r most of the time, looking for trouble, and found it before his
journey's end. Noah lighted the great lanthorn and hung it in front of
the dashboard, his only cause of anxiety being the horses, until a
greater arose.

CHAPTER III

IT IS HARD TO BE GOOD

There is an infernal charm about sin which should have been given to
virtue, but unluckily got shifted in very early human days. And so it was
that George Hamilton had troubles of his own in this respect. When he
left Frances Jennings at Sundridge, he was aglow with good resolutions,
all of which were to be put into immediate practice, and many of which he
carried out in part by strong though spasmodic effort when he returned
to court.

His attempts to be decent at first filled his friends with surprise, then
disgust, then raillery. The untoward thing had never been tried at
Charles II's Whitehall, and it furnished a deal of talk between routine
scandals. In fact, it was looked upon as a scandal in itself.

This new phase in one of the king's own subdevils soon fell under the
notice of his Majesty, who asked George one day if he would like to have
an easy benefice in the church where he could meditate on his past and
build for the future.

"And pray for Lady Castlemain's unbaptized children, your Majesty?" asked
George, whereupon the king shrugged his shoulders and turned away. Lady
Castlemain and Charles were--well, there had been talk about them, to say
the least.

The court ladies laughed when George declined to drink himself drunk or
refused to help his former companions fleece a stranger. Nell Gwynn told
him that even his language had grown too polite for polite society, and,
lacking emphasis, was flat as stale wine. In truth, it may well be said
that George had set out to mend his ways under adverse conditions. But he
_had_ set out to do it, and that in itself was a great deal, for there is
a likable sort of virtue in every good intent. He had reached the first
of the three great R's in the act of repentance, Recognition; Regret and
Recession being the second and third--all necessary to regeneration. I
had faith in his good intentions, but doubted his ability.

Hamilton and I had become fast friends, and by his help my suit of his
sister Mary had prospered to the extent of a partial engagement of
marriage. That is to say, Mary's mother, an old worldling of the hardest
type, had thought it well to secure me and to keep me dangling, to be
landed in