The Absentee | Page 5

Mrs. Dareville.
'Ten thousand, I believe,' cried Lady Langdale. 'Make it a rule, you
know, to believe only half the world says.'
'Ten thousand, have they?--possibly,' said her grace. 'I know nothing
about them--have no acquaintance among the Irish. Torcaster knows
something of Lady Clonbrony; she has fastened herself, by some means,
upon him: but I charge him not to COMMIT me. Positively, I could not
for anybody-- and much less for that sort of person--extend the circle of
my acquaintance.'
'Now that is so cruel of your grace,' said Mrs. Dareville, laughing,
'when poor Lady Clonbrony works so hard, and pays so high, to get
into certain circles.'
'If you knew all she endures, to look, speak, move, breathe like an
Englishwoman, you would pity her,' said Lady Langdale.
'Yes, and you CAWNT conceive the PEENS she TEEKES to talk of
the TEEBLES and CHEERS, and to thank Q, and, with so much
TEESTE, to speak pure English,' said Mrs. Dareville.
'Pure cockney, you mean,' said Lady Langdale.
'But why does Lady Clonbrony want to pass for English?' said the
duchess.
'Oh! because she is not quite Irish. BRED AND BORN--only bred, not
born,' said Mrs. Dareville. 'And she could not be five minutes in your
grace's company before she would tell you, that she was HENGLISH,
born in HOXFORDSHIRE.'
'She must be a vastly amusing personage. I should like to meet her, if
one could see and hear her incog.,' said the duchess. 'And Lord
Clonbrony, what is he?'
'Nothing, nobody,' said Mrs. Dareville; 'one never even hears of him.'

'A tribe of daughters, too, I suppose?'
'No, no,' said Lady Langdale, 'daughters would be past all endurance.'
'There's a cousin, though, a Grace Nugent,' said Mrs. Dareville, 'that
Lady Clonbrony has with her.'
'Best part of her, too,' said Colonel Heathcock; 'd-d fine girl! --never
saw her look better than at the opera to-night!'
'Fine COMPLEXION! as Lady Clonbrony says, when she means a high
colour,' said Lady Langdale.
'Grace Nugent is not a lady's beauty,' said Mrs. Dareville. 'Has she any
fortune, colonel?'
''Pon honour, don't know,' said the colonel.
'There's a son, somewhere, is not there?' said Lady Langdale.
'Don't know, 'pon honour,' replied the colonel.
'Yes--at Cambridge--not of age yet,' said Mrs. Dareville. 'Bless me!
here is Lady Clonbrony come back. I thought she was gone half an
hour ago!'
'Mamma,' whispered one of Lady Langdale's daughters, leaning
between her mother and Mrs. Dareville, 'who is that gentleman that
passed us just now?'
'Which way?'
'Towards the door. There now, mamma, you can see him. He is
speaking to Lady Clonbrony--to Miss Nugent. Now Lady Clonbrony is
introducing him to Miss Broadhurst.'
'I see him now,' said Lady Langdale, examining him through her glass;
'a very gentlemanlike-looking young man, indeed.'

'Not an Irishman, I am sure, by his manner,' said her grace.
'Heathcock!' said Lady Langdale, 'who is Miss Broadhurst talking to?'
'Eh! now really--'pon honour--don't know,' replied Heathcock.
'And yet he certainly looks like somebody one certainly should know,'
pursued Lady Langdale, 'though I don't recollect seeing him anywhere
before.'
'Really now!' was all the satisfaction she could gain from the insensible,
immovable colonel. However, her ladyship, after sending a whisper
along the line, gained the desired information, that the young
gentleman was Lord Colambre, son, only son, of Lord and Lady
Clonbrony--that he was just come from Cambridge --that he was not
yet of age--that he would be of age within a year--that he would then,
after the death of somebody, come into possession of a fine estate, by
the mother's side 'and therefore, Cat'rine, my dear,' said she, turning
round to the daughter, who had first pointed him out, 'you understand,
we should never talk about other people's affairs.'
'No, mamma, never. I hope to goodness, mamma, Lord Colambre did
not hear what you and Mrs. Dareville were saying!'
'How could he, child? He was quite at the other end of the world.'
'I beg your pardon, ma'am, he was at my elbow, close behind us; but I
never thought about him till I heard somebody say, "My lord--"'
'Good heavens! I hope he didn't hear.'
'But, for my part, I said nothing,' cried Lady Langdale.
'And for my part, I said nothing but what everybody knows!' cried Mrs.
Dareville.
'And for my part, I am guilty only of hearing,' said the duchess. 'Do,
pray, Colonel Heathcock, have the goodness to see what my people are
about, and what chance we have of getting away to- night.'

'The Duchess of Torcaster's carriage stops the way!'--a joyful sound to
Colonel Heathcock and to her grace, and not less agreeable, at this
instant, to Lady Langdale, who, the moment she was disembarrassed of
the duchess, pressed through the crowd to Lady Clonbrony, and,
addressing her with