love the very name of free England, and stretch our imploring arms to her."

There was a terrible earnestness about the man—a kind of famished hope, as I have said. I can hardly describe it, but it affected me very strongly. He seemed a man above the middle rank of life, perhaps a landholder in good circumstances; for he was well acquainted with agricultural affairs. He said the war had affected the price of grain and provisions in Hungary a little, but not much. It cost about twenty English pounds a year to keep a horse in food only.

CHAPTER LI.

The author expresses his delight in Mr. Boggleton, her Majesty's extraordinary envoy at the court of Schwartz-Würst-Schinkenshausen. The honourable Isaac Boggleton founds the courtly family of Blunderbore. Popular idea of a Tory. The Boggleton family. Lord Catynynetayle and the Hon. Sholto Boggleton. Their success in life. Amiable character of the Hon. Sholto. He acquires the support of the Whigs, and becomes the pride and delight of the Foreign Office.

VULGAR people could never be brought to understand why Mr. Boggleton represented Great Britain at the court of Schwartz-Würst-Schinkenshausen, or what he did there. Persons in high life, however, knew very well that Boggleton was the family name of the Earls of Blunderbore. answered the first part of the question intelligibly enough; while as for his duties, their name was legion, as will be explained by-and-by.

This

The first Earl of Blunderbore had received his peerage for the patriotic and energetic assistance he had rendered to a Tory government, which had remained in power precisely one month and three days. It had had the usual respect of Tory governments for ready-made reputations, the usual ungenerous neglect of its own friends: so it bought old Sir Isaac Boggleton, who was perfectly prepared to rat for a peerage, and did so with the utmost cheerfulness. To be sure, they disap

pointed four of their thickest-headed and most consistent supporters; but, after all, Boggleton was worth his price. He was a brazen-faced old fellow, who stood up for them with such coolness and intrepidity; who so brow-beat common sense, and laughed it to scorn, that their tenure of office had been prolonged more than a fortnight beyond the term which had appeared possible, and there had very nearly occurred a riot in the streets of London in consequence.

It was natural that the Tories should feel a high respect for the Earl of Blunderbore, after such distinguished services. He was almost the only man of ability who had anything to do with them. He was more-he was a convert! It was right that they should make a good deal of him; it was decent; and for a wonder they did so. The old gentleman, therefore, passed the evening of his days very agreeably among other old gentlemen whose business it was to be Tories, who had so much of what they ought not to have had, that it would have been highly imprudent in them to be anything else. Among snug bear-leaders who had lent money to their cubs when the old lord would send no more drafts to Naples or Vienna, and who had ripened into unreformed bishops in consequence; among collateral heirs who had succeeded to entailed estates in spite of creditors and orphan daughters; among persons whose origin was so base and whose wealth was so great that they were obliged to turn Tories in self-defence; among elderly ladies who had had Tory placemen for husbands, and enjoyed convenient pensions payable every quarter-day in consequence; among enthusiastic young ladies, whose heads were turned by Sir Walter Scott's novels; and in short, among that comfortable class of people of whom the Tory party is exclusively made up: persons of whom one could never think without being reminded of an answer given by the Prince de Condé to some one who reproached him with being an aristocrat—“It is my trade," said the light-hearted Frenchman; "you also would be an aristocrat if you were Prince of Condé." When therefore the bran new Earl of Blunderbore married, and it was said that he begat two sons, the eyes of the world generally were supposed to be turned upon those two sons. They were regarded by mankind as among the ornaments of the earth;

they were supposed to be born legislators and statesmen; to belong to the only class which possesses the governing bump, or any other bump worth having. They did not disappoint the expectations which the human race had formed of them. The elder son, Lord Catynynetayle, managed the regiment which he obtained, before meaner men get their captaincies, in such a manner that everybody who had not a handle to his name was very speedily managed out of it. The members of the regiment also managed themselves in such a manner as to figure very frequently in the daily papers under the reports of proceedings in the Insolvent Debtors Court; which of course showed a fine feeling of respect for the laws of their country, and delighted everybody. Let an awed and thankful public only fancy the condescension of gentlemen with handles to their names, deigning to answer the questions of a vulgar insolvent commissioner, without ordering him to be put to death. There was a lesson for the court of Schwartz-Würst-Schinkenshausen, and the absolute governments! Here was progress! And the Tories pointed to it triumphantly as the only instance of progress which had taken place among them since the turbulent barons of the Henries had marched against their creditors sword in hand. In order that this lesson might be fully impressed on the court of Schwartz-Würst-Sckinkenshausen, and in order that this court or any other court (this was a Tory phrase for indicating foreign nations) might for the future understand that the English were an enlightened and progressive people, Mr. Sholto Boggleton was appointed as one of the representatives of Great Britain and its dependencies. A Tory government was indeed deprived of the pleasure of nominating him, because at that period such a curiosity as a Tory government had not been seen in Britain for some time. Mr. Boggleton was appointed by a government which went by the name of liberal, and therefore took every occasion to show its respect for the institution of aristocracy, and many other institutions equally fusty and wonderful.

There were at that time some thousands of bright men in England who would have filled the post given to the Hon. Sholto Boggleton in such a manner as to have enshrined the name of their country for years in the grateful remem

brance of the people among whom they dwelt; who would have made themselves of unknown utility to their own land; who would have softened international jealousies, explained away mischievous errors and misunderstandings; who would have made peace fruitful of mutual good offices, and wars impossible; who would have shown what a real blessing diplomacy might be made between states; what kindly feelings and pleasant intercourse it might create ; how it might dispel the fogs of ignorance, and guide the nations of the earth nearer to each other. Such men, however, were mostly scholars, book-writers, speechifiers, and other low people. They were not the second sons of Earls Blunderbore, and they had not the diplomatic bump accordingly.

The Hon. Sholto Boggleton had the diplomatic bump, and a very remarkable bump it was. He was the most pigheaded man in his profession, and therefore the pride and delight of the Foreign Office. He was aggravating and illtempered beyond what could be supposed possible. It was dangerous to ask him how he was, lest he should suppose you had heard he was failing, and bear you a grudge to the end of his days. He was a man who hoarded up grudges, and kept them warm, he would not have parted with one on any account. In general, he despised all the world which did not belong to the family of the Earls of Blunderbore, whom it was now to be understood descended from somebody who ought to have been king of Scotland, but was not. All other earls were leather and prunella to the Earls of Blunderbore. Still they might be endured at "one's table." But if a commoner, whose name was ringing from one end of Europe to the other, as one of the foremost men of his age and country, had dared to leave a card on Mr. Boggleton, under the absurd impression that he had a right to his (Mr. Boggleton's) services and good will, it is extremely probable his (Mr. Boggleton's) porter would have declined to take such card in at the door. All I can say is, that woe betide that porter if he were to venture to disturb Mr. Boggleton while making extracts from the newspapers to send home in such a case! It is probable, in this event, that one of Mr. Boggleton's back teeth would have been found next day at an immense distance, he, Mr. Boggleton, having

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exploded with surprise and rage. The man wrangled with everybody. He was what Lord Bacon calls a poser. He was ignorant to a degree that was quite laughable; yet he would ask questions which would puzzle the wisest. When they were not answered, he wrote home by special messenger to say things were going wrong, and he added a private note for Mr. Huffey, of the Foreign Office. He wrangled with the court of Schwartz-Würst-Schinkenshausen because he was not asked to dinner often enough, till every person connected with that court, from the lord high takeroff of the boots downwards, grew fidgety at the very name of an Englishman, and wished the whole race at Jericho. They thought us, with reason, a wearisome people, for they judged us by Mr. Boggleton. He spied upon the royal family, so that the very house-servants were not free from his posers; and he watched for the lacqueys in the street to ask questions. This was one of his ideas of diplomacy. But the strong point of Mr. Boggleton was his suspicion : suspicion was his forte. It was another of his ideas of diplomacy to suspect everybody. When he asked people how they did, he looked as if he wanted one of their teeth. they answered, “Very well, I thank you, Mr. Boggleton," he was down upon them with an "Oh! because yesterday you said you were not so well."

If

This signified that the person addressed was not a Boggleton, that he was therefore likely to deceive the British lion as to the state of his health, and that he had deceived him. The British lion immediately wrote home these facts by special messenger accordingly. The man's life must have been as great a bore to himself as it was to other people. The awful creak of his shoes put everybody to flight who could get out of his way, except the wits, who stopped to roast him; and never was there a man who writhed under a roasting like Mr. Boggleton. All the good stories which had been current for fifteen years at Schwartz-Würst-Schinkenshausen had something to do with him.

Ribald

Ladies' albums swarmed with caricatures of him. attachés mimicked and made burlesque songs about him. Even his own staff were ashamed to dine with him, or be seen with him off duty. They were mere ciphers, but they