第12章 Volume 1(12)

How he occupied himself,or what countries he visited during his absence,was never known,nor did he afterwards make any allusion or encourage any inquiries touching his foreign sojourn.He left Ireland in the year 1742,being then just of age,and was not heard of until the year 1760--about eighteen years afterwards--at which time he returned.His personal appearance was,as might have been expected,very greatly altered,more altered,indeed,than the time of his absence might have warranted one in supposing likely.

But to counterbalance the unfavourable change which time had wrought in his form and features,he had acquired all the advantages of polish of manner and refinement of taste which foreign travel is sup-posed to bestow.But what was truly surprising was that it soon became evident that Sir Robert was very wealthy--wealthy to an extraordinary and unaccountable degree;and this fact was made manifest,not only by his expensive style of living,but by his proceeding to dis-embarrass his property,and to purchase extensive estates in addition.Moreover,there could be nothing deceptive in these appearances,for he paid ready money for everything,from the most important purchase to the most trifling.

Sir Robert was a remarkably agreeable man,and possessing the combined advantages of birth and property,he was,as a matter of course,gladly received into the highest society which the metropolis then commanded.It was thus that he became acquainted with the two beautiful Miss F--ds,then among the brightest ornaments of the highest circle of Dublin fashion.Their family was in more than one direction allied to nobility;and Lady D--,their elder sister by many years,and sometime married to a once well-known nobleman,was now their protectress.

These considerations,beside the fact that the young ladies were what is usually termed heiresses,though not to a very great amount,secured to them a high position in the best society which Ireland then produced.The two young ladies differed strongly,alike in appearance and in character.The elder of the two,Emily,was generally considered the handsomer--for her beauty was of that impressive kind which never failed to strike even at the first glance,possessing as it did all the advantages of a fine person and a commanding carriage.The beauty of her features strikingly assorted in character with that of her figure and deportment.Her hair was raven-black and richly luxuriant,beautifully contrasting with the perfect whiteness of her forehead--her finely pencilled brows were black as the ringlets that clustered near them--and her blue eyes,full,lustrous,and animated,possessed all the power and brilliancy of brown ones,with more than their softness and variety of expression.She was not,however,merely the tragedy queen.When she smiled,and that was not seldom,the dimpling of cheek and chin,the laughing display of the small and beautiful teeth--but,more than all,the roguish archness of her deep,bright eye,showed that nature had not neglected in her the lighter and the softer characteristics of woman.

Her younger sister Mary was,as I believe not unfrequently occurs in the case of sisters,quite in the opposite style of beauty.She was light-haired,had more colour,had nearly equal grace,with much more liveliness of manner.Her eyes were of that dark grey which poets so much admire--full of expression and vivacity.

She was altogether a very beautiful and animated girl--though as unlike her sister as the presence of those two qualities would permit her to be.Their dissimilarity did not stop here--it was deeper than mere appearance--the character of their minds differed almost as strikingly as did their complexion.The fair-haired beauty had a large proportion of that softness and pliability of temper which physiognomists assign as the characteristics of such complexions.She was much more the creature of impulse than of feeling,and consequently more the victim of extrinsic circumstances than was her sister.

Emily,on the contrary,possessed considerable firmness and decision.She was less excitable,but when excited her feelings were more intense and enduring.She wanted much of the gaiety,but with it the volatility of her younger sister.Her opinions were adopted,and her friendships formed more reflectively,and her affections seemed to move,as it were,more slowly,but more determinedly.This firmness of character did not amount to anything masculine,and did not at all impair the feminine grace of her manners.

Sir Robert Ardagh was for a long time apparently equally attentive to the two sisters,and many were the conjectures and the surmises as to which would be the lady of his choice.At length,however,these doubts were determined;he proposed for and was accepted by the dark beauty,Emily F--d.

The bridals were celebrated in a manner becoming the wealth and connections of the parties;and Sir Robert and Lady Ardagh left Dublin to pass the honeymoon at the family mansion,Castle Ardagh,which had lately been fitted up in a style bordering upon magnificent.

Whether in compliance with the wishes of his lady,or owing to some whim of his own,his habits were henceforward strikingly altered;and from having moved among the gayest if not the most profligate of the votaries of fashion,he suddenly settled down into a quiet,domestic,country gentleman,and seldom,if ever,visited the capital,and then his sojourns were as brief as the nature of his business would permit.