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'Ah! exclaimed one of the ladies, turning at the voice, and starting a little. 'Ah! it is Mr. Coningsby. Lord Eskdale paid the salt for the next carriage. 'Do they come down pretty stiff? he inquired, and then, pulling forth a roll of bank-notes from the pocket of his pea-jacket, he wished them good morning.
'Turn now with me, for I see you are only lounging, and tell me when you came, where you are, and what you have done since we parted. I have been here myself but a few days. There was much to tell. And when Coningsby had rapidly related all that had passed, they talked of Paris.
'Why were the Whigs smashed in 1834, said Coningsby, 'but because they had not a man? 'What is the real explanation of the state of Mexico? said Sidonia. 'It has not a man. 'So much for progress since the days of Charles the Fifth, said Henry Sydney. 'The Spaniards then conquered Mexico, and now they cannot govern it. 'So much for race, said Vavasour.
The table and house decorations the day that we arrived were of thistles blended with the deep yellow blossoms of the downy false foxglove or Gerardia and the yellow false indigo that looks at a short distance like a dwarf bush pea. We drove to Coningsby, as I supposed to see some gay little gardens, fantastic to the verge of awfulness, that had caught Aunt Lavinia's eye.
Rigby and his friends that England was for ever lost, the assembled guests still contrived to do justice to his grandfather's excellent dinners; nor did the impending ruin that awaited them prevent the Princess Colonna from going to the Opera, whither she very good-naturedly took Coningsby.
Coningsby perceived that all yielded to him; that Lord Monmouth even, who seemed to respect none, gave place to his intelligence; appealed to him, listened to him, was guided by him. What was the secret of this influence? Knowledge.
Leander was often retained specially, like a Wilde or a Kelly, to renovate the genius of the habitual chief: not of the circuit, but the kitchen. A noble mansion in Park Lane received them the moment Parliament assembled. Coningsby was then immersed in affairs, and counted entirely on Edith to cherish those social influences which in a public career are not less important than political ones.
'I wish to be frank, sir, said Coningsby, 'and am very sensible of your goodness in permitting me to speak to you on the subject.
'Where is the spirit that raised these walls? thought Coningsby. 'Is it indeed extinct? Is then this civilisation, so much vaunted, inseparable from moderate feelings and little thoughts? If so, give me back barbarism! But I cannot believe it. Man that is made in the image of the Creator, is made for God-like deeds. Come what come may, I will cling to the heroic principle.
It appeared to Coningsby in his way to his room, that the Castle was in a state of great excitement; everywhere bustle, preparation, moving to and fro, ascending and descending of stairs, servants in every corner; orders boundlessly given, rapidly obeyed; many desires, equal gratification. All this made him rather nervous. It was quite unlike Beaumanoir. That also was a palace, but it was a home.
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