29 files changed, 23722 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7b82bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+*.txt text eol=lf
+*.htm text eol=lf
+*.html text eol=lf
+*.md text eol=lf
diff --git a/75853-0.txt b/75853-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38923a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10581 @@
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75853 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+_Memories of an Old Etonian 1860-1912_
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Rev. D. Hornby, Provost of Eton.
+
+[_Frontispiece._]
+
+
+
+
+                           _MEMORIES OF AN OLD
+                          ETONIAN :: 1860-1912_
+
+         _By George Greville :: Author of “Society Recollections
+         in Paris and Vienna” and “More Society Recollections.”_
+
+                              [Illustration]
+
+                          _WITH 22 ILLUSTRATIONS
+                              ON ART PAPER_
+
+                        _LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO._
+                       _:: :: PATERNOSTER ROW :: ::_
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                      PAGE
+
+                               CHAPTER I.                                1
+
+    Early Recollections—Thackeray—The Princess Liegnitz—The
+    Austrian Bandmaster—Society at Homburg—Frankfurt—Goethe and
+    Beethoven—A Racing Coincidence
+
+                               CHAPTER II.                              18
+
+    An Adventure in the Oden Wald—The Coiners of the Black
+    Forest—Kirchhofer’s School
+
+                              CHAPTER III.                              27
+
+    Brussels—Ostend—General Sir John Douglas—Spa—“Captain
+    Arthy”—Boulogne
+
+                               CHAPTER IV.                              40
+
+    A Painting by Romney—Hunter’s School at Kineton—Corporal
+    Punishment—A Sporting Parson—My Schoolfellows at Kineton—The
+    Warre-Malets—Lord Charleville
+
+                               CHAPTER V.                               54
+
+    My Mother’s Recollections—The Cercle des Patineurs—Patti—Our
+    _Appartement_ in the Rue d’Albe
+
+                               CHAPTER VI.                              63
+
+    I go to Eton—New Boy Baiting—My House Master—Mr. James’s
+    “Jokes”—My Room at Eton—Some Eton Masters—A Disorderly
+    Form—Lacaita’s Silk Hat—“Billy” Portman
+
+                               CHAPTER VII.                             80
+
+    An Amusing Incident—Lady Caroline Murray—An Anecdote of Queen
+    Victoria—Lord Rossmore’s Wager—The Match at the Wall—Practical
+    Jokes—Some Boys at James’s
+
+                              CHAPTER VIII.                             94
+
+    Athletic Sports at Eton—A “Scrap”—Lord Newlands—An Old Boy on
+    Eton of To-day
+
+                               CHAPTER IX.                             103
+
+    Lady Grace Stopford—Tipperary in 1870—Robbed at Punchestown
+    Races—I get my own back
+
+                               CHAPTER X.                              110
+
+    Dieppe under Prussian Rule—A Toilette by Worth—A Confirmed
+    Gambler
+
+                               CHAPTER XI.                             116
+
+    The Princess von Metternich—The Lady of the Luxembourg Gardens
+
+                               CHAPTER XII.                            123
+
+    Bonn—An Anecdote of Beethoven—The King’s Hussars—The Howard
+    Vyses—A German Professor on England—Domesticated Habits of
+    German Girls—Professor Delbrück
+
+                              CHAPTER XIII.                            136
+
+    The Countess Czerwinska—The Countess Broel Plater—Mlle.
+    de Laval—The Duchesse de Grammont—An Absent-Minded
+    Gentleman—Dusauty, the Fencing Master—The Marquis of
+    Anglesey—Charming Venezuelans—Miss Fanny Parnell
+
+                               CHAPTER XIV.                            155
+
+    Captain Howard Vyse—An Anecdote of Paganini—New Hats for Old
+    Ones—Albert Bingham—Baron Alphonse de Rothschild—Madame Alice
+    Kernave—Gambetta
+
+                               CHAPTER XV.                             168
+
+    My First Night at Mess—Life at Shorncliffe—The Charltons
+
+                               CHAPTER XVI.                            175
+
+    An N.C.O. of the Old School—Major Blewett—Captain
+    Byron—Sandhurst
+
+                              CHAPTER XVII.                            183
+
+    I sail for India—Kandy—Dangerous Playmates—I arrive at Murree
+
+                              CHAPTER XVIII.                           190
+
+    My Brother-Officers—“The Oyster”—In High Society—Our Menagerie
+
+                               CHAPTER XIX.                            198
+
+    A Subalterns’ Court-Martial—A Terrible Experience—High
+    Mess-bills
+
+                               CHAPTER XX.                             205
+
+    Sialkote—Amateur Theatricals—An Ingenious Thief—Death of Albert
+    Phipps—Agra—Voyage to England
+
+                               CHAPTER XXI.                            217
+
+    Baroness James Édouard de Rothschild—At Carlsbad—Transferred to
+    the 3rd Battalion
+
+                              CHAPTER XXII.                            222
+
+    My Brother-Officers—A _Mésalliance_—Christy Minstrels and
+    Tobogganing
+
+                              CHAPTER XXIII.                           229
+
+    Sarah Bernhardt in _Phèdre_—Vienna and Buda-Pesth
+
+                              CHAPTER XXIV.                            233
+
+    Percy Hope-Johnstone—A “Special” to Aldershot—A Costume-Ball at
+    Folkestone
+
+                              CHAPTER XXV.                             238
+
+    The Oppenheims—St. James’s and Winchester—The Colonel and
+    Beauclerk
+
+                              CHAPTER XXVI.                            244
+
+    Paris Again—Eccentricities of Captain “Rabelais”—A Fire in
+    Barracks—A Trying Inspection
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVII.                            252
+
+    Madrid and Cordova—Seville—General von Goeben and the
+    Bull-fight—A View from the Alhambra—I rejoin my Regiment
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVIII.                           262
+
+    I meet Byron Again—I endeavour to Exchange—Basil Montgomery—My
+    Illness—Why I was not Placed on Half-pay
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                                     PAGE
+
+    The Rev. D. Hornby, Provost of Eton                     _Frontispiece_
+
+    Mrs. Ronalds                                            _Facing p._ 2
+
+    Mrs. R. C. Kemys-Tynte, of Halswell (now Mrs. Rawlins,
+      mother of Lord Wharton)                                    ”      3
+
+    The Author’s Father                                          ”      6
+
+    The Author’s Mother                                          ”     12
+
+    The Author’s Daughter                                        ”     20
+
+    The Author’s Mother                                          ”     40
+
+    C. D. Williamson, at Eton with the Author                    ”     50
+
+    Miss Mabel Warre-Malet                                       ”     51
+
+    The Author                                                   ”     62
+
+    Charles Balfour, at Eton with the Author                     ”     80
+
+    Miss Minnie Balfour, sister of Hilda, Lady de Clifford       ”     81
+
+    W. H. Onslow, aged 13, afterwards Lord Onslow                ”     82
+
+    The Hon. Emily Cathcart, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria    ”     83
+
+    Henry Hooker Walker, at Eton with the Author                 ”     90
+
+    The Hon. J. W. Lowther, present Speaker of the House of
+      Commons                                                    ”     91
+
+    The Duke of Rutland                                          ”     98
+
+    The Author’s Father                                          ”    144
+
+    Madame Alice Kernave                                         ”    164
+
+    The late Earl of Berkeley                                    ”    165
+
+    Miss Augusta Charlton                                        ”    172
+
+    Miss Ida Charlton                                            ”    173
+
+
+
+
+MEMORIES OF AN OLD ETONIAN, 1860-1912
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+    Early Recollections—Thackeray—The Princess Liegnitz—The
+    Austrian Bandmaster—Society at Homburg—Frankfurt—Goethe and
+    Beethoven—A Racing Coincidence
+
+
+It happened so long ago, and I was so very young at the time—not more
+than five or six years old—that I should be almost tempted to believe
+that it was all a dream, were it not for certain incidents which made an
+unforgettable impression upon my childish imagination. The scene was the
+Hôtel de Russie at Frankfurt-on-the-Main; the occasion the birthday of
+King William I. of Prussia, afterwards Emperor of Germany. The spacious
+grand staircase of the hôtel was brilliantly lighted, and a red velvet
+carpet was laid down on the steps leading to the first floor. Up these
+steps came a succession of Ministers and generals, some in scarlet and
+gold lace, with the attila, heavily embroidered with gold lace and
+edged with brown fur, falling loosely over the left shoulder. Whenever
+an Austrian general, in his white uniform with scarlet facings and red
+trousers with deep gold lace stripe down the side, appeared, my heart,
+for some unknown reason, seemed to beat with delight. How I came to be
+there I don’t quite know, but I can remember my surprise when I saw the
+big chandelier which hung over the staircase being lighted in broad
+daylight, and the red blinds near the entrance being drawn down, which
+gave me a curious impression, making me feel almost as though I were
+present at a funeral. It was, however, merely done to create a more
+imposing effect.
+
+A great silence pervaded the whole of the Hôtel de Russie; no one but
+royal servants stood by the front door; and the only sound which I can
+recollect was the clinking of the sword worn by a general in full uniform
+as he mounted the red-carpeted stairs. On approaching a door on the first
+floor, the general or Minister gave his name in a mysterious whisper,
+when, after a few seconds, the door was opened, and I heard a kind of
+buzzing noise, as of several persons talking at once in low tones. Then
+I can remember that, after a long interval, which seemed hours to me,
+the mysterious folding-doors were thrown wide open, and a veritable
+kaleidoscope of colour presented itself to my wondering eyes. It was the
+effect of the various uniforms worn by the Ministers and generals, as
+they emerged _en masse_ from the room and began to descend the staircase,
+talking loudly as they passed.
+
+Soon afterwards, when they had all taken their departure, the brilliant
+lights were lowered, and silence again descended on the hôtel. That
+is all I can remember, and of what became of me afterwards I have no
+recollection. That afternoon remains in my memory like a fairy-tale,
+and so comical did it appear to me, that I have often thought of it
+since. There was something so mysterious about the way each Minister and
+general entered that door after whispering his name; and then the buzz
+of conversation, which was distinctly audible during the few seconds the
+door stood open, to be succeeded by an almost death-like silence.
+
+[Illustration: Mrs. Ronalds.
+
+[_To face p. 2._]
+
+[Illustration: Mrs. R. C. Kemys-Tynte, of Halswell (now Mrs. Rawlins,
+mother of Lord Wharton).
+
+[_To face p. 3._]
+
+I can remember, just about this time, being alone in an immense salon
+with six windows, all of which overlooked the Zeil, one of the principal
+streets in Frankfurt. At either extremity of this room stood a big stove
+of white porcelain, and its walls were decorated with large pictures.
+One of these pictures represented the capture of Troy. The town was in
+flames, and a huge, grey wooden horse stood in the foreground, with
+a hole in its side from which soldiers were emerging and descending a
+ladder supported against the horse’s flank. This was one of my favourite
+pictures in the room. Another represented the Cyclopes, with their one
+eye in the centre of their forehead, engaged in heating an iron bar in a
+furnace. I remember that I used frequently to contemplate this picture
+and wonder what it all meant, and if the Cyclopes really existed and
+where they lived. At night, it used rather to frighten me, particularly
+when I was left alone in the room, which frequently happened at this
+time. Another picture represented Venus, with Cupid aiming one of his
+arrows at her. This rather pleased me. I did not know then the mischief
+wrought by Cupid’s arrows, and, in my innocence, was simple enough to
+believe that Venus was an angel of love; and I pitied her for being
+struck by one of Cupid’s arrows, which, in another picture in the room,
+had penetrated her bosom, causing a stream of blood to trickle down the
+alabaster whiteness of her body. The room had two large chandeliers, but
+when I was alone in it, only one of them was lighted.
+
+I can remember once, during the daytime, while looking out of the window,
+I saw some Prussian Hussars, in their dark-blue uniforms trimmed with
+silver lace, riding past. One of the horses shied at something, and its
+rider fell heavily, which caused a great crowd to assemble. I don’t know
+what happened afterwards; it was just one of those things that I saw as
+though in a dream.
+
+I recollect on one occasion occupying the bedroom and sleeping in the bed
+used by the King of Prussia when he visited Frankfurt. This room was very
+gorgeously furnished, the walls being draped with dark-blue satin, while
+the bed had a canopy surrounded by heavy curtains of blue silk.
+
+So far as I can remember, it must have been some months after this that
+I spent an evening in the room where the King of Prussia’s birthday-fête
+had been held. It was then occupied by the late Mrs. Ronalds, a lovely
+woman, quite young, with the most glorious smile one could possibly
+imagine and most beautiful teeth. Her face was perfectly divine in its
+loveliness; her features small and exquisitely regular. Her hair was
+of a dark shade of brown—_châtain foncé_—and very abundant. I was in
+Mrs. Ronalds’s care on this occasion, and I can still see her before
+me as she was then, and remember that she spoke with a slight American
+accent. The late Captain Frederick Dorrien, of the 1st Life Guards, an
+old Etonian and a very handsome man, whom Queen Victoria called “her
+handsome lieutenant,” after inquiring his name when he rode beside her
+carriage one day in full uniform, came to pay Mrs. Ronalds a visit that
+evening; and I can still remember her singing in a very beautiful voice,
+which everyone praised enthusiastically, and also a tiny watch set in
+brilliants, and always very much admired, which she wore on her finger.
+
+I used to be taken occasionally to the Zoological Gardens at Frankfurt,
+where a Prussian military band played on Sunday afternoons, and I took
+a fancy to what I thought was a large dog. I used to stroke it, and it
+often licked my hand after I had fed it with biscuits and seemed to know
+me. One day, however, to my surprise, I saw it put into the same cage as
+the wolves, and learned that it was a wolf, which had been placed for a
+time in a cage by itself. I still felt a great wish to stroke it, but was
+not allowed to do so.
+
+Whether it was some months later or some months earlier than this I
+cannot say, for, with a child, such things as time and space are of
+no account, which brings a child nearer to the Divinity than grown-up
+people. I can only recall giving my hand, when at Homburg vor der Höhe,
+to what seemed to me an elderly gentleman, who often took me across
+the garden of the Kurhaus and up the steps of the Kursaal into the
+restaurant, where, seated at a buffet, was a stout, pleasant-looking
+old lady, who always greeted me affectionately and gave me, at the
+gentleman’s request, my favourite fruit, nectarines and _amandes vertes_.
+I can remember how kind this gentleman always was to me, taking me
+constantly for walks in the garden of the Kurhaus, and always holding
+me by the hand. The name of the pleasant old lady was Madame Chevet,
+a Parisienne, to whom the restaurant at the Kurhaus belonged, and the
+gentleman, who was a great friend of my parents, was Thackeray, the
+author of “Vanity Fair.” I can remember nothing else about him, except
+that he appeared to be very devoted to me.[1]
+
+I used to wear white frocks with lace and embroidery, some of which had
+been given to my mother for me by H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester, when
+my mother’s aunt, Lady Caroline Murray, was lady-in-waiting to Her Royal
+Highness.[2] I used at that time to be dressed like a girl, with my
+hair in long, dark-brown ringlets, and on one occasion my mother took
+me up to a very plain English lady in the grounds of the Kursaal, when
+the latter exclaimed: “What a pretty boy? He is more like a girl!” Then,
+turning to me, she said: “My dear, will you allow me to kiss you?” “Yes,”
+I answered, and, holding up my bare arm, I added: “Kiss my elbow.” My
+mother tried to persuade me to allow the lady to kiss me, but I only
+cried and said: “Oh! not my face, only my elbow!”
+
+One day, I remember, I was playing in the grounds of the Kursaal with a
+large india-rubber ball with two little girls, when a lady called them
+away, saying to the little girls, who were her daughters: “You must
+not play with a boy when you don’t know who he is.” That same evening,
+the Countess of Desart, who was lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, was
+dining at Madame Chevet’s restaurant at the Kurhaus with my parents, and,
+happening to hear of what had occurred to me in the morning, said to my
+mother: “I will pay that woman out for her insolence. She is a nobody,
+and only the wife of a Law lord.” When Lady C——, the mother of the two
+little girls, arrived for dinner at the Kurhaus, the countess purposely
+did not rise to enter the dining-room for a very long time, which annoyed
+Lady C—— immensely, as she dared not enter the dining-room until the
+countess had risen from her seat to do so. At dinner the countess said
+to Lady C: “I can understand how careful you have to be about whom your
+girls play with, as you don’t quite know how to discriminate between
+common children and others.” Lady C—— blushed crimson, but did not
+venture to make any reply.[3] The Countess of Desart maintained quite a
+princely establishment at Homburg, having a French chef at her villa and
+a number of English servants, with carriages and horses besides.
+
+[Illustration: The Author’s Father.
+
+[_To face p. 6._]
+
+Among my father’s friends then at Homburg was Sir Edward Hutchinson, whom
+the Prince Consort said was the handsomest man in England. His brother,
+General Coote Hutchinson, was also at Homburg. He had been a colonel
+at six-and-twenty, and was for many years the youngest general in the
+English Army.
+
+At Homburg we lived in a villa on the Unter Promenade, in which the
+Princess Liegnitz, the morganatic wife of Frederick III. of Prussia,
+also resided. I can remember so well a box of toys representing various
+animals which the Princess gave me, and also the Princess and her
+daughter driving up to the villa one day when I was walking with my
+father, when he made me go and speak to them. My father afterwards gave
+me a beautiful bouquet of red roses, which I took to Princess Liegnitz’s
+salon, at which she seemed pleased, and, when she thanked me for them,
+gave me a kiss. King William of Prussia often visited his father’s widow
+at the villa, where the Princess held a regular Court, and was treated as
+though she were Queen of Prussia, even by the King. When he met me in the
+grounds, His Majesty often gave me bonbons, and usually kissed me. I had
+at that time a very pretty English nurse, and King William was well known
+to be a great admirer of pretty faces. My pride was somewhat wounded when
+I was told that His Majesty’s attentions to me may have been due in a
+very great measure to the attractions of my nurse.
+
+When the Princess Liegnitz left Homburg, great preparations were made at
+the villa for the Duc de Morny, who intended to come and stay there.
+But before he left Paris for Homburg he was suddenly taken ill and died.
+His death caused a great sensation everywhere, and his servants, who had
+already arrived at the villa, went away at once and returned to Paris.
+
+Once a fortnight, on Sunday, an Austrian military band used to come from
+Rastatt to play in the grounds of the Kursaal. It played both in the
+afternoon and evening, and people sat on the lawns, enjoying the very
+fine music. Sometimes the Prussian military band came from Frankfurt, on
+which occasions I invariably used to cry. I sometimes sat with my parents
+on a Sunday on the lawns. Count Perponcher, Oberst-Hofmeister to the
+King of Prussia,[4] the Countess of Desart, Sir Frederick Slade and his
+family, or other friends, generally sat with them. Count Perponcher was
+a most agreeable and distinguished-looking man, and a great admirer of
+the Countess of Desart. The latter was not only a great beauty, but had
+a certain “grand air” about her, which is, as a rule, only to be found
+amongst the old nobility.
+
+One day, when the Austrian military band was playing, my nurse and I had
+our early dinner at the Hôtel de l’Europe. Opposite to us, sitting at
+the _table d’hôte_, was the bandmaster Jeschko, with a very pretty woman
+seated on either side of him. I noticed that he was making love to both
+of them, and said to my nurse:
+
+“Look at the Austrian bandmaster: he has two such pretty wives!”
+
+“You silly boy, why do you talk such nonsense?” answered my nurse.
+
+“But he is making love to both, and so they are to him,” I persisted.
+
+“You should not look at people you don’t know; they may be his sisters.”
+
+“I am sure they are not, for look at papa and his sisters.”
+
+“Well, whatever they may be, it is not for a child like you to ask about
+them. I’ve no doubt that one is the gentleman’s wife and the other his
+sister.”
+
+“Couldn’t they both be his wives?”
+
+“No; such a thing would not be allowed.”
+
+I continued to gaze at this handsome man, with his very long, fair
+moustache, highly curled. He seemed so good-looking in his white uniform
+with its pink facings, and the two ladies kept stroking his hands on the
+table and looking with admiration into his blue eyes. They both addressed
+him as “_Du_,” and appeared so very fond of him, that I said to myself
+that I could quite understand these girls being in love with him, as he
+was so handsome. The white uniform and the fine military appearance of
+this Austrian bandmaster at table no doubt greatly impressed my childish
+imagination, as I had never seen any one like him before, while his fair
+companions were both excessively pretty and dressed in the most charming
+confections imaginable. It was a sight which, when I grew older, never
+faded from my memory, while many other events, perhaps of far greater
+importance, were entirely obliterated. Stilgebauer, a very celebrated
+modern German author, who wrote “Love’s Inferno,” says: “Only that which
+we do not wish to, or may not, remember is over; everything else is ours
+and never over or lost to us.”
+
+At Homburg, when the Austrian military band played, the grounds at night
+were illuminated with red, white and blue lights, and the fireworks
+were the admiration of the whole world, as M. Blanc spared no expense
+whatever. This, indeed, he could well afford to do, in view of the
+immense profits he derived from the gaming-tables.
+
+There was at Homburg in those days a young French girl of noble family,
+who was about thirteen years of age and very lovely, with a beautiful
+complexion. She was always exquisitely dressed, usually in white tulle
+with a great deal of lace, and was admired by everyone. This youthful
+beauty used to play a game of forfeits in a ring with some boys, who
+always arranged as a forfeit for the girl that she should kiss them.
+One day, when I was about seven years old, the children invited me to
+play with them. I did so, and was kissed by the little girl, at which I
+was much ashamed, as, though I rather liked being kissed by her, I was
+decidedly bashful when the operation was performed in the presence of
+so many people. And so, when I was asked to play again, I refused. This
+young lady often got her lovely white dress torn to shreds by the rough
+boys who played with her, but she went on playing every day all the same.
+
+I remember once travelling by train with my father from Homburg to
+Frankfurt, when Goldschmid, a wealthy Jewish banker with red hair, who
+was in the same compartment, went fast to sleep. My father told me he
+was going to have some fun with him, and was pretending to take away his
+watch and chain, when Goldschmid suddenly woke up and exclaimed:—
+
+“_Gott, wirklich ich dachte Sie hätten meine Uhr weggenommen!_”
+
+He was evidently under the impression that my father had evil intentions,
+and it was not for some time afterwards that he could understand that it
+was only a joke. Goldschmid, many years afterwards, was ruined by his own
+brother, and committed suicide by drowning himself in the Main. They were
+cent. per cent. Jew moneylenders and bankers, who helped to ruin many
+English people in those days at Homburg.
+
+I can well recollect seeing my father on one occasion in conversation
+with Garcia, a dark, good-looking Italian, who had several times broken
+the bank at Homburg by his high play. He had begun his gambling
+operations when quite a poor man. I can also recollect Madame Kisilieff,
+who was a great gambler in those days, and was a good deal with my
+parents at Homburg. She was an immensely wealthy Russian lady of noble
+birth, who lived there _en grand luxe_.
+
+The English colony at Homburg during the gambling days was very different
+from what it is now. There was more youth and beauty to be seen there
+and more of the aristocracy; whereas to-day more old people and wealthy
+_parvenus_ go to Homburg during the season. Chevet’s Restaurant, though
+dreadfully expensive, was excellent; while the modern German one, though
+also dear, is not especially good.
+
+I cannot recollect what year it was, but I can remember the Railway King,
+Hudson, taking another boy named Jeffreys and myself, whom I afterwards
+met at Eton, to dine with him at Chevet’s Restaurant, where he regaled us
+with every kind of luxury that the place could provide. My mother once
+told me a story about Mrs. Hudson, which she had heard from her father:—
+
+Mrs. Hudson one day received a visit from the Duke of Wellington,
+whom she saw arrive, accompanied by a well-dressed and very
+distinguished-looking man, who remained outside when the Duke entered the
+house. Presently it came on to rain heavily.
+
+“I will ask your friend up out of the rain,” said Mrs. Hudson to the Duke.
+
+The Duke replied that the man was his servant; but Mrs. Hudson, who could
+not bring herself to believe that such an aristocratic-looking person
+could be the servant even of the Duke of Wellington, and thought that the
+latter was joking, insisted on the man being shown upstairs.
+
+My grandfather’s brother-in-law, General the Hon. Sir George
+Cathcart, was A.D.C. to the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo, and was
+second-in-command to Lord Raglan in the Crimea, where he was killed at
+Inkermann. He was my godfather, and I often heard my father say that he
+always had a cigar in his mouth, even in action. Once he was asked by
+the authorities at the War Office how long he required to get ready
+for active service. His answer was that he was ready to go anywhere at
+twenty-four hours’ notice.
+
+My parents, one year, lived at the Hôtel de Russie at Frankfurt, going to
+Homburg in the evenings. There was a Baron von Neii, an Austrian major of
+dragoons, staying at the “Russie.” He was married to an Englishwoman, but
+they had no children, and, taking a great fancy to me, he wanted to adopt
+me and give me the right to bear his name and title, which is frequently
+done in Austria. He and his wife lived afterwards at Beaulieu, near Nice,
+where they had a charming villa with a beautiful rose-garden, where I
+have been to see them in more recent years.
+
+Baron von Neii told me that there was once an Englishman, a Major
+Isaacson, in his regiment, who could not speak two words of the Hungarian
+language. Nevertheless, he contrived to retain his place in the regiment
+for many years, being always prompted when he had to give orders by
+a sergeant. One day, however, during an inspection by a general, the
+sergeant happened to be away, with the consequence that the poor officer
+was perfectly helpless, and, after calling out several wrong words of
+command, was detected and placed on half-pay.
+
+There were at this time at Homburg two Misses Lee Willing, nieces of the
+famous General Lee, of the Southerners. One was a great beauty, who, it
+was reported, had received innumerable offers of marriage, from a prince
+downwards, but had refused them all. She was called the “Destroying
+Angel,” because she had been the cause of so many duels being fought on
+her account. She was constantly in the company of my parents, and, many
+years later, we met her again in Paris. So far as I can remember, she
+could never decide to take a husband, and died in Paris while still a
+great beauty.
+
+[Illustration: The Author’s Mother.
+
+[_To face p. 12._]
+
+Her cousin, Willing Lee Magruder, had been with the Emperor Maximilian of
+Mexico at the time he was shot by his revolted subjects, and only escaped
+a similar fate by the skin of his teeth. His sister was lady-in-waiting
+to the Empress Charlotte of Mexico, and, after the Emperor’s death, the
+brother and sister occasionally dined with us in Paris, and we often met
+them in later years in Paris society. When leaving Mexico, Magruder and
+his sister were shipwrecked, and he told me that they passed several
+hours in the sea clinging to a plank. At night they were rescued by a
+passing ship, almost exhausted by hunger, thirst and fatigue. His sister
+never quite recovered from the shock to her system, and suffered much
+from a nervous complaint ever afterwards.
+
+I can remember that, while at the Hôtel de Russie, my mother used
+constantly to be reading French novels, which, during her absences
+at Homburg, my French nurse used to get hold of. I was particularly
+interested in _la Reine Margot_ and _le Chevalier de Maison Rouge_, by
+Alexandre Dumas _père_, which delighted me more than any other books. I
+read “Joseph Andrews,” which my father bought for me, but he told me that
+he thought I was not quite old enough to appreciate or even to understand
+most of it.
+
+I used always to be much interested in the Eschenheimer Thor at
+Frankfurt, as at the top of it there was a tiny iron flag, in which nine
+holes were pierced, representing the figure nine. The story about this
+flag is that a certain poacher, who had been arrested and condemned to
+death for shooting deer, was offered a pardon, if he could put nine
+bullets into the flag in such a way as to form the figure nine. This he
+succeeded in doing, and was set at liberty.
+
+When you looked at the flag this seemed hardly credible; it was so tiny,
+and the nine was so wonderfully pierced. The Eschenheimer Thor has since
+disappeared to make room for the so-called improvements of Frankfurt.
+
+I can remember being taken to the celebrated Römer at Frankfurt, where
+the Emperors of Germany were formerly crowned. The Kaisersaal, where
+the coronation used to take place, was an immense room, containing
+portraits of the different Emperors. I was much interested in Karl I.,
+and still more in Rudolph von Hapsburg, the ancestor of the present
+Emperor of Austria, and I also took particular note of those of Günther
+von Schwarzburg and Maximilian I., as I was very fond of German history.
+The coronation room was beautifully decorated, the walls and doors being
+sumptuously gilded. On the latter were represented several children,
+wearing royal crowns and garments of gold, which pleased me very much.
+
+Another time, I was taken by my French nurse, so far as I can remember,
+to see Dannecker’s celebrated statue of Ariadne, and was somewhat
+startled at finding myself in a perfectly dark room, in which you could
+only see a red velvet curtain facing you. Soon, however, the curtain was
+drawn back, when a perfectly white statue of a nude woman riding upon
+a lion appeared before us. The woman was exquisitely formed, and was
+reclining indolently upon the animal’s back. A rose-coloured light was
+thrown upon the statue, which made its hue all the more dazzling, and
+it revolved slowly on its axis, so as to display the lovely form of the
+woman to better advantage. I was glad that it was dark, for I fancied
+that I should have felt more awkward if anyone had seen me. As it was, I
+blushed crimson, and was pleased to get into the street. All the same,
+I have never forgotten this lovely statue and the rose-coloured light
+employed to show off its beauty.
+
+I went to the Jewish quarter, where the old tumbledown house in which
+the Rothschilds had once lived[5] was pointed out to me, but it was such
+a dirty quarter of the town that I never returned there. I once visited
+the Synagogue, and was surprised to see all the men wearing their hats.
+It made me think of the time of Christ, and that with certain Jews
+very little had altered since those days. I wondered why such men as
+Goldschmid at Homburg were allowed to carry on their villainous trade
+with Christians.
+
+The new theatre at Frankfurt is a very fine building, in which there is
+a statue of Goethe, which is greatly admired. An amusing anecdote is
+related of Goethe, who was born at Frankfurt. One day he and Beethoven
+were walking together, and many people who met them raised their
+hats. “How tiresome it often is to be recognized by so many persons!”
+complained Goethe. To which Beethoven replied somewhat maliciously:
+“Perhaps it is me they are greeting.”
+
+Speaking of Goethe, the celebrated Austrian poet Grillparzer says:—
+
+“_Schiller geht nach oben, Goethe kommt von oben._ His characters
+usually say everything beautiful that can be said about a subject, and
+for nothing in the world would I care to miss any of the beautiful
+speeches in _Tasso_ and _Iphigenia_, but they are not dramatic. That is
+why Goethe’s plays are so charming to read and so bad to act. However
+much we may think of Goethe, the fact remains that his _Wanderjahre_
+is no work, the second part of _Faust_ no poem, the maxims of the last
+period no lyrics. Goethe may be a greater poet, and no doubt is; but
+Schiller is a greater possession for the nation, which requires vivid
+impressions in our sickly times. Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister and Philine
+Sarto and the Countess have all distinct and artistically well-formed
+characters, though they are all in danger of being condemned as
+without any character. This fate they share with Hamlet and Phèdre,
+with King Lear and Richard II.; perhaps also with Macbeth and Othello.
+The _Wahlverwandtschaften_ is a great masterpiece. In knowledge of
+humanity, wisdom, sentiment and poetic strain it has not its equal in any
+literature. With the exception of those produced by Goethe in his youth,
+his works were not popular with the nation, and the great respect shown
+him was the result of the admiration which his masterpieces of the past
+had aroused.”
+
+Frederick the Great said of Goethe: “His early works are too natural,
+and his late ones too artificial. Besides, he is an immoral poet. Fallen
+girls are his favourite characters.” A very true saying of Frederick the
+Great is: “A court of justice which pronounces an unjust sentence is
+worse than a band of murderers.” Frederick was always a great admirer
+of Voltaire, and one of his famous sayings is: “_Unsere Unsterblichkeit
+ist, den Menschen Wohlthaten zu erweisen_.” (“Our immortality consists in
+performing good deeds to mankind.”)
+
+In recent years I went to the celebrated Palmen Garden in Frankfurt,
+where the palm-trees are all from the late Duke of Nassau’s beautiful
+palace at Biebrich. I went there with an English lady to an afternoon
+concert. My companion remarked how ordinary all the people looked
+compared with those one saw at a concert at Vienna, and drew my attention
+to a table at which sat four men dressed in very shabby, old-fashioned
+clothes. I was anxious to remain and hear the concert out, but was afraid
+the lady might decide to leave early, owing to the little interest she
+appeared to find in the audience. So I said at random:—
+
+“You are quite right, but with regard to the men sitting at that table, I
+should not be surprised if they were millionaires.”
+
+She laughed and seemed to be much amused at the idea, and a waiter coming
+up just at that moment with some coffee and cakes we had ordered, I asked
+him if he knew who the four men were. He replied at once:—
+
+“They are four millionaires.”
+
+I may mention that I had never seen these men before in my life, and was
+only staying at Frankfurt two days.
+
+At Franzenbad, from which I had just come, I had a singular experience.
+On entering the Kursaal one Saturday afternoon a programme of the music
+was handed me. The piece which was being played was a polka, by Edward
+Strauss, called _Con Amore_, and I noticed that each of the eight pieces
+on the programme contained a letter of this name. I took this as a kind
+of presentiment, and the same day telegraphed to a bookmaker named
+Hörner, in the Krugerstrasse at Vienna, to back the horse of this name
+running in the principal event in the Baden races the following Sunday.
+He duly executed my commission, and the horse won, though it did not
+start favourite. I won very little, however, as the odds were not as long
+as I had expected. The programme of the concert at Franzensbad was as
+follows:—
+
+    Saturday, 25th June, 1904. Kurhaus, 4 p.m.
+
+    1. Wiedermann Marsch                     Oelschlegel.
+    2. Ouverture, Oberon                     Weber.
+    3. Ballerinen Walzer                     Weinberger.
+    4. Potpourri aus Obersteiger             Zeller.
+    5. Con Amore Polka                       Ed. Strauss.
+    6. Ouverture, Belagerung von Corinth     Rossini.
+    7. Am Spinnrad                           Eilenberg.
+    8. Frisch heran Galop                    Johann Strauss.
+
+The Hôtel de Russie, in those days, occupied the site of the present
+Post Office. It was originally a palace, and the rooms were magnificent,
+particularly those reserved for the King of Prussia, which my parents
+occupied for a time, as did Mrs. Ronalds. Otherwise, this suite of
+rooms was always kept for the King of Prussia when he cared to visit
+Frankfurt, which His Majesty often did, staying there usually some
+time. The proprietor of the Hôtel de Russie was a certain Herr Ried,
+and, on his death, it was purchased by the Drexel brothers, who are now
+wine-merchants of some celebrity in Frankfurt.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+    An Adventure in the Oden Wald—The Coiners of the Black
+    Forest—Kirchhofer’s School
+
+
+When I was seven years old, my parents left me at a school in Frankfurt,
+kept by Herr Kirchhofer, a good-looking, fair-haired man of thirty-five.
+He was married and had an only son named August, who in later years
+entered the Austrian Army, and got terribly into debt when a lieutenant.
+His father paid his debts, but after he married he got into further
+trouble, and ended by shooting himself, while still quite young.
+During my stay at this school I spoke nothing but German all day, with
+the exception of a little French occasionally, and, in consequence,
+completely forgot the English language for the time being.
+
+One day, Herr Kirchhofer told one of the assistant masters, Herr Wolf, a
+young man of five-and-twenty, that he might take six of the boys, of whom
+I was one, for a three days’ excursion in the Oden Wald. We started at
+five o’clock in the morning and walked for some hours, when I became so
+tired that I could go no farther. So Close, an English boy of eighteen,
+who was going into the Austrian Army, and another boy, a German, carried
+me on a kind of camp-stool a long way.
+
+When we got to the Oden Wald, we wandered about collecting plants, which
+Herr Wolf required for his lessons in botany. Then, after dining at an
+inn, we started again, with the intention of reaching a village which
+the master knew by name. On the way we passed a small village, where a
+man offered to take charge of me, and I was very much afraid our master
+would leave me with him. I begged him not to do so, and was greatly
+relieved when he said:
+
+“You don’t think I should be so foolish? Why, the man might run off with
+you.”
+
+Some time afterwards, it began to grow quite dark, and Herr Wolf became
+much alarmed, as we had completely lost our way in the forest. However,
+we saw some lights in the distance, and walked on until we came to a
+small village, where there was a house which purported to be an inn,
+though all its windows were broken and mended with pieces of newspaper.
+
+Herr Wolf entered this uninviting hostelry and inquired if we could
+have one large room to sleep in, as he told Close and another big boy,
+a German, that he was afraid that we might possibly be murdered in the
+night, if we were separated. I may here mention that, in those days, some
+parts of the Oden Wald were infested by gangs of robbers, and instances
+were known of people being given beds which revolved in the night and
+precipitated their unfortunate occupants into pits beneath the floor.
+
+The inn-keeper, a sinister-looking personage, with his face almost
+entirely covered with hair, said that he had not a room large enough to
+accommodate our whole party, but that we could have two rooms. Herr Wolf
+asked if they were near each other, to which the man replied that one was
+upstairs, but the other on the ground floor. The master, looking much
+annoyed, asked to see the rooms, and, after inspecting them, inquired
+if Close had a revolver with him. The latter said he had not, though he
+had brought a sword-stick. But another boy, an American, called Sydney
+Chapin, exclaimed:—
+
+“I have a loaded revolver with me.”
+
+“That’s famous!” replied Herr Wolf. “Then you must give it me, for I will
+occupy the room on the ground floor with George, and you others must
+sleep upstairs.”
+
+The master then took the revolver, and told Close that he must take
+charge of the other boys in the room upstairs.
+
+When this had been arranged, we all entered the so-called dining-room,
+a large room, with whitewashed walls. Its windows, like all the rest in
+the house, were broken and patched with newspapers; the ceiling was so
+low that you could almost touch it with your hands, and crossed by large
+beams. In one part of this room, four rough-looking men were playing
+cards and drinking beer out of mugs. They were in their shirt sleeves,
+with sleeves tucked up to the elbow, displaying very muscular arms, while
+their shirts, open at the neck, showed their naked chests covered with
+hair. Although it was summer and excessively hot, all of them wore fur
+caps.
+
+They were playing by the glimmer of a solitary tallow candle, which was
+the only light in the room, and when we took our seats with our master
+at another table, we found ourselves almost in the dark. Presently, our
+supper was brought us, consisting of cold meat and mugs of beer, and Herr
+Wolf asked for a candle. The inn-keeper muttered sullenly that he had
+none.
+
+“What! Have you no light of any description?” asked the master.
+
+“No, I have just told you so,” was the reply.
+
+Herr Wolf was visibly alarmed, but Close whispered to him:—
+
+“I have a box of matches.”
+
+“_Gott sei dank!_” exclaimed the other.
+
+After some whispered instructions to Close, the master rose from the
+table, when I observed the card-players casting surreptitious glances in
+our direction, although they pretended to be absorbed in their game. Herr
+Wolf then took me through the darkness into the bedroom on the ground
+floor, the gloom of which was partially relieved by a slight glimmer from
+the moon, which penetrated through the broken window. He struck a match,
+and, having shown me my bed, which stood near the window, told me to
+undress and go to bed. I did as he told me, and he then said that he was
+going upstairs to see after the other boys.
+
+[Illustration: The Author’s Daughter.
+
+[_To face p. 20._]
+
+While I lay in bed, I heard some noisy women passing the window. One
+of them put her head through one of the broken panes, and, on seeing me
+in bed, burst out laughing. Afterwards there was a dead silence, only
+interrupted occasionally by the loud oaths of the men playing cards in
+the dining-room, who appeared to be disputing about some money which had
+changed hands. The noise they made was becoming louder and louder, when I
+heard the door open, and Herr Wolf entered and inquired if I were asleep.
+He then went out again, saying that he would return later. The noise made
+by the gamblers then appeared to cease, and my weariness overcoming my
+fears, I suddenly dropped off to sleep.
+
+Early in the morning I awoke, and saw Herr Wolf dressing himself. I
+hardly knew where I was, when, on seeing that I was awake, he said:—
+
+“_Du bist famos geschlafen, George._”
+
+After I had dressed, he told me to come with him into the dining-room,
+where all the others were gathered, and, after taking some coffee and
+black bread, we left the inn. Soon afterwards, Herr Wolf told the boys
+that he had never been so alarmed in his life, and that he was quite
+positive that if the men at the inn had not known that some of the boys
+were armed, we should most probably have been murdered for the sake of
+our clothes and the money we had about us. He added that he had not
+slept a wink all night, as he knew what sort of men he had to deal with,
+and that they were of the very lowest type imaginable and capable of
+committing any crime to obtain a few groschen.
+
+At the time of which I am speaking, there were so many murders
+perpetrated near Homburg, owing to the gambling which went on there, that
+the police never knew whether they had really to deal with a suicide or
+a murder. The Oden Wald had then quite as bad a reputation as the Black
+Forest, which was infested by whole gangs of robbers and murderers. Herr
+Wolf told us a story of a man who, having lost his way in the Oden Wald,
+put up for the night at a small inn near a village, where they gave
+him some coffee before he went to bed. He could not sleep, and in the
+middle of the night he got up, lighted a candle and began examining a
+picture opposite his bed, which represented a man wearing a Rembrandt
+hat with a long feather. Gradually, it seemed to him that the feather
+was becoming shorter; soon he could see only a part of the hat, and
+then merely the face. The man, thinking that there must be something
+wrong with him, jumped out of bed and approached the picture, which he
+found was exactly as when he had first seen it. But, on looking at his
+bed, he perceived that the baldachin over the four-poster was suspended
+by a chain from above the ceiling, and was gradually working its way
+downwards. An examination of the moving baldachin revealed the fact that
+it was made of massive iron, beneath which he would infallibly have been
+crushed to death. Dressing in all haste, and holding a pistol which he
+had about him ready to fire in case of need, the destined victim left the
+room and stealthily descended the stairs. By good fortune he met no one,
+and letting himself out of the house, made his way to Homburg, where he
+informed the police of the murderous trap which had been laid for him.
+It was evident that the coffee which he had drank overnight had been
+drugged; but, most providentially for him, the drug had had the contrary
+effect to that intended, and had kept him awake, instead of sending him
+to sleep.
+
+Herr Wolf told us other stories of the Black Forest, in which there were
+inns with revolving beds, which upset the persons who occupied them into
+pits beneath the floor, where the heavy fall generally killed them at
+once; and Baron Vogelsang, a good-looking Bavarian boy, with blue eyes
+and curly brown hair, related the following anecdote:
+
+During the time of the great Napoleon,[6] the Emperor sent on one of
+his aides-de-camp to Germany with important despatches. This A.D.C. had
+to traverse the Black Forest, and on arriving as evening was falling
+at a certain country house, asked if he could be accommodated for the
+night. A room was given him, but, at the same time, he was warned that
+the house was haunted, and, sure enough, in the middle of the night a
+ghost duly put in an appearance. The Frenchman, who had no belief in
+the supernatural, promptly snatched up a pistol and levelled it at the
+spectre, who thereupon vanished. The A.D.C. then hurried to the spot
+where the ghost had first appeared, when the floor suddenly gave way
+beneath him, and he fell what seemed a great distance. For the moment he
+was stunned by the fall, and, on recovering his senses, found himself
+surrounded by a number of men, who were debating whether they should kill
+him. He, however, explained who he was, and showed them the despatches
+from Napoleon of which he was the bearer; and the men, fearing the
+vengeance of the Emperor, should the crime they were meditating ever be
+discovered, agreed to set him at liberty, on condition that he would
+take an oath to say nothing of what had happened to him in that house.
+They then told him that they were coiners, and that they killed everyone
+who slept at the house, but that they usually frightened so many away
+by tales that very few people cared to stop there. The Frenchman took
+the oath demanded of him, and was set at liberty so soon as day came.
+Years afterwards, he received a magnificent pistol, set with brilliants
+and rubies, with the following inscription engraved upon it: “From those
+whose secret you have so generously kept.” The gift was accompanied by a
+letter, informing him that the coiners, having now succeeded in amassing
+an immense fortune, had retired from business.
+
+The day after our adventure at the inn was passed by our party in walking
+leisurely through the forest homewards, through a most glorious country
+and in most lovely weather. When we reached Frankfurt, Herr Kirchhofer
+congratulated Herr Wolf on our escape, and told him that it was very
+lucky that we had returned at all.
+
+Herr Wolf saw me in after days at Frankfurt, when he kissed me in German
+fashion, saying: “_Kannst Du Dich erinnern von damals im Oden Walde,
+George?_” I thought it was our last day upon earth, and that we were
+going to be murdered there, like many others have been there before and
+even since those days. But I pretended not to be alarmed at the time, and
+made the best of it.
+
+The time—rather more than a year and a half—I spent at this school at
+Frankfurt was one of the happiest periods of my life; indeed, when my
+parents wanted me to stay at the Hôtel de Russie, I cried and begged not
+to be taken away from the school. Herr Kirchhofer was a very pleasant,
+kind and good-hearted man, and a fine orator, one of the best I have ever
+heard; and the lectures which he used to give on ancient Greek history
+were always extremely interesting. His lectures were always extempore, as
+his excellent memory made it unnecessary for him to refer to a book, and
+the way he declaimed was a pleasure to listen to, so well did he raise or
+lower his voice to suit the occasion. At times he became very dramatic,
+putting you in mind of some celebrated actor on the stage, as he walked
+up and down the room, reciting from the classics and quite carrying away
+his audience. The only punishment inflicted on boys at this school was to
+shake them and smack their faces, which Herr Kirchhofer did himself, as
+well as the other masters, of whom there were eight or nine, although the
+school consisted only of ten boarders and fifty day-boarders.
+
+German and Austrian boys find more pleasure in taking long walks in
+the woods, making excursions, and running about than they do in games
+like football and cricket, for which few, if any, have any taste. In
+fact, I never knew any boys in Germany who cared much for any outdoor
+games at all. However, I have not the slightest doubt they enjoy their
+school-days quite as much as English boys, if not more; and there is
+much more friendship between master and boys in Germany than there ever
+can be in England. In the former country, the master devotes more time
+to ascertaining the tastes of individual boys, and addresses them
+more like a friend than a master. When, afterwards, I was sent to an
+English school, I noticed the difference almost at once. At the school
+at Frankfurt I was most interested in the history of ancient Greece; I
+was also fond of German history. Latin was not taught there, for which
+I was by no means sorry. I had no great fancy for botany, though I
+tried to like it; but natural science rather piqued my curiosity. As
+for arithmetic, I hated it, and never knew the value of money; in fact,
+I don’t remember ever having any at that time, nor ever asking for
+any, as I had everything I required bought for me. I had a fancy for
+collecting stamps, and, in those days, there was a regular stamp market
+at Frankfurt, where they were sold in the street. I went there on one
+occasion, but was not very favourably impressed by the Jew dealers who
+hawked them about.
+
+I was passionately fond of tin soldiers, and used to play with them with
+a boy named Louis Krebs, who had a fine collection of both Austrian and
+Prussian ones. He had a pretty little sister called Klara, who always
+wore pink coral earrings and would often play with us.
+
+One day, Herr Kirchhofer told me that my parents were going to England
+and that they had arranged to take me with them. At first, I was quite
+unable to realize it, but when I learned that the news was true I was
+greatly distressed, and nearly cried my eyes out at having to leave
+Frankfurt and the school. I tried to prevail upon my parents to leave me
+behind, but my father would not hear of it, saying that I should have to
+go to a preparatory school for Eton, and that he had one in view, which
+my aunt, Lady Caroline Murray, had recommended. So I was forced, _malgré
+moi_, to submit to my parents’ wishes.
+
+In recent years I met Krebs, the boy of whom I have just spoken, at
+Frankfurt, when he gave me a great deal of information about those who
+had been at school with us. He himself had become a millionaire; but he
+was the only one who had made money. Most of the others had been far from
+successful in life, and one of the wealthiest, Baron Vogelsang, had
+lost almost the whole of his immense fortune. Many had died quite young.
+Herr Kirchhofer had only lived a few months after the suicide of his son
+August, and Herr Wolf had also died while still quite a young man.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+    Brussels—Ostend—General Sir John Douglas—Spa—“Captain
+    Arthy”—Boulogne
+
+
+On leaving Frankfurt, we went to Brussels, where we lived in a large
+house on the Boulevard de Waterloo, which looked out on to a very fine
+avenue of trees. Captain Dorrien came with us on a visit to my parents
+and stayed for some months. Captain Dorrien, in after years, lost his
+whole fortune, when the late Earl of Sheffield, who had been at Eton with
+him, insisted on his going to live at his fine house in Portland Place,
+where he was given full authority over all the servants, lived free of
+all cost to himself, and received a cheque for £500, while the Earl
+went for a six months’ cruise in his yacht. This was told me by Captain
+Dorrien himself, at a time when he was in far better circumstances.
+
+Lord Howard de Walden was then the English Minister at Brussels, and my
+parents were on very friendly terms with him and his family. Two of the
+sons came often to our house; one was in the Royal Navy, and the other in
+the 60th Rifles. The eldest son, who afterwards succeeded to the title,
+was then in the 4th Hussars, but I never met him. Many years afterwards,
+I met Lady Howard de Walden, then a widow, in India, at Murree, in the
+Himalayas, where she dined at our mess with her daughter, Miss Ellis.
+The two ladies were about to start on a journey to Kashmir, on ponies,
+as Lady Howard de Walden said that it was her intention to see as much
+of the world as she could before she died. She was then seventy. She
+added that it was a singular coincidence that the two regiments in which
+her sons had served—the 4th Hussars and the 60th Rifles—both of which
+she visited, should be quartered quite near Kashmir, the Hussars at
+Rawal Pindi, and the 2nd Battalion, 60th Rifles, at Murree. Lady Howard
+de Walden accomplished the difficult journey to Kashmir and returned in
+safety.
+
+We were on friendly terms with the Baron de Taintegnies, who was in
+attendance on Leopold II., King of the Belgians, and also with his
+three lovely daughters, who, with their cousins, the daughters of Baron
+Danetan, were considered the most beautiful girls in Brussels society at
+that time. One of the former married, in later years, Captain Stewart
+Muirhead, of the Blues, a friend of my father and of Captain Dorrien.
+
+Frederick Milbanke, of the Blues, an old Etonian, who was a great friend
+of my father, was at that time a good deal in Brussels, and married
+a Belgian actress there. Milbanke was heir to some of the Duke of
+Cleveland’s estates, but he died before coming into this property. The
+last time I saw him was at the Alexandra Hôtel, in London, where he and
+his wife had a very fine suite of rooms, when my father took me there to
+pay them a visit. Milbanke was a very handsome, fair man, and his wife
+a great beauty. I met the latter in after years at the Grosvenor Hôtel,
+where she was staying with her son, a nice-looking boy, who had come back
+from Eton for the holidays.
+
+The winter at Brussels was rather a severe one, and there was plenty of
+good skating to be had. I remember learning to skate in the Bois de la
+Cambre, to which I went with my father. One day I was knocked down by
+some lady skaters, and had great difficulty in extricating myself from
+their petticoats. I fell very softly, but I was well-nigh smothered. I
+was glad when my parents left Brussels, as I had no companions there at
+all.
+
+There was then at Ostend a Mrs. Clifton, who had an exceedingly pretty
+daughter. Mrs. Clifton was a widow, and afterwards contracted a second
+marriage with a brother of Sir Walter Carew. When I was at school at
+Kineton, in Warwickshire, the mother and daughter paid me a visit, as
+they had an estate not far from the school.
+
+One day, on the Digue at Ostend, I suddenly caught sight of my little
+friend, Baron Vogelsang, who, leaving his father and mother, who were
+with him, ran up to me at once and kissed me on both cheeks. I saw a good
+deal of Vogelsang while I was at Ostend, going often on to the sands with
+him, and meeting him in the evening at the children’s dance at the Casino.
+
+The Baron de Taintegnies’s daughter used to attend those dances, to
+which the Duc de Sequeira, a young boy I knew, generally went. Marie,
+the Baron’s eldest daughter, who was a lovely girl, afterwards became
+the Baronne Le Clément de Taintegnies. She lives at Minehead, where she
+has a fine estate and hunts with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds.
+I heard from her quite recently. Her sister Isa, who married Captain
+Stewart Muirhead, is now a widow, her husband having died in Paris in
+1906. She also hunts with the staghounds in Devonshire, and both sisters
+are well-known horsewomen. Aline, the youngest sister, who was called
+“Bébé,” and whom I admired very much when a child at Brussels and Ostend,
+married, in 1871, Baron de Hérissem, and, after his death, went to Italy,
+where she married again and lived for several years. She died at Ancona
+in March, 1906.
+
+There was a racing man at Ostend, named Captain Riddell, who won all
+the principal steeplechases that were run there. Mrs. Ind, the wife of
+the well-known brewer, was his sister. Riddell met with a very serious
+accident in a steeplechase at Ostend, injuring his spine. The horse
+which he was riding on that occasion was once ridden by my father on
+the sands, and he told me that he was a perfect devil to hold. When a
+young man, my father once rode a hundred miles in twelve hours on the
+same horse for a bet at Taunton, in Somerset, and won his wager easily,
+with plenty of time to spare. He and Charles Kinglake, a brother of the
+author of “Eöthen,” were the only persons who were willing to go up in a
+balloon at Taunton, when the first one came there, which was considered
+rather venturesome at the time. This reminds me that one of the oldest
+inhabitants of Bristol told me lately that he remembered when the first
+iron ship was launched at that port, and how all the residents declared:
+“The idea of iron floating is too absurd to entertain for one instant;
+the ship is bound to sink, for iron can never be made to keep above
+water.”
+
+The King and Queen of Würtemberg were both then at Ostend. Queen Olga,
+who was a Russian Grand Duchess by birth, was said to be the handsomest
+woman in Europe. She had very regular features, but was at that time
+excessively pale and thin. Her niece, the Grand Duchess Olga, was the
+first proposed _fiancée_ of Ludwig II., King of Bavaria. His Majesty,
+however, refused to marry her. This is not generally known. The Grand
+Duchess Olga afterwards married the late King George of Greece.
+
+King Leopold II. and Queen Henriette were at Ostend at that time with
+their children, who used to drive on the sands in a small carriage drawn
+by four cream-coloured ponies. Baron de Taintegnies was usually on the
+Digue of an afternoon with the King, sitting down or walking about.
+
+Among my father’s friends at Ostend were Lord Orford and Lord Brownlow
+Cecil. The latter was very fond of music, and married a lady there who
+was a magnificent pianist. One day I can remember my father sitting in
+the Casino with Henry Labouchere, an old Etonian, who had formerly been
+in the Diplomatic Service. Labouchere was smoking a big cigar, and he
+and my father had a long conversation. What it was about, I cannot say,
+though they were continually laughing; and my father told me afterwards
+that Labouchere was very amusing, and, though sarcastic, witty, and that
+he rather liked him.[7]
+
+General Sir John Douglas, K.C.B., Commander of the Forces in Scotland,
+and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of Earl Cathcart, were a
+good deal with my parents at Ostend. The General used to take long walks
+with my father, and he put my name down for his old regiment, the 79th
+Highlanders, and for the Scots Guards. Sir John Douglas was extremely
+kind to me in after years, and invited me to stay with him at Edinburgh;
+but I could not get leave from my colonel at the time, and consequently
+was obliged, to my great regret, to decline his kind invitation.
+
+My parents used very often to spend the summer months at Ostend, and
+one year they occupied the apartments at the Hôtel de Prusse which
+the Russian Ambassador, Prince Orloff, had just vacated. One day,
+after washing my hands in my bedroom, I emptied the water out of the
+window, for some unaccountable reason. Later in the day, the Princess
+de Caraman-Chimay sent up her lady’s maid to say that a dress which the
+Princess had intended wearing the following evening at a Court ball at
+Brussels had been completely spoiled by the water. I was well scolded by
+my mother for being the cause of this misfortune.
+
+The English clergyman at Ostend was a Mr. Jukes. He had a very
+good-looking son, a boy about my own age. He told me that he was in the
+habit of walking in his sleep, and showed me his bedroom window, which
+had a padlock on it. When I asked him where the key of it was, he said
+that they would not tell him, in case he might get up in the night,
+unlock it, and walk on the roof of the house, which, he said, he had done
+before. His father once met me with mine in the street, and when told
+that I was going into the British Army, said that he entirely disapproved
+of soldiers, and thought that the time was near at hand when there would
+be no more wars and every dispute would be settled by arbitration. I
+fancied at that time that Mr. Jukes’s prophecy might come true, but, as
+subsequent events proved, we were very far indeed from its realisation.
+
+Both the King and Queen of the Belgians were very popular with the
+inhabitants of Ostend. They used to walk on the Digue quite unattended,
+and seemed in no way inconvenienced by the crowd, who always treated them
+with the greatest respect. The King wore plain clothes, usually a dark
+suit with a tall white hat, and never appeared there in uniform. A very
+good story is told of Leopold II., who, some years ago, during the summer
+months, was at Luchon, in the Pyrenees. The day after he arrived there,
+the King sent for a hairdresser, and directed him to trim his silvery
+beard. When the operation was over, His Majesty inquired what he had to
+pay.
+
+“It will be twenty francs, Your Majesty,” replied the hairdresser without
+hesitation.
+
+The King pulled out a two-franc piece, which he handed to this too
+facetious Figaro.
+
+“I am accustomed,” said he, “to pay very well. Here is a two-franc piece.
+It is a new Belgian coin, and you will see my head on it, as you wished
+to pay yourself for it.” (“_Vous y verrez ma tête, puisque vous avez
+voulu vous la payer._”)
+
+It is said that the hairdresser left without asking for the rest of the
+money, and that, since this adventure, he placed over his shop a fine
+board, inscribed: “Furnisher of H.M. the King of the Belgians.”
+
+My mother spent a summer at Spa, where she took a house with a garden
+attached to it. I liked the place very much, and often went for rides on
+a pony in the woods with the late Captain Lennox Berkeley, who afterwards
+became Earl of Berkeley. The country round Spa is mountainous and very
+charming. Spa itself is an exceedingly pretty place, situated in a valley
+entirely surrounded by hills and woods, and the Ardennes are not far off.
+But in the summer months the heat is intense, and, when the sun once gets
+into the valley, there is often not a breath of air. The promenade, where
+the band plays morning and evening, is charming, and it is very pleasant
+to sit beneath the shady trees and listen to the excellent orchestra. I
+often used to go there with my mother, particularly of a morning, when
+all the _monde élégant_ used to forgather to listen to the music. The
+gambling-rooms were then open for roulette and trente-et-quarante, and
+Captain Berkeley used often to try his luck at them, but, unfortunately,
+he was not successful. I can remember his giving me “Japhet in Search of
+a Father,” by Captain Marryat, and recommending me to read it. I did so,
+and it amused me very much.
+
+Another of my father’s friends, the late Captain Bromley, an old Etonian,
+and a son of Sir Thomas Bromley, was at Spa at the same time. One day,
+when I happened to tell him that I was going into the Army, he smiled,
+and said that he never could hit off with his colonel. The latter
+complained that he was always late for parade, and asked him if he did
+not hear the bugles sound. He answered:—
+
+“Yes, sir—I hear the bugles, but there must be something wrong with
+them, for they don’t sound the right note.” The Colonel soon found him
+incorrigible, and he himself that he was never made for a soldier.
+
+Bromley told me that, when a boy, he was accustomed to dine off gold
+plates and that everything he used at table was of gold. Suddenly, his
+father died, and his elder brother inherited the title and estates, while
+he was obliged to live on a few hundreds a year. This, he said, was the
+fault of our law of primogeniture, which ought only to take effect in the
+case of ducal houses, where the bearer of the title should be made to pay
+an “appanage” to the other members of the family, as is the rule on the
+Continent.
+
+It has often been asserted by authors of great authority that women are
+much meaner than men; but I have known some instances to the contrary.
+Once, during our stay at Spa, a gentleman called on my mother, and told
+her that he had lost all he possessed, and asked her to lend him £50,
+as he was anxious to rejoin his wife. My mother, who had known him for
+years, said that she would give him all she had in the house—nearly
+£40—for which he was very grateful, both at the time and when we met him
+and his wife in later years.
+
+Once I was staying with my father at Desseins Hôtel, at Calais,[8] when
+he told me that he had made the acquaintance of an Englishman, a certain
+Captain Arthy, who was rather a singular character, indeed, highly
+eccentric. It appeared that he had just lost his wife, and that he was so
+distressed at her death that he wore all the trinkets which had belonged
+to her on his watch-chain, to show his affection for her. He had not,
+however, gone into mourning, and always affected a red tie, saying that
+he wore the mourning in his heart, upon which he used to lay his hand as
+he spoke. I was introduced to Captain Arthy, who was a bald-headed man,
+with black side-whiskers and rather a red face, dressed in a light suit
+of clothes. The quantity of charms on his watch-chain would have almost
+filled the window of a jeweller’s shop, while numerous rings adorned his
+fingers. He was perpetually smiling, displaying a set of very fine teeth
+when he did so.
+
+He invited my father and me to see his rooms, which were full of gold and
+silver cups, which he told us, had belonged to his late wife. The late
+Mrs. Winsloe, whose husband was a friend of my father, was staying at
+this hôtel. Mr. Winsloe was a well-known man in Somersetshire, but he had
+recently gone out of his mind. His wife had been a great beauty, but she
+was then terribly made up, with fair dyed hair.
+
+Mrs. Winsloe, who lived in very luxurious fashion, and occupied a very
+fine set of rooms at Desseins Hôtel, said that Arthy was a cousin of her
+husband, and showed us a cutting from the _Times_ about the death of Mrs.
+Arthy, which had occurred in rather a tragic manner. One evening, when my
+father and I were in her salon, she said to Arthy:—
+
+“I wish you would give one of your lockets to that little boy, as a
+keepsake from me.” Arthy thereupon took off his watch-chain, and, after
+hunting amongst his innumerable lockets, at length chose one, which he
+unfastened, saying:—
+
+“Here is a nice gold locket that will do. Will you give him your photo to
+put inside it?”
+
+“I haven’t got one,” replied Mrs. Winsloe. “Give him one of yours
+instead.” So he cut round one of his photos and, inserting it in the
+locket, handed it to me. “Now kiss Mrs. Winsloe,” said he, “for it is her
+present to you.” I kissed the paint off her face, and she kissed me, and
+I felt sure that she left a coloured impression on my face. But I was so
+pleased with the locket, which I attached to my chain, that I did not
+care in the least.
+
+Arthy drank champagne with Mrs. Winsloe, and the latter seemed rather
+infatuated with him, which was not surprising, as he was a fine-looking
+man, though his baldness detracted from his good looks. However, the lady
+could not afford to be very _difficile_, being only an artificial beauty,
+whose youth was but a memory. Formerly, she had had beautiful hair,
+and it still reached to her waist. My father complimented her upon it,
+observing:—
+
+“I never saw such lovely hair in my life, or such a perfect colour.”
+
+She looked pleased, and replied, smiling:—
+
+“Yes, I don’t think there are many women who have such fine hair.”
+
+“No, I am sure there are not,” remarked Arthy, who appeared to be
+thinking of the gold locket which he had given away, for he looked at his
+chain as he spoke.
+
+“He doesn’t half admire you,” said my father, laughing.
+
+“I am sure I do; I think my cousin the loveliest woman possible,” replied
+the other, who appeared annoyed at my father’s remark.
+
+Mrs. Winsloe looked at Arthy and smiled, being evidently under the
+impression that he was jealous, as he appeared angry with my father.
+
+The fact was that Arthy was anxious to ingratiate himself with Mrs.
+Winsloe, as she was very wealthy. Accordingly, he pretended to admire
+her, though it needed only half a glance to see that in reality he
+considered her very far from beautiful. Mrs. Winsloe not only paid for
+her own rooms at the hôtel, but all the expensive dinners which she and
+Arthy had together were entered to her account. The latter had a great
+partiality for naval officers, and as an American warship, the _Alabama_,
+of the Confederate Navy, happened to be lying at Calais at this time,
+he invited some of the officers to dine with him and Mrs. Winsloe. They
+accepted, and were most sumptuously entertained, champagne flowing like
+water.
+
+After staying six weeks with his cousin, Arthy left for England. Soon
+afterwards, the officers of a British warship at Portsmouth received an
+invitation from the Duke of St. Albans to dine with him at an hôtel. The
+captain of the ship happened to be away, and, on his return, the other
+officers told him what a good dinner he had missed and loudly praised the
+ducal hospitality.
+
+“The Duke of St. Albans!” exclaimed the captain, in astonishment. “How
+can you possibly have dined with him that evening? Why, the very same day
+I was shooting quite near the duke’s property, and I happened to see
+him! I will go to the hôtel and find out who it can be.”
+
+The captain lost no time in instituting inquiries, with the result that
+the supposed duke was laid by the heels just as he was preparing to leave
+Portsmouth, and turned out to be none other than the man who had passed
+as Captain Arthy at Calais. It was subsequently ascertained that he was a
+certain Comte d’Aubigny, a member of a very old and noble French family,
+and that he had deceived several people in the same way. My father, on
+hearing of this, remarked:—
+
+“It is the first time that I have been taken in by a man, but I am glad I
+am not the only one he deceived.”
+
+The enterprising gentleman was afterwards brought to trial and sentenced
+to seven years’ penal servitude.
+
+My parents sometimes spent the summer months at Boulogne, one year taking
+a large house at some little distance from the sea, overlooking a public
+garden. The late Captain Elwes, a nephew of the Duchess of Wellington,
+who was Vice-Consul at Boulogne, was a friend of my parents. He was
+devoted to painting, and, many years later, painted a miniature of an
+American lady for his cousin, the Marquis of Anglesey. It was beautifully
+painted, but, unfortunately, when it was finished, the Marquis had fallen
+in love with another Transatlantic belle, so he did not appreciate the
+miniature quite as much as he might have done, if his affections had not
+been diverted from the original. Elwes hoped to be appointed Consul at
+Boulogne, but whether he ever obtained that post, I cannot say. The last
+time I met him was in Paris, many years later, at a dinner given by the
+Marquis of Anglesey, at the Hôtel d’Albe, in the Champs Elysées.
+
+Lord Henry Paget, afterwards Marquis of Anglesey, was very fond of
+Boulogne, and lived there with his first wife. The latter died at
+Boulogne, quite suddenly, but the Marquis continued to visit the place,
+and my father saw a good deal of him.
+
+George Lawrence, the author of “Guy Livingstone,” son of Lady Emily
+Lawrence, was frequently at Boulogne, and often with my parents. I can
+remember my father relating how one day he went with him to see one of
+the lovely daughters of the Baron de Taintegnies off to Paris, and how
+Lawrence was so infatuated with the young lady, that he jumped into the
+train, without any luggage, merely to have the pleasure of travelling
+with her all the way to Paris, a journey of about five hours. On reaching
+Paris, he saw Mlle. de Taintegnies safely to her destination, and then
+took the train back to Boulogne.
+
+My parents were particularly fond of Lawrence, who was good-humoured,
+clever, and very amusing. I heard that he had a quarrel with Tom Hohler,
+who married the Duchess of Newcastle, on account of having introduced
+him into one of his novels, called “Breaking a Butterfly.” Hohler was
+very friendly with my father in later years in Paris. We had a white
+Pomeranian dog, and Tom Hohler asked my father to show it to the Duke of
+Newcastle, who was then a child, living with his mother in the Avenue
+d’Antin. The dog took such a fancy to the young Duke that it forsook
+us for him entirely. I heard recently from the Duke of Newcastle, who
+was kind enough to be interested in this book, that he remembered this
+Pomeranian dog quite well, and told me its name—“Loulou”—which I had
+entirely forgotten. The name recalled many things to my recollection. It
+is strange how at times we forget a name, and then, when it is mentioned,
+associations and incidents connected with it are suddenly recalled to our
+memory and flash before us as in a dream.
+
+Tom Hohler sang for a time at Her Majesty’s Theatre. I never heard him
+sing in operas, but I have been told that he had a very pleasing voice,
+though it was not a very powerful one. It was said that when he sang in
+private houses, he was paid £40 for every song.
+
+Harry Slade, a son of Sir Frederick Slade, stayed for a time at Boulogne
+with his mother, of whom we saw a good deal; and, after Lady Slade’s
+death, her son stayed for a long time at the Hôtel du Nord, where my
+father and I often went to see him. He was a good talker and always very
+entertaining.
+
+Mrs. Joe Riggs, an American lady, who afterwards became Princess Ruspoli,
+was extremely fond of Boulogne, and generally spent the summer at the
+Hôtel Impérial; but this was in later years.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+    A Painting by Romney—Hunter’s School at Kineton—Corporal
+    Punishment—A Sporting Parson—My Schoolfellows at Kineton—The
+    Warre-Malets—Lord Charleville.
+
+
+Before going to school in England, I was taken to Richmond to see my
+mother’s aunt, Lady Caroline Murray, who was now an old lady and lived in
+a house near the Thames, for, as the Duchess of Gloucester, to whom she
+had been lady-in-waiting, had been dead some years, she was no longer at
+Court. In her younger days, Lady Caroline had been a good horsewoman and
+had ridden very well to hounds. But, at this time, she was leading a very
+quiet life, receiving only her relatives and friends.
+
+I can remember that in Lady Caroline’s drawing-room at Richmond there was
+a most beautiful picture of her mother, Viscountess Stormont, British
+Ambassadress to France and Austria, painted by Romney. It represented
+the Countess in her own right, as she afterwards became, sitting beneath
+a large tree and wearing a kind of loose _peignoir_ of a pale yellow
+colour, like the colour of the sea just before a storm. The _peignoir_
+was fastened at the shoulder by a brooch, in which was a large yellow
+stone. Her hair was dressed high above the head, in the style of Marie
+Antoinette, in whose days her husband was Ambassador in France, and over
+it she had a Scottish plaid of the clan to which she belonged. One leg
+was crossed over the other, and her arms were folded. She was painted in
+profile; her _peignoir_, open at the front, displaying a perfect bosom
+and a beautiful, swan-like neck. Her hair possessed that glorious auburn
+tint with shades of gold in it, which made it appear as though the sun
+were shedding its full rays upon the gold tresses, one of which had
+escaped from the rest and hung loose. Her face was of a tender oval, with
+expressive eyes of a peculiar shade of green, like that of the sea when
+the sun falls upon it, or as it is in Böcklin’s pictures. Her nose was
+straight and delicate, with nostrils like those of a Greek statue. Her
+mouth was unusually small, with a tiny upper lip, slightly curved; her
+chin short and classical. The expression on the face was of pride, of
+audacity, of childish innocence, of sentimentality, and it possessed a
+marvellous charm and attraction.
+
+[Illustration: The Author’s Mother.
+
+[_To face p. 40._]
+
+This beautiful portrait, which Lady Caroline bequeathed to Earl Cathcart,
+as he was the head of her mother’s family, was once seen by a wealthy
+American, who said to the Earl, into whose possession it had then come:—
+
+“Have you ever seen such a lovely woman as this in all your life?”
+
+“No, I have not,” the Earl answered.
+
+“Well, I guess you haven’t,” rejoined the other, “and I don’t think there
+ever was such a lovely woman on earth.”
+
+And he offered Lord Cathcart £20,000 down for the picture, which the
+latter, though not a rich man, refused. The American then promised the
+Earl’s son, Viscount Greenock, £500, if he could persuade his father to
+accept the offer; but it was all of no avail.
+
+I showed Mr. Noseda, the well-known print-seller in the Strand, the
+engraving of this picture by J. R. Smith, which had belonged to my
+grandfather, when Mr. Noseda told me that he very much preferred the
+engraving to the painting, as the latter had been so much touched up,
+whereas the former was so beautifully executed in every detail that he
+considered it finer than Romney’s portrait. This was after I had told him
+about the offer of £20,000 which the American had made for the original
+painting.
+
+Viscountess Stormont had been Ranger of Richmond Park, and was allotted,
+as her official residence, the house which is now the Queen’s Hôtel.
+An old gentleman whom I met at Richmond in later years told me that
+he thought the hôtel ought to have been named after the Countess of
+Mansfield, as Lady Stormont became later, instead of being called the
+“Queen’s.” He remembered Lady Caroline Murray, and remarked that she was
+one of those ladies of the old nobility who were scarce nowadays.
+
+Viscount Greenock afterwards became Earl Cathcart, and died in London
+in 1911. He was at Eton with me, and afterwards joined the 23rd Welsh
+Fusiliers, from which he was transferred to the Scots Guards. When at
+Eton, he often came to my tutor’s house to see his cousin, Charles
+Douglas, whose father had placed him there to be with me. The Hon.
+Reginald Cathcart, a younger brother of Lord Cathcart, was in the 60th
+Rifles, and I recollect giving him a letter to his colonel, Godfrey
+Astell, in India,[9] when he first joined the regiment. Reginald
+Cathcart, who was a very nice young man, tall, dark, and handsome, was
+one of those unhappily killed in the Boer War.
+
+The school to which I was sent was at Kineton, near Warwick. It had been
+recommended to my father by Lady Caroline Murray, who had heard of it
+from the Duke of Buccleuch, and a cousin of mine, Greville Finch-Hatton,
+was being educated there. When my father and I arrived, we were shown
+into a sitting-room, looking out on to a garden, where we were received
+by Mrs. Hunter, the headmaster’s wife. Mrs. Hunter was an old lady, whose
+age, I afterwards ascertained, was about seventy. To guess it would have
+been a difficult task, so terribly made up was she. Everything about her
+was false: false teeth, false hair, and a false bust, giving her somewhat
+the appearance of a wax figure at Madame Tussaud’s. She had, however,
+very pretty white hands, with pointed fingers. She was dressed in black
+satin, with a large gold brooch at her throat, and a long gold chain
+round her neck, a costume which she always wore.
+
+“This, I presume, is your little son, whom you are leaving with us?”
+said Mrs. Hunter to my father. “Will you tell me whether you belong to
+the High or Low Church, as it is my province to look after the boys’
+religious instruction, and I am always interested to know.”
+
+The question was rather a poser for my father, who, I do not think, had
+entered a church since he left England. So he turned to me and said:—
+
+“Tell the lady to what church you go with your mother.”
+
+I said that at Ostend I always went to the English Protestant Church.
+Upon which Mrs. Hunter observed:—
+
+“I see, you have been living on the Continent, and foreigners have very
+little religion. However, I will take care that your son has the proper
+religious instruction.”
+
+Suddenly, the door opened, and an immensely stout man, of about
+sixty-five, with mutton-chop whiskers and spectacles, entered the room,
+and introduced himself as Mr. Hunter, the headmaster.
+
+In his youth Mr. Hunter had probably been an exceedingly handsome man,
+and was still, apart from his corpulence, decidedly good-looking, with
+a fine forehead, a small mouth with thin lips and very good teeth, and
+regular features.
+
+After showing us over the school, Mr. Hunter sent for Greville
+Finch-Hatton, telling my father that I should occupy a dormitory with my
+cousin and two other boys. At eight o’clock, supper was served in a large
+dining-room, where the presence of a new boy provoked a good deal of
+talking amongst the other boys. Mrs. Hunter sat at one end of the table,
+her husband at the other; and the meal was a cold one, carved on the
+table, and consisting of cold meat, followed by bread and cheese, washed
+down by draught beer.
+
+As soon as supper was over, we were sent to our dormitories, where I had
+not been long in bed when my cousin leant over from his and asked if I
+were asleep. On finding that I was awake, he told me that we must talk in
+a very low voice, as talking was forbidden, and Mrs. Hunter occasionally
+paid us a visit to see whether this regulation was being observed. The
+two other boys in the room also began talking in low tones. Later on,
+when they considered themselves pretty safe from detection, they talked
+louder and carried on a long conversation about cricket, discussing who
+were the best bowlers in the school and whether fast bowling was more
+effective than slow.
+
+I could not sleep, and, for some unaccountable reason, felt very
+miserable. At last I began to cry, at first quietly, but soon I was
+unable to restrain my sobs. My cousin, hearing me, tried to console me,
+saying that he, too, had found it hard to leave his parents at first. I
+felt inclined to tell him that it was not that which made me cry, but I
+thought better of it. Soon afterwards I fell asleep, and dreamed that I
+was at Kirchhofer’s school at Frankfurt, and that Vogelsang was talking
+to me. I even fancied that he kissed me, when I awoke suddenly, in
+despair at finding where I was.
+
+Mr. Hunter was a very pleasant man, when he cared to be, which was by
+no means always the case. He was most severe with everyone, and had no
+particular favourites. Some boys he disliked, particularly those who
+did not learn quickly, and those who were inclined to be noisy. He was
+full of fun when he played football with us; making jokes and chaffing
+different boys in turn. He was, however, quite a different kind of man in
+school from what he was in the playground.
+
+On Sundays, we, of course, attended church. The clergyman who preached,
+a Mr. Miller, had two voices: a very squeaky voice and a very gruff
+one. When he preached in his squeaky voice, most of us would fall
+asleep in the high pews, which screened us from the observation of the
+headmaster; but when Mr. Miller altered his tone, and his deep, gruff
+voice was suddenly heard, coming, as it were, out of a vault, we would
+be disagreeably startled from our slumbers. The sermons, I am inclined
+to believe, were bought ones, for Mr. Miller used sometimes to lose his
+place in the midst of his discourse and come to a stop, and when he
+continued, it was on quite a different subject. But it mattered little,
+so far as we were concerned, for most of the boys were usually asleep,
+and those who tried to listen could not follow the squeaky voice of the
+preacher—which had all the disagreeable sounds of a clarionet played
+badly—even by straining their ears, which few of them were disposed to do.
+
+Our French master, who was obliged to accompany us, used sometimes to
+unfold the Paris _Figaro_ at full length and read it during the sermon.
+Mr. Hunter, owing to the height of the pews, could not, of course, see
+him, or he would most certainly have taken very strong exception to such
+an irregular proceeding. One Sunday, when Monsieur happened to have
+forgotten his _Figaro_, he passed the time of the sermon in an animated
+conversation with Rush, the captain of the Eleven. Unfortunately for
+the latter, Mr. Hunter happened to detect them; and, after church, he
+sent for Rush, and, refusing to listen to his appeals, took him to the
+schoolroom and, making him bend down, gave him a severe caning.
+
+When I first came to the school, I was chaffed about my pronunciation,
+and Rush said:—
+
+“If you pronounce Themistocles like you do, I wouldn’t be in your shoes.”
+Then he used to ask me questions about my German school, which at first
+he laughed at. Soon, however, he took a great interest in it, making me
+tell him about the boys there, what they were like and what they did.
+
+“It must be very much jollier than here,” said he, “and none of that
+beastly caning and flogging, as there is at Kineton.”
+
+Mr. Hunter was certainly a devout believer in the precept: “Spare
+the rod, and spoil the child;” indeed, he seemed to have a perfect
+passion for caning the boys, and at times performed this operation with
+astonishing zest. Sometimes, of an evening, in my dormitory, we would
+play at being Mr. Hunter, each of us taking it in turns to personate the
+master and beat the other boys with a hairbrush, in place of a cane. One
+night, one of us happened to remark:—
+
+“I think it is a pleasure that would grow upon one, as it evidently does
+upon old Hunter.”
+
+Scarcely had he said this, when, to our consternation, the door suddenly
+opened, and the master appeared. The boys bolted into bed as fast as they
+could, but it was too late, and we were told to come to Mr. Hunter’s
+study after prayers the following morning. There, after we had been duly
+admonished, we were all severely caned.
+
+Rush and other boys used to put hairs in the canes to split them; but Mr.
+Hunter found this out, for one day, he broke six canes one after another.
+He then rang for his whalebone whip, and we received a fearful thrashing,
+with no time to prepare for it by padding our clothes with books.
+
+One day, the Duchess of Marlborough, who was a friend of Lady Caroline
+Murray, called, and asked to see my cousin and myself. She was
+accompanied by her son, Lord Randolph Churchill, and her visit to the
+school was due to the fact that she thought of placing him there. But
+Lord Randolph became too ill to go to school just then, and had a private
+tutor at home instead, until he was old enough to be sent to Eton.[10]
+
+We often went for picnics to the charming woods of Compton Verney,
+belonging to Lady Willoughby de Broke. That lady, who was always very
+pleasant and full of fun, would sometimes come and talk to us and to Mr.
+Hunter. The latter had formerly been private tutor to her eldest son,
+and the school was on Lord Willoughby de Broke’s property.[11] The late
+Hon. Rainald Verney, Lord Willoughby’s younger brother, was at school at
+Hunter’s, before going to Eton, and often came to the school when I was
+there, before he joined the 52nd Light Infantry.
+
+Mr. Hunter had a young and rather pretty niece, a girl of eighteen, with
+black hair, who stayed for a time with him. She used to go into the boys’
+dormitories at night, when she would give them bonbons and generally kiss
+them. But her stay at Kineton was so short that her presence there was
+more like an angel’s visit than anything else.
+
+One day, the Rev. William and Mrs. Finch-Hatton called to see their son
+and also asked to see me. Mrs. Finch-Hatton, who was at that time known
+as the “Rose of Kent,” was a lovely woman, with very black hair and
+regular features. She was a sister of Sir Percy Oxenden. She told me that
+both she and her husband were struck by my great resemblance to their
+son Greville; and Mr. Finch-Hatton very kindly gave me half a sovereign,
+which I never forgot, as I rarely received any money from anyone. Mr.
+Newenham, who had married a daughter of the Earl of Mount Cashell, and
+was a clergyman in Ireland, also came to see his son. He played football
+with us, and afterwards told us the following story:—
+
+“I was once asked to see an old woman in Cork who was dying. She asked
+me to read the Bible to her, but as I was unprepared to find her so ill,
+I had not brought one with me, nor had she one in the house. So I pulled
+out a copy of _Bell’s Life_ which I happened to have in my pocket, and
+read her an article from it, which, as she happened to be deaf, had
+precisely the same effect upon her as the Bible would have had.”
+
+Mr. Newenham was a regular sporting parson, with, however, a good deal
+more of the sportsman than the parson about him, but full of fun and very
+agreeable.
+
+There was a boy named Charles Taylor at the school, who afterwards went
+to Eton. His father, who had himself been at Eton, was a famous cricketer
+and had played in the All-England Eleven. He was, however, somewhat
+eccentric, having the most intense dislike of being asked his age; in
+fact, when one put this question to him, he invariably answered that he
+neither knew it nor wished to know it. He had also a strong objection to
+anything of a violet colour, and if a person called to see him wearing
+a tie or a dress of that colour, he always picked a quarrel with his
+unfortunate visitor.
+
+Another boy at Kineton, whom I shall call L——, had the misfortune to be
+afflicted with kleptomania, and would take everything he could lay his
+hands on. Mr. Hunter used to break so many canes upon his back that he
+said to him one day:—
+
+“I shall send the bill for all the canes I have broken in trying to
+correct you to your mother, for you get worse and worse every day.”
+
+The school colours were scarlet and white, but they were only worn by the
+cricket Eleven. As I was in the Eleven, I had this coveted privilege.
+My cousin did not much care for cricket, and was fonder of riding and
+shooting, at both of which he excelled. Mr. Hunter kept a pony for the
+boys to ride. When he drove to Warwick, Leamington or Banbury, he would
+take two of us with him, one boy riding the pony, while the other sat in
+the pony-trap with the master. I can remember once riding to Warwick and
+then to Stratford-on-Avon on the pony, which Finch-Hatton rode back to
+Kineton. Most of the boys could ride well, and those who could not were
+never taken by Mr. Hunter, save on one occasion, when I recollect that
+the boy he took with him reminded me of certain Frenchmen whom one sees
+riding in the Bois de Boulogne, who are afraid to let their horses go
+beyond a walk. As my father used to say in Paris:—
+
+“They praise the Lord on their knees every time they come home safely and
+are out of the saddle.”
+
+Greville Finch-Hatton was rather delicate, and, after making a voyage to
+Australia, died quite young.
+
+Aubrey Birch Reynardson, who also slept in my dormitory, had a gift for
+story-telling. One night he related to us the story of “Eric, or Little
+by Little,” with which, I can remember, we were delighted.
+
+Mr. Hunter always wore spectacles. At times, by gaslight, when the gas
+fell upon them, it looked as if his eyes were two flames, and that he
+was an ogre ready to devour one of us, particularly when he took up his
+cane, and glared at the culprit, through his spectacles, with fiery eyes.
+But, taken on the whole, Mr. Hunter was a very good fellow, who would
+never have done anyone an injury, apart from perhaps giving him a dose of
+the cane.
+
+Among the boys who were at Hunter’s with me was Charles Home-Purves, who
+was the head of the school. He afterwards went to Eton and took Lower
+School instead of Fourth Form, at which Mr. Hunter was much disappointed.
+His father, Colonel Home-Purves, was in attendance on the Duchess of
+Cambridge, and was accidentally killed by the overturning of a carriage
+in which he was driving with Her Royal Highness. He was so terribly
+cut about the face by the glass of the carriage-window that he died
+almost immediately. His son was offered a commission in the Guards, but
+preferred entering the Rifle Brigade. However, he left the regiment
+shortly afterwards, and died when very young.
+
+The late Earl of Lonsdale, before he succeeded his uncle in the title,
+was also at Kineton with me. On one occasion, he ordered a lot of toys
+from Cremer’s toy-shop, but when they arrived, Mr. Hunter was so startled
+at the bill, which amounted to a considerable sum, that he had them at
+once sent back to where they came from, telling Lowther, as he was then,
+that he must make a better use of his money. He found life at Hunter’s
+too restricted and not lively enough for him, so he only remained one
+half, and then asked to leave the school. I met him at Eton with his
+brother, the present Earl of Lonsdale. The latter was attached to the
+Rifle Brigade, and was a very keen sportsman, I remember, when we were
+both stationed at Winchester.
+
+One day, at Kineton, I was playing with Newenham, who happened to have
+a pocket-knife open in his hand, and, by accident, I got a very ugly
+stab in the back. Indeed, the doctor declared that, if the wound had
+been one-eighth of an inch deeper, it would have been fatal. Newenham
+was once mistaken for me by an uncle of mine at the Great Western Hotel,
+Paddington, which amused both of them very much, particularly as I was
+then at the same school as Newenham. He retired from the Army with the
+rank of Major, and lives in County Kerry, for which he is a magistrate.
+
+Once, on the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth,[12] Mr. Hunter took
+us to Stratford-on-Avon, to show us the house where the poet was born
+and to visit the theatre. Mr. Hunter was a good amateur actor, and
+would sometimes get up plays for us to act. On one occasion, we played
+“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Lady Willoughby de Broke, Lord and Lady
+North, Sir Charles Mordaunt, and all the neighbouring county families
+were invited to the performance, which went off fairly well. “Making up”
+afforded us great amusement. One of the boys had learned this art from
+his sister, and proved himself quite an adept at darkening the others’
+eyebrows and rouging their cheeks and lips.
+
+I happened to meet recently the Rev. Henry Knightley, brother of Sir
+Charles Knightley. He had been at Kineton with me, but it was forty
+years since we had met. From him I learned that Mr. Hunter had died at
+Leamington after giving up his school, and that Rush had died quite early
+in life, as well as several others who were there with us. It was quite a
+pleasure for me, and, I think, also for him, to recall our school-days,
+and even the canings I looked back upon with some regret, feeling that I
+would willingly submit to them again, could I but return to those times.
+We both agreed that we had not learned much at Kineton, but that, on the
+whole, our life there with our schoolfellows had been a pleasant one. I
+found that Knightley was under the impression that Greville Finch-Hatton
+had inherited the title of Winchilsea, but I told him that my cousin was
+dead, and that the present Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham had been at
+Eton with me, and was kind enough to interest himself in my book about
+our school life.
+
+[Illustration: C. D. Williamson, at Eton with the Author.
+
+[_To face p. 50._]
+
+[Illustration: Miss Mabel Warre-Malet.
+
+[_To face p. 51._]
+
+The chief prize I got at this school was a copy of Longfellow’s poems,
+beautifully bound and illustrated. I was very pleased at receiving it,
+as Longfellow was at that time my favourite lyrical poet in the English
+language.
+
+Most of the boys remained at Kineton until they were fourteen, when they
+left for Harrow, Eton, Winchester, or some other public school. Greville
+Finch-Hatton went to Wellington, Rush to Cheltenham, and Knightley to
+Marlborough.
+
+During my holidays, I sometimes went to Taunton, to stay with an aunt
+of mine, whose husband, a very kind man, was extremely fond of me. His
+daughter’s chief friends were some children of the name of Warre-Malet,
+nieces of the Ambassador, Sir Alexander Warre-Malet. The eldest girl,
+Mabel, who was about thirteen, the same age as myself, was very pretty,
+with brown hair, a lovely complexion and eyes of a deep blue. One
+Christmas Eve, Mrs. Warre-Malet had a large Christmas tree, with numerous
+presents attached to its branches, and we were invited to her house.
+Every one of the children received a beautiful present from the tree,
+which was illuminated by a great number of candles. Afterwards we played
+at forfeits, and I was told to kiss Mabel Warre-Malet as a forfeit, an
+act which I felt very shy about performing. “_Si jeunesse savait, si
+vieillesse pouvait._” Another friend of ours was a girl whose name was
+Amy; who was also about thirteen. She, too, was a very attractive little
+lady, with long brown hair, hazel eyes with black lashes, an oval face,
+and a small mouth with pearly white teeth. She had a cousin, the Earl of
+Charleville, some years older than herself, who was staying at that time
+with her people. One day she came with him to see my cousins, and said to
+me:
+
+“Charleville can tell you all about Eton, if you want to know anything,
+as he went to school there.”
+
+Lord Charleville had to go away before his companion, who remained to
+tea. Afterwards, one of my cousins and I accompanied her part of the way
+home, and, while we were crossing some fields, she suddenly exclaimed:—
+
+“Good gracious! my petticoat is coming down!”
+
+And she burst out laughing.
+
+My cousin Florence, a girl of thirteen, told me to walk on, while she
+pinned up Amy’s petticoat. But this proved a more difficult task than she
+had bargained for, as a string fastening had been broken, and it ended in
+Amy being obliged to take her petticoat off and carry it as a parcel. The
+two girls laughed consumedly at this mishap and its victim said to me:—
+
+“Don’t you tell anyone that you saw me take my petticoat off, or I will
+never forgive you.”
+
+I assured her that on no consideration would I breathe so much as a
+syllable, and, on leaving us, she said:—
+
+“As you are going away, you may give me a kiss, if you like.”
+
+Which I did right gladly, as you may suppose.
+
+A few days later, I met Charleville at an evening party in Taunton, at
+which he paid marked attention to the daughter of the house, a very
+pretty girl. I recollect meeting at this party two of the daughters of
+the vicar of Taunton, Elsie and Audrey Clark, the elder of whom was
+thirteen, while her sister was three years younger, and was much struck
+by their beauty, which was quite out of the common. One of them had the
+most lovely hair, of the same exquisite colour as that which one sees
+in Titian’s paintings; the other’s hair was also very beautiful, but of
+a more auburn shade; and both sisters had the most charming complexion.
+I danced repeatedly with one of them; _mais mon cœur balançait entre
+les deux_, so far as their attractions were concerned. The girl with
+the Titian hair afterwards married the fourteenth Lord Petre, while her
+sister married his uncle.
+
+Lord Charleville was a tall, good-looking youth, with wavy brown hair
+and regular features, but he was very delicate, being consumptive. After
+serving for a year in the Rifle Brigade, his health obliged him to resign
+his commission. He then went for a voyage in his yacht, but derived
+little benefit from it, and died before reaching his majority.
+
+The late Mrs. O. Warre-Malet told me that, when she was quite a young
+girl, she and her sister went to Ascot races on foot and disguised as
+boys for a joke, and that they got a good deal of money from people
+who were driving to the course. Her sister married the Hon. Humble
+Dudley-Ward, and after her husband’s death, the late Duke of Richmond
+made her an offer of marriage. This she refused, but accepted Mr. Gerard
+Leigh, who was an immensely wealthy man. After his death she became the
+wife of Monsieur de Falbe, and died some years ago.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+    My Mother’s Recollections—The Cercle des Patineurs—Patti—Our
+    _Appartement_ in the Rue d’Albe
+
+
+My parents were at this time living in Paris, in a small hôtel in the
+Avenue d’Antin, which was so shut in by the houses that surrounded it,
+that the rooms were very dark, and, as it was winter, this made the house
+seem more gloomy than it would have done at another season of the year.
+
+I was quite enchanted with Paris; everything about it delighted me, so
+different was it from any city I had ever seen. The only thing that
+displeased me was the hôtel in which we lived. Not only was it gloomy,
+but nothing could be seen from the windows, except a kind of courtyard,
+resembling a _patio_ in Spain. This courtyard was filled with flowers,
+very prettily arranged; nevertheless, it was depressing to be unable to
+see anything else when you looked out of the window.
+
+I remember being taken to a box at the Théâtre des Italiens to hear
+Adelina Patti, in _La Gazza ladra_, by Rossini. It was the first time
+that I had heard her sing, and I was, of course, delighted with her
+voice; but my mother was disappointed, and I recall what she said at the
+time:—
+
+“After having heard Grisi, Malibran, and even Jenny Lind, I do not
+think Patti is to be compared with them, neither so far as her voice is
+concerned, nor as an actress. She reminds me at times of Jenny Lind, yet
+I prefer the latter infinitely.”
+
+My mother always had her own box at Her Majesty’s in the days when
+Grisi, Lablache, Malibran, and the dancers Taglioni, Fanny Elssler and
+Cerrito were enchanting the audience. One evening, during the visit of
+the Tsar Nicholas I. of Russia to England, my mother was invited by the
+Duke of Sussex and Mlle. d’Este to a box at the Opera facing that which
+the Tsar and Queen Victoria occupied. The Duke of Sussex paid £500 for
+this box.
+
+My mother told me that the two finest sights she ever beheld in her
+life were the Coronation of Queen Victoria, when the peeresses all put
+on their coronets, sparkling with diamonds, emeralds and rubies, at the
+moment Her Majesty was crowned in Westminster Abbey; and at the Queen’s
+accession, when hundreds of schoolchildren, dressed in white and light
+blue, knelt down and recited the Lord’s Prayer by St. Paul’s, after which
+the Benediction was pronounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
+
+My mother often met Disraeli in London society; and she told me that,
+in his youth, he always wore several diamond rings over his white kid
+gloves, and that she thought him a most affected and conceited young
+man. The two Greek countesses described in “Lothair” were the Countesses
+Zancarol. One married Colonel Lemesurier, of the Royal Horse Artillery;
+the other Major Geary, R.A. The latter married couple often dined with us
+in Paris, where Mrs. Geary was considered a great beauty. Major Geary and
+his brother, Sir Henry Le Quay Geary, K.C.B., were lifelong friends of my
+parents.
+
+My maternal grandfather, Lieut.-General the Hon. George Murray, to whom
+George III. and his Queen were godfather and godmother, commanded the 2nd
+Life Guards. For ten years he refused to accept his pay, on account of a
+quarrel which he had with the Duke of York. So far as I can recollect,
+the cause of the quarrel was as follows:—
+
+During the Peninsular War, an outward-bound troopship, having some troops
+on board commanded by my grandfather, and a great quantity of heavy
+luggage belonging to the Duke of York, encountered very bad weather, and
+was in danger of foundering. In order to lighten the vessel, the captain
+wanted to throw all the horses overboard. But this my grandfather would
+not allow, and proposed that the Duke’s luggage should be sacrificed
+instead, which was accordingly done, to the intense indignation of His
+Royal Highness, when he heard of it afterwards.
+
+The statue to the Duke of York, erected in London, was reported to
+have been built so high in order to place him beyond the reach of his
+creditors, whose name was legion.
+
+My grandfather used to say that he never could understand how the Duchess
+of Sutherland, with her £365,000 a year, could bring herself to stand
+the whole evening at the Opera behind the Prince Consort, who was only
+an insignificant German prince, with a tiny principality. His opinion of
+George IV. was that it would puzzle anyone who knew him to discover a
+good quality that he possessed.
+
+It was about this time, when my parents were living in the Avenue
+d’Antin, that I first saw Hortense Schneider in _les Voyages de
+Gulliver_, at the Châtelet Théâtre, which all Paris rushed to see. The
+play was a charming one, and the children were particularly delighted
+when the Liliputians, represented by tiny little wooden figures, moved
+about the stage. Hortense Schneider, of course, represented Gulliver, and
+sang some very pretty songs in the course of the play.
+
+The late Arthur Post, a young American living with his family in Paris,
+fell desperately in love at this time with Hortense Schneider, though
+she was very much older than himself. He drove about the Bois with
+her, accompanied her to theatres, and, in fact, was always with her.
+His infatuation greatly distressed his parents, and was the subject of
+universal comment. However, he did not marry her, though that was not his
+fault, as Hortense Schneider had several royal and other princes ready
+to lay their fortunes at her feet; and it was not until several years
+afterwards that she chose a very wealthy banker for her husband.
+
+Fioretti was then the _première danseuse_ at the Grand Opéra. Her
+dancing always gave me greater pleasure than anything else there. She
+was, besides, very beautiful, and King Ludwig II. of Bavaria was so
+captivated by her graceful dancing and personal attraction, that he
+induced her to leave Paris for Munich, to dance there instead.
+
+I went also to the Palais-Royal, and saw _le Train de Minuit_, a play
+in which a railway-carriage is by accident left behind in the middle
+of the night at a station, and the people awake and find themselves
+at some miserable little village, instead of in Paris, as they had
+expected. They, of course, cannot obtain what they require in the way of
+refreshments, and are nearly perishing with cold, as it is the depth of
+winter, and the carriage is no longer heated; and the complications that
+ensue are very amusing.
+
+One day, I went with my parents to Saint-Germain, to visit Captain
+and Mrs. Lennox Berkeley, who were living there. Their son, Hastings,
+a good-looking boy, told us that his father was learning to play the
+zither, which Captain Berkeley showed us, though he could not be
+persuaded to let us hear him play it. Saint-Germain, with its charming
+woods and pretty walks, is delightful in summer, the country all around
+being lovely. When we returned to Paris, I did not give my father any
+peace until he had bought a zither for me. It was not easy to obtain
+one, and I remember that we wandered about half Paris, until at length
+we discovered what we wanted in the Rue de Rivoli. I had also great
+difficulty in finding a master, until finally I discovered a German who
+played the instrument very well.
+
+In the winter months, I went several times with my father to the Cercle
+des Patineurs. This was a very exclusive and very expensive resort,
+where, to secure admittance for yourself and family, you had to be a
+member of the Jockey Club, while each person had to pay twenty francs in
+the afternoon and forty francs in the morning and evening. There were
+some Americans who skated marvellously, amongst them being Mrs. Ronalds,
+who was a very fine skater. I was told that Napoleon III. and the Empress
+Eugénie admired her graceful skating so much that they complimented
+her on several occasions at the Cercle des Patineurs, and she became a
+frequent guest at the Tuileries. The Princess Metternich, the Austrian
+Ambassadress, was also an _habituée_; in fact, the place was patronized
+by all the _beau monde_ of those days.
+
+I frequently went at that time to Musards’ concerts, which on fine
+summer evenings were given out of doors, in a garden, and always enjoyed
+them immensely. Sometimes I went with my mother to meet friends there;
+but when I went alone, I usually sat with the Piétris, near relatives
+of the Préfet de Police, who was so much attached to the Emperor and
+Empress. Their daughter, Julie, was a lovely girl of thirteen, and
+when I had learned to play the zither better, we often performed duets
+together, as she was a most accomplished pianist. I can remember we
+often played Schubert’s _Ständchen_, which sounded very well, as it
+is rather melancholy. Sad airs, in my opinion, are best suited to the
+zither, particularly when it is accompanied by the piano. When the German
+who was teaching me the zither left Paris, I took lessons from a Mlle.
+Reichemberg, who, at that time, was also teaching Adelina Patti, and
+learned a Polish romance which the latter was very fond of playing. Patti
+became extremely fond of the zither, which she played a good deal in her
+leisure hours, though she never sang to it, I was told.
+
+Hofrath Hanslick, the late celebrated critic of the Austrian _Neue Freie
+Presse_, said of Patti:—
+
+“She appears to me to be most perfect in rôles like Zerlina, in _Don
+Juan_, Norina, in _Don Pasquale_, Rosina, in the _Barbiere di Seviglia_.
+What a fresh, youthful voice, which in its range from the tenor C to
+F in alt, moves about with such wonderful ease! The most perfect and
+delightful, though, were the lively rôles of Patti, principally the one
+of Zerlina, in _Don Juan_. She gave us the true ideal of Zerlina. With
+these advantages, and especially, too, in the development of dazzling
+virtuosity, Patti shines as Rosina in Rossini’s _Barbiere_, and as
+Norina in Donizetti’s graceful opera, _Don Pasquale_. In the _Barbiere_
+one can judge best, perhaps, of her marvellous art in singing. Of her
+later rôles, in Leonora, in Verdi’s _Trovatore_, she attained almost the
+highest pitch. The _Traviata_, which is decidedly a far better opera,
+shows Patti to more advantage dramatically. I always disliked _Dinorah_,
+almost as much as I did formerly the _Traviata_, which I saw the first
+time badly performed. Two rôles of Patti which I cannot praise as much as
+the two before-mentioned are Valentine, in the _Huguenots_, and Gretchen,
+in the _Faust_ of Gounod. In the valse of Venzano, she sings a roulade
+of seventeen bars in one breath, smiling, as if it were child’s play.
+There is no doubt that the Valentine of Pauline Lucca and the Marguerite
+of Christine Nilsson surpass the performance of Patti in these rôles.
+A clever writer once called Italy the conservatoire of God. In this
+conservatoire Adelina Patti has without doubt taken away the first prize.”
+
+One Sunday evening, I went with Captain Berkeley to see some fine
+illuminations in the Champs-Elysées. I recollect telling him how much I
+disliked a crowd, to which he replied:—
+
+“It is the only day on which the poor people can enjoy themselves, and
+they have as much right to do so as the rich. I am always so delighted to
+see the poor creatures happy.” One day, a beggar came up to him and asked
+for some coppers, upon which he said to him:—
+
+“_Mon cher ami, c’est défendu de mendier, mais voici un franc; ne le
+faites plus._”
+
+I called one day with my father at an hôtel in the Champs-Elysées. As
+the lady we had come to see happened to be out, we were asked to wait in
+a salon, where an English lady sat, reading. My father made some casual
+remark about its being fine weather to be out of doors, to which the lady
+answered that she had only just arrived in Paris and intended to have a
+rest. My father then said that he supposed she would go out the next day.
+
+“No,” was the answer. “I told you, I have come here for a rest.”
+
+He asked how long she intended resting, when she replied:
+
+“Six months.”
+
+My father was so astonished at this reply that he was quite unable to
+refrain from laughing, which rather annoyed the lady. On our leaving the
+hôtel soon afterwards, he said to me:
+
+“That old woman is mad with her rest, and to come to Paris, of all
+places, to have it. She must be out of her mind.”
+
+I frequently went to the galleries of the Louvre and the Luxembourg,
+and always had a great liking for Greuze’s paintings, particularly the
+_Cruche Cassée_ and _l’Accordée du Village_. The former I have often seen
+in engravings by Masard and other engravers, but no reproduction has ever
+come up to the beautiful face of the original. There is always _quelque
+chose à désirer_ in the copies, and even in the photographs from the
+picture itself; it is something in the expression, and not alone in the
+colouring.
+
+At the time of which I am speaking, there was a Spaniard in Paris, a
+friend of some acquaintances of ours, who built a large hôtel and a
+theatre for himself attached to it. The former was heated to a certain
+temperature, and his doctor called upon him every day, receiving a
+napoleon for each visit, and on certain fête days a hundred francs. The
+doctor used merely to feel his patient’s pulse, when he was not ill. This
+Spaniard had two lady friends, a brunette and a blonde, each of whom
+was in the habit of spending certain fixed days in the week with him.
+Notwithstanding the very regular life he led, he did not attain the age
+of forty, but died of fever almost suddenly. He was an immensely wealthy
+man, but of a very nervous temperament. During the winter he never went
+out of doors, from fear of taking cold.
+
+Lord Lyons, who was then British Ambassador in Paris, was celebrated for
+two things particularly, apart from his diplomatic capabilities: his
+horses and the excellent dinners he gave. An old Englishman, of over
+seventy, with whom we were well acquainted, used to look forward to
+dining at the British Embassy for weeks in advance. But his wife said she
+positively dreaded his going there, as he was invariably laid up for a
+fortnight after partaking of one of these too-appetizing banquets.
+
+In the following summer, my parents left the Avenue d’Antin and lived
+for a time in the Avenue Joséphine, until an _appartement_ which my
+mother had taken unfurnished in the Rue d’Albe, in the Champs-Elysées,
+had been got ready for us. I recollect she ordered the furniture from
+the celebrated Maison Krieger, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. The salon
+was furnished in Louis Quinze style, with some tiny chairs with gilt
+backs and the seats in satin with designs of various birds of gorgeous
+plumage in different colours, all worked in silk by hand. The sides
+of the fauteuils were of gilt, while the backs and the seats were all
+in Aubusson tapestry, representing roses on a white foundation. The
+sofa was in Aubusson to match the fauteuils, the curtains as well. The
+carpet, which covered the middle of the room only, as the floor was a
+parquet, was a lovely design with a white foundation, the edges of which
+and the centre represented clusters of red and pink roses. The carpet
+was in Aubusson tapestry, and rather a small one, though my mother had
+paid 7,500 francs for it. Dr. Bishop, brother-in-law of the late Lord
+Iddesleigh, declared that the carpet was so lovely that he was really
+afraid to walk on it. He was a very tall, stout man, and he always sat
+on the delicate chairs in preference to the others. This made my mother
+feel very uneasy, less because she feared that the chair might get
+broken than because she was afraid that he might have a severe fall.
+The tables in the salon were Louis Quinze style, in marqueterie, all
+inlaid with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl in Boule style, and on the
+chimney-piece stood a clock and various figures and lamps in old Sèvres
+porcelain. The walls were white, with gold decorations, and were adorned
+with numerous mirrors. I asked my mother to have my bedroom furnished in
+yellow and black satin, which she had done. I was extremely fond of the
+Austrian national colours, and, besides, they were the same as those of a
+room which I had occupied some little time before when on a visit to Mrs.
+Reynolds, formerly Miss Lethbridge, at Poundsford Park, near Taunton.
+
+As I was about to go to Eton, my mother was anxious that I should have
+the correct Eton collar. No one in Paris knew what it was like, so Lady
+Caroline Murray sent her the pattern of a collar worn by one of the twin
+brothers Lambton, who were both then at Eton. The elder is now Earl of
+Durham. The Eton jacket was also a bit of a puzzle, and, though I had it
+made as near the correct thing as possible, I found, when I got to Eton,
+that, to be quite in the mode, I must get my jackets made by Manley, of
+Windsor. This I did all the time I was at Eton, as well as other clothes
+I wore there.
+
+[Illustration: The Author.
+
+Aged 9. Aged 14. Aged 16.
+
+[_To face p. 62._]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+    I go to Eton—New Boy Baiting—My House Master—Mr. James’s
+    “Jokes”—My Room at Eton—Some Eton Masters—A Disorderly
+    Form—Lacaita’s Silk Hat—“Billy” Portman
+
+
+There was a certain _cachet_ attached to an Etonian in those days which I
+have not found with boys of any other school, assuredly not in England.
+I may almost say not in Europe, except, perhaps, with those of the
+Theresianum, in Vienna. I might almost repeat what the well-known German
+Socialist, Ferdinand Lassalle, wrote to a Russian lady, in comparing the
+German women of the middle class with those of the aristocracy, which
+latter class might stand for Etonians of those days in comparison with
+boys of other schools: “The women have not that aroma of amiability, that
+_cachet_ of good manners, which is indispensable for every woman who has
+lived in aristocratic circles. There are certainly exceptions, but they
+are very rare.”
+
+In the autumn of 1866 my father took me to Windsor, where we put up
+at the White Hart Hotel. Then we walked to Eton and entered the first
+master’s house we came to, that of the Rev. C. C. James. It stood near
+the wall of a cemetery, which some of the rooms overlooked. My father
+informed the master that he had come to place me at the school, but
+really did not know one house from another, and that, if Mr. James would
+care to take me into his house, he would be very glad to leave me in
+his charge. Mr. James replied that it was unusual for him to take a boy
+of whom he knew nothing, without having his name entered beforehand, or
+without some recommendation. But whether it was that my father contrived
+to talk him over, or that he thought he would run the risk of my turning
+out a bad bargain, after Mr. James had asked my age and where I had been
+to school, it was decided that I should stay at his house. My father, I
+think, was the most pleased, for, from what Mr. James had said, he had
+been anticipating some difficulty in finding a house for me at all, as at
+certain masters’ houses a boy’s name had to be entered years beforehand.
+But my father generally trusted to chance in everything, and what seemed
+impossible to most people was for him often an easy matter.
+
+Mr. James showed us over the boys’ rooms, and, though I should have
+much preferred having one looking out on Windsor, with a fine view of
+the Castle, I had to be content with the end room in the front of the
+house, which had a view of the college chapel, and was quite close to
+the cemetery. My father told him that he did not think I was afraid of
+ghosts, when Mr. James told him that the cemetery was of very ancient
+date, and no longer used for burial purposes. He then showed us the beds,
+which were closed up in the daytime, in such a way as to present the
+appearance of cupboards, and said that he would get me a bureau similar
+to that which every boy had there.
+
+My father soon took his departure and went back to the “White Hart,”
+upon which I was handed over to the housekeeper, who invited me to sit
+in her room, and gave me some tea. I remained there until the evening,
+when some of the boys began to arrive. As might be expected, I was far
+from being at ease, and felt like someone entering on a new existence,
+in a completely different world from the one in which he had lived. The
+housekeeper inquired whether I did not know some of the boys at James’s,
+and told me their names. To which I replied that I did not know even one
+of them, though I knew some boys at other houses. At what houses they
+were, however, I could not say. She said that the boys I mentioned were
+higher in the school than I was likely to be placed, and that they would
+not condescend to speak to so humble a person as myself, and that I must
+make acquaintances of my own age, which I would soon do.
+
+I had not long to wait before some of the boys arrived, and presently
+came into the housekeeper’s room. But I do not recollect one of them
+speaking to me then, and shortly afterwards I set out for Windsor, as my
+father had got permission for me to dine with him at the “White Hart,”
+before he left for London, on his way back to Paris.
+
+When I returned to James’s alone, I went into the housekeeper’s room,
+in which I found several boys, who regarded me with a curiosity which
+I found decidedly embarrassing. The first who spoke to me was a very
+nice-looking boy of sixteen, named Gaskell, who was in the Remove. He
+asked me my name, and whether I thought I should pass into the Fourth
+Form. I replied that I did not feel at all sure of doing so. At that
+moment another new boy, named Temple, with fair hair and a very plain
+face, entered the room, to whom Gaskell put the same questions as he had
+to me. Temple did not appear over-burdened by modesty, and had no doubt
+whatever about passing into the Fourth Form.
+
+“Of course I shall,” he declared confidently, putting his hands in his
+trousers pockets and looking very important.
+
+Suddenly some other boys came in.
+
+“Here are some new fellows,” said Gaskell.
+
+“What are they like?” asked the others. “Let’s have a look at them.”
+
+“This chap here—Temple his name is—seems devilish confident about
+himself; expects to get into the Fourth Form at once.”
+
+“I say,” exclaimed a fair, good-looking boy, who was bigger than Gaskell
+and taller, and whose name was John H. Locke, “so you expect to pass
+easily? Where do you come from?”
+
+“From London,” replied Temple, colouring slightly.
+
+“From what school?”
+
+“I was educated at home by a tutor.”
+
+“Indeed! Well, you give yourself airs of importance that won’t do here, I
+can tell you. We’ll soon knock them out of you.”
+
+Temple put his hands in his trousers pockets and shrugged his shoulders,
+while his not very prepossessing countenance assumed an expression that
+was almost diabolical.
+
+“You look like the devil,” said Locke, laughing.
+
+“So he does,” exclaimed some of the others; and one boy added:—
+
+“I say, Satan, what an ugly mug you have!”
+
+Temple darted a glance of withering scorn at the speaker, but could not
+trust himself to reply.
+
+“That’s a good name for him,” remarked Locke. “Mug, I say, Mug, mind you
+pass your exam. well, and don’t look so fiendish when one speaks to you,
+for it won’t pay.”
+
+Saying which he took his departure, leaving Temple to digest the advice
+he had given.
+
+The exam. came off in due course, when Temple failed to qualify for the
+Fourth Form, and was put into the Lower School; while I passed into the
+Lower Fourth, which was more than I expected to do. All the boys at
+James’s were pleased, for they had taken a great dislike to Temple. The
+latter, however, was not in the least disheartened at not taking the
+Fourth Form, but put his hands in his pockets, shrugged his shoulders,
+and looked at the other boys as contemptuously as before. He was at once
+given to Alexander, the Captain of the Oppidans, as a fag, while I was
+allotted to Locke. Alexander never spoke to Lower boys, except to fag
+them, so Temple had merely to do what he was told. I had a very easy time
+of it with Locke, who had other fags besides. Sometimes Locke would ask
+me to sit down in his room and talk to him, when he would often give me
+fruit and bonbons. He was about eighteen, in the Sixth Form, and rowed in
+the _Monarch_; but C. R. Alexander was Captain of the House and Head of
+the School, or what is termed Captain of the Oppidans, to distinguish him
+from the Captain of the Collegers, nicknamed Tugs, who are boys on the
+foundation and obliged always to wear a gown.
+
+A boy named James Doyne, who became a great friend of mine, messed with
+me, that is to say, we took our breakfast and tea together in his room,
+as it was larger than mine. I often did his French lessons for him out
+of school, and helped him with others, as he was in the Lower School.
+Sometimes, he bought beefsteaks for breakfast, and I would cook them
+downstairs while he was in school, as he was often kept behind by his
+master. So occasionally, when I happened to be very hungry, I would not
+only eat my own steak, but a part of his as well, which used to make him
+very angry.
+
+Doyne told me once that his father knew a gentleman who, on being
+introduced to another, said:—
+
+“You are the son of a tailor, I believe, are you not?”
+
+“Yes,” was the reply, “and I will take your measure.”
+
+The tailor’s son never rested until he had ruined the other.
+
+It seems a great pity that duelling is not allowed in England, as it
+would oblige some men in this country to mend their manners, even if the
+duel were restricted to the use of the _épée_ alone, and were to cease at
+the first sign of blood. Anyway, it would be better than the senseless
+actions for libel, which cost a great deal of money, and are quite
+unknown in other civilized countries.
+
+I had very little to do with my tutor, Mr. James, being up to another
+master in school. He was a Mr. Luxmoore, a young, rather good-looking
+and very pleasant man. My tutor only took the Fifth Form pupils of his
+own division, but at times he would see how the boys in his house were
+progressing in their studies. Mr. James was a rather tall and thin man,
+about thirty-seven, with a long, fair, almost reddish beard and no
+moustache. His eyes were blue, and he had a habit of looking away from
+people while he talked, and when he became nervous he used to stammer,
+but not very perceptibly. Although he could not be called handsome,
+he was by no means bad-looking, having a very pleasant expression and
+beautiful teeth.
+
+We had to be in school at 7 a.m. in the summer, and 7.30 a.m. in the
+winter, and the lesson lasted an hour. Then we went back to our rooms for
+breakfast, or, rather, had to go to our fagmaster and cook his breakfast
+first. But Locke hardly ever required this service of me, as he generally
+made another of his fags do it for him. At 9.15 we all had to attend
+Chapel, which lasted half an hour. Then school again till 10.30, and from
+11.15 till 12. The two hours after this were called, “after twelve,”
+which one usually spent in one’s tutor’s pupil-room. Dinner was at 2
+p.m., then school again from 2.45 till 3.30, and then from 5 to 6. After
+this the boys were free till the time for “lock-up,” which changes with
+the time of year. In the summer it was at 8.45. A half-holiday was just
+the same until dinner, but in the afternoon “absence” was called at 3
+p.m. in the winter and at 6 p.m. in the summer. “Absence” is a call-over
+of the names, which takes place in the school yard. Its object was to
+prevent boys from going too far away, and ensuring that they should be
+back in time for “lock-up.” When a master did not come for “absence,” it
+was termed a “call”; and the boys only waited five or six minutes for him.
+
+In addition to the work done in school and pupil-room, we had work to do
+in our own rooms, especially on a Sunday, when we had Sunday Questions to
+write out. The half-holidays were on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,
+and on Sundays, besides attending Chapel, we had the Sunday Questions to
+answer. This usually occupied us several hours.
+
+There was a boy at James’s who was then in the Remove, called Craven, a
+tall, dark, good-looking fellow, who dressed well and had an umbrella
+with a death’s-head handle carved in ivory, which he never opened, even
+when it poured with rain, from fear that he would not be able to fold it
+again so neatly as it was then done up. He always wore the most expensive
+silk hats he could buy, and habitually scented himself with patchouli.
+One rainy day, when all James’s Lower boys were in his pupil-room, in the
+house, Mr. James called up Craven, and said to him:—
+
+“Craven, why don’t you sign your name in full: Fulwar John Colquilt
+Craven?”
+
+“I do, sir,” answered Craven.
+
+“But you don’t—merely Fulwar Craven. Don’t you own the John Colquilt?”
+
+All the boys began to titter, and Craven laughed and said:—
+
+“I suppose I don’t, sir.”
+
+“Why do you stupid boys giggle?” exclaimed Mr. James. “There is nothing
+to laugh at because Craven won’t own his name, John Colquilt, which is a
+very nice one.”
+
+The boys went on laughing all the more, at which the master was furious,
+and cried:
+
+“I will make you all write out a book of the _Iliad_ if you don’t stop
+giggling at once.”
+
+This threat had the desired effect, and gravity was restored; but it did
+not last very long. A good-looking boy named Ady, who was at Miss Evans’s
+Dame’s house, but was a pupil of my tutor, and who wore a lot of gold
+charms on his watch-chain, came up to Mr. James to ask some questions,
+when the latter said:—
+
+“Ady, I wonder you don’t wear bracelets with all those jingling things;
+you are more like a girl.”
+
+Thereupon all the boys began to titter again, while Ady blushed, but did
+not make any reply. On returning to his seat, however, he put out his
+tongue at Mr. James, who happened to be looking in another direction, and
+then smiled, when the boys began to laugh with a vengeance.
+
+“Stop that laughter,” screamed the exasperated master, his eyes sparkling
+with wrath, “or I’ll have all of you swished in turn. I won’t stand this
+nonsense any longer. First of all with Craven, who is scented like a fast
+lady, and then with Ady, who is covered with jewellery like another; I
+might just as well keep a girls’ school.”
+
+The giggling now became downright laughter, which the boys were quite
+unable to restrain. At last, Mr. James began to see that he had made a
+joke, which flattered his vanity, so he smiled, and said:—
+
+“Yes, even the boys are laughing at you both.”
+
+This was too much for his audience, who roared with laughter, until,
+after a while, the master said:—
+
+“Now, I think, we have laughed enough; I hope it will be a lesson to them
+both.”
+
+Craven and Ady nearly split their sides with laughing, as well as the
+others.
+
+“I see I can do nothing with you to-day,” remarked Mr. James, “these
+laughing moods are very distressing; it upsets the whole of the lessons.
+I must be more serious with you, and not permit myself even a joke. I see
+it plainly more and more every time.”
+
+At last the merriment subsided, but presently some of the boys began
+laughing again.
+
+“What is the joke now?” exclaimed the master. “Tell me, for I should like
+to know. I can see nothing whatever to laugh at now.”
+
+“Please, sir,” answered Craven, “you make a joke, and you won’t even
+allow us to laugh at it.”
+
+“Oh, well! if it is that that you are laughing at, I suppose it is all
+right,” said Mr. James, who was gradually regaining his good-humour, and
+presently the boys were dismissed. Afterwards there was great fun made at
+his expense, Craven and Ady being highly amused.
+
+Mr. James was nicknamed “Stiggins” by the boys who had been with him
+at Eton, and, although unpopular out of his house, he was not so in
+it. There were much more disagreeable tutors at Eton at the time of
+which I am speaking, some of them perfect horrors. Mr. James was a
+good-hearted man, and was very kind at times, though he was very brusque
+in his manner, and in the habit of speaking his mind without the least
+reservation. He had no particular favourites, but, on the other hand,
+he did not take any violent dislikes, and was just enough, apart from
+occasional sallies against certain boys. These he indulged in under
+the impression that he was being witty, and not infrequently the jokes
+he made were at his own expense. He had a good memory and could recite
+innumerable verses from Greek and Latin poets, but he was a poor orator.
+He was a good chess-player, and often played with the boys, giving them a
+queen and sometimes a rook as well, and generally beating them. Sometimes
+he played with another master, Mr. Wayte, a middle-aged man, with a
+grey beard, who could play twenty-five games of chess at the same time
+blindfolded, and win most of them. Mr. James once beat Mr. Wayte, after
+which he would never play with him again, wishing to be able to say that
+the last time he played with him he had succeeded in gaining the victory.
+I often played chess with my tutor, on which occasions he usually gave
+me a queen. Sometimes I managed to beat him, and once when I had been
+successful, he said to me:—
+
+“You have beaten me, and I have beaten Wayte, who is one of the finest
+players in Europe. So, in winning the game to-day, you have something to
+be proud of.”
+
+We always tried to make our rooms at James’s as comfortable as possible.
+I had a fancy at that time for pictures of horses, and bought a set
+of steeplechase ones, by Alken, printed in colours and published by
+Ackermann. I had also a picture of Hermit, the Derby winner of 1865, by
+Harry Hall, which was also printed in colours. In the summer, like the
+other boys, I had geraniums and other flowers in a large green wooden
+box, which was made to cover the length of my window-sill. I spent,
+however, more of my time in Doyne’s room, which was nearer the road, and
+farther away from the cemetery. It was a more cheerful room, containing
+several arm-chairs. Besides, we always messed together and took our meals
+there, and so I looked on the room almost as being my own. Alexander and
+Locke had two rooms each. The latter had quite a collection of silver
+cups, which he had won at Eton, and his sitting-room was decorated with
+numerous trophies of the Boats, arranged against the wall, from the light
+blue of the _Victory_ and the dark blue of the _Monarch_ to the cerise
+of the _Prince of Wales_ and the blue of the _Britannia_. I can only
+remember entering Alexander’s room once. It was also adorned with the
+colours of the Eleven and silver cups won at cricket and racquets, as he
+was Captain of the Eleven and President of “Pop.” “Pop” is the name given
+to the Eton Society, to which only boys in the Sixth Form and the Upper
+Fifth can belong.
+
+The occasion on which I entered Alexander’s room was on a Sunday. He
+opened his door, and called: “Lower boy!” and, as I happened to be on
+the landing, he said that he must send me to make a copy of his Sunday
+Questions, which were always written up outside St. George’s Chapel at
+Windsor. It was a dreary walk, for, as it was Sunday afternoon, all the
+shops were, of course, closed. I made a copy of the Questions in pencil,
+and, on my return, left them in Alexander’s room. At eleven o’clock that
+night, he came and woke me up, to ask if I could read some word I had
+copied, which I had to confess I could not. He went away, but returned to
+my room an hour later, and, waking me up again, said he thought he could
+make a guess at the word we had been unable to make out, and asked me if
+it were not correct. I then suddenly remembered that it was the right
+word, when he laughed and went out. This was the only time I was ever
+sent to copy out Sunday Questions, as Alexander always, as a rule, sent
+his own fags to do this, and Locke, whose fag I was, hardly ever gave
+me anything to do. I was, in consequence, very sorry when he left Eton,
+which he did very shortly afterwards for Trinity College, Cambridge.
+Alexander went up to King’s.
+
+One half I was up to a master called Austin Leigh, who was in the habit
+of speaking so softly that we could scarcely hear a word he said in
+school. So when he spoke, I always had to guess what he said. One day
+he asked me to construe a passage, which I did, when he corrected me,
+saying:—
+
+“I told you what to say.”
+
+“Please, sir, I could not hear exactly.”
+
+“Are you deaf?”
+
+“No, sir, but I did not hear exactly.”
+
+“Then, for not listening, you will please write out the lesson as a
+punishment. Do you hear now?”
+
+“Yes, sir.”
+
+I hated being up to Austin Leigh, for I never could hear, as he always
+spoke in a whisper somewhat like the hissing of a serpent.
+
+There was another master, who thought himself rather good-looking, as
+he had regular features; but he had yellowish hair, was inclined to
+baldness, and his figure was lanky and awkward. This master was fond of
+making very tame jokes in school. If we laughed at them, it was all
+right, but the boys who ignored his jokes he punished. He insisted on
+calling Lord Edward Somerset by the name of Samson, but once when he
+called upon “Samson” to stand up, no one rose. He then turned to Lord
+Edward Somerset, and said:—
+
+“Why did you not stand up when I told you to do so?”
+
+“Because you never told me, sir.”
+
+“I did; your name is Samson, isn’t it?”
+
+“No, sir; it’s Somerset.”
+
+“Well, anyhow, you knew that I meant you.”
+
+Somerset made no reply, and the master said:—
+
+“For disobedience you will write me out this chapter of ‘Xenophon!’”
+
+“Very well, sir.”
+
+Among the numerous masters at Eton with whom I had little or nothing to
+do, those whom I remember best are: Mr. Stephen Hawtrey, who was a very
+agreeable man; Mr. Hale, a mathematical master, nicknamed, on account of
+his whitish hair, “the Badger,” who was also very pleasant; the Rev. W.
+Dalton, another mathematical master, who had very full lips and a reddish
+face, and went by the _sobriquet_ of “Piggy”; the Rev. Joynes, who had
+somewhat the appearance of a weasel, and had great difficulty in keeping
+his division in order; Mr. Cornish, a fair-haired man, who was rather
+disagreeable at times; and Mr. Cockshot, also a mathematical master, who
+was bright and pleasant. The Rev. Durnford, nicknamed “Judy,” I only knew
+by sight, and the same was the case with Mr. Arthur James, my tutor’s
+brother, who was an exceptionally pleasant man.
+
+All the masters had some peculiarity, and it took some time to get used
+to their ways, as they were all so different from one another. Just,
+however, as a boy was beginning to understand a master the half came to
+an end, and, after the holidays, he would probably be sent up to quite a
+different kind of man. For each master took a separate division, and was
+promoted like the boys from one division to another.
+
+The most popular master was the Rev. Edmund Warre, afterwards Head
+Master and Provost of Eton. He was a good-looking, fair man, who wore
+spectacles, and, besides being one of the cleverest of the masters, was
+a very fine oar, and always superintended the coaching of the Eight. He
+used to try to interest the boys up to him in school in a subject, as
+Herr Kirchhofer did at Frankfurt. I remember once, during a lesson in
+geography, he said that Austria-Hungary was a nation which would one day
+break up, since it consisted of too many nationalities, the link between
+which was not sufficiently strong to be permanent. Upon another occasion,
+he recommended us to read “The Last of the Barons,” by Lord Lytton,
+which he said was one of the best historical novels ever written, and I
+remember that some of us followed his advice.
+
+There was a good deal of jealousy amongst certain masters, who did
+not pull together. Mr. Oscar Browning was unpopular with some of his
+colleagues, though he was very much liked by the boys at his house and
+those up to him in school. There can be little doubt that the dislike
+entertained by certain masters for Mr. Browning was due to jealousy, as
+he was cleverer than the majority of them, and he was certainly very
+witty, and at times rather sarcastic. I was up to him in school one half,
+and I think, on the whole, he was the pleasantest master I was ever up
+to, since he used to enliven the tedium of school hours by his witty
+remarks, occasionally making fun of some of us, but in such a nice,
+pleasant way, that we all enjoyed the joke, even those who were the cause
+of the merriment. It was almost impossible to be late for school with
+Mr. Browning, as he generally arrived late on the scene himself. Now and
+again, however, he reversed the usual order of things, and then those who
+had counted on his late arrival were caught and punished.
+
+Mr. R. A. H. Mitchell, the famous cricketer, was a master of the Lower
+School. My friend Jim Doyne was up to him, and said that he was very
+popular with the boys.
+
+There was another master, Mr. St. John Thackeray, who had no authority
+whatever over the boys up to him in school, who invariably made fun
+of him, and jeered at him all the time. I was up to him one half, when
+I found it quite impossible to learn anything, owing to the constant
+disturbance, which was quite overpowering. I used to come in late
+continually when up to Mr. Thackeray, as I knew it did not much matter.
+One day, however, he said to me:—
+
+“You are half an hour late this morning!”
+
+“Please, sir, I overslept myself.”
+
+“But you always oversleep yourself.”
+
+“Please, sir, I couldn’t help it; I was so tired.”
+
+“What made you so tired...?”
+
+Here the other boys began to laugh, and someone said aloud:—
+
+“He’s always so slack.”
+
+“Which boy spoke?” asked Mr. Thackeray angrily. A dead silence ensued.
+
+“I _will_ know which boy spoke just now. If the boy doesn’t come forward
+at once, I shall punish all the division.” Upon this two or three boys
+said:—
+
+“It was I, sir.”
+
+“Which of you was it?” asked Mr. Thackeray.
+
+“I, sir,” sounded from different parts of the room.
+
+“It’s really too bad; the whole division shall be punished then,” said
+the master.
+
+While he was occupied in making a note of this, a book was hurled across
+the room, at which there was great laughter. Mr. Thackeray was furious.
+
+“I shall have to report the whole division for bad conduct if I don’t
+know at once who threw that book,” he cried.
+
+“It was I,” said one boy.
+
+Then, a moment afterwards, another voice said:—
+
+“It was I, sir.”
+
+“But it could not have been both of you. Which of you was it?”
+
+“Me, sir,” said the first boy who had spoken.
+
+“Then you will please write out the chapter we are reading”—then,
+correcting himself—“or, rather, which we ought to be reading.”
+
+For a few minutes the lesson proceeded quietly, though on the least
+pretext there would be shouts of laughter. Mr. Thackeray entirely forgot
+to punish the other boy and myself; only the one who had hurled the
+book was punished. Every day with Mr. Thackeray was similar to this
+one, sometimes more amusing, sometimes less so, but always very noisy
+indeed. He spoilt the boys for other masters, as, being accustomed to do
+as they liked with him, they would come late into school when they were
+up to others, who would send them up to be swished on a repetition of
+the offence. I was never swished at Eton during all the four years I was
+there.
+
+The late Earl Grosvenor, who, when Viscount Belgrave, was at Eton with
+me, was a very good-looking boy, with fair hair, but he wore jackets that
+were sometimes too short for him, and it was the same with his trousers,
+as he had grown out of them. One day, when he sat in school on a form in
+front of me, during a lesson by Mr. Henry Tarver, the French master, a
+boy sitting next me, seeing Belgrave’s shirt, which was plainly visible
+between his jacket and trousers, pulled it right out altogether. Belgrave
+turned round angrily, thinking at first that it was I who had taken this
+liberty with his shirt, when he saw that the culprit was a boy whom he
+knew well. Nevertheless, he was very confused and had great trouble in
+adjusting his protruding garment, as it was necessary to do it in such a
+way as not to attract the attention of Mr. Tarver, who would certainly
+have inquired into the matter and meted out condign punishment to the
+offender.
+
+There is a French saying that small events often interest great minds. I
+hope that this may be so, in which event there will be some excuse for
+my mentioning this incident, which struck me at the time as being rather
+ludicrous, though I cannot say whether others may be of the same opinion.
+Lord Grosvenor, after he left Eton, was fond of driving an engine, and
+I am told that he often drove the train between London and Holyhead for
+pleasure.
+
+His name reminds me of a good story that I once heard at Eton about his
+grandfather, the Duke of Westminster. The latter, one day, was told by
+his groom of the chamber that the dress-coat that he wore was getting
+very shabby. The Duke asked to see it, and then told the man that he
+might order a new one for himself. “But,” added the thrifty nobleman,
+“you may let me have this old coat; it will do quite well for me to
+wear.” The Duke of Atholl, who was a first cousin of my grandfather, had
+also rather a contempt for dress, and my mother was told by the latter
+that, when an old man, he was often mistaken in the street for a beggar,
+and had pence offered him.
+
+There was a boy named Lacaita at Eton, who, when he first came, wore a
+most extraordinary hat. The lower part was much broader than the upper,
+so that the hat was not unlike a loaf of sugar. I think he must have
+imported it from Italy. However, if I remember rightly, it was very
+speedily battered out of any shape at all, for it was an innovation which
+pleased none of the boys, who were only too ready to make a football of
+it, as they generally did of anything they happened to take a dislike to,
+and particularly a silk hat.
+
+Doyne used frequently to invite boys from other houses to tea with us
+in his room. They were mostly those whom he knew “at home,” that is to
+say, away from Eton, and who were friends of his people. The Hon. John
+FitzWilliam, who was in the same division as myself, often came, as he
+was a relative of his, as well as Lord Trafalgar, who was in the Lower
+School, and Lord Mandeville, who afterwards became Duke of Manchester.
+The last-named was a very good-looking boy, with very dark, curly hair;
+he was full of fun, and I liked him very much, though I only met him
+when he came to tea with us, as he was lower down in the school and at a
+different tutor’s house from myself.
+
+A boy named Charles Rice Hodgson, in the same division as I was, was my
+greatest friend at first. He was at Vidal’s, a Dame’s house. He was a
+very handsome boy, with rather fair hair and blue eyes, nearly perfect
+features, and a beautiful complexion. He used to dress very well and
+always wore a button-hole—a rose or a carnation in summer—and usually
+scented himself. He was very clever and had a good deal of swagger, and
+was a favourite with the bigger boys at Vidal’s, who often used to walk
+with him, which was strongly disapproved of by some of the masters. I
+often helped him out of a difficulty; and sometimes, when he had not
+learned his lesson over night, I would prompt him in a low voice to
+construe it, as I always sat next to him in school. He left Eton very
+suddenly, at which I was quite distressed, as he had always been so much
+with me, and I liked him more than any other boy, and had been in his
+company the day before he left. A more charming boy than Hodgson I have
+never known; but he was conceited about his looks, for he was one of the
+best-looking boys, if not the best-looking, at Eton in those days.
+
+Another boy at the same Dame’s house as Hodgson was Charles D. Robertson
+Williamson, who was considered to be the best-looking boy then at Eton.
+He was higher up in the school than I was, and, though his tutor, Mr.
+Johnson (Cory, the author of “Ionica”), liked him very much, some of the
+other masters did not approve of his putting on so much side and being
+so often with bigger boys. At Lord’s, during the Eton and Harrow match,
+I happened quite accidentally to make the acquaintance of Williamson’s
+aunt. She was only eighteen, and bore a most extraordinary resemblance
+to her nephew, with the same beautiful face, the same short upper lip,
+the same large, round, hazel eyes, the same beautifully shaped mouth, the
+same delicate nose, slightly, in fact almost imperceptibly, tilted, and
+the same brown hair; and she was of the same height as he was. She spoke
+to me without knowing me at all, saying:—
+
+“I want to keep my nephew with me a day or two longer. Do you think I can
+do so?”
+
+“You must ask his tutor; no doubt he will allow you to do so,” I
+answered, thinking that he could not possibly refuse her.
+
+“Well, I will try.”
+
+With which, Williamson’s aunt went off in search of Mr. Johnson, and
+presently returned, looking very pleased, and said:—
+
+“Mr. Johnson has given the permission I wanted. I am so happy!” And she
+clapped her hands together with delight.
+
+I did not know Williamson to speak to before then, not being so high in
+the school as he was, and I met him for the first time when he came later
+in the day to meet his aunt in the Grand Stand at Lord’s.
+
+Once, when Doyne and I were driving in a hansom from Lord’s after the
+Eton and Harrow match, he caught sight of the Hon. E. W. B. Portman, and
+said to me:—
+
+“Do you mind giving Billy Portman a lift?”
+
+We made room for him between us, which was an easy enough matter in those
+days, though in years to come it would have been quite impossible, for
+he grew so stout that he weighed seventeen stone, and I rather fancy Jim
+Doyne was even heavier.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+    An Amusing Incident—Lady Caroline Murray—An Anecdote of Queen
+    Victoria—Lord Rossmore’s Wager—The Match at the Wall—Practical
+    Jokes—Some Boys at James’s
+
+
+Boys at Eton rarely made friends outside their respective houses.
+Therefore, when Hodgson left, I spent most of my spare time with Doyne,
+who even then was very stout, and, though older than I, below me in the
+school. When he left Eton, my chief companion was a boy named Harry
+Gridley, with whom I messed for a short time, and with whom I often went
+for walks on a Sunday along the playing-fields by the river.
+
+Gridley, who was in the Fifth Form, was a dark-haired boy, very kind and
+good-natured. He was in the Boats, and a capital oar, and rowed later
+in the _Monarch_, the ten-oared Upper boat. Sometimes I would go to
+Windsor with him to play billiards, notwithstanding that this was against
+the rules. One day, whilst we were playing, I, by way of a joke, began
+ordering him about and calling him “Peter,” and then, to tease him, told
+him that some man who was in the room thought he was my fag. He flew into
+a rage, and, when the man had left the room, rushed at me and caught me
+by the throat, as though he would strangle me. However, we soon made
+friends again, but, strange to say, this nickname of “Peter,” which I
+had given him for the first time in the billiard-room at Windsor, always
+stuck to him, even in the 5th Lancers, which he joined later. He was
+very fond of reading, and one day took up “Adam Bede,” by George Eliot;
+but he told me that he could not finish it, as the hero was a very ugly,
+red-haired man, and he disliked reading about ugly people. He quite set
+me against the book, for I never read it after he said this.
+
+[Illustration: Charles Balfour, at Eton with the Author.
+
+[_To face p. 80._]
+
+[Illustration: Miss Minnie Balfour, sister of Hilda, Lady de Clifford.
+
+[_To face p. 81._]
+
+Alexander, the Captain of the Oppidans, was a very good-looking boy
+of eighteen; dark, with black, curly hair. His memory was quite
+extraordinary, and he could repeat the whole of the _Odyssey_, in the
+original Greek. Once he had read a book and mastered its contents, he
+never forgot it. Even Mr. James was astounded at Alexander’s marvellous
+gift for remembering things. Locke was also clever, but in a different
+way from Alexander.
+
+Some time after I went to Eton, my tutor got his cousin, Mrs. Bower, to
+look after the boys instead of the housekeeper, which was a pleasant
+change for us. She was about thirty-five and a very nice woman, and,
+having taken rather a fancy to me, used often to invite me to her room at
+five o’clock and give me tea and cake.
+
+One day some friends of Doyne—a baronet and his three daughters—came
+from London to see him. As it was a Sunday, I did not get up until late,
+when I ran into Doyne’s room, clad only in my night-shirt, and with my
+water-jug in my hand, to get some water to wash with. To my horror, I
+suddenly found myself confronted by three ladies, who, on catching sight
+of me, uttered a scream, and then, as I turned round and incontinently
+fled, burst into fits of laughter. Doyne told me afterwards that his
+friends were highly amused at this incident, and declared that they
+should never forget their visit to Eton.
+
+A boy named Charles Balfour was my fag when I was in the Fifth Form.
+Doyne, who was still in the Lower School, found my having a fag very
+convenient, as the latter had to cook the steaks and chops for our
+breakfast. Balfour was a good-looking boy, and I liked him very much;
+but he could not bear doing anything for Doyne, as the latter was lower
+down in the school than he was. I met the late Charles Balfour, with his
+father and family, at Wiesbaden in after years. His sister Hilda, a very
+pretty girl, subsequently married Lord de Clifford.
+
+With Balfour I met another old schoolfellow, Baldock, who was with his
+sister at Wiesbaden. He was twelfth man for the Eton Eleven one year,
+when I was there and Keeper of “Sixpenny,” and was a general favourite
+with the lower boys. Later on, in town, I recollect going to a ball at
+his house in Grosvenor Place. He was made a C.B. by King Edward VII.,
+having served thirty-six years in the Yeomanry and reached the rank of
+colonel.
+
+The present Lord Harris, G.C.S.I., the well-known cricketer, was in the
+Eton Eleven in my time and afterwards Captain of it. I can recollect
+him perfectly—a tall, fair-haired and remarkably handsome boy, with
+merry blue eyes, who always looked the picture of health. Amongst those
+who made their mark at cricket and football, and, at the same time,
+distinguished themselves in school, were the late Earl of Pembroke and
+Montgomery, then the Hon. Sidney Herbert, who was a good-looking boy,
+with blue eyes and black hair, and the late Earl of Onslow. The latter
+was at one time in the same division as myself.
+
+Sir Hubert Parry, so famous as a composer, was at Eton with me, but much
+higher up in the school than I was. He was at Vidal’s, and a boy in his
+house told me that he played the violin beautifully. I can remember that
+he was a good football player, and that I thought him a very fine-looking
+fellow, but I only knew him by sight.
+
+Craven, when in the Fifth Form, kept his fags dancing attendance on him
+all their spare time, and used to send them on long errands to Windsor.
+“Mug” was his fag for one half, and had a very lively time of it at
+first; but afterwards Craven treated him very much better. I was John
+Lister-Kaye’s fag at one time, and found him more exacting than Locke,
+with whom I had had a very easy time; but he became a friend of mine
+when I was higher up in the school. “Mug” was his fag at the same time,
+and liked fagging for him very much, as he treated him very kindly. His
+younger brother, Cecil Lister-Kaye, was a friend of mine from the very
+first. Both brothers were very good-looking boys, with fair hair. The
+elder, afterwards Sir John Lister-Kaye, who rowed in the _Victory_ at
+Eton, subsequently entered the “Blues.” On one occasion, the Lister-Kayes
+and myself were invited to dine at Upton Park, with Mrs. Adair, a very
+lovely woman, who, I recollect, was dressed in black velvet, which set
+off her superb figure and dazzling skin to great advantage. She was a
+grand-daughter of the Duchess of Roxburghe and a great friend of my
+cousin, the Hon. Emily Cathcart, maid-of-honour to Queen Victoria.
+
+[Illustration: W. H. Onslow, aged 13, afterwards Lord Onslow.
+
+[_To face p. 82._]
+
+[Illustration: The Hon. Emily Cathcart, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria.
+
+[_To face p. 83._]
+
+One day, the Hon. Charles Finch, afterwards Earl of Aylesford, who was in
+the same division as myself, told me that he had stopped my cousin while
+she was walking with a lady in Eton, and that a few days later, when he
+happened to meet her again, she said to him:—
+
+“I have a bone to pick with you. Do you know whom you kept waiting when
+you spoke to me the other day? It was the Princess Louise (afterwards
+Duchess of Argyll)!” The Earl of Aylesford, like myself, was a cousin of
+Emily Cathcart.
+
+While at Eton, I used occasionally to spend the day with my great-aunt,
+Lady Georgiana Cathcart. She lived near Ascot, and once when I was
+driving with her and her daughter we called on the Ladies Murray, who had
+a fine house in the neighbourhood, and Lady Caroline told us that if we
+had come some minutes earlier, we should have met Queen Victoria, who had
+lunched with them in quite an informal way, saying:—
+
+“Give me what you have ready, nothing else.”
+
+Lady Caroline told me that, owing to bearing the same name, she had
+frequently been mistaken for my mother’s aunt at Richmond, who had
+recently died. She showed me an oak-tree which her brother, the Earl of
+Mansfield, had planted in his garden the last time he had come to see
+her. In her younger days, she had been lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of
+Kent, at which time she was considered a great beauty.
+
+One day, when I was dining at Ascot, I met my cousin Emily, who was
+wearing a lovely dress of violet velvet, trimmed with white lace, and
+said:—
+
+“Her Majesty said I was not to wear this dress at Court, and I have only
+worn it once before, although it cost me a good deal of money.”
+
+Queen Victoria, it seems, would often take a dislike to some dress worn
+by one of her maids-of-honour.
+
+I frequently went to Windsor Castle to see my cousin. On one occasion,
+I mistook the room, and had to wait for some time in a drawing-room.
+Presently, a lady came in, who was very charming in her manner towards
+me, and had some tea and muffins brought to me by a man-servant in the
+scarlet livery of the Palace. This lady I afterwards learned was the
+Countess of Erroll. Once, when I called at the Castle I was received by
+the Hon. Harriet Phipps, who told me that my cousin had left Windsor and
+that she had taken her place in waiting. She invited me to have some tea,
+which was brought in in a solid silver teapot, and served in very fine
+porcelain cups, on both of which was the Royal crown, and was very kind
+and amiable.
+
+One day, my cousin Emily asked me to bring the late Lord Alexander
+Kennedy, son of the Marquis of Ailsa, who was in my division at Eton, to
+the Castle to tea, which I did. He and I smoked cigarettes in her room,
+and, when we heard her coming, threw them out of the window. However, she
+smelt the smoke and said:—
+
+“I hope you have not thrown the cigarettes out of the window, for ‘H.M.’
+is coming this way, and I shall get into trouble if she sees them.”
+
+We tried to calm her, but she appeared to be rather annoyed at the time.
+
+Emily Cathcart was very good-looking, with dark eyes and black hair and
+a fine figure. In her general appearance, she always reminded me very
+much of the late Empress of Austria. Her manner was charming, and she was
+always very amiable, and had so pleasant a smile that it seemed as though
+it would be impossible for her to be angry with anyone. I remember her
+telling me once that at Windsor she rarely ever spoke English, having
+to receive so many foreign guests for Her Majesty. On the occasion that
+Kennedy and I went there, we saw the Duc d’Aumale walking away from the
+Castle as we arrived.
+
+Queen Victoria liked to be read to by her maids-of-honour, which was
+sometimes a very trying experience for them, particularly by night. A boy
+at Eton was one of her pages-of-honour, and, as he was late in coming out
+of school one day that his services were required, he did not stop to
+wash his hands, but hurried off to the Castle, in order to be in time for
+some ceremony. Afterwards, the train which he had to hold was found to
+have dirty spots on it, so he was immediately dismissed from his office
+by Her Majesty. This story was told me by Mr. James.
+
+My mother told me that Queen Victoria was once lunching at the house of
+the Duke of Sussex, and, on being asked if the mutton cutlets were to her
+liking, replied carelessly:—
+
+“Oh! the chops are not bad.” She also related that once, in her younger
+days, the Queen was visiting the country-seat of a certain nobleman,
+where everything imaginable in and out of season had been procured for
+Her Majesty’s delectation, no matter at what cost. However, on the
+Queen being asked what she would be pleased to take, to the horror and
+amazement of her host, she named the only thing which was not in the
+house, and which there was no possibility of procuring. It was whispered
+that the Queen had asked for this particular _plat_, which was one of a
+simple but unusual kind, purposely, as she appeared to be amused at the
+consternation her request had aroused.
+
+Just after I left Eton, Emily invited me to the Haymarket Theatre,
+telling me to inquire for the Queen’s box. I arrived, and was duly
+ushered into the Royal box, which, however, was untenanted. So I sat
+there in solitary state, to the no small curiosity of the audience,
+who perhaps imagined that I must be some quite important person,
+until presently my cousin arrived, accompanied by a very handsome and
+exquisitely dressed woman, who, I learned, was Lady Churchill. The
+latter, who was lady-in-waiting to the Queen, was most fascinating, and
+had all the distinction of a _très grande dame_. She was most kind and
+gracious to me, even going out of her way to draw me out, so that I was
+soon quite at my ease in her company.
+
+In winter, if we happened to have a frost hard enough to make Virginia
+Water safe for skaters, we used to be taken there by Mr. James to skate
+and play hockey on the ice, a game in which my tutor always took part
+himself. Windsor Steeplechases were an event always looked forward to by
+the boys, for, though we were forbidden to go to them, we went all the
+same. Sometimes we would be attacked by roughs, who tried to prevent us
+crossing certain ditches to get to the race-course, and on one occasion
+a man tried to stop me. But I pushed him aside, managed to jump a ditch,
+and got safely to the course. Windsor Fair was at one time forbidden to
+the boys, but this did not prevent them all going there. I went once with
+Craven and saw a circus without paying anything, the man at the entrance
+having overlooked us as we rushed in. Afterwards, Mr. James happened
+to mention the Fair, when we all laughed and began to talk about the
+different shows we had seen. The master took it in good part, merely
+remarking:—
+
+“It’s lucky for you I did not catch you there.”
+
+The Christopher Inn at Eton was also out of bounds, but at times some of
+the big boys would invite the smaller ones there. If, however, one of the
+masters happened to catch sight of them coming out, there would be the
+devil to pay. I don’t remember ever going to the “Christopher,” though I
+did most things that were forbidden.
+
+The elder son of General Sir John Douglas, Captain Niel Douglas, who
+was an Old Etonian and an officer in the Scots Guards, then stationed
+at Windsor, invited me to lunch at the barracks, where I was introduced
+to Lord Mark Innes-Ker, who used to ride his own horses in the Windsor
+Steeplechases. I enjoyed my lunch very much, as it was quite a novelty
+for me. Eton boys were often invited to the barracks to lunch with
+officers of the Household Brigade whom they knew, as so many Old Etonians
+went into the Guards. I remember Blane, who was a pupil of my tutor, once
+coming down to Eton just after he had left the school, and telling me
+that he was about to join the Scots Guards, who were then stationed at
+Windsor. Lord Rossmore, whom I knew very well at Eton, entered the 1st
+Life Guards, and was killed riding in a steeplechase over the Windsor
+course in 1874. By a singular coincidence he had fallen at the same jump,
+while riding the same horse, the previous year. Rossmore, who was in
+the same division with me, was very popular at Eton. He was perpetually
+playing practical jokes, and I can recollect that on one occasion he made
+a bet that he would drive a trap through Eton. He won it, too, by driving
+through the town on a cart, disguised as a waterman, so that the masters
+did not recognize him. If one of them had happened to penetrate his
+disguise, he would perhaps have been expelled.
+
+Gridley and I once went for a bicycle ride in the country, and, happening
+to be seen, were sent up to the Head Master, Dr. Hornby, who said:—
+
+“It is too grave an offence for me to swish you, so each of you must
+write out a book of the _Iliad_, with accents, stops and breathings.”
+
+Fortunately for us, Mrs. Bower made Mr. James persuade the Head Master to
+let us off when we had done a quarter of the work.
+
+When I first went to Eton, the Head Master was Dr. Balston, a very
+handsome, stately and severe-looking man, whom the masters and boys
+liked—at a distance. When Dr. Hornby succeeded him, it was feared that
+he would introduce a great many reforms, which the masters dreaded as
+much as the boys; but these apprehensions proved to be groundless. While
+I was at Eton, Dr. Hornby was very much liked by the boys; but I cannot
+say that his popularity extended to his colleagues, some of whom, I know,
+regarded him with far from friendly feelings.
+
+There was a “sock”-shop, called Brown’s, near James’s house in those
+days, where excellent buttered buns were sold. An Old Etonian, Theobald,
+Viscount Dillon, told me that, on his return to Eton when past sixty, he
+tried the buns again, and exclaimed:—
+
+“Goodness! how these buns have altered; they aren’t half as good as they
+used to be!” Then, looking round at the boys, who seemed to be enjoying
+them just as much as he and his contemporaries had done in days of yore,
+he added regretfully:—
+
+“After all, it isn’t the buns that have altered. It is simply that I have
+lost my taste for them.”
+
+I used often to go to Brown’s, generally of a morning, to eat a buttered
+bun, which I enjoyed immensely. There was another “sock”-shop, called
+Webber’s, where in summer we used to indulge in strawberry messes.
+Marmalade was in favour with most of us for breakfast, and I recollect
+how Craven used always to send for eighteenpenny pots at a time, saying
+that the others were too small for his appetite.
+
+One Fourth of June my father came down to Eton, and asked at my tutor’s
+for Charles Douglas, the younger son of General Sir John Douglas, and
+William Kinglake, who was in a different house and whom I did not then
+know. We all walked down to the river to see the boats. It was a very
+pretty sight, and prettier still in the evening, when the fireworks
+began. I saw several lovely young girls, beautifully dressed, drinking
+champagne with their brothers, and envied the latter having such pretty
+sisters. William Kinglake was a nephew of the author of “Eöthen,” who was
+a first cousin of my father. He was in the Boats the following year, but
+died soon after he left Eton. Charles Douglas, after leaving Eton, joined
+his father’s old regiment, the 79th Highlanders, but soon retired from
+the Service, while still a lieutenant.
+
+I passed my “exam.” in swimming before Mr. Warre at my first try, and
+often went on the river. But I was a “dry bob,” and generally preferred
+playing cricket in “Sixpenny,” some of the fields by the river, which in
+winter were used for football matches. Doyne never went on the river,
+since, as he was not allowed to bathe, he could not pass the necessary
+“exam.,” and so was forcibly a “dry bob.” At James’s, only Alexander
+and one or two others were “dry bobs,” and, as the house was a small
+one, we had no cricket eleven, like other houses. James’s football
+colours were a combination of reds of different shades with violet and
+black, which were not by any means pretty colours. Yonge’s were red and
+black; Day’s, black and white; Evans’s, scarlet with a black skull and
+cross-bones; Warre’s, a combination of red, yellow and other colours;
+and Vidal’s, yellow and black. The well-known cricketer, C. I. Thornton,
+was at Vidal’s, and was a great friend of Williamson, while the latter
+was there. Thornton was a tremendously hard hitter at cricket, and I can
+remember many of his wonderful hits beyond the ropes when he was playing
+for Eton against Harrow at Lord’s. The colours of the Second Eleven or
+Twenty-two at cricket were blue and black; the Eton Eleven, of course,
+wore light blue, as did the Eton Eight.
+
+On St. Andrew’s Day a football match—the game at the Wall—was played
+between Oppidans and Collegers, in which the latter were generally
+successful, so far as I can recollect. This match always drew a large
+crowd, but, for a spectator, I cannot imagine anything more tedious to
+watch, unless he be interested in the final result, and even then he must
+be gifted with an uncommon stock of patience to be able to watch it from
+start to finish. For those engaged in it it is, of course, different, as
+some players prefer the wall to the field game, and I have heard that it
+affords them more excitement, besides being a far greater strain on the
+nerves and muscles. A lady who would enjoy watching the game at the Wall
+would in all probability find pleasure in a Spanish bull-fight, though
+both would be distasteful to a really nervous, sensitive girl. A young
+Spanish lady once told me at Seville that to look at a girl performing
+on the trapeze made her feel faint, whereas she never failed to attend
+a bull-fight on a Sunday, in which she took a keener pleasure than in
+any other form of amusement. This shows how strangely one’s nerves are
+constituted, and that this kind of thing is, after all, merely a matter
+of habit.
+
+In the summer, Mr. James would often take us with Mrs. Bower on the
+river, when we would bring our dinner with us, and would often go as far
+as Monkey Island, or even to Maidenhead, returning at night by moonlight.
+We all rowed in turn and had dinner in the beautiful woods of Cliveden,
+which was at that time the property of the Duke of Sutherland, but now
+belongs to Lord Astor, whose father subsequently bought the estate. The
+late Duke of Sutherland, who was then the Marquis of Stafford, was with
+me at Eton, but higher up in the school, and I can remember him very
+well. He was a good-looking boy with fair hair.
+
+Lord Astor (formerly Mr. Waldorf Astor), the present owner of Cliveden,
+was at Eton also, though very many years after my time, where he was
+Captain of the Boats, and gained the Prince Consort’s Prize for French
+one year. His father belonged to one of the best families in the United
+States, and the son became a naturalized Englishman.
+
+These river excursions were most enjoyable, and, when coming home, we
+sang songs in chorus, which sounded well in the stillness of the summer
+night. I was nearly always taken by Mr. James, as I was one of Mrs.
+Bower’s favourites, and she insisted on my being invited. A boy named H.
+B. Walker, who was then high up in the school, was also generally one of
+the party. Walker was very amusing, and used to chaff me to annoy Mrs.
+Bower, but all in jest, as we were very good friends. Mr. James was very
+pleasant during these outings, and would sometimes indulge his propensity
+for making jokes, which at times the boys would appreciate, though at
+others they found the wit a trifle strained. One day, Walker said:—
+
+“That joke you made I think I could improve upon, sir.”
+
+“I did not mean it for one; you always see a joke where I cannot see
+anything,” replied Mr. James.
+
+“Charles, you know you meant it for a joke,” exclaimed Mrs. Bower.
+
+“Well, if I did, I apologize,” said her cousin, laughing; “but you boys
+always appreciate my jokes better in school hours.”
+
+“Because there is generally more point in them, sir,” remarked Walker.
+
+“But the best of it is I never can see any joke in some of the things
+I say which provoke fits of laughter, and that always annoys me
+considerably.”
+
+“It’s quite a habit of yours, Charles, to make these jokes,” said Mrs.
+Bower; “I confess I don’t care for them at any time.”
+
+“Ladies never do,” retorted Mr. James.
+
+And he laughed and looked very pleased at his remark, to which Mrs. Bower
+vouchsafed no reply.
+
+[Illustration: Henry Hooker Walker, at Eton with the Author.
+
+[_To face p. 90._]
+
+[Illustration: The Hon. J. W. Lowther, present Speaker of the House of
+Commons.
+
+[_To face p. 91._]
+
+Another boy who often went on these river excursions was a nephew of
+Mrs. Bower, named Holdsworth. He was a fine-looking fellow, older than
+I was and much higher up in the school. He was a very good oar, rowing
+in the _Victory_ and also in the Eight; but he over-exerted himself in
+the latter and died shortly after leaving Eton. His father was a wealthy
+man, and his mother was called at one time the “Pocket Venus.” He had a
+sister, a pretty, fair-haired girl, who in after years married the late
+Sir James Dimsdale, Lord Mayor of London, who was also an Etonian.
+
+Walker also died shortly after leaving school, when he was barely
+eighteen. He died of a brain disease at his mother’s house in Palmeira
+Square, Brighton. I happened to be at Brighton a few weeks before, and he
+came to see me.
+
+One First of April, at Eton, I delivered a message to Walker, which
+was supposed to have come from Lord Rossmore, asking him to lunch at
+the “Christopher” at one o’clock. Rossmore, who had been very friendly
+with Walker at school, had lately joined the 1st Life Guards, who were
+stationed at Windsor Barracks, and often invited Walker there. And so
+the latter, suspecting nothing, went to the “Christopher,” and waited
+there for some time for Rossmore, with the result that he was not only
+disappointed of his expected lunch, but missed his dinner at James’s. He
+was very angry with me at the time, but he often laughed afterwards at
+this practical joke.
+
+I also wrote a note to a boy named Lewin C. Cholmeley, purporting to
+come from a person living in a street at the farther end of Windsor,
+where I had never been, to say that if he called there he would hear of
+something to his advantage. He, too, fell into the trap, went to the
+street mentioned, and hunted a long time for the house, but was unable to
+find it, as there was no such number there. When he got back to James’s
+he found that dinner was over, and I don’t think he ever quite forgave
+me for the joke I had played upon him; certainly he never forgot it.
+Cholmeley was lower in school than I was at that time. When in the Fifth
+Form, he was in the Boats. I heard that, after I left Eton, he fell out
+with my tutor one Fourth of June, and was one of those who nearly drowned
+him in Chalvey. This affair might have entailed serious consequences for
+Cholmeley, had not Mr. James forgiven him and interceded in his favour
+with the Head Master. Cholmeley is now a wealthy solicitor in London.
+
+When I had nothing better to do of an evening, I often used to go to
+Leyton’s, at Windsor, which was famous for its pastry, and where a good
+many Eton boys were always to be found. My companion on these occasions
+was usually Lord Edward Somerset, who was in my division. On leaving
+Eton, Lord Edward Somerset entered the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers, from which
+he subsequently exchanged into the “Blues.” He died soon after his
+marriage, while still quite young.
+
+The German master at Eton was Herr Griebel, from whom I took private
+lessons at the same time as Count Bentinck. We read together Goethe’s
+_Die Leiden des jungen Werthers_ and Auerbach’s _Das Landhaus am Rhein_.
+Herr Griebel told me that after he had been in England some time he
+forgot German entirely. Then he went back to Germany, and entirely forgot
+English. “But now,” he added, “I shall never forget either language, as
+I am far too old.” I was in the select one year for the Prince Consort’s
+German Prize, and the year following next in marks to the boy who won it.
+For the French Prize I was also rather high up in marks. Mr. Frank Tarver
+and his brother were the French masters at Eton then. One half the former
+got up a performance of Molière’s _le Bourgeois Gentilhomme_, which was
+acted by the boys and himself. Molière is said to have portrayed himself
+in _le Misanthrope_. It is well known that he used to read his comedies,
+first of all, to his old housekeeper, and when she smiled at certain
+passages, he felt sure that they would amuse the public also.
+
+Gridley’s younger brother, Reginald Gridley, after I had left Eton, rowed
+in the _Victory_ and the Eight, and was a well-known oar at Cambridge,
+where he rowed for the University Eight against Oxford. Gridley himself,
+after holding a commission in the 5th Lancers and subsequently in the
+78th Highlanders, was called to the Bar, but died soon afterwards.
+George Baird, who rowed in the Eight in 1873, was also at James’s, and
+was my fag for a short time. When he was in the Fifth Form, Arthur
+Cavendish-Bentinck, now Duke of Portland, fagged for him. George Baird,
+after leaving Eton, joined the 16th Lancers, and is now a colonel. I
+saw a good deal of him at my tutor’s, but all I remember about him is
+that he was a very nice fellow and that he messed with Blagrove. He had
+a cousin, Douglas Baird, who was also at James’s. Craven, on leaving
+Eton, entered the Grenadier Guards, from which he retired as captain. He
+married soon afterwards, and died at twenty-two. Holdsworth messed with
+Thomas Wood, who was also in the Boats (the _Thetis_), and distinguished
+himself in school. I met him in after years at Aldershot, where he was in
+the Grenadier Guards, and I remember that he behaved very generously to
+Temple—“Mug,” as we used to call him at Eton—when he was in bad health
+and poor circumstances, assisting him and seeing that he had the best
+medical advice in his illness, of which, however, he died when he was
+barely twenty years old.
+
+Two other boys who were with me at James’s were Percy Aylmer and Augustus
+Ralli. Aylmer, who was a very good-looking and exceedingly nice fellow,
+travelled with Colvin in after years, and now resides on his property
+in Durham. Ralli was a bright-looking boy, with very dark eyes, and was
+very popular in the house. Unhappily, he died of rheumatic fever at Eton
+in March 1872. There were, of course, many other boys at James’s besides
+those whom I have mentioned, but I cannot now recall anything about them
+worth recording here. Doyne left Eton long before I did, and died of
+influenza some years ago in Ireland.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+    Athletic Sports at Eton—A “Scrap”—Lord Newlands—An Old Boy on
+    Eton of To-day
+
+
+Henley Regatta was an event which was always eagerly looked forward to
+by us boys. I used to go there with Mr. James and Mrs. Bower and some
+of the boys in our house. Sometimes we went by river all the way; at
+others by rail. One year, while sitting in the Grand Stand, I overheard a
+conversation between a boy named Kirklinton-Saul and his mother. Said the
+latter:—
+
+“I don’t always expect to hear from you, my dear, but when you want
+money, be sure and write, won’t you?”
+
+To which request the young gentleman gave the answer which might be
+expected.
+
+I could not help thinking at the time: “What a nice mamma! I wonder
+if there are many such mammas about?” The dinner at Henley used to
+consist of duck and green peas with beer, which the boys used to enjoy
+greatly; but there was such a crowd at the regatta, that there was always
+a tremendous scramble to get to the tables. Mr. James did not take
+dinner with him when we went to Henley, as it was so far from Eton. The
+toilettes of the ladies were very elaborate, though hardly equal to those
+one saw at the Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s. Nevertheless, there were
+some very pretty dresses, and—what was still more important—some very
+pretty faces. For many young girls came with their mothers to see their
+friends and relatives compete for the Ladies’ Plate, which in those days
+Eton used to win year after year in succession.[13] The light blue of
+Eton was worn by the boys and by the pretty girls who accompanied them.
+
+The Athletic Sports at Eton were always interesting to watch. The
+steeplechase course was a most severe one, some very big natural jumps
+having to be negotiated, ending with the brook, which was the biggest
+jump of all. H. M. Ridley was the fastest runner at Eton in my time.
+
+I recollect one day having a try at the brook in the “field,” which I
+succeeded in jumping. The late Lord Lonsdale and his brother, the present
+Earl, were standing some way off, and must have thought I could not do
+it, for the former shouted out when I landed safely on the further bank:—
+
+“Well done, Black-eyed Susan!” _Black-eyed Susan_, I may mention, was
+the name of a popular burlesque, by Douglas Jerrold, which had a great
+run at that time at the Strand Theatre. One morning, before breakfast, I
+ran John Lister-Kaye one hundred yards for a bet of five shillings, he
+giving me five yards start, and managed to win, though he had felt very
+confident about beating me. I ran one year in the Hundred Yards for boys
+under sixteen at the Sports, and Holdsworth, who was acting as umpire,
+told me afterwards that I might have won it, had I not stopped a yard
+short, through mistaking the boundary line. He often asked me why I had
+done so, but the only reason I could give was that I was so short-sighted.
+
+We had a play-room at James’s, where we used to practise the high jump,
+and there were some boys who could clear a jump higher than themselves.
+In this room stood a large blackboard, upon which all the names of the
+boys who had been at James’s were carved, with the year they came and the
+year they left.
+
+The cricket match between Eton and Winchester was played in alternate
+years at either school. When the match took place at Eton, the band of
+the Life Guards or the “Blues” would play on the ground, where there
+was always a large attendance of visitors, including a great number of
+ladies. But it was never so fine a sight as the Eton and Harrow match
+at Lord’s. At one Winchester match I remember seeing Miss Evans (George
+Eliot), who had come as the guest of one of the masters, and whose
+presence created quite a sensation.
+
+Once at Lord’s, during the Eton and Harrow match, I was invited on to
+the drag of a friend of mine named C. N. Ridley, who was in my own
+division, where I had an excellent lunch, washed down by champagne.
+Ridley was a good-looking boy, with fair, curly hair and blue eyes, and
+his two sisters, who were exquisitely dressed on this occasion in light
+blue satin dresses with white lace, were considered remarkable beauties
+in London. They were quite young and very fair, like their brother,
+with the most lovely blue eyes of the shade of the myosotis. They might
+often be seen in the season riding in the Park, and were greatly admired
+by the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII., who invited them
+to Marlborough House. Unhappily, both these beautiful girls and their
+brother were consumptive, and I heard that they all three died of
+consumption not very long afterwards.
+
+In those days, the Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s was a far more
+pleasant function than it has since become. Only people interested in
+Eton or Harrow were there, and a good view of the game could easily be
+obtained. Nowadays people go who do not know one school from the other,
+and the whole space is reserved for the M.C.C., so that if you do not
+happen to be a member, you cannot see the game at all. One constantly
+hears people say at Lord’s now:—
+
+“I don’t know anything about cricket and care less, but I have come to
+see the ladies’ toilettes.”
+
+In the old days this was not so. Lord’s has certainly not improved
+since.[14]
+
+The boys at James’s used often to go into the pantry, where William, the
+butler, would give them a glass of claret, and water Mr. James’s wine
+well for him afterwards. Often the butler would exclaim: “Ha! spider up
+there!” and while we were looking for it, he watered the claret. It was
+in the butler’s pantry that I had the only fight I ever had at Eton, the
+day before I left for good. My opponent was the Hon., afterwards Lord,
+Henry Vane-Tempest, a son of the Marquis of Londonderry, who was a little
+lower down in the school than I was. I don’t think either of us really
+wanted to fight, but we were egged on by others whose respective parts we
+had taken in a quarrel, and after a very short “scrap,” which I got the
+best of, we shook hands and made friends. When I went down to Eton again,
+I met Vane-Tempest at my tutor’s, and he told me that he was then leaving
+to enter the “Blues.” He has since joined the majority, quite young in
+life.
+
+Of the boys at James’s, I may mention that Sir John Lister-Kaye married
+Miss Yznaga, an American lady, one of two sisters celebrated for their
+beauty and toilettes in Paris, where I often met them in society. Sir
+John was a gentleman in attendance on the late King Edward VII. Lord
+Mandeville, who was in the Grenadier Guards, and afterwards became Duke
+of Manchester, married the other sister. Cecil Lister-Kaye married
+the sister of the Duke of Newcastle, who was himself at Eton. Cecil
+Lister-Kaye told me recently that his son was at Eton, and that he often
+went down to see him. He, no doubt, on these occasions, thinks with some
+regret of the happy days of his youth at James’s. I have come across
+some of those who were with me at Eton in quite unexpected places. For
+instance, I met the present Earl of Northbrook in Bombay. He was on his
+way to visit his uncle, then Viceroy of India, and had come to Bombay, he
+told me, to buy Arab horses. He was in the same division with me at Eton,
+and afterwards served in the Rifle Brigade and Grenadier Guards. Although
+I may have forgotten many of my schoolfellows at Eton, I can never forget
+those who were in my division. Among them was Henry de Vere Vane, then a
+very clever, fair-haired boy, whom I remember envying because he learned
+everything so quickly. He was the late Lord Barnard, and inherited the
+Cleveland estates on succeeding to this title. I had been told that in
+the hall of Raby Castle, his country-seat, a fire had been lighted two
+hundred years ago and had never been extinguished since. But Lord Barnard
+informed me that this is a legend, and sent me an account of a similar
+one:—
+
+    “_Fire kept in for two hundred years._
+
+    “One of the loneliest spots in England, where there are
+    only four cottages in an area of thirty thousand acres,
+    was described at Brampton (Cumberland) Revision Court. The
+    Conservative agent, Mr. Mawson, said he had visited the farm,
+    which was situated on a remote fell between Bewcastle and
+    Haltwhistle, on the border of Northumberland. Members of the
+    farmer’s family had lived in this particular cottage for six
+    hundred years, and there was a tradition that the kitchen fire
+    had never been out for two hundred years. The claimant slept in
+    a bedroom eight feet square. There was a child there that had
+    not seen another child for two years.”
+
+[Illustration: The Duke of Rutland
+
+[_To face p. 98._]
+
+Another who was in my division was the Hon. V. A. Parnell, a good-looking
+boy, with black hair with a blueish reflection in it, and fine eyes. He
+was a good cricketer and clever in school. At times, when we were up
+to Mr. Thackeray, Parnell, as he reminded me recently, would, _faute
+de mieux à faire_, be engaged in shinning matches with a boy who sat
+next to him called Dobson. The latter was a very good-humoured fellow,
+who retaliated without losing his temper, though at times he could with
+difficulty refrain from betraying the pain which he endured so stoically
+with a smiling face.
+
+The present Duke of Rutland, then Henry F. B. Manners, was at Eton with
+me, but higher up in the school, and if my memory does not deceive me,
+was in the Boats when in the Fifth Form.
+
+The present Lord Newlands, then known as J. H. C. Hozier, was very high
+up in the school, and I can remember when he was in my tutor’s division,
+as the latter used to say how clever he was, and he frequently came to
+the pupil-room at James’s. Mr. James would often tell us about those who
+were up to him, but it was rarely that he bestowed praise on any boy.
+
+When Doyne left Eton, I had his room, which commanded a view of the
+fine lime-trees, which in the summer looked very charming. On the wall
+hard by the boys used to stand or sit to criticize all the people who
+passed along the road running through Eton. This must have been a rather
+trying ordeal for some of the latter, for I remember that I used to
+find it a very trying experience when I happened to be late for chapel,
+particularly when I first came to Eton, to be obliged to run the gauntlet
+of a double row of boys, who never failed to pass remarks on everyone.
+The choir at Eton, which was the same as that of St. George’s Chapel at
+Windsor, was a very good one, and one of the boys who sang in it, named
+Hancock, was paid, I was told, one hundred and fifty pounds a year.
+Hancock sang occasionally the solo part in Mendelssohn’s anthem, “O,
+for the wings of a dove,” in a marvellous manner, his high notes being
+wonderfully clear; but his voice lacked expression, and, as boys and
+girls generally regard certain things purely from an æsthetic point of
+view, the impression it made upon us was one rather of surprise than of
+admiration. Some of us used to go on Sundays to St. George’s, Windsor,
+and sit in the organ loft, where Dr. Elvey, who was a remarkably fine
+organist, played most beautifully.
+
+After Dr. Hornby became Head Master, the custom of giving leaving books
+was abolished. Personally, I regretted this innovation, not because I did
+not receive any, but because I liked to make presents to my friends who
+were leaving Eton; and the expense was a small one, to which, I am sure,
+none of our parents objected.
+
+Most of us look back upon our school days as the happiest part of our
+lives, for, to the schoolboy, the cares and anxieties which weigh upon
+us as we grow older are unknown, and, given good health, an Eton boy’s
+life ought to be _par excellence_ the very sum of earthly happiness.
+Lord Rathdonnell, late of the Scots Greys, who, when at Eton, as
+McClintock-Bunbury, stroked the Eight at Henley, and excelled at football
+and at most games, besides being very high up in the school and very
+popular, wrote to me some years ago, saying that the years he spent at
+Eton were by far the happiest of his life, and that he always looked back
+to them with intense pleasure. The Captain of the Boats at that time
+was Edwards-Moss, now a baronet. Horace Ricardo (now Colonel Ricardo,
+C.V.O.), whom I remember quite well, was then in the _Monarch_, and his
+brother Cecil rowed in the _Victory_ and was Captain of the Boats in
+1871. After leaving Eton, both brothers entered the Grenadier Guards, and
+each of them commanded a battalion before retiring from the Service. I
+remember that Doyne, who was never high up in the school and for whom
+Latin and Greek were somewhat of a torture, telling me years afterwards
+that he looked back with regret to the happy days he had spent at Eton,
+which, all things considered, were perhaps the happiest of his life. Yet
+Doyne was not one of those who had any trouble in after life; on the
+contrary, he had everything which a man could possibly desire, besides
+enjoying good health. But the joyous, irresponsible days of school life
+were gone for ever, and, as he confessed to me, he would only too gladly
+have returned to them and lived them over again.
+
+In regard to Eton at the present day, I heard not long ago from an old
+schoolfellow, the late Colonel Sir Josceline Bagot, a distinguished
+officer of the Guards and author, who had had a boy there, and who wrote
+as follows:—
+
+    “It all seems much the same, though, to my mind, not improved
+    in some ways. They have got more room certainly, but, for such
+    a big place as it has become, I think the traditional freedom
+    of the boys is overdone altogether. Much too much importance
+    is given to boys in ‘Pop,’ and allowing them and Captains of
+    Houses to smack boys with canes for certain offences more or
+    less officially is, to my mind, a great mistake, and starts
+    the rotten system of many public schools of ‘monitors,’
+    ‘prefects,’ etc. No boys should have that power, and it is much
+    worse for them to have it than for the boys who get smacked.
+    It all comes from the masters thinking themselves too grand
+    to swish boys as in the old days; and the Head Master smacks
+    them on rare occasions with a stick, whereupon they put on two
+    pairs of trousers, etc., and merely laugh at it and him, and
+    they barely touch their hats at all to the masters. They all
+    smoke now to a great extent, far more than we ever did, and,
+    though the Head Master is wild about it, he is powerless to do
+    anything sensible to stop it; and some of these rich Jew boys
+    and foreigners have far too much money and spoil things. If I
+    were Head Master, I wouldn’t have them at the school at all. I
+    was next to Lyttelton in school for a year or so, and like him,
+    but he has no respect and control at all for such a position.
+    Still, if drawbacks have crept in, it is still the best school
+    in the world.”
+
+As time goes on, one hears everywhere, and always in a louder whisper,
+the serious, dangerous word, “decadence.” But let us allow the evil
+question whether our culture is really going to ground to rest, and
+rather attempt a very naïve example: Suppose a true son of classical
+Greece—Socrates, for instance—were conducted in a dream into the midst of
+our modern culture. He would look with amazement at the marvellous means
+of locomotion, the production of the factories, the luxurious comfort of
+private houses, the magnificence of our theatres and so forth; but the
+question whether we ought to be proud and happy he would answer in his
+usual way:—
+
+“In my country I knew Pericles and heard the dramas of Sophocles. I knew
+Alcibiades and saw Phidias at work, and my pupil was Plato. Now show me
+your living masters.”
+
+The next day Socrates would relate:—
+
+“I dreamt this night I was in Persia. Everything is greater there
+than you can imagine. Immensely great are the treasures, the armies
+and navies, the towns and houses, the machinery employed. In short,
+everything is inconceivably great; only the people are very small....”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+    Lady Grace Stopford—Tipperary in 1870—Robbed at Punchestown
+    Races—I get my own back
+
+
+Just after I left Eton, in 1870, I went over to Ireland to stay with my
+friend Doyne, who lived in County Wexford, and had a fine estate near
+the sea, about half an hour’s walk from the beach. His mother and sister
+lived with him, and he and I rode about his property and amused ourselves
+very well, though he had no near neighbours, except the Earl of Courtown
+and his family. The eldest son, Viscount Stopford, who had been with us
+at Eton, was away at the time, though his sister, Lady Grace Stopford,
+was there. One day we called, and were received by Lady Grace, who was
+the only one of the family at home. After shaking hands with her, Doyne
+said:—
+
+“I wanted to show my friend the fairest young lady in the county.”
+
+At which compliment she blushed and replied:—
+
+“I am afraid he will be much disappointed.”
+
+“On the contrary,” I observed, “I am agreeably surprised.”
+
+She then inquired if I knew her brother, and I told her that we were at
+Eton together. Lady Grace was a girl of about sixteen, with a lovely
+complexion, blue eyes and regular features. Her hair was of a reddish
+tint, similar to that which one sees in certain pictures by Correggio,
+and particularly in one in the Liechtenstein Gallery in Vienna, the face
+of which also bore a resemblance to hers. In her manner she appeared
+somewhat stiff, and more like the English than the Irish, who are
+generally so free and easy. But then Lady Grace always spent the season
+in London, and lived most of her time in England. Her brother, Lord
+Stopford, now Earl of Courtown, was in the Grenadier Guards, and had
+lately joined his regiment.
+
+Mrs. Doyne was a charming old lady, and her daughters had delightful
+manners and were exceedingly pleasant in every way. While I was with
+them, Mrs. Doyne told me that she and her family had received an
+invitation to Killarney, and asked me to go with them, which I did with
+great pleasure. The house we stayed at was a fine one, very prettily
+situated near the Lake of Killarney, and the weather being beautiful and
+very hot, it was very pleasant to go on the lake and visit the different
+sights in the neighbourhood. I was delighted with the scenery of the
+lake and the various waterfalls in the woods, some of the views being
+exquisitely lovely. One day, when Doyne and I were riding on donkeys on
+the rugged hills near the lake, a bare-footed Irish girl came up and
+spoke to us in Irish, showing her beautiful teeth. She had very black
+eyes and black hair falling loosely over her shoulders, and her legs,
+like her feet, were bare. She could not speak a word of English, but
+Doyne made her understand him somehow by means of gestures.
+
+Killarney gave me the impression that I was in Italy. There were so many
+bare-legged boys and girls walking about, and the scenery was more like
+that of the south of Europe than the British Isles; while the almost
+tropical heat we were experiencing just then completed the illusion. One
+day it rained very heavily, so Doyne and I went to the Hôtel Victoria,
+where an American, who was playing billiards, said to us:—
+
+“I guess I shall have to say that I have seen the Lake of Killarney from
+this billiard-room window, as I am leaving early to-morrow morning.”
+
+The tutor of a young fellow staying at the hôtel told me that I must
+have Scottish blood in my veins, because I walked so carefully, as if
+calculating every step I took, while an Irishman walked without the
+least hesitation. I noticed that the good looks of the Irish people
+were found more in the lower classes than in those above them. Some
+of the bare-legged girls whom I saw were quite pretty, with something
+of the Spanish type of beauty about them. Their hands and feet were
+usually small, whereas those of some of the women of the upper classes
+were of very generous proportions. Everywhere I went I met with a
+“_gemüthlichkeit_,” which is not to be found in England, go where one
+may; the Irish are so friendly and jolly, even if one does not know them.
+
+On leaving Killarney, we went to Tipperary, and stayed at Cashel,
+with the Dean, Dr. MacDonnell, who told me that there were sixteen
+roads leading to the town, on each of which a murder had recently been
+committed. These crimes had, however, been committed for political
+reasons, for if a man did not meddle with politics, he might travel along
+these same roads at night with his pockets bulging with gold in perfect
+safety. The Dean, who afterwards became a Canon of Peterborough,[15] had
+a pretty daughter, a very amiable and clever girl, who is now the wife of
+Sir Shirley Salt.
+
+I also stayed at Wells, an estate belonging to Mr. Mervyn Doyne, my
+friend’s elder brother, who had married Lady Frances Fitzwilliam, the
+eldest daughter of Earl Fitzwilliam. The house was a very imposing one,
+built in the Elizabethan style and standing in the midst of extensive
+grounds. Lady Francis Doyne was a nice-looking and extremely pleasant
+woman. At dinner one evening she told me the following rather interesting
+story:—
+
+“I happened to dream one night in town, just before we were leaving for
+Ireland, that I had lost my dressing-case. Therefore, before starting, I
+told my maid to take particular care of it during the journey. However,
+when we arrived in Dublin, I left her in charge of the dressing-case for
+two or three minutes at the station, and somehow she must have put it
+down for an instant, since, on my returning to her, she exclaimed: ‘Oh,
+my lady, the dressing-case is gone!’ My husband had all the cars which
+were leaving the station stopped, but my dressing-case was nowhere to be
+found. He telegraphed to Scotland Yard, in London, but with no success
+whatever, and I have never recovered it to this day. I had at the time
+eight thousand pounds’ worth of jewellery in it, besides valuable stones
+belonging to my ancestors, which can never be replaced.”
+
+Speaking of London, Lady Fanny said:—
+
+“We had a house in Mount Street for the season, and one evening, when we
+were giving a dinner-party, a band began playing outside our house. It
+played rather well, so I sent my footman out to the conductor to ask him
+to continue playing all the time we were at dinner, and to give him a
+sovereign if he would do so. But the footman brought back the sovereign,
+and told me that the conductor refused to play under five pounds.”
+
+Lady Fanny also said:—
+
+“People soon forget one in London. As a young girl, I lived with my
+father in Grosvenor Square, but after my marriage I was not in London for
+two years. When I returned to town, I found that everyone had forgotten
+me entirely.”
+
+Earl Fitzwilliam, Lady Fanny’s father, used to give two big dinners in
+town to his tenants, to each of which fifty guests were invited. At
+one of these dinners the service was entirely of silver; at the other
+entirely of gold.
+
+I was invited with Jim Doyne to stay at the Shelbourne Hotel, as the
+guest of Earl Fitzwilliam, for the Punchestown Races. The first day of
+the races it poured with rain, and Jim and I went to the course on an
+Irish car. On the way he chaffed a man and a girl on our car whom he had
+never seen before, who were engaged in a flirtation, and said to the girl
+aloud:—
+
+“Don’t listen to the tales he is telling you; they are all lies.”
+
+The girl blushed, and the man, looking very much annoyed, answered:—
+
+“She knows I am telling her the truth.”
+
+There was a great rush to get into the stand, and Jim and I got
+separated. I tendered an English five-pound note for admission, but the
+man issuing the tickets said:—
+
+“I don’t take English notes, only Irish ones.”
+
+I told him I had a ticket for the Marquis of Drogheda’s private stand,
+but he said that I must first pay the sovereign entrance to the other.
+Suddenly, a man came forward and said:—
+
+“I will change your note, if you will give it me or come with me.”
+
+I followed him through the pouring rain to a tent, where he showed me
+three cards, which he threw on a table, saying:—
+
+“I’ll bet you a fiver you don’t name the court card.”
+
+“But I don’t wish to bet,” I replied.
+
+“You must play,” rejoined he, “or I’ll keep your money.”
+
+I looked round for a policeman, but there was not one anywhere near, and,
+while my eyes were off him, the man disappeared. I tried to find him all
+day, but without success.
+
+In the evening, when I returned to the Shelbourne Hotel, Lord
+Fitzwilliam’s sons, Thomas[16] and Charles Fitzwilliam, Lord Aberdour,
+Jim and myself dined together in a private room. Lord Aberdour, who is
+now Earl of Morton, said:—“I was making a bet with a man when someone
+nearly knocked me down and took away my watch and chain, and in the
+confusion of the moment I could not discover who it was.”
+
+“I did not come off any better,” remarked Charles Fitzwilliam, who had
+been at Eton and was now in the “Blues,” “for I was paid a bet with half
+a five-pound and half a ten-pound note pinned together.”
+
+The next day, when it rained again, I went to the races, and walked
+about, keeping a sharp look-out for the man who had stolen my “fiver.”
+Presently I caught sight of him, and going up to a constable, inquired
+if he could arrest a man on suspicion, which he said he could. The
+fellow was performing the three-card trick at the time, and was promptly
+arrested. He, of course, loudly protested his innocence, saying:—
+
+“It was not me, but the Scotsman who did it, and he ain’t here to-day. I
+don’t know the young gentleman at all.”
+
+The constable asked me if I were quite sure that this was the man, to
+which I replied in the affirmative. He was then marched off, and a
+head constable came and took down my affirmation, which I signed. The
+three-card gentleman called out to me:—
+
+“I’ll give you twenty pounds if you’ll let me off,” and the constable,
+overhearing this, said:—
+
+“Now he has confessed to taking the note; I see it’s all right.”
+
+During dinner at the “Shelbourne” that night I told my friends of my
+adventure, when they all said:—
+
+“You must prosecute the man for the good of the public.”
+
+I decided to follow their advice, and, about a month later, I went with
+Jim to Naas, where the fellow was to be tried, and where, as Jim happened
+to know the county court judge, Baron de Robeck, we were given seats on
+the Bench. When the prisoner was brought in, he at once pleaded guilty,
+upon which the judge sentenced him to repay the five pounds, which he
+did, and to three months’ hard labour. He was also ordered to pay the
+costs of the prosecution, which came to as much as five pounds, but these
+I refused to accept.
+
+At Naas we lunched with the Duke of Leinster, who had been at Eton with
+us, and was then with his militia regiment. He was much interested in my
+adventure, and glad to hear of the result. At the station a man came up
+to me, and telling me he was the prisoner’s solicitor, asked me to give
+him some money for persuading his client to plead guilty. But when I
+spoke to Jim about it, he answered:—“Tell him to go to the devil.”
+
+And the man of law, overhearing the remark, took himself off without more
+ado.
+
+I stayed some weeks longer with Jim Doyne,[17] when I went to London for
+my “exam.” for the Army.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+    Dieppe under Prussian Rule—A Toilette by Worth—A Confirmed
+    Gambler
+
+
+During the Franco-German War, while I was at Eton, my parents remained
+in Paris, and though my father left the city during the Commune, my
+mother stayed until the very last, when she was persuaded to follow him.
+Towards the end of the war I joined my parents at Dieppe, and saw the
+Prussians enter the town, when eighteen soldiers were billeted on the
+owner of the house we lived in. Madame Gaillard, an American lady, the
+young wife of General Gaillard, who was afterwards appointed to look
+after Maréchal Bazaine when a prisoner, was with us at Dieppe. She was a
+very pretty woman, and she and the Baronne van Havre usually went with
+my mother to the afternoon concerts. I took lessons on the violin from
+the chief violinist, whose name was Lamoury. His brother was one of the
+first violoncello players in France, and played in the orchestra at the
+Conservatoire in Paris. Lamoury told me that he had begun to learn the
+violin too late in life to be a virtuoso on that instrument, as he had
+not begun to play it until he was fourteen, whereas you ought to start
+playing at the age of seven in order to be anything remarkable as a
+violinist.
+
+The English Consul at Dieppe was a Mr. Chapman, and there were several
+English residents. Among them were Edward Blount, a friend of my father,
+who had been at school with Gambetta and spoke French almost better than
+he did English, and a Major Boland, from Bath, who had married a French
+lady, the sister of Jules Simon, one of the Ministers then in power in
+Paris. Boland was in the habit of depreciating the French Army and
+praising the Prussians in every way. Owing to his having lived in the
+same house as his brother-in-law for many years before the war, he had
+had, although an Englishman, opportunities for ascertaining the real
+condition of the French Army.
+
+“I knew from the first,” he would observe, “that the French would be
+defeated, and that Bazaine was a traitor, who was playing into the hands
+of the Prussians all along.”
+
+Jules Simon seemed to share his opinion of the state to which the Empire
+had reduced France by embarking in this disastrous war, for which she was
+unprepared, whereas Prussia had been preparing for it for many years.
+
+Dieppe is a very charming seaside resort in the summer months, and it was
+very pleasant to go to the Casino, where the band played of an afternoon,
+and listen to the orchestra, which in those days was excellent, as most
+of the performers came from Paris. The Casino was near the sea, and to
+sit there and watch the sea sparkling under the rays of the sun and the
+snow-white sails in the distance, bathed, as evening approached, in a
+rosy light, was to me a never-failing source of pleasure. At such an
+hour as this Time and Space seem to be eliminated. The incoming tide
+approaches with a gentle murmur. It encircles first one spot on the
+sands, then another; rests for a moment, and then continues its advance.
+The sea is a symbol for us of Eternity and of our passing away.
+
+When the Uhlans entered Dieppe, followed by the Prussian infantry, the
+town was in a ferment, since no one knew what was going to follow. All
+kinds of rumours were afloat, and some people believed that a warship
+would bombard the town, if the invaders met with any resistance. The
+Germans requisitioned many things, with which the inhabitants were
+very reluctant to supply them, and ordered that all lights should be
+extinguished at 8 p.m., and that after 10 p.m. no one should leave his
+house. This condition of affairs naturally did not suit my father, and
+he determined to leave Dieppe at once. But this was a difficult matter,
+as to go by rail was nearly impossible, and by sea altogether out of
+the question. Finally we decided to hire a carriage and to start before
+daybreak, although we were very much afraid lest we should be stopped by
+the Prussians. We succeeded, however, in escaping detection and reached
+Dunkerque, where we took the train for Calais, and thence made our way to
+Boulogne. Here we stayed for some days at the Hôtel des Bains, and then
+embarked for Folkestone, from which we proceeded to Brighton.
+
+At Brighton, where my parents took a house facing the sea, and not far
+from the Old Pier, we found Captain and Mrs. Berkeley, who had taken
+a house for the season in Regency Square; Mrs. Charles Woodforde, an
+aunt of my father, who was staying there with her daughter, and Sophia
+Kinglake, a sister of the author of “Eöthen,” whom Thackeray once
+described as the cleverest woman he had ever met in his life. One day, I
+remember calling with my mother upon her, when she told us that she was
+knitting a scarf for John Ardagh, who afterwards became General Sir John
+Ardagh, and died some years ago. Shortly after we arrived, a very pretty,
+graceful and beautifully-dressed girl entered the room. She was a Miss
+Gordon, daughter of a General Gordon, and, in the course of conversation,
+said to me:—
+
+“I always get my dresses from Worth, and sometimes I go and stay with his
+family at their country-place in France. I generally stop with them from
+three weeks to a month, and return to England with a fine lot of dresses.
+Worth would be horrified were he to see me to-day, because I am wearing
+gloves which do not match my dress. Once I put on grey gloves with a
+costume of an unusual colour, upon which he told me that if I ever did
+so again, he would make for me no more. So, you see, I have to study his
+taste in the matter of toilettes most carefully.”
+
+I inquired whether Worth charged very high prices for his confections.
+
+“It is according to what you consider high,” she replied. “He charges
+from forty pounds for a dress, and will not make one under that price;
+but it is always perfectly finished and lined with silk. For ball-dresses
+he charges more. I get both my morning-gowns and ball-toilettes from him,
+for I consider that he is the only man who can make dresses which are
+worth wearing.”
+
+I asked if Laferrière were not very good, as I had heard so much about
+him in Paris.
+
+“Yes, he is,” she said, “but Worth I consider still better.”
+
+Miss Gordon was a girl of about eighteen, with a wonderfully clear
+complexion, brown hair, blue eyes, and rather good features. She had also
+a beautiful figure, for which reason it must have been quite a pleasure
+for a dressmaker to make for her. She was wearing on this occasion a
+blue costume, with a good deal of _passementerie_ on it, and very pretty
+buttons in enamel, a white petticoat with flounces of lace, stockings _à
+jour_, and shoes with Louis Quinze heels. Her hat matched her dress, and
+the _ensemble_ would have been a dream, had not her gloves, which were
+brown, spoiled—as she herself admitted—an otherwise perfect toilette.
+
+While at Brighton, I used frequently to go on the Pier with my mother to
+listen to the band, which, however, played very badly. Captain and Mrs.
+Berkeley often came there too, and would sit with us until my father came
+to fetch us to lunch. Captain Dorrien was also at Brighton at this time,
+and occasionally some of the old society of Homburg would meet on the
+Pier, and talk over their experiences at roulette and trente-et-quarante.
+
+“I say, Fred,” inquired Dorrien one day of my father, “how about your
+infallible system? What was it? Let me see: one louis _à cheval_ between
+zero and two, one between twelve and fifteen, one between twenty-six and
+twenty-nine, and one between thirty-two and thirty-five. Isn’t that it?”
+
+“Yes, my dear fellow,” answered my father, “and you double the amount if
+you lose.”
+
+“Oh!” exclaimed Berkeley, “that game is a martingale, and it nearly broke
+me.”
+
+“Then, old fellow,” said my father, “you didn’t play it the right way.”
+
+“Oh, yes, I did, and in very much the right way, for I lost all I had....”
+
+“I wish I were at Homburg to try it again,” continued my father.
+
+“You would only lose again,” said Berkeley.
+
+“I am sorry that I ever played there at all,” said Dorrien.
+
+“So am I,” exclaimed Berkeley, “but there is an attraction there that
+somehow one cannot resist.”
+
+“I feel I should win if I played at Monte Carlo,” said my father.
+
+“You always felt like that at Homburg,” remarked Dorrien. “You said,
+if you remember, one evening, that you felt like winning, and you lost
+heavily.”
+
+“But I won afterwards—three hundred louis.”
+
+“My dear fellow, you forget how much you lost. You can talk like that
+to people who know nothing about the game, but as for me, who have lost
+thirty thousand pounds at it, you cannot make me believe that white is
+black.”
+
+“Can’t I?” said my father, laughing.
+
+“No, you can’t, and you are foolish to try to make yourself believe that
+you can ever win at that game.”
+
+“I agree with you entirely,” observed Berkeley.
+
+“I always hope to win back what I have lost,” said my father.
+
+“That you will never do at roulette and trente-et-quarante,” said Dorrien.
+
+“Don’t you play at all now then?” asked my father.
+
+“Yes, at baccarat and the Stock Exchange.”
+
+“That is as bad,” remarked my father.
+
+“I am not sure it isn’t worse,” said Dorrien, laughing.
+
+“Quite as bad,” exclaimed Berkeley, “but I do the same thing.”
+
+“I shall have a try this winter at Monte Carlo,” said my father.
+
+“You have had one lesson; why do you want to burn your fingers again?”
+asked Dorrien.
+
+“If you do,” remarked Berkeley, “_vous y perdrez vos pas, mon cher ami_.”
+
+And then they talked about other things.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+    The Princess von Metternich—The Lady of the Luxembourg Gardens
+
+
+Paris was very dull in the way of entertainments and parties after the
+Commune, and people spoke of hardly anything but the siege. Mrs. Healy,
+an aunt of Viscount Dillon, who lived in the same house as my parents in
+the Rue d’Albe, her _appartement_ being on the _entresol_, had remained
+there throughout the siege and the Commune, and told us that she had
+always contrived to get everything she wanted in the way of eatables,
+though she had had to pay an enormously high price for them; twenty
+francs a pound, for instance, for butter, which she obtained as well as
+eggs and meat, and consequently was never obliged to dine off a mouse
+or any delicacy of that description, like most of the people in Paris.
+Theobald, Lord Dillon, often came to see his aunt, and one day he related
+to us how he had become acquainted with Sims Reeves, and how he had been
+the means of the latter continuing his studies at Milan as a singer. It
+was entirely through Lord Dillon’s generosity that Sims Reeves became so
+well known, as he had advanced him a large sum of money. Albani was also
+first brought into notice in England by Lord Dillon, who was so enchanted
+with her beautiful voice that he soon made known to everybody the
+“star” he had discovered. Albani was a frequent guest at his beautiful
+country-seat, Ditchley Park, for he and Lady Dillon not only admired her
+most exquisite voice, but her very charming personality as well.
+
+The last time I met Lord Dillon was on the pier at Brighton, when I
+happened to be on leave from Aldershot, where my regiment was then
+stationed; and, I remember, I introduced Lord Headley to him, at the
+former’s request. The two noblemen discussed politics, upon which subject
+they did not agree. Later the same day, I introduced two young officers
+to Lord Dillon, as he told me he was very fond of young men, he himself
+being then an old man. The officers in question were both Old Etonians
+and attached to my regiment. One was Richard Sutton, a son of Sir Richard
+Sutton, who died before his father; the other, the present Sir Charles E.
+C. Hartopp, a nephew of the Duke of Norfolk, who had just been staying at
+Arundel with his uncle.
+
+I happened to meet Whitehead, a correspondent of the _Daily Telegraph_,
+who had remained in Paris during the siege. I asked him whether he was
+not at all alarmed at the time, to which he replied that he did not know
+what fear meant, and had never been afraid of anything in his life.
+
+I was still at Eton, but came to Paris for my holidays, and one evening
+went to a ball, at which I recollect the Princess von Metternich, wife of
+the Austrian Ambassador, was present, and that she left after remaining
+only half an hour. Sir Edward Malet, who was then First Secretary at the
+British Embassy, led the cotillion. It was a terribly dull affair, and I
+was quite glad to get away. Evidently, the Princess von Metternich saw at
+a glance what it was like, and only waited until her carriage returned,
+or no doubt she would have left even sooner. The Princess spoke English
+just like an Englishwoman, and when she spoke in German interlarded every
+sentence with French words, as all the Austrian nobility do. She had
+plenty of _esprit_, and when I saw her in recent years in Vienna, she
+always used to make use of the late Baron Nathan de Rothschild to assist
+her in collecting money for the poor of the city, and—some people were
+malicious enough to say—for herself as well. She had such a way of asking
+for charitable contributions that she scarcely ever met with a refusal,
+and never indeed from “her little Jew,” as she was accustomed to call
+Baron Nathan.
+
+After I left Eton, I returned to Paris, and, as it was summer, I often
+walked in the Luxembourg Gardens, where it was very pleasant to sit
+beneath the trees and read a book. One day, I happened to be sitting near
+a fountain which contained some gold fish. On the same seat sat a young
+girl with fair hair, who appeared entirely absorbed in a book which she
+was reading, and from which she did not raise her eyes for a moment. I
+asked her what was the name of the novel in which she was so interested.
+She answered that it was not a novel at all, but a serious modern French
+work on philosophy. And she handed it to me. I was not a little curious
+to know why she read such books, and questioned her on the matter, when
+she replied that they were the only ones capable of distracting her
+thoughts, and that, as her own life had been like a novel, she avoided
+such stories, for they usually reminded her of her own experiences, and
+made her sadder than ever. I inquired if she would mind letting me know
+her own history, and, at the same time, studied her more attentively than
+before. She was a fair girl, with blue eyes with long black eyelashes,
+a very clear complexion and long wavy hair. Her features were small and
+rather regular, and she had very fine teeth and a beautiful figure.
+She was dressed in deep mourning, and her petticoat was trimmed with
+Valenciennes lace, of which I could just catch a glimpse when she raised
+her tiny foot occasionally. She acceded to my request, and related to me
+the following story:—
+
+“I was living with my parents in the country, when an aunt of mine asked
+me to come to Paris, saying that she would have me taught dressmaking. On
+my arrival in Paris, I went to live with my aunt and became an apprentice
+at a dressmaker’s shop, which had a number of customers among the ladies
+of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. One morning, when I was on my way to
+business, I noticed that a gentleman was following me, but it was not
+until some days later that I made his acquaintance, when he told me that
+he had fallen in love with me, and offered to furnish an _appartement_
+for me, and to give me three louis a day to spend as I pleased. Soon
+afterwards I left my aunt, and not only did this gentleman carry out his
+promise, but gave me my own servants and carriage and horses. As I had
+not received very much education, I had various masters, one to teach
+me to speak and write French correctly, another for the piano, a third
+for singing. As for reading, I never had any taste for the rubbish which
+most girls affect, but studied the works of Racine, Corneille, Rousseau
+and Voltaire.[18] I gradually developed a passion for philosophy, and
+can say that I have read most of the works of the great philosophers,
+both ancient and modern, in French. I enjoyed my life thoroughly, and,
+as I was only sixteen and quite without experience of the world, I was
+foolish enough to believe that my good fortune would continue; and it
+is needless to say that I took no thought for the future, but lived
+only for the present. My friend was a very wealthy Mexican and quite
+young; perhaps a little older than you are, but not very much. He seemed
+perfectly devoted to me, satisfying all my caprices and spending a great
+deal of money on me, quite apart from what he gave me for myself. I was
+very fond of going to the Théâtre-Français, where he would always take
+a box and accompany me. We also went very often to the Grand Opéra,
+and occasionally to the smaller theatres, for the latter of which,
+however, I had but little taste. On Sundays, generally after I had been
+to Mass—for, notwithstanding my predilection for philosophy, I still
+retained a remnant of faith in the Catholic religion—I drove in the
+Bois de Boulogne, sometimes alone, at others accompanied by my friend.
+In every respect, my life was most enjoyable, and I had no cares of any
+kind. This state of affairs lasted for a year, during which my friend
+was most devoted to me, and we never had an angry word with each other.
+He was kindness itself in every conceivable way, while I was perfectly
+devoted to him. Suddenly, one day, when I had been out alone shopping, I
+saw on my return home a note addressed to me lying on the table in the
+salon. Recognizing my friend’s handwriting, I tore it open immediately.
+It contained only a few lines, which, however, I shall never forget so
+long as I live. Indeed, so engraven on my mind are they, that, were I to
+forget everything else, I should never forget them!”
+
+On saying this, she suddenly burst into tears, and sobbed so violently
+that it was not for some little time that she was able to continue. Then
+she said:—
+
+“You will forgive me, for my grief is almost too great for me to endure.
+Imagine my astonishment and dismay when I read this note, which had been
+hurriedly written:—
+
+    “‘_Ma chérie,—Je suis forcé de partir immédiatement pour la
+    Mexique; je n’ai pas même le temps de venir te dire àdieu._’[19]
+
+“I could scarcely believe my own eyes, and read those lines again and
+again, sobbing all the while, and incapable of realizing what had
+happened. I had only a few hundred francs left, all the rest having been
+spent; and, to make a long story short, I had very soon to leave my
+_appartement_ and return to my aunt. I have been with her now a week, and
+I need not tell you how very hard I find it to return to work, for which
+I feel I am no longer fit. Besides, my aunt is continually reproaching
+me, and treats me much worse than she did before. I cannot stand it any
+longer....”
+
+At this point, she stopped and was silent for a while. Then she suddenly
+asked me if I could assist her as her friend had done, adding that she
+was not one of those girls who could love several men. I told her how I
+was situated, and she said she would come to a restaurant in the Quartier
+Latin with me and take some refreshment. We went, I remember, to some
+restaurant near the Luxembourg Gardens, and, when we were alone, she told
+me that it was a pity that I could not afford to make her my _maîtresse
+attitrée_, as she thought I might perhaps succeed in making her forget
+her Mexican. Although I did not aspire to have such warm blood in my
+veins, yet perhaps she liked the contrast. She wept bitterly, and when
+she left me, said:—
+
+“_Vous avez beaucoup de cœur_; and, if I meet you again, it will be in
+three days’ time in the Luxembourg Gardens. If I do not come, you will
+know that I have done as I told you before I should do—put an end to my
+existence. There is nothing else for me to do, and _le bon Dieu me le
+pardonnera_.”
+
+I went to the Luxembourg Gardens three days later, and sat on the same
+seat, but, though I waited until it grew dark, there was no sign of her.
+I returned to the Gardens every day for weeks and weeks afterwards, more
+out of habit than for any other reason, and thought of her and wondered
+what had become of her all the time I was there. I did not even know her
+Christian name, but I rather fancied it was Mariette. The consequence was
+that I was seized with a sudden fit of melancholy, which I was imprudent
+enough to give way to, and was continually reading Goethe’s _Die Leiden
+des jungen Werthers_, until I felt convinced that I should end my life
+in the same way as she had done. For, though I never heard anything more
+about her, I made quite sure that she had acted as she had threatened she
+would.
+
+Shortly after this, I decided to go to Bonn on the Rhine, to study at the
+University; and Miss Kathleen O’Meara, the author of “The Salon of Madame
+Mohl,” who was a young girl at that time, gave me a letter to the wife of
+Professor Dr. Binz, a sister of General Salis-Schwabe. I was then very
+anxious to enter the Austrian Army, and tried very hard to do so. Through
+the kindness of Mr. Somerset Beaumont, of the Foreign Office, my request
+was put before Prince Richard von Metternich and Baron von Hübner; and
+the latter, who was at that time Ambassador in Paris, informed me, when I
+saw him at the Embassy, that I should have to become an Austrian subject.
+This was easy enough; but the examination was not, as since the War of
+1866 it had been made much more severe. It was in pursuance of this
+intention to enter the Austrian Army that I made up my mind to study at
+the University at Bonn. My father was very much against my doing so, but
+I eventually prevailed upon him to let me go, though he warned me that I
+must put up with any evil consequences that might result from this _coup
+de tête_ of mine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+    Bonn—An Anecdote of Beethoven—The King’s Hussars—The Howard
+    Vyses—A German Professor on England—Domesticated Habits of
+    German Girls—Professor Delbrück
+
+
+On my arrival at Bonn, I stayed at the Hôtel Rheineck, which commanded
+a splendid view of the distant mountains. Here I made the acquaintance
+of the late Mr. Ranyard, the celebrated astronomer, who told me that
+the well-known author “A. L. O. E.” was his aunt. Mr. Ranyard was also
+stopping at the “Rheineck,” and at the midday _table d’hôte_ sat next
+to a Frau Phillip, a German lady from Frankfurt, who was rather stout,
+but good-looking. He made love to her, and, though he spoke German very
+badly, she appeared to understand him. At four o’clock we used to sit out
+on the verandah of the hôtel, which overlooked the Rhine, and take our
+coffee there, with an excellent _Kuchen_, for which Germany is famous.
+Some days after my arrival at Bonn, Ranyard, who was flirting with Frau
+Phillip, quite forgot that he had to catch the boat to Cologne, and
+missed it. He was quite in despair at this, as he had not enough money
+with him to stay any longer at Bonn. However, the proprietor of the hotel
+said he would lend him some, which he could repay him when he arrived
+in England. Ranyard accordingly arranged to stay on a day or two longer
+at Bonn, as the hotel-keeper was confiding enough to advance him £5. I
+mention this incident to show how kind Germans are at times, though, of
+course, there are exceptions everywhere.
+
+I called on Professor Dr. Binz and his wife, who lived in a pretty villa
+with a delightful garden attached to it. The latter’s sister, Miss
+Salis-Schwabe, and her brother, who was an officer in the 7th Dragoon
+Guards, were staying with her on a visit, and I went for several
+rides with them. Miss Salis-Schwabe was a nice-looking girl, with a
+considerable fortune of her own, and lived chiefly in England. She
+afterwards married the late Sir Frank Lockwood, the well-known Q.C.; and
+I was told by the Hon. Mrs. Henry Orde-Powlett, who knew her, that she
+was always very disappointed if her husband did not come home every day
+with fifty guineas as “refreshers” in his pocket.
+
+Frau Professor Binz told me that she knew of a Professor Dr. Andrä, who
+had a pretty daughter, so that his house would be just the very one for
+me to live at; and I accordingly made arrangements to take rooms there,
+with board.
+
+Fräulein Margarethe Andrä was a rather pretty girl, a blonde, with blue
+eyes, but she was, I thought, somewhat insipid, and very strait-laced.
+She was well read and a free-thinker, like her father, who never went
+to any church. Professor Dr. Andrä was very clever, and, indeed, some
+people said he was the cleverest of the professors at Bonn University. I
+remember him telling me about his wife, whom he had recently lost. She
+knew, according to him, exactly what he was going to say before he opened
+his mouth, and had also foretold many events before there was a chance of
+their happening, in a marvellous manner. I asked Andrä if he would not
+like to see his wife again.
+
+“No,” he replied. “I loved her very much, but I have no desire to live
+again, and, what is more, I am sure that after this existence there is no
+other. And it is much better so.”
+
+He lectured on Anthropology and Mineralogy, two sciences in which I took
+no interest. I attended the lectures of Geheimrath von Sybel, the famous
+historian, who, Dr. Andrä said, was a Republican at heart, but pretended
+not to be, in order to keep in with Bismarck, who since 1870 had been all
+powerful in Germany. Von Sybel was one of the finest lecturers I ever
+heard. He contrived to make his subject most interesting, however dry it
+might otherwise have appeared; and his lectures were always crowded with
+students, whereas those of some of the other professors were attended by
+very few, as it was entirely optional which lectures the students at the
+University attended.
+
+Bonn is the birthplace of Beethoven, a fine statue of whom was erected
+in 1845 on the Poppelsdorfer Allee. Grillparzer writes in his diary for
+1843:—
+
+“The windows of my grandmother’s house faced the courtyard of the
+dwelling of a peasant called Flehberger, who bore a bad name. This
+Flehberger had a very pretty daughter, called Lisa, whose reputation was
+also not of the best. Beethoven appeared to be much interested in the
+girl, and I can see him as he came up the little street, dragging his
+white handkerchief after him, until he came to a stop at Flehberger’s
+house, where the frivolous beauty was standing on a wagon filled with
+hay, working with a pitchfork, and laughing the while. Beethoven stood
+silent and looked at her, until the girl, whose taste lay more in the
+direction of peasant boys, made him angry by rude words or by obstinately
+ignoring his presence. Then he walked away, but did not fail, the next
+time he passed that way, to stop and look into the courtyard. Indeed,
+his interest in the girl went so far that, when her father was arrested
+and put in prison for being concerned in a drunken brawl in the village,
+Beethoven endeavoured to rescue him, and narrowly escaped having to share
+the captivity of the man whom he had so unwisely protected.”
+
+It is said that Beethoven wept when his “Overture to Leonora” was first
+played at Vienna, where it met with no success. He only passed his youth
+at Bonn, and then went to Vienna, where the Archduke Rudolf, Prince
+Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz gave him an annuity of 4,000 florins (nearly
+£350) for life, in order that he might devote his time entirely to music,
+free from all financial cares. The fact that the same provision was never
+made for Mozart, who was an Austrian by birth, makes one think of the
+proverb: “_Nemo propheta in patria_.” Grillparzer, Austria’s greatest
+poet, wrote the funeral speech read at Beethoven’s tomb in Vienna on
+March 27th, 1827, and on May 1st, 1880, a statue to his memory was
+erected there, near the garden of the Hof Burg, on the Ringstrasse.
+
+Captain Horrocks, whom my father knew very well, was then living at Bonn
+with his family. His brother held an appointment at the Court of the
+Grand Duke of Hesse. Captain Horrocks once wrote a three-volume novel,
+which my mother tried to read, but said that she never could get beyond
+the first volume. She lent the first volume of the book to several of her
+friends, but not one of them ever asked for the second and third. When I
+mentioned Captain Horrocks’s name to my mother, she said:—
+
+“When I think of him, I cannot imagine how he could have written such a
+dull book. I have never yet come across any one who has had the courage
+to read the whole of his novel.”
+
+Horrocks was, nevertheless, an amusing man, who had a great deal of
+dry wit. He had several very pretty daughters, the eldest one being
+considered the belle of Bonn at that time. I remember his remarking to me
+once that a poor man could never dress well, as he always bought cheap
+clothes, and they never lasted any time. “Depend upon it, whatever is
+cheap is bad,” he always used to say.
+
+The regiment stationed at Bonn was the King’s Hussars. It was commanded
+by Prince Reuss, and there were seven princes amongst its officers. I
+knew the two Princes Bentheim, and Counts von der Goltz, Metternich,
+Moltke and Bernstorff. The last-named was a gay young officer, who spoke
+English like an Englishman. I saw a good deal of him. His father had
+been Prussian Ambassador in England, and he had a brother serving in
+the Garde Kürassier Regiment in Berlin. Prince Reuss was very severe
+with his officers, and insisted that, when they attended a ball, they
+should wear their swords the whole time, except when actually dancing.
+On one occasion, an officer, who had omitted to replace his sword after
+a dance, was put under arrest for a week and confined to his quarters.
+Bernstorff, so he told me, once entered a tavern of bad reputation in
+Cologne in plain clothes, as he did not like to go to such a place in
+uniform, and on his return to Bonn was placed under arrest for a week.
+Notwithstanding the severity of the punishment meted out for minor
+offences against discipline, very little, if any, notice was taken when
+officers in uniform became intoxicated at balls. I can remember attending
+a ball at the Royal Hôtel at Bonn, at which several officers of the
+King’s Hussars were present wearing their dark blue uniform with gold
+lace, as they were never allowed to attend dances in plain clothes. One
+of them insisted on dancing, though he was so intoxicated that he could
+scarcely stand, and the others were highly amused at his efforts to dance
+with a lady, who must have been in entire ignorance of the state her
+partner was in.
+
+When the King’s Hussars gave a ball at Bonn, which they did once every
+winter, they only invited the officers of the 7th Kürassiers from
+Cologne, and not a single infantry officer from the Line regiments at
+either place. Some of the English at Bonn were invited to this ball,
+but I cannot say that it came up to one’s expectations. In the first
+place, it was a terribly stiff affair. The officers stood in one part of
+the ball-room; the ladies, mostly seated, occupied the other part, and
+at the end of a dance, an officer generally conducted his partner back
+to her seat and left her with her lady friends. The supper was not at
+all a bad one, and there was plenty of champagne, but the guests had to
+pay for what they ate and drank. However, it was considered so great an
+honour to be invited to this ball that no one grumbled; in fact, they
+appeared to think it quite natural that they should have to pay for their
+refreshments.
+
+The King’s Hussars was regarded as one of the crack Prussian regiments,
+and undoubtedly some of its officers were of very high social standing.
+But by no means all of these officers were wealthy, and I was told that
+the Princes Bentheim had only £150 a year each, besides their pay. The
+officers generally rode in the Poppelsdorfer Allee of a morning, making
+their horses perform _la haute école_, as though they were at a circus.
+Only one corps of students mixed at all with the officers. This was the
+well-known Borussia Corps, the members of which—the _Borussen_—wore a
+white cap somewhat similar in shape to that worn by French officers. This
+corps was composed entirely of members of the Prussian nobility, most
+of them being counts and barons, and they did not associate at all with
+any of the other student corps. They fought duels with the _Schläger_,
+and got cut about the face, but the more they were disfigured, the more
+pleased they appeared to be. Some of the _Borussen_ joined the King’s
+Hussars afterwards, but what became of their scars I do not know, for,
+strange to say, I have never seen any officers with these ugly marks on
+their faces. Perhaps, after a time, the scars disappear; I can think of
+no other explanation, for all the corps students are forced to fight
+duels.
+
+I can remember Dr. Andrä once showing me a tiny shop at Bonn, above which
+the royal arms of a certain country were displayed, and when I inquired
+the reason of this, he told me the following story, which I give in his
+own words:—
+
+“When the heir to a certain principality was a student at Bonn, he
+happened to enter this shop, in which there was a very pretty girl
+serving. The latter, who pretended ignorance of his identity, invited
+the Prince to come and see her one evening. The Prince went, and a
+violent flirtation was in progress, when the door opened, and the owner
+of the shop entered. This person affected the utmost astonishment and
+indignation, and, informing the Prince that the girl was his wife,
+threatened that, unless the would-be destroyer of his domestic happiness
+were prepared to write him out there and then a cheque for several
+thousand thalers, he would make the affair public. The Prince, anxious
+to avoid a scandal, complied with his demand, and, moreover, gave him
+permission to display the arms of his country over his shop-front as
+supplying His Highness with goods. After the Prince had left Bonn, the
+cunning rascal sent the girl, who was not his wife at all, back to
+Cologne, from which she had come, it was said, for the express purpose of
+assisting the shopkeeper to entrap the Prince.”
+
+I used to go to the “Kneipe,” where the corps students assembled, with
+a young American named Howard Vyse and his younger brother.[20] We
+always went of an evening, when songs, principally “Studenten Lieder,”
+were sung, and there was heavy drinking. On one occasion, the younger
+Vyse, on coming out into the night air, after attending one of these
+entertainments, told me that he felt so queer that he could not find his
+way home, and asked if I could put him up for the night. I took him to
+Dr. Andrä’s house, and he slept in my sitting-room. Next morning, the
+professor inquired why I had brought Vyse home with me, and I told him
+the reason, quoting, at the same time, the words of Nietzsche:—
+
+“_Alles ist erlaubt, nichts ist verboten._”
+
+To which he replied that such were not his views; that he considered
+that everyone ought to lead a very moral life; that it was wrong to get
+intoxicated, and that, although he never entered a church, he lived as
+moral a life as many religious people, who often professed to be better
+than they really were.
+
+Professor Andrä was an intimate friend of the famous author, Berthold
+Auerbach, and once, when he was staying with Auerbach, the latter was
+engaged in writing his celebrated novel, _Das Landhaus am Rhein_. One
+day, Andrä asked him to walk to Poppelsdorf, where the professor was
+going to lecture. But he declined, saying that to do so would put some
+of his ideas for his novel out of his head, as it was essential for him
+to keep constantly in mind what he intended to write about. Andrä showed
+me the house on the Rhine which Auerbach had described in his novel, and
+one day took me there to visit a retired merchant, who, after making a
+fortune in America, had bought this beautiful villa in the Koblentzer
+Strasse, which had a very fine garden leading down to the Rhine. Andrä
+told me that he detested novels; nevertheless, one day, when I happened
+to be reading _Auf der Höhe_, by Auerbach, he asked me to lend it him,
+and, after reading it, said
+
+“After all, it is very well written, and I am pleased with it; some of
+the ideas are uncommonly good, and the plot is ingenious.”
+
+Excellenz von Dechen, Minister of the Rhine Provinces, told me that
+Andrä might have occupied Bismarck’s position,[21] but that he was too
+honest a man to change his opinions. Andrä told me that Germany was far
+more fitted than France for a republican form of government, and that,
+if the War of 1870 had had a different issue, Germany would have been a
+republic, as France is now. He entertained a poor opinion of England and
+the English, whom he considered the most selfish and self-opinionated
+nation in Europe, and years behind Germany in intelligence. He held that
+Darwin, whose works he had read, had merely been the first to publish the
+ideas of a well-known German professor; and he himself had lectured upon
+Darwin’s theory,[22] in which he was a firm believer, long before he had
+ever heard of him.
+
+Andrä told me that at all the dinners which he attended, as a professor
+of the University, he took precedence of all the officers of the
+King’s Hussars and of any titled person who had not some higher State
+appointment than he held. When I told him that this would not have been
+the case in England, he smiled and said:—
+
+“In your country, with your antiquated laws, how can you expect so much
+civilization as in Germany? The English have a great deal to learn, and
+it will be a very long while before their barbarous customs are knocked
+on the head. So far as civilization is concerned, England is in a worse
+condition than France, and, Heaven knows, France has yet a good deal to
+learn.”
+
+In his opinion, Bismarck was a man of great intellect, but without any
+conscience whatever. Moltke, he told me, was quite positive that Germany
+would defeat France before the war had begun, and he was a man “_welcher
+schweigt in sieben Sprachen_,” as he rarely ever spoke. Moltke’s son,
+afterwards Field-Marshal Count von Moltke, was then in the King’s Hussars
+at Bonn, and I knew him very well, but, save for indulging in some
+amorous escapades and getting very much into debt, he did not distinguish
+himself, though I have no doubt he deserved the Iron Cross which he
+obtained in the War of 1870, with most of the officers of the King’s
+Hussars. Of Field-Marshal Freiherr von der Goltz it was said:—
+
+    “Freiherr von der Goltz,
+    Von seiner Dummheit ist er stoltz.”[23]
+
+I often would ask Andrä what books I ought to read, and one of the first
+he recommended was Hauff’s _Lichtenstein_, a charming romance in the
+style of Sir Walter Scott. Heine was a great favourite with Andrä, and he
+could repeat his _Lieder_ off by heart.[24] Goethe he ranked far above
+Schiller, and considered the first part of _Faust_ vastly superior to
+the second. He had a very high opinion of Lessing’s works in general.
+Of modern authors, he recommended Karl von Holtei’s _Die Vagabunden_,
+which was, he told me, quite a classic, and I have read it again and
+again with pleasure. It is somewhat in the style of _la Vie de Bohème_,
+by Mürger, but I prefer it to the French work. In comparing Lesage with
+Scott, Victor Hugo seems to think more highly of the latter; but Andrä
+considered that _Gil Blas_ would outlive all Scott’s novels, which was
+also the opinion of Grillparzer. It was through Andrä that I became a
+supporting member of the “Verein zur Verbreitung naturwissenschaftlicher
+Kenntnisse in Wien,” which I have been for many years. The ill-fated
+Crown Prince Rudolf was formerly the Protector of this society, a
+position which was held recently by the late Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
+the heir to the Austrian throne.
+
+Andrä had held a post in Siebenbürgen, in Hungary, under the Archduke
+Johann, for some years before his appointment to be a professor at Bonn.
+He was very fond of the Hungarians and told me that he and some friends
+were one evening at a restaurant in a village in Hungary, where three or
+four musicians played so delightfully that his party kept giving them
+money to continue, and that he was sure that they went on playing until
+about five o’clock the following morning. He was passionately fond of
+music, and I would often ask him to play me some Austrian marches and
+waltzes on the piano, which he did with the true Austrian spirit. His
+daughter never played the piano, telling me that unless you can play
+exceptionally well, it is better to leave it alone. I wish all English
+girls were of her opinion.
+
+German girls are as a rule very clever, and have a good deal to say
+for themselves. They are highly sentimental, far more so than English
+girls, and can generally read French and English books easily enough,
+though I found that they could speak very little of these languages, as
+they had very little practice and few occasions to do so. Every girl in
+Germany can do the most difficult needlework, embroidery and knitting
+wonderfully well, in addition to which she thoroughly understands how to
+cook a good dinner. Fräulein Andrä generally cooked the dinner herself,
+though she had servants, one of whom was a sort of cook. I remember that,
+in more recent years, at the Hôtel Neckar at Heidelberg, I caught sight
+of a pretty, graceful young girl wearing an apron going into the hôtel
+kitchen, and, on my asking who she was, I was told that she was the
+daughter of a count, and engaged to be married to a young count of high
+family, but before her marriage she was required to learn cooking for six
+months at this hôtel.
+
+There were at this time several English families whom I knew residing at
+Bonn, among them being Captain and Mrs. Bean, who were living there to
+educate their children, and to whose house I was often invited to tea. I
+recollect once Mrs. Bean telling me and some other friends of hers that
+she intended going to a masked ball dressed as a gipsy fortune-teller,
+with packs of cards and bells sewn over her costume. On my arrival at the
+ball, I had no difficulty in recognizing this dress, but the voice of the
+wearer seemed very different from that of Mrs. Bean, and it transpired
+that the fortune-teller was Captain Bean, who, as his wife found herself
+unable to go to the ball, owing to a severe cold, had assumed her costume
+and come instead. He intrigued a great many people who were there,
+telling them their fortunes and more about themselves than they cared to
+know, and got a good deal of amusement out of his impersonation, no one
+but myself having the least idea who he was the whole time.
+
+There were also two sons of Peabody, the millionaire, at Bonn. The name
+they were known by was George, and one of them was married and had two
+very pretty daughters. The Georges were quite unaware who their father
+was until after Peabody’s death, when they were angry at only being left
+two thousand pounds a year each, the bulk of Peabody’s enormous fortune
+having been bequeathed to charities.
+
+The Carnival was very amusing for young people, as everyone had to be
+disguised and masked during the three days it lasted, and this custom
+afforded a good deal of fun. Besides, every house was thrown open, and
+we entered the houses of different people whom we knew with our masks
+on, and partook of tea and cakes without being recognized. The students,
+and, indeed, most young men, wore a blue blouse and white kid gloves, and
+a mask, over which a blue cap with a red tassel was worn. Some of the
+English girls at Bonn asked me to get up a ball, but only the bachelors
+would have anything to do with it. I arranged with the proprietor of the
+Rheineck Hotel that the ball should be given there, and he prepared his
+large dining-room for the dancing and a room adjoining it for the supper.
+The supper was to be provided at so much a head, wine being extra, as is
+the general custom in Germany. The members of the committee wore red,
+white and blue rosettes in their buttonholes. About sixty or seventy
+people came to this ball, including the officers of the King’s Hussars,
+who, of course, were present in uniform, and it went off very well, as it
+was conducted on English lines, and was a much more free and easy affair
+than the average German ball. The supper was a very passable one, and
+a great deal of wine was consumed, particularly sparkling Moselle and
+champagne, so the company was pretty merry. Miss Edith Horrocks was the
+belle of the ball. She danced chiefly with a young Baron von Plessen, an
+officer in the King’s Hussars, whom she afterwards married, though, as
+there was not much money on either side, the young officer’s father, who
+was a general of cavalry, at first made some difficulties. It was five
+o’clock in the morning before the last guests had taken their departure.
+
+During the winter several small dances were given by different English
+families, and these I generally attended. I also went to some German
+balls, but, as there were no English present except myself, and they were
+conducted in a very stiff and formal manner, I cannot say that I derived
+much pleasure from them, apart from the dancing itself, of which I was
+then very fond.
+
+At Von Sybel’s lectures I made the acquaintance of a young man named
+Hans Delbrück, whom I liked very much indeed. He afterwards became a
+university professor, and was imprisoned some years ago for having
+expressed certain political views which were not in accordance with those
+of the “All Highest.” He is now Professor of History at the University
+of Berlin. Some little time before the War he was interviewed by the
+correspondent of the _Daily Mail_, when he gave his opinion about the
+possibility of a war between Great Britain and Germany.
+
+During the spring and summer there was very little going on at Bonn,
+with the exception of steam-boat excursions up and down the Rhine. For
+the residents, the winter is the season, but the climate at that time
+of year is no better than in England; indeed, it is perhaps even worse
+than in some English towns, as in the morning there are often thick fogs
+rising from the river. Living at Bonn is cheap—cheaper than at Wiesbaden
+or Frankfurt, to say nothing of Homburg, which is far more expensive and
+much more pleasant in summer. But there are many worse places than Bonn
+in the winter, so far as amusements are concerned.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+    The Countess Czerwinska—The Countess Broel Plater—Mlle.
+    de Laval—The Duchesse de Grammont—An Absent-Minded
+    Gentleman—Dusauty, the Fencing Master—The Marquis of
+    Anglesey—Charming Venezuelans—Miss Fanny Parnell
+
+
+After finishing my studies at Bonn, I returned to Paris and rejoined my
+parents. I was very happy in Paris, of which I have always been very
+fond; but what I missed there chiefly at that time was the companionship
+of young fellows of my own age. This reminds me of what Jim Doyne once
+said to me when he came to visit me there:—
+
+“I should like Paris better than London, if I could only fill the place
+with my English friends, and send some of these Frenchmen to London
+instead.”
+
+I often experienced this very same feeling in Paris. It was very rarely
+that I met a Frenchman of my own age that I cared for, as I did for some
+English and Americans. Once at the Opéra Comique I happened to sit in
+the stalls next a young Frenchman, who was very pleasant, and whom I got
+to know well afterwards. This was the Vicomte Frédéric de Kilmaine, who,
+though of Irish extraction, could not speak a single word of English. A
+few days after I had made the Vicomte’s acquaintance I went for a drive
+with him in his pretty victoria to the Bois de Boulogne, where we had
+some refreshments at one of the cafés there before returning to Paris.
+He often afterwards came to take me for a drive, and we became very good
+friends. The Vicomte de Kilmaine, however, was an exception so far as
+young Frenchmen were concerned, for I never became very intimate with any
+of them. M. de Lesquier d’Attainville, grandson of the Prince de Rivoli,
+Duc de Masséna, was a very nice fellow, and I liked him exceedingly; but
+he was older than myself, and I did not see him very often except at the
+different houses which I visited of an afternoon or evening. I also liked
+Prince Jean Radziwill, who was a Pole, but I saw even less of him than I
+did of M. de Lesquier d’Attainville, and, besides, he was much older than
+I was, and a few years make a world of difference when one is very young.
+
+In after years, at Franzensbad, in Bohemia, I made the acquaintance of
+the Countess Broel Plater and her son and daughter-in-law. The Countess,
+by her first marriage, was the Princess Lubomirska, and Prince Jean
+Radziwill was her son-in-law. The Countess was delighted to hear that I
+had known Prince Jean so well in former years, and told me many things
+about him. I often used to meet the Prince at Baroness Adelsdorfer’s
+hôtel in Paris, and also at the Countess Czerwinska’s, _née_ Countess
+Czajkowska, and I remember him telling me that he was best man at the
+last-named lady’s marriage. It was a marriage of affection, and a son
+was born a year or so later; but subsequently the pair had a quarrel
+and refused to live together any more. The husband was afterwards quite
+willing to make it up, but the Countess absolutely declined to do so,
+though Prince Radziwill said he did everything he could to persuade
+her to be reconciled. The Countess had the right to keep her little
+son Stanislaus, who was a boy seven years old. At the time I knew her
+in Paris, according to Russian law, in the event of a separation or a
+divorce, the mother has always the custody of the sons, and the father
+that of the daughters. This ought to be the rule in England, but, as we
+are an eccentric nation, our laws quite naturally differ from those of
+all others.
+
+The Countess Czerwinska was a very good-looking, fair young woman, of
+about four-and-twenty. She was extremely well read and very intellectual,
+and appeared perfectly to idolize her son. She was very fond of the poet
+Mickiewicz, whose poems she often recited to me in Polish, afterwards
+giving me her own translation of them in French. It was said that
+she was employed by the Russian Government to find out political
+secrets, and the salon at her hôtel in the Rue Chaillot was always
+filled with men from the Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, like M. de
+Lesquier d’Attainville, and also with representatives of the various
+embassies.[25] She asked me once to procure her an invitation to a
+private masked ball given by the millionaire Ménier, who had made his
+fortune with the famous chocolate of that name, which I did, and escorted
+her also to the Concours Hippique at the Palais de l’Industrie.
+
+The Countess Broel Plater was an old lady, who in her younger days had
+been, she told me, lady-in-waiting to the Empress of Russia, consort of
+Nicholas I. She also informed me that she had been brought up in the
+Palace at St. Petersburg, and that she was really a daughter of the
+Tsar, as everyone at the Court knew. One day, when we were taking coffee
+and listening to the band in the Kur Park at Franzensbad, she piqued my
+curiosity not a little by telling me that there were so many secrets
+at the Russian Court, that to reveal them would make one’s blood run
+cold, and that, to her knowledge, three cold-blooded murders had been
+perpetrated at the Palace at Petersburg during the time she was living
+there. She mentioned all the details of these crimes, which had been
+committed at the instigation of those in power at that time, and even
+the names of the victims, observing that at the time of their occurrence
+she was pledged to secrecy, failing which, she would have been poisoned
+herself. “No one,” she concluded, “can possibly realize, unless they have
+lived, as I have, at the Russian Court, what fearful things have happened
+there, simply in order to satisfy the caprice of a sovereign. Whether it
+was the destruction of a girl, man or woman, it mattered not, so long
+as the removal of the person served to conceal something which the Tsar
+desired should not be made public.”
+
+While relating these events, the Countess became quite excited, and her
+recital of them was so dramatic that one could almost imagine that she
+had actually taken part in them. She gave me, in fact, quite a creepy
+feeling, so that I was really relieved when she came to an end of her
+accounts of these tragic episodes. She afterwards told me that she was
+going to Nice with her son, whom I frequently met at Franzensbad with his
+lovely young wife, and I used to sit in the Kur and talk to them. The
+Countess Broel Plater had a charming villa, in which she had an aviary
+containing all kinds of rare birds, and it was her delight to sit near
+this aviary, admiring the gorgeous plumage of her beautiful birds and
+listening to them sing, while she thought how fortunate she was to have
+finished with the Russian Court and its dark tragedies. She told me that
+she knew the family of Count Branicki at Nice, and also the Countess
+Zamoyska, a very lovely woman, who had only very recently married, and
+was at that time the greatest heiress in Poland. Liszt says of Polish
+women: “_Ce qu’elles veulent, c’est l’attachement; ce qu’elles espèrent,
+c’est le dévouement; ce qu’elles exigent, c’est l’honneur, le regret et
+l’amour de la patrie, ce qui faisait dire à l’Empereur Nicholas I.: ‘Je
+pourrais en finir des Polonais, si je venais à bout des Polonaises.’_”
+
+The Countess invited me to stay with her at Nice in the winter, if I
+were able to go there, but, for some reason, I was prevented from doing
+so. She took a great fancy to my little girl, Xenia, who was with me at
+the time and was then seven years old, saying that she reminded her of a
+near relative of her own, who also bore the Russian name of Xenia, which
+increased not a little the Countess’s interest in my daughter.
+
+In Paris I always attended the “_jours_” of the Countess Dzialyńska,
+sister of Prince Czartoryski. Her daughter, Countess Hélène Dzialyńska,
+spoke English fluently, and told me she could learn any language in a
+fortnight. She wrote a book in French against capital punishment, called
+_Sur la peine de mort_, which had a large circulation. The Princess
+Czartoryska was a royal princess, a Bourbon, and lived at the Maison
+Lambert. Among their friends was a Swedish officer attached to the
+Embassy, who was a frequent guest at their soirées. He was no longer
+young, but always wore a corset and lavender kid gloves, and never took
+his gloves off even to eat his supper. In his younger days he had been
+dubbed, “_la fille du régiment_,” and this nickname still clung to
+him. I met him there frequently, and he still considered himself quite
+irresistible _auprès des dames_.
+
+I used to go about a good deal in Paris at this time with Cecil Slade, a
+boy of fourteen, the son of a friend of my father, General Sir William
+Slade. He usually called for me of an afternoon, and we took long walks
+on the Boulevards. A girl friend whom I made was Mlle. Julie Piétri,
+who was about fourteen. I often called at her father’s house in the
+Champs-Elysées, and one day I said to Madame Piétri, before her daughter,
+that I wondered why French girls were not allowed the same liberty with
+boys which English girls enjoyed. Madame Piétri answered that it might
+be all right with English girls, but if French ones were allowed to be
+alone with gentlemen, the consequences might be disastrous, as French
+girls could not control their feelings. I thought this a strange thing
+to say before her daughter, and I observed that Mlle. Julie looked
+rather confused at her mother’s remark and blushed, but she did not say
+anything in reply. About this time, I made the acquaintance of a young
+girl called Isabelle, about whom I have already written in “Society
+Recollections in Paris and Vienna.” Isabelle was allowed more freedom
+than Mlle. Piétri, and was not always with her mother, and I found out
+that Madame Piétri may have been right in her conjectures. Nevertheless,
+I cannot help thinking that French girls are treated rather too severely
+in this respect, and that if they were permitted a little more liberty,
+they would not suffer so much as their mothers suppose.
+
+In Paris, at this time, I had many friends among girls, but few among
+young fellows of my own age. I cannot say that I was in love with any of
+the former; indeed, I felt quite indifferent towards them. I certainly
+admired Isabelle very much at first, but only for a time, and was almost
+glad when our flirtation came to an end. Such, however, is the perversity
+of human nature, that no sooner had I lost her than I began to regret
+her. After some weeks had passed I saw her again, when I believed that
+she had deceived me with an American, and was not worthy of my regret.
+She informed me that this American had made her certain proposals, which
+she had refused; but I had a strong suspicion that this was not the case,
+and that her admirer had afterwards left Paris. I never met her again.
+She suddenly disappeared, and, though I was very curious to learn what
+had become of her, I was never able to find out. She vanished like some
+fantastic apparition, leaving no trace whatever behind, or like a pebble
+cast into the water, which leaves only a momentary impression on the
+surface to indicate the spot where it has disappeared.
+
+Some time afterwards I made the acquaintance of a Mlle. de Laval, who was
+poor, but of a very noble family. Her ancestors had been Ducs de Laval,
+and she was related to some of the old noblesse of the time of Louis XVI.
+They had almost all been guillotined, and but few members of her family
+remained. She frequently told me stories about her ancestors, some of
+whom had been reduced to poverty. Mlle. de Laval was an intimate friend
+of a Mlle. Gabrielle de Tercin, a very pretty actress, who played at the
+Porte Saint-Martin Theatre. I was a good deal in the company of these
+girls, and used often to sup with them after the theatre. Mlle. de Tercin
+had a friend who was very wealthy, and had furnished a fine _appartement_
+for her, to which I sometimes went with Mlle. de Laval.
+
+Another acquaintance of mine was a certain baroness, the widow of an
+attaché in Paris. She was at one time considered a very lovely woman, and
+certainly possessed very fine auburn hair and a very good complexion. She
+had a pretty hôtel in the Rue Lord Byron, where she received a great many
+visitors in the evening, chiefly of the sterner sex. She told me once
+that the old Duc de Persigny had called upon her when she was alone and
+handed her an envelope.
+
+“_Qu’est-ce que c’est que cela?_” she asked.
+
+To which he replied in trembling tones:—
+
+“_Oh, Madame, ce n’est qu’une petite fleur, rien qu’une petite fleur ...
+que je viens vous offrir._”
+
+She opened the envelope and found that it contained fourteen thousand
+francs in banknotes. She at once threw the notes in the ducal donor’s
+face, saying:—
+
+“_Sortez, Monsieur, à l’instant de chez moi; je ne veux ni de vous ni de
+votre petite fleur non plus._”
+
+The Duke entreated her to listen to him, but she only added:—
+
+“_Entendez-vous, je veux que vous sortiez d’ici._”
+
+Whereupon he withdrew, and she never set eyes on him again, so she told
+me. I met her years afterwards in Vienna, when she was not so rich, and,
+though nearly sixty, was dressed more like sixteen and painted up to her
+eyes. She told me that Austrians were not so generous as Frenchmen, but
+that she preferred Englishmen to all others. She was now inclined to
+regret her treatment of the Duc de Persigny, though she laughed at the
+recollection of it still. Prince Rudolf von Liechtenstein called upon her
+in Vienna and sent her some beautiful flowers, when she remarked to me:—
+
+“To think that I have to content myself in Vienna with flowers! But the
+Austrians are all so terribly mean.”
+
+Amongst my mother’s friends in Paris society at this time was Madame
+Leleu, whom she saw very frequently. Madame Leleu was a widow, and lived
+in a large _appartement_ close to the Madeleine. When her husband was
+alive, she was very fond of dining with him at different restaurants,
+but since his death she had lived very quietly, and merely invited a
+few friends like ourselves to tea with her at five o’clock. Before her
+marriage she had been a Miss Beauclerk, and the Duke of St. Albans was
+her grandfather. She had at one time been engaged to Lord Cantelupe, but
+on her wedding day, while she was actually waiting in her bridal dress at
+the altar, she was informed that Lord Cantelupe had died quite suddenly.
+She told me about this sad event herself one day when she was visiting
+her aunt, Mrs. Healey, in the Rue d’Albe, but I don’t remember what was
+the cause of Lord Cantelupe’s death.
+
+My mother also saw a good deal of the Duchesse de Grammont, who was a
+daughter of The MacKinnon of MacKinnon. She was very clever, though
+somewhat stiff in her manner, and while her husband was living gave some
+very smart dinner-parties. The Duchess had a fine house at Folkestone, a
+place of which she was very fond; but after her husband’s death she would
+sometimes let this house for the season at forty guineas a week. Her
+son, the present Duc de Grammont, married a daughter of Baron James de
+Rothschild, one of the Paris family of that name. The Hon. Mrs. Graves,
+a first cousin of the Duchess, who always stayed with her when in Paris,
+was a very great friend of my mother, and often dined with us in the Rue
+d’Albe.
+
+The Duchesse de Caracciolo, an American by birth, who was remarkably
+good-looking and very “_spirituelle_,” was a great deal in Paris at this
+time, and frequently came to see my mother, who was very fond of her. My
+mother always told me that the Duchess was just the kind of lady I should
+have admired; but, as Fate would have it, I was not fortunate enough to
+meet her in Paris.
+
+Mrs. Goldsmid, a Roman Catholic and the daughter of a baronet, who lived
+with her son in the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, was also a friend of
+my parents, and she was very intimate with the Duchesse de Grammont,
+whom, with her sons, the Duc de Guiche and the Comte de Grammont, I met
+sometimes of an evening at her house. I met them more frequently after
+Mrs. Goldsmid’s son married a very beautiful English girl, when the
+Duchess frequently dined there. After dinner we used to play cards, of
+which Goldsmid was very fond. He was at one time a great friend of my
+father, and they used to attend races together near Paris. He and his
+mother knew all the best people in the Faubourg Saint-Germain, as well as
+in the American colony. The son, before his marriage, which ended most
+disastrously for the wife, chiefly frequented the society of Americans,
+while his mother, who was a most intelligent woman, was fonder of the
+French. The conversation at their house, when guests happened to be
+present, was always carried on in French, as both mother and son spoke
+the language perfectly.
+
+One day, when we were walking in the Champs-Elysées, my father pointed
+a man out to me whom, he said, he would not care to know at any price.
+He was a tall, well-built, fine-looking man, with a long fair beard. His
+name was Baron de Malortie, and he was a first cousin of Bismarck. I
+asked my father why he would not care to know him, to which he replied:—
+
+“Because he is always fighting duels; he has fought about thirty in
+Paris, and has always killed or wounded his adversary.”
+
+Some months later, I happened to be again in the Champs-Elysées, when
+I saw my father in the distance, walking arm-in-arm with a man whom I
+thought resembled Malortie. In the evening I asked him with whom he was
+walking in so friendly a fashion in the Champs-Elysées that afternoon.
+
+“It was Malortie,” he answered. “He is such a nice fellow; I don’t know
+anyone I like better!”
+
+On one occasion my father was walking with two friends of his in Paris,
+when he turned to one of them, a Mr. Segrave, and said:—
+
+“I don’t think you know my friend....”
+
+When the gentleman addressed promptly replied in a loud voice:—
+
+“No, and I have no wish to know him either.”
+
+My father told me that ever since then he had avoided introducing men to
+each other, as one never knew whether they had not had some quarrel, as
+was the case in this instance.
+
+[Illustration: The Author’s Father.
+
+[_To face p. 144._]
+
+My father was subject to frequent fits of absent-mindedness, and I
+recollect once in Paris telling him a long story, and asking his opinion
+from time to time. He answered merely in monosyllables, and when I came
+to the end, and inquired what conclusion he had arrived at about the
+whole affair, he observed:—
+
+“I was not listening to what you said, and have not the faintest idea
+what you were telling me about.”
+
+Once, in Paris, he invited some people to dine at our house, but forgot
+to tell my mother about it, so that when the guests arrived, there was
+no dinner prepared for them, and everything had to be sent for from a
+restaurant, which, of course, entailed great delay. On another occasion,
+there were seven or eight people dining with us, amongst whom was General
+Sir John Douglas, Lady Elizabeth Douglas, Captain and Mrs. Berkeley, the
+Marquise Brian de Bois-Guilbert and Mrs. Joe Riggs. When the soup, which
+my father was supposed to serve, was put on the table, he was so engaged
+in conversation with Lady Elizabeth Douglas, that he unconsciously helped
+himself to it, and began calmly to eat, talking all the while. My mother,
+having drawn Captain Berkeley’s attention to what the host was doing, the
+latter said, laughing:—
+
+“I say, old fellow, I hope you are enjoying the soup, but all this time
+you are keeping us waiting, and we should like to enjoy it as well.”
+
+My father then realized what he had done, apologized and said:—
+
+“Upon my word, I am so absent-minded that I did not know what I was
+doing.”
+
+In later years, while in India, I made the acquaintance of the Vicomte
+Arthur d’Assailly, and, meeting him afterwards in Paris, was invited to
+call upon him at his hôtel in the Rue Las Cases. I happened to mention
+this to my father, when he told me that I should be careful about the
+people whom I called on, as there were so many adventurers in Paris. Some
+months later, I went with my father to a club, where someone slapped
+him on the back, and, to my great surprise, it was none other than
+d’Assailly. My father then told me that he had known him for years, and
+that he was an excellent fellow, but that he must have been thinking of
+something else when I asked whether I should call on him, and so did
+not catch the name I had mentioned, and thought I had come across some
+adventurer or other.
+
+The Baroness Adelsdorfer gave my father one day, when he happened to
+call upon her, a very important letter to post, which he promised to put
+into the letter-box as he was going out. She told him that she wanted
+an immediate answer to this letter, so that he was to post it at once.
+He carried this letter about with him for a whole week, when, in my
+presence, he suddenly discovered it in his pocket. On his returning to
+the Baroness, she asked him about this letter, to which she was still
+awaiting a reply.
+
+“Oh! I posted it all right, depend upon it,” he replied, laughing. “There
+has been some delay somewhere.”
+
+The Baroness, however, knew him of old, and exclaimed:—
+
+“I know you must have forgotten to post it; I should not be surprised if
+you still have it in your pocket.”
+
+I met the Baroness Adelsdorfer once at Longchamps, near the entrance
+to the Grand Stand, just before the races began, when, stepping out of
+her carriage—a very fine turn-out—she came up to me very excitedly, and
+exclaimed:—
+
+“It is really too bad of your father. I have been waiting here for him
+for half an hour, as he promised to get me a ticket for the Jockey Club
+Stand, and I don’t see the least sign of him.”
+
+My father, as a matter of fact, had forgotten all about the poor
+Baroness, and did not put in an appearance at Longchamps that day.
+However, the lady fortunately managed to get the ticket she wanted from
+some other member of the club.
+
+At this time, my father used to be always with Captain Lennox Berkeley
+(afterwards Earl of Berkeley), and I recollect his saying to me on
+several occasions:—
+
+“Whenever I have a difficult business letter to write, I always ask
+Berkeley’s advice. I never met anyone who could write such a good
+business letter as he can.”
+
+Once, when Berkeley was away from Paris, he said to me:
+
+“I wish Berkeley were here; I have such a bothering letter to write and
+he could do it so well for me.”
+
+I offered to try my hand at this letter, and composed one which he said
+would answer the purpose. But I discovered afterwards that he had torn it
+up, and, later, he admitted having done so, saying:—
+
+“You cannot write like Berkeley; I don’t know anybody else who can.”
+
+While on the subject of letter-writing, I may mention that my mother
+frequently expressed regret that she had not kept the letters written to
+her by her aunt, Lady Caroline Murray, observing that they were so well
+written and so beautifully expressed that they were quite equal in every
+respect to those of Madame de Sévigné.
+
+I took lessons in fencing at this time from Dusauty, who had been in
+the “Cent Gardes” during the Empire, though Sir Edward Cunninghame, a
+well-known duellist in Paris, had advised my learning from Pons, who had
+been his instructor. I liked the way Dusauty taught me very much. He was
+one of the finest fencers whom I had ever seen, and taught some of the
+most redoubtable duellists, who often came to fence with him just before
+a duel. I fenced with some of them when Dusauty happened to be engaged
+in giving another lesson, which was a great pleasure to me. Dusauty was
+quite young, only seven-and-twenty, a very fine-looking, dark man, six
+feet, two inches in height. Unhappily, he died not long afterwards. His
+death, it was said, was attributable to the constant shouting and the
+amount of dust which he was obliged to inhale while engaged in giving
+his fencing lessons, which caused him to contract the lung disease which
+proved fatal. I learned to fence with both hands, and preferred fencing
+with my left hand to my right. In after years, I lost the use of my right
+arm, and Colonel Crawley, an Old Etonian, who was then in my regiment,
+though he afterwards exchanged into the Coldstream Guards, and with whom
+I often used to fence, remarked that it seemed as though I had foreseen
+that I should one day lose the use of that arm.
+
+When Captain Berkeley went to live at Fontainebleau with his wife and
+family, my father was mostly with Lord Henry Paget, who afterwards
+became Marquis of Anglesey. Lord Henry’s only son, who, when his father
+succeeded to the marquisate, became Earl of Uxbridge, was a charming
+little boy, with very pleasing manners, who was generally dressed as a
+British sailor. He lived at this time almost entirely with the Boyds,
+and his aunt, Mrs. Yorke, had charge of him until he went to Eton. My
+father and I used frequently to meet him in the Champs-Elysées with his
+governess, when he would always run up to us to have a chat. His father,
+the Marquis of Anglesey, was very fond of horses, as was my father, and
+their tastes were pretty much the same. They were both greatly attached
+to Paris, though neither of them could really speak French, their
+knowledge of which was confined to a few words. Lord Anglesey, indeed,
+never even tried to speak the language, and avoided French people who
+could not talk English. My father, on the other hand, rather liked to
+meet them, and contrived somehow to make himself understood. The racing
+in the neighbourhood of Paris was a great attraction to both Lord
+Anglesey and my father, but I do not think the former ever made a bet. I
+cannot say the same for the latter, who sometimes betted rather heavily.
+Lord Anglesey was particularly fond of dining at restaurants, where he
+and my father in later years often dined together, sometimes inviting
+other friends. After dinner, as they both detested theatres, they played
+billiards, of which they were very fond, as they both played a very good
+game. Neither of them cared for balls and parties, and they both, as a
+rule, hated all kinds of ceremony. After dinner they liked to smoke a
+pipe, though they were at times fond of a good Havana cigar. This was
+somewhat difficult to procure in Paris, but M. de Francisco-Martin, of
+the Guatemala Legation, would often make my father a present of a box
+of cigars, which he received direct from Havana free of any duty, as he
+belonged to the Corps Diplomatique. The society which they preferred
+was that which attached little importance to matters of etiquette and
+ceremonial, except on certain occasions, as, for instance, when Lord
+Lyons, the British Ambassador, dined with Lord Anglesey. Then everything
+was carried to the other extreme, the Marquis priding himself on making
+a very great display in the way of silver plate and beautiful flowers,
+while the very best dinner which Madame Chevet, of the Palais-Royal,
+could supply, together with the choicest wines and liqueurs, was
+provided. An American lady, whom the Marquis admired very much, was
+usually invited to preside and entertain the Ambassador.
+
+There was an Englishman in Paris whose name was Field, and at one time
+Lord Anglesey was on rather friendly terms with him; but one day the
+Marquis told my father that he gave himself airs, so that he intended
+to drop his acquaintance. Field was a very short, dark, clean-shaven
+man, more like an American than an Englishman. He used to receive every
+afternoon, when he was with the Marquis, my father and myself, various
+lavender-coloured notes, highly perfumed, on receiving which he would
+exclaim:
+
+“Another letter from —— ——!” mentioning the name of a celebrated actress.
+
+I asked him once, when he had given me the note to read, if she often
+wrote to him in that style, to which he replied that sometimes he
+received such notes from her every hour in the day. After Lord Anglesey
+had quarrelled with him I never met him again in Paris. I think he must
+have gone away, or perhaps he used to avoid the spot in the Champs
+Elysées where the Marquis and my father generally sat from five to six in
+the afternoon, to watch the carriages go by.
+
+Lord Anglesey occupied a very fine _appartement_ in the Avenue Kléber,
+which he rented when he was still Lord Henry Paget. I recollect my father
+and I meeting him in the Champs-Elysées just after his half-brother’s
+death, when the former congratulated him on having succeeded to the
+title, and the new Marquis said:—
+
+“I shall only have about £80,000 a year at present, I think, but perhaps
+more later, as my brother was heavily insured.”
+
+Some days afterwards, my father asked him whether he intended to put his
+servants into powder, when he replied:—
+
+“I am afraid I can’t afford that yet, as I should have to keep at least
+twelve footmen, six in powder, and the other six to relieve them; but
+later on I may be able to manage it; at least, I hope so.”
+
+The windows of Lord Anglesey’s _appartement_ facing the street were
+furnished with very conspicuous pink-coloured blinds, adorned on the
+outside with very large coronets, which caused a good deal of comment.
+I remember asking Lord Conyers, who was a friend of the Marquis, why
+the latter was so fond of displaying these large coronets on almost
+everything he used, and that Lord Conyers answered that Lord Anglesey
+had inherited this taste, which was a purely French one, from the French
+Kings, Louis XIV. and Louis XV., to whom his ancestors were related, but
+that in other respects his habits and ways were entirely English.
+
+Folliot Duff and his wife and daughters were then living in Paris. He
+was a brother of Billy Duff, whose widow also resided there. Folliot
+Duff was a good boxer, and in Paris he conceived a great passion for
+fencing. I often called on the Duffs, when he invariably used to turn the
+conversation to his favourite hobby. He was a very agreeable man, but I
+never remember seeing him without his giving me a lecture on fencing, or
+occasionally, by way of a change, on boxing. Mrs. Folliot Duff was a very
+great friend of my mother, and, after her husband’s death, she used often
+to come and dine with us.
+
+M. de Francisco-Martin, son of the Minister for Guatemala, and
+brother-in-law of the Marquis de San Carlos, formerly Spanish Ambassador
+in Paris, was also a great friend of the Duffs. He lived in a very fine
+hôtel in the Rue Fortin, which he sold to the Marquis of Anglesey for
+£40,000. The latter, however, only lived there a month with his last
+wife. Francisco-Martin often used to pay us a visit of an evening, when
+his conversation ran mainly on horses and racing, for which he shared my
+father’s partiality.
+
+I used occasionally to visit the daughters of the Minister for Venezuela,
+who lived in a very fine _appartement_ on the Avenue d’Iéna. One of them,
+who was then about sixteen, was an exceedingly pretty girl, with blue
+eyes, jet black hair, small but beautiful features, and very white teeth,
+and the way in which she spoke Spanish was charming to listen to, so soft
+did it sound. I often went to her _appartement_, when she would invite
+me to take tea, and sometimes I found her alone, as her sister, who was
+engaged to be married, was generally with her _fiancé_. The younger
+sister, whose name was Mercèdes, made me speak Spanish to her at times;
+at others we spoke French, and the time I spent with her seemed to pass
+very quickly—too quickly, indeed, to please me.
+
+I recollect calling one day on Madame de Passy and meeting there the
+Marchioness de Peñafiel, whose husband afterwards succeeded the Count de
+San Miguel as Portuguese Minister in Paris. The Marchioness was wearing
+that day a very pretty hat covered with white flowers, for which, she
+told Madame de Passy, she had just given 300 francs. As she was on the
+point of leaving, it began to rain, and although the Marchioness’s
+gorgeous equipage was waiting at the door for her, she was so fearful
+lest her mew hat should be spoiled, that, with Madame de Passy’s help,
+she covered it entirely over with a lace handkerchief, and then advanced
+bravely to her carriage, escorted by a footman, holding an umbrella over
+her head. The Marchioness de Peñafiel was a great friend of the Minister
+for Venezuela and his lovely daughters, of whom I have just spoken.
+
+One day, when I happened to be visiting the Shards, who lived in the
+same house as Madame de Passy, I was telling the second daughter, Sophie
+Shard, a good-looking young girl, what trouble I had to get a good valet,
+when she said:—
+
+“Why don’t you take a pretty girl and dress her in a page’s costume? I
+am sure she would suit you much better than a boy. I should do this if
+I were you, and I know you will be grateful to me for the advice I have
+given you, if you only follow it.”
+
+I thought her idea, which reminded me of Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister,
+excellent, but, as I was not my own master, I could not quite see my way
+to carry it out.
+
+About this time, I made the acquaintance of Madame Saba, who lived in
+the same _appartement_ as Mlle. Daram, of the Grand Opéra. The latter
+was a very pretty girl, with an exquisite figure, who possessed a fine
+contralto voice. She made it a rule to get up at seven o’clock every
+morning to practice her singing, and never broke it. She always played
+page’s parts, for which she was paid 18,000 francs a year, and, though
+she had a friend, a French marquis, who had about £16,000 a year, and
+wanted her to give up the stage, she refused to do so, saying that she
+wished to be quite independent. The _appartement_ in which these two
+ladies lived was furnished with every comfort and convenience one could
+possibly wish for, including a good library; and one day when they
+happened to be out when I called, I was given Labiche’s plays to read to
+amuse me until their return.
+
+There was an Irish lady residing in Paris, who used to give a dance
+once a fortnight during the winter. I recollect that amongst her guests
+on one occasion was a French countess, who wore a gown which was very
+_décolletée_ indeed, so much so that several English ladies commented
+upon it. The lady of the house mentioned this to a young French count,
+who observed:—
+
+“_On aime à voir ces choses, mais on n’aime pas qu’on vous les fasse
+voir._” Saying which, he borrowed a shawl from his hostess, and, stepping
+up to the countess, put it over her shoulders, telling her that all the
+ladies were so much afraid lest she should take cold. The countess, who
+was watching a game of whist at the time, thanked him for the attention
+without taking her eyes off the cards, and then pulled the shawl tighter
+round her shoulders.
+
+Miss Fanny Parnell, who was half Irish and half American, was then one of
+the loveliest girls in Paris. She was also one of the best dressed and
+most attractive in every way. She was a severe critic of her own sex,
+and her opinion of English girls was not a high one. On one occasion she
+wrote to me:—
+
+“_I think, as you do, that English girls are, many of them, very fast.
+They seem to be so anxious to get rid of their reputation for being dull
+and stiff that they set no bounds to their liveliness._”
+
+On another occasion, when I told her that I was going to Folkestone, she
+observed:
+
+“The girls in Kent, what I saw of them, were each one uglier than the
+other. So your fate is, I fear, not to be envied, knowing as I do your
+strong _penchant_ for pretty faces.”
+
+Miss Fanny Parnell died very young, quite in the flower of her youth, in
+the United States; but the report I read in a newspaper to the effect
+that Mrs. Parnell died there afterwards in poverty was, I am pleased to
+say, incorrect, for her daughter, Mrs. Paget, informed me some years ago
+that when Mrs. Parnell died she was with her in Ireland, and that she was
+surrounded by every possible luxury.
+
+Miss Minnie Warren, an American from Boston, who afterwards married a
+Vanderbilt, was one of the loveliest young girls I ever met. She was
+then living with her parents in an hôtel on the Boulevard Haussmann,
+and I used frequently to meet her at parties and balls given by wealthy
+Americans. One afternoon I went to tea at her house, as I always did
+by invitation two or three times a week, and found her father sitting
+down reading _The Times_. He never so much as looked at me, but went on
+reading, while I sat silent and feeling far from comfortable, until Mrs.
+Warren came in and said:—
+
+“I suppose you have come to see my daughters; they will be home soon.”
+
+I felt very much relieved when, a few minutes after, I was shown into the
+charming daughters’ salon, where I felt, as I always did, “_au septième
+ciel_.”
+
+Another remarkably pretty girl whom I knew was Mlle. Waterlot, whose
+acquaintance I made through the Marquise Brian de Bois Guilbert. I
+introduced her to Miss Parnell, as she wanted to go to some American
+balls. She found, however, her inability to speak English a great
+drawback at these functions, as American young men did not care to talk
+French, which entailed too much mental exertion to please them. Mlle.
+Waterlot married some time afterwards the Comte de Lesseps, a son of the
+famous engineer of the Suez Canal.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+    Captain Howard Vyse—An Anecdote of Paganini—New Hats for Old
+    Ones—Albert Bingham—Baron Alphonse de Rothschild—Madame Alice
+    Kernave—Gambetta
+
+
+During the winter months, I was very fond of going on Sundays to
+Pasdeloup’s concerts, which were held in the Cirque d’Hiver. One Sunday,
+I met the Vicomte d’Assailly there, who told me that he preferred these
+concerts to those at the Conservatoire, as at the latter people did not
+cease to talk the whole time, which was very trying for those who, like
+himself, really cared for music. He was passionately fond of it. On
+one occasion, I went to Pasdeloup’s concert with Captain Howard Vyse,
+formerly of the “Blues,” an Old Etonian, and a friend of my father, who
+was nicknamed “Punch.” He was placed in a seat near the kettledrums,
+while I sat some little distance away, as there were very few vacant
+seats. After the concert I asked Vyse how he had enjoyed it, when he told
+me that he had never slept better in his life, and had not once heard
+the kettledrums. He could speak very little French, but he thoroughly
+enjoyed going to the Palais-Royal Theatre, and would often tell me of a
+play there which was worth seeing, such as _le Réveillon_, by Meilhac and
+Halévy, of which he related to me the plot. He was always very lively,
+and sometimes rather amusing, and at times he would invite himself to
+dine with us, where he was always very welcome. Once, for some reason or
+other, my mother did not want him to stay to dinner, and told him that
+she was afraid she had nothing to give him. However, he asked her what
+there was, and, on being told, said:—
+
+“If I had ordered the dinner myself, I could not have anything I like
+better.”
+
+So he remained and dined with us, notwithstanding the excuses my mother
+had made for the dinner. My father introduced him to the late Lady Louisa
+Meux, sister of the Marquis of Ailesbury, who lived in quite a palace in
+the Bois de Boulogne, and had very smart “turn-outs.” She used to give
+very good dinners and once invited Howard Vyse to dine with her. Whenever
+afterwards my father wanted to annoy him, he would say that he was sure
+that Lady Louisa Meux would be pleased to see him at dinner. To which
+Vyse would answer angrily:—
+
+“However badly I might want a dinner, I would not go there for anything.”
+
+The explanation of this was a secret between my father and Howard Vyse,
+and evidently an amusing one, since they always laughed heartily over it.
+
+Lady Louisa Meux was very rich and highly eccentric. Her husband was in a
+lunatic asylum, and she herself was very queer at times. I never knew her
+myself, but my father said she occasionally reminded him of a sister of
+his, whom he also considered rather eccentric.
+
+Signor Campobello, whose real name was Campbell, used to sing at a house
+to which I was sometimes invited of an afternoon. One day, when he had
+just sung a song, the lady of the house went up to him and asked him, in
+my hearing, to sing again. He replied:
+
+“You are aware of my charges—five hundred francs each song.” To which she
+rejoined:—
+
+“I am perfectly well aware of it.”
+
+Campobello’s wife was Madame Sinico, who was also an operatic singer and
+often sang at Covent Garden.
+
+The Marquise Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a very pretty and
+distinguished-looking woman, when dining with us one evening, happened
+to remark how badly professional singers were treated by some people,
+and related a story of a man and his wife who were invited to dinner by
+some rich people in Paris on purpose to avoid paying them for singing
+afterwards. However, after these two singers had had their dinner, they
+put a louis each on their plates in payment for it, and immediately
+afterwards left the house, much to the disgust and disappointment of
+their host and hostess, who had invited them expressly to sing to the
+other guests. The Marquise herself sang most beautifully and quite like a
+professional, having learned of the celebrated Professor Duprez (formerly
+of the Grand Opéra), one of whose very best pupils she was; and when she
+did so, always insisted that there should be no talking in the room,
+otherwise she would leave off singing at once. This was no idle threat,
+as I once saw her carry it out myself.
+
+Captain Berkeley, who was very fond of hearing her sing, would often
+remark that English people, as a rule, always begin to talk when anyone
+sings or plays, and he once told a story, which, though I have no doubt
+it is a very old one, I may as well repeat, for the benefit of those
+unacquainted with it:
+
+On one occasion, when Paganini was playing a violin solo, and had reached
+the most pathetic part, he was suddenly interrupted by a certain English
+peer, who touched his arm and said:—
+
+“_Pardon, Monsieur, mais j’ai besoin de causer avec une dame._”
+
+It appeared that, in order to reach the lady in question, the Englishman
+had to pass Paganini, and the bow of the violin happened to be in his way.
+
+“_Si ce ri est pas vrai, c’est très bien trouvé_,” as Captain Berkeley
+observed at the time he told me the story. Let us hope that the lady was
+worthy of the interruption. Possibly she was a Venus, in which case there
+may have been some excuse for this infatuated peer, whoever he may have
+been.
+
+The Marquise de Brian de Bois-Guilbert used to pay frequent visits to
+the Duchesse d’Abrantès at her fine Château de Bailleul, where the
+latter’s sister-in-law, the Comtesse de Faverney, painted a portrait of
+the Marquise, which she showed me. It was a very fine one, and, unlike
+most amateur productions, really resembled the original. The Duchesse
+d’Abrantès was then a lovely young blonde, and one of the best portraits
+that I ever saw of her was one which she gave to the Marquise. She was
+taken in her garden, standing by a favourite horse, with her arm round
+the animal’s neck.
+
+In reference to the Duchesse d’Abrantès, the Marquise once observed, in
+the course of a letter to me:—
+
+    “_Her whole family is greatly respected at Versailles, not only
+    because it is illustrious, but because it is very pious and
+    very charitable. What kindness of heart, perfect courtesy, and
+    exquisite and truly Christian benevolence do we find in these
+    illustrious families! I repeat: nothing is comparable to the
+    courtesy and perfect breeding of the French nobility, which is
+    doubly kind when one happens to have fallen into misfortune.
+    Its soul is as lofty as its rank is elevated; its heart is
+    excellent. The greatest nobility resides at Versailles, for it
+    is in greater security there than anywhere else._”
+
+And she added:
+
+    “_On m’a surnommée ici la rose blanche, puis la blanche
+    apparition, et j’ai de grand succès de beauté, distinction,
+    chose rare parmi les femmes; pour mon talent, on est en
+    extase._”
+
+I went, in later years, to a very smart ball given by the Marquise de
+Blocqueville, at which I met the Comtesse de la Taille des Essarts and
+her daughter Gabrielle. The latter, with whom I danced, was a fair girl,
+who afterwards married the Marquis de Gabriac. I took the Comtesse, who
+was an English lady and a friend of my mother’s, in to supper. When I
+left the ball, I looked for my opera-hat, which was quite new, and found
+a very old one in its place. They told me at the _vestiaire_ that they
+thought the Marquis de Rey had taken mine. I accordingly sent him the hat
+with a note, asking the return of mine, and received an answer, saying
+that he was not the person who had left this old hat, as his was quite
+new, and he would have no particular desire to exchange it.
+
+    “_Je regrette_,” he wrote, “_d’avoir à vous annoncer que le
+    chapeau que vous m’avez fait remettre hier n’est pas à moi;
+    l’échange que vous supposez n’est pas de mon fait; MON chapeau
+    étant entre mes mains.... Ayez donc la bonté de le faire
+    reprendre chez mon concierge, numéro 11, rue des Saints-Pères,
+    etc., etc._”
+
+At the same time, the Marquis expressed the hope that I should find my
+own hat, but this I never did.
+
+The above incident reminds me of a story I heard about General Ronald
+Lane, of the Rifle Brigade, who was at one time Equerry to the Duke of
+Connaught. The gallant officer in question went, many years ago, to a
+ball in London, wearing a perfectly new hat, and, on leaving, found, as I
+had done, an old one in its place. He must evidently have determined to
+pay someone out for the loss of his hat, for the next time he went to a
+ball, which he did soon afterwards, he took this old hat with him, and,
+leaving the house early, had time to select the newest of the hats in the
+cloak-room and one that fitted him perfectly.
+
+“You can see for yourself,” said he to the attendant, “that this old hat
+can’t possibly belong to me. I must look for it, and I shall soon find
+it.”
+
+In this way, he secured an almost better hat than the one he had lost,
+and, of course, he left the old hat in its place.
+
+At a ball given by an American in Paris, the celebrated composer
+Waldteufel was conducting one of his own very delightful waltzes, which
+he used at times to play in rather slow time, putting always a great deal
+of expression into them, when the master of the house came up to him and
+asked if he would mind playing the waltz a trifle faster, since it would
+suit the dancers better. Waldteufel, whose _amour-propre_ was wounded by
+this request, immediately afterwards struck up the “Dead March in Saul,”
+and since then no one dared to interfere with him when he was conducting
+his orchestra, which he did at all the principal balls, though his fee
+was £150 for the night. It was very interesting to watch him conduct his
+orchestra, which was excellent, though by no means numerous. At times, he
+played the violin and led the orchestra somewhat in the manner of Edward
+Strauss, though he went through more peculiar movements with his arms
+and legs than even the latter does. Edward Strauss always seems to dance
+himself when he conducts his orchestra and plays waltzes and polkas,
+and looks pleasant; but Waldteufel always looked furious. I remember at
+balls, when I was dancing a cotillion or a waltz, I used to be rather
+afraid of him, as one never knew at any time what eccentricity he might
+not be prompted to indulge in. Sometimes, he would stop his orchestra
+in the middle of a dance; at others, he would play an overture when you
+were expecting a waltz. In fact, with him one had to be prepared for
+anything. But the Americans in Paris were such beautiful dancers that
+these eccentricities rather pleased them, and, besides, they could dance
+to almost any _tempo._
+
+The Marquis de Grandmaison used often to dine with us in the Rue d’Albe.
+He was a very strongly-built, clean-shaven man, and wore his hair very
+short; so much so, indeed, that one day, when he had given a photograph
+of himself to my father, the latter said:—
+
+“You look, my dear fellow, as if you had undergone ten years’ penal
+servitude!”
+
+Grandmaison laughed, as he always enjoyed a joke, even when it was at his
+own expense. Generally, he would retaliate, and my father and he used to
+make fun of one another. The Marquis, who belonged to one of the noblest
+families in France, and was a very wealthy man, owned a beautiful hôtel
+in Paris. He had lived in the United States and spoke English like an
+American. He was very fond of practical jokes, and would make us all
+laugh at the tricks he had played on various people. My mother rather
+liked him, but at times he was almost too noisy; in fact, very like a
+schoolboy, as he was up to all kinds of fun. He belonged to the Jockey
+Club, and generally drove a fine four-in-hand to the races at Longchamps,
+and he was very fond of racing.
+
+The Marquis de Bois-Hébert, the husband of the well-known author, used
+also to drive a very fine four-in-hand in Paris at this time. I knew him
+very well and have mentioned him in my book, “Society Recollections in
+Paris and Vienna.”
+
+The late Hon. Albert Bingham, brother of Lord Clanmorris, who drew the
+pictures in Lady Brassey’s well-known book, used often to dine with
+us in the Rue d’Albe, and sometimes brought with him a little pug-dog
+called Félice, who was a great favourite, particularly with the ladies.
+Bingham was a very pleasant man, with plenty of conversation, and was
+most popular in Paris. He was very nice-looking and a good draughtsman,
+besides being clever in other ways. I remember him getting me an
+invitation to dine with the Naylor-Leylands, who had a fine hôtel in the
+Avenue d’Antin, in which the kitchen was at the top of the house. The
+Naylor-Leylands had as their secretary a man who had formerly been a
+captain in the Rifle Brigade. I was at Eton with Albert Bingham’s nephew,
+Lord Clanmorris, who entered the Rifle Brigade. I met him afterwards in
+town and also in Paris. He married soon after the last time I saw him. He
+has recently died.
+
+The Piétris sometimes came to see us in the Rue d’Albe, and, on the
+marriage of the eldest daughter, Marie, I was invited to the wedding,
+at which the two younger sisters acted as bridesmaids, and also to the
+ball given just before the married couple started on their honeymoon.
+About two hundred people were present at this ball, and the supper was
+an excellent one, with champagne. I danced with Mlle. Julie Piétri, who
+was a beautiful dancer, and looked very pretty that evening in a dress of
+pink tulle, with pearls as ornaments.
+
+When Captain Hubert de Burgh, formerly of the 11th Hussars, who was an
+Old Etonian and a nephew of the Earl of Cardigan, dined with us, as he
+often did, my mother always said that she felt sure that he would break
+a wine-glass; and he invariably did so. This was previous to his being
+attacked by the sad spinal complaint from which he died. One day, in
+the Champs-Elysées, he fell in love at sight with a German lady whom my
+father knew, and she told him that she had also fallen in love with de
+Burgh. My father introduced them to each other, and de Burgh afterwards
+left the lady his entire fortune. At one time my father always went with
+him to the different race-meetings round Paris.
+
+In later years, Mr. Tugwell, a banker from Bath, who was on a visit to
+Paris, was very anxious to see Ferrières, the magnificent country-seat
+of the late Baron Alphonse de Rothschild. Accordingly, having obtained
+permission from the Baron himself, who happened to be in Paris at the
+time, we went there by train.
+
+Ferrières is one of the most beautiful properties in the world, and
+enjoys quite a European reputation for its magnificence. We went all over
+the château itself, entering nearly every room. On our arrival at the top
+of the house, I recollect seeing some very elaborate coffins, covered
+with gold, standing up against the outside walls of certain rooms. The
+servant who showed us over the house explained to us about these coffins,
+and said whose they were; but I was only too pleased to go down the
+staircase again and see them no more. The servant showed us some of the
+beautiful _objets d’art_ and paintings which adorned the walls, and told
+us that the house contained _objets d’art_ to the value of nearly one
+hundred million francs. Baron Alphonse was the wealthiest of all the
+Rothschilds, and all the most remarkable _objets d’art_ which had been
+amassed by the family in years gone by had been collected and placed in
+the Château de Ferrières. We were told that Rothschild rarely ever gave
+permission for visitors to see the inside of the château, as he did not
+wish journalists and others to describe the interior of this splendid
+house and the wealth it contained, which, we were assured, exceeded
+that of any other in Europe. Tugwell, who could not speak French, was
+delighted to find that one of the gardeners had lived as head gardener
+on his estate near Bath, and had also been a gardener in the service of
+the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII. This man showed us over
+the greenhouses, and told us that he was one of twenty-seven gardeners
+employed at Ferrières, and that the collection of orchids was the finest
+in Europe; and Tugwell, who had a very fine collection himself, admitted,
+after seeing them, that such must be the case.
+
+Baron Alphonse de Rothschild was a fair man with a long beard. He used,
+at one time, to ride a very fine chestnut horse, and to go every morning,
+accompanied by his daughter, also on horseback, to the Bois de Boulogne,
+returning to his hôtel in time for _déjeuner_ at twelve o’clock. Mlle. de
+Rothschild died quite young, and the Baron, who never seemed to get over
+her death, died himself not long afterwards.
+
+On one occasion, I went to the Chantilly and to le Vésinet races, and was
+shown over the splendid estate of the Duc d’Aumale. Colonel McCall, a
+friend of my father, was Equerry to the Duke, and his son, who was an Old
+Etonian, served in my regiment, which he commanded in later years. The
+Duc d’Aumale bequeathed this splendid property to the French nation. Le
+Vésinet races were not of much account, and were only kept going by the
+support of the royal owner of Chantilly.
+
+I went, of course, to Versailles to see the magnificent château and
+the beautiful gardens, which are laid out in the most charming manner
+imaginable, and, though often imitated, have never been equalled. Le
+Petit Trianon, with its splendid collection of roses of every possible
+_nuance_—the “Souvenir à la Malmaison,” “Prince Noir,” “La France,”
+“Niphetos,” “Boule de Neige,” and so forth—greatly enhance the charm
+of that part of the gardens; and when the great fountains are playing,
+the view from the terrace is quite fairy-like in its wonderful beauty,
+and the château looks like one of those magic palaces described in the
+“Arabian Nights.” When there is a display of fireworks and the fountains
+are lit up by various coloured lights, you may almost imagine yourself
+in fairyland or living in the days of the Caliph Haroun Alrashid,
+particularly if one happens to be in the company of a fair lady, as I was
+in that of Mlle. Renée Leclerc.
+
+I went once to Enghien with my mother and the Marquise Brian de
+Bois-Guilbert, where we listened to a fine Prussian military band, which
+played, as the Marquise observed, better than most French military bands.
+It was, however, depressing to reflect that the Prussians were then
+in occupation and so near Paris. Enghien is a nice little place, with
+an artificial lake and some fine houses, and the public garden, where
+the band plays of an afternoon, is a very pretty one. The Marquise de
+Bois-Guilbert stayed there during the War, and for some time afterwards,
+before returning to Paris, where she usually lived.
+
+I once visited the Fair of Saint-Germain with some friends. In one of
+the shows a woman conjuror singled me out, and asked me to hold a gold
+coin in my hand. Then, telling me to keep my hand tightly closed, she
+went away to a considerable distance, counted up to three and fired off
+a pistol. Afterwards, she asked me to open my hand and to count aloud in
+French the pieces it contained, which I found numbered over thirty. How
+the trick was performed I have never had the slightest idea to this day.
+
+I was once at the Cirque d’Hiver, in Paris, when a woman was blindfolded
+on the stage; after which her husband came up to me and asked if I had a
+foreign bank-note about me. I gave him an Austrian one, which he held in
+his hand, and the woman immediately cried out:
+
+“Austrian ten-florin note, Number 178150.”
+
+I never was able to discover how this was done.
+
+I went once with Madame Saint-Hilaire, who wrote some interesting novels,
+published by Dentu, of the Palais Royal, and her pretty daughter, Madame
+Alice Kernave, who had been an actress in St. Petersburg, to a _séance_
+of spirit-rapping and table-turning, in which they both firmly believed.
+But, to tell the truth, I did not think much of it, though the _séances_
+were always very well attended. I did not mind being kept in the dark
+when I sat near Madame Alice Kernave, but when I went there alone with
+her mother on one occasion I felt rather nervous. I never went again, but
+frequently visited the daughter, whom I admired at that time. She had
+received, while in St. Petersburg, very handsome presents from a Russian
+gentleman, who, she told me, had recently died. She was looking for a
+good engagement in _la haute comédie_, in which she was very clever.
+I met her some years afterwards at Nice, where she was acting at the
+theatre, when she told me that she had lived in great luxury while her
+Russian friend was alive, but since then had been obliged to live more
+economically in Paris.
+
+[Illustration: Madame Alice Kernave.
+
+[_To face p. 164._]
+
+[Illustration: The late Earl of Berkeley.
+
+[_To face p. 165._]
+
+I remember that once the Baron de Vay, a Russian, who lived during the
+summer at a villa he owned at Vévey, in Switzerland, called on my mother,
+in the Rue d’Albe, with his daughter, a pretty little girl of fourteen.
+In the course of conversation, the Baron mentioned that he made a rule
+of never knowing certain people for more than a fortnight, after which
+he always dropped their acquaintance, if he possibly could, for, as he
+explained, in that space of time he learned all their good qualities and
+none of their faults. I could not help thinking at the time, and I am
+still of the same opinion, that he was a most fortunate man to be able to
+do so. The Baron only spoke French and Russian, and did not know a word
+of English.
+
+In later years, when the Earl of Berkeley was living with his
+wife and his sister-in-law, the Baronne van Havre, in the Rue de
+Saint-Pétersbourg, he took a fancy to the streich melodion (or viola
+zither), which is somewhat like the streich zither, and Sighicelli,
+the famous violinist of the Grand Opéra, came every evening to give us
+lessons, when we all three played together. The streich melodion is a
+favourite instrument in Vienna, where thirty or forty of them are at
+times played together by young girls in society at the Musik Vereins
+Saal, and the effect is quite charming. Some evenings, Taffanel, the
+flute-player of the Grand Opéra, brought his silver flute, and really
+enchanted all whom Berkeley invited to his house. I remember that, one
+evening, Captain Francis Lowther, the father of Miss Toupie Lowther, the
+well-known lawn-tennis player, came there. He was a son of the Earl of
+Lonsdale and a friend of my father. He told Berkeley how well he spoke
+foreign languages, particularly French, when the latter replied that
+there was very little merit in his being able to do so, as he had spoken
+them all his life.
+
+At the house of some American friends of ours I had the privilege
+of meeting the same evening two of the greatest men of their time:
+General Grant and Gambetta. General Grant appeared to me to be a short,
+stoutly-built and rather stern-looking man. On being presented to him, I
+happened to remark that the day had been a fine one, to which he replied:—
+
+“I beg to differ from you, sir; the wind was a bitterly cold one from the
+North.”
+
+I afterwards spoke in praise of Paris, and said how much I preferred it
+to London, so far as its theatres and other amusements were concerned.
+The General replied that he was much pleased with what he had seen of
+Paris, but that London and the English interested him far more. He then
+asked me several questions about England and the British Army, which I
+answered to the best of my ability. My answers seemed to please him,
+since he asked me to give him my address, and called on me with his
+son the very next day; but I happened most unfortunately to be out. My
+impression of Grant was that he was a very kind-hearted man, but that he
+did not carry his heart on his sleeve.
+
+Gambetta shook hands with me like the General, but, instead of letting
+go of my hand, kept it in his, the while he made a very long speech
+in French, which was so florid that I was quite carried away by his
+eloquence, and forgot almost where I was. He did not seem to expect
+a reply; anyway, he contented himself with one or two monosyllables
+from me, and praised England, the English, and the English Army in the
+most high-flown language. My impression of Gambetta was that he was a
+passionate, warm-hearted son of the Midi, who certainly wore his heart on
+his sleeve. His appearance was not in his favour, as he was excessively
+stout and had a bad figure, but his attractive, captivating manner more
+than atoned for his physical defects.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+    My First Night at Mess—Life at Shorncliffe—The Charltons
+
+
+It was not until two years after I had passed my examination for the
+Army, in 1872, that I obtained my commission, when I was gazetted
+as a sub-lieutenant to the 2nd Battalion of the 10th (Lincolnshire)
+Regiment. My regiment was at that time serving in India, but, since it
+was under orders to return home, I was posted to the regimental depôt at
+Shorncliffe, which was attached temporarily to the 2nd Battalion of the
+9th (Norfolk) Regiment.
+
+On my arrival at Shorncliffe, I reported to Lieutenant Richard Southey,
+the officer temporarily commanding the depôt, the senior officer, Captain
+Byron, being then on leave. He was a tall, good-looking man, with very
+pleasant manners, and I felt at once at my ease with him. He showed me
+the hut which was to serve as my quarters, and offered to do anything
+for me that he could, even placing his soldier servant at my disposal,
+until I had time to choose one from the depôt. My hut, which was similar
+to those occupied by other officers, contained two small rooms leading
+into one another; while the furniture, which I had had sent down from
+London, was of the kind usually found in barracks, consisting of a bed
+which could be easily taken to pieces, a chest of drawers separated into
+two parts, but which could be put together for use, a green and black
+Brussels carpet, and curtains to match. I also had an oak bureau, forming
+a chest of drawers and writing-table, which I had had all the time I was
+at Eton. The furniture supplied to officers by the War Office consisted
+merely of a table and two or three ordinary chairs; but, with my own
+arm-chair, tablecloth, various knick-knacks and a number of pictures
+which I had had at Eton, I managed to make the rooms look habitable, if
+nothing else.
+
+At half-past six a bugle sounded for the officers to dress for mess,
+which was at seven o’clock. I confess that I felt not a little nervous on
+entering the ante-room in my new uniform, which was scarlet with yellow
+facings; but Southey was already there and introduced me to most of the
+officers, who greeted me very cordially.
+
+The president at dinner was a captain named Dunn, who sat at the head
+of the table; the vice-president was a lieutenant. The president and
+vice-president hold office for a week, and are then replaced by other
+officers of the same rank. The conversation at table was very animated,
+mainly on general topics; indeed, military matters seemed to be more
+or less tabooed. The string band of the regiment played during dinner,
+and, I thought, tolerably well, though, as I had just come from Paris,
+where I was accustomed to hear some of the best military bands, I was
+perhaps rather difficult to please. After the band had played “God save
+the Queen,” and Her Majesty’s health had been proposed by the president,
+all the officers standing to drink it, we left the table, the president
+and the vice-president being the last to leave. Most of the officers
+then adjourned to the ante-room, where I got into conversation with a
+lieutenant named Bethell, who had just joined the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment,
+and whom I had known as a boy in Somersetshire. Bethell was a very clever
+fellow, and in his examination for the Army had passed first out of three
+hundred. He was an excellent rifle-shot and a good all-round sportsman.
+Some years later he succeeded to the title of Lord Westbury, when he was
+transferred to the Guards.
+
+In the course of the evening the adjutant, Lieutenant Maltby, came up to
+me and told me that I must put in an appearance next morning at early
+drill. Maltby was an exceedingly nice fellow, and a thorough soldier.
+He was very particular about his dress, and even in mufti was always
+_tiré à quatre épingles_. The following morning I found him on the
+parade ground, when he handed me over to a corporal for instruction in
+the goose step. After I had been practising this engaging exercise for
+about an hour, the adjutant came up, watch in hand, and told the corporal
+that that would do for the day, and asked me to accompany him to the
+mess-room, where we ordered breakfast. With the exception of the orderly
+officer, who was obliged to attend early parade with the adjutant and who
+came in shortly afterwards, we had the room to ourselves, as the other
+officers did not as a rule breakfast until nine o’clock or later.
+
+After breakfast, Maltby took me to the orderly room, to introduce me to
+the colonel, telling me that I must always address him and the majors
+as “Sir,” but that this was only customary with other superior officers
+when on parade. The colonel, Lieut.-Colonel Knox, who came in shortly
+afterwards, was a tall, well-built man of about sixty, with grey hair and
+moustache and whiskers almost white, which gave him the appearance of
+being older than he was. He was very pleasant to me, and said:—
+
+“I am very pleased to have you in my regiment, and am only sorry that you
+do not belong to it, as you are an Etonian, and I am very fond of Eton
+boys.”
+
+He then said I must come to his house, when he would present me to his
+wife and daughter.
+
+At lunch, which was at half-past one, I was introduced to a lieutenant
+named Lovell, a good-looking fellow about five-and-twenty, with fair
+hair and moustache, whom I had not seen the previous evening, and with
+whom I became very friendly. He asked me to come with him for a walk to
+Folkestone, which was quite near, to which I readily consented. We had a
+pleasant walk along the cliffs, and I was quite charmed with Folkestone,
+with its green lawns facing the sea and its fine houses, standing for
+the most part in the midst of trim, little gardens, gay with summer
+flowers. During our walk Lovell explained to me many things about the
+Service, and told me many curious incidents which had happened while
+the regiment was at Yokohama, where it had been stationed for several
+years, before being sent to Shorncliffe. He said that the regiment was
+very sorry to leave Japan, and that it was never likely to have such a
+charming station again. After a short time in England, it would probably
+be ordered to India, and that, in that case, he should exchange into
+a cavalry regiment, which he subsequently did. He was, however, very
+devoted to his present regiment, and said that the chief was an excellent
+man, and everything that one could wish for in a colonel, and that it was
+a rare thing to find all the officers pull so well together as they did.
+Unfortunately, the colonel would have to retire soon, though Daunt, the
+senior major, who would probably succeed to the command, would not make a
+bad chief.
+
+A day or two later, I called at the colonel’s house, where I was
+introduced to his wife and daughter. The latter was a tall, dark girl, in
+the early twenties, with very charming manners. The colonel asked me a
+number of questions about Eton and also about Paris, of which city he was
+very fond, though he had not been there for some years; and when I left,
+walked part of the way back to camp with me.
+
+I found my life very easy with the 9th Regiment. I had to attend parade
+from seven till eight, and again from eleven till half-past twelve; but
+of an afternoon I was generally free to do as I pleased, as it was only
+occasionally that I had to attend afternoon parade, which, however,
+was over by four o’clock. After my duties for the day were over and I
+had changed my clothes, I usually went into Folkestone, returning in
+time for mess. At first the only people I knew in Folkestone were a
+retired colonel and his wife, who were friends of my parents; but Lovell
+introduced me to several of his friends. Among them was a certain Miss
+Burnett, who was very much in love with a lieutenant of the 9th Regiment,
+named Seaton, and at no pains to conceal the fact, which occasioned
+me no little amusement. Unfortunately, Seaton did not reciprocate the
+attachment with which he had inspired her. More to my taste than this
+lovelorn damsel was a lively young lady of some fifteen summers, who was
+known to her intimates as “Vic.” She was a general favourite with the
+subalterns of the regiment, as she was very fond of horses and dogs, and
+rather amusing in her conversation, in which she used slang expressions
+with considerable freedom. Miss “Vic” used to drive a very smart turn-out
+about Folkestone, and was quite an accomplished whip.
+
+The 9th Regiment used to give “Penny Readings” once a fortnight, at
+which a good many people from Folkestone and Sandgate were generally
+present. At the first of these entertainments which I attended Lovell
+read some of “Artemus Ward,” and in such an amusing manner that everyone
+was delighted. As I had the reputation of being a good performer on the
+zither, I was asked to play something on that instrument, which was quite
+a novelty. It was very well received, and next day I received a note from
+a lady unknown to me, who, I was told, was the mother of an officer in
+the “Blues,” inviting me to dinner and asking me to bring my zither with
+me. I showed the letter to Maltby, who advised me not to accept it, as it
+would, in his opinion, be making myself too cheap. So I declined, with
+many thanks.
+
+A subaltern of the 10th Regiment, named Richard Southey, went on leave
+about this time and left me his black servant. I found the fellow very
+attentive, but I soon began to miss things. Among them was a pearl stud,
+for finding which I promised him a shilling. As, however, it was not
+forthcoming, I offered him half-a-crown, and the next day he produced
+it, to my great satisfaction. But, as I soon found that this system of
+offering rewards for “lost” articles was a trifle too expensive, and I
+could not get rid of him till Southey returned, I was forced to protect
+myself by putting everything of value under lock and key. Nevertheless,
+he generally succeeded in discovering some means of relieving me of
+anything to which he happened to take a fancy.
+
+[Illustration: Miss Augusta Charlton.
+
+[_To face p. 172._]
+
+[Illustration: Miss Ida Charlton.
+
+[_To face p. 173._]
+
+Captain John Byron, a grandson of Lord Byron, who commanded the depôt
+of my regiment, returned about this time from leave. He was a rather
+handsome and very distinguished-looking man of forty, but inclined
+to be very arrogant in his manner towards those whom he did not like.
+Fortunately, he condescended to take a great fancy to me from the first,
+and made quite a friend of me, notwithstanding that I was so much younger
+than he was.
+
+Soon after this, another sub-lieutenant, named Arthur Dillon, joined my
+regiment, so that I now had a companion at morning drill. Dillon was the
+son of an Irish baronet, who was also a Count of the Holy Roman Empire,
+though no one would have imagined that he hailed from the Emerald Isle,
+as he spoke without the faintest trace of an Irish accent, and was a very
+nice young fellow indeed.
+
+One day I took Dillon over to Dover to call upon some people named
+Charlton, whose acquaintance I had made when a boy at Ostend, and who
+were now living in Victoria Park. Mr. Charlton had formerly served in the
+Queen’s Bays, though he had sold out of the Service while still a cornet;
+his wife was a very handsome woman, and they had six children, five
+girls and a boy, the two elder girls, Augusta and Ida, being remarkably
+pretty. Mrs. Charlton invited us to stay to supper, an invitation which
+we readily accepted, the more so that we were both at a susceptible age
+and the charms of our hostess’s daughters had not been without their
+effect upon us. During supper Mrs. Charlton told us that a very smart
+ball was to be given shortly at Dover, to which they were going, and
+suggested that we should join them and bring two or three other young
+officers, saying that she could manage to put us all up for the night.
+Needless to say, we gladly accepted her kind offer, and on the day of
+the ball went over to Dover, with Bethell and another subaltern of the
+9th named Townsend. As the ball was a military one, we all had to appear
+in uniform, and at the entrance to the ball-room were asked our names
+and regiments. Townsend gave his own and my name, and when they asked my
+rank, coolly replied: “Colonel, 10th Regiment.” Next day, in the local
+newspaper, in the list of those present at the ball, I duly appeared as
+such.
+
+After the ball, which was a great success, and at which the Misses
+Charlton, who had recently returned from a visit to the Continent and
+wore dresses of the very latest Paris fashion, were immensely admired, we
+drove back to Victoria Park, where we spent what little remained of the
+night, and after an early breakfast returned to Shorncliffe.
+
+Dillon and I found our life at Shorncliffe very monotonous when winter
+came on, for Folkestone was almost empty, and had it not been for the
+kindness of our friends at Dover, at whose house we were always assured
+of a warm welcome, we should have had a precious dull time of it. The
+only event of interest was the arrival from India of the 3rd Battalion
+of the 60th Rifles, all the officers of which were made honorary members
+of the 9th Regiment’s mess, until their own mess was in order. I made
+the acquaintance of several of the new-comers, who seemed very nice
+fellows indeed. One of them, Captain Bingham, told me, _à propos_ of
+the ball to which I had been at Dover, that once the 1st Rifle Brigade,
+when stationed there, had been invited to a ball given by the Buffs,
+but that when the “Green Jackets,” in their turn, gave a ball, they did
+not condescend to invite any of the officers of the Buffs, nor any of
+the Dover ladies, all the guests coming down from London, which greatly
+disgusted everybody at Dover, and created a very bad feeling between the
+two regiments.
+
+Not long after this, Captain Byron received news that our regiment was
+shortly expected from India, and would be stationed at Chatham. This, of
+course, necessitated the immediate removal of the depôt to Chatham, to
+the great regret of both Dillon and myself, for, on the whole, we had
+been very happy at Shorncliffe, and feared that we might not enjoy nearly
+so much liberty as we had had with the 9th Regiment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+    An N.C.O. of the Old School—Major Blewett—Captain
+    Byron—Sandhurst
+
+
+On our arrival at Chatham Barracks, I was allotted a single room in the
+officers’ quarters, which was much smaller and less comfortable than
+either of the two rooms which I had occupied at Shorncliffe. Dillon was
+given a similar one, but Byron, being a captain, had better accommodation.
+
+Dillon and I found our life at Chatham very different from that at
+Shorncliffe, and not nearly so pleasant. We had to attend early drill
+with the recruits under a sergeant, who was very severe, and made us
+drill exactly the same as the men. Some mornings it was so cold that our
+hands became quite numbed, and we could scarcely hold our rifles. But
+this martinet of a sergeant had no pity, and made us “carry on” until we
+were ready to drop with fatigue and cold. The recruits he bullied most
+unmercifully. One morning, a recruit arrived late for parade, whereupon
+the sergeant gave him several kicks on his shins, and pulled him by the
+ears, until the poor fellow almost yelled with the pain. His tormentor,
+however, soon silenced him.
+
+“I won’t have any of your blubbering,” cried he. “If you don’t stop at
+once, I’ll give you three days’ extra drill.” This sort of thing he
+could do with impunity, as the adjutant was rarely on the parade-ground
+during early morning drill. He appeared at afternoon parade, but paid
+very little attention to the recruits, occupying himself mainly with
+company drill. So matters continued until our regiment arrived, and even
+then there was not much improvement, for, so long as we remained in
+Chatham Barracks, the luckless recruits were always drilled by the same
+sergeant, none of them daring to complain, from fear lest worse things
+should befall them.
+
+The 2nd Battalion of the 10th Regiment was at that time commanded by
+Lieut.-Colonel Annesley, an amiable old gentleman, with a wife and
+family, who appeared to engross a good deal more of his attention than
+did his regiment. For of much that was going on he seemed quite ignorant,
+and it was purposely kept from him. In fact, the battalion was really
+commanded by the senior major, Major Blewitt, the colonel seldom putting
+in an appearance except on field days. Major Blewitt was a very smart
+officer, and though at times inclined to severity, exceedingly just.
+He was very particular about etiquette, and scarcely ever spoke to a
+subaltern, except to give him advice or to reprimand him, even in the
+ante-room. I recollect about the only occasion on which he condescended
+to address me.
+
+There was a sub-lieutenant of a West India Regiment, whom I will call
+H——, attached at that time to the 10th. This young gentleman was very
+fond of écarté, and often induced me to play with him after mess. We
+played for half-a-crown a game, and I found that I generally lost, as
+H—— had a perfectly wonderful way of turning up the king almost every
+time he dealt. One evening, we were playing in the ante-room, where Major
+Blewitt was sitting, reading a newspaper. Presently, the major looked
+over the top of his paper, and observed that it was a pity that we could
+not find some better way of passing the time than playing cards; adding
+that, if he thought we were playing for money, he would stop us at once.
+Soon afterwards, we finished our rubber, and H—— left the room, upon
+which Major Blewitt called me to him and told me that he did not like to
+see me playing cards. On one occasion, he said, he was present when two
+young officers were playing écarté. One of them lost persistently the
+whole evening, but since they both assured him that they were playing for
+love, he did not interfere, though the way the luck continued to run in
+one direction was extremely suspicious. Subsequently, he discovered that
+they had actually been playing for five hundred pounds a game, and that
+the loser had been completely ruined. The major added that, from what he
+had seen of H——’s play, he should be very sorry to sit down to cards with
+him, and to play with him for anything like high stakes would be simply
+madness. The warning he gave me on this occasion was certainly well
+justified, for a lieutenant of the Lincoln’s, named Glass, afterwards
+lost considerable sums to H—— at écarté.
+
+The captains of the regiment did not like Major Blewitt, who treated
+them off parade with a certain haughtiness, as though he were showing
+them condescension in speaking to them at all; while the N.C.O.’s, and
+particularly the sergeants, were all afraid of him, as he seemed to be
+aware of everything that was going on, and was very severe upon them if
+they did not treat the men properly.
+
+One day on parade, when Major Blewitt was in command, he gave some
+extraordinary orders, which it was quite impossible for the regiment to
+carry out, and later, in the ante-room, he behaved in a very strange
+manner. It was then ascertained that his mind was affected, the result of
+a sunstroke which he had had in India. He went away on sick leave, but
+six months later had to retire from the Service, as it was found that he
+was never likely to recover.
+
+The next officer in seniority was Major Hudson, who told me that he
+had served under my uncle and godfather, General the Hon. Sir George
+Cathcart, when the latter was Governor of the Cape. The major was a very
+pleasant man, but he had certain eccentricities, one of which was a
+partiality for white kid gloves and patent-leather boots, which he wore
+on parade, even in winter. He had little control over the captains, who
+did very much as they liked. One of them was almost perpetually drunk,
+and led his wife, a rather pretty woman and very well off, a miserable
+life, even going so far as to beat her, it was said. Some of the
+subalterns also drank a great deal more than was good for them, and there
+was one who was drunk on parade on at least one occasion.
+
+Little, the senior lieutenant and adjutant, was, however, a very nice
+fellow, as well as a good soldier, and the same could be said for two
+other subalterns, Archibald Glen and De Houghton. The former was six feet
+seven in height, and reputed to be the tallest man in the Army. I liked
+him exceedingly, but, unfortunately, he soon left the regiment for the
+Staff College. De Houghton, who afterwards became a baronet, had received
+the Gold Medal of the Royal Humane Society for saving life at sea.
+
+There was a subaltern in the 10th who prided himself on his knowledge
+of French. Once, when the regiment was stationed at Malta, a French
+warship happened to call there, and the officers were invited by the 10th
+to dinner. This lieutenant, being the best French scholar, was placed
+between the captain of the warship and another French officer. Presently,
+the captain asked him in French how long he had been at Malta, to which
+he replied, without hesitation, while everybody pricked up their ears to
+listen:—
+
+“_Je suis un âne ici._” (“I am an ass here.”)
+
+The French captain tried to look serious, but the other French officers
+burst into fits of laughter. One of them spoke a little English and
+explained to the company what the joke was, when they all joined in the
+merriment. Needless to say, this misadventure remained ever afterwards a
+standing joke against the unfortunate lieutenant.
+
+Life at Chatham was very monotonous. Of society there was practically
+none, and, as the married ladies of the regiment were not on good terms
+with one another, there was little or no entertaining among the 10th.
+There was no theatre and only a couple of low-class music-halls. I went
+once to one of them, where there was a box reserved for the officers of
+the garrison, but did not feel inclined to repeat the visit.
+
+While I was at Chatham, a big ball was given in the officers’ mess-room
+at the barracks by the regiments forming the garrison. A good many people
+came down from London, and were conveyed back by a special train after
+the ball was over. I invited my friends from Dover, and the two elder
+girls, Augusta and Ida, were, as usual, much admired. The affair was a
+great success, and the supper was on the most lavish scale, with plovers’
+eggs and every imaginable delicacy and champagne flowing like water.
+
+In due course, Dillon and I were put to company drill. On one occasion
+I got my company into a hopeless position, up against a wall, and not
+knowing what to do, told them calmly “to stand at ease,” to the great
+amusement of everyone, including the adjutant, who told the story against
+me at mess that night, observing that I must evidently be a person of
+resource, as anyone else would have been at a loss how to act.
+
+A good many field-days took place at Chatham, of which the escalading of
+some high walls was a feature. I had sometimes to carry the colours in
+escalading these walls, a task which I did not much relish, as it was by
+no means an easy one.
+
+I was growing so tired of Chatham that I was quite glad when I was sent
+with the rest of my company to Gravesend, to go through a six weeks’
+musketry course. I was constantly with Captain Byron, whom I very much
+liked, indeed, I preferred him to anyone else in the regiment, even
+to Dillon. Byron used to tell me that I was very foolish to leave the
+regiment, for one day he would, he thought, be in command, and then I
+should have a very good time of it. But my relatives were anxious for me
+to serve in one of the regiments for which my name had been put down on
+the Prince of Wales’s private list, so I thought I was bound to accept
+the transfer when the offer came, which I was sure would be very soon.
+
+While at Gravesend, I went up to town to see Aimée Desclée act in _Diane
+de Lys_, by Alexandre Dumas _fils_. I thought her the finest actress
+I had ever seen, with the exception, perhaps, of Sarah Bernhardt. She
+played the part with so much delicacy and refinement, her voice was so
+pleasing and her attitudes so graceful, that I was altogether charmed
+with her. Poor woman! She died very soon afterwards from a chest
+complaint, while quite young. I was much pleased with an American actor,
+J. K. Emmett, at the St. James’s Theatre, who played with a little child,
+singing a song in which the refrain was: “Schneider, how you vas.” I also
+paid more than one visit to the Opera at Covent Garden, where Adelina
+Patti and Scalchi and the tenor Gayarré were delighting the audience.
+
+On my return to Chatham I found the work very hard. The most trying part
+of it was being on guard at the barracks, where I was obliged to be on
+duty once a week for the whole twenty-four hours. The guard used to be
+turned out two or three times during the day, and also in the middle of
+the night, by the field-officer of the week, who sometimes made his round
+at one or two o’clock in the morning, when the subaltern on duty had to
+turn out the guard, besides having to go his round of the sentries. The
+officer on guard was not allowed to go to bed or take his clothes off,
+even after the field-officer had made his round of inspection, or he
+might get into the most serious trouble. There were other guards at some
+distance from Chatham, to look after the convicts, but this was during
+the day, and not nearly so trying as to be on guard at the barracks.
+
+Not long after my return to Chatham, Dillon and I were sent to Sandhurst,
+for a six months’ course of instruction. But before going, at my
+relatives’ suggestion, I went up to town to see the Military Secretary of
+the War Office, who was then General Cartwright, to inquire what chance I
+had of being transferred to the Rifle Brigade. He asked me what influence
+I had, when I mentioned the Adjutant-General, Lord Airey, who had already
+presented me at a levée to the Prince of Wales, while I was stationed
+at Shorncliffe. General Cartwright then inquired if I had not any other
+interest, remarking that the Scots Guards were more easy to enter than
+either the Rifle Brigade or the 60th Rifles, and that, unless I had
+someone else behind me, he feared my chance would be but a poor one. I
+then told him that my cousin, the Hon. Emily Cathcart, maid of honour to
+Queen Victoria, had had my name put down for both the Rifle regiments,
+by General Ponsonby, on the Prince of Wales’s private list, upon which he
+smiled and said:—
+
+“She could get you into either of these; in fact, she could get you into
+anything she pleased. If you had mentioned her name before, I could have
+told you so at once.”
+
+I found life at Sandhurst very much like being at school again, with more
+restrictions than there were at Eton. There was a great deal of “ragging”
+going on, and some fellows had their furniture and everything in their
+rooms broken. I was fortunate in being, for some unaccountable reason,
+rather popular with the ringleaders—not that I assisted them in any way,
+for this sort of horse-play did not appeal to me—and so escaped being one
+of their victims. Dillon was not so lucky, as at first he showed fight,
+but he soon recognized that the wisest course was to assume indifference.
+There were several sub-lieutenants of the Guards and cavalry regiments at
+Sandhurst, one or two of whom had been at Eton with me, and I made many
+friendships, one with a young fellow in the 78th Highlanders, with whom
+I often took long walks into the pretty country around Sandhurst. Apart
+from the instruction, I rather enjoyed my time at the college, as I got
+on well with nearly everyone. I had to go through the riding-school and
+ride horses over jumps without stirrups, which rather amused me, although
+there were some officers who disliked this part of the curriculum very
+much.
+
+After I had been about a month at Sandhurst, the Military Governor of
+the College, General Sir A. Alison, sent for me and told me that I had
+been transferred to the 2nd Battalion of the 60th Rifles, stationed in
+India. I must confess that I was at first rather disappointed, as it was
+not the regiment I had asked for, and I did not much like the idea of
+going to India. I asked General Alison what I had better do, when he said
+that he would telegraph to the War Office, and that I ought to finish my
+course of instruction at Sandhurst. I anxiously awaited the reply; and
+the following day he sent for me again, and told me that I must leave at
+once and get ready to sail for India, but that he thought the War Office
+would allow me a month to procure my outfit.
+
+Next day I left Sandhurst for London, and, having obtained a month’s
+leave, proceeded to Paris to visit my parents in the Rue d’Albe,
+Champs-Elysées. They, and my father in particular, told me that I had
+better accept the transfer, as I might have to wait a long time for
+the Rifle Brigade, and the Military Secretary had told me that I was
+appointed to the first vacancy that had occurred, as there was no vacancy
+in the Rifle Brigade then.
+
+During my stay in Paris, I often rode in the Bois with my father on a
+fiery thoroughbred chestnut, whom I found a very different kind of mount
+from the horses at Sandhurst, as he started at the least touch of my
+heel, whereas the others had required both whip and spur. I made the most
+of my time, going often to the Théâtre-Français, where I saw Delaunay in
+plays by Alfred de Musset and Alexandre Dumas _fils_, and was delighted
+with his acting. He was the best _jeune premier_ whom I ever saw, and
+always excellent in the art of stage love-making. I went to several balls
+and indulged in some flirtations with both French and American damsels,
+and was sorry when the day arrived that I had to take my departure for
+London to purchase my outfit for India. My mother was distressed at my
+having to go to India, particularly as the battalion had to stay out
+there for some years, and she was in very delicate health at that time.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+    I sail for India—Kandy—Dangerous Playmates—I arrive at Murree
+
+
+My father accompanied me to Portsmouth in the winter of 1873, where the
+troopship in which I was to sail for India was lying. We had first to
+touch at Queenstown, to embark a line regiment which had been ordered
+to Ceylon, and had a very unpleasant crossing, nearly everyone on board
+being ill. I had to share a cabin with two other sub-lieutenants, who
+joined the ship at Queenstown. One of them, named Basil Montgomery, was
+in my own regiment, having recently been transferred from the Highland
+Light Infantry. He was very tall, for which reason he was nicknamed
+“Longfellow” on board. The name of the other sub-lieutenant, who belonged
+to the 16th Lancers, was Babington, which, owing to his somewhat youthful
+appearance, was promptly abbreviated to “Baby.” I myself duly received
+the sobriquet of “Julie,” as Montgomery declared I was in the habit of
+murmuring this name in my dreams. It was that of a young lady whom I have
+mentioned in my book, “Society Recollections in Paris and Vienna,” and
+whom I had lately met frequently in society in Paris.
+
+The cabin we occupied was very small, and contained only one wash-basin,
+so we had to dress and wash one at a time; but we soon got used to this
+inconvenience.
+
+Montgomery and Babington were both excellent fellows, and I was soon on
+very friendly terms with them, as I was also with another sub-lieutenant
+of the 16th Lancers, named Taaffe. Taaffe was very musical, having a
+good voice and playing the concertina capitally. The daughter of the
+colonel of the line regiment we had on board, an extremely pretty and
+very impressionable damsel of seventeen, fell very much in love with him,
+and they used to sing duets together, to the accompaniment of Taaffe’s
+concertina.
+
+We had fine weather in the Bay of Biscay, where it is usually so rough,
+for which we were thankful. At Gibraltar we merely stopped for an hour
+to coal, but at Malta we stayed long enough for everyone to go on shore.
+Many of us dined at the Club and went to the Opera afterwards, which I
+thought very fair. The climate of Malta seemed delightful, but the town
+did not strike me as pretty.
+
+Not long after leaving Malta, bad weather and a dense fog came on, and
+something went wrong with the machinery, so that the captain did not know
+where we were. He was so alarmed that he ordered the chaplain to read the
+prayers for those in peril at sea, as at any moment he thought the ship
+might run on a rock. Happily, the machinery was repaired, and at the end
+of three days the weather improved, and the danger was over.
+
+At Port Said most of the officers went ashore, and some of them visited
+a gambling-house which bore a very evil reputation, an officer belonging
+to the 16th Lancers having been stabbed there the year before. Taaffe
+and I were among those who went, though Taaffe confessed to me that he
+felt rather nervous, fearing that some of the natives might recognize his
+uniform as that of the unfortunate officer’s regiment.
+
+At Ismailia we caught sight of M. de Lesseps, who sent an invitation to
+the ship, inviting six of us to visit him. Many of the officers thought
+that I ought to go, as I was the only one who could speak French; but
+this suggestion was overruled, and it was decided that the six must
+be chosen by seniority. As not one of them could speak French, and M.
+de Lesseps did not understand English, the interview must have proved
+a somewhat comic affair; at any rate, the six maintained a suspicious
+silence about it on their return.
+
+Soon after we had passed through the Red Sea, which did not prove nearly
+so hot as we had expected, I fell ill with scurvy, and the doctor who
+attended me advised me to sleep in the passage near the ladies’ saloon,
+as the air was purer. However, an old dame objected to my sleeping so
+near the ladies, so the doctor got me a cabin to myself. On our arrival
+at Colombo, where the line regiment was disembarked, he obtained leave
+for me to go to Kandy and remain there until the ship sailed for Bombay.
+
+While at Kandy, I went with Taaffe, who had joined me there, and two
+ladies to see the beautiful garden of Paradhenia, which is said to be
+the original garden of Paradise. We were all amazed at its beauty; the
+tropical plants and the vegetation being indescribably lovely. While
+walking in the high grass, one of the ladies was bitten by leeches, which
+crawled up her legs and frightened her terribly. She was fortunate,
+however, not to have been bitten by something much more objectionable,
+as we afterwards learned that it was very dangerous to walk in the high
+grass, as it was infested by snakes, some of which were most venomous.
+
+The grandeur of the scenery at Kandy and the wonderful vegetation
+enchanted us, as we had never seen anything to compare with it; it was
+indeed quite a paradise upon earth. The climate was also delicious, and
+even in the middle of the day the heat could not be called oppressive,
+while the mornings and evenings were truly delightful. The residents,
+however, told us that it was very trying to the health, as it never
+varied in the least, summer or winter. The scenery between Colombo and
+Kandy was in parts most exquisite, and the brilliant colouring of the
+flowers, which were of every imaginable hue, made one almost believe
+oneself in fairyland.
+
+Having embarked the infantry battalion which had been relieved by the one
+we had brought from England, we sailed from Colombo, but after proceeding
+some little way along the coast, the troopship stopped for half an hour,
+to enable an officer who had to join his regiment to embark in a launch
+which came out to fetch him. This officer took with him by mistake a
+lady’s trunk containing her dresses and underclothing, instead of his
+own, packed with his kit, which he left for the lady. The latter was in
+despair, particularly when informed that she was unlikely to receive any
+news of her property for six weeks at least.
+
+After a voyage of six weeks, we reached Bombay, and, after a little
+trouble at the Custom House over some Turkish cigarettes which I had
+brought with me, and upon which, to my surprise, I was obliged to
+pay duty, proceeded, with some other officers, to Watson’s Hotel. At
+“Watson’s,” which I found very expensive indeed, I met Viscount Baring,
+of the Rifle Brigade, who had been at Eton with me. He told me that he
+was now on the Viceroy’s Staff, and had come to Bombay to purchase some
+Arab horses for Lord Northbrook. Although it was winter, the heat was
+very great in Bombay, which I found very uninteresting, and, after a
+stay of two or three days, I set out for Murree, in the hills in the
+North-West Provinces, where my regiment was stationed.
+
+I had as a travelling companion for the first part of the journey a
+Staff-officer named Parker, who, on our arrival at Mean Meer, invited
+me to accompany him to the house of his brother-in-law, a judge, where
+I was most hospitably entertained, and tasted for the first time a real
+Indian curry, which I thought delicious. From Mean Meer I took the train
+to Rawal Pindi, in the Punjab. On my arrival, I went to the dâk bungalow,
+where soon afterwards I received a visit from a lieutenant in my regiment
+named Beauclerk, a son of Lord Amelius Beauclerk. He was an exceedingly
+good-looking young man, with fair hair and moustache and a very pleasant
+manner, and was most kind, offering me a room which he had at his
+disposal and inviting me to dine with him in the evening. After dinner I
+was rather astonished at seeing his syce walking in front of his master’s
+pony with a long stick, having at the end of it several bells, which he
+moved about in the grass. I asked the reason of this, when I was told
+that it was to frighten away the snakes, of which there were a great many
+poisonous ones hereabouts. Beauclerk told me that, a few nights earlier,
+he was dining with a Mrs. Kinloch, the wife of a captain in our regiment,
+when he saw a cobra quite close to her. She was playing the piano at the
+time, and the snake was evidently quite fascinated by the music. Fearing
+lest, if she moved, the snake might bite her, he told her to continue
+playing, and then, picking up a stick which happened to be near him,
+hit the cobra on the head and killed it. He said that there was another
+very dangerous snake called a kerite, which, though very small, was most
+venomous, and that Mrs. Kinloch had found one quite recently in her bed.
+Happily, she discovered it before it had a chance to bite her.
+
+Beauclerk told me that I ought to call upon Captain Kinloch, who,
+having passed through the Staff College, was at that time Acting Deputy
+Assistant Adjutant-General at Rawal Pindi. I did so, and was informed
+that Mrs. Kinloch only was at home. On being shown into the drawing-room,
+I was somewhat astonished to find a little girl there, playing with two
+panther-cubs, who snarled and showed their teeth at me. I asked the child
+whether she were not afraid of them, to which she answered:—
+
+“Oh, no, not at all!” and, opening the mouth of one of the cubs, thrust
+her hand into it.
+
+I began to feel quite alarmed for her safety, and was not a little
+relieved when her mother made her appearance upon the scene.
+
+Mrs. Kinloch was a very pretty young woman, with auburn hair and eyes
+of a greyish-blue colour. She told me that the panther-cubs had been
+captured by her husband a few days before, after he had shot the mother.
+
+“Are they not lovely?” she exclaimed enthusiastically. “So beautifully
+marked in reddish-yellow and black, with such fascinating yellow and
+brown eyes. It is delightful to watch them.”
+
+I replied that they were certainly very handsome and graceful animals,
+but that, nevertheless, I could not understand her allowing her daughter
+to have such dangerous playmates.
+
+To this she rejoined that she did not consider there was the slightest
+danger, so long as you were not afraid of them, adding:—
+
+“My little girl is not the least afraid.”
+
+The little girl was caressing the cubs at the time, while the animals
+were snarling and showing their long, pointed teeth, though whether in
+play or not I could not say, as I was not sufficiently acquainted with
+their ways.
+
+Captain Alexander Kinloch, who was a nephew of Sir Alexander Kinloch,
+was, I may here remark, the most famous sportsman in India at that time,
+and had written a celebrated book on big game shooting in India and
+Tibet, which was considered to be the standard work on the subject. When
+I met him afterwards, he told me many interesting things about Tibet,
+from which he had brought a fine collection of sporting trophies. Amongst
+them were several specimens of the ibex, which is found on the summits
+of the highest mountains, and to “bag” one of which is considered the
+greatest feat a sportsman can accomplish in India, since to approach
+within rifle-shot of it often entails the greatest risk to life.
+
+During the few days I remained at Rawal Pindi, I made the acquaintance of
+Colonel Montgomery-Moore, then commanding the 4th Hussars, and his wife,
+the Hon. Mrs. Montgomery-Moore, a daughter of Lord Seaton, to whom I had
+brought an introduction from my cousin, Emily Cathcart. They invited me
+to dinner, when they were most anxious to hear all the latest news from
+England, as they had been in India for some time. They were most kind and
+agreeable, and the colonel gave me some valuable information about Murree.
+
+There was no railway to Murree, and travellers generally made the first
+part of the journey from Rawal Pindi by carriage, and the rest in a
+_jampan_ (a kind of sedan-chair) as the road through the mountains was
+far too narrow and precipitate to admit of wheel traffic. I accordingly
+hired a carriage, and set off, but at a dâk bungalow, where I stopped
+to dine, I met a man, who, on hearing that I was on my way to Murree,
+offered to lend me a grey Arab which he was riding, observing that it
+would be a more pleasant way of making the journey than by _jampan_, and
+promising to send my luggage after me. I thanked him and accepted his
+offer, though, as he was a complete stranger to me, I could not help
+feeling some misgivings as to his intentions, for, if he had a mind to
+make off with my luggage, there was nothing to prevent him.
+
+The road which I had to traverse was very steep and in places almost
+impassable, but the Arab appeared well accustomed to the country and
+as sure-footed as a goat. I had, however, a few decidedly unpleasant
+moments, when, at a very narrow part of the road, where there was a
+precipice on one side, we met some buffaloes, as I thought they might
+take into their heads to charge us. But they happened to be quite
+peaceably disposed, and we got safely past them. It was late in the
+evening when I reached Murree, which I found covered with snow, as it
+stands 7,500 feet above sea level, and no greater contrast with the
+plains and Rawal Pindi, where the weather had been quite like summer,
+could be conceived. I made my way to the officers’ quarters, where I was
+given a room, and my horse well looked after. I had received instructions
+from the Arab’s owner to send him back to the dâk bungalow. This I did
+the following day, in the course of which my luggage arrived quite
+safely, not a little, I must frankly admit, to my relief.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+    My Brother-Officers—“The Oyster”—In High Society—Our Menagerie
+
+
+Murree is a very charming town. The houses, which bear some resemblance
+to those of Switzerland, but are mostly constructed of wood and have
+rarely more than two storeys, are built on the summit and sides of a
+ridge, and command magnificent views over forests, cultivated fields,
+hills and deep valleys, with the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas in
+the distance. There was a fairly good club at Murree, containing a number
+of bedrooms for the convenience of the members when they happened to
+require them.
+
+In the summer months my battalion was not actually stationed at Murree,
+but two miles off in the country, at Kooldunah. The officers lived in
+houses and villas very like Swiss cottages, and the men’s quarters
+were at the top of a very steep hill, about ten minutes’ walk from the
+mess. The battalion was at this time commanded by Lieut.-Colonel H. P.
+Montgomery, who had a brother in the Rifle Brigade. Colonel Montgomery,
+who was a fine-looking man of about fifty-five and wore a pointed beard
+which was beginning to turn grey, was universally popular, as he was
+a thorough soldier and devoted to his profession. He did everything
+possible to make his battalion as efficient as any in the Service, and
+prided himself upon its smart appearance and perfect discipline. He
+had the eye of a hawk for mistakes on parade, but would correct those
+responsible for them in a good-humoured, kindly manner, very different
+from some less experienced C.O.’s, who would often lose their tempers and
+swear when anything happened to go wrong.
+
+The senior major, Major Ashburnham, the son of a baronet, was of somewhat
+striking appearance, having red hair and a red beard. Like his chief, he
+was a first-rate soldier and a thorough gentleman both on and off parade,
+and held in high esteem by the officers and men under him. He was known
+to his intimates by the nickname of “Brittles,” about which he used to
+relate an amusing story:—
+
+Once, when returning to India after being on leave in England, he
+happened to meet on board the P. and O., a man whose acquaintance he
+had made on the voyage home, when he had been accompanied by some
+brother-officers, who had, of course, always addressed him as “Brittles.”
+This man, who was bringing his wife out with him, asked permission to
+present Ashburnham to the lady, and gravely introduced him as “Major
+Brittles,” under the impression that such was really his name.
+
+The junior major, whose name was Algar, was a very plain man, rather
+badly marked with the small-pox, and was by no means so popular as
+Ashburnham. He was a very keen sportsman, and when off duty was seldom
+to be seen without a rifle in his hand. One day I met him near Murree,
+when he told me that he had just seen a tiger, but that it had made off,
+adding that a tiger would nearly always run away from a man, unless he
+first attacked it.
+
+The captains were nearly all very nice fellows. Captain Pauli, into whose
+company I was put, was a tall and very muscular man, with a pointed
+beard, which gave him a somewhat foreign appearance. He was a great
+sportsman, but kept very much to himself, and, except at mess, the other
+officers saw little of him.
+
+The adjutant, Sydenham-Clarke, was a very good-looking fellow and always
+so beautifully turned out, whether in uniform or plain clothes, that he
+looked as if he had just come out of a band-box. He was very kind to the
+young officers at their drill and took the greatest pains with them.
+He was also much liked by the men, and did not bully them or allow the
+sergeants to do so, as was unfortunately the case in so many regiments at
+that time. In a word, he was the right man in the right place, and how
+rarely this happens in the Service few people would imagine.
+
+When I first came to Murree, I occupied a room in the officers’ quarters.
+There was a large room on the ground floor which was unoccupied, and, as
+it was so intensely cold, the subalterns amused themselves by playing
+a game of battledore and shuttle-cock across a net. Hubert Lovett,
+a sub-lieutenant who joined the battalion a week after I did, and
+myself were the first to think of this game, which somewhat resembled
+lawn-tennis in the way we served. It was taken up afterwards by many
+officers who dined at our mess, and is said to have given the idea of
+lawn-tennis to the inventor.
+
+Soon after my arrival at Murree, I fell ill with dysentery, owing, the
+doctor who attended me told me, to the sudden change of climate. I was
+laid up for some time, but when it began to grow warmer I gradually
+recovered.
+
+The winter was a very severe one at Murree, and those who were fond
+of skating had excellent opportunities for indulging in this pastime.
+Fiennes-Dickenson, a lieutenant who had been transferred from the first
+battalion of the regiment, which was then stationed in Canada, was a
+most accomplished performer on the ice, cutting figures and the letters
+of the alphabet as well, and MacCall, a captain, who had also come from
+the first battalion, was but little inferior to him. Dickenson told me
+that life at Quebec and Montreal was uncommonly pleasant, and that they
+scarcely felt the intense cold there at all, as the climate was so dry,
+and there was so little wind. He said that it was the custom there for
+every officer to have a girl “chum,” who went tobogganing and skating
+with him and shared all his amusements. But he never married this young
+lady, who always ended by marrying someone else. This “chum” was a girl
+usually belonging to society, and was invited to all the balls and
+parties given by the regiment and considered quite _comme il faut_.
+Dickenson added that he much preferred the life out in Canada to the life
+in India, though Murree was the very best station, which was generally
+only given to a crack regiment. Dickenson was a lieutenant of some
+years’ standing and very well off, having succeeded to a fine property
+of his uncle, Lord Saye and Sele, called Syston Court, near Bristol,
+although his father, with whom he was not on the best of terms, had the
+right of residing there during his lifetime. He was a great talker and
+his conversation was often very amusing.
+
+When summer came, the battalion moved to Kooldunah, where I occupied
+rooms in a small villa with a garden attached, in which Lovett and
+another sub-lieutenant named Sanford also had their quarters. Later on,
+we were joined by a young officer named Wilson, who had been transferred
+from a line regiment. We got on pretty well together, particularly Lovett
+and myself, who soon became great friends, and were constantly together.
+Lovett was a strongly-built young fellow, with black, curly hair, very
+white teeth, and a good-humoured expression. He was clean-shaven, which
+was rare at that time for a soldier. He had a very loud voice, and when
+he laughed he did it so heartily that everyone in the room used to turn
+round. He was quite colour-blind and never could distinguish one colour
+from another. Once he had to paint a river for a plan which he was
+required to draw, and would have painted it red instead of blue, if I had
+not been helping him.
+
+Sanford was quite a boy, without any hair on his face, tall and fair,
+with rather a large mouth, for which reason he was called “The Oyster.”
+One day, when he happened to be on duty, a rifleman was overheard by
+Lovett to say to another:
+
+“Who is on duty to-day: Lovett or Wilson?”
+
+“Neither,” was the answer, “it’s ‘The Oyster.’”
+
+Much to Sanford’s annoyance, Lovett, roaring, as usual, with laughter,
+told the story at mess that night, and remarked:—
+
+“Why, even all the riflemen call him ‘The Oyster’ now!”
+
+Sanford did not like me at all, because he suspected that it was I who
+had been the first to bestow this nickname upon him, and it is quite
+possible that his suspicions may have been correct, though I cannot be
+certain.
+
+Wilson, the remaining occupant of our villa, was a rather good-looking
+and very smart young fellow, who spoke Hindustani very fluently. But he
+was very conceited, and imagined himself a much greater sportsman than he
+was. Once, when he had been on leave to Kashmir, he returned with such
+a wonderful collection of big game trophies that none of us could bring
+himself to believe that they had all fallen to his own rifle, and MacCall
+said to him at mess:—“Wilson, I tell you what it is—you have bought all
+that big game from some _shikarri_ in Kashmir!” At this remark Wilson
+became furious, and next morning, in the orderly-room, reported the
+incident to the Colonel, when MacCall was put under arrest until he had
+apologized to his aggrieved brother-officer. This, however, did not cause
+him to change his opinion on the subject.
+
+MacCall, whose father was Equerry to the Duc d’Aumale, spoke French
+perfectly, wore an imperial with his moustache, and might easily have
+been mistaken for a Frenchman. He shared a villa with a sub-lieutenant
+named Arthur Powys Vaughan, an exceedingly nice fellow, who had been at
+Harrow and had taken his degree at Oxford before entering the Service.
+
+With the exception of our medico, Surgeon-Major Macnamara, the
+quartermaster, Fitzherbert, and the junior major, whose wife was in
+England, all the officers were bachelors. Consequently, we were very
+badly off in the matter of ladies’ society, so far as the battalion was
+concerned. Mrs. Macnamara, who was a sister of Sir Howard Elphinstone,
+Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh, was a very charming elderly lady, and
+I often used to go and take tea with her and her husband. She was partly
+Russian by birth and extremely musical, and took a great interest in the
+regimental band, in regard to which she was frequently consulted. I was
+put on the band committee and often attended the rehearsals of a morning.
+
+Lovett and I used to pay visits to ladies whom we thought we would care
+to know, as is the custom in India. One day, we called on two ladies who
+had a charming villa, beautifully furnished, and whom we rather admired,
+though we knew nothing whatever about them. They received us very coldly,
+at which we were surprised, until Mrs. Macnamara told us that they were
+two very fast ladies, who were protected by some well-known officers in
+Murree, holding very high positions on the Staff.
+
+When I was alone one day, I noticed a very pretty woman, upon whom
+I left my card. A few days later, I received a very friendly note
+from her, asking me to dine with her on a certain evening. However,
+in the meantime, I sprained my ankle, and was put on the sick list,
+and therefore not allowed to go out. But, I thought that, as it would
+probably be a _tête-à-tête_ dinner, which I should not like to miss, I
+would go in a _jampan_, carried by two men, and no one would be any the
+wiser. I hesitated whether to go in plain clothes or in mess uniform,
+but finally decided for the latter. I had not made any special effort
+to be punctual, and, in point of fact, arrived half an hour late. On
+entering the drawing-room, I found quite a number of people impatiently
+awaiting the advent of the belated guest, amongst whom I recognized, to
+my consternation, the General commanding the troops in the Punjab; and
+I was still more taken aback when I learned that I was dining with the
+Secretary of State for India, and that my hostess was his wife! However,
+these great people were very nice to me, and the General, who did not
+seem at all to resent my having kept him waiting for his dinner, asked me
+several questions about my colonel and regiment, as, though there were
+several other officers present, I was the only “Greenjacket.” For this I
+was duly thankful, since if one of the senior officers of my battalion
+had happened to be there, I should have got into trouble for going out to
+dine when I was on the sick list.
+
+It was the custom to take your _khitmagar_ with you when you dined out,
+and I did so on this occasion. The next evening at mess, I noticed my
+_khitmagar_ opening a bottle of Château-Laffitte for me, and asked him
+where he got it from.
+
+“I saw last night that _Sahib_ liked this wine the best,” he replied,
+“so I brought half a dozen bottles of it away from the dinner-party for
+_Sahib_!”
+
+I burst out laughing, thinking to myself that I could not well scold my
+servant for looking after me so attentively.
+
+_À propos_ of native servants, when I first joined the battalion, I
+had a Christian “bearer,” whom I had brought from Bombay, and who
+spoke English. But at the end of my first month at Murree, when I saw
+my mess-bill, I discovered that a quantity of brandies and sodas were
+charged for which I had never had. When I called my “bearer’s” attention
+to this, he incontinently bolted from Murree, taking some of my property
+with him. However, he was eventually laid by the heels, and I had to ask
+for leave off parade to go down to the Law Courts at Murree to prosecute
+him. This taught me that it is better not to engage “bearers” who talk
+English and call themselves Christians.
+
+Among the senior lieutenants in the battalion was Albert Phipps, a
+brother of the Hon. Harriet Phipps, maid of honour to Queen Victoria,
+with whom, as I have mentioned elsewhere, I once took tea at Windsor
+Castle in my Eton days. Phipps, who was fair and rather stout and always
+wore an eyeglass, was a godson of the Prince Consort, the only one who
+was still alive. He once told me that Queen Victoria had written a letter
+in her own hand, recommending him for an appointment with the Viceroy,
+but that the officer who was specially charged with its delivery had the
+misfortune to lose it. Rather than permit this officer to be punished
+for his negligence, as he undoubtedly would have been, Phipps refused to
+allow his sister to mention the matter to Her Majesty, and suffered in
+silence the loss of an appointment which was not only a very agreeable
+one, but would have meant a great increase of pay. How many men would
+have acted as nobly as he did? Very few, I am afraid.
+
+One night, while riding home after mess, along a very dark road, Phipps’s
+horse fell with him. He was not hurt, but his eyeglass was broken in two,
+and as he could not get another one in India, he wore half an eyeglass
+for about three months, until a fresh supply was sent from England.
+
+At the villa where I lived in the summer months we kept several animals,
+including a wild cat, which was very savage and nearly as big as a
+wolf, a bear, which we tried to tame, a hyena and a monkey. These
+animals belonged to Wilson, who one day let the bear loose, and we had
+considerable trouble in recapturing it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+    A Subalterns’ Court-Martial—A Terrible Experience—High
+    Mess-bills
+
+
+Amongst our amusements at Murree were balls, which were given
+periodically at the Club by the officers of the battalion. Although
+the majority of the fair guests were married women, there was always a
+sprinkling of unmarried ones amongst them, most of whom had come out to
+India in the hope of finding husbands. The band of the regiment furnished
+the music, and there was always a very good supper, with an abundance
+of champagne and other wines, so that they were very enjoyable affairs
+indeed. After one of these balls a most unpleasant incident occurred.
+
+It happened that I had danced with a Miss W——, a very pretty and
+attractive girl, whom, later in the evening, I saw dancing with a young
+officer whom I will call Eugene, and who, I noticed, appeared very much
+_épris_ with the damsel. Next day, to my profound astonishment, I was
+placed under arrest, and told that I must appear before the Colonel. When
+I did so, he informed me that Eugene had told him that this Miss W——
+had complained to him that I had insulted her. I indignantly protested
+my innocence, but the Colonel told me that, though he did not doubt my
+word, I must, nevertheless, write a letter to the young lady, asking her
+pardon, if I had unintentionally given offence. I wrote the letter and
+sent it to Miss W——, but received no reply.
+
+At a garden-party given by the battalion a few days later, I saw the lady
+whom I was supposed to have insulted. I hesitated whether to speak to her
+or not, but finally decided that it was best to do so and inquire why
+she had not answered my letter.
+
+“I don’t know why you wrote to me,” said she, “and, to tell you the
+truth, I don’t in the least understand what you meant in your letter.”
+
+I then explained everything to her, when she exclaimed:—
+
+“I am extremely angry with Eugene. He must have invented what he told
+your Colonel, and so soon as I go home, I shall write to Colonel
+Montgomery, and tell him that the whole matter is a mere fabrication of
+Eugene. I am sorry that you should have suffered through the abominable
+untruths of a silly boy.”
+
+Miss W—— was as good as her word, and the Colonel read her letter to
+Eugene and myself, in the presence of all the other officers. He said
+that Eugene had acted in a most ungentlemanly manner, and deserved to be
+severely punished for spreading about false reports calculated to injure
+a brother-officer. He concluded by hinting that the subalterns would best
+know how to deal with him.
+
+The hint, needless to say, was not lost upon these young gentlemen,
+and after mess Eugene was informed that he must appear before a
+court-martial that evening, in the villa where I lived. The president of
+the court-martial was a sub-lieutenant named Basil Montgomery, who was no
+relation of the Colonel, but the son of a Scottish baronet. Wilson acted
+as prosecutor, while Lovett defended the prisoner.
+
+Eugene was brought in between two subalterns, and the charges against
+him were read to the Court. The principal charge was: “Conduct not
+befitting an officer and a gentleman, in having accused a brother-officer
+wrongfully, thus subjecting him to arrest and further possible
+inconvenience”; but there were several others. The Court found the
+prisoner “Guilty,” with no extenuating circumstances, and sentenced
+him to receive ten strokes with a cane on his bare back from each
+sub-lieutenant, to be sent to Coventry for one month, and not to be
+allowed to attend any balls or garden-parties during that period. Eugene
+took his punishment very well. The corporal part of it was probably less
+hard to endure than the deprivation of all social amusements and the
+ostracism to which he was subjected. It had, however, a very beneficial
+effect upon him, and he showed afterwards a very noticeable improvement
+in every respect. Eugene, I may mention, was a very good horseman, and
+rode in steeplechases, both in England and in India.
+
+Montgomery, who was the president of the court-martial upon Eugene, had
+come out to India by the same troopship as myself, but he did not join
+the battalion until much later, as he was taken ill at Bombay, where he
+had to remain for some weeks. He suffered a good deal, as I had done,
+from the change of climate when he first came to Murree. He was a very
+fine young fellow, about 6 feet 2 inches in height, and a most perfect
+gentleman, though perhaps he put on a little too much “side” at times. A
+good many years later, he succeeded to the baronetcy, his brother, who
+was in the Guards, having met with an accident which proved fatal.
+
+After a ball at the Murree Club one night, just as I was preparing to
+ride back to my quarters, a tremendous thunderstorm came on. I waited
+for some little time, but, as there seemed no immediate prospect of the
+storm abating, I decided to face it, but told my syce, who was waiting
+for me with my pony, that I would take a short cut home, instead of going
+by the usual road. The syce walked in front of me, carrying a lantern to
+light up the way, as it was a very dangerous path, with a most fearsome
+abyss on one side, and in places so narrow that there was only just room
+for a pony to walk along it. Suddenly, the lantern which the syce carried
+went out, and, as neither of us had any matches with which to relight
+it, we were plunged into total darkness, only relieved from time to time
+by flashes of lightning. The pony all of a sudden stood stock still and
+refused to go on, and, on dismounting, I saw through a flash of lightning
+a tree lying right across the path. I therefore thought it safer to
+proceed on foot, leading the pony, while my syce went in front; and we
+continued thus for nearly a mile, not knowing whether the next step
+would not plunge us into Eternity. But providentially at intervals came
+flashes of lightning, which made it easier for us to advance. At last
+we reached the end of the path, and made our way to the villa, drenched
+to the skin, but heartily thankful to find ourselves in safety. We had,
+indeed, had a terrible experience, and when I told Lovett that I had come
+home by the short cut, he would hardly believe it possible, as the night
+was so dark and the path so narrow.
+
+During the rainy season Murree was anything but a pleasant spot, for it
+rained without intermission for days and nights together, until the place
+resembled a wide river. All parades were suspended during the rains,
+but the officers had to go out to perform their duties and to mess and
+back; and, though we were protected by india-rubber coats and goloshes,
+it was very disagreeable. The men’s quarters were, as I have mentioned,
+situated at the top of a very steep hill, and although, since Colonel H.
+P. Montgomery had been in command of our battalion, he had a zigzag road
+constructed, so that the ascent might be made gradually, it was always
+rather an undertaking for the orderly officer to ascend the hill after
+mess to turn out the guard, and in wet weather it was simply detestable.
+The descent, too, was very dangerous, as the road was terribly slippery,
+and several accidents happened to both men and officers.
+
+The officers’ mess was at the foot of this hill, and on a clear day the
+view from it was one of the grandest one can possibly imagine, for the
+air is so rarefied that it enables one to see further than one could
+otherwise. The towering peaks of the Himalayas, plainly visible, despite
+the immense distance, the dazzling whiteness of the snow, and the deep
+blue of the heavens, made a wonderful picture. But grand as the view is,
+I almost prefer that from the Kurhaus, at Ischl, though it is on a much
+smaller scale. It is almost like comparing the beauty of an orchid to a
+rose, which, though less sublime in its appearance, captivates the senses
+far more. There is something foreign in this Oriental scenery, which
+appeals less to an Englishman than the exquisite beauty of Switzerland
+or the Salzkammergut, in Austria.
+
+The General at that time commanding the troops in the Punjab was an
+extremely popular general and a friend of Royalty, but he had made a
+_mésalliance_, having married the divorced wife of a doctor. It was
+for this reason that he had been given a command in India, instead of
+in England. Lieut.-Colonel Montgomery-Moore, who commanded the 4th
+Hussars at Rawal Pindi, and who spent the summer months with his wife at
+Murree, did not call on the General’s wife, nor did most of the officers
+of that regiment, and, as I had been introduced by my cousin to the
+Montgomery-Moores, I felt that I could not well visit the General’s wife.
+Several of the officers of my battalion also did not call, though others
+were frequent visitors at her house.
+
+When the General inspected us, our Colonel ordered the band to play _Die
+Wacht am Rhein_, which they played the whole time out of deference to the
+Colonel, who was a great admirer of all things German. Not that he cared
+for the air, for as he himself once said, he could only distinguish two
+tunes. One was “God save the Queen,” and the other was any other air, as
+he had no ear for music at all.
+
+At this inspection all the officers were called upon singly to show their
+ability in taking command, some of the entire battalion, others of a
+company. They nearly all acquitted themselves well, and the General, who
+was himself an old Rifleman, complimented the Colonel on the efficiency
+and smartness of his battalion, and praised all the officers, N.C.O.’s
+and men.
+
+Our Colonel, as I have said, was a most excellent commanding officer. At
+times he would take command of half of the battalion, while the senior
+major commanded the other, and imitate the tactics employed in war, in
+order to teach the officers and men how they should conduct themselves
+in actual warfare. On several of these occasions, I acted as his A.D.C.,
+and, mounted on my pony, carried his orders to the junior major and
+captains, which I much enjoyed.
+
+The mess-bills of the officers of the battalion were so high during
+the year that the War Office complained that they were higher than any
+cavalry regiment, averaging £20 to £30 a month. The Colonel therefore
+requested the officers to see that they were reduced in future, as it
+was not pleasant for him to be accused of encouraging extravagance.
+The officers afterwards paid for what they required, and asked that
+no champagne should be put down on their mess-bills. A great deal of
+champagne was usually drunk at dinner, particularly by the subalterns,
+and it cost from fifteen shillings to a sovereign a bottle. Spirits
+were very little drunk, and, taken on the whole, the officers were very
+temperate, rarely taking more than was good for them. Among the men there
+was very little drunkenness compared with other regiments, and not a
+single case of desertion; in fact, there were scarcely any prisoners at
+all.
+
+Lovett and I, who were both anxious to see something of Kashmir, obtained
+three days’ leave and set off on horseback. The country through which we
+rode was very pretty, the fields being beautifully green and besprinkled
+with scarlet poppies, while the hedges were covered with white roses. We
+passed the first night at a dâk bungalow, and starting at four o’clock
+the following morning, in order to avoid the heat of the sun, rode until
+midday, and then rested at another dâk bungalow until evening. Resuming
+our journey, we presently entered a lovely valley, with a river flowing
+through it. This river, the Jhelum, separated British India from Kashmir,
+and the view from the dâk bungalow at Kohala, on the Indian side, to
+which we made our way, after refreshing ourselves by a swim in the cool
+water, was very beautiful. The heat in the bungalow was intense, though
+they employed _punkahs_ to relieve the discomfort we suffered, and
+towards midnight a terrific storm burst, the crashes of thunder being the
+loudest I had ever heard, while the lightning was so vivid that it lit up
+the whole of the surrounding country.
+
+We spent the next day in bathing and fishing in the river Jhelum, and,
+after dining at the bungalow at Kohala, walked across the bridge which
+spanned the river. On the Kashmir side we found two sentries posted,
+who had been placed there by the Maharajah of Kashmir to prevent anyone
+unprovided with a pass entering his dominions. These sentries raised
+all sorts of difficulties to our entering Kashmir, but we crossed over
+all the same, and took a long walk in the country, which was very hilly
+and rugged, with very narrow paths. When night came on, we returned to
+the bungalow, but, having observed that the two sentries had their beds
+placed on the bridge, we determined to get even with them for the trouble
+they had given us. Accordingly, we returned to the bridge, carrying two
+big buckets full of water, and, finding both the sentries wrapped in
+peaceful slumber, dashed the water over them, and then, having thrown
+the buckets into the river, ran for our lives. The luckless sentries,
+startled out of their sleep, snatched up their rifles and pursued us.
+But they failed to overtake us, and we reached the bungalow in safety.
+We were somewhat uneasy lest inquiries should be made about us at the
+bungalow, but nothing happened during the rest of the night, and in the
+early morning we set off on our journey back to Murree.
+
+On our return to Murree, we decided to say nothing of our escapade in
+Kashmir, as if the Colonel got to know of it he would have us placed
+under arrest. Phipps, whom I told about it sometime afterwards, remarked
+that it might possibly end in officers’ leave to Kashmir being stopped,
+but, fortunately, as no one knew who had played the trick upon the
+sentries, his fears were not realized.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+    Sialkote—Amateur Theatricals—An Ingenious Thief—Death of Albert
+    Phipps—Agra—Voyage to England
+
+
+In the autumn of 1874 the other sub-lieutenants and myself had to go
+through a course of instruction at Sialkote, in order to qualify as
+lieutenants. At Rawal Pindi I called on Mrs. Kinloch, my acquaintance
+with whom had been renewed at Murree, where she had been staying. Not
+long afterwards, I was shocked to hear that she had gone out of her mind.
+She died without recovering her reason.
+
+Sialkote is by no means a pretty place, being very flat, with few trees
+to temper the rays of the sun. Its ugliness was, however, relieved to
+some extent by a view of the distant mountains. Although it was autumn,
+the heat was intense, and in the daytime almost intolerable.
+
+Lovett, Montgomery and myself occupied a house, which, though it had
+one storey, was very large. We were attached during our stay to the
+Royal Horse Artillery (“A” Battery, “A” Brigade) and messed with them.
+Our instruction took place in the mornings under Lieutenant Hart, of
+the R.E., who put us through a course of surveying, fortification
+and tactics. Most of the instruction took place out of doors. Of an
+afternoon we generally prepared our work for the following day, and in
+the evening we dined at the R.H.A. mess, which was about ten minutes’
+walk from our house. The officers of “A” Battery were very nice fellows,
+particularly Captain Hobart, who commanded it, Lieutenant Armytage, and
+Veterinary-Surgeon Batchelor, and did all they could to make things
+pleasant for us. The evenings at mess, however, were rather dull, as
+so few members dined there, though at times they were enlivened by the
+presence of guests, generally officers from the 5th Lancers, who, with
+two infantry battalions and a regiment of Bengal cavalry, were also
+stationed at Sialkote.
+
+The 5th Lancers were a very lively lot, and their mess was very amusing.
+On one occasion, after mess, they dragged a lieutenant over the billiard
+table, with the result that the cloth was cut all to pieces by his spurs,
+and, not content with this, smashed all the crockery and glass in the
+mess-room. One morning, on parade, another lieutenant, who rode very
+badly, fell off his horse, whereupon his brother subalterns “ragged” his
+room and broke everything they could lay their hands on. The unfortunate
+owner, who had not the sweetest of tempers, took their behaviour in very
+ill part, and shortly afterwards exchanged into a Highland regiment
+stationed at Gibraltar.
+
+Some of the 5th Lancers were, however, very nice fellows, particularly
+two sub-lieutenants named Russell and Beaumont, who were very friendly
+with Montgomery and myself, and we often dined all together.
+
+One evening the sub-lieutenants of my battalion invited Beaumont and
+Russell to dine at the R.H.A. mess, and afterwards we all proceeded
+to our house, where we had prepared a _nautch_ for them, having sent
+to the bazaar for a number of dancing women. These women danced most
+fantastic dances, and wound up the entertainment by dancing with some
+of the subalterns, who were wearing their white Indian mess uniforms.
+The officers of my battalion, I may mention, had adopted a pink silk
+sash round the waist, which we wore instead of a waistcoat, owing to the
+intense heat.
+
+The colonel of the 5th Lancers, Lieut.-Colonel Massey, was popular with
+all ranks, and one of the captains, Benyon by name, was a most charming
+man. C——, another captain, a very ugly, red-haired man, was most clever
+and amusing, but much disliked both by his brother-officers and the men
+of the regiment. He often dined at the R.H.A. mess, where he entertained
+everyone with his stories after dinner. One story which he told was of
+a young fellow who was staying at a nobleman’s country house, where a
+lady, with whom he was in love, gave him an assignation, and agreed to
+put a flower in the keyhole of her door when she retired for the night.
+Someone, with a predilection for practical jokes, catching sight of the
+flower, removed it and placed it in the keyhole of another door, with the
+result that the luckless young fellow invaded the privacy of a judge and
+his wife. There was a terrible scandal the next day, and the victim of
+this misadventure had to leave the house at once.
+
+C—— was very fond of botany, and I remember that once, when I happened to
+meet him, he showed me a mimosa, which was so sensitive to the touch that
+the moment one handled it it drew in its leaves. He came to a tragic end
+in South Africa, where he was shot by one of the men of his troop, not,
+it was generally believed, accidentally.
+
+Armytage, the lieutenant in the R.H.A. whom I have already mentioned,
+was the son of a baronet and a very pleasant fellow. He had a pet dog
+which he used always to bring into the mess-room, and which would perform
+tricks. He related how once, when he had been ordered on foreign service,
+the captain of the troopship, hearing that he had a dog, objected to his
+bringing it on board, as he had made a rule against it. When, however,
+Armytage showed him the little dog and made it perform its tricks, the
+captain was so amused by them that he said he would make an exception
+in this case. Armytage was a good actor, and used to organize amateur
+theatricals. One evening, he got up a play, in which he took the leading
+part, and acted very well in the comic style. The other parts were taken
+by men of “A” Battery, and the performance, to which a good many people
+came, was a distinct success. Afterwards, a dance was given in the
+mess-room, but, as there were about twenty officers to each lady, it was
+more pleasant for the ladies than for us. The sub-lieutenants, indeed,
+went away as soon as they could, not being at all attracted by our fair
+guests, who were mostly past their first youth, while the few girls
+present were very plain.
+
+There was an excellent polo-ground at Sialkote, and many of the officers
+played of an afternoon. There was also a croquet and lawn-tennis ground,
+and these games were played a good deal by ladies in very old-fashioned
+dresses, as ladies in India, as a rule, dress very badly and quite out of
+date.
+
+The officers rode home from mess of an evening; and I used sometimes to
+make my pony “Chang” mount the steps of our house, and enter my room,
+after which he would go off alone to the stables. Once at Murree, for a
+bet, I rode “Chang” up a long flight of steps to a church and down again,
+and he never put a foot wrong. Batchelor, the “vet” of the R.H.A., had a
+horse which sometimes, on his reaching the mess-room, he would tell to go
+home, when the horse would find its way back to the stables, which were
+some distance away.
+
+Two new sub-lieutenants came to Sialkote to go through the course. One,
+named Marsham, an Old Etonian and a very nice fellow, was in my regiment;
+the other, whose name was Wood, belonged to the 4th Hussars. He was
+nicknamed “Lakri” (“wood”), as he was of rather swarthy complexion. Wood
+had a very nice chestnut pony, which he often lent me, and one day Lovett
+remarked that I never looked so well as on this pony, which seemed to be
+made for me. He had another pony, a smaller one, and this he sold to me.
+But it had a very nasty temper, and would sometimes turn its head and try
+and bite my feet; while it was continually rearing and kicking, and, in
+short, was a regular devil. One evening, when I went to dine at the mess
+of a Line regiment, I tied it up to a tree, but it managed to get rid of
+its bridle and bolted. It was only with difficulty caught, when I rode it
+home again.
+
+“Eugene,” who had behaved so badly to me over the affair of Miss W——,
+was not at Sialkote, having been sent to another station for his course.
+While at Murree, he had fallen desperately in love with a Miss B——, and
+had proposed to, and been accepted by, her. But, as he was so very young,
+and the lady was not considered a desirable match, the Colonel took
+the matter up, and the affair was broken off. At the station he went to
+he fell in love with another lady, but this did not come to anything
+either; and he nearly broke, not his heart, but his neck, there in riding
+a steeplechase. However, eventually he recovered from his “smash” and
+rejoined the battalion.
+
+I became very unwell at Sialkote, from what the doctor said was a liver
+complaint. However, it did not much interfere with my studies, though I
+was confined to the house for some time. During this period a curious
+incident occurred.
+
+One morning, I noticed that a candle, which I had placed by my bedside
+and blown out just before I fell asleep, was much shorter than when I had
+extinguished it. The following night I carefully noted the length of the
+candle before I blew it out, and next morning it was again much shorter.
+I could find no explanation of this, as I had locked my bedroom door
+before going to bed, until I remembered that there was a small opening at
+the bottom of the door, just large enough to permit a person to wriggle
+through. But this did not account for the thief having been able to pass
+through my sitting-room, which led to the bedroom, and the door of which
+I had also locked. I talked the matter over with Lovett, who offered to
+lend me his dog, which he said was a very good watch-dog and could sleep
+on my bed. I accepted his offer, but the animal had so many fleas that
+I was kept awake all night, and decided to dispense with its company in
+future. The following night I determined to watch myself, and presently
+heard someone crawling through the opening of the door. I at once struck
+a light, upon which the intruder promptly crawled back again. Then
+everything appeared clear to me. The thief was none other than my bearer,
+who had a key to my sitting-room, which he opened, and then, crawling
+through the opening in the bedroom-door, made for my candle, which he
+abstracted and replaced by a much smaller piece. The natives are great
+pilferers, who will not stop at robbing one even of a piece of candle.
+
+One day, as I was sitting in my room, reading a book by Jean Paul, it
+seemed to me that suddenly the room began to swing to and fro. It proved
+to be an earthquake, which, however, did no damage to the town, though it
+gave everyone a bad fright.
+
+Soon after I was able to get about again there was an interval of three
+weeks in our course at Sialkote, and all the sub-lieutenants went away
+on leave. Montgomery went to Murree, while Lovett and Marsham started
+off on a shooting-expedition. The battalion, which was taking part in
+the autumn manœuvres, was under canvas near Rawal Pindi, and I accepted
+an invitation to stay with Surgeon-Major Macnamara and his wife in their
+tent. The first evening I dined with them I noticed that I was served
+with precisely the dishes I liked, whilst those I did not care for were
+not handed to me at all. I inquired of Mrs. Macnamara the reason of this,
+when she replied:—
+
+“I asked your _khitmagar_ when you arrived what you liked for dinner, and
+what you did not like. Therefore, you see, I know now exactly what your
+taste is.”
+
+Indeed, nothing could exceed the Macnamaras’ kindness to me during the
+whole time I was with them.
+
+A couple of days later, Phipps invited me to go for a drive with him,
+during which he told me that he was returning to England on leave, when
+he would get his promotion, and he doubted whether he would ever come out
+to India again. That evening, after dining at mess, I was taken ill, when
+Surgeon-Major Macnamara, who attended me, said that I was suffering from
+jaundice, and should have to stay in bed some time. During my illness I
+received visits from one of the senior lieutenants named Hope, a grandson
+of Lord Hopetoun, who brought me several books to read, amongst them
+being “Cranford,” by Mrs. Gaskell, which he particularly recommended to
+me, and with which I was delighted. Lloyd, another senior lieutenant,
+with the local rank of captain, often came to see me. He was a very
+dark, wiry fellow, of about thirty, and was a great sportsman. He was
+going into the Indian Staff Corps, as he spoke several native languages
+fluently. Lloyd was a particular friend of mine, and corresponded with me
+regularly for years afterwards.
+
+One morning, I had a visit from Macnamara, who told me that Phipps
+had been taken seriously ill with congestion of the lungs, the result
+apparently of a chill which he had caught on the day I went for a drive
+with him. A few days later, I learned from Lloyd that Phipps had died
+during the night. When I next saw Macnamara, he remarked:—
+
+“Phipps was so stout; I knew I could not save him. He died from
+suffocation, as he had such a short neck.”
+
+When I was well enough to dine at mess again, I heard from the Colonel
+that, shortly before Phipps was taken ill, he had been told by the chief
+that his tunic was looking rather shabby, to which he had replied:—
+
+“Oh, sir, it’s good enough to bury me in!”
+
+He had laughed as he said this, which was a habit of his when he made any
+remark which was at all strange.
+
+A cable was sent to Queen Victoria, as well as to Phipps’s sister,
+announcing his death. Her Majesty cabled at once to the Colonel, asking
+for all particulars about the sad event, at which she appears to have
+been genuinely grieved.
+
+I was much cut up by Phipps’s death, and I felt it all the more keenly,
+as I had been with him so recently. I remember how on that occasion he
+had kept talking of his approaching return to England, and had observed:—
+
+“I should have liked it very much in years gone by, but now I do not look
+forward to it with half the pleasure I did then; it may be because I have
+all my friends out here. I am so used to living out here with all the
+fellows, and they are all so nice, that I don’t think I should go home
+now if I had not to do so.”
+
+Poor Phipps was buried in his old tunic, as he had foretold in a jesting
+way to the Colonel. He was barely thirty years of age.
+
+After I had quite recovered from jaundice, I returned to Sialkote,
+which I did with regret, as I would have much preferred remaining with
+my regiment. At Sialkote things went on very much as before, the only
+incident worth recording being an accident to my pony “Chang.”
+
+This pony, which I had bought soon after coming to Murree from Sydenham
+Clarke, the adjutant of our battalion, had the reputation of being the
+best polo-pony in India, and one day Lovett begged me to lend him to him
+for a match in which he was to play. I replied that “Chang” was not up to
+his weight, and that he would probably lame him; but, eventually, on his
+promising most solemnly to ride him carefully, I consented, though with
+many misgivings. Some hours later Lovett came into my room, looking very
+crestfallen. I knew at once what had happened, and exclaimed:—
+
+“You have lamed “Chang!”
+
+“Yes,” he answered; “I am frightfully sorry; I could not help it.”
+
+I ran out of the room to see the pony, who was so lame that there was no
+chance of his being of much service afterwards. However, it was no use
+blaming Lovett, since it was my own fault for being so weak as to allow a
+valuable animal to be ridden by a man too heavy for him.
+
+After this mishap, I was obliged to ride my little devil of a pony when I
+required a mount at Sialkote, though at times Lovett lent me his horse,
+while at others Wood lent me his good-looking chestnut pony. I made Wood
+an offer for this pony, but he declined to part with it at any price.
+
+I continued to suffer from liver complaint, and was attended by
+Surgeon-Major Clarke, of the R.H.A., who advised me to try and get sent
+to England. I subsequently saw the senior medical officer at Sialkote,
+who said that I ought to obtain leave either to the hills or to England.
+I appeared before a medical board, who certified in writing that my
+illness was caused in and by the Service.
+
+The Chief Resident at Sialkote offered me the Maharajah of Kashmir’s
+shooting, which was usually reserved for royal personages, and which the
+Prince of Wales had when in India; but Montgomery urged me strongly
+to go to England, and I followed his advice. I had afterwards, as the
+ensuing pages will show, good cause to regret my decision.
+
+Before leaving Sialkote, I made arrangements to sell the things I did
+not want; but, on showing the list I had made out to Batchelor, of
+the R.H.A., he told me that I ought to have described them far more
+elaborately, so as to enhance their apparent value. I asked if he would
+describe them for me, which he did, and, greatly to my amusement, made
+everything appear infinitely better than it really was. However, he said
+that they would make much better prices that way, which I found to be the
+case when the sale took place. My pony “Chang” I sold to Montgomery, as
+he had partially recovered from his lameness.
+
+On leaving Sialkote, I went by rail to Delhi, where I visited the Palace,
+which I thought very beautiful. At Delhi I called on the officers of a
+Line regiment stationed there, and was invited to make use of their mess
+during my stay in the city, where great preparations were being made for
+an approaching Durbar. I left a few days later for Cawnpore, and visited
+the places by the river where the British were massacred during the
+Mutiny. On my way from Cawnpore to Agra, I made the acquaintance of a
+French cavalry officer, the Vicomte Arthur d’Assailly, of the Chasseurs
+à Cheval, a very smart-looking fellow, more like an Englishman than a
+Frenchman, who spoke English perfectly. The Vicomte told me that at
+Cawnpore he had paid several hundred rupees for a _nautch_ in his room,
+which he had strewn with rose-leaves. On reaching Agra, we drove to our
+hotel through the Bazaar, and in the evening went to visit the Taj, with
+which we were quite enchanted. It was the most magnificent building I
+had ever seen. The marble of which it was constructed was of the purest
+white, and seen by moonlight, which enhanced the whiteness of the marble,
+it was indescribably beautiful; while the deep blue of the starlit
+heavens formed a delightful contrast. It was, in fact, just like a palace
+of “The Arabian Nights”; and while strolling about the charming gardens
+we could almost imagine ourselves living in the days of the Khalif
+Haroun Alraschid.
+
+In the train going to Bombay I met an officer of the Rifle Brigade, named
+Captain Crompton, a man of about thirty-five, with grey hair, who was
+going home on sick leave. But as, he told me, he was rather doubtful
+about being able to pass the medical board at Bombay, he intended to
+appear before them just as he was, without going to his hôtel to change
+and wash, considering that he would look more like an invalid in that
+travel-stained condition.
+
+He was as good as his word, and obtained six months’ sick leave without
+any trouble. As for myself, I went to Watson’s Hotel, where I was glad
+to have a bath and change my clothes, as the journey had been a most
+unpleasant one, and I was begrimed with dirt. On appearing before the
+board, the senior medical officer asked me various questions, to which
+I must have answered too laconically to please him, for presently he
+inquired sarcastically:—
+
+“And what may your rank be; I suppose general or colonel at the least?”
+
+“No,” I replied; “I am only a sub-lieutenant.”
+
+“Oh, indeed! I thought from your manner that you were at least in command
+of a regiment.”
+
+However, after a brief examination, I was informed that I could go, and
+that I had been granted six months’ leave to England, as my illness was
+caused in and by the Service.
+
+At Watson’s Hotel I met d’Assailly again, who told me a good deal about
+himself. It appeared that he was a rich man, having an income of some
+£6,000 a year, and was amusing himself by travelling round the world.
+He had already visited Japan, Ceylon and Java, the last of which he
+considered by far the most beautiful of the three countries, and, as
+regards vegetation, truly marvellous. He admitted that Ceylon was lovely,
+but, in his opinion, it could not compare with Java, the natives of which
+he also preferred to the Cingalese.
+
+I was very glad to leave Bombay in 1875, though, as I disliked the sea
+very much, I was not looking forward to the voyage to England with any
+pleasurable anticipations. Among the passengers on board the troopship
+were Captain Crompton, a Lieutenant Howard, who belonged to the Rifle
+Brigade, and Viscount Campden, of the 10th Hussars, whose younger
+brother, the Hon. H. Noel, was in the same battalion of the Rifle Brigade
+as Crompton and Howard. Lord Campden, who was an amiable young man, with
+a slight figure and reddish hair, occupied himself during the voyage by
+reading Darwin’s “Natural Selection,” which was seldom out of his hand,
+and did not talk much with anyone, with the exception of Crompton.
+
+There was a battalion of infantry on board, under the command of a
+Lieutenant-Colonel Rose, who had his wife and daughter with him. The
+latter, who was a charming little girl of thirteen, with golden hair and
+blue eyes, took such a violent fancy to Howard that the other officers
+used to chaff him and inquire whether he intended to wait until she grew
+up to marry her. Howard was a tall, good-looking fellow, with a fair
+moustache, and he seemed rather pleased than otherwise by the little
+lady’s infatuation.
+
+The captain of the ship complained of Crompton dining in evening clothes,
+and requested him to appear in uniform in future. Crompton answered
+that he had no uniform on board, as he had come out to India to work as
+a civil engineer. But the captain would take no excuse, and insisted
+on his wearing uniform at dinner and also on deck. Crompton thereupon
+asked me if I could lend him part of my uniform, as it only differed
+in the facings, the facings of one regiment’s mess-jacket being black
+velvet, and those of the other scarlet, braided with black lace, like the
+Hussars. The uniform of both regiments was the same, supposed to be a
+dark green, but really black. I therefore lent him part of my uniform, as
+I had more than I required on board; but when he appeared in it at mess
+and on deck, the captain at first believed that it was his own, and that
+he had purposely avoided wearing it, and he had to explain that he had
+been obliged to borrow from me.
+
+During the voyage I was a good deal with Crompton, and had many
+interesting talks with him on all kinds of topics. He told me that
+his mother, who was dead, had published a translation of the poems of
+Heinrich Heine, which was considered to be the best that had appeared
+up to that time. She had held that this life was but a preparation for
+the one to come, and that whatever we cultivated in this existence, we
+should excel in in the next, and said that he was firmly convinced of the
+truth of this. He was a very clever man and had invented an automobile
+for the conveyance of troops, which he had sold to the Russian Government
+for £4,000, as the War Office would not pay him the price he asked. His
+knowledge, too, was astonishingly varied. Thus, when we touched at Malta,
+some of the ladies on board showed him the lace they had bought and told
+him the price they had paid for it, upon which he said that they had been
+imposed upon. For it appeared that he knew more about lace and how to
+make it than any lady on the ship, and I saw him showing them stitches
+which were quite new to them.
+
+There were, of course, a number of invalids on board, some of whom were
+very ill indeed. I occupied a cabin with a lieutenant of the 11th Hussars
+named Reid, who was in rapid consumption. He was a good-looking young
+fellow, with, dark-brown curly hair, and very much liked by everyone. He
+survived the voyage, as did a sergeant-major of the R.H.A., whom no one
+had expected to live until we reached England; but several other persons
+died, and were buried at sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+    Baroness James Édouard de Rothschild—At Carlsbad—Transferred to
+    the 3rd Battalion
+
+
+At Portsmouth, I was met by my father and Ernest Berkeley, a son of Lord
+Berkeley, who some time afterwards obtained a commission in my regiment,
+and with them I travelled to Paris and stayed for a few days with my
+parents in the Champs-Elysées. I then started for Carlsbad, where I had
+been recommended to take the waters for my complaint. On leaving Paris,
+I found myself in the same carriage with an elderly English lady, a
+Mrs. Michell, and her daughter, whose acquaintance I made. They were on
+their way to Marienbad, as the mother was abnormally stout and anxious
+to reduce her weight, life, she told me, being a torment to her. At
+Nüremberg, a rather nice-looking woman entered our carriage, with a very
+smart footman in attendance, who carried an immense bouquet of flowers,
+which he deposited beside his mistress. This lady, it transpired, was the
+Baroness James Édouard de Rothschild, who had been spending the night at
+Nüremberg, and was also _en route_ for Marienbad. The Baroness entered
+into conversation with us, and was very pleasant. She spoke English
+almost perfectly, having spent nearly half her life in England, though
+she was now living with her family in Paris. She had, she told us, been
+ordered to take the waters at Marienbad, as she was inclined to be very
+stout, and had sent on fourteen servants from Paris to get everything
+ready for her.
+
+I got out at Carlsbad and drove to the Hôtel Goldenes Schild, which was
+in those days the principal hôtel. Next morning I consulted Dr. Ritter
+von Hochberg, the doctor of the German Emperor, who was a very nice old
+man, and who told me to drink two full glasses of the Schloss Brunn
+waters and then walk for half an hour in the country every morning before
+breakfast. I followed his instructions and, after drinking the waters,
+walked out to the Posthof, where I breakfasted in the open air at a
+very good restaurant, being served by a pretty young Austrian girl, who
+was very tastefully dressed, with her hair arranged in quite the latest
+fashion. The walk back to my hôtel, along the banks of a river, which
+flowed through a delightfully picturesque valley, I enjoyed immensely.
+
+While dining one evening at the Hôtel König von Hannover, I made the
+acquaintance of a Mrs. Andrews, an elderly American lady, who was very
+rich and lived in an apartment in the English quarter of Carlsbad. She
+asked me to come and see her at her rooms, which were very comfortable,
+and where she gave me a cup of English tea. Mrs. Andrews was very fond of
+taking drives into the country, and often invited me to accompany her.
+One day she introduced me to Freiherr von Klenck, the son of Baron von
+Klenck, who had been a great favourite of the late King of Hanover and
+always with him. Klenck, who was in a Hanoverian cavalry regiment, was a
+man of about thirty, with a fair moustache. He detested Prussians, and
+once, when I asked him if he would care to meet an officer in a Prussian
+Line regiment whose acquaintance I had made, he replied:—
+
+“It is all very well for you to know him, as you are not a German. But I
+could not be seen with him. First of all, he is a Prussian, and then he
+is in a Line regiment, so that I could not go about with him, since I am
+in a cavalry regiment, as you know.”
+
+I usually met Mrs. Andrews and Klenck at the Hôtel König von Hannover,
+where we would engage a small table and dine together, going after to
+Sans-Souci or the Posthof to hear the military concert, which was very
+fine indeed. The band which played there was that of the 35th Regiment
+König von Hannover, an Austrian military band, which had won the first
+prize at Brussels in the competition for military bands of all nations.
+It was composed of fifty men, and played the most difficult music of
+Wagner in the most brilliant manner, besides playing lighter music in a
+way which quite delighted me. In fact, it put all the military bands,
+English, French and German, that I had ever heard completely in the
+shade. A principal feature was that there were two men who played the
+cymbals, and that the big drum was an insignificant item, the side-drum
+being far more used. Sometimes, the band would play at Pupp’s Café of an
+afternoon, while the people were taking their coffee at little tables. On
+these occasions, a fee of fifty kreuzers was charged for admission, and
+there was always great difficulty in securing seats.
+
+The Kurkapelle, or string band, which played on most days of the week,
+under the direction of the famous bandmaster, Auguste Labitzky, was one
+of the finest string bands in Europe. Every Friday afternoon Labitzky
+organized a classical concert at Posthof, for which an admission fee of
+fifty kreuzers was charged. One day was consecrated to Wagner, another
+to Mozart, a third to Beethoven, and on a fourth a programme of mixed
+classical music was performed.
+
+The places where afternoon coffee was taken were all in the country,
+people sitting at little tables under the trees. At Pupp’s Café the
+waitresses had their Christian names, Mizzi, Fanni, Resi, and so forth,
+pinned on to their dresses. These girls were for the most part very
+pretty and pleasant-mannered. One gentleman, after having finished his
+cure at Carlsbad, received about twenty bouquets of beautiful flowers,
+which were all placed on his breakfast-table at Pupp’s by the girls
+serving there. People said that it must have cost him at least a hundred
+florins in _douceurs_ to the waitresses.
+
+When I asked my doctor how much I was in his debt, he told me that he
+left the matter entirely to me. So I put forty florins in an envelope,
+which the doctor declined even to open in my presence, saying that he
+felt sure that I had remunerated his services sufficiently.
+
+After a cure of three weeks, I left Carlsbad for Franzensbad, for the
+after-cure, which my doctor had advised my taking. Here I secured very
+comfortable rooms in a villa with a beautiful garden behind it, agreeing
+to pay a fixed price per week for board and lodging. Shortly afterwards,
+the proprietress informed me that, had she but known that I was an
+Englishman, she would have asked me very much more than she had. She
+appeared very much annoyed, and, I am afraid, never forgave me for not
+having acquainted her with my nationality at our first interview.
+
+I thought Franzensbad a very charming place, with its pretty villas with
+gardens attached to them; but the walks could not compare with those
+around Carlsbad. I was so tired after taking the waters at Carlsbad that
+I rested the whole time I was at Franzensbad, merely taking iron baths,
+which I found perfectly delightful. It was like bathing in champagne,
+as the water sparkled and gave one a tickling kind of sensation. The
+visitors at Franzensbad were chiefly ladies, but I made the acquaintance
+of a young Bavarian officer, Freiherr von Rüdt, who was very musical and
+played the violin beautifully, and used to meet him nearly every day at
+the concert in the Kurpark. The Kurkapelle used to play at one or other
+of the hôtels during supper, and I often went to these concerts. The
+bandmaster, Tomaschek, was a very good conductor and a great favourite
+with the ladies, who often sent him presents.
+
+During my stay at Franzensbad I paid a visit to Marienbad, where I
+renewed my acquaintance with Mrs. Michell and her daughter. I thought
+Marienbad even more beautiful than Carlsbad, surrounded as it was by
+woods and hills. The walks around it were really exquisite, and nothing
+could be more pleasant than to take a walk in the woods on a summer’s day
+and have coffee and listen to the band at one of the cafés.
+
+On my return to Franzensbad I took a few more baths, and then left for
+Paris, where I received a letter from the War Office, informing me that
+I had been transferred to the 3rd Battalion of my regiment, which was
+stationed at Chatham.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+    My Brother-Officers—A _Mésalliance_—Christy Minstrels and
+    Tobogganing
+
+
+It was through the influence of the Adjutant-General, Lord Airey, that I
+had been transferred to the 3rd Battalion of the 60th Rifles, in June,
+1875. On joining, I went into the officers’ ante-room, where a short,
+stout officer, wearing an eyeglass, addressed me, and inquired how I had
+managed to get transferred. I told him that it was through the A.-G.,
+when he remarked:
+
+“How is it that I was not consulted?”
+
+“I really cannot tell you,” I answered.
+
+“H’m!” said he, transfixing me with his monocle.
+
+A few minutes afterwards, when he had left the room, another officer came
+up to me, and said:—
+
+“Do you know who that is?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“That is our chief, Lieutenant-Colonel W. Leigh-Pemberton.”
+
+“Is it really?” said I. “I should never have thought it, for he looks too
+young for a colonel.”
+
+“You have put your foot into it, evidently,” replied the officer, who
+appeared highly amused at what had happened. His name, he told me, was
+Corbet Stapleton-Cotton, and he was a lieutenant of some years’ service.
+
+I had a room in barracks close to Cotton’s, and, after my things had
+been unpacked, I dressed for mess. During mess I again exchanged a few
+words with the Colonel, who evidently looked upon me as an intruder,
+since he addressed me in a very distant manner. I was introduced to the
+acting adjutant, E. O. H. Wilkinson (the adjutant, Lieutenant Bagot,
+had been suspended from that post by the Colonel), whom I had known at
+Eton, but had never cared for much. Wilkinson, who was a tall, dark man,
+with a slight squint, a long body and very short legs, imparted to me
+the pleasing information that I should have to begin my drill all over
+again from the commencement, at seven o’clock the following morning,
+so that I was likely to be kept well employed for some little time to
+come. I also made the acquaintance of my captain, Cramer, who was a
+middle-aged man with grey hair. He had little to say for himself, and was
+not remarkable for his amiability, but was very musical, and played the
+piano wonderfully well, though entirely by ear. Amongst other officers
+with whom I spoke that evening were a sub-lieutenant named Robert Gunning
+and a lieutenant called Allfrey. Gunning, who, like Cramer, in whose
+company he was, had been at Eton with me, though I had only known him
+very slightly there, was a rather good-looking little fellow, and a great
+favourite of the Colonel, who called him “Cupid,” and often invited him
+to his quarters. Allfrey was a tall, burly man, with dark curly hair, who
+was very loud in both his dress and conversation, which was usually about
+horses. He was a great admirer of Thackeray’s works, and declared that
+“Vanity Fair” was the best novel in the English language, and that he had
+read it over and over again without growing tired of it.
+
+Allfrey was a particular friend of Cotton, and I soon discovered that
+these two officers were the _bêtes-noires_ of the Colonel, who, it was
+said, could not even endure the sound of their voices, and would give
+anything in the world to get rid of them both. Our chief’s dislike,
+however, was by no means confined to Cotton and Allfrey. Two senior
+lieutenants, named Holled-Smith and Allen, and a captain called Robinson,
+had also the misfortune to be objects of his antipathy, a fact which he
+was never at any pains to disguise.
+
+Holled-Smith was a fine-looking man, clever and entertaining, but with
+a somewhat brusque manner. He had a very good baritone voice, which he
+cultivated by taking singing lessons, and he sang some songs very well.
+Allen and Robinson were both singular characters. The former, who was
+expecting his company, was a queer-looking fellow, with a partially-bald
+head and a peculiarly vacant expression. He was always highly perfumed,
+so that you knew when he happened to be near you, before you saw him.
+His dress was very eccentric, and his manner too. He was perpetually
+muttering to himself, and would gesticulate in the most weird fashion
+when no one was talking to him. Robinson, who was nicknamed “Rabelais,”
+as he was always reading that author’s works, was a kind of Hercules,
+and was the eldest son of a baronet and the grandson of an Irish earl.
+He was very eccentric, and would suddenly—for no apparent reason—throw
+himself into the most violent passions, and indulge in language at which
+even a private soldier would be horrified. Strangely enough, he appeared
+to have little or no idea of the effect of these outbursts upon those who
+had the misfortune to be present: probably, he hardly knew what he was
+saying. It was related that, upon one occasion, he used this terrible
+language before a lady, who incontinently took to flight. “Rabelais”
+inquired afterwards why the lady had left so abruptly, and, on being
+told, remarked that she must have been uncommonly prudish.
+
+These two strange creatures disliked each other even more than the
+Colonel did them. One evening at mess, soon after I joined the battalion,
+I noticed that, though they were sitting next each other, they never
+exchanged a word the whole evening. I remarked upon this to one of the
+other officers, when I was told that they had not spoken to one another
+for years.
+
+The senior major, Northey, was a very tall, dark man, who was an
+excellent soldier and understood his work thoroughly; but, unfortunately,
+his hands were tied by the Colonel, who seldom condescended to approve
+of anything he did. He was married to the daughter of a Polish nobleman,
+a refugee, whom he had met when the battalion was stationed in Canada.
+Major Northey was popular with the men, and liked by the officers, but
+he had no influence at all.
+
+The junior major, Collins, who was stout and wore an eyeglass, was also a
+married man. His wife was a sister of a bishop, and it was she who held
+the ribbons. Collins would have made a much better bishop than he did
+a field-officer, for he was a bad rider, who always felt uncomfortable
+on horseback, and, what is more, looked so. He seldom ventured on any
+observation concerning military matters before the Colonel, as when he
+did so, he generally got snubbed. The major took a great fancy to me, and
+often invited me to his house, where I sometimes met the bishop, who was
+delighted with my zither and paid me many compliments on my playing.
+
+Tufnell, the senior captain, was a gentleman who entertained a
+superlatively high opinion of himself. He must have been very handsome
+when young, but was now somewhat “_fané_.” He was very much in love with
+a girl named Miss Finis, the daughter of a butcher in Chatham, who,
+some years before, had been in love with my friend, Arthur Dillon. Poor
+Dillon, alas! was no more, having been thrown out of a Ralli car and
+killed while stationed at Colchester. “He was such a good fellow, and a
+very promising officer,” said Captain Byron, in the letter he wrote to me
+in India, to inform me of the sad event.
+
+Tufnell was so infatuated with Miss Finis that it was generally believed
+that he would end by marrying her. Nor was he the only officer in the
+battalion who was contemplating a _mésalliance_. There was another
+captain, called Carpenter, who was desperately in love with a pretty
+little shop-girl, who was only about sixteen. At first, the Colonel
+objected to Carpenter going about with this damsel, but when he learned
+that he was determined to marry her, he said nothing more, as Carpenter
+was a great friend of his. Carpenter retired some months afterwards, and
+married his little girl, who, I was told, made him a very good wife. His
+retirement was much regretted, as he was very popular with both officers
+and men.
+
+The nicest captain in the battalion was de Robeck, who had been on the
+Staff of the Earl of Mayo, when Viceroy of India. He was a brother of
+Baron de Robeck, whom I already knew. De Robeck was a rather shy man,
+and dreadfully afraid of offending the Colonel. As time seemed only to
+accentuate the bad impression which I had been so unfortunate as to make
+upon our chief at our first meeting, partly owing to the fact that I was
+obliged to be a good deal in the company of Cotton and Holled-Smith,
+whose quarters adjoined my own, I told de Robeck that I thought it would
+be best for me to exchange into another battalion. He, however, advised
+me not to do so, observing:—
+
+“The Colonel cannot stay with us very much longer, and in the 1st
+Battalion, into which you wish to exchange, they have a Colonel, Colonel
+Gordon, who, I am told, is much worse than ours. I hear that he has been
+the cause of no less than ten officers leaving the battalion, and the
+cases of desertion among the riflemen can hardly be counted.”
+
+I told him that the Colonel of the 1st was soon retiring, while our chief
+would remain with us for another three years, which had to be taken into
+consideration.
+
+“No,” he replied, “he has only two years more, thank God!”
+
+I was always much influenced by what de Robeck told me, and generally
+followed his advice. I did so in this instance, but had I acted
+otherwise, it would have been much better for me.
+
+Among the senior lieutenants was one named Wylie, an absurdly pompous
+individual, who was disliked by both officers and men. One day, when
+I happened to be orderly officer, I had just come off parade and was
+standing by the officers’ mess, when Wylie passed by. I wished him
+good-morning, but, because I did not salute him at the same time,
+though it was off the parade-ground, he reported me to the Colonel, who
+reprimanded me. Wylie was married to the sister of a recently-created
+peer, who, on the strength of this relationship, gave herself ridiculous
+airs, and was almost as pompous as her husband.
+
+Arthur Greville Bagot, an old Etonian, who was adjutant of the battalion
+by appointment, though, as I mentioned, suspended, was a very different
+kind of officer from Wylie. He was highly connected, being the cousin of
+a duke and the nephew of a peer, and was a thorough gentleman in every
+way. He was a very good-looking man, and when not in uniform, always
+dressed very smartly in the latest fashion. An excellent soldier, he kept
+the men in first-rate order, which Wilkinson never could do, and, as he
+was rather a friend of mine, he invariably took my part with the Colonel,
+with whom he was on pretty good terms.
+
+As there was very little going on at Chatham at any time in the way
+of amusement, Bagot organized from the battalion a troupe of Christy
+Minstrels, he himself taking the part of “Bones.” I was asked to do my
+share, to which I willingly consented. We gave a performance in Chatham,
+which turned out a great success, a number of people having to be refused
+admission. The officers and men blackened their faces, and when I wished
+to re-enter Chatham Barracks, the sentry refused to let me pass, until
+I told him who I was. We gave a second performance at Chatham, which
+was so well attended that we agreed to engage the theatre at Gravesend
+and give an entertainment there. The result exceeded our most sanguine
+expectations, the theatre being crammed, while over four hundred people
+were turned away from the doors. Bagot made most amusing jokes, and sang
+several very good comic songs; Carpenter gave a solo on the concertina,
+besides singing in the chorus, and my performance on the zither was
+warmly applauded, and I got an encore. The _ensemble_ was excellent for
+that style of entertainment; quite as good as any professional troupe,
+and the singing was above the average.
+
+During the winter we had a heavy fall of snow, and, as most of the
+officers of the battalion had served in Canada, and had done a great
+deal of tobogganing there, this amusement was indulged in down the hill
+close to the mess. The toboggans were made to contain two persons, one
+sitting behind, and the other between his legs in front; and many of the
+officers would place a lady in front of them on their toboggans, and come
+down the hill at a terrific pace, the ladies sometimes giving vent to
+piercing shrieks, from fear of getting a spill. Now and again a toboggan
+would upset, and send its occupants flying; but, as they usually fell
+into the snow banked up on either side of the track, it was very rarely
+that they were in the least hurt.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+    Sarah Bernhardt in _Phèdre_—Vienna and Buda-Pesth
+
+
+When I got my winter’s leave, I started for Paris, to see my parents;
+intending afterwards to visit Vienna and Buda-Pesth. On the last evening
+of my stay in Paris, I went to the Théâtre-Français, to see Sarah
+Bernhardt and Mounet Sully in _Phèdre_. The latter’s acting was very
+fine, but Sarah Bernhardt was simply magnificent. The way in which she
+recited Racine’s lines in her charming, musical voice, with its pretty
+timbre, was a real pleasure to listen to; while in the last scene she
+rose to the supreme heights of tragedy. I do not think I was ever more
+delighted in my life with a theatrical performance than I was with the
+splendid acting that night at the Théâtre-Français, as it surpassed all
+my expectations.
+
+On my journey to Vienna next day, I had as a travelling companion an
+Austrian gentleman called Herr Neuss, who, on my happening to mention my
+visit to the Théâtre-Français the previous evening, observed that, in his
+opinion, the Burg Theatre, in Vienna, was the first theatre in Europe,
+and invited me to accompany him one evening to see a play of Shakespeare
+acted there. Herr Neuss told me that, from the way I spoke German, he
+had at first taken me for a German student, and that he was surprised to
+learn that I was an officer of the British Army.
+
+On my arrival in Vienna, which was enveloped in a white mantle of snow,
+I went to the Hôtel Matschakerhof, which had been recommended to me,
+and which I found very comfortable. I lost no time in calling on Herr
+Neuss, who presented me to his wife and their three young and pretty
+daughters, who were quite charming. I was invited to return to supper,
+and afterwards two of the girls played on two grand pianos which stood in
+the drawing-room. They both played beautifully, and had evidently been
+most admirably taught. An evening or two later, I went with Herr Neuss
+to the Burg Theatre, to witness a performance of _Romeo and Juliet_,
+which was wonderfully well staged. The part of Juliet was played by
+Fräulein Frank, a very good-looking brunette, who acted well, though in
+the very tragic scenes she occasionally showed too much emotion. Another
+evening I saw Fräulein Frank in the _Jungfrau von Orléans_, a part which
+suited her infinitely better than that of Juliet; and in which she was
+truly marvellous. I also saw the celebrated Charlotte Wolter in _Richard
+III._, in which play Lewinsky took the part of the King. I was very
+much impressed by the latter’s acting, but I was decidedly disappointed
+with Charlotte Wolter, whom I considered inferior to Fräulein Frank,
+though the public thought otherwise. Wolter, indeed, in the opinion of
+the Viennese, was an ideal actress, and, in certain plays, they even
+preferred her to Sarah Bernhardt.
+
+I was charmed with the military concerts at Vienna. Of an afternoon I
+several times went to the Volksgarten, where the people sat at little
+tables sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes. The military band, the Hoch
+and Deutschmeister, which played, was a string band, and the solo players
+were all very good. I was quite delighted with the way the band played
+a march, so differently from the sleepy fashion in which our English
+military bands played one. As is always the practice with an Austrian
+military band, when playing marches, a great deal of use was made of
+the cymbals in forte parts. They also played waltzes delightfully, and
+polkas with the proper rhythm, which so seldom happens. The Hoch and
+Deutschmeister played the most difficult music from the _Nibelungen
+Ring_, of Wagner, equally well, but their chief success was with light
+music, in which they were unrivalled.
+
+On Sundays Johann Strauss’s band played in the Musikverein’s Saal, under
+its accomplished conductor, who always charmed the audience with its
+beautiful waltzes and inspiriting polkas. Yet everyone said that his
+band was very inferior to the string bands of the regiments stationed in
+Vienna. I heard Johann Strauss’s band play more than once, and though I
+was pleased with it, the military band had far more attraction for me.
+
+I paid a visit one evening to Schwender’s, a dancing-hall, where, to the
+strains of a military band, people danced till the small hours of the
+morning, and was struck with the orderly manner in which those present
+conducted themselves. It was a great contrast to the scenes witnessed at
+similar resorts in England in those days, where drunkenness amongst both
+sexes was a common feature.
+
+The Opera House, whose orchestra was quite the finest in Europe, had, of
+course, a great fascination for me. Wagner was then directing his operas,
+_Tannhäuser_ and _Lohengrin_, and they were admirably rendered. Fräulein
+Ehnn and Frau Materna created the chief women’s rôles, and Winkelmann
+and Ritter were the leading tenors. A great feature at the Opera was
+the ballet, in which the _première danseuse_, Bertha Linda, delighted
+everyone with her graceful dancing, while the _corps de ballet_ was
+excellent. Bertha Linda married the celebrated artist Makart, at that
+time the greatest painter in Austria.
+
+From Vienna I went to Buda-Pesth, where I stayed at the Hôtel Königin
+von England. On the evening of my arrival, a gipsy band began playing
+during dinner, and continued until long past midnight. They played in a
+really wonderful manner, and collected a great deal of money. I visited
+the “Nepsinház” and other theatres in Pesth, and one evening went to a
+dancing-hall, where I saw the Csárdas danced most beautifully, and made
+the acquaintance of a young girl of fourteen or fifteen, named Tournay
+Wilma, a pupil at the theatre, who had a lovely contralto voice. She
+accompanied me back to my hôtel, and sang to me until the small hours of
+the morning.
+
+I thought Buda-Pesth beautifully situated, with the Emperor’s castle at
+Buda, and the Danube flowing between the two towns, but I would have
+infinitely preferred to live in Vienna, which is a far finer city. On my
+return there, I went several times to the Opera to hear _Manfred_, _Don
+Juan_ and _Figaro’s Hochzeit_, and then, after calling on Herr Neuss and
+his family, bade farewell to this most charming of capitals.
+
+I may mention that, during my stay in Vienna, I took lessons on the
+zither from the celebrated Paschinger, who was quite a brilliant
+performer on that instrument, besides being a good violinist, and played
+the violin and occasionally the zither at one of the principal theatres,
+where he was first violinist. I also invested in a zither-table, which I
+purchased at Kiendl’s, who made the best zithers in Europe.
+
+While in Vienna and Buda-Pesth, I was much impressed by the appearance
+of the troops I saw. Among the cavalry, which was then considered the
+finest in Europe, the Hussars struck me as being remarkably well mounted,
+while the officers’ uniform was very smart. The Dragoons, whose officers
+were mostly of the nobility, as were those of the Lancers, were also well
+mounted; while the Arciren Guards, who corresponded to our Life Guards,
+were a fine body of men, in green uniforms with red facings. There were
+at this time, in the Austrian Army, sixteen regiments of Hussars, the
+same number of Lancer regiments, and twelve regiments of Dragoons. The
+Hussars were all Hungarians, the Dragoons Austrians, and the Lancers
+Bohemians and Poles. The infantry was also very fine, and the uniform of
+the officers, though they wore no gold lace at all, very smart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+    Percy Hope-Johnstone—A “Special” to Aldershot—A Costume-Ball at
+    Folkestone
+
+
+Soon after my return to Chatham, my company had to go to Gravesend
+for a course of musketry. The officers who went were Cramer, Gunning
+and myself. We had to superintend the shooting of the men, though the
+musketry instructor, a lieutenant named Hope-Johnstone, was also present.
+Percy Hope-Johnstone, who was very popular with everyone, was a fine,
+powerfully-built man, and a very good shot, both with gun and rifle.
+He took great interest in the men’s shooting, and was a most capable
+instructor. He was the heir to a baronetcy, and in later years laid claim
+to the peerage of Annandale, but his claim was not successful.
+
+One day, Hope-Johnstone lent me his horse on the range, and the animal,
+not being accustomed to so light a weight, bolted with me, and set off
+at a furious gallop through the town. Fortunately, however, he soon ran
+himself out, and stopped of his own accord.
+
+Hope-Johnstone often went with Gunning and myself for walks in the
+country around Gravesend. On one occasion, when we were sitting by the
+Thames, he said to us:—
+
+“Supposing neither of you had any money at all. What would you do to
+learn a living?”
+
+Gunning replied that he should become an actor; and they both said that
+they were sure that I could play the zither at concerts, and make a good
+deal of money by this. Then Hope-Johnstone remarked:—
+
+“I know what I should do. I am a very fine fellow, well-built, rather
+imposing in appearance. Therefore, I should be a footman, which is a
+devilish easy life, nothing to do and plenty to eat and drink.”
+
+Hope-Johnstone told me that he had a younger brother in the Guards, who
+had told him that he was not allowed to recognize in London officers of
+other regiments whom he had met in the country, unless he were introduced
+to them in town, and the same rule applied to civilians whom an officer
+of the Guards had met in the country. Hope-Johnstone said he much
+preferred life in a Rifle regiment, as he was far more free to do as he
+liked, and could obtain more leave than a subaltern in the Guards. He
+intended retiring from the Service so soon as he got his company, as he
+was very well off.
+
+Allen, whose eccentricities I have mentioned elsewhere, came to Gravesend
+with his company, and used to walk about the town with his pockets full
+of sweets, which he would give to any pretty children whom he happened to
+meet. He brought with him a rather smart dog-cart and some fine horses,
+and sometimes took me for a drive, during which he used to entertain me
+with an account of the charms of a young flower-girl at Folkestone, whom
+he had known since she was quite a child, and whom he intended to marry,
+although she was only sixteen and he was forty. He did marry her, in
+fact, not long afterwards, when the Colonel insisted on his exchanging
+into another battalion, stationed in India. The officers’ wives called
+upon her, out of compassion, it would seem, for the miserable life which
+she led. For Allen was so fearfully jealous that he even went to the
+length of locking the poor girl up in the house whenever he went out. He
+was subsequently transferred to another regiment, but his jealousy of his
+wife continued down to the time of his death, which occurred soon after
+he had been promoted major.
+
+When the musketry-course was over, I returned with my company to Chatham.
+One day, I went with Cotton to Southend, and we missed the last train
+back. Cotton said that he must get back that night, as he was on duty
+next morning, and asked the station-master if he could have a special
+train, when that official said that, if we would keep quiet, he would put
+us in a luggage-train, which was just on the point of starting. We were
+put into a van, which was half-filled with coal, and had anything but a
+pleasant journey, as there was nothing but the floor—and the coal—to sit
+upon. However, we reached our destination in the early morning, in time
+for Cotton to assume his duties as orderly officer.
+
+Cotton told me that once, when stationed at Aldershot, he went up to town
+for the day, and missed the last train back. A lieutenant in the Rifle
+Brigade, named Crofton, who was in a like predicament, asked Cotton if he
+would come with him in a “special,” which he had just ordered, and the
+latter, of course, gladly consented. When they were nearing Aldershot,
+Crofton said:—
+
+“I will send you your half of the bill for the ‘special’ as soon as I get
+it. It will be a matter of forty pounds.”
+
+Cotton, however, did not see the force of this, as he had quite
+understood that Crofton, who was a very rich man, had invited him to come
+with him. Consequently, he refused to pay any part of the bill.
+
+It was no wonder that Cotton occasionally missed trains, for he was
+constantly late for parade, for mess, and, indeed, for everything. One
+day, the Colonel, between whom and Cotton there was little love lost,
+remarked:—
+
+“Cotton, you are always late; I am sure you will be late for your own
+funeral!”
+
+Cotton, who was a grandson of Viscount Combermere, and whose father, the
+Hon. Sir C. Stapleton-Cotton, was a general of cavalry, died after the
+Zulu War of fever.
+
+Cotton and I often dined together at a small hôtel at Rochester, which,
+if I am not mistaken, was the one where Mr. Pickwick stayed on the
+night of the ball at Rochester, described by Dickens. Occasionally we
+would converse in French, which Cotton spoke well, though, singularly
+enough, he had never been in France. At this hôtel, we occasionally met
+two officers of the Rifle Brigade, Viscount Bennet, son of the Earl of
+Tankerville, and Lord Torphichen, the last-named officer an old Etonian,
+who would join us at dinner. Lord Bennet’s mother was a French lady, and
+he used to make very clever jokes in French, which, however, lost by
+being repeated in English, on account of the _jeu de mots_.
+
+Not long after my return from Gravesend, I was sent with Gunning to
+Dover, to go through a final course of instruction there, before sitting
+for my lieutenant’s examination, and attached to the 104th Regiment
+at the Shaft Barracks. I was allotted a very comfortable room in the
+barracks, and Colonel Græme, who was then commanding the 104th, was very
+pleasant to me, as was a captain named Hunter, with whom I soon became
+very friendly. Our instruction, which was conducted by a Captain Savile,
+of the Staff College, occupied most of the morning and part of the
+afternoon, but by four o’clock we were generally free. My friends, the
+Charltons, were still living in Victoria Park, and naturally I lost no
+time in calling upon them. They were very pleased to see me again, and
+talked a great deal about poor Dillon, to whom, it appeared, Augusta, the
+eldest daughter, had become engaged to be married just before he met with
+his fatal accident. Ida, the second girl, who seemed even prettier than
+when I had last seen her, told me that she was engaged to a lieutenant in
+the 12th Lancers named Beck, a very nice young fellow, who had been with
+me at Sandhurst, and whom I had liked very much there.
+
+Mrs. Charlton, as hospitable as ever, told me that I must come to supper
+the following Sunday, and bring a friend with me, as I used to do when
+poor Dillon was alive. I gladly accepted her invitation, and asked
+Gunning to come with me. But he excused himself, explaining that he was
+related to the Charltons, but that, owing to some family quarrel, his
+parents were not on good terms with them. I then asked a lieutenant of
+the 7th Fusiliers, named Foley, who was only too pleased to go. He fell
+in love with Augusta at first sight, and he and I used to go every Sunday
+evening to supper in Victoria Park.
+
+Foley, who was a nephew of Lord Foley, was a very nice fellow indeed
+and a great friend of mine. He was very witty and amusing, and not
+infrequently exercised his wit at the expense of Gunning, who, though
+he rather fancied himself at repartee, and could more than hold his own
+against most people, invariably got the worst of it when he crossed
+swords with Foley.
+
+While I was at Dover, a big fancy-dress ball took place at Folkestone,
+to which Robartes, of the 11th Hussars, and I went with the Charltons.
+It was a very smart affair indeed, a number of people coming down from
+London for it, and some of the costumes were very fine. One lady, the
+Hon. Mrs. Yorke, whose husband was an officer in the Guards, wore a
+Greek peasant girl’s costume, which was much admired. Mrs. Yorke had, I
+think, the smallest feet for an Englishwoman that I have ever seen, which
+the white trousers she wore enabled her to display to advantage. Mrs.
+Charlton wore some magnificent lace, which a lady with whom I danced told
+me must be worth at least two or three hundred pounds. When I happened
+later in the evening to mention this to Mrs. Charlton, she exclaimed:—
+
+“Two or three hundred! The lace on my dress is worth nearer three
+thousand. It is of Charles II.’s time.”
+
+It was nearly four o’clock in the morning before we left the ball-room,
+having all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Robartes and I were photographed
+with the girls a few days later at Dover, they in the fancy dresses they
+had worn at the ball, and we in our uniform.
+
+When our examination for the rank of lieutenant took place, Foley and
+myself passed very well in the first class and had our commissions
+ante-dated two years; Robartes, of the 11th Hussars, and Gunning only
+succeeded in getting a “second.” The examination was a very stiff one,
+and a major of the 104th remarked that it ought almost to have qualified
+us for generals instead of lieutenants.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+    The Oppenheims—St. James’s and Winchester—The Colonel and
+    Beauclerk
+
+
+Shortly after I had passed my lieutenant’s examination, I was sent to
+Woolwich, where a detachment of my battalion was to do duty for the
+Horse Artillery. The room I was given, which belonged to an officer of
+the R.H.A., was a much better one than I had had in other barracks,
+and was furnished with some attempt at luxury. In the evening, I dined
+at the Royal Artillery mess, where their very fine string band played
+an excellent selection of music, under the direction of its Austrian
+bandmaster, Ritter von Zauerthal. I was often on guard at Woolwich, which
+I found very tiresome, as the guard was turned out at night as well as by
+day, and, as my turn to be on guard came round three times a week, it was
+pretty stiff work.
+
+While I was at Woolwich, a very smart ball was given at the barracks,
+which was highly successful, the great variety of uniforms and the
+toilettes of the ladies combining to make an unusually pretty scene, and
+an excellent supper being provided. To this ball I invited my old Eton
+friend, Jim Doyne, who, seeing all the men in uniform, mistook an officer
+who had come in evening dress for a waiter, and asked him to fetch an ice
+for a lady. The officer, however, took the mistake in very good part, and
+did as he was asked, remarking as he handed the ice to the lady, whom he
+happened to know:—
+
+“I am very pleased to make myself useful, and, as I have come in evening
+clothes instead of in uniform, I can quite understand your partner taking
+me for a waiter.”
+
+During my visit to Vienna, Herr Neuss had given me a letter of
+introduction to Frau Oppenheim, the wife of a wealthy wine-merchant in
+London, who, before her marriage, when she was known as Louise Epstein,
+had been an actress at the Burg Theatre, and had been considered the most
+beautiful woman in the Austrian capital. I called upon her and found
+her very charming, though few traces of the beauty which had captivated
+so many hearts, including, it was said, that of a British Ambassador,
+now remained. Her husband, an immensely stout man, invited me to dinner
+and gave me a most excellent one, _arrosé_ with his choicest wines.
+In return, I invited the Oppenheims to lunch with me at Woolwich, and
+asked a lieutenant of my battalion named Featherstone to meet them.
+Featherstone, I am afraid, was somewhat disappointed with Madame’s looks,
+as he had been expecting to see a much younger woman.
+
+After lunch, which was served in a private room at the mess, Herr
+Oppenheim expressed a wish to see the 80-ton gun fired for the first
+time, but I told him that it was impossible, as he was a foreigner.
+However, he protested that he had lived so many years in England that
+he had almost come to look upon himself as an Englishman, and at length
+he persuaded me to take him. When the great gun was fired, the worthy
+wine-merchant was so alarmed that he staggered backwards, exclaiming:
+“_Ach, du lieber Gott!_” And had it not been for a man standing by, who
+supported him in his arms, and whom his weight nearly upset, he would
+have fallen down.
+
+When I invited a friend to dine with me at the Artillery mess, as I
+frequently did, I was obliged to be there to receive him; otherwise, he
+would not be admitted. On my inquiring the reason for this rule, I was
+told that one evening a man presented himself at the mess, saying that
+he had been asked to dine by a certain officer, whose name he gave. The
+officer in question did not put in an appearance, and when dinner was
+announced, his supposed friend was invited to sit down to table, which he
+did. Presently, the attention of one of the mess-waiters was attracted by
+the singular behaviour of this individual, who was calmly pocketing as
+many spoons and forks as he could lay his hands on, whenever he fancied
+that he was unobserved. The mess-waiter reported these proceedings to
+the mess-president, and the man was at once given in charge, when it was
+discovered that he was a well-known thief. The Artillery mess was a very
+large one, from two hundred to three hundred officers sitting down to
+table, many of whom brought guests with them. Consequently, they had to
+be very careful, as there was always so much silver lying about.
+
+As it was summer, I frequently went up to London by steam-boat, which
+was a very pleasant way of making the journey. My companion on these
+river-trips was a lieutenant of my battalion, named Ernest Hovell
+Thurlow, an exceedingly nice fellow, who wore an eyeglass and appeared to
+take life in a very philosophical manner, as he never allowed himself to
+be put out by anything. He was a grandson of Lord Thurlow, and his mother
+had been a Miss Lethbridge. He was married, but his wife, a very pretty
+woman with wavy, golden hair, was staying in town for the season.
+
+After we had been some months at Woolwich, our detachment received orders
+to relieve the Grenadier Guards at St. James’s Palace. We detrained at
+Waterloo Station and marched to the Palace, in front of which the band
+of the Grenadiers was playing while the guard was being mounted. Our
+Colonel, who had come up to town expressly for this ceremony, and was
+in plain clothes, sent me to tell the Grenadiers’ band to stop playing,
+at which the bandmaster, Dan Godfrey, appeared to be rather surprised.
+However, he obeyed the order, when the band of our battalion played in
+its turn, after which the guard was relieved.
+
+I had a very comfortable room in St. James’s Palace, where I slept while
+I was on guard there, and, with the other officers, was made an honorary
+member of the Guards’ Club. I found the duties rather fatiguing, as the
+sentries to be visited were so far apart. The officers of the Guards
+always visited them in hansom-cabs, but Captain Tufton, who was in
+command of our detachment, would not allow me this luxury, and I had to
+go on foot.
+
+I invited Jim Doyne to dine with me one evening at the Palace. The dinner
+was excellent, and was provided free of cost to the officers, though
+they had to pay 15s. for each guest. The champagne was very good and
+the liqueurs as well, and a bottle of brandy was opened which was of
+the year of the Battle of Waterloo. Amongst the guests was a Lieutenant
+Childe-Pemberton, who was formerly in our regiment, but was then in the
+“Blues.”
+
+After I had been a short time at St. James’s Palace, my battalion was
+ordered to the Tower. But the Colonel, who had a good deal of influence
+at the War Office, persuaded them to countermand this order and send it
+to Winchester instead, where the detachment from St. James’s joined it.
+
+I had very comfortable quarters at Winchester, and life there was very
+pleasant, as the country round was very pretty, and we were invited
+to all the best houses in the neighbourhood. One of the most pleasant
+houses to which I went was that of Lady Frederick. It was a charming old
+residence, standing in the midst of beautiful grounds, and Lady Frederick
+and her son were most kind and hospitable.
+
+The depôt of the Rifle Brigade was also at Winchester, and the officers,
+some of whom were very nice fellows indeed, frequently dined at our mess.
+Amongst them was a Lieutenant F. Howard, whose acquaintance I had made on
+the troopship returning from India, and whom I was very pleased to meet
+again. He told me that he was now married and invited me to dine with
+him and his wife. I did so, and had a most pleasant evening, as both the
+Howards were very musical, Mrs. Howard having a very good voice, while
+her husband was quite an accomplished pianist.
+
+Sir George Nares, the Arctic explorer, was living at Winchester at
+the time with his wife and daughters. I made their acquaintance at a
+dance, and was often invited to tea at their house, after which I used
+to play tennis or croquet with the two girls, both of whom were very
+good-looking, or go with them for a country-walk. Sometimes when I
+called Sir George Nares would ask me to have a glass of madeira, from one
+of the remaining bottles of a case of that wine which had made the voyage
+with him. He did not show any traces of the privations which he had
+endured in the Arctic; but he was a very quiet man, who did not talk much
+and kept a good deal to himself. Not long after I came to Winchester, the
+family removed to a house near Surbiton, where they invited me to visit
+them. While I was there, the elder daughter met with a very sad accident.
+She was running downstairs, when the heel of her shoe caught in a
+stair-rod and she fell on her back, injuring her spine so badly that she
+died six months later. She was only eighteen. Her younger sister married
+a missionary some years later, and went out to South Africa.
+
+Several officers from the 2nd Battalion, with which I had served in
+India, were at the depôt, including Surgeon-Major Macnamara, Beauclerk,
+Lovett, and a captain named Brownrigg. Brownrigg was a fine-looking man,
+though with a tendency to _embonpoint_, and a very nice fellow as well,
+but he had an unfortunate weakness for liqueurs. He used to mix two or
+three together, and whenever anyone came to see him would invite them to
+have “a two-bottle trick” or “a three-bottle trick” with him. Brownrigg
+married not long afterwards and left the Service, but died suddenly, six
+months later. Probably, the two and three bottle tricks in which he was
+so fond of indulging had undermined his health.
+
+It was rarely that the officers went up to town from Winchester, as the
+journey was rather too long, and there was plenty of amusement to be
+found in and around Winchester. The music at the cathedral had a great
+attraction for me, and I was never tired of listening to the magnificent
+playing of the organist, Dr. Arnold. I took lessons in composition from
+Dr. Arnold, which interested me very much, although Howard declared
+that he could not understand anyone wishing to be initiated into the
+mysteries of harmony and counterpoint; which, he said, was a kind of
+higher mathematics and destroyed the illusion which music produces on
+the senses.
+
+The Colonel was his own absolute master at Winchester, as there was no
+general there to look after him, and gave himself and his battalion a
+rest, the parades being few and far between and the guards easy. Except
+for pottering about the mess-room and his work at the orderly-room of
+a morning our chief had little to do, and, from want of some better
+occupation, made himself more than usually objectionable to such of the
+officers as he did not happen to like. Beauclerk, who had been at the
+depôt for some time, was transferred to our battalion, at which I was
+very pleased, as he was a very nice fellow and a perfect gentleman,
+though a little inclined to be conceited. Unfortunately, the Colonel at
+once took a dislike to Beauclerk, owing to some jesting remark which the
+latter let fall while playing billiards with him, which he considered was
+wanting in respect, though any ordinary person would have seen nothing
+offensive in it. Next day, the chief appointed him to Robinson’s company,
+well knowing that Beauclerk would never tolerate the manner in which
+that eccentric personage was in the habit of treating his subalterns,
+whom he seldom condescended to address except to find fault with them,
+which he did in not the politest of language. Sure enough, one fine day,
+Beauclerk complained to the Colonel of the language which “Rabelais” had
+used towards him, and when the Colonel refused to listen to him, sent in
+his papers, which was, of course, just what our amiable chief wanted him
+to do. He was a great loss to the regiment, and his retirement was much
+regretted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+    Paris Again—Eccentricities of Captain “Rabelais”—A Fire in
+    Barracks—A Trying Inspection
+
+
+My next winter leave I spent in Paris with my parents, who now occupied
+an _appartement_ at No. 65, Rue de Morny, Champs-Elysées, and, as the
+winter season in the French capital was in full swing, had a very gay
+time of it. Among the balls to which I went was one given by Mrs.
+Hungerford, the mother of the well-known Mrs. Mackay, which was a very
+grand affair indeed, and at which dancing was kept up until nearly five
+in the morning. I met Mrs. Mackay shortly afterwards, when calling on
+Mrs. Hungerford. She spoke Spanish quite fluently, and was at this time
+very intimate with Isabella, the ex-Queen of Spain, to whose house she
+was often invited. She was, as usual, beautifully dressed, and in the
+most perfect taste. Another ball I attended was given by Mrs. Keogh, an
+Irish lady, where I danced the cotillon with a very lovely young Russian
+girl, a cousin of the Empress of Russia, who, together with her sister,
+was made a great deal of at that time in Paris society. I also went to a
+_bal-masqué_ at the Opéra with an American friend named Willing. There
+was a great crowd there, all the women being, of course, masked and in
+fancy costumes. I went into Baron Alphonse de Rothschild’s box to pay
+my respects to Madame Adelsdorfer, a great friend of Lady Holland, with
+whom she stayed when in London, and she invited me to accompany her on
+the following evening to the “Italiens,” where we heard Albani sing in
+_La Sonnambula_. I was delighted with Albani’s voice and also with her
+acting.
+
+Another evening, I went to see Salvini in _La Morte civile_, by
+Giacometti. Mlle. Masini, a young girl, played the part of the daughter,
+whom Salvini tries to kiss when he dies. She offers up a prayer for him
+on her knees, which so affected the audience that nearly the whole house
+was in tears. I saw Salvini on two other occasions: in _Il Gladiatore_,
+when I sat next to a very pretty girl, who pointed out to me a
+middle-aged man with a grey beard, whom she told me was Alphonse Daudet,
+the celebrated novelist, and again in _Othello_, when Mlle. Checchi Bozzo
+played Desdemona. She and Salvini acted magnificently and delighted
+everyone. Mlle. Checchi Bozzo died suddenly two days after I had seen
+her in _Othello_; she was only twenty-two, and her death caused a great
+sensation in Paris.
+
+Amongst other plays which I saw were Madame de Girardin’s _la Joie fait
+Peur_, Alfred de Musset’s _Il ne faut jurer de rien_, and Augier’s
+_Philiberte_, at the Théâtre-Français, in all of which the acting was
+admirable, and a very amusing piece called _la Boule_, by Meilhac and
+Halévy, at the Théâtre-du Palais-Royal.
+
+One Sunday afternoon I went to Pasdeloup’s concert, where they played
+the _Septuor_ of Beethoven beautifully. The greatest attraction there
+was Sivori, who performed a violin solo in the most wonderful manner.
+Sivori was Paganini’s best pupil, and Lord Berkeley used to say that
+he preferred Sivori to any violinist he had ever heard, as he always
+played with so much feeling, and eschewed those complicated pieces which
+resemble gymnastic exercises for the fingers, and serve no better purpose
+than to enable the violinist to display his execution.
+
+At the Grand Opéra I heard _l’Africaine_, of Meyerbeer, which was
+marvellously well-staged. Madame Krauss sang the title-part. She was an
+Austrian, from Vienna, but sang at the Paris Opéra for years, and was
+quite famous there. I also heard _Robert le Diable_—or rather part of it,
+for my father, who was with me, could not sit it out. So we adjourned to
+Thorpe’s, where we met Tom Hohler, whom I have mentioned earlier in this
+volume, and remained talking to him for some time. Tom Hohler was now
+married to Henrietta, Duchess of Newcastle, and they lived in the Avenue
+d’Antin.
+
+While in Paris, I visited a great many old friends, including Eugénie
+de Lavaile and Gabrielle Tercin, with whom I went one evening to the
+Scala and supped with them afterwards at a neighbouring restaurant.
+Another evening, I went with the former to the Folies Dramatiques to see
+_les Cloches de Cornéville_, in which Juliette Girard acted and sang
+remarkably well and was very graceful. I also renewed my acquaintance
+with Mrs. Michell and her daughter, whom I had not seen since I was
+at Marienbad, and whom I came across one day while walking on the
+Boulevards, and with the Vicomte Arthur d’Assailly, whom I had met in
+India. The Vicomte lived in the Rue Las Cases, and was a member of the
+Jockey Club, but he preferred les Mirlitons, he told me, as they gave
+many evening entertainments, and he was passionately fond of music.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When my leave was up, I rejoined my battalion at Aldershot, to which it
+had been transferred from Winchester. It had originally been ordered to
+the Tower of London, but the Colonel, as on a previous occasion, had
+used his influence at the War Office to get this order countermanded,
+to the great disgust of most of the officers. However, our chief rarely
+condescended to consult the wishes of anyone but himself in such matters.
+
+On my arrival at Aldershot, I was summoned to the orderly-room by the
+Colonel, who told me that I had somewhat exceeded my leave, to which I
+merely replied:—
+
+“Indeed, sir!”
+
+The other officers present, amused at this laconic answer, burst out
+laughing, at which the Colonel looked very black indeed. His temper,
+I soon learned, had not improved since the battalion had removed to
+Aldershot, as he found things there very far from what he had expected.
+He was not nearly so much his own master as he had been at Winchester;
+the constant parades irritated him, and he lived in perfect dread
+of the field-days, as he was constantly being reprimanded by the
+Brigadier-General in command, for not knowing his work. These reprimands
+he endeavoured to pass off on to the majors and captains, telling them
+that they did not attend sufficiently to their duties; but everyone knew
+with whom the fault lay.
+
+Much to the Colonel’s annoyance, both Allen and Smith had now got
+their companies. Thanks to the former’s fidelity to his Folkestone
+beauty, he succeeded in getting rid of him, telling him that it would
+be simply impossible for him to remain in the battalion after making
+such a _mésalliance_. But he had no excuse for getting rid of Smith,
+and so was obliged to put up with him, though he lost no opportunity
+of showing his dislike; and it was remarked that when offenders from
+Smith’s company were brought before him, they were always more severely
+punished than those from other companies. Smith, however, took it all
+very philosophically, observing that, as the Colonel could not remain
+in command for ever, he did not intend to gratify him by leaving the
+battalion.
+
+Neither could our chief succeed in ridding himself of Robinson, whose
+eccentricities caused him great annoyance. Since the arrival of the
+battalion at Aldershot, “Rabelais” had taken to sitting out of doors
+on warm days, arrayed in a flaming red dressing-gown, with feet and
+legs quite bare save for a pair of slippers, much to the disgust of
+some ladies, who had frequently to pass by his quarters. The matter was
+reported to the Colonel, who exclaimed angrily:—
+
+“Confound that Robinson! What can I do with such a creature? He is a
+disgrace to my battalion!”
+
+Nevertheless, he did not dare to interfere with him personally, but
+deputed the adjutant to remonstrate with him. “Rabelais,” however,
+received that officer with such a volley of oaths that he beat a
+precipitate retreat.
+
+Whenever Robinson wrote to me or anyone, he did so on note-paper in the
+corner of which was a picture of the devil in bright red, with black
+wings, seated upon a swing, and the same device adorned the envelope.
+Like Ludwig of Bavaria, he would only speak to some people from behind a
+screen in his sitting-room. His sergeants, his subalterns and even the
+adjutant, he would receive in this way, unless one of them happened to
+come on some important business, when he would occasionally condescend
+to reveal himself. His unfortunate subalterns, if they were not to
+his liking, positively trembled before him, and generally ended, like
+Beauclerk, by sending in their papers.
+
+One of his subalterns, whom I recollect “Rabelais” treated particularly
+badly, was a very nice fellow named Crawley, who had lately joined.
+Crawley, however, put up with it, though when the battalion was ordered
+to South Africa on active service, he exchanged into the Coldstream
+Guards with an officer who was killed in the first engagement. In after
+years, Crawley commanded a battalion of the Coldstreams, and died of
+wounds received in the Boer War.
+
+There was a good deal of society in and around Aldershot, and the
+officers of my battalion were invited out a great deal, but our duties
+soon grew so heavy that we were obliged to decline nearly all the
+invitations we received. Colonel Wellesley, the governor of the military
+prison, and his wife used to give very pleasant garden-parties, at which,
+as we had not far to go, we were generally able to be present. The
+Colonel, who was then an old man, was an uncle of the Duke of Wellington,
+and Mrs. Wellesley was a most charming woman. They had several daughters,
+who were very good-looking girls, and an only son, Cecil Wellesley, a
+little boy about eleven years old.
+
+A General Smythe, a retired officer of the Artillery, who lived with his
+wife and daughter in a large house at Aldershot, with extensive grounds
+attached to it, also used to give garden-parties, which were always
+well attended. The Smythes were very hospitable people, and everything
+was admirably arranged, including the refreshment department, of which
+the champagne-cup was a feature. Their daughter was a remarkably fine
+tennis-player, and could, as a rule, beat any officer who opposed her.
+She played in a short skirt reaching just below the knee, and wore a
+collar and tie and a man’s cap—a costume which suited her very well,
+as she had a good figure and beautifully-shaped legs, but was, in those
+days, considered a rather bold one for a woman to adopt. Miss Smythe was
+not only a fine tennis-player, but a most accomplished musician. When
+quite a young girl, she had studied singing and composition at Dresden,
+under the direction of Madame Schumann, who declared that she had never
+had a pupil with so wonderful an ear for music, as she could sing the
+scales without a piano in every possible key, without the slightest
+fault. She was also an excellent horsewoman and a very bold one, and
+Holled-Smith, who used often to go for rides with her, told me that she
+would put her horse at jumps that made him even think twice before he
+ventured upon them, although he followed the hounds regularly when his
+duties permitted. Some people thought that he and Miss Smythe would make
+a match of it, as they were so much together, but they remained merely
+friends, and Holled-Smith eventually married another lady.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One night, I was awakened by Cotton, who told me that the fire-bugle had
+sounded. Pulling our great-coats over our night-shirts, we ran towards
+the place where the fire had broken out, and found that it was in the
+stables, which were soon almost gutted. Two of Allfrey’s hunters were
+burned to death, for though we endeavoured to save the unfortunate
+animals, it was quite impossible. Indeed, we had all our work cut out to
+prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent buildings, but, with the
+aid of some men with the fire-hose, we succeeded in doing this.
+
+During Ascot week Bagot drove our coach from Aldershot to Ascot and
+back, while I sat on the box-seat and occasionally took a turn with the
+ribbons. Bagot was a first-rate whip and the best in the battalion,
+though Allfrey and Cotton were by no means to be despised. We lunched
+at the Greenjackets’ tent, which was for the members of both Rifle
+regiments, where I entertained my father and Sir George Wombwell and his
+party. Among the party was the Hon. Mrs. Crichton, whom I had met at
+Dover, and I was pleased at seeing again Savile Lumley, afterwards Lord
+Savile, who had been at Eton with me.
+
+Among the Line regiments stationed at Aldershot was one commanded by
+Lieut.-Colonel Deane, brother-in-law of Lord Falmouth, who frequently
+used to dine at our mess, as a guest of our chief. Lord Falmouth owned
+some of the best racehorses in England, and had won both the Derby and
+St. Leger. But he disliked betting, and Colonel Deane told us that
+the only bet he had ever had in his life was one of sixpence with his
+housekeeper. He lost, and, in payment of the bet, gave her the sixpence
+set in brilliants for a brooch.
+
+There were several cavalry regiments at Aldershot, including the 8th
+Hussars and the 16th and 17th Lancers. The 16th Lancers had a circus,
+composed of officers and men, which used to give performances which were
+highly successful; in fact, it was almost as good as a professional
+circus. Taaffe, whom I had met on my way out to India, was with the 16th
+at Aldershot, and we used frequently to dine at one another’s messes.
+
+When in town, I constantly met old Eton friends and acquaintances,
+chiefly officers in the Guards. The Hon. Alfred Egerton, who was at that
+time a lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards, was a particular friend of
+mine and I saw a good deal of him. Egerton told me that his colonel,
+Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, had refused to allow his battalion to
+comply with a senseless order during the manœuvres at Aldershot on a day
+of almost tropical heat. Other commanding officers, however, had not the
+courage to follow his example, with the result that a great number of men
+got sunstroke. In those days, the Aldershot manœuvres took place in the
+height of summer, instead of, as now, in the autumn. Several battalions
+of the Guards and the “Blues” were sent to Aldershot for the manœuvres,
+and amongst the Eton friends whom I met was Lord Edward Somerset, who had
+exchanged from the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers into the “Blues,” where he
+was very popular.
+
+The day the troops were inspected by the Duke of Cambridge rain fell in
+torrents. The troops had to assemble on parade in the early morning in
+full uniform without overcoats, and to wait, standing at ease, for fully
+two hours in the midst of the most drenching rain until the Duke arrived.
+Many men suffered afterwards from the effects of that deluge. I was one
+of them, as shortly afterwards, I was laid up with a severe attack of
+rheumatic fever, which has affected my heart ever since.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+    Madrid and Cordova—Seville—General von Goeben and the
+    Bull-fight—A View from the Alhambra—I rejoin my Regiment
+
+
+I spent my winter leave in Paris, where I suffered more or less all the
+time from rheumatism of the heart, for which I took a good many Turkish
+baths, without, however, obtaining much relief. My doctor told me that it
+would be unwise to return to Aldershot when my leave was up, and advised
+me to spend the rest of the winter in Spain. Accordingly, I went before
+a medical board in London, one of the members of which was Surgeon-Major
+Clarke, of the Royal Horse Artillery, whom I had known in India, and was
+granted three months’ sick leave. I returned to Paris with my father, who
+had accompanied me to London, and Lord Henry Paget (afterwards Marquis
+of Anglesey), and on the following evening left the Gare d’Orléans for
+Madrid.
+
+After two nights and a day in the train, I reached Madrid, which, as it
+was carnival time, was very gay. I took a room at the Hôtel de Paris,
+and after breakfast called on Doña Queñones de Léon, who lived in a huge
+house like a palace, and who received me in a drawing-room, in the centre
+of which a small fountain was playing. In the evening, I visited the
+Opera, but was not very favourably impressed by, the performance. The
+following day, through the good offices of the Marquis de San Carlos, I
+was able to visit the Royal Stables and the Armeria, with which I was
+quite delighted. Afterwards I walked in the Prado, which was crowded with
+carriages, all the occupants of which were masked. Some of the carriages
+were drawn by mules, and a few by donkeys. In the evening, I dined with
+the Marquis de San Carlos, when I met Doña Queñones de Léon and two
+daughters of Queen Christina and a daughter of the Marquis. The next day
+I visited the Museum, and then went again to the Prado, where I saw the
+King and princesses in an open carriage. The crush was so great that
+one could hardly move. After dinner, I visited Señora Queñones de Léon,
+with whom I found the Marquis de San Carlos and his sons, and, at their
+request, played some airs on the zither.
+
+From Madrid I went to Cordova, where I stayed at the Hôtel Suiza.
+Cordova is an interesting town, containing, as it does, so much Moorish
+architecture. Some of the streets are so narrow that there is barely room
+for two people to walk abreast, and it is infested by hordes of beggars,
+mostly children in an almost nude condition. The smallness of their hands
+and feet betray their Moorish origin.
+
+After spending a couple of days at Cordova and visiting the Cathedral,
+with its pillars of porphyry, I took the train for Seville, where I put
+up at the Hôtel des Quatre Nations. At dinner that evening I sat next
+to a young man who, I afterwards learned, was a son of the President of
+Brazil. As I intended to remain for some time at Seville, I looked out
+for a _casa de huespedes_ (boarding-house), which I found in the Plaza
+Nueva. The Plaza Nueva is the finest square in Seville, and contains a
+great number of orange-trees, which at night and early morning throw out
+the most delicious fragrance imaginable. My rooms overlooked the Plaza,
+and at times the perfume of the orange-blossoms, which the Spaniards call
+“_azahár_,” was so overpowering that one felt almost intoxicated.
+
+The _casa de huespedes_ was kept by three young girls—sisters—of the
+name of De Larriva, who told me that they would teach me Spanish.
+The youngest, who was called Manuela, was a very pretty brunette of
+seventeen, with jet-black hair, beautiful white teeth, and those peculiar
+black eyes which are rarely seen except in the South. She it was who
+gave me the most instruction, for, though her two sisters spoke French
+fairly well, while Manuela spoke no language but her own, she was by far
+the prettiest of the trio, and I not unnaturally preferred being taught
+by her. She began by telling me the names of the parts of the face, and
+gradually taught me to pay all kinds of compliments. By her advice, I
+took some lessons, besides, from a professional teacher of the language.
+
+Life at this _casa de huespedes_ was very pleasant, apart from the food,
+which, to an English palate, was detestable, for every dish was prepared
+with olive-oil, and even the poached eggs tasted of it. The butter was
+imported from Holland and the milk condensed. I lived chiefly on oranges,
+for I found nearly everything else unpleasant to the taste. We used to
+sit down twenty-five to dinner, as a number of Artillery officers from
+the garrison were in the habit of dining there.
+
+Among my fellow-guests was an Englishman of seventy, a Mr. Heaviside,
+who had come to Seville on purpose to learn to read “Don Quixote” in
+the original old Spanish. Manuela used to tease him, by encouraging him
+to speak Spanish, of which he knew very little. I often went with him
+to a café of an evening to hear the _bandhurria_ played with the piano,
+and occasionally I went for a walk with the sisters De Larriva in the
+fine gardens of the Paseo, where there were many tropical plants growing
+out in the open air, and lemon and orange trees perfumed the atmosphere
+deliciously.
+
+An officer whom I knew, Surgeon-Major Orton, happened to be spending
+his leave at Seville, and with him I went to visit the Museum, with
+its lovely pictures by Murillo, and the Alcazar, with which we were
+delighted, the walls being covered with beautiful designs in the style
+of the Alhambra. I also visited the Giralda, the view from which is
+very fine, the Carridad, where there were many pictures by Murillo and
+exquisite wood-carvings by Rollas, and the cathedral, which is one of the
+largest in the world.
+
+During the winter the _patio_, or courtyard, of the houses in Seville
+is but little used, but when spring comes, people spend a great part of
+their time there. When Spaniards get together they invariably dance
+with castanet accompaniments. Sometimes they dance the Seguidillas, the
+Sevillana, or the Fandango, which is very pretty to watch, as both men
+and women dance with so much _élan_. This is very much the custom, even
+in aristocratic houses, the looker-on applauding and exclaiming: “_Ollé,
+graziosa, muy bien, ollé, ollé!_” when one of the girls attempts some
+unusual feat.
+
+One evening I went with some of the people at the boarding-house to the
+Calle Trajano to see the dancing there. An exceedingly pretty little
+girl, of ten or eleven, though she appeared much older, with black hair,
+dressed like a Spanish woman, with a number of curls round the face,
+danced with a man dancer the “_torrero y la Malagueña_.” In which dance
+she displayed all the marvellous art of a _première danseuse_, dancing on
+her points and executing the most difficult _entrechats_, _battements_
+and _pas de chat_, which would have done credit to a dancer double her
+age. Then, suddenly, she darted across the room, with her handkerchief
+in her hand, and before I had time to realize what had happened she had
+thrown the handkerchief into my lap and rushed away again. Somewhat
+embarrassed, I inquired of those sitting near me what I was supposed to
+do, and was told that I was expected to put some money into it, and that
+the little _danseuse_ would come and fetch it. After the performance, I
+spoke to the little girl, who told me that her name was Salud, and asked
+me to come and see her. I went the following day, when she danced for me
+and gave me her photograph. Afterwards, I often went to the Calle Trajano
+of an evening, where I sometimes danced with the Spanish girls, and on
+one occasion danced a polka-mazurka with Salud.
+
+During Holy Week and the “Feria,” which followed it, Seville was crowded
+with visitors, and the prices at the hôtels and _casas de huespedes_
+were all increased. Among the visitors who came to my boarding-house
+was General von Goeben, who commanded a division of the German Army in
+the Franco-German War of 1870, and after whom the notorious battleship
+of Dardanelles fame was named, and the Marquis de Rampa, an immensely
+wealthy Spanish nobleman, and his daughter. I sat next to the daughter,
+who was quite a young girl, at table, and was obliged to make what play I
+could with my Spanish, as she spoke no other language.
+
+The processions which took place day and night during Holy Week were very
+imposing. Images of the Virgin Mary figured in all of them. The trains of
+the dresses, which were of immense length and generally of blue or violet
+velvet, must have cost thousands of pounds, as they were most exquisitely
+embroidered with gold and silver lace, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and
+pearls. They were carried by young girls. On Palm Sunday, the people
+who took part in the procession were dressed in black, with their faces
+covered, and palm-branches in their hands. On Holy Thursday, I went to
+the Cathedral to see the Archbishop of Seville wash the feet of the poor.
+There was a tremendous crush, and Baron von Münchhausen, a Bavarian
+nobleman, who was with me, had his gold watch stolen.
+
+The “Feria” was a very pretty sight. All the principal families in
+Seville took part in it, each having a separate tent, in which they
+entertained their friends and sold various objects, somewhat after the
+fashion of our charity bazaars. In some of these tents the saleswomen
+were young girls, gorgeously dressed in red and yellow satin embroidered
+with white lace and wearing white lace mantillas. To most of the tents
+you had to receive an invitation before you were allowed to enter, when
+you were offered chocolate or coffee, and, in those belonging to rich
+families, champagne and other wines, the buffets being laid out with a
+great display of silver plate and flowers. In the evening, the different
+families visited each other’s tents, and the dancing of Fandangos,
+Boleros and Seguidillas was kept up until past midnight.
+
+The Carrerras de Caballos (Horse Show) was held in another part of the
+grounds. Here I met Lord Torphichen, of the Rifle Brigade, who had come
+from Gibraltar, where his battalion was stationed. He was very surprised
+to see me, as few British officers ever visited Seville.
+
+One of the chief attractions of the “Feria” was the bull-fight, to
+which all the ladies of Seville went, wearing white mantillas and their
+choicest jewels. I went with Baron von Münchhausen and General von
+Goeben. But the latter took his departure very early, observing that,
+though he had seen a great deal of bloodshed during the Franco-German
+War, he felt quite faint and could not possibly stand any more of such
+a disgusting spectacle. On my return to the boarding-house, Manuela
+inquired if I had not been delighted with the bull-fight, saying that
+it was the grandest sight in Spain and that nothing gave her so much
+pleasure. I told her that I thought it very cruel to the unfortunate
+horses, when she rejoined that, “they were old screws and no longer of
+any use.” I remarked that that did not prevent them suffering, upon which
+she said that hunting was equally cruel, and that it was a matter of
+prejudice and nothing else.
+
+“Besides,” added she, “racing is cruel on the horses, some people say.”
+
+After that I saw that it was useless to pursue the argument further.
+
+During the “Feria,” the ladies of Seville dressed in colours, but at
+other times most women and girls wore black. There were some very pretty
+women in Seville, but the beauties were generally to be found among the
+lower classes, most of whom have Moorish blood in their veins, which
+gives them a darker complexion, but also smaller features and very tiny
+hands and feet. Théophile Gautier observes that there is nothing more
+charming than the foot of an Andalusian woman, which makes even that of a
+Frenchwoman appear large.
+
+During my stay at Seville, I paid a visit to Cadiz. The approach to
+Cadiz is perfectly lovely and has often been compared to the approach to
+Constantinople. Seen from a distance, the town appears to be built of the
+most exquisitely white marble; while the sea, which seems to surround
+it, is of a beautiful sapphire, which rivals in loveliness the heavens
+above, though, as it was early morning, the colour of the sky was more
+like that of the turquoise. This illusion is destroyed, however, when one
+enters Cadiz, as many of the houses are very far from being of the snowy
+whiteness which distance had lent to them.
+
+At Cadiz, where I put up at the Hôtel des Quatre Nations, I came across
+a Mr. Rueff, whom I had met at Cordova, and in his company explored
+the town and visited several of the churches, where Mr. Rueff was
+much interested in the wood-carving, some of which was of exquisite
+workmanship. The day before returning to Seville, I went with Mr. Rueff
+by rail to Jerez, where we visited the wine cellars of Señor Misa, who
+supplied my own and most of the best regiments in England with wine.
+Señor Misa invited us to taste some of his best wines, including one
+which was bottled in the year of the Battle of Waterloo. He told us that
+it was sold at £3 the bottle, but it never left the country.
+
+Mr. Rueff accompanied me back to Seville, and together we visited the
+Fondacion, where the cannons are made, and the Casa de Pilatus, the
+supposed house of Pontius Pilate. A few days later, I paid a visit to
+Granada, where the red hills and grey rocks and the elm trees with
+their massive foliage formed an agreeable contrast to the flat and
+barren country around Seville. On entering the Alhambra, I was fortunate
+enough to make the acquaintance of two English ladies, one of whom was
+married to a Portuguese nobleman and lived in the Alhambra. These ladies
+very kindly volunteered to show me all over the Alhambra and explain
+everything to me, an offer which I gladly accepted. The Alhambra reminded
+me to some extent of the Alcazar at Seville, as it is built in the same
+style of Moorish architecture, though on a much larger and grander scale.
+The Court of Lions and the adjacent rooms are exquisitely constructed,
+and the marvellous decoration of the walls, with their blending of
+colours and intricate designs, impart a magnificence to the “_tout
+ensemble_” almost impossible to describe.
+
+One of the most exquisite views I can remember, I had when the sun was
+setting from one of the windows of the Alhambra, from which I could see
+the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, with their summits covered in snow.
+The colours which the sun’s declining rays imparted to the clouds were of
+all the various shades of the opal, making some of the tiny clouds appear
+like roses in the heavens, and the heavens themselves as though on fire.
+Then gradually the colours became more subdued, and every shade melted
+away, from the deepest red to the most delicate violet, leaving here
+and there a bunch of roses, which resembled in their pale _nuance_ the
+Souvenir à la Malmaison or Blanche Laffitte. This was the effect of the
+after-glow.
+
+The next day, the two ladies took me to see the Cartuja and the
+Cathedral, and on the following afternoon I went with them for a drive
+into the country, during which I had a splendid view of the Sierra
+Nevada. After dinner, I went again to the Alhambra to take leave of my
+kind friends, and heard the nightingales sing as I had never heard before
+or since in my life.
+
+Early next morning I left Granada for Seville. At a lonely spot beyond
+Antequeria the train came to a stop, owing to the line being blocked by
+a broken-down engine, and we were told that it might be some time before
+we should be able to proceed. Many of the passengers appeared greatly
+alarmed, and, on inquiring the reason, I was informed that this part of
+the country was infested by brigands, who might at any moment come down
+upon us. However, we saw nothing of these gentry, and at the end of a
+couple of hours the engine which barred our way was got off the rails,
+and we continued our journey.
+
+Towards the end of April, the weather became intolerably hot at
+Seville, and I reluctantly decided to bring my stay there to a close. I
+accordingly bade farewell to Manuela and my other friends at the _casa
+de huespedes_ and took the train for Madrid, where I again put up at the
+Hôtel de Paris. I stayed for some days at Madrid, visited two or three of
+the principal theatres and dined with Doña Queñones de Léon, the Marquis
+de San Carlos, and other people whom I knew. I also went several times to
+the Museum, where I made the acquaintance of a Señorita Hélène de España,
+a wonderfully pretty girl of seventeen, who was engaged in copying a
+painting by Van Dyck. This Señorita Hélène de España was a blonde with
+blue eyes and fair hair, a type of beauty not often met with in Spain,
+but it appeared that she was of English descent on her mother’s side,
+though she could not speak English. She seemed to be a young lady of a
+rather romantic temperament, for, after a very short acquaintance, she
+told me that I might serenade her by night beneath her window. But I did
+not avail myself of this permission, which I often regretted since not
+having done.
+
+Before leaving Madrid, I spent a day at Toledo, where, under the wing of
+a guide, I visited the Cathedral of San Juan de los Reyes, the Jewish
+synagogue, and the royal manufactory of steel weapons. This manufactory
+is one of the best in Europe, and the way in which the upper part of
+the blades of the swords and daggers made here is inlaid in gold and
+silver gives them a very costly as well as a very charming appearance.
+Some of the weapons were for sale, and I purchased a very fine dagger,
+beautifully inlaid with gold arabesque designs. These daggers are of so
+fine a steel that they will easily pierce a silver coin without breaking.
+Toledo is one of the oldest towns in Spain, and the last place in which
+the Jews were allowed to reside before they were banished from Spain.
+This accounts for its inhabitants having a Jewish cast of countenance.
+
+I arrived in Paris on my birthday, May 5th. The Exhibition had now begun,
+and I visited it on several occasions with my father and other friends. I
+was much interested in the prize zithers sent by Anton Kiendl of Vienna,
+which were truly beautiful instruments, and very delighted with the
+playing of a Hungarian gipsy band in the Austro-Hungarian section of the
+Exhibition. At the Grand Opéra I heard _l’Africaine_ for the second time,
+and also went to the Théâtre de la Renaissance to see _le Petit Duc_, in
+which Mlle. Granier and Emil Meyer sang, and to the “Français,” where
+I saw Got, Coquelin and Mlles. Reichemberg, Agar and Croizette in _les
+Fourchambault_. I attended a race-meeting at Longchamps with my father,
+where we met the Hon. Albert Bingham and Howard Vyse, who returned with
+us to Paris, and in the evening we went to Musard’s Concert, at which the
+Prince of Wales was present. Altogether, I had a very pleasant time, but
+my three months’ sick leave was now on the point of expiring, and I was
+obliged to return to England to rejoin my regiment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+    I meet Byron Again—I endeavour to Exchange—Basil Montgomery—My
+    Illness—Why I was not Placed on Half-pay
+
+
+My Colonel appeared anything but pleased at my return. He had, it seems,
+been hopeful that my application for sick leave was but a preliminary
+step to my resigning my commission, when he had intended to replace me
+by a friend of his from the 4th Battalion; and was, therefore, naturally
+disappointed at my reappearance upon the scene.
+
+_À propos_ of colonels and the way in which they treated officers to whom
+they happened to have taken a dislike, there was, just about this time, a
+great scandal in another battalion of my regiment.
+
+Among the subalterns of this battalion was a certain Lieutenant Gilbert,
+who was very popular with his brother-officers; but his Colonel, who was
+a terrible martinet, persecuted him to a shameful degree and lost no
+opportunity of making his life a burden to him. One day, during a parade
+in which this officer was right guide of his company, the Colonel bullied
+him in a way which disgusted everyone. Suddenly, after being sworn at
+in the most disgraceful manner, the poor young fellow, his powers of
+self-control exhausted, threw down his sword. The Colonel at once ordered
+the Adjutant to place him under arrest, and he was subsequently tried by
+court-martial, found guilty of insubordination on parade and cashiered.
+At the same time, the Colonel was told that he must retire from the
+Service at once. It was said that, had Gilbert not thrown down his
+sword, matters would have turned out very differently, for the Colonel
+had behaved so outrageously that he would have been cashiered himself,
+that is to say, if anyone had had the courage to bring his conduct to
+the notice of his superiors; and, as the battalion was on the point of
+mutiny, this would probably have been done.
+
+The 2nd Battalion, 10th Regiment, to the command of which my friend
+Byron had recently succeeded, had just arrived at Aldershot, and I was
+naturally delighted to see him again. He invited me to dine at the 10th’s
+mess, where I spent a most pleasant evening. During dinner, Byron said:—
+
+“You were very foolish to leave us. If you had stayed, as you may
+remember I advised you to do, you would have had me for your C.O., and
+would have had a very easy time of it, and have been able to do as you
+pleased.”
+
+He added that, in his opinion, there was no comparison between the two
+Rifle regiments, so far as the social position of officers serving in
+them was concerned, and that, from what he had heard, as his brother was
+a major in my regiment, but in a different battalion (He later commanded
+the 2nd Battalion), I was not only in the inferior regiment, but in its
+worst battalion, commanded by a chief about whom few people seemed to
+have a good word to say.
+
+All this was only too true, and I could only reply that, had I been able
+to see a little into the future, I would certainly have remained with the
+10th Regiment. It was unfortunate, too, my not being able to remain with
+the 2nd Battalion of the Rifles in India, as I liked them all very much.
+
+In May, the German Crown Prince, who was on a visit to England, came down
+to Aldershot to inspect the troops. We could well have dispensed with
+the honour he did us, as it was a pouring wet day and bitterly cold,
+and by the time we got back to camp we were drenched to the skin. This
+experience, as may be supposed, did not do me any good, although I felt
+no ill effects at the time.
+
+I was in town a good deal during the season, and went several times
+to the Opera, where I heard Patti in _Il Barbiere de Seviglia_, _Don
+Giovanni_, _Aïda_ and _Semiramide_, Albani in _Atala_, the Spanish tenor
+Gayarré in _Lucrezia Borgia_ and Jean de Reszke in _les Huguenots_.
+Early in July, my father came over to England, and I went with him to the
+Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s, where we lunched on Tom Hohler’s drag.
+Jim Doyne was in town, and I saw a good deal of him, and we often lunched
+and dined together. In fact, on my visits to London I generally contrived
+to have a very good time; but at Aldershot things were not so pleasant,
+and matters came to a head on the day my battalion was inspected by
+Brigadier-General Anderson.
+
+The inspection passed off pretty satisfactorily. Each officer in
+succession was called up by the Brigadier and told to put his men through
+certain movements. The Brigadier found fault with two of the officers,
+and complained about them to the Colonel, who, however, assured him that
+on ordinary occasions their work was quite satisfactory. I was now in
+command of Allen’s company, and when my turn came, I had no difficulty
+in performing all the requisite movements, and was complimented by the
+Brigadier, who then turned to the Colonel and remarked:—
+
+“I can find no fault with this officer; he knows his work better than
+some of the others.”
+
+“I don’t know how it is, Sir,” replied the Chief, with difficulty
+concealing his annoyance, “but to-day he seems smarter than usual.”
+
+The Colonel, it appeared, had made a very bad report on me to the
+General, which would have been sent to the War Office if the latter had
+confirmed it; but this the Brigadier told him he was quite unable to do.
+The Colonel then said that it was in looking after my company that I
+was deficient, to which his superior replied that he would see into the
+matter and send for us both in a day or two.
+
+I had written to General Sir John Douglas, K.C.B., who commanded the
+Forces in Scotland, and had married a daughter of Earl Cathcart,
+complaining of my Chief’s treatment of me; and Sir John had written to
+Brigadier-General Anderson about me. It was owing to this that the latter
+watched me so carefully, in order to see if I were really so ignorant of
+my work as my Chief had represented, and, having satisfied himself to
+the contrary, he had decided to investigate my case further.
+
+However, the Colonel, having got rid of Beauclerk and Allen, had now made
+up his mind to get rid of me also. Accordingly, he sent Major Northey to
+advise me to exchange into another battalion, as he was determined that
+I should not remain in his. The Major said that it was no good my trying
+to resist so obstinate a man as the Chief, and named an officer whom
+the Colonel was anxious to have in his battalion, who would probably be
+willing to exchange with me.
+
+“You know what he is when he has once taken a dislike to anyone,” he
+added. “Remember Beauclerk’s case. If you will take my advice, you will
+communicate with the officer I have mentioned at once.”
+
+I said that I would do as Major Northey advised, and wrote to the officer
+in question, who replied that, as he was short of money, he would only
+exchange in consideration of my paying him the sum of £300. He pointed
+out that his battalion was remaining in England, while mine would shortly
+be going on foreign service, and perhaps even on active service.
+
+I may mention that some time before this I had been told by my cousin,
+Emily Cathcart, that I had a very good chance of being chosen as private
+secretary to the Duke of Argyll, who was then Governor of Canada; but
+eventually a relative of his was offered the post.
+
+The Colonel, in the belief that I was about to exchange, now became quite
+amiable towards me. At times he would send Wilkinson, the Adjutant, to
+ascertain how matters were progressing, and I was not a little amused by
+the way in which Wilkinson, who did not wish me to suspect the object of
+his visit, would lead up to the subject.
+
+The eccentricities of our Chief at this time caused the whole battalion
+great annoyance. It was an unusually hot summer, and he used to inspect
+us of a morning wearing mufti and holding a huge white umbrella over
+his head, a precaution which he explained by saying that he had had
+a touch of sun whilst serving in India. If this were really the
+case, it probably accounted for his constant outbursts of temper. At
+these inspections, he was accustomed to display the most exasperating
+solicitude about the men’s uniform, inspecting each man separately, and
+fingering every button to ascertain whether it were loose or not. This
+sort of thing, which could, of course, have been very well undertaken by
+the company commanders in barracks, instead of by the C.O. on parade,
+under a broiling sun, used sometimes to occupy hours, and was naturally
+very trying indeed to everyone.
+
+One morning, towards the end of July, I was playing at single-stick with
+Holled-Smith, when I received rather a severe hit on the side, which made
+me feel so ill that I went to bed and sent for our surgeon, who told me
+that my liver, from which I had suffered so much in India, was affected.
+He made me remain in bed for several days, at the end of which I was well
+enough to return to duty.
+
+A day or two later, I was told by the Adjutant that I had to go with him
+to Brigadier-General Anderson, and that the Colonel would be there. The
+General asked me several questions on military matters, all of which I
+answered correctly, and then requested the Colonel to tell him in what he
+found fault with me.
+
+“I find that he does not pay sufficient attention to his duty,” answered
+my Chief.
+
+“But,” observed the General, “you said first of all that he does not know
+his work, which I find not to be the case. Now you say that he does not
+pay sufficient attention to his duty; but I have inspected his company,
+and I do not find it in any way less well looked after than the other
+companies in your battalion. I really cannot agree with you in your
+opinion, and must make notes upon the report you have forwarded to me.”
+
+The General then dismissed us, and I returned to my quarters, very
+relieved at the result of the interview.
+
+The other officers were naturally very anxious to know what had happened,
+and, when I told them, all advised me to remain in the battalion, and
+not to exchange, saying that the Chief had shown himself to be in the
+wrong, and that the General, who was a first-rate officer, must have seen
+at once that it was nothing but spite on his part, for which he would no
+doubt severely reprimand him. Captain de Robeck, whose advice was nearly
+always worth following, said to me:—
+
+“If you exchange, it will cost you £300, and I don’t think it is worth
+it. I should brave it out, were I in your place.”
+
+The other officers told me the same, and declared that it would show
+great weakness on my part if I left the battalion.
+
+As events turned out, I had no option in the matter, since my father,
+to whom I had written asking for the £300 I required to purchase my
+exchange, could not see his way just then to let me have the money, as
+he had been so robbed by a lawyer, a trustee. And so I had to “brave it
+out,” _bon gré, mal gré_, and to derive what consolation I might from
+the reflection that, after what had happened, I should probably have an
+easier time of it, and should no longer have to endure all the extra
+parades which the Chief had been in the habit of inflicting upon me.
+
+Vain illusion! So far from being allowed a rest, I found that I had, if
+possible, more to do than ever, the Adjutant having apparently received
+orders from the Chief to give me all the extra work he could possibly
+find for me to do. And, even without these extra parades, the work in the
+hottest weeks of an exceptionally hot summer would have been quite heavy
+enough. Thorne, an old Etonian, an excellent young man, one of the nicest
+lieutenants in the regiment, advised me to ask for a Court of Inquiry,
+which he felt sure the General would approve of, and would very likely
+ask for himself, without my applying for one.
+
+One night, Basil Montgomery, who had been in the 2nd Battalion with me in
+India, dined at our mess. He told me that he was on the point of going
+out to India again, as private secretary to his brother-in-law, the Duke
+of Buckingham, who was Governor of Madras. He added that he disliked
+India, and would prefer to be a crossing-sweeper in England than a
+prince out there, but that he was obliged to accept the post that had
+been offered him. However, he only remained about six months in India,
+as he did not hit it off with the Duke, who was a very difficult person
+indeed to get on with.
+
+Towards the end of the season (through my cousin, Miss Anne Cathcart),
+I was asked by Herr Schultz, from whom the Princess of Wales was then
+taking lessons on the zither, to play at a concert which was to be given
+shortly at Marlborough House. I willingly consented and went up to town
+several times to practise for the concert, which, unhappily, I was to be
+prevented from taking part in.
+
+For some time I had again been suffering from rheumatism, which affected
+my heart. I consulted Sir William Jenner, who warned me not to exert
+myself too much. But this advice I was unable to follow, as though the
+regimental surgeon made an application to the Chief for me to be excused
+some of the parades, it was at once refused.
+
+One intensely hot day, we were kept on parade for a long while with
+nothing but our forage-caps to protect us from the scorching sun.
+Suddenly, I experienced the most excruciating pains in the head, and felt
+as if everything about me was turning round. This giddiness soon passed,
+but on coming off parade I felt very unwell. However, as I was orderly
+officer of the day, I performed everything that was required of me.
+
+That evening at mess, where I was acting as vice-president, I suddenly
+turned to the officer on my left, one of the senior lieutenants, Thorne,
+and said:—
+
+“I have lost the use of my right hand and foot!”
+
+Thorne poured me out some brandy and told me to drink it off, but on
+trying afterwards to rise from my seat, I fell down. Thorne and another
+officer assisted me to my quarters, where, remembering that I had to turn
+out the guard, I tried to buckle on my sword, only to fall again. They
+then put me to bed, and sent for Surgeon Comerford, who at once declared
+that I was suffering from sunstroke. My father was telegraphed for, and,
+on his arrival, asked Surgeon-Major McCormack to visit me. The latter
+took so serious a view of the case, saying that I had but a few hours to
+live, that my father lost no time in calling in a London specialist, who
+said that my heart was in a bad way and that I must have had a sunstroke
+on parade. When I grew a little better, my father wished to take me to
+Paris, but the London doctor advised my not being moved for several weeks.
+
+The Colonel, who was perhaps experiencing some twinges of remorse for the
+manner in which he had treated me, came to visit me and was very kind,
+sending me fruit and game. He had, however, previously dispatched Gunning
+to ascertain if I intended to resign my commission, as, in the event of
+my being placed on half-pay, the Colonel said the battalion might have a
+year or two to wait for my place to be filled up, and we were very short
+of officers. Besides this, Gunning was anxious himself to obtain my step
+in promotion, though he did not say so on this occasion.
+
+I had several visitors while I was confined to my quarters, apart from
+my brother-officers. One day, Mrs. William Adair and her daughter came
+to see me, and were very surprised at finding me so ill, as only a few
+days before I had walked over from Aldershot to spend the day at their
+house at Whiteways End, a distance of six miles. Mrs. Adair, who was a
+grand-daughter of the Duke of Roxburghe, was considered one of the most
+beautiful women in England. Her daughter, who was then sixteen, was also
+extremely pretty, though of a very different type of beauty from her
+mother, being very fair. Mrs. Wellesley sent her little son “Cissy” to
+cheer me up several times, in which task he was very successful, as he
+was always most pleasant company.
+
+It was some weeks before I was able to leave Aldershot, as I had almost
+entirely lost the use of my right arm and leg. The Colonel wanted me
+to be examined there by a Medical Board, consisting of Surgeon-Major
+McCormack and Surgeon Comerford, and, though several officers in my
+regiment advised me to have the Board held in London, he got his way in
+the matter. No one was supposed to know the result of the Board until it
+had been approved of by the War Office.
+
+So soon as I was well enough to stand the journey, I went up to London,
+accompanied by my father and my soldier-servant, Spearing. On the advice
+of Dr. Russell-Reynolds, my father took me to Paris to consult Professor
+Charcot and Dr. Brown-Séquard, who at first held out some hopes of my
+recovery. The War Office had granted me three months’ leave, and, when
+it expired, as I had not recovered the use of my limbs, they refused to
+place me on half-pay, and on the 1st of January 1879, I was obliged to
+resign my commission. The reason they gave was that the Medical Board at
+Aldershot had stated that my illness was not caused in and by the Service.
+
+The Earl of Berkeley, who wrote my letter of resignation from Paris for
+me, as I was unable to do so myself, said in this:—
+
+    “_In conformity with the instructions I received from the
+    War Office, I have forwarded my resignation to the officer
+    in command of my battalion. I had ventured to hope that a
+    certificate I forwarded to the Colonel of the regiment from one
+    of the most eminent consulting physicians in Paris, stating
+    that my illness was the result of sunstroke, might have pleaded
+    my cause with H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief. I have another
+    certificate which I have not under the circumstances taken the
+    liberty of forwarding to you, but I would gladly do so, if I
+    thought my case might be pleaded with H.R.H._”
+
+A further letter, also written for me by Lord Berkeley, was sent to my
+Colonel:—
+
+    “_Although I have the opinion of the most eminent physicians
+    that my unfortunate illness was the result of sunstroke
+    sustained when on duty, I yield to the decision of the
+    Field-Marshal Commander-in-Chief, and hereby tender my
+    resignation of H.M. Service._”
+
+General Sir John Douglas, then commanding the Forces in Scotland, wrote
+to me:
+
+    “_I have found out, through General Taylor (79th Highlanders),
+    at the War Office, that it is through your Colonel’s influence
+    that they have refused to place you on half-pay, and it is
+    quite impossible to overcome this influence._”
+
+A year or two afterwards, I happened to meet Surgeon Comerford in
+London, when I reproached him for not mentioning my sunstroke at the
+Medical Board at Aldershot. He assured me that he was prepared to swear
+on the Bible that he had done so, adding that my Colonel could not have
+forwarded his report correctly to the War Office, or else I should have
+been placed on half-pay. He had fully expected that I should have been,
+and was surprised that such was not the case.
+
+I may here mention that there were only two medical officers on the
+Board: Surgeon-Major McCormack and Surgeon Comerford. The former had only
+seen me once before in his life, so I presume the report must have been
+written by Surgeon Comerford; but, as I have never seen the report, I
+cannot be quite certain.
+
+Captain Howard Vyse, late of the “Blues,” said to me in Paris, when I
+showed him a letter which I had received from the War Office:—
+
+“Thank God! such a thing could not happen with the Household troops. The
+officers would not allow it either. To lose one’s health in the Service,
+and then to receive no compensation whatever! I never heard of such a
+case; it is simply disgraceful!”
+
+In recent years—in 1909—several officers who had served with me,
+including my Colonel, the late General Sir W. Leigh-Pemberton, forwarded
+letters to the War Office, stating that they remembered my sunstroke at
+Aldershot as being the cause of my paralysis,[26] and I forwarded medical
+certificates to prove that my paralysis was the result of sunstroke while
+on duty there. The reply received by General Sir H. Geary, K.C.B., was
+that the Army Council had made an inquiry, and that “no evidence can be
+traced to show that he sustained a sunstroke while on duty at Aldershot
+in August, 1878. In any case, it would seem practically impossible to
+prove that his present disability was the outcome of illness contracted
+in and by the Service more than thirty years ago. Not only the absence
+of confirmatory records, but the whole procedure at the time is out of
+keeping with the theory that his resignation was due to illness caused by
+military duty.”
+
+Sir William Gull, under whose treatment I was for some years, in the
+early eighties, told me that my paralysis was caused by embolism, owing
+to the sunstroke at Aldershot in 1878, adding that he had a very bad
+opinion of Army doctors in general, who were constantly making dreadful
+mistakes, and indeed, were no better than the doctors mentioned by Lesage
+in _Gil Blas_.
+
+In 1918, Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell, who was formerly in the 1st
+Battalion of my old regiment, had great hopes of obtaining a pension or
+retired pay for me from the War Office, but so far his most kind efforts
+on my behalf have been fruitless. It would appear that philosophy is not
+at all studied at the War Office, for they persist in maintaining that it
+is possible for the same thing to be and not to be, which is contrary to
+the ideas of the most abstruse philosophers. With regard to the Ministry
+of Pensions (whose Secretary is Sir Matthew Nathan), above its portals
+ought to be written “Lasciate ogni Speranza.” It is to be hoped that with
+Mr. Winston Churchill, the author of “Savrola,” as Secretary of State for
+War, some ideas of justice may be imparted to both of them. I hope so,
+not only for my own sake, but for that of the whole Army.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES
+
+
+[1] I heard from the late Lady Ritchie, Thackeray’s daughter, some little
+time before her death. She was kind enough to be interested in this book,
+but told me that she was a young girl when her father was at Homburg
+and had scarcely any recollection of those days. My father used often
+to observe that Thackeray was one of the most charming and amusing men
+he ever knew, and seemed surprised when I told him that I remembered so
+little of him at Homburg, saying that he was nearly always with us at the
+Kursaal or in the grounds of the Kurhaus and was exceedingly fond of me.
+
+[2] Henry Greville writes in his diary, under date October 12th, 1846:
+“Came to Worsley with Slade, found here party assembled to meet the
+Duchess of Gloucester. Lady Caroline Murray was in attendance on the
+Duchess, who is the most amiable and least troublesome Princess it is
+possible to see.”
+
+One day a very nervous lady called on the Duchess of Gloucester, a
+daughter of George III., and remained a long time, being under the
+impression that Her Royal Highness would give the signal when she wished
+her to withdraw, and fearing to commit a breach of etiquette if she rose
+before the duchess. However, after a very long time, Her Royal Highness
+rose and left the room, upon which the lady retired. The latter was in
+great distress when she was subsequently told of the mistake she had
+made. This incident was related to me by my mother, who was acquainted
+with the lady at the time.
+
+I may perhaps mention here an incident about Queen Adelaide, wife
+of William IV., who had a very slight acquaintance with the English
+language. One of the first sentences she learned by heart was: “How are
+you off for soap?” Her Majesty was so pleased at being able to speak
+a little English that she asked this question of every lady whom she
+happened to address, smiling amiably the while. Some of them were rather
+astounded, but there was a certain fascination in this phrase which took
+Her Majesty’s fancy, and it may be that the look of surprise on the faces
+of some of the old dowagers added to her delight and made her repeat it
+all the more. This anecdote was told me by a lady who had known Queen
+Adelaide personally and was often with her.
+
+[3] In after years, at Aldershot, I knew the late General Lord C——,
+son of the above mentioned Lady C——, very well. Once, at a concert, I
+played a piece of music on the zither, for which I received an encore,
+but a string of the instrument having broken, had to be replaced before
+I could take it. Lord C—— was kind enough to make a short speech for me
+and explain to the large audience what had happened, as I did not feel
+equal to doing so myself. He was a most kind and affable man and a good
+general, though the War Office, with their usual _manque de tact_, blamed
+him in the Zulu War for the faults of others as well, whose errors they
+wished to conceal. But, as General von Goeben, the celebrated Prussian
+general of division in the Franco-German War of 1870, said to me at
+Seville, where I lived in the same _casa de huespedes_ with him for some
+weeks, _à propos_ of an affair of another kind: “What can you expect from
+a Secretary of State for War, who is a civilian. You might just as well
+have an old washerwoman (_Wäscherin_) at the head of your War Office. She
+might perhaps even be more useful.”
+
+[4] Count Perponcher always selected the ballet dancers for the Opera in
+Berlin. Many years ago I made the acquaintance at Milan of a lovely, fair
+Polish girl, Marie Urbanska by name, who was studying dancing there, and
+danced occasionally in the ballet at La Scala. She was then sixteen, and
+during her stay at Milan, all her expenses were paid by Count Perponcher.
+The Emperor William always called her “the little Countess” (_die Kleine
+Gräfin_), as her father was a Polish count, and she was still second
+_danseuse_ at the Berlin Opera twelve years ago. One night, as she was
+ascending the stairs at the Villa Manzoni, where I too was staying, she
+was seized and gagged and conveyed to the house of a gentleman, who told
+her that he was in love with her. But she insisted on leaving the house,
+which he allowed her to do. The man in question, who was a German, was
+obliged to leave Milan, in consequence of this affair, which, however,
+was hushed up, as he came of a well-known family in Germany.
+
+[5] The late Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild told a young English girl of
+sixteen whom I knew that, if he could by some means regain his youth,
+like Faust in Goethe’s play, and be the same age as she was, he would
+willingly give up his entire fortune. He was then about fifty-four years
+of age. When the young lady in question repeated this to a late member
+of the Turf Club in my presence, the latter observed: “Ferdy must have
+set a high value on his youth, for I asked him to let me have £200 lately
+for a common friend who was at school with us and is now ruined, which he
+refused to do. Consequently, I have quarrelled with him for ever.”
+
+[6] _À propos_ of Napoleon, it is strange how great was his fondness for
+music. A person whose voice flattered his ear rarely displeased him.
+But, if a name had a harsh sound, he muttered it between his teeth, and
+never uttered it aloud. Grillparzer says of Napoleon: “Er war zu gross,
+weil seine Zeit zu klein.” (“He was too great, because the age in which
+he lived was too little.”) Napoleon imagined that he would have made
+Corneille a prince if he had lived in his time, but it is more likely
+that he would have imprisoned him for life.
+
+[7] The late Henry Labouchere’s grandfather was, as a young man, a clerk
+in a bank in Somersetshire, and in receipt of a salary of about £80 a
+year, when he fell in love with Sir Francis Baring’s daughter. As, in
+ordinary circumstances, he had not the smallest chance of obtaining the
+consent of the lady’s father, he conceived the following ingenious plan
+of overcoming the difficulty.
+
+Presenting himself before the senior partner of the bank in which he was
+employed, he inquired whether it would be possible for him to become
+a partner forthwith. The banker burst out laughing. “What, you!” he
+exclaimed. “Why, you are only a junior clerk. How can you ever think of
+such a thing? The idea is simply ridiculous.” “But supposing,” rejoined
+Labouchere, with perfect aplomb, “that I had already received the consent
+of Sir Francis Baring to marry his daughter?” “Oh, that alters the case
+entirely. If what you say is true, then you could, of course, easily
+become a partner.” Labouchere then approached Sir Francis Baring and
+asked him for his daughter’s hand. That important personage was even
+more indignant at the young man’s presumption than the banker had been,
+and told him what he thought of it very plainly. “But supposing,” said
+Labouchere, not a whit disconcerted, “that I am not what you think I
+am, but a partner of the bank.” The baronet’s manner changed. “If,” he
+answered, “you are a partner of the bank, as you tell me, I will talk
+the matter over with my daughter.” In the result, Labouchere married
+Sir Francis Baring’s daughter and became, at the same time, a partner
+in the Somersetshire bank. His son was created Lord Taunton, and Henry
+Labouchere would have been heir to the title, but, as it was only a life
+peerage, it did not descend to him. This anecdote was related to me by an
+uncle of mine by marriage, who was Clerk of the Peace for the county of
+Somerset. I have heard it also related by others.
+
+[8] Desseins Hôtel has been demolished in recent years. It was a most
+luxurious hôtel, and is mentioned in the works of Sterne, Thackeray and
+Dickens.
+
+[9] Godfrey Astell told me a rather amusing story about himself when I
+was in the regiment with him. He had been invited to shoot over a large
+estate in Scotland, and one of the gamekeepers looked particularly well
+after him all day, pointing out where the best beats and coverts were,
+and exclaiming every time a pheasant rose: “Godfrey, now’s your chance!”
+It subsequently transpired that the man, on hearing Astell called Godfrey
+by his friends, was under the impression that this was some high title he
+possessed, having no idea that it was only his Christian name.
+
+[10] I had a letter before the war from Mr. Winston Churchill, Lord
+Randolph’s son, in answer to one in which I had told him that, in certain
+respects, he reminded me of Mirabeau, and that I was convinced that he
+would become Prime Minister before very long.
+
+[11] I heard from Lord Willoughby de Broke, the son of the one mentioned
+here, some years ago. He was then _en route_ for the Caucasus, and he
+told me that he had read my book on Paris and Vienna with pleasure and
+interest, though he was not aware at the time by whom it was written. He
+is one of the most energetic members of the House of Lords, and it is to
+be hoped that he will do everything in his power to recover for it its
+lost prestige.
+
+[12] Grillparzer says that it has often struck him that Shakespeare took
+some of his ideas from Lope de Vega’s plays. Shakespeare’s Miranda, he
+says, could be compared with the character it resembles in _Los tres
+diamantes_, and the love-scenes in the latter are quite on a par with
+those in “Romeo and Juliet.” The plot of “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
+is similar to that of _Los ferias de Madrid_. As for _Los pleitos de
+Inglaterra_, he regards this play as incomparable, and the love-scenes
+in “Romeo and Juliet” appear almost to pale in comparison. “I wish,” he
+continues, “Lessing had known Calderon and Lope de Vega. He would perhaps
+have found that there was more connection with the German _esprit_ than
+in the far too gigantic Shakespeare. Perhaps “Macbeth” is Shakespeare’s
+greatest work; it is without doubt the most realistic.”
+
+[13] During the four years I was at Eton, we won the “Ladies’” at Henley
+every time. The winning crews were composed as follows:—
+
+1867: W. D. Benson (captain), A. G. P. Lewis (stroke), T.
+McClintock-Bunbury, W. G. Calvert, J. H. Ridley, R. W. Morehouse, G. H.
+Woodhouse, J. E. Edwards-Moss, F. H. Elliot (cox).
+
+1868: T. McClintock-Bunbury (captain and stroke), W. C. Calvert, J.
+E. Edwards-Moss, F. A. Currey, J. Goldie (K.S.), F. Johnstone, J. W.
+McClintock-Bunbury, W. Farrer, F. E. Elliot (cox).
+
+1869: J. E. Edwards-Moss (captain), F. A. Currey, F. Johnstone, J. W.
+McClintock-Bunbury (stroke), F. C. Ricardo, J. S. Follett, F. E. H.
+Elliot, M. G. Farrer, W. C. Cartwright (cox).
+
+1870: F. A. Currey (captain), J. W. McClintock-Bunbury (stroke), F. C
+Ricardo, J. S. Follett, A. W. Mulholland, C. W. Benson, R. E. Naylor, A.
+C. Yarborough, W. C. Cartwright (cox).
+
+[14] The Eton Eleven, during the four years I was there, was composed as
+follows:
+
+1867: C. R. Alexander (captain), C. I. Thornton, W. H. Walrond, H. M.
+Walter, W. C. Higgins, C. J. Ottaway, W. F. Tritton, M. Horner, W. H.
+Hay, E. Wormald, P. Currey. Match drawn.
+
+1868: C. I. Thornton (captain), H. M. Walter, W. C. Higgins, C. J.
+Ottaway, W. F. Tritton, W. H. Hay, P. Currey, Hon. G. Harris, J. Maude,
+S. E. Butler, G. H. Longman. Harrow beat Eton by seven wickets.
+
+1869: W. C. Higgins (captain), G. H. Longman, A. S. Tabor, F. W. Rhodes,
+F. Pickering, J. P. Rodger, Lord Clifton, C. J. Ottaway, M. Maude, Hon.
+G. Harris, E. Butler. Eton won by an innings and nineteen runs.
+
+1870: Hon. G. Harris (captain), G. H. Longman, A. S. Tabor, F. W.
+Rhodes, F. Pickering, J. P. Rodger, Lord Clifton, G. H. Cammell, M. A.
+Tollemache, A. F. Ridley, Hon. A. Lyttelton. Eton won by twenty-one runs.
+
+[15] _À propos_ of Peterborough, I once heard a good story about a Bishop
+of Peterborough—Dr. Magee, I think—which was told me by my tutor at Eton.
+Some people, who had never seen him, were very anxious to hear him preach
+and therefore went early in the morning to the cathedral to secure good
+seats. A man showed them over the cathedral, where they retained the
+best seats they could find, and, on leaving, one of the party gave their
+cicerone, whom they took for the verger, five shillings. The latter put
+the money in his pocket, and then to their astonishment said: “I am not
+the verger, but the Bishop of Peterborough himself. However, I shall keep
+the five shillings all the same, for I have found you a good pew, and
+what I have received I shall give to the poor.”
+
+[16] The Hon. Thomas Fitzwilliam, who was then in the 10th Hussars,
+married Elgiva Kinglake, whose brother was at Eton with me. She was very
+pretty and a remarkably good rider, but she died quite early in life, and
+her husband did not long survive her. She was a great friend of Mary,
+Duchess of Hamilton, and I remember once, at a meet of the Devon and
+Somerset Staghounds on the Exmoor hills, being much struck by the beauty
+of the Duchess, who was present with Elgiva Fitzwilliam, for they always
+hunted with these hounds in those days.
+
+[17] Jim Doyne, in later years, bore some resemblance to the late King
+Edward VII., then Prince of Wales, and at Pratt’s, one evening, the late
+Duke of Beaufort walked up to him, and, holding out his hand, said: “I
+wish you good evening, sir.” Doyne felt very flattered at the mistake,
+which, however, the Duke at once discovered. Nevertheless, when meeting
+my friend afterwards, he would always address him as “Sir” for amusement,
+and Doyne, who had a gift for repartee, would give an appropriate reply.
+
+[18] Voltaire believed sincerely in God, but no one nowadays even thinks
+of reading his correspondence, which shows us all his faults, his
+kindheartedness, his charity, and his other good qualities. One of the
+strongest features in Voltaire’s character was his sense of friendship.
+Génonville, who took away his mistress, Mlle. Livy, from him, remained
+his friend, and Voltaire laments his death in a poem of marvellous
+beauty, with all the warmth of truth. This poem and the one which follows
+it, _les Vous et le Tu_, in which also Mlle. Livy is referred to, are two
+of his most beautiful poems. Of Rousseau, Grillparzer says: “I read _les
+Confessions_ and am terrified to recognize myself in them.” How Rousseau
+would have been surprised if someone had called him the most perfect
+egoist. He lived with the woman who was so devoted to him and never
+married her, although it would have been a great happiness to her to bear
+his name. Corneille, according to Grillparzer, was an excellent poet, and
+his first works were admirable, but his later ones show a steady decline
+from his early standard, which is difficult to explain, except perhaps
+after reading his tragedy, _Feodora_. In Grillparzer’s opinion, Racine
+was as great a poet as ever lived.
+
+[19] “My darling,—I am obliged to start immediately for Mexico; I have
+not even time to come to bid thee good-bye.”
+
+[20] Mr. Howard Vyse, the father of these young men, came to see me
+in Paris after I had left Bonn. He dined with us, I recollect, and
+we afterwards went to a theatre, and from there to various places of
+amusement, so that it was nearly daybreak before we reached the Hôtel
+Bristol, in the Place Vendôme, where he was staying, and where he
+insisted on my passing what remained of the night. As he offered me an
+exceedingly comfortable bedroom, I did not refuse. I dined a few days
+later with him and his wife at the “Bristol,” where they had a suite of
+apartments usually reserved for royal personages, which the late King
+Edward VII. had occupied just previously. While we were at dinner a
+courier came into the room to inquire if everything were satisfactory.
+This man’s services, it appeared, had been exclusively engaged by Mr.
+Howard Vyse, and he was accustomed to order dinner and settle the
+accounts. Mr. Howard Vyse told me that he was obliged to remain three
+months at the Hôtel Bristol owing to his wife’s state of health, as the
+doctor would not allow her to travel to Nice, where he intended spending
+the winter. He was a very wealthy banker from New York, and the two sons
+who were at Bonn with me were his only children.
+
+[21] The sister of Sir Howard Elphinstone, at one time Equerry to the
+late Duke of Edinburgh, related to me that, when she was in Germany with
+her brother, they went one day to secure places for some ceremony in
+which a good many royal persons were interested. When they entered the
+room, a man showed Sir Howard Elphinstone the places reserved for him and
+his family, and as this person wore a kind of dress coat with gold lace,
+Sir Howard took him for a man-servant, and, on going away, slipped a
+thaler into his hand, which he accepted without making any remark. Later
+in the evening, Sir Howard and his sister discovered that the man whom
+they had tipped was Bismarck, who at that time, of course, was not so
+celebrated as he subsequently became.
+
+[22] Darwin’s theory has of recent years been disproved by men of
+science, such as Professor Dr. von Wettstein, Warning, Henslow, and
+others. Only in certain instances can Darwin’s theory be accepted; but
+it has been discovered recently that the new formation of species among
+plants and animals is possible in different ways, and not only in the
+manner Darwin implies. His theory of descent, which was firmly believed
+in by men of science in the sixties and seventies of the last century,
+is now pronounced to be a theory altogether out of date, and has been
+superseded by those of Moriz Wagner, Karl von Nägeli, Henslow, A. von
+Kerner and Professor A. Weissmann. “The Origin of Plant Structures by
+Self-Adaptation to the Environment,” by Henslow, published in 1895, and
+Warning’s “Geography of Plants,” published in the following year, are
+well-known English books on this subject which may be recommended to
+those interested in it.
+
+[23] Baron von der Goltz is proud of his stupidity.
+
+[24] Grillparzer says of Heine that his first verses in the _Reise
+Bilder_ and some of his last poems are of great merit, while those of the
+intermediate period must be considered decidedly bad.
+
+[25] Another lady employed by the Russian Government to worm out State
+secrets was the Countess Stadnicka, whose acquaintance I made in recent
+years in Vienna, and she would often ask me the most difficult questions,
+which I never attempted to answer. She told me that for information of a
+certain nature she was often paid very large sums. The Countess Stadnicka
+had very lovely blue eyes, which were universally admired, and a fine
+figure, but she was no longer in her first youth. She was the mother of
+Graf von Metternich, who was the owner of vast estates and a minor, and
+the Countess had a lawsuit in Vienna to obtain control over her son’s
+property during his minority. She was a wonderful linguist, speaking
+English, French, German, Italian and Russian fluently, and could tell one
+more about the Austrian nobility than anyone else I ever met in Vienna,
+as she was a Viennese by birth, and her father, who was one of the old
+nobility himself, had occupied a high position. She seemed to know
+everyone, but though a woman of wonderful intelligence, she had a rather
+spiteful tongue, and was therefore feared by some people. She always
+spoke to me in French and often said: “_Vous êtes drôle, vous, car vous
+n’aimez que le fruit pas mûr, ce qui est d’abord très fade et n’a point
+de goût_.”
+
+[26] The names of these officers were: The late Lieut.-General Sir
+W. Leigh-Pemberton, K.C.B.; Major-General Sir Charles Holled-Smith,
+K.C.M.G.; Colonel Ernest Hovell Thurlow; Major C. H. B. Thorne, J.P.;
+Lieut. Horace Neville; Colonel Alfred Clarke, M.D., and Major C. de
+Robeck.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+  Aberdour, Lord, 108.
+
+  Adair, Mrs. William, 269.
+
+  Adelaide, Queen, 5 (_note_).
+
+  Adelsdorfer, Baroness, 146.
+
+  Adelsdorfer, Madame, 244.
+
+  Airey, Lord, 222.
+
+  Albani, 116, 244, 263.
+
+  Aldershot, 246.
+
+  Allfrey, Lieutenant, 223.
+
+  Algar, Major, 191.
+
+  Alhambra, The, Granada, 258.
+
+  Alexander, C. R., 66, 81.
+
+  Alison, General Sir A., 181.
+
+  Allen, Lieutenant, 223, 234, 247.
+
+  Anderson, Brigadier-General, 264, 266.
+
+  Andrä, Professor Dr., 124, 128.
+
+  Andrews, Mrs., 218.
+
+  Anglesey, Marquis of, 148.
+
+  Annesley, Lieutenant-Colonel, 176.
+
+  Armytage, Lieutenant, 205, 207.
+
+  Arnold, Dr., 242.
+
+  Arthy, Captain, 34.
+
+  Ashburnham, Major, 191.
+
+  Astor, Lord, 90.
+
+  Auerbach, Berthold, 129.
+
+  Aylmer, Percy, 93.
+
+
+  Babington, Sub-Lieutenant, 183.
+
+  Bagot, Colonel Sir Josceline, 101.
+
+  Bagot, Adjutant A. G., 227, 247.
+
+  Baird, George, 93.
+
+  Baldock, Colonel, 82.
+
+  Balfour, Charles, 81.
+
+  Balfour, Miss Hilda, 81.
+
+  Baring, Viscount, 182, 242.
+
+  Barnard, Lord, 98.
+
+  Batchelor, Veterinary-Surgeon, 205, 208, 213.
+
+  Bean, Capt. and Mrs., 133.
+
+  Beauclerk, Lieutenant, 186.
+
+  Beauclerk, Miss, 143.
+
+  Beaumont, Sub-Lieutenant, 206.
+
+  Beck, Lieutenant, 236.
+
+  Belgrave, Viscount, 76.
+
+  _Bell’s Life_ substitute for Bible, 47.
+
+  Bennett, Viscount, 235.
+
+  Bentheim, The Princes, 127.
+
+  Benyon, Captain, 206.
+
+  Berkeley, Earl of, 165.
+
+  Berkeley, Lord, 245.
+
+  Berkeley, Captain Lennox, 57, 59, 112, 113, 147, 157.
+
+  Bernhardt, Sarah, 229.
+
+  Bernstorff, Count, 126.
+
+  Bethell, Lieutenant, 169.
+
+  Bingham, Hon. Albert, 161, 260.
+
+  Binz, Professor Dr., 123.
+
+  Black Forest Adventures, 22.
+
+  Blane, M., 9.
+
+  Blewitt, Major, 176.
+
+  Blocqueville, Marquise de, 158.
+
+  Blount, Edward, 110.
+
+  Bois-Hébert, Marquis de, 161, 164.
+
+  Boland, Major, 110.
+
+  Bonn, 123.
+
+  Boulogne, 37.
+
+  Bozzo, Mademoiselle Checchi, 245.
+
+  Bromley, Capt., 33.
+
+  Brown-Séquard, Dr., 270.
+
+  Browning, Oscar, 74.
+
+  Brownrigg, Capt., 242.
+
+  Burgh, Capt. Hubert de, 161.
+
+  Byron, Capt. John, 172, 179, 263.
+
+
+  Cambridge, Duke of, 250.
+
+  Campden, Viscount, 215.
+
+  Campobello, Signor, 156.
+
+  Candle, The diminishing, 209.
+
+  Cantelupe, Lord, 143.
+
+  Caracciolo, Duchesse de, 143.
+
+  Card playing, 176.
+
+  Carpenter, Captain, 225.
+
+  Cartwright, General, 180.
+
+  Cathcart, Lady Georgina, 83.
+
+  Cathcart, Hon. Emily, 83, 84, 265.
+
+  Cavendish-Bentinck, Arthur, 93.
+
+  Cercle des Patineurs, 57.
+
+  Chantilly, 163.
+
+  Charcot, Professor, 270.
+
+  Charleville, Lord, 51.
+
+  Charltons, The, 173, 179, 236.
+
+  Chatham Barracks, 175.
+
+  Childe-Pemberton, Lieutenant, 241.
+
+  “Christopher Inn,” 86.
+
+  Christy Minstrels at Chatham, 227.
+
+  Churchill, Lady, 85.
+
+  Churchill, Lord Randolph, 46.
+
+  Clanmorris, Lord, 161.
+
+  Clarke, Sydenham, 191, 212.
+
+  Clarke, Surgeon-Major, 250.
+
+  Cockshot, Mr., 73.
+
+  Collins, Major, 225.
+
+  Combermere, Viscount, 235.
+
+  Comerford, Surgeon, 268.
+
+  Cotton, Lieutenant C. S., 222, 234, 249.
+
+  Cramer, Captain, 223.
+
+  Craven, Fulwar J. C., 68, 82, 93.
+
+  Crawford, Colonel, 148.
+
+  Crichton, Hon. Mrs., 249.
+
+  Crofton, Lieutenant, 235.
+
+  Crompton, Captain, 214, 215.
+
+  Czartoryski, Princess, 140.
+
+  Czerwinska, Countess, 137.
+
+
+  d’Abrantès, Duchesse, 157.
+
+  Dalton, Rev. W., 73.
+
+  Dannecker’s statue, 14.
+
+  Daram, Mademoiselle, 152.
+
+  Darwin’s theory disproved, 131.
+
+  d’Assailly, Vicomte Arthur, 146, 213, 246.
+
+  d’Attainville, M. de Lesquier, 137.
+
+  D’Aubigny, Comte, 37.
+
+  Daudet, Alphonse, 245.
+
+  d’Aumale, Duc, 163.
+
+  Deane, Lieutenant-Colonel, 250.
+
+  de Houghton, 178.
+
+  Delaunay, 182.
+
+  Delbrück, Hans, 135.
+
+  Desart, Countess of, 6.
+
+  Desclée, Aimée, 179.
+
+  Dickenson, Lieutenant Fiennes, 192.
+
+  Dillon, Lord, 116.
+
+  Dillon, Sub-Lieutenant A., 173, 179, 181, 225.
+
+  Disraeli, 55.
+
+  Dorrien, Captain Frederick, 4, 27, 113.
+
+  Douglas, General Sir John, 31, 264.
+
+  Douglas, Captain Niel, 86, 264.
+
+  Douglas, Charles, 88.
+
+  Doyne, Lady Frances, 105.
+
+  Doyne, James, 66, 74, 77, 79, 80, 81, 88, 93, 101, 103, 109, 136,
+        238, 241.
+
+  Doyne, Mrs., 104.
+
+  Doyne, Mr. Mervyn, 105.
+
+  Drexel Brothers, 17.
+
+  “Dry bobs,” 88.
+
+  Duff, Folliot, 150.
+
+  Dunn, Captain, 169.
+
+  Durnford, Rev., 73.
+
+  Dusauty, 147.
+
+
+  Earning a living, 233.
+
+  Edwards-Moss, 100.
+
+  Egerton, Hon. Alfred, 250.
+
+  Ehnn, Fräulein, 231.
+
+  Elwes, Captain, 37.
+
+  Erroll, Countess of, 84.
+
+  Eschenheimer Thor, The, 13.
+
+  Eton, Happy days at, 65 _et seq._
+
+  Etonian _cachet_, 63.
+
+  Eugene, 199, 208.
+
+
+  Falmouth, Lord, 250.
+
+  Faverney, Comtesse de, 157.
+
+  Featherstone, Lieutenant, 239.
+
+  Ferrières, Château de, 162.
+
+  Finch, Hon. Charles, 83.
+
+  Finch-Hatton, Rev. William, 47.
+
+  Finch-Hatton, Greville, 42, 48.
+
+  Finis, Miss, 225.
+
+  Fire burning for two hundred years, 98.
+
+  Firing the eighty-ton gun, 239.
+
+  FitzWilliam, Earl, 106.
+
+  FitzWilliam, Charles, 107.
+
+  FitzWilliam, Hon. John, 77.
+
+  FitzWilliam, Hon. Thomas, 107.
+
+  Foley, Lieutenant, 236.
+
+  Football “colours,” 88.
+
+  Four millionaires, 16.
+
+  Francisco-Martin, M. de, 151.
+
+  Franco-German War, 110.
+
+  Frankfurt-on-the-Main, 1, 12.
+
+  Frederick, Lady, 241.
+
+  French girls and English girls, 140.
+
+
+  Gambetta, 166.
+
+  Gayarré, 263.
+
+  Geary, General Sir H., 271
+
+  German Crown Prince, 263.
+
+  German girls, 133.
+
+  Gilbert, Lieutenant, 262.
+
+  Girard, Juliette, 246.
+
+  Glen, Archibald, 178.
+
+  Godfrey, Dan, 240.
+
+  Goeben, General von, 255.
+
+  Goethe, 15.
+
+  Goldschmid, 10, 15.
+
+  Goldsmid, Mrs., 143.
+
+  Goltz, von der, 132.
+
+  Gordon, Miss, 112.
+
+  Græme, Colonel, 236.
+
+  Grammont, Duchesse de, 143.
+
+  Grandmaison, Marquis de, 160.
+
+  Grant, General, 166.
+
+  Graves, Hon. Mrs., 143.
+
+  Greenock, Viscount, 42.
+
+  Grenfell, Lord, 272.
+
+  Greuze’s paintings, 60.
+
+  Gridley, Harry, 80, 87.
+
+  Gridley, Reginald, 93.
+
+  Griebel, Herr, 92.
+
+  Grosvenor, Earl, 76.
+
+  Guilbert, Marquise Brian de Bois, 156, 157.
+
+  Gull, Sir William, 272.
+
+  Gunning, Sub-Lieutenant Robert, 223, 237.
+
+
+  Hale, Mr., 73.
+
+  Harris, Lord, 82.
+
+  Hart, Lieutenant, 205.
+
+  Hartopp, Sir Charles E. C., 117.
+
+  Havre, Baron van, 165.
+
+  Hawtrey, Mr. Stephen, 73.
+
+  Headley, Lord, 117.
+
+  Healy, Mrs., 116.
+
+  Heaviside, Mr., 254.
+
+  Hélène de España, Señorita, 259.
+
+  Henley Regatta, 94.
+
+  Herbert, Hon. Sidney, 82.
+
+  Hobart, Captain, 205.
+
+  Hochberg, Dr. Ritter von, 218.
+
+  Hodgson, Charles Rice, 77.
+
+  Hohler, Tom, 38, 245.
+
+  Holled-Smith, Lieutenant, 223.
+
+  Homburg, 4.
+
+  Home-Purves, Colonel, 49.
+
+  Hope, Lieutenant, 210.
+
+  Hope-Johnstone, Lieutenant P., 233.
+
+  Hornby, Dr., 87, 100.
+
+  Horrocks, Capt., 126.
+
+  Horrocks, Miss Edith, 134.
+
+  Houghton, de, 178.
+
+  Howard, Lieut. F., 241.
+
+  Hozier, J. H. C., 99.
+
+  Hudson, Major, 177.
+
+  Hudson, Mrs., 11.
+
+  Hungerford, Mrs., 244.
+
+  Hunter, Captain, 236.
+
+  Hunter’s, Mr., school, 42 _et seq._
+
+  Hutchinson, Sir Edward, 7.
+
+  Hutchinson, General Coote, 7.
+
+
+  Ind, Mrs., 29.
+
+  Innes-Ker, Lord Mark, 86.
+
+  Isabella, ex-Queen of Spain, 244.
+
+  Isabelle, 141.
+
+
+  James, Rev. C. C., 63.
+
+  Jenner, Sir William, 269.
+
+  Joynes, Rev., 73.
+
+
+  Kennedy, Lord Alexander, 84.
+
+  Keogh, Mrs., 244.
+
+  Kernave, Madame Alice, 164.
+
+  Killarney, 104.
+
+  Kilmaine, Vicomte Frédéric de, 136.
+
+  Kineton School, 28, 42.
+
+  King (Leopold) of Belgians, 32.
+
+  King William I. of Prussia, 1, 3, 7.
+
+  Kinglake, William, 88.
+
+  Kinglake, Sophia, 112.
+
+  Kinloch, Captain A., 187-8.
+
+  Kinloch, Mrs., 187, 205.
+
+  Kirchhofer’s, Herr, School, 18.
+
+  Kisilieff, Madame, 11.
+
+  Klenck, Freiherr von, 218.
+
+  Knightley, Rev. Henry, 50.
+
+  Knox, Lieutenant-Colonel, 170.
+
+  Krauss, Madame, 245.
+
+
+  Labitzky, Auguste, 219.
+
+  Labouchere, Henry, 30.
+
+  Lamoury (violinist), 110.
+
+  Lane, General Ronald, 159.
+
+  Lassalle, Ferdinand, and German women, 63.
+
+  Laval, Mademoiselle de, 141.
+
+  Lavaile, Eugénie de, 246.
+
+  Lawn tennis, Origin of, 192.
+
+  Lawrence, George, 37.
+
+  Leigh, Austin, 72.
+
+  Leigh-Pemberton, Lieutenant-Colonel W., 222, 271.
+
+  Leinster, Duke of, 109.
+
+  Leleu, Madame, 143.
+
+  Leopold II. and his hairdresser, 32.
+
+  Lesseps, M. de, 184.
+
+  Lewinsky, 230.
+
+  Leyton’s at Windsor, 92.
+
+  Liegnitz, Princess, 7.
+
+  Linda, Bertha, 231.
+
+  Lister-Kaye, Cecil, 82, 98.
+
+  Lister-Kaye, John, 82, 95, 98.
+
+  Little, Lieutenant, 210.
+
+  Lloyd, Lieutenant, 178.
+
+  Lockwood, Sir Frank, 124.
+
+  Lonsdale, Earl of, 49.
+
+  “Lord’s,” 96.
+
+  Lovell, Lieutenant, 170-172.
+
+  Lovett, Hubert, 192, 194, 199, 203, 210, 212, 242.
+
+  Lowther, Captain Francis, 166.
+
+  Lumley, Savile, 250.
+
+  Luxmoore, Mr., 67.
+
+  Lyons, Lord, 60.
+
+
+  McCall, Colonel, 163.
+
+  McClintock-Bunbury, 100.
+
+  McCormack, Surgeon-Major, 268.
+
+  MacDonnell, Dr., 105.
+
+  Macnamara, Surgeon-Major, 194, 210, 242.
+
+  Magruder, Willing Lee, 12.
+
+  Makart, 231.
+
+  Malet, Sir Edward, 117.
+
+  Malortie, Baron de, 144.
+
+  Maltby, Lieutenant, 169.
+
+  Mandeville, Lord, 77, 98.
+
+  Manners, Henry F. B., 99.
+
+  Marsham, Sub-Lieutenant, 208.
+
+  Masini, Mademoiselle, 245.
+
+  Massey, Lieutenant-Colonel, 206.
+
+  Materna, Frau, 231.
+
+  Ménier, 138.
+
+  Metternich, Princess von, 117.
+
+  Meux, Lady Louisa, 156.
+
+  Milbanke, Frederick, 28.
+
+  Misa, Señor, 258.
+
+  Mitchell, R. A. H., 74.
+
+  Moltke, Count von, 131.
+
+  Montgomery, Colonel H. P., 190.
+
+  Montgomery, Basil, 183, 267.
+
+  Moore, Colonel Montgomery, 188, 202.
+
+  Morny, Duc de, 7.
+
+  Münchhausen, Baron von, 256.
+
+  Murray, Lady Caroline, 5, 40.
+
+  Murray, Lieutenant-General Hon. George, 55.
+
+  Murree and Ischl compared, 201.
+
+  Musard’s concerts, 58.
+
+
+  Nares, Sir George, 241.
+
+  Naylor-Leylands, 161.
+
+  Neii, Baron von, 12.
+
+  Neuss, Herr, 229, 230.
+
+  New hats for old, 158.
+
+  Newcastle, Duke of, 38.
+
+  Newcastle, Duchess of, 246.
+
+  Newenham, Mr. (“Sporting Parson”), 47, 49.
+
+  Newlands, Lord, 99.
+
+  Northey, Major, 224, 265.
+
+
+  Oden Wald, The, 18.
+
+  Olga, Grand Duchess, and Ludwig II., 30.
+
+  Onslow, Earl of, 82.
+
+  Oppenheim, Frau, 239.
+
+  Orloff, Princess, 31.
+
+  Orton, Surgeon-Major, 254.
+
+  Ostend, 28, 31.
+
+  Oyster, The, 193.
+
+
+  Paganini, 157.
+
+  Paget, Lord Henry, 37, 148, 252.
+
+  Paradhenia, Garden of, 185.
+
+  Paris, 116.
+
+  Parnell, Hon. V. A., 99.
+
+  Parnell, Miss Fanny, 153.
+
+  Parry, Sir Hubert, 82.
+
+  Paschinger, 232.
+
+  Patti, Adelina, 54, 58, 263.
+
+  Pauli, Captain, 191.
+
+  Peabody Georges, 134.
+
+  Pembroke and Montgomery, Earl of, 82.
+
+  Peñafiel, Marchioness de, 151.
+
+  “Penny Readings,” 172.
+
+  Perponcher, Count, 8.
+
+  Peterborough’s, Bishop of, “tip,” 107.
+
+  Phipps, Hon. Harriet, 84.
+
+  Phipps, Lieutenant Albert, 196, 210, 211.
+
+  Piétri, Madame, 140.
+
+  Piétris, The, 161.
+
+  Plater, Countess Broel, 138.
+
+  Plessen, Baron von, 135.
+
+  Portman, Hon. E. W. B., 79.
+
+  Prince Consort and Duchess of Sutherland, 56.
+
+  Prussia, King of, 1, 3, 7, 17.
+
+
+  Queñones de Léon, Doña, 250.
+
+
+  Radziwill, Prince Jean, 137.
+
+  Ralli, Augustus, 93.
+
+  Rampa, Marquis de, 256.
+
+  Rathdonnell, Lord, 100.
+
+  Ranyard, Mr. (astronomer), 123
+
+  Reeves, Sims, 116.
+
+  Reid, Lieutenant, 216.
+
+  Reszke, Jean de, 264.
+
+  Reuss, Prince, 126.
+
+  Rey, Marquis de, 158.
+
+  Reynardson, Aubrey Birch, 48
+
+  Ricardo, Horace, 100.
+
+  Riddell, Captain, 29.
+
+  Ridley, C. N., 96.
+
+  Ridley, H. M., 95.
+
+  Riggs, Mrs. Joe, 39.
+
+  Ritter, 231.
+
+  Robartes (11th Hussars), 237.
+
+  Robeck, Captain de, 226.
+
+  Robinson, Captain, 223, 243, 247.
+
+  Ronalds, Mrs., 3, 17.
+
+  Rossmore, Lord, 86.
+
+  Rothschild, Baron F. de, 14.
+
+  Rothschild, Baroness I. E. de, 217.
+
+  Rothschild, Alphonse de, 162.
+
+  Rueff, Mr., 258.
+
+  Ruspoli, Princess, 39.
+
+  Russell, Sub-Lieutenant, 206.
+
+  Russell-Reynolds, Dr., 270.
+
+  Russian Court secrets, 138.
+
+  Rutland, Duke of, 99.
+
+
+  Saba, Madame, 152.
+
+  St. James’s Palace, 240.
+
+  Saint Hilaire, Madame, 164.
+
+  Salis Schwabe, Miss, 123.
+
+  Salud, 255.
+
+  Salvini, 244.
+
+  San Carlos, Marquis de, 252.
+
+  Sanford, Sub-Lieutenant, 193.
+
+  Savile, Captain, 236.
+
+  Seville, Archbishop of, 256.
+
+  Saxe-Weimar, Prince Edward of, 250.
+
+  Schiller, 14.
+
+  Schneider, Hortense, 56.
+
+  Schultz, Herr, 268.
+
+  Schwender’s Dancing Hall, 231.
+
+  Shorncliffe, Quarters at, 168.
+
+  Sighicelli, 165.
+
+  Simon, Jules, 111.
+
+  Sivori, 245.
+
+  Slade, Cecil, 140.
+
+  Slade, Harry, 38.
+
+  Smythe, General, 248.
+
+  “Sock”-shops, 87, 88.
+
+  Somerset, Lord Edward, 73, 92, 250.
+
+  Southey, Lieutenant Richard, 168.
+
+  Spa, 33.
+
+  Stafford, Lady Grace, 103.
+
+  Stafford, Marquis of, 90.
+
+  Stormont, Viscountess, 40.
+
+  Strauss, Johann, 231.
+
+  Sully, Mounet, 229.
+
+  Sunstroke, 268.
+
+
+  Taaffe, Sub-Lieutenant, 183, 250.
+
+  Taffanel, 165.
+
+  Taille des Essarts, Comtesse de la, 158.
+
+  Taintegnies, Baron de, 28, 30.
+
+  Tarver, Mr. Henry, 76.
+
+  Taylor, Charles, 47.
+
+  Temple (“Mug”), 66.
+
+  Tercin, Gabrielle, 246.
+
+  Thackeray, 5.
+
+  Thackeray, St. John, 74.
+
+  The Alhambra, Granada, 258.
+
+  The diminishing candle, 209.
+
+  “The Oyster,” 193.
+
+  Thorne, Lieutenant, 267.
+
+  Thornton, C. I., 89.
+
+  Thurlow, Lieutenant E. Hovell, 240.
+
+  Torphichen, Lord, 256.
+
+  Trafalgar, Lord, 77.
+
+  Trianon, le Petit, 163.
+
+  Tufnell, Captain, 225.
+
+  Tufton, Captain, 240.
+
+  Tugwell, Mr., 162.
+
+
+  Vane, Henry de Vere, 98.
+
+  Vane-Tempest, Hon. Henry, 97.
+
+  Vaughan, Arthur Powys, 194.
+
+  Vay, Baron de, 165.
+
+  Versailles, 163.
+
+  Victoria, Queen, 83, 85.
+
+  Vyse, Howard, 129, 155, 261, 271.
+
+
+  Wagner, 231.
+
+  Walden, Lord Howard de, 27.
+
+  Walden, Lady Howard de, 27.
+
+  Waldteufel (composer), 159.
+
+  Walker, H. B., 90.
+
+  Warre, Rev. Edmund, 73.
+
+  Warre-Malet, Sir A., 51.
+
+  Warre-Malet, Miss Mabel, 51.
+
+  Warre-Malet, Mrs., 51, 53.
+
+  Warren, Miss Minnie, 153.
+
+  Waterlot, Mademoiselle, 154.
+
+  Wayte, Mr., 70, 71.
+
+  Wellesley, Colonel, 248.
+
+  Westminster, Duke of, 77.
+
+  Wilkinson, Lieutenant E. O. H., 223.
+
+  Williamson, C. D. Robertson, 78.
+
+  Willing, Misses Lee, 12.
+
+  Wilma, Tournay, 231.
+
+  Winchester, 241.
+
+  Windsor Fair, 86.
+
+  Winkelmann, 231.
+
+  Winsloe, Mrs., 35.
+
+  Wolter, Charlotte, 230.
+
+  Wombwell, Sir George, 249.
+
+  Wood, Sub-Lieutenant, 208.
+
+  Woodforde, Mrs. Charles, 112.
+
+  Würtemberg, King and Queen of, 30.
+
+  Wylie, Lieutenant, 226.
+
+
+  York, Duke of, 56.
+
+  Yorke, Hon. Mrs., 237.
+
+
+  Zauerthal, Ritter von, 238.
+
+  Zither, The, Lessons on, 165.
+
+  Zither performances, 172, 227.
+
+                                PRINTED AT
+                         THE CHAPEL RIVER PRESS,
+                            KINGSTON, SURREY.
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75853 ***
diff --git a/75853-h/75853-h.htm b/75853-h/75853-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ba818f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/75853-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,13124 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <title>
+      Memories of an Old Etonian 1860-1912 | Project Gutenberg
+    </title>
+    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
+    <style>
+
+a {
+    text-decoration: none;
+}
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+h1,h2 {
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+h2.nobreak {
+    page-break-before: avoid;
+}
+
+hr {
+    margin-top: 2em;
+    margin-bottom: 2em;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+hr.tb {
+    width: 45%;
+    margin-left: 27.5%;
+    margin-right: 27.5%;
+}
+
+hr.chap {
+    width: 65%;
+    margin-left: 17.5%;
+    margin-right: 17.5%;
+}
+
+img.w100 {
+    width: 100%;
+}
+
+div.chapter {
+    page-break-before: always;
+}
+
+ul {
+    list-style-type: none;
+}
+
+li.indx {
+    margin-top: .5em;
+    padding-left: 2em;
+    text-indent: -2em;
+}
+
+li.ifrst {
+    margin-top: 2em;
+    padding-left: 2em;
+    text-indent: -2em;
+}
+
+p {
+    margin-top: 0.5em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    margin-bottom: 0.5em;
+    text-indent: 1em;
+}
+
+table {
+    margin: 1em auto 1em auto;
+    max-width: 35em;
+    border-collapse: collapse;
+}
+
+td {
+    padding-left: 2.25em;
+    padding-right: 0.25em;
+    vertical-align: top;
+    text-indent: -2em;
+    text-align: justify;
+}
+
+.contents .tdc {
+    padding-left: 0.25em;
+    text-indent: 0;
+    text-align: center;
+    padding-top: 0.75em;
+}
+
+.tdc {
+    vertical-align: bottom;
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+.contents .tdpg {
+    text-align: right;
+    padding-top: 0.75em;
+}
+
+.tdpg {
+    vertical-align: bottom;
+    text-align: right;
+}
+
+.blockquote {
+    margin: 1.5em 10%;
+}
+
+.caption p {
+    text-align: center;
+    font-size: 90%;
+    text-indent: 0em;
+}
+
+.caption p.caption-r {
+    text-align: right;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+    font-size: 80%;
+    text-indent: 0em;
+}
+
+.center {
+    text-align: center;
+    text-indent: 0em;
+}
+
+.figcenter {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+.footnotes {
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    border: dashed 1px;
+}
+
+.footnote {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+    font-size: 0.9em;
+}
+
+.footnote .label {
+    position: absolute;
+    right: 84%;
+    text-align: right;
+}
+
+.fnanchor {
+    vertical-align: super;
+    font-size: .8em;
+    text-decoration: none;
+}
+
+.hanging {
+    padding-left: 2em;
+    text-indent: -2em;
+}
+
+.larger {
+    font-size: 150%;
+}
+
+.pagenum {
+    position: absolute;
+    right: 4%;
+    font-size: smaller;
+    text-align: right;
+    font-style: normal;
+}
+
+.poetry-container {
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+.poetry {
+    display: inline-block;
+    text-align: left;
+}
+
+.poetry .stanza {
+    margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;
+}
+
+.poetry .verse {
+    padding-left: 3em;
+}
+
+.poetry .indent0 {
+    text-indent: -3em;
+}
+
+.smaller {
+    font-size: 80%;
+}
+
+.smcap {
+    font-variant: small-caps;
+    font-style: normal;
+}
+
+.tb {
+    margin-top: 2em;
+}
+
+.titlepage {
+    text-align: center;
+    margin-top: 3em;
+    text-indent: 0em;
+}
+
+.x-ebookmaker img {
+    max-width: 100%;
+    width: auto;
+    height: auto;
+}
+
+.x-ebookmaker .poetry {
+    display: block;
+    margin-left: 1.5em;
+}
+
+.x-ebookmaker .blockquote {
+    margin: 1.5em 5%;
+}
+
+/* Illustration classes */
+.illowp100 {width: 100%;}
+.illowp45 {width: 45%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp45 {width: 100%;}
+.illowp48 {width: 48%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp48 {width: 100%;}
+.illowp50 {width: 50%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp50 {width: 100%;}
+.illowp53 {width: 53%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp53 {width: 100%;}
+.illowp56 {width: 56%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp56 {width: 100%;}
+
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75853 ***</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_i"></a>[i]</span></p>
+
+<h1><i>Memories of an Old Etonian<br>
+1860-1912</i></h1>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ii"></a>[ii]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iii"></a>[iii]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp53" id="illus01" style="max-width: 31.25em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Rev. D. Hornby, Provost of Eton.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>Frontispiece.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iv"></a>[iv]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v"></a>[v]</span></p>
+
+<div style="border-bottom: double black; margin: auto; width: 25em;">
+
+<p class="titlepage larger"><i><span class="smcap">Memories of an Old<br>
+Etonian</span> :: 1860-1912</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>By George Greville <span class="smaller">:: Author of “Society Recollections<br>
+in Paris and Vienna” and “More Society Recollections.”</span></i></p>
+
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter titlepage illowp50" id="tp-deco" style="max-width: 6.25em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/tp-deco.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<p class="titlepage"><i>WITH 22 ILLUSTRATIONS<br>
+ON ART PAPER</i></p>
+
+<p class="titlepage"><i>LONDON: HUTCHINSON &amp; CO.</i><br>
+<i>:: :: PATERNOSTER ROW :: ::</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi"></a>[vi]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii"></a>[vii]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<table class="contents">
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER I.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">1</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Early Recollections—Thackeray—The Princess Liegnitz—The
+    Austrian Bandmaster—Society at Homburg—Frankfurt—Goethe
+    and Beethoven—A Racing Coincidence</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER II.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">18</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>An Adventure in the Oden Wald—The Coiners of the Black
+    Forest—Kirchhofer’s School</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER III.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">27</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Brussels—Ostend—General Sir John Douglas—Spa—“Captain
+    Arthy”—Boulogne</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER IV.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">40</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Painting by Romney—Hunter’s School at Kineton—Corporal
+    Punishment—A Sporting Parson—My Schoolfellows at Kineton—The
+    Warre-Malets—Lord Charleville</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER V.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">54</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>My Mother’s Recollections—The Cercle des Patineurs—Patti—Our
+    <i>Appartement</i> in the Rue d’Albe</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER VI.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">63</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>I go to Eton—New Boy Baiting—My House Master—Mr. James’s
+    “Jokes”—My Room at Eton—Some Eton Masters—A Disorderly
+    Form—Lacaita’s Silk Hat—“Billy” Portman<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii"></a>[viii]</span></td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER VII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">80</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>An Amusing Incident—Lady Caroline Murray—An Anecdote of
+    Queen Victoria—Lord Rossmore’s Wager—The Match at the
+    Wall—Practical Jokes—Some Boys at James’s</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER VIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">94</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Athletic Sports at Eton—A “Scrap”—Lord Newlands—An
+    Old Boy on Eton of To-day</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER IX.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">103</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Lady Grace Stopford—Tipperary in 1870—Robbed at Punchestown
+    Races—I get my own back</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER X.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">110</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Dieppe under Prussian Rule—A Toilette by Worth—A Confirmed
+    Gambler</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XI.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">116</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Princess von Metternich—The Lady of the Luxembourg
+    Gardens</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">123</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Bonn—An Anecdote of Beethoven—The King’s Hussars—The
+    Howard Vyses—A German Professor on England—Domesticated
+    Habits of German Girls—Professor Delbrück</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">136</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Countess Czerwinska—The Countess Broel Plater—Mlle. de
+    Laval—The Duchesse de Grammont—An Absent-Minded
+    Gentleman—Dusauty, the Fencing Master—The Marquis of
+    Anglesey—Charming Venezuelans—Miss Fanny Parnell</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XIV.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">155</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Captain Howard Vyse—An Anecdote of Paganini—New Hats
+    for Old Ones—Albert Bingham—Baron Alphonse de Rothschild—Madame
+    Alice Kernave—Gambetta</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XV.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">168</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>My First Night at Mess—Life at Shorncliffe—The Charltons<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ix"></a>[ix]</span></td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XVI.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">175</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>An N.C.O. of the Old School—Major Blewett—Captain Byron—Sandhurst</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XVII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">183</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>I sail for India—Kandy—Dangerous Playmates—I arrive at
+    Murree</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XVIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">190</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>My Brother-Officers—“The Oyster”—In High Society—Our
+    Menagerie</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XIX.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">198</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Subalterns’ Court-Martial—A Terrible Experience—High
+    Mess-bills</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XX.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">205</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Sialkote—Amateur Theatricals—An Ingenious Thief—Death
+    of Albert Phipps—Agra—Voyage to England</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXI.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">217</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Baroness James Édouard de Rothschild—At Carlsbad—Transferred
+    to the 3rd Battalion</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">222</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>My Brother-Officers—A <i>Mésalliance</i>—Christy Minstrels and
+    Tobogganing</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">229</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Sarah Bernhardt in <i>Phèdre</i>—Vienna and Buda-Pesth</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXIV.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">233</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Percy Hope-Johnstone—A “Special” to Aldershot—A Costume-Ball
+    at Folkestone</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXV.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">238</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Oppenheims—St. James’s and Winchester—The Colonel and
+    Beauclerk</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXVI.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">244</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Paris Again—Eccentricities of Captain “Rabelais”—A Fire in
+    Barracks—A Trying Inspection<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_x"></a>[x]</span></td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXVII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">252</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Madrid and Cordova—Seville—General von Goeben and the Bull-fight—A
+    View from the Alhambra—I rejoin my Regiment</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc">CHAPTER XXVIII.</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">262</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>I meet Byron Again—I endeavour to Exchange—Basil Montgomery—My
+    Illness—Why I was not Placed on Half-pay</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xi"></a>[xi]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td class="tdpg smaller" colspan="2">PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Rev. D. Hornby, Provost of Eton</td>
+    <td class="tdpg" colspan="2"><a href="#illus01"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Mrs. Ronalds</td>
+    <td><i>Facing&nbsp;p.</i></td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus02">2</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Mrs. R. C. Kemys-Tynte, of Halswell (now Mrs. Rawlins, mother of Lord Wharton)</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus03">3</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Author’s Father</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus04">6</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Author’s Mother</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus05">12</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Author’s Daughter</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus06">20</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Author’s Mother</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus07">40</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>C. D. Williamson, at Eton with the Author</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus08">50</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Miss Mabel Warre-Malet</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus09">51</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Author</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus10">62</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Charles Balfour, at Eton with the Author</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus11">80</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Miss Minnie Balfour, sister of Hilda, Lady de Clifford</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus12">81</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>W. H. Onslow, aged 13, afterwards Lord Onslow</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus13">82</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Hon. Emily Cathcart, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus14">83</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Henry Hooker Walker, at Eton with the Author</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus15">90</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Hon. J. W. Lowther, present Speaker of the House of Commons</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus16">91</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Duke of Rutland</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus17">98</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Author’s Father</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus18">144</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Madame Alice Kernave</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus19">164</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The late Earl of Berkeley</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus20">165</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Miss Augusta Charlton</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus21">172</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Miss Ida Charlton</td>
+    <td class="tdc">”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus22">173</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p>
+
+<h1>MEMORIES OF AN OLD ETONIAN,<br>
+1860-1912</h1>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">Early Recollections—Thackeray—The Princess Liegnitz—The Austrian Bandmaster—Society
+at Homburg—Frankfurt—Goethe and Beethoven—A
+Racing Coincidence</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>It happened so long ago, and I was so very young at
+the time—not more than five or six years old—that
+I should be almost tempted to believe that it was all a
+dream, were it not for certain incidents which made an
+unforgettable impression upon my childish imagination.
+The scene was the Hôtel de Russie at Frankfurt-on-the-Main;
+the occasion the birthday of King William I. of
+Prussia, afterwards Emperor of Germany. The spacious
+grand staircase of the hôtel was brilliantly lighted, and
+a red velvet carpet was laid down on the steps leading
+to the first floor. Up these steps came a succession of
+Ministers and generals, some in scarlet and gold lace, with
+the attila, heavily embroidered with gold lace and edged
+with brown fur, falling loosely over the left shoulder. Whenever
+an Austrian general, in his white uniform with scarlet
+facings and red trousers with deep gold lace stripe down
+the side, appeared, my heart, for some unknown reason,
+seemed to beat with delight. How I came to be there I
+don’t quite know, but I can remember my surprise when
+I saw the big chandelier which hung over the staircase
+being lighted in broad daylight, and the red blinds near
+the entrance being drawn down, which gave me a curious<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span>
+impression, making me feel almost as though I were present
+at a funeral. It was, however, merely done to create a
+more imposing effect.</p>
+
+<p>A great silence pervaded the whole of the Hôtel de
+Russie; no one but royal servants stood by the front door;
+and the only sound which I can recollect was the clinking
+of the sword worn by a general in full uniform as he mounted
+the red-carpeted stairs. On approaching a door on the
+first floor, the general or Minister gave his name in a
+mysterious whisper, when, after a few seconds, the door
+was opened, and I heard a kind of buzzing noise, as of
+several persons talking at once in low tones. Then I
+can remember that, after a long interval, which seemed
+hours to me, the mysterious folding-doors were thrown wide
+open, and a veritable kaleidoscope of colour presented itself
+to my wondering eyes. It was the effect of the various
+uniforms worn by the Ministers and generals, as they
+emerged <i>en masse</i> from the room and began to descend the
+staircase, talking loudly as they passed.</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards, when they had all taken their departure,
+the brilliant lights were lowered, and silence again descended
+on the hôtel. That is all I can remember, and of what
+became of me afterwards I have no recollection. That
+afternoon remains in my memory like a fairy-tale, and so
+comical did it appear to me, that I have often thought of
+it since. There was something so mysterious about the
+way each Minister and general entered that door after
+whispering his name; and then the buzz of conversation,
+which was distinctly audible during the few seconds the
+door stood open, to be succeeded by an almost death-like
+silence.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus02" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus02.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Mrs. Ronalds.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 2.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="illus03" style="max-width: 23.4375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus03.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Mrs. R. C. Kemys-Tynte, of Halswell (now Mrs.
+Rawlins, mother of Lord Wharton).</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 3.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>I can remember, just about this time, being alone in an
+immense salon with six windows, all of which overlooked
+the Zeil, one of the principal streets in Frankfurt. At either
+extremity of this room stood a big stove of white porcelain,
+and its walls were decorated with large pictures. One of
+these pictures represented the capture of Troy. The town
+was in flames, and a huge, grey wooden horse stood in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span>
+foreground, with a hole in its side from which soldiers
+were emerging and descending a ladder supported against
+the horse’s flank. This was one of my favourite pictures
+in the room. Another represented the Cyclopes, with their
+one eye in the centre of their forehead, engaged in heating
+an iron bar in a furnace. I remember that I used frequently
+to contemplate this picture and wonder what it all meant,
+and if the Cyclopes really existed and where they lived.
+At night, it used rather to frighten me, particularly when I
+was left alone in the room, which frequently happened at
+this time. Another picture represented Venus, with Cupid
+aiming one of his arrows at her. This rather pleased me.
+I did not know then the mischief wrought by Cupid’s
+arrows, and, in my innocence, was simple enough to believe
+that Venus was an angel of love; and I pitied her for being
+struck by one of Cupid’s arrows, which, in another picture
+in the room, had penetrated her bosom, causing a stream
+of blood to trickle down the alabaster whiteness of her
+body. The room had two large chandeliers, but when I
+was alone in it, only one of them was lighted.</p>
+
+<p>I can remember once, during the daytime, while looking
+out of the window, I saw some Prussian Hussars, in their
+dark-blue uniforms trimmed with silver lace, riding past.
+One of the horses shied at something, and its rider fell
+heavily, which caused a great crowd to assemble. I don’t
+know what happened afterwards; it was just one of those
+things that I saw as though in a dream.</p>
+
+<p>I recollect on one occasion occupying the bedroom and
+sleeping in the bed used by the King of Prussia when he
+visited Frankfurt. This room was very gorgeously furnished,
+the walls being draped with dark-blue satin, while
+the bed had a canopy surrounded by heavy curtains of
+blue silk.</p>
+
+<p>So far as I can remember, it must have been some months
+after this that I spent an evening in the room where the
+King of Prussia’s birthday-fête had been held. It was then
+occupied by the late Mrs. Ronalds, a lovely woman, quite
+young, with the most glorious smile one could possibly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span>
+imagine and most beautiful teeth. Her face was perfectly
+divine in its loveliness; her features small and exquisitely
+regular. Her hair was of a dark shade of brown—<i>châtain
+foncé</i>—and very abundant. I was in Mrs. Ronalds’s care
+on this occasion, and I can still see her before me as she was
+then, and remember that she spoke with a slight American
+accent. The late Captain Frederick Dorrien, of the 1st
+Life Guards, an old Etonian and a very handsome man,
+whom Queen Victoria called “her handsome lieutenant,”
+after inquiring his name when he rode beside her carriage
+one day in full uniform, came to pay Mrs. Ronalds a visit
+that evening; and I can still remember her singing in a very
+beautiful voice, which everyone praised enthusiastically,
+and also a tiny watch set in brilliants, and always very
+much admired, which she wore on her finger.</p>
+
+<p>I used to be taken occasionally to the Zoological Gardens
+at Frankfurt, where a Prussian military band played on
+Sunday afternoons, and I took a fancy to what I thought
+was a large dog. I used to stroke it, and it often licked
+my hand after I had fed it with biscuits and seemed to
+know me. One day, however, to my surprise, I saw it put
+into the same cage as the wolves, and learned that it was
+a wolf, which had been placed for a time in a cage by itself.
+I still felt a great wish to stroke it, but was not allowed to
+do so.</p>
+
+<p>Whether it was some months later or some months earlier
+than this I cannot say, for, with a child, such things as
+time and space are of no account, which brings a child
+nearer to the Divinity than grown-up people. I can only
+recall giving my hand, when at Homburg vor der Höhe, to
+what seemed to me an elderly gentleman, who often took
+me across the garden of the Kurhaus and up the steps of
+the Kursaal into the restaurant, where, seated at a buffet,
+was a stout, pleasant-looking old lady, who always greeted
+me affectionately and gave me, at the gentleman’s request,
+my favourite fruit, nectarines and <i>amandes vertes</i>. I can
+remember how kind this gentleman always was to me,
+taking me constantly for walks in the garden of the Kurhaus,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span>
+and always holding me by the hand. The name of the
+pleasant old lady was Madame Chevet, a Parisienne, to
+whom the restaurant at the Kurhaus belonged, and the
+gentleman, who was a great friend of my parents, was
+Thackeray, the author of “Vanity Fair.” I can remember
+nothing else about him, except that he appeared to be very
+devoted to me.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<p>I used to wear white frocks with lace and embroidery,
+some of which had been given to my mother for me by
+H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester, when my mother’s
+aunt, Lady Caroline Murray, was lady-in-waiting to Her
+Royal Highness.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> I used at that time to be dressed like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span>
+a girl, with my hair in long, dark-brown ringlets, and on
+one occasion my mother took me up to a very plain English
+lady in the grounds of the Kursaal, when the latter exclaimed:
+“What a pretty boy? He is more like a girl!”
+Then, turning to me, she said: “My dear, will you allow
+me to kiss you?” “Yes,” I answered, and, holding up
+my bare arm, I added: “Kiss my elbow.” My mother
+tried to persuade me to allow the lady to kiss me, but
+I only cried and said: “Oh! not my face, only my elbow!”</p>
+
+<p>One day, I remember, I was playing in the grounds of the
+Kursaal with a large india-rubber ball with two little girls,
+when a lady called them away, saying to the little girls,
+who were her daughters: “You must not play with a boy
+when you don’t know who he is.” That same evening, the
+Countess of Desart, who was lady-in-waiting to Queen
+Victoria, was dining at Madame Chevet’s restaurant at the
+Kurhaus with my parents, and, happening to hear of what
+had occurred to me in the morning, said to my mother:
+“I will pay that woman out for her insolence. She is a
+nobody, and only the wife of a Law lord.” When Lady
+C——, the mother of the two little girls, arrived for dinner
+at the Kurhaus, the countess purposely did not rise to
+enter the dining-room for a very long time, which annoyed
+Lady C—— immensely, as she dared not enter the dining-room
+until the countess had risen from her seat to do so.
+At dinner the countess said to Lady C: “I can understand
+how careful you have to be about whom your girls
+play with, as you don’t quite know how to discriminate
+between common children and others.” Lady C——
+blushed crimson, but did not venture to make any reply.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span>
+The Countess of Desart maintained quite a princely establishment
+at Homburg, having a French chef at her villa
+and a number of English servants, with carriages and
+horses besides.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp48" id="illus04" style="max-width: 28.125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus04.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Father.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 6.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Among my father’s friends then at Homburg was Sir
+Edward Hutchinson, whom the Prince Consort said was
+the handsomest man in England. His brother, General
+Coote Hutchinson, was also at Homburg. He had been a
+colonel at six-and-twenty, and was for many years the
+youngest general in the English Army.</p>
+
+<p>At Homburg we lived in a villa on the Unter Promenade,
+in which the Princess Liegnitz, the morganatic wife of
+Frederick III. of Prussia, also resided. I can remember
+so well a box of toys representing various animals which
+the Princess gave me, and also the Princess and her daughter
+driving up to the villa one day when I was walking with
+my father, when he made me go and speak to them. My
+father afterwards gave me a beautiful bouquet of red roses,
+which I took to Princess Liegnitz’s salon, at which she
+seemed pleased, and, when she thanked me for them, gave
+me a kiss. King William of Prussia often visited his
+father’s widow at the villa, where the Princess held a
+regular Court, and was treated as though she were Queen
+of Prussia, even by the King. When he met me in the
+grounds, His Majesty often gave me bonbons, and usually
+kissed me. I had at that time a very pretty English nurse,
+and King William was well known to be a great admirer
+of pretty faces. My pride was somewhat wounded when I
+was told that His Majesty’s attentions to me may have been
+due in a very great measure to the attractions of my nurse.</p>
+
+<p>When the Princess Liegnitz left Homburg, great preparations
+were made at the villa for the Duc de Morny,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span>
+who intended to come and stay there. But before he left
+Paris for Homburg he was suddenly taken ill and died.
+His death caused a great sensation everywhere, and his
+servants, who had already arrived at the villa, went away
+at once and returned to Paris.</p>
+
+<p>Once a fortnight, on Sunday, an Austrian military band
+used to come from Rastatt to play in the grounds of the
+Kursaal. It played both in the afternoon and evening,
+and people sat on the lawns, enjoying the very fine music.
+Sometimes the Prussian military band came from Frankfurt,
+on which occasions I invariably used to cry. I sometimes
+sat with my parents on a Sunday on the lawns. Count
+Perponcher, Oberst-Hofmeister to the King of Prussia,<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>
+the Countess of Desart, Sir Frederick Slade and his family,
+or other friends, generally sat with them. Count Perponcher
+was a most agreeable and distinguished-looking
+man, and a great admirer of the Countess of Desart. The
+latter was not only a great beauty, but had a certain
+“grand air” about her, which is, as a rule, only to be
+found amongst the old nobility.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when the Austrian military band was playing,
+my nurse and I had our early dinner at the Hôtel de
+l’Europe. Opposite to us, sitting at the <i>table d’hôte</i>, was
+the bandmaster Jeschko, with a very pretty woman seated
+on either side of him. I noticed that he was making love
+to both of them, and said to my nurse:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Look at the Austrian bandmaster: he has two such
+pretty wives!”</p>
+
+<p>“You silly boy, why do you talk such nonsense?”
+answered my nurse.</p>
+
+<p>“But he is making love to both, and so they are to him,”
+I persisted.</p>
+
+<p>“You should not look at people you don’t know; they
+may be his sisters.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am sure they are not, for look at papa and his sisters.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, whatever they may be, it is not for a child like
+you to ask about them. I’ve no doubt that one is the
+gentleman’s wife and the other his sister.”</p>
+
+<p>“Couldn’t they both be his wives?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; such a thing would not be allowed.”</p>
+
+<p>I continued to gaze at this handsome man, with his very
+long, fair moustache, highly curled. He seemed so good-looking
+in his white uniform with its pink facings, and the
+two ladies kept stroking his hands on the table and looking
+with admiration into his blue eyes. They both addressed
+him as “<i>Du</i>,” and appeared so very fond of him, that I
+said to myself that I could quite understand these girls
+being in love with him, as he was so handsome. The white
+uniform and the fine military appearance of this Austrian
+bandmaster at table no doubt greatly impressed my childish
+imagination, as I had never seen any one like him before,
+while his fair companions were both excessively pretty and
+dressed in the most charming confections imaginable. It
+was a sight which, when I grew older, never faded from
+my memory, while many other events, perhaps of far greater
+importance, were entirely obliterated. Stilgebauer, a very
+celebrated modern German author, who wrote “Love’s
+Inferno,” says: “Only that which we do not wish to, or
+may not, remember is over; everything else is ours and
+never over or lost to us.”</p>
+
+<p>At Homburg, when the Austrian military band played,
+the grounds at night were illuminated with red, white and
+blue lights, and the fireworks were the admiration of the
+whole world, as M. Blanc spared no expense whatever.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span>
+This, indeed, he could well afford to do, in view of the
+immense profits he derived from the gaming-tables.</p>
+
+<p>There was at Homburg in those days a young French girl
+of noble family, who was about thirteen years of age and
+very lovely, with a beautiful complexion. She was always
+exquisitely dressed, usually in white tulle with a great deal
+of lace, and was admired by everyone. This youthful beauty
+used to play a game of forfeits in a ring with some boys,
+who always arranged as a forfeit for the girl that she should
+kiss them. One day, when I was about seven years old,
+the children invited me to play with them. I did so, and
+was kissed by the little girl, at which I was much ashamed,
+as, though I rather liked being kissed by her, I was
+decidedly bashful when the operation was performed in the
+presence of so many people. And so, when I was asked to
+play again, I refused. This young lady often got her lovely
+white dress torn to shreds by the rough boys who played
+with her, but she went on playing every day all the same.</p>
+
+<p>I remember once travelling by train with my father from
+Homburg to Frankfurt, when Goldschmid, a wealthy Jewish
+banker with red hair, who was in the same compartment,
+went fast to sleep. My father told me he was going to have
+some fun with him, and was pretending to take away his
+watch and chain, when Goldschmid suddenly woke up and
+exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Gott, wirklich ich dachte Sie hätten meine Uhr weggenommen!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>He was evidently under the impression that my father
+had evil intentions, and it was not for some time afterwards
+that he could understand that it was only a joke. Goldschmid,
+many years afterwards, was ruined by his own
+brother, and committed suicide by drowning himself in
+the Main. They were cent. per cent. Jew moneylenders
+and bankers, who helped to ruin many English people in
+those days at Homburg.</p>
+
+<p>I can well recollect seeing my father on one occasion in conversation
+with Garcia, a dark, good-looking Italian, who had
+several times broken the bank at Homburg by his high play.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span>
+He had begun his gambling operations when quite a poor
+man. I can also recollect Madame Kisilieff, who was a great
+gambler in those days, and was a good deal with my parents
+at Homburg. She was an immensely wealthy Russian lady
+of noble birth, who lived there <i>en grand luxe</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The English colony at Homburg during the gambling days
+was very different from what it is now. There was more
+youth and beauty to be seen there and more of the aristocracy;
+whereas to-day more old people and wealthy <i>parvenus</i> go to
+Homburg during the season. Chevet’s Restaurant, though
+dreadfully expensive, was excellent; while the modern
+German one, though also dear, is not especially good.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot recollect what year it was, but I can remember
+the Railway King, Hudson, taking another boy named
+Jeffreys and myself, whom I afterwards met at Eton, to
+dine with him at Chevet’s Restaurant, where he regaled us
+with every kind of luxury that the place could provide. My
+mother once told me a story about Mrs. Hudson, which she
+had heard from her father:—</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hudson one day received a visit from the Duke of
+Wellington, whom she saw arrive, accompanied by a well-dressed
+and very distinguished-looking man, who remained
+outside when the Duke entered the house. Presently it
+came on to rain heavily.</p>
+
+<p>“I will ask your friend up out of the rain,” said Mrs.
+Hudson to the Duke.</p>
+
+<p>The Duke replied that the man was his servant; but
+Mrs. Hudson, who could not bring herself to believe that
+such an aristocratic-looking person could be the servant
+even of the Duke of Wellington, and thought that the latter
+was joking, insisted on the man being shown upstairs.</p>
+
+<p>My grandfather’s brother-in-law, General the Hon. Sir
+George Cathcart, was A.D.C. to the Duke of Wellington at
+Waterloo, and was second-in-command to Lord Raglan in
+the Crimea, where he was killed at Inkermann. He was my
+godfather, and I often heard my father say that he always
+had a cigar in his mouth, even in action. Once he was asked
+by the authorities at the War Office how long he required<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span>
+to get ready for active service. His answer was that he
+was ready to go anywhere at twenty-four hours’ notice.</p>
+
+<p>My parents, one year, lived at the Hôtel de Russie at
+Frankfurt, going to Homburg in the evenings. There was
+a Baron von Neii, an Austrian major of dragoons, staying
+at the “Russie.” He was married to an Englishwoman, but
+they had no children, and, taking a great fancy to me, he
+wanted to adopt me and give me the right to bear his name
+and title, which is frequently done in Austria. He and his
+wife lived afterwards at Beaulieu, near Nice, where they
+had a charming villa with a beautiful rose-garden, where I
+have been to see them in more recent years.</p>
+
+<p>Baron von Neii told me that there was once an Englishman,
+a Major Isaacson, in his regiment, who could not speak
+two words of the Hungarian language. Nevertheless, he
+contrived to retain his place in the regiment for many years,
+being always prompted when he had to give orders by a
+sergeant. One day, however, during an inspection by a
+general, the sergeant happened to be away, with the consequence
+that the poor officer was perfectly helpless, and,
+after calling out several wrong words of command, was
+detected and placed on half-pay.</p>
+
+<p>There were at this time at Homburg two Misses Lee
+Willing, nieces of the famous General Lee, of the Southerners.
+One was a great beauty, who, it was reported, had received
+innumerable offers of marriage, from a prince downwards,
+but had refused them all. She was called the “Destroying
+Angel,” because she had been the cause of so many duels
+being fought on her account. She was constantly in the
+company of my parents, and, many years later, we met her
+again in Paris. So far as I can remember, she could never
+decide to take a husband, and died in Paris while still a
+great beauty.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus05" style="max-width: 29.6875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus05.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Mother.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 12.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Her cousin, Willing Lee Magruder, had been with the Emperor
+Maximilian of Mexico at the time he was shot by his
+revolted subjects, and only escaped a similar fate by the
+skin of his teeth. His sister was lady-in-waiting to the
+Empress Charlotte of Mexico, and, after the Emperor’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span>
+death, the brother and sister occasionally dined with us
+in Paris, and we often met them in later years in Paris
+society. When leaving Mexico, Magruder and his sister
+were shipwrecked, and he told me that they passed several
+hours in the sea clinging to a plank. At night they were
+rescued by a passing ship, almost exhausted by hunger,
+thirst and fatigue. His sister never quite recovered from
+the shock to her system, and suffered much from a nervous
+complaint ever afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>I can remember that, while at the Hôtel de Russie, my
+mother used constantly to be reading French novels, which,
+during her absences at Homburg, my French nurse used
+to get hold of. I was particularly interested in <i>la Reine
+Margot</i> and <i>le Chevalier de Maison Rouge</i>, by Alexandre
+Dumas <i>père</i>, which delighted me more than any other
+books. I read “Joseph Andrews,” which my father bought
+for me, but he told me that he thought I was not quite old
+enough to appreciate or even to understand most of it.</p>
+
+<p>I used always to be much interested in the Eschenheimer
+Thor at Frankfurt, as at the top of it there was a tiny iron
+flag, in which nine holes were pierced, representing the figure
+nine. The story about this flag is that a certain poacher,
+who had been arrested and condemned to death for shooting
+deer, was offered a pardon, if he could put nine bullets into
+the flag in such a way as to form the figure nine. This he
+succeeded in doing, and was set at liberty.</p>
+
+<p>When you looked at the flag this seemed hardly credible;
+it was so tiny, and the nine was so wonderfully pierced.
+The Eschenheimer Thor has since disappeared to make room
+for the so-called improvements of Frankfurt.</p>
+
+<p>I can remember being taken to the celebrated Römer at
+Frankfurt, where the Emperors of Germany were formerly
+crowned. The Kaisersaal, where the coronation used to
+take place, was an immense room, containing portraits of the
+different Emperors. I was much interested in Karl I., and
+still more in Rudolph von Hapsburg, the ancestor of the
+present Emperor of Austria, and I also took particular note
+of those of Günther von Schwarzburg and Maximilian I.,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span>
+as I was very fond of German history. The coronation room
+was beautifully decorated, the walls and doors being sumptuously
+gilded. On the latter were represented several
+children, wearing royal crowns and garments of gold, which
+pleased me very much.</p>
+
+<p>Another time, I was taken by my French nurse, so far as
+I can remember, to see Dannecker’s celebrated statue of
+Ariadne, and was somewhat startled at finding myself in a
+perfectly dark room, in which you could only see a red velvet
+curtain facing you. Soon, however, the curtain was drawn
+back, when a perfectly white statue of a nude woman riding
+upon a lion appeared before us. The woman was exquisitely
+formed, and was reclining indolently upon the animal’s
+back. A rose-coloured light was thrown upon the statue,
+which made its hue all the more dazzling, and it revolved
+slowly on its axis, so as to display the lovely form of the
+woman to better advantage. I was glad that it was dark,
+for I fancied that I should have felt more awkward if anyone
+had seen me. As it was, I blushed crimson, and was
+pleased to get into the street. All the same, I have never
+forgotten this lovely statue and the rose-coloured light
+employed to show off its beauty.</p>
+
+<p>I went to the Jewish quarter, where the old tumbledown
+house in which the Rothschilds had once lived<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> was pointed
+out to me, but it was such a dirty quarter of the town that
+I never returned there. I once visited the Synagogue, and
+was surprised to see all the men wearing their hats. It
+made me think of the time of Christ, and that with certain
+Jews very little had altered since those days. I wondered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span>
+why such men as Goldschmid at Homburg were allowed to
+carry on their villainous trade with Christians.</p>
+
+<p>The new theatre at Frankfurt is a very fine building, in
+which there is a statue of Goethe, which is greatly admired.
+An amusing anecdote is related of Goethe, who was born
+at Frankfurt. One day he and Beethoven were walking
+together, and many people who met them raised their hats.
+“How tiresome it often is to be recognized by so many
+persons!” complained Goethe. To which Beethoven replied
+somewhat maliciously: “Perhaps it is me they are
+greeting.”</p>
+
+<p>Speaking of Goethe, the celebrated Austrian poet Grillparzer
+says:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Schiller geht nach oben, Goethe kommt von oben.</i>
+His characters usually say everything beautiful that can
+be said about a subject, and for nothing in the world
+would I care to miss any of the beautiful speeches in <i>Tasso</i>
+and <i>Iphigenia</i>, but they are not dramatic. That is why
+Goethe’s plays are so charming to read and so bad to act.
+However much we may think of Goethe, the fact remains
+that his <i>Wanderjahre</i> is no work, the second part of <i>Faust</i>
+no poem, the maxims of the last period no lyrics. Goethe
+may be a greater poet, and no doubt is; but Schiller is a
+greater possession for the nation, which requires vivid
+impressions in our sickly times. Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister
+and Philine Sarto and the Countess have all distinct and
+artistically well-formed characters, though they are all in
+danger of being condemned as without any character. This
+fate they share with Hamlet and Phèdre, with King Lear
+and Richard II.; perhaps also with Macbeth and Othello.
+The <i>Wahlverwandtschaften</i> is a great masterpiece. In knowledge
+of humanity, wisdom, sentiment and poetic strain it
+has not its equal in any literature. With the exception of
+those produced by Goethe in his youth, his works were not
+popular with the nation, and the great respect shown him
+was the result of the admiration which his masterpieces of
+the past had aroused.”</p>
+
+<p>Frederick the Great said of Goethe: “His early works<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span>
+are too natural, and his late ones too artificial. Besides,
+he is an immoral poet. Fallen girls are his favourite
+characters.” A very true saying of Frederick the Great
+is: “A court of justice which pronounces an unjust
+sentence is worse than a band of murderers.” Frederick
+was always a great admirer of Voltaire, and one of his
+famous sayings is: “<i>Unsere Unsterblichkeit ist, den
+Menschen Wohlthaten zu erweisen</i>.” (“Our immortality
+consists in performing good deeds to mankind.”)</p>
+
+<p>In recent years I went to the celebrated Palmen Garden
+in Frankfurt, where the palm-trees are all from the late
+Duke of Nassau’s beautiful palace at Biebrich. I went
+there with an English lady to an afternoon concert. My
+companion remarked how ordinary all the people looked
+compared with those one saw at a concert at Vienna, and
+drew my attention to a table at which sat four men dressed
+in very shabby, old-fashioned clothes. I was anxious to
+remain and hear the concert out, but was afraid the lady
+might decide to leave early, owing to the little interest she
+appeared to find in the audience. So I said at random:—</p>
+
+<p>“You are quite right, but with regard to the men sitting
+at that table, I should not be surprised if they were millionaires.”</p>
+
+<p>She laughed and seemed to be much amused at the
+idea, and a waiter coming up just at that moment with
+some coffee and cakes we had ordered, I asked him if
+he knew who the four men were. He replied at once:—</p>
+
+<p>“They are four millionaires.”</p>
+
+<p>I may mention that I had never seen these men before
+in my life, and was only staying at Frankfurt two days.</p>
+
+<p>At Franzenbad, from which I had just come, I had a
+singular experience. On entering the Kursaal one Saturday
+afternoon a programme of the music was handed me. The
+piece which was being played was a polka, by Edward Strauss,
+called <i>Con Amore</i>, and I noticed that each of the eight
+pieces on the programme contained a letter of this name.
+I took this as a kind of presentiment, and the same day telegraphed
+to a bookmaker named Hörner, in the Krugerstrasse<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span>
+at Vienna, to back the horse of this name running in the
+principal event in the Baden races the following Sunday.
+He duly executed my commission, and the horse won,
+though it did not start favourite. I won very little, however,
+as the odds were not as long as I had expected. The programme
+of the concert at Franzensbad was as follows:—</p>
+
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc" colspan="3">Saturday, 25th June, 1904. Kurhaus, 4 p.m.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>1.</td>
+    <td>Wiedermann Marsch</td>
+    <td>Oelschlegel.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>2.</td>
+    <td>Ouverture, Oberon</td>
+    <td>Weber.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>3.</td>
+    <td>Ballerinen Walzer</td>
+    <td>Weinberger.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>4.</td>
+    <td>Potpourri aus Obersteiger</td>
+    <td>Zeller.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>5.</td>
+    <td>Con Amore Polka</td>
+    <td>Ed. Strauss.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>6.</td>
+    <td>Ouverture, Belagerung von Corinth</td>
+    <td>Rossini.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>7.</td>
+    <td>Am Spinnrad</td>
+    <td>Eilenberg.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>8.</td>
+    <td>Frisch heran Galop</td>
+    <td>Johann Strauss.</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The Hôtel de Russie, in those days, occupied the site of
+the present Post Office. It was originally a palace, and the
+rooms were magnificent, particularly those reserved for the
+King of Prussia, which my parents occupied for a time, as
+did Mrs. Ronalds. Otherwise, this suite of rooms was
+always kept for the King of Prussia when he cared to visit
+Frankfurt, which His Majesty often did, staying there
+usually some time. The proprietor of the Hôtel de Russie
+was a certain Herr Ried, and, on his death, it was purchased
+by the Drexel brothers, who are now wine-merchants of
+some celebrity in Frankfurt.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<p class="center">An Adventure in the Oden Wald—The Coiners of the Black
+Forest—Kirchhofer’s School</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>When I was seven years old, my parents left me at a
+school in Frankfurt, kept by Herr Kirchhofer, a
+good-looking, fair-haired man of thirty-five. He was married
+and had an only son named August, who in later years
+entered the Austrian Army, and got terribly into debt when
+a lieutenant. His father paid his debts, but after he married
+he got into further trouble, and ended by shooting himself,
+while still quite young. During my stay at this school I
+spoke nothing but German all day, with the exception of a
+little French occasionally, and, in consequence, completely
+forgot the English language for the time being.</p>
+
+<p>One day, Herr Kirchhofer told one of the assistant masters,
+Herr Wolf, a young man of five-and-twenty, that he might
+take six of the boys, of whom I was one, for a three days’ excursion
+in the Oden Wald. We started at five o’clock in the
+morning and walked for some hours, when I became so tired
+that I could go no farther. So Close, an English boy of
+eighteen, who was going into the Austrian Army, and
+another boy, a German, carried me on a kind of camp-stool
+a long way.</p>
+
+<p>When we got to the Oden Wald, we wandered about
+collecting plants, which Herr Wolf required for his lessons in
+botany. Then, after dining at an inn, we started again,
+with the intention of reaching a village which the master
+knew by name. On the way we passed a small village,
+where a man offered to take charge of me, and I was very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span>
+much afraid our master would leave me with him. I begged
+him not to do so, and was greatly relieved when he said:</p>
+
+<p>“You don’t think I should be so foolish? Why, the
+man might run off with you.”</p>
+
+<p>Some time afterwards, it began to grow quite dark, and
+Herr Wolf became much alarmed, as we had completely lost
+our way in the forest. However, we saw some lights in the
+distance, and walked on until we came to a small village,
+where there was a house which purported to be an inn,
+though all its windows were broken and mended with pieces
+of newspaper.</p>
+
+<p>Herr Wolf entered this uninviting hostelry and inquired
+if we could have one large room to sleep in, as he told Close
+and another big boy, a German, that he was afraid that
+we might possibly be murdered in the night, if we were
+separated. I may here mention that, in those days, some
+parts of the Oden Wald were infested by gangs of robbers,
+and instances were known of people being given beds which
+revolved in the night and precipitated their unfortunate
+occupants into pits beneath the floor.</p>
+
+<p>The inn-keeper, a sinister-looking personage, with his face
+almost entirely covered with hair, said that he had not a
+room large enough to accommodate our whole party, but
+that we could have two rooms. Herr Wolf asked if they
+were near each other, to which the man replied that one
+was upstairs, but the other on the ground floor. The master,
+looking much annoyed, asked to see the rooms, and, after
+inspecting them, inquired if Close had a revolver with him.
+The latter said he had not, though he had brought a sword-stick.
+But another boy, an American, called Sydney
+Chapin, exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“I have a loaded revolver with me.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s famous!” replied Herr Wolf. “Then you must
+give it me, for I will occupy the room on the ground floor
+with George, and you others must sleep upstairs.”</p>
+
+<p>The master then took the revolver, and told Close that
+he must take charge of the other boys in the room
+upstairs.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span></p>
+
+<p>When this had been arranged, we all entered the so-called
+dining-room, a large room, with whitewashed walls. Its
+windows, like all the rest in the house, were broken and
+patched with newspapers; the ceiling was so low that you
+could almost touch it with your hands, and crossed by large
+beams. In one part of this room, four rough-looking men
+were playing cards and drinking beer out of mugs. They
+were in their shirt sleeves, with sleeves tucked up to the
+elbow, displaying very muscular arms, while their shirts,
+open at the neck, showed their naked chests covered with
+hair. Although it was summer and excessively hot, all of
+them wore fur caps.</p>
+
+<p>They were playing by the glimmer of a solitary tallow
+candle, which was the only light in the room, and when we
+took our seats with our master at another table, we found
+ourselves almost in the dark. Presently, our supper was
+brought us, consisting of cold meat and mugs of beer, and
+Herr Wolf asked for a candle. The inn-keeper muttered
+sullenly that he had none.</p>
+
+<p>“What! Have you no light of any description?” asked
+the master.</p>
+
+<p>“No, I have just told you so,” was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>Herr Wolf was visibly alarmed, but Close whispered to
+him:—</p>
+
+<p>“I have a box of matches.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Gott sei dank!</i>” exclaimed the other.</p>
+
+<p>After some whispered instructions to Close, the master
+rose from the table, when I observed the card-players casting
+surreptitious glances in our direction, although they pretended
+to be absorbed in their game. Herr Wolf then
+took me through the darkness into the bedroom on the
+ground floor, the gloom of which was partially relieved by
+a slight glimmer from the moon, which penetrated through
+the broken window. He struck a match, and, having shown
+me my bed, which stood near the window, told me to undress
+and go to bed. I did as he told me, and he then said that
+he was going upstairs to see after the other boys.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus06" style="max-width: 29.6875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus06.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Daughter.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 20.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>While I lay in bed, I heard some noisy women passing the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span>
+window. One of them put her head through one of the
+broken panes, and, on seeing me in bed, burst out laughing.
+Afterwards there was a dead silence, only interrupted occasionally
+by the loud oaths of the men playing cards in the
+dining-room, who appeared to be disputing about some
+money which had changed hands. The noise they made
+was becoming louder and louder, when I heard the door
+open, and Herr Wolf entered and inquired if I were asleep.
+He then went out again, saying that he would return later.
+The noise made by the gamblers then appeared to cease,
+and my weariness overcoming my fears, I suddenly dropped
+off to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the morning I awoke, and saw Herr Wolf dressing
+himself. I hardly knew where I was, when, on seeing that
+I was awake, he said:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Du bist famos geschlafen, George.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>After I had dressed, he told me to come with him into the
+dining-room, where all the others were gathered, and, after
+taking some coffee and black bread, we left the inn. Soon
+afterwards, Herr Wolf told the boys that he had never been
+so alarmed in his life, and that he was quite positive that
+if the men at the inn had not known that some of the boys
+were armed, we should most probably have been murdered
+for the sake of our clothes and the money we had about us.
+He added that he had not slept a wink all night, as he knew
+what sort of men he had to deal with, and that they were of
+the very lowest type imaginable and capable of committing
+any crime to obtain a few groschen.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of which I am speaking, there were so many
+murders perpetrated near Homburg, owing to the gambling
+which went on there, that the police never knew whether
+they had really to deal with a suicide or a murder. The
+Oden Wald had then quite as bad a reputation as the Black
+Forest, which was infested by whole gangs of robbers and
+murderers. Herr Wolf told us a story of a man who, having
+lost his way in the Oden Wald, put up for the night at a
+small inn near a village, where they gave him some coffee
+before he went to bed. He could not sleep, and in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span>
+middle of the night he got up, lighted a candle and began
+examining a picture opposite his bed, which represented a
+man wearing a Rembrandt hat with a long feather. Gradually,
+it seemed to him that the feather was becoming shorter;
+soon he could see only a part of the hat, and then merely the
+face. The man, thinking that there must be something
+wrong with him, jumped out of bed and approached the
+picture, which he found was exactly as when he had first
+seen it. But, on looking at his bed, he perceived that the
+baldachin over the four-poster was suspended by a chain
+from above the ceiling, and was gradually working its way
+downwards. An examination of the moving baldachin
+revealed the fact that it was made of massive iron, beneath
+which he would infallibly have been crushed to death.
+Dressing in all haste, and holding a pistol which he had
+about him ready to fire in case of need, the destined victim
+left the room and stealthily descended the stairs. By good
+fortune he met no one, and letting himself out of the house,
+made his way to Homburg, where he informed the police
+of the murderous trap which had been laid for him. It was
+evident that the coffee which he had drank overnight had
+been drugged; but, most providentially for him, the drug
+had had the contrary effect to that intended, and had kept
+him awake, instead of sending him to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Herr Wolf told us other stories of the Black Forest, in
+which there were inns with revolving beds, which upset the
+persons who occupied them into pits beneath the floor,
+where the heavy fall generally killed them at once; and
+Baron Vogelsang, a good-looking Bavarian boy, with blue
+eyes and curly brown hair, related the following anecdote:</p>
+
+<p>During the time of the great Napoleon,<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> the Emperor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span>
+sent on one of his aides-de-camp to Germany with important
+despatches. This A.D.C. had to traverse the Black Forest,
+and on arriving as evening was falling at a certain country
+house, asked if he could be accommodated for the night. A
+room was given him, but, at the same time, he was warned
+that the house was haunted, and, sure enough, in the middle
+of the night a ghost duly put in an appearance. The Frenchman,
+who had no belief in the supernatural, promptly
+snatched up a pistol and levelled it at the spectre, who
+thereupon vanished. The A.D.C. then hurried to the spot
+where the ghost had first appeared, when the floor suddenly
+gave way beneath him, and he fell what seemed a great
+distance. For the moment he was stunned by the fall,
+and, on recovering his senses, found himself surrounded by a
+number of men, who were debating whether they should
+kill him. He, however, explained who he was, and showed
+them the despatches from Napoleon of which he was the
+bearer; and the men, fearing the vengeance of the Emperor,
+should the crime they were meditating ever be discovered,
+agreed to set him at liberty, on condition that he would take
+an oath to say nothing of what had happened to him in that
+house. They then told him that they were coiners, and that
+they killed everyone who slept at the house, but that they
+usually frightened so many away by tales that very few
+people cared to stop there. The Frenchman took the oath
+demanded of him, and was set at liberty so soon as day came.
+Years afterwards, he received a magnificent pistol, set with
+brilliants and rubies, with the following inscription engraved
+upon it: “From those whose secret you have so generously
+kept.” The gift was accompanied by a letter, informing
+him that the coiners, having now succeeded in amassing an
+immense fortune, had retired from business.</p>
+
+<p>The day after our adventure at the inn was passed by our
+party in walking leisurely through the forest homewards,
+through a most glorious country and in most lovely weather.
+When we reached Frankfurt, Herr Kirchhofer congratulated
+Herr Wolf on our escape, and told him that it was very
+lucky that we had returned at all.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span></p>
+
+<p>Herr Wolf saw me in after days at Frankfurt, when he
+kissed me in German fashion, saying: “<i>Kannst Du Dich erinnern
+von damals im Oden Walde, George?</i>” I thought it
+was our last day upon earth, and that we were going to be
+murdered there, like many others have been there before and
+even since those days. But I pretended not to be alarmed
+at the time, and made the best of it.</p>
+
+<p>The time—rather more than a year and a half—I spent
+at this school at Frankfurt was one of the happiest periods
+of my life; indeed, when my parents wanted me to stay at
+the Hôtel de Russie, I cried and begged not to be taken away
+from the school. Herr Kirchhofer was a very pleasant,
+kind and good-hearted man, and a fine orator, one of the best
+I have ever heard; and the lectures which he used to give
+on ancient Greek history were always extremely interesting.
+His lectures were always extempore, as his excellent memory
+made it unnecessary for him to refer to a book, and the
+way he declaimed was a pleasure to listen to, so well did he
+raise or lower his voice to suit the occasion. At times he
+became very dramatic, putting you in mind of some celebrated
+actor on the stage, as he walked up and down
+the room, reciting from the classics and quite carrying
+away his audience. The only punishment inflicted on
+boys at this school was to shake them and smack their
+faces, which Herr Kirchhofer did himself, as well as the
+other masters, of whom there were eight or nine, although
+the school consisted only of ten boarders and fifty day-boarders.</p>
+
+<p>German and Austrian boys find more pleasure in taking
+long walks in the woods, making excursions, and running
+about than they do in games like football and cricket, for
+which few, if any, have any taste. In fact, I never knew any
+boys in Germany who cared much for any outdoor games at
+all. However, I have not the slightest doubt they enjoy
+their school-days quite as much as English boys, if not more;
+and there is much more friendship between master and boys
+in Germany than there ever can be in England. In the
+former country, the master devotes more time to ascertaining<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span>
+the tastes of individual boys, and addresses them more like a
+friend than a master. When, afterwards, I was sent to an
+English school, I noticed the difference almost at once.
+At the school at Frankfurt I was most interested in the
+history of ancient Greece; I was also fond of German history.
+Latin was not taught there, for which I was by no means
+sorry. I had no great fancy for botany, though I tried to
+like it; but natural science rather piqued my curiosity.
+As for arithmetic, I hated it, and never knew the value of
+money; in fact, I don’t remember ever having any at that
+time, nor ever asking for any, as I had everything I required
+bought for me. I had a fancy for collecting stamps, and,
+in those days, there was a regular stamp market at Frankfurt,
+where they were sold in the street. I went there on
+one occasion, but was not very favourably impressed by the
+Jew dealers who hawked them about.</p>
+
+<p>I was passionately fond of tin soldiers, and used to play
+with them with a boy named Louis Krebs, who had a fine
+collection of both Austrian and Prussian ones. He had a
+pretty little sister called Klara, who always wore pink coral
+earrings and would often play with us.</p>
+
+<p>One day, Herr Kirchhofer told me that my parents were
+going to England and that they had arranged to take me with
+them. At first, I was quite unable to realize it, but when
+I learned that the news was true I was greatly distressed,
+and nearly cried my eyes out at having to leave Frankfurt
+and the school. I tried to prevail upon my parents to leave
+me behind, but my father would not hear of it, saying that
+I should have to go to a preparatory school for Eton, and that
+he had one in view, which my aunt, Lady Caroline Murray,
+had recommended. So I was forced, <i>malgré moi</i>, to submit
+to my parents’ wishes.</p>
+
+<p>In recent years I met Krebs, the boy of whom I have just
+spoken, at Frankfurt, when he gave me a great deal of
+information about those who had been at school with us.
+He himself had become a millionaire; but he was the only
+one who had made money. Most of the others had been far
+from successful in life, and one of the wealthiest, Baron<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span>
+Vogelsang, had lost almost the whole of his immense fortune.
+Many had died quite young. Herr Kirchhofer had only
+lived a few months after the suicide of his son August,
+and Herr Wolf had also died while still quite a young
+man.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Brussels—Ostend—General Sir John Douglas—Spa—“Captain
+Arthy”—Boulogne</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>On leaving Frankfurt, we went to Brussels, where we
+lived in a large house on the Boulevard de Waterloo,
+which looked out on to a very fine avenue of trees. Captain
+Dorrien came with us on a visit to my parents and stayed for
+some months. Captain Dorrien, in after years, lost his whole
+fortune, when the late Earl of Sheffield, who had been at
+Eton with him, insisted on his going to live at his fine house
+in Portland Place, where he was given full authority over
+all the servants, lived free of all cost to himself, and received
+a cheque for £500, while the Earl went for a six months’
+cruise in his yacht. This was told me by Captain Dorrien
+himself, at a time when he was in far better circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Howard de Walden was then the English Minister
+at Brussels, and my parents were on very friendly terms with
+him and his family. Two of the sons came often to our house;
+one was in the Royal Navy, and the other in the 60th Rifles.
+The eldest son, who afterwards succeeded to the title, was
+then in the 4th Hussars, but I never met him. Many years
+afterwards, I met Lady Howard de Walden, then a widow,
+in India, at Murree, in the Himalayas, where she dined at
+our mess with her daughter, Miss Ellis. The two ladies were
+about to start on a journey to Kashmir, on ponies, as Lady
+Howard de Walden said that it was her intention to see as
+much of the world as she could before she died. She was
+then seventy. She added that it was a singular coincidence
+that the two regiments in which her sons had served—the
+4th Hussars and the 60th Rifles—both of which she visited,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span>
+should be quartered quite near Kashmir, the Hussars at
+Rawal Pindi, and the 2nd Battalion, 60th Rifles, at Murree.
+Lady Howard de Walden accomplished the difficult journey
+to Kashmir and returned in safety.</p>
+
+<p>We were on friendly terms with the Baron de Taintegnies,
+who was in attendance on Leopold II., King of the Belgians,
+and also with his three lovely daughters, who, with their
+cousins, the daughters of Baron Danetan, were considered
+the most beautiful girls in Brussels society at that time.
+One of the former married, in later years, Captain Stewart
+Muirhead, of the Blues, a friend of my father and of Captain
+Dorrien.</p>
+
+<p>Frederick Milbanke, of the Blues, an old Etonian, who was
+a great friend of my father, was at that time a good deal
+in Brussels, and married a Belgian actress there. Milbanke
+was heir to some of the Duke of Cleveland’s estates, but
+he died before coming into this property. The last time I
+saw him was at the Alexandra Hôtel, in London, where he
+and his wife had a very fine suite of rooms, when my father
+took me there to pay them a visit. Milbanke was a very
+handsome, fair man, and his wife a great beauty. I met
+the latter in after years at the Grosvenor Hôtel, where
+she was staying with her son, a nice-looking boy, who had
+come back from Eton for the holidays.</p>
+
+<p>The winter at Brussels was rather a severe one, and there
+was plenty of good skating to be had. I remember learning
+to skate in the Bois de la Cambre, to which I went with
+my father. One day I was knocked down by some lady
+skaters, and had great difficulty in extricating myself from
+their petticoats. I fell very softly, but I was well-nigh
+smothered. I was glad when my parents left Brussels, as
+I had no companions there at all.</p>
+
+<p>There was then at Ostend a Mrs. Clifton, who had an
+exceedingly pretty daughter. Mrs. Clifton was a widow,
+and afterwards contracted a second marriage with a brother
+of Sir Walter Carew. When I was at school at Kineton,
+in Warwickshire, the mother and daughter paid me a visit,
+as they had an estate not far from the school.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span></p>
+
+<p>One day, on the Digue at Ostend, I suddenly caught
+sight of my little friend, Baron Vogelsang, who, leaving his
+father and mother, who were with him, ran up to me at
+once and kissed me on both cheeks. I saw a good deal of
+Vogelsang while I was at Ostend, going often on to the
+sands with him, and meeting him in the evening at the
+children’s dance at the Casino.</p>
+
+<p>The Baron de Taintegnies’s daughter used to attend those
+dances, to which the Duc de Sequeira, a young boy I knew,
+generally went. Marie, the Baron’s eldest daughter, who
+was a lovely girl, afterwards became the Baronne Le Clément
+de Taintegnies. She lives at Minehead, where she has a
+fine estate and hunts with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds.
+I heard from her quite recently. Her sister
+Isa, who married Captain Stewart Muirhead, is now a widow,
+her husband having died in Paris in 1906. She also hunts
+with the staghounds in Devonshire, and both sisters are
+well-known horsewomen. Aline, the youngest sister, who
+was called “Bébé,” and whom I admired very much when
+a child at Brussels and Ostend, married, in 1871, Baron
+de Hérissem, and, after his death, went to Italy, where she
+married again and lived for several years. She died at
+Ancona in March, 1906.</p>
+
+<p>There was a racing man at Ostend, named Captain Riddell,
+who won all the principal steeplechases that were run there.
+Mrs. Ind, the wife of the well-known brewer, was his sister.
+Riddell met with a very serious accident in a steeplechase
+at Ostend, injuring his spine. The horse which he was
+riding on that occasion was once ridden by my father on
+the sands, and he told me that he was a perfect devil to
+hold. When a young man, my father once rode a hundred
+miles in twelve hours on the same horse for a bet at Taunton,
+in Somerset, and won his wager easily, with plenty of time
+to spare. He and Charles Kinglake, a brother of the
+author of “Eöthen,” were the only persons who were willing
+to go up in a balloon at Taunton, when the first one came
+there, which was considered rather venturesome at the time.
+This reminds me that one of the oldest inhabitants of Bristol<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span>
+told me lately that he remembered when the first iron ship
+was launched at that port, and how all the residents declared:
+“The idea of iron floating is too absurd to entertain for
+one instant; the ship is bound to sink, for iron can never
+be made to keep above water.”</p>
+
+<p>The King and Queen of Würtemberg were both then at
+Ostend. Queen Olga, who was a Russian Grand Duchess by
+birth, was said to be the handsomest woman in Europe.
+She had very regular features, but was at that time excessively
+pale and thin. Her niece, the Grand Duchess
+Olga, was the first proposed <i>fiancée</i> of Ludwig II., King of
+Bavaria. His Majesty, however, refused to marry her. This
+is not generally known. The Grand Duchess Olga afterwards
+married the late King George of Greece.</p>
+
+<p>King Leopold II. and Queen Henriette were at Ostend
+at that time with their children, who used to drive on the
+sands in a small carriage drawn by four cream-coloured
+ponies. Baron de Taintegnies was usually on the Digue
+of an afternoon with the King, sitting down or walking
+about.</p>
+
+<p>Among my father’s friends at Ostend were Lord Orford
+and Lord Brownlow Cecil. The latter was very fond of
+music, and married a lady there who was a magnificent
+pianist. One day I can remember my father sitting in the
+Casino with Henry Labouchere, an old Etonian, who had
+formerly been in the Diplomatic Service. Labouchere was
+smoking a big cigar, and he and my father had a long conversation.
+What it was about, I cannot say, though they
+were continually laughing; and my father told me afterwards
+that Labouchere was very amusing, and, though sarcastic,
+witty, and that he rather liked him.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span></p>
+
+<p>General Sir John Douglas, K.C.B., Commander of the Forces
+in Scotland, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter
+of Earl Cathcart, were a good deal with my parents at Ostend.
+The General used to take long walks with my father, and
+he put my name down for his old regiment, the 79th Highlanders,
+and for the Scots Guards. Sir John Douglas was
+extremely kind to me in after years, and invited me to stay
+with him at Edinburgh; but I could not get leave from
+my colonel at the time, and consequently was obliged, to
+my great regret, to decline his kind invitation.</p>
+
+<p>My parents used very often to spend the summer months
+at Ostend, and one year they occupied the apartments
+at the Hôtel de Prusse which the Russian Ambassador,
+Prince Orloff, had just vacated. One day, after washing
+my hands in my bedroom, I emptied the water out of the
+window, for some unaccountable reason. Later in the day,
+the Princess de Caraman-Chimay sent up her lady’s maid
+to say that a dress which the Princess had intended wearing
+the following evening at a Court ball at Brussels had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span>
+completely spoiled by the water. I was well scolded by my
+mother for being the cause of this misfortune.</p>
+
+<p>The English clergyman at Ostend was a Mr. Jukes. He
+had a very good-looking son, a boy about my own age. He
+told me that he was in the habit of walking in his sleep,
+and showed me his bedroom window, which had a padlock
+on it. When I asked him where the key of it was, he said
+that they would not tell him, in case he might get up in the
+night, unlock it, and walk on the roof of the house, which,
+he said, he had done before. His father once met me with
+mine in the street, and when told that I was going into the
+British Army, said that he entirely disapproved of soldiers,
+and thought that the time was near at hand when there
+would be no more wars and every dispute would be settled
+by arbitration. I fancied at that time that Mr. Jukes’s
+prophecy might come true, but, as subsequent events proved,
+we were very far indeed from its realisation.</p>
+
+<p>Both the King and Queen of the Belgians were very
+popular with the inhabitants of Ostend. They used to
+walk on the Digue quite unattended, and seemed in no
+way inconvenienced by the crowd, who always treated
+them with the greatest respect. The King wore plain
+clothes, usually a dark suit with a tall white hat, and never
+appeared there in uniform. A very good story is told of
+Leopold II., who, some years ago, during the summer months,
+was at Luchon, in the Pyrenees. The day after he arrived
+there, the King sent for a hairdresser, and directed him to
+trim his silvery beard. When the operation was over, His
+Majesty inquired what he had to pay.</p>
+
+<p>“It will be twenty francs, Your Majesty,” replied the
+hairdresser without hesitation.</p>
+
+<p>The King pulled out a two-franc piece, which he handed
+to this too facetious Figaro.</p>
+
+<p>“I am accustomed,” said he, “to pay very well. Here
+is a two-franc piece. It is a new Belgian coin, and you
+will see my head on it, as you wished to pay yourself for
+it.” (“<i>Vous y verrez ma tête, puisque vous avez voulu vous
+la payer.</i>”)</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is said that the hairdresser left without asking for
+the rest of the money, and that, since this adventure, he
+placed over his shop a fine board, inscribed: “Furnisher
+of H.M. the King of the Belgians.”</p>
+
+<p>My mother spent a summer at Spa, where she took a
+house with a garden attached to it. I liked the place very
+much, and often went for rides on a pony in the woods
+with the late Captain Lennox Berkeley, who afterwards
+became Earl of Berkeley. The country round Spa is
+mountainous and very charming. Spa itself is an exceedingly
+pretty place, situated in a valley entirely surrounded
+by hills and woods, and the Ardennes are not far off. But
+in the summer months the heat is intense, and, when the sun
+once gets into the valley, there is often not a breath of air.
+The promenade, where the band plays morning and evening,
+is charming, and it is very pleasant to sit beneath the shady
+trees and listen to the excellent orchestra. I often used to
+go there with my mother, particularly of a morning, when
+all the <i>monde élégant</i> used to forgather to listen to the
+music. The gambling-rooms were then open for roulette
+and trente-et-quarante, and Captain Berkeley used often
+to try his luck at them, but, unfortunately, he was not
+successful. I can remember his giving me “Japhet in
+Search of a Father,” by Captain Marryat, and recommending
+me to read it. I did so, and it amused me very
+much.</p>
+
+<p>Another of my father’s friends, the late Captain Bromley,
+an old Etonian, and a son of Sir Thomas Bromley, was at
+Spa at the same time. One day, when I happened to tell
+him that I was going into the Army, he smiled, and said
+that he never could hit off with his colonel. The latter
+complained that he was always late for parade, and
+asked him if he did not hear the bugles sound. He
+answered:—</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir—I hear the bugles, but there must be something
+wrong with them, for they don’t sound the right note.”
+The Colonel soon found him incorrigible, and he himself
+that he was never made for a soldier.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span></p>
+
+<p>Bromley told me that, when a boy, he was accustomed
+to dine off gold plates and that everything he used at table
+was of gold. Suddenly, his father died, and his elder brother
+inherited the title and estates, while he was obliged to live
+on a few hundreds a year. This, he said, was the fault of
+our law of primogeniture, which ought only to take effect
+in the case of ducal houses, where the bearer of the title
+should be made to pay an “appanage” to the other members
+of the family, as is the rule on the Continent.</p>
+
+<p>It has often been asserted by authors of great authority
+that women are much meaner than men; but I have known
+some instances to the contrary. Once, during our stay at
+Spa, a gentleman called on my mother, and told her that
+he had lost all he possessed, and asked her to lend him £50,
+as he was anxious to rejoin his wife. My mother, who had
+known him for years, said that she would give him all she
+had in the house—nearly £40—for which he was very
+grateful, both at the time and when we met him and his
+wife in later years.</p>
+
+<p>Once I was staying with my father at Desseins Hôtel,
+at Calais,<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> when he told me that he had made the acquaintance
+of an Englishman, a certain Captain Arthy, who was
+rather a singular character, indeed, highly eccentric. It
+appeared that he had just lost his wife, and that he was
+so distressed at her death that he wore all the trinkets
+which had belonged to her on his watch-chain, to show his
+affection for her. He had not, however, gone into mourning,
+and always affected a red tie, saying that he wore the
+mourning in his heart, upon which he used to lay his hand
+as he spoke. I was introduced to Captain Arthy, who was
+a bald-headed man, with black side-whiskers and rather a
+red face, dressed in a light suit of clothes. The quantity
+of charms on his watch-chain would have almost filled the
+window of a jeweller’s shop, while numerous rings adorned<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span>
+his fingers. He was perpetually smiling, displaying a set
+of very fine teeth when he did so.</p>
+
+<p>He invited my father and me to see his rooms, which were
+full of gold and silver cups, which he told us, had belonged
+to his late wife. The late Mrs. Winsloe, whose husband
+was a friend of my father, was staying at this hôtel. Mr.
+Winsloe was a well-known man in Somersetshire, but he had
+recently gone out of his mind. His wife had been a great
+beauty, but she was then terribly made up, with fair dyed
+hair.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Winsloe, who lived in very luxurious fashion, and
+occupied a very fine set of rooms at Desseins Hôtel, said
+that Arthy was a cousin of her husband, and showed us a
+cutting from the <i>Times</i> about the death of Mrs. Arthy, which
+had occurred in rather a tragic manner. One evening,
+when my father and I were in her salon, she said to Arthy:—</p>
+
+<p>“I wish you would give one of your lockets to that little
+boy, as a keepsake from me.” Arthy thereupon took off
+his watch-chain, and, after hunting amongst his innumerable
+lockets, at length chose one, which he unfastened, saying:—</p>
+
+<p>“Here is a nice gold locket that will do. Will you give
+him your photo to put inside it?”</p>
+
+<p>“I haven’t got one,” replied Mrs. Winsloe. “Give him
+one of yours instead.” So he cut round one of his photos
+and, inserting it in the locket, handed it to me. “Now
+kiss Mrs. Winsloe,” said he, “for it is her present to you.”
+I kissed the paint off her face, and she kissed me, and I felt
+sure that she left a coloured impression on my face. But
+I was so pleased with the locket, which I attached to my chain,
+that I did not care in the least.</p>
+
+<p>Arthy drank champagne with Mrs. Winsloe, and the latter
+seemed rather infatuated with him, which was not surprising,
+as he was a fine-looking man, though his baldness detracted
+from his good looks. However, the lady could not afford
+to be very <i>difficile</i>, being only an artificial beauty, whose
+youth was but a memory. Formerly, she had had beautiful
+hair, and it still reached to her waist. My father
+complimented her upon it, observing:—</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I never saw such lovely hair in my life, or such a
+perfect colour.”</p>
+
+<p>She looked pleased, and replied, smiling:—</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I don’t think there are many women who have
+such fine hair.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I am sure there are not,” remarked Arthy, who
+appeared to be thinking of the gold locket which he had
+given away, for he looked at his chain as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>“He doesn’t half admire you,” said my father, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>“I am sure I do; I think my cousin the loveliest woman
+possible,” replied the other, who appeared annoyed at my
+father’s remark.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Winsloe looked at Arthy and smiled, being evidently
+under the impression that he was jealous, as he appeared
+angry with my father.</p>
+
+<p>The fact was that Arthy was anxious to ingratiate himself
+with Mrs. Winsloe, as she was very wealthy. Accordingly,
+he pretended to admire her, though it needed only half a
+glance to see that in reality he considered her very far from
+beautiful. Mrs. Winsloe not only paid for her own rooms
+at the hôtel, but all the expensive dinners which she and
+Arthy had together were entered to her account. The latter
+had a great partiality for naval officers, and as an American
+warship, the <i>Alabama</i>, of the Confederate Navy, happened
+to be lying at Calais at this time, he invited some of the
+officers to dine with him and Mrs. Winsloe. They accepted,
+and were most sumptuously entertained, champagne flowing
+like water.</p>
+
+<p>After staying six weeks with his cousin, Arthy left for
+England. Soon afterwards, the officers of a British warship
+at Portsmouth received an invitation from the Duke of St.
+Albans to dine with him at an hôtel. The captain of the
+ship happened to be away, and, on his return, the other
+officers told him what a good dinner he had missed and loudly
+praised the ducal hospitality.</p>
+
+<p>“The Duke of St. Albans!” exclaimed the captain, in
+astonishment. “How can you possibly have dined with him
+that evening? Why, the very same day I was shooting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span>
+quite near the duke’s property, and I happened to see him!
+I will go to the hôtel and find out who it can be.”</p>
+
+<p>The captain lost no time in instituting inquiries, with the
+result that the supposed duke was laid by the heels just as he
+was preparing to leave Portsmouth, and turned out to be
+none other than the man who had passed as Captain Arthy
+at Calais. It was subsequently ascertained that he was a
+certain Comte d’Aubigny, a member of a very old and
+noble French family, and that he had deceived several
+people in the same way. My father, on hearing of this,
+remarked:—</p>
+
+<p>“It is the first time that I have been taken in by a
+man, but I am glad I am not the only one he deceived.”</p>
+
+<p>The enterprising gentleman was afterwards brought to
+trial and sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude.</p>
+
+<p>My parents sometimes spent the summer months at Boulogne,
+one year taking a large house at some little distance
+from the sea, overlooking a public garden. The late Captain
+Elwes, a nephew of the Duchess of Wellington, who was
+Vice-Consul at Boulogne, was a friend of my parents. He
+was devoted to painting, and, many years later, painted a
+miniature of an American lady for his cousin, the Marquis
+of Anglesey. It was beautifully painted, but, unfortunately,
+when it was finished, the Marquis had fallen in love with
+another Transatlantic belle, so he did not appreciate the
+miniature quite as much as he might have done, if his affections
+had not been diverted from the original. Elwes hoped
+to be appointed Consul at Boulogne, but whether he ever
+obtained that post, I cannot say. The last time I met him
+was in Paris, many years later, at a dinner given by the
+Marquis of Anglesey, at the Hôtel d’Albe, in the Champs
+Elysées.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Henry Paget, afterwards Marquis of Anglesey, was
+very fond of Boulogne, and lived there with his first wife.
+The latter died at Boulogne, quite suddenly, but the Marquis
+continued to visit the place, and my father saw a good deal
+of him.</p>
+
+<p>George Lawrence, the author of “Guy Livingstone,” son<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span>
+of Lady Emily Lawrence, was frequently at Boulogne, and
+often with my parents. I can remember my father relating
+how one day he went with him to see one of the lovely
+daughters of the Baron de Taintegnies off to Paris, and how
+Lawrence was so infatuated with the young lady, that he
+jumped into the train, without any luggage, merely to have
+the pleasure of travelling with her all the way to Paris, a
+journey of about five hours. On reaching Paris, he saw Mlle.
+de Taintegnies safely to her destination, and then took the
+train back to Boulogne.</p>
+
+<p>My parents were particularly fond of Lawrence, who was
+good-humoured, clever, and very amusing. I heard that he
+had a quarrel with Tom Hohler, who married the Duchess of
+Newcastle, on account of having introduced him into one of
+his novels, called “Breaking a Butterfly.” Hohler was very
+friendly with my father in later years in Paris. We had a
+white Pomeranian dog, and Tom Hohler asked my father to
+show it to the Duke of Newcastle, who was then a child,
+living with his mother in the Avenue d’Antin. The dog
+took such a fancy to the young Duke that it forsook us for
+him entirely. I heard recently from the Duke of Newcastle,
+who was kind enough to be interested in this book, that
+he remembered this Pomeranian dog quite well, and told me
+its name—“Loulou”—which I had entirely forgotten.
+The name recalled many things to my recollection. It is
+strange how at times we forget a name, and then, when it is
+mentioned, associations and incidents connected with it
+are suddenly recalled to our memory and flash before us as in
+a dream.</p>
+
+<p>Tom Hohler sang for a time at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
+I never heard him sing in operas, but I have been told that he
+had a very pleasing voice, though it was not a very powerful
+one. It was said that when he sang in private houses, he
+was paid £40 for every song.</p>
+
+<p>Harry Slade, a son of Sir Frederick Slade, stayed for a time
+at Boulogne with his mother, of whom we saw a good deal;
+and, after Lady Slade’s death, her son stayed for a long
+time at the Hôtel du Nord, where my father and I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span>
+often went to see him. He was a good talker and always
+very entertaining.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Joe Riggs, an American lady, who afterwards became
+Princess Ruspoli, was extremely fond of Boulogne, and
+generally spent the summer at the Hôtel Impérial; but this
+was in later years.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">A Painting by Romney—Hunter’s School at Kineton—Corporal Punishment—A
+Sporting Parson—My Schoolfellows at Kineton—The Warre-Malets—Lord
+Charleville.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Before going to school in England, I was taken to
+Richmond to see my mother’s aunt, Lady Caroline
+Murray, who was now an old lady and lived in a house near
+the Thames, for, as the Duchess of Gloucester, to whom she
+had been lady-in-waiting, had been dead some years, she
+was no longer at Court. In her younger days, Lady Caroline
+had been a good horsewoman and had ridden very well to
+hounds. But, at this time, she was leading a very quiet
+life, receiving only her relatives and friends.</p>
+
+<p>I can remember that in Lady Caroline’s drawing-room at
+Richmond there was a most beautiful picture of her mother,
+Viscountess Stormont, British Ambassadress to France and
+Austria, painted by Romney. It represented the Countess
+in her own right, as she afterwards became, sitting beneath a
+large tree and wearing a kind of loose <i>peignoir</i> of a pale yellow
+colour, like the colour of the sea just before a storm. The
+<i>peignoir</i> was fastened at the shoulder by a brooch, in which
+was a large yellow stone. Her hair was dressed high above
+the head, in the style of Marie Antoinette, in whose days her
+husband was Ambassador in France, and over it she had a
+Scottish plaid of the clan to which she belonged. One leg
+was crossed over the other, and her arms were folded. She
+was painted in profile; her <i>peignoir</i>, open at the front, displaying
+a perfect bosom and a beautiful, swan-like neck.
+Her hair possessed that glorious auburn tint with shades of
+gold in it, which made it appear as though the sun were
+shedding its full rays upon the gold tresses, one of which had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span>
+escaped from the rest and hung loose. Her face was of a
+tender oval, with expressive eyes of a peculiar shade of
+green, like that of the sea when the sun falls upon it, or as it
+is in Böcklin’s pictures. Her nose was straight and delicate,
+with nostrils like those of a Greek statue. Her mouth was
+unusually small, with a tiny upper lip, slightly curved; her
+chin short and classical. The expression on the face was of
+pride, of audacity, of childish innocence, of sentimentality,
+and it possessed a marvellous charm and attraction.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus07" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus07.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Mother.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 40.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>This beautiful portrait, which Lady Caroline bequeathed to
+Earl Cathcart, as he was the head of her mother’s family,
+was once seen by a wealthy American, who said to the Earl,
+into whose possession it had then come:—</p>
+
+<p>“Have you ever seen such a lovely woman as this in all
+your life?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I have not,” the Earl answered.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I guess you haven’t,” rejoined the other, “and I
+don’t think there ever was such a lovely woman on earth.”</p>
+
+<p>And he offered Lord Cathcart £20,000 down for the
+picture, which the latter, though not a rich man, refused.
+The American then promised the Earl’s son, Viscount
+Greenock, £500, if he could persuade his father to accept the
+offer; but it was all of no avail.</p>
+
+<p>I showed Mr. Noseda, the well-known print-seller in the
+Strand, the engraving of this picture by J. R. Smith, which
+had belonged to my grandfather, when Mr. Noseda told me
+that he very much preferred the engraving to the painting,
+as the latter had been so much touched up, whereas the former
+was so beautifully executed in every detail that he considered
+it finer than Romney’s portrait. This was after I had told
+him about the offer of £20,000 which the American had made
+for the original painting.</p>
+
+<p>Viscountess Stormont had been Ranger of Richmond Park,
+and was allotted, as her official residence, the house which is
+now the Queen’s Hôtel. An old gentleman whom I met at
+Richmond in later years told me that he thought the hôtel
+ought to have been named after the Countess of Mansfield,
+as Lady Stormont became later, instead of being called the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span>
+“Queen’s.” He remembered Lady Caroline Murray, and
+remarked that she was one of those ladies of the old nobility
+who were scarce nowadays.</p>
+
+<p>Viscount Greenock afterwards became Earl Cathcart, and
+died in London in 1911. He was at Eton with me, and
+afterwards joined the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers, from which he
+was transferred to the Scots Guards. When at Eton, he
+often came to my tutor’s house to see his cousin, Charles
+Douglas, whose father had placed him there to be with me.
+The Hon. Reginald Cathcart, a younger brother of Lord
+Cathcart, was in the 60th Rifles, and I recollect giving him a
+letter to his colonel, Godfrey Astell, in India,<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> when he first
+joined the regiment. Reginald Cathcart, who was a very
+nice young man, tall, dark, and handsome, was one of those
+unhappily killed in the Boer War.</p>
+
+<p>The school to which I was sent was at Kineton, near Warwick.
+It had been recommended to my father by Lady
+Caroline Murray, who had heard of it from the Duke of
+Buccleuch, and a cousin of mine, Greville Finch-Hatton, was
+being educated there. When my father and I arrived, we
+were shown into a sitting-room, looking out on to a garden,
+where we were received by Mrs. Hunter, the headmaster’s
+wife. Mrs. Hunter was an old lady, whose age, I afterwards
+ascertained, was about seventy. To guess it would have been a
+difficult task, so terribly made up was she. Everything about
+her was false: false teeth, false hair, and a false bust, giving
+her somewhat the appearance of a wax figure at Madame
+Tussaud’s. She had, however, very pretty white hands,
+with pointed fingers. She was dressed in black satin, with a
+large gold brooch at her throat, and a long gold chain round
+her neck, a costume which she always wore.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span></p>
+
+<p>“This, I presume, is your little son, whom you are leaving
+with us?” said Mrs. Hunter to my father. “Will you tell
+me whether you belong to the High or Low Church, as it is
+my province to look after the boys’ religious instruction, and
+I am always interested to know.”</p>
+
+<p>The question was rather a poser for my father, who, I do
+not think, had entered a church since he left England. So
+he turned to me and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Tell the lady to what church you go with your mother.”</p>
+
+<p>I said that at Ostend I always went to the English Protestant
+Church. Upon which Mrs. Hunter observed:—</p>
+
+<p>“I see, you have been living on the Continent, and foreigners
+have very little religion. However, I will take care that your
+son has the proper religious instruction.”</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, the door opened, and an immensely stout man,
+of about sixty-five, with mutton-chop whiskers and spectacles,
+entered the room, and introduced himself as Mr. Hunter,
+the headmaster.</p>
+
+<p>In his youth Mr. Hunter had probably been an exceedingly
+handsome man, and was still, apart from his corpulence,
+decidedly good-looking, with a fine forehead, a small mouth
+with thin lips and very good teeth, and regular features.</p>
+
+<p>After showing us over the school, Mr. Hunter sent for
+Greville Finch-Hatton, telling my father that I should
+occupy a dormitory with my cousin and two other boys.
+At eight o’clock, supper was served in a large dining-room,
+where the presence of a new boy provoked a good deal of
+talking amongst the other boys. Mrs. Hunter sat at one end
+of the table, her husband at the other; and the meal was
+a cold one, carved on the table, and consisting of cold meat,
+followed by bread and cheese, washed down by draught beer.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as supper was over, we were sent to our dormitories,
+where I had not been long in bed when my cousin leant over
+from his and asked if I were asleep. On finding that I was
+awake, he told me that we must talk in a very low voice,
+as talking was forbidden, and Mrs. Hunter occasionally paid
+us a visit to see whether this regulation was being observed.
+The two other boys in the room also began talking in low<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span>
+tones. Later on, when they considered themselves pretty
+safe from detection, they talked louder and carried on a
+long conversation about cricket, discussing who were the
+best bowlers in the school and whether fast bowling was
+more effective than slow.</p>
+
+<p>I could not sleep, and, for some unaccountable reason,
+felt very miserable. At last I began to cry, at first quietly,
+but soon I was unable to restrain my sobs. My cousin,
+hearing me, tried to console me, saying that he, too, had
+found it hard to leave his parents at first. I felt inclined
+to tell him that it was not that which made me cry, but I
+thought better of it. Soon afterwards I fell asleep, and
+dreamed that I was at Kirchhofer’s school at Frankfurt,
+and that Vogelsang was talking to me. I even fancied that
+he kissed me, when I awoke suddenly, in despair at finding
+where I was.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hunter was a very pleasant man, when he cared to
+be, which was by no means always the case. He was most
+severe with everyone, and had no particular favourites.
+Some boys he disliked, particularly those who did not learn
+quickly, and those who were inclined to be noisy. He was
+full of fun when he played football with us; making jokes
+and chaffing different boys in turn. He was, however,
+quite a different kind of man in school from what he was
+in the playground.</p>
+
+<p>On Sundays, we, of course, attended church. The clergyman
+who preached, a Mr. Miller, had two voices: a very
+squeaky voice and a very gruff one. When he preached
+in his squeaky voice, most of us would fall asleep in the
+high pews, which screened us from the observation of the
+headmaster; but when Mr. Miller altered his tone, and his
+deep, gruff voice was suddenly heard, coming, as it were,
+out of a vault, we would be disagreeably startled from our
+slumbers. The sermons, I am inclined to believe, were
+bought ones, for Mr. Miller used sometimes to lose his place
+in the midst of his discourse and come to a stop, and when
+he continued, it was on quite a different subject. But
+it mattered little, so far as we were concerned, for most<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span>
+of the boys were usually asleep, and those who tried to
+listen could not follow the squeaky voice of the preacher—which
+had all the disagreeable sounds of a clarionet played
+badly—even by straining their ears, which few of them
+were disposed to do.</p>
+
+<p>Our French master, who was obliged to accompany us,
+used sometimes to unfold the Paris <i>Figaro</i> at full length
+and read it during the sermon. Mr. Hunter, owing to the
+height of the pews, could not, of course, see him, or he would
+most certainly have taken very strong exception to such
+an irregular proceeding. One Sunday, when Monsieur
+happened to have forgotten his <i>Figaro</i>, he passed the
+time of the sermon in an animated conversation with Rush,
+the captain of the Eleven. Unfortunately for the latter,
+Mr. Hunter happened to detect them; and, after church,
+he sent for Rush, and, refusing to listen to his appeals, took
+him to the schoolroom and, making him bend down, gave
+him a severe caning.</p>
+
+<p>When I first came to the school, I was chaffed about
+my pronunciation, and Rush said:—</p>
+
+<p>“If you pronounce Themistocles like you do, I wouldn’t
+be in your shoes.” Then he used to ask me questions about
+my German school, which at first he laughed at. Soon,
+however, he took a great interest in it, making me tell him
+about the boys there, what they were like and what they did.</p>
+
+<p>“It must be very much jollier than here,” said he, “and
+none of that beastly caning and flogging, as there is at
+Kineton.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hunter was certainly a devout believer in the precept:
+“Spare the rod, and spoil the child;” indeed, he seemed
+to have a perfect passion for caning the boys, and at times
+performed this operation with astonishing zest. Sometimes,
+of an evening, in my dormitory, we would play at
+being Mr. Hunter, each of us taking it in turns to personate
+the master and beat the other boys with a hairbrush, in place
+of a cane. One night, one of us happened to remark:—</p>
+
+<p>“I think it is a pleasure that would grow upon one, as it
+evidently does upon old Hunter.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span></p>
+
+<p>Scarcely had he said this, when, to our consternation,
+the door suddenly opened, and the master appeared. The
+boys bolted into bed as fast as they could, but it was too
+late, and we were told to come to Mr. Hunter’s study after
+prayers the following morning. There, after we had been
+duly admonished, we were all severely caned.</p>
+
+<p>Rush and other boys used to put hairs in the canes to
+split them; but Mr. Hunter found this out, for one day, he
+broke six canes one after another. He then rang for his
+whalebone whip, and we received a fearful thrashing, with
+no time to prepare for it by padding our clothes with books.</p>
+
+<p>One day, the Duchess of Marlborough, who was a friend
+of Lady Caroline Murray, called, and asked to see my cousin
+and myself. She was accompanied by her son, Lord Randolph
+Churchill, and her visit to the school was due to the
+fact that she thought of placing him there. But Lord
+Randolph became too ill to go to school just then, and had
+a private tutor at home instead, until he was old enough to
+be sent to Eton.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p>
+
+<p>We often went for picnics to the charming woods of
+Compton Verney, belonging to Lady Willoughby de Broke.
+That lady, who was always very pleasant and full of fun,
+would sometimes come and talk to us and to Mr. Hunter.
+The latter had formerly been private tutor to her eldest
+son, and the school was on Lord Willoughby de Broke’s property.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>
+The late Hon. Rainald Verney, Lord Willoughby’s
+younger brother, was at school at Hunter’s, before going to
+Eton, and often came to the school when I was there, before
+he joined the 52nd Light Infantry.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hunter had a young and rather pretty niece, a girl
+of eighteen, with black hair, who stayed for a time with him.
+She used to go into the boys’ dormitories at night, when
+she would give them bonbons and generally kiss them.
+But her stay at Kineton was so short that her presence there
+was more like an angel’s visit than anything else.</p>
+
+<p>One day, the Rev. William and Mrs. Finch-Hatton called
+to see their son and also asked to see me. Mrs. Finch-Hatton,
+who was at that time known as the “Rose of Kent,” was a
+lovely woman, with very black hair and regular features.
+She was a sister of Sir Percy Oxenden. She told me that
+both she and her husband were struck by my great resemblance
+to their son Greville; and Mr. Finch-Hatton very
+kindly gave me half a sovereign, which I never forgot, as
+I rarely received any money from anyone. Mr. Newenham,
+who had married a daughter of the Earl of Mount
+Cashell, and was a clergyman in Ireland, also came to see
+his son. He played football with us, and afterwards told
+us the following story:—</p>
+
+<p>“I was once asked to see an old woman in Cork who
+was dying. She asked me to read the Bible to her, but as
+I was unprepared to find her so ill, I had not brought one
+with me, nor had she one in the house. So I pulled out a
+copy of <i>Bell’s Life</i> which I happened to have in my
+pocket, and read her an article from it, which, as she happened
+to be deaf, had precisely the same effect upon her
+as the Bible would have had.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Newenham was a regular sporting parson, with, however,
+a good deal more of the sportsman than the parson
+about him, but full of fun and very agreeable.</p>
+
+<p>There was a boy named Charles Taylor at the school,
+who afterwards went to Eton. His father, who had himself
+been at Eton, was a famous cricketer and had played
+in the All-England Eleven. He was, however, somewhat
+eccentric, having the most intense dislike of being asked
+his age; in fact, when one put this question to him, he
+invariably answered that he neither knew it nor wished to
+know it. He had also a strong objection to anything of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span>
+a violet colour, and if a person called to see him wearing a
+tie or a dress of that colour, he always picked a quarrel with
+his unfortunate visitor.</p>
+
+<p>Another boy at Kineton, whom I shall call L——, had
+the misfortune to be afflicted with kleptomania, and would
+take everything he could lay his hands on. Mr. Hunter
+used to break so many canes upon his back that he said
+to him one day:—</p>
+
+<p>“I shall send the bill for all the canes I have broken in
+trying to correct you to your mother, for you get worse
+and worse every day.”</p>
+
+<p>The school colours were scarlet and white, but they were
+only worn by the cricket Eleven. As I was in the Eleven,
+I had this coveted privilege. My cousin did not much care
+for cricket, and was fonder of riding and shooting, at both
+of which he excelled. Mr. Hunter kept a pony for the boys
+to ride. When he drove to Warwick, Leamington or Banbury,
+he would take two of us with him, one boy riding the pony,
+while the other sat in the pony-trap with the master. I can
+remember once riding to Warwick and then to Stratford-on-Avon
+on the pony, which Finch-Hatton rode back to Kineton.
+Most of the boys could ride well, and those who could not
+were never taken by Mr. Hunter, save on one occasion, when
+I recollect that the boy he took with him reminded me of
+certain Frenchmen whom one sees riding in the Bois de
+Boulogne, who are afraid to let their horses go beyond a walk.
+As my father used to say in Paris:—</p>
+
+<p>“They praise the Lord on their knees every time they
+come home safely and are out of the saddle.”</p>
+
+<p>Greville Finch-Hatton was rather delicate, and, after
+making a voyage to Australia, died quite young.</p>
+
+<p>Aubrey Birch Reynardson, who also slept in my dormitory,
+had a gift for story-telling. One night he related to us the
+story of “Eric, or Little by Little,” with which, I can remember,
+we were delighted.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hunter always wore spectacles. At times, by gaslight,
+when the gas fell upon them, it looked as if his eyes
+were two flames, and that he was an ogre ready to devour<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span>
+one of us, particularly when he took up his cane, and glared
+at the culprit, through his spectacles, with fiery eyes. But,
+taken on the whole, Mr. Hunter was a very good fellow,
+who would never have done anyone an injury, apart from
+perhaps giving him a dose of the cane.</p>
+
+<p>Among the boys who were at Hunter’s with me was Charles
+Home-Purves, who was the head of the school. He afterwards
+went to Eton and took Lower School instead of
+Fourth Form, at which Mr. Hunter was much disappointed.
+His father, Colonel Home-Purves, was in attendance on the
+Duchess of Cambridge, and was accidentally killed by the
+overturning of a carriage in which he was driving with Her
+Royal Highness. He was so terribly cut about the face
+by the glass of the carriage-window that he died almost
+immediately. His son was offered a commission in the
+Guards, but preferred entering the Rifle Brigade. However,
+he left the regiment shortly afterwards, and died when
+very young.</p>
+
+<p>The late Earl of Lonsdale, before he succeeded his uncle
+in the title, was also at Kineton with me. On one occasion,
+he ordered a lot of toys from Cremer’s toy-shop, but when
+they arrived, Mr. Hunter was so startled at the bill, which
+amounted to a considerable sum, that he had them at once
+sent back to where they came from, telling Lowther, as he
+was then, that he must make a better use of his money. He
+found life at Hunter’s too restricted and not lively enough
+for him, so he only remained one half, and then asked to
+leave the school. I met him at Eton with his brother, the
+present Earl of Lonsdale. The latter was attached to the
+Rifle Brigade, and was a very keen sportsman, I remember,
+when we were both stationed at Winchester.</p>
+
+<p>One day, at Kineton, I was playing with Newenham, who
+happened to have a pocket-knife open in his hand, and, by
+accident, I got a very ugly stab in the back. Indeed, the
+doctor declared that, if the wound had been one-eighth of an
+inch deeper, it would have been fatal. Newenham was once
+mistaken for me by an uncle of mine at the Great Western
+Hotel, Paddington, which amused both of them very much,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span>
+particularly as I was then at the same school as Newenham.
+He retired from the Army with the rank of Major, and lives
+in County Kerry, for which he is a magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>Once, on the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth,<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> Mr.
+Hunter took us to Stratford-on-Avon, to show us the house
+where the poet was born and to visit the theatre. Mr.
+Hunter was a good amateur actor, and would sometimes
+get up plays for us to act. On one occasion, we played
+“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Lady Willoughby de Broke,
+Lord and Lady North, Sir Charles Mordaunt, and all the
+neighbouring county families were invited to the performance,
+which went off fairly well. “Making up” afforded us great
+amusement. One of the boys had learned this art from his
+sister, and proved himself quite an adept at darkening the
+others’ eyebrows and rouging their cheeks and lips.</p>
+
+<p>I happened to meet recently the Rev. Henry Knightley,
+brother of Sir Charles Knightley. He had been at Kineton
+with me, but it was forty years since we had met. From
+him I learned that Mr. Hunter had died at Leamington
+after giving up his school, and that Rush had died quite early
+in life, as well as several others who were there with us. It
+was quite a pleasure for me, and, I think, also for him,
+to recall our school-days, and even the canings I looked back
+upon with some regret, feeling that I would willingly submit
+to them again, could I but return to those times. We both
+agreed that we had not learned much at Kineton, but that,
+on the whole, our life there with our schoolfellows had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span>
+a pleasant one. I found that Knightley was under the
+impression that Greville Finch-Hatton had inherited the
+title of Winchilsea, but I told him that my cousin was dead,
+and that the present Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham
+had been at Eton with me, and was kind enough to interest
+himself in my book about our school life.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus08" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus08.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>C. D. Williamson, at Eton with the Author.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 50.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus09" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus09.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Miss Mabel Warre-Malet.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 51.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The chief prize I got at this school was a copy of Longfellow’s
+poems, beautifully bound and illustrated. I was
+very pleased at receiving it, as Longfellow was at that time
+my favourite lyrical poet in the English language.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the boys remained at Kineton until they were
+fourteen, when they left for Harrow, Eton, Winchester, or
+some other public school. Greville Finch-Hatton went to
+Wellington, Rush to Cheltenham, and Knightley to Marlborough.</p>
+
+<p>During my holidays, I sometimes went to Taunton, to
+stay with an aunt of mine, whose husband, a very kind man,
+was extremely fond of me. His daughter’s chief friends
+were some children of the name of Warre-Malet, nieces of
+the Ambassador, Sir Alexander Warre-Malet. The eldest
+girl, Mabel, who was about thirteen, the same age as myself,
+was very pretty, with brown hair, a lovely complexion and
+eyes of a deep blue. One Christmas Eve, Mrs. Warre-Malet
+had a large Christmas tree, with numerous presents attached
+to its branches, and we were invited to her house. Every
+one of the children received a beautiful present from the
+tree, which was illuminated by a great number of candles.
+Afterwards we played at forfeits, and I was told to kiss Mabel
+Warre-Malet as a forfeit, an act which I felt very shy about
+performing. “<i>Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait.</i>”
+Another friend of ours was a girl whose name was Amy;
+who was also about thirteen. She, too, was a very attractive
+little lady, with long brown hair, hazel eyes with black lashes,
+an oval face, and a small mouth with pearly white teeth.
+She had a cousin, the Earl of Charleville, some years older
+than herself, who was staying at that time with her people.
+One day she came with him to see my cousins, and said to
+me:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Charleville can tell you all about Eton, if you want
+to know anything, as he went to school there.”</p>
+
+<p>Lord Charleville had to go away before his companion,
+who remained to tea. Afterwards, one of my cousins and I
+accompanied her part of the way home, and, while we were
+crossing some fields, she suddenly exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“Good gracious! my petticoat is coming down!”</p>
+
+<p>And she burst out laughing.</p>
+
+<p>My cousin Florence, a girl of thirteen, told me to walk on,
+while she pinned up Amy’s petticoat. But this proved a
+more difficult task than she had bargained for, as a string
+fastening had been broken, and it ended in Amy being
+obliged to take her petticoat off and carry it as a parcel.
+The two girls laughed consumedly at this mishap and its
+victim said to me:—</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t you tell anyone that you saw me take my petticoat
+off, or I will never forgive you.”</p>
+
+<p>I assured her that on no consideration would I breathe
+so much as a syllable, and, on leaving us, she said:—</p>
+
+<p>“As you are going away, you may give me a kiss, if you
+like.”</p>
+
+<p>Which I did right gladly, as you may suppose.</p>
+
+<p>A few days later, I met Charleville at an evening party
+in Taunton, at which he paid marked attention to the daughter
+of the house, a very pretty girl. I recollect meeting at this
+party two of the daughters of the vicar of Taunton, Elsie
+and Audrey Clark, the elder of whom was thirteen, while her
+sister was three years younger, and was much struck by
+their beauty, which was quite out of the common. One of
+them had the most lovely hair, of the same exquisite colour
+as that which one sees in Titian’s paintings; the other’s hair
+was also very beautiful, but of a more auburn shade; and
+both sisters had the most charming complexion. I danced
+repeatedly with one of them; <i>mais mon cœur balançait entre
+les deux</i>, so far as their attractions were concerned. The
+girl with the Titian hair afterwards married the fourteenth
+Lord Petre, while her sister married his uncle.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Charleville was a tall, good-looking youth, with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span>
+wavy brown hair and regular features, but he was very
+delicate, being consumptive. After serving for a year in the
+Rifle Brigade, his health obliged him to resign his commission.
+He then went for a voyage in his yacht, but derived
+little benefit from it, and died before reaching his majority.</p>
+
+<p>The late Mrs. O. Warre-Malet told me that, when she was
+quite a young girl, she and her sister went to Ascot races
+on foot and disguised as boys for a joke, and that they
+got a good deal of money from people who were driving to the
+course. Her sister married the Hon. Humble Dudley-Ward,
+and after her husband’s death, the late Duke of Richmond
+made her an offer of marriage. This she refused, but accepted
+Mr. Gerard Leigh, who was an immensely wealthy man.
+After his death she became the wife of Monsieur de Falbe,
+and died some years ago.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<p class="center">My Mother’s Recollections—The Cercle des Patineurs—Patti—Our
+<i>Appartement</i> in the Rue d’Albe</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>My parents were at this time living in Paris, in a
+small hôtel in the Avenue d’Antin, which was
+so shut in by the houses that surrounded it, that the rooms
+were very dark, and, as it was winter, this made the house
+seem more gloomy than it would have done at another
+season of the year.</p>
+
+<p>I was quite enchanted with Paris; everything about it
+delighted me, so different was it from any city I had ever
+seen. The only thing that displeased me was the hôtel
+in which we lived. Not only was it gloomy, but nothing
+could be seen from the windows, except a kind of courtyard,
+resembling a <i>patio</i> in Spain. This courtyard was filled
+with flowers, very prettily arranged; nevertheless, it was
+depressing to be unable to see anything else when you looked
+out of the window.</p>
+
+<p>I remember being taken to a box at the Théâtre
+des Italiens to hear Adelina Patti, in <i>La Gazza ladra</i>, by
+Rossini. It was the first time that I had heard her sing,
+and I was, of course, delighted with her voice; but my
+mother was disappointed, and I recall what she said at the
+time:—</p>
+
+<p>“After having heard Grisi, Malibran, and even Jenny
+Lind, I do not think Patti is to be compared with them,
+neither so far as her voice is concerned, nor as an actress.
+She reminds me at times of Jenny Lind, yet I prefer the
+latter infinitely.”</p>
+
+<p>My mother always had her own box at Her Majesty’s in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span>
+the days when Grisi, Lablache, Malibran, and the dancers
+Taglioni, Fanny Elssler and Cerrito were enchanting the
+audience. One evening, during the visit of the Tsar
+Nicholas I. of Russia to England, my mother was invited
+by the Duke of Sussex and Mlle. d’Este to a box at the
+Opera facing that which the Tsar and Queen Victoria
+occupied. The Duke of Sussex paid £500 for this box.</p>
+
+<p>My mother told me that the two finest sights she ever
+beheld in her life were the Coronation of Queen Victoria,
+when the peeresses all put on their coronets, sparkling with
+diamonds, emeralds and rubies, at the moment Her Majesty
+was crowned in Westminster Abbey; and at the Queen’s
+accession, when hundreds of schoolchildren, dressed in white
+and light blue, knelt down and recited the Lord’s Prayer
+by St. Paul’s, after which the Benediction was pronounced
+by the Archbishop of Canterbury.</p>
+
+<p>My mother often met Disraeli in London society; and
+she told me that, in his youth, he always wore several
+diamond rings over his white kid gloves, and that she thought
+him a most affected and conceited young man. The two
+Greek countesses described in “Lothair” were the Countesses
+Zancarol. One married Colonel Lemesurier, of the Royal
+Horse Artillery; the other Major Geary, R.A. The latter
+married couple often dined with us in Paris, where Mrs.
+Geary was considered a great beauty. Major Geary and his
+brother, Sir Henry Le Quay Geary, K.C.B., were lifelong
+friends of my parents.</p>
+
+<p>My maternal grandfather, Lieut.-General the Hon. George
+Murray, to whom George III. and his Queen were godfather
+and godmother, commanded the 2nd Life Guards.
+For ten years he refused to accept his pay, on account of
+a quarrel which he had with the Duke of York. So far as
+I can recollect, the cause of the quarrel was as follows:—</p>
+
+<p>During the Peninsular War, an outward-bound troopship,
+having some troops on board commanded by my grandfather,
+and a great quantity of heavy luggage belonging
+to the Duke of York, encountered very bad weather, and
+was in danger of foundering. In order to lighten the vessel,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span>
+the captain wanted to throw all the horses overboard. But
+this my grandfather would not allow, and proposed that the
+Duke’s luggage should be sacrificed instead, which was
+accordingly done, to the intense indignation of His Royal
+Highness, when he heard of it afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>The statue to the Duke of York, erected in London, was
+reported to have been built so high in order to place him
+beyond the reach of his creditors, whose name was legion.</p>
+
+<p>My grandfather used to say that he never could understand
+how the Duchess of Sutherland, with her £365,000
+a year, could bring herself to stand the whole evening at
+the Opera behind the Prince Consort, who was only an
+insignificant German prince, with a tiny principality. His
+opinion of George IV. was that it would puzzle anyone who
+knew him to discover a good quality that he possessed.</p>
+
+<p>It was about this time, when my parents were living in
+the Avenue d’Antin, that I first saw Hortense Schneider
+in <i>les Voyages de Gulliver</i>, at the Châtelet Théâtre, which
+all Paris rushed to see. The play was a charming one,
+and the children were particularly delighted when the Liliputians,
+represented by tiny little wooden figures, moved
+about the stage. Hortense Schneider, of course, represented
+Gulliver, and sang some very pretty songs in the course of
+the play.</p>
+
+<p>The late Arthur Post, a young American living with his
+family in Paris, fell desperately in love at this time with
+Hortense Schneider, though she was very much older than
+himself. He drove about the Bois with her, accompanied
+her to theatres, and, in fact, was always with her. His
+infatuation greatly distressed his parents, and was the
+subject of universal comment. However, he did not marry
+her, though that was not his fault, as Hortense Schneider
+had several royal and other princes ready to lay their fortunes
+at her feet; and it was not until several years afterwards
+that she chose a very wealthy banker for her husband.</p>
+
+<p>Fioretti was then the <i>première danseuse</i> at the Grand
+Opéra. Her dancing always gave me greater pleasure
+than anything else there. She was, besides, very beautiful,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span>
+and King Ludwig II. of Bavaria was so captivated by her
+graceful dancing and personal attraction, that he induced
+her to leave Paris for Munich, to dance there instead.</p>
+
+<p>I went also to the Palais-Royal, and saw <i>le Train de
+Minuit</i>, a play in which a railway-carriage is by accident
+left behind in the middle of the night at a station, and the
+people awake and find themselves at some miserable little
+village, instead of in Paris, as they had expected. They,
+of course, cannot obtain what they require in the way of
+refreshments, and are nearly perishing with cold, as it is
+the depth of winter, and the carriage is no longer heated;
+and the complications that ensue are very amusing.</p>
+
+<p>One day, I went with my parents to Saint-Germain, to
+visit Captain and Mrs. Lennox Berkeley, who were living
+there. Their son, Hastings, a good-looking boy, told us
+that his father was learning to play the zither, which Captain
+Berkeley showed us, though he could not be persuaded to
+let us hear him play it. Saint-Germain, with its charming
+woods and pretty walks, is delightful in summer, the country
+all around being lovely. When we returned to Paris, I did
+not give my father any peace until he had bought a zither
+for me. It was not easy to obtain one, and I remember
+that we wandered about half Paris, until at length we discovered
+what we wanted in the Rue de Rivoli. I had also
+great difficulty in finding a master, until finally I discovered
+a German who played the instrument very well.</p>
+
+<p>In the winter months, I went several times with my
+father to the Cercle des Patineurs. This was a very exclusive
+and very expensive resort, where, to secure
+admittance for yourself and family, you had to be a member
+of the Jockey Club, while each person had to pay twenty
+francs in the afternoon and forty francs in the morning and
+evening. There were some Americans who skated marvellously,
+amongst them being Mrs. Ronalds, who was a
+very fine skater. I was told that Napoleon III. and the
+Empress Eugénie admired her graceful skating so much
+that they complimented her on several occasions at the
+Cercle des Patineurs, and she became a frequent guest at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span>
+the Tuileries. The Princess Metternich, the Austrian
+Ambassadress, was also an <i>habituée</i>; in fact, the place was
+patronized by all the <i>beau monde</i> of those days.</p>
+
+<p>I frequently went at that time to Musards’ concerts,
+which on fine summer evenings were given out of doors, in a
+garden, and always enjoyed them immensely. Sometimes
+I went with my mother to meet friends there; but when
+I went alone, I usually sat with the Piétris, near relatives of
+the Préfet de Police, who was so much attached to the
+Emperor and Empress. Their daughter, Julie, was a lovely
+girl of thirteen, and when I had learned to play the zither
+better, we often performed duets together, as she was a
+most accomplished pianist. I can remember we often
+played Schubert’s <i>Ständchen</i>, which sounded very well, as
+it is rather melancholy. Sad airs, in my opinion, are best
+suited to the zither, particularly when it is accompanied
+by the piano. When the German who was teaching me the
+zither left Paris, I took lessons from a Mlle. Reichemberg,
+who, at that time, was also teaching Adelina Patti, and
+learned a Polish romance which the latter was very fond
+of playing. Patti became extremely fond of the zither,
+which she played a good deal in her leisure hours, though
+she never sang to it, I was told.</p>
+
+<p>Hofrath Hanslick, the late celebrated critic of the Austrian
+<i>Neue Freie Presse</i>, said of Patti:—</p>
+
+<p>“She appears to me to be most perfect in rôles like
+Zerlina, in <i>Don Juan</i>, Norina, in <i>Don Pasquale</i>, Rosina,
+in the <i>Barbiere di Seviglia</i>. What a fresh, youthful voice,
+which in its range from the tenor C to F in alt, moves about
+with such wonderful ease! The most perfect and delightful,
+though, were the lively rôles of Patti, principally the one of
+Zerlina, in <i>Don Juan</i>. She gave us the true ideal of Zerlina.
+With these advantages, and especially, too, in the development
+of dazzling virtuosity, Patti shines as Rosina in Rossini’s
+<i>Barbiere</i>, and as Norina in Donizetti’s graceful opera, <i>Don
+Pasquale</i>. In the <i>Barbiere</i> one can judge best, perhaps, of
+her marvellous art in singing. Of her later rôles, in Leonora,
+in Verdi’s <i>Trovatore</i>, she attained almost the highest pitch.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span>
+The <i>Traviata</i>, which is decidedly a far better opera, shows
+Patti to more advantage dramatically. I always disliked
+<i>Dinorah</i>, almost as much as I did formerly the <i>Traviata</i>,
+which I saw the first time badly performed. Two rôles of
+Patti which I cannot praise as much as the two before-mentioned
+are Valentine, in the <i>Huguenots</i>, and Gretchen,
+in the <i>Faust</i> of Gounod. In the valse of Venzano, she
+sings a roulade of seventeen bars in one breath, smiling, as
+if it were child’s play. There is no doubt that the Valentine
+of Pauline Lucca and the Marguerite of Christine Nilsson
+surpass the performance of Patti in these rôles. A clever
+writer once called Italy the conservatoire of God. In this
+conservatoire Adelina Patti has without doubt taken away
+the first prize.”</p>
+
+<p>One Sunday evening, I went with Captain Berkeley to see
+some fine illuminations in the Champs-Elysées. I recollect
+telling him how much I disliked a crowd, to which he
+replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“It is the only day on which the poor people can enjoy
+themselves, and they have as much right to do so as the
+rich. I am always so delighted to see the poor creatures
+happy.” One day, a beggar came up to him and asked
+for some coppers, upon which he said to him:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Mon cher ami, c’est défendu de mendier, mais voici un
+franc; ne le faites plus.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>I called one day with my father at an hôtel in the Champs-Elysées.
+As the lady we had come to see happened to be
+out, we were asked to wait in a salon, where an English lady
+sat, reading. My father made some casual remark about
+its being fine weather to be out of doors, to which the lady
+answered that she had only just arrived in Paris and intended
+to have a rest. My father then said that he supposed she
+would go out the next day.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” was the answer. “I told you, I have come here
+for a rest.”</p>
+
+<p>He asked how long she intended resting, when she replied:</p>
+
+<p>“Six months.”</p>
+
+<p>My father was so astonished at this reply that he was quite<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span>
+unable to refrain from laughing, which rather annoyed the
+lady. On our leaving the hôtel soon afterwards, he said to
+me:</p>
+
+<p>“That old woman is mad with her rest, and to come to
+Paris, of all places, to have it. She must be out of her
+mind.”</p>
+
+<p>I frequently went to the galleries of the Louvre and the
+Luxembourg, and always had a great liking for Greuze’s
+paintings, particularly the <i>Cruche Cassée</i> and <i>l’Accordée
+du Village</i>. The former I have often seen in engravings
+by Masard and other engravers, but no reproduction has
+ever come up to the beautiful face of the original. There
+is always <i>quelque chose à désirer</i> in the copies, and even
+in the photographs from the picture itself; it is something
+in the expression, and not alone in the colouring.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of which I am speaking, there was a Spaniard
+in Paris, a friend of some acquaintances of ours, who built a
+large hôtel and a theatre for himself attached to it. The
+former was heated to a certain temperature, and his doctor
+called upon him every day, receiving a napoleon for each
+visit, and on certain fête days a hundred francs. The
+doctor used merely to feel his patient’s pulse, when he was
+not ill. This Spaniard had two lady friends, a brunette and
+a blonde, each of whom was in the habit of spending certain
+fixed days in the week with him. Notwithstanding the very
+regular life he led, he did not attain the age of forty, but died
+of fever almost suddenly. He was an immensely wealthy
+man, but of a very nervous temperament. During the winter
+he never went out of doors, from fear of taking cold.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Lyons, who was then British Ambassador in Paris,
+was celebrated for two things particularly, apart from his
+diplomatic capabilities: his horses and the excellent dinners
+he gave. An old Englishman, of over seventy, with whom we
+were well acquainted, used to look forward to dining at the
+British Embassy for weeks in advance. But his wife said
+she positively dreaded his going there, as he was invariably
+laid up for a fortnight after partaking of one of these too-appetizing
+banquets.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span></p>
+
+<p>In the following summer, my parents left the Avenue
+d’Antin and lived for a time in the Avenue Joséphine, until
+an <i>appartement</i> which my mother had taken unfurnished in
+the Rue d’Albe, in the Champs-Elysées, had been got ready
+for us. I recollect she ordered the furniture from the celebrated
+Maison Krieger, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine.
+The salon was furnished in Louis Quinze style, with some
+tiny chairs with gilt backs and the seats in satin with designs
+of various birds of gorgeous plumage in different colours,
+all worked in silk by hand. The sides of the fauteuils were of
+gilt, while the backs and the seats were all in Aubusson
+tapestry, representing roses on a white foundation. The
+sofa was in Aubusson to match the fauteuils, the curtains as
+well. The carpet, which covered the middle of the room
+only, as the floor was a parquet, was a lovely design with a
+white foundation, the edges of which and the centre represented
+clusters of red and pink roses. The carpet was in
+Aubusson tapestry, and rather a small one, though my
+mother had paid 7,500 francs for it. Dr. Bishop, brother-in-law
+of the late Lord Iddesleigh, declared that the carpet was
+so lovely that he was really afraid to walk on it. He was a
+very tall, stout man, and he always sat on the delicate chairs
+in preference to the others. This made my mother feel
+very uneasy, less because she feared that the chair might get
+broken than because she was afraid that he might have a
+severe fall. The tables in the salon were Louis Quinze style,
+in marqueterie, all inlaid with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl
+in Boule style, and on the chimney-piece stood a clock
+and various figures and lamps in old Sèvres porcelain. The
+walls were white, with gold decorations, and were adorned
+with numerous mirrors. I asked my mother to have my bedroom
+furnished in yellow and black satin, which she had done.
+I was extremely fond of the Austrian national colours, and,
+besides, they were the same as those of a room which I had
+occupied some little time before when on a visit to Mrs.
+Reynolds, formerly Miss Lethbridge, at Poundsford Park,
+near Taunton.</p>
+
+<p>As I was about to go to Eton, my mother was anxious that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span>
+I should have the correct Eton collar. No one in Paris
+knew what it was like, so Lady Caroline Murray sent her the
+pattern of a collar worn by one of the twin brothers Lambton,
+who were both then at Eton. The elder is now Earl of
+Durham. The Eton jacket was also a bit of a puzzle, and,
+though I had it made as near the correct thing as possible,
+I found, when I got to Eton, that, to be quite in the mode, I
+must get my jackets made by Manley, of Windsor. This I
+did all the time I was at Eton, as well as other clothes I wore
+there.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus10" style="max-width: 62.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus10.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author.</p>
+  <p>Aged 9. Aged 14. Aged 16.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 62.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">I go to Eton—New Boy Baiting—My House Master—Mr. James’s “Jokes”—My
+Room at Eton—Some Eton Masters—A Disorderly Form—Lacaita’s
+Silk Hat—“Billy” Portman</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>There was a certain <i>cachet</i> attached to an Etonian in
+those days which I have not found with boys of any
+other school, assuredly not in England. I may almost say
+not in Europe, except, perhaps, with those of the Theresianum,
+in Vienna. I might almost repeat what the well-known
+German Socialist, Ferdinand Lassalle, wrote to a
+Russian lady, in comparing the German women of the
+middle class with those of the aristocracy, which latter
+class might stand for Etonians of those days in comparison
+with boys of other schools: “The women have not that
+aroma of amiability, that <i>cachet</i> of good manners, which is
+indispensable for every woman who has lived in aristocratic
+circles. There are certainly exceptions, but they are very
+rare.”</p>
+
+<p>In the autumn of 1866 my father took me to Windsor,
+where we put up at the White Hart Hotel. Then we walked
+to Eton and entered the first master’s house we came to, that
+of the Rev. C. C. James. It stood near the wall of a cemetery,
+which some of the rooms overlooked. My father informed the
+master that he had come to place me at the school, but really
+did not know one house from another, and that, if Mr. James
+would care to take me into his house, he would be very glad
+to leave me in his charge. Mr. James replied that it was unusual
+for him to take a boy of whom he knew nothing, without
+having his name entered beforehand, or without some
+recommendation. But whether it was that my father contrived
+to talk him over, or that he thought he would run the
+risk of my turning out a bad bargain, after Mr. James had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span>
+asked my age and where I had been to school, it was decided
+that I should stay at his house. My father, I think, was the
+most pleased, for, from what Mr. James had said, he had
+been anticipating some difficulty in finding a house for me at
+all, as at certain masters’ houses a boy’s name had to be
+entered years beforehand. But my father generally trusted
+to chance in everything, and what seemed impossible to most
+people was for him often an easy matter.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. James showed us over the boys’ rooms, and, though I
+should have much preferred having one looking out on Windsor,
+with a fine view of the Castle, I had to be content with
+the end room in the front of the house, which had a view of
+the college chapel, and was quite close to the cemetery. My
+father told him that he did not think I was afraid of ghosts,
+when Mr. James told him that the cemetery was of very
+ancient date, and no longer used for burial purposes. He
+then showed us the beds, which were closed up in the daytime,
+in such a way as to present the appearance of cupboards,
+and said that he would get me a bureau similar to
+that which every boy had there.</p>
+
+<p>My father soon took his departure and went back to the
+“White Hart,” upon which I was handed over to the housekeeper,
+who invited me to sit in her room, and gave me some
+tea. I remained there until the evening, when some of the
+boys began to arrive. As might be expected, I was far from
+being at ease, and felt like someone entering on a new existence,
+in a completely different world from the one in which
+he had lived. The housekeeper inquired whether I did not
+know some of the boys at James’s, and told me their names.
+To which I replied that I did not know even one of them,
+though I knew some boys at other houses. At what houses
+they were, however, I could not say. She said that the boys
+I mentioned were higher in the school than I was likely to be
+placed, and that they would not condescend to speak to so
+humble a person as myself, and that I must make acquaintances
+of my own age, which I would soon do.</p>
+
+<p>I had not long to wait before some of the boys arrived, and
+presently came into the housekeeper’s room. But I do not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span>
+recollect one of them speaking to me then, and shortly afterwards
+I set out for Windsor, as my father had got permission
+for me to dine with him at the “White Hart,” before he left
+for London, on his way back to Paris.</p>
+
+<p>When I returned to James’s alone, I went into the housekeeper’s
+room, in which I found several boys, who regarded me
+with a curiosity which I found decidedly embarrassing.
+The first who spoke to me was a very nice-looking boy of
+sixteen, named Gaskell, who was in the Remove. He asked
+me my name, and whether I thought I should pass into the
+Fourth Form. I replied that I did not feel at all sure of doing
+so. At that moment another new boy, named Temple,
+with fair hair and a very plain face, entered the room, to whom
+Gaskell put the same questions as he had to me. Temple
+did not appear over-burdened by modesty, and had no doubt
+whatever about passing into the Fourth Form.</p>
+
+<p>“Of course I shall,” he declared confidently, putting his
+hands in his trousers pockets and looking very important.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly some other boys came in.</p>
+
+<p>“Here are some new fellows,” said Gaskell.</p>
+
+<p>“What are they like?” asked the others. “Let’s have a
+look at them.”</p>
+
+<p>“This chap here—Temple his name is—seems devilish
+confident about himself; expects to get into the Fourth
+Form at once.”</p>
+
+<p>“I say,” exclaimed a fair, good-looking boy, who was
+bigger than Gaskell and taller, and whose name was John H.
+Locke, “so you expect to pass easily? Where do you come
+from?”</p>
+
+<p>“From London,” replied Temple, colouring slightly.</p>
+
+<p>“From what school?”</p>
+
+<p>“I was educated at home by a tutor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed! Well, you give yourself airs of importance that
+won’t do here, I can tell you. We’ll soon knock them out of
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>Temple put his hands in his trousers pockets and shrugged
+his shoulders, while his not very prepossessing countenance
+assumed an expression that was almost diabolical.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You look like the devil,” said Locke, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>“So he does,” exclaimed some of the others; and one boy
+added:—</p>
+
+<p>“I say, Satan, what an ugly mug you have!”</p>
+
+<p>Temple darted a glance of withering scorn at the speaker,
+but could not trust himself to reply.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s a good name for him,” remarked Locke. “Mug,
+I say, Mug, mind you pass your exam. well, and don’t look so
+fiendish when one speaks to you, for it won’t pay.”</p>
+
+<p>Saying which he took his departure, leaving Temple to
+digest the advice he had given.</p>
+
+<p>The exam. came off in due course, when Temple failed to
+qualify for the Fourth Form, and was put into the Lower
+School; while I passed into the Lower Fourth, which was
+more than I expected to do. All the boys at James’s were
+pleased, for they had taken a great dislike to Temple. The
+latter, however, was not in the least disheartened at not
+taking the Fourth Form, but put his hands in his pockets,
+shrugged his shoulders, and looked at the other boys as
+contemptuously as before. He was at once given to Alexander,
+the Captain of the Oppidans, as a fag, while I was
+allotted to Locke. Alexander never spoke to Lower boys,
+except to fag them, so Temple had merely to do what he was
+told. I had a very easy time of it with Locke, who had
+other fags besides. Sometimes Locke would ask me to sit
+down in his room and talk to him, when he would often give
+me fruit and bonbons. He was about eighteen, in the Sixth
+Form, and rowed in the <i>Monarch</i>; but C. R. Alexander was
+Captain of the House and Head of the School, or what is
+termed Captain of the Oppidans, to distinguish him from
+the Captain of the Collegers, nicknamed Tugs, who are boys
+on the foundation and obliged always to wear a gown.</p>
+
+<p>A boy named James Doyne, who became a great friend
+of mine, messed with me, that is to say, we took our breakfast
+and tea together in his room, as it was larger than mine.
+I often did his French lessons for him out of school, and
+helped him with others, as he was in the Lower School.
+Sometimes, he bought beefsteaks for breakfast, and I would<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span>
+cook them downstairs while he was in school, as he was often
+kept behind by his master. So occasionally, when I happened
+to be very hungry, I would not only eat my own steak, but
+a part of his as well, which used to make him very angry.</p>
+
+<p>Doyne told me once that his father knew a gentleman who,
+on being introduced to another, said:—</p>
+
+<p>“You are the son of a tailor, I believe, are you not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” was the reply, “and I will take your measure.”</p>
+
+<p>The tailor’s son never rested until he had ruined the other.</p>
+
+<p>It seems a great pity that duelling is not allowed in England,
+as it would oblige some men in this country to mend their
+manners, even if the duel were restricted to the use of the
+<i>épée</i> alone, and were to cease at the first sign of blood. Anyway,
+it would be better than the senseless actions for libel,
+which cost a great deal of money, and are quite unknown in
+other civilized countries.</p>
+
+<p>I had very little to do with my tutor, Mr. James, being up
+to another master in school. He was a Mr. Luxmoore, a
+young, rather good-looking and very pleasant man. My
+tutor only took the Fifth Form pupils of his own division, but
+at times he would see how the boys in his house were progressing
+in their studies. Mr. James was a rather tall and
+thin man, about thirty-seven, with a long, fair, almost reddish
+beard and no moustache. His eyes were blue, and he had a
+habit of looking away from people while he talked, and when
+he became nervous he used to stammer, but not very perceptibly.
+Although he could not be called handsome,
+he was by no means bad-looking, having a very pleasant
+expression and beautiful teeth.</p>
+
+<p>We had to be in school at 7 a.m. in the summer, and
+7.30 a.m. in the winter, and the lesson lasted an hour. Then
+we went back to our rooms for breakfast, or, rather, had to
+go to our fagmaster and cook his breakfast first. But
+Locke hardly ever required this service of me, as he generally
+made another of his fags do it for him. At 9.15 we all
+had to attend Chapel, which lasted half an hour. Then
+school again till 10.30, and from 11.15 till 12. The two
+hours after this were called, “after twelve,” which one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span>
+usually spent in one’s tutor’s pupil-room. Dinner was at
+2 p.m., then school again from 2.45 till 3.30, and then from
+5 to 6. After this the boys were free till the time for “lock-up,”
+which changes with the time of year. In the summer
+it was at 8.45. A half-holiday was just the same until
+dinner, but in the afternoon “absence” was called at 3
+p.m. in the winter and at 6 p.m. in the summer. “Absence”
+is a call-over of the names, which takes place in the school
+yard. Its object was to prevent boys from going too far
+away, and ensuring that they should be back in time for
+“lock-up.” When a master did not come for “absence,”
+it was termed a “call”; and the boys only waited five or
+six minutes for him.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the work done in school and pupil-room,
+we had work to do in our own rooms, especially on a Sunday,
+when we had Sunday Questions to write out. The half-holidays
+were on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,
+and on Sundays, besides attending Chapel, we had the
+Sunday Questions to answer. This usually occupied us
+several hours.</p>
+
+<p>There was a boy at James’s who was then in the Remove,
+called Craven, a tall, dark, good-looking fellow, who dressed
+well and had an umbrella with a death’s-head handle carved
+in ivory, which he never opened, even when it poured with
+rain, from fear that he would not be able to fold it again
+so neatly as it was then done up. He always wore the
+most expensive silk hats he could buy, and habitually scented
+himself with patchouli. One rainy day, when all James’s
+Lower boys were in his pupil-room, in the house, Mr. James
+called up Craven, and said to him:—</p>
+
+<p>“Craven, why don’t you sign your name in full: Fulwar
+John Colquilt Craven?”</p>
+
+<p>“I do, sir,” answered Craven.</p>
+
+<p>“But you don’t—merely Fulwar Craven. Don’t you
+own the John Colquilt?”</p>
+
+<p>All the boys began to titter, and Craven laughed and
+said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose I don’t, sir.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why do you stupid boys giggle?” exclaimed Mr. James.
+“There is nothing to laugh at because Craven won’t own
+his name, John Colquilt, which is a very nice one.”</p>
+
+<p>The boys went on laughing all the more, at which the
+master was furious, and cried:</p>
+
+<p>“I will make you all write out a book of the <i>Iliad</i> if
+you don’t stop giggling at once.”</p>
+
+<p>This threat had the desired effect, and gravity was
+restored; but it did not last very long. A good-looking
+boy named Ady, who was at Miss Evans’s Dame’s house,
+but was a pupil of my tutor, and who wore a lot of gold
+charms on his watch-chain, came up to Mr. James to ask
+some questions, when the latter said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Ady, I wonder you don’t wear bracelets with all those
+jingling things; you are more like a girl.”</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon all the boys began to titter again, while Ady
+blushed, but did not make any reply. On returning to his
+seat, however, he put out his tongue at Mr. James, who
+happened to be looking in another direction, and then
+smiled, when the boys began to laugh with a vengeance.</p>
+
+<p>“Stop that laughter,” screamed the exasperated master,
+his eyes sparkling with wrath, “or I’ll have all of you swished
+in turn. I won’t stand this nonsense any longer. First
+of all with Craven, who is scented like a fast lady, and then
+with Ady, who is covered with jewellery like another; I
+might just as well keep a girls’ school.”</p>
+
+<p>The giggling now became downright laughter, which the
+boys were quite unable to restrain. At last, Mr. James
+began to see that he had made a joke, which flattered his
+vanity, so he smiled, and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, even the boys are laughing at you both.”</p>
+
+<p>This was too much for his audience, who roared with
+laughter, until, after a while, the master said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Now, I think, we have laughed enough; I hope it will
+be a lesson to them both.”</p>
+
+<p>Craven and Ady nearly split their sides with laughing,
+as well as the others.</p>
+
+<p>“I see I can do nothing with you to-day,” remarked<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span>
+Mr. James, “these laughing moods are very distressing;
+it upsets the whole of the lessons. I must be more serious
+with you, and not permit myself even a joke. I see it plainly
+more and more every time.”</p>
+
+<p>At last the merriment subsided, but presently some of
+the boys began laughing again.</p>
+
+<p>“What is the joke now?” exclaimed the master. “Tell
+me, for I should like to know. I can see nothing whatever
+to laugh at now.”</p>
+
+<p>“Please, sir,” answered Craven, “you make a joke, and
+you won’t even allow us to laugh at it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, well! if it is that that you are laughing at, I suppose
+it is all right,” said Mr. James, who was gradually regaining
+his good-humour, and presently the boys were dismissed.
+Afterwards there was great fun made at his expense, Craven
+and Ady being highly amused.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. James was nicknamed “Stiggins” by the boys who
+had been with him at Eton, and, although unpopular out of
+his house, he was not so in it. There were much more
+disagreeable tutors at Eton at the time of which I am speaking,
+some of them perfect horrors. Mr. James was a good-hearted
+man, and was very kind at times, though he was
+very brusque in his manner, and in the habit of speaking
+his mind without the least reservation. He had no particular
+favourites, but, on the other hand, he did not take
+any violent dislikes, and was just enough, apart from occasional
+sallies against certain boys. These he indulged in
+under the impression that he was being witty, and not infrequently
+the jokes he made were at his own expense.
+He had a good memory and could recite innumerable
+verses from Greek and Latin poets, but he was a poor orator.
+He was a good chess-player, and often played with the
+boys, giving them a queen and sometimes a rook as well,
+and generally beating them. Sometimes he played with
+another master, Mr. Wayte, a middle-aged man, with a grey
+beard, who could play twenty-five games of chess at the
+same time blindfolded, and win most of them. Mr. James
+once beat Mr. Wayte, after which he would never play<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span>
+with him again, wishing to be able to say that the last time
+he played with him he had succeeded in gaining the victory.
+I often played chess with my tutor, on which occasions he
+usually gave me a queen. Sometimes I managed to beat
+him, and once when I had been successful, he said to me:—</p>
+
+<p>“You have beaten me, and I have beaten Wayte, who is
+one of the finest players in Europe. So, in winning the
+game to-day, you have something to be proud of.”</p>
+
+<p>We always tried to make our rooms at James’s as comfortable
+as possible. I had a fancy at that time for pictures
+of horses, and bought a set of steeplechase ones, by Alken,
+printed in colours and published by Ackermann. I had
+also a picture of Hermit, the Derby winner of 1865, by
+Harry Hall, which was also printed in colours. In the
+summer, like the other boys, I had geraniums and other
+flowers in a large green wooden box, which was made to
+cover the length of my window-sill. I spent, however,
+more of my time in Doyne’s room, which was nearer the
+road, and farther away from the cemetery. It was a more
+cheerful room, containing several arm-chairs. Besides, we
+always messed together and took our meals there, and so
+I looked on the room almost as being my own. Alexander
+and Locke had two rooms each. The latter had quite a
+collection of silver cups, which he had won at Eton, and
+his sitting-room was decorated with numerous trophies
+of the Boats, arranged against the wall, from the light blue
+of the <i>Victory</i> and the dark blue of the <i>Monarch</i> to the
+cerise of the <i>Prince of Wales</i> and the blue of the <i>Britannia</i>.
+I can only remember entering Alexander’s room once. It
+was also adorned with the colours of the Eleven and silver
+cups won at cricket and racquets, as he was Captain of
+the Eleven and President of “Pop.” “Pop” is the name
+given to the Eton Society, to which only boys in the Sixth
+Form and the Upper Fifth can belong.</p>
+
+<p>The occasion on which I entered Alexander’s room was
+on a Sunday. He opened his door, and called: “Lower
+boy!” and, as I happened to be on the landing, he said
+that he must send me to make a copy of his Sunday Questions,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span>
+which were always written up outside St. George’s
+Chapel at Windsor. It was a dreary walk, for, as it was
+Sunday afternoon, all the shops were, of course, closed.
+I made a copy of the Questions in pencil, and, on my return,
+left them in Alexander’s room. At eleven o’clock that
+night, he came and woke me up, to ask if I could read some
+word I had copied, which I had to confess I could not. He
+went away, but returned to my room an hour later, and,
+waking me up again, said he thought he could make a guess
+at the word we had been unable to make out, and asked
+me if it were not correct. I then suddenly remembered
+that it was the right word, when he laughed and went out.
+This was the only time I was ever sent to copy out Sunday
+Questions, as Alexander always, as a rule, sent his own
+fags to do this, and Locke, whose fag I was, hardly ever
+gave me anything to do. I was, in consequence, very
+sorry when he left Eton, which he did very shortly afterwards
+for Trinity College, Cambridge. Alexander went up
+to King’s.</p>
+
+<p>One half I was up to a master called Austin Leigh, who
+was in the habit of speaking so softly that we could scarcely
+hear a word he said in school. So when he spoke, I always
+had to guess what he said. One day he asked me to construe
+a passage, which I did, when he corrected me, saying:—</p>
+
+<p>“I told you what to say.”</p>
+
+<p>“Please, sir, I could not hear exactly.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you deaf?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, sir, but I did not hear exactly.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then, for not listening, you will please write out the
+lesson as a punishment. Do you hear now?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>I hated being up to Austin Leigh, for I never could hear,
+as he always spoke in a whisper somewhat like the hissing
+of a serpent.</p>
+
+<p>There was another master, who thought himself rather
+good-looking, as he had regular features; but he had yellowish
+hair, was inclined to baldness, and his figure was lanky
+and awkward. This master was fond of making very tame<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span>
+jokes in school. If we laughed at them, it was all right,
+but the boys who ignored his jokes he punished. He insisted
+on calling Lord Edward Somerset by the name
+of Samson, but once when he called upon “Samson” to
+stand up, no one rose. He then turned to Lord Edward
+Somerset, and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Why did you not stand up when I told you to do so?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because you never told me, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“I did; your name is Samson, isn’t it?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, sir; it’s Somerset.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, anyhow, you knew that I meant you.”</p>
+
+<p>Somerset made no reply, and the master said:—</p>
+
+<p>“For disobedience you will write me out this chapter of
+‘Xenophon!’”</p>
+
+<p>“Very well, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>Among the numerous masters at Eton with whom I had
+little or nothing to do, those whom I remember best are:
+Mr. Stephen Hawtrey, who was a very agreeable man;
+Mr. Hale, a mathematical master, nicknamed, on account of
+his whitish hair, “the Badger,” who was also very pleasant;
+the Rev. W. Dalton, another mathematical master, who had
+very full lips and a reddish face, and went by the <i>sobriquet</i>
+of “Piggy”; the Rev. Joynes, who had somewhat the
+appearance of a weasel, and had great difficulty in keeping
+his division in order; Mr. Cornish, a fair-haired man, who
+was rather disagreeable at times; and Mr. Cockshot, also a
+mathematical master, who was bright and pleasant. The
+Rev. Durnford, nicknamed “Judy,” I only knew by sight,
+and the same was the case with Mr. Arthur James, my
+tutor’s brother, who was an exceptionally pleasant man.</p>
+
+<p>All the masters had some peculiarity, and it took some time
+to get used to their ways, as they were all so different from
+one another. Just, however, as a boy was beginning to
+understand a master the half came to an end, and, after the
+holidays, he would probably be sent up to quite a different
+kind of man. For each master took a separate division,
+and was promoted like the boys from one division to another.</p>
+
+<p>The most popular master was the Rev. Edmund Warre,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span>
+afterwards Head Master and Provost of Eton. He was a
+good-looking, fair man, who wore spectacles, and, besides
+being one of the cleverest of the masters, was a very fine oar,
+and always superintended the coaching of the Eight. He
+used to try to interest the boys up to him in school in a subject,
+as Herr Kirchhofer did at Frankfurt. I remember
+once, during a lesson in geography, he said that Austria-Hungary
+was a nation which would one day break up, since
+it consisted of too many nationalities, the link between which
+was not sufficiently strong to be permanent. Upon another
+occasion, he recommended us to read “The Last of the
+Barons,” by Lord Lytton, which he said was one of the best
+historical novels ever written, and I remember that some of
+us followed his advice.</p>
+
+<p>There was a good deal of jealousy amongst certain
+masters, who did not pull together. Mr. Oscar Browning
+was unpopular with some of his colleagues, though he
+was very much liked by the boys at his house and those
+up to him in school. There can be little doubt that the
+dislike entertained by certain masters for Mr. Browning
+was due to jealousy, as he was cleverer than the majority of
+them, and he was certainly very witty, and at times rather
+sarcastic. I was up to him in school one half, and I think,
+on the whole, he was the pleasantest master I was ever up to,
+since he used to enliven the tedium of school hours by his
+witty remarks, occasionally making fun of some of us, but
+in such a nice, pleasant way, that we all enjoyed the joke,
+even those who were the cause of the merriment. It was
+almost impossible to be late for school with Mr. Browning,
+as he generally arrived late on the scene himself. Now and
+again, however, he reversed the usual order of things, and
+then those who had counted on his late arrival were caught
+and punished.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. R. A. H. Mitchell, the famous cricketer, was a master
+of the Lower School. My friend Jim Doyne was up to him,
+and said that he was very popular with the boys.</p>
+
+<p>There was another master, Mr. St. John Thackeray, who
+had no authority whatever over the boys up to him in school,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span>
+who invariably made fun of him, and jeered at him all the
+time. I was up to him one half, when I found it quite
+impossible to learn anything, owing to the constant disturbance,
+which was quite overpowering. I used to come in late
+continually when up to Mr. Thackeray, as I knew it did not
+much matter. One day, however, he said to me:—</p>
+
+<p>“You are half an hour late this morning!”</p>
+
+<p>“Please, sir, I overslept myself.”</p>
+
+<p>“But you always oversleep yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Please, sir, I couldn’t help it; I was so tired.”</p>
+
+<p>“What made you so tired...?”</p>
+
+<p>Here the other boys began to laugh, and someone said
+aloud:—</p>
+
+<p>“He’s always so slack.”</p>
+
+<p>“Which boy spoke?” asked Mr. Thackeray angrily. A
+dead silence ensued.</p>
+
+<p>“I <i>will</i> know which boy spoke just now. If the boy
+doesn’t come forward at once, I shall punish all the division.”
+Upon this two or three boys said:—</p>
+
+<p>“It was I, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“Which of you was it?” asked Mr. Thackeray.</p>
+
+<p>“I, sir,” sounded from different parts of the room.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s really too bad; the whole division shall be punished
+then,” said the master.</p>
+
+<p>While he was occupied in making a note of this, a book was
+hurled across the room, at which there was great laughter.
+Mr. Thackeray was furious.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall have to report the whole division for bad conduct
+if I don’t know at once who threw that book,” he cried.</p>
+
+<p>“It was I,” said one boy.</p>
+
+<p>Then, a moment afterwards, another voice said:—</p>
+
+<p>“It was I, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“But it could not have been both of you. Which of you
+was it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Me, sir,” said the first boy who had spoken.</p>
+
+<p>“Then you will please write out the chapter we are
+reading”—then, correcting himself—“or, rather, which we
+ought to be reading.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span></p>
+
+<p>For a few minutes the lesson proceeded quietly, though
+on the least pretext there would be shouts of laughter. Mr.
+Thackeray entirely forgot to punish the other boy and myself;
+only the one who had hurled the book was punished. Every
+day with Mr. Thackeray was similar to this one, sometimes
+more amusing, sometimes less so, but always very noisy
+indeed. He spoilt the boys for other masters, as, being
+accustomed to do as they liked with him, they would come
+late into school when they were up to others, who would
+send them up to be swished on a repetition of the offence.
+I was never swished at Eton during all the four years I was
+there.</p>
+
+<p>The late Earl Grosvenor, who, when Viscount Belgrave,
+was at Eton with me, was a very good-looking boy, with fair
+hair, but he wore jackets that were sometimes too short for
+him, and it was the same with his trousers, as he had grown
+out of them. One day, when he sat in school on a form in
+front of me, during a lesson by Mr. Henry Tarver, the French
+master, a boy sitting next me, seeing Belgrave’s shirt, which
+was plainly visible between his jacket and trousers, pulled
+it right out altogether. Belgrave turned round angrily,
+thinking at first that it was I who had taken this liberty with
+his shirt, when he saw that the culprit was a boy whom he
+knew well. Nevertheless, he was very confused and had
+great trouble in adjusting his protruding garment, as it was
+necessary to do it in such a way as not to attract the attention
+of Mr. Tarver, who would certainly have inquired
+into the matter and meted out condign punishment to the
+offender.</p>
+
+<p>There is a French saying that small events often interest
+great minds. I hope that this may be so, in which event
+there will be some excuse for my mentioning this incident,
+which struck me at the time as being rather ludicrous, though
+I cannot say whether others may be of the same opinion.
+Lord Grosvenor, after he left Eton, was fond of driving an
+engine, and I am told that he often drove the train between
+London and Holyhead for pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>His name reminds me of a good story that I once heard at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span>
+Eton about his grandfather, the Duke of Westminster.
+The latter, one day, was told by his groom of the chamber
+that the dress-coat that he wore was getting very shabby.
+The Duke asked to see it, and then told the man that he
+might order a new one for himself. “But,” added the
+thrifty nobleman, “you may let me have this old coat;
+it will do quite well for me to wear.” The Duke of Atholl,
+who was a first cousin of my grandfather, had also rather a
+contempt for dress, and my mother was told by the latter
+that, when an old man, he was often mistaken in the street
+for a beggar, and had pence offered him.</p>
+
+<p>There was a boy named Lacaita at Eton, who, when he
+first came, wore a most extraordinary hat. The lower part
+was much broader than the upper, so that the hat was not
+unlike a loaf of sugar. I think he must have imported it
+from Italy. However, if I remember rightly, it was very
+speedily battered out of any shape at all, for it was an innovation
+which pleased none of the boys, who were only too
+ready to make a football of it, as they generally did of anything
+they happened to take a dislike to, and particularly
+a silk hat.</p>
+
+<p>Doyne used frequently to invite boys from other houses
+to tea with us in his room. They were mostly those whom
+he knew “at home,” that is to say, away from Eton, and who
+were friends of his people. The Hon. John FitzWilliam,
+who was in the same division as myself, often came, as he was
+a relative of his, as well as Lord Trafalgar, who was in the
+Lower School, and Lord Mandeville, who afterwards became
+Duke of Manchester. The last-named was a very good-looking
+boy, with very dark, curly hair; he was full of fun,
+and I liked him very much, though I only met him when he
+came to tea with us, as he was lower down in the school and
+at a different tutor’s house from myself.</p>
+
+<p>A boy named Charles Rice Hodgson, in the same division
+as I was, was my greatest friend at first. He was at Vidal’s,
+a Dame’s house. He was a very handsome boy, with rather
+fair hair and blue eyes, nearly perfect features, and a beautiful
+complexion. He used to dress very well and always<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span>
+wore a button-hole—a rose or a carnation in summer—and
+usually scented himself. He was very clever and had a good
+deal of swagger, and was a favourite with the bigger boys at
+Vidal’s, who often used to walk with him, which was strongly
+disapproved of by some of the masters. I often helped him
+out of a difficulty; and sometimes, when he had not learned
+his lesson over night, I would prompt him in a low voice to
+construe it, as I always sat next to him in school. He left
+Eton very suddenly, at which I was quite distressed, as he
+had always been so much with me, and I liked him more
+than any other boy, and had been in his company the day
+before he left. A more charming boy than Hodgson I have
+never known; but he was conceited about his looks, for he
+was one of the best-looking boys, if not the best-looking, at
+Eton in those days.</p>
+
+<p>Another boy at the same Dame’s house as Hodgson was
+Charles D. Robertson Williamson, who was considered to be
+the best-looking boy then at Eton. He was higher up in
+the school than I was, and, though his tutor, Mr. Johnson
+(Cory, the author of “Ionica”), liked him very much, some
+of the other masters did not approve of his putting on so much
+side and being so often with bigger boys. At Lord’s, during
+the Eton and Harrow match, I happened quite accidentally
+to make the acquaintance of Williamson’s aunt. She was
+only eighteen, and bore a most extraordinary resemblance
+to her nephew, with the same beautiful face, the same short
+upper lip, the same large, round, hazel eyes, the same beautifully
+shaped mouth, the same delicate nose, slightly, in
+fact almost imperceptibly, tilted, and the same brown hair;
+and she was of the same height as he was. She spoke to me
+without knowing me at all, saying:—</p>
+
+<p>“I want to keep my nephew with me a day or two longer.
+Do you think I can do so?”</p>
+
+<p>“You must ask his tutor; no doubt he will allow you to
+do so,” I answered, thinking that he could not possibly refuse
+her.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I will try.”</p>
+
+<p>With which, Williamson’s aunt went off in search of Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span>
+Johnson, and presently returned, looking very pleased, and
+said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Johnson has given the permission I wanted. I am
+so happy!” And she clapped her hands together with
+delight.</p>
+
+<p>I did not know Williamson to speak to before then, not
+being so high in the school as he was, and I met him for the
+first time when he came later in the day to meet his aunt
+in the Grand Stand at Lord’s.</p>
+
+<p>Once, when Doyne and I were driving in a hansom from
+Lord’s after the Eton and Harrow match, he caught sight of
+the Hon. E. W. B. Portman, and said to me:—</p>
+
+<p>“Do you mind giving Billy Portman a lift?”</p>
+
+<p>We made room for him between us, which was an easy
+enough matter in those days, though in years to come it
+would have been quite impossible, for he grew so stout that
+he weighed seventeen stone, and I rather fancy Jim Doyne
+was even heavier.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">An Amusing Incident—Lady Caroline Murray—An Anecdote of Queen
+Victoria—Lord Rossmore’s Wager—The Match at the Wall—Practical
+Jokes—Some Boys at James’s</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Boys at Eton rarely made friends outside their
+respective houses. Therefore, when Hodgson left,
+I spent most of my spare time with Doyne, who even then was
+very stout, and, though older than I, below me in the school.
+When he left Eton, my chief companion was a boy named
+Harry Gridley, with whom I messed for a short time, and
+with whom I often went for walks on a Sunday along the
+playing-fields by the river.</p>
+
+<p>Gridley, who was in the Fifth Form, was a dark-haired
+boy, very kind and good-natured. He was in the Boats,
+and a capital oar, and rowed later in the <i>Monarch</i>, the ten-oared
+Upper boat. Sometimes I would go to Windsor with
+him to play billiards, notwithstanding that this was against
+the rules. One day, whilst we were playing, I, by way of a
+joke, began ordering him about and calling him “Peter,”
+and then, to tease him, told him that some man who was in
+the room thought he was my fag. He flew into a rage, and,
+when the man had left the room, rushed at me and caught me
+by the throat, as though he would strangle me. However,
+we soon made friends again, but, strange to say, this nickname
+of “Peter,” which I had given him for the first time in
+the billiard-room at Windsor, always stuck to him, even in
+the 5th Lancers, which he joined later. He was very fond of
+reading, and one day took up “Adam Bede,” by George
+Eliot; but he told me that he could not finish it, as the
+hero was a very ugly, red-haired man, and he disliked reading
+about ugly people. He quite set me against the book, for
+I never read it after he said this.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus11" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus11.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Charles Balfour, at Eton with the Author.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 80.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus12" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus12.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Miss Minnie Balfour, sister of Hilda, Lady de Clifford.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 81.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span></p>
+
+<p>Alexander, the Captain of the Oppidans, was a very
+good-looking boy of eighteen; dark, with black, curly hair.
+His memory was quite extraordinary, and he could repeat
+the whole of the <i>Odyssey</i>, in the original Greek. Once
+he had read a book and mastered its contents, he never
+forgot it. Even Mr. James was astounded at Alexander’s
+marvellous gift for remembering things. Locke was also
+clever, but in a different way from Alexander.</p>
+
+<p>Some time after I went to Eton, my tutor got his cousin,
+Mrs. Bower, to look after the boys instead of the housekeeper,
+which was a pleasant change for us. She was about thirty-five
+and a very nice woman, and, having taken rather a fancy
+to me, used often to invite me to her room at five o’clock
+and give me tea and cake.</p>
+
+<p>One day some friends of Doyne—a baronet and his three
+daughters—came from London to see him. As it was a
+Sunday, I did not get up until late, when I ran into Doyne’s
+room, clad only in my night-shirt, and with my water-jug
+in my hand, to get some water to wash with. To my horror,
+I suddenly found myself confronted by three ladies, who,
+on catching sight of me, uttered a scream, and then, as I
+turned round and incontinently fled, burst into fits of laughter.
+Doyne told me afterwards that his friends were highly
+amused at this incident, and declared that they should
+never forget their visit to Eton.</p>
+
+<p>A boy named Charles Balfour was my fag when I was
+in the Fifth Form. Doyne, who was still in the Lower School,
+found my having a fag very convenient, as the latter had
+to cook the steaks and chops for our breakfast. Balfour
+was a good-looking boy, and I liked him very much; but
+he could not bear doing anything for Doyne, as the latter
+was lower down in the school than he was. I met the late
+Charles Balfour, with his father and family, at Wiesbaden
+in after years. His sister Hilda, a very pretty girl, subsequently
+married Lord de Clifford.</p>
+
+<p>With Balfour I met another old schoolfellow, Baldock, who
+was with his sister at Wiesbaden. He was twelfth man
+for the Eton Eleven one year, when I was there and Keeper<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span>
+of “Sixpenny,” and was a general favourite with the lower
+boys. Later on, in town, I recollect going to a ball at his
+house in Grosvenor Place. He was made a C.B. by King
+Edward VII., having served thirty-six years in the Yeomanry
+and reached the rank of colonel.</p>
+
+<p>The present Lord Harris, G.C.S.I., the well-known cricketer,
+was in the Eton Eleven in my time and afterwards Captain
+of it. I can recollect him perfectly—a tall, fair-haired and
+remarkably handsome boy, with merry blue eyes, who always
+looked the picture of health. Amongst those who made
+their mark at cricket and football, and, at the same time,
+distinguished themselves in school, were the late Earl of
+Pembroke and Montgomery, then the Hon. Sidney Herbert,
+who was a good-looking boy, with blue eyes and black hair,
+and the late Earl of Onslow. The latter was at one time
+in the same division as myself.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Hubert Parry, so famous as a composer, was at Eton
+with me, but much higher up in the school than I was. He
+was at Vidal’s, and a boy in his house told me that he played
+the violin beautifully. I can remember that he was a good
+football player, and that I thought him a very fine-looking
+fellow, but I only knew him by sight.</p>
+
+<p>Craven, when in the Fifth Form, kept his fags dancing
+attendance on him all their spare time, and used to send
+them on long errands to Windsor. “Mug” was his fag for
+one half, and had a very lively time of it at first; but afterwards
+Craven treated him very much better. I was John
+Lister-Kaye’s fag at one time, and found him more exacting
+than Locke, with whom I had had a very easy time; but he
+became a friend of mine when I was higher up in the school.
+“Mug” was his fag at the same time, and liked fagging for
+him very much, as he treated him very kindly. His younger
+brother, Cecil Lister-Kaye, was a friend of mine from the
+very first. Both brothers were very good-looking boys,
+with fair hair. The elder, afterwards Sir John Lister-Kaye,
+who rowed in the <i>Victory</i> at Eton, subsequently entered
+the “Blues.” On one occasion, the Lister-Kayes and myself
+were invited to dine at Upton Park, with Mrs. Adair, a very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span>
+lovely woman, who, I recollect, was dressed in black velvet,
+which set off her superb figure and dazzling skin to great
+advantage. She was a grand-daughter of the Duchess of
+Roxburghe and a great friend of my cousin, the Hon. Emily
+Cathcart, maid-of-honour to Queen Victoria.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus13" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus13.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>W. H. Onslow, aged 13, afterwards Lord Onslow.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 82.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus14" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus14.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Hon. Emily Cathcart, Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 83.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>One day, the Hon. Charles Finch, afterwards Earl of Aylesford,
+who was in the same division as myself, told me that
+he had stopped my cousin while she was walking with a
+lady in Eton, and that a few days later, when he happened
+to meet her again, she said to him:—</p>
+
+<p>“I have a bone to pick with you. Do you know whom
+you kept waiting when you spoke to me the other day?
+It was the Princess Louise (afterwards Duchess of Argyll)!”
+The Earl of Aylesford, like myself, was a cousin of Emily
+Cathcart.</p>
+
+<p>While at Eton, I used occasionally to spend the day with
+my great-aunt, Lady Georgiana Cathcart. She lived near
+Ascot, and once when I was driving with her and her daughter
+we called on the Ladies Murray, who had a fine house in
+the neighbourhood, and Lady Caroline told us that if we
+had come some minutes earlier, we should have met Queen
+Victoria, who had lunched with them in quite an informal
+way, saying:—</p>
+
+<p>“Give me what you have ready, nothing else.”</p>
+
+<p>Lady Caroline told me that, owing to bearing the same
+name, she had frequently been mistaken for my mother’s
+aunt at Richmond, who had recently died. She showed me
+an oak-tree which her brother, the Earl of Mansfield, had
+planted in his garden the last time he had come to see her.
+In her younger days, she had been lady-in-waiting to the
+Duchess of Kent, at which time she was considered a great
+beauty.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when I was dining at Ascot, I met my cousin
+Emily, who was wearing a lovely dress of violet velvet,
+trimmed with white lace, and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Her Majesty said I was not to wear this dress at Court,
+and I have only worn it once before, although it cost me a
+good deal of money.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span></p>
+
+<p>Queen Victoria, it seems, would often take a dislike to
+some dress worn by one of her maids-of-honour.</p>
+
+<p>I frequently went to Windsor Castle to see my cousin.
+On one occasion, I mistook the room, and had to wait for
+some time in a drawing-room. Presently, a lady came in,
+who was very charming in her manner towards me, and
+had some tea and muffins brought to me by a man-servant
+in the scarlet livery of the Palace. This lady I afterwards
+learned was the Countess of Erroll. Once, when I called
+at the Castle I was received by the Hon. Harriet Phipps,
+who told me that my cousin had left Windsor and that she
+had taken her place in waiting. She invited me to have some
+tea, which was brought in in a solid silver teapot, and served
+in very fine porcelain cups, on both of which was the Royal
+crown, and was very kind and amiable.</p>
+
+<p>One day, my cousin Emily asked me to bring the late Lord
+Alexander Kennedy, son of the Marquis of Ailsa, who was
+in my division at Eton, to the Castle to tea, which I did.
+He and I smoked cigarettes in her room, and, when we heard
+her coming, threw them out of the window. However, she
+smelt the smoke and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I hope you have not thrown the cigarettes out of the
+window, for ‘H.M.’ is coming this way, and I shall get
+into trouble if she sees them.”</p>
+
+<p>We tried to calm her, but she appeared to be rather annoyed
+at the time.</p>
+
+<p>Emily Cathcart was very good-looking, with dark eyes and
+black hair and a fine figure. In her general appearance,
+she always reminded me very much of the late Empress of
+Austria. Her manner was charming, and she was always
+very amiable, and had so pleasant a smile that it seemed
+as though it would be impossible for her to be angry with
+anyone. I remember her telling me once that at Windsor
+she rarely ever spoke English, having to receive so many
+foreign guests for Her Majesty. On the occasion that Kennedy
+and I went there, we saw the Duc d’Aumale walking away
+from the Castle as we arrived.</p>
+
+<p>Queen Victoria liked to be read to by her maids-of-honour,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span>
+which was sometimes a very trying experience for them,
+particularly by night. A boy at Eton was one of her pages-of-honour,
+and, as he was late in coming out of school one day
+that his services were required, he did not stop to wash his
+hands, but hurried off to the Castle, in order to be in time
+for some ceremony. Afterwards, the train which he had to
+hold was found to have dirty spots on it, so he was immediately
+dismissed from his office by Her Majesty. This story was
+told me by Mr. James.</p>
+
+<p>My mother told me that Queen Victoria was once lunching
+at the house of the Duke of Sussex, and, on being asked if
+the mutton cutlets were to her liking, replied carelessly:—</p>
+
+<p>“Oh! the chops are not bad.” She also related that once,
+in her younger days, the Queen was visiting the country-seat
+of a certain nobleman, where everything imaginable
+in and out of season had been procured for Her Majesty’s
+delectation, no matter at what cost. However, on the Queen
+being asked what she would be pleased to take, to the horror
+and amazement of her host, she named the only thing which
+was not in the house, and which there was no possibility
+of procuring. It was whispered that the Queen had asked
+for this particular <i>plat</i>, which was one of a simple but
+unusual kind, purposely, as she appeared to be amused at
+the consternation her request had aroused.</p>
+
+<p>Just after I left Eton, Emily invited me to the Haymarket
+Theatre, telling me to inquire for the Queen’s box. I arrived,
+and was duly ushered into the Royal box, which, however,
+was untenanted. So I sat there in solitary state, to the no
+small curiosity of the audience, who perhaps imagined
+that I must be some quite important person, until presently
+my cousin arrived, accompanied by a very handsome and
+exquisitely dressed woman, who, I learned, was Lady
+Churchill. The latter, who was lady-in-waiting to the Queen,
+was most fascinating, and had all the distinction of a <i>très
+grande dame</i>. She was most kind and gracious to me, even
+going out of her way to draw me out, so that I was soon
+quite at my ease in her company.</p>
+
+<p>In winter, if we happened to have a frost hard enough to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span>
+make Virginia Water safe for skaters, we used to be taken
+there by Mr. James to skate and play hockey on the ice, a
+game in which my tutor always took part himself. Windsor
+Steeplechases were an event always looked forward to by
+the boys, for, though we were forbidden to go to them, we
+went all the same. Sometimes we would be attacked by
+roughs, who tried to prevent us crossing certain ditches to
+get to the race-course, and on one occasion a man tried to
+stop me. But I pushed him aside, managed to jump a
+ditch, and got safely to the course. Windsor Fair was at
+one time forbidden to the boys, but this did not prevent
+them all going there. I went once with Craven and saw a
+circus without paying anything, the man at the entrance
+having overlooked us as we rushed in. Afterwards, Mr.
+James happened to mention the Fair, when we all laughed
+and began to talk about the different shows we had seen.
+The master took it in good part, merely remarking:—</p>
+
+<p>“It’s lucky for you I did not catch you there.”</p>
+
+<p>The Christopher Inn at Eton was also out of bounds,
+but at times some of the big boys would invite the smaller
+ones there. If, however, one of the masters happened to
+catch sight of them coming out, there would be the devil
+to pay. I don’t remember ever going to the “Christopher,”
+though I did most things that were forbidden.</p>
+
+<p>The elder son of General Sir John Douglas, Captain Niel
+Douglas, who was an Old Etonian and an officer in the Scots
+Guards, then stationed at Windsor, invited me to lunch at
+the barracks, where I was introduced to Lord Mark Innes-Ker,
+who used to ride his own horses in the Windsor Steeplechases.
+I enjoyed my lunch very much, as it was quite a
+novelty for me. Eton boys were often invited to the
+barracks to lunch with officers of the Household Brigade
+whom they knew, as so many Old Etonians went into the
+Guards. I remember Blane, who was a pupil of my tutor,
+once coming down to Eton just after he had left the school,
+and telling me that he was about to join the Scots Guards,
+who were then stationed at Windsor. Lord Rossmore,
+whom I knew very well at Eton, entered the 1st Life Guards,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span>
+and was killed riding in a steeplechase over the Windsor
+course in 1874. By a singular coincidence he had fallen
+at the same jump, while riding the same horse, the previous
+year. Rossmore, who was in the same division with me,
+was very popular at Eton. He was perpetually playing
+practical jokes, and I can recollect that on one occasion he
+made a bet that he would drive a trap through Eton. He
+won it, too, by driving through the town on a cart, disguised
+as a waterman, so that the masters did not recognize him. If
+one of them had happened to penetrate his disguise, he would
+perhaps have been expelled.</p>
+
+<p>Gridley and I once went for a bicycle ride in the country,
+and, happening to be seen, were sent up to the Head Master,
+Dr. Hornby, who said:—</p>
+
+<p>“It is too grave an offence for me to swish you, so each
+of you must write out a book of the <i>Iliad</i>, with accents,
+stops and breathings.”</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately for us, Mrs. Bower made Mr. James persuade
+the Head Master to let us off when we had done a quarter
+of the work.</p>
+
+<p>When I first went to Eton, the Head Master was Dr.
+Balston, a very handsome, stately and severe-looking man,
+whom the masters and boys liked—at a distance. When
+Dr. Hornby succeeded him, it was feared that he would
+introduce a great many reforms, which the masters dreaded
+as much as the boys; but these apprehensions proved to
+be groundless. While I was at Eton, Dr. Hornby was very
+much liked by the boys; but I cannot say that his popularity
+extended to his colleagues, some of whom, I know,
+regarded him with far from friendly feelings.</p>
+
+<p>There was a “sock”-shop, called Brown’s, near James’s
+house in those days, where excellent buttered buns were
+sold. An Old Etonian, Theobald, Viscount Dillon, told me
+that, on his return to Eton when past sixty, he tried the buns
+again, and exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“Goodness! how these buns have altered; they aren’t
+half as good as they used to be!” Then, looking round at
+the boys, who seemed to be enjoying them just as much as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span>
+he and his contemporaries had done in days of yore, he
+added regretfully:—</p>
+
+<p>“After all, it isn’t the buns that have altered. It is
+simply that I have lost my taste for them.”</p>
+
+<p>I used often to go to Brown’s, generally of a morning, to
+eat a buttered bun, which I enjoyed immensely. There was
+another “sock”-shop, called Webber’s, where in summer
+we used to indulge in strawberry messes. Marmalade was
+in favour with most of us for breakfast, and I recollect how
+Craven used always to send for eighteenpenny pots at a time,
+saying that the others were too small for his appetite.</p>
+
+<p>One Fourth of June my father came down to Eton, and
+asked at my tutor’s for Charles Douglas, the younger son
+of General Sir John Douglas, and William Kinglake, who
+was in a different house and whom I did not then know.
+We all walked down to the river to see the boats. It was
+a very pretty sight, and prettier still in the evening, when
+the fireworks began. I saw several lovely young girls,
+beautifully dressed, drinking champagne with their brothers,
+and envied the latter having such pretty sisters. William
+Kinglake was a nephew of the author of “Eöthen,” who was
+a first cousin of my father. He was in the Boats the following
+year, but died soon after he left Eton. Charles Douglas,
+after leaving Eton, joined his father’s old regiment, the
+79th Highlanders, but soon retired from the Service, while
+still a lieutenant.</p>
+
+<p>I passed my “exam.” in swimming before Mr. Warre at
+my first try, and often went on the river. But I was a
+“dry bob,” and generally preferred playing cricket in
+“Sixpenny,” some of the fields by the river, which in winter
+were used for football matches. Doyne never went on
+the river, since, as he was not allowed to bathe, he could
+not pass the necessary “exam.,” and so was forcibly a “dry
+bob.” At James’s, only Alexander and one or two others
+were “dry bobs,” and, as the house was a small one, we had
+no cricket eleven, like other houses. James’s football colours
+were a combination of reds of different shades with violet
+and black, which were not by any means pretty colours.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span>
+Yonge’s were red and black; Day’s, black and white;
+Evans’s, scarlet with a black skull and cross-bones; Warre’s,
+a combination of red, yellow and other colours; and Vidal’s,
+yellow and black. The well-known cricketer, C. I. Thornton,
+was at Vidal’s, and was a great friend of Williamson, while
+the latter was there. Thornton was a tremendously hard
+hitter at cricket, and I can remember many of his wonderful
+hits beyond the ropes when he was playing for Eton against
+Harrow at Lord’s. The colours of the Second Eleven or
+Twenty-two at cricket were blue and black; the Eton Eleven,
+of course, wore light blue, as did the Eton Eight.</p>
+
+<p>On St. Andrew’s Day a football match—the game at the
+Wall—was played between Oppidans and Collegers, in
+which the latter were generally successful, so far as I can
+recollect. This match always drew a large crowd, but, for
+a spectator, I cannot imagine anything more tedious to
+watch, unless he be interested in the final result, and even
+then he must be gifted with an uncommon stock of patience
+to be able to watch it from start to finish. For those engaged
+in it it is, of course, different, as some players prefer the wall
+to the field game, and I have heard that it affords them more
+excitement, besides being a far greater strain on the nerves
+and muscles. A lady who would enjoy watching the game
+at the Wall would in all probability find pleasure in a Spanish
+bull-fight, though both would be distasteful to a really nervous,
+sensitive girl. A young Spanish lady once told me at
+Seville that to look at a girl performing on the trapeze made
+her feel faint, whereas she never failed to attend a bull-fight
+on a Sunday, in which she took a keener pleasure than in any
+other form of amusement. This shows how strangely one’s
+nerves are constituted, and that this kind of thing is, after
+all, merely a matter of habit.</p>
+
+<p>In the summer, Mr. James would often take us with
+Mrs. Bower on the river, when we would bring our dinner
+with us, and would often go as far as Monkey Island, or
+even to Maidenhead, returning at night by moonlight. We
+all rowed in turn and had dinner in the beautiful woods of
+Cliveden, which was at that time the property of the Duke<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span>
+of Sutherland, but now belongs to Lord Astor, whose father
+subsequently bought the estate. The late Duke of Sutherland,
+who was then the Marquis of Stafford, was with me at
+Eton, but higher up in the school, and I can remember him
+very well. He was a good-looking boy with fair hair.</p>
+
+<p>Lord Astor (formerly Mr. Waldorf Astor), the present
+owner of Cliveden, was at Eton also, though very many years
+after my time, where he was Captain of the Boats, and
+gained the Prince Consort’s Prize for French one year. His
+father belonged to one of the best families in the United
+States, and the son became a naturalized Englishman.</p>
+
+<p>These river excursions were most enjoyable, and, when
+coming home, we sang songs in chorus, which sounded well
+in the stillness of the summer night. I was nearly always
+taken by Mr. James, as I was one of Mrs. Bower’s favourites,
+and she insisted on my being invited. A boy named H. B.
+Walker, who was then high up in the school, was also generally
+one of the party. Walker was very amusing, and used
+to chaff me to annoy Mrs. Bower, but all in jest, as we were
+very good friends. Mr. James was very pleasant during
+these outings, and would sometimes indulge his propensity
+for making jokes, which at times the boys would appreciate,
+though at others they found the wit a trifle strained. One
+day, Walker said:—</p>
+
+<p>“That joke you made I think I could improve upon, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not mean it for one; you always see a joke where
+I cannot see anything,” replied Mr. James.</p>
+
+<p>“Charles, you know you meant it for a joke,” exclaimed
+Mrs. Bower.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, if I did, I apologize,” said her cousin, laughing;
+“but you boys always appreciate my jokes better in school
+hours.”</p>
+
+<p>“Because there is generally more point in them, sir,”
+remarked Walker.</p>
+
+<p>“But the best of it is I never can see any joke in some
+of the things I say which provoke fits of laughter, and that
+always annoys me considerably.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s quite a habit of yours, Charles, to make these<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span>
+jokes,” said Mrs. Bower; “I confess I don’t care for them
+at any time.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ladies never do,” retorted Mr. James.</p>
+
+<p>And he laughed and looked very pleased at his remark, to
+which Mrs. Bower vouchsafed no reply.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus15" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus15.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Henry Hooker Walker, at Eton with
+the Author.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 90.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus16" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus16.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Hon. J. W. Lowther, present
+Speaker of the House of Commons.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 91.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Another boy who often went on these river excursions was
+a nephew of Mrs. Bower, named Holdsworth. He was a
+fine-looking fellow, older than I was and much higher up in
+the school. He was a very good oar, rowing in the <i>Victory</i>
+and also in the Eight; but he over-exerted himself in the
+latter and died shortly after leaving Eton. His father was
+a wealthy man, and his mother was called at one time the
+“Pocket Venus.” He had a sister, a pretty, fair-haired
+girl, who in after years married the late Sir James Dimsdale,
+Lord Mayor of London, who was also an Etonian.</p>
+
+<p>Walker also died shortly after leaving school, when he
+was barely eighteen. He died of a brain disease at his
+mother’s house in Palmeira Square, Brighton. I happened
+to be at Brighton a few weeks before, and he came to see me.</p>
+
+<p>One First of April, at Eton, I delivered a message to
+Walker, which was supposed to have come from Lord Rossmore,
+asking him to lunch at the “Christopher” at one
+o’clock. Rossmore, who had been very friendly with Walker
+at school, had lately joined the 1st Life Guards, who were
+stationed at Windsor Barracks, and often invited Walker
+there. And so the latter, suspecting nothing, went to the
+“Christopher,” and waited there for some time for Rossmore,
+with the result that he was not only disappointed of
+his expected lunch, but missed his dinner at James’s. He
+was very angry with me at the time, but he often laughed
+afterwards at this practical joke.</p>
+
+<p>I also wrote a note to a boy named Lewin C. Cholmeley,
+purporting to come from a person living in a street at the
+farther end of Windsor, where I had never been, to say that
+if he called there he would hear of something to his advantage.
+He, too, fell into the trap, went to the street mentioned,
+and hunted a long time for the house, but was unable
+to find it, as there was no such number there. When he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span>
+got back to James’s he found that dinner was over, and I
+don’t think he ever quite forgave me for the joke I had played
+upon him; certainly he never forgot it. Cholmeley was
+lower in school than I was at that time. When in the Fifth
+Form, he was in the Boats. I heard that, after I left Eton,
+he fell out with my tutor one Fourth of June, and was one
+of those who nearly drowned him in Chalvey. This affair
+might have entailed serious consequences for Cholmeley,
+had not Mr. James forgiven him and interceded in his
+favour with the Head Master. Cholmeley is now a wealthy
+solicitor in London.</p>
+
+<p>When I had nothing better to do of an evening, I often
+used to go to Leyton’s, at Windsor, which was famous for
+its pastry, and where a good many Eton boys were always
+to be found. My companion on these occasions was usually
+Lord Edward Somerset, who was in my division. On leaving
+Eton, Lord Edward Somerset entered the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers,
+from which he subsequently exchanged into the “Blues.”
+He died soon after his marriage, while still quite young.</p>
+
+<p>The German master at Eton was Herr Griebel, from
+whom I took private lessons at the same time as Count
+Bentinck. We read together Goethe’s <i>Die Leiden des jungen
+Werthers</i> and Auerbach’s <i>Das Landhaus am Rhein</i>. Herr
+Griebel told me that after he had been in England some
+time he forgot German entirely. Then he went back to
+Germany, and entirely forgot English. “But now,” he
+added, “I shall never forget either language, as I am far
+too old.” I was in the select one year for the Prince Consort’s
+German Prize, and the year following next in marks to the
+boy who won it. For the French Prize I was also rather
+high up in marks. Mr. Frank Tarver and his brother were
+the French masters at Eton then. One half the former got
+up a performance of Molière’s <i>le Bourgeois Gentilhomme</i>,
+which was acted by the boys and himself. Molière is said
+to have portrayed himself in <i>le Misanthrope</i>. It is well
+known that he used to read his comedies, first of all, to his
+old housekeeper, and when she smiled at certain passages,
+he felt sure that they would amuse the public also.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span></p>
+
+<p>Gridley’s younger brother, Reginald Gridley, after I had
+left Eton, rowed in the <i>Victory</i> and the Eight, and was a
+well-known oar at Cambridge, where he rowed for the
+University Eight against Oxford. Gridley himself, after
+holding a commission in the 5th Lancers and subsequently
+in the 78th Highlanders, was called to the Bar, but died soon
+afterwards. George Baird, who rowed in the Eight in 1873,
+was also at James’s, and was my fag for a short time. When
+he was in the Fifth Form, Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck, now
+Duke of Portland, fagged for him. George Baird, after
+leaving Eton, joined the 16th Lancers, and is now a
+colonel. I saw a good deal of him at my tutor’s, but
+all I remember about him is that he was a very nice
+fellow and that he messed with Blagrove. He had a
+cousin, Douglas Baird, who was also at James’s. Craven,
+on leaving Eton, entered the Grenadier Guards, from which
+he retired as captain. He married soon afterwards, and died
+at twenty-two. Holdsworth messed with Thomas Wood,
+who was also in the Boats (the <i>Thetis</i>), and distinguished
+himself in school. I met him in after years at Aldershot,
+where he was in the Grenadier Guards, and I remember that
+he behaved very generously to Temple—“Mug,” as we
+used to call him at Eton—when he was in bad health and
+poor circumstances, assisting him and seeing that he had
+the best medical advice in his illness, of which, however,
+he died when he was barely twenty years old.</p>
+
+<p>Two other boys who were with me at James’s were Percy
+Aylmer and Augustus Ralli. Aylmer, who was a very good-looking
+and exceedingly nice fellow, travelled with Colvin
+in after years, and now resides on his property in Durham.
+Ralli was a bright-looking boy, with very dark eyes, and
+was very popular in the house. Unhappily, he died of
+rheumatic fever at Eton in March 1872. There were, of
+course, many other boys at James’s besides those whom I
+have mentioned, but I cannot now recall anything about
+them worth recording here. Doyne left Eton long before
+I did, and died of influenza some years ago in Ireland.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Athletic Sports at Eton—A “Scrap”—Lord Newlands—An
+Old Boy on Eton of To-day</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Henley Regatta was an event which was always
+eagerly looked forward to by us boys. I used to go
+there with Mr. James and Mrs. Bower and some of the boys
+in our house. Sometimes we went by river all the way;
+at others by rail. One year, while sitting in the Grand
+Stand, I overheard a conversation between a boy named
+Kirklinton-Saul and his mother. Said the latter:—</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t always expect to hear from you, my dear,
+but when you want money, be sure and write, won’t
+you?”</p>
+
+<p>To which request the young gentleman gave the answer
+which might be expected.</p>
+
+<p>I could not help thinking at the time: “What a nice
+mamma! I wonder if there are many such mammas
+about?” The dinner at Henley used to consist of duck
+and green peas with beer, which the boys used to enjoy
+greatly; but there was such a crowd at the regatta, that
+there was always a tremendous scramble to get to the
+tables. Mr. James did not take dinner with him when we
+went to Henley, as it was so far from Eton. The toilettes
+of the ladies were very elaborate, though hardly equal to
+those one saw at the Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s.
+Nevertheless, there were some very pretty dresses, and—what
+was still more important—some very pretty faces.
+For many young girls came with their mothers to see their
+friends and relatives compete for the Ladies’ Plate, which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span>
+in those days Eton used to win year after year in succession.<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>
+The light blue of Eton was worn by the boys and by the
+pretty girls who accompanied them.</p>
+
+<p>The Athletic Sports at Eton were always interesting to
+watch. The steeplechase course was a most severe one,
+some very big natural jumps having to be negotiated, ending
+with the brook, which was the biggest jump of all. H. M.
+Ridley was the fastest runner at Eton in my time.</p>
+
+<p>I recollect one day having a try at the brook in the
+“field,” which I succeeded in jumping. The late Lord
+Lonsdale and his brother, the present Earl, were standing
+some way off, and must have thought I could not do it, for
+the former shouted out when I landed safely on the further
+bank:—</p>
+
+<p>“Well done, Black-eyed Susan!” <i>Black-eyed Susan</i>, I
+may mention, was the name of a popular burlesque, by
+Douglas Jerrold, which had a great run at that time at
+the Strand Theatre. One morning, before breakfast, I ran
+John Lister-Kaye one hundred yards for a bet of five shillings,
+he giving me five yards start, and managed to win, though
+he had felt very confident about beating me. I ran one year
+in the Hundred Yards for boys under sixteen at the Sports,
+and Holdsworth, who was acting as umpire, told me afterwards
+that I might have won it, had I not stopped a yard
+short, through mistaking the boundary line. He often<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span>
+asked me why I had done so, but the only reason I could give
+was that I was so short-sighted.</p>
+
+<p>We had a play-room at James’s, where we used to practise
+the high jump, and there were some boys who could clear
+a jump higher than themselves. In this room stood a large
+blackboard, upon which all the names of the boys who had
+been at James’s were carved, with the year they came and
+the year they left.</p>
+
+<p>The cricket match between Eton and Winchester was
+played in alternate years at either school. When the match
+took place at Eton, the band of the Life Guards or the
+“Blues” would play on the ground, where there was always
+a large attendance of visitors, including a great number of
+ladies. But it was never so fine a sight as the Eton and
+Harrow match at Lord’s. At one Winchester match I remember
+seeing Miss Evans (George Eliot), who had come as the
+guest of one of the masters, and whose presence created quite
+a sensation.</p>
+
+<p>Once at Lord’s, during the Eton and Harrow match, I
+was invited on to the drag of a friend of mine named C. N.
+Ridley, who was in my own division, where I had an excellent
+lunch, washed down by champagne. Ridley was a good-looking
+boy, with fair, curly hair and blue eyes, and his
+two sisters, who were exquisitely dressed on this occasion
+in light blue satin dresses with white lace, were considered
+remarkable beauties in London. They were quite young
+and very fair, like their brother, with the most lovely blue
+eyes of the shade of the myosotis. They might often be
+seen in the season riding in the Park, and were greatly admired
+by the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII.,
+who invited them to Marlborough House. Unhappily, both
+these beautiful girls and their brother were consumptive,
+and I heard that they all three died of consumption not very
+long afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>In those days, the Eton and Harrow match at Lord’s was
+a far more pleasant function than it has since become.
+Only people interested in Eton or Harrow were there, and
+a good view of the game could easily be obtained. Nowadays<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span>
+people go who do not know one school from the other,
+and the whole space is reserved for the M.C.C., so that if you
+do not happen to be a member, you cannot see the game at
+all. One constantly hears people say at Lord’s now:—</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know anything about cricket and care less, but
+I have come to see the ladies’ toilettes.”</p>
+
+<p>In the old days this was not so. Lord’s has certainly not
+improved since.<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p>
+
+<p>The boys at James’s used often to go into the pantry,
+where William, the butler, would give them a glass of claret,
+and water Mr. James’s wine well for him afterwards. Often
+the butler would exclaim: “Ha! spider up there!” and
+while we were looking for it, he watered the claret. It was
+in the butler’s pantry that I had the only fight I ever had
+at Eton, the day before I left for good. My opponent was
+the Hon., afterwards Lord, Henry Vane-Tempest, a son of
+the Marquis of Londonderry, who was a little lower down
+in the school than I was. I don’t think either of us really
+wanted to fight, but we were egged on by others whose
+respective parts we had taken in a quarrel, and after a very
+short “scrap,” which I got the best of, we shook hands and
+made friends. When I went down to Eton again, I met
+Vane-Tempest at my tutor’s, and he told me that he was
+then leaving to enter the “Blues.” He has since joined the
+majority, quite young in life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p>
+
+<p>Of the boys at James’s, I may mention that Sir John
+Lister-Kaye married Miss Yznaga, an American lady, one
+of two sisters celebrated for their beauty and toilettes in
+Paris, where I often met them in society. Sir John was a
+gentleman in attendance on the late King Edward VII.
+Lord Mandeville, who was in the Grenadier Guards, and
+afterwards became Duke of Manchester, married the other
+sister. Cecil Lister-Kaye married the sister of the Duke of
+Newcastle, who was himself at Eton. Cecil Lister-Kaye
+told me recently that his son was at Eton, and that he often
+went down to see him. He, no doubt, on these occasions,
+thinks with some regret of the happy days of his youth at
+James’s. I have come across some of those who were with
+me at Eton in quite unexpected places. For instance, I met
+the present Earl of Northbrook in Bombay. He was on his
+way to visit his uncle, then Viceroy of India, and had come
+to Bombay, he told me, to buy Arab horses. He was in the
+same division with me at Eton, and afterwards served in
+the Rifle Brigade and Grenadier Guards. Although I may
+have forgotten many of my schoolfellows at Eton, I can
+never forget those who were in my division. Among them was
+Henry de Vere Vane, then a very clever, fair-haired boy, whom
+I remember envying because he learned everything so quickly.
+He was the late Lord Barnard, and inherited the Cleveland
+estates on succeeding to this title. I had been told that in
+the hall of Raby Castle, his country-seat, a fire had been
+lighted two hundred years ago and had never been extinguished
+since. But Lord Barnard informed me that this is
+a legend, and sent me an account of a similar one:—</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p class="center">“<i>Fire kept in for two hundred years.</i></p>
+
+<p>“One of the loneliest spots in England, where there are
+only four cottages in an area of thirty thousand acres, was
+described at Brampton (Cumberland) Revision Court. The
+Conservative agent, Mr. Mawson, said he had visited the
+farm, which was situated on a remote fell between Bewcastle
+and Haltwhistle, on the border of Northumberland. Members<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span>
+of the farmer’s family had lived in this particular cottage for
+six hundred years, and there was a tradition that the kitchen
+fire had never been out for two hundred years. The claimant
+slept in a bedroom eight feet square. There was a child
+there that had not seen another child for two years.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp53" id="illus17" style="max-width: 31.25em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus17.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Duke of Rutland</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 98.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Another who was in my division was the Hon. V. A.
+Parnell, a good-looking boy, with black hair with a blueish
+reflection in it, and fine eyes. He was a good cricketer and
+clever in school. At times, when we were up to Mr. Thackeray,
+Parnell, as he reminded me recently, would, <i>faute de
+mieux à faire</i>, be engaged in shinning matches with a boy
+who sat next to him called Dobson. The latter was a very
+good-humoured fellow, who retaliated without losing his
+temper, though at times he could with difficulty refrain from
+betraying the pain which he endured so stoically with a
+smiling face.</p>
+
+<p>The present Duke of Rutland, then Henry F. B. Manners,
+was at Eton with me, but higher up in the school, and if
+my memory does not deceive me, was in the Boats when in
+the Fifth Form.</p>
+
+<p>The present Lord Newlands, then known as J. H. C. Hozier,
+was very high up in the school, and I can remember when
+he was in my tutor’s division, as the latter used to say
+how clever he was, and he frequently came to the pupil-room
+at James’s. Mr. James would often tell us about those
+who were up to him, but it was rarely that he bestowed
+praise on any boy.</p>
+
+<p>When Doyne left Eton, I had his room, which commanded
+a view of the fine lime-trees, which in the summer looked
+very charming. On the wall hard by the boys used to stand
+or sit to criticize all the people who passed along the road
+running through Eton. This must have been a rather
+trying ordeal for some of the latter, for I remember that I
+used to find it a very trying experience when I happened
+to be late for chapel, particularly when I first came to Eton,
+to be obliged to run the gauntlet of a double row of boys,
+who never failed to pass remarks on everyone. The choir<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span>
+at Eton, which was the same as that of St. George’s Chapel
+at Windsor, was a very good one, and one of the boys who
+sang in it, named Hancock, was paid, I was told, one hundred
+and fifty pounds a year. Hancock sang occasionally the
+solo part in Mendelssohn’s anthem, “O, for the wings of a
+dove,” in a marvellous manner, his high notes being wonderfully
+clear; but his voice lacked expression, and, as boys
+and girls generally regard certain things purely from an
+æsthetic point of view, the impression it made upon us
+was one rather of surprise than of admiration. Some of us
+used to go on Sundays to St. George’s, Windsor, and sit in
+the organ loft, where Dr. Elvey, who was a remarkably
+fine organist, played most beautifully.</p>
+
+<p>After Dr. Hornby became Head Master, the custom of
+giving leaving books was abolished. Personally, I regretted
+this innovation, not because I did not receive any, but
+because I liked to make presents to my friends who were
+leaving Eton; and the expense was a small one, to which,
+I am sure, none of our parents objected.</p>
+
+<p>Most of us look back upon our school days as the happiest
+part of our lives, for, to the schoolboy, the cares and anxieties
+which weigh upon us as we grow older are unknown, and,
+given good health, an Eton boy’s life ought to be <i>par excellence</i>
+the very sum of earthly happiness. Lord Rathdonnell,
+late of the Scots Greys, who, when at Eton, as McClintock-Bunbury,
+stroked the Eight at Henley, and excelled at
+football and at most games, besides being very high up in
+the school and very popular, wrote to me some years ago,
+saying that the years he spent at Eton were by far the happiest
+of his life, and that he always looked back to them
+with intense pleasure. The Captain of the Boats at that
+time was Edwards-Moss, now a baronet. Horace Ricardo
+(now Colonel Ricardo, C.V.O.), whom I remember quite
+well, was then in the <i>Monarch</i>, and his brother Cecil rowed
+in the <i>Victory</i> and was Captain of the Boats in 1871. After
+leaving Eton, both brothers entered the Grenadier Guards,
+and each of them commanded a battalion before retiring from
+the Service. I remember that Doyne, who was never high<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span>
+up in the school and for whom Latin and Greek were somewhat
+of a torture, telling me years afterwards that he looked
+back with regret to the happy days he had spent at Eton,
+which, all things considered, were perhaps the happiest of
+his life. Yet Doyne was not one of those who had any
+trouble in after life; on the contrary, he had everything
+which a man could possibly desire, besides enjoying good
+health. But the joyous, irresponsible days of school life
+were gone for ever, and, as he confessed to me, he would only
+too gladly have returned to them and lived them over again.</p>
+
+<p>In regard to Eton at the present day, I heard not long
+ago from an old schoolfellow, the late Colonel Sir Josceline
+Bagot, a distinguished officer of the Guards and author, who
+had had a boy there, and who wrote as follows:—</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“It all seems much the same, though, to my mind,
+not improved in some ways. They have got more
+room certainly, but, for such a big place as it has become,
+I think the traditional freedom of the boys is overdone
+altogether. Much too much importance is given to
+boys in ‘Pop,’ and allowing them and Captains of
+Houses to smack boys with canes for certain offences
+more or less officially is, to my mind, a great mistake,
+and starts the rotten system of many public schools
+of ‘monitors,’ ‘prefects,’ etc. No boys should have
+that power, and it is much worse for them to have it
+than for the boys who get smacked. It all comes from
+the masters thinking themselves too grand to swish
+boys as in the old days; and the Head Master smacks
+them on rare occasions with a stick, whereupon they
+put on two pairs of trousers, etc., and merely laugh at
+it and him, and they barely touch their hats at all to
+the masters. They all smoke now to a great extent,
+far more than we ever did, and, though the Head Master
+is wild about it, he is powerless to do anything sensible
+to stop it; and some of these rich Jew boys and foreigners
+have far too much money and spoil things. If I were
+Head Master, I wouldn’t have them at the school at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span>
+all. I was next to Lyttelton in school for a year or so,
+and like him, but he has no respect and control at all
+for such a position. Still, if drawbacks have crept in,
+it is still the best school in the world.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>As time goes on, one hears everywhere, and always in a
+louder whisper, the serious, dangerous word, “decadence.”
+But let us allow the evil question whether our culture is
+really going to ground to rest, and rather attempt a very naïve
+example: Suppose a true son of classical Greece—Socrates,
+for instance—were conducted in a dream into the midst of
+our modern culture. He would look with amazement at
+the marvellous means of locomotion, the production of the
+factories, the luxurious comfort of private houses, the magnificence
+of our theatres and so forth; but the question whether
+we ought to be proud and happy he would answer in his
+usual way:—</p>
+
+<p>“In my country I knew Pericles and heard the dramas of
+Sophocles. I knew Alcibiades and saw Phidias at work, and
+my pupil was Plato. Now show me your living masters.”</p>
+
+<p>The next day Socrates would relate:—</p>
+
+<p>“I dreamt this night I was in Persia. Everything is
+greater there than you can imagine. Immensely great are the
+treasures, the armies and navies, the towns and houses, the
+machinery employed. In short, everything is inconceivably
+great; only the people are very small....”</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Lady Grace Stopford—Tipperary in 1870—Robbed at Punchestown
+Races—I get my own back</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Just after I left Eton, in 1870, I went over to Ireland
+to stay with my friend Doyne, who lived in County
+Wexford, and had a fine estate near the sea, about
+half an hour’s walk from the beach. His mother and sister
+lived with him, and he and I rode about his property and
+amused ourselves very well, though he had no near neighbours,
+except the Earl of Courtown and his family. The
+eldest son, Viscount Stopford, who had been with us at Eton,
+was away at the time, though his sister, Lady Grace Stopford,
+was there. One day we called, and were received by
+Lady Grace, who was the only one of the family at home.
+After shaking hands with her, Doyne said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I wanted to show my friend the fairest young lady in
+the county.”</p>
+
+<p>At which compliment she blushed and replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“I am afraid he will be much disappointed.”</p>
+
+<p>“On the contrary,” I observed, “I am agreeably surprised.”</p>
+
+<p>She then inquired if I knew her brother, and I told her
+that we were at Eton together. Lady Grace was a girl of
+about sixteen, with a lovely complexion, blue eyes and
+regular features. Her hair was of a reddish tint, similar to
+that which one sees in certain pictures by Correggio, and
+particularly in one in the Liechtenstein Gallery in Vienna,
+the face of which also bore a resemblance to hers. In her
+manner she appeared somewhat stiff, and more like the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span>
+English than the Irish, who are generally so free and easy.
+But then Lady Grace always spent the season in London,
+and lived most of her time in England. Her brother, Lord
+Stopford, now Earl of Courtown, was in the Grenadier
+Guards, and had lately joined his regiment.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Doyne was a charming old lady, and her daughters
+had delightful manners and were exceedingly pleasant in
+every way. While I was with them, Mrs. Doyne told me
+that she and her family had received an invitation to Killarney,
+and asked me to go with them, which I did with
+great pleasure. The house we stayed at was a fine one, very
+prettily situated near the Lake of Killarney, and the weather
+being beautiful and very hot, it was very pleasant to go
+on the lake and visit the different sights in the neighbourhood.
+I was delighted with the scenery of the lake and
+the various waterfalls in the woods, some of the views being
+exquisitely lovely. One day, when Doyne and I were riding
+on donkeys on the rugged hills near the lake, a bare-footed
+Irish girl came up and spoke to us in Irish, showing her
+beautiful teeth. She had very black eyes and black hair
+falling loosely over her shoulders, and her legs, like her feet,
+were bare. She could not speak a word of English, but
+Doyne made her understand him somehow by means of
+gestures.</p>
+
+<p>Killarney gave me the impression that I was in Italy.
+There were so many bare-legged boys and girls walking
+about, and the scenery was more like that of the south of
+Europe than the British Isles; while the almost tropical
+heat we were experiencing just then completed the illusion.
+One day it rained very heavily, so Doyne and I went to the
+Hôtel Victoria, where an American, who was playing billiards,
+said to us:—</p>
+
+<p>“I guess I shall have to say that I have seen the Lake
+of Killarney from this billiard-room window, as I am leaving
+early to-morrow morning.”</p>
+
+<p>The tutor of a young fellow staying at the hôtel told me
+that I must have Scottish blood in my veins, because I
+walked so carefully, as if calculating every step I took, while<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span>
+an Irishman walked without the least hesitation. I noticed
+that the good looks of the Irish people were found more in
+the lower classes than in those above them. Some of the
+bare-legged girls whom I saw were quite pretty, with something
+of the Spanish type of beauty about them. Their
+hands and feet were usually small, whereas those of some of
+the women of the upper classes were of very generous proportions.
+Everywhere I went I met with a “<i>gemüthlichkeit</i>,”
+which is not to be found in England, go where one may;
+the Irish are so friendly and jolly, even if one does not know
+them.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Killarney, we went to Tipperary, and stayed
+at Cashel, with the Dean, Dr. MacDonnell, who told me
+that there were sixteen roads leading to the town, on each
+of which a murder had recently been committed. These
+crimes had, however, been committed for political reasons,
+for if a man did not meddle with politics, he might travel
+along these same roads at night with his pockets bulging
+with gold in perfect safety. The Dean, who afterwards
+became a Canon of Peterborough,<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> had a pretty daughter,
+a very amiable and clever girl, who is now the wife of Sir
+Shirley Salt.</p>
+
+<p>I also stayed at Wells, an estate belonging to Mr. Mervyn
+Doyne, my friend’s elder brother, who had married Lady
+Frances Fitzwilliam, the eldest daughter of Earl Fitzwilliam.
+The house was a very imposing one, built in the Elizabethan
+style and standing in the midst of extensive grounds. Lady
+Francis Doyne was a nice-looking and extremely pleasant<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span>
+woman. At dinner one evening she told me the following
+rather interesting story:—</p>
+
+<p>“I happened to dream one night in town, just before we
+were leaving for Ireland, that I had lost my dressing-case.
+Therefore, before starting, I told my maid to take particular
+care of it during the journey. However, when we arrived
+in Dublin, I left her in charge of the dressing-case for two or
+three minutes at the station, and somehow she must have
+put it down for an instant, since, on my returning to her,
+she exclaimed: ‘Oh, my lady, the dressing-case is gone!’
+My husband had all the cars which were leaving the station
+stopped, but my dressing-case was nowhere to be found.
+He telegraphed to Scotland Yard, in London, but with no
+success whatever, and I have never recovered it to this day.
+I had at the time eight thousand pounds’ worth of jewellery
+in it, besides valuable stones belonging to my ancestors,
+which can never be replaced.”</p>
+
+<p>Speaking of London, Lady Fanny said:—</p>
+
+<p>“We had a house in Mount Street for the season, and one
+evening, when we were giving a dinner-party, a band began
+playing outside our house. It played rather well, so I sent
+my footman out to the conductor to ask him to continue
+playing all the time we were at dinner, and to give him a
+sovereign if he would do so. But the footman brought back
+the sovereign, and told me that the conductor refused to
+play under five pounds.”</p>
+
+<p>Lady Fanny also said:—</p>
+
+<p>“People soon forget one in London. As a young girl, I
+lived with my father in Grosvenor Square, but after my
+marriage I was not in London for two years. When I
+returned to town, I found that everyone had forgotten me
+entirely.”</p>
+
+<p>Earl Fitzwilliam, Lady Fanny’s father, used to give two
+big dinners in town to his tenants, to each of which fifty
+guests were invited. At one of these dinners the service
+was entirely of silver; at the other entirely of gold.</p>
+
+<p>I was invited with Jim Doyne to stay at the Shelbourne
+Hotel, as the guest of Earl Fitzwilliam, for the Punchestown<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span>
+Races. The first day of the races it poured with rain, and
+Jim and I went to the course on an Irish car. On the way
+he chaffed a man and a girl on our car whom he had never
+seen before, who were engaged in a flirtation, and said to the
+girl aloud:—</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t listen to the tales he is telling you; they are all
+lies.”</p>
+
+<p>The girl blushed, and the man, looking very much annoyed,
+answered:—</p>
+
+<p>“She knows I am telling her the truth.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a great rush to get into the stand, and Jim and
+I got separated. I tendered an English five-pound note for
+admission, but the man issuing the tickets said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t take English notes, only Irish ones.”</p>
+
+<p>I told him I had a ticket for the Marquis of Drogheda’s
+private stand, but he said that I must first pay the sovereign
+entrance to the other. Suddenly, a man came forward and
+said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I will change your note, if you will give it me or come
+with me.”</p>
+
+<p>I followed him through the pouring rain to a tent, where
+he showed me three cards, which he threw on a table, saying:—</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll bet you a fiver you don’t name the court card.”</p>
+
+<p>“But I don’t wish to bet,” I replied.</p>
+
+<p>“You must play,” rejoined he, “or I’ll keep your money.”</p>
+
+<p>I looked round for a policeman, but there was not one
+anywhere near, and, while my eyes were off him, the man
+disappeared. I tried to find him all day, but without success.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening, when I returned to the Shelbourne Hotel,
+Lord Fitzwilliam’s sons, Thomas<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> and Charles Fitzwilliam,
+Lord Aberdour, Jim and myself dined together in a private<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span>
+room. Lord Aberdour, who is now Earl of Morton, said:—“I
+was making a bet with a man when someone nearly
+knocked me down and took away my watch and chain, and
+in the confusion of the moment I could not discover who it
+was.”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not come off any better,” remarked Charles
+Fitzwilliam, who had been at Eton and was now in the
+“Blues,” “for I was paid a bet with half a five-pound and
+half a ten-pound note pinned together.”</p>
+
+<p>The next day, when it rained again, I went to the races,
+and walked about, keeping a sharp look-out for the man who
+had stolen my “fiver.” Presently I caught sight of him, and
+going up to a constable, inquired if he could arrest a man
+on suspicion, which he said he could. The fellow was
+performing the three-card trick at the time, and was promptly
+arrested. He, of course, loudly protested his innocence,
+saying:—</p>
+
+<p>“It was not me, but the Scotsman who did it, and he
+ain’t here to-day. I don’t know the young gentleman at
+all.”</p>
+
+<p>The constable asked me if I were quite sure that this was
+the man, to which I replied in the affirmative. He was then
+marched off, and a head constable came and took down my
+affirmation, which I signed. The three-card gentleman
+called out to me:—</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll give you twenty pounds if you’ll let me off,” and
+the constable, overhearing this, said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Now he has confessed to taking the note; I see it’s all
+right.”</p>
+
+<p>During dinner at the “Shelbourne” that night I told my
+friends of my adventure, when they all said:—</p>
+
+<p>“You must prosecute the man for the good of the public.”</p>
+
+<p>I decided to follow their advice, and, about a month later,
+I went with Jim to Naas, where the fellow was to be tried,
+and where, as Jim happened to know the county court
+judge, Baron de Robeck, we were given seats on the Bench.
+When the prisoner was brought in, he at once pleaded guilty,
+upon which the judge sentenced him to repay the five<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span>
+pounds, which he did, and to three months’ hard labour.
+He was also ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution,
+which came to as much as five pounds, but these I refused
+to accept.</p>
+
+<p>At Naas we lunched with the Duke of Leinster, who
+had been at Eton with us, and was then with his militia
+regiment. He was much interested in my adventure, and
+glad to hear of the result. At the station a man came up to
+me, and telling me he was the prisoner’s solicitor, asked me
+to give him some money for persuading his client to plead
+guilty. But when I spoke to Jim about it, he answered:—“Tell
+him to go to the devil.”</p>
+
+<p>And the man of law, overhearing the remark, took
+himself off without more ado.</p>
+
+<p>I stayed some weeks longer with Jim Doyne,<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> when I
+went to London for my “exam.” for the Army.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Dieppe under Prussian Rule—A Toilette by Worth—A Confirmed
+Gambler</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>During the Franco-German War, while I was at Eton,
+my parents remained in Paris, and though my father
+left the city during the Commune, my mother stayed until
+the very last, when she was persuaded to follow him. Towards
+the end of the war I joined my parents at Dieppe, and
+saw the Prussians enter the town, when eighteen soldiers
+were billeted on the owner of the house we lived in. Madame
+Gaillard, an American lady, the young wife of General
+Gaillard, who was afterwards appointed to look after Maréchal
+Bazaine when a prisoner, was with us at Dieppe. She was
+a very pretty woman, and she and the Baronne van Havre
+usually went with my mother to the afternoon concerts. I
+took lessons on the violin from the chief violinist, whose
+name was Lamoury. His brother was one of the first violoncello
+players in France, and played in the orchestra at the
+Conservatoire in Paris. Lamoury told me that he had
+begun to learn the violin too late in life to be a virtuoso on
+that instrument, as he had not begun to play it until he was
+fourteen, whereas you ought to start playing at the age of
+seven in order to be anything remarkable as a violinist.</p>
+
+<p>The English Consul at Dieppe was a Mr. Chapman, and
+there were several English residents. Among them were
+Edward Blount, a friend of my father, who had been at
+school with Gambetta and spoke French almost better
+than he did English, and a Major Boland, from Bath, who
+had married a French lady, the sister of Jules Simon, one of
+the Ministers then in power in Paris. Boland was in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span>
+habit of depreciating the French Army and praising the
+Prussians in every way. Owing to his having lived in the
+same house as his brother-in-law for many years before the
+war, he had had, although an Englishman, opportunities
+for ascertaining the real condition of the French
+Army.</p>
+
+<p>“I knew from the first,” he would observe, “that the
+French would be defeated, and that Bazaine was a traitor,
+who was playing into the hands of the Prussians all
+along.”</p>
+
+<p>Jules Simon seemed to share his opinion of the state to
+which the Empire had reduced France by embarking in this
+disastrous war, for which she was unprepared, whereas
+Prussia had been preparing for it for many years.</p>
+
+<p>Dieppe is a very charming seaside resort in the summer
+months, and it was very pleasant to go to the Casino, where
+the band played of an afternoon, and listen to the orchestra,
+which in those days was excellent, as most of the performers
+came from Paris. The Casino was near the sea, and to sit
+there and watch the sea sparkling under the rays of the sun
+and the snow-white sails in the distance, bathed, as evening
+approached, in a rosy light, was to me a never-failing source
+of pleasure. At such an hour as this Time and Space seem
+to be eliminated. The incoming tide approaches with a
+gentle murmur. It encircles first one spot on the sands,
+then another; rests for a moment, and then continues its
+advance. The sea is a symbol for us of Eternity and of our
+passing away.</p>
+
+<p>When the Uhlans entered Dieppe, followed by the Prussian
+infantry, the town was in a ferment, since no one knew
+what was going to follow. All kinds of rumours were afloat,
+and some people believed that a warship would bombard
+the town, if the invaders met with any resistance. The
+Germans requisitioned many things, with which the inhabitants
+were very reluctant to supply them, and ordered
+that all lights should be extinguished at 8 p.m., and that
+after 10 p.m. no one should leave his house. This condition
+of affairs naturally did not suit my father, and he determined<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span>
+to leave Dieppe at once. But this was a difficult
+matter, as to go by rail was nearly impossible, and by sea
+altogether out of the question. Finally we decided to
+hire a carriage and to start before daybreak, although we
+were very much afraid lest we should be stopped by the
+Prussians. We succeeded, however, in escaping detection
+and reached Dunkerque, where we took the train for Calais,
+and thence made our way to Boulogne. Here we stayed
+for some days at the Hôtel des Bains, and then embarked
+for Folkestone, from which we proceeded to Brighton.</p>
+
+<p>At Brighton, where my parents took a house facing the
+sea, and not far from the Old Pier, we found Captain and
+Mrs. Berkeley, who had taken a house for the season in
+Regency Square; Mrs. Charles Woodforde, an aunt of my
+father, who was staying there with her daughter, and Sophia
+Kinglake, a sister of the author of “Eöthen,” whom
+Thackeray once described as the cleverest woman he had
+ever met in his life. One day, I remember calling with my
+mother upon her, when she told us that she was knitting a
+scarf for John Ardagh, who afterwards became General Sir
+John Ardagh, and died some years ago. Shortly after we
+arrived, a very pretty, graceful and beautifully-dressed girl
+entered the room. She was a Miss Gordon, daughter of a
+General Gordon, and, in the course of conversation, said to
+me:—</p>
+
+<p>“I always get my dresses from Worth, and sometimes
+I go and stay with his family at their country-place in France.
+I generally stop with them from three weeks to a month,
+and return to England with a fine lot of dresses. Worth
+would be horrified were he to see me to-day, because I am
+wearing gloves which do not match my dress. Once I put
+on grey gloves with a costume of an unusual colour, upon
+which he told me that if I ever did so again, he would make
+for me no more. So, you see, I have to study his taste
+in the matter of toilettes most carefully.”</p>
+
+<p>I inquired whether Worth charged very high prices for
+his confections.</p>
+
+<p>“It is according to what you consider high,” she replied.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span>
+“He charges from forty pounds for a dress, and will not
+make one under that price; but it is always perfectly finished
+and lined with silk. For ball-dresses he charges more. I
+get both my morning-gowns and ball-toilettes from him,
+for I consider that he is the only man who can make dresses
+which are worth wearing.”</p>
+
+<p>I asked if Laferrière were not very good, as I had heard
+so much about him in Paris.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, he is,” she said, “but Worth I consider still
+better.”</p>
+
+<p>Miss Gordon was a girl of about eighteen, with a wonderfully
+clear complexion, brown hair, blue eyes, and rather
+good features. She had also a beautiful figure, for which
+reason it must have been quite a pleasure for a dressmaker
+to make for her. She was wearing on this occasion a blue
+costume, with a good deal of <i>passementerie</i> on it, and very
+pretty buttons in enamel, a white petticoat with flounces
+of lace, stockings <i>à jour</i>, and shoes with Louis Quinze
+heels. Her hat matched her dress, and the <i>ensemble</i> would
+have been a dream, had not her gloves, which were brown,
+spoiled—as she herself admitted—an otherwise perfect
+toilette.</p>
+
+<p>While at Brighton, I used frequently to go on the Pier
+with my mother to listen to the band, which, however,
+played very badly. Captain and Mrs. Berkeley often came
+there too, and would sit with us until my father came
+to fetch us to lunch. Captain Dorrien was also at Brighton
+at this time, and occasionally some of the old society of
+Homburg would meet on the Pier, and talk over their
+experiences at roulette and trente-et-quarante.</p>
+
+<p>“I say, Fred,” inquired Dorrien one day of my father,
+“how about your infallible system? What was it? Let
+me see: one louis <i>à cheval</i> between zero and two, one
+between twelve and fifteen, one between twenty-six and
+twenty-nine, and one between thirty-two and thirty-five.
+Isn’t that it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, my dear fellow,” answered my father, “and you
+double the amount if you lose.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Oh!” exclaimed Berkeley, “that game is a martingale,
+and it nearly broke me.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then, old fellow,” said my father, “you didn’t play it
+the right way.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes, I did, and in very much the right way, for I
+lost all I had....”</p>
+
+<p>“I wish I were at Homburg to try it again,” continued
+my father.</p>
+
+<p>“You would only lose again,” said Berkeley.</p>
+
+<p>“I am sorry that I ever played there at all,” said
+Dorrien.</p>
+
+<p>“So am I,” exclaimed Berkeley, “but there is an attraction
+there that somehow one cannot resist.”</p>
+
+<p>“I feel I should win if I played at Monte Carlo,” said my
+father.</p>
+
+<p>“You always felt like that at Homburg,” remarked
+Dorrien. “You said, if you remember, one evening, that
+you felt like winning, and you lost heavily.”</p>
+
+<p>“But I won afterwards—three hundred louis.”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear fellow, you forget how much you lost. You
+can talk like that to people who know nothing about the
+game, but as for me, who have lost thirty thousand
+pounds at it, you cannot make me believe that white is
+black.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t I?” said my father, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>“No, you can’t, and you are foolish to try to make yourself
+believe that you can ever win at that game.”</p>
+
+<p>“I agree with you entirely,” observed Berkeley.</p>
+
+<p>“I always hope to win back what I have lost,” said my
+father.</p>
+
+<p>“That you will never do at roulette and trente-et-quarante,”
+said Dorrien.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t you play at all now then?” asked my father.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, at baccarat and the Stock Exchange.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is as bad,” remarked my father.</p>
+
+<p>“I am not sure it isn’t worse,” said Dorrien, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>“Quite as bad,” exclaimed Berkeley, “but I do the
+same thing.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I shall have a try this winter at Monte Carlo,” said my
+father.</p>
+
+<p>“You have had one lesson; why do you want to burn
+your fingers again?” asked Dorrien.</p>
+
+<p>“If you do,” remarked Berkeley, “<i>vous y perdrez vos pas,
+mon cher ami</i>.”</p>
+
+<p>And then they talked about other things.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<p class="center">The Princess von Metternich—The Lady of the Luxembourg
+Gardens</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Paris was very dull in the way of entertainments and
+parties after the Commune, and people spoke of
+hardly anything but the siege. Mrs. Healy, an aunt of
+Viscount Dillon, who lived in the same house as my parents
+in the Rue d’Albe, her <i>appartement</i> being on the <i>entresol</i>,
+had remained there throughout the siege and the Commune,
+and told us that she had always contrived to get everything
+she wanted in the way of eatables, though she had had to
+pay an enormously high price for them; twenty francs
+a pound, for instance, for butter, which she obtained as
+well as eggs and meat, and consequently was never obliged
+to dine off a mouse or any delicacy of that description, like
+most of the people in Paris. Theobald, Lord Dillon, often
+came to see his aunt, and one day he related to us how he
+had become acquainted with Sims Reeves, and how he had
+been the means of the latter continuing his studies at Milan
+as a singer. It was entirely through Lord Dillon’s generosity
+that Sims Reeves became so well known, as he had advanced
+him a large sum of money. Albani was also first brought
+into notice in England by Lord Dillon, who was so enchanted
+with her beautiful voice that he soon made known to everybody
+the “star” he had discovered. Albani was a frequent
+guest at his beautiful country-seat, Ditchley Park, for he
+and Lady Dillon not only admired her most exquisite voice,
+but her very charming personality as well.</p>
+
+<p>The last time I met Lord Dillon was on the pier at
+Brighton, when I happened to be on leave from Aldershot,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span>
+where my regiment was then stationed; and, I remember,
+I introduced Lord Headley to him, at the former’s request.
+The two noblemen discussed politics, upon which subject
+they did not agree. Later the same day, I introduced two
+young officers to Lord Dillon, as he told me he was very
+fond of young men, he himself being then an old man. The
+officers in question were both Old Etonians and attached
+to my regiment. One was Richard Sutton, a son of Sir
+Richard Sutton, who died before his father; the other,
+the present Sir Charles E. C. Hartopp, a nephew of the Duke
+of Norfolk, who had just been staying at Arundel with his
+uncle.</p>
+
+<p>I happened to meet Whitehead, a correspondent of the
+<i>Daily Telegraph</i>, who had remained in Paris during the
+siege. I asked him whether he was not at all alarmed at
+the time, to which he replied that he did not know what fear
+meant, and had never been afraid of anything in his life.</p>
+
+<p>I was still at Eton, but came to Paris for my holidays,
+and one evening went to a ball, at which I recollect the
+Princess von Metternich, wife of the Austrian Ambassador,
+was present, and that she left after remaining only half
+an hour. Sir Edward Malet, who was then First Secretary
+at the British Embassy, led the cotillion. It was a terribly
+dull affair, and I was quite glad to get away. Evidently,
+the Princess von Metternich saw at a glance what it was
+like, and only waited until her carriage returned, or no
+doubt she would have left even sooner. The Princess
+spoke English just like an Englishwoman, and when she
+spoke in German interlarded every sentence with French
+words, as all the Austrian nobility do. She had plenty of
+<i>esprit</i>, and when I saw her in recent years in Vienna, she
+always used to make use of the late Baron Nathan de Rothschild
+to assist her in collecting money for the poor of the
+city, and—some people were malicious enough to say—for
+herself as well. She had such a way of asking for charitable
+contributions that she scarcely ever met with a refusal, and
+never indeed from “her little Jew,” as she was accustomed
+to call Baron Nathan.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span></p>
+
+<p>After I left Eton, I returned to Paris, and, as it was
+summer, I often walked in the Luxembourg Gardens, where
+it was very pleasant to sit beneath the trees and read a
+book. One day, I happened to be sitting near a fountain
+which contained some gold fish. On the same seat sat a
+young girl with fair hair, who appeared entirely absorbed
+in a book which she was reading, and from which she did
+not raise her eyes for a moment. I asked her what was
+the name of the novel in which she was so interested. She
+answered that it was not a novel at all, but a serious modern
+French work on philosophy. And she handed it to me.
+I was not a little curious to know why she read such books,
+and questioned her on the matter, when she replied that
+they were the only ones capable of distracting her thoughts,
+and that, as her own life had been like a novel, she avoided
+such stories, for they usually reminded her of her own
+experiences, and made her sadder than ever. I inquired if
+she would mind letting me know her own history, and, at the
+same time, studied her more attentively than before. She
+was a fair girl, with blue eyes with long black eyelashes, a
+very clear complexion and long wavy hair. Her features
+were small and rather regular, and she had very fine teeth
+and a beautiful figure. She was dressed in deep mourning,
+and her petticoat was trimmed with Valenciennes lace, of
+which I could just catch a glimpse when she raised her
+tiny foot occasionally. She acceded to my request, and
+related to me the following story:—</p>
+
+<p>“I was living with my parents in the country, when an
+aunt of mine asked me to come to Paris, saying that she
+would have me taught dressmaking. On my arrival in
+Paris, I went to live with my aunt and became an apprentice
+at a dressmaker’s shop, which had a number of customers
+among the ladies of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. One
+morning, when I was on my way to business, I noticed
+that a gentleman was following me, but it was not until
+some days later that I made his acquaintance, when he told
+me that he had fallen in love with me, and offered to furnish
+an <i>appartement</i> for me, and to give me three louis a day<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span>
+to spend as I pleased. Soon afterwards I left my aunt,
+and not only did this gentleman carry out his promise, but
+gave me my own servants and carriage and horses. As
+I had not received very much education, I had various
+masters, one to teach me to speak and write French correctly,
+another for the piano, a third for singing. As for reading,
+I never had any taste for the rubbish which most girls affect,
+but studied the works of Racine, Corneille, Rousseau and
+Voltaire.<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> I gradually developed a passion for philosophy,
+and can say that I have read most of the works of the great
+philosophers, both ancient and modern, in French. I
+enjoyed my life thoroughly, and, as I was only sixteen and
+quite without experience of the world, I was foolish enough
+to believe that my good fortune would continue; and it is
+needless to say that I took no thought for the future, but
+lived only for the present. My friend was a very wealthy
+Mexican and quite young; perhaps a little older than you
+are, but not very much. He seemed perfectly devoted to
+me, satisfying all my caprices and spending a great deal of
+money on me, quite apart from what he gave me for myself.
+I was very fond of going to the Théâtre-Français, where he
+would always take a box and accompany me. We also
+went very often to the Grand Opéra, and occasionally to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span>
+smaller theatres, for the latter of which, however, I had but
+little taste. On Sundays, generally after I had been to Mass—for,
+notwithstanding my predilection for philosophy, I
+still retained a remnant of faith in the Catholic religion—I
+drove in the Bois de Boulogne, sometimes alone, at others
+accompanied by my friend. In every respect, my life was
+most enjoyable, and I had no cares of any kind. This state
+of affairs lasted for a year, during which my friend was most
+devoted to me, and we never had an angry word with each
+other. He was kindness itself in every conceivable way,
+while I was perfectly devoted to him. Suddenly, one day,
+when I had been out alone shopping, I saw on my return
+home a note addressed to me lying on the table in the salon.
+Recognizing my friend’s handwriting, I tore it open immediately.
+It contained only a few lines, which, however, I
+shall never forget so long as I live. Indeed, so engraven on
+my mind are they, that, were I to forget everything else, I
+should never forget them!”</p>
+
+<p>On saying this, she suddenly burst into tears, and sobbed
+so violently that it was not for some little time that she was
+able to continue. Then she said:—</p>
+
+<p>“You will forgive me, for my grief is almost too great for
+me to endure. Imagine my astonishment and dismay when
+I read this note, which had been hurriedly written:—</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“‘<i>Ma chérie,—Je suis forcé de partir immédiatement pour
+la Mexique; je n’ai pas même le temps de venir te dire àdieu.</i>’<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>“I could scarcely believe my own eyes, and read those
+lines again and again, sobbing all the while, and incapable
+of realizing what had happened. I had only a few hundred
+francs left, all the rest having been spent; and, to make a
+long story short, I had very soon to leave my <i>appartement</i>
+and return to my aunt. I have been with her now a week,
+and I need not tell you how very hard I find it to return to
+work, for which I feel I am no longer fit. Besides, my aunt<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span>
+is continually reproaching me, and treats me much worse
+than she did before. I cannot stand it any longer....”</p>
+
+<p>At this point, she stopped and was silent for a while. Then
+she suddenly asked me if I could assist her as her friend had
+done, adding that she was not one of those girls who could
+love several men. I told her how I was situated, and she
+said she would come to a restaurant in the Quartier Latin
+with me and take some refreshment. We went, I remember,
+to some restaurant near the Luxembourg Gardens, and, when
+we were alone, she told me that it was a pity that I could not
+afford to make her my <i>maîtresse attitrée</i>, as she thought I
+might perhaps succeed in making her forget her Mexican.
+Although I did not aspire to have such warm blood in my
+veins, yet perhaps she liked the contrast. She wept bitterly,
+and when she left me, said:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Vous avez beaucoup de cœur</i>; and, if I meet you again,
+it will be in three days’ time in the Luxembourg Gardens.
+If I do not come, you will know that I have done as I told you
+before I should do—put an end to my existence. There is
+nothing else for me to do, and <i>le bon Dieu me le pardonnera</i>.”</p>
+
+<p>I went to the Luxembourg Gardens three days later, and
+sat on the same seat, but, though I waited until it grew dark,
+there was no sign of her. I returned to the Gardens every
+day for weeks and weeks afterwards, more out of habit than
+for any other reason, and thought of her and wondered what
+had become of her all the time I was there. I did not even
+know her Christian name, but I rather fancied it was Mariette.
+The consequence was that I was seized with a sudden fit of
+melancholy, which I was imprudent enough to give way to,
+and was continually reading Goethe’s <i>Die Leiden des jungen
+Werthers</i>, until I felt convinced that I should end my life
+in the same way as she had done. For, though I never heard
+anything more about her, I made quite sure that she had
+acted as she had threatened she would.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after this, I decided to go to Bonn on the Rhine,
+to study at the University; and Miss Kathleen O’Meara, the
+author of “The Salon of Madame Mohl,” who was a young
+girl at that time, gave me a letter to the wife of Professor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span>
+Dr. Binz, a sister of General Salis-Schwabe. I was then very
+anxious to enter the Austrian Army, and tried very hard to
+do so. Through the kindness of Mr. Somerset Beaumont, of
+the Foreign Office, my request was put before Prince Richard
+von Metternich and Baron von Hübner; and the latter, who
+was at that time Ambassador in Paris, informed me, when I
+saw him at the Embassy, that I should have to become an
+Austrian subject. This was easy enough; but the examination
+was not, as since the War of 1866 it had been made much
+more severe. It was in pursuance of this intention to enter
+the Austrian Army that I made up my mind to study at the
+University at Bonn. My father was very much against my
+doing so, but I eventually prevailed upon him to let me go,
+though he warned me that I must put up with any evil consequences
+that might result from this <i>coup de tête</i> of mine.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">Bonn—An Anecdote of Beethoven—The King’s Hussars—The Howard
+Vyses—A German Professor on England—Domesticated Habits of German
+Girls—Professor Delbrück</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>On my arrival at Bonn, I stayed at the Hôtel Rheineck,
+which commanded a splendid view of the distant
+mountains. Here I made the acquaintance of the late Mr.
+Ranyard, the celebrated astronomer, who told me that the
+well-known author “A. L. O. E.” was his aunt. Mr. Ranyard
+was also stopping at the “Rheineck,” and at the midday
+<i>table d’hôte</i> sat next to a Frau Phillip, a German lady from
+Frankfurt, who was rather stout, but good-looking. He
+made love to her, and, though he spoke German very badly,
+she appeared to understand him. At four o’clock we used
+to sit out on the verandah of the hôtel, which overlooked the
+Rhine, and take our coffee there, with an excellent <i>Kuchen</i>,
+for which Germany is famous. Some days after my arrival
+at Bonn, Ranyard, who was flirting with Frau Phillip, quite
+forgot that he had to catch the boat to Cologne, and missed
+it. He was quite in despair at this, as he had not enough
+money with him to stay any longer at Bonn. However, the
+proprietor of the hotel said he would lend him some, which
+he could repay him when he arrived in England. Ranyard
+accordingly arranged to stay on a day or two longer at Bonn,
+as the hotel-keeper was confiding enough to advance him
+£5. I mention this incident to show how kind Germans are
+at times, though, of course, there are exceptions everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>I called on Professor Dr. Binz and his wife, who lived in a
+pretty villa with a delightful garden attached to it. The
+latter’s sister, Miss Salis-Schwabe, and her brother, who was
+an officer in the 7th Dragoon Guards, were staying with her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span>
+on a visit, and I went for several rides with them. Miss
+Salis-Schwabe was a nice-looking girl, with a considerable
+fortune of her own, and lived chiefly in England. She
+afterwards married the late Sir Frank Lockwood, the well-known
+Q.C.; and I was told by the Hon. Mrs. Henry
+Orde-Powlett, who knew her, that she was always very
+disappointed if her husband did not come home every day
+with fifty guineas as “refreshers” in his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>Frau Professor Binz told me that she knew of a Professor
+Dr. Andrä, who had a pretty daughter, so that his house
+would be just the very one for me to live at; and I
+accordingly made arrangements to take rooms there, with
+board.</p>
+
+<p>Fräulein Margarethe Andrä was a rather pretty girl, a
+blonde, with blue eyes, but she was, I thought, somewhat
+insipid, and very strait-laced. She was well read and a free-thinker,
+like her father, who never went to any church.
+Professor Dr. Andrä was very clever, and, indeed, some
+people said he was the cleverest of the professors at Bonn
+University. I remember him telling me about his wife,
+whom he had recently lost. She knew, according to him,
+exactly what he was going to say before he opened his mouth,
+and had also foretold many events before there was a chance
+of their happening, in a marvellous manner. I asked Andrä
+if he would not like to see his wife again.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” he replied. “I loved her very much, but I have
+no desire to live again, and, what is more, I am sure that
+after this existence there is no other. And it is much better
+so.”</p>
+
+<p>He lectured on Anthropology and Mineralogy, two sciences
+in which I took no interest. I attended the lectures of
+Geheimrath von Sybel, the famous historian, who, Dr.
+Andrä said, was a Republican at heart, but pretended not
+to be, in order to keep in with Bismarck, who since 1870 had
+been all powerful in Germany. Von Sybel was one of the
+finest lecturers I ever heard. He contrived to make his
+subject most interesting, however dry it might otherwise
+have appeared; and his lectures were always crowded with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span>
+students, whereas those of some of the other professors
+were attended by very few, as it was entirely optional which
+lectures the students at the University attended.</p>
+
+<p>Bonn is the birthplace of Beethoven, a fine statue of whom
+was erected in 1845 on the Poppelsdorfer Allee. Grillparzer
+writes in his diary for 1843:—</p>
+
+<p>“The windows of my grandmother’s house faced the
+courtyard of the dwelling of a peasant called Flehberger, who
+bore a bad name. This Flehberger had a very pretty
+daughter, called Lisa, whose reputation was also not of the
+best. Beethoven appeared to be much interested in the
+girl, and I can see him as he came up the little street, dragging
+his white handkerchief after him, until he came to a stop at
+Flehberger’s house, where the frivolous beauty was standing
+on a wagon filled with hay, working with a pitchfork, and
+laughing the while. Beethoven stood silent and looked at
+her, until the girl, whose taste lay more in the direction of
+peasant boys, made him angry by rude words or by obstinately
+ignoring his presence. Then he walked away, but
+did not fail, the next time he passed that way, to stop and
+look into the courtyard. Indeed, his interest in the girl
+went so far that, when her father was arrested and put in
+prison for being concerned in a drunken brawl in the village,
+Beethoven endeavoured to rescue him, and narrowly escaped
+having to share the captivity of the man whom he had so
+unwisely protected.”</p>
+
+<p>It is said that Beethoven wept when his “Overture to
+Leonora” was first played at Vienna, where it met with no
+success. He only passed his youth at Bonn, and then went
+to Vienna, where the Archduke Rudolf, Prince Kinsky and
+Prince Lobkowitz gave him an annuity of 4,000 florins
+(nearly £350) for life, in order that he might devote his time
+entirely to music, free from all financial cares. The fact that
+the same provision was never made for Mozart, who was an
+Austrian by birth, makes one think of the proverb: “<i>Nemo
+propheta in patria</i>.” Grillparzer, Austria’s greatest poet,
+wrote the funeral speech read at Beethoven’s tomb in Vienna
+on March 27th, 1827, and on May 1st, 1880, a statue to his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span>
+memory was erected there, near the garden of the Hof Burg,
+on the Ringstrasse.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Horrocks, whom my father knew very well, was
+then living at Bonn with his family. His brother held an
+appointment at the Court of the Grand Duke of Hesse.
+Captain Horrocks once wrote a three-volume novel, which
+my mother tried to read, but said that she never could get
+beyond the first volume. She lent the first volume of the
+book to several of her friends, but not one of them ever asked
+for the second and third. When I mentioned Captain
+Horrocks’s name to my mother, she said:—</p>
+
+<p>“When I think of him, I cannot imagine how he could have
+written such a dull book. I have never yet come across any
+one who has had the courage to read the whole of his novel.”</p>
+
+<p>Horrocks was, nevertheless, an amusing man, who had
+a great deal of dry wit. He had several very pretty daughters,
+the eldest one being considered the belle of Bonn at that
+time. I remember his remarking to me once that a poor
+man could never dress well, as he always bought cheap
+clothes, and they never lasted any time. “Depend upon it,
+whatever is cheap is bad,” he always used to say.</p>
+
+<p>The regiment stationed at Bonn was the King’s Hussars.
+It was commanded by Prince Reuss, and there were seven
+princes amongst its officers. I knew the two Princes Bentheim,
+and Counts von der Goltz, Metternich, Moltke and
+Bernstorff. The last-named was a gay young officer, who
+spoke English like an Englishman. I saw a good deal of
+him. His father had been Prussian Ambassador in England,
+and he had a brother serving in the Garde Kürassier Regiment
+in Berlin. Prince Reuss was very severe with his officers,
+and insisted that, when they attended a ball, they should
+wear their swords the whole time, except when actually
+dancing. On one occasion, an officer, who had omitted to
+replace his sword after a dance, was put under arrest for a
+week and confined to his quarters. Bernstorff, so he told
+me, once entered a tavern of bad reputation in Cologne in
+plain clothes, as he did not like to go to such a place in
+uniform, and on his return to Bonn was placed under arrest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span>
+for a week. Notwithstanding the severity of the punishment
+meted out for minor offences against discipline, very
+little, if any, notice was taken when officers in uniform
+became intoxicated at balls. I can remember attending a
+ball at the Royal Hôtel at Bonn, at which several officers
+of the King’s Hussars were present wearing their dark blue
+uniform with gold lace, as they were never allowed to attend
+dances in plain clothes. One of them insisted on dancing,
+though he was so intoxicated that he could scarcely stand,
+and the others were highly amused at his efforts to dance
+with a lady, who must have been in entire ignorance of the
+state her partner was in.</p>
+
+<p>When the King’s Hussars gave a ball at Bonn, which they
+did once every winter, they only invited the officers of the
+7th Kürassiers from Cologne, and not a single infantry officer
+from the Line regiments at either place. Some of the English
+at Bonn were invited to this ball, but I cannot say that it
+came up to one’s expectations. In the first place, it was a
+terribly stiff affair. The officers stood in one part of the ball-room;
+the ladies, mostly seated, occupied the other part,
+and at the end of a dance, an officer generally conducted his
+partner back to her seat and left her with her lady friends.
+The supper was not at all a bad one, and there was plenty
+of champagne, but the guests had to pay for what they
+ate and drank. However, it was considered so great an
+honour to be invited to this ball that no one grumbled; in
+fact, they appeared to think it quite natural that they should
+have to pay for their refreshments.</p>
+
+<p>The King’s Hussars was regarded as one of the crack
+Prussian regiments, and undoubtedly some of its officers
+were of very high social standing. But by no means all
+of these officers were wealthy, and I was told that the Princes
+Bentheim had only £150 a year each, besides their pay.
+The officers generally rode in the Poppelsdorfer Allee of a
+morning, making their horses perform <i>la haute école</i>, as
+though they were at a circus. Only one corps of students
+mixed at all with the officers. This was the well-known
+Borussia Corps, the members of which—the <i>Borussen</i>—wore<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span>
+a white cap somewhat similar in shape to that worn
+by French officers. This corps was composed entirely of
+members of the Prussian nobility, most of them being counts
+and barons, and they did not associate at all with any of the
+other student corps. They fought duels with the <i>Schläger</i>,
+and got cut about the face, but the more they were disfigured,
+the more pleased they appeared to be. Some of the <i>Borussen</i>
+joined the King’s Hussars afterwards, but what became
+of their scars I do not know, for, strange to say, I have never
+seen any officers with these ugly marks on their faces. Perhaps,
+after a time, the scars disappear; I can think of no
+other explanation, for all the corps students are forced to
+fight duels.</p>
+
+<p>I can remember Dr. Andrä once showing me a tiny shop
+at Bonn, above which the royal arms of a certain country
+were displayed, and when I inquired the reason of this, he
+told me the following story, which I give in his own
+words:—</p>
+
+<p>“When the heir to a certain principality was a student
+at Bonn, he happened to enter this shop, in which there was
+a very pretty girl serving. The latter, who pretended
+ignorance of his identity, invited the Prince to come and see
+her one evening. The Prince went, and a violent flirtation
+was in progress, when the door opened, and the owner of
+the shop entered. This person affected the utmost astonishment
+and indignation, and, informing the Prince that the
+girl was his wife, threatened that, unless the would-be destroyer
+of his domestic happiness were prepared to write him
+out there and then a cheque for several thousand thalers,
+he would make the affair public. The Prince, anxious to
+avoid a scandal, complied with his demand, and, moreover,
+gave him permission to display the arms of his country over
+his shop-front as supplying His Highness with goods. After
+the Prince had left Bonn, the cunning rascal sent the girl,
+who was not his wife at all, back to Cologne, from which she
+had come, it was said, for the express purpose of assisting
+the shopkeeper to entrap the Prince.”</p>
+
+<p>I used to go to the “Kneipe,” where the corps students<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span>
+assembled, with a young American named Howard Vyse and
+his younger brother.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> We always went of an evening,
+when songs, principally “Studenten Lieder,” were sung,
+and there was heavy drinking. On one occasion, the younger
+Vyse, on coming out into the night air, after attending one
+of these entertainments, told me that he felt so queer that
+he could not find his way home, and asked if I could put
+him up for the night. I took him to Dr. Andrä’s house, and
+he slept in my sitting-room. Next morning, the professor
+inquired why I had brought Vyse home with me, and I told
+him the reason, quoting, at the same time, the words of
+Nietzsche:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Alles ist erlaubt, nichts ist verboten.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>To which he replied that such were not his views; that he
+considered that everyone ought to lead a very moral life;
+that it was wrong to get intoxicated, and that, although he
+never entered a church, he lived as moral a life as many
+religious people, who often professed to be better than they
+really were.</p>
+
+<p>Professor Andrä was an intimate friend of the famous
+author, Berthold Auerbach, and once, when he was staying
+with Auerbach, the latter was engaged in writing his celebrated
+novel, <i>Das Landhaus am Rhein</i>. One day, Andrä<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span>
+asked him to walk to Poppelsdorf, where the professor was
+going to lecture. But he declined, saying that to do so would
+put some of his ideas for his novel out of his head, as it was
+essential for him to keep constantly in mind what he intended
+to write about. Andrä showed me the house on the
+Rhine which Auerbach had described in his novel, and one
+day took me there to visit a retired merchant, who, after making
+a fortune in America, had bought this beautiful villa in the
+Koblentzer Strasse, which had a very fine garden leading
+down to the Rhine. Andrä told me that he detested novels;
+nevertheless, one day, when I happened to be reading <i>Auf
+der Höhe</i>, by Auerbach, he asked me to lend it him, and,
+after reading it, said</p>
+
+<p>“After all, it is very well written, and I am pleased with
+it; some of the ideas are uncommonly good, and the plot
+is ingenious.”</p>
+
+<p>Excellenz von Dechen, Minister of the Rhine Provinces,
+told me that Andrä might have occupied Bismarck’s position,<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a>
+but that he was too honest a man to change his opinions.
+Andrä told me that Germany was far more fitted than France
+for a republican form of government, and that, if the War
+of 1870 had had a different issue, Germany would have been
+a republic, as France is now. He entertained a poor opinion
+of England and the English, whom he considered the most
+selfish and self-opinionated nation in Europe, and years
+behind Germany in intelligence. He held that Darwin,
+whose works he had read, had merely been the first to publish
+the ideas of a well-known German professor; and he himself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span>
+had lectured upon Darwin’s theory,<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> in which he was a firm
+believer, long before he had ever heard of him.</p>
+
+<p>Andrä told me that at all the dinners which he attended,
+as a professor of the University, he took precedence of all
+the officers of the King’s Hussars and of any titled person
+who had not some higher State appointment than he held.
+When I told him that this would not have been the case in
+England, he smiled and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“In your country, with your antiquated laws, how can
+you expect so much civilization as in Germany? The
+English have a great deal to learn, and it will be a very long
+while before their barbarous customs are knocked on the head.
+So far as civilization is concerned, England is in a worse
+condition than France, and, Heaven knows, France has
+yet a good deal to learn.”</p>
+
+<p>In his opinion, Bismarck was a man of great intellect,
+but without any conscience whatever. Moltke, he told
+me, was quite positive that Germany would defeat France
+before the war had begun, and he was a man “<i>welcher
+schweigt in sieben Sprachen</i>,” as he rarely ever spoke.
+Moltke’s son, afterwards Field-Marshal Count von Moltke,
+was then in the King’s Hussars at Bonn, and I knew him
+very well, but, save for indulging in some amorous
+escapades and getting very much into debt, he did not distinguish
+himself, though I have no doubt he deserved the
+Iron Cross which he obtained in the War of 1870, with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span>
+most of the officers of the King’s Hussars. Of Field-Marshal
+Freiherr von der Goltz it was said:—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">“Freiherr von der Goltz,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Von seiner Dummheit ist er stoltz.”<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>I often would ask Andrä what books I ought to read, and
+one of the first he recommended was Hauff’s <i>Lichtenstein</i>,
+a charming romance in the style of Sir Walter Scott. Heine
+was a great favourite with Andrä, and he could repeat his
+<i>Lieder</i> off by heart.<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> Goethe he ranked far above Schiller,
+and considered the first part of <i>Faust</i> vastly superior to the
+second. He had a very high opinion of Lessing’s works in
+general. Of modern authors, he recommended Karl von
+Holtei’s <i>Die Vagabunden</i>, which was, he told me, quite
+a classic, and I have read it again and again with pleasure.
+It is somewhat in the style of <i>la Vie de Bohème</i>, by Mürger,
+but I prefer it to the French work. In comparing Lesage
+with Scott, Victor Hugo seems to think more highly of
+the latter; but Andrä considered that <i>Gil Blas</i> would
+outlive all Scott’s novels, which was also the opinion of
+Grillparzer. It was through Andrä that I became a supporting
+member of the “Verein zur Verbreitung naturwissenschaftlicher
+Kenntnisse in Wien,” which I have been for
+many years. The ill-fated Crown Prince Rudolf was formerly
+the Protector of this society, a position which was held
+recently by the late Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir
+to the Austrian throne.</p>
+
+<p>Andrä had held a post in Siebenbürgen, in Hungary, under
+the Archduke Johann, for some years before his appointment
+to be a professor at Bonn. He was very fond of the Hungarians
+and told me that he and some friends were one evening
+at a restaurant in a village in Hungary, where three or four
+musicians played so delightfully that his party kept giving
+them money to continue, and that he was sure that they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span>
+went on playing until about five o’clock the following morning.
+He was passionately fond of music, and I would often
+ask him to play me some Austrian marches and waltzes on
+the piano, which he did with the true Austrian spirit. His
+daughter never played the piano, telling me that unless you
+can play exceptionally well, it is better to leave it alone.
+I wish all English girls were of her opinion.</p>
+
+<p>German girls are as a rule very clever, and have a good
+deal to say for themselves. They are highly sentimental,
+far more so than English girls, and can generally read French
+and English books easily enough, though I found that they
+could speak very little of these languages, as they had very
+little practice and few occasions to do so. Every girl in
+Germany can do the most difficult needlework, embroidery
+and knitting wonderfully well, in addition to which she
+thoroughly understands how to cook a good dinner. Fräulein
+Andrä generally cooked the dinner herself, though she had
+servants, one of whom was a sort of cook. I remember that,
+in more recent years, at the Hôtel Neckar at Heidelberg,
+I caught sight of a pretty, graceful young girl wearing an
+apron going into the hôtel kitchen, and, on my asking who she
+was, I was told that she was the daughter of a count, and
+engaged to be married to a young count of high family, but
+before her marriage she was required to learn cooking for
+six months at this hôtel.</p>
+
+<p>There were at this time several English families whom
+I knew residing at Bonn, among them being Captain and
+Mrs. Bean, who were living there to educate their children,
+and to whose house I was often invited to tea. I recollect
+once Mrs. Bean telling me and some other friends of hers
+that she intended going to a masked ball dressed as a gipsy
+fortune-teller, with packs of cards and bells sewn over her
+costume. On my arrival at the ball, I had no difficulty in
+recognizing this dress, but the voice of the wearer seemed
+very different from that of Mrs. Bean, and it transpired that
+the fortune-teller was Captain Bean, who, as his wife found
+herself unable to go to the ball, owing to a severe cold, had
+assumed her costume and come instead. He intrigued a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span>
+great many people who were there, telling them their fortunes
+and more about themselves than they cared to know,
+and got a good deal of amusement out of his impersonation,
+no one but myself having the least idea who he was the
+whole time.</p>
+
+<p>There were also two sons of Peabody, the millionaire, at
+Bonn. The name they were known by was George, and one
+of them was married and had two very pretty daughters.
+The Georges were quite unaware who their father was until
+after Peabody’s death, when they were angry at only being
+left two thousand pounds a year each, the bulk of Peabody’s
+enormous fortune having been bequeathed to charities.</p>
+
+<p>The Carnival was very amusing for young people, as
+everyone had to be disguised and masked during the three
+days it lasted, and this custom afforded a good deal of fun.
+Besides, every house was thrown open, and we entered the
+houses of different people whom we knew with our masks on,
+and partook of tea and cakes without being recognized. The
+students, and, indeed, most young men, wore a blue blouse
+and white kid gloves, and a mask, over which a blue cap with
+a red tassel was worn. Some of the English girls at Bonn
+asked me to get up a ball, but only the bachelors would
+have anything to do with it. I arranged with the proprietor
+of the Rheineck Hotel that the ball should be given there,
+and he prepared his large dining-room for the dancing and
+a room adjoining it for the supper. The supper was to be
+provided at so much a head, wine being extra, as is the
+general custom in Germany. The members of the committee
+wore red, white and blue rosettes in their buttonholes.
+About sixty or seventy people came to this ball, including
+the officers of the King’s Hussars, who, of course, were
+present in uniform, and it went off very well, as it was
+conducted on English lines, and was a much more free and
+easy affair than the average German ball. The supper
+was a very passable one, and a great deal of wine was consumed,
+particularly sparkling Moselle and champagne, so
+the company was pretty merry. Miss Edith Horrocks was
+the belle of the ball. She danced chiefly with a young Baron<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span>
+von Plessen, an officer in the King’s Hussars, whom she
+afterwards married, though, as there was not much money
+on either side, the young officer’s father, who was a general
+of cavalry, at first made some difficulties. It was five
+o’clock in the morning before the last guests had taken their
+departure.</p>
+
+<p>During the winter several small dances were given by
+different English families, and these I generally attended.
+I also went to some German balls, but, as there were no
+English present except myself, and they were conducted
+in a very stiff and formal manner, I cannot say that I derived
+much pleasure from them, apart from the dancing itself, of
+which I was then very fond.</p>
+
+<p>At Von Sybel’s lectures I made the acquaintance of a
+young man named Hans Delbrück, whom I liked very
+much indeed. He afterwards became a university professor,
+and was imprisoned some years ago for having expressed
+certain political views which were not in accordance with
+those of the “All Highest.” He is now Professor of History
+at the University of Berlin. Some little time before the
+War he was interviewed by the correspondent of the <i>Daily
+Mail</i>, when he gave his opinion about the possibility of a
+war between Great Britain and Germany.</p>
+
+<p>During the spring and summer there was very little going
+on at Bonn, with the exception of steam-boat excursions up
+and down the Rhine. For the residents, the winter is the
+season, but the climate at that time of year is no better
+than in England; indeed, it is perhaps even worse than in
+some English towns, as in the morning there are often thick
+fogs rising from the river. Living at Bonn is cheap—cheaper
+than at Wiesbaden or Frankfurt, to say nothing
+of Homburg, which is far more expensive and much more
+pleasant in summer. But there are many worse places
+than Bonn in the winter, so far as amusements are concerned.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">The Countess Czerwinska—The Countess Broel Plater—Mlle. de Laval—The
+Duchesse de Grammont—An Absent-Minded Gentleman—Dusauty, the
+Fencing Master—The Marquis of Anglesey—Charming Venezuelans—Miss
+Fanny Parnell</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>After finishing my studies at Bonn, I returned to
+Paris and rejoined my parents. I was very happy
+in Paris, of which I have always been very fond; but what
+I missed there chiefly at that time was the companionship of
+young fellows of my own age. This reminds me of what
+Jim Doyne once said to me when he came to visit me
+there:—</p>
+
+<p>“I should like Paris better than London, if I could only
+fill the place with my English friends, and send some of these
+Frenchmen to London instead.”</p>
+
+<p>I often experienced this very same feeling in Paris. It
+was very rarely that I met a Frenchman of my own age that
+I cared for, as I did for some English and Americans. Once
+at the Opéra Comique I happened to sit in the stalls next
+a young Frenchman, who was very pleasant, and whom I
+got to know well afterwards. This was the Vicomte Frédéric
+de Kilmaine, who, though of Irish extraction, could not
+speak a single word of English. A few days after I had
+made the Vicomte’s acquaintance I went for a drive with
+him in his pretty victoria to the Bois de Boulogne, where
+we had some refreshments at one of the cafés there before
+returning to Paris. He often afterwards came to take me for
+a drive, and we became very good friends. The Vicomte
+de Kilmaine, however, was an exception so far as young
+Frenchmen were concerned, for I never became very intimate
+with any of them. M. de Lesquier d’Attainville,
+grandson of the Prince de Rivoli, Duc de Masséna, was a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span>
+very nice fellow, and I liked him exceedingly; but he was
+older than myself, and I did not see him very often except
+at the different houses which I visited of an afternoon or
+evening. I also liked Prince Jean Radziwill, who was a
+Pole, but I saw even less of him than I did of M. de Lesquier
+d’Attainville, and, besides, he was much older than I was,
+and a few years make a world of difference when one is very
+young.</p>
+
+<p>In after years, at Franzensbad, in Bohemia, I made
+the acquaintance of the Countess Broel Plater and her
+son and daughter-in-law. The Countess, by her first marriage,
+was the Princess Lubomirska, and Prince Jean Radziwill
+was her son-in-law. The Countess was delighted to
+hear that I had known Prince Jean so well in former years,
+and told me many things about him. I often used to meet
+the Prince at Baroness Adelsdorfer’s hôtel in Paris, and
+also at the Countess Czerwinska’s, <i>née</i> Countess Czajkowska,
+and I remember him telling me that he was best man at the
+last-named lady’s marriage. It was a marriage of affection,
+and a son was born a year or so later; but subsequently the
+pair had a quarrel and refused to live together any more.
+The husband was afterwards quite willing to make it up,
+but the Countess absolutely declined to do so, though
+Prince Radziwill said he did everything he could to persuade
+her to be reconciled. The Countess had the right to keep
+her little son Stanislaus, who was a boy seven years old.
+At the time I knew her in Paris, according to Russian law,
+in the event of a separation or a divorce, the mother has
+always the custody of the sons, and the father that of the
+daughters. This ought to be the rule in England, but, as
+we are an eccentric nation, our laws quite naturally differ
+from those of all others.</p>
+
+<p>The Countess Czerwinska was a very good-looking, fair
+young woman, of about four-and-twenty. She was extremely
+well read and very intellectual, and appeared perfectly to
+idolize her son. She was very fond of the poet Mickiewicz,
+whose poems she often recited to me in Polish, afterwards
+giving me her own translation of them in French. It was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span>
+said that she was employed by the Russian Government
+to find out political secrets, and the salon at her hôtel in the
+Rue Chaillot was always filled with men from the Ministère
+des Affaires Etrangères, like M. de Lesquier d’Attainville,
+and also with representatives of the various embassies.<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a>
+She asked me once to procure her an invitation to a private
+masked ball given by the millionaire Ménier, who had made
+his fortune with the famous chocolate of that name, which
+I did, and escorted her also to the Concours Hippique at
+the Palais de l’Industrie.</p>
+
+<p>The Countess Broel Plater was an old lady, who in her
+younger days had been, she told me, lady-in-waiting to the
+Empress of Russia, consort of Nicholas I. She also informed
+me that she had been brought up in the Palace at St. Petersburg,
+and that she was really a daughter of the Tsar, as
+everyone at the Court knew. One day, when we were taking
+coffee and listening to the band in the Kur Park at Franzensbad,
+she piqued my curiosity not a little by telling me that
+there were so many secrets at the Russian Court, that to
+reveal them would make one’s blood run cold, and that,
+to her knowledge, three cold-blooded murders had been perpetrated
+at the Palace at Petersburg during the time she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span>
+was living there. She mentioned all the details of these
+crimes, which had been committed at the instigation of those
+in power at that time, and even the names of the victims,
+observing that at the time of their occurrence she was
+pledged to secrecy, failing which, she would have been
+poisoned herself. “No one,” she concluded, “can possibly
+realize, unless they have lived, as I have, at the Russian
+Court, what fearful things have happened there, simply
+in order to satisfy the caprice of a sovereign. Whether it
+was the destruction of a girl, man or woman, it mattered
+not, so long as the removal of the person served to conceal
+something which the Tsar desired should not be made
+public.”</p>
+
+<p>While relating these events, the Countess became quite
+excited, and her recital of them was so dramatic that one
+could almost imagine that she had actually taken part in them.
+She gave me, in fact, quite a creepy feeling, so that I was
+really relieved when she came to an end of her accounts of
+these tragic episodes. She afterwards told me that she was
+going to Nice with her son, whom I frequently met at Franzensbad
+with his lovely young wife, and I used to sit in the
+Kur and talk to them. The Countess Broel Plater had a
+charming villa, in which she had an aviary containing all
+kinds of rare birds, and it was her delight to sit near this
+aviary, admiring the gorgeous plumage of her beautiful
+birds and listening to them sing, while she thought how
+fortunate she was to have finished with the Russian Court
+and its dark tragedies. She told me that she knew the
+family of Count Branicki at Nice, and also the Countess
+Zamoyska, a very lovely woman, who had only very recently
+married, and was at that time the greatest heiress in Poland.
+Liszt says of Polish women: “<i>Ce qu’elles veulent, c’est
+l’attachement; ce qu’elles espèrent, c’est le dévouement; ce
+qu’elles exigent, c’est l’honneur, le regret et l’amour de la patrie,
+ce qui faisait dire à l’Empereur Nicholas I.: ‘Je pourrais
+en finir des Polonais, si je venais à bout des Polonaises.’</i>”</p>
+
+<p>The Countess invited me to stay with her at Nice in the
+winter, if I were able to go there, but, for some reason, I was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span>
+prevented from doing so. She took a great fancy to my little
+girl, Xenia, who was with me at the time and was then
+seven years old, saying that she reminded her of a near
+relative of her own, who also bore the Russian name of
+Xenia, which increased not a little the Countess’s interest
+in my daughter.</p>
+
+<p>In Paris I always attended the “<i>jours</i>” of the Countess
+Dzialyńska, sister of Prince Czartoryski. Her daughter,
+Countess Hélène Dzialyńska, spoke English fluently, and
+told me she could learn any language in a fortnight. She
+wrote a book in French against capital punishment, called
+<i>Sur la peine de mort</i>, which had a large circulation.
+The Princess Czartoryska was a royal princess, a Bourbon,
+and lived at the Maison Lambert. Among their friends was
+a Swedish officer attached to the Embassy, who was a frequent
+guest at their soirées. He was no longer young, but
+always wore a corset and lavender kid gloves, and never
+took his gloves off even to eat his supper. In his younger
+days he had been dubbed, “<i>la fille du régiment</i>,” and this
+nickname still clung to him. I met him there frequently,
+and he still considered himself quite irresistible <i>auprès des
+dames</i>.</p>
+
+<p>I used to go about a good deal in Paris at this time with
+Cecil Slade, a boy of fourteen, the son of a friend of my
+father, General Sir William Slade. He usually called for
+me of an afternoon, and we took long walks on the Boulevards.
+A girl friend whom I made was Mlle. Julie Piétri, who was
+about fourteen. I often called at her father’s house in the
+Champs-Elysées, and one day I said to Madame Piétri,
+before her daughter, that I wondered why French girls were
+not allowed the same liberty with boys which English girls
+enjoyed. Madame Piétri answered that it might be all right
+with English girls, but if French ones were allowed to be
+alone with gentlemen, the consequences might be disastrous,
+as French girls could not control their feelings. I thought
+this a strange thing to say before her daughter, and I
+observed that Mlle. Julie looked rather confused at her
+mother’s remark and blushed, but she did not say anything<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span>
+in reply. About this time, I made the acquaintance of a
+young girl called Isabelle, about whom I have already
+written in “Society Recollections in Paris and Vienna.”
+Isabelle was allowed more freedom than Mlle. Piétri, and
+was not always with her mother, and I found out that
+Madame Piétri may have been right in her conjectures.
+Nevertheless, I cannot help thinking that French girls are
+treated rather too severely in this respect, and that if they
+were permitted a little more liberty, they would not suffer
+so much as their mothers suppose.</p>
+
+<p>In Paris, at this time, I had many friends among girls,
+but few among young fellows of my own age. I cannot say
+that I was in love with any of the former; indeed, I felt
+quite indifferent towards them. I certainly admired Isabelle
+very much at first, but only for a time, and was almost glad
+when our flirtation came to an end. Such, however, is the
+perversity of human nature, that no sooner had I lost her
+than I began to regret her. After some weeks had passed
+I saw her again, when I believed that she had deceived me
+with an American, and was not worthy of my regret. She
+informed me that this American had made her certain
+proposals, which she had refused; but I had a strong suspicion
+that this was not the case, and that her admirer had
+afterwards left Paris. I never met her again. She suddenly
+disappeared, and, though I was very curious to learn
+what had become of her, I was never able to find out. She
+vanished like some fantastic apparition, leaving no trace
+whatever behind, or like a pebble cast into the water, which
+leaves only a momentary impression on the surface to indicate
+the spot where it has disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>Some time afterwards I made the acquaintance of a Mlle.
+de Laval, who was poor, but of a very noble family. Her
+ancestors had been Ducs de Laval, and she was related to
+some of the old noblesse of the time of Louis XVI. They
+had almost all been guillotined, and but few members of her
+family remained. She frequently told me stories about her
+ancestors, some of whom had been reduced to poverty.
+Mlle. de Laval was an intimate friend of a Mlle. Gabrielle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span>
+de Tercin, a very pretty actress, who played at the Porte
+Saint-Martin Theatre. I was a good deal in the company
+of these girls, and used often to sup with them after the
+theatre. Mlle. de Tercin had a friend who was very wealthy,
+and had furnished a fine <i>appartement</i> for her, to which I
+sometimes went with Mlle. de Laval.</p>
+
+<p>Another acquaintance of mine was a certain baroness,
+the widow of an attaché in Paris. She was at one time
+considered a very lovely woman, and certainly possessed
+very fine auburn hair and a very good complexion. She had
+a pretty hôtel in the Rue Lord Byron, where she received a
+great many visitors in the evening, chiefly of the sterner sex.
+She told me once that the old Duc de Persigny had called
+upon her when she was alone and handed her an envelope.</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Qu’est-ce que c’est que cela?</i>” she asked.</p>
+
+<p>To which he replied in trembling tones:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Oh, Madame, ce n’est qu’une petite fleur, rien qu’une petite
+fleur ... que je viens vous offrir.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>She opened the envelope and found that it contained
+fourteen thousand francs in banknotes. She at once threw
+the notes in the ducal donor’s face, saying:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Sortez, Monsieur, à l’instant de chez moi; je ne veux
+ni de vous ni de votre petite fleur non plus.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>The Duke entreated her to listen to him, but she only
+added:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Entendez-vous, je veux que vous sortiez d’ici.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>Whereupon he withdrew, and she never set eyes on him
+again, so she told me. I met her years afterwards in Vienna,
+when she was not so rich, and, though nearly sixty, was
+dressed more like sixteen and painted up to her eyes. She
+told me that Austrians were not so generous as Frenchmen,
+but that she preferred Englishmen to all others. She was
+now inclined to regret her treatment of the Duc de Persigny,
+though she laughed at the recollection of it still. Prince
+Rudolf von Liechtenstein called upon her in Vienna and
+sent her some beautiful flowers, when she remarked to me:—</p>
+
+<p>“To think that I have to content myself in Vienna with
+flowers! But the Austrians are all so terribly mean.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p>
+
+<p>Amongst my mother’s friends in Paris society at this time
+was Madame Leleu, whom she saw very frequently. Madame
+Leleu was a widow, and lived in a large <i>appartement</i> close
+to the Madeleine. When her husband was alive, she was
+very fond of dining with him at different restaurants, but
+since his death she had lived very quietly, and merely
+invited a few friends like ourselves to tea with her at five
+o’clock. Before her marriage she had been a Miss Beauclerk,
+and the Duke of St. Albans was her grandfather. She had
+at one time been engaged to Lord Cantelupe, but on her
+wedding day, while she was actually waiting in her bridal
+dress at the altar, she was informed that Lord Cantelupe had
+died quite suddenly. She told me about this sad event
+herself one day when she was visiting her aunt, Mrs. Healey,
+in the Rue d’Albe, but I don’t remember what was the cause
+of Lord Cantelupe’s death.</p>
+
+<p>My mother also saw a good deal of the Duchesse de Grammont,
+who was a daughter of The MacKinnon of MacKinnon.
+She was very clever, though somewhat stiff in her manner,
+and while her husband was living gave some very smart
+dinner-parties. The Duchess had a fine house at Folkestone,
+a place of which she was very fond; but after her husband’s
+death she would sometimes let this house for the season
+at forty guineas a week. Her son, the present Duc de
+Grammont, married a daughter of Baron James de Rothschild,
+one of the Paris family of that name. The Hon. Mrs.
+Graves, a first cousin of the Duchess, who always stayed with
+her when in Paris, was a very great friend of my mother,
+and often dined with us in the Rue d’Albe.</p>
+
+<p>The Duchesse de Caracciolo, an American by birth, who
+was remarkably good-looking and very “<i>spirituelle</i>,” was
+a great deal in Paris at this time, and frequently came to
+see my mother, who was very fond of her. My mother
+always told me that the Duchess was just the kind of lady
+I should have admired; but, as Fate would have it, I was
+not fortunate enough to meet her in Paris.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Goldsmid, a Roman Catholic and the daughter of
+a baronet, who lived with her son in the Avenue des Champs-Elysées,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span>
+was also a friend of my parents, and she was very
+intimate with the Duchesse de Grammont, whom, with
+her sons, the Duc de Guiche and the Comte de Grammont,
+I met sometimes of an evening at her house. I met them
+more frequently after Mrs. Goldsmid’s son married a very
+beautiful English girl, when the Duchess frequently dined
+there. After dinner we used to play cards, of which Goldsmid
+was very fond. He was at one time a great friend of my
+father, and they used to attend races together near Paris.
+He and his mother knew all the best people in the Faubourg
+Saint-Germain, as well as in the American colony. The son,
+before his marriage, which ended most disastrously for the
+wife, chiefly frequented the society of Americans, while his
+mother, who was a most intelligent woman, was fonder of
+the French. The conversation at their house, when guests
+happened to be present, was always carried on in French, as
+both mother and son spoke the language perfectly.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when we were walking in the Champs-Elysées,
+my father pointed a man out to me whom, he said, he
+would not care to know at any price. He was a tall, well-built,
+fine-looking man, with a long fair beard. His name
+was Baron de Malortie, and he was a first cousin of Bismarck.
+I asked my father why he would not care to know him,
+to which he replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“Because he is always fighting duels; he has fought about
+thirty in Paris, and has always killed or wounded his
+adversary.”</p>
+
+<p>Some months later, I happened to be again in the Champs-Elysées,
+when I saw my father in the distance, walking arm-in-arm
+with a man whom I thought resembled Malortie.
+In the evening I asked him with whom he was walking in so
+friendly a fashion in the Champs-Elysées that afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>“It was Malortie,” he answered. “He is such a nice
+fellow; I don’t know anyone I like better!”</p>
+
+<p>On one occasion my father was walking with two friends
+of his in Paris, when he turned to one of them, a Mr. Segrave,
+and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t think you know my friend....”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span></p>
+
+<p>When the gentleman addressed promptly replied in a loud
+voice:—</p>
+
+<p>“No, and I have no wish to know him either.”</p>
+
+<p>My father told me that ever since then he had avoided
+introducing men to each other, as one never knew whether
+they had not had some quarrel, as was the case in this
+instance.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus18" style="max-width: 26.5625em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus18.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The Author’s Father.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 144.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>My father was subject to frequent fits of absent-mindedness,
+and I recollect once in Paris telling him a long story,
+and asking his opinion from time to time. He answered
+merely in monosyllables, and when I came to the end, and
+inquired what conclusion he had arrived at about the whole
+affair, he observed:—</p>
+
+<p>“I was not listening to what you said, and have not the
+faintest idea what you were telling me about.”</p>
+
+<p>Once, in Paris, he invited some people to dine at our
+house, but forgot to tell my mother about it, so that when the
+guests arrived, there was no dinner prepared for them, and
+everything had to be sent for from a restaurant, which, of
+course, entailed great delay. On another occasion, there were
+seven or eight people dining with us, amongst whom was
+General Sir John Douglas, Lady Elizabeth Douglas, Captain
+and Mrs. Berkeley, the Marquise Brian de Bois-Guilbert
+and Mrs. Joe Riggs. When the soup, which my father
+was supposed to serve, was put on the table, he was so
+engaged in conversation with Lady Elizabeth Douglas,
+that he unconsciously helped himself to it, and began calmly
+to eat, talking all the while. My mother, having drawn
+Captain Berkeley’s attention to what the host was doing,
+the latter said, laughing:—</p>
+
+<p>“I say, old fellow, I hope you are enjoying the soup, but
+all this time you are keeping us waiting, and we should
+like to enjoy it as well.”</p>
+
+<p>My father then realized what he had done, apologized and
+said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Upon my word, I am so absent-minded that I did not
+know what I was doing.”</p>
+
+<p>In later years, while in India, I made the acquaintance<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span>
+of the Vicomte Arthur d’Assailly, and, meeting him afterwards
+in Paris, was invited to call upon him at his hôtel in
+the Rue Las Cases. I happened to mention this to my
+father, when he told me that I should be careful about
+the people whom I called on, as there were so many adventurers
+in Paris. Some months later, I went with my father
+to a club, where someone slapped him on the back, and, to
+my great surprise, it was none other than d’Assailly. My
+father then told me that he had known him for years, and
+that he was an excellent fellow, but that he must have been
+thinking of something else when I asked whether I should
+call on him, and so did not catch the name I had mentioned,
+and thought I had come across some adventurer or other.</p>
+
+<p>The Baroness Adelsdorfer gave my father one day, when
+he happened to call upon her, a very important letter to
+post, which he promised to put into the letter-box as he
+was going out. She told him that she wanted an immediate
+answer to this letter, so that he was to post it at once. He
+carried this letter about with him for a whole week, when, in
+my presence, he suddenly discovered it in his pocket. On
+his returning to the Baroness, she asked him about this letter,
+to which she was still awaiting a reply.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh! I posted it all right, depend upon it,” he replied,
+laughing. “There has been some delay somewhere.”</p>
+
+<p>The Baroness, however, knew him of old, and exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“I know you must have forgotten to post it; I should
+not be surprised if you still have it in your pocket.”</p>
+
+<p>I met the Baroness Adelsdorfer once at Longchamps, near
+the entrance to the Grand Stand, just before the races began,
+when, stepping out of her carriage—a very fine turn-out—she
+came up to me very excitedly, and exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“It is really too bad of your father. I have been waiting
+here for him for half an hour, as he promised to get me a
+ticket for the Jockey Club Stand, and I don’t see the least
+sign of him.”</p>
+
+<p>My father, as a matter of fact, had forgotten all about the
+poor Baroness, and did not put in an appearance at Longchamps
+that day. However, the lady fortunately managed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span>
+to get the ticket she wanted from some other member of the
+club.</p>
+
+<p>At this time, my father used to be always with Captain
+Lennox Berkeley (afterwards Earl of Berkeley), and I
+recollect his saying to me on several occasions:—</p>
+
+<p>“Whenever I have a difficult business letter to write, I
+always ask Berkeley’s advice. I never met anyone who
+could write such a good business letter as he can.”</p>
+
+<p>Once, when Berkeley was away from Paris, he said to me:</p>
+
+<p>“I wish Berkeley were here; I have such a bothering
+letter to write and he could do it so well for me.”</p>
+
+<p>I offered to try my hand at this letter, and composed one
+which he said would answer the purpose. But I discovered
+afterwards that he had torn it up, and, later, he admitted
+having done so, saying:—</p>
+
+<p>“You cannot write like Berkeley; I don’t know anybody
+else who can.”</p>
+
+<p>While on the subject of letter-writing, I may mention that
+my mother frequently expressed regret that she had not
+kept the letters written to her by her aunt, Lady Caroline
+Murray, observing that they were so well written and so
+beautifully expressed that they were quite equal in every
+respect to those of Madame de Sévigné.</p>
+
+<p>I took lessons in fencing at this time from Dusauty, who
+had been in the “Cent Gardes” during the Empire, though
+Sir Edward Cunninghame, a well-known duellist in Paris,
+had advised my learning from Pons, who had been his
+instructor. I liked the way Dusauty taught me very much.
+He was one of the finest fencers whom I had ever seen, and
+taught some of the most redoubtable duellists, who often
+came to fence with him just before a duel. I fenced with
+some of them when Dusauty happened to be engaged in
+giving another lesson, which was a great pleasure to me.
+Dusauty was quite young, only seven-and-twenty, a very
+fine-looking, dark man, six feet, two inches in height. Unhappily,
+he died not long afterwards. His death, it was
+said, was attributable to the constant shouting and the
+amount of dust which he was obliged to inhale while engaged<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span>
+in giving his fencing lessons, which caused him to contract
+the lung disease which proved fatal. I learned to fence with
+both hands, and preferred fencing with my left hand to my
+right. In after years, I lost the use of my right arm, and
+Colonel Crawley, an Old Etonian, who was then in my
+regiment, though he afterwards exchanged into the Coldstream
+Guards, and with whom I often used to fence, remarked
+that it seemed as though I had foreseen that I should
+one day lose the use of that arm.</p>
+
+<p>When Captain Berkeley went to live at Fontainebleau
+with his wife and family, my father was mostly with Lord
+Henry Paget, who afterwards became Marquis of Anglesey.
+Lord Henry’s only son, who, when his father succeeded to
+the marquisate, became Earl of Uxbridge, was a charming
+little boy, with very pleasing manners, who was generally
+dressed as a British sailor. He lived at this time almost
+entirely with the Boyds, and his aunt, Mrs. Yorke, had
+charge of him until he went to Eton. My father and I used
+frequently to meet him in the Champs-Elysées with his
+governess, when he would always run up to us to have a
+chat. His father, the Marquis of Anglesey, was very fond
+of horses, as was my father, and their tastes were pretty
+much the same. They were both greatly attached to Paris,
+though neither of them could really speak French, their
+knowledge of which was confined to a few words. Lord
+Anglesey, indeed, never even tried to speak the language,
+and avoided French people who could not talk English.
+My father, on the other hand, rather liked to meet them,
+and contrived somehow to make himself understood. The
+racing in the neighbourhood of Paris was a great attraction
+to both Lord Anglesey and my father, but I do not think the
+former ever made a bet. I cannot say the same for the
+latter, who sometimes betted rather heavily. Lord Anglesey
+was particularly fond of dining at restaurants, where he and
+my father in later years often dined together, sometimes inviting
+other friends. After dinner, as they both detested
+theatres, they played billiards, of which they were very fond,
+as they both played a very good game. Neither of them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span>
+cared for balls and parties, and they both, as a rule, hated all
+kinds of ceremony. After dinner they liked to smoke a pipe,
+though they were at times fond of a good Havana cigar.
+This was somewhat difficult to procure in Paris, but M. de
+Francisco-Martin, of the Guatemala Legation, would often
+make my father a present of a box of cigars, which he received
+direct from Havana free of any duty, as he belonged to the
+Corps Diplomatique. The society which they preferred
+was that which attached little importance to matters of
+etiquette and ceremonial, except on certain occasions, as,
+for instance, when Lord Lyons, the British Ambassador,
+dined with Lord Anglesey. Then everything was carried
+to the other extreme, the Marquis priding himself on making
+a very great display in the way of silver plate and beautiful
+flowers, while the very best dinner which Madame Chevet,
+of the Palais-Royal, could supply, together with the choicest
+wines and liqueurs, was provided. An American lady,
+whom the Marquis admired very much, was usually invited
+to preside and entertain the Ambassador.</p>
+
+<p>There was an Englishman in Paris whose name was Field,
+and at one time Lord Anglesey was on rather friendly terms
+with him; but one day the Marquis told my father that he
+gave himself airs, so that he intended to drop his acquaintance.
+Field was a very short, dark, clean-shaven man, more
+like an American than an Englishman. He used to receive
+every afternoon, when he was with the Marquis, my father
+and myself, various lavender-coloured notes, highly perfumed,
+on receiving which he would exclaim:</p>
+
+<p>“Another letter from —— ——!” mentioning the name
+of a celebrated actress.</p>
+
+<p>I asked him once, when he had given me the note to read,
+if she often wrote to him in that style, to which he replied
+that sometimes he received such notes from her every hour
+in the day. After Lord Anglesey had quarrelled with him
+I never met him again in Paris. I think he must have gone
+away, or perhaps he used to avoid the spot in the Champs
+Elysées where the Marquis and my father generally sat from
+five to six in the afternoon, to watch the carriages go by.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span></p>
+
+<p>Lord Anglesey occupied a very fine <i>appartement</i> in the
+Avenue Kléber, which he rented when he was still Lord
+Henry Paget. I recollect my father and I meeting him in
+the Champs-Elysées just after his half-brother’s death, when
+the former congratulated him on having succeeded to the
+title, and the new Marquis said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I shall only have about £80,000 a year at present, I
+think, but perhaps more later, as my brother was heavily
+insured.”</p>
+
+<p>Some days afterwards, my father asked him whether he
+intended to put his servants into powder, when he
+replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“I am afraid I can’t afford that yet, as I should have to
+keep at least twelve footmen, six in powder, and the other
+six to relieve them; but later on I may be able to manage it;
+at least, I hope so.”</p>
+
+<p>The windows of Lord Anglesey’s <i>appartement</i> facing the
+street were furnished with very conspicuous pink-coloured
+blinds, adorned on the outside with very large coronets,
+which caused a good deal of comment. I remember asking
+Lord Conyers, who was a friend of the Marquis, why the
+latter was so fond of displaying these large coronets on almost
+everything he used, and that Lord Conyers answered that
+Lord Anglesey had inherited this taste, which was a purely
+French one, from the French Kings, Louis XIV. and
+Louis XV., to whom his ancestors were related, but that in
+other respects his habits and ways were entirely English.</p>
+
+<p>Folliot Duff and his wife and daughters were then living
+in Paris. He was a brother of Billy Duff, whose widow also
+resided there. Folliot Duff was a good boxer, and in Paris
+he conceived a great passion for fencing. I often called on
+the Duffs, when he invariably used to turn the conversation
+to his favourite hobby. He was a very agreeable man, but
+I never remember seeing him without his giving me a lecture
+on fencing, or occasionally, by way of a change, on boxing.
+Mrs. Folliot Duff was a very great friend of my mother,
+and, after her husband’s death, she used often to come and
+dine with us.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span></p>
+
+<p>M. de Francisco-Martin, son of the Minister for Guatemala,
+and brother-in-law of the Marquis de San Carlos, formerly
+Spanish Ambassador in Paris, was also a great friend of the
+Duffs. He lived in a very fine hôtel in the Rue Fortin, which
+he sold to the Marquis of Anglesey for £40,000. The latter,
+however, only lived there a month with his last wife.
+Francisco-Martin often used to pay us a visit of an evening,
+when his conversation ran mainly on horses and racing, for
+which he shared my father’s partiality.</p>
+
+<p>I used occasionally to visit the daughters of the Minister
+for Venezuela, who lived in a very fine <i>appartement</i> on the
+Avenue d’Iéna. One of them, who was then about sixteen,
+was an exceedingly pretty girl, with blue eyes, jet black hair,
+small but beautiful features, and very white teeth, and the
+way in which she spoke Spanish was charming to listen to,
+so soft did it sound. I often went to her <i>appartement</i>, when
+she would invite me to take tea, and sometimes I found her
+alone, as her sister, who was engaged to be married, was
+generally with her <i>fiancé</i>. The younger sister, whose name
+was Mercèdes, made me speak Spanish to her at times;
+at others we spoke French, and the time I spent with her
+seemed to pass very quickly—too quickly, indeed, to please
+me.</p>
+
+<p>I recollect calling one day on Madame de Passy and meeting
+there the Marchioness de Peñafiel, whose husband afterwards
+succeeded the Count de San Miguel as Portuguese Minister
+in Paris. The Marchioness was wearing that day a very
+pretty hat covered with white flowers, for which, she told
+Madame de Passy, she had just given 300 francs. As she
+was on the point of leaving, it began to rain, and although
+the Marchioness’s gorgeous equipage was waiting at the door
+for her, she was so fearful lest her mew hat should be spoiled,
+that, with Madame de Passy’s help, she covered it entirely
+over with a lace handkerchief, and then advanced bravely
+to her carriage, escorted by a footman, holding an umbrella
+over her head. The Marchioness de Peñafiel was a great
+friend of the Minister for Venezuela and his lovely daughters,
+of whom I have just spoken.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span></p>
+
+<p>One day, when I happened to be visiting the Shards, who
+lived in the same house as Madame de Passy, I was telling
+the second daughter, Sophie Shard, a good-looking young
+girl, what trouble I had to get a good valet, when she said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Why don’t you take a pretty girl and dress her in a page’s
+costume? I am sure she would suit you much better than a
+boy. I should do this if I were you, and I know you will
+be grateful to me for the advice I have given you, if you only
+follow it.”</p>
+
+<p>I thought her idea, which reminded me of Goethe’s
+Wilhelm Meister, excellent, but, as I was not my own
+master, I could not quite see my way to carry it out.</p>
+
+<p>About this time, I made the acquaintance of Madame
+Saba, who lived in the same <i>appartement</i> as Mlle. Daram,
+of the Grand Opéra. The latter was a very pretty girl,
+with an exquisite figure, who possessed a fine contralto voice.
+She made it a rule to get up at seven o’clock every morning
+to practice her singing, and never broke it. She always played
+page’s parts, for which she was paid 18,000 francs a year, and,
+though she had a friend, a French marquis, who had about
+£16,000 a year, and wanted her to give up the stage, she
+refused to do so, saying that she wished to be quite independent.
+The <i>appartement</i> in which these two ladies lived
+was furnished with every comfort and convenience one could
+possibly wish for, including a good library; and one day
+when they happened to be out when I called, I was given
+Labiche’s plays to read to amuse me until their return.</p>
+
+<p>There was an Irish lady residing in Paris, who used to give
+a dance once a fortnight during the winter. I recollect
+that amongst her guests on one occasion was a French
+countess, who wore a gown which was very <i>décolletée</i>
+indeed, so much so that several English ladies commented
+upon it. The lady of the house mentioned this to a young
+French count, who observed:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>On aime à voir ces choses, mais on n’aime pas qu’on
+vous les fasse voir.</i>” Saying which, he borrowed a shawl
+from his hostess, and, stepping up to the countess, put
+it over her shoulders, telling her that all the ladies were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span>
+so much afraid lest she should take cold. The countess,
+who was watching a game of whist at the time, thanked him
+for the attention without taking her eyes off the cards,
+and then pulled the shawl tighter round her shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Fanny Parnell, who was half Irish and half American,
+was then one of the loveliest girls in Paris. She was also
+one of the best dressed and most attractive in every way.
+She was a severe critic of her own sex, and her opinion of
+English girls was not a high one. On one occasion she wrote
+to me:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>I think, as you do, that English girls are, many of them,
+very fast. They seem to be so anxious to get rid of their
+reputation for being dull and stiff that they set no bounds to
+their liveliness.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>On another occasion, when I told her that I was going to
+Folkestone, she observed:</p>
+
+<p>“The girls in Kent, what I saw of them, were each one
+uglier than the other. So your fate is, I fear, not to be
+envied, knowing as I do your strong <i>penchant</i> for pretty
+faces.”</p>
+
+<p>Miss Fanny Parnell died very young, quite in the flower
+of her youth, in the United States; but the report I read in
+a newspaper to the effect that Mrs. Parnell died there afterwards
+in poverty was, I am pleased to say, incorrect, for her
+daughter, Mrs. Paget, informed me some years ago that
+when Mrs. Parnell died she was with her in Ireland, and
+that she was surrounded by every possible luxury.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Minnie Warren, an American from Boston, who
+afterwards married a Vanderbilt, was one of the loveliest
+young girls I ever met. She was then living with her parents
+in an hôtel on the Boulevard Haussmann, and I used frequently
+to meet her at parties and balls given by wealthy
+Americans. One afternoon I went to tea at her house, as I
+always did by invitation two or three times a week, and found
+her father sitting down reading <i>The Times</i>. He never so
+much as looked at me, but went on reading, while I sat
+silent and feeling far from comfortable, until Mrs. Warren
+came in and said:—</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I suppose you have come to see my daughters; they
+will be home soon.”</p>
+
+<p>I felt very much relieved when, a few minutes after, I
+was shown into the charming daughters’ salon, where I felt,
+as I always did, “<i>au septième ciel</i>.”</p>
+
+<p>Another remarkably pretty girl whom I knew was Mlle.
+Waterlot, whose acquaintance I made through the Marquise
+Brian de Bois Guilbert. I introduced her to Miss Parnell,
+as she wanted to go to some American balls. She found,
+however, her inability to speak English a great drawback
+at these functions, as American young men did not care to
+talk French, which entailed too much mental exertion to please
+them. Mlle. Waterlot married some time afterwards the
+Comte de Lesseps, a son of the famous engineer of the Suez
+Canal.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">Captain Howard Vyse—An Anecdote of Paganini—New Hats for Old Ones—Albert
+Bingham—Baron Alphonse de Rothschild—Madame Alice
+Kernave—Gambetta</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>During the winter months, I was very fond of going
+on Sundays to Pasdeloup’s concerts, which were
+held in the Cirque d’Hiver. One Sunday, I met the Vicomte
+d’Assailly there, who told me that he preferred these concerts
+to those at the Conservatoire, as at the latter people did not
+cease to talk the whole time, which was very trying for those
+who, like himself, really cared for music. He was passionately
+fond of it. On one occasion, I went to Pasdeloup’s
+concert with Captain Howard Vyse, formerly of the “Blues,”
+an Old Etonian, and a friend of my father, who was nicknamed
+“Punch.” He was placed in a seat near the kettledrums,
+while I sat some little distance away, as there were very few
+vacant seats. After the concert I asked Vyse how he had
+enjoyed it, when he told me that he had never slept better
+in his life, and had not once heard the kettledrums. He
+could speak very little French, but he thoroughly enjoyed
+going to the Palais-Royal Theatre, and would often tell me
+of a play there which was worth seeing, such as <i>le Réveillon</i>,
+by Meilhac and Halévy, of which he related to me the plot.
+He was always very lively, and sometimes rather amusing,
+and at times he would invite himself to dine with us, where
+he was always very welcome. Once, for some reason or
+other, my mother did not want him to stay to dinner, and
+told him that she was afraid she had nothing to give him.
+However, he asked her what there was, and, on being told,
+said:—</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span></p>
+
+<p>“If I had ordered the dinner myself, I could not have
+anything I like better.”</p>
+
+<p>So he remained and dined with us, notwithstanding the
+excuses my mother had made for the dinner. My father
+introduced him to the late Lady Louisa Meux, sister of the
+Marquis of Ailesbury, who lived in quite a palace in the Bois
+de Boulogne, and had very smart “turn-outs.” She used
+to give very good dinners and once invited Howard Vyse
+to dine with her. Whenever afterwards my father wanted
+to annoy him, he would say that he was sure that Lady
+Louisa Meux would be pleased to see him at dinner. To
+which Vyse would answer angrily:—</p>
+
+<p>“However badly I might want a dinner, I would not go
+there for anything.”</p>
+
+<p>The explanation of this was a secret between my father and
+Howard Vyse, and evidently an amusing one, since they
+always laughed heartily over it.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Louisa Meux was very rich and highly eccentric.
+Her husband was in a lunatic asylum, and she herself was very
+queer at times. I never knew her myself, but my father
+said she occasionally reminded him of a sister of his, whom
+he also considered rather eccentric.</p>
+
+<p>Signor Campobello, whose real name was Campbell, used
+to sing at a house to which I was sometimes invited of an
+afternoon. One day, when he had just sung a song, the lady
+of the house went up to him and asked him, in my hearing,
+to sing again. He replied:</p>
+
+<p>“You are aware of my charges—five hundred francs
+each song.” To which she rejoined:—</p>
+
+<p>“I am perfectly well aware of it.”</p>
+
+<p>Campobello’s wife was Madame Sinico, who was also an
+operatic singer and often sang at Covent Garden.</p>
+
+<p>The Marquise Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a very pretty and
+distinguished-looking woman, when dining with us one
+evening, happened to remark how badly professional singers
+were treated by some people, and related a story of a man and
+his wife who were invited to dinner by some rich people in
+Paris on purpose to avoid paying them for singing afterwards.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span>
+However, after these two singers had had their
+dinner, they put a louis each on their plates in payment for
+it, and immediately afterwards left the house, much to the
+disgust and disappointment of their host and hostess, who
+had invited them expressly to sing to the other guests. The
+Marquise herself sang most beautifully and quite like a professional,
+having learned of the celebrated Professor Duprez
+(formerly of the Grand Opéra), one of whose very best pupils
+she was; and when she did so, always insisted that there
+should be no talking in the room, otherwise she would leave
+off singing at once. This was no idle threat, as I once saw
+her carry it out myself.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Berkeley, who was very fond of hearing her sing,
+would often remark that English people, as a rule, always
+begin to talk when anyone sings or plays, and he once told a
+story, which, though I have no doubt it is a very old one, I
+may as well repeat, for the benefit of those unacquainted
+with it:</p>
+
+<p>On one occasion, when Paganini was playing a violin solo,
+and had reached the most pathetic part, he was suddenly
+interrupted by a certain English peer, who touched his arm
+and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Pardon, Monsieur, mais j’ai besoin de causer avec une
+dame.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>It appeared that, in order to reach the lady in question,
+the Englishman had to pass Paganini, and the bow of the
+violin happened to be in his way.</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Si ce ri est pas vrai, c’est très bien trouvé</i>,” as Captain
+Berkeley observed at the time he told me the story. Let
+us hope that the lady was worthy of the interruption.
+Possibly she was a Venus, in which case there may have been
+some excuse for this infatuated peer, whoever he may have
+been.</p>
+
+<p>The Marquise de Brian de Bois-Guilbert used to pay frequent
+visits to the Duchesse d’Abrantès at her fine Château
+de Bailleul, where the latter’s sister-in-law, the Comtesse de
+Faverney, painted a portrait of the Marquise, which she
+showed me. It was a very fine one, and, unlike most amateur<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span>
+productions, really resembled the original. The Duchesse
+d’Abrantès was then a lovely young blonde, and one of the
+best portraits that I ever saw of her was one which she gave
+to the Marquise. She was taken in her garden, standing
+by a favourite horse, with her arm round the animal’s neck.</p>
+
+<p>In reference to the Duchesse d’Abrantès, the Marquise
+once observed, in the course of a letter to me:—</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“<i>Her whole family is greatly respected at Versailles,
+not only because it is illustrious, but because it is very pious
+and very charitable. What kindness of heart, perfect
+courtesy, and exquisite and truly Christian benevolence
+do we find in these illustrious families! I repeat: nothing
+is comparable to the courtesy and perfect breeding of the
+French nobility, which is doubly kind when one happens
+to have fallen into misfortune. Its soul is as lofty as its
+rank is elevated; its heart is excellent. The greatest
+nobility resides at Versailles, for it is in greater security
+there than anywhere else.</i>”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>And she added:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“<i>On m’a surnommée ici la rose blanche, puis la blanche
+apparition, et j’ai de grand succès de beauté, distinction,
+chose rare parmi les femmes; pour mon talent, on est
+en extase.</i>”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>I went, in later years, to a very smart ball given by the
+Marquise de Blocqueville, at which I met the Comtesse de la
+Taille des Essarts and her daughter Gabrielle. The latter,
+with whom I danced, was a fair girl, who afterwards married
+the Marquis de Gabriac. I took the Comtesse, who was an
+English lady and a friend of my mother’s, in to supper.
+When I left the ball, I looked for my opera-hat, which was
+quite new, and found a very old one in its place. They told
+me at the <i>vestiaire</i> that they thought the Marquis de Rey
+had taken mine. I accordingly sent him the hat with a note,
+asking the return of mine, and received an answer, saying<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span>
+that he was not the person who had left this old hat, as his
+was quite new, and he would have no particular desire to
+exchange it.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“<i>Je regrette</i>,” he wrote, “<i>d’avoir à vous annoncer que le
+chapeau que vous m’avez fait remettre hier n’est pas à moi;
+l’échange que vous supposez n’est pas de mon fait; <span class="smcap">mon</span>
+chapeau étant entre mes mains.... Ayez donc la bonté de le
+faire reprendre chez mon concierge, numéro 11, rue des Saints-Pères,
+etc., etc.</i>”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>At the same time, the Marquis expressed the hope that
+I should find my own hat, but this I never did.</p>
+
+<p>The above incident reminds me of a story I heard about
+General Ronald Lane, of the Rifle Brigade, who was at one
+time Equerry to the Duke of Connaught. The gallant
+officer in question went, many years ago, to a ball in London,
+wearing a perfectly new hat, and, on leaving, found, as I
+had done, an old one in its place. He must evidently have
+determined to pay someone out for the loss of his hat, for
+the next time he went to a ball, which he did soon afterwards,
+he took this old hat with him, and, leaving the
+house early, had time to select the newest of the hats in the
+cloak-room and one that fitted him perfectly.</p>
+
+<p>“You can see for yourself,” said he to the attendant,
+“that this old hat can’t possibly belong to me. I must
+look for it, and I shall soon find it.”</p>
+
+<p>In this way, he secured an almost better hat than the one
+he had lost, and, of course, he left the old hat in its place.</p>
+
+<p>At a ball given by an American in Paris, the celebrated
+composer Waldteufel was conducting one of his own very
+delightful waltzes, which he used at times to play in rather
+slow time, putting always a great deal of expression into them,
+when the master of the house came up to him and asked if
+he would mind playing the waltz a trifle faster, since it would
+suit the dancers better. Waldteufel, whose <i>amour-propre</i>
+was wounded by this request, immediately afterwards
+struck up the “Dead March in Saul,” and since then no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span>
+one dared to interfere with him when he was conducting
+his orchestra, which he did at all the principal balls,
+though his fee was £150 for the night. It was very interesting
+to watch him conduct his orchestra, which was
+excellent, though by no means numerous. At times, he
+played the violin and led the orchestra somewhat in the
+manner of Edward Strauss, though he went through more
+peculiar movements with his arms and legs than even the
+latter does. Edward Strauss always seems to dance himself
+when he conducts his orchestra and plays waltzes and polkas,
+and looks pleasant; but Waldteufel always looked furious.
+I remember at balls, when I was dancing a cotillion or a
+waltz, I used to be rather afraid of him, as one never knew
+at any time what eccentricity he might not be prompted
+to indulge in. Sometimes, he would stop his orchestra in
+the middle of a dance; at others, he would play an overture
+when you were expecting a waltz. In fact, with him one
+had to be prepared for anything. But the Americans in
+Paris were such beautiful dancers that these eccentricities
+rather pleased them, and, besides, they could dance to almost
+any <i>tempo.</i></p>
+
+<p>The Marquis de Grandmaison used often to dine with us
+in the Rue d’Albe. He was a very strongly-built, clean-shaven
+man, and wore his hair very short; so much so,
+indeed, that one day, when he had given a photograph of
+himself to my father, the latter said:—</p>
+
+<p>“You look, my dear fellow, as if you had undergone ten
+years’ penal servitude!”</p>
+
+<p>Grandmaison laughed, as he always enjoyed a joke, even
+when it was at his own expense. Generally, he would
+retaliate, and my father and he used to make fun of one
+another. The Marquis, who belonged to one of the noblest
+families in France, and was a very wealthy man, owned a
+beautiful hôtel in Paris. He had lived in the United States
+and spoke English like an American. He was very fond of
+practical jokes, and would make us all laugh at the tricks
+he had played on various people. My mother rather liked
+him, but at times he was almost too noisy; in fact, very like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span>
+a schoolboy, as he was up to all kinds of fun. He belonged
+to the Jockey Club, and generally drove a fine
+four-in-hand to the races at Longchamps, and he was very
+fond of racing.</p>
+
+<p>The Marquis de Bois-Hébert, the husband of the well-known
+author, used also to drive a very fine four-in-hand
+in Paris at this time. I knew him very well and have mentioned
+him in my book, “Society Recollections in Paris
+and Vienna.”</p>
+
+<p>The late Hon. Albert Bingham, brother of Lord Clanmorris,
+who drew the pictures in Lady Brassey’s well-known
+book, used often to dine with us in the Rue d’Albe, and
+sometimes brought with him a little pug-dog called Félice,
+who was a great favourite, particularly with the ladies.
+Bingham was a very pleasant man, with plenty of conversation,
+and was most popular in Paris. He was very nice-looking
+and a good draughtsman, besides being clever in
+other ways. I remember him getting me an invitation to
+dine with the Naylor-Leylands, who had a fine hôtel in the
+Avenue d’Antin, in which the kitchen was at the top of the
+house. The Naylor-Leylands had as their secretary a man
+who had formerly been a captain in the Rifle Brigade. I
+was at Eton with Albert Bingham’s nephew, Lord Clanmorris,
+who entered the Rifle Brigade. I met him afterwards
+in town and also in Paris. He married soon after the
+last time I saw him. He has recently died.</p>
+
+<p>The Piétris sometimes came to see us in the Rue d’Albe,
+and, on the marriage of the eldest daughter, Marie, I was
+invited to the wedding, at which the two younger sisters
+acted as bridesmaids, and also to the ball given just before
+the married couple started on their honeymoon. About
+two hundred people were present at this ball, and the supper
+was an excellent one, with champagne. I danced with
+Mlle. Julie Piétri, who was a beautiful dancer, and looked
+very pretty that evening in a dress of pink tulle, with pearls
+as ornaments.</p>
+
+<p>When Captain Hubert de Burgh, formerly of the 11th
+Hussars, who was an Old Etonian and a nephew of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span>
+Earl of Cardigan, dined with us, as he often did, my mother
+always said that she felt sure that he would break a wine-glass;
+and he invariably did so. This was previous to his
+being attacked by the sad spinal complaint from which he
+died. One day, in the Champs-Elysées, he fell in love at
+sight with a German lady whom my father knew, and she
+told him that she had also fallen in love with de Burgh.
+My father introduced them to each other, and de Burgh
+afterwards left the lady his entire fortune. At one time
+my father always went with him to the different race-meetings
+round Paris.</p>
+
+<p>In later years, Mr. Tugwell, a banker from Bath, who
+was on a visit to Paris, was very anxious to see Ferrières,
+the magnificent country-seat of the late Baron Alphonse de
+Rothschild. Accordingly, having obtained permission from
+the Baron himself, who happened to be in Paris at the time,
+we went there by train.</p>
+
+<p>Ferrières is one of the most beautiful properties in the
+world, and enjoys quite a European reputation for its
+magnificence. We went all over the château itself, entering
+nearly every room. On our arrival at the top of the house,
+I recollect seeing some very elaborate coffins, covered with
+gold, standing up against the outside walls of certain rooms.
+The servant who showed us over the house explained to us
+about these coffins, and said whose they were; but I was
+only too pleased to go down the staircase again and see
+them no more. The servant showed us some of the beautiful
+<i>objets d’art</i> and paintings which adorned the walls, and
+told us that the house contained <i>objets d’art</i> to the value of
+nearly one hundred million francs. Baron Alphonse was
+the wealthiest of all the Rothschilds, and all the most
+remarkable <i>objets d’art</i> which had been amassed by the
+family in years gone by had been collected and placed in the
+Château de Ferrières. We were told that Rothschild rarely
+ever gave permission for visitors to see the inside of the
+château, as he did not wish journalists and others to describe
+the interior of this splendid house and the wealth it contained,
+which, we were assured, exceeded that of any other<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span>
+in Europe. Tugwell, who could not speak French, was
+delighted to find that one of the gardeners had lived as
+head gardener on his estate near Bath, and had also been
+a gardener in the service of the Prince of Wales, afterwards
+King Edward VII. This man showed us over the greenhouses,
+and told us that he was one of twenty-seven gardeners
+employed at Ferrières, and that the collection of orchids
+was the finest in Europe; and Tugwell, who had a very fine
+collection himself, admitted, after seeing them, that such
+must be the case.</p>
+
+<p>Baron Alphonse de Rothschild was a fair man with a long
+beard. He used, at one time, to ride a very fine chestnut
+horse, and to go every morning, accompanied by his daughter,
+also on horseback, to the Bois de Boulogne, returning to his
+hôtel in time for <i>déjeuner</i> at twelve o’clock. Mlle. de Rothschild
+died quite young, and the Baron, who never seemed to
+get over her death, died himself not long afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>On one occasion, I went to the Chantilly and to le Vésinet
+races, and was shown over the splendid estate of the Duc
+d’Aumale. Colonel McCall, a friend of my father, was
+Equerry to the Duke, and his son, who was an Old Etonian,
+served in my regiment, which he commanded in later years.
+The Duc d’Aumale bequeathed this splendid property to
+the French nation. Le Vésinet races were not of much
+account, and were only kept going by the support of the
+royal owner of Chantilly.</p>
+
+<p>I went, of course, to Versailles to see the magnificent
+château and the beautiful gardens, which are laid out in the
+most charming manner imaginable, and, though often
+imitated, have never been equalled. Le Petit Trianon, with
+its splendid collection of roses of every possible <i>nuance</i>—the
+“Souvenir à la Malmaison,” “Prince Noir,” “La
+France,” “Niphetos,” “Boule de Neige,” and so forth—greatly
+enhance the charm of that part of the gardens;
+and when the great fountains are playing, the view from the
+terrace is quite fairy-like in its wonderful beauty, and the
+château looks like one of those magic palaces described in
+the “Arabian Nights.” When there is a display of fireworks<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span>
+and the fountains are lit up by various coloured lights, you
+may almost imagine yourself in fairyland or living in the
+days of the Caliph Haroun Alrashid, particularly if one
+happens to be in the company of a fair lady, as I was in that
+of Mlle. Renée Leclerc.</p>
+
+<p>I went once to Enghien with my mother and the Marquise
+Brian de Bois-Guilbert, where we listened to a fine Prussian
+military band, which played, as the Marquise observed,
+better than most French military bands. It was, however,
+depressing to reflect that the Prussians were then in occupation
+and so near Paris. Enghien is a nice little place, with
+an artificial lake and some fine houses, and the public garden,
+where the band plays of an afternoon, is a very pretty one.
+The Marquise de Bois-Guilbert stayed there during the War,
+and for some time afterwards, before returning to Paris,
+where she usually lived.</p>
+
+<p>I once visited the Fair of Saint-Germain with some
+friends. In one of the shows a woman conjuror singled me
+out, and asked me to hold a gold coin in my hand. Then,
+telling me to keep my hand tightly closed, she went away
+to a considerable distance, counted up to three and fired off
+a pistol. Afterwards, she asked me to open my hand and
+to count aloud in French the pieces it contained, which I
+found numbered over thirty. How the trick was performed
+I have never had the slightest idea to this day.</p>
+
+<p>I was once at the Cirque d’Hiver, in Paris, when a woman
+was blindfolded on the stage; after which her husband came
+up to me and asked if I had a foreign bank-note about me.
+I gave him an Austrian one, which he held in his hand, and
+the woman immediately cried out:</p>
+
+<p>“Austrian ten-florin note, Number 178150.”</p>
+
+<p>I never was able to discover how this was done.</p>
+
+<p>I went once with Madame Saint-Hilaire, who wrote some
+interesting novels, published by Dentu, of the Palais Royal,
+and her pretty daughter, Madame Alice Kernave, who had
+been an actress in St. Petersburg, to a <i>séance</i> of spirit-rapping
+and table-turning, in which they both firmly believed.
+But, to tell the truth, I did not think much of it, though<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span>
+the <i>séances</i> were always very well attended. I did not mind
+being kept in the dark when I sat near Madame Alice Kernave,
+but when I went there alone with her mother on one
+occasion I felt rather nervous. I never went again, but
+frequently visited the daughter, whom I admired at that
+time. She had received, while in St. Petersburg, very handsome
+presents from a Russian gentleman, who, she told me,
+had recently died. She was looking for a good engagement
+in <i>la haute comédie</i>, in which she was very clever. I met
+her some years afterwards at Nice, where she was acting at
+the theatre, when she told me that she had lived in great
+luxury while her Russian friend was alive, but since then
+had been obliged to live more economically in Paris.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="illus19" style="max-width: 23.4375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus19.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Madame Alice Kernave.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 164.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus20" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus20.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>The late Earl of Berkeley.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 165.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>I remember that once the Baron de Vay, a Russian, who
+lived during the summer at a villa he owned at Vévey, in
+Switzerland, called on my mother, in the Rue d’Albe, with
+his daughter, a pretty little girl of fourteen. In the course
+of conversation, the Baron mentioned that he made a rule of
+never knowing certain people for more than a fortnight, after
+which he always dropped their acquaintance, if he possibly
+could, for, as he explained, in that space of time he learned
+all their good qualities and none of their faults. I could not
+help thinking at the time, and I am still of the same opinion,
+that he was a most fortunate man to be able to do so. The
+Baron only spoke French and Russian, and did not know a
+word of English.</p>
+
+<p>In later years, when the Earl of Berkeley was living with
+his wife and his sister-in-law, the Baronne van Havre, in
+the Rue de Saint-Pétersbourg, he took a fancy to the streich
+melodion (or viola zither), which is somewhat like the
+streich zither, and Sighicelli, the famous violinist of the
+Grand Opéra, came every evening to give us lessons, when
+we all three played together. The streich melodion is a
+favourite instrument in Vienna, where thirty or forty of them
+are at times played together by young girls in society at
+the Musik Vereins Saal, and the effect is quite charming.
+Some evenings, Taffanel, the flute-player of the Grand
+Opéra, brought his silver flute, and really enchanted all<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span>
+whom Berkeley invited to his house. I remember that, one
+evening, Captain Francis Lowther, the father of Miss
+Toupie Lowther, the well-known lawn-tennis player, came
+there. He was a son of the Earl of Lonsdale and a friend
+of my father. He told Berkeley how well he spoke foreign
+languages, particularly French, when the latter replied that
+there was very little merit in his being able to do so, as
+he had spoken them all his life.</p>
+
+<p>At the house of some American friends of ours I had the
+privilege of meeting the same evening two of the greatest
+men of their time: General Grant and Gambetta. General
+Grant appeared to me to be a short, stoutly-built and rather
+stern-looking man. On being presented to him, I happened
+to remark that the day had been a fine one, to which he
+replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“I beg to differ from you, sir; the wind was a bitterly
+cold one from the North.”</p>
+
+<p>I afterwards spoke in praise of Paris, and said how much
+I preferred it to London, so far as its theatres and other
+amusements were concerned. The General replied that he
+was much pleased with what he had seen of Paris, but that
+London and the English interested him far more. He then
+asked me several questions about England and the British
+Army, which I answered to the best of my ability. My
+answers seemed to please him, since he asked me to give
+him my address, and called on me with his son the very next
+day; but I happened most unfortunately to be out. My
+impression of Grant was that he was a very kind-hearted
+man, but that he did not carry his heart on his
+sleeve.</p>
+
+<p>Gambetta shook hands with me like the General, but,
+instead of letting go of my hand, kept it in his, the while
+he made a very long speech in French, which was so florid
+that I was quite carried away by his eloquence, and forgot
+almost where I was. He did not seem to expect a reply;
+anyway, he contented himself with one or two monosyllables
+from me, and praised England, the English, and the English
+Army in the most high-flown language. My impression of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span>
+Gambetta was that he was a passionate, warm-hearted son
+of the Midi, who certainly wore his heart on his sleeve. His
+appearance was not in his favour, as he was excessively
+stout and had a bad figure, but his attractive, captivating
+manner more than atoned for his physical defects.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</h2>
+
+<p class="center">My First Night at Mess—Life at Shorncliffe—The Charltons</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>It was not until two years after I had passed my examination
+for the Army, in 1872, that I obtained my commission,
+when I was gazetted as a sub-lieutenant to the 2nd
+Battalion of the 10th (Lincolnshire) Regiment. My regiment
+was at that time serving in India, but, since it was
+under orders to return home, I was posted to the regimental
+depôt at Shorncliffe, which was attached temporarily to
+the 2nd Battalion of the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment.</p>
+
+<p>On my arrival at Shorncliffe, I reported to Lieutenant
+Richard Southey, the officer temporarily commanding the
+depôt, the senior officer, Captain Byron, being then on
+leave. He was a tall, good-looking man, with very pleasant
+manners, and I felt at once at my ease with him. He showed
+me the hut which was to serve as my quarters, and offered
+to do anything for me that he could, even placing his soldier
+servant at my disposal, until I had time to choose one from
+the depôt. My hut, which was similar to those occupied
+by other officers, contained two small rooms leading into
+one another; while the furniture, which I had had sent
+down from London, was of the kind usually found in barracks,
+consisting of a bed which could be easily taken to pieces,
+a chest of drawers separated into two parts, but which could
+be put together for use, a green and black Brussels carpet,
+and curtains to match. I also had an oak bureau, forming
+a chest of drawers and writing-table, which I had had all
+the time I was at Eton. The furniture supplied to officers
+by the War Office consisted merely of a table and two or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span>
+three ordinary chairs; but, with my own arm-chair, tablecloth,
+various knick-knacks and a number of pictures which
+I had had at Eton, I managed to make the rooms look
+habitable, if nothing else.</p>
+
+<p>At half-past six a bugle sounded for the officers to dress
+for mess, which was at seven o’clock. I confess that I felt
+not a little nervous on entering the ante-room in my new
+uniform, which was scarlet with yellow facings; but Southey
+was already there and introduced me to most of the officers,
+who greeted me very cordially.</p>
+
+<p>The president at dinner was a captain named Dunn, who
+sat at the head of the table; the vice-president was a
+lieutenant. The president and vice-president hold office
+for a week, and are then replaced by other officers of the
+same rank. The conversation at table was very animated,
+mainly on general topics; indeed, military matters seemed
+to be more or less tabooed. The string band of the regiment
+played during dinner, and, I thought, tolerably well, though,
+as I had just come from Paris, where I was accustomed to
+hear some of the best military bands, I was perhaps rather
+difficult to please. After the band had played “God save
+the Queen,” and Her Majesty’s health had been proposed
+by the president, all the officers standing to drink it, we left
+the table, the president and the vice-president being the
+last to leave. Most of the officers then adjourned to the ante-room,
+where I got into conversation with a lieutenant named
+Bethell, who had just joined the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment,
+and whom I had known as a boy in Somersetshire. Bethell
+was a very clever fellow, and in his examination for the
+Army had passed first out of three hundred. He was an
+excellent rifle-shot and a good all-round sportsman. Some
+years later he succeeded to the title of Lord Westbury, when
+he was transferred to the Guards.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of the evening the adjutant, Lieutenant
+Maltby, came up to me and told me that I must put in an
+appearance next morning at early drill. Maltby was an
+exceedingly nice fellow, and a thorough soldier. He was
+very particular about his dress, and even in mufti was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span>
+always <i>tiré à quatre épingles</i>. The following morning I
+found him on the parade ground, when he handed me over
+to a corporal for instruction in the goose step. After I
+had been practising this engaging exercise for about an hour,
+the adjutant came up, watch in hand, and told the corporal
+that that would do for the day, and asked me to accompany
+him to the mess-room, where we ordered breakfast. With the
+exception of the orderly officer, who was obliged to attend
+early parade with the adjutant and who came in shortly
+afterwards, we had the room to ourselves, as the other
+officers did not as a rule breakfast until nine o’clock or later.</p>
+
+<p>After breakfast, Maltby took me to the orderly room,
+to introduce me to the colonel, telling me that I must always
+address him and the majors as “Sir,” but that this was only
+customary with other superior officers when on parade.
+The colonel, Lieut.-Colonel Knox, who came in shortly
+afterwards, was a tall, well-built man of about sixty, with
+grey hair and moustache and whiskers almost white, which
+gave him the appearance of being older than he was. He
+was very pleasant to me, and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I am very pleased to have you in my regiment, and am
+only sorry that you do not belong to it, as you are an
+Etonian, and I am very fond of Eton boys.”</p>
+
+<p>He then said I must come to his house, when he would
+present me to his wife and daughter.</p>
+
+<p>At lunch, which was at half-past one, I was introduced
+to a lieutenant named Lovell, a good-looking fellow about
+five-and-twenty, with fair hair and moustache, whom I
+had not seen the previous evening, and with whom I became
+very friendly. He asked me to come with him for a walk
+to Folkestone, which was quite near, to which I readily
+consented. We had a pleasant walk along the cliffs, and
+I was quite charmed with Folkestone, with its green lawns
+facing the sea and its fine houses, standing for the most part
+in the midst of trim, little gardens, gay with summer flowers.
+During our walk Lovell explained to me many things about
+the Service, and told me many curious incidents which had
+happened while the regiment was at Yokohama, where it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span>
+had been stationed for several years, before being sent to
+Shorncliffe. He said that the regiment was very sorry to
+leave Japan, and that it was never likely to have such a
+charming station again. After a short time in England, it
+would probably be ordered to India, and that, in that case,
+he should exchange into a cavalry regiment, which he subsequently
+did. He was, however, very devoted to his
+present regiment, and said that the chief was an excellent
+man, and everything that one could wish for in a colonel,
+and that it was a rare thing to find all the officers pull so
+well together as they did. Unfortunately, the colonel would
+have to retire soon, though Daunt, the senior major, who
+would probably succeed to the command, would not make
+a bad chief.</p>
+
+<p>A day or two later, I called at the colonel’s house, where
+I was introduced to his wife and daughter. The latter
+was a tall, dark girl, in the early twenties, with very charming
+manners. The colonel asked me a number of questions
+about Eton and also about Paris, of which city he was very
+fond, though he had not been there for some years; and
+when I left, walked part of the way back to camp with me.</p>
+
+<p>I found my life very easy with the 9th Regiment. I had
+to attend parade from seven till eight, and again from
+eleven till half-past twelve; but of an afternoon I was
+generally free to do as I pleased, as it was only occasionally
+that I had to attend afternoon parade, which, however, was
+over by four o’clock. After my duties for the day were over
+and I had changed my clothes, I usually went into Folkestone,
+returning in time for mess. At first the only people I knew
+in Folkestone were a retired colonel and his wife, who were
+friends of my parents; but Lovell introduced me to several
+of his friends. Among them was a certain Miss Burnett,
+who was very much in love with a lieutenant of the 9th
+Regiment, named Seaton, and at no pains to conceal the
+fact, which occasioned me no little amusement. Unfortunately,
+Seaton did not reciprocate the attachment with
+which he had inspired her. More to my taste than this
+lovelorn damsel was a lively young lady of some fifteen<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span>
+summers, who was known to her intimates as “Vic.” She
+was a general favourite with the subalterns of the regiment,
+as she was very fond of horses and dogs, and rather amusing
+in her conversation, in which she used slang expressions with
+considerable freedom. Miss “Vic” used to drive a very
+smart turn-out about Folkestone, and was quite an accomplished
+whip.</p>
+
+<p>The 9th Regiment used to give “Penny Readings” once
+a fortnight, at which a good many people from Folkestone
+and Sandgate were generally present. At the first of these
+entertainments which I attended Lovell read some of
+“Artemus Ward,” and in such an amusing manner that
+everyone was delighted. As I had the reputation of being
+a good performer on the zither, I was asked to play something
+on that instrument, which was quite a novelty. It
+was very well received, and next day I received a note from
+a lady unknown to me, who, I was told, was the mother of
+an officer in the “Blues,” inviting me to dinner and asking
+me to bring my zither with me. I showed the letter to
+Maltby, who advised me not to accept it, as it would, in
+his opinion, be making myself too cheap. So I declined,
+with many thanks.</p>
+
+<p>A subaltern of the 10th Regiment, named Richard Southey,
+went on leave about this time and left me his black servant.
+I found the fellow very attentive, but I soon began to miss
+things. Among them was a pearl stud, for finding which
+I promised him a shilling. As, however, it was not forthcoming,
+I offered him half-a-crown, and the next day he
+produced it, to my great satisfaction. But, as I soon found
+that this system of offering rewards for “lost” articles was
+a trifle too expensive, and I could not get rid of him till
+Southey returned, I was forced to protect myself by putting
+everything of value under lock and key. Nevertheless, he
+generally succeeded in discovering some means of relieving
+me of anything to which he happened to take a fancy.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus21" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus21.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Miss Augusta Charlton.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 172.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus22" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus22.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p>Miss Ida Charlton.</p>
+  <p class="caption-r">[<i>To face p. 173.</i></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Captain John Byron, a grandson of Lord Byron, who
+commanded the depôt of my regiment, returned about
+this time from leave. He was a rather handsome and very<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span>
+distinguished-looking man of forty, but inclined to be very
+arrogant in his manner towards those whom he did not
+like. Fortunately, he condescended to take a great fancy
+to me from the first, and made quite a friend of me, notwithstanding
+that I was so much younger than he was.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this, another sub-lieutenant, named Arthur
+Dillon, joined my regiment, so that I now had a companion
+at morning drill. Dillon was the son of an Irish baronet,
+who was also a Count of the Holy Roman Empire, though
+no one would have imagined that he hailed from the Emerald
+Isle, as he spoke without the faintest trace of an Irish accent,
+and was a very nice young fellow indeed.</p>
+
+<p>One day I took Dillon over to Dover to call upon some
+people named Charlton, whose acquaintance I had made
+when a boy at Ostend, and who were now living in Victoria
+Park. Mr. Charlton had formerly served in the Queen’s
+Bays, though he had sold out of the Service while still a
+cornet; his wife was a very handsome woman, and they had
+six children, five girls and a boy, the two elder girls, Augusta
+and Ida, being remarkably pretty. Mrs. Charlton invited
+us to stay to supper, an invitation which we readily accepted,
+the more so that we were both at a susceptible age and the
+charms of our hostess’s daughters had not been without
+their effect upon us. During supper Mrs. Charlton told us
+that a very smart ball was to be given shortly at Dover,
+to which they were going, and suggested that we should join
+them and bring two or three other young officers, saying
+that she could manage to put us all up for the night. Needless
+to say, we gladly accepted her kind offer, and on the day of
+the ball went over to Dover, with Bethell and another subaltern
+of the 9th named Townsend. As the ball was a military
+one, we all had to appear in uniform, and at the entrance
+to the ball-room were asked our names and regiments.
+Townsend gave his own and my name, and when they asked
+my rank, coolly replied: “Colonel, 10th Regiment.” Next
+day, in the local newspaper, in the list of those present at
+the ball, I duly appeared as such.</p>
+
+<p>After the ball, which was a great success, and at which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span>
+the Misses Charlton, who had recently returned from a visit
+to the Continent and wore dresses of the very latest Paris
+fashion, were immensely admired, we drove back to Victoria
+Park, where we spent what little remained of the night, and
+after an early breakfast returned to Shorncliffe.</p>
+
+<p>Dillon and I found our life at Shorncliffe very monotonous
+when winter came on, for Folkestone was almost empty,
+and had it not been for the kindness of our friends at Dover,
+at whose house we were always assured of a warm welcome,
+we should have had a precious dull time of it. The only
+event of interest was the arrival from India of the 3rd Battalion
+of the 60th Rifles, all the officers of which were made
+honorary members of the 9th Regiment’s mess, until their
+own mess was in order. I made the acquaintance of several
+of the new-comers, who seemed very nice fellows indeed.
+One of them, Captain Bingham, told me, <i>à propos</i> of the ball
+to which I had been at Dover, that once the 1st Rifle Brigade,
+when stationed there, had been invited to a ball given by
+the Buffs, but that when the “Green Jackets,” in their
+turn, gave a ball, they did not condescend to invite any of
+the officers of the Buffs, nor any of the Dover ladies, all the
+guests coming down from London, which greatly disgusted
+everybody at Dover, and created a very bad feeling between
+the two regiments.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after this, Captain Byron received news that our
+regiment was shortly expected from India, and would be
+stationed at Chatham. This, of course, necessitated the
+immediate removal of the depôt to Chatham, to the great
+regret of both Dillon and myself, for, on the whole, we had
+been very happy at Shorncliffe, and feared that we might
+not enjoy nearly so much liberty as we had had with the
+9th Regiment.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+
+<p class="center">An N.C.O. of the Old School—Major Blewett—Captain Byron—Sandhurst</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>On our arrival at Chatham Barracks, I was allotted a
+single room in the officers’ quarters, which was
+much smaller and less comfortable than either of the two
+rooms which I had occupied at Shorncliffe. Dillon was
+given a similar one, but Byron, being a captain, had better
+accommodation.</p>
+
+<p>Dillon and I found our life at Chatham very different from
+that at Shorncliffe, and not nearly so pleasant. We had to
+attend early drill with the recruits under a sergeant, who
+was very severe, and made us drill exactly the same as the
+men. Some mornings it was so cold that our hands became
+quite numbed, and we could scarcely hold our rifles. But
+this martinet of a sergeant had no pity, and made us “carry
+on” until we were ready to drop with fatigue and cold.
+The recruits he bullied most unmercifully. One morning, a
+recruit arrived late for parade, whereupon the sergeant gave
+him several kicks on his shins, and pulled him by the ears,
+until the poor fellow almost yelled with the pain. His
+tormentor, however, soon silenced him.</p>
+
+<p>“I won’t have any of your blubbering,” cried he. “If
+you don’t stop at once, I’ll give you three days’ extra drill.”
+This sort of thing he could do with impunity, as the
+adjutant was rarely on the parade-ground during early morning
+drill. He appeared at afternoon parade, but paid very
+little attention to the recruits, occupying himself mainly
+with company drill. So matters continued until our regiment
+arrived, and even then there was not much improvement,
+for, so long as we remained in Chatham Barracks, the luckless<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span>
+recruits were always drilled by the same sergeant, none of
+them daring to complain, from fear lest worse things should
+befall them.</p>
+
+<p>The 2nd Battalion of the 10th Regiment was at that time
+commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Annesley, an amiable old gentleman,
+with a wife and family, who appeared to engross a good
+deal more of his attention than did his regiment. For of
+much that was going on he seemed quite ignorant, and it
+was purposely kept from him. In fact, the battalion was
+really commanded by the senior major, Major Blewitt, the
+colonel seldom putting in an appearance except on field
+days. Major Blewitt was a very smart officer, and though at
+times inclined to severity, exceedingly just. He was very
+particular about etiquette, and scarcely ever spoke to a
+subaltern, except to give him advice or to reprimand him,
+even in the ante-room. I recollect about the only occasion
+on which he condescended to address me.</p>
+
+<p>There was a sub-lieutenant of a West India Regiment,
+whom I will call H——, attached at that time to the 10th.
+This young gentleman was very fond of écarté, and often
+induced me to play with him after mess. We played for
+half-a-crown a game, and I found that I generally lost, as
+H—— had a perfectly wonderful way of turning up the
+king almost every time he dealt. One evening, we were
+playing in the ante-room, where Major Blewitt was sitting,
+reading a newspaper. Presently, the major looked over the
+top of his paper, and observed that it was a pity that we
+could not find some better way of passing the time than
+playing cards; adding that, if he thought we were playing
+for money, he would stop us at once. Soon afterwards, we
+finished our rubber, and H—— left the room, upon which
+Major Blewitt called me to him and told me that he did not
+like to see me playing cards. On one occasion, he said,
+he was present when two young officers were playing écarté.
+One of them lost persistently the whole evening, but since
+they both assured him that they were playing for love, he
+did not interfere, though the way the luck continued to run
+in one direction was extremely suspicious. Subsequently, he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span>
+discovered that they had actually been playing for five
+hundred pounds a game, and that the loser had been completely
+ruined. The major added that, from what he had
+seen of H——’s play, he should be very sorry to sit down to
+cards with him, and to play with him for anything like high
+stakes would be simply madness. The warning he gave me
+on this occasion was certainly well justified, for a lieutenant
+of the Lincoln’s, named Glass, afterwards lost considerable
+sums to H—— at écarté.</p>
+
+<p>The captains of the regiment did not like Major Blewitt,
+who treated them off parade with a certain haughtiness,
+as though he were showing them condescension in speaking
+to them at all; while the N.C.O.’s, and particularly the
+sergeants, were all afraid of him, as he seemed to be aware of
+everything that was going on, and was very severe upon
+them if they did not treat the men properly.</p>
+
+<p>One day on parade, when Major Blewitt was in command,
+he gave some extraordinary orders, which it was quite impossible
+for the regiment to carry out, and later, in the
+ante-room, he behaved in a very strange manner. It was
+then ascertained that his mind was affected, the result of a
+sunstroke which he had had in India. He went away on
+sick leave, but six months later had to retire from the Service,
+as it was found that he was never likely to recover.</p>
+
+<p>The next officer in seniority was Major Hudson, who told
+me that he had served under my uncle and godfather,
+General the Hon. Sir George Cathcart, when the latter was
+Governor of the Cape. The major was a very pleasant
+man, but he had certain eccentricities, one of which was a
+partiality for white kid gloves and patent-leather boots,
+which he wore on parade, even in winter. He had little
+control over the captains, who did very much as they liked.
+One of them was almost perpetually drunk, and led his wife,
+a rather pretty woman and very well off, a miserable life,
+even going so far as to beat her, it was said. Some of the
+subalterns also drank a great deal more than was good for
+them, and there was one who was drunk on parade on at
+least one occasion.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p>
+
+<p>Little, the senior lieutenant and adjutant, was, however,
+a very nice fellow, as well as a good soldier, and the same
+could be said for two other subalterns, Archibald Glen and
+De Houghton. The former was six feet seven in height,
+and reputed to be the tallest man in the Army. I liked him
+exceedingly, but, unfortunately, he soon left the regiment
+for the Staff College. De Houghton, who afterwards became
+a baronet, had received the Gold Medal of the Royal Humane
+Society for saving life at sea.</p>
+
+<p>There was a subaltern in the 10th who prided himself
+on his knowledge of French. Once, when the regiment was
+stationed at Malta, a French warship happened to call there,
+and the officers were invited by the 10th to dinner. This
+lieutenant, being the best French scholar, was placed between
+the captain of the warship and another French officer. Presently,
+the captain asked him in French how long he had been
+at Malta, to which he replied, without hesitation, while
+everybody pricked up their ears to listen:—</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Je suis un âne ici.</i>” (“I am an ass here.”)</p>
+
+<p>The French captain tried to look serious, but the other
+French officers burst into fits of laughter. One of them
+spoke a little English and explained to the company what
+the joke was, when they all joined in the merriment.
+Needless to say, this misadventure remained ever afterwards
+a standing joke against the unfortunate lieutenant.</p>
+
+<p>Life at Chatham was very monotonous. Of society there
+was practically none, and, as the married ladies of the regiment
+were not on good terms with one another, there was
+little or no entertaining among the 10th. There was no
+theatre and only a couple of low-class music-halls. I went
+once to one of them, where there was a box reserved for the
+officers of the garrison, but did not feel inclined to repeat
+the visit.</p>
+
+<p>While I was at Chatham, a big ball was given in the officers’
+mess-room at the barracks by the regiments forming the
+garrison. A good many people came down from London,
+and were conveyed back by a special train after the ball was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span>
+over. I invited my friends from Dover, and the two elder
+girls, Augusta and Ida, were, as usual, much admired. The
+affair was a great success, and the supper was on the most
+lavish scale, with plovers’ eggs and every imaginable delicacy
+and champagne flowing like water.</p>
+
+<p>In due course, Dillon and I were put to company drill.
+On one occasion I got my company into a hopeless position,
+up against a wall, and not knowing what to do, told them
+calmly “to stand at ease,” to the great amusement of everyone,
+including the adjutant, who told the story against me
+at mess that night, observing that I must evidently be a
+person of resource, as anyone else would have been at a loss
+how to act.</p>
+
+<p>A good many field-days took place at Chatham, of which
+the escalading of some high walls was a feature. I had
+sometimes to carry the colours in escalading these walls, a
+task which I did not much relish, as it was by no means an
+easy one.</p>
+
+<p>I was growing so tired of Chatham that I was quite glad
+when I was sent with the rest of my company to Gravesend,
+to go through a six weeks’ musketry course. I was constantly
+with Captain Byron, whom I very much liked,
+indeed, I preferred him to anyone else in the regiment, even
+to Dillon. Byron used to tell me that I was very foolish to
+leave the regiment, for one day he would, he thought, be in
+command, and then I should have a very good time of it.
+But my relatives were anxious for me to serve in one of the
+regiments for which my name had been put down on the
+Prince of Wales’s private list, so I thought I was bound to
+accept the transfer when the offer came, which I was sure
+would be very soon.</p>
+
+<p>While at Gravesend, I went up to town to see Aimée
+Desclée act in <i>Diane de Lys</i>, by Alexandre Dumas <i>fils</i>. I
+thought her the finest actress I had ever seen, with the exception,
+perhaps, of Sarah Bernhardt. She played the part with
+so much delicacy and refinement, her voice was so pleasing
+and her attitudes so graceful, that I was altogether charmed
+with her. Poor woman! She died very soon afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span>
+from a chest complaint, while quite young. I was much
+pleased with an American actor, J. K. Emmett, at the St.
+James’s Theatre, who played with a little child, singing a
+song in which the refrain was: “Schneider, how you vas.”
+I also paid more than one visit to the Opera at Covent Garden,
+where Adelina Patti and Scalchi and the tenor Gayarré were
+delighting the audience.</p>
+
+<p>On my return to Chatham I found the work very hard.
+The most trying part of it was being on guard at the barracks,
+where I was obliged to be on duty once a week for the whole
+twenty-four hours. The guard used to be turned out
+two or three times during the day, and also in the middle of
+the night, by the field-officer of the week, who sometimes
+made his round at one or two o’clock in the morning, when
+the subaltern on duty had to turn out the guard, besides
+having to go his round of the sentries. The officer on guard
+was not allowed to go to bed or take his clothes off, even after
+the field-officer had made his round of inspection, or he might
+get into the most serious trouble. There were other guards
+at some distance from Chatham, to look after the convicts,
+but this was during the day, and not nearly so trying as to be
+on guard at the barracks.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after my return to Chatham, Dillon and I were
+sent to Sandhurst, for a six months’ course of instruction.
+But before going, at my relatives’ suggestion, I went up to
+town to see the Military Secretary of the War Office, who was
+then General Cartwright, to inquire what chance I had of
+being transferred to the Rifle Brigade. He asked me what
+influence I had, when I mentioned the Adjutant-General,
+Lord Airey, who had already presented me at a levée to the
+Prince of Wales, while I was stationed at Shorncliffe. General
+Cartwright then inquired if I had not any other interest,
+remarking that the Scots Guards were more easy to enter
+than either the Rifle Brigade or the 60th Rifles, and that,
+unless I had someone else behind me, he feared my chance
+would be but a poor one. I then told him that my cousin,
+the Hon. Emily Cathcart, maid of honour to Queen Victoria,
+had had my name put down for both the Rifle regiments,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span>
+by General Ponsonby, on the Prince of Wales’s private list,
+upon which he smiled and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“She could get you into either of these; in fact, she
+could get you into anything she pleased. If you had
+mentioned her name before, I could have told you so
+at once.”</p>
+
+<p>I found life at Sandhurst very much like being at school
+again, with more restrictions than there were at Eton. There
+was a great deal of “ragging” going on, and some fellows
+had their furniture and everything in their rooms broken.
+I was fortunate in being, for some unaccountable reason,
+rather popular with the ringleaders—not that I assisted them
+in any way, for this sort of horse-play did not appeal to me—and
+so escaped being one of their victims. Dillon was not
+so lucky, as at first he showed fight, but he soon recognized
+that the wisest course was to assume indifference. There
+were several sub-lieutenants of the Guards and cavalry regiments
+at Sandhurst, one or two of whom had been at Eton
+with me, and I made many friendships, one with a young
+fellow in the 78th Highlanders, with whom I often took long
+walks into the pretty country around Sandhurst. Apart
+from the instruction, I rather enjoyed my time at the college,
+as I got on well with nearly everyone. I had to go through
+the riding-school and ride horses over jumps without
+stirrups, which rather amused me, although there were
+some officers who disliked this part of the curriculum
+very much.</p>
+
+<p>After I had been about a month at Sandhurst, the Military
+Governor of the College, General Sir A. Alison, sent for me
+and told me that I had been transferred to the 2nd Battalion
+of the 60th Rifles, stationed in India. I must confess that
+I was at first rather disappointed, as it was not the regiment
+I had asked for, and I did not much like the idea of going to
+India. I asked General Alison what I had better do, when
+he said that he would telegraph to the War Office, and that
+I ought to finish my course of instruction at Sandhurst.
+I anxiously awaited the reply; and the following day he sent
+for me again, and told me that I must leave at once and get<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span>
+ready to sail for India, but that he thought the War Office
+would allow me a month to procure my outfit.</p>
+
+<p>Next day I left Sandhurst for London, and, having obtained
+a month’s leave, proceeded to Paris to visit my
+parents in the Rue d’Albe, Champs-Elysées. They, and my
+father in particular, told me that I had better accept the
+transfer, as I might have to wait a long time for the Rifle
+Brigade, and the Military Secretary had told me that I was
+appointed to the first vacancy that had occurred, as there
+was no vacancy in the Rifle Brigade then.</p>
+
+<p>During my stay in Paris, I often rode in the Bois with my
+father on a fiery thoroughbred chestnut, whom I found a very
+different kind of mount from the horses at Sandhurst, as he
+started at the least touch of my heel, whereas the others had
+required both whip and spur. I made the most of my time,
+going often to the Théâtre-Français, where I saw Delaunay
+in plays by Alfred de Musset and Alexandre Dumas <i>fils</i>,
+and was delighted with his acting. He was the best <i>jeune
+premier</i> whom I ever saw, and always excellent in the art
+of stage love-making. I went to several balls and indulged
+in some flirtations with both French and American damsels,
+and was sorry when the day arrived that I had to take my
+departure for London to purchase my outfit for India. My
+mother was distressed at my having to go to India, particularly
+as the battalion had to stay out there for some years,
+and she was in very delicate health at that time.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+
+<p class="center">I sail for India—Kandy—Dangerous Playmates—I arrive at
+Murree</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>My father accompanied me to Portsmouth in the
+winter of 1873, where the troopship in which I
+was to sail for India was lying. We had first to touch at
+Queenstown, to embark a line regiment which had been
+ordered to Ceylon, and had a very unpleasant crossing, nearly
+everyone on board being ill. I had to share a cabin with two
+other sub-lieutenants, who joined the ship at Queenstown.
+One of them, named Basil Montgomery, was in my own
+regiment, having recently been transferred from the Highland
+Light Infantry. He was very tall, for which reason he
+was nicknamed “Longfellow” on board. The name of
+the other sub-lieutenant, who belonged to the 16th Lancers,
+was Babington, which, owing to his somewhat youthful
+appearance, was promptly abbreviated to “Baby.” I
+myself duly received the sobriquet of “Julie,” as Montgomery
+declared I was in the habit of murmuring this name in my
+dreams. It was that of a young lady whom I have mentioned
+in my book, “Society Recollections in Paris and Vienna,”
+and whom I had lately met frequently in society in Paris.</p>
+
+<p>The cabin we occupied was very small, and contained only
+one wash-basin, so we had to dress and wash one at a time;
+but we soon got used to this inconvenience.</p>
+
+<p>Montgomery and Babington were both excellent fellows,
+and I was soon on very friendly terms with them, as I was
+also with another sub-lieutenant of the 16th Lancers, named
+Taaffe. Taaffe was very musical, having a good voice and
+playing the concertina capitally. The daughter of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span>
+colonel of the line regiment we had on board, an extremely
+pretty and very impressionable damsel of seventeen, fell
+very much in love with him, and they used to sing duets
+together, to the accompaniment of Taaffe’s concertina.</p>
+
+<p>We had fine weather in the Bay of Biscay, where it is usually
+so rough, for which we were thankful. At Gibraltar we
+merely stopped for an hour to coal, but at Malta we stayed
+long enough for everyone to go on shore. Many of us dined
+at the Club and went to the Opera afterwards, which I thought
+very fair. The climate of Malta seemed delightful, but the
+town did not strike me as pretty.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after leaving Malta, bad weather and a dense fog
+came on, and something went wrong with the machinery,
+so that the captain did not know where we were. He was
+so alarmed that he ordered the chaplain to read the prayers
+for those in peril at sea, as at any moment he thought the
+ship might run on a rock. Happily, the machinery was repaired,
+and at the end of three days the weather improved,
+and the danger was over.</p>
+
+<p>At Port Said most of the officers went ashore, and some of
+them visited a gambling-house which bore a very evil reputation,
+an officer belonging to the 16th Lancers having been
+stabbed there the year before. Taaffe and I were among
+those who went, though Taaffe confessed to me that he felt
+rather nervous, fearing that some of the natives might recognize
+his uniform as that of the unfortunate officer’s regiment.</p>
+
+<p>At Ismailia we caught sight of M. de Lesseps, who sent an
+invitation to the ship, inviting six of us to visit him. Many
+of the officers thought that I ought to go, as I was the only
+one who could speak French; but this suggestion was overruled,
+and it was decided that the six must be chosen by
+seniority. As not one of them could speak French, and
+M. de Lesseps did not understand English, the interview must
+have proved a somewhat comic affair; at any rate, the six
+maintained a suspicious silence about it on their return.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after we had passed through the Red Sea, which did
+not prove nearly so hot as we had expected, I fell ill with
+scurvy, and the doctor who attended me advised me to sleep<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span>
+in the passage near the ladies’ saloon, as the air was purer.
+However, an old dame objected to my sleeping so near the
+ladies, so the doctor got me a cabin to myself. On our
+arrival at Colombo, where the line regiment was disembarked,
+he obtained leave for me to go to Kandy and remain there
+until the ship sailed for Bombay.</p>
+
+<p>While at Kandy, I went with Taaffe, who had joined me
+there, and two ladies to see the beautiful garden of Paradhenia,
+which is said to be the original garden of Paradise. We
+were all amazed at its beauty; the tropical plants and the
+vegetation being indescribably lovely. While walking in
+the high grass, one of the ladies was bitten by leeches, which
+crawled up her legs and frightened her terribly. She was
+fortunate, however, not to have been bitten by something
+much more objectionable, as we afterwards learned that it
+was very dangerous to walk in the high grass, as it was infested
+by snakes, some of which were most venomous.</p>
+
+<p>The grandeur of the scenery at Kandy and the wonderful
+vegetation enchanted us, as we had never seen anything to
+compare with it; it was indeed quite a paradise upon earth.
+The climate was also delicious, and even in the middle of
+the day the heat could not be called oppressive, while the
+mornings and evenings were truly delightful. The residents,
+however, told us that it was very trying to the health, as it
+never varied in the least, summer or winter. The scenery
+between Colombo and Kandy was in parts most exquisite,
+and the brilliant colouring of the flowers, which were of every
+imaginable hue, made one almost believe oneself in fairyland.</p>
+
+<p>Having embarked the infantry battalion which had been
+relieved by the one we had brought from England, we sailed
+from Colombo, but after proceeding some little way along
+the coast, the troopship stopped for half an hour, to enable
+an officer who had to join his regiment to embark in a launch
+which came out to fetch him. This officer took with him
+by mistake a lady’s trunk containing her dresses and underclothing,
+instead of his own, packed with his kit, which he
+left for the lady. The latter was in despair, particularly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span>
+when informed that she was unlikely to receive any news
+of her property for six weeks at least.</p>
+
+<p>After a voyage of six weeks, we reached Bombay, and,
+after a little trouble at the Custom House over some Turkish
+cigarettes which I had brought with me, and upon which, to
+my surprise, I was obliged to pay duty, proceeded, with some
+other officers, to Watson’s Hotel. At “Watson’s,” which
+I found very expensive indeed, I met Viscount Baring,
+of the Rifle Brigade, who had been at Eton with me. He
+told me that he was now on the Viceroy’s Staff, and had
+come to Bombay to purchase some Arab horses for Lord
+Northbrook. Although it was winter, the heat was very
+great in Bombay, which I found very uninteresting, and,
+after a stay of two or three days, I set out for Murree, in the
+hills in the North-West Provinces, where my regiment was
+stationed.</p>
+
+<p>I had as a travelling companion for the first part of the
+journey a Staff-officer named Parker, who, on our arrival
+at Mean Meer, invited me to accompany him to the house
+of his brother-in-law, a judge, where I was most hospitably
+entertained, and tasted for the first time a real Indian curry,
+which I thought delicious. From Mean Meer I took the
+train to Rawal Pindi, in the Punjab. On my arrival, I went
+to the dâk bungalow, where soon afterwards I received
+a visit from a lieutenant in my regiment named Beauclerk,
+a son of Lord Amelius Beauclerk. He was an exceedingly
+good-looking young man, with fair hair and moustache and
+a very pleasant manner, and was most kind, offering me a
+room which he had at his disposal and inviting me to dine
+with him in the evening. After dinner I was rather astonished
+at seeing his syce walking in front of his master’s pony with
+a long stick, having at the end of it several bells, which he
+moved about in the grass. I asked the reason of this, when
+I was told that it was to frighten away the snakes, of which
+there were a great many poisonous ones hereabouts. Beauclerk
+told me that, a few nights earlier, he was dining with a
+Mrs. Kinloch, the wife of a captain in our regiment, when
+he saw a cobra quite close to her. She was playing the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span>
+piano at the time, and the snake was evidently quite fascinated
+by the music. Fearing lest, if she moved, the snake
+might bite her, he told her to continue playing, and then,
+picking up a stick which happened to be near him, hit the
+cobra on the head and killed it. He said that there was
+another very dangerous snake called a kerite, which, though
+very small, was most venomous, and that Mrs. Kinloch
+had found one quite recently in her bed. Happily, she
+discovered it before it had a chance to bite her.</p>
+
+<p>Beauclerk told me that I ought to call upon Captain
+Kinloch, who, having passed through the Staff College,
+was at that time Acting Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General
+at Rawal Pindi. I did so, and was informed
+that Mrs. Kinloch only was at home. On being shown into
+the drawing-room, I was somewhat astonished to find a
+little girl there, playing with two panther-cubs, who snarled
+and showed their teeth at me. I asked the child whether
+she were not afraid of them, to which she answered:—</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no, not at all!” and, opening the mouth of one of
+the cubs, thrust her hand into it.</p>
+
+<p>I began to feel quite alarmed for her safety, and was not
+a little relieved when her mother made her appearance upon
+the scene.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Kinloch was a very pretty young woman, with auburn
+hair and eyes of a greyish-blue colour. She told me that the
+panther-cubs had been captured by her husband a few days
+before, after he had shot the mother.</p>
+
+<p>“Are they not lovely?” she exclaimed enthusiastically.
+“So beautifully marked in reddish-yellow and black, with
+such fascinating yellow and brown eyes. It is delightful to
+watch them.”</p>
+
+<p>I replied that they were certainly very handsome and
+graceful animals, but that, nevertheless, I could not understand
+her allowing her daughter to have such dangerous
+playmates.</p>
+
+<p>To this she rejoined that she did not consider there was
+the slightest danger, so long as you were not afraid of them,
+adding:—</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span></p>
+
+<p>“My little girl is not the least afraid.”</p>
+
+<p>The little girl was caressing the cubs at the time, while
+the animals were snarling and showing their long, pointed
+teeth, though whether in play or not I could not say, as I
+was not sufficiently acquainted with their ways.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Alexander Kinloch, who was a nephew of Sir
+Alexander Kinloch, was, I may here remark, the most famous
+sportsman in India at that time, and had written a celebrated
+book on big game shooting in India and Tibet, which was considered
+to be the standard work on the subject. When I met
+him afterwards, he told me many interesting things about
+Tibet, from which he had brought a fine collection of sporting
+trophies. Amongst them were several specimens of the
+ibex, which is found on the summits of the highest mountains,
+and to “bag” one of which is considered the greatest feat
+a sportsman can accomplish in India, since to approach
+within rifle-shot of it often entails the greatest risk to life.</p>
+
+<p>During the few days I remained at Rawal Pindi, I made
+the acquaintance of Colonel Montgomery-Moore, then commanding
+the 4th Hussars, and his wife, the Hon. Mrs. Montgomery-Moore,
+a daughter of Lord Seaton, to whom I had
+brought an introduction from my cousin, Emily Cathcart.
+They invited me to dinner, when they were most anxious to
+hear all the latest news from England, as they had been in
+India for some time. They were most kind and agreeable,
+and the colonel gave me some valuable information about
+Murree.</p>
+
+<p>There was no railway to Murree, and travellers generally
+made the first part of the journey from Rawal Pindi by
+carriage, and the rest in a <i>jampan</i> (a kind of sedan-chair)
+as the road through the mountains was far too narrow and
+precipitate to admit of wheel traffic. I accordingly hired a
+carriage, and set off, but at a dâk bungalow, where I stopped
+to dine, I met a man, who, on hearing that I was on my way
+to Murree, offered to lend me a grey Arab which he was riding,
+observing that it would be a more pleasant way of making
+the journey than by <i>jampan</i>, and promising to send my
+luggage after me. I thanked him and accepted his offer,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span>
+though, as he was a complete stranger to me, I could not
+help feeling some misgivings as to his intentions, for, if he
+had a mind to make off with my luggage, there was nothing
+to prevent him.</p>
+
+<p>The road which I had to traverse was very steep and
+in places almost impassable, but the Arab appeared well
+accustomed to the country and as sure-footed as a goat.
+I had, however, a few decidedly unpleasant moments, when,
+at a very narrow part of the road, where there was a precipice
+on one side, we met some buffaloes, as I thought they might
+take into their heads to charge us. But they happened to
+be quite peaceably disposed, and we got safely past them.
+It was late in the evening when I reached Murree, which I
+found covered with snow, as it stands 7,500 feet above sea
+level, and no greater contrast with the plains and Rawal
+Pindi, where the weather had been quite like summer, could
+be conceived. I made my way to the officers’ quarters,
+where I was given a room, and my horse well looked after. I
+had received instructions from the Arab’s owner to send him
+back to the dâk bungalow. This I did the following day,
+in the course of which my luggage arrived quite safely, not
+a little, I must frankly admit, to my relief.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+
+<p class="center">My Brother-Officers—“The Oyster”—In High Society—Our
+Menagerie</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Murree is a very charming town. The houses, which
+bear some resemblance to those of Switzerland,
+but are mostly constructed of wood and have rarely more
+than two storeys, are built on the summit and sides of a ridge,
+and command magnificent views over forests, cultivated
+fields, hills and deep valleys, with the snow-capped peaks
+of the Himalayas in the distance. There was a fairly good
+club at Murree, containing a number of bedrooms for the
+convenience of the members when they happened to require
+them.</p>
+
+<p>In the summer months my battalion was not actually
+stationed at Murree, but two miles off in the country, at
+Kooldunah. The officers lived in houses and villas very
+like Swiss cottages, and the men’s quarters were at the top
+of a very steep hill, about ten minutes’ walk from the mess.
+The battalion was at this time commanded by Lieut.-Colonel
+H. P. Montgomery, who had a brother in the Rifle Brigade.
+Colonel Montgomery, who was a fine-looking man of about
+fifty-five and wore a pointed beard which was beginning
+to turn grey, was universally popular, as he was a thorough
+soldier and devoted to his profession. He did everything
+possible to make his battalion as efficient as any in the
+Service, and prided himself upon its smart appearance and
+perfect discipline. He had the eye of a hawk for mistakes
+on parade, but would correct those responsible for them
+in a good-humoured, kindly manner, very different from
+some less experienced C.O.’s, who would often lose their
+tempers and swear when anything happened to go wrong.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span></p>
+
+<p>The senior major, Major Ashburnham, the son of a baronet,
+was of somewhat striking appearance, having red hair and a
+red beard. Like his chief, he was a first-rate soldier and a
+thorough gentleman both on and off parade, and held in
+high esteem by the officers and men under him. He was
+known to his intimates by the nickname of “Brittles,”
+about which he used to relate an amusing story:—</p>
+
+<p>Once, when returning to India after being on leave in
+England, he happened to meet on board the P. and O.,
+a man whose acquaintance he had made on the voyage
+home, when he had been accompanied by some brother-officers,
+who had, of course, always addressed him as
+“Brittles.” This man, who was bringing his wife out with
+him, asked permission to present Ashburnham to the lady,
+and gravely introduced him as “Major Brittles,” under
+the impression that such was really his name.</p>
+
+<p>The junior major, whose name was Algar, was a very
+plain man, rather badly marked with the small-pox, and was
+by no means so popular as Ashburnham. He was a very keen
+sportsman, and when off duty was seldom to be seen without
+a rifle in his hand. One day I met him near Murree, when
+he told me that he had just seen a tiger, but that it had
+made off, adding that a tiger would nearly always run away
+from a man, unless he first attacked it.</p>
+
+<p>The captains were nearly all very nice fellows. Captain
+Pauli, into whose company I was put, was a tall and very
+muscular man, with a pointed beard, which gave him a
+somewhat foreign appearance. He was a great sportsman,
+but kept very much to himself, and, except at mess, the other
+officers saw little of him.</p>
+
+<p>The adjutant, Sydenham-Clarke, was a very good-looking
+fellow and always so beautifully turned out, whether in uniform
+or plain clothes, that he looked as if he had just come
+out of a band-box. He was very kind to the young officers
+at their drill and took the greatest pains with them. He
+was also much liked by the men, and did not bully them or
+allow the sergeants to do so, as was unfortunately the case
+in so many regiments at that time. In a word, he was the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span>
+right man in the right place, and how rarely this happens
+in the Service few people would imagine.</p>
+
+<p>When I first came to Murree, I occupied a room in the
+officers’ quarters. There was a large room on the ground
+floor which was unoccupied, and, as it was so intensely
+cold, the subalterns amused themselves by playing a game
+of battledore and shuttle-cock across a net. Hubert Lovett,
+a sub-lieutenant who joined the battalion a week after I
+did, and myself were the first to think of this game, which
+somewhat resembled lawn-tennis in the way we served. It
+was taken up afterwards by many officers who dined at our
+mess, and is said to have given the idea of lawn-tennis to
+the inventor.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after my arrival at Murree, I fell ill with dysentery,
+owing, the doctor who attended me told me, to the sudden
+change of climate. I was laid up for some time, but when
+it began to grow warmer I gradually recovered.</p>
+
+<p>The winter was a very severe one at Murree, and those who
+were fond of skating had excellent opportunities for indulging
+in this pastime. Fiennes-Dickenson, a lieutenant who had
+been transferred from the first battalion of the regiment,
+which was then stationed in Canada, was a most accomplished
+performer on the ice, cutting figures and the letters
+of the alphabet as well, and MacCall, a captain, who had also
+come from the first battalion, was but little inferior to him.
+Dickenson told me that life at Quebec and Montreal was uncommonly
+pleasant, and that they scarcely felt the intense
+cold there at all, as the climate was so dry, and there was
+so little wind. He said that it was the custom there for every
+officer to have a girl “chum,” who went tobogganing and
+skating with him and shared all his amusements. But he
+never married this young lady, who always ended by marrying
+someone else. This “chum” was a girl usually belonging
+to society, and was invited to all the balls and parties given
+by the regiment and considered quite <i>comme il faut</i>. Dickenson
+added that he much preferred the life out in Canada
+to the life in India, though Murree was the very best station,
+which was generally only given to a crack regiment. Dickenson<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span>
+was a lieutenant of some years’ standing and very well
+off, having succeeded to a fine property of his uncle, Lord
+Saye and Sele, called Syston Court, near Bristol, although
+his father, with whom he was not on the best of terms, had
+the right of residing there during his lifetime. He was a
+great talker and his conversation was often very amusing.</p>
+
+<p>When summer came, the battalion moved to Kooldunah,
+where I occupied rooms in a small villa with a garden attached,
+in which Lovett and another sub-lieutenant named Sanford
+also had their quarters. Later on, we were joined by a young
+officer named Wilson, who had been transferred from a line
+regiment. We got on pretty well together, particularly
+Lovett and myself, who soon became great friends, and were
+constantly together. Lovett was a strongly-built young
+fellow, with black, curly hair, very white teeth, and a good-humoured
+expression. He was clean-shaven, which was rare
+at that time for a soldier. He had a very loud voice, and when
+he laughed he did it so heartily that everyone in the room
+used to turn round. He was quite colour-blind and never
+could distinguish one colour from another. Once he had to
+paint a river for a plan which he was required to draw, and
+would have painted it red instead of blue, if I had not been
+helping him.</p>
+
+<p>Sanford was quite a boy, without any hair on his face,
+tall and fair, with rather a large mouth, for which reason
+he was called “The Oyster.” One day, when he happened
+to be on duty, a rifleman was overheard by Lovett to say
+to another:</p>
+
+<p>“Who is on duty to-day: Lovett or Wilson?”</p>
+
+<p>“Neither,” was the answer, “it’s ‘The Oyster.’”</p>
+
+<p>Much to Sanford’s annoyance, Lovett, roaring, as usual,
+with laughter, told the story at mess that night, and
+remarked:—</p>
+
+<p>“Why, even all the riflemen call him ‘The Oyster’ now!”</p>
+
+<p>Sanford did not like me at all, because he suspected that
+it was I who had been the first to bestow this nickname
+upon him, and it is quite possible that his suspicions may
+have been correct, though I cannot be certain.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span></p>
+
+<p>Wilson, the remaining occupant of our villa, was a rather
+good-looking and very smart young fellow, who spoke
+Hindustani very fluently. But he was very conceited, and
+imagined himself a much greater sportsman than he was.
+Once, when he had been on leave to Kashmir, he returned
+with such a wonderful collection of big game trophies that
+none of us could bring himself to believe that they had all
+fallen to his own rifle, and MacCall said to him at mess:—“Wilson,
+I tell you what it is—you have bought all that
+big game from some <i>shikarri</i> in Kashmir!” At this
+remark Wilson became furious, and next morning, in the
+orderly-room, reported the incident to the Colonel, when MacCall
+was put under arrest until he had apologized to his aggrieved
+brother-officer. This, however, did not cause him
+to change his opinion on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>MacCall, whose father was Equerry to the Duc d’Aumale,
+spoke French perfectly, wore an imperial with his moustache,
+and might easily have been mistaken for a Frenchman. He
+shared a villa with a sub-lieutenant named Arthur Powys
+Vaughan, an exceedingly nice fellow, who had been at Harrow
+and had taken his degree at Oxford before entering the
+Service.</p>
+
+<p>With the exception of our medico, Surgeon-Major Macnamara,
+the quartermaster, Fitzherbert, and the junior
+major, whose wife was in England, all the officers were
+bachelors. Consequently, we were very badly off in the
+matter of ladies’ society, so far as the battalion was concerned.
+Mrs. Macnamara, who was a sister of Sir Howard
+Elphinstone, Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh, was a
+very charming elderly lady, and I often used to go and take
+tea with her and her husband. She was partly Russian
+by birth and extremely musical, and took a great interest in
+the regimental band, in regard to which she was frequently
+consulted. I was put on the band committee and often
+attended the rehearsals of a morning.</p>
+
+<p>Lovett and I used to pay visits to ladies whom we thought
+we would care to know, as is the custom in India. One
+day, we called on two ladies who had a charming villa, beautifully<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span>
+furnished, and whom we rather admired, though
+we knew nothing whatever about them. They received us
+very coldly, at which we were surprised, until Mrs. Macnamara
+told us that they were two very fast ladies, who
+were protected by some well-known officers in Murree,
+holding very high positions on the Staff.</p>
+
+<p>When I was alone one day, I noticed a very pretty woman,
+upon whom I left my card. A few days later, I received a
+very friendly note from her, asking me to dine with her on
+a certain evening. However, in the meantime, I sprained
+my ankle, and was put on the sick list, and therefore not
+allowed to go out. But, I thought that, as it would probably
+be a <i>tête-à-tête</i> dinner, which I should not like to miss, I
+would go in a <i>jampan</i>, carried by two men, and no one
+would be any the wiser. I hesitated whether to go in plain
+clothes or in mess uniform, but finally decided for the latter.
+I had not made any special effort to be punctual, and, in
+point of fact, arrived half an hour late. On entering the
+drawing-room, I found quite a number of people impatiently
+awaiting the advent of the belated guest, amongst whom
+I recognized, to my consternation, the General commanding
+the troops in the Punjab; and I was still more taken aback
+when I learned that I was dining with the Secretary of
+State for India, and that my hostess was his wife! However,
+these great people were very nice to me, and the General,
+who did not seem at all to resent my having kept him
+waiting for his dinner, asked me several questions about my
+colonel and regiment, as, though there were several other
+officers present, I was the only “Greenjacket.” For this
+I was duly thankful, since if one of the senior officers of my
+battalion had happened to be there, I should have got into
+trouble for going out to dine when I was on the sick list.</p>
+
+<p>It was the custom to take your <i>khitmagar</i> with you when
+you dined out, and I did so on this occasion. The next
+evening at mess, I noticed my <i>khitmagar</i> opening a bottle of
+Château-Laffitte for me, and asked him where he got it
+from.</p>
+
+<p>“I saw last night that <i>Sahib</i> liked this wine the best,”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span>
+he replied, “so I brought half a dozen bottles of it away
+from the dinner-party for <i>Sahib</i>!”</p>
+
+<p>I burst out laughing, thinking to myself that I could not
+well scold my servant for looking after me so attentively.</p>
+
+<p><i>À propos</i> of native servants, when I first joined the
+battalion, I had a Christian “bearer,” whom I had brought
+from Bombay, and who spoke English. But at the end of
+my first month at Murree, when I saw my mess-bill, I discovered
+that a quantity of brandies and sodas were charged
+for which I had never had. When I called my “bearer’s”
+attention to this, he incontinently bolted from Murree,
+taking some of my property with him. However, he was
+eventually laid by the heels, and I had to ask for leave
+off parade to go down to the Law Courts at Murree to prosecute
+him. This taught me that it is better not to engage
+“bearers” who talk English and call themselves Christians.</p>
+
+<p>Among the senior lieutenants in the battalion was Albert
+Phipps, a brother of the Hon. Harriet Phipps, maid of
+honour to Queen Victoria, with whom, as I have mentioned
+elsewhere, I once took tea at Windsor Castle in my Eton
+days. Phipps, who was fair and rather stout and always
+wore an eyeglass, was a godson of the Prince Consort, the
+only one who was still alive. He once told me that Queen
+Victoria had written a letter in her own hand, recommending
+him for an appointment with the Viceroy, but that the
+officer who was specially charged with its delivery had the
+misfortune to lose it. Rather than permit this officer to be
+punished for his negligence, as he undoubtedly would have
+been, Phipps refused to allow his sister to mention the matter
+to Her Majesty, and suffered in silence the loss of an appointment
+which was not only a very agreeable one, but would
+have meant a great increase of pay. How many men would
+have acted as nobly as he did? Very few, I am afraid.</p>
+
+<p>One night, while riding home after mess, along a very
+dark road, Phipps’s horse fell with him. He was not hurt,
+but his eyeglass was broken in two, and as he could not
+get another one in India, he wore half an eyeglass for about
+three months, until a fresh supply was sent from England.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span></p>
+
+<p>At the villa where I lived in the summer months we kept
+several animals, including a wild cat, which was very savage
+and nearly as big as a wolf, a bear, which we tried to tame,
+a hyena and a monkey. These animals belonged to Wilson,
+who one day let the bear loose, and we had considerable
+trouble in recapturing it.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+
+<p class="center">A Subalterns’ Court-Martial—A Terrible Experience—High Mess-bills</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Amongst our amusements at Murree were balls,
+which were given periodically at the Club by the
+officers of the battalion. Although the majority of the
+fair guests were married women, there was always a sprinkling
+of unmarried ones amongst them, most of whom had come
+out to India in the hope of finding husbands. The band
+of the regiment furnished the music, and there was always
+a very good supper, with an abundance of champagne and
+other wines, so that they were very enjoyable affairs indeed.
+After one of these balls a most unpleasant incident occurred.</p>
+
+<p>It happened that I had danced with a Miss W——, a
+very pretty and attractive girl, whom, later in the evening,
+I saw dancing with a young officer whom I will call Eugene,
+and who, I noticed, appeared very much <i>épris</i> with the damsel.
+Next day, to my profound astonishment, I was placed
+under arrest, and told that I must appear before the Colonel.
+When I did so, he informed me that Eugene had told him
+that this Miss W—— had complained to him that I had
+insulted her. I indignantly protested my innocence, but
+the Colonel told me that, though he did not doubt my word,
+I must, nevertheless, write a letter to the young lady, asking
+her pardon, if I had unintentionally given offence. I wrote
+the letter and sent it to Miss W——, but received no
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>At a garden-party given by the battalion a few days later,
+I saw the lady whom I was supposed to have insulted. I
+hesitated whether to speak to her or not, but finally decided<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span>
+that it was best to do so and inquire why she had not
+answered my letter.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know why you wrote to me,” said she, “and,
+to tell you the truth, I don’t in the least understand what
+you meant in your letter.”</p>
+
+<p>I then explained everything to her, when she exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“I am extremely angry with Eugene. He must have
+invented what he told your Colonel, and so soon as I go
+home, I shall write to Colonel Montgomery, and tell him that
+the whole matter is a mere fabrication of Eugene. I am
+sorry that you should have suffered through the abominable
+untruths of a silly boy.”</p>
+
+<p>Miss W—— was as good as her word, and the Colonel
+read her letter to Eugene and myself, in the presence of all
+the other officers. He said that Eugene had acted in a
+most ungentlemanly manner, and deserved to be severely
+punished for spreading about false reports calculated to
+injure a brother-officer. He concluded by hinting that the
+subalterns would best know how to deal with him.</p>
+
+<p>The hint, needless to say, was not lost upon these young
+gentlemen, and after mess Eugene was informed that he
+must appear before a court-martial that evening, in the
+villa where I lived. The president of the court-martial was
+a sub-lieutenant named Basil Montgomery, who was no
+relation of the Colonel, but the son of a Scottish baronet.
+Wilson acted as prosecutor, while Lovett defended the
+prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>Eugene was brought in between two subalterns, and the
+charges against him were read to the Court. The principal
+charge was: “Conduct not befitting an officer and a gentleman,
+in having accused a brother-officer wrongfully, thus
+subjecting him to arrest and further possible inconvenience”;
+but there were several others. The Court found the prisoner
+“Guilty,” with no extenuating circumstances, and sentenced
+him to receive ten strokes with a cane on his bare back
+from each sub-lieutenant, to be sent to Coventry for one
+month, and not to be allowed to attend any balls or garden-parties
+during that period. Eugene took his punishment<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span>
+very well. The corporal part of it was probably less hard
+to endure than the deprivation of all social amusements
+and the ostracism to which he was subjected. It had,
+however, a very beneficial effect upon him, and he showed
+afterwards a very noticeable improvement in every respect.
+Eugene, I may mention, was a very good horseman, and
+rode in steeplechases, both in England and in India.</p>
+
+<p>Montgomery, who was the president of the court-martial
+upon Eugene, had come out to India by the same troopship
+as myself, but he did not join the battalion until much
+later, as he was taken ill at Bombay, where he had to remain
+for some weeks. He suffered a good deal, as I had done,
+from the change of climate when he first came to Murree.
+He was a very fine young fellow, about 6 feet 2 inches in
+height, and a most perfect gentleman, though perhaps he
+put on a little too much “side” at times. A good many
+years later, he succeeded to the baronetcy, his brother, who
+was in the Guards, having met with an accident which
+proved fatal.</p>
+
+<p>After a ball at the Murree Club one night, just as I was
+preparing to ride back to my quarters, a tremendous thunderstorm
+came on. I waited for some little time, but, as there
+seemed no immediate prospect of the storm abating, I
+decided to face it, but told my syce, who was waiting for
+me with my pony, that I would take a short cut home,
+instead of going by the usual road. The syce walked in
+front of me, carrying a lantern to light up the way, as it
+was a very dangerous path, with a most fearsome abyss on
+one side, and in places so narrow that there was only just
+room for a pony to walk along it. Suddenly, the lantern
+which the syce carried went out, and, as neither of us had
+any matches with which to relight it, we were plunged into
+total darkness, only relieved from time to time by flashes
+of lightning. The pony all of a sudden stood stock still
+and refused to go on, and, on dismounting, I saw through
+a flash of lightning a tree lying right across the path. I
+therefore thought it safer to proceed on foot, leading the
+pony, while my syce went in front; and we continued thus<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span>
+for nearly a mile, not knowing whether the next step would
+not plunge us into Eternity. But providentially at intervals
+came flashes of lightning, which made it easier for us to
+advance. At last we reached the end of the path, and made
+our way to the villa, drenched to the skin, but heartily
+thankful to find ourselves in safety. We had, indeed, had
+a terrible experience, and when I told Lovett that I had
+come home by the short cut, he would hardly believe it
+possible, as the night was so dark and the path so narrow.</p>
+
+<p>During the rainy season Murree was anything but a pleasant
+spot, for it rained without intermission for days and nights
+together, until the place resembled a wide river. All parades
+were suspended during the rains, but the officers had to
+go out to perform their duties and to mess and back;
+and, though we were protected by india-rubber coats and
+goloshes, it was very disagreeable. The men’s quarters
+were, as I have mentioned, situated at the top of a very
+steep hill, and although, since Colonel H. P. Montgomery
+had been in command of our battalion, he had a zigzag
+road constructed, so that the ascent might be made gradually,
+it was always rather an undertaking for the orderly officer
+to ascend the hill after mess to turn out the guard, and in
+wet weather it was simply detestable. The descent, too,
+was very dangerous, as the road was terribly slippery, and
+several accidents happened to both men and officers.</p>
+
+<p>The officers’ mess was at the foot of this hill, and on a
+clear day the view from it was one of the grandest one can
+possibly imagine, for the air is so rarefied that it enables
+one to see further than one could otherwise. The towering
+peaks of the Himalayas, plainly visible, despite the immense
+distance, the dazzling whiteness of the snow, and the deep
+blue of the heavens, made a wonderful picture. But grand
+as the view is, I almost prefer that from the Kurhaus, at
+Ischl, though it is on a much smaller scale. It is almost
+like comparing the beauty of an orchid to a rose, which,
+though less sublime in its appearance, captivates the senses
+far more. There is something foreign in this Oriental
+scenery, which appeals less to an Englishman than the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span>
+exquisite beauty of Switzerland or the Salzkammergut, in
+Austria.</p>
+
+<p>The General at that time commanding the troops in the
+Punjab was an extremely popular general and a friend of
+Royalty, but he had made a <i>mésalliance</i>, having married the
+divorced wife of a doctor. It was for this reason that he had
+been given a command in India, instead of in England. Lieut.-Colonel
+Montgomery-Moore, who commanded the 4th Hussars
+at Rawal Pindi, and who spent the summer months with
+his wife at Murree, did not call on the General’s wife, nor
+did most of the officers of that regiment, and, as I had been
+introduced by my cousin to the Montgomery-Moores, I felt
+that I could not well visit the General’s wife. Several of
+the officers of my battalion also did not call, though others
+were frequent visitors at her house.</p>
+
+<p>When the General inspected us, our Colonel ordered the
+band to play <i>Die Wacht am Rhein</i>, which they played the
+whole time out of deference to the Colonel, who was a great
+admirer of all things German. Not that he cared for the
+air, for as he himself once said, he could only distinguish
+two tunes. One was “God save the Queen,” and the other
+was any other air, as he had no ear for music at all.</p>
+
+<p>At this inspection all the officers were called upon singly
+to show their ability in taking command, some of the entire
+battalion, others of a company. They nearly all acquitted
+themselves well, and the General, who was himself an old
+Rifleman, complimented the Colonel on the efficiency and
+smartness of his battalion, and praised all the officers, N.C.O.’s
+and men.</p>
+
+<p>Our Colonel, as I have said, was a most excellent commanding
+officer. At times he would take command of half
+of the battalion, while the senior major commanded the
+other, and imitate the tactics employed in war, in order to
+teach the officers and men how they should conduct themselves
+in actual warfare. On several of these occasions, I
+acted as his A.D.C., and, mounted on my pony, carried
+his orders to the junior major and captains, which I much
+enjoyed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span></p>
+
+<p>The mess-bills of the officers of the battalion were so high
+during the year that the War Office complained that they
+were higher than any cavalry regiment, averaging £20 to
+£30 a month. The Colonel therefore requested the officers
+to see that they were reduced in future, as it was not pleasant
+for him to be accused of encouraging extravagance. The
+officers afterwards paid for what they required, and asked
+that no champagne should be put down on their mess-bills.
+A great deal of champagne was usually drunk at dinner,
+particularly by the subalterns, and it cost from fifteen shillings
+to a sovereign a bottle. Spirits were very little drunk, and,
+taken on the whole, the officers were very temperate, rarely
+taking more than was good for them. Among the men there
+was very little drunkenness compared with other regiments,
+and not a single case of desertion; in fact, there were scarcely
+any prisoners at all.</p>
+
+<p>Lovett and I, who were both anxious to see something
+of Kashmir, obtained three days’ leave and set off on horseback.
+The country through which we rode was very pretty,
+the fields being beautifully green and besprinkled with scarlet
+poppies, while the hedges were covered with white roses.
+We passed the first night at a dâk bungalow, and starting
+at four o’clock the following morning, in order to avoid
+the heat of the sun, rode until midday, and then rested at
+another dâk bungalow until evening. Resuming our journey,
+we presently entered a lovely valley, with a river flowing
+through it. This river, the Jhelum, separated British India
+from Kashmir, and the view from the dâk bungalow at
+Kohala, on the Indian side, to which we made our way,
+after refreshing ourselves by a swim in the cool water, was
+very beautiful. The heat in the bungalow was intense,
+though they employed <i>punkahs</i> to relieve the discomfort we
+suffered, and towards midnight a terrific storm burst, the
+crashes of thunder being the loudest I had ever heard, while
+the lightning was so vivid that it lit up the whole of the
+surrounding country.</p>
+
+<p>We spent the next day in bathing and fishing in
+the river Jhelum, and, after dining at the bungalow at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span>
+Kohala, walked across the bridge which spanned the river.
+On the Kashmir side we found two sentries posted, who
+had been placed there by the Maharajah of Kashmir to
+prevent anyone unprovided with a pass entering his dominions.
+These sentries raised all sorts of difficulties to
+our entering Kashmir, but we crossed over all the same,
+and took a long walk in the country, which was very
+hilly and rugged, with very narrow paths. When night
+came on, we returned to the bungalow, but, having observed
+that the two sentries had their beds placed on
+the bridge, we determined to get even with them for the
+trouble they had given us. Accordingly, we returned to the
+bridge, carrying two big buckets full of water, and, finding
+both the sentries wrapped in peaceful slumber, dashed the
+water over them, and then, having thrown the buckets into
+the river, ran for our lives. The luckless sentries, startled
+out of their sleep, snatched up their rifles and pursued us.
+But they failed to overtake us, and we reached the bungalow
+in safety. We were somewhat uneasy lest inquiries should
+be made about us at the bungalow, but nothing happened
+during the rest of the night, and in the early morning we
+set off on our journey back to Murree.</p>
+
+<p>On our return to Murree, we decided to say nothing of our
+escapade in Kashmir, as if the Colonel got to know of it he
+would have us placed under arrest. Phipps, whom I told
+about it sometime afterwards, remarked that it might possibly
+end in officers’ leave to Kashmir being stopped, but, fortunately,
+as no one knew who had played the trick upon the
+sentries, his fears were not realized.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Sialkote—Amateur Theatricals—An Ingenious Thief—Death
+of Albert Phipps—Agra—Voyage to England</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>In the autumn of 1874 the other sub-lieutenants and
+myself had to go through a course of instruction at
+Sialkote, in order to qualify as lieutenants. At Rawal Pindi
+I called on Mrs. Kinloch, my acquaintance with whom
+had been renewed at Murree, where she had been staying.
+Not long afterwards, I was shocked to hear that she had
+gone out of her mind. She died without recovering her
+reason.</p>
+
+<p>Sialkote is by no means a pretty place, being very flat,
+with few trees to temper the rays of the sun. Its ugliness
+was, however, relieved to some extent by a view of the
+distant mountains. Although it was autumn, the heat was
+intense, and in the daytime almost intolerable.</p>
+
+<p>Lovett, Montgomery and myself occupied a house, which,
+though it had one storey, was very large. We were attached
+during our stay to the Royal Horse Artillery (“A” Battery,
+“A” Brigade) and messed with them. Our instruction
+took place in the mornings under Lieutenant Hart, of the
+R.E., who put us through a course of surveying, fortification
+and tactics. Most of the instruction took place out
+of doors. Of an afternoon we generally prepared our work
+for the following day, and in the evening we dined at the
+R.H.A. mess, which was about ten minutes’ walk from our
+house. The officers of “A” Battery were very nice fellows,
+particularly Captain Hobart, who commanded it, Lieutenant
+Armytage, and Veterinary-Surgeon Batchelor, and did all
+they could to make things pleasant for us. The evenings<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span>
+at mess, however, were rather dull, as so few members dined
+there, though at times they were enlivened by the presence
+of guests, generally officers from the 5th Lancers, who, with
+two infantry battalions and a regiment of Bengal cavalry,
+were also stationed at Sialkote.</p>
+
+<p>The 5th Lancers were a very lively lot, and their mess
+was very amusing. On one occasion, after mess, they dragged
+a lieutenant over the billiard table, with the result that the
+cloth was cut all to pieces by his spurs, and, not content
+with this, smashed all the crockery and glass in the mess-room.
+One morning, on parade, another lieutenant, who
+rode very badly, fell off his horse, whereupon his brother
+subalterns “ragged” his room and broke everything they
+could lay their hands on. The unfortunate owner, who
+had not the sweetest of tempers, took their behaviour in
+very ill part, and shortly afterwards exchanged into a Highland
+regiment stationed at Gibraltar.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the 5th Lancers were, however, very nice fellows,
+particularly two sub-lieutenants named Russell and Beaumont,
+who were very friendly with Montgomery and myself,
+and we often dined all together.</p>
+
+<p>One evening the sub-lieutenants of my battalion invited
+Beaumont and Russell to dine at the R.H.A. mess, and afterwards
+we all proceeded to our house, where we had prepared
+a <i>nautch</i> for them, having sent to the bazaar for a number
+of dancing women. These women danced most fantastic
+dances, and wound up the entertainment by dancing with
+some of the subalterns, who were wearing their white Indian
+mess uniforms. The officers of my battalion, I may mention,
+had adopted a pink silk sash round the waist, which we wore
+instead of a waistcoat, owing to the intense heat.</p>
+
+<p>The colonel of the 5th Lancers, Lieut.-Colonel Massey,
+was popular with all ranks, and one of the captains, Benyon
+by name, was a most charming man. C——, another captain,
+a very ugly, red-haired man, was most clever and amusing,
+but much disliked both by his brother-officers and the men of
+the regiment. He often dined at the R.H.A. mess, where
+he entertained everyone with his stories after dinner. One<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span>
+story which he told was of a young fellow who was staying
+at a nobleman’s country house, where a lady, with whom
+he was in love, gave him an assignation, and agreed to put
+a flower in the keyhole of her door when she retired for the
+night. Someone, with a predilection for practical jokes,
+catching sight of the flower, removed it and placed it in the
+keyhole of another door, with the result that the luckless
+young fellow invaded the privacy of a judge and his wife.
+There was a terrible scandal the next day, and the victim
+of this misadventure had to leave the house at once.</p>
+
+<p>C—— was very fond of botany, and I remember that once,
+when I happened to meet him, he showed me a mimosa, which
+was so sensitive to the touch that the moment one handled
+it it drew in its leaves. He came to a tragic end in South
+Africa, where he was shot by one of the men of his troop,
+not, it was generally believed, accidentally.</p>
+
+<p>Armytage, the lieutenant in the R.H.A. whom I have
+already mentioned, was the son of a baronet and a very
+pleasant fellow. He had a pet dog which he used always
+to bring into the mess-room, and which would perform
+tricks. He related how once, when he had been ordered on
+foreign service, the captain of the troopship, hearing that he
+had a dog, objected to his bringing it on board, as he had
+made a rule against it. When, however, Armytage showed
+him the little dog and made it perform its tricks, the captain
+was so amused by them that he said he would make an
+exception in this case. Armytage was a good actor, and
+used to organize amateur theatricals. One evening, he got
+up a play, in which he took the leading part, and acted
+very well in the comic style. The other parts were taken by
+men of “A” Battery, and the performance, to which a
+good many people came, was a distinct success. Afterwards,
+a dance was given in the mess-room, but, as there were
+about twenty officers to each lady, it was more pleasant for
+the ladies than for us. The sub-lieutenants, indeed, went
+away as soon as they could, not being at all attracted by
+our fair guests, who were mostly past their first youth,
+while the few girls present were very plain.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span></p>
+
+<p>There was an excellent polo-ground at Sialkote, and many
+of the officers played of an afternoon. There was also a
+croquet and lawn-tennis ground, and these games were
+played a good deal by ladies in very old-fashioned dresses,
+as ladies in India, as a rule, dress very badly and quite out
+of date.</p>
+
+<p>The officers rode home from mess of an evening; and I
+used sometimes to make my pony “Chang” mount the steps
+of our house, and enter my room, after which he would
+go off alone to the stables. Once at Murree, for a bet, I rode
+“Chang” up a long flight of steps to a church and down again,
+and he never put a foot wrong. Batchelor, the “vet” of
+the R.H.A., had a horse which sometimes, on his reaching
+the mess-room, he would tell to go home, when the horse
+would find its way back to the stables, which were some
+distance away.</p>
+
+<p>Two new sub-lieutenants came to Sialkote to go through
+the course. One, named Marsham, an Old Etonian and a
+very nice fellow, was in my regiment; the other, whose
+name was Wood, belonged to the 4th Hussars. He was
+nicknamed “Lakri” (“wood”), as he was of rather swarthy
+complexion. Wood had a very nice chestnut pony, which
+he often lent me, and one day Lovett remarked that I never
+looked so well as on this pony, which seemed to be made for
+me. He had another pony, a smaller one, and this he sold
+to me. But it had a very nasty temper, and would sometimes
+turn its head and try and bite my feet; while it was
+continually rearing and kicking, and, in short, was a regular
+devil. One evening, when I went to dine at the mess of a
+Line regiment, I tied it up to a tree, but it managed to get
+rid of its bridle and bolted. It was only with difficulty
+caught, when I rode it home again.</p>
+
+<p>“Eugene,” who had behaved so badly to me over the affair
+of Miss W——, was not at Sialkote, having been sent to
+another station for his course. While at Murree, he had
+fallen desperately in love with a Miss B——, and had proposed
+to, and been accepted by, her. But, as he was so
+very young, and the lady was not considered a desirable<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span>
+match, the Colonel took the matter up, and the affair was
+broken off. At the station he went to he fell in love with
+another lady, but this did not come to anything either; and
+he nearly broke, not his heart, but his neck, there in riding
+a steeplechase. However, eventually he recovered from his
+“smash” and rejoined the battalion.</p>
+
+<p>I became very unwell at Sialkote, from what the doctor
+said was a liver complaint. However, it did not much
+interfere with my studies, though I was confined to the
+house for some time. During this period a curious incident
+occurred.</p>
+
+<p>One morning, I noticed that a candle, which I had placed
+by my bedside and blown out just before I fell asleep, was
+much shorter than when I had extinguished it. The following
+night I carefully noted the length of the candle before
+I blew it out, and next morning it was again much shorter.
+I could find no explanation of this, as I had locked my
+bedroom door before going to bed, until I remembered that
+there was a small opening at the bottom of the door, just
+large enough to permit a person to wriggle through. But
+this did not account for the thief having been able to pass
+through my sitting-room, which led to the bedroom, and
+the door of which I had also locked. I talked the matter
+over with Lovett, who offered to lend me his dog, which
+he said was a very good watch-dog and could sleep on my
+bed. I accepted his offer, but the animal had so many
+fleas that I was kept awake all night, and decided to dispense
+with its company in future. The following night I determined
+to watch myself, and presently heard someone crawling
+through the opening of the door. I at once struck
+a light, upon which the intruder promptly crawled back
+again. Then everything appeared clear to me. The thief
+was none other than my bearer, who had a key to my sitting-room,
+which he opened, and then, crawling through the
+opening in the bedroom-door, made for my candle, which
+he abstracted and replaced by a much smaller piece. The
+natives are great pilferers, who will not stop at robbing one
+even of a piece of candle.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span></p>
+
+<p>One day, as I was sitting in my room, reading a book by
+Jean Paul, it seemed to me that suddenly the room began
+to swing to and fro. It proved to be an earthquake, which,
+however, did no damage to the town, though it gave everyone
+a bad fright.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after I was able to get about again there was an
+interval of three weeks in our course at Sialkote, and all
+the sub-lieutenants went away on leave. Montgomery
+went to Murree, while Lovett and Marsham started off on
+a shooting-expedition. The battalion, which was taking
+part in the autumn manœuvres, was under canvas near
+Rawal Pindi, and I accepted an invitation to stay with
+Surgeon-Major Macnamara and his wife in their tent. The
+first evening I dined with them I noticed that I was served
+with precisely the dishes I liked, whilst those I did not care
+for were not handed to me at all. I inquired of Mrs. Macnamara
+the reason of this, when she replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“I asked your <i>khitmagar</i> when you arrived what you
+liked for dinner, and what you did not like. Therefore,
+you see, I know now exactly what your taste is.”</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, nothing could exceed the Macnamaras’ kindness
+to me during the whole time I was with them.</p>
+
+<p>A couple of days later, Phipps invited me to go for a drive
+with him, during which he told me that he was returning
+to England on leave, when he would get his promotion, and
+he doubted whether he would ever come out to India again.
+That evening, after dining at mess, I was taken ill, when
+Surgeon-Major Macnamara, who attended me, said that I
+was suffering from jaundice, and should have to stay in bed
+some time. During my illness I received visits from one
+of the senior lieutenants named Hope, a grandson of Lord
+Hopetoun, who brought me several books to read, amongst
+them being “Cranford,” by Mrs. Gaskell, which he particularly
+recommended to me, and with which I was delighted.
+Lloyd, another senior lieutenant, with the local rank of
+captain, often came to see me. He was a very dark, wiry
+fellow, of about thirty, and was a great sportsman. He
+was going into the Indian Staff Corps, as he spoke several<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span>
+native languages fluently. Lloyd was a particular friend
+of mine, and corresponded with me regularly for years
+afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>One morning, I had a visit from Macnamara, who told me
+that Phipps had been taken seriously ill with congestion of
+the lungs, the result apparently of a chill which he had
+caught on the day I went for a drive with him. A few days
+later, I learned from Lloyd that Phipps had died during
+the night. When I next saw Macnamara, he remarked:—</p>
+
+<p>“Phipps was so stout; I knew I could not save him. He
+died from suffocation, as he had such a short neck.”</p>
+
+<p>When I was well enough to dine at mess again, I heard
+from the Colonel that, shortly before Phipps was taken ill,
+he had been told by the chief that his tunic was looking
+rather shabby, to which he had replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, sir, it’s good enough to bury me in!”</p>
+
+<p>He had laughed as he said this, which was a habit of his
+when he made any remark which was at all strange.</p>
+
+<p>A cable was sent to Queen Victoria, as well as to Phipps’s
+sister, announcing his death. Her Majesty cabled at once
+to the Colonel, asking for all particulars about the sad
+event, at which she appears to have been genuinely
+grieved.</p>
+
+<p>I was much cut up by Phipps’s death, and I felt it all the
+more keenly, as I had been with him so recently. I remember
+how on that occasion he had kept talking of his approaching
+return to England, and had observed:—</p>
+
+<p>“I should have liked it very much in years gone by, but
+now I do not look forward to it with half the pleasure I did
+then; it may be because I have all my friends out here.
+I am so used to living out here with all the fellows, and
+they are all so nice, that I don’t think I should go home
+now if I had not to do so.”</p>
+
+<p>Poor Phipps was buried in his old tunic, as he had foretold
+in a jesting way to the Colonel. He was barely thirty years
+of age.</p>
+
+<p>After I had quite recovered from jaundice, I returned to
+Sialkote, which I did with regret, as I would have much<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span>
+preferred remaining with my regiment. At Sialkote things
+went on very much as before, the only incident worth
+recording being an accident to my pony “Chang.”</p>
+
+<p>This pony, which I had bought soon after coming to
+Murree from Sydenham Clarke, the adjutant of our battalion,
+had the reputation of being the best polo-pony in India,
+and one day Lovett begged me to lend him to him for a
+match in which he was to play. I replied that “Chang”
+was not up to his weight, and that he would probably lame
+him; but, eventually, on his promising most solemnly
+to ride him carefully, I consented, though with many misgivings.
+Some hours later Lovett came into my room,
+looking very crestfallen. I knew at once what had happened,
+and exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“You have lamed “Chang!”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” he answered; “I am frightfully sorry; I could
+not help it.”</p>
+
+<p>I ran out of the room to see the pony, who was so lame
+that there was no chance of his being of much service afterwards.
+However, it was no use blaming Lovett, since it
+was my own fault for being so weak as to allow a valuable
+animal to be ridden by a man too heavy for him.</p>
+
+<p>After this mishap, I was obliged to ride my little devil of
+a pony when I required a mount at Sialkote, though at
+times Lovett lent me his horse, while at others Wood lent
+me his good-looking chestnut pony. I made Wood an
+offer for this pony, but he declined to part with it at any
+price.</p>
+
+<p>I continued to suffer from liver complaint, and was
+attended by Surgeon-Major Clarke, of the R.H.A., who
+advised me to try and get sent to England. I subsequently
+saw the senior medical officer at Sialkote, who said that I
+ought to obtain leave either to the hills or to England.
+I appeared before a medical board, who certified in writing
+that my illness was caused in and by the Service.</p>
+
+<p>The Chief Resident at Sialkote offered me the Maharajah
+of Kashmir’s shooting, which was usually reserved for royal
+personages, and which the Prince of Wales had when in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span>
+India; but Montgomery urged me strongly to go to England,
+and I followed his advice. I had afterwards, as the ensuing
+pages will show, good cause to regret my decision.</p>
+
+<p>Before leaving Sialkote, I made arrangements to sell the
+things I did not want; but, on showing the list I had made
+out to Batchelor, of the R.H.A., he told me that I ought
+to have described them far more elaborately, so as to enhance
+their apparent value. I asked if he would describe them
+for me, which he did, and, greatly to my amusement, made
+everything appear infinitely better than it really was.
+However, he said that they would make much better prices
+that way, which I found to be the case when the sale took
+place. My pony “Chang” I sold to Montgomery, as he
+had partially recovered from his lameness.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Sialkote, I went by rail to Delhi, where I
+visited the Palace, which I thought very beautiful. At
+Delhi I called on the officers of a Line regiment stationed
+there, and was invited to make use of their mess during
+my stay in the city, where great preparations were being
+made for an approaching Durbar. I left a few days later
+for Cawnpore, and visited the places by the river where
+the British were massacred during the Mutiny. On my way
+from Cawnpore to Agra, I made the acquaintance of a
+French cavalry officer, the Vicomte Arthur d’Assailly, of
+the Chasseurs à Cheval, a very smart-looking fellow, more
+like an Englishman than a Frenchman, who spoke English
+perfectly. The Vicomte told me that at Cawnpore he had
+paid several hundred rupees for a <i>nautch</i> in his room, which
+he had strewn with rose-leaves. On reaching Agra, we
+drove to our hotel through the Bazaar, and in the evening
+went to visit the Taj, with which we were quite enchanted.
+It was the most magnificent building I had ever seen.
+The marble of which it was constructed was of the purest
+white, and seen by moonlight, which enhanced the whiteness
+of the marble, it was indescribably beautiful; while the
+deep blue of the starlit heavens formed a delightful contrast.
+It was, in fact, just like a palace of “The Arabian Nights”;
+and while strolling about the charming gardens we could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span>
+almost imagine ourselves living in the days of the Khalif
+Haroun Alraschid.</p>
+
+<p>In the train going to Bombay I met an officer of the
+Rifle Brigade, named Captain Crompton, a man of about
+thirty-five, with grey hair, who was going home on sick
+leave. But as, he told me, he was rather doubtful about
+being able to pass the medical board at Bombay, he intended
+to appear before them just as he was, without going to his
+hôtel to change and wash, considering that he would look
+more like an invalid in that travel-stained condition.</p>
+
+<p>He was as good as his word, and obtained six months’
+sick leave without any trouble. As for myself, I went to
+Watson’s Hotel, where I was glad to have a bath and change
+my clothes, as the journey had been a most unpleasant
+one, and I was begrimed with dirt. On appearing before
+the board, the senior medical officer asked me various questions,
+to which I must have answered too laconically to
+please him, for presently he inquired sarcastically:—</p>
+
+<p>“And what may your rank be; I suppose general or
+colonel at the least?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” I replied; “I am only a sub-lieutenant.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, indeed! I thought from your manner that you
+were at least in command of a regiment.”</p>
+
+<p>However, after a brief examination, I was informed that
+I could go, and that I had been granted six months’ leave
+to England, as my illness was caused in and by the Service.</p>
+
+<p>At Watson’s Hotel I met d’Assailly again, who told me
+a good deal about himself. It appeared that he was a rich
+man, having an income of some £6,000 a year, and was
+amusing himself by travelling round the world. He had
+already visited Japan, Ceylon and Java, the last of which
+he considered by far the most beautiful of the three countries,
+and, as regards vegetation, truly marvellous. He
+admitted that Ceylon was lovely, but, in his opinion, it
+could not compare with Java, the natives of which he also
+preferred to the Cingalese.</p>
+
+<p>I was very glad to leave Bombay in 1875, though, as I
+disliked the sea very much, I was not looking forward to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span>
+the voyage to England with any pleasurable anticipations.
+Among the passengers on board the troopship were Captain
+Crompton, a Lieutenant Howard, who belonged to the
+Rifle Brigade, and Viscount Campden, of the 10th Hussars,
+whose younger brother, the Hon. H. Noel, was in the same
+battalion of the Rifle Brigade as Crompton and Howard.
+Lord Campden, who was an amiable young man, with a
+slight figure and reddish hair, occupied himself during the
+voyage by reading Darwin’s “Natural Selection,” which
+was seldom out of his hand, and did not talk much with
+anyone, with the exception of Crompton.</p>
+
+<p>There was a battalion of infantry on board, under the
+command of a Lieutenant-Colonel Rose, who had his wife
+and daughter with him. The latter, who was a charming
+little girl of thirteen, with golden hair and blue eyes, took
+such a violent fancy to Howard that the other officers used
+to chaff him and inquire whether he intended to wait until
+she grew up to marry her. Howard was a tall, good-looking
+fellow, with a fair moustache, and he seemed rather pleased
+than otherwise by the little lady’s infatuation.</p>
+
+<p>The captain of the ship complained of Crompton dining
+in evening clothes, and requested him to appear in uniform
+in future. Crompton answered that he had no uniform
+on board, as he had come out to India to work as a civil
+engineer. But the captain would take no excuse, and insisted
+on his wearing uniform at dinner and also on deck.
+Crompton thereupon asked me if I could lend him part of my
+uniform, as it only differed in the facings, the facings of one
+regiment’s mess-jacket being black velvet, and those of the
+other scarlet, braided with black lace, like the Hussars.
+The uniform of both regiments was the same, supposed to
+be a dark green, but really black. I therefore lent him
+part of my uniform, as I had more than I required on board;
+but when he appeared in it at mess and on deck, the captain
+at first believed that it was his own, and that he had purposely
+avoided wearing it, and he had to explain that he
+had been obliged to borrow from me.</p>
+
+<p>During the voyage I was a good deal with Crompton, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span>
+had many interesting talks with him on all kinds of topics.
+He told me that his mother, who was dead, had published a
+translation of the poems of Heinrich Heine, which was
+considered to be the best that had appeared up to that time.
+She had held that this life was but a preparation for the one
+to come, and that whatever we cultivated in this existence,
+we should excel in in the next, and said that he was firmly
+convinced of the truth of this. He was a very clever man
+and had invented an automobile for the conveyance of
+troops, which he had sold to the Russian Government for
+£4,000, as the War Office would not pay him the price he
+asked. His knowledge, too, was astonishingly varied. Thus,
+when we touched at Malta, some of the ladies on board
+showed him the lace they had bought and told him the price
+they had paid for it, upon which he said that they had been
+imposed upon. For it appeared that he knew more about
+lace and how to make it than any lady on the ship, and I
+saw him showing them stitches which were quite new to
+them.</p>
+
+<p>There were, of course, a number of invalids on board,
+some of whom were very ill indeed. I occupied a cabin with
+a lieutenant of the 11th Hussars named Reid, who was in
+rapid consumption. He was a good-looking young fellow,
+with, dark-brown curly hair, and very much liked by everyone.
+He survived the voyage, as did a sergeant-major of
+the R.H.A., whom no one had expected to live until we
+reached England; but several other persons died, and were
+buried at sea.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Baroness James Édouard de Rothschild—At Carlsbad—Transferred
+to the 3rd Battalion</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>At Portsmouth, I was met by my father and Ernest
+Berkeley, a son of Lord Berkeley, who some time
+afterwards obtained a commission in my regiment, and
+with them I travelled to Paris and stayed for a few days
+with my parents in the Champs-Elysées. I then started
+for Carlsbad, where I had been recommended to take the
+waters for my complaint. On leaving Paris, I found myself
+in the same carriage with an elderly English lady, a Mrs.
+Michell, and her daughter, whose acquaintance I made.
+They were on their way to Marienbad, as the mother was
+abnormally stout and anxious to reduce her weight, life,
+she told me, being a torment to her. At Nüremberg, a rather
+nice-looking woman entered our carriage, with a very smart
+footman in attendance, who carried an immense bouquet
+of flowers, which he deposited beside his mistress. This
+lady, it transpired, was the Baroness James Édouard de
+Rothschild, who had been spending the night at Nüremberg,
+and was also <i>en route</i> for Marienbad. The Baroness entered
+into conversation with us, and was very pleasant. She
+spoke English almost perfectly, having spent nearly half
+her life in England, though she was now living with her
+family in Paris. She had, she told us, been ordered to take
+the waters at Marienbad, as she was inclined to be very
+stout, and had sent on fourteen servants from Paris to get
+everything ready for her.</p>
+
+<p>I got out at Carlsbad and drove to the Hôtel Goldenes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span>
+Schild, which was in those days the principal hôtel. Next
+morning I consulted Dr. Ritter von Hochberg, the doctor
+of the German Emperor, who was a very nice old man,
+and who told me to drink two full glasses of the Schloss
+Brunn waters and then walk for half an hour in the country
+every morning before breakfast. I followed his instructions
+and, after drinking the waters, walked out to the Posthof,
+where I breakfasted in the open air at a very good restaurant,
+being served by a pretty young Austrian girl, who was very
+tastefully dressed, with her hair arranged in quite the latest
+fashion. The walk back to my hôtel, along the banks of
+a river, which flowed through a delightfully picturesque
+valley, I enjoyed immensely.</p>
+
+<p>While dining one evening at the Hôtel König von Hannover,
+I made the acquaintance of a Mrs. Andrews, an
+elderly American lady, who was very rich and lived in an
+apartment in the English quarter of Carlsbad. She asked
+me to come and see her at her rooms, which were very comfortable,
+and where she gave me a cup of English tea.
+Mrs. Andrews was very fond of taking drives into the
+country, and often invited me to accompany her. One day
+she introduced me to Freiherr von Klenck, the son of Baron
+von Klenck, who had been a great favourite of the late
+King of Hanover and always with him. Klenck, who was
+in a Hanoverian cavalry regiment, was a man of about
+thirty, with a fair moustache. He detested Prussians, and
+once, when I asked him if he would care to meet an
+officer in a Prussian Line regiment whose acquaintance I
+had made, he replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“It is all very well for you to know him, as you are not a
+German. But I could not be seen with him. First of all,
+he is a Prussian, and then he is in a Line regiment, so that
+I could not go about with him, since I am in a cavalry
+regiment, as you know.”</p>
+
+<p>I usually met Mrs. Andrews and Klenck at the Hôtel
+König von Hannover, where we would engage a small table
+and dine together, going after to Sans-Souci or the Posthof
+to hear the military concert, which was very fine indeed.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span>
+The band which played there was that of the 35th Regiment
+König von Hannover, an Austrian military band, which had
+won the first prize at Brussels in the competition for military
+bands of all nations. It was composed of fifty men, and
+played the most difficult music of Wagner in the most
+brilliant manner, besides playing lighter music in a way
+which quite delighted me. In fact, it put all the military
+bands, English, French and German, that I had ever heard
+completely in the shade. A principal feature was that
+there were two men who played the cymbals, and that the
+big drum was an insignificant item, the side-drum being far
+more used. Sometimes, the band would play at Pupp’s
+Café of an afternoon, while the people were taking their
+coffee at little tables. On these occasions, a fee of fifty
+kreuzers was charged for admission, and there was always
+great difficulty in securing seats.</p>
+
+<p>The Kurkapelle, or string band, which played on most
+days of the week, under the direction of the famous bandmaster,
+Auguste Labitzky, was one of the finest string bands
+in Europe. Every Friday afternoon Labitzky organized
+a classical concert at Posthof, for which an admission fee
+of fifty kreuzers was charged. One day was consecrated
+to Wagner, another to Mozart, a third to Beethoven, and
+on a fourth a programme of mixed classical music was
+performed.</p>
+
+<p>The places where afternoon coffee was taken were all in
+the country, people sitting at little tables under the trees.
+At Pupp’s Café the waitresses had their Christian names,
+Mizzi, Fanni, Resi, and so forth, pinned on to their dresses.
+These girls were for the most part very pretty and pleasant-mannered.
+One gentleman, after having finished his cure
+at Carlsbad, received about twenty bouquets of beautiful
+flowers, which were all placed on his breakfast-table at
+Pupp’s by the girls serving there. People said that it
+must have cost him at least a hundred florins in <i>douceurs</i>
+to the waitresses.</p>
+
+<p>When I asked my doctor how much I was in his debt, he
+told me that he left the matter entirely to me. So I put forty<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span>
+florins in an envelope, which the doctor declined even to
+open in my presence, saying that he felt sure that I had
+remunerated his services sufficiently.</p>
+
+<p>After a cure of three weeks, I left Carlsbad for Franzensbad,
+for the after-cure, which my doctor had advised my taking.
+Here I secured very comfortable rooms in a villa with a
+beautiful garden behind it, agreeing to pay a fixed price
+per week for board and lodging. Shortly afterwards, the
+proprietress informed me that, had she but known that
+I was an Englishman, she would have asked me very
+much more than she had. She appeared very much
+annoyed, and, I am afraid, never forgave me for not
+having acquainted her with my nationality at our first
+interview.</p>
+
+<p>I thought Franzensbad a very charming place, with its
+pretty villas with gardens attached to them; but the walks
+could not compare with those around Carlsbad. I was so
+tired after taking the waters at Carlsbad that I rested the
+whole time I was at Franzensbad, merely taking iron baths,
+which I found perfectly delightful. It was like bathing in
+champagne, as the water sparkled and gave one a tickling
+kind of sensation. The visitors at Franzensbad were chiefly
+ladies, but I made the acquaintance of a young Bavarian
+officer, Freiherr von Rüdt, who was very musical and played
+the violin beautifully, and used to meet him nearly every
+day at the concert in the Kurpark. The Kurkapelle used
+to play at one or other of the hôtels during supper, and
+I often went to these concerts. The bandmaster, Tomaschek,
+was a very good conductor and a great favourite with the
+ladies, who often sent him presents.</p>
+
+<p>During my stay at Franzensbad I paid a visit to Marienbad,
+where I renewed my acquaintance with Mrs. Michell and her
+daughter. I thought Marienbad even more beautiful than
+Carlsbad, surrounded as it was by woods and hills. The
+walks around it were really exquisite, and nothing could be
+more pleasant than to take a walk in the woods on a summer’s
+day and have coffee and listen to the band at one of the
+cafés.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span></p>
+
+<p>On my return to Franzensbad I took a few more baths,
+and then left for Paris, where I received a letter from the
+War Office, informing me that I had been transferred to the
+3rd Battalion of my regiment, which was stationed at
+Chatham.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</h2>
+
+<p class="center">My Brother-Officers—A <i>Mésalliance</i>—Christy Minstrels and Tobogganing</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>It was through the influence of the Adjutant-General,
+Lord Airey, that I had been transferred to the 3rd
+Battalion of the 60th Rifles, in June, 1875. On joining, I
+went into the officers’ ante-room, where a short, stout officer,
+wearing an eyeglass, addressed me, and inquired how I had
+managed to get transferred. I told him that it was through
+the A.-G., when he remarked:</p>
+
+<p>“How is it that I was not consulted?”</p>
+
+<p>“I really cannot tell you,” I answered.</p>
+
+<p>“H’m!” said he, transfixing me with his monocle.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes afterwards, when he had left the room,
+another officer came up to me, and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know who that is?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is our chief, Lieutenant-Colonel W. Leigh-Pemberton.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is it really?” said I. “I should never have thought
+it, for he looks too young for a colonel.”</p>
+
+<p>“You have put your foot into it, evidently,” replied the
+officer, who appeared highly amused at what had happened.
+His name, he told me, was Corbet Stapleton-Cotton, and he
+was a lieutenant of some years’ service.</p>
+
+<p>I had a room in barracks close to Cotton’s, and, after my
+things had been unpacked, I dressed for mess. During
+mess I again exchanged a few words with the Colonel, who
+evidently looked upon me as an intruder, since he addressed
+me in a very distant manner. I was introduced to the acting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span>
+adjutant, E. O. H. Wilkinson (the adjutant, Lieutenant
+Bagot, had been suspended from that post by the Colonel),
+whom I had known at Eton, but had never cared for much.
+Wilkinson, who was a tall, dark man, with a slight squint,
+a long body and very short legs, imparted to me the pleasing
+information that I should have to begin my drill all over
+again from the commencement, at seven o’clock the following
+morning, so that I was likely to be kept well employed
+for some little time to come. I also made the acquaintance
+of my captain, Cramer, who was a middle-aged man with
+grey hair. He had little to say for himself, and was not
+remarkable for his amiability, but was very musical, and
+played the piano wonderfully well, though entirely by ear.
+Amongst other officers with whom I spoke that evening
+were a sub-lieutenant named Robert Gunning and a
+lieutenant called Allfrey. Gunning, who, like Cramer, in
+whose company he was, had been at Eton with me, though
+I had only known him very slightly there, was a rather good-looking
+little fellow, and a great favourite of the Colonel,
+who called him “Cupid,” and often invited him to his
+quarters. Allfrey was a tall, burly man, with dark curly
+hair, who was very loud in both his dress and conversation,
+which was usually about horses. He was a great admirer
+of Thackeray’s works, and declared that “Vanity Fair”
+was the best novel in the English language, and that he had
+read it over and over again without growing tired of it.</p>
+
+<p>Allfrey was a particular friend of Cotton, and I soon discovered
+that these two officers were the <i>bêtes-noires</i> of the
+Colonel, who, it was said, could not even endure the sound
+of their voices, and would give anything in the world to
+get rid of them both. Our chief’s dislike, however, was by
+no means confined to Cotton and Allfrey. Two senior
+lieutenants, named Holled-Smith and Allen, and a captain
+called Robinson, had also the misfortune to be objects of
+his antipathy, a fact which he was never at any pains to
+disguise.</p>
+
+<p>Holled-Smith was a fine-looking man, clever and entertaining,
+but with a somewhat brusque manner. He had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span>
+a very good baritone voice, which he cultivated by taking
+singing lessons, and he sang some songs very well. Allen
+and Robinson were both singular characters. The former,
+who was expecting his company, was a queer-looking fellow,
+with a partially-bald head and a peculiarly vacant expression.
+He was always highly perfumed, so that you knew when
+he happened to be near you, before you saw him. His dress
+was very eccentric, and his manner too. He was perpetually
+muttering to himself, and would gesticulate in the most
+weird fashion when no one was talking to him. Robinson,
+who was nicknamed “Rabelais,” as he was always reading
+that author’s works, was a kind of Hercules, and was the
+eldest son of a baronet and the grandson of an Irish earl.
+He was very eccentric, and would suddenly—for no apparent
+reason—throw himself into the most violent passions, and
+indulge in language at which even a private soldier would be
+horrified. Strangely enough, he appeared to have little or
+no idea of the effect of these outbursts upon those who had
+the misfortune to be present: probably, he hardly knew
+what he was saying. It was related that, upon one occasion,
+he used this terrible language before a lady, who incontinently
+took to flight. “Rabelais” inquired afterwards why
+the lady had left so abruptly, and, on being told, remarked
+that she must have been uncommonly prudish.</p>
+
+<p>These two strange creatures disliked each other even
+more than the Colonel did them. One evening at mess,
+soon after I joined the battalion, I noticed that, though they
+were sitting next each other, they never exchanged a word
+the whole evening. I remarked upon this to one of the
+other officers, when I was told that they had not spoken
+to one another for years.</p>
+
+<p>The senior major, Northey, was a very tall, dark man,
+who was an excellent soldier and understood his work
+thoroughly; but, unfortunately, his hands were tied by
+the Colonel, who seldom condescended to approve of anything
+he did. He was married to the daughter of a Polish
+nobleman, a refugee, whom he had met when the battalion
+was stationed in Canada. Major Northey was popular<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span>
+with the men, and liked by the officers, but he had no
+influence at all.</p>
+
+<p>The junior major, Collins, who was stout and wore an eyeglass,
+was also a married man. His wife was a sister of a
+bishop, and it was she who held the ribbons. Collins would
+have made a much better bishop than he did a field-officer,
+for he was a bad rider, who always felt uncomfortable on
+horseback, and, what is more, looked so. He seldom ventured
+on any observation concerning military matters
+before the Colonel, as when he did so, he generally got
+snubbed. The major took a great fancy to me, and often
+invited me to his house, where I sometimes met the bishop,
+who was delighted with my zither and paid me many
+compliments on my playing.</p>
+
+<p>Tufnell, the senior captain, was a gentleman who entertained
+a superlatively high opinion of himself. He must
+have been very handsome when young, but was now somewhat
+“<i>fané</i>.” He was very much in love with a girl named
+Miss Finis, the daughter of a butcher in Chatham, who,
+some years before, had been in love with my friend, Arthur
+Dillon. Poor Dillon, alas! was no more, having been
+thrown out of a Ralli car and killed while stationed at
+Colchester. “He was such a good fellow, and a very
+promising officer,” said Captain Byron, in the letter he wrote
+to me in India, to inform me of the sad event.</p>
+
+<p>Tufnell was so infatuated with Miss Finis that it was
+generally believed that he would end by marrying her. Nor
+was he the only officer in the battalion who was contemplating
+a <i>mésalliance</i>. There was another captain, called Carpenter,
+who was desperately in love with a pretty little shop-girl,
+who was only about sixteen. At first, the Colonel
+objected to Carpenter going about with this damsel, but
+when he learned that he was determined to marry her, he
+said nothing more, as Carpenter was a great friend of his.
+Carpenter retired some months afterwards, and married
+his little girl, who, I was told, made him a very good wife.
+His retirement was much regretted, as he was very popular
+with both officers and men.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span></p>
+
+<p>The nicest captain in the battalion was de Robeck, who
+had been on the Staff of the Earl of Mayo, when Viceroy of
+India. He was a brother of Baron de Robeck, whom I
+already knew. De Robeck was a rather shy man, and
+dreadfully afraid of offending the Colonel. As time seemed
+only to accentuate the bad impression which I had been so
+unfortunate as to make upon our chief at our first meeting,
+partly owing to the fact that I was obliged to be a good
+deal in the company of Cotton and Holled-Smith, whose
+quarters adjoined my own, I told de Robeck that I thought
+it would be best for me to exchange into another battalion.
+He, however, advised me not to do so, observing:—</p>
+
+<p>“The Colonel cannot stay with us very much longer, and
+in the 1st Battalion, into which you wish to exchange,
+they have a Colonel, Colonel Gordon, who, I am told, is
+much worse than ours. I hear that he has been the cause
+of no less than ten officers leaving the battalion, and the
+cases of desertion among the riflemen can hardly be counted.”</p>
+
+<p>I told him that the Colonel of the 1st was soon retiring,
+while our chief would remain with us for another three
+years, which had to be taken into consideration.</p>
+
+<p>“No,” he replied, “he has only two years more, thank
+God!”</p>
+
+<p>I was always much influenced by what de Robeck told me,
+and generally followed his advice. I did so in this instance,
+but had I acted otherwise, it would have been much better
+for me.</p>
+
+<p>Among the senior lieutenants was one named Wylie,
+an absurdly pompous individual, who was disliked by both
+officers and men. One day, when I happened to be orderly
+officer, I had just come off parade and was standing by the
+officers’ mess, when Wylie passed by. I wished him good-morning,
+but, because I did not salute him at the same time,
+though it was off the parade-ground, he reported me to the
+Colonel, who reprimanded me. Wylie was married to the
+sister of a recently-created peer, who, on the strength of
+this relationship, gave herself ridiculous airs, and was almost
+as pompous as her husband.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span></p>
+
+<p>Arthur Greville Bagot, an old Etonian, who was adjutant
+of the battalion by appointment, though, as I mentioned,
+suspended, was a very different kind of officer from Wylie.
+He was highly connected, being the cousin of a duke and
+the nephew of a peer, and was a thorough gentleman in
+every way. He was a very good-looking man, and when
+not in uniform, always dressed very smartly in the latest
+fashion. An excellent soldier, he kept the men in first-rate
+order, which Wilkinson never could do, and, as he was rather
+a friend of mine, he invariably took my part with the Colonel,
+with whom he was on pretty good terms.</p>
+
+<p>As there was very little going on at Chatham at any time
+in the way of amusement, Bagot organized from the battalion
+a troupe of Christy Minstrels, he himself taking the part
+of “Bones.” I was asked to do my share, to which I willingly
+consented. We gave a performance in Chatham, which
+turned out a great success, a number of people having to be
+refused admission. The officers and men blackened their
+faces, and when I wished to re-enter Chatham Barracks,
+the sentry refused to let me pass, until I told him who I
+was. We gave a second performance at Chatham, which
+was so well attended that we agreed to engage the theatre
+at Gravesend and give an entertainment there. The result
+exceeded our most sanguine expectations, the theatre being
+crammed, while over four hundred people were turned
+away from the doors. Bagot made most amusing jokes,
+and sang several very good comic songs; Carpenter gave a
+solo on the concertina, besides singing in the chorus, and
+my performance on the zither was warmly applauded, and
+I got an encore. The <i>ensemble</i> was excellent for that style
+of entertainment; quite as good as any professional troupe,
+and the singing was above the average.</p>
+
+<p>During the winter we had a heavy fall of snow, and, as
+most of the officers of the battalion had served in Canada,
+and had done a great deal of tobogganing there, this amusement
+was indulged in down the hill close to the mess. The
+toboggans were made to contain two persons, one sitting
+behind, and the other between his legs in front; and many<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span>
+of the officers would place a lady in front of them on their
+toboggans, and come down the hill at a terrific pace, the
+ladies sometimes giving vent to piercing shrieks, from fear
+of getting a spill. Now and again a toboggan would upset,
+and send its occupants flying; but, as they usually fell into
+the snow banked up on either side of the track, it was very
+rarely that they were in the least hurt.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Sarah Bernhardt in <i>Phèdre</i>—Vienna and Buda-Pesth</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>When I got my winter’s leave, I started for Paris,
+to see my parents; intending afterwards to visit
+Vienna and Buda-Pesth. On the last evening of my stay
+in Paris, I went to the Théâtre-Français, to see Sarah Bernhardt
+and Mounet Sully in <i>Phèdre</i>. The latter’s acting was
+very fine, but Sarah Bernhardt was simply magnificent.
+The way in which she recited Racine’s lines in her charming,
+musical voice, with its pretty timbre, was a real pleasure to
+listen to; while in the last scene she rose to the supreme
+heights of tragedy. I do not think I was ever more delighted
+in my life with a theatrical performance than I was with
+the splendid acting that night at the Théâtre-Français, as
+it surpassed all my expectations.</p>
+
+<p>On my journey to Vienna next day, I had as a travelling
+companion an Austrian gentleman called Herr Neuss, who,
+on my happening to mention my visit to the Théâtre-Français
+the previous evening, observed that, in his opinion,
+the Burg Theatre, in Vienna, was the first theatre in Europe,
+and invited me to accompany him one evening to see a play
+of Shakespeare acted there. Herr Neuss told me that,
+from the way I spoke German, he had at first taken me for
+a German student, and that he was surprised to learn that I
+was an officer of the British Army.</p>
+
+<p>On my arrival in Vienna, which was enveloped in a white
+mantle of snow, I went to the Hôtel Matschakerhof, which
+had been recommended to me, and which I found very
+comfortable. I lost no time in calling on Herr Neuss, who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span>
+presented me to his wife and their three young and pretty
+daughters, who were quite charming. I was invited to
+return to supper, and afterwards two of the girls played on
+two grand pianos which stood in the drawing-room. They
+both played beautifully, and had evidently been most
+admirably taught. An evening or two later, I went with
+Herr Neuss to the Burg Theatre, to witness a performance of
+<i>Romeo and Juliet</i>, which was wonderfully well staged. The
+part of Juliet was played by Fräulein Frank, a very good-looking
+brunette, who acted well, though in the very tragic
+scenes she occasionally showed too much emotion. Another
+evening I saw Fräulein Frank in the <i>Jungfrau von Orléans</i>,
+a part which suited her infinitely better than that of Juliet;
+and in which she was truly marvellous. I also saw the celebrated
+Charlotte Wolter in <i>Richard III.</i>, in which play
+Lewinsky took the part of the King. I was very much
+impressed by the latter’s acting, but I was decidedly disappointed
+with Charlotte Wolter, whom I considered inferior
+to Fräulein Frank, though the public thought otherwise.
+Wolter, indeed, in the opinion of the Viennese, was an ideal
+actress, and, in certain plays, they even preferred her to
+Sarah Bernhardt.</p>
+
+<p>I was charmed with the military concerts at Vienna. Of
+an afternoon I several times went to the Volksgarten, where
+the people sat at little tables sipping coffee and smoking
+cigarettes. The military band, the Hoch and Deutschmeister,
+which played, was a string band, and the solo
+players were all very good. I was quite delighted with the
+way the band played a march, so differently from the sleepy
+fashion in which our English military bands played one.
+As is always the practice with an Austrian military band,
+when playing marches, a great deal of use was made of the
+cymbals in forte parts. They also played waltzes delightfully,
+and polkas with the proper rhythm, which so seldom
+happens. The Hoch and Deutschmeister played the most
+difficult music from the <i>Nibelungen Ring</i>, of Wagner, equally
+well, but their chief success was with light music, in which
+they were unrivalled.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span></p>
+
+<p>On Sundays Johann Strauss’s band played in the Musikverein’s
+Saal, under its accomplished conductor, who
+always charmed the audience with its beautiful waltzes
+and inspiriting polkas. Yet everyone said that his band
+was very inferior to the string bands of the regiments stationed
+in Vienna. I heard Johann Strauss’s band play more
+than once, and though I was pleased with it, the military
+band had far more attraction for me.</p>
+
+<p>I paid a visit one evening to Schwender’s, a dancing-hall,
+where, to the strains of a military band, people danced till
+the small hours of the morning, and was struck with the
+orderly manner in which those present conducted themselves.
+It was a great contrast to the scenes witnessed
+at similar resorts in England in those days, where drunkenness
+amongst both sexes was a common feature.</p>
+
+<p>The Opera House, whose orchestra was quite the finest
+in Europe, had, of course, a great fascination for me.
+Wagner was then directing his operas, <i>Tannhäuser</i> and
+<i>Lohengrin</i>, and they were admirably rendered. Fräulein
+Ehnn and Frau Materna created the chief women’s rôles,
+and Winkelmann and Ritter were the leading tenors. A
+great feature at the Opera was the ballet, in which the
+<i>première danseuse</i>, Bertha Linda, delighted everyone with
+her graceful dancing, while the <i>corps de ballet</i> was excellent.
+Bertha Linda married the celebrated artist Makart, at
+that time the greatest painter in Austria.</p>
+
+<p>From Vienna I went to Buda-Pesth, where I stayed at
+the Hôtel Königin von England. On the evening of my
+arrival, a gipsy band began playing during dinner, and
+continued until long past midnight. They played in a
+really wonderful manner, and collected a great deal of money.
+I visited the “Nepsinház” and other theatres in Pesth, and
+one evening went to a dancing-hall, where I saw the Csárdas
+danced most beautifully, and made the acquaintance of
+a young girl of fourteen or fifteen, named Tournay Wilma,
+a pupil at the theatre, who had a lovely contralto voice.
+She accompanied me back to my hôtel, and sang to me until
+the small hours of the morning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span></p>
+
+<p>I thought Buda-Pesth beautifully situated, with the
+Emperor’s castle at Buda, and the Danube flowing between
+the two towns, but I would have infinitely preferred to live
+in Vienna, which is a far finer city. On my return there, I
+went several times to the Opera to hear <i>Manfred</i>, <i>Don Juan</i>
+and <i>Figaro’s Hochzeit</i>, and then, after calling on Herr Neuss
+and his family, bade farewell to this most charming of capitals.</p>
+
+<p>I may mention that, during my stay in Vienna, I took
+lessons on the zither from the celebrated Paschinger, who
+was quite a brilliant performer on that instrument, besides
+being a good violinist, and played the violin and occasionally
+the zither at one of the principal theatres, where he was
+first violinist. I also invested in a zither-table, which I
+purchased at Kiendl’s, who made the best zithers in Europe.</p>
+
+<p>While in Vienna and Buda-Pesth, I was much impressed
+by the appearance of the troops I saw. Among the cavalry,
+which was then considered the finest in Europe, the Hussars
+struck me as being remarkably well mounted, while the
+officers’ uniform was very smart. The Dragoons, whose
+officers were mostly of the nobility, as were those of the
+Lancers, were also well mounted; while the Arciren Guards,
+who corresponded to our Life Guards, were a fine body of
+men, in green uniforms with red facings. There were at
+this time, in the Austrian Army, sixteen regiments of Hussars,
+the same number of Lancer regiments, and twelve regiments
+of Dragoons. The Hussars were all Hungarians, the
+Dragoons Austrians, and the Lancers Bohemians and
+Poles. The infantry was also very fine, and the uniform of
+the officers, though they wore no gold lace at all, very smart.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Percy Hope-Johnstone—A “Special” to Aldershot—A Costume-Ball
+at Folkestone</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Soon after my return to Chatham, my company had
+to go to Gravesend for a course of musketry. The
+officers who went were Cramer, Gunning and myself. We
+had to superintend the shooting of the men, though the
+musketry instructor, a lieutenant named Hope-Johnstone, was
+also present. Percy Hope-Johnstone, who was very popular
+with everyone, was a fine, powerfully-built man, and a very
+good shot, both with gun and rifle. He took great interest
+in the men’s shooting, and was a most capable instructor.
+He was the heir to a baronetcy, and in later years laid claim
+to the peerage of Annandale, but his claim was not successful.</p>
+
+<p>One day, Hope-Johnstone lent me his horse on the range,
+and the animal, not being accustomed to so light a weight,
+bolted with me, and set off at a furious gallop through the
+town. Fortunately, however, he soon ran himself out, and
+stopped of his own accord.</p>
+
+<p>Hope-Johnstone often went with Gunning and myself
+for walks in the country around Gravesend. On one occasion,
+when we were sitting by the Thames, he said to us:—</p>
+
+<p>“Supposing neither of you had any money at all. What
+would you do to learn a living?”</p>
+
+<p>Gunning replied that he should become an actor; and
+they both said that they were sure that I could play the
+zither at concerts, and make a good deal of money by this.
+Then Hope-Johnstone remarked:—</p>
+
+<p>“I know what I should do. I am a very fine fellow, well-built,
+rather imposing in appearance. Therefore, I should<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span>
+be a footman, which is a devilish easy life, nothing to do
+and plenty to eat and drink.”</p>
+
+<p>Hope-Johnstone told me that he had a younger brother
+in the Guards, who had told him that he was not allowed
+to recognize in London officers of other regiments whom he
+had met in the country, unless he were introduced to them
+in town, and the same rule applied to civilians whom an
+officer of the Guards had met in the country. Hope-Johnstone
+said he much preferred life in a Rifle regiment, as he
+was far more free to do as he liked, and could obtain more
+leave than a subaltern in the Guards. He intended retiring
+from the Service so soon as he got his company, as he was
+very well off.</p>
+
+<p>Allen, whose eccentricities I have mentioned elsewhere,
+came to Gravesend with his company, and used to walk
+about the town with his pockets full of sweets, which he
+would give to any pretty children whom he happened to
+meet. He brought with him a rather smart dog-cart and
+some fine horses, and sometimes took me for a drive, during
+which he used to entertain me with an account of the charms
+of a young flower-girl at Folkestone, whom he had known
+since she was quite a child, and whom he intended to marry,
+although she was only sixteen and he was forty. He did
+marry her, in fact, not long afterwards, when the Colonel
+insisted on his exchanging into another battalion, stationed
+in India. The officers’ wives called upon her, out of compassion,
+it would seem, for the miserable life which she led.
+For Allen was so fearfully jealous that he even went to the
+length of locking the poor girl up in the house whenever he
+went out. He was subsequently transferred to another
+regiment, but his jealousy of his wife continued down to
+the time of his death, which occurred soon after he had
+been promoted major.</p>
+
+<p>When the musketry-course was over, I returned with my
+company to Chatham. One day, I went with Cotton to
+Southend, and we missed the last train back. Cotton said
+that he must get back that night, as he was on duty next
+morning, and asked the station-master if he could have a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span>
+special train, when that official said that, if we would keep
+quiet, he would put us in a luggage-train, which was just
+on the point of starting. We were put into a van, which
+was half-filled with coal, and had anything but a pleasant
+journey, as there was nothing but the floor—and the coal—to
+sit upon. However, we reached our destination in the
+early morning, in time for Cotton to assume his duties as
+orderly officer.</p>
+
+<p>Cotton told me that once, when stationed at Aldershot,
+he went up to town for the day, and missed the last train
+back. A lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade, named Crofton,
+who was in a like predicament, asked Cotton if he would
+come with him in a “special,” which he had just ordered,
+and the latter, of course, gladly consented. When they
+were nearing Aldershot, Crofton said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I will send you your half of the bill for the ‘special’
+as soon as I get it. It will be a matter of forty pounds.”</p>
+
+<p>Cotton, however, did not see the force of this, as he had
+quite understood that Crofton, who was a very rich man,
+had invited him to come with him. Consequently, he
+refused to pay any part of the bill.</p>
+
+<p>It was no wonder that Cotton occasionally missed trains,
+for he was constantly late for parade, for mess, and, indeed,
+for everything. One day, the Colonel, between whom and
+Cotton there was little love lost, remarked:—</p>
+
+<p>“Cotton, you are always late; I am sure you will be late
+for your own funeral!”</p>
+
+<p>Cotton, who was a grandson of Viscount Combermere,
+and whose father, the Hon. Sir C. Stapleton-Cotton, was
+a general of cavalry, died after the Zulu War of fever.</p>
+
+<p>Cotton and I often dined together at a small hôtel at
+Rochester, which, if I am not mistaken, was the one where
+Mr. Pickwick stayed on the night of the ball at Rochester,
+described by Dickens. Occasionally we would converse in
+French, which Cotton spoke well, though, singularly enough,
+he had never been in France. At this hôtel, we occasionally
+met two officers of the Rifle Brigade, Viscount Bennet, son
+of the Earl of Tankerville, and Lord Torphichen, the last-named<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span>
+officer an old Etonian, who would join us at dinner.
+Lord Bennet’s mother was a French lady, and he used to
+make very clever jokes in French, which, however, lost by
+being repeated in English, on account of the <i>jeu de mots</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after my return from Gravesend, I was sent
+with Gunning to Dover, to go through a final course of
+instruction there, before sitting for my lieutenant’s examination,
+and attached to the 104th Regiment at the Shaft
+Barracks. I was allotted a very comfortable room in the
+barracks, and Colonel Græme, who was then commanding
+the 104th, was very pleasant to me, as was a captain named
+Hunter, with whom I soon became very friendly. Our
+instruction, which was conducted by a Captain Savile, of
+the Staff College, occupied most of the morning and part
+of the afternoon, but by four o’clock we were generally
+free. My friends, the Charltons, were still living in Victoria
+Park, and naturally I lost no time in calling upon them.
+They were very pleased to see me again, and talked a great
+deal about poor Dillon, to whom, it appeared, Augusta, the
+eldest daughter, had become engaged to be married just
+before he met with his fatal accident. Ida, the second girl,
+who seemed even prettier than when I had last seen her,
+told me that she was engaged to a lieutenant in the 12th
+Lancers named Beck, a very nice young fellow, who had
+been with me at Sandhurst, and whom I had liked very
+much there.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Charlton, as hospitable as ever, told me that I must
+come to supper the following Sunday, and bring a friend with
+me, as I used to do when poor Dillon was alive. I gladly
+accepted her invitation, and asked Gunning to come with
+me. But he excused himself, explaining that he was related
+to the Charltons, but that, owing to some family quarrel,
+his parents were not on good terms with them. I then asked
+a lieutenant of the 7th Fusiliers, named Foley, who was
+only too pleased to go. He fell in love with Augusta at
+first sight, and he and I used to go every Sunday evening
+to supper in Victoria Park.</p>
+
+<p>Foley, who was a nephew of Lord Foley, was a very nice<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span>
+fellow indeed and a great friend of mine. He was very witty
+and amusing, and not infrequently exercised his wit at the
+expense of Gunning, who, though he rather fancied himself
+at repartee, and could more than hold his own against most
+people, invariably got the worst of it when he crossed swords
+with Foley.</p>
+
+<p>While I was at Dover, a big fancy-dress ball took place at
+Folkestone, to which Robartes, of the 11th Hussars, and I
+went with the Charltons. It was a very smart affair indeed,
+a number of people coming down from London for it, and
+some of the costumes were very fine. One lady, the Hon.
+Mrs. Yorke, whose husband was an officer in the Guards,
+wore a Greek peasant girl’s costume, which was much admired.
+Mrs. Yorke had, I think, the smallest feet for an Englishwoman
+that I have ever seen, which the white trousers she
+wore enabled her to display to advantage. Mrs. Charlton
+wore some magnificent lace, which a lady with whom I
+danced told me must be worth at least two or three hundred
+pounds. When I happened later in the evening to mention
+this to Mrs. Charlton, she exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p>“Two or three hundred! The lace on my dress is worth
+nearer three thousand. It is of Charles II.’s time.”</p>
+
+<p>It was nearly four o’clock in the morning before we left
+the ball-room, having all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
+Robartes and I were photographed with the girls a few days
+later at Dover, they in the fancy dresses they had worn
+at the ball, and we in our uniform.</p>
+
+<p>When our examination for the rank of lieutenant took place,
+Foley and myself passed very well in the first class and had
+our commissions ante-dated two years; Robartes, of the 11th
+Hussars, and Gunning only succeeded in getting a “second.”
+The examination was a very stiff one, and a major of the
+104th remarked that it ought almost to have qualified us
+for generals instead of lieutenants.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</h2>
+
+<p class="center">The Oppenheims—St. James’s and Winchester—The Colonel and
+Beauclerk</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Shortly after I had passed my lieutenant’s examination,
+I was sent to Woolwich, where a detachment
+of my battalion was to do duty for the Horse Artillery. The
+room I was given, which belonged to an officer of the R.H.A.,
+was a much better one than I had had in other barracks,
+and was furnished with some attempt at luxury. In the
+evening, I dined at the Royal Artillery mess, where their
+very fine string band played an excellent selection of music,
+under the direction of its Austrian bandmaster, Ritter von
+Zauerthal. I was often on guard at Woolwich, which I
+found very tiresome, as the guard was turned out at night
+as well as by day, and, as my turn to be on guard came round
+three times a week, it was pretty stiff work.</p>
+
+<p>While I was at Woolwich, a very smart ball was given at
+the barracks, which was highly successful, the great variety
+of uniforms and the toilettes of the ladies combining to make
+an unusually pretty scene, and an excellent supper being
+provided. To this ball I invited my old Eton friend, Jim
+Doyne, who, seeing all the men in uniform, mistook an
+officer who had come in evening dress for a waiter, and asked
+him to fetch an ice for a lady. The officer, however, took the
+mistake in very good part, and did as he was asked, remarking
+as he handed the ice to the lady, whom he happened to
+know:—</p>
+
+<p>“I am very pleased to make myself useful, and, as I have
+come in evening clothes instead of in uniform, I can quite
+understand your partner taking me for a waiter.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span></p>
+
+<p>During my visit to Vienna, Herr Neuss had given me a
+letter of introduction to Frau Oppenheim, the wife of a
+wealthy wine-merchant in London, who, before her marriage,
+when she was known as Louise Epstein, had been an actress
+at the Burg Theatre, and had been considered the most
+beautiful woman in the Austrian capital. I called upon
+her and found her very charming, though few traces of the
+beauty which had captivated so many hearts, including,
+it was said, that of a British Ambassador, now remained.
+Her husband, an immensely stout man, invited me to dinner
+and gave me a most excellent one, <i>arrosé</i> with his choicest
+wines. In return, I invited the Oppenheims to lunch
+with me at Woolwich, and asked a lieutenant of my battalion
+named Featherstone to meet them. Featherstone, I am
+afraid, was somewhat disappointed with Madame’s looks,
+as he had been expecting to see a much younger woman.</p>
+
+<p>After lunch, which was served in a private room at the
+mess, Herr Oppenheim expressed a wish to see the 80-ton
+gun fired for the first time, but I told him that it was impossible,
+as he was a foreigner. However, he protested that
+he had lived so many years in England that he had almost
+come to look upon himself as an Englishman, and at length
+he persuaded me to take him. When the great gun was
+fired, the worthy wine-merchant was so alarmed that he
+staggered backwards, exclaiming: “<i>Ach, du lieber Gott!</i>”
+And had it not been for a man standing by, who supported
+him in his arms, and whom his weight nearly upset, he would
+have fallen down.</p>
+
+<p>When I invited a friend to dine with me at the Artillery
+mess, as I frequently did, I was obliged to be there to receive
+him; otherwise, he would not be admitted. On my inquiring
+the reason for this rule, I was told that one evening a man
+presented himself at the mess, saying that he had been
+asked to dine by a certain officer, whose name he gave. The
+officer in question did not put in an appearance, and when
+dinner was announced, his supposed friend was invited to
+sit down to table, which he did. Presently, the attention
+of one of the mess-waiters was attracted by the singular<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span>
+behaviour of this individual, who was calmly pocketing as
+many spoons and forks as he could lay his hands on, whenever
+he fancied that he was unobserved. The mess-waiter
+reported these proceedings to the mess-president, and the
+man was at once given in charge, when it was discovered
+that he was a well-known thief. The Artillery mess was
+a very large one, from two hundred to three hundred officers
+sitting down to table, many of whom brought guests with
+them. Consequently, they had to be very careful, as there
+was always so much silver lying about.</p>
+
+<p>As it was summer, I frequently went up to London by
+steam-boat, which was a very pleasant way of making the
+journey. My companion on these river-trips was a lieutenant
+of my battalion, named Ernest Hovell Thurlow, an
+exceedingly nice fellow, who wore an eyeglass and appeared
+to take life in a very philosophical manner, as he never
+allowed himself to be put out by anything. He was a grandson
+of Lord Thurlow, and his mother had been a Miss Lethbridge.
+He was married, but his wife, a very pretty woman
+with wavy, golden hair, was staying in town for the
+season.</p>
+
+<p>After we had been some months at Woolwich, our detachment
+received orders to relieve the Grenadier Guards at St.
+James’s Palace. We detrained at Waterloo Station and
+marched to the Palace, in front of which the band of the
+Grenadiers was playing while the guard was being mounted.
+Our Colonel, who had come up to town expressly for this
+ceremony, and was in plain clothes, sent me to tell the Grenadiers’
+band to stop playing, at which the bandmaster, Dan
+Godfrey, appeared to be rather surprised. However, he
+obeyed the order, when the band of our battalion played
+in its turn, after which the guard was relieved.</p>
+
+<p>I had a very comfortable room in St. James’s Palace,
+where I slept while I was on guard there, and, with the other
+officers, was made an honorary member of the Guards’ Club.
+I found the duties rather fatiguing, as the sentries to be
+visited were so far apart. The officers of the Guards always
+visited them in hansom-cabs, but Captain Tufton, who was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span>
+in command of our detachment, would not allow me this
+luxury, and I had to go on foot.</p>
+
+<p>I invited Jim Doyne to dine with me one evening at the
+Palace. The dinner was excellent, and was provided free
+of cost to the officers, though they had to pay 15s. for each
+guest. The champagne was very good and the liqueurs
+as well, and a bottle of brandy was opened which was of the
+year of the Battle of Waterloo. Amongst the guests was a
+Lieutenant Childe-Pemberton, who was formerly in our
+regiment, but was then in the “Blues.”</p>
+
+<p>After I had been a short time at St. James’s Palace, my
+battalion was ordered to the Tower. But the Colonel, who
+had a good deal of influence at the War Office, persuaded
+them to countermand this order and send it to Winchester
+instead, where the detachment from St. James’s joined it.</p>
+
+<p>I had very comfortable quarters at Winchester, and life
+there was very pleasant, as the country round was very
+pretty, and we were invited to all the best houses in the
+neighbourhood. One of the most pleasant houses to which
+I went was that of Lady Frederick. It was a charming old
+residence, standing in the midst of beautiful grounds,
+and Lady Frederick and her son were most kind and
+hospitable.</p>
+
+<p>The depôt of the Rifle Brigade was also at Winchester,
+and the officers, some of whom were very nice fellows indeed,
+frequently dined at our mess. Amongst them was a Lieutenant
+F. Howard, whose acquaintance I had made on the
+troopship returning from India, and whom I was very pleased
+to meet again. He told me that he was now married and
+invited me to dine with him and his wife. I did so, and had
+a most pleasant evening, as both the Howards were very
+musical, Mrs. Howard having a very good voice, while her
+husband was quite an accomplished pianist.</p>
+
+<p>Sir George Nares, the Arctic explorer, was living at Winchester
+at the time with his wife and daughters. I made their
+acquaintance at a dance, and was often invited to tea at their
+house, after which I used to play tennis or croquet with the two
+girls, both of whom were very good-looking, or go with them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span>
+for a country-walk. Sometimes when I called Sir George
+Nares would ask me to have a glass of madeira, from one
+of the remaining bottles of a case of that wine which had
+made the voyage with him. He did not show any traces
+of the privations which he had endured in the Arctic; but
+he was a very quiet man, who did not talk much and kept
+a good deal to himself. Not long after I came to Winchester,
+the family removed to a house near Surbiton, where they
+invited me to visit them. While I was there, the elder
+daughter met with a very sad accident. She was running
+downstairs, when the heel of her shoe caught in a stair-rod
+and she fell on her back, injuring her spine so badly that she
+died six months later. She was only eighteen. Her younger
+sister married a missionary some years later, and went out
+to South Africa.</p>
+
+<p>Several officers from the 2nd Battalion, with which I
+had served in India, were at the depôt, including Surgeon-Major
+Macnamara, Beauclerk, Lovett, and a captain named
+Brownrigg. Brownrigg was a fine-looking man, though with
+a tendency to <i>embonpoint</i>, and a very nice fellow as well, but
+he had an unfortunate weakness for liqueurs. He used to
+mix two or three together, and whenever anyone came to
+see him would invite them to have “a two-bottle trick”
+or “a three-bottle trick” with him. Brownrigg married not
+long afterwards and left the Service, but died suddenly,
+six months later. Probably, the two and three bottle
+tricks in which he was so fond of indulging had undermined
+his health.</p>
+
+<p>It was rarely that the officers went up to town from Winchester,
+as the journey was rather too long, and there was
+plenty of amusement to be found in and around Winchester.
+The music at the cathedral had a great attraction for me,
+and I was never tired of listening to the magnificent playing
+of the organist, Dr. Arnold. I took lessons in composition
+from Dr. Arnold, which interested me very much, although
+Howard declared that he could not understand anyone
+wishing to be initiated into the mysteries of harmony and
+counterpoint; which, he said, was a kind of higher mathematics<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span>
+and destroyed the illusion which music produces
+on the senses.</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel was his own absolute master at Winchester,
+as there was no general there to look after him, and gave
+himself and his battalion a rest, the parades being few and
+far between and the guards easy. Except for pottering about
+the mess-room and his work at the orderly-room of a morning
+our chief had little to do, and, from want of some better
+occupation, made himself more than usually objectionable
+to such of the officers as he did not happen to like. Beauclerk,
+who had been at the depôt for some time, was transferred
+to our battalion, at which I was very pleased, as he
+was a very nice fellow and a perfect gentleman, though a
+little inclined to be conceited. Unfortunately, the Colonel
+at once took a dislike to Beauclerk, owing to some jesting
+remark which the latter let fall while playing billiards with
+him, which he considered was wanting in respect, though
+any ordinary person would have seen nothing offensive
+in it. Next day, the chief appointed him to Robinson’s
+company, well knowing that Beauclerk would never tolerate
+the manner in which that eccentric personage was in the habit
+of treating his subalterns, whom he seldom condescended to
+address except to find fault with them, which he did in not
+the politest of language. Sure enough, one fine day, Beauclerk
+complained to the Colonel of the language which “Rabelais”
+had used towards him, and when the Colonel refused
+to listen to him, sent in his papers, which was, of course,
+just what our amiable chief wanted him to do. He was a
+great loss to the regiment, and his retirement was much
+regretted.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI</h2>
+
+<p class="center">Paris Again—Eccentricities of Captain “Rabelais”—A Fire in
+Barracks—A Trying Inspection</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>My next winter leave I spent in Paris with my parents,
+who now occupied an <i>appartement</i> at No. 65, Rue
+de Morny, Champs-Elysées, and, as the winter season in the
+French capital was in full swing, had a very gay time of it.
+Among the balls to which I went was one given by Mrs.
+Hungerford, the mother of the well-known Mrs. Mackay,
+which was a very grand affair indeed, and at which dancing
+was kept up until nearly five in the morning. I met Mrs.
+Mackay shortly afterwards, when calling on Mrs. Hungerford.
+She spoke Spanish quite fluently, and was at this time very
+intimate with Isabella, the ex-Queen of Spain, to whose house
+she was often invited. She was, as usual, beautifully dressed,
+and in the most perfect taste. Another ball I attended was
+given by Mrs. Keogh, an Irish lady, where I danced the
+cotillon with a very lovely young Russian girl, a cousin of
+the Empress of Russia, who, together with her sister, was made
+a great deal of at that time in Paris society. I also went to
+a <i>bal-masqué</i> at the Opéra with an American friend named
+Willing. There was a great crowd there, all the women
+being, of course, masked and in fancy costumes. I went
+into Baron Alphonse de Rothschild’s box to pay my respects
+to Madame Adelsdorfer, a great friend of Lady Holland,
+with whom she stayed when in London, and she invited me
+to accompany her on the following evening to the “Italiens,”
+where we heard Albani sing in <i>La Sonnambula</i>. I was
+delighted with Albani’s voice and also with her acting.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span></p>
+
+<p>Another evening, I went to see Salvini in <i>La Morte civile</i>,
+by Giacometti. Mlle. Masini, a young girl, played the part
+of the daughter, whom Salvini tries to kiss when he dies.
+She offers up a prayer for him on her knees, which so affected
+the audience that nearly the whole house was in tears. I
+saw Salvini on two other occasions: in <i>Il Gladiatore</i>, when
+I sat next to a very pretty girl, who pointed out to me a
+middle-aged man with a grey beard, whom she told me was
+Alphonse Daudet, the celebrated novelist, and again in
+<i>Othello</i>, when Mlle. Checchi Bozzo played Desdemona. She
+and Salvini acted magnificently and delighted everyone.
+Mlle. Checchi Bozzo died suddenly two days after I had seen
+her in <i>Othello</i>; she was only twenty-two, and her death
+caused a great sensation in Paris.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst other plays which I saw were Madame de Girardin’s
+<i>la Joie fait Peur</i>, Alfred de Musset’s <i>Il ne faut jurer
+de rien</i>, and Augier’s <i>Philiberte</i>, at the Théâtre-Français,
+in all of which the acting was admirable, and a very amusing
+piece called <i>la Boule</i>, by Meilhac and Halévy, at the Théâtre-du
+Palais-Royal.</p>
+
+<p>One Sunday afternoon I went to Pasdeloup’s concert,
+where they played the <i>Septuor</i> of Beethoven beautifully.
+The greatest attraction there was Sivori, who performed a
+violin solo in the most wonderful manner. Sivori was
+Paganini’s best pupil, and Lord Berkeley used to say that
+he preferred Sivori to any violinist he had ever heard, as he
+always played with so much feeling, and eschewed those
+complicated pieces which resemble gymnastic exercises
+for the fingers, and serve no better purpose than to enable
+the violinist to display his execution.</p>
+
+<p>At the Grand Opéra I heard <i>l’Africaine</i>, of Meyerbeer,
+which was marvellously well-staged. Madame Krauss sang
+the title-part. She was an Austrian, from Vienna, but sang
+at the Paris Opéra for years, and was quite famous there.
+I also heard <i>Robert le Diable</i>—or rather part of it, for my
+father, who was with me, could not sit it out. So we adjourned
+to Thorpe’s, where we met Tom Hohler, whom I have mentioned
+earlier in this volume, and remained talking to him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span>
+for some time. Tom Hohler was now married to Henrietta,
+Duchess of Newcastle, and they lived in the Avenue d’Antin.</p>
+
+<p>While in Paris, I visited a great many old friends, including
+Eugénie de Lavaile and Gabrielle Tercin, with whom I went
+one evening to the Scala and supped with them afterwards
+at a neighbouring restaurant. Another evening, I went
+with the former to the Folies Dramatiques to see <i>les Cloches
+de Cornéville</i>, in which Juliette Girard acted and sang remarkably
+well and was very graceful. I also renewed my
+acquaintance with Mrs. Michell and her daughter, whom I
+had not seen since I was at Marienbad, and whom I came
+across one day while walking on the Boulevards, and with
+the Vicomte Arthur d’Assailly, whom I had met in India.
+The Vicomte lived in the Rue Las Cases, and was a member
+of the Jockey Club, but he preferred les Mirlitons, he told
+me, as they gave many evening entertainments, and he was
+passionately fond of music.</p>
+
+<p class="tb">When my leave was up, I rejoined my battalion at Aldershot,
+to which it had been transferred from Winchester.
+It had originally been ordered to the Tower of London,
+but the Colonel, as on a previous occasion, had used his influence
+at the War Office to get this order countermanded,
+to the great disgust of most of the officers. However, our
+chief rarely condescended to consult the wishes of anyone
+but himself in such matters.</p>
+
+<p>On my arrival at Aldershot, I was summoned to the
+orderly-room by the Colonel, who told me that I had somewhat
+exceeded my leave, to which I merely replied:—</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed, sir!”</p>
+
+<p>The other officers present, amused at this laconic answer,
+burst out laughing, at which the Colonel looked very black
+indeed. His temper, I soon learned, had not improved
+since the battalion had removed to Aldershot, as he found
+things there very far from what he had expected. He was
+not nearly so much his own master as he had been at Winchester;
+the constant parades irritated him, and he lived
+in perfect dread of the field-days, as he was constantly being<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>[247]</span>
+reprimanded by the Brigadier-General in command, for not
+knowing his work. These reprimands he endeavoured to
+pass off on to the majors and captains, telling them that
+they did not attend sufficiently to their duties; but everyone
+knew with whom the fault lay.</p>
+
+<p>Much to the Colonel’s annoyance, both Allen and Smith
+had now got their companies. Thanks to the former’s
+fidelity to his Folkestone beauty, he succeeded in getting
+rid of him, telling him that it would be simply impossible
+for him to remain in the battalion after making such a
+<i>mésalliance</i>. But he had no excuse for getting rid of Smith,
+and so was obliged to put up with him, though he lost no
+opportunity of showing his dislike; and it was remarked
+that when offenders from Smith’s company were brought
+before him, they were always more severely punished than
+those from other companies. Smith, however, took it all
+very philosophically, observing that, as the Colonel could
+not remain in command for ever, he did not intend to gratify
+him by leaving the battalion.</p>
+
+<p>Neither could our chief succeed in ridding himself of Robinson,
+whose eccentricities caused him great annoyance.
+Since the arrival of the battalion at Aldershot, “Rabelais”
+had taken to sitting out of doors on warm days, arrayed in
+a flaming red dressing-gown, with feet and legs quite bare
+save for a pair of slippers, much to the disgust of some ladies,
+who had frequently to pass by his quarters. The matter
+was reported to the Colonel, who exclaimed angrily:—</p>
+
+<p>“Confound that Robinson! What can I do with such
+a creature? He is a disgrace to my battalion!”</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, he did not dare to interfere with him personally,
+but deputed the adjutant to remonstrate with him.
+“Rabelais,” however, received that officer with such a
+volley of oaths that he beat a precipitate retreat.</p>
+
+<p>Whenever Robinson wrote to me or anyone, he did so on
+note-paper in the corner of which was a picture of the devil
+in bright red, with black wings, seated upon a swing, and the
+same device adorned the envelope. Like Ludwig of Bavaria,
+he would only speak to some people from behind a screen in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>[248]</span>
+his sitting-room. His sergeants, his subalterns and even
+the adjutant, he would receive in this way, unless one of them
+happened to come on some important business, when he
+would occasionally condescend to reveal himself. His unfortunate
+subalterns, if they were not to his liking, positively
+trembled before him, and generally ended, like Beauclerk,
+by sending in their papers.</p>
+
+<p>One of his subalterns, whom I recollect “Rabelais” treated
+particularly badly, was a very nice fellow named Crawley,
+who had lately joined. Crawley, however, put up with it,
+though when the battalion was ordered to South Africa
+on active service, he exchanged into the Coldstream Guards
+with an officer who was killed in the first engagement. In
+after years, Crawley commanded a battalion of the Coldstreams,
+and died of wounds received in the Boer
+War.</p>
+
+<p>There was a good deal of society in and around Aldershot,
+and the officers of my battalion were invited out a great
+deal, but our duties soon grew so heavy that we were obliged
+to decline nearly all the invitations we received. Colonel
+Wellesley, the governor of the military prison, and his wife
+used to give very pleasant garden-parties, at which, as we
+had not far to go, we were generally able to be present.
+The Colonel, who was then an old man, was an uncle of the
+Duke of Wellington, and Mrs. Wellesley was a most charming
+woman. They had several daughters, who were very good-looking
+girls, and an only son, Cecil Wellesley, a little boy
+about eleven years old.</p>
+
+<p>A General Smythe, a retired officer of the Artillery, who
+lived with his wife and daughter in a large house at Aldershot,
+with extensive grounds attached to it, also used to give
+garden-parties, which were always well attended. The
+Smythes were very hospitable people, and everything was
+admirably arranged, including the refreshment department,
+of which the champagne-cup was a feature. Their daughter
+was a remarkably fine tennis-player, and could, as a rule,
+beat any officer who opposed her. She played in a short
+skirt reaching just below the knee, and wore a collar and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>[249]</span>
+tie and a man’s cap—a costume which suited her very well,
+as she had a good figure and beautifully-shaped legs, but
+was, in those days, considered a rather bold one for a woman
+to adopt. Miss Smythe was not only a fine tennis-player,
+but a most accomplished musician. When quite a young
+girl, she had studied singing and composition at Dresden,
+under the direction of Madame Schumann, who declared
+that she had never had a pupil with so wonderful an ear
+for music, as she could sing the scales without a piano in every
+possible key, without the slightest fault. She was also an
+excellent horsewoman and a very bold one, and Holled-Smith,
+who used often to go for rides with her, told me that
+she would put her horse at jumps that made him even think
+twice before he ventured upon them, although he followed
+the hounds regularly when his duties permitted. Some
+people thought that he and Miss Smythe would make a match
+of it, as they were so much together, but they remained merely
+friends, and Holled-Smith eventually married another lady.</p>
+
+<p class="tb">One night, I was awakened by Cotton, who told me that
+the fire-bugle had sounded. Pulling our great-coats over
+our night-shirts, we ran towards the place where the fire had
+broken out, and found that it was in the stables, which were
+soon almost gutted. Two of Allfrey’s hunters were burned
+to death, for though we endeavoured to save the unfortunate
+animals, it was quite impossible. Indeed, we had all our
+work cut out to prevent the fire from spreading to the
+adjacent buildings, but, with the aid of some men with the
+fire-hose, we succeeded in doing this.</p>
+
+<p>During Ascot week Bagot drove our coach from Aldershot
+to Ascot and back, while I sat on the box-seat and occasionally
+took a turn with the ribbons. Bagot was a first-rate
+whip and the best in the battalion, though Allfrey and Cotton
+were by no means to be despised. We lunched at the Greenjackets’
+tent, which was for the members of both Rifle
+regiments, where I entertained my father and Sir George
+Wombwell and his party. Among the party was the Hon.
+Mrs. Crichton, whom I had met at Dover, and I was pleased<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>[250]</span>
+at seeing again Savile Lumley, afterwards Lord Savile, who
+had been at Eton with me.</p>
+
+<p>Among the Line regiments stationed at Aldershot was one
+commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Deane, brother-in-law of Lord
+Falmouth, who frequently used to dine at our mess, as a
+guest of our chief. Lord Falmouth owned some of the best
+racehorses in England, and had won both the Derby and
+St. Leger. But he disliked betting, and Colonel Deane told
+us that the only bet he had ever had in his life was one of
+sixpence with his housekeeper. He lost, and, in payment
+of the bet, gave her the sixpence set in brilliants for a brooch.</p>
+
+<p>There were several cavalry regiments at Aldershot, including
+the 8th Hussars and the 16th and 17th Lancers.
+The 16th Lancers had a circus, composed of officers and men,
+which used to give performances which were highly successful;
+in fact, it was almost as good as a professional circus.
+Taaffe, whom I had met on my way out to India, was with
+the 16th at Aldershot, and we used frequently to dine at one
+another’s messes.</p>
+
+<p>When in town, I constantly met old Eton friends and
+acquaintances, chiefly officers in the Guards. The Hon.
+Alfred Egerton, who was at that time a lieutenant in the
+Grenadier Guards, was a particular friend of mine and I saw
+a good deal of him. Egerton told me that his colonel, Prince
+Edward of Saxe-Weimar, had refused to allow his battalion
+to comply with a senseless order during the manœuvres at
+Aldershot on a day of almost tropical heat. Other commanding
+officers, however, had not the courage to follow
+his example, with the result that a great number of men
+got sunstroke. In those days, the Aldershot manœuvres
+took place in the height of summer, instead of, as now, in
+the autumn. Several battalions of the Guards and the
+“Blues” were sent to Aldershot for the manœuvres, and
+amongst the Eton friends whom I met was Lord Edward
+Somerset, who had exchanged from the 23rd Royal Welsh
+Fusiliers into the “Blues,” where he was very popular.</p>
+
+<p>The day the troops were inspected by the Duke of Cambridge
+rain fell in torrents. The troops had to assemble<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>[251]</span>
+on parade in the early morning in full uniform without overcoats,
+and to wait, standing at ease, for fully two hours in
+the midst of the most drenching rain until the Duke arrived.
+Many men suffered afterwards from the effects of that deluge.
+I was one of them, as shortly afterwards, I was laid up with
+a severe attack of rheumatic fever, which has affected my
+heart ever since.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>[252]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">Madrid and Cordova—Seville—General von Goeben and the Bull-fight—A
+View from the Alhambra—I rejoin my Regiment</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>I spent my winter leave in Paris, where I suffered
+more or less all the time from rheumatism of the heart,
+for which I took a good many Turkish baths, without, however,
+obtaining much relief. My doctor told me that it
+would be unwise to return to Aldershot when my leave
+was up, and advised me to spend the rest of the winter in
+Spain. Accordingly, I went before a medical board in
+London, one of the members of which was Surgeon-Major
+Clarke, of the Royal Horse Artillery, whom I had known
+in India, and was granted three months’ sick leave. I returned
+to Paris with my father, who had accompanied me
+to London, and Lord Henry Paget (afterwards Marquis of
+Anglesey), and on the following evening left the Gare
+d’Orléans for Madrid.</p>
+
+<p>After two nights and a day in the train, I reached Madrid,
+which, as it was carnival time, was very gay. I took a room
+at the Hôtel de Paris, and after breakfast called on Doña
+Queñones de Léon, who lived in a huge house like a palace,
+and who received me in a drawing-room, in the centre of
+which a small fountain was playing. In the evening, I
+visited the Opera, but was not very favourably impressed
+by, the performance. The following day, through the good
+offices of the Marquis de San Carlos, I was able to visit the
+Royal Stables and the Armeria, with which I was quite
+delighted. Afterwards I walked in the Prado, which was
+crowded with carriages, all the occupants of which were
+masked. Some of the carriages were drawn by mules, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253"></a>[253]</span>
+a few by donkeys. In the evening, I dined with the Marquis
+de San Carlos, when I met Doña Queñones de Léon and two
+daughters of Queen Christina and a daughter of the Marquis.
+The next day I visited the Museum, and then went again
+to the Prado, where I saw the King and princesses in an open
+carriage. The crush was so great that one could hardly
+move. After dinner, I visited Señora Queñones de Léon,
+with whom I found the Marquis de San Carlos and his sons,
+and, at their request, played some airs on the zither.</p>
+
+<p>From Madrid I went to Cordova, where I stayed at the
+Hôtel Suiza. Cordova is an interesting town, containing,
+as it does, so much Moorish architecture. Some of the streets
+are so narrow that there is barely room for two people to
+walk abreast, and it is infested by hordes of beggars, mostly
+children in an almost nude condition. The smallness of
+their hands and feet betray their Moorish origin.</p>
+
+<p>After spending a couple of days at Cordova and visiting the
+Cathedral, with its pillars of porphyry, I took the train for
+Seville, where I put up at the Hôtel des Quatre Nations. At
+dinner that evening I sat next to a young man who, I afterwards
+learned, was a son of the President of Brazil. As I
+intended to remain for some time at Seville, I looked out
+for a <i>casa de huespedes</i> (boarding-house), which I found in the
+Plaza Nueva. The Plaza Nueva is the finest square in
+Seville, and contains a great number of orange-trees, which
+at night and early morning throw out the most delicious
+fragrance imaginable. My rooms overlooked the Plaza, and
+at times the perfume of the orange-blossoms, which the
+Spaniards call “<i>azahár</i>,” was so overpowering that one felt
+almost intoxicated.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>casa de huespedes</i> was kept by three young girls—sisters—of
+the name of De Larriva, who told me that they
+would teach me Spanish. The youngest, who was called
+Manuela, was a very pretty brunette of seventeen, with
+jet-black hair, beautiful white teeth, and those peculiar black
+eyes which are rarely seen except in the South. She it was
+who gave me the most instruction, for, though her two
+sisters spoke French fairly well, while Manuela spoke no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>[254]</span>
+language but her own, she was by far the prettiest of the
+trio, and I not unnaturally preferred being taught by her.
+She began by telling me the names of the parts of the face,
+and gradually taught me to pay all kinds of compliments.
+By her advice, I took some lessons, besides, from a professional
+teacher of the language.</p>
+
+<p>Life at this <i>casa de huespedes</i> was very pleasant, apart
+from the food, which, to an English palate, was detestable,
+for every dish was prepared with olive-oil, and even the
+poached eggs tasted of it. The butter was imported from
+Holland and the milk condensed. I lived chiefly on oranges,
+for I found nearly everything else unpleasant to the taste.
+We used to sit down twenty-five to dinner, as a number
+of Artillery officers from the garrison were in the habit
+of dining there.</p>
+
+<p>Among my fellow-guests was an Englishman of seventy,
+a Mr. Heaviside, who had come to Seville on purpose to
+learn to read “Don Quixote” in the original old Spanish.
+Manuela used to tease him, by encouraging him to speak
+Spanish, of which he knew very little. I often went with
+him to a café of an evening to hear the <i>bandhurria</i> played
+with the piano, and occasionally I went for a walk with the
+sisters De Larriva in the fine gardens of the Paseo, where
+there were many tropical plants growing out in the open
+air, and lemon and orange trees perfumed the atmosphere
+deliciously.</p>
+
+<p>An officer whom I knew, Surgeon-Major Orton, happened
+to be spending his leave at Seville, and with him I went to
+visit the Museum, with its lovely pictures by Murillo, and the
+Alcazar, with which we were delighted, the walls being
+covered with beautiful designs in the style of the Alhambra.
+I also visited the Giralda, the view from which is very fine,
+the Carridad, where there were many pictures by Murillo
+and exquisite wood-carvings by Rollas, and the cathedral,
+which is one of the largest in the world.</p>
+
+<p>During the winter the <i>patio</i>, or courtyard, of the houses
+in Seville is but little used, but when spring comes, people
+spend a great part of their time there. When Spaniards<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>[255]</span>
+get together they invariably dance with castanet accompaniments.
+Sometimes they dance the Seguidillas, the
+Sevillana, or the Fandango, which is very pretty to watch,
+as both men and women dance with so much <i>élan</i>. This
+is very much the custom, even in aristocratic houses, the
+looker-on applauding and exclaiming: “<i>Ollé, graziosa, muy
+bien, ollé, ollé!</i>” when one of the girls attempts some
+unusual feat.</p>
+
+<p>One evening I went with some of the people at the boarding-house
+to the Calle Trajano to see the dancing there. An
+exceedingly pretty little girl, of ten or eleven, though she
+appeared much older, with black hair, dressed like a Spanish
+woman, with a number of curls round the face, danced with
+a man dancer the “<i>torrero y la Malagueña</i>.” In which dance
+she displayed all the marvellous art of a <i>première danseuse</i>,
+dancing on her points and executing the most difficult <i>entrechats</i>,
+<i>battements</i> and <i>pas de chat</i>, which would have done
+credit to a dancer double her age. Then, suddenly, she
+darted across the room, with her handkerchief in her hand,
+and before I had time to realize what had happened she had
+thrown the handkerchief into my lap and rushed away
+again. Somewhat embarrassed, I inquired of those sitting
+near me what I was supposed to do, and was told that I was
+expected to put some money into it, and that the little <i>danseuse</i>
+would come and fetch it. After the performance, I spoke
+to the little girl, who told me that her name was Salud, and
+asked me to come and see her. I went the following day,
+when she danced for me and gave me her photograph. Afterwards,
+I often went to the Calle Trajano of an evening, where
+I sometimes danced with the Spanish girls, and on one occasion
+danced a polka-mazurka with Salud.</p>
+
+<p>During Holy Week and the “Feria,” which followed
+it, Seville was crowded with visitors, and the prices at
+the hôtels and <i>casas de huespedes</i> were all increased.
+Among the visitors who came to my boarding-house was
+General von Goeben, who commanded a division of the
+German Army in the Franco-German War of 1870, and
+after whom the notorious battleship of Dardanelles fame<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>[256]</span>
+was named, and the Marquis de Rampa, an immensely wealthy
+Spanish nobleman, and his daughter. I sat next to the
+daughter, who was quite a young girl, at table, and was
+obliged to make what play I could with my Spanish, as she
+spoke no other language.</p>
+
+<p>The processions which took place day and night during
+Holy Week were very imposing. Images of the Virgin Mary
+figured in all of them. The trains of the dresses, which
+were of immense length and generally of blue or violet velvet,
+must have cost thousands of pounds, as they were most
+exquisitely embroidered with gold and silver lace, diamonds,
+rubies, emeralds and pearls. They were carried by young
+girls. On Palm Sunday, the people who took part in the
+procession were dressed in black, with their faces covered, and
+palm-branches in their hands. On Holy Thursday, I went
+to the Cathedral to see the Archbishop of Seville wash the
+feet of the poor. There was a tremendous crush, and Baron
+von Münchhausen, a Bavarian nobleman, who was with me,
+had his gold watch stolen.</p>
+
+<p>The “Feria” was a very pretty sight. All the principal
+families in Seville took part in it, each having a separate
+tent, in which they entertained their friends and sold various
+objects, somewhat after the fashion of our charity bazaars.
+In some of these tents the saleswomen were young girls, gorgeously
+dressed in red and yellow satin embroidered with
+white lace and wearing white lace mantillas. To most
+of the tents you had to receive an invitation before you were
+allowed to enter, when you were offered chocolate or coffee,
+and, in those belonging to rich families, champagne and other
+wines, the buffets being laid out with a great display of
+silver plate and flowers. In the evening, the different families
+visited each other’s tents, and the dancing of Fandangos,
+Boleros and Seguidillas was kept up until past midnight.</p>
+
+<p>The Carrerras de Caballos (Horse Show) was held in
+another part of the grounds. Here I met Lord Torphichen,
+of the Rifle Brigade, who had come from Gibraltar, where
+his battalion was stationed. He was very surprised to
+see me, as few British officers ever visited Seville.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>[257]</span></p>
+
+<p>One of the chief attractions of the “Feria” was the bull-fight,
+to which all the ladies of Seville went, wearing white
+mantillas and their choicest jewels. I went with Baron
+von Münchhausen and General von Goeben. But the latter
+took his departure very early, observing that, though he had
+seen a great deal of bloodshed during the Franco-German War,
+he felt quite faint and could not possibly stand any more
+of such a disgusting spectacle. On my return to the boarding-house,
+Manuela inquired if I had not been delighted with
+the bull-fight, saying that it was the grandest sight in Spain
+and that nothing gave her so much pleasure. I told her
+that I thought it very cruel to the unfortunate horses, when
+she rejoined that, “they were old screws and no longer of
+any use.” I remarked that that did not prevent them
+suffering, upon which she said that hunting was equally
+cruel, and that it was a matter of prejudice and nothing
+else.</p>
+
+<p>“Besides,” added she, “racing is cruel on the horses,
+some people say.”</p>
+
+<p>After that I saw that it was useless to pursue the argument
+further.</p>
+
+<p>During the “Feria,” the ladies of Seville dressed in colours,
+but at other times most women and girls wore black. There
+were some very pretty women in Seville, but the beauties
+were generally to be found among the lower classes, most of
+whom have Moorish blood in their veins, which gives them
+a darker complexion, but also smaller features and very
+tiny hands and feet. Théophile Gautier observes that there
+is nothing more charming than the foot of an Andalusian
+woman, which makes even that of a Frenchwoman appear
+large.</p>
+
+<p>During my stay at Seville, I paid a visit to Cadiz. The
+approach to Cadiz is perfectly lovely and has often been
+compared to the approach to Constantinople. Seen from a
+distance, the town appears to be built of the most exquisitely
+white marble; while the sea, which seems to surround it, is
+of a beautiful sapphire, which rivals in loveliness the heavens
+above, though, as it was early morning, the colour of the sky<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>[258]</span>
+was more like that of the turquoise. This illusion is destroyed,
+however, when one enters Cadiz, as many of the houses are
+very far from being of the snowy whiteness which distance
+had lent to them.</p>
+
+<p>At Cadiz, where I put up at the Hôtel des Quatre Nations,
+I came across a Mr. Rueff, whom I had met at Cordova,
+and in his company explored the town and visited several
+of the churches, where Mr. Rueff was much interested in the
+wood-carving, some of which was of exquisite workmanship.
+The day before returning to Seville, I went with Mr. Rueff
+by rail to Jerez, where we visited the wine cellars of Señor
+Misa, who supplied my own and most of the best regiments
+in England with wine. Señor Misa invited us to taste some
+of his best wines, including one which was bottled in the
+year of the Battle of Waterloo. He told us that it was
+sold at £3 the bottle, but it never left the country.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rueff accompanied me back to Seville, and together
+we visited the Fondacion, where the cannons are made,
+and the Casa de Pilatus, the supposed house of Pontius Pilate.
+A few days later, I paid a visit to Granada, where the red
+hills and grey rocks and the elm trees with their massive
+foliage formed an agreeable contrast to the flat and barren
+country around Seville. On entering the Alhambra, I was
+fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of two English
+ladies, one of whom was married to a Portuguese nobleman
+and lived in the Alhambra. These ladies very kindly
+volunteered to show me all over the Alhambra and explain
+everything to me, an offer which I gladly accepted. The
+Alhambra reminded me to some extent of the Alcazar at
+Seville, as it is built in the same style of Moorish architecture,
+though on a much larger and grander scale. The Court of
+Lions and the adjacent rooms are exquisitely constructed, and
+the marvellous decoration of the walls, with their blending
+of colours and intricate designs, impart a magnificence to
+the “<i>tout ensemble</i>” almost impossible to describe.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most exquisite views I can remember, I had
+when the sun was setting from one of the windows of the
+Alhambra, from which I could see the mountains of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>[259]</span>
+Sierra Nevada, with their summits covered in snow. The
+colours which the sun’s declining rays imparted to the clouds
+were of all the various shades of the opal, making some
+of the tiny clouds appear like roses in the heavens, and the
+heavens themselves as though on fire. Then gradually the
+colours became more subdued, and every shade melted away,
+from the deepest red to the most delicate violet, leaving here
+and there a bunch of roses, which resembled in their pale
+<i>nuance</i> the Souvenir à la Malmaison or Blanche Laffitte.
+This was the effect of the after-glow.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, the two ladies took me to see the Cartuja
+and the Cathedral, and on the following afternoon I went
+with them for a drive into the country, during which I had
+a splendid view of the Sierra Nevada. After dinner, I went
+again to the Alhambra to take leave of my kind friends, and
+heard the nightingales sing as I had never heard before or
+since in my life.</p>
+
+<p>Early next morning I left Granada for Seville. At a
+lonely spot beyond Antequeria the train came to a stop, owing
+to the line being blocked by a broken-down engine, and we
+were told that it might be some time before we should be
+able to proceed. Many of the passengers appeared greatly
+alarmed, and, on inquiring the reason, I was informed that
+this part of the country was infested by brigands, who might
+at any moment come down upon us. However, we saw nothing
+of these gentry, and at the end of a couple of hours the
+engine which barred our way was got off the rails, and we
+continued our journey.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the end of April, the weather became intolerably
+hot at Seville, and I reluctantly decided to bring my stay
+there to a close. I accordingly bade farewell to Manuela
+and my other friends at the <i>casa de huespedes</i> and took the
+train for Madrid, where I again put up at the Hôtel de Paris.
+I stayed for some days at Madrid, visited two or three of the
+principal theatres and dined with Doña Queñones de Léon,
+the Marquis de San Carlos, and other people whom I knew.
+I also went several times to the Museum, where I made the
+acquaintance of a Señorita Hélène de España, a wonderfully<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>[260]</span>
+pretty girl of seventeen, who was engaged in copying a
+painting by Van Dyck. This Señorita Hélène de España
+was a blonde with blue eyes and fair hair, a type of beauty
+not often met with in Spain, but it appeared that she was of
+English descent on her mother’s side, though she could not
+speak English. She seemed to be a young lady of a rather
+romantic temperament, for, after a very short acquaintance,
+she told me that I might serenade her by night beneath her
+window. But I did not avail myself of this permission,
+which I often regretted since not having done.</p>
+
+<p>Before leaving Madrid, I spent a day at Toledo, where,
+under the wing of a guide, I visited the Cathedral of San Juan
+de los Reyes, the Jewish synagogue, and the royal manufactory
+of steel weapons. This manufactory is one of the
+best in Europe, and the way in which the upper part of the
+blades of the swords and daggers made here is inlaid in gold
+and silver gives them a very costly as well as a very charming
+appearance. Some of the weapons were for sale, and I
+purchased a very fine dagger, beautifully inlaid with gold
+arabesque designs. These daggers are of so fine a steel
+that they will easily pierce a silver coin without breaking.
+Toledo is one of the oldest towns in Spain, and the last place
+in which the Jews were allowed to reside before they were
+banished from Spain. This accounts for its inhabitants
+having a Jewish cast of countenance.</p>
+
+<p>I arrived in Paris on my birthday, May 5th. The Exhibition
+had now begun, and I visited it on several occasions with
+my father and other friends. I was much interested in the
+prize zithers sent by Anton Kiendl of Vienna, which were
+truly beautiful instruments, and very delighted with the
+playing of a Hungarian gipsy band in the Austro-Hungarian
+section of the Exhibition. At the Grand Opéra I heard
+<i>l’Africaine</i> for the second time, and also went to the Théâtre
+de la Renaissance to see <i>le Petit Duc</i>, in which Mlle. Granier
+and Emil Meyer sang, and to the “Français,” where I saw
+Got, Coquelin and Mlles. Reichemberg, Agar and Croizette
+in <i>les Fourchambault</i>. I attended a race-meeting at Longchamps
+with my father, where we met the Hon. Albert Bingham<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>[261]</span>
+and Howard Vyse, who returned with us to Paris, and in
+the evening we went to Musard’s Concert, at which the Prince
+of Wales was present. Altogether, I had a very pleasant
+time, but my three months’ sick leave was now on the point
+of expiring, and I was obliged to return to England to rejoin
+my regiment.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>[262]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII</h2>
+
+<p class="hanging">I meet Byron Again—I endeavour to Exchange—Basil Montgomery—My
+Illness—Why I was not Placed on Half-pay</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>My Colonel appeared anything but pleased at my return.
+He had, it seems, been hopeful that my application
+for sick leave was but a preliminary step to my resigning my
+commission, when he had intended to replace me by a friend
+of his from the 4th Battalion; and was, therefore, naturally
+disappointed at my reappearance upon the scene.</p>
+
+<p><i>À propos</i> of colonels and the way in which they treated
+officers to whom they happened to have taken a dislike,
+there was, just about this time, a great scandal in another
+battalion of my regiment.</p>
+
+<p>Among the subalterns of this battalion was a certain
+Lieutenant Gilbert, who was very popular with his brother-officers;
+but his Colonel, who was a terrible martinet,
+persecuted him to a shameful degree and lost no opportunity
+of making his life a burden to him. One day, during a parade
+in which this officer was right guide of his company, the
+Colonel bullied him in a way which disgusted everyone.
+Suddenly, after being sworn at in the most disgraceful manner,
+the poor young fellow, his powers of self-control exhausted,
+threw down his sword. The Colonel at once ordered the
+Adjutant to place him under arrest, and he was subsequently
+tried by court-martial, found guilty of insubordination on
+parade and cashiered. At the same time, the Colonel was
+told that he must retire from the Service at once. It was
+said that, had Gilbert not thrown down his sword, matters
+would have turned out very differently, for the Colonel
+had behaved so outrageously that he would have been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>[263]</span>
+cashiered himself, that is to say, if anyone had had the courage
+to bring his conduct to the notice of his superiors; and, as
+the battalion was on the point of mutiny, this would probably
+have been done.</p>
+
+<p>The 2nd Battalion, 10th Regiment, to the command of
+which my friend Byron had recently succeeded, had just
+arrived at Aldershot, and I was naturally delighted to see
+him again. He invited me to dine at the 10th’s mess, where
+I spent a most pleasant evening. During dinner, Byron
+said:—</p>
+
+<p>“You were very foolish to leave us. If you had stayed,
+as you may remember I advised you to do, you would have
+had me for your C.O., and would have had a very easy time of
+it, and have been able to do as you pleased.”</p>
+
+<p>He added that, in his opinion, there was no comparison
+between the two Rifle regiments, so far as the social position
+of officers serving in them was concerned, and that, from
+what he had heard, as his brother was a major in my regiment,
+but in a different battalion (He later commanded the
+2nd Battalion), I was not only in the inferior regiment, but in
+its worst battalion, commanded by a chief about whom
+few people seemed to have a good word to say.</p>
+
+<p>All this was only too true, and I could only reply that,
+had I been able to see a little into the future, I would certainly
+have remained with the 10th Regiment. It was unfortunate,
+too, my not being able to remain with the 2nd Battalion of
+the Rifles in India, as I liked them all very much.</p>
+
+<p>In May, the German Crown Prince, who was on a visit
+to England, came down to Aldershot to inspect the troops.
+We could well have dispensed with the honour he did us,
+as it was a pouring wet day and bitterly cold, and by the
+time we got back to camp we were drenched to the skin.
+This experience, as may be supposed, did not do me any good,
+although I felt no ill effects at the time.</p>
+
+<p>I was in town a good deal during the season, and went
+several times to the Opera, where I heard Patti in <i>Il Barbiere
+de Seviglia</i>, <i>Don Giovanni</i>, <i>Aïda</i> and <i>Semiramide</i>, Albani
+in <i>Atala</i>, the Spanish tenor Gayarré in <i>Lucrezia Borgia</i> and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>[264]</span>
+Jean de Reszke in <i>les Huguenots</i>. Early in July, my father
+came over to England, and I went with him to the Eton
+and Harrow match at Lord’s, where we lunched on Tom
+Hohler’s drag. Jim Doyne was in town, and I saw a good
+deal of him, and we often lunched and dined together. In
+fact, on my visits to London I generally contrived to have a
+very good time; but at Aldershot things were not so pleasant,
+and matters came to a head on the day my battalion was
+inspected by Brigadier-General Anderson.</p>
+
+<p>The inspection passed off pretty satisfactorily. Each
+officer in succession was called up by the Brigadier and told
+to put his men through certain movements. The Brigadier
+found fault with two of the officers, and complained about
+them to the Colonel, who, however, assured him that on
+ordinary occasions their work was quite satisfactory. I
+was now in command of Allen’s company, and when my
+turn came, I had no difficulty in performing all the requisite
+movements, and was complimented by the Brigadier, who
+then turned to the Colonel and remarked:—</p>
+
+<p>“I can find no fault with this officer; he knows his work
+better than some of the others.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know how it is, Sir,” replied the Chief, with
+difficulty concealing his annoyance, “but to-day he seems
+smarter than usual.”</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel, it appeared, had made a very bad report on
+me to the General, which would have been sent to the War
+Office if the latter had confirmed it; but this the Brigadier
+told him he was quite unable to do. The Colonel then said
+that it was in looking after my company that I was deficient,
+to which his superior replied that he would see into the matter
+and send for us both in a day or two.</p>
+
+<p>I had written to General Sir John Douglas, K.C.B., who
+commanded the Forces in Scotland, and had married a
+daughter of Earl Cathcart, complaining of my Chief’s treatment
+of me; and Sir John had written to Brigadier-General
+Anderson about me. It was owing to this that the latter
+watched me so carefully, in order to see if I were really so
+ignorant of my work as my Chief had represented, and,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>[265]</span>
+having satisfied himself to the contrary, he had decided to
+investigate my case further.</p>
+
+<p>However, the Colonel, having got rid of Beauclerk and
+Allen, had now made up his mind to get rid of me also.
+Accordingly, he sent Major Northey to advise me to exchange
+into another battalion, as he was determined that I should
+not remain in his. The Major said that it was no good my
+trying to resist so obstinate a man as the Chief, and named
+an officer whom the Colonel was anxious to have in his
+battalion, who would probably be willing to exchange with
+me.</p>
+
+<p>“You know what he is when he has once taken a dislike
+to anyone,” he added. “Remember Beauclerk’s case.
+If you will take my advice, you will communicate with the
+officer I have mentioned at once.”</p>
+
+<p>I said that I would do as Major Northey advised, and
+wrote to the officer in question, who replied that, as he was
+short of money, he would only exchange in consideration of
+my paying him the sum of £300. He pointed out that his
+battalion was remaining in England, while mine would
+shortly be going on foreign service, and perhaps even on
+active service.</p>
+
+<p>I may mention that some time before this I had been told
+by my cousin, Emily Cathcart, that I had a very good chance
+of being chosen as private secretary to the Duke of Argyll,
+who was then Governor of Canada; but eventually a relative
+of his was offered the post.</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel, in the belief that I was about to exchange,
+now became quite amiable towards me. At times he would
+send Wilkinson, the Adjutant, to ascertain how matters were
+progressing, and I was not a little amused by the way in
+which Wilkinson, who did not wish me to suspect the object
+of his visit, would lead up to the subject.</p>
+
+<p>The eccentricities of our Chief at this time caused the whole
+battalion great annoyance. It was an unusually hot summer,
+and he used to inspect us of a morning wearing mufti and
+holding a huge white umbrella over his head, a precaution
+which he explained by saying that he had had a touch of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>[266]</span>
+sun whilst serving in India. If this were really the case, it
+probably accounted for his constant outbursts of temper.
+At these inspections, he was accustomed to display the most
+exasperating solicitude about the men’s uniform, inspecting
+each man separately, and fingering every button to ascertain
+whether it were loose or not. This sort of thing, which
+could, of course, have been very well undertaken by the
+company commanders in barracks, instead of by the C.O.
+on parade, under a broiling sun, used sometimes to occupy
+hours, and was naturally very trying indeed to everyone.</p>
+
+<p>One morning, towards the end of July, I was playing at
+single-stick with Holled-Smith, when I received rather a
+severe hit on the side, which made me feel so ill that I went
+to bed and sent for our surgeon, who told me that my liver,
+from which I had suffered so much in India, was affected. He
+made me remain in bed for several days, at the end of which I
+was well enough to return to duty.</p>
+
+<p>A day or two later, I was told by the Adjutant that I had
+to go with him to Brigadier-General Anderson, and that the
+Colonel would be there. The General asked me several
+questions on military matters, all of which I answered
+correctly, and then requested the Colonel to tell him in what
+he found fault with me.</p>
+
+<p>“I find that he does not pay sufficient attention to his
+duty,” answered my Chief.</p>
+
+<p>“But,” observed the General, “you said first of all that he
+does not know his work, which I find not to be the case. Now
+you say that he does not pay sufficient attention to his duty;
+but I have inspected his company, and I do not find it in
+any way less well looked after than the other companies
+in your battalion. I really cannot agree with you in your
+opinion, and must make notes upon the report you have
+forwarded to me.”</p>
+
+<p>The General then dismissed us, and I returned to my
+quarters, very relieved at the result of the interview.</p>
+
+<p>The other officers were naturally very anxious to know
+what had happened, and, when I told them, all advised
+me to remain in the battalion, and not to exchange,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>[267]</span>
+saying that the Chief had shown himself to be in the wrong,
+and that the General, who was a first-rate officer, must have
+seen at once that it was nothing but spite on his part, for
+which he would no doubt severely reprimand him. Captain
+de Robeck, whose advice was nearly always worth following,
+said to me:—</p>
+
+<p>“If you exchange, it will cost you £300, and I don’t
+think it is worth it. I should brave it out, were I in your
+place.”</p>
+
+<p>The other officers told me the same, and declared that it
+would show great weakness on my part if I left the battalion.</p>
+
+<p>As events turned out, I had no option in the matter, since
+my father, to whom I had written asking for the £300 I
+required to purchase my exchange, could not see his way
+just then to let me have the money, as he had been so robbed
+by a lawyer, a trustee. And so I had to “brave it out,”
+<i>bon gré, mal gré</i>, and to derive what consolation I might from
+the reflection that, after what had happened, I should probably
+have an easier time of it, and should no longer have to endure
+all the extra parades which the Chief had been in the habit
+of inflicting upon me.</p>
+
+<p>Vain illusion! So far from being allowed a rest, I found
+that I had, if possible, more to do than ever, the Adjutant
+having apparently received orders from the Chief to give me
+all the extra work he could possibly find for me to do. And,
+even without these extra parades, the work in the hottest
+weeks of an exceptionally hot summer would have been quite
+heavy enough. Thorne, an old Etonian, an excellent young
+man, one of the nicest lieutenants in the regiment, advised
+me to ask for a Court of Inquiry, which he felt sure the
+General would approve of, and would very likely ask for
+himself, without my applying for one.</p>
+
+<p>One night, Basil Montgomery, who had been in the 2nd
+Battalion with me in India, dined at our mess. He told me
+that he was on the point of going out to India again, as private
+secretary to his brother-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham,
+who was Governor of Madras. He added that he disliked
+India, and would prefer to be a crossing-sweeper in England<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>[268]</span>
+than a prince out there, but that he was obliged to accept the
+post that had been offered him. However, he only remained
+about six months in India, as he did not hit it off with the
+Duke, who was a very difficult person indeed to get on with.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the end of the season (through my cousin, Miss
+Anne Cathcart), I was asked by Herr Schultz, from whom the
+Princess of Wales was then taking lessons on the zither, to
+play at a concert which was to be given shortly at Marlborough
+House. I willingly consented and went up to
+town several times to practise for the concert, which, unhappily,
+I was to be prevented from taking part in.</p>
+
+<p>For some time I had again been suffering from rheumatism,
+which affected my heart. I consulted Sir William Jenner,
+who warned me not to exert myself too much. But this
+advice I was unable to follow, as though the regimental
+surgeon made an application to the Chief for me to be excused
+some of the parades, it was at once refused.</p>
+
+<p>One intensely hot day, we were kept on parade for a long
+while with nothing but our forage-caps to protect us from the
+scorching sun. Suddenly, I experienced the most excruciating
+pains in the head, and felt as if everything about me was turning
+round. This giddiness soon passed, but on coming off
+parade I felt very unwell. However, as I was orderly officer
+of the day, I performed everything that was required of me.</p>
+
+<p>That evening at mess, where I was acting as vice-president,
+I suddenly turned to the officer on my left, one of the senior
+lieutenants, Thorne, and said:—</p>
+
+<p>“I have lost the use of my right hand and foot!”</p>
+
+<p>Thorne poured me out some brandy and told me to drink
+it off, but on trying afterwards to rise from my seat, I fell
+down. Thorne and another officer assisted me to my quarters,
+where, remembering that I had to turn out the guard, I
+tried to buckle on my sword, only to fall again. They then
+put me to bed, and sent for Surgeon Comerford, who at once
+declared that I was suffering from sunstroke. My father was
+telegraphed for, and, on his arrival, asked Surgeon-Major
+McCormack to visit me. The latter took so serious a view of
+the case, saying that I had but a few hours to live, that my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>[269]</span>
+father lost no time in calling in a London specialist, who said
+that my heart was in a bad way and that I must have had a
+sunstroke on parade. When I grew a little better, my father
+wished to take me to Paris, but the London doctor advised
+my not being moved for several weeks.</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel, who was perhaps experiencing some twinges
+of remorse for the manner in which he had treated me, came
+to visit me and was very kind, sending me fruit and game.
+He had, however, previously dispatched Gunning to ascertain
+if I intended to resign my commission, as, in the event of my
+being placed on half-pay, the Colonel said the battalion might
+have a year or two to wait for my place to be filled up, and
+we were very short of officers. Besides this, Gunning was
+anxious himself to obtain my step in promotion, though he
+did not say so on this occasion.</p>
+
+<p>I had several visitors while I was confined to my quarters,
+apart from my brother-officers. One day, Mrs. William Adair
+and her daughter came to see me, and were very surprised
+at finding me so ill, as only a few days before I had walked
+over from Aldershot to spend the day at their house at Whiteways
+End, a distance of six miles. Mrs. Adair, who was a
+grand-daughter of the Duke of Roxburghe, was considered
+one of the most beautiful women in England. Her daughter,
+who was then sixteen, was also extremely pretty, though of
+a very different type of beauty from her mother, being very
+fair. Mrs. Wellesley sent her little son “Cissy” to cheer me
+up several times, in which task he was very successful, as he
+was always most pleasant company.</p>
+
+<p>It was some weeks before I was able to leave Aldershot,
+as I had almost entirely lost the use of my right arm and leg.
+The Colonel wanted me to be examined there by a Medical
+Board, consisting of Surgeon-Major McCormack and Surgeon
+Comerford, and, though several officers in my regiment
+advised me to have the Board held in London, he got his way
+in the matter. No one was supposed to know the result of
+the Board until it had been approved of by the War Office.</p>
+
+<p>So soon as I was well enough to stand the journey, I went
+up to London, accompanied by my father and my soldier-servant,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>[270]</span>
+Spearing. On the advice of Dr. Russell-Reynolds,
+my father took me to Paris to consult Professor Charcot and
+Dr. Brown-Séquard, who at first held out some hopes of
+my recovery. The War Office had granted me three months’
+leave, and, when it expired, as I had not recovered the use of
+my limbs, they refused to place me on half-pay, and on
+the 1st of January 1879, I was obliged to resign my commission.
+The reason they gave was that the Medical Board at
+Aldershot had stated that my illness was not caused in and by
+the Service.</p>
+
+<p>The Earl of Berkeley, who wrote my letter of resignation
+from Paris for me, as I was unable to do so myself, said in
+this:—</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“<i>In conformity with the instructions I received from the
+War Office, I have forwarded my resignation to the officer in
+command of my battalion. I had ventured to hope that a
+certificate I forwarded to the Colonel of the regiment from one
+of the most eminent consulting physicians in Paris, stating
+that my illness was the result of sunstroke, might have pleaded
+my cause with H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief. I have
+another certificate which I have not under the circumstances
+taken the liberty of forwarding to you, but I would gladly do
+so, if I thought my case might be pleaded with H.R.H.</i>”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>A further letter, also written for me by Lord Berkeley,
+was sent to my Colonel:—</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“<i>Although I have the opinion of the most eminent physicians
+that my unfortunate illness was the result of sunstroke sustained
+when on duty, I yield to the decision of the Field-Marshal
+Commander-in-Chief, and hereby tender my resignation of
+H.M. Service.</i>”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>General Sir John Douglas, then commanding the Forces
+in Scotland, wrote to me:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquote">
+
+<p>“<i>I have found out, through General Taylor (79th Highlanders),
+at the War Office, that it is through your Colonel’s
+influence that they have refused to place you on half-pay, and
+it is quite impossible to overcome this influence.</i>”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>[271]</span></p>
+
+<p>A year or two afterwards, I happened to meet Surgeon
+Comerford in London, when I reproached him for not mentioning
+my sunstroke at the Medical Board at Aldershot.
+He assured me that he was prepared to swear on the Bible
+that he had done so, adding that my Colonel could not have
+forwarded his report correctly to the War Office, or else I
+should have been placed on half-pay. He had fully expected
+that I should have been, and was surprised that such was not
+the case.</p>
+
+<p>I may here mention that there were only two medical
+officers on the Board: Surgeon-Major McCormack and
+Surgeon Comerford. The former had only seen me once
+before in his life, so I presume the report must have been
+written by Surgeon Comerford; but, as I have never seen the
+report, I cannot be quite certain.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Howard Vyse, late of the “Blues,” said to me in
+Paris, when I showed him a letter which I had received from
+the War Office:—</p>
+
+<p>“Thank God! such a thing could not happen with the
+Household troops. The officers would not allow it either.
+To lose one’s health in the Service, and then to receive no
+compensation whatever! I never heard of such a case;
+it is simply disgraceful!”</p>
+
+<p>In recent years—in 1909—several officers who had served
+with me, including my Colonel, the late General Sir W.
+Leigh-Pemberton, forwarded letters to the War Office, stating
+that they remembered my sunstroke at Aldershot as being
+the cause of my paralysis,<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> and I forwarded medical certificates
+to prove that my paralysis was the result of sunstroke
+while on duty there. The reply received by General Sir H.
+Geary, K.C.B., was that the Army Council had made an
+inquiry, and that “no evidence can be traced to show that
+he sustained a sunstroke while on duty at Aldershot in
+August, 1878. In any case, it would seem practically impossible<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>[272]</span>
+to prove that his present disability was the outcome
+of illness contracted in and by the Service more than thirty
+years ago. Not only the absence of confirmatory records,
+but the whole procedure at the time is out of keeping with
+the theory that his resignation was due to illness caused
+by military duty.”</p>
+
+<p>Sir William Gull, under whose treatment I was for some
+years, in the early eighties, told me that my paralysis was
+caused by embolism, owing to the sunstroke at Aldershot in
+1878, adding that he had a very bad opinion of Army doctors
+in general, who were constantly making dreadful mistakes,
+and indeed, were no better than the doctors mentioned by
+Lesage in <i>Gil Blas</i>.</p>
+
+<p>In 1918, Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell, who was formerly
+in the 1st Battalion of my old regiment, had great hopes of
+obtaining a pension or retired pay for me from the War
+Office, but so far his most kind efforts on my behalf have
+been fruitless. It would appear that philosophy is not at
+all studied at the War Office, for they persist in maintaining
+that it is possible for the same thing to be and not to be,
+which is contrary to the ideas of the most abstruse philosophers.
+With regard to the Ministry of Pensions (whose
+Secretary is Sir Matthew Nathan), above its portals ought
+to be written “Lasciate ogni Speranza.” It is to be hoped
+that with Mr. Winston Churchill, the author of “Savrola,”
+as Secretary of State for War, some ideas of justice may be
+imparted to both of them. I hope so, not only for my own
+sake, but for that of the whole Army.</p>
+
+<p class="titlepage">THE END</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> I heard from the late Lady Ritchie, Thackeray’s daughter, some little
+time before her death. She was kind enough to be interested in this book,
+but told me that she was a young girl when her father was at Homburg and
+had scarcely any recollection of those days. My father used often to observe
+that Thackeray was one of the most charming and amusing men he ever
+knew, and seemed surprised when I told him that I remembered so little
+of him at Homburg, saying that he was nearly always with us at the Kursaal
+or in the grounds of the Kurhaus and was exceedingly fond of me.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> Henry Greville writes in his diary, under date October 12th, 1846: “Came
+to Worsley with Slade, found here party assembled to meet the Duchess of
+Gloucester. Lady Caroline Murray was in attendance on the Duchess,
+who is the most amiable and least troublesome Princess it is possible to see.”</p>
+
+<p>One day a very nervous lady called on the Duchess of Gloucester, a daughter
+of George III., and remained a long time, being under the impression that
+Her Royal Highness would give the signal when she wished her to withdraw,
+and fearing to commit a breach of etiquette if she rose before the duchess.
+However, after a very long time, Her Royal Highness rose and left the room,
+upon which the lady retired. The latter was in great distress when she
+was subsequently told of the mistake she had made. This incident was related
+to me by my mother, who was acquainted with the lady at the time.</p>
+
+<p>I may perhaps mention here an incident about Queen Adelaide, wife of
+William IV., who had a very slight acquaintance with the English language.
+One of the first sentences she learned by heart was: “How are you off for
+soap?” Her Majesty was so pleased at being able to speak a little English
+that she asked this question of every lady whom she happened to address,
+smiling amiably the while. Some of them were rather astounded, but there
+was a certain fascination in this phrase which took Her Majesty’s fancy,
+and it may be that the look of surprise on the faces of some of the old dowagers
+added to her delight and made her repeat it all the more. This anecdote
+was told me by a lady who had known Queen Adelaide personally and was
+often with her.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> In after years, at Aldershot, I knew the late General Lord C——, son
+of the above mentioned Lady C——, very well. Once, at a concert, I played
+a piece of music on the zither, for which I received an encore, but a string of
+the instrument having broken, had to be replaced before I could take it.
+Lord C—— was kind enough to make a short speech for me and explain to
+the large audience what had happened, as I did not feel equal to doing so
+myself. He was a most kind and affable man and a good general, though the
+War Office, with their usual <i>manque de tact</i>, blamed him in the Zulu War
+for the faults of others as well, whose errors they wished to conceal. But,
+as General von Goeben, the celebrated Prussian general of division in the
+Franco-German War of 1870, said to me at Seville, where I lived in the same
+<i>casa de huespedes</i> with him for some weeks, <i>à propos</i> of an affair of another
+kind: “What can you expect from a Secretary of State for War, who is a
+civilian. You might just as well have an old washerwoman (<i>Wäscherin</i>) at the
+head of your War Office. She might perhaps even be more useful.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> Count Perponcher always selected the ballet dancers for the Opera in
+Berlin. Many years ago I made the acquaintance at Milan of a lovely,
+fair Polish girl, Marie Urbanska by name, who was studying dancing there,
+and danced occasionally in the ballet at La Scala. She was then sixteen,
+and during her stay at Milan, all her expenses were paid by Count Perponcher.
+The Emperor William always called her “the little Countess” (<i>die Kleine
+Gräfin</i>), as her father was a Polish count, and she was still second <i>danseuse</i>
+at the Berlin Opera twelve years ago. One night, as she was ascending the
+stairs at the Villa Manzoni, where I too was staying, she was seized and gagged
+and conveyed to the house of a gentleman, who told her that he was in love
+with her. But she insisted on leaving the house, which he allowed her to
+do. The man in question, who was a German, was obliged to leave Milan,
+in consequence of this affair, which, however, was hushed up, as he came of
+a well-known family in Germany.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> The late Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild told a young English girl of
+sixteen whom I knew that, if he could by some means regain his youth,
+like Faust in Goethe’s play, and be the same age as she was, he would willingly
+give up his entire fortune. He was then about fifty-four years of age. When
+the young lady in question repeated this to a late member of the Turf Club
+in my presence, the latter observed: “Ferdy must have set a high value
+on his youth, for I asked him to let me have £200 lately for a common friend
+who was at school with us and is now ruined, which he refused to do. Consequently,
+I have quarrelled with him for ever.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> <i>À propos</i> of Napoleon, it is strange how great was his fondness for music.
+A person whose voice flattered his ear rarely displeased him. But, if a name
+had a harsh sound, he muttered it between his teeth, and never uttered it
+aloud. Grillparzer says of Napoleon: “Er war zu gross, weil seine Zeit
+zu klein.” (“He was too great, because the age in which he lived was too
+little.”) Napoleon imagined that he would have made Corneille a prince
+if he had lived in his time, but it is more likely that he would have imprisoned
+him for life.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> The late Henry Labouchere’s grandfather was, as a young man, a clerk
+in a bank in Somersetshire, and in receipt of a salary of about £80 a year,
+when he fell in love with Sir Francis Baring’s daughter. As, in ordinary
+circumstances, he had not the smallest chance of obtaining the consent
+of the lady’s father, he conceived the following ingenious plan of overcoming
+the difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>Presenting himself before the senior partner of the bank in which
+he was employed, he inquired whether it would be possible for him to
+become a partner forthwith. The banker burst out laughing. “What,
+you!” he exclaimed. “Why, you are only a junior clerk. How can you
+ever think of such a thing? The idea is simply ridiculous.” “But supposing,”
+rejoined Labouchere, with perfect aplomb, “that I had already
+received the consent of Sir Francis Baring to marry his daughter?” “Oh,
+that alters the case entirely. If what you say is true, then you could, of
+course, easily become a partner.” Labouchere then approached Sir Francis
+Baring and asked him for his daughter’s hand. That important personage
+was even more indignant at the young man’s presumption than the banker
+had been, and told him what he thought of it very plainly. “But supposing,”
+said Labouchere, not a whit disconcerted, “that I am not what you think I
+am, but a partner of the bank.” The baronet’s manner changed. “If,” he
+answered, “you are a partner of the bank, as you tell me, I will talk the
+matter over with my daughter.” In the result, Labouchere married Sir
+Francis Baring’s daughter and became, at the same time, a partner in the
+Somersetshire bank. His son was created Lord Taunton, and Henry
+Labouchere would have been heir to the title, but, as it was only a life peerage,
+it did not descend to him. This anecdote was related to me by an uncle of
+mine by marriage, who was Clerk of the Peace for the county of Somerset.
+I have heard it also related by others.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> Desseins Hôtel has been demolished in recent years. It was a most
+luxurious hôtel, and is mentioned in the works of Sterne, Thackeray and
+Dickens.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> Godfrey Astell told me a rather amusing story about himself when I
+was in the regiment with him. He had been invited to shoot over a large
+estate in Scotland, and one of the gamekeepers looked particularly well after
+him all day, pointing out where the best beats and coverts were, and exclaiming
+every time a pheasant rose: “Godfrey, now’s your chance!” It subsequently
+transpired that the man, on hearing Astell called Godfrey by his
+friends, was under the impression that this was some high title he possessed,
+having no idea that it was only his Christian name.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> I had a letter before the war from Mr. Winston Churchill, Lord Randolph’s
+son, in answer to one in which I had told him that, in certain respects, he
+reminded me of Mirabeau, and that I was convinced that he would become
+Prime Minister before very long.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> I heard from Lord Willoughby de Broke, the son of the one mentioned
+here, some years ago. He was then <i>en route</i> for the Caucasus, and he
+told me that he had read my book on Paris and Vienna with pleasure and
+interest, though he was not aware at the time by whom it was written. He
+is one of the most energetic members of the House of Lords, and it is to be
+hoped that he will do everything in his power to recover for it its lost prestige.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> Grillparzer says that it has often struck him that Shakespeare took some
+of his ideas from Lope de Vega’s plays. Shakespeare’s Miranda, he says,
+could be compared with the character it resembles in <i>Los tres diamantes</i>,
+and the love-scenes in the latter are quite on a par with those in “Romeo and
+Juliet.” The plot of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is similar to that of
+<i>Los ferias de Madrid</i>. As for <i>Los pleitos de Inglaterra</i>, he regards this play
+as incomparable, and the love-scenes in “Romeo and Juliet” appear almost
+to pale in comparison. “I wish,” he continues, “Lessing had known
+Calderon and Lope de Vega. He would perhaps have found that there was
+more connection with the German <i>esprit</i> than in the far too gigantic Shakespeare.
+Perhaps “Macbeth” is Shakespeare’s greatest work; it is without
+doubt the most realistic.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> During the four years I was at Eton, we won the “Ladies’” at Henley
+every time. The winning crews were composed as follows:—</p>
+
+<p>1867: W. D. Benson (captain), A. G. P. Lewis (stroke), T. McClintock-Bunbury,
+W. G. Calvert, J. H. Ridley, R. W. Morehouse, G. H. Woodhouse,
+J. E. Edwards-Moss, F. H. Elliot (cox).</p>
+
+<p>1868: T. McClintock-Bunbury (captain and stroke), W. C. Calvert, J. E.
+Edwards-Moss, F. A. Currey, J. Goldie (K.S.), F. Johnstone, J. W.
+McClintock-Bunbury, W. Farrer, F. E. Elliot (cox).</p>
+
+<p>1869: J. E. Edwards-Moss (captain), F. A. Currey, F. Johnstone, J. W.
+McClintock-Bunbury (stroke), F. C. Ricardo, J. S. Follett, F. E. H. Elliot,
+M. G. Farrer, W. C. Cartwright (cox).</p>
+
+<p>1870: F. A. Currey (captain), J. W. McClintock-Bunbury (stroke), F. C
+Ricardo, J. S. Follett, A. W. Mulholland, C. W. Benson, R. E. Naylor, A.
+C. Yarborough, W. C. Cartwright (cox).</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> The Eton Eleven, during the four years I was there, was composed as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>1867: C. R. Alexander (captain), C. I. Thornton, W. H. Walrond, H. M.
+Walter, W. C. Higgins, C. J. Ottaway, W. F. Tritton, M. Horner, W. H.
+Hay, E. Wormald, P. Currey. Match drawn.</p>
+
+<p>1868: C. I. Thornton (captain), H. M. Walter, W. C. Higgins, C. J. Ottaway,
+W. F. Tritton, W. H. Hay, P. Currey, Hon. G. Harris, J. Maude, S. E. Butler,
+G. H. Longman. Harrow beat Eton by seven wickets.</p>
+
+<p>1869: W. C. Higgins (captain), G. H. Longman, A. S. Tabor, F. W. Rhodes,
+F. Pickering, J. P. Rodger, Lord Clifton, C. J. Ottaway, M. Maude, Hon.
+G. Harris, E. Butler. Eton won by an innings and nineteen runs.</p>
+
+<p>1870: Hon. G. Harris (captain), G. H. Longman, A. S. Tabor, F. W. Rhodes,
+F. Pickering, J. P. Rodger, Lord Clifton, G. H. Cammell, M. A. Tollemache,
+A. F. Ridley, Hon. A. Lyttelton. Eton won by twenty-one runs.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> <i>À propos</i> of Peterborough, I once heard a good story about a Bishop of
+Peterborough—Dr. Magee, I think—which was told me by my tutor
+at Eton. Some people, who had never seen him, were very anxious to hear
+him preach and therefore went early in the morning to the cathedral to
+secure good seats. A man showed them over the cathedral, where they
+retained the best seats they could find, and, on leaving, one of the party gave
+their cicerone, whom they took for the verger, five shillings. The latter
+put the money in his pocket, and then to their astonishment said: “I am
+not the verger, but the Bishop of Peterborough himself. However, I shall
+keep the five shillings all the same, for I have found you a good pew, and what
+I have received I shall give to the poor.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[16]</a> The Hon. Thomas Fitzwilliam, who was then in the 10th Hussars, married
+Elgiva Kinglake, whose brother was at Eton with me. She was very pretty
+and a remarkably good rider, but she died quite early in life, and her husband
+did not long survive her. She was a great friend of Mary, Duchess of Hamilton,
+and I remember once, at a meet of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds
+on the Exmoor hills, being much struck by the beauty of the Duchess, who
+was present with Elgiva Fitzwilliam, for they always hunted with these
+hounds in those days.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[17]</a> Jim Doyne, in later years, bore some resemblance to the late King
+Edward VII., then Prince of Wales, and at Pratt’s, one evening, the late Duke
+of Beaufort walked up to him, and, holding out his hand, said: “I wish
+you good evening, sir.” Doyne felt very flattered at the mistake, which,
+however, the Duke at once discovered. Nevertheless, when meeting my
+friend afterwards, he would always address him as “Sir” for amusement,
+and Doyne, who had a gift for repartee, would give an appropriate reply.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[18]</a> Voltaire believed sincerely in God, but no one nowadays even thinks
+of reading his correspondence, which shows us all his faults, his kindheartedness,
+his charity, and his other good qualities. One of the strongest features
+in Voltaire’s character was his sense of friendship. Génonville, who took
+away his mistress, Mlle. Livy, from him, remained his friend, and Voltaire
+laments his death in a poem of marvellous beauty, with all the warmth of
+truth. This poem and the one which follows it, <i>les Vous et le Tu</i>, in which
+also Mlle. Livy is referred to, are two of his most beautiful poems. Of
+Rousseau, Grillparzer says: “I read <i>les Confessions</i> and am terrified
+to recognize myself in them.” How Rousseau would have been surprised
+if someone had called him the most perfect egoist. He lived with the woman
+who was so devoted to him and never married her, although it would have
+been a great happiness to her to bear his name. Corneille, according to
+Grillparzer, was an excellent poet, and his first works were admirable, but
+his later ones show a steady decline from his early standard, which is difficult
+to explain, except perhaps after reading his tragedy, <i>Feodora</i>. In Grillparzer’s
+opinion, Racine was as great a poet as ever lived.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[19]</a> “My darling,—I am obliged to start immediately for Mexico; I have
+not even time to come to bid thee good-bye.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[20]</a> Mr. Howard Vyse, the father of these young men, came to see me in
+Paris after I had left Bonn. He dined with us, I recollect, and we afterwards
+went to a theatre, and from there to various places of amusement, so that it
+was nearly daybreak before we reached the Hôtel Bristol, in the Place Vendôme,
+where he was staying, and where he insisted on my passing what
+remained of the night. As he offered me an exceedingly comfortable bedroom,
+I did not refuse. I dined a few days later with him and his wife at
+the “Bristol,” where they had a suite of apartments usually reserved for
+royal personages, which the late King Edward VII. had occupied just previously.
+While we were at dinner a courier came into the room to inquire
+if everything were satisfactory. This man’s services, it appeared, had been
+exclusively engaged by Mr. Howard Vyse, and he was accustomed to order
+dinner and settle the accounts. Mr. Howard Vyse told me that he was obliged
+to remain three months at the Hôtel Bristol owing to his wife’s state of
+health, as the doctor would not allow her to travel to Nice, where he intended
+spending the winter. He was a very wealthy banker from New
+York, and the two sons who were at Bonn with me were his only children.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[21]</a> The sister of Sir Howard Elphinstone, at one time Equerry to the late
+Duke of Edinburgh, related to me that, when she was in Germany with her
+brother, they went one day to secure places for some ceremony in which
+a good many royal persons were interested. When they entered the room,
+a man showed Sir Howard Elphinstone the places reserved for him and his
+family, and as this person wore a kind of dress coat with gold lace, Sir Howard
+took him for a man-servant, and, on going away, slipped a thaler into his
+hand, which he accepted without making any remark. Later in the evening,
+Sir Howard and his sister discovered that the man whom they had tipped
+was Bismarck, who at that time, of course, was not so celebrated as he subsequently
+became.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[22]</a> Darwin’s theory has of recent years been disproved by men of science,
+such as Professor Dr. von Wettstein, Warning, Henslow, and others. Only
+in certain instances can Darwin’s theory be accepted; but it has been discovered
+recently that the new formation of species among plants and animals
+is possible in different ways, and not only in the manner Darwin implies.
+His theory of descent, which was firmly believed in by men of science in the
+sixties and seventies of the last century, is now pronounced to be a theory
+altogether out of date, and has been superseded by those of Moriz Wagner,
+Karl von Nägeli, Henslow, A. von Kerner and Professor A. Weissmann.
+“The Origin of Plant Structures by Self-Adaptation to the Environment,”
+by Henslow, published in 1895, and Warning’s “Geography of Plants,”
+published in the following year, are well-known English books on this subject
+which may be recommended to those interested in it.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">[23]</a> Baron von der Goltz is proud of his stupidity.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">[24]</a> Grillparzer says of Heine that his first verses in the <i>Reise Bilder</i> and
+some of his last poems are of great merit, while those of the intermediate
+period must be considered decidedly bad.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">[25]</a> Another lady employed by the Russian Government to worm out State
+secrets was the Countess Stadnicka, whose acquaintance I made in recent
+years in Vienna, and she would often ask me the most difficult questions,
+which I never attempted to answer. She told me that for information of
+a certain nature she was often paid very large sums. The Countess Stadnicka
+had very lovely blue eyes, which were universally admired, and a fine figure,
+but she was no longer in her first youth. She was the mother of Graf von
+Metternich, who was the owner of vast estates and a minor, and the Countess
+had a lawsuit in Vienna to obtain control over her son’s property during his
+minority. She was a wonderful linguist, speaking English, French, German,
+Italian and Russian fluently, and could tell one more about the Austrian
+nobility than anyone else I ever met in Vienna, as she was a Viennese by
+birth, and her father, who was one of the old nobility himself, had occupied
+a high position. She seemed to know everyone, but though a woman of
+wonderful intelligence, she had a rather spiteful tongue, and was therefore
+feared by some people. She always spoke to me in French and often said:
+“<i>Vous êtes drôle, vous, car vous n’aimez que le fruit pas mûr, ce qui est d’abord
+très fade et n’a point de goût</i>.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">[26]</a> The names of these officers were: The late Lieut.-General Sir W. Leigh-Pemberton,
+K.C.B.; Major-General Sir Charles Holled-Smith, K.C.M.G.;
+Colonel Ernest Hovell Thurlow; Major C. H. B. Thorne, J.P.; Lieut.
+Horace Neville; Colonel Alfred Clarke, M.D., and Major C. de Robeck.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>[273]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Aberdour, Lord, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Adair, Mrs. William, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Adelaide, Queen, <a href="#Footnote_2">5 (<i>note</i>)</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Adelsdorfer, Baroness, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Adelsdorfer, Madame, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Airey, Lord, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Albani, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Aldershot, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Allfrey, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Algar, Major, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Alhambra, The, Granada, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Alexander, C. R., <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Alison, General Sir A., <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Allen, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Anderson, Brigadier-General, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Andrä, Professor Dr., <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Andrews, Mrs., <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Anglesey, Marquis of, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Annesley, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Armytage, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Arnold, Dr., <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Arthy, Captain, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ashburnham, Major, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Astor, Lord, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Auerbach, Berthold, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Aylmer, Percy, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Babington, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bagot, Colonel Sir Josceline, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bagot, Adjutant A. G., <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Baird, George, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Baldock, Colonel, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Balfour, Charles, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Balfour, Miss Hilda, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Baring, Viscount, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Barnard, Lord, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Batchelor, Veterinary-Surgeon, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bean, Capt. and Mrs., <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Beauclerk, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Beauclerk, Miss, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Beaumont, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Beck, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Belgrave, Viscount, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx"><i>Bell’s Life</i> substitute for Bible, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bennett, Viscount, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bentheim, The Princes, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Benyon, Captain, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Berkeley, Earl of, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Berkeley, Lord, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Berkeley, Captain Lennox, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bernhardt, Sarah, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bernstorff, Count, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bethell, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bingham, Hon. Albert, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Binz, Professor Dr., <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Black Forest Adventures, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Blane, M., <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Blewitt, Major, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Blocqueville, Marquise de, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Blount, Edward, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>[274]</span>Bois-Hébert, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Boland, Major, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bonn, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Boulogne, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bozzo, Mademoiselle Checchi, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bromley, Capt., <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Brown-Séquard, Dr., <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Browning, Oscar, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Brownrigg, Capt., <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Burgh, Capt. Hubert de, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Byron, Capt. John, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Cambridge, Duke of, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Campden, Viscount, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Campobello, Signor, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Candle, The diminishing, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cantelupe, Lord, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Caracciolo, Duchesse de, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Card playing, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Carpenter, Captain, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cartwright, General, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cathcart, Lady Georgina, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cathcart, Hon. Emily, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cavendish-Bentinck, Arthur, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cercle des Patineurs, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chantilly, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Charcot, Professor, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Charleville, Lord, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Charltons, The, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chatham Barracks, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Childe-Pemberton, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">“Christopher Inn,” <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Christy Minstrels at Chatham, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Churchill, Lady, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Churchill, Lord Randolph, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Clanmorris, Lord, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Clarke, Sydenham, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Clarke, Surgeon-Major, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cockshot, Mr., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Collins, Major, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Combermere, Viscount, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Comerford, Surgeon, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cotton, Lieutenant C. S., <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cramer, Captain, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Craven, Fulwar J. C., <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Crawford, Colonel, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Crichton, Hon. Mrs., <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Crofton, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Crompton, Captain, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Czartoryski, Princess, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Czerwinska, Countess, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">d’Abrantès, Duchesse, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dalton, Rev. W., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dannecker’s statue, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Daram, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Darwin’s theory disproved, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">d’Assailly, Vicomte Arthur, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">d’Attainville, M. de Lesquier, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">D’Aubigny, Comte, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Daudet, Alphonse, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">d’Aumale, Duc, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Deane, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">de Houghton, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Delaunay, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Delbrück, Hans, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Desart, Countess of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Desclée, Aimée, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dickenson, Lieutenant Fiennes, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dillon, Lord, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dillon, Sub-Lieutenant A., <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Disraeli, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dorrien, Captain Frederick, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Douglas, General Sir John, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Douglas, Captain Niel, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Douglas, Charles, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Doyne, Lady Frances, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Doyne, James, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Doyne, Mrs., <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Doyne, Mr. Mervyn, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Drexel Brothers, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">“Dry bobs,” <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Duff, Folliot, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dunn, Captain, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Durnford, Rev., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>[275]</span>Dusauty, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Earning a living, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Edwards-Moss, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Egerton, Hon. Alfred, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ehnn, Fräulein, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Elwes, Captain, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Erroll, Countess of, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Eschenheimer Thor, The, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Eton, Happy days at, <a href="#Page_65">65 <i>et seq.</i></a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Etonian <i>cachet</i>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Eugene, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Falmouth, Lord, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Faverney, Comtesse de, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Featherstone, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ferrières, Château de, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Finch, Hon. Charles, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Finch-Hatton, Rev. William, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Finch-Hatton, Greville, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Finis, Miss, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fire burning for two hundred years, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Firing the eighty-ton gun, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">FitzWilliam, Earl, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">FitzWilliam, Charles, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">FitzWilliam, Hon. John, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">FitzWilliam, Hon. Thomas, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Foley, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Football “colours,” <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Four millionaires, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Francisco-Martin, M. de, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Franco-German War, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Frankfurt-on-the-Main, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Frederick, Lady, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">French girls and English girls, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Gambetta, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gayarré, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Geary, General Sir H., <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">German Crown Prince, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">German girls, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gilbert, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Girard, Juliette, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Glen, Archibald, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Godfrey, Dan, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Goeben, General von, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Goethe, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Goldschmid, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Goldsmid, Mrs., <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Goltz, von der, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gordon, Miss, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Græme, Colonel, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grammont, Duchesse de, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grandmaison, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grant, General, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Graves, Hon. Mrs., <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Greenock, Viscount, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grenfell, Lord, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Greuze’s paintings, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gridley, Harry, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gridley, Reginald, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Griebel, Herr, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grosvenor, Earl, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Guilbert, Marquise Brian de Bois, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gull, Sir William, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gunning, Sub-Lieutenant Robert, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Hale, Mr., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Harris, Lord, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hart, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hartopp, Sir Charles E. C., <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Havre, Baron van, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hawtrey, Mr. Stephen, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Headley, Lord, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Healy, Mrs., <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Heaviside, Mr., <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hélène de España, Señorita, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Henley Regatta, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Herbert, Hon. Sidney, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hobart, Captain, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hochberg, Dr. Ritter von, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hodgson, Charles Rice, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hohler, Tom, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Holled-Smith, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Homburg, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Home-Purves, Colonel, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hope, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hope-Johnstone, Lieutenant P., <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hornby, Dr., <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>[276]</span>Horrocks, Capt., <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Horrocks, Miss Edith, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Houghton, de, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Howard, Lieut. F., <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hozier, J. H. C., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hudson, Major, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hudson, Mrs., <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hungerford, Mrs., <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hunter, Captain, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hunter’s, Mr., school, <a href="#Page_42">42 <i>et seq.</i></a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hutchinson, Sir Edward, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hutchinson, General Coote, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Ind, Mrs., <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Innes-Ker, Lord Mark, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Isabella, ex-Queen of Spain, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Isabelle, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">James, Rev. C. C., <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Jenner, Sir William, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Joynes, Rev., <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Kennedy, Lord Alexander, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Keogh, Mrs., <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kernave, Madame Alice, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Killarney, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kilmaine, Vicomte Frédéric de, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kineton School, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">King (Leopold) of Belgians, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">King William I. of Prussia, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kinglake, William, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kinglake, Sophia, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kinloch, Captain A., <a href="#Page_187">187-8</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kinloch, Mrs., <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kirchhofer’s, Herr, School, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kisilieff, Madame, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Klenck, Freiherr von, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Knightley, Rev. Henry, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Knox, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Krauss, Madame, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Labitzky, Auguste, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Labouchere, Henry, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lamoury (violinist), <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lane, General Ronald, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lassalle, Ferdinand, and German women, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Laval, Mademoiselle de, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lavaile, Eugénie de, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lawn tennis, Origin of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lawrence, George, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Leigh, Austin, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Leigh-Pemberton, Lieutenant-Colonel W., <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Leinster, Duke of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Leleu, Madame, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Leopold II. and his hairdresser, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lesseps, M. de, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lewinsky, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Leyton’s at Windsor, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Liegnitz, Princess, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Linda, Bertha, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lister-Kaye, Cecil, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lister-Kaye, John, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Little, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lloyd, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lockwood, Sir Frank, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lonsdale, Earl of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">“Lord’s,” <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lovell, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_170">170-172</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lovett, Hubert, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lowther, Captain Francis, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lumley, Savile, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Luxmoore, Mr., <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lyons, Lord, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">McCall, Colonel, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">McClintock-Bunbury, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">McCormack, Surgeon-Major, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">MacDonnell, Dr., <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Macnamara, Surgeon-Major, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Magruder, Willing Lee, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Makart, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Malet, Sir Edward, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Malortie, Baron de, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Maltby, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mandeville, Lord, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Manners, Henry F. B., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>[277]</span>Marsham, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Masini, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Massey, Lieutenant-Colonel, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Materna, Frau, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ménier, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Metternich, Princess von, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Meux, Lady Louisa, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Milbanke, Frederick, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Misa, Señor, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mitchell, R. A. H., <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Moltke, Count von, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Montgomery, Colonel H. P., <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Montgomery, Basil, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Moore, Colonel Montgomery, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Morny, Duc de, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Münchhausen, Baron von, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Murray, Lady Caroline, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Murray, Lieutenant-General Hon. George, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Murree and Ischl compared, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Musard’s concerts, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Nares, Sir George, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Naylor-Leylands, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Neii, Baron von, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Neuss, Herr, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">New hats for old, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Newcastle, Duke of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Newcastle, Duchess of, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Newenham, Mr. (“Sporting Parson”), <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Newlands, Lord, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Northey, Major, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Oden Wald, The, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Olga, Grand Duchess, and Ludwig II., <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Onslow, Earl of, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Oppenheim, Frau, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Orloff, Princess, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Orton, Surgeon-Major, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ostend, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Oyster, The, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Paganini, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Paget, Lord Henry, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Paradhenia, Garden of, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Paris, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Parnell, Hon. V. A., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Parnell, Miss Fanny, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Parry, Sir Hubert, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Paschinger, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Patti, Adelina, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Pauli, Captain, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Peabody Georges, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Pembroke and Montgomery, Earl of, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Peñafiel, Marchioness de, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">“Penny Readings,” <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Perponcher, Count, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Peterborough’s, Bishop of, “tip,” <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Phipps, Hon. Harriet, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Phipps, Lieutenant Albert, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Piétri, Madame, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Piétris, The, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Plater, Countess Broel, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Plessen, Baron von, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Portman, Hon. E. W. B., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Prince Consort and Duchess of Sutherland, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Prussia, King of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Queñones de Léon, Doña, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Radziwill, Prince Jean, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ralli, Augustus, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rampa, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rathdonnell, Lord, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ranyard, Mr. (astronomer), <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Reeves, Sims, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Reid, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Reszke, Jean de, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Reuss, Prince, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rey, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Reynardson, Aubrey Birch, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ricardo, Horace, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Riddell, Captain, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ridley, C. N., <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ridley, H. M., <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>[278]</span>Riggs, Mrs. Joe, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ritter, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Robartes (11th Hussars), <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Robeck, Captain de, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Robinson, Captain, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ronalds, Mrs., <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rossmore, Lord, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rothschild, Baron F. de, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rothschild, Baroness I. E. de, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rothschild, Alphonse de, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rueff, Mr., <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ruspoli, Princess, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Russell, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Russell-Reynolds, Dr., <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Russian Court secrets, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rutland, Duke of, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Saba, Madame, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">St. James’s Palace, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Saint Hilaire, Madame, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Salis Schwabe, Miss, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Salud, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Salvini, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">San Carlos, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sanford, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Savile, Captain, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Seville, Archbishop of, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Saxe-Weimar, Prince Edward of, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Schiller, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Schneider, Hortense, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Schultz, Herr, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Schwender’s Dancing Hall, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Shorncliffe, Quarters at, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sighicelli, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Simon, Jules, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sivori, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Slade, Cecil, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Slade, Harry, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Smythe, General, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">“Sock”-shops, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Somerset, Lord Edward, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Southey, Lieutenant Richard, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Spa, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Stafford, Lady Grace, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Stafford, Marquis of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Stormont, Viscountess, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Strauss, Johann, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sully, Mounet, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sunstroke, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Taaffe, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Taffanel, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Taille des Essarts, Comtesse de la, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Taintegnies, Baron de, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tarver, Mr. Henry, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Taylor, Charles, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Temple (“Mug”), <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tercin, Gabrielle, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Thackeray, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Thackeray, St. John, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">The Alhambra, Granada, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">The diminishing candle, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">“The Oyster,” <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Thorne, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Thornton, C. I., <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Thurlow, Lieutenant E. Hovell, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Torphichen, Lord, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Trafalgar, Lord, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Trianon, le Petit, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tufnell, Captain, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tufton, Captain, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tugwell, Mr., <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Vane, Henry de Vere, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vane-Tempest, Hon. Henry, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vaughan, Arthur Powys, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vay, Baron de, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Versailles, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Victoria, Queen, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vyse, Howard, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Wagner, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Walden, Lord Howard de, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Walden, Lady Howard de, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Waldteufel (composer), <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Walker, H. B., <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Warre, Rev. Edmund, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Warre-Malet, Sir A., <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>[279]</span>Warre-Malet, Miss Mabel, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Warre-Malet, Mrs., <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Warren, Miss Minnie, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Waterlot, Mademoiselle, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wayte, Mr., <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wellesley, Colonel, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Westminster, Duke of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wilkinson, Lieutenant E. O. H., <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Williamson, C. D. Robertson, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Willing, Misses Lee, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wilma, Tournay, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Winchester, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Windsor Fair, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Winkelmann, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Winsloe, Mrs., <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wolter, Charlotte, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wombwell, Sir George, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wood, Sub-Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Woodforde, Mrs. Charles, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Würtemberg, King and Queen of, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wylie, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">York, Duke of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Yorke, Hon. Mrs., <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Zauerthal, Ritter von, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Zither, The, Lessons on, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Zither performances, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p class="titlepage">PRINTED AT<br>
+THE CHAPEL RIVER PRESS,<br>
+KINGSTON, SURREY.</p>
+
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75853 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
diff --git a/75853-h/images/cover.jpg b/75853-h/images/cover.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17d5003
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/cover.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus01.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus01.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9817cec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus01.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus02.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus02.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a7f380
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus02.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus03.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus03.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b143b13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus03.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus04.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus04.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e815e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus04.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus05.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus05.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e91810
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus05.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus06.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus06.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a769aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus06.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus07.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus07.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2e71cce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus07.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus08.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus08.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5d0385a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus08.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus09.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus09.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eed7f57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus09.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus10.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus10.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8baf79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus10.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus11.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus11.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d27b82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus11.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus12.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus12.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..baf1d0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus12.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus13.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus13.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..276e01d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus13.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus14.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus14.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f8976b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus14.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus15.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus15.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ce7e36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus15.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus16.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus16.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a84a5a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus16.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus17.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus17.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f8037b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus17.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus18.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus18.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e61300
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus18.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus19.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus19.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da30fea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus19.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus20.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus20.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bad265c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus20.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus21.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus21.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dbabc28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus21.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/illus22.jpg b/75853-h/images/illus22.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..013d897
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/illus22.jpg
diff --git a/75853-h/images/tp-deco.jpg b/75853-h/images/tp-deco.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..077736d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/75853-h/images/tp-deco.jpg
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b5dba15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this book outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..98bbfdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+book #75853 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/75853)