lous, he added, "Such things have happened, and will happen again, whatever you may think of it, nephew; for be assured experience is the best teacher, and you may trust me," (here he prepared himself with solemnity for one of two or three favourite quotations which he possessed)- "There are more things in heav'n and earth, De Vere was sorry so much blame should be laid upon poor genius, but professed himself ignorant of the subject. "You naturally are," said Lord Mowbray; " but when by your own fidelity to party, you have been let into the secret of affairs, as long as I have been, you will find I may be a true prophet." To this, his nephew assented, as possible; but assured his uncle that in the instance before them, they ran no danger, for no one had ever detected in Clayton, one single spark of that genius or original thought, which he so much feared; that his character seemed to be that of mere matter-of-fact docility, a great admiration for scenes of nature, and great devotion to his friends; at the head of whom he felt that he himself stood, "if, indeed," added De Vere, "I am not already outrivalled by my uncle, for the kindness he seems to show him." "I have marked this in the youth," replied Lord Mowbray, with complacency; "he seems safe. We will talk further of this matter." The result was, that several conferences were held apart from De Vere, in which Lord Mowbray endeavoured to discover, (and the Parvenu discovered the endeavour, and brought it fully to account,) whether he himself, or his nephew, were the chief object of Clayton's devotion; and in the end, his lordship remained thoroughly convinced, that De Vere was loved chiefly out of gratitude, while all real attachment, respect, and consideration, were bestowed upon himself. This discovery, too, was made in a moment most critical for the fortune of Clayton; for at this very juncture my lord was beset with most puissant appli cations from persons of the first consequence, in favour of a gentleman of great hopes, and, as it was unfortu- © nately added, of great independence, both of fortune and mind, whom they recommended as a proper successor to the late secretary. "It will never do," observed Lord Mowbray, "and as Dr. Caius said, 'There shall no honest man come to my closet;"" so his lordship determined, that he would have no man of independent fortune and mind for his secretary. But another felicitous change awaited the Parvenu, beyond all that his most sanguine hope could have imagined: for this was precisely at the time when De Vere, in conformity to his long-settled plan, was preparing for a protracted absence on the continent. The death of Mr. Bromfield made it necessary to fill up the seat at Wellesbury, and as De Vere assented to his uncle's representation that the government ought not to lose a vote on account of his desire to travel, he even proposed, should Lord Mowbray appoint his friend to the vacant secretaryship, that he should also become his own locum tenens for the borough. The whole arrangement was approved; De Vere departed on his travels, and Mr. Clayton was introduced into the House of Commons. This brilliant initiation into business, as it astonished Clayton himself, so it filled his old acquaintance, some with envy, some with disgust, and all with wonder. It was of little consequence to the Parvenu, who, while his heart's best desire was crowned by being introduced into a rank in society beyond all hope, cared little for the sneers and contemptuous criticisms that were made on Lord Mowbray's choice on this occasion. A new world opened to him in the House of Commons, far surpassing any beau idéal he had ever ventured to form of his future fortune. The first men in the state, and, what was almost of as much consequence, the first in fashion, were there, and these, where he could, he cultivated with the whole force of his talents for insinuation. There also was Mr. Wentworth, and with him the leaders of the nation on both sides; and to these, from his office, and his patron's introduction, he was at least made known. At first, indeed, it being whispered that he was the mere locum tenens of a few months, he was regarded in that sort of doubtful light, which made the regular forces distant and cautious in admitting his advances. They cared not to consider him as legitimately initiated till they knew what was to be his real situation, and they were by no means disposed to acknowledge him by the authorized forms, established among legitimate powers, of invitations to dinner. He had, therefore, occasion for all his modesty and all his assurance to make the least way. But, to his honour be it said, he surmounted all. It became known that De Vere did not mean to return until he had completed a plan of travel on a most extended scale. The north (then not much known) was visited as well as the south. In fact, he remained full three years, which gave ample time for a manoeuvring spirit. With his own adroitness, therefore, Clayton during that interval had conciliated the most jealous, and we may imagine that his talent for progression had not been inactive. He did not attempt to be a speaker, but his tact exerted itself, and if he was mute as a debater, he was an excellent cheerer. De Vere, on his return, found him in full possession of all the rights and privileges, in regard to notice, acquaintance, and other agreeable et cæteras, which belong to a regular subaltern in the army of government. He had become even useful in what was called the management of the House, and was noticed by Mr. Wentworth for his knowledge of the members, and the frequency and zeal of his reports. Such a notice he well knew how to turn to profit, and the main chance had been so well pursued, that during these three years he had made a greater advance to his object than others during whole parliaments. In short, through the mist of futurity, gleams of hope had excited fresh expectations, and visions of brightness flitted before his eyes. CHAPTER XIV. POLITICAL LECTURES. I have been politic with my friend, smooth with mine enemy. SHAKSPEARE, THE advance and success of Clayton were necessary to re-kindle in De Vere, interests in regard to official objects and party politics which had been almost laid asleep. It is neither necessary to the views of this biography, nor is it the intention to give any account of his travels. Our objects are at home. It is enough to say that, though general politics, and statistical inquiries, were zealously pursued by him, he was equally, if not more bent upon an examination of the manners and customs of his fellow creatures with a view to that moral philosophy, which he always preferred to political, though the last was by no means undervalued. Of party politics he could acquire nothing abroad, and of these, when he returned home, it is inconceivable, considering his accomplishments in every thing else, how great was his ignorance. Clayton beat him far behind in this most necessary qualification for rising; but Clayton knew nothing else. This want of information, or absence of feeling on points so much the life and soul of an Englishman's excitements, made De Vere at first more indifferent than he ought to have been to the possession of the seat in parliament which had been held for him. Had his assistance been wanted upon questions of public, and particularly of foreign policy, he would have been eager enough. But having watched for these questions, he was surprised to find how seldom they seemed to be considered, and how comparatively absorbing was every thing that regarded local interests of which he knew nothing, or the power and influence of particular parties of which he knew little more. He, therefore, without much difficulty acceded to his un cle's request to allow Clayton to sit out the session, at the commencement of which he found him, nor was he sorry to pass the first month of his return in visiting his mother, and the favourite seat of his childhood at Talbois, for favourite it still was, spite of all the adversity of which it had been the scene. His friend the President told him he was wrong in this arrangement, and advised his instant entry into the House: but he thought he had time enough before him. He, however, on his return to London acquired, or recovered, so much of his former spirit of curiosity, that he began to visit both Houses as a spectator, and soon became so much interested in the contemplation of what was passing, as to regret that he had consented not yet to be an actor. At first, he was delighted, and even astonished, by the abilities of the leaders. He was fascinated by the force, the beauty, and the variety of their eloquence. The Premier had been used to speak in thunder, and the thunder still rolled, though only at a distance, while Lord Oldcastle (Lord Eustace's father) calmed his hearers by the smoothness of his periods. But Mr. Wentworth fixed every body, by a flow of language and ideas, which alike charmed the imagination and convinced the understanding. In the Opposition, one great leader was rapid in invective; another dazzled by his wit; a third by the graces of his fancy, which was so warm that which ever way he moved, graces seemed to drop all around him, and flowers to spring up under his feet. For some time this was enchanting to a mind like De Vere's, and he longed to possess his seat that he might never be absent from such a feast. But this was not the longing of Clayton. That prudent young man sought therefore to break the spell which had fascinated his friend. He talked of the tricks of eloquence, and, (with a coolness at which himself could not help laughing,) of trading politicians. Scarcely one in the House, he said, with Walpole, but had his price; and though of some, and even of the great majority, this was a wicked and despicable calumny, the creation of a peer, in the person of one of the most eloquent and active of the Opposition, |