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  SOMERSET'S ADVENTURE

  _THE SUPERFLUOUS MANSION_

  Mr. Paul Somerset was a young gentleman of a lively and fieryimagination, with very small capacity for action. He was one who livedexclusively in dreams and in the future: the creature of his owntheories, and an actor in his own romances. From the cigar divan heproceeded to parade the streets, still heated with the fire of hiseloquence, and scouting upon every side for the offer of some fortunateadventure. In the continual stream of passers-by, on the sealed frontsof houses, on the posters that covered the hoardings, and in everylineament and throb of the great city, he saw a mysterious and hopefulhieroglyph. But although the elements of adventure were streaming by himas thick as drops of water in the Thames, it was in vain that, now with abeseeching, now with something of a braggadocio air, he courted andprovoked the notice of the passengers; in vain that, putting fortune tothe touch, he even thrust himself into the way and came into directcollision with those of the more promising demeanour. Persons brimful ofsecrets, persons pining for affection, persons perishing for lack of helpor counsel, he was sure he could perceive on every side; but by somecontrariety of fortune, each passed upon his way without remarking theyoung gentleman, and went farther (surely to fare worse!) in quest of theconfidant, the friend, or the adviser. To thousands he must have turnedan appealing countenance, and yet not one regarded him.

  A light dinner, eaten to the accompaniment of his impetuous aspirations,broke in upon the series of his attempts on fortune; and when he returnedto the task, the lamps were already lighted, and the nocturnal crowd wasdense upon the pavement. Before a certain restaurant, whose name willreadily occur to any student of our Babylon, people were already packedso closely that passage had grown difficult; and Somerset, standing inthe kennel, watched, with a hope that was beginning to grow somewhatweary, the faces and the manners of the crowd. Suddenly he was startledby a gentle touch upon the shoulder, and facing about, he was aware of avery plain and elegant brougham, drawn by a pair of powerful horses, anddriven by a man in sober livery. There were no arms upon the panel; thewindow was open, but the interior was obscure; the driver yawned behindhis palm; and the young man was already beginning to suppose himself thedupe of his own fancy, when a hand, no larger than a child's and smoothlygloved in white, appeared in a corner of the window and privily beckonedhim to approach. He did so, and looked in. The carriage was occupied bya single small and very dainty figure, swathed head and shoulders inimpenetrable folds of white lace; and a voice, speaking low and silvery,addressed him in these words--

  'Open the door and get in.'

  'It must be,' thought the young man with an almost unbearable thrill, 'itmust be that duchess at last!' Yet, although the moment was one to whichhe had long looked forward, it was with a certain share of alarm that heopened the door, and, mounting into the brougham, took his seat besidethe lady of the lace. Whether or no she had touched a spring, or givensome other signal, the young man had hardly closed the door before thecarriage, with considerable swiftness, and with a very luxurious and easymovement on its springs, turned and began to drive towards the west.

  Somerset, as I have written, was not unprepared; it had long been hisparticular pleasure to rehearse his conduct in the most unlikelysituations; and this, among others, of the patrician ravisher, was one hehad familiarly studied. Strange as it may seem, however, he could findno apposite remark; and as the lady, on her side, vouchsafed no furthersign, they continued to drive in silence through the streets. Except foralternate flashes from the passing lamps, the carriage was plunged inobscurity; and beyond the fact that the fittings were luxurious, and thatthe lady was singularly small and slender in person, and, all but onegloved hand, still swathed in her costly veil, the young man coulddecipher no detail of an inspiring nature. The suspense began to growunbearable. Twice he cleared his throat, and twice the whole resourcesof the language failed him. In similar scenes, when he had forecast themon the theatre of fancy, his presence of mind had always been complete,his eloquence remarkable; and at this disparity between the rehearsal andthe performance, he began to be seized with a panic of apprehension.Here, on the very threshold of adventure, suppose him ignominiously tofail; suppose that after ten, twenty, or sixty seconds of stilluninterrupted silence, the lady should touch the check-string andre-deposit him, weighed and found wanting, on the common street!Thousands of persons of no mind at all, he reasoned, would be found moreequal to the part; could, that very instant, by some decisive step, provethe lady's choice to have been well inspired, and put a stop to thisintolerable silence.

  His eye, at this point, lighted on the hand. It was better to fall bydesperate councils than to continue as he was; and with one tremulousswoop he pounced on the gloved fingers and drew them to himself. Oneovert step, it had appeared to him, would dissolve the spell of hisembarrassment; in act, he found it otherwise: he found himself no lessincapable of speech or further progress; and with the lady's hand in his,sat helpless. But worse was in store. A peculiar quivering began toagitate the form of his companion; the hand that lay unresistingly inSomerset's trembled as with ague; and presently there broke forth, in theshadow of the carriage, the bubbling and musical sound of laughter,resisted but triumphant. The young man dropped his prize; had it beenpossible, he would have bounded from the carriage. The lady, meanwhile,lying back upon the cushions, passed on from trill to trill of the mostheartfelt, high-pitched, clear and fairy-sounding merriment.

  'You must not be offended,' she said at last, catching an opportunitybetween two paroxysms. 'If you have been mistaken in the warmth of yourattentions, the fault is solely mine; it does not flow from yourpresumption, but from my eccentric manner of recruiting friends; and,believe me, I am the last person in the world to think the worse of ayoung man for showing spirit. As for to-night, it is my intention toentertain you to a little supper; and if I shall continue to be as muchpleased with your manners as I was taken with your face, I may perhapsend by making you an advantageous offer.'

  Somerset sought in vain to find some form of answer, but his discomfiturehad been too recent and complete.

  'Come,' returned the lady, 'we must have no display of temper; that isfor me the one disqualifying fault; and as I perceive we are drawing nearour destination, I shall ask you to descend and offer me your arm.'

  Indeed, at that very moment the carriage drew up before a stately andsevere mansion in a spacious square; and Somerset, who was possessed ofan excellent temper, with the best grace in the world assisted the ladyto alight. The door was opened by an old woman of a grim appearance, whoushered the pair into a dining-room somewhat dimly lighted, but alreadylaid for supper, and occupied by a prodigious company of large andvaluable cats. Here, as soon as they were alone, the lady divestedherself of the lace in which she was enfolded; and Somerset was relievedto find, that although still bearing the traces of great beauty, andstill distinguished by the fire and colour of her eye, her hair was of asilvery whiteness and her face lined with years.

  'And now, _mon preux_,' said the old lady, nodding at him with a quaintgaiety, 'you perceive that I am no longer in my first youth. You willsoon find that I am all the better company for that.'

  As she spoke, the maid re-entered the apartment with a light but tastefulsupper. They sat down, accordingly, to table, the cats with savagepantomime surrounding the old lady's chair; and what with the excellenceof the meal and the gaiety of his entertainer, Somerset was sooncompletely at his ease. When they had well eaten and drunk, the old ladyleaned back in her chair, and taking a cat upon her lap, subjected herguest to a prolonged but evidently mirthful scrutiny.

  'I fear, madam,' said Somerset, 'that my manners have not risen to theheight of your preconceived opinion.'

  'My dear young man,' she replied, 'you were never more mistaken in yourlife. I find you charming, and you may very well have lighted on a fairygodmother. I am not one of those who are given to change their opinions,and short of substantial demerit, those who
have once gained my favourcontinue to enjoy it; but I have a singular swiftness of decision, readmy fellow men and women with a glance, and have acted throughout life onfirst impressions. Yours, as I tell you, has been favourable; and if, asI suppose, you are a young fellow of somewhat idle habits, I think it notimprobable that we may strike a bargain.'

  'Ah, madam,' returned Somerset, 'you have divined my situation. I am aman of birth, parts, and breeding; excellent company, or at least so Ifind myself; but by a peculiar iniquity of fate, destitute alike of tradeor money. I was, indeed, this evening upon the quest of an adventure,resolved to close with any offer of interest, emolument, or pleasure; andyour summons, which I profess I am still at some loss to understand,jumped naturally with the inclination of my mind. Call it, if you will,impudence; I am here, at least, prepared for any proposition you can findit in your heart to make, and resolutely determined to accept.'

  'You express yourself very well,' replied the old lady, 'and arecertainly a droll and curious young man. I should not care to affirmthat you were sane, for I have never found any one entirely so besidesmyself; but at least the nature of your madness entertains me, and I willreward you with some description of my character and life.'

  Thereupon the old lady, still fondling the cat upon her lap, proceeded tonarrate the following particulars.