by his reverence for men of deeds. How could he think
of himself, who had done nothing, accomplished nothing, so long as he
brooded on the images of signal Englishmen whose names were historic for
daring, and the strong arm, and artfulness, all given to the service of
the country?--men of a magnanimity overcast with simplicity, which
Nevil held to be pure insular English; our type of splendid manhood, not
discoverable elsewhere. A method of enraging him was to distinguish one
or other of them as Irish, Scottish, or Cambrian. He considered it a
dismemberment of the country. And notwithstanding the pleasure he had
in uniting in his person the strong red blood of the chivalrous Lord
Beauchamp with the hard and tenacious Romfrey blood, he hated the title
of Norman. We are English--British, he said. A family resting its pride
on mere ancestry provoked his contempt, if it did not show him one of
his men. He had also a disposition to esteem lightly the family which,
having produced a man, settled down after that effort for generations
to enjoy the country's pay. Boys are unjust; but Nevil thought of the
country mainly, arguing that we should not accept the country's money
for what we do not ourselves perform. These traits of his were regarded
as characteristics hopeful rather than the reverse; none of his friends
and relatives foresaw danger in them. He was a capital boy for his
elders to trot out and banter.

Mrs. Rosamund Culling usually went to his room to see him and doat on
him before he started on his rounds of an evening. She suspected that
his necessary attention to his toilet would barely have allowed him time
to finish his copy of the letter. Certain phrases had bothered him.
The thrice recurrence of 'ma patrie' jarred on his ear. 'Sentiments'
afflicted his acute sense of the declamatory twice. 'C'est avec les
sentiments du plus profond regret': and again, 'Je suis bien scar
que vous comprendrez mes sentiments, et m'accorderez l'honneur que je
reclame au nom de ma patrie outrage.' The word 'patrie' was broadcast
over the letter, and 'honneur' appeared four times, and a more delicate
word to harp on than the others!

'Not to Frenchmen,' said his friend Rosamund. 'I would put "Je suis
convaincu": it is not so familiar.'

'But I have written out the fair copy, ma'am, and that alteration seems
a trifle.'

'I would copy it again and again, Nevil, to get it right.'

'No: I'd rather see it off than have it right,' said