 section 22 of mysteries of London volume 4 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Mike Botez mysteries of London volume 4 by George W. M. Reynolds the sirens arts and charms on gaining the street Charles Hartfield hurried along like one demented positively reeling with the influence which Perdita's charms, allurements and arts had shed upon him and feeling within his soul a glow of such ineffable happiness that he appeared to have been snatched from the world and wafted to Elysium had he just quitted a banquet where his head had been pillowed on the bottom of beauty and the fair hands of the charmer had held to his lips brimming goblets of champagne of which he had drunk deeply he would not have experienced a more extraordinary degree of excitement nor such felicitous sensations but the moment of reaction came and though the revulsion was slow yet it was powerful and even painful he had found his way into St. James Park and hurrying to the most secluded quarter he was still giving rain to the luxuriousness of his thoughts when it suddenly flushed to his mind that he had not received from the lips of Mrs. Fitz Hardinge the important communications which she had promised him indeed he had not seen her again from the moment when she showed him into the drawing room where he had found the lovely creature to whom his friendship his eternal friendship was so solemnly plighted striking his repeater for obscurity reigned in the portion of the park where he now was and he could not see the position of the hands of his watch he was amazed to discover that his interview with Perdita had lasted two hours two hours and it scarcely seemed to have occupied ten minutes but now his reasoning faculties returned and he began to ask himself innumerable questions wherefore I was conducted to the house was it really to receive important revelations from the mother who are only to be thrown into the way of the daughter why did not the mother make her appearance once during those two hours which I passed with the daughter was it a stratagem devised by designing women to ensnare me or was Mrs. Fitz Hardinge unexpectedly prevented from joining us so soon as she had intended my god I am bewildered I know not what to think for if they be women of evil repute and having sinister aims in view Perdita would not have given me to understand that they are at ease in their circumstances and hope to be even rich very shortly but that young creature so beautiful so indescribably so enchantingly beautiful what object could she have in pledging her friendship to me to me a stranger whom she had never seen before fool that I am wherefore did I give a similar promise to her oh it was in a moment of delirium of enchantment of intoxication and might it not also have been the same with her ah that belief would denote a boundless vanity on my part and yet women have their sudden caprices their instantaneous attachments as well as men yes it must be so Perdita loves me she loves me and I already love her deeply madly in return but scarcely had these thoughts pass through his brain when his heart smote him painfully severely reproaching him with his treachery towards Lady Francis Ellingham and suggesting a comparison between the retiring bashful beauty of this charming young creature and the warm impassioned bold loveliness of the siren Perdita the more Charles Hatfield pondered upon the strange scene that had taken place in Suffolk Street the less satisfied did he feel with himself he saw that his conduct had been rush precipitated and thoughtless and yet there was something so pleasurable in what he blamed himself for that he was not altogether contrite indeed he felt he admitted to his own secret soul that had he the power of recalling the last two hours he should act precisely in the same manner over again for when he thought of Perdita remembered her witcheries dwelt on her faultless charms and recalled to mind the mystic fascination of her language and the delicious tones of her voice his imagination grew inflamed his blood run rapidly and hotly in his veins and it seemed that were she Satan in female shape he could sell his soul to her it was late when he returned to Ellingham House and he repaired at once to his chamber but he could not sleep the image of Perdita haunted him and were it not so unseasonable an hour he would have returned to Suffolk Street under pretence of soliciting the promised revelations from Mrs. Fitzharden when he retired to rest and sleep did at last visit his eyes that beauty as image followed him in his dreams he thought that he was seated by the side of the witching fair one on the sofa and that she was reclining half embraced on his breast with her countenance flushed and wanton in expression upturned towards his own this delicious position appeared to last for a long long time neither uttering a word but drinking deep drafts of love from each other's eyes then he fancied that he stooped to press his lips to her delicious mouth but at that instant the lovely face changed elongating and undergoing so horrible a transformation that his eyes were fixed in appalling fascination upon it while at the same time he became sensible that the soft and supple form which he held in his arms was undergoing a rapid and signal change likewise till the whole being lately so charming so tender and so loving was changed into a hideous serpent a terrible cry escaped him and he awoke the rays of the gorgeous Sun were streaming in at the window as Charles Hadfield started from his slumber and to his surprise he found his father standing by the side of the bed you have been laboring under the influence of an unpleasant dream Charles said Mr. Hadfield taking his son's hand yes it was indeed a hideous dream exclaimed the young man shuddering at the idea which still pursued him and was that dream a reflex of any thoughts which occupy you when awake asked his father in a kind and anxious tone Charles surveyed his parent with a stonishment and then became absolutely crimson in the face for this early and unusual visit seemed to imply that its object was in some way connected with matters that had lately been occupying as the reader knows no inconsiderable share of the young man's reflections we mean the family secrets into which he had so strangely penetrated yes Charles continued Mr. Hadfield I feared that you had something up on your mind and your manner now confirms that apprehension for the last week you have not been the same gay happy lively being you so lately were and although you have endeavored to conceal your sorrow from observation yet it has not escaped the eyes of your affectionate mother and myself tell me Charles tell me candidly I implore you is it in consequence of the discovery that we are your parents and not mere relatives oh my dear father exclaimed the young man that discovery made me happy I solemnly assure you then where for are you melancholy and thoughtful at times asked Mr. Hadfield in a tone of deep interest melancholy and thoughtful repeated Charles mechanically yes my dear son and even at this moment even at this moment still repeated Charles whose imagination was wandering to Suffolk Street the influence of his dream haven't been to fill his soul with a more profound terror than he had ever before experienced from the worst of sleeps delusions yes even at this moment you are obstructed your ideas are unsettled and there is a wildness in your looks which terrifies me cried Mr. Hadfield speaking with strong emphasis and in an earnest manner Charles again I implore you to tell me the cause of this change which has so lately come over you dear father why will you press me on this subject cried the young man now brought to himself yet knowing not how to reply oh believe me believe me it will be better for us both that you do not persist in questioning me on the contrary Charles returned Mr. Hadfield speaking more seriously and furl me than before it will be far more satisfactory to me yes and to your mother also to be made the depositors of your secret cares you have assured me that you are not unhappy on account of the discovery made on the day when the Prince of Montoni was received at court and therefore I must conjecture the existence of some other cause of grief Charles my dear boy I did his father gazing steadfastly upon him you love lady Francis and you are fearful of avowing your passion the young man had expected that his father was about to speak on some of those family matters into the mysterious depths of which he had penetrated and therefore when Mr. Hadfield addressed to him that species of interrogative accusation Charles experienced a relief which betrayed itself as well in the brightening up of his countenance as in the surprise were with he regarded his parent ah now I have penetrated your secret cried the latter then ringing his son's hand he said impressively fear nothing but hope everything Charles and if you have reason to believe that lady Francis reciprocates your attachment hesitate not to offer her your hand with these words Mr. Hadfield hurried from the room leaving his son amazed and bewildered at the turn which the scene had so unexpectedly taken yes exclaimed the young man allowed after a long pause during which he reflected profoundly alike on his fearful dream and his father's suggestion I will banish Perdita from my memory for that vision was a providential warning the most deadly serpents often were the most beautyous skins and Perdita the siren Perdita has secret ends of her own to serve in thus throwing her silken chains around me there is mischief in her fascination the honey of her lips will turn to gall and bitterness in the mouth of him who presses them and Francis my charming cousin Francis who knows not that she is thus related to me sweet lady Francis is endowed with every quality calculated to ensure my happiness yes I will adopt my father's counsel I will secure the hand of this amiable girl then although I must sooner or later compel my sire to rest the earldom from his younger brother the blow will fall the less severely on the latter inasmuch as his daughter will become of his countess in espousing me and the countess at my father's death thus reasoned Charles had filled as he performed the duties of the toilet and when he descended to the breakfast parlor there was so fine a glow of animation on his countenance and so much happiness in his bright eyes that his parents were rejoiced to mark the change they did not however make any audible observation on the subject but the rapid and significant glances which they dealt at each other expressed the delight that filled their souls lady Francis looked more than usually beautiful and interesting on this occasion at least so thought Charles had filled as sitting himself by her side he ministered to her the attentions of the breakfast table the conversation turned upon an important event which was to take place in the evening the Prince of Montoni having accepted the Earl of Ellingham's invitation to Banquet at the Lordly mansion in Palmale it was resolved in order to render befitting honor to the illustrious guest that the entertainment should be of the most sumptuous description and no expense was to be spared on the occasion a select number of the noble's Earl acquaintances were invited and these were chosen not on account of great names and sounding titles but on the score of personal merit and consideration soon after breakfast Charles Hadfield and Lady Francis found themselves alone together in the apartment and the young maiden approaching her companion said in her artless fascinating manner I am delighted to see that you have recovered your natural gaiety do you know Mr. Charles that you have laterally been most desperately moody and reserved not towards you I hope they're funny he replied not for the worlds he added emphatically would I give you cause to think ill of me as for thinking ill of you Charles she observed that would be impossible but may I not seek to know the reasons of your late unhappiness let us not discourse upon the past funny said the young man earnestly I am happy now at all events happier too than ever because I perceive that my welfare is not altogether indifferent to you far from it observed Lady Francis with the ingenious emphasis of her extreme artlessness do we not live beneath the same roof are we not friends are not our parents very dear friends to each other and is it not therefore natural that I should feel interested in all that concerns your happiness adorable creature exclaimed Charles as he drew a rapid contrast between the charming naivete of the beautiful Lady Francis and the forward bold manner of the voluptuously lovely Perdita then taking his cousin's hand and gazing tenderly upon her innocent countenance he said funny were our parents to sanction our marriage would you consent to be mine Lady Francis withdrew her hand hastily and blushing deeply she gazed for a few seconds in the most unfeigned surprise on her companion you are not offended with me asked Charles I had hoped I had flattered myself no I am not offended with you returned funny now casting down her eyes and blushing even more deeply than before but I fear I tremble lest I am doing wrong thus to listen to you a virtuous affection is no crime said the young man hastily and now my dearest Francis if you feel that you can love me I would at once declare to your noble parents the attachment the deep attachment which I experienced towards you whatever my father and mother counsel will become law for me answered Lady Francis in a low and tremulous tone which convinced the suitor that he was not indifferent to her Charles pressed her hand to his lips and hurried from the room with the intention of immediately seeking the Earl of Ellingham but in the passage he encountered domestic who gave him a note which had been left by a messenger the address was in an elegant female hand and the word private was written in the corner Charles hastened to his own apartment and read the note the contents of which runners follow my dearest friend before you see my mother again I must have a few words with you in private she is compelled to visit her solicitor at midday and will be absent for at least two hours I shall expect you as soon after 12 as possible per data fits hard inch no I will not accept the invitation exclaim the young man allowed then gazing again at the note he murmured what a charming handwriting and how beautiful thus her mystic and romantic name appear upon paper per data it is a name which possesses an irresistible attraction but oh that dream and yet it was but a dream and a very silly dream the more I contemplated heavenly warnings are not sent by such means and Lady Francis might as well have been the subject of the vision of per data what can she require with me she must have a few words with me in private before I see her mother again then her mother expects and intends to have an interview with me and she must therefore have certain communications to make after all this does not appear like delusion nor trickery no the old lady really has matters of import to discuss with me and I should be wrong I should perhaps be criminally neglectful of my own interests were I not to hear whatever she may have to state and per data it would be at least rude and ungentlemanly on my part not to attend to dismissive the nature of which appears to be urgent yes I will call on per data it is already verging close upon midday and there is no time to be lost but after all that has passed between dear Francis and myself this morning I shall be as distant and reserved as politeness will admit I shall arm myself against the fascinations of the siren and if she offers to release me from the pledge of friendship so inconsiderately given I shall not fail to accept with joy the proposed emancipation but before he repaired to Suffolk Street did he not seek his father to communicate to him the important fact that he had duly followed his counsel and solicited the hand of Lady Francis or did he not obtain an interview with the Earl and acquaint him with the nature of the conversation which had taken place between himself and the nobleman's daughter alas no for it was close upon 12 when the young man received per data's note and he thought that he did not precisely signify for an hour or two when he might make those statements whereas it was necessary to see the siren without delay thus reason Charles had filled to himself and the reader will agree with us in deciding that the necessity which constituted the excuse for his conduct was not quite so urgent as he chose to fancy it moreover since Charles Hadfield resolved to appear as reserved and formal as he well might be towards per data it was assuredly strange that he should devote more than usual attention to his toilet arranging his hair in the most becoming style and surveying with inward satisfaction his very handsome countenance in the mirror the clock struck 12 as he quitted the house and it was impossible to conceal from himself the fact that he was rejoiced at having an excuse to call upon per data then as he proceeded with some degree of rapidity towards Suffolk Street he could not possibly prevent his imagination from indulging in exciting conjectures how per data would be dressed how she would look by daylight and how she would receive him when she observed his studied coolness and his constraint of manner poor girl he murmured to himself if she really hoped to find a sincere friend on me how will she bear the disappointment which is in store for her it grieves me oh it grieves me to be compelled to inflict a wound upon her gentle heart but duty yes my duty towards lady frances leaves me no alternative with a beating heart he knocked at the door and in less than a minute he was conducted to the drawing room where per data was waiting to receive him the young lady was dressed in an elegant morning wrapper and the weather being intensely hot the ribbons which should have fastened it around the neck were left untied so that it remained open at the bottom her hair was arranged in bands and she wore cap of the slightest material but the snowy whiteness of which enhanced the glossy richness of those luxuriant masses that crowned her fine forehead her large gray eyes with her dark pupils were as bright and lustrous as on the preceding evening and the noonday sun detracted not from the exquisite whiteness of the neck and shoulders and the healthy hues of complexion of the countenance which had shown to such advantage by candlelight now per data was as ravishingly beautiful on this occasion as on the former and there was a freshness yes even an appearance of virgin freshness about her matured and developed as her charms were which counteracted the impression that her wanton looks and the forwardness of her manner might otherwise have created in respect to her virtue her depravity in australia had not impaired her loveliness nor marred the youthfulness of her beauty her face her figure afforded not an intimation that she had been steeped in licentious enjoyments from the age of 13 until she embarked on board the ship that wafted her to england the moment charles hadfield entered the room he was struck by the enchanting loveliness of per dita as much as he had been on the preceding evening indeed as completely as if this were the first time that he had ever seen her for an instant he stopped short as if he dared not proceed further within the sphere of that cercian influence which a warning voice within his soul seemed to declare was alluring him on to total destruction but fascinated as a tremulous bird by the eye of the serpent he advanced towards a beautiful creature who rose from the sofa to receive him then as he felt her warm hand in his as her countenance beamed upon him in all the glory of its loveliness as her soft musical and delicious voice flowed upon his ear born on a breath fragrant as the perfume of flowers and issuing from lips that seemed to have robbed the rose of its tint he felt his stern resolves thawing within him and experienced the impossibility of manifesting coolness towards a creature of such exquisite charms and such rare fascinations I thank you my dear friend for this punctuality she said gently drawing him to a seat by her side on the sofa when she resumed her place have you thought of all that passed between us last evening and have you reflected that we played the part of silly children in pledging eternal friendship total strangers as we were to each other or did you regard the preceding as a natural and solemn compact to be inviolably maintained where for these questions Perdita inquired Charles dazzled by the impassioned looks that were fixed upon him have you yourself repented I never repent of anything that I may do answered Perdita hastily I do nothing without being convinced beforehand that I am acting judiciously and properly and when I most appear to be the child of impulse I am on those occasions the most considerate cautious and reflective but this may not be the case with you and therefore it was incumbent upon me to ascertain your feeling in respect in respect to that friendship which I have sworn exclaimed Charles no longer master of himself not for the worlds would I recall the pledge I gave then we are friends friends in the manner I had hoped we should be said the young woman but it was necessary that I should be assured of this before I spoke to you on a subject which otherwise would have been indifferent to you she added bending on her companion a look that seemed to invite him to kiss the red pouting lips which now parting with a delicious smile revealed her somewhat large but pearly even and admirably shaped teeth proceed my dearest dearest friend exclaimed Charles no longer thinking of Lady Francis but totally absorbed in the fascination which attracted him towards the bewitching Perdita you call me your friend and it is as a friend that I wish to consult you Charles said the young woman heaving a deep sigh you must know that singular being that I may appear to you and even unmaidingly hasty in forming so sincere a friendship no no you obey the dictates of a generous heart a heart as ingenious and innocent as it is fervid and warm cried Charles season one of her hands and pressing it in both his own ah now you comprehend my sentiments just as I would have explained them had I been able to find language for the purpose she said abandoning her hand to him as if unwittingly but as I was about to observe I am all candor and frankness that is my deposition and when he left me last evening I immediately hastened my mother who was seized with a sudden indisposition which prevented her from joining us in the room and to her I revealed at once and unhesitatingly every word of the conversation that had occurred between you and me and she doubtlessly approached you for opening your heart so freely to one who was a complete stranger to you said Charles now fearful lest Mrs. Fitzhardinge should forbid his visits to Perdita in future she reproached me indeed but mildly and blindly answered the deceitful young woman assuming a plaintive tone and yet not so mildly as was her want on former occasions for it appears that she has formed certain views in regard to me views of marriage marriage Perdita repeated Charles Hadfield bitterly yes she responded her voice drawing more mournful still a man of immense wealth and with a noble title but whose name I do not even yet know and whom I have never seen oh this is infamous thus to dispose of you to a person whom perhaps you may never be able to love cried Charles with strange emphasis and excitement of manner love I shall hate and abhor him even though he be handsome and amiable beyond all conception exclaimed Perdita I shall detest him for the mere fact that I am compelled to espouse him but will you yield with docility to an arrangement which seems to me pardon the freedom with which I speak of your mother to be indelicate and unjust demanded the young man hey lass I fear that I have no alternative save to yield with as good a grace as I can assume answered Perdita tears now starting to her eyes and trembling on her long dark lashes for the nobleman whom my mother would thus force me to wed is her opponent in the lawsuit and he has discovered a means of establishing his claims beyond all possibility of further dispute oh I understand the dreadful selfishness that is now at work in respect to you cried Charles he will allow your mother to enjoy the fortune provided you are emulated sacrificed yes those are the terms and now you may easily comprehend how I shrink from such a fate exclaimed the young woman sobbing profoundly but this nobleman who is he what is his name demanded had filled powerfully excited I know so little of my mother's private affairs that I am unable to answer the question said Perdita to speak candidly she refused even to mention the name or the age of this unknown suitor for my hand and therefore I apprehend the worst indeed from an observation which she inadvertently dropped I am convinced that he is old very old and you who are so young and so beautiful cried Charles had filled gazing upon her with admiration nay with adoration and enthusiastic worship it were an infamy a crime a diabolical crime thus to sacrifice you yet such is my mother's intention murmured Perdita and therefore was it that she reproached me for vowing a permanent friendship with you then mrs. Fitz hardage will emulate you on the altar of selfishness she will sell you for gold sell you perhaps to an old man who may be hideous and who is certain to be loathsome to you exclaimed Charles speaking with all the rapidity of wild excitement yes and it was not until last night that I was aware of the frightful arrangement which my mother had thus made the dreadful compact to which he had assented it seems that this nobleman had heard of me and the description given of my appearance pleased him so that when he yesterday discovered the existence of some paper which at once annihilated all my mother's previously conceived hopes of gaining the lawsuit he promised his hateful conditions and mrs. Fitz hardinge has now sought her attorney for the purpose of declaring that I ascend to this most unnatural union added Perdita with a well feigned emphasis of violent sorrow but was it possible that you could hold out to your mother even the faintest prospect of thus sacrificing all your happiness suddenly and in a moment demanded Charles when I beheld my mother weep heard her implore and besiege and was made aware of the ruin that threatened her unless I agreed to the proposals of this unknown suitor I wept also and my tears choking me my silence was taken for ascent then my mother departed to visit her solicitor and in my despair I dispatched a note to you praying you to call on me during her absence my god what counsel what advice can I give you exclaimed Charles bewildered by the tale which was told so plausibly that not a doubt of his truth existed in his mind I cannot see you sacrificed thus yet how can I save you oh were I possessed of a fortune I would bestow it upon your mother that she might leave you free and unshuckled to obey only the dictates of your own will follow your own inclinations and bestow your hand where you could likewise grant your affections ah my generous friend murmured Perdita advancing her countenance towards his own as if unwittingly and in the excitement of her feelings how deeply grateful to you I am for these assurances I knew that I should receive your sympathy if not your aid your commiseration if not your assistance how can I assist you dearest Perdita exclaimed Charles pressing her hand violently in his own the liberality of my pa my uncle and aunt I mean have enabled me to accumulate some seven or eight hundred pounds for my allowance is far more liberal than my expenditure and that amount is at your mother's service but it is so small so contentably small in comparison with the fortune which she doubtless hopes to acquire nevertheless it may procure a delay by rescuing my mother from the immediate embarrassments in which this sudden change in the aspect of her affairs has plunged her said Perdita for to speak candidly to you her solicitor has been advancing her irregular income during the time that the suit has lasted and now since all hope of gaining it is destroyed no further supplies can be expected from that quarter yes it may procure a delay said Charles in amusing town and with the leisure to reflect calmly deliberately much may be done oh Perdita never never could I see you thus sacrificed to a man whom you would abhor generous friend to us heaven who sent you to me exclaimed the young woman drooping her head upon his breast and weeping weeping tears of gratitude as he fondly believed he threw his arms around her he pressed her to his heart he clasped her with such fervor that the embrace was passionately violent he strained her as it were to the seat of his very soul then hastily losing his hold he raised her face her warm blushing face and on her lips he imprinted a thousand rapturous kisses those lips that were literally glued to his own he looked into her eyes and read love desire and passion in those orbs now melting with longer and wantonness for Perdita herself had almost entirely lost all power of self control and clung to him as if inviting the full extreme of voluptuous enjoyment he felt her bosom heaving against his chest and maddened with excitement his daring hand invaded the treasures of those swelling palpitating globes so snowy in their whiteness so warm with their licentious fires but at that instant Perdita recovered her presence of mind and it flashed to her memory that it was no part of her scheme to surrender herself completely up to him until she had ensnared his affection so fully so inextricably that all subsequent escape or entrenchment through repentance and remorse should be impossible accordingly resting herself from his embrace and retreating to the farther end of the sofa she hastily arranged her cap and disheveled hair drew the wrapper over her breast and turning up on him eyes that still seemed to swim in liquid linger said in half reproachful manner oh charles is his friendship would you ruin me sweetest dearest creature exclaimed the young man did i not tell you yesterday night that friendship was a sentiment dangerous for us to feel and the word perilous for our tongues to utter oh Perdita it is not friendship that i feel for you it is love ardent sincere and devoted love and to us not friendship at first sight that i experienced for you the moment i last evening set foot in this room but to us love love my Perdita such love as never before did man entertain for a woman and it was because i love you charles murmured Perdita in her softest tenderest tones that i loathe and abhor the idea of that union which my mother has so inconsiderably so rushly so cruelly planned for me you love me Perdita ejaculated the young man wild with joy oh thanks ten thousand thanks for that assurance my own sweet Perdita i was happy in the possession of your friendship but i am now mad demented in the confidence of owning your love for the love of such a being as yourself is something that would make a paradise of the blackest and most barren desert on the face of the earth is it possible then that i possess your love Perdita dearest Perdita oh tell me so once more it is so delicious to hear such an avowal from your lips yes charles i love you i do indeed love you reply the young woman throwing as much softness into her melting tones as much witchery into her manner and as much voluptuous longer into her glances as she possibly could it was like a scene of enchantment for that young man of wild and fervid impulses and he was completely wholly absorbed in its magic interest an interest so enthralling so captivating that he felt as he had been suddenly wafted into a new world of delights unknown in this sublunary sphere lady frances was forgotten his parents his ambitious aims and even his admiration of the prince of montoni all all were forgotten in the delirium of passion which had seized upon him you love me you do indeed love me he exclaimed and approaching the object of his worship he again won his arms around her again drunk in the sweetness of her moist red lips charles charles she murmured you are gloriously handsome and i adore you you but as she thus spoke she once more disengaged herself from his maddened embrace for she felt that her own passions ever violent were raging to a degree that became almost uncontrollable and now listen to me patiently and tranquilly if you can and i will lay down the conditions on which our complete happiness may be based conditions which have for their elements that generous confidence that mutual reliance and that candor and frankness which alone constitute pure affection proceed dearest pardita said hatfield i am all attention and your voice is sweeter in my ears than the most delicious music pardita once more arranged her cap and the massive bands of her glossy hair then turning with the simulation of charming artlessness towards her companion she addressed him in the following manner end of section 22 recording by mike botez section 23 of mysteries of london volume four this is a libre box recording all libre box recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libre box or recording by brian keenan mysteries of london volume four by george w m reynolds the dangerous sophistry of a lovely woman you are now about to discover a new faces in my character dear charles and perhaps you will look upon my notions and opinions as unmaidantly and bold if not positively immoral but remember that i am not like the generality of my sex and that my sentiments though audacious as innovations are nevertheless as sincerely believed in as the air tenaciously clung to by me it is because you are so different from other women not only in the loveliness of your person but also in the tone and strength of your mind said charles that i am thus enamored of you yes and proud too of possessing your affection in return but i'm about to preach a doctrine which you may think repugnant to the befitting delicacy of my sex return predita for it is of the uselessness of the marriage rights that i have now to discourse proceed dearest said charles and i will frankly give you my opinion on your views in this respect ah now you encourage me to open my heart to you my dear friend exclaimed predita and you do not affect the sanctimonious hypocrite who frowns even before he has heard the argument broached thus stands our present position in my estimation we love each other devotedly earnestly added charles with strong emphasis the image of lady francis being as completely banished from his mind as if such a person as that charming creature did not exist in the world yes we love each other devotedly and earnestly continued predita and the extent as well as the ardor of our passion is the something which should remain a solemn and sacred mystery to the vulgar and curious observer it is a secret which we should cherish between ourselves a secret whose charm is spoiled or at all events marred by being revealed to others who are indifferent to us this is one reason wherefore i consider the pompous ceremony of marriage to be actually detrimental to the fervid ardent and warm attachment which seeks to hide itself in the bosoms of the fond couple who entertain it then again i should not be happy were i to have the conviction that i was so in shame to you by legal trammels that you could not cast me off did i become displeasing to you for i should never know whether you still clung to me through the endurance of real affection or because an indissoluble bond forged by human legislation united us no i would rather that our love rested upon its own basis alone existing by its own vitality and through no borrowed and artificial auxiliary that it should be a mutual confidence a mutual reliance free and independent in one sense and compulsory in none if on these terms you will take thy predicted to thine arms charles then indeed shall i gladly become thine but if our union must be characterized by solemn ceremonies and cold inanimate rites then heartbreaking as the alternative will be i can never never be more to thee than a sincere and faithful friend dearest predita exclaimed charles i receive all these confessions of your peculiar sentiments as new proofs of your love for me for by the very nature of the conditions which you stipulate you convince me of the trust which you repose in my fidelity and honor yes because in defiance of the opinion of the world i surrender myself up to you to be a wife and everything save in respect to that ceremony which is the first object of a virtuous woman's thoughts murmured predita and now dear charles do you entertain a mean opinion of my principles because i dare to chalk out a path of happiness according to my own fancy no no predita cried the young man pressing to his lips the hand which was extended to him with such an appearance of ingenuousness that had quite enchanted him but how is it possible that you so young should have pondered so seriously on the subject of love and of marriage for you have assured me that you never loved till now though nineteen summers have not yet passed over my head interrupted predita my mind has traveled much in the realms of thought and meditation and though as i will candidly confess to you i have read but little yet have i pondered much and there is about you a mystery as charming and as interesting as your loveliness is indescribably great said charles and you know angel that you are how i adore you then if we plight our faith to each other today as solemnly and as emphatically as yesterday night we vowed an eternal friendship shall you ever repent the step you will have taken as predita gazing affectionately on her handsome companion whose looks seem to devour her repent what repent the step that makes you mine he exclaimed no never never and you take me as your wife on the conditions i have named that i am to be a wife and no wife said predita her musical voice sounding soft as a silver bell and tremulously clear ravishment in her tone love in her eyes and warmth in the tender pressure of the hand which the young man had grasped yes i take you as my wife on those conditions he returned pressing her to his bosom but there are still many things to be considered my predita he observed after a short pause during which they exchanged the most rapturous kisses in the first place your mother i shall boldly acquaint her with what i have done said predita and she will not seal my unhappiness by an opposition which after all would be vain and useless added this iron and will not missus fits harding recoil and horror from the idea that her daughter should have formed this connection without bearing the legal name of a wife demanded charles gazing earnestly on her beautiful countenance leave me to make my mother a convert to my own principles respecting marriage was the reply and now with regard to yourself my charles you need be under no restraint continue to dwell with your family and visit me as frequently as you can in fact i shall of course expect you to pass as much of your time as possible with me but never when your relatives and friends require your presence oh on these terms we shall indeed be supremely happy cried charles and now you are my wife yes and you are my husband blushingly answered the siren as she drooped her head upon his breast he wound his arms around her and then their lips met in warm and luscious kisses charles grew bolder his hand wandered to predita's glowing bosom and predita no longer restrained no longer shrank back still however she did not choose to surrender herself immediately a little more tantalization would only rivet his enthusiastic attachment and confirmed the madness of his devouring passion and accordingly at the moment when wild with desire he was about to claim the privilege of a husband she started from his arms exclaiming hush my mother has returned i hear her approaching they separated retreating to the ends of the sofa and predita arranged her disordered hair once more no one however came it was a false alarm as predita indeed well knew it to be you must leave me now charles she said for my mother cannot be long here she comes back tomorrow at midday i shall be again alone for i am aware that she will have to pay another visitor attorney come then at that hour and i will tell you all that is passed between my parent and myself not an instant later than 12 tomorrow shall i be exclaimed charles and now forgive me for returning for a moment to worldly affairs quitting the paradise of happiness to which you have raised me my predita but in respect to the small sum oh i had forgotten all our arrangements with regard to that matter said predita and indeed i detest and abominate money affairs but now as your wife dearest charles i may mention my wishes on that head without a blush i should therefore be pleased if you could forward the amount to me in the course of the afternoon and i will use it to the best possible advantage with my mother in less than an hour it shall be here in an envelope sealed and addressed to yourself said charles farewell my sweet predita farewell until tomorrow they embraced each other fervently and charles hatfield took his departure before he returned home he walked into the park to collect his scattered thoughts and acquire some degree of composure his perfidy his infamous treachery towards lady frances now burst upon him in all its hideousness that very morning had he demanded his cousin's hand in marriage and within an hour afterwards he had solemnly contracted a strange and scarcely comprehensible union with predita fits hearting his conduct seemed vile in the extreme his heart smote him painfully yet was he so completely infatuated with predita that he could not calmly contemplate the idea of breaking with her forever he was like a gambler who loaths himself for his ready yielding to a ruinous vice but who nevertheless returns with renewed zest to the gaming table for charles thought of the happiness which he had so nearly attained on this eventful day in which he felt assured must await him on the moral he could not banish from his imagination the recollection of those charms which had plunged him into a perfect delirium of passion and the more he thought on the witching loveliness of predita the less inclined was he to resign her then came the almost inevitable results of the sophistry which the designing woman had called to her aid results which may be explained the more completely by following the current of the young man's thoughts after all i am not indesolably bound to predita nor has she forever linked her destiny with mine no marriage ceremony has taken place between us nor will any i am not inextricably fast to her apron strings and yet and yet is it honorable of me to make such calculations the inferences to be drawn from which i am ashamed even to express to my own secret self no no because no legal ties exist between us i am the more imperiously bound to remain faithfully attached to her beautiful enchanting mysterious predita how has thou enthralled me but my god am i not your willing slave do i not accept the yoke which thou hast thrown upon me would i release myself from those silken chains even were i able no ten thousand times no my adored my worshipped predita i care not whether thou dost exercise a supernatural enchantment over me if thou art satan in a female shape or a serpent as my dream appeared to give warning i cannot cease to love thee no never never but what of lady francis ellingham oh it was rash it was indiscreet of him to solicit her hand but had he not acted in pursuance of the advice of his father and had he gone so far as to be unable to retreat alas charles headfield the sophistry of predita has rendered the sophistical until thou dost stand on the very threshold of villainy reckless art thou of the whisperings of conscience thou art infatuated with the fatal beauty of thy predita and the hope the burning hope of tasting in her arms the pleasures of paradise renders these studious only to subdue the remorse that whispers to thee the name of the outraged lady francis ellingham having wandered in the park for upwards of half an hour charles headfield be thought himself of the promise to send the amount of his savings to his beauty as predita and hastening home he sought his chamber which he reached unperceived by anyone save the domestic who gave him admission that he was thus unobserved was a source of satisfaction in as much as he felt that his cheeks were flushed and he feared lest his appearance might seem singular opening his desk he took from a secret drawer the banknotes which constituted his savings and enveloping them in a sheet of paper he issued forth again to leave the parcel at the house in suffolk street this being done charles returned to the park where he roamed about until the hour arrived when it was necessary for him to return home in order to dress for dinner the reader must not forget that a splendid banquet was to take place that evening at the mansion of the ear of ellingham a banquet given in honor of the prince of montoni and at which his royal highness was to be present as the hour approached charles headfield felt his heartbeat and all his admiration of the illustrious hero revived so that his mind was laboring under no inconsiderable degree of excitement as he thought of predita on the one hand the prince on the other and also of lady francis ellingham end of section 23 recording by brian keenan section 24 of mysteries of london volume 4 this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by jillian henry mysteries of london volume 4 by george w m reynolds a throne surrounded by republican institutions the entertainment was of the most splendid description worthy of the hospitality and taste of the noble host and hostess the prince of montoni was dressed in plain clothes but on his breast gleamed the star denoting his rank and on his left leg he wore the english garter his royal highness having been admitted on the previous day a member of that illustrious order he was seated on the right of the countess of ellingham lady francis being next to him and charles hatfield occupying the place immediately following in addition to these personages and the earl of ellingham mr hatfield and lady georgiana there were sir john lassell clarence filier and adley and the select few who had been invited to the banquet on this occasion the prince was naturally of a modest and unassuming disposition though endowed with ample dignity to maintain his lofty rank and honorably fill his high position yet bearing himself so condescendingly and affably that everyone felt completely at ease in his presence even sir john lassell who had grown somewhat morose and difficult to please in his old age was quite delighted with the youthful hero whose conversation was characterized by so much sound sense and such a total absence of obtrusiveness charles hatfield was delighted at the thought of being once more in company with the object of his worship and he seemed to hang upon every word that fell from the lips of the prince of montoni as if he were listening to a demigod when the ladies had retired the conversation turned upon political matters and the earl of ellingham questioned the prince relative to the condition of the castles of callans whom report newspapers and books represented to be in the highest possible state of civilization prosperity and happiness this sovereign highness my revered father-in-law said the prince has exerted himself in all possible ways to render his people contented and flourishing the task may seem to be difficult for a monarch to undertake but it really is not so honorable upright and liberal-minded ministers are to be found in all countries if the sovereign have but the discrimination to select them indeed a chamber of deputies rightly constituted will be sure to indicate the most efficient and trustworthy men to whom the responsibilities of government may be safely confided every man in castles akala having a habitation in which he may be said to be settled no matter whether it be a house of his own or a mere lodging has the right of suffrage the elections take place by ballot and thus considering that all save absolute mendicants have the power of voting and seeing likewise the immense number of voters that there are bribery is almost impossible but to ensure as much as mortal means can the purity of election any attempt at bribery or intimidation is counted a misdemeanor and is punished by a fine imprisonment and the loss of civil rights for a period of seven years under these circumstances our elections take place in an orderly quiet and honest manner the people conduct themselves with propriety because they recognize the generous confidence reposed in them by their sovereign and endeavor to render themselves worthy of it when your royal highness liberated castles akala and opened the way for the grand duke alberto to the throne said sir john lassell who had listened attentively to the prince's observations the castles akala were in a state of abject slavery were these boons of consummate freedom conferred upon them in a moment and if so were the people prepared in any way to receive them an ocean in slavery sir john answered the prince is like a body in a condition of deep disease now would you restore that body to perfect health all in a moment if you had the power or would you only affect the restoration by slow and almost imperceptible degrees as a conscientious and an honest man i should of course adopt the mode of instantaneous cure replied the physician then sir john your question whether the castles akalans were prepared to receive the consummation of their freedom in a moment is answered said the prince smiling believe me those statesmen who talk of the necessity of gradual reform are either weak and timid or else in their hearts opposed to the interests of the people freedom is a nation's right and a right cannot be recognized too suddenly nor too frankly where your fortune in the grasp of a rapacious monarch should you be contented by receiving it in small installments according to his caprice and good pleasure no certainly not you would demand and expect to receive the whole at once and would consider yourself the victim of a monstrous tyranny where you claims refused or ridiculed or set at naught yes sir john the castles akalans obtained in a moment as it were their emancipation from tyranny and oppression immediately after his sovereign highness ascended the throne of that powerful state he promulgated a decree not merely conceding universal suffrage as a boon but at once proclaiming it as the recognized right of the people he did not say i give it to you but he said i do not for an instant attempt to withhold it the people saw that they were not treated as children but as a free and enlightened nation and they generously proffered gratitude and testified their admiration and respect for their monarch the chambers assembled in due time both senators and deputies being elected and the principle of a hereditary peerage being totally eschewed not even is the president of the senate appointed by the grand duke he is chosen by his compass as is the president of the chamber of deputies the grand duke pledged himself to retain in power or to nominate only those ministers whom the parliamentary majority pointed out and accordingly the cabinet which i had the honor to appoint during the period when i exercised the functions of regent immediately after the battle of montoni has remained in office ever since that time because it is supported by majority there is an opposition in both chambers an opposition consisting of the aristocracy of the old school high churchmen and a few very wealthy landowners and indeed an opposition is necessary to all good government because we're measured past by universal acclamation there would be no sifting of all their details to the very bottom the progressist ministry in castles akala is therefore rather thankful to the opposition than otherwise but the popular voice is entirely in favour of the ministerial party the grand duke is therefore almost a cipher in castles akala observed sir john lassell not so returned the prince mildly but firmly there must be a chief magistrate an executive in every state and he is that chief magistrate do you suppose that the task of discriminating and rewarding merit in patronising the arts and sciences in raising the humble but deserving individual and in performing all the various services to a country which the supreme ruler must ever have the opportunity of doing do you not suppose sir john lassell that these are duties which render a good prince anything but a cipher it is true that castles akala has a throne but it is surrounded by republican institutions and it matters very little whether alberto be called president grand duke emperor or king there is nothing in the name of the office all that merits our attention is the extent of the privileges of that office but the sovereignty of castles akala is hereditary said sir john lassell and yet your royal highness is an opponent to the hereditary peerage if the principal be objectionable in the one case pardon me for interrupting you sir exclaimed the prince but you are arguing on a false premise the hereditary principal is abolished even in respect to the sovereignty alberto voluntarily abdicated this dynastic privilege and one of his first acts was to place his diadem at the disposal of the chambers he told them that he was willing to obey the sovereign will of the people the chambers confirmed him in his high office and of their own accord they honoured me by naming me the heir apparent to the throne but the hereditary principal is virtually annihilated because one generation cannot bind its successor and the law which thus appointed me as the heir apparent may be repealed by a new chamber it is monstrous to suppose that the hereditary principal can be tolerated by a nation knowing its own power and appreciating its own interests for that principal may give you a good sovereign today and a tyrant an idiot or a degraded sensualist tomorrow i admit the force of your royal highness's argument said lassell and if i object it is rather to seek information on these subjects than to question the excellence of the system of government introduced into castles akala i would now differentially seek to learn how far that system has benefited the people of your highness's adopted country in the first place for john return the prince the people have the elections entirely in their own hands and return to parliament representatives who do not buy their seats but who are chosen on account of their merits at least this observation applies to the great majority of the senators and deputies the elections take place every two years so that ample opportunity is allowed the constituents of getting rid of persons who may chance to deceive them or prove incapable while a sufficient space of time is afforded for giving the representatives a fair trial the result of these arrangements is that the majority of the representatives legislate for the interests of the mass and not of the few good measures are the consequence and the happiness of the people is promoted while civilization progresses rapidly and the prosperity of the country increases daily my lord continued the prince turning towards the earl of elliom history has recorded the memorable speech which your lordship delivered 19 years ago in the house of lords the speech that first introduced your lordship to the world as a generous defender vindicator and champion of the people and it rejoices me unfanedly to be enabled to inform you my noble friend for so you will permit me to call you that the speech I allude to and all your subsequent orations on the same subject have been studied weighed and debated upon in the councils of the sovereign of castles the cala the earl acknowledged the compliment in befitting terms and the prince of montoni continued in the following manner to prove to your lordship that it is no idle flattery of which indeed I am incapable that I am now addressing to you I will at once inform you that every suggestion which your lordships first and grandest oration contained has been carried out with complete success in castles the cala anticipating the pleasure of being enabled this evening to give your lordship some account of the condition of the castles the callons I had furnished myself with a copy of the memorable speech to which I have already several times alluded and I will now explain in detail the results of your lordship's views as exemplified in their application to the grand duchy the prince produced a manuscript and spreading it before him his royal highness continued in the ensuing terms addressing himself to a most attentive and delighted audience your lordship stated that it was too frequently alleged that the industrious classes are thoughtless improvident ungrateful and intellectually dull but this assertion you emphatically denied and you proceeded to reason thus quote despair produced by their unhappy condition naturally led to dissipation in many instances but where the working man placed in a position so that his livelihood should be rendered less precarious than it now was where his labor adequately remunerated where he more fairly paid by the representatives of property where a scale of wages established having a fixed minimum but no fixed maximum the increased comfort thus insured to him would naturally remove from his mind those cares which drove him to the public house end quote well my lord and gentleman continued the prince the suggestion has been adopted in castles the calla a fixed minimum for wages has been established the lowest amount of payment ensuring a some sufficient to enable the working man to maintain himself and his family in respectability the results may almost be said to have been instantaneous crime diminished rapidly statistical returns soon proved that in temperance experienced a remarkable decrease and such was the falling off in the consumption of spiritualist liquors beer and tobacco that the government found it necessary to grant a compensation to the licensed victors publicans and tobacconists who suffered by this change in the habits of the people even employers speedily began to recognize the advantage of the new state of things in the improved condition of their employed the increase and the excellence of the labor they obtained and the superiority of their agriculture or their manufacturers no maximum of wages has been fixed in castles the calla and when i left the country a month ago those wages were higher than ever they were known to be before the demand for labor has greatly increased and though the territory be densely populated employment may be found for all if a man be now a popper or mendicant in castles the calla it must be either through physical infirmity or through his unwillingness to work of this latter however we have comparatively few examples emulation and patriotism acting powerfully in a country where so much happiness and such prosperity prevail now with a slight alteration in your lordship's speech one of the most remarkable passages in that speech reads thus when applied to castles the calla quote there is no fixed maximum of wages because wages are always to be increased in proportion to the value of productive labor to employers but there is a minimum established to obviate the cruel and disastrous effects of those periods where labor exceeds the demand in the market this is not considered unfair towards employers because when the markets are brisk and trade is flourishing they the employers reap the greatest benefit from that activity and enrich themselves in a very short time therefore when markets are dull and trade is stagnant they are still compelled to pay such wages as enable their employed to live comfortably the profits gained during prosperous seasons not only enable employers to enjoy handsome incomes but also to accumulate considerable savings and as the best wages scarcely enable the employed to make anything like an adequate provision for periods of distress it is not deemed fair that the representatives of property should use the labor of the working classes just when it suits them and discard it or only use it on a miserable recompense when it does not so well suit them for the labor of the employed not only makes annual incomes for the employers but also permanent fortunes and the value of that labor is not calculated as lasting only just as long as it is available for the purpose of producing large profits labor is recognized in Castle Sacala and positively stated to be the working man's capital and bears constant interest as well as money placed in the funds that interest of course increasing in proportion to the briskness of markets but never depreciating below a standard value much less being discarded as valueless altogether in times of depression a thousand pounds always obtains three percent interest under any circumstances and at particular periods is worth six or seven percent labor is considered by the castles of callons in the same light stagnant markets diminish the profits of employers but do not ruin them if they do not obtain profit enough to live upon they have the accumulations of good seasons to fall back upon but how different used to be the case with the employed to them stagnation of business was ruin starvation death the breaking up of their little homes the sudden check of their children's education the cause of demoralization and degradation and the necessity of applying to the parish all these terrible evils have been completely annihilated by the system introduced into Castle Sacala the supply and demand of labor are necessarily unequal at many times and in many districts and the government has therefore adopted measures to prevent those frightful fluctuations in wages which carry desolation into the homes of thousands of hardworking industrious and deserving families in fact a law has been passed to ensure the working man against the casualty of being employed at a price below remuneration end quote thus my lord you perceive that so far your views have been most successfully carried out they are no longer a theory i have seen them reduced to positive practice and i pledge myself most solemnly and sacredly to the admirable working of this enlightened reformatory system would that i could see my own fellow countrymen rendered thus happy raised thus high in the social sphere and thus tenderly cared for by their rulers exclaimed lord elligan in the impassioned tone of the most earnest and heartfelt sincerity the day must come observed the prince of montoni when the english people will recognize all the grand truths which you enunciated 19 years ago from your place in the house of lords and if in england you have failed to convince the aristocracy and the landowners of the wickedness of the court they are pursuing are not your labours in some degree rewarded by the knowledge that your lordship's plans have been carried out to the very letter in the grand duchy of castle secala yes and carried out too with such unequivocable success the information which your royal highness now imparts gives me the most unfaigned pleasure said the earl i had indeed read and heard of the recent grand improvements which had taken place in that italian state where there is a throne surrounded by republican institutions but i was not aware indeed the loftiest flights of vanity never could have suggested to me that my views and theories had in any way contributed to the prosperity of the model state as the liberals in england now denominate castle secala to convince you my lord how far your ideas have been applied to the elevation of castle secala to its present proud eminence said the prince i will again refer to a passage in your lordship's ever memorable speech and point a few contrasts quote in england the poor are not allowed to have a stake in the country end quote i have shown you that the very reverse is the case in the grand duchy quote in england there are no small properties the land is in the possession of a few individuals comparatively and thus the landed interest constitutes a tremendous monopoly most unjust and oppressive to the industrious classes end quote in castle secala the law of primogeniture is annihilated there no man can leave his estate solely to his eldest son it must be divided amongst all his male children equally a charge being fixed upon it for the support of his daughters thus the territory is rapidly undergoing a process of subdivision which admits thousands to the enjoyment of a real stake in the country and breaks down the tremendous monopoly of the landed interest in castle secala moreover quote property is compelled to maintain labour as long as labour seeks for employment and occupation end quote what now then is the condition of the castle secala and people being well treated rendered free and having every possible avenue open to them for the attainment of real property quote the working classes are not driven by their cares and troubles to the excessive use of alcoholic liquors they do not become demoralised by being compelled to migrate from place to place in search of employment they are not forced to go upon the tramp sleeping in hideous dens of vice where numbers are forced to herd together without reference to age or sex they are not unsettled in all their little arrangements to bring up their children credibly and with due reference to instruction they are not made discontented anxious for any change no matter what vindictive towards a society which renders them outcasts and sullen or reckless in their general conduct end quote on the contrary they feel settled in their condition they know that the cottage which constitutes their home is not held upon a precarious tenure they never feel the sickening conviction that if they have bred and meet today they may have only bred tomorrow and no food at all the day after the industrious classes in castle sakala are no longer the mere slaves and tools of the wealthy classes they are no longer retained in bondage no longer kept in absolute serfdom by an oligarchy i now passed to another subject said the prince and here again i refer to the speech of the earl of ellingham applying to castle sakala the observations which he used in reference to england the castles the callan industrious classes then quote were ground down by indirect taxes in which shape they actually contributed more to the revenue in proportion to their means than the rich the only luxuries which the poor enjoyed and which had become as it were necessary's namely tea sugar tobacco beer and spirits were the most productive sources of revenue if aristocrats reproached the poor for dirty habits as he well knew that it was their custom to do he would ask them why soap was made an article subject to so heavy attacks it was a contemptible fallacy to suppose that because the poor contributed little or nothing in the shape of direct taxation to the revenue they were positively untaxed the real fact was that the poor paid more indirect taxes than the rich did in both direct and in indirect ways when the relative means of the two parties were taken into consideration end quote such was the state of the industrious classes of castle sakala until their voice was heard in the legislative assemblies and all taxes upon the necessaries of life were speedily removed luxuries alone were left to bear the weight of taxation the duties upon carriage livery servants are more your bearings hunters racers hounds and foreign wines being doubled the prince of montoni paused and the earl of elliom exchanged a rapid but significant glance with mr hudfield for they both remembered the time when 19 years previously and when the latter lay on the bed of old death's house they had converged upon the best means of ameliorating the condition of the suffering millions his royal highness finding that his auditors were most anxious that he should continue his explanations and perceiving that sir john lassell had become especially interested therein resumed his subject in the following manner the inequality of the laws and their incongruity severity and injustice towards the poor long constituted a crying evil in castle sakala quote every advantage was given to the rich in the way of procuring bail in those cases where security for personal appearance was required but no poor man could possibly give such security he must go to prison and there heard with felons of the blackest die perhaps on trial his innocence would transpire and then what recompense had he for his long incarceration his home broken up during his absence and his ruin family it was possible nay it often happened that a man would lie thus in prison for four or five months previously to trial and during that period it would be strange indeed if he escaped jail contamination end quote in order to remedy these evils vast facilities were afforded in respect to bail the respectability and not the money to qualifications of the sureties being considered thus a working man may be bailed by any two of his associates who can obtain a good character from their employer this of course applies to charges of a lighter kind heavier responsibility being required where a serious accusation is involved but even should an accused have to go to prison until his trial he is not placed in a felons jail he is not while still untried subjected to that indignity and contamination he is confined in a building having no connection with a prison and termed a house of detention again the judges have the power to order a compensation to everyone whose innocence transpires on trial and I must inform you that the trial may take place as soon after committal as the individual chooses all depends on the speed which he makes in setting up his defense when committed he is asked if he have the means of retaining counsel if he proved to the magistrate that he is poor a barrister is immediately provided for him the trial may come on the very next day for there are local courts throughout the grand duchy and these courts have no recess no holiday where I on my return to castles acala to inform a person not well acquainted with English laws and customs that in this very same enlightened England a man may languish several months in a common jail awaiting his trial I should scarcely be believed at what is the nature of the punishments inflicted in the country of your royal highness's adoption inquired Sir John LaSelle I will tell you said the prince in the first place we have abolished the punishment of death as barbarian un-christian and demoralising murder is punished by imprisonment for life and imprisonment fine confiscation of property in the cases of single men having no persons dependent on them and the loss of civil rights these are the penalties used amongst us the individual who is condemned to imprisonment is not on that account rendered a useless member of society every criminal jail is an assemblage of workshops where all trades and manufacturers are carried on and each prisoner must work at his own trade or be taught one if he have a family out of doors his earnings go to support that family if he have none they accumulate until the day of his release should he refuse to work he is put upon bread and water and this fair soon compels him to adopt habits of industry in order to obtain plentiful and wholesome meals castles the callan prisons resemble vast factories rather than jails and so admirable so salutary so reformatory is the discipline maintained in them but a prisoner on his emancipation finds no difficulty in obtaining work again employers consider in such a case that he has expiated an offense which should not be remembered to his prejudice and he begins the world again with a new character he has as it were passed through a criminal bankruptcy court and obtained his certificate should he however experience any difficulty in finding employment the local authorities are bound to supply him with work at the average rate of wages the results of all these arrangements are striking in the first place a castle the callan prison is reformatory instead of being a sink of contaminating iniquity secondly a man on leaving a criminal jail is not forced back into the ways of vice if he relapsed it must be through determined wickedness but relapses are very very rare in the grand duchy for happily those individuals are few who remain in the ways of crime for crime sake and now my lord you will perceive how far the framers of all the salutary enactments respecting prisoners and prison discipline were indebted to the following passage in your speech quote the criminal laws of england are only calculated to produce wildly spread demoralization to propagate vice to render crime terribly prolific a man no matter what his offense may have been should be deemed innocent and untainted again when he has paid the penalty of his mistakes because to brand a human being eternally is to fly in the face of the almighty and assert that there should be no such thing as forgiveness and that there is no such thing as repentance but the nature of punishments in england is so to brand the individual and so to dare the majesty of heaven for the jails are perfect nests of infamy sinks of iniquity imprisonment in which necessarily fastens an indelible stigma upon the individual he either comes forth tainted or else it is supposed that he must be so under these circumstances he vainly endeavours to obtain employment and utterly failing in his attempt to earn an honest livelihood he is compelled per force to relapse into habits of crime and lawlessness this fact accounts for an immense amount of the demoralization which the bishops so much deplore but the true causes of which they obstinately refuse to acknowledge the criminal jails are moral pest houses in which no cures are affected but where the contagious malady becomes more virulent society should not amure offenders solely for the sake of punishment but with a view to reformation of character end quote castles akala has the honor of having taken the initiative in all the great and glorious reforms which you suggested said mr hatfield turning with admiration towards the earl of elligan in england reform is much talked off and when a small concession is made for a concession it is in this country to all intents and purposes the people congratulate themselves as if their complete emancipation were at hand there is a passage in the earl's speech resume the prince which particularly struck the grand duke and the ministers when they were deliberating upon the proposed reforms and ameliorations to be introduced to the chambers that passage ran thus quote when a poor man is oppressed by a rich one it is vain and ludicrous to assert that the courts of law are open to him law is a luxury in which only those who possess ample means can indulge in a case where some gravest injury is sustained by a poor man the seduction of his wife or daughter for instance redress and recompense is impossible unless some attorney takes up the case on speculation and this is a practice most demoralizing and pernicious but if left entirely unassisted in that respect the poor man can no more go to west minster hall and he can afford to dine at long's hotel end quote now in castles a calla a plan has been adopted which seems to meet the difficulties set forth in the earl of elliom's speech and which does not involve the additional danger of rendering law so cheap as to encourage litigation in every paltry quarrel to every local court are attached officers denominated the people's attorneys general and any poor man having a ground of complaint against a neighbour addresses himself to one of those officers who immediately examines into the affair and if he see that the plant be well founded he prosecutes on behalf of the poor man these officers are paid fixed salaries by the government and dare not take fees they are selected with care and are as incapable of bribery as the judges themselves and thus every means is taken to guarantee the poor man justice seduction and adultery are not made mere pecuniary matters in castles a calla they are punished by imprisonment and the penalty is very heavy in a case where a rich man debauchies a poor man's daughter i now pass on to the subject of education and your treatment of this subject my dear earl in your speech is not the least remarkable portion of the oration you declare that quote it was positively shocking to think that such care should be taken to convert negroes to christianity thousands of miles off while the most deplorable ignorance prevailed at home the church enjoys revenues the amount of which actually bring the ministers of the gospel into discredit as evidencing their avaricious and grasping disposition while the people remain as uneducated as if not a single shilling were devoted to spiritual pastors or lay instructors end quote you boldly quote accused both houses of parliament and the upper classes generally of being anxious to keep the masses in a state of ignorance where instruction is imparted gratuitously it is entirely of a sectarian nature just as if men required to study grammar history arithmetic or astronomy on church of england principles the whole land is overrun by clergymen who live upon the fat of it universities and public schools have been richly endowed for the purpose of propagating knowledge and encouraging learning and yet the people are lamentably ignorant it is a wicked and impudent falsehood to declare that they are intellectually dull or averse to mental improvement common sense the best of sense is the special characteristic of the working classes and those who can read are absolutely greedy in their anxiety to procure books newspapers and cheap publications for perusal the fact is that the mind of the industrious population is a rich soil wherein all good seed will speedily take root shoot up and bring forth fruit to perfection but the apprehensions or narrow prejudices of the upper classes the oligarchy will not permit the seed to be sown now as the soil must naturally produce something even off its own accord it too often gives birth to rank weeds and this is made a matter of scorn reviling and reproach but the real objects of that scorn that reviling and that reproach are those who obstinately and wickedly neglect to put the good soil to the full test of fertilization end quote all these observations continued his royal highness whereas applicable to castle cicada a short time back as they have ever been and still are in england but the reforms in the church and in the educational system were not the least important of those which characterized the new order of things the two institutions were separated and rendered entirely independent of each other the church being abandoned entirely to the voluntary principle and the duty of educating the people being attached to the state a minister of public instruction being appointed all sectarianism in education is now abolished the system is entirely secular the school masters are appointed by the municipal corporations in the various localities and their salaries are paid by the state they are all laymen for it is now a principle established in the grand duchy that parents shall train up their children in the creed which they may prefer thus Protestants Catholics and Jews all receive the blessings and benefits of the secular education no tampering with religious opinions no proselytism being permitted the whole scheme is on the broadest basis of liberality and the people are delighted with its working as for the church it is entirely separated from the state and the order of bishops has been suppressed the Catholic religion is still that of the great majority but it is shorn of its pomp and ecclesiastical ostentation and vain display have received a blow which they will never recover the result is that the Christian creed has been restored to something resembling its primitive simplicity and such as its divine founder intended I have now my lord and gentlemen given you a hasty but I hope intelligible sketch of the condition of castles akala at the present day and it only remains for me to sum up the reforms which have been accomplished and which completely carry out the views and the theories so ably propounded by you my dear earl 19 years ago in the first place there is a throne surrounded by republican institutions and the hereditary principle as well as the law of primogeniture have been annihilated never to be revived then we have adopted a minimum rate of wages to prevent the sudden fluctuation of such wages and to compel property to give constant employment to labour indirect taxes upon the necessaries of life have been abolished the laws and their administration are equitably proportioned to the relative conditions of the rich and the poor a general system of national education has been established and entrusted to laymen totally distinct from religious instruction and sectarian tenants a complete reformation in the system of prison discipline has taken place and establishments have been founded for the purpose of affording work to persons upon leaving criminal jails as a means of their obtaining an honest livelihood and retrieving their characters prior to seeking employment for themselves and the franchise has been so extended as to give every man who earns his own bread by the sweat of his brow a stake and interest in the country's welfare the prince ceased speaking and those who had been his auditors expressed their sincerest thanks for the gratifying explanations he had given them with so much readiness and affability nor less were they charmed to find that a truly liberal and enlightened system of policy would stand such remarkable tests and work so well the question whether the nations of Europe are civilized enough to receive republican institutions was completely solved to their satisfaction and even Sir John Lacell who was somewhat tainted with the doctrines of the old school acknowledged himself to be a convert the party then joined the ladies in the drawing room where political subjects gave way to discourse upon less serious topics and when the company took their departure the inmates of the lordly mansion did not separate to retire to their respective chambers until they had exchanged many enthusiastic comments upon the character disposition talents and bearing of his royal highness the prince of montoni end of section 24