Chapter 10

by William Makepeace Thackeray

　　MORE RUNS OF LUCK.I am not going to entertain my readers with an account of myprofessional career as a gamester, any more than I did withanecdotes of my life as a military man. I might fill volumes withtales of this kind were I so minded; but at this rate, my recitalwould not be brought to a conclusion for years, and who knows howsoon I may be called upon to stop? I have gout, rheumatism, gravel,and a disordered liver. I have two or three wounds in my body, whichbreak out every now and then, and give me intolerable pain, and ahundred more signs of breaking up. Such are the effects of time,illness, and free-living, upon one of the strongest constitutionsand finest forms the world ever saw. Ah! I suffered from none ofthese ills in the year '66, when there was no man in Europe more gayin spirits, more splendid in personal accomplishments, than youngRedmond Barry.Before the treachery of the scoundrel Pippi, I had visited many ofthe best Courts of Europe; especially the smaller ones, where playwas patronised, and the professors of that science always welcome.Among the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine we wereparticularly well received. I never knew finer or gayer Courts thanthose of the Electors of Treves and Cologne, where there was moresplendour and gaiety than at Vienna; far more than in the wretchedbarrack-court of Berlin. The Court of the Archduchess-Governess ofthe Netherlands was, likewise, a royal place for us knights of thedice-box and gallant votaries of fortune; whereas in the stingyDutch or the beggarly Swiss republics, it was impossible for agentleman to gain a livelihood unmolested.After our mishap at Mannheim, my uncle and I made for the Duchy ofX---. The reader may find out the place easily enough; but I do notchoose to print at full the names of some illustrious persons inwhose society I then fell, and among whom I was made the sharer in avery strange and tragical adventure.There was no Court in Europe at which strangers were more welcomethan at that of the noble Duke of X---; none where pleasure was moreeagerly sought after, and more splendidly enjoyed. The Prince didnot inhabit his capital of S---, but, imitating in every respect theceremonial of the Court of Versailles, built himself a magnificentpalace at a few leagues from his chief city, and round about hispalace a superb aristocratic town, inhabited entirely by his nobles,and the officers of his sumptuous Court. The people were ratherhardly pressed, to be sure, in order to keep up this splendour; forhis Highness's dominions were small, and so he wisely lived in asort of awful retirement from them, seldom showing his face in hiscapital, or seeing any countenances but those of his faithfuldomestics and officers. His palace and gardens of Ludwigslust wereexactly on the French model. Twice a week there were Courtreceptions, and grand Court galas twice a month. There was thefinest opera out of France, and a ballet unrivalled in splendour; onwhich his Highness, a great lover of music and dancing, expendedprodigious sums. It may be because I was then young, but I think Inever saw such an assemblage of brilliant beauty as used to figurethere on the stage of the Court theatre, in the grand mythologicalballets which were then the mode, and in which you saw Mars in red-heeled pumps and a periwig, and Venus in patches and a hoop. Theysay the costume was incorrect, and have changed it since; but for mypart, I have never seen a Venus more lovely than the Coralie, whowas the chief dancer, and found no fault with the attendant nymphs,in their trains, and lappets, and powder. These operas used to takeplace twice a week, after which some great officer of the Courtwould have his evening, and his brilliant supper, and the dice-boxrattled everywhere, and all the world played. I have seen seventyplay-tables set out in the grand gallery of Ludwigslust, besides thefaro-bank; where the Duke himself would graciously come and play,and win or lose with a truly royal splendour.It was hither we came after the Mannheim misfortune. The nobility ofthe Court were pleased to say our reputation had preceded us, andthe two Irish gentleman were made welcome. The very first night atCourt we lost 740 of our 800 louis; the next evening, at the CourtMarshal's table, I won them back, with 1300 more. You may be sure weallowed no one to know how near we were to ruin on the firstevening; but, on the contrary, I endeared every one to me by my gaymanner of losing, and the Finance Minister himself cashed a note for400 ducats, drawn by me upon my steward of Ballybarry Castle in thekingdom of Ireland; which very note I won from his Excellency thenext day, along with a considerable sum in ready cash. In that nobleCourt everybody was a gambler. You would see the lacqueys in theducal ante-rooms at work with their dirty packs of cards; the coachand chair men playing in the court, while their masters were puntingin the saloons above; the very cook-maids and scullions, I was told,had a bank, where one of them, an Italian confectioner, made ahandsome fortune: he purchased afterwards a Roman marquisate, andhis son has figured as one of the most fashionable of theillustrious foreigners in London. The poor devils of soldiers playedaway their pay when they got it, which was seldom; and I don'tbelieve there was an officer in any one of the guard regiments buthad his cards in his pouch, and no more forgot his dice than hissword-knot. Among such fellows it was diamond cut diamond. What youcall fair play would have been a folly. The gentlemen of Ballybarrywould have been fools indeed to appear as pigeons in such a hawk'snest. None but men of courage and genius could live and prosper in asociety where every one was bold and clever; and here my uncle and Iheld our own: ay, and more than our own.His Highness the Duke was a widower, or rather, since the death ofthe reigning Duchess, had contracted a morganatic marriage with alady whom he had ennobled, and who considered it a compliment (suchwas the morality of those days) to be called the Northern Dubarry.He had been married very young, and his son, the Hereditary Prince,may be said to have been the political sovereign of the State: forthe reigning Duke was fonder of pleasure than of politics, and lovedto talk a great deal more with his grand huntsman, or the directorof his opera, than with ministers and ambassadors.The Hereditary Prince, whom I shall call Prince Victor, was of avery different character from his august father. He had made theWars of the Succession and Seven Years with great credit in theEmpress's service, was of a stern character, seldom appeared atCourt, except when ceremony called him, but lived almost alone inhis wing of the palace, where he devoted himself to the severeststudies, being a great astronomer and chemist. He shared in the ragethen common throughout Europe, of hunting for the philosopher'sstone; and my uncle often regretted that he had no smattering ofchemistry, like Balsamo (who called himself Cagliostro), St.Germain, and other individuals, who had obtained very great sumsfrom Duke Victor by aiding him in his search after the great secret.His amusements were hunting and reviewing the troops; but for him,and if his good-natured father had not had his aid, the army wouldhave been playing at cards all day, and so it was well that theprudent prince was left to govern.Duke Victor was fifty years of age, and his princess, the PrincessOlivia, was scarce three-and-twenty. They had been married sevenyears, and in the first years of their union the Princess had bornehim a son and a daughter. The stern morals and manners, the dark andungainly appearance, of the husband, were little likely to pleasethe brilliant and fascinating young woman, who had been educated inthe south (she was connected with the ducal house of S---), who hadpassed two years at Paris under the guardianship of Mesdames thedaughters of His Most Christian Majesty, and who was the life andsoul of the Court of X---, the gayest of the gay, the idol of heraugust father-in-law, and, indeed, of the whole Court. She was notbeautiful, but charming; not witty, but charming, too, in herconversation as in her person. She was extravagant beyond allmeasure; so false, that you could not trust her; but her veryweaknesses were more winning than the virtues of other women, herselfishness more delightful than others' generosity. I never knew awoman whose faults made her so attractive. She used to ruin people,and yet they all loved her. My old uncle has seen her cheating atombre, and let her win 400 louis without resisting in the least. Hercaprices with the officers and ladies of her household wereceaseless: but they adored her. She was the only one of the reigningfamily whom the people worshipped. She never went abroad but theyfollowed her carriage with shouts of acclamation: and, to begenerous to them, she would borrow the last penny from one of herpoor maids of honour, whom she would never pay. In the early daysher husband was as much fascinated by her as all the rest of theworld was; but her caprices had caused frightful outbreaks of temperon his part, and an estrangement which, though interrupted by almostmad returns of love, was still general. I speak of her RoyalHighness with perfect candour and admiration, although I might bepardoned for judging her more severely, considering her opinion ofmyself. She said the elder Monsieur de Balibari was a finished oldgentleman, and the younger one had the manners of a courier. Theworld has given a different opinion, and I can afford to chroniclethis almost single sentence against me. Besides, she had a reasonfor her dislike to me, which you shall hear.Five years in the army, long experience of the world, had ere nowdispelled any of those romantic notions regarding love with which Icommenced life; and I had determined, as is proper with gentlemen(it is only your low people who marry for mere affection), toconsolidate my fortunes by marriage. In the course of ourperegrinations, my uncle and I had made several attempts to carrythis object into effect; but numerous disappointments had occurredwhich are not worth mentioning here, and had prevented me hithertofrom making such a match as I thought was worthy of a man of mybirth, abilities, and personal appearance. Ladies are not in thehabit of running away on the Continent, as is the custom in England(a custom whereby many honourable gentlemen of my country have muchbenefited!); guardians, and ceremonies, and difficulties of allkinds intervene; true love is not allowed to have its course, andpoor women cannot give away their honest hearts to the gallantfellows who have won them. Now it was settlements that were askedfor; now it was my pedigree and title-deeds that were notsatisfactory: though I had a plan and rent-roll of the Ballybarryestates, and the genealogy of the family up to King Brian Boru, orBarry, most handsomely designed on paper; now it was a young ladywho was whisked off to a convent just as she was ready to fall intomy arms; on another occasion, when a rich widow of the Low Countrieswas about to make me lord of a noble estate in Flanders, comes anorder of the police which drives me out of Brussels at an hour'snotice, and consigns my mourner to her chateau. But at X---I had anopportunity of playing a great game: and had won it too, but for thedreadful catastrophe which upset my fortune.In the household of the Hereditary Princess there was a ladynineteen years of age, and possessor of the greatest fortune in thewhole duchy. The Countess Ida, such was her name, was daughter of alate Minister and favourite of his Highness the Duke of X---and hisDuchess, who had done her the honour to be her sponsors at birth,and who, at the father's death, had taken her under their augustguardianship and protection. At sixteen she was brought from hercastle, where, up to that period, she had been permitted to reside,and had been placed with the Princess Olivia, as one of herHighness's maids of honour.The aunt of the Countess Ida, who presided over her house during herminority, had foolishly allowed her to contract an attachment forher cousin-german, a penniless sub-lieutenant in one of the Duke'sfoot regiments, who had flattered himself to be able to carry offthis rich prize; and if he had not been a blundering silly idiotindeed, with the advantage of seeing her constantly, of having norival near him, and the intimacy attendant upon close kinsmanship,might easily, by a private marriage, have secured the young Countessand her possessions. But he managed matters so foolishly, that heallowed her to leave her retirement, to come to Court for a year,and take her place in the Princess Olivia's household; and then whatdoes my young gentleman do, but appear at the Duke's levee one day,in his tarnished epaulet and threadbare coat, and make anapplication in due form to his Highness, as the young lady'sguardian, for the hand of the richest heiress in his dominions!The weakness of the good-natured Prince was such that, as theCountess Ida herself was quite as eager for the match as her sillycousin, his Highness might have been induced to allow the match, hadnot the Princess Olivia been induced to interpose, and to procurefrom the Duke a peremptory veto to the hopes of the young man. Thecause of this refusal was as yet unknown; no other suitor for theyoung lady's hand was mentioned, and the lovers continued tocorrespond, hoping that time might effect a change in his Highness'sresolutions; when, of a sudden, the lieutenant was drafted into oneof the regiments which the Prince was in the habit of selling to thegreat powers then at war (this military commerce was a principalpart of his Highness's and other princes' revenues in those days),and their connection was thus abruptly broken off.It was strange that the Princess Olivia should have taken this partagainst a young lady who had been her favourite; for, at first, withthose romantic and sentimental notions which almost every woman has,she had somewhat encouraged the Countess Ida and her pennilesslover, but now suddenly turned against them; and, from loving theCountess, as she previously had done, pursued her with every mannerof hatred which a woman knows how to inflict: there was no end tothe ingenuity of her tortures, the venom of her tongue, thebitterness of her sarcasm and scorn. When I first came to Court atX--, the young fellows there had nicknamed the young lady the DummeGrafinn, the stupid Countess. She was generally silent, handsome,but pale, stolid-looking, and awkward; taking no interest in theamusements of the place, and appearing in the midst of the feasts asglum as the death's-head which, they say, the Romans used to have attheir tables.It was rumoured that a young gentleman of French extraction, theChevalier de Magny, equerry to the Hereditary Prince, and present atParis when the Princess Olivia was married to him by proxy there,was the intended of the rich Countess Ida; but no officialdeclaration of the kind was yet made, and there were whispers of adark intrigue: which, subsequently, received frightful confirmation.This Chevalier de Magny was the grandson of an old general officerin the Duke's service, the Baron de Magny. The Baron's father hadquitted France at the expulsion of Protestants after the revocationof the edict of Nantes, and taken service in X--, where he died. Theson succeeded him, and, quite unlike most French gentlemen of birthwhom I have known, was a stern and cold Calvinist, rigid in theperformance of his duty, retiring in his manners, mingling littlewith the Court, and a close friend and favourite of Duke Victor;whom he resembled in disposition.The Chevalier his grandson was a true Frenchman; he had been born inFrance, where his father held a diplomatic appointment in the Duke'sservice. He had mingled in the gay society of the most brilliantCourt in the world, and had endless stories to tell us of thepleasures of the petites maisons, of the secrets of the Parc auxCerfs, and of the wild gaieties of Richelieu and his companions. Hehad been almost ruined at play, as his father had been before him;for, out of the reach of the stern old Baron in Germany, both sonand grandson had led the most reckless of lives. He came back fromParis soon after the embassy which had been despatched thither onthe occasion of the marriage of the Princess, was received sternlyby his old grandfather; who, however, paid his debts once more, andprocured him the post in the Duke's household. The Chevalier deMagny rendered himself a great favourite of his august master; hebrought with him the modes and the gaieties of Paris; he was thedeviser of all the masquerades and balls, the recruiter of theballet-dancers, and by far the most brilliant and splendid younggentleman of the Court.After we had been a few weeks at Ludwigslust, the old Baron de Magnyendeavoured to have us dismissed from the duchy; but his voice wasnot strong enough to overcome that of the general public, and theChevalier de Magny especially stood our friend with his Highnesswhen the question was debated before him. The Chevalier's love ofplay had not deserted him. He was a regular frequenter of our bank,where he played for some time with pretty good luck; and where, whenhe began to lose, he paid with a regularity surprising to all thosewho knew the smallness of his means, and the splendour of hisappearance.Her Highness the Princess Olivia was also very fond of play. Onhalf-a-dozen occasions when we held a bank at Court, I could see herpassion for the game. I could see--that is, my cool-headed old unclecould see--much more. There was an intelligence between Monsieur deMagny and this illustrious lady. 'If her Highness be not in lovewith the little Frenchman,' my uncle said to me one night afterplay, 'may I lose the sight of my last eye!''And what then, sir?' said I.'What then?' said my uncle, looking me hard in the face. 'Are you sogreen as not to know what then? Your fortune is to be made, if youchoose to back it now; and we may have back the Barry estates in twoyears, my boy.''How is that?' asked I, still at a loss.My uncle drily said, 'Get Magny to play; never mind his paying: takehis notes of hand. The more he owes the better; but, above all, makehim play.''He can't pay a shilling,' answered I. 'The Jews will not discounthis notes at cent. per cent.''So much the better. You shall see we will make use of them,'answered the old gentleman. And I must confess that the plan he laidwas a gallant, clever, and fair one.I was to make Magny play; in this there was no great difficulty. Wehad an intimacy together, for he was a good sportsman as well asmyself, and we came to have a pretty considerable friendship for oneanother; if he saw a dice-box it was impossible to prevent him fromhandling it; but he took to it as natural as a child does tosweetmeats.At first he won of me; then he began to lose; then I played himmoney against some jewels that he brought: family trinkets, he said,and indeed of considerable value. He begged me, however, not todispose of them in the duchy, and I gave and kept my word to him tothis effect. From jewels he got to playing upon promissory notes;and as they would not allow him to play at the Court tables and inpublic upon credit, he was very glad to have an opportunity ofindulging his favourite passion in private. I have had him for hoursat my pavilion (which I had fitted up in the Eastern manner, verysplendid) rattling the dice till it became time to go to his serviceat Court, and we would spend day after day in this manner. Hebrought me more jewels,--a pearl necklace, an antique emerald breastornament, and other trinkets, as a set-off against these losses: forI need not say that I should not have played with him all this timehad he been winning; but, after about a week, the luck set inagainst him, and he became my debtor in a prodigious sum. I do notcare to mention the extent of it; it was such as I never thought theyoung man could pay.Why, then, did I play for it? Why waste days in private play with amere bankrupt, when business seemingly much more profitable was tobe done elsewhere? My reason I boldly confess. I wanted to win fromMonsieur de Magny, not his money, but his intended wife, theCountess Ida. Who can say that I had not a right to use ANYstratagem in this matter of love? Or, why say love? I wanted thewealth of the lady: I loved her quite as much as Magny did; I lovedher quite as much as yonder blushing virgin of seventeen does whomarries an old lord of seventy. I followed the practice of the worldin this; having resolved that marriage should achieve my fortune.I used to make Magny, after his losses, give me a friendly letter ofacknowledgment to some such effect as this,--'MY DEAR MONSIEUR DE BALIBARI,I acknowledge to have lost to youthis day at lansquenet [or picquet, or hazard, as the case may be: Iwas master of him at any game that is played] the sum of threehundred ducats, and shall hold it as a great kindness on your partif you will allow the debt to stand over until a future day, whenyou shall receive payment from your very grateful humble servant.'With the jewels he brought me I also took the precaution (but thiswas my uncle's idea, and a very good one) to have a sort of invoice,and a letter begging me to receive the trinkets as so much partpayment of a sum of money he owed me.When I had put him in such a position as I deemed favourable to myintentions, I spoke to him candidly, and without any reserve, as oneman of the world should speak to another. 'I will not, my dearfellow,' said I, 'pay you so bad a compliment as to suppose that youexpect we are to go on playing at this rate much longer, and thatthere is any satisfaction to me in possessing more or less sheets ofpaper bearing your signature, and a series of notes of hand which Iknow you never can pay. Don't look fierce or angry, for you knowRedmond Barry is your master at the sword; besides, I would not besuch a fool as to fight a man who owes me so much money; but hearcalmly what I have to propose.'You have been very confidential to me during our intimacy of thelast month; and I know all your personal affairs completely. Youhave given your word of honour to your grandfather never to playupon parole, and you know how you have kept it, and that he willdisinherit you if he hears the truth. Nay, suppose he dies to-morrow, his estate is not sufficient to pay the sum in which you areindebted to me; and, were you to yield me up all, you would be abeggar, and a bankrupt too.'Her Highness the Princess Olivia denies you nothing. I shall notask why; but give me leave to say, I was aware of the fact when webegan to play together.''Will you be made baron-chamberlain, with the grand cordon of theorder?' gasped the poor fellow. 'The Princess can do anything withthe Duke.''I shall have no objection,' said I, 'to the yellow riband and thegold key; though a gentleman of the house of Ballybarry cares littlefor the titles of the German nobility. But this is not what I want.My good Chevalier, you have hid no secrets from me. You have told mewith what difficulty you have induced the Princess Olivia to consentto the project of your union with the Grafinn Ida, whom you don'tlove. I know whom you love very well.''Monsieur de Balibari!' said the discomfited Chevalier; he could getout no more. The truth began to dawn upon him.'You begin to understand,' continued I. 'Her Highness the Princess'(I said this in a sarcastic way) 'will not be very angry, believeme, if you break off your connection with the stupid Countess. I amno more an admirer of that lady than you are; but I want her estate.I played you for that estate, and have won it; and I will give youyour bills and five thousand ducats on the day I am married to it.''The day I am married to the Countess,' answered the Chevalier,thinking to have me, 'I will be able to raise money to pay yourclaim ten times over' (this was true, for the Countess's propertymay have been valued at near half a million of our money); 'and thenI will discharge my obligations to you. Meanwhile, if you annoy meby threats, or insult me again as you have done, I will use thatinfluence, which, as you say, I possess, and have you turned out ofthe duchy, as you were out of the Netherlands last year.'I rang the bell quite quietly. 'Zamor,' said I to a tall negrofellow habited like a Turk, that used to wait upon me, 'when youhear the bell ring a second time, you will take this packet to theMarshal of the Court, this to his Excellency the General de Magny,and this you will place in the hands of one of the equerries of hisHighness the Hereditary Prince. Wait in the ante-room, and do not gowith the parcels until I ring again.'The black fellow having retired, I turned to Monsieur de Magny andsaid, 'Chevalier, the first packet contains a letter from you to me,declaring your solvency, and solemnly promising payment of the sumsyou owe me; it is accompanied by a document from myself (for Iexpected some resistance on your part), stating that my honour hasbeen called in question, and begging that the paper may be laidbefore your august master his Highness. The second packet is foryour grandfather, enclosing the letter from you in which you stateyourself to be his heir, and begging for a confirmation of the fact.The last parcel, for his Highness the Hereditary Duke,' added I,looking most sternly, 'contains the Gustavus Adolphus emerald, whichhe gave to his princess, and which you pledged to me as a familyjewel of your own. Your influence with her Highness must be greatindeed,' I concluded, 'when you could extort from her such a jewelas that, and when you could make her, in order to pay your play-debts, give up a secret upon which both your heads depend.''Villain!' said the Frenchman, quite aghast with fury and terror,'would you implicate the Princess?''Monsieur de Magny,' I answered, with a sneer, 'no: I will say youstole the jewel.' It was my belief he did, and that the unhappy andinfatuated Princess was never privy to the theft until long after ithad been committed. How we came to know the history of the emeraldis simple enough. As we wanted money (for my occupation with Magnycaused our bank to be much neglected), my uncle had carried Magny'strinkets to Mannheim to pawn. The Jew who lent upon them knew thehistory of the stone in question; and when he asked how her Highnesscame to part with it, my uncle very cleverly took up the story wherehe found it, said that the Princess was very fond of play, that itwas not always convenient to her to pay, and hence the emerald hadcome into our hands. He brought it wisely back with him to S--; and,as regards the other jewels which the Chevalier pawned to us, theywere of no particular mark: no inquiries have ever been made aboutthem to this day; and I did not only not know then that they camefrom her Highness, but have only my conjectures upon the matter now.The unfortunate young gentleman must have had a cowardly spirit,when I charged him with the theft, not to make use of my two pistolsthat were lying by chance before him, and to send out of the worldhis accuser and his own ruined self. With such imprudence andmiserable recklessness on his part and that of the unhappy lady whohad forgotten herself for this poor villain, he must have known thatdiscovery was inevitable. But it was written that this dreadfuldestiny should be accomplished: instead of ending like a man, he nowcowered before me quite spirit-broken, and, flinging himself down onthe sofa, burst into tears, calling wildly upon all the saints tohelp him: as if they could be interested in the fate of such awretch as he!I saw that I had nothing to fear from him; and, calling back Zamormy black, said I would myself carry the parcels, which I returned tomy escritoire; and, my point being thus gained, I acted, as I alwaysdo, generously towards him. I said that, for security's sake, Ishould send the emerald out of the country, but that I pledged myhonour to restore it to the Duchess, without any pecuniaryconsideration, on the day when she should procure the sovereign'sconsent to my union with the Countess Ida.This will explain pretty clearly, I flatter myself, the game I wasplaying; and, though some rigid moralist may object to itspropriety, I say that anything is fair in love, and that men so pooras myself can't afford to be squeamish about their means of gettingon in life. The great and rich are welcomed, smiling, up the grandstaircase of the world; the poor but aspiring must clamber up thewall, or push and struggle up the back stair, or, pardi, crawlthrough any of the conduits of the house, never mind how foul andnarrow, that lead to the top. The unambitious sluggard pretends thatthe eminence is not worth attaining, declines altogether thestruggle, and calls himself a philosopher. I say he is a poor-spirited coward. What is life good for but for honour? and that isso indispensable, that we should attain it anyhow.The manner to be adopted for Magny's retreat was proposed by myself,and was arranged so as to consult the feelings of delicacy of bothparties. I made Magny take the Countess Ida aside, and say to her,'Madam, though I have never declared myself your admirer, you andthe Court have had sufficient proof of my regard for you; and mydemand would, I know, have been backed by his Highness, your augustguardian. I know the Duke's gracious wish is, that my attentionsshould be received favourably; but, as time has not appeared toalter your attachment elsewhere, and as I have too much spirit toforce a lady of your name and rank to be united to me against yourwill, the best plan is, that I should make you, for form's sake, aproposal unauthorised by his Highness: that you should reply, as Iam sorry to think your heart dictates to you, in the negative: onwhich I also will formally withdraw from my pursuit of you, statingthat, after a refusal, nothing, not even the Duke's desire, shouldinduce me to persist in my suit.'The Countess Ida almost wept at hearing these words from Monsieur deMagny, and tears came into her eyes, he said, as she took his handfor the first time, and thanked him for the delicacy of theproposal. She little knew that the Frenchman was incapable of thatsort of delicacy, and that the graceful manner in which he withdrewhis addresses was of my invention.As soon as he withdrew, it became my business to step forward; butcautiously and gently, so as not to alarm the lady, and yet firmly,so as to convince her of the hopelessness of her design of unitingherself with her shabby lover, the sub-lieutenant. The PrincessOlivia was good enough to perform this necessary part of the plan inmy favour, and solemnly to warn the Countess Ida, that, thoughMonsieur de Magny had retired from paying his addresses, hisHighness her guardian would still marry her as he thought fit, andthat she must for ever forget her out-at-elbowed adorer. In fact, Ican't conceive how such a shabby rogue as that could ever have hadthe audacity to propose for her: his birth was certainly good; butwhat other qualifications had he?When the Chevalier de Magny withdrew, numbers of other suitors, youmay be sure, presented themselves; and amongst these your veryhumble servant, the cadet of Ballybarry. There was a carrousel, ortournament, held at this period, in imitation of the antiquemeetings of chivalry, in which the chevaliers tilted at each other,or at the ring; and on this occasion I was habited in a splendidRoman dress (viz., a silver helmet, a flowing periwig, a cuirass ofgilt leather richly embroidered, a light blue velvet mantle, andcrimson morocco half-boots): and in this habit I rode my bay horseBrian, carried off three rings, and won the prize over all theDuke's gentry, and the nobility of surrounding countries who hadcome to the show. A wreath of gilded laurel was to be the prize ofthe victor, and it was to be awarded by the lady he selected. So Irode up to the gallery where the Countess Ida was seated behind theHereditary Princess, and, calling her name loudly, yet gracefully,begged to be allowed to be crowned by her, and thus proclaimedmyself to the face of all Germany, as it were, her suitor. Sheturned very pale, and the Princess red, I observed; but the CountessIda ended by crowning me: after which, putting spurs into my horse,I galloped round the ring, saluting his Highness the Duke at theopposite end, and performing the most wonderful exercises with mybay.My success did not, as you may imagine, increase my popularity withthe young gentry. They called me adventurer, bully, dice-loader,impostor, and a hundred pretty names; but I had a way of silencingthese gentry. I took the Count de Schmetterling, the richest andbravest of the young men who seemed to have a hankering for theCountess Ida, and publicly insulted him at the ridotto; flinging mycards into his face. The next day I rode thirty-five miles into theterritory of the Elector of B----, and met Monsieur deSchmetterling, and passed my sword twice through his body; then rodeback with my second, the Chevalier de Magny, and presented myself atthe Duchess's whist that evening. Magny was very unwilling toaccompany me at first; but I insisted upon his support, and that heshould countenance my quarrel. Directly after paying my homage toher Highness, I went up to the Countess Ida, and made her a markedand low obeisance, gazing at her steadily in the face until she grewcrimson red; and then staring round at every man who formed hercircle, until, ma foi, I stared them all away. I instructed Magny tosay, everywhere, that the Countess was madly in love with me; whichcommission, along with many others of mine, the poor devil wasobliged to perform. He made rather a sotte figure, as the Frenchsay, acting the pioneer for me, praising me everywhere, accompanyingme always! he who had been the pink of the mode until my arrival; hewho thought his pedigree of beggarly Barons of Magny was superior tothe race of great Irish kings from which I descended; who hadsneered at me a hundred times as a spadassin, a deserter, and hadcalled me a vulgar Irish upstart. Now I had my revenge of thegentleman, and took it too.I used to call him, in the choicest societies, by his Christian nameof Maxime. I would say, 'Bon jour, Maxime; comment vas-TU?' in thePrincess's hearing, and could see him bite his lips for fury andvexation. But I had him under my thumb, and her Highness too--I,poor private of Bulow's regiment. And this is a proof of what geniusand perseverance can do, and should act as a warning to great peoplenever to have secrets--if they can help it.I knew the Princess hated me; but what did I care? She knew I knewall: and indeed, I believe, so strong was her prejudice against me,that she thought I was an indelicate villain, capable of betraying alady, which I would scorn to do; so that she trembled before me as achild before its schoolmaster. She would, in her woman's way, too,make all sorts of jokes and sneers at me on reception days; askabout my palace in Ireland, and the kings my ancestors, and whether,when I was a private in Bulow's foot, my royal relatives hadinterposed to rescue me, and whether the cane was smartlyadministered there,--anything to mortify me. But, Heaven bless you!I can make allowances for people, and used to laugh in her face.Whilst her jibes and jeers were continuing, it was my pleasure tolook at poor Magny and see how he bore them. The poor devil wastrembling lest I should break out under the Princess's sarcasm andtell all; but my revenge was, when the Princess attacked me, to saysomething bitter to him,--to pass it on, as boys do at school. Andthat was the thing which used to make her Highness feel. She wouldwince just as much when I attacked Magny as if I had been sayinganything rude to herself. And, though she hated me, she used to begmy pardon in private; and though her pride would often get thebetter of her, yet her prudence obliged this magnificent princess tohumble herself to the poor penniless Irish boy.As soon as Magny had formally withdrawn from the Countess Ida, thePrincess took the young lady into favour again, and pretended to bevery fond of her. To do them justice, I don't know which of the twodisliked me most,--the Princess, who was all eagerness, and fire,and coquetry; or the Countess, who was all state and splendour. Thelatter, especially, pretended to be disgusted by me: and yet, afterall, I have pleased her betters; was once one of the handsomest menin Europe, and would defy any heyduc of the Court to measure a chestor a leg with me: but I did not care for any of her sillyprejudices, and determined to win her and wear her in spite ofherself. Was it on account of her personal charms or qualities? No.She was quite white, thin, short-sighted, tall, and awkward, and mytaste is quite the contrary; and as for her mind, no wonder that apoor creature who had a hankering after a wretched ragged ensigncould never appreciate me. It was her estate I made love to; as forherself, it would be a reflection on my taste as a man of fashion toown that I liked her.