nt many hours
in each day and night. He passed many hours more in drinking, during which
time he would rattle and talk very agreeably, and especially if the
colonel was absent, whose presence always seemed to frighten him; and the
poor "_Colonel Noir_" took that hint as a command accordingly, and seldom
intruded his black face upon the convivial hours of this august young
prisoner. Except for those few persons of whom the porter had the list,
Lord Castlewood was denied to all friends of the house who waited on his
lordship. The wound he had received had broke out again from his journey
on horseback, so the world and the domestics were informed. And Doctor
A----,(17) his physician (I shall not mention his name, but he was physician
to the Queen, of the Scots nation, and a man remarkable for his
benevolence as well as his wit), gave orders that he should be kept
perfectly quiet until the wound should heal. With this gentleman, who was
one of the most active and influential of our party, and the others before
spoken of, the whole secret lay; and it was kept with so much
faithfulness, and the story we told so simple and natural, that there was
no likelihood of a discovery except from the imprudence of the prince
himself, and an adventurous levity that we had the greatest difficulty to
control. As for Lady Castlewood, although she scarce spoke a word, 'twas
easy to gather from her demeanour, and one or two hints she dropped, how
deep her mortification was at finding the hero whom she had chosen to
worship all her life (and whose restoration had formed almost the most
sacred part of her prayers), no more than a man, and not a good one. She
thought misfortune might have chastened him; but that instructress had
rather rendered him callous than humble. His devotion, which was quite
real, kept him from no sin he had a mind to. His talk showed good-humour,
gaiety, even wit enough; but there was a levity in his acts and words that
he had brought from among those libertine devotees with whom he had been
bred, and that shocked the simplicity and purity of the English lady,
whose guest he was. Esmond spoke his mind to Beatrix pretty freely about
the prince, getting her brother to put in a word of warning. Beatrix was
entirely of their opinion; she thought he was very light, very light and
reckless; she could not even see the good looks Colonel Esmond had spoken
of. The prince had bad teeth, and a decided squint. How could we say he
did