to one who seemed to govern the whole earth in his grasping imagination,

and who only quailed when he attempted to rule himself. Then on his word

and will depended my own happiness--the fate of all dear to me. I

endeavoured to divine the concealed meaning of his words. Perdita's name

was not mentioned; yet I could not doubt that love for her caused the

vacillation of purpose that he exhibited. And who was so worthy of love as

my noble-minded sister? Who deserved the hand of this self-exalted king

more than she whose glance belonged to a queen of nations? who loved him,

as he did her; notwithstanding that disappointment quelled her passion, and

ambition held strong combat with his.

We went together to the House in the evening. Raymond, while he knew that

his plans and prospects were to be discussed and decided during the

expected debate, was gay and careless. An hum, like that of ten thousand

hives of swarming bees, stunned us as we entered the coffee-room. Knots of

politicians were assembled with anxious brows and loud or deep voices. The

aristocratical party, the richest and most influential men in England,

appeared less agitated than the others, for the question was to be

discussed without their interference. Near the fire was Ryland and his

supporters. Ryland was a man of obscure birth and of immense wealth,

inherited from his father, who had been a manufacturer. He had witnessed,

when a young man, the abdication of the king, and the amalgamation of the

two houses of Lords and Commons; he had sympathized with these popular

encroachments, and it had been the business of his life to consolidate and

encrease them. Since then, the influence of the landed proprietors had

augmented; and at first Ryland was not sorry to observe the machinations of

The Last Man