Chapter X

----He says he loves my daughter,
I think so too: for never gaz'd the moon
Upon the water, as he'll stand and read
As t'were, my daughter's eyes: and to be plain,
I think there is not half a kiss to choose,
Who loves another best.
If young Doricles
Do marry with her, she'll bring him that
Which he not dreams of.

SHAKESPEARE.

Mr. ELTON TO CHARLES SEDLEY, ESQ.

Aci reale, July 15,

My dear Sedley,

I believe I informed you, in the beginning of spring, of my
intention of coming to this beautiful place, on account of its
vicinity to the Villa Marinella, the residence of "La belle
Adelina,"

(the appellation my fair one is known by at Catania). I have
accomplished almost domesticating myself at this charming villa. I
did not give its inhabitants the alarm at first, wishing to
ingratiate myself in their favour before they should be aware of
the object I had in view. My appearance excited no surprise, as Aci
reale was such a natural place for me to choose for my abode at
this fine season, from the facilities it affords for examining at
leisure all the natural wonders of Etna, and all the wonders of art
displayed in the antiquities of Taurominium. Adelina and I
conversed on the beautiful ruins of Syracuse; of course, I could
not do less than go there to take drawings of them, and she was
equally bound in gratitude to examine them most minutely in my
presence. One day her father, rather abruptly, asked me if I
understood _perspective_? I said I was at that moment studying it,
and thought it a most delightful employment! He was concerned that
so much good inclination should be thrown away, so insisted on
teaching me; and to make the matter worse, took the most abstruse
method of doing it. To make a good impression on him I was obliged
to brush up my rusty mathematics, and I assure you it required no
small self-command to fix my attention on the points of _sight_ and
points of _distance_ he expatiated on; whilst my mind was busily
employed in settling these points to my satisfaction, as they
regarded Adelina and myself. We have now got on a more agreeable
subject, which gives us many delightful hours'
conversation--namely, the beauties natural and artificial of this
island. On my second visit to the Villa Marinella, I was taken into
a saloon adorned with specimens of every thing Sicily could boast
of: the floor was mosaic, of all her different marbles; the
hangings of Sicilian silk; the walls were embellished with the
paintings of Velasquez--in vases, of the alabaster of the country,
bloomed every fragrant flower it produced. There was a cabinet of
beautiful workmanship containing highly wrought amber, coral, and
cameos; and a Sicilian museum and library of all the best books
extant, of native authors ancient and modern, completed the
collection. Amongst the moderns Adelina particularly pointed out to
me the works of the Abate Ferrara, of Balsamo, Bourigni, and the
exquisite poems of Melli and Guegli: the contents of this room
afford us constant discussion. Nothing can exceed the beauty of
this villa; the hand of taste has been impressed on it from the
first stone to the last: it is seated in a rich vale at the foot of
Etna, from which pours many a stream in foamy swiftness. The sea is
seen, here and there, like a smooth glassy lake, through the dark
foliage of magnificent forest trees, whose sombre hues are
admirably contrasted with the brilliant tints of the orange and
the vine. The myrtle, the rose, and all the choicest favourites of
Flora are "poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain." The
beauty of the sky, the balmy fragrance of the air, and the
classical and poetical associations which the surrounding scenery
brings to the mind, conspire to give a charm to this delightful
spot, which no words can convey to the mind of one who has not
roamed amidst its enchantments, and still less can language do
justice to the feelings of him who has!

Adelina is just the being you would fancy such a scene should
produce; no cloud of sorrow, or of error, seems ever to have thrown
on her its dark shade; serene in conscious virtue and happiness,
and resplendent in mental and physical loveliness,

"She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies."

I have this day said to this charming creature every thing that
man can say, except those four words, "Will you marry me?" and was
proceeding to give them utterance, when I was most unseasonably
interrupted. From her surprise and confusion I augur well; whenever
I am secure of my happiness you shall know it, but perhaps you are
tired of all this, and are ready to say with Virgil,

Sicelides musÊ, paullo majora canamus;
Non omnes arbusta juvant, humilesque myricÊ[10].

Yours ever,

FREDERICK ELTON.

[Footnote 10:

Sicilian muse, begin a loftier strain;
The lowly shrubs and trees that shade the plain
Delight not all.

DRYDEN.
]

* * * * *

TO CHARLES SEDLEY, ESQUIRE.

Aci reale, August 3, ----

Upon my soul, Sedley, you are a pretty father confessor, and give
pious admonition!

I am quite _indignant_ at your answer to my first letter from
Catania; either you or I must be greatly changed since we parted. I
don't think our friendship could ever have been formed, if in the
first instance our sentiments had been so dissimilar. I must
honestly tell you, that if you ever write me such another letter
about Adelina, our correspondence ceases on that head. It is true
this charming Sicilian maid is fairer than Proserpine; but am I
Pluto, that could tear her from the arms of her fond parent, and
from the bright sphere she now moves in, to condemn her to the
shades of woe, from which she could know no return? So powerfully
do I feel "the might, the majesty of loveliness," that such a
thought never entered my head, nor would it yours, if you had ever
seen her; for one glance of her angelic eye would, like the touch
of Ithuriel's spear, put to flight all the offspring of evil. Since
I wrote to you last, Adelina's manner to me has totally changed; I
scarcely ever see her when I come to the villa. I can't tell what
to attribute this to, unless she thinks I have said too much and
too little. The matter shan't rest long in doubt;--her father goes
to Catania to-morrow, and I will take that opportunity for a
complete explanation. I cannot tell you how much I dread the crisis
of my fate so near at hand! No folly of my own shall deprive me of
a wife possessed of every charm, and every virtue, that can sweeten
or adorn life. If it did, I should deserve to be condemned to that
matrimonial limbo my father and his frigid Venus are so pitiably
bound in. I would prefer to such a trial the most ardent Purgatory!
A wife so charming and so unloving would drive me mad!

Yours truly,

FREDERICK ELTON.

A few months after the date of this last letter, Mr. Sedley received one from his friend, written at Paris, but probably from pique at the style of raillery in which he had continued to express his ideas on the subject of his love for "_La bella Adelina_," Mr. Elton never afterwards mentioned her name; and therefore, from that period, those Sedley received contained nothing of sufficient interest to present to the reader, who will now, however, have little difficulty in guessing the motive of the visit to Sicily, which Frederick mentions his intention of paying, in the letter which Lady Eltondale forwarded to Sir Henry Seymour, of which the subjoined is a copy. The "hopes and fears" he there speaks of, she supposed, alluded to some diplomatic appointments, as, for several months past, all his attention appeared to have been devoted to politics. And, whilst his father exulted in the hope of one day seeing the son he was so proud of "Minister Plenipotentiary" at Berlin, Petersburg, or Vienna, his fair spouse thought, with her usual sarcasm, "Frederick Elton is, no doubt, peculiarly qualified to carry on or develope the intrigues of a court, with his ridiculously romantic generosity, and high spirit, and candour! His elegant manner and his handsome person would carry every point he wished, if he would but avail himself of the influence these advantages would give him with the females, who are all-powerful in such scenes;--but the youth is much too high flown to have common sense on such matters. My Lord Eltondale is as silly on this subject as on all others, to wish to see his son in a situation where his _mal-adresse_ will undoubtedly cover him with disgrace!"

MR. ELTON TO THE VISCOUNT ELTONDALE.

Paris, July 25, ----

My dear Father,

I hope to be able to give you a satisfactory answer to your
question of "How do you spend your time at Paris?" for I have been
constantly employed, during the last year, in endeavouring to
acquire the political information necessary for the public career
you have chalked out for me; and this course of study I have
pursued with increased ardour, since my return to this capital,
with the congregation, not of preachers, but of kings, in order to
compensate for the unpleasant interruption my pursuits received in
spring from the marvellous apparition of the resuscitated French
Emperor. I am now tired of being a gentleman at large; and if you
will insist on my shining as an orator in the British senate, my
maiden speech ought shortly to be made, for being five and twenty,
I think I have no time to lose.

I see the time approach, which we agreed on for my return to
England, with a pleasure that is unalloyed by a shade of regret, as
the Continent contains no object whatever of interest to me. I
hope to add much to your stock of agricultural knowledge, as I have
made the various modes of practising that useful art one of my
principal objects of inquiry; and from Syria to Picardy I think I
shall be able to describe the present processes of husbandry to
your satisfaction. After all, perhaps, you will find me only an
ignoramus, though I fancy myself quite an adept.

I set off to-morrow to pay a short visit to Sicily. You will, no
doubt, be surprised at this retrograde movement; but should my
mission prove successful, I will explain the cause of it when we
meet, as I cannot trust my motives to paper; and if I do not carry
my wishes into execution, you will, I am sure, spare me the pain of
recapitulating them. But until my hopes and fears are at an end, I
at least shall not repose on a "bed of roses."

I cannot well express my anxiety to see you, my ever kind father,
after so long an absence! Pray remember me to Lady Eltondale. I am
sorry she should so far impeach my gallantry, as to suppose it
possible I could leave the letters of so fair a correspondent
unanswered. I hope ere this the receipt of mine will have induced
her to do me justice; if not, pray be my intercessor.

By the ship Mary, bound for Plymouth, I sent Lady Eltondale some
Sicilian vases and cameos, with a few bottles of ottar of roses,
and some turquoises I procured at Constantinople. If her Ladyship
has not received them, will you have the goodness to cause the
necessary inquiries to be made at the office of my agent in London,
to whom they were directed.

Believe me, my dear Lord,

Respectfully and affectionately yours,

FREDERICK ELTON.

Sir Henry Seymour, with an air of triumph, gave the above letter to Selina to read out to her aunt; at the same time casting a look at Mrs. Galton, as much as to say, "You see I was quite right. I have provided a husband for Selina, that we shall all be proud of." But her reflection on hearing it was, "I trust my affectionate, innocent, candid Selina is not destined to marry a cold-hearted designing politician. In what a style of heartless politeness does Mr. Elton speak of his father's wife! I fear he will treat his own in the same spirit of frigid etiquette;--indeed, nothing better is to be hoped, from the example he has always witnessed in his own domestic scene."