He knew nothing of the skill by which these abilities were guided, nor how, like cunning shopkeepers dressing their wares to most advantage, such men exhibit their qualities with all the artifice of display. He never suspected the subtle flattery by which he was led to fancy himself the intimate of men whose names were freely talked of before him, till at length the atmosphere of the great world was to him like the air he had breathed from childhood.
“How the Prince would have relished O'Reilly!” said the Viscount to Twining, in a whisper easily overheard. “That racy humor, that strong native common-sense, that vigorous disregard of petty obstacles wherever he is bent on following out a path,—his royal Highness would have appreciated all these.”
“Unquestionably—been charmed with them—thought him most agreeable—great fun.”
“You remind me of O'Kelly,—Colonel O'Kelly,—O'Reilly; strange enough, too, each of you should be of that same old Celtic blood. But, perhaps, it is just that very element that gives you the peculiar social fascination I was alluding to. You are not old enough, Twining, to remember that small house with the bay-windows opening on the Birdcage Walk; it was like a country parsonage dropped down in the midst of London, with honeysuckles over the porch, and peacocks on the lawn in front of it. O'Kelly and Payne lived there together,—the two pleasantest bachelors that ever joined in partnership. The Prince dined with them by agreement every Friday. The charm of the thing was no state, no parade, whatever. It was just as if O'Reilly here were to take this villa, and say, 'Now, Lackington, I am rich enough to enjoy myself; I don't want the worry and fatigue of hunting out the pleasant people of the world; but you know them all, you understand them,—their ways, their wants, and their requirements; just tell me, frankly, could n't we manage to make this their rallying-spot throughout Europe? Settled down here in the midst of the most lovely scenery in the world, with a good cook and a good cellar, might not this place become a perfect Paradise?'”
“If I only knew that your Lordship, just yourself alone, and, of course, the present company,” added O'Reilly, with a bow round the table, “would vouchsafe me the honor of a visit, I'd be proud to be the owner of this place to-morrow. Indeed, I don't see why we would n't be as well here as traipsing over the world in dust and heat. If, then, the girls see no objection—”
“I should like it of all things, papa,” broke in Miss O'Reilly.
“I am charmed with the very thought of it,” cried Molly.
“Capital thought—romantic notion—save any amount of money, and no taxes,” muttered Twining.
“There's no approach by land whatever,” said Spicer, who foresaw that all his horse capabilities would receive no development here.
“All the better,” broke in Twining; “no interlopers—no fellows cantering down to luncheon, or driving over to dine—must come by boat, and be seen an hour beforehand.”