the reason of my sudden seriousness and seeming coldness when all things, as she supposed, at last ran smooth, a note was brought to me by a Erench servant, couched in the following terms:� " My deah Me. Castletgn,�I shall be waiting for you near the Bois de Boulogne presently, and therefore lose no time in apprising you thereof, in order that you may get your tools ready. I suppose you will use pistols, but if you prefer swords it's all the same to me; and so, my dear fellow, you can take your choice. " Yours very truly, "Te&ENCE O'SuiiLIVAN." I had hardly finished reading this amiable invitation when General Rocket was announced. He had caught scent of an immediate duel with somebody for something from O5Sullivan's servant furbishing up the captain's duelling pistols with which he always travelled, and which 280 CONFESSIONS OF he was very particular in keeping in good order, "as you never knew," he said, " when they might be wanted." In high good humour at this report, he had come in friendly haste to offer his services to me, for whose benefit, he did not doubt, the exhibition was to take place. He was in the act of proffering his assistance, when the same French servant, who had been the bearer of the first note from Captain 0J Sullivan to me, appeared with a second, enclosing one for Lord Brocas. This second letter was as follows : " My dear Mr. Castleton,�I am sorry to disappoint you, but my friend Montague has explained to me that it is Lord Brocas and not you who is paying his addresses to his sister, so that I cannot possibly have the pleasure of going out with you at present, but hope for better luck another time; so please give this note to Lord Brocas, and oblige yours sincerely, " Terence O'Sullivan." " P.S. If you don't like to be put off, AN ETONIAN. 281 I will take you with all the pleasure in life after I have done with Lord B4 "Yours, T. Q'S." Thank you, thought I, you are the most civil and obliging fellow in these matters certainly that I ever met with. Brocas having read the missive which I had passed to him, handed it to me, smiling: " Dear Lord Brocas,�I was very near doing you an injustice, and going out with young Castleton instead of you; but my friend Montague having explained matters to me, I hope you will not refuse me the pleasure of your company immediately at a snug spot, whither the bearer will conduct you; that is, of course, unless you will give up your pretensions to Miss Montague, which I don't suppose you will, as I certainly would not do in your place. u I remain, dear Lord Brocas (expecting you), yours most truly, " Terence O'Sullivan." " Come with me," said Brocas. 282 CONCESSIONS OV We retired into another room. When we were there, a head was protruded into the room. " May I come in?" " By all means. General/5 said I; " you may help us with your advice." We explained to him the circumstances of the case. He was very much interested, exclaiming several times, " Devilish unfortunate ; and just going to be married, too ! Stay; have you the right tools ?" We both informed him that we were not provided with those gentlemanly conveniences. " Sad neglect! However, I have a beautiful pair, which I have used three times myself; never failed me. I was hit every time, to be sure; but then I gave tit for tat. Of course, my lord, I will not refuse to be your second; don't say a word. I take a pleasure in it; I do indeed ; understand these things better than my young friend here, although he has begun well, very well; but I was out before I was twenty. Nothing like be* ginning early; it's all use. And so do AjSF ETONIAN. 283 you stay till I come. You promise me that. Lord Brocas ?" Lord Brocas assured him that he considered he could not be in more honourable handstand that he would certainly stay until he had the pleasure to see General Bucket again, provided always that his absence was not prolonged to an unreasonable time. We waited where we were for about half an hour, and then Brocas got fidgetty, for the General did not return, and he worried himself with the idea that O' Sullivan would be on the ground, and that he �Lord Brocas-�would be open to the charge of being so uncivil as to keep that gentleman waiting. But the Prench servant who was to conduct us to the " snug spot" had disappeared with the General, and we were in the awkward predicament of not being able to stay where we were, and of not knowing where to go if we moved. Another quarter of an hour elapsed, and Brocas grew very impatient and angry, when a bustle on the stairs attracting our attention, we looked out, and 284 CONFESSIONS OF beheld the old General coming up, or rather borne up by two gentlemen, who helped him to our room, and setting him on a chair, bowed, and retired. Lord Brocas had his suspicions, and so had I, of what had occurred; but before either of us could speak, the General broke out: "It was all his own fault; he would have it; and now he has had a lesson which he will not easily forget. But my tools never fail me�never !" "What has happened?" said Brocas, in a tone which showed he was not very well pleased. " That hot-headed Irishman has been shot through the body, that's all. I went to the ground ....." " To the ground ? "Why you were to come back here! Did not you make us promise to stay till you came ?" "To be sure I did, but not here; stay there, I meant. Well, don't interrupt me. I am out of breath." " You have been hit ?" " Never mind that; where was I ? Oh! AN ETONIAN. 285 that fire-eating Irishman made some impertinent remarks at your not coming, which were very disagreeable to my feelings. Upon which I said, ' Captain O'SuUivan, I have the honour to be the second of a young nobleman, who I am sure is as anxious to settle this little affair as you are; but if,5 said I,s you are in such a d�d hurry, there is everything handy for you and me to exchange civilities on our own account before he comes.5 55 "Excuse me, General,55 said Brocas; " but really I think you ought to have waited for me.55 " So I did wait for you; what could I do more ? And so he replied�for he is a perfect gentleman, is the Captain�' With all my heart, and it will get my hand in till the other gentleman comes.5 Upon which we measured the ground�twelve paces, English fashion; too much; but the Erench officer who acted for us both had the politeness to take short steps, to oblige us. "The Captain offered the first fire to me, 286 CONFESSIONS OF but I told him I never was guilty of such rudeness in my life; and I begged him to take the first shot, but he protested that he could not think of taking that advantage, as it was a habit he had got into of never missing his man." "You were both exceedingly polite to each other, General," said I, feeling a strong inclination to smile, but not daring to indulge in it, for he was as serious as a parish beadle in a vestry. " Not a bit, not a bit! it's all use. So as neither would give way, we were obliged to toss for it. The Captain won.35 gfi And you were hit ?" " Yes ; don't you see ? my leg. Fortunately it was my wooden one; bi|t down I went. c It's all over with him,' the Captain cried out; 6 is the poor old General quite dead ?' ' Not a bit of it,' said I, sitting up as hearty as ever; c only let this gentleman lend me his walking-stick, and I shall be ready for you in the biting of a cartridge/ So as soon as I had spliced up my old stump with the French gentleman's cane, AN ETONIAN. 287 I stood up again, and without taking any very particular aim (for I had no gfudge against the poor fellow), I just run my eye along the barrel, and fired; and down went the Captain beautifully. I couldn't miss with my tools, if I would." " It's a sad affair," said I. " Sad! not a bit of it; what is it sad for? Those who play at bowls must expect rubbers ! The Captain would have it; and lucky he was not shot through the head instead of the body. However, my Trench friend went through the forms very properly; he asked the Captain's second if his friend was satisfied, which the Irishman answered for himself, and said he was. And so as I had nothing more to do there, I came away, only saying to the poor fellow, that I was very sorry if my hitting him should put him to any inconvenience, and we shook hands, the best friends in the world, for I never bear malice." " Was there no surgeon present ?" asked Brocas. " No time for that; but as I came 288 CONFESSIONS OF home I despatched a carriage and a surgeon to the spot, so that he is quite comfortable by this time; and as to his being hit, it will do him good; for I've a notion that Captain O'Sullivan was rather too fond of going out, and wanted a lesson. It is a bad habit, my young friends," he added, assuming a grave and paternal air, "it is a bad habit is this duelling; I never encourage it, but on the contrary, I always prevent it as much as possible ; but I confess, when I come across a fire-eater, I do feel a pleasure� yes I do�in giving him a lesson; but as a rule, I never fight a duel unless the occasion offers, as it has done to-day." With this moral lecture on the practice of duelling, the General was pleased to conclude his admonitions, and sending for a proper artificer, he was soon put in s> condition to join the ladies, which he did with much alacrity, as he piqued himself on paying the devotion due to the sex with military gallantry. Shortly after, Montague came back, and relieved us from some uneasiness by AN ETONIAN. 289 informing us that 0'Sullivan's wound was not very dangerous, and that the surgeon assured him that he would be able soon to set him on his legs again; but we were all obliged to agree, that the lesson which he had received from the old General was one which he had fully deserved, and our sense of which went considerably to abate the concern which we should otherwise have felt on his behalf. This disagreeable affair, which threatened to interrupt the general harmony, being thus satisfactorily got rid of, the ladies soon recovered their smiles, and we were all in high good humour ; and I remarked that Miss Montague was particular in showing those little attentions to the General which are so pleasing to men at every stage of life, and which served to convince me that she was by no means displeased with the officious-ness of the old soldier having diverted the fire of the desperate Irishman from Lord Brocas to himself. And now more serious matters began vol. m u 290 CONCESSIONS OF to engage the attention of the company, all obstacles being removed to my suit with Lavinia (Miss McDragon having been obliged to go to bed with a fit of jaundice), and Montague's honourable scruple in regard to his union with Dona Isabella being obviated by his succession to title and estate, there was only my friend Brocas, who was not quite sure of being able to pair off as he desired. But Sir Frederick now feeling himself in a position more on a level with the peer, and being in the best possible humour for promoting such matters, and I giving the highest character of my old schoolfellow to the mamma, he was permitted to consider himself as the accepted suitor of Miss Montague, and now all that he had to do was to make the best use of his privileges. Sir Frederick, with professional readiness for action, was for espousing his Isabella that same day, and he suggested that it would be a jolly sight to see all three marriages take place at the same AN ETONIAN. 291 time, a proposal to which I and Lord Brocas at once agreed, with a readiness to oblige the excellent baronet which quite charmed him, But to this the elder branches of the respective families of B, and Montague demurred, alleging the necessity of the intervention of the lawyers, those birds of prey on all occasions, whether of funerals or marriages, having, by a sort of prescription, a right to be present and to share in the feast. The young ladies also, individually and collectively, objected to a haste which they protested was unseemly; besides, there were wedding-dresses to prepare, and all sorts of things to do, &c, &c. The matter was compromised by a general agreement that the alliance of the several houses should be accomplished in England; that the three marriages should all take place on the same day�(this was Broeas's article); and that we should all proceed forthwith to our respective homes, for the purpose of hastening the preparations. It was further agreed, as a supplemental u 2 292 CONFESSIONS OF article, that the unions should take place at the parish church of the county in which Willow Lodge was situate; the parties to proceed thither from the old gentleman's house, who engaged to provide all things necessary for the joyful occasion. In due course these excellent resolutions were carried into effect; and after a prosperous voyage across the Channel, we landed at Dover, from which town we hastened with all the speed which post-horses could afford us, to the places of our several destinations. AN ETONIAN. 293 CHAPTEE XIV. I have little more to add.� In due time, Captain Sir Prederick Montague was united to Dona Isabella Velasco, and Lord Brocas had the happiness to receive the hand of the fair Emily; while I claimed the reward of my constancy (my father being in favour of early marriages) in the possession of the beautiful and amiable Lavinia. It is worthy of note, that my excellent mother was pleased to remark, on this occasion, that we were all appropriately mated; Sir Prederick being fair, and his bride dark; while, on the contrary. Lord Brocas was dark, and Miss Montague fair; the same circumstance of disparity of complexion occurring in the case of myself 294 CONFESSIONS OF and Lavinia; a state of things which my mother was pleased to aver was a most important ingredient, in order to ensure a happy union, as it was a received opinion with those observant of such mysteries, that " two dark or two fair people never did agree together, but always fought dreadfully;" a maxim which, happily for myself, I have never had any reason to quarrel with. My old friend the coachman, my comrade and faithful follower in my early adventures and difficulties, once more restored to his stable and his coach-box, grew happy and more happy, and fatter and more fat, until he became a wonder and a marvel to the surrounding neighbourhood; and as he waxed older and older, his stories of the robbers and the wolves grew every year more and more extraordinary and horrible�the numbers of the robbers, and the ferocity of the wolves, increasing with every repetition� to the great terror of the female portion of the audience whom it was his custom to assemble on Christmas nights. - AN ETONIAN. 295 As for Miss M�Dragon, the ill-success of her schemes in favour of her nephew Peter so mortified her, that she could no longer bear to reside with her brother-in-law, a circumstance which by no means inspired me with any violent regret. She took up her abode therefore with the hen-pecked Peter, much to the dissatisfaction of his wife, who quarrelled and fought with her from morning till night; both uniting in tormenting their joint victim, who could get rid of neither, to the utmost of their powers and abilities. At last, the report reached me that the poor wretch had fled from his country, and, determined to put the distance of the whole diameter of the globe between himself and his wife, had sought refuge among the savages in New Zealand, as the lesser evil of the two. There he had been killed and baked by the natives, to serve for a great feast; but the dish proving too unsavoury even for those cannibals, notwithstanding their predilection for the English, as being (as they used to say) " the fattest," they had thrown him to their dogs, who 296 CONFESSIONS OP had refused to touch him; upon which they had cast his carcase into the sea, where, it was conjectured, he had been devoured by a shark, as one of those piscatory gourmands was shortly afterwards found floating on the water dead�with every symptom of having been poisoned. His wife died of brain-fever, and Miss McDragon of spontaneous combustion. And now I have done.�Since the events which have been described in these desultory and imperfect memoirs many years have passed, but not one in which we have omitted to form a re-union of our families in affectionate intercourse; that is to say, with the exception, sadly, of those, in later years, who in the course of nature have been the first to be withdrawn from this world of anxieties and cares ;�a world, however, which in spite of the anxieties and cares of which all are so prone to complain, none are desirous of leaving� especially when they are in easy circumstances. To conclude with the philosophic observation of one whose sapient remarks have AN ETONIAN. 297 been duly recorded in these pages, and which the retrospection of the vicissitudes of my own life renders singularly appropriate to myself: " Master Leander, never despair; if you can't go one road, try another. It may be a difficult country�but don't give it up. And there's another thing I want to say:�Any horse can trot along gaily on a level road, where there's no ruts and nothing to try the strength of him; but it's when he has to pull up-hill that the tug comes : That's the time to try his mettle. And it's curious, Master Leander, what a little help is a large benefit to him just then�when he's got the strain on him; a stone clapped under a wheel to prevent his load from going back'ards; or a shove on now and then to help his getting forrards; that's the time to lend a helping hand ! � And I'm inclined to think, Master Leander, that it is our duty to human creatures, as well as to horses, when we see their load is too heavy, not to let them break their backs for want of vol. in. x 298 CONFESSIONS OP AN ETONIAN. the timely help which we may be able to afford them." " Yon speak, as yon ever do," said I, " like a philosopher . . . ." " I'd rather speak like a coachman; but it's there, Master Leander, that yon have the whip-hand of me with your school learning.�But, can a philosopher drive a coach�that's what I want to know ? if he can't he's no use. Does he know how to manage a load ? I've heard talk of the load of life�p'rhaps that's what he's fit for ? " " You and I," said I, " have had our loads to carry . . . ." " Over a stiffish road too . . . ." " Over a stiffish road, as you say . . . ." " And if nobody had helped us, it's my opinion we should have stuck there still!" " You are right, my old friend. � But all that is over now; and we may say in the words of the old play: "ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL." THE END. London: Printed by William Tyler, Bolt-court. INTERESTING NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY COLBUM AND CO., 13, GEEAT MAELBOEOUGH STEEET. NEW EDITION OF THE LIVES OF THE QUEENS. Now in course of publication, in Eight Octavo Volumes (comprising from 600 to 700 pages), price lis. each, elegantly bound, LIVES OF THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. BY AGNES STRICKLAND. A New, Revised, and Cheaper Edition, EMBELLISHED WITH POETEAITS OE EVEEY QUEEN. BEAUTIFULLY ENGRAVED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES. In announcing the new, revised, and greatly augmented Edition of this important and interesting work, which has been considered unique in biographical literature, the publishers beg to direct attention to the following extract from the preface :�" A revised edition of the ' Lives of the Queens of England,' embodying the important collections which have been brought to light since the appearance of earlier impressions, is now offered to the world, embellished with Portraits of every Queen, from authentic and properly verified sources. The series, commencing with the consort of William the Conqueror, occupies that most interesting and important period of our national chronology, from the death of the last monarch of the Anglo-Saxon line, Edward the Confessor, to the demise of the last sovereign of the royal house of Stuart, Queen Anne, and comprises therein thirty queens who have worn the crown-matrimonial, and four the regal diadem of this realm. We have related B COLBURN AND CO;'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. the parentage of every queen, described her education, traced the influence of family connexions and national habits on her conduct, both public and private, and given a concise outline of the domestic, as well as the general history of her times, and its effects on her character, and we have done so with singleness of heart, unbiassed by selfish interests or narrow views. Such as they were in life we have endeavoured to portray them, both in good and ill, without regard to any other considerations than the development of the facts. Their sayings, their doings, their manners, their costume, will be found faithfully chronicled in this work, which also includes the most interesting of their letters. The hope that the < Lives of the Queens of England' might be regarded as a national work, honourable to the female character, and generally useful to society, has encouraged us to the completion of the task." OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, " These volumes have the fascination of romance united to the integrity of history. The work is written by a lady of considerable learning, indefatigable industry, and careful judgment. All these qualifications for a biographer and an historian she has brought to bear upon the subject of her volumes, and from them has resulted a narrative interesting to all, and more particularly interesting to that portion of the community to whom the more refined researches of literature afford pleasure and instruction. The whole work should be read, and no doubt will be read, by all who are anxious for information. It is a lucid arrangement of facts, derived from authentic sources, exhibiting a combination of industry, learning, judgment, and impartiality, not often met with in biographers of crowned heads."�Times. " A remarkable and truly great historical work. In this series of biographies, in which the severe truth of history takes almost the wildness of romance, it is the singular merit of Miss Strickland that her research has enabled her to throw new light on many doubtful passages, to bring forth fresh facts, and to render every portion of our annals which she has described an interesting and valuable study. She has given a most valuable contribution to the history of England, and we have no hesitation in affirming that no one can be said to possess an accurate knowledge of the history of the country who has not studied her ' Lives of the Queens of England.'"�Morning Herald. " A most valuable and entertaining work. There is certainly no lady of our day who has devoted her pen to so beneficial a purpose as Miss Strickland. Nor is there any other whose works possess a deeper or more enduring interest. Miss Strickland is to our mind the first literary lady of the age."�Morning Chronicle. " We must pronounce Miss Strickland beyond all comparison the most entertaining historian in the English language. She is certainly a woman of powerful and active mind, as well as of scrupulous justice and honesty of purpose."�Morning Post. " Miss Strickland has made a very judicious use of many authentic MS. authorities not previously collected, and the result is a most interesting addition to our biographical library."�Quarterly Review. " A valuable contribution to historical knowledge. It contains a mass of every kind of historical matter of interest, which industry and research could collect. We have derived much entertainment and instruction from the work."�A ihmamm. HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 3 MEMOIRS OF HORACE WALPOLE AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES, INCLUDING NUMEROUS ORIGINAL LETTERS, CHIEFLY FROM STRAWBERRY HILL. EDITED BY ELIOT WARBURTON, ESQ. AUTHOR OF "THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS," ETC. 2 vols. 8vo, with Portraits, 28s. bound. Perhaps no name of modern times is productive of so many pleasant associations as that of " Horace Walpole," and certainly no name was ever more intimately connected with so many different subjects of importance in connexion with Literature, Art, Fashion, and Politics. The position of various members of his family connecting Horace Walpole with the Cabinet, the Court, and the Legislature�his own intercourse with those characters who became remarkable for brilliant social and intellectual qualities�and his reputation as a Wit, a Scholar, and a Virtuoso, cannot fail, it is hoped, to render his Memoirs equally amusing and instructive, OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " The biography before us is in all respects eminently satisfactory."�Morning Chronicle. " These Memoirs offer a good subject, well treated, and indeed a necessary addition to the library of every English gentleman. The ' Memoirs of Horace "Walpole and his Contemporaries' nearly completes the chain of mixed personal, political, and literary history, commencing with ' Evelyn' and ' Pepys,' carried forward by ' Swift's Journal and Correspondence,' and ending almost in our own day with the histories of Mr. Macaulay and Lord Mahon. Besides its historical value, which is very considerable, it cannot be estimated too highly as a book of mere amusement."�Standard. "Two more interesting or entertaining volumes than these 'Memoirs of Horace Walpole' may be searched for for a long time before they will be found. The writer has woven into his narrative a rich fund of contemporary anecdote and illustration. Most of the nobles, wits, and literati of the period are judiciously introduced."�Morning Post. " Horace Walpole was the most remarkable man of his time; and posterity will do him the justice, now that his career is fully elaborated, to place him in the niche which belongs to him, as one whose influence in the affairs of his country has been far beyond the average of other men."�Messenger. " This life of Horace Walpole is a very valuable and interesting addition to the historical library. We should be glad to see every part of our later history illustrated with equal clearness and impartiality."� Weekly Chronicle. "Few works of the present day contain more matter fitted for entertainment and instruction."�Morning Herald. B 2 4 COLBURN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. BURKE'S PEERAGE AND BARONETAGE, FOR 1852. NEW EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED THROUGHOUT FROM THE PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS OF THE NOBILITY, &c With the ARMS (1500 in number) accurately engraved, and incorporated with the Text. Now ready, in 1 vol. (comprising as much matter as twenty ordinary volumes), 88s. bound. The following is a List of the Princip I. A full and interesting history of each order of the English Nobility, showing its origin, rise, titles, immunities, privileges, &c. II. A complete Memoir of the Queen and Royal Family, forming a brief genealogical History of the Sovereign of this country, and deducing the descent of the Plantagenets, Tudors, Stuarts, and Guelphs, through their various ramifications. To this section is appended a list of those Peers who inherit the distinguished honour of Quartering the Royal Arms of Plantagenet. III. An Authentic table of Precedence. IV. A perfect History of All the Peers and Baronets, with the fullest details of their ancestors and descendants, and particulars respecting every collateral member of each family, and all intermarriages, &c. I Contents of this Standard Work:� V. The Spiritual Lords. VI. Foreign Noblemen, subjects by birth of the British Crown. VII. Peerages claimed. VIII. Surnames of Peers and Peeresses, with Heirs Apparent and Presumptive. IX. Courtesy titles of Eldest Sons. X. Peerages of the Three Kingdoms in order of Precedence. XL Baronets in order of Precedence. XII. Privy Councillors of England and Ireland. XIII. Daughters of Peers married to Commoners. XIV. All the Orders of Knighthood, with every Knight and all the Knights Bachelors. XV. Mottoes translated, with poetical illustrations. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. u The most complete, the most convenient, and the cheapest work of the kind ever given to the public."�Sun. " The best genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, and the first authority on all questions affecting the aristocracy."�Globe. " For the amazing quantity of personal and family history, admirable arrangement of details, and accuracy of information, this genealogical and heraldic dictionary is without a rival. It is now the standard and acknowledged book of reference upon all questions touching pedigree, and direct or collateral affinity with the titled aristocracy. The-lineage of each distinguished house is deduced through all the various ramifications. Every collateral branch, however remotely connected, is introduced; and the alliances are so carefully inserted, as to show, in all instances, the connexion which so intimately exists between the titled and untitled aristocracy. We have also much most entertaining historical matter, and many very curious and interesting family traditions. The work is, in fact, a complete cyclopaedia of the whole titled classes of the empire, supplying all the information that can possibly be desired on the subject."�Morning Post. A COMPANION TO THE PEEEAGE. 5 BURKE'S HISTORY OF THE LANDED GENTRY, FOR 1852. � ffientaloguai Btctfonarg OF THE WHOLE OF THE UNTITLED ARISTOCRACY OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND: Comprising Particulars of 100,000 Individuals connected with them. In 2 volumes, royal 8vo, WITH A SEPARATE INDEX, GRATIS, CONTAINING REFERENCES TO THE NAMES OP EVERY PERSON MENTIONED. Beautifully printed in double columns, comprising more matter than 30 ordinary volumes, price only 21. 2s., elegantly bound. The Landed Gentry of England are so closely connected with the stirring records of its eventful history, that some acquaintance with them is a matter of necessity with the legislator, the lawyer, the historical student, the speculator in politics, and the curious in topographical and antiquarian lore; and even the very spirit of ordinary curiosity will prompt to a desire to trace the origin and progress of those families whose influence pervades the towns and villages of our land. This work furnishes such a mass of authentic information in regard to all the principal families in the kingdom as has never before been attempted to be brought together. It relates to the untitled families of rank, as the " Peerage and Baronetage" does to the titled, and forms, in fact, a peerage of the untitled aristocracy. It embraces the whole of the landed interest, and is indispensable to the library of every gentleman. The great cost attending the production of this National Work, the first of its kind, induces the publisher to hope that the heads of all families recorded in its pages will supply themselves with copies. " A work of this kind is of a national value. Its utility is not merely temporary, but it will exist and be acknowledged as long as the families whose names and genealogies are recorded in it continue to form an integral portion of the English constitution. As a correct record of descent, no family should be without it. The untitled aristocracy have in this great work as perfect a dictionary of their genealogical history, family connexions, and heraldic rights, as the peerage and baronetage. It will be an enduring and trustworthy record."�Morning Post. " A work in which every gentleman will find a domestic interest, as it contains the fullest account of every known family in the United Kingdom. It is a dictionary of all names, families, and their origin,�of every man's neighbour and friend, if not of his own relatives and immediate connexions. It cannot fail to be of the greatest utility to professional men in their researches respecting the members of different families, heirs to property, &c. Indeed, it will become as necessary as a Directory in every office."�BelVs Messenger. 6 COLBURN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. GEKMANT; ITS COURTS AND PEOPLE. BY THE AUTHOR OE "MILDRED VEHNON." Second and Cheaper Edition. 2 vols. 8vo, 21s. bound. This work comprises a complete picture of the various courts and people of the Continent, as they appear amidst the wreck of the recent revolutions. The author possessed, through her influential connexions, peculiar facilities for acquiring exclusive information on the topics treated of. She succeeded in penetrating into provinces and localities rarely visited by tourists, and still glowing with the embers of civil war, and followed the army of Prussia in Germany, of Russia in Hungary, and of Radetzky in Italy. Her pages teem with the sayings and doings of almost all the illustrious characters, male and female, whom the events of the last two years have brought into European celebrity, combined with graphic views of the insurrectionary struggles, sketches of the various aspects of society, and incidents of personal adventure. To give an idea of the scope and variety of the contents of the work, it need only be mentioned that among the countries visited will be found Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Bavaria, Saxony, Servia, Styria, the Tyrol, Hanover, Brunswick, Italy, &c. To enumerate all the distinguished personages with whom the writer had intercourse, and of whom anecdotes are related, would be impossible; but they include such names as the Emperors of Austria and Russia, the Kings of Prussia, Hanover, Bavaria, and Wur-temberg, the Count de Chambord (Henry Y.), the Queens of Bavaria and Prussia, the ex-Empress of Austria, the Grand Duke of Baden, the Archdukes John, Francis, and Stephen of Austria, Duke Willi elm of Brunswick, the Prince of Prussia, Prince John of Saxony, the Countess Batthy-� anyi, Madame Kossuth, &c. Among the statesmen, generals, and leading actors in the revolutionary movements, we meet with Radowitz, Yon Gagern, Schwarzenberg, Bekk, Esterhazy, the Ban Jellacic, Windiseh-gratz, Radetzky, Welden, Haynau, Wrangel, Pillersdorf, Kossuth, Blum, Gorgey, Batthy anyi, Pulszky, Klapka, Bem,Dembinski,Hecker, Struve,&c. " An important, yet most amusing work, throwing much and richly-coloured light on matters with which every one desires to be informed. All the courts and people of Germany are passed in vivid review before us. The account of the Austrians, Magyars, and Croats, will be found especially interesting. In many of its lighter passages the work may bear a comparison with Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's Letters."'�Morning Chronicle. HISTOEY AND BIOGEAPHY. 7 NOW COMPLETE, IN FIVE VOLUMES, POST OCTAVO, WITH PORTRAITS, &C, HANDSOMELY BOUND, PRICE 35s.3 PEPYS' DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE, ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE REIGNS OF CHARLES II. AND JAMES II. EDITED BY LORD BRAYBROOKE. This Edition contains all the passages restored prom the original manuscript, and all the Additional Notes. CRITICAL OPINIONS. EDINBURGH REVIEW. "We unhesitatingly characterise this journal as the most remarkable production of its kind which has eyer been given to the world. Pepys paints the Court, the Monarchy, and the times, in more vivid colours than any one else. His Diary makes us comprehend the great historical events of the age, and the people who bore a part in them, and gives us more clear glimpses into the true English life of the times than all the other memorials of them that have come down to our own." ATHENJEUM. " The best book of its kind in the English language. The new matter is extremely curious, and occasionally far more characteristic and entertaining than the old. (The writer is seen in a clearer light, and the reader is taken into his inmost soul. ' Pepys' Diary' is the ablest picture of the age in which the writer lived, and a work of standard importance in English literature." QUARTERLY REVIEW. "'Pepy^' Diary' throws a distinct and vivid light over the picture of England and its government during the period succeeding the Restoration. If, quitting the broad path of history, we look for minute information concerning ancient manners and customs, the progress of arts and sciences, and the various branches of antiquity, we have never seen a mine so rich as these volumes. The variety of Pepys' tastes and pursuits led him into almost every department of life. He was a man of business, a man of information, a man of whim, and, to a certain degree, a man of pleasure. He was a statesman, a bel-esprit, a virtuoso, and a connoisseur. His curiosity made him an unwearied, as well as an universal, learner, and whatever he saw found its way into his tables." 8 COLBUBN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. THE LIFE AND REIGN OF CHARLES I. By I. D ISRAEL I. A NEW EDITION. REVISED BY THE AUTHOR, AND EDITED BY HIS SON, B. DISRAELI, M.P. 2 vols., 8vo, uniform with the " Curiosities of Literature," 28s. hound. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " By far the most important work on the important age of Charles I. that modern times have produced."�Quarterly Review. " Mr. Disraeli has conceived that the republication of his father's ' Commentaries on the Life and Reign of Charles 1/ is peculiarly well timed at the present moment; and he indicates the well-known chapters on the Genius of the Papacy, and the critical relations of Protestant sovereigns with Roman Catholic subjects, as reflecting, mirror-like, < the events, thoughts, passions, and perplexities of the present agitated epoch.' In particular, he observes, that the stories of conversions to the Romish faith, then rife, seem like narratives of the present hour, and that the reader is almost tempted to substitute the names of his personal acquaintances for those of the courtiers of Charles. No apology was needed for reintroducing to the world so instructive and original a work as that of Isaac Disraeli."�Times. " At the end of 250 years, Rome and England are engaged in a controversy having the same object as that in which they were committed at the commencement of the seventeenth century; and no where will the reader find the circumstances of that controversy, its aims, the passions which it evoked, the instruments which it employed, and its results,.better described than in this excellent book."�Standard. "The position attained by the late Mr. Disraeli's admirable and learned commentaries on the great events of the Revolution, and the times that led to it, would at any period have warranted its republication. To those, however, to whom the bearing of its remarks, and the effect of the author's researches are known on the religious question of that day, their apt and effective bearing on the most vital topic of our present religio-political existence, will give the reappearance of the work an additional value."�Britannia. " The history of Charles I. required a Tacitus, and, in our opinion, this work ought to have that standard character."�Gentleman's Magazine. HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 9 LIYES OF THE PRINCESSES OF ENGLAND. By MRS EVERETT GREEN, EDITOE OF THE " LETTERS OF ROYAL AND ILLUSTRIOUS LADIES." 3 vols., post 8vo, with Illustrations, 10s. 6d. each, bound. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " A most agreeable book, forming a meet companion for the work of Miss Strickland, to which, indeed, it is an indispensable addition. The authoress, already favourably known to the learned world by her excellent collection of ' Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies, has executed her task with great skill and fidelity. Every page displays careful research and accuracy. There is a graceful combination of sound, historical erudition, with an air of romance and adventure that is highly pleasing, and renders the work at once an agreeable companion of the boudoir, and a valuable addition to the historical library. Mrs. Green has entered upon an untrodden path, and gives to her biographies an air of freshness and novelty very alluring. The first two volumes (including the Lives of twenty-five Princesses) carry us from the daughters of the Conqueror to the family of Edward I.�a highly interesting period, replete with curious illustrations of the genius and manners of the Middle Ages. Such works, from the truthfulness of their spirit, furnish a more lively picture of the times than even the graphic, though delusive, pencil of Scott and James."�Britannia. " The vast utility of the task undertaken by the gifted author of this interesting book can only be equalled by the skill, ingenuity, and research displayed in its accomplishment. The field Mrs. Green has selected is an untrodden one. Mrs. Green, on giving to the world a work which will enable us to arrive at a correct idea of the private histories and personal characters of the royal ladies of England, has done sufficient to entitle her to the respect and gratitude of the country. The labour of her task was exceedingly great, involving researches, not only intx> English records and chronicles, but into those of almost every civilised country in Europe. The style of Mrs. Green is admirable. She has a fine perception of character and manners, a penetrating spirit of observation, and singular exactness of judgment. The memoirs are richly fraught with the spirit of romantic adventure."� Morning Post. " This work is a worthy companion to Miss Strickland's admirable ' Queens of England.' In one respect the subject-matter of these volumes is more interesting, because it is more diversified than that of the ' Queens of England.' That celebrated work, although its heroines were, for the most part, foreign Princesses, related almost entirely to the history of this country. The Princesses of England, on the contrary, are themselves English, but their lives are nearly all connected with foreign nations. Their biographies, consequently, afford us a glimpse of the manners and customs of the chief European kingdoms, a circumstance which not only gives to the work the charm of variety, but which is likely to render it peculiarly useful to the general reader, as it links together by association the contemporaneous history of various nations. The histories are related with an earnest simplicity and copious explicitness. The reader is informed without being wearied, and alternately enlivened by some spirited description, or touched by some pathetic or tender episode. We cordially commend Mrs. Everett Green's production to general attention; it is (necessarily) as useful as history, and fully as entertaining as romance.11�5?^??. 10 COLBURN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. MADAME PULSZKY'S MEMOIRS. Comprising Pull and Interesting Details of THE LATE EVENTS IN HUNGARY. With an Historical Introduction by FRANCIS PULSZKY, Late Under-Secretary of State to Ferdinand, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. OPINIONS OP THE PRESS. " The nationality of the people, their martial prowess, and present unhappy fate, have invested Hungary with the interest of a second Poland, and Western Europe must be naturally desirous to learn something of their civil and social life. These volumes are the joint production of M. and Madame Pulszky. While the latter records her impressions and recollections of Hungarian life, we have to thank M. Pulszky for a very able summary of the history of Hungary, from the days of Arpad to the reign of Ferdinand the Pirst, and the reform movement�a history which abounds in interesting incidents and useful lessons for the statesman and the philosophic historian. Madame Pulszky's narrative of her wanderings and dangers is agreeably diversified with sketches and anecdotes from Magyar life, as well as with ancient legends from Hungarian history and modern passages in the late war of independence. It cannot fail to excite an interest in all classes of readers�in those who open a book only for amusement, as well as in those who look for something more enduring."� Edinburgh Revieiv. " We need hardly inform 6ur readers that the authoress of this work is the accomplished wife of the gentleman who was originally accredited to the English cabinet by the provisional government of Hungary. The private interest attaching to the recital of events which have become so famous would insure a wide popularity for Madame Pulszky's book. But we should very much under-estimate its value if we so limited our praise. The memoirs, indeed, contain sketches of social life which are worthy of a place by the side of Madame de Stael de Launay and Madame Campan. But they are also rich in political and topographical information of the first character. Madame Pulszky was in the habit of direct intercourse with the foremost and most distinguished of the Hungarian generals and statesmen, and has given a complete summary of the political events in Hungary, from the arrival of the Hungarian deputation in 1848, to the treason of General Gorgey on the 13th of August, 1849. M. Pulszky has also prefixed a valuable introduction, which gives the most complete history of Hungary that has ever issued from the English press."� Globe. " With all the charms of romance, these volumes possess the graver interest of his-'tory. Eullof personal anecdotes, historical reminiscences, and legendary associations; teeming with interesting adventures, rich in social illustration and topographical description, the memoirs present to all classes of readers an attraction quite independent of the recent important events, of which they give so clear and connected a narrative."�Morning JPost� " In this most interesting book we have revealed in the characteristic memoirs of an eye-witness the whole story of Hungary and its revolution. The intrigues of Latour with Jellachich, the treachery of the court, the part taken by Kossuth and other eminent characters, the Hungarian deputation to the Emperor, and the final breach between Hungary and Austria, are told as forcibly as simply.35�Daily Neivs. " It is impossible that the great Hungarian struggle for freedom can ever find a historian more honest in point of narrative, more sincere in conviction, or more anxious to do full justice to the truth than Madame Pulszky."� Observer. HISTOBY AND BIOGKAPHY. u DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE OF JOHN EYELYN, F.R.S., Author of " Sylva," &c. A NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED, WITH NUMEROUS ADDITIONAL NOTES. UNIFORM WITH THE NEW EDITION OF PEPYS' DIARY. In 4 vols., post 8vo, price 10s. 6d. each, with Illustrations. N.B.�The Eirst Two Volumes, comprising " The Diary," are now ready. The Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn has long been regarded as an invaluable record of opinions and events, as well as the most interesting exposition we possess of the manners, taste, learning, and religion of this country, during the latter half of the seventeenth century. The Diary comprises observations on the politics, literature, and science of his age, during his travels in France and Italy; his residence in England towards the latter part of the Protectorate, and his connexion with the Courts of Charles II. and the two subsequent reigns, interspersed with a vast number of original anecdotes of the most celebrated persons of that period. To the Diary is subjoined the Correspondence of Evelyn with many of his distinguished contemporaries; also Original Letters from Sir Edward Nicholas, private secretary to King Charles I., during some important periods of that reign, with the King's answers; and numerous letters from Sir Edward Hyde (Lord Clarendon) to Sir Edward Nicholas, and to Sir Richard Brown, Ambassador to France, during the exile of the British Court. A New Edition of this interesting work having been long demanded, the greatest pains have been taken to render it as complete as possible, by a careful re-examination of the original Manuscript, and by illustrating it with such annotations as will make the reader more conversant wTith the numerous subjects referred to by the Diarist. "It has been justly observed that as long as Virtue and Science hold their abode in this island, the memory of Evelyn will be held in the utmost veneration. Indeed, no change of fashion, no alteration of taste, no revolution of science,*' have impaired, or can impair, his celebrity. The youth who looks forward to an inheritance which he is under no temptation to increase, will do well to bear the example of Evelyn in his mind, as containing nothing but what is imitable, and nothing but what is good. All persons, indeed, may find in his character something for imitation, but for an English gentleman he is the perfect model."� Quarterly Review. 12 COLBURN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. BURKE'S DICTIONARY OF THE EXTINCT, DORMANT, & ABEYANT PEERAGES OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. Beautifully printed, in 1 vol. 8vo, containing 800 double-column pages, 21s. bound. This work, formed on a plan precisely similar to that of Mr. Burke's popular Dictionary of the present Peerage and Baronetage, comprises those peerages which have been suspended or extinguished since the Conquest, particularising the members of each family in each generation, and bringing the lineage, in all possible cases, through either collaterals or females, down to existing houses. It connects, in many instances, the new with the old nobility, and it will in all cases show the cause which has influenced the revival of an extinct dignity in a new creation. It should be particularly noticed, that this new work appertains nearly as much to extant as to extinct persons of distinction; for though dignities pass away, it rarely occurs that whole families do. CONTENTS 1. Peerages of England extinct by failure of issue, attainder, &c, alphabetically, ac cording to Surnames. 2. Baronies by Writ�England�in abey- ance, and still vested probably in existing heirs. 3. Extinct and Abeyant Peerages of Eng- land, according to titles. 4. Charters of Freedom�Magna Charta� Charter of Forests. 5. Boll of Battel Abbey. Peerages of Ireland, extinct by failure of issue, attainder, &c, alphabetically, according to Surnames. 7. Baronies by Writ�Ireland�in abey- ance. 8. Peerages of Ireland, extinct and abey- ant, alphabetically, according to Titles. 9. Peerages of Scotland, extinct by failure of issue, attainder, &c, alphabetically, according to Surnames. 10. Extinct Peerages of Scotland, alphabetically, according to Titles. MEMOIRS OF SCIPIO DE RICCI, :late bishop of pistoia and prato; REFORMER OF CATHOLICISM IN TUSCANY. Cheaper Edition, 2 vols. 8vo, 12s. bound. The leading feature of this important work is its application to the great question now at issue between our Protestant and Catholic fellow-subjects. It contains a complete expose of the Romish Church Establishment during the eighteenth century, and of the abuses of the Jesuits throughout the greater part of Europe. Many particulars of the most thrilling kind are brought to light. MADAME CAMPAFS MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF MARIE ANTOINETTE. Cheaper Edition, 2 vols. 8vo, with Portraits, price only 12s.�The same in French. ^ " We have seldom perused so entertaining a work. It is as a mirror of the most splendid Court in Europe, at a time when the monarchy had not been shorn of any of its beams, that it is particularly worthy of attention."�Chronicle. HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 13 ANECDOTES OF THE ARISTOCRACY, AND EPISODES IN ANCESTRAL STORY. By J. BERNARD BURKE, Esq., Author of " The History of the Landed Gentry," " The Peerage and Baronetage," &c Second and Cheaper Edition, 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. The memoirs of our great families are replete with details of the most striking and romantic interest, throwing light on the occurrences of public as well as domestic life, and elucidating the causes of many important national events. How little of the personal history of the Aristocracy is generally known, and yet how full of amusement is the subject! Almost every eminent family has some event connected with its rise or greatness, some curious tradition interwoven with its annals, or some calamity casting a gloom over the brilliancy of its achievements, which cannot fail to attract the attention of that sphere of society to which this work more particularly refers, and must equally interest the general reader, with whom, in this country, the records of the higher classes have always possessed a peculiar attraction. The anecdotes of the Aristocracy here recorded go far to show that there are more marvels in real life than in the creations of fiction. Let the reader seek romance in whatever book, and at whatever period he may, yet nought will he find to surpass the unex-aggerated reality here unfolded. " Mr. Burke has here given us the most curious incidents, the most stirring tales, and the most remarkable circumstances connected with the histories, public and private, of our noble houses and aristocratic families, and has put them into a shape which will preserve them in the library, and render them the favourite study of those who are interested in the romance of real life. These stories, with all the reality of established fact, read with as much spirit as the tales of Boccacio, and are as full of strange matter for reflection and amazement."�Britannia. " We cannot estimate too highly the interest of Mr. Burke's entertaining and instructive work. For the curious nature of the details, the extraordinary anecdotes related, the strange scenes described, it would be difficult to find a parallel for it. It will be read by every one."�Sunday Times. ROMANTIC RECORDS OF DISTINGUISHED FAMILIES. Being the Second Series of " Anecdotes of the Aristocracy." By J. B. BURKE, Esq. 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. " From the copious materials afforded by the history of the English Aristocracy, Mr. Burke has made another and a most happy selection, adding a second wing to his interesting picture-gallery. Some of the most striking incidents on record in the annals of high and noble families are here presented to view."�John Bull. 14 COLBURN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. HISTORIC SCENES. By AGNES STRICKLAND. Author of " Lives of the Queens of England," &c. 1 vol., post 8vo, elegantly bound, with Portrait of the Author, 1 Os. 6d. " This attractive volume is replete with interest. Like Miss Strickland's former works? it will be found, we doubt not, in the hands of youthful branches of a family, as well as in those of their parents, to all and each of whom it cannot fail to be alike amusing and instructive."�Britannia. " This delightful book will speedily become a reigning favourite.~~ These deeply interesting compositions abound _ in delicate and refined sentiment, glowing flights of imagination and the utmost poetic beauty."� Weddy Chronicle. LETTERS OF ROYAL AND ILLUSTRIOUS LADIES OF GREAT BRITAIN, ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE HISTORYmOF ENGLAND. Now first published from the Originals, with Introductory Notices. By MARY ANN EVERETT GREEN, Author of " Lives of the Princesses of England." Cheaper Edition, 3 vols., with Facsimile Autographs, &c, 15s. bound. GENERAL PEPE'S NARRATIVE OP THE WAR IN ITALY, FROM 1847 to 1850; INCLUDING THE-SIEGE OF VENICE. Now first published from the original Italian Manuscript. 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. " The grand features of the recent Italian movement in favour of a national existence have had no other such authentic portraiture as these volumes convey. The State documents and letters which the work contains make it indispensable to the historian of these times. The whole panorama of the Revolution is here gone over�the reform movement beginning at Home�the agitation caused thereby in Florence and Naples, thence spreading to Sicily, Piedmont, and Austrian Italy�the threats and hostile attitude of the Court of Vienna�the spirited revolt of the Sicilians�the increased tyranny of German generals in Lombardy�the crash of the Parisian Revolution�the rise of the populace of Milan against Radetzky, the declaration of Charles Albert, and advance of the "Sardinian troops�the battle of Goito�the exultation of feeling in Rome and Florence� the flight of the Grand Duke of Tuscany�the revolution in Naples�the treachery of Pope and King�the dreadful massacre in Naples�the disasters of Charles Albert�the bombardment of Brescia�the glorious defence of Venice�the flight of the Pope from Rome�the arrival of Mazzini�the proclamation of the Republic from the Capitol� the invasion of the Roman States by the armies of Spain, Austria, France, and Naples� the fall of Venice and of Rome�and the whole chain of events down to the Pontiff's return."�Atlienceum. "We predict that posterity will accept General Pepe as the historian of the great Italian movement of the nineteenth century. His work is worthy of all commendation."� Standard. HISTORY AKD BIOGBAPHY. 15 THE EEV. K. MILMAFS LIFE OF TASSO. 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. "Mr. Mihnan's book has considerable merit. He has evidently, in his interesting biography of Tasso, undertaken a labour Of love. His diligence has been great, his materials are copious and well-arranged, and his sketches of the poet's contemporaries form agreeable episodes in the narrative of Tasso's works and woes."�Edinburgh Review.^ *"'u The present work, from the touching interest of its subject, is likely to be extensively read."�Athenceum. " Mr. Mihnan's biography is a very good one. The work will find a place in every library."�Britannia. " A most valuable addition to our literary treasures�fraught with deep and thrilling interest."� Morning Post. " Mr. Mihnan's Memoir of Tasso is a work of considerable interest; entering fully into the particulars of the great poet's life, and giving a general review of his works."�John Bull. MEMOIRS AID CORRESPONDENCE OF SIR EGBERT MURRAY KEITH, K.B., Minister Plenipotentiary at the Courts of Dresden, Copenhagen, and Vienna, from 1769 to 1793; with Biographical Memoirs of QUEEN CAROLINE MATILDA, SISTER OP GEORGE III. EDITED BY MRS. GILLESPIE SMYTH. 2 vols., post 8vo, with Portraits, 21s. hound. Sir Robert Murray Keith, it will be recollected, was one of the ablest diplomatists of the last century, and held the post of Ambassador at the Court of Copenhagen, when Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark, the unfortunate sister of George III., was involved in the conspiracy of Struensee, and was only saved from the severest punishment her vindictive enemy the Queen-Mother could inflict, by the spirited interposition of the British Ambassador. Sir Eobert Keith also for a long period represented his Sovereign at the Courts of Dresden and Vienna; and his papers, edited by a member of his family, throw considerable light on the diplomatic history of the reign of George III., besides conveying many curious particulars of the great men and events of the period. Among the variety of interesting documents comprised in these volumes, will be found�Letters from Frederick, King of Prussia; Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark; Princes Ferdinand of Brunswick, Kaunitz, and Czartoriski; the Dukes of Cumberland, York, Queensbury, Montagu, and Newcastle; Lords Stormont, St. Asaph, Heathfield, Hardwicke, Darlington, Auckland, Apsley, Barrington, Stair; Counts Bentinek and Rosenberg; Baron Trenck; Field-Marshals Conway and Keith; Sirs Walter Scott, Joseph Yorke, Nathaniel Wraxall, John Sebright; Dr. Eobertson, Mr. Pitt, Howard, Mrs. Piozzi, Mrs. Montagu, &c, &c. " A large portion of this important and highly interesting work consists of letters, that we venture to say will bear a comparison for sterling wit, lively humour, entertaining gossip, piquant personal anecdotes, and brilliant pictures of social life, in its highest phases, both at home and abroad, with those of Horace Walpole himself."�Court Journal. 16 COLBUEN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. CAPTAIN CRAWFORD'S REMINISCENCES OF ADMIRALS SIR E. OWENT, SIR B. HALLOWELL CAREW, AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED COMMANDERS. 2 vols., post 8vo, with Portraits, 21s. bound. " A work which cannot fail of being popular in every portion of our sea-girt isle, and of being read with delight by all who feel interested in the right hand of our country�its Navy."�Plymouth Herald. REYELATIONS OF PRINCE TALLEYRAND. By M. COLMACHE, THE PRINCE'S PRIVATE SECRETARY. Second Edition, 1 volume, post 8vo, with Portrait, 10s. 6d. bound. " A more interesting work has not issued from the press for many years. It is in truth a complete Boswell sketch of the greatest diplomatist of the age."�Sunday Times. Now ready, Volume XI., price 7s., of M. A. THIERS' HISTORY OF FRANCE, FROM THE PERIOD OF THE CONSULATE IN 1800, TO THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. A SEQUEL TO HIS HISTORY OP THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Having filled at different times the high offices of Minister of the Interior, of Finance, of Foreign Affairs, and President of the Council, M. Thiers has enjoyed facilities beyond the reach of every other biographer of Napoleon for procuring, from exclusive and authentic sources, the choicest materials for his present work. As guardian to the archives of the state, he had access to diplomatic papers and other documents of the highest importance, hitherto known only to a privileged few, and the publication of which cannot fail to produce a great sensation. From private sources, M. Thiers, it appears, has also derived much valuable information. Many interesting memoirs, diaries, and letters, all hitherto unpublished, and most of them destined for political reasons to remain so, have been placed at his disposal; while all the leading characters of the empire, who were alive when the author undertook the present history, have supplied him with a mass of incidents and anecdotes which have never before appeared in print, and the accuracy and value of which may be inferred from the fact of these parties having been themselves eyewitnesses of, or actors in, the. great events of the period. *** To prevent disappointment, the public are requested to be particular in giving their orders for " Colburn's Authorised Translation." HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 17 HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS; FROM THE CONVENTION PARLIAMENT OF 1688-9, TO THE PASSING OF THE REFORM BILL IN 1832. By WM. CHARLES TOWNSEND, ESQ., M.A., Recorder of Macclesfield. 2 vols. 8vo, 12s. bound. " We have here a collection of biographical notices of all the Speakers who have presided during the hundred and forty-four years above defined, and of several Members of Parliament the most distinguished in that period. Much useful and curious information is scattered throughout the volumes."�Quarterly Review. DIARY AND MEMOIRS OF SOPHIA DOROTHEA, CONSORT OF GEORGE I. Now first published from the Originals. Cheaper Edition, 2 vols., 8vo, with Portrait, 12s� bound. " A work abounding in the romance of real life."�Messenger. " A book of marveUous revelations, establishing beyond all doubt t&e perfect innocence of the beautiful, highly-gifted, and inhumanly-treated Sophia Dorothea."�Naval and Military Gazette. LETTERS OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. Illustrative of Her Personal History. Edited, with an Historical Introduction and Notes, By AGNES STRICKLAND. Cheaper Edition, with numerous Additions, uniform with Miss Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of England." 2 vols., post 8vo, with Portrait, &c, 12s. bound. " The best collection of authentic memorials relative to the Queen of Scots that has ever appeared."�Morning Chronicle. MEMOIRS OF MADEMOISELLE DE MONTPENSIER. Written by HERSELF. 3 vols., post 8vo, with Portrait. " One of the most delightful and deeply-interesting works we have read for a long time."�Weekly Chronicle. LADY BLESSINfxTOFS JOUMAL OF HER CONVERSATIONS WITH LORD BYRON. Cheaper Edition, in 8vo, embellished with Portraits of Lady Blessington and Lord Byron, price only 7s. bound. " The be^t thing that has been written on Lord Byron."�Spectator. " Universally acknowledged to be delightful."�Athenceum. 18 COLBUEN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. NARRATIVE OF A TWO YEARS' RESIDENCE AT NINEVEH; AND TRAVELS in MESOPOTAMIA, ASSYRIA, and SYRIA, WITH REMARKS ON THE CHALDEANS, NESTORIANS, YEZIDEES, &C. By the Kev. J. P. FLETCHER. Two vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. These Travels embrace not only Nineveh and its antiquities, but various new and interesting particulars respecting the Yezidees, the Nestorians, and Oriental Christians, as well as notices of the country between Mosul and Aleppo, which has been explored by few European travellers. The intimate relations with the natives of the country entered into by Mr. Eletcher, who resided some years at Mosul, during his inquiries into the condition of the Oriental Churches, have furnished him with a vast fund of anecdote and illustration. The work also comprises disquisitions on the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, and on the successive empirtii established between the Tigris and Euphrates, with remarks on the hypothesis advocated by Major Eawlinson as regards the early Assyrian kings. OPINIONS OE THE PRESS. " A work of great merit�the remarks of a highly intelligent and acute observer. The work is not less acceptable as a book of travel than it is valuable as an auxiliary to the archaeology of the Holy Scriptures."�Standard. " At a time when the startling discoveries of Mr. Layard have called public attention to the cradle of Asiatic civilisation, the notes of a two years' residence on the mighty plain of Nineveh, and of excursions into the remotest parts of Assyria, from the pen of another traveller, cannot fail to excite more than ordinary interest. Mr. Eletcher, well versed in the questions connected with the geography of Scripture, and with the history and position of the different Churches of the East, made his observations on the countries which he visited, not as an ordinary traveller who picks up his knowledge casually, here and there, but as an experienced student, who knows beforehand upon what points he is to direct his inquiries. His volumes form an instructive and agreeable pendant to Mr. Layard's more exclusively antiquarian researches. The reader will meet with much valuabl i information which he would look for in vain elsewhere."�John Bull. " A book which Lets us more into the secret of the habits and ideas of the natives of Eastern Asia, more especially of the Christian population, than any work we could point out. Mr. Fletcher brings fresh and valuable information from that new centre of antiquarian research. He had the rare good fortune to be present at the first discoveries of M. Botta; and he is not without claims to be ranked as a discoverer himself. But his disposition and his opportunities make him a better describer of the living than of the dead. The circle of his inquiries was by no means confined to Nineveh, but extended to the whole Christian population of Asiatic Turkey, of whose habits, ideas, observances, and general condition he gives a minute, interesting, and, we are convinced, authentic account. The condition of the Eastern Churches is exciting much curiosity at present, and his detailed description of them will be most interesting to the religious world. Our extracts will sufficiently show what varied, interesting, and useful matter these volumes contain."�Daily News. " Two volumes abounding in lively and graphic sketches of scenes visited and of characters encountered."�Athenceum. " There is a great deal of original hypothesis and much gratifying information in these volumes. Mr. Fletcher is an acute observer, and a well-read historian, His work deserves to be popular, and cannot fail to increase our knowledge of the countries of which it treats."�Evangelical Magazine. VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 19 DIARY OF A LADY'S TRAVELS IN NORTHERN AFRICA. 2 vols., post 8vo, 21s. bound. " These exceedingly interesting volumes contain a very lively and graphic narrative of the author's experience amongst the curiously mixed population of Barbary, with many important facts, and much useful intelligence."�Weekly Chronicle. " These volumes of a very clever and observant lady are full of entertaining matter, amusing anecdotes, and life-like sketches of the places visited."�Morning Herald. NARRATIVE OF AI OYERLAND JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD. By SIR GEORGE SIMPSON, Governor-in-Chief of the Hudson's Bay Company's Territories in North America. 2 vols., 8VO, with Map, &c, 31s. 6d. bound. " A more valuable or instructive work, or one more full of perilous adventure and heroic enterprise, we have never met with."�John Bull. " It deserves to be a standard work in all libraries, and it will become so."�Messenger. MR. ROSS5 YACHT YOYAGE TO DENMARK, NORWAY, AND SWEDEN, IK LORD RODNEY'S CUTTER " THE IRIS." Second Edition, 1 vol., 6s. bound. " There is not a sporting man in the country who could peruse these volumes without deriving a considerable amount of pleasure and profit from their pages. No one should think of visiting Norway, Denmark, or Sweden, without consulting them."�Era. FIYE YEARS IE &AFPIRLAOT): WITH SKETCHES OE THE LATE WAR INT THAT COUNTRY. By Mrs. HARRIET WARD (Wife of Captain Ward, 91st. Regt.) Second Edition, 2 vols., post 8vo, with Portraits, &c, 21s. bound. THE WANDERER II ITALY, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, AND SPAIN. By T. ADOLPHUS T&OLLOPE, Esq. 1 vol., 6s. bound. Peincipal Contents.�Venice�Rorne�"Florence�Zurich�Lucerne� Berne�Inter-laken�Certaldo� Aries�Beziers�Toulouse�Pau�Orthez�St. Sebastian �Azpeitia� Saragossa�Jaca�Panticosa �Bayonne, &c. " A delightful table-book for seaside or fireside�for any place where there are cultivated tastes. The volume is a gallery of pleasant pictures'far more than a guide-book." �Athenceum. 20 COLBURN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. LORD LINDSAY'S LETTERS OK THE HOLY LAND. Fourth Edition, Eevised and Corrected, 1 vol., post 8vo, 6s. bound. " Lord Lindsay has felt and recorded what he saw with the wisdom of a philosopher, and the faith of an enlightened Christian."�Quarterly Review* THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS; OR, ROMANCE AND REALITIES OF EASTERN TRAYEL. By ELIOT WARBURTON, Esq. Eighth and Cheaper Edition, 1 vol., with numerous Illustrations, 10s. 6d. bound. " Independently of its value as an original narrative, and its useful and interesting information, this work is remarkable for the colouring power and play of fancy with which its descriptions are enlivened. Among its greatest and most lasting charms is its reverent and serious spirit."�Quarterly Review. " We could not recommend a better book as a travelling companion."�United Service Magazine. HOCHELAGA; OR. ENGLAND IN THE NEW WORLD. Edited by ELIOT WARBURTON", Esq., Author of " The Crescent and the Cross." Fourth and Cheaper Edition, 2 vols., post 8vo, with Illustrations, 10s. 6d. bound. " We recommend ' Hochelaga' most heartily, in case any of our readers may as yet be unacquainted with it."�Quarterly Review. " This work has already reached a third edition. We shall be surprised if it do not go through many. It possesses almost every qualification of a good book�grace, variety, and vigour of style�a concentrated power of description, which has all the effect of elaborate painting�information carefully collected and judiciously communicated�sound and enlarged views of important questions�a hearty and generous love of country�and the whole pervaded by a refined but sometimes caustic humour, which imparts a constant attraction to its pages. We can cordially recommend it to our readers, as well for the amusement of its lighter portions, the vivid brilliancy of its descriptions, and the solid information it contains respecting Canada, and the position generally of England in the new world."�John Bull MISCELLANEOUS. 21 LIGHTS AM) SHADES OF MILITARY LIFE. Edited by Lieut.-Gen. Sir CHARLES NAPIER, G.C.B., Commander-in-Chief in India, &c. 1 vol., 8vo, 10s. 6d. bound. "A narrative of stirring interest, which should be in the hands of every officer in her Majesty's service."� Globe. " One of the most interesting and, as regards General Napier's share of it, one of the most original productions of the day."�Indian News. SIR JAMES ALEXANDER'S ACADIE; OR, SEVEN YEARS' EXPLORATION IN CANADA, &c. 2 vols., post 8vo, with numerous Illustrations, 12s. bound. " Replete with valuable information on Canada for the English settler, the English soldier, and the English Government; with various charms of adventure and description for the desultory reader."�Morning Chronicle. " No other writer on Canada can compare with the gallant author of the present volumes in the variety and interest of his narrative."�John Bull. STORY OF THE PENINSULAR WAR, A COMPANION VOLUME TO MR. GLEIG'S "STORY OE THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO." With six Portraits and Map, 5s. bound. " Every page of this work is fraught with undying interest. We needed such a book as this; one that could give to the rising generation of soldiers a clear notion of the events which led to the expulsion of the French from the Peninsular."� United Service Gazette. LADY LISTER KATE'S BRITISH HOMES AND FOREIGN WANDERINGS. 2 vols., post 8vo, 10s. bound. " Unrivalled as these volumes are, considered as portfolios of aristocratic sketches, they are not less interesting on account of the romantic history with which the sketches are interwoven."�John Bull. THE NEMESIS IN CHINA; COMPRISING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE WAR IN THAT COUNTRY; With a Particular Account of the Colony of Hong Kong. From Notes of Captain W. H. HALL, R.N., and Personal Observations by W. D. BERNARD, Esq., A.M., Oxon. Cheaper Edition, with a new Introduction, 1 vol., with Maps and Plates, 6s. bound. " Capt. Hall's narrative of the services of the Nemesis is full of interest, and will, we are sure, he valuable hereafter, as affording most curious materials for the history of steam navigation."�Quarterly Review. ""A work which will take its place beside that of Captain Cook."�Weekly Chronicle. 22 COLBUEN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. THE YEAR-BOOK OF THE COUNTRY; OE, THE EIELD, THE FOREST, AND THE FIRESIDE. By WILLIAM HOWITT, AUTHOR. OF "THE BOOK OF THE SEASONS," &C. SECOND AND CHEAPER EDITION. 1 VOLUME, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, 6S. BOUND. OPINIONS OE THE PRESS. "The world is always happy to hear from Mr. Howitt concerning cthe seasons and their signs '�the garden, the woodland, and their ever-changing shows of beauty�and the characters and humours which animate and chequer rural life. He treats of these topics with that affluence of poetical imagination and experience which there is no counterfeiting �with that thorough love which, coming from the heart of the writer, goes direct to the heart of the reader. The present volume is as fresh in spirit and as rich in matter as if it were the first of its family. The illustrations by Mr. Poster are excellent. The book is at once welcome to read and goodly to see. It is richly, poetically, picturesquely various. "We cannot doubt of its having a welcome as wide as its range of contents, and as cordial as the love of man and of nature, which every line of it breathes."�Atlienmum. "To all lovers of country life we recommend this excellent volume, as abounding in thoughts and suggestions eminently calculated to enlarge the sphere of their enjoyment as well as their usefulness; and to all lovers of the town we recommend it as likely to reform their tastes, and awaken them to pure delights which they have not yet tasted. The work is a complete country companion for the whole year�in the field, in the forest, and at the fireside. It is divided into twelve sections, each of which relates to a particular month of the year, and not only describes all the natural features of the season, but the habits of life and customs appropriate to each.5'�Morning Post. "A highly amusing book, supplying, from rural anecdote, description, and observation, something appropriate to each season. The illustrations are very beautiful."�Standard. " A perfect transcript of rural life in all its phases. In every respect a most attractive book. Mr. Howitt paints nature as it is, and gives descriptions of its endless charms with an elegance of manner that wins its way with readers of every class."�Messenger. " This very attractive and delightful work is evidently one written con amore. Mr. Howitt's productions have always displayed an intense, and, so to speak, elegant and cultivated love of Old England's rural beauties; and the present book will form an admirable companion to his ' Book of the Seasons.' In the present instance there is an abundant and interestingly applied variety of matter illustrative of human pleasures and pursuits in the country. A country life, indeed, is here seen in all its points of view �in the field, the forest, and by the fireside. It is curious to observe the variety of sub-jects treated of, either in prose or poetry, in these right pleasant and entertaining pages. The natural characteristics, peculiar customs, and usual avocations incident to each month in the year are described in a striking manner. Anecdotes, sketches of character, &c, are introduced with considerable skill and effect, adding much to the interesting nature of the book. The e Autumnal Excursions' form some of the most attractive parts of the volume; and the legends scattered throughout are told with peculiar spirit and effect. Indeed, the work is altogether a charming one; and the illustrations, admirably engraved on wood, from exceedingly clever and pretty designs, by Mr. Birket Poster, are quite worthy of the pages in which they appear."�Morning Advertiser. MISCELLANEOUS. 23 MR. DISRAELL'S CONOGSBY Cheap Standard Edition, with a >Tew Preface. In 1 vol., with Portrait, 6sf bound. " We are glad to see that the finest work of Disraeli has been sent out in the same shape as those of Dickens, Bulwer, and other of our best novelists, at such a price as to place them within the reach of the most moderate mean's. ' Coningsby' has passed from the popularity of a season to an enduring reputation as a standard work. It is a valuable contribution to popular literature."�Weekly Chronicle. ZOOLOGICAL RECREATIONS. By W. J. BRODERIP, Esq.,F.K.S. Cheaper Edition, 1 vol., post 8vo, 6s. bound. " We believe we do not exaggerate in saying that, since the publication of White's ' Natural History of Selborne,' and of the ' Introduction to Entomology,' by Kirby and Spence, no work in our language is better calculated than the ' Zoological Recreations' to fulfil the avowed aim of its author�to furnish a hand-book which may cherish or awaken a love for natural history."�Quarterly Review. TALES OF HUNGARY. BY FRANCIS and THERESA PULSZKY. Cheaper Edition. 3 vols., 15s. bound. "The authors of the present charming tales have not only produced these most interesting volumes, but have opened a region of fiction which will be eagerly explored by many readers."�Messenger. THE DREAMER AND THE WORKER. By R. H. HORNE, Esq., Author of "Orion," &c. Cheaper Edition. 2 vols., post 8vo., 10s. bound. ADYENTURES OF A GREEK LADY, THE ADOPTED DAUGHTER OE THE LATE QUEEN CAROLINE. Written by Herself. 2 vols., post 8vo, 12s. bound. u The chief interest of this more than ordinarily interesting book lies in the notices it furnishes of the unfortunate Queen Caroline. From the close of 1814 till her Royal Highness's return to England the author was never absent from her for a single day. All is ingenuously and artlessly told, and the plain truth finds its way at once to the reader's judgment and feelings."�Court Journal. COLBURN AND CO.'S NEW PUBLICATIONS. POPULAR HEW HOVELS ATTD ROMANCES. BEAUTY AND INTELLECT; OR, SECOND LOVE. By Mrs. TROLLOPE. 3 vols. TIME, THE AVENGER. By the Autlior of " Emilia Wyndham." 3 vols. MERKLAND. " By the Author of u Margaret Maitland." 3 vols. LOVE AND AMBITION. By the Author of " Rockingham." 3 vols. . MADAM DORRINGTON OF THE DENE. By WILLIAM HO WITT. 3 vols. . NATHALIE. By JULIA KAVANAGH, Author of " Woman in France." 3 vols. LIGHT AND DARKNESS. ' By Mrs. CROWE, Author of" The Night-Side of Nature," &c. 3 vols. THE WILMINGTONS. By the Author of " Emilia Wyndham," " Mordaunt Hall," &c. 3 vols. ANNEDYSART; OR, THE SCOTCH MINISTER'S DAUGHTER. 3 vols. REGINALD HASTINGS. By ELIOT WARBURTON, Esq. Third and Cheaper Edition. 10s. 6d. hound. The OLD WORLD and the NEW. By Mrs. TROLLOPE. 3 vols. THE DAUGHTER OF NIGHT. By S. W. FULLOM, Esq. 3 vols. CLAUDE. By MISS MOLESWORTH. 2 vols. PETTICOAT GOVERNMENT. By Mrs. TROLLOPE. 3 vols. PRIDE AND IRRESOLUTION. A Second Series of " THE DISCIPLINE OF LIFE." By LADY EMILY PONSONBY. 3 vols. PASSAGES IN THE LIFE OF Mrs. MARGARET MAITLAND OF SUNNYSIDE. Written by Herself, lvol. OUR COUNTY. By JOHN MILLS, Esq., Author of the " Old English Gentleman," &c. 3 vols. PRESTON TOWER, OR, THE EARLY DAYS OF CARDINAL WOLSEY. By the Rev. R. COBBOLD. 3 vols. THE PETREL. A TALE OF THE SEA. By a Naval Officer. 3 vols.