Reckless art thou of the whisperings of conscience:--thou art infatuated with the fatal beauty of thy Perdita--and the hope, the burning hope of tasting in her arms the pleasures of paradise, renders thee studious only to subdue the remorse that whispers to thee the name of the outraged Lady Frances Ellingham!
Having wandered in the park for upwards of half an hour, Charles Hatfield bethought himself of the promise to send the amount of his savings to his beauteous Perdita; and, hastening home, he sought his chamber, which he reached unperceived by any one save the domestic who gave him admission. That he was thus unobserved, was a source of satisfaction,--inasmuch as he felt that his cheeks were flushed, and he feared lest his appearance might seem singular.
Opening his desk he took from a secret drawer the Bank-notes which constituted his savings; and enveloping them in a sheet of paper, he issued forth again to leave the parcel at the house in Suffolk Street. This being done, Charles returned to the park, where he roamed about until the hour arrived when it was necessary for him to return home in order to dress for dinner.
The reader must not forget that a splendid banquet was to take place that evening at the mansion of the Earl of Ellingham,--a banquet given in honour of the Prince of Montoni, and at which his Royal Highness was to be present.
As the hour approached, Charles Hatfield felt his heart beat; and all his admiration of the illustrious hero revived;--so that his mind was labouring under no inconsiderable degree of excitement, as he thought of Perdita on the one hand--the Prince on the other--and also of Lady Frances Ellingham!
A THRONE SURROUNDED BY REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS.
The entertainment was of the most splendid description--worthy of the hospitality and taste of the noble host and hostess.
The Prince of Montoni was dressed in plain clothes: but on his breast gleamed the star denoting his rank; and on his left leg he wore the English Garter, his Royal Highness having been admitted on the previous day a member of that illustrious Order.
He was seated on the right of the Countess of Ellingham, Lady Frances being next to him, and Charles Hatfield occupying the place immediately following. In addition to these personages and the Earl of Ellingham, Mr. Hatfield, and Lady Georgiana there were Sir John Lascelles, Clarence Villiers and Adelais, and the select few who had been invited to the banquet on this occasion.