The balance of parties in the House of Commons, which had been virtually restored by Sir Robert Peel’s dissolution of 1834, might be said to be formally and positively1 established by the dissolution of parliament in the autumn of 1837, occasioned by the demise2 of the crown. The ministerial majority became almost nominal3, while troubles from all quarters seemed to press simultaneously4 upon them: Canadian revolts, Chartist insurrections, Chinese squabbles, and mysterious complications in Central Asia, which threatened immediate5 hostilities6 with Persia, and even with one of the most powerful of European empires. In addition to all this, the revenue continually declined, and every day the general prejudice became more intense against the Irish policy of the ministry7. The extreme popularity of the Sovereign, reflecting some lustre8 on her ministers, had enabled them, though not without difficulty, to tide through the session of 1838; but when parliament met in 1839 their prospects9 were dark, and it was known that there was a section of the extreme Liberals who would not be deeply mortified10 if the government were overthrown11. All efforts, therefore, political and social, and particularly the latter, in which the Whigs excelled, were to be made to prevent or to retard12 the catastrophe13.
Lady Montfort and Lady Roehampton opened their houses to the general world at an unusually early period. Their entertainments rivalled those of Zenobia, who with unflagging gallantry, her radiant face prescient of triumph, stopped her bright vis-a-vis and her tall footmen in the midst of St. James’ Street or Pall14 Mall, while she rapidly inquired from some friendly passer-by whom she had observed, “Tell me the names of the Radical15 members who want to turn out the government, and I will invite them directly.”
Lady Montfort had appropriated the Saturdays, as was her custom and her right; so Myra, with the advice of Lord Roehampton, had fixed16 on Wednesdays for her receptions.
“I should have liked to have taken Wednesdays,” said Zenobia, “but I do not care to seem to be setting up against Lady Roehampton, for her mother was my dearest friend. Not that I think any quarter ought to be shown to her after joining those atrocious Whigs, but to be sure she was corrupted17 by her husband, whom I remember the most thorough Tory going. To be sure, I was a Whig myself in those days, so one must not say too much about it, but the Whigs then were gentlemen. I will tell you what I will do. I will receive both on Saturdays and Wednesdays. It is an effort, and I am not as young as I was, but it will only be for a season or less, for I know these people cannot stand. It will be all over by May.”
Prince Florestan had arrived in town, and was now settled in his mansion18 in Carlton Terrace. It was the fashion among the creme de la creme to keep aloof19 from him. The Tories did not love revolutionary dynasties, and the Whigs being in office could not sanction a pretender, and one who, they significantly intimated with a charitable shrug20 of the shoulders, was not a very scrupulous21 one. The prince himself, though he was not insensible to the charms of society, and especially of agreeable women, was not much chagrined22 by this. The world thought that he had fitted up his fine house, and bought his fine horses, merely for the enjoyment23 of life. His purposes were very different. Though his acquaintances were limited, they were not undistinguished, and he lived with them in intimacy25. There had arisen between himself and Mr. Waldershare the closest alliance both of thought and habits. They were rarely separated. The prince was also a frequent guest at the Neuchatels’, and was a favourite with the head of the house.
The Duke of St. Angelo controlled the household at Carlton Gardens with skill. The appointments were finished and the cuisine26 refined. There was a dinner twice a week, from which Waldershare was rarely absent, and to which Endymion, whom the prince always treated with kindness, had a general invitation. When he occasionally dined there he met always several foreign guests, and all men apparently27 of mark—at any rate, all distinguished24 by their intelligence. It was an interesting and useful house for a young man, and especially a young politician, to frequent. Endymion heard many things and learnt many things which otherwise would not have met his ear or mind. The prince encouraged conversation, though himself inclined to taciturnity. When he did speak, his terse28 remarks and condensed views were striking, and were remembered. On the days on which he did not receive, the prince dined at the Travellers’ Club, to which Waldershare had obtained his introduction, and generally with Waldershare, who took this opportunity of gradually making his friend acquainted with eminent29 and influential30 men, many of whom in due time became guests at Carlton Terrace. It was clear, indeed, that these club-dinners were part of a system.
The prince, soon after his arrival in town, while riding, had passed Lady Roehampton’s carriage in the park, and he had saluted31 her with a grave grace which distinguished him. She was surprised at feeling a little agitated32 by this rencontre. It recalled Hainault, her not mortifying33 but still humble34 position beneath that roof, the prince’s courtesy to her under those circumstances, and, indeed, his marked preference for her society. She felt it something like ingratitude35 to treat him with neglect now, when her position was so changed and had become so elevated. She mentioned to Lord Roehampton, while they were dining alone, that she should like to invite the prince to her receptions, and asked his opinion on the point. Lord Roehampton shrugged36 his shoulders and did not encourage her. “You know, my darling, our people do not much like him. They look upon him as a pretender, as having forfeited37 his parole, and as a refugee from justice. I have no prejudices against him myself, and perhaps in the same situation might have acted in the same manner; but if he is to be admitted into society, it should hardly be at a ministerial reception, and of all houses, that of one who holds my particular post.”
“I know nothing about his forfeiting38 his parole,” said Lady Roehampton; “the charge is involved in mystery, and Mr. Waldershare told me it was an entire fabrication. As for his being a pretender, he seems to me as legitimate39 a prince as most we meet; he was born in the purple, and his father was recognised by every government in Europe except our own. As for being a refugee from justice, a prince in captivity40 has certainly a right to escape if he can, and his escape was romantic. However, I will not contest any decision of yours, for I think you are always right. Only I am disappointed, for, to say nothing of the unkindness, I cannot help feeling our not noticing him is rather shabby.”
There was silence, a longer silence than usually occurred in tete-a-tete dinners between Lord and Lady Roehampton. To break the silence he began to converse41 on another subject, and Lady Roehampton replied to him cheerfully, but curtly42. He saw she was vexed43, and this great man, who was at that time meditating44 one of the most daring acts of modern diplomacy45, who had the reputation, in the conduct of public affairs, of not only being courageous46, but of being stern, inflexible47, unfeeling, and unscrupulous beyond ordinary statesmen, who had passed his mornings in writing a menacing despatch48 to a great power and intimating combinations to the ambassadors of other first-rate states which they almost trembled to receive, was quite upset by seeing his wife chagrined. At last, after another embarrassing pause, he said gaily49, “Do you know, my dear Myra, I do not see why you should not ask Prince Florestan. It is you that ask him, not I. That is one of the pleasant results of our system of political entertainments. The guests come to pay their respects to the lady of the house, so no one is committed. The prince may visit you on Wednesday just as well as the leaders of the opposition50 who want our places, or the malcontent51 Radicals52 who they say are going to turn us out.”
So Prince Florestan was invited to Lady Roehampton’s receptions, and he came; and he never missed one. His visits were brief. He appeared, made his bow, had the pleasure of some slight conversation with her, and then soon retired53. Received by Lady Roehampton, in time, though sluggishly54, invitations arrived from other houses, but he rarely availed himself of them. He maintained in this respect great reserve, and was accustomed to say that the only fine lady in London who had ever been kind to him was Lady Roehampton.
All this time Endymion, who was now thoroughly55 planted in society, saw a great deal of the Neuchatels, who had returned to Portland Place at the beginning of February. He met Adriana almost every evening, and was frequently invited to the house—to the grand dinners now, as well as the domestic circle. In short, our Endymion was fast becoming a young man of fashion and a personage. The brother of Lady Roehampton had now become the private secretary of Mr. Sydney Wilton and the great friend of Lady Montfort. He was indeed only one of the numerous admirers of that lady, but he seemed not the least smiled on. There was never anything delightful56 at Montfort House at which he was not present, or indeed in any other place, for under her influence, invitations from the most distinguished houses crowded his mantelpiece and were stuck all round his looking-glass. Endymion in this whirl of life did not forget his old friends. He took care that Seymour Hicks should have a frequent invitation to Lady Roehampton’s assemblies. Seymour Hicks only wanted a lever to raise the globe, and this introduction supplied him with one. It was astonishing how he made his way in society, and though, of course, he never touched the empyrean regions in which Endymion now breathed, he gradually, and at last rapidly, planted himself in a world which to the uninitiated figures as the very realm of nobility and fashion, and where doubtless is found a great fund of splendour, refinement57, and amusement. Seymour Hicks was not ill-favoured, and was always well dressed, and he was very civil, but what he really owed his social advancement58 to was his indomitable will. That quality governs all things, and though the will of Seymour Hicks was directed to what many may deem a petty or a contracted purpose, life is always interesting when you have a purpose and live in its fulfilment. It appeared from what he told Endymion that matters at the office had altered a good deal since he left it. The retirement59 of St. Barbe was the first brick out of the wall; now, which Endymion had not yet heard, the brother of Trenchard had most unexpectedly died, and that gentleman come into a good estate. “Jawett remains60, and is also the editor of the ‘Precursor,’ but his new labours so absorb his spare time that he is always at the office of the paper. So it is pretty well all over with the table at Joe’s. I confess I could not stand it any longer, particularly after you left. I have got into the junior Pan–Ionian; and I am down for the senior; I cannot get in for ten years, but when I do it will be a coup61; the society there is tiptop, a cabinet minister sometimes, and very often a bishop62.”
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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demise
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| n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让 | |
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nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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retard
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| n.阻止，延迟；vt.妨碍，延迟，使减速 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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chagrined
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| adj.懊恼的，苦恼的v.使懊恼，使懊丧，使悔恨( chagrin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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cuisine
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| n.烹调，烹饪法 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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mortifying
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| adj.抑制的，苦修的v.使受辱( mortify的现在分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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ingratitude
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| n.忘恩负义 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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forfeited
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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forfeiting
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的现在分词 ) | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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malcontent
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| n.不满者，不平者；adj.抱不平的，不满的 | |
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radicals
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| n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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sluggishly
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| adv.懒惰地；缓慢地 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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