"'Well, Madam,' rejoined he, 'perhaps' (oh, the abominable word) 'I do; and if so, it is surely not unusual or marvellous in an unmarried man.'
"'But then, Sir,' I replied, (somewhat enraged at his tawdry 'perhaps',) 'sure before we become man and wife, you will no doubt part with and discharge this said paramour?'
"'Perhaps,' he rejoined, 'perhaps, (the third time, observe,) Madam, I may.'
"'Perhaps, Sir,' I loudly re-echoed, my blood boiling, my breath parting, my tongue gasping, and enraged to the very utmost, 'Perhaps, Sir,' I said vehemently, 'know, my hand never shall be yours—never, never!' Then with a strong impulse of collected coolness, for very often what is the most opposite will occur, I distantly retired, with the utmost indifference I dropt a low court courtesy, and never beheld him more."
The Duke proposed, previous to departing, to accompany his noble consort and family in a promenade on the pleasure grounds. Their Graces led the way; and while apart from the attending group, the Duke addressed the Duchess in a low voice—"I shall do every thing, depend upon it, that is within my power, to render my vicegerency popular; not from a love of popularity, but from the impulse of administering even and equal justice to all His Majesty's subjects, which is a debt I shall not fail to discharge, so far as the responsibility of my station admits, and my duty to the king allows. The salary which I may receive during my administration shall, to the uttermost farthing, be expended among the generous people, from whose purses I am to receive it; I shall assist the poor, and the great I will entertain. Thus when the termination of my government arrives, I trust that my departure from the viceregency shall not be mistaken for that of a collector of taxes, who retires sub umbra, having embezzled the public coffers, and who departs ex-officio, attended, justly I admit, with "curses, not loud but deep!" Oh no, my dearest love, by no earthly possibility shall any one mistake me for a Jamaica planter, a bullock feeder, or a Jew broker! Never; my private fortune shall be expended in addition to the princely income which I receive from the nation; and I am resolved that in every way it shall be my study, as it will be my pleasure, to prove indeed the true and appropriate representative of a noble and generous king!"
To this expressive burst of loyal and ardent feeling, the Duchess fully accorded her hearty assent. While the noble pair remained thus employed in discussing the high and grave affairs of state, the ladies Letitia and Lucy, attended by Sir Patricius Placebo and Captain Heaviside, were employed in admiring the surrounding scenery.
"What a romantic delightful prospect here presents itself to the spectator," observed Sir Patricius Placebo to Lady Letitia, who stood next him.
"Oh yes," replied her Ladyship, "it is truly a noble tract of verdant valley and lofty mountain, scenery, sea, and river; the goats on the rock, the sheep on the hill, and the cows in the vale; indeed the Duke positively asserts that the surrounding scene displays perhaps the most beautiful cow-dell (coup d'œil) in the whole kingdom."