ble. What! the young Duke's folly for every gazer
in town and country to sneer at! Oh! my fathers, am I indeed your child,
or am I bastard? Never, never shall your shield be sullied while I bear
it! Never shall your proud banner veil while I am chieftain! They shall
be finished; certainly, they shall be finished, if I die an exile! There
can be no doubt about this; I feel the deep propriety.

'This girl, too, something must be done for her. I must get Squib to
run down to Brighton for me: and Afy, poor dear Afy, I think she will be
sorry when she hears it all!

'My head is weak: I want a counsellor. This man cannot enter into my
feelings. Then there is my family lawyer; if I ask him for advice, he
will ask me for instructions. Besides, this is not a matter of pounds,
shillings, and pence; it is an affair as much of sentiment as economy;
it involves the honour of my family, and I want one to unburden myself
to, who can sympathise with the tortured feelings of a noble, of a Duke
without a dukedom, for it has come to that. But I will leave sneers to
the world.

'There is Annesley. He is clever, but so coldblooded. He has no heart.
There is Squib; he is a good fellow, and has heart enough; and I
suppose, if I wanted to pension off a mistress, or compound with a few
rascally tradesmen, he would manage the affair to a miracle. There is
Darrell; but he will be so fussy, and confidential, and official. Every
meeting will be a cabinet council, every discussion a debate, every
memorandum a state paper. There is Burlington; he is experienced, and
clever, and kind-hearted, and, I really think, likes me; but, no, no, it
is too ridiculous. We who have only met for enjoyment, whose countenance
was a smile, and whose conversation was badinage; we to meet, and
meditate on my broken fortunes! Impossible! Besides, what right have I
to compel a man, the study of whose life is to banish care, to take
all my anxieties on his back, or refuse the duty at the cost of my
acquaintance and the trouble of his conscience. Ah! I once had a friend,
the best, the wisest; but no more of that. What is even the loss of
fortune and of consideration to the loss of his--his daughter's love?'

His voice faltered, yet it was long before he retired; and he rose on
the morrow only to meditate over his harassing embarrassments. As if the
cup of his misery were not o'erflowing, a new incident occurred about
this time, which rendered his sense of them even keene