Two, by Tricks: A Novel

by Edmund Yates

'He is quite right,' muttered Spiridion to himself as he entered the house, and, followed by the servant, made his way to the studio, which was in the rear of the premises.

A splendid room, the walls hung with deep maroon-coloured cloth; on one side a huge oaken press, with its open doors showing an omnium gatherum of all kinds of costumes, some of which had overflowed their receptacle, and were lying on the floor; on the other side a second oaken cabinet, almost equally huge, and devoted to the reception of tobacco and cigars: an artistic pipe-rack, consisting of a number of heads cast in plaster-of-paris, was nailed against the wall, and pipes of all kinds, from the narghile of the Turk and the painted porcelain of the German to the humble cutty of the Irish labourer, were to be found about the room. At the end opposite to that by which Spiridion Pratt had entered was an open glass door leading into a lovely circular conservatory, where in the midst of a tesselated pavement a fountain was plashing, and where sweet singing birds were hanging amidst the ferns and flowers. In various parts of the room were three easels of different sizes, on one of which was a half-finished picture of a woman of great beauty and intellectual expression, but of a large size and commanding type. The colours on this picture were still wet, and on the ledge of the easel were the unclean palette and the sheaf of brushes.

'There is the Aspasie,' said the valet, pointing to the picture; 'and here,' producing them, 'are the cigarettes. Will not the signor take something to drink after his walk--a cup of coffee, or some Rhine wine and seltzer-water? It is here, close at hand.'

'No, thanks, Gaetano,' said Spiridion. 'I have a poor head, you know, and should never be able to do anything if I drank in the morning, but I will smoke a cigarette or two with pleasure, and will wait here, at all events, for half an hour to see if Mr. Eardley returns.'

Then the valet bowed and left the room.

'So this is the Aspasie, is it,' said Spiridion, lighting a cigarette and seating himself in a chair opposite the easel; 'this is the picture which next spring is to bring our friend two or three thousand pounds and a large addition to his fame? I cannot say with Browning, "I could have painted pictures like this youth's," for everything he does is immeasurably beyond me. This head, for instance, is remarkably fine, and there is a certain calm dignity, and sense of power about it which pleases me very much. Eardley has caught the right idea, no doubt. One can fancy that being the sort of woman to whom Socrates would give way, and whom Pericles would adore. A delightful person in her way,' he murmured, leaning back in his chair and shading his eyes with his hands, 'but scarcely the kind of person to have always about with you--to make one's wife, for instance. My idea of a wife is a little lovable creature like Eleanor Irvine, kind and gentle, but with plenty of spirit about her, as she showed last night at dinner in her defence of Lady Forestfield. If I am to marry, I do not see that I could do better than choose that little girl. She has no money, to be sure, but I have plenty, and she is quite the sort of person who will do one credit by her appearance. There is nothing objectionable in her surroundings either, which is a great point; for though Chadwick is not polished, every one knows him and he receives the best people, and there would be no real reason for seeing more of him than we chose. The question is, whether I ought to marry at all? I am not growing younger,' said Mr. Pratt, rising and surveying himself in the glass, 'and I have begun to get deuced liney round the mouth and eyes, and if I intend to do it at all, I had better do it now. It is a mistake, I believe, to suppose that marriage destroys your prestige with women. There are a lot of fellows of my acquaintance who seem to have infinitely more on their hands since their marriage than they had before--not that I think I should go in for that sort of thing myself. I should not either object, if I were once married, to settling down and becoming the most exemplary husband, that is to say, if people would only let me. When one has a certain amount of good looks and romantic feeling, and that kind of thing, it is almost impossible to go straight, and I know I have never had the heart to join in any of the abuse which I have heard showered upon the Forestfields, and wretched people of that kind, knowing how deserving I am of it myself. That is another reason, too, which makes me think it would be advisable to marry and get out of the way of temptation--the fear of any éclaircissement, and being dragged up before the world and written about in the newspapers. When a man regularly goes in for bonne fortune, such a thing does him no harm, and the more he is talked about the better he likes it; but I am not strong, and the mere worry of the thing would wear me to a shadow. I don't know how I am to get clear of my present entanglement; and yet if I am to fall in with Mrs. Chadwick's views, and propose to Eleanor, of course it must be done somehow. This picture,' he continued, turning back to the easel, 'reminds me uncommonly of Margaret. It has just her broad brow and queenly air; just her flashing eyes, and they will flash like the deuce when she hears what I am going to do. I wish I had never made her acquaintance. I was uncommonly proud of her at first, and used to like to be seen everywhere with her; but when that kind of thing is beginning, one never imagines or chooses to think what the end of it is to be. I have a strong idea, too, that Mrs. Chadwick has her suspicions in that direction. The persistent way in which she talked to me about the Hamblins last night--asking why they remained in town, and what was their probable destination when they left--could not have been mere chance work. She is, however, too much a woman of the world to allow an intrigue that was past and dead to interfere with my marriage with her sister, but would be sure to convince herself that it was very dead indeed before she sanctioned such a step. She is a very clear-sighted woman, whom one could not possibly hoodwink about such a matter, and I must therefore take some very decisive step with regard to Margaret.'

Mr. Spiridion Pratt's soliloquy was interrupted by the opening of the door; Gaetano appeared ushering in a lady.

'No, madame,' he said, 'I was mistaken; the master has not returned. Here is a signor who is still awaiting him--a signor who is, I think, known to madame.'

And the valet retired at once, closing the door carefully behind him.

'O, how do you do, Mrs. Hamblin?' said Spiridion Pratt, with very crimson cheeks and a rather shaking hand, rising to greet the lady.