, 'that is it.' And he looked triumphantly to
his wife, as much as to say, 'Now you see what it is to be a man of the
world.'

'A man cannot go to Jerusalem as he would to Birmingham, by the next
train,' continued his lordship; 'he must get something to take him; and
if you make the sacrifice of consenting to his departure, you have a
right to stipulate as to the manner in which he should depart. Your son
ought to travel with a suite; he ought to make the voyage in his own
yacht. Yachts are not to be found like hack cabs, though there are
several for sale now; but then they are not of the admeasurement of
which you approve for such a voyage and such a sea. People talk very
lightly of the Mediterranean, but there are such things as white
squalls. Anxious parents, and parents so fond of a son as you are, and a
son whose life for so many reasons is so precious, have a right to make
it a condition of their consent to his departure, that he should embark
in a vessel of considerable tonnage. He will find difficulty in buying
one second-hand; if he finds one it will not please him. He will get
interested in yacht-building, as he is interested now about Jerusalem:
both boyish fancies. He will stay another year in England to build a
yacht to take him to the Holy Land; the yacht will be finished this time
twelvemonths; and, instead of going to Palestine, he will go to Cowes.'

'That is quite my view of the case,' said the duke.

'It never occurred to me,' said the duchess.

Lord Eskdale resumed his seat, and took another half-glass of Madeira.

'Well, I think it is very satisfactory, Katherine,' said the duke, after
a short pause.

'And what do you recommend us to do first?' said the duchess to Lord
Eskdale.

'Let Tancred go into society: the best way for him to forget Jerusalem
is to let him see London.'

'But how can I manage it?' said the duchess. 'I never go anywhere;
nobody knows him, and he does not wish to know anybody.'

'I will manage it, with your permission; 'tis not difficult; a young
marquess has only to evince an inclination, and in a week's time he will
be everywhere. I will tell Lady St. Julians and the great ladies to send
him invitations; they will fall like a snow-storm. All that remains is
for you to prevail upon him to accept them.'

'And how shall I contrive it?' said the duchess.

'Easily,' said Lord Eskdale. 'Make his going into society, while his
yacht is preparing, one of the conditions of t