instead of
inflicting the malady, abhor and have no brotherhood with its turbulent
victim.

It was justly matter for triumph, due to an extraordinary fervour of
pleading upon a plain statement of the case, that Alvan should return
from his foray bringing with him an emissary deputed by General von
Rudiger's official chief to see that the young lady, so passionately
pursued by the foremost of his time in political genius and oratory,
was not subjected to parental tyranny, but stood free to exercise
her choice. Of the few who would ever have thought of attempting, a
diminished number would have equalled that feat. Alvan was no vain
boaster; he could gain the ears of grave men as well as mobs and women.
The interview with Clotilde was therefore assured to him, and the
distracting telegrams and letters forwarded to him by Tresten during
his absence were consequently stabs already promising to heal. They were
brutal stabs--her packet of his letters and presents on his table made
them bleed afresh, and the odd scrawl of the couple of words on the
paper set him wondering at the imbecile irony of her calling herself
'The child' in accompaniment to such an act, for it reminded him of
his epithet for her, while it dealt him a tremendous blow; it seemed
senselessly malign, perhaps flippant, as she could be, he knew. She
could be anything weak and shallow when out of his hands; she had
recently proved it still, in view of the interview, and on the tide of
his labours to come to that wished end, he struck his breast to brave
himself with a good hopeful spirit. 'Once mine!' he said.

Moreover, to the better account, Clotilde's English friend had sent him
the lines addressed to her, in which the writer dwelt on her love of him
with a whimper of the voice of love. That was previous to her perjury by
little, by a day-eighteen hours. How lurid a satire was flung on events
by the proximity of the dates! But the closeness of the time between
this love-crooning and the denying of him pointed to a tyrannous
intervention. One could detect it. Full surely the poor craven was being
tyrannized and tutored to deny him! though she was a puss of the fields
too, as the mounted sportsman was not unwilling to think.

Before visiting his Mentor, Alvan applied for an audience of General von
Rudiger, who granted it at once to a man coming so well armed to claim
the privilege. Tresten walked part of the way to the General's house
with him, and then tu