Big Java Early Objects 5th Edition Horstmann Test Bank
Big Java Early Objects 5th Edition Horstmann Test Bank
Big Java Early Objects 5th Edition Horstmann Test Bank
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5. Chapter 10: Interfaces
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following statements about a Java interface is NOT true?
a) A Java interface defines a set of methods that are required.
b) A Java interface must contain more than one method.
c) A Java interface specifies behavior that a class will implement.
d) All methods in a Java interface must be abstract.
Answer: b
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: Which statement about a Java interface is NOT true?
Difficulty: Medium
2. A method that has no implementation is called a/an ____ method.
a) interface
b) implementation
c) overloaded
d) abstract
Answer: d
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: What is a method with no implementation called?
Difficulty: Easy
3. Which statement about methods in an interface is true?
a) All methods in an interface are automatically private.
b) All methods in an interface are automatically public.
c) All methods in an interface are automatically static.
d) All methods in an interface must be explicitly declared as private or public.
Answer: b
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: Which statement about methods in an interface is true?
Difficulty: Medium
6. 4. Which of the following statements about abstract methods is true?
a) An abstract method has a name, parameters, and a return type, but no code in the body
of the method.
b) An abstract method has parameters, a return type, and code in its body, but has no
defined name.
c) An abstract method has a name, a return type, and code in its body, but has no
parameters.
d) An abstract method has only a name and a return type, but no parameters or code in its
body.
Answer: a
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: Which statement about abstract methods is true?
Difficulty: Hard
5. Which of the following statements about an interface is true?
a) An interface has methods and instance variables.
b) An interface has methods but no instance variables.
c) An interface has neither methods nor instance variables.
d) An interface has both public and private methods.
Answer: b
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: Which statement about an interface is true?
Difficulty: Medium
6. Which of the following statements about interfaces is NOT true?
a) Interfaces can make code more reusable.
b) Interface types can be used to define a new reference data type.
c) Interface types can be used to express common operations required by a service.
d) Interfaces have both private and public methods.
Answer: d
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: Which statement about interfaces is NOT true?
Difficulty: Medium
7. To use an interface, a class header should include which of the following?
a) The keyword extends and the name of an abstract method in the interface
7. b) The keyword extends and the name of the interface
c) The keyword implements and the name of an abstract method in the interface
d) The keyword implements and the name of the interface
Answer: d
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: To use an interface, what must a class header include?
Difficulty: Medium
8. ____ can reduce the coupling between classes.
a) Static methods
b) Abstract methods
c) Interfaces
d) Objects
Answer: c
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: ____ can reduce the coupling between classes.
Difficulty: Easy
9. Consider the following code snippet:
public class Inventory implements Measurable
{
. . .
public double getMeasure();
{
return onHandCount;
}
}
Why is it necessary to declare getMeasure as public ?
a) All methods in a class are not public by default.
b) All methods in an interface are private by default.
c) It is necessary only to allow other classes to use this method.
d) It is not necessary to declare this method as public.
Answer: a
Section Reference: Common Error 9.1
Title: Why is it necessary to declare getMeasure as public?
Difficulty: Hard
8. 10. Which of the following statements about interfaces is NOT true?
a) Interfaces can make code more reusable.
b) An interface provides no implementation.
c) A class can implement only one interface type.
d) Interfaces can reduce the coupling between classes.
Answer: c
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: Which statement about interfaces is NOT true?
Difficulty: Medium
11. ____ methods must be implemented when using an interface.
a) Abstract.
b) Private.
c) Public.
d) Static
Answer: a
Section Reference: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
Title: ____ methods must be implemented when using an interface.
Difficulty: Easy
12. Suppose you are writing an interface called Resizable, which includes one void
method called resize.
public interface Resizable
{
_________________________
}
Which of the following can be used to complete the interface declaration correctly?
a) private void resize();
b) protected void resize();
c) void resize();
d) public void resize() { System.out.println("resizing ..."); }
Answer: c
Title: Identify correct method declaration in interface
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference 1: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
9. 13. Consider the following declarations:
public interface Encryptable
{
void encrypt(String key);
}
public class SecretText implements Encryptable
{
private String text;
_____________________________
{
// code to encrypt the text using encryption key goes here
}
}
Which of the following method headers should be used to complete the SecretText
class?
a) public void encrypt()
b) public void encrypt(String aKey)
c) public String encrypt(String aKey)
d) void encrypt(String aKey)
Answer: b
Title: Identify correct method header to use when implementing interface
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference 1: 10.1 Using Interfaces for Algorithm Reuse
14. Consider the following code snippet:
public class Inventory implements Measurable
{
. . .
double getMeasure();
{
return onHandCount;
}
}
What is wrong with this code?
a) The getMeasure() method must be declared as private.
b) The getMeasure() method must include the implements keyword.
c) The getMeasure() method must be declared as public.
d) The getMeasure() method must not have any code within it.
10. Answer: c
Section Reference: Common Error 10.1
Title: What is wrong with this code about interfaces?
Difficulty: Medium
15. Consider the following code snippet:
public interface Sizable
{
int LARGE_CHANGE = 100;
int SMALL_CHANGE = 20;
void changeSize();
}
Which of the following statements is true?
a) LARGE_CHANGE and SMALL_CHANGE are automatically public static final.
b) LARGE_CHANGE and SMALL_CHANGE are instance variables
c) LARGE_CHANGE and SMALL_CHANGE must be defined with the keywords private
static final.
d) LARGE_CHANGE and SMALL_CHANGE must be defined with the keywords public static
final.
Answer: a
Section Reference: Special Topic 10.1
Title: Which statement about interface definitions is true?
Difficulty: Hard
16. Consider the following code snippet:
public class Inventory implements Measurable
{
. . .
double getMeasure();
{
return onHandCount;
}
}
The compiler complains that the getMeasure method has a weaker access level than the
Measurable interface. Why?
a) All of the methods in a class have a default access level of package access, while the
methods of an interface have a default access level of private.
b) All of the methods in a class have a default access level of package access, while the
methods of an interface have a default access level of public.
11. c) The variable onHandCount was not declared with public access.
d) The getMeasure method was declared as private in the Measurable interface.
Answer: b
Section Reference: Common Error 10.1
Title: What is wrong with this code implementing an interface?
Difficulty: Hard
17. Which of the following is true regarding a class and interface types?
a) You can convert from a class type to any interface type that is in the same package as
the class.
b) You can convert from a class type to any interface type that the class implements.
c) You can convert from a class type to any interface type that the class defines.
d) You cannot convert from a class type to any interface type.
Answer: b
Section Reference: 10.2 Working with Interface Variables
Title: Which is true regarding a class and interface types?
Difficulty: Hard
18. Consider the following code snippet.
public interface Measurable
{
double getMeasure();
}
public class Coin implements Measurable
{
public double getMeasure()
{
return value;
}
...
}
public class DataSet
{
...
public void add()
{
...
}
}
public class BankAccount
{
12. ...
public void add()
{
...
}
}
Which of the following statements is correct?
a)
Coin dime = new Coin(0.1, "dime");
Measurable x = dime;
b)
Coin dime = new Coin(0.1, "dime");
Dataset x = dime;
c)
Coin dime = new Coin(0.1, "dime");
DataSet x == (Measureable)dime;
d)
Coin dime = new Coin(0.1, "dime");
BankAccount x = dime;
Answer: a
Section Reference: 10.2 Working with Interface Variables
Title: Which code statement is correct?
Difficulty: Medium
19. Which of the following statements about converting between types is true?
a) When you cast number types, you take a risk that an exception will occur.
b) When you cast number types, you will not lose information.
c) When you cast object types, you take a risk of losing information.
d) When you cast object types, you take a risk that an exception will occur.
Answer: d
Section Reference: 10.2 Working with Interface Variables
Title: Which statement about converting between types is true?
Difficulty: Medium
20. Which of the following statements about interfaces is true?
a) You can define an interface variable that refers to an object of any class in the same
package.
b) You cannot define a variable whose type is an interface.
c) You can instantiate an object from an interface class.
13. d) You can define an interface variable that refers to an object only if the object belongs
to a class that implements the interface.
Answer: d
Section Reference: Common Error 10.2
Title: Which statement about interfaces is true?
Difficulty: Hard
21. You have created a class named Motor that implements an interface named
Measurable. You have declared a variable of type Measureable named
motorTemperature. Which of the following statements is true?
a) The object to which motorTemperature refers has type Measurable.
b) The object to which motorTemperature refers has type Motor.
c) This declaration is illegal.
d) You must construct a motorTemperature object from the Measurable interface.
Answer: b
Section Reference: 10.2 Working with Interface Variables
Title: Which statement about a variable whose type is an interface variable is true?
Difficulty: Medium
22. ____ occurs when a single class has several methods with the same name but
different parameter types.
a) Casting
b) Polymorphism
c) Overloading
d) Instantiation
Answer: c
Section Reference: 10.2 Working with Interface Variables
Title: ____ occurs when a single class has several methods with the same name.
Difficulty: Easy
23. Consider the following code snippet:
public class Demo
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Point[] p = new Point[4];
14. p[0] = new Colored3DPoint(4, 4, 4, Color.BLACK);
p[1] = new ThreeDimensionalPoint(2, 2, 2);
p[2] = new ColoredPoint(3, 3, Color.RED);
p[3] = new Point(4, 4);
for (int i = 0; i < p.length; i++)
{
String s = p[i].toString();
System.out.println("p[" + i + "] : " + s);
}
return;
}
}
This code is an example of ____.
a) overloading
b) callback
c) early binding
d) polymorphism
Answer: d
Section Reference: 10.2 Working with Interface Variables
Title: his code is an example of ____.
Difficulty: Medium
24. If you have multiple classes in your program that have implemented the same
interface in different ways, how is the correct method executed?
a) The Java virtual machine must locate the correct method by looking at the class of the
actual object.
b) The compiler must determine which method implementation to use.
c) The method must be qualified with the class name to determine the correct method.
d) You cannot have multiple classes in the same program with different implementations
of the same interface.
Answer: a
Section Reference: 10.2 Working with Interface Variables
Title: How does the correct method get called?
Difficulty: Medium
25. Consider the following declarations:
public interface Displayable
{
15. void display();
}
public class Picture implements Displayable
{
private int size;
public void increaseSize()
{
size++;
}
public void decreaseSize()
{
size--;
}
public void display()
{
System.out.println(size);
}
public void display(int value)
{
System.out.println(value * size);
}
}
What method invocation can be used to complete the code segment below?
Displayable picture = new Picture();
picture._________________;
a) increaseSize()
b) decreaseSize()
c) display()
d) display(5)
Answer: c
Title: Identify legal method invocation for variable of interface type
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference 1: 10.2 Working with Interface Variables
26. Which of the following can potentially be changed when implementing an interface?
a) The parameters of a method in the interface.
b) The name of a method in the interface.
c) The return type of a method in the interface.
d) You cannot change the name, return type, or parameters of a method in the interface.
16. Answer: d
Section Reference: Common Error 10.3
Title: Which can be changed when implementing an interface?
Difficulty: Medium
27. Consider the following class:
public class Player implements Comparable
{
private String name;
private int goalsScored;
// other methods go here
public int compareTo(Object otherObject)
{
__________________________________
return (goalsScored – otherPlayer.goalsScored);
}
}
What statement can be used to complete the compareTo() method?
a) Player otherPlayer = otherObject;
b) Object otherPlayer = otherObject;
c) Player otherPlayer = (Player) otherObject;
d) Object otherPlayer = (Player) otherObject;
Answer: c
Title: Identify correct statement to complete compareTo() method in sample class
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference 1: 10.3 The Comparable Interface
28. The method below is designed to print the smaller of two values received as
arguments. Select the correct expression to complete the method.
public void showSmaller(Comparable value1, Comparable value2)
{
if ( _________________________ )
System.out.println(value1 + " is smaller.");
else
System.out.println(value2 + " is smaller.");
}
a) value1 < value2
17. b) value1.compareTo(value2) > 0
c) value1.compareTo(value2) == 0
d) value1.compareTo(value2) < 0
Answer: d
Title: Identify correct statement to compare two Comparable objects
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference 1: 10.3 The Comparable Interface
29. Which of the following statements about a callback is NOT true?
a) A callback can allow you to implement a new method for a class that is not under your
control.
b) A callback can be implemented using an interface.
c) A callback is a mechanism for specifying code to be executed later.
d) A callback method declared in an interface must specify the class of objects that it will
manipulate.
Answer: d
Section Reference: 10.4 Using Interfaces for Callbacks
Title: Which statement about a callback is NOT true?
Difficulty: Medium
30. In Java, ____ can be used for callbacks.
a) Objects
b) Interfaces
c) Classes
d) Operators
Answer: b
Section Reference: 10.4 Using Interfaces for Callbacks
Title: In Java, ____ can be used for callbacks.
Difficulty: Easy
31. You wish to implement a callback method for an object created from a system class
that you cannot change. What approach does the textbook recommend to accomplish
this?
a) Create a new class that mimics the system class.
b) Extend the system class.
c) Use an inner class in the interface.
18. d) Use a helper class that implements the callback method.
Answer: d
Section Reference: 10.4 Using Interfaces for Callbacks
Title: How to implement a callback method for a system class.
Difficulty: Medium
32. Which of the following statements about helper classes is true?
a) Helper classes must be inner classes.
b) Helper classes must implement interfaces.
c) Helper classes help reduce coupling.
d) Helper classes cannot contain instance variables.
Answer: c
Section Reference: 10.4 Using Interfaces for Callbacks
Title: Which statement about helper classes is true?
Difficulty: Easy
33. Consider the following declarations:
public interface Measurer
{
int measure(Object anObject);
}
public class StringLengthMeasurer implements Measurer
{
public int measure(_________________)
{
String str = (String) anObject;
return str.length();
}
}
What parameter declaration can be used to complete the callback measure method?
a) Object anObject
b) String anObject
c) Object aString
d) String aString
Answer: a
19. Title: Identify correct parameter declaration to complete callback method
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference 1: 10.4 Using Interfaces for Callbacks
34. Assuming that interface Resizable is declared elsewhere, consider the following
class declaration:
public class InnerClassExample
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
class SizeModifier implements Resizable
{
// class methods
}
__________________________ // missing statement
}
}
Which of the following declarations can be used to complete the main method?
a) Resizable something = new Resizable();
b) Resizable something = new SizeModifier();
c) Resizable something = new InnerClassExample();
d) SizeModifier something = new Resizable();
Answer: b
Title: Identify correct declaration using inner class to complete main method
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference 1: 10.5 Inner Classes
35. Which of the following statements about an inner class is true?
a) An inner class can only be defined within a specific method of its enclosing class.
b) An inner class can only be defined outside of any method within its enclosing class.
c) An inner class must implement an interface.
d) An inner class may be anonymous.
Answer: d
Section 10.5 Inner Classes
Title: Which statement about an inner class is true?
Difficulty: Easy
20. 36. A/an ____ class defined in a method signals to the reader of your program that the
class is not interesting beyond the scope of the method.
a) A class cannot be defined within a method
b) abstract
c) interface
d) inner
Answer: d
Section 10.5 Inner Classes
Title: A/an ___ class defined in a method signals what?
Difficulty: Easy
37. Which of the following statements about an inner class is true?
a) An inner class that is defined inside a method is publicly accessible.
b) An inner class that is defined inside a method is not publicly accessible.
c) An inner class that is defined inside an enclosing class but outside of its methods is not
available to all methods of the enclosing class.
d) An inner class is used for a utility class that should be visible elsewhere in the
program.
Answer: b
Section 10.5 Inner Classes
Title: Which statement about an inner class is true?
Difficulty: Hard
38. Which of the following is a good use for an anonymous class?
a) Use an anonymous class to implement polymorphism.
b) Use an anonymous class to implement a callback.
c) Use an anonymous class when all methods of the class will be static methods.
d) Use an anonymous class when the program will only need one object of the class.
Answer: d
Section Reference: Special Topic 9.2
Title: Which is a good use for an anonymous class?
Difficulty: Hard
21. 39. Consider the following code snippet:
myImage.add(new Rectangle(10,10,10,10));
This code is an example of using ____.
a) An anonymous class.
b) An anonymous object.
c) An abstract object.
d) An abstract class.
Answer: b
Section Reference: Special Topic 10.2
Title: This code is an example of using ____.
Difficulty: Hard
40. Which of the following statements about a mock class is true?
a) A mock class does not provide an implementation of the services of the actual class.
b) A mock class provides a complete implementation of the services of the actual class.
c) A mock class provides a simplified implementation of the services of the actual class.
d) A mock class must be an interface.
Answer: c
Section 10.6 Mock Objects
Title: Which statement about a mock class is true?
Difficulty: Easy
41. What role does an interface play when using a mock class?
a) The mock class should be an interface that will be implemented by the real class.
b) The real class should be an interface that will be implemented by the mock class.
c) Interfaces are not involved when using mock classes.
d) An interface should be implemented by both the real class and the mock class to
guarantee that the mock class accurately simulates the real class when used in a program.
Answer: d
Section 10.6 Mock Objects
Title: What role does an interface play in a mock class?
Difficulty: Medium
22. 42. Which of the following statements about events and graphical user interface programs
is true?
a) Your program must instruct the Java window manager to send it notifications about
specific types of events to which the program wishes to respond.
b) The Java window manager will automatically send your program notifications about
all events that have occurred.
c) Your program must respond to notifications of all types of events that are sent to it by
the Java window manager.
D) Your program must override the default methods to handle events.
Answer: a
Section 10.7 Event Handling
Title: Which statement about events and GUI programs is true?
Difficulty: Medium
43. Consider the following class:
public class ClickListener implements ActionListener
{
__________________________________________
{
System.out.println("mouse event ...");
}
}
Which of the following method headers should be used to complete the ClickListener
class?
a) public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
b) public void actionPerformed(ClickListener event)
c) public void actionPerformed()
d) public void actionPerformed(ActionListener event)
Answer: a
Title: Identify correct actionPerformed method header
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference 1: 10.7 Event Handling
44. ____ are generated when the user presses a key, clicks a button, or selects a menu
item.
a) Listeners
b) Interfaces.
23. c) Events.
d) Errors.
Answer: c
Section 10.7 Event Handling
Title: ____ are generated when the user interacts with GUI components.
Difficulty: Easy
45. A/an ____ belongs to a class whose methods describe the actions to be taken when a
user clicks a user-interface graphical object.
a) Event listener
b) Event source
c) Action listener
d) Action method
Answer: a
Section 10.7 Event Handling
Title: A/an ____ belongs to a class whose methods describe actions to be taken.
Difficulty: Easy
46. Which of the following is an event source?
a) A JButton object.
b) An event listener.
c) An inner class.
d) An event adapter.
Answer: a
Section 10.7 Event Handling
Title: Which is an event source?
Difficulty: Easy
47. To respond to a button event, a listener must supply instructions for the ____ method
of the ActionListener interface.
a) actionEvent.
b) actionPerformed
c) eventAction
d) eventResponse
24. Answer: b
Section 10.7 Event Handling
Title: To respond to a button event, a listener must implement the ____ method.
Difficulty: Medium
48. To associate an event listener with a JButton component, you must use the ___
method of the JButton class.
a) addEventListener.
b) addActionListener.
c) addButtonListener.
d) addListener
Answer: b
Section 10.7 Event Handling
Title: How to associate an event listener with a JButton component.
Difficulty: Easy
49. The methods of a/an ____ describe the actions to be taken when an event occurs.
a) event source
b) event listener
c) event interface
d) action source
Answer: b
Section 10.7 Event Handling
Title: The methods of a/an ____ describe the actions when an event occurs.
Difficulty: Easy
50. When an event occurs, the event source notifies all ____.
a) components
b) panels
c) interfaces
d) event listeners
Answer: d
26. intelligence has revealed himself to the creature of his formation,
and that through that revelation we are informed of that which it
interests us to know—of our own soul, of the object of our creation,
and of the final destiny of man?"
"I have heard of religion certainly," said Eugene, "but I cannot say I
ever studied it or practised it."
{178}
"No? Then no wonder you are dissatisfied. Your mind is evidently
seeking for truth. Nothing but the great truth can satisfy it. Study
dispassionately the evidences of the truth of the great Mosaic
history. Contemplate the grand position of our first father, Adam,
receiving instruction from God himself concerning the mighty
mysteries of creation, not only of matter and of material forms, but
of bright intelligences created to glorify and adorn the court of
heaven, and who fell from their sublime position. Study man first,
fresh in perfection from the hand of God, living as the friend of
God, communing with his Maker in the garden of Eden. Appointed
by him to rule o'er all inferior nature, the entitled Lord of the
Creation, the master of animal existences, and superior in his own
person to much of material influence. Think what it must have been
to walk with God, and have divine knowledge infused into his soul,
as also all such material science as would befit the founder of a
mighty race to transmit to his offspring, over whom he was to reign
as prince, father, priest, and teacher; and then consider what it must
have been to find suddenly that source of knowledge dried up, the
door of communication closed, power weakened, intuitions dimmed,
and labor imposed as the price alike of happiness, knowledge, and
of that supernatural communication which had been man's best and
highest privilege: the solution of these problems will give you the
key to many difficulties which perplex you."
"There are modern theories which agree not with these premises,"
said Eugene. "These trace man from the savage upward."
27. "Yes,' said M. Bertolot, "the mutum et turpe pecus [Footnote 36]
of Horace has found, if not admirers, yet professed believers in this
age.
[Footnote 36: Dumb and filthy herd.]
A theory contrary to analogy, to evidence alike of history and
tradition, has been assumed, and wondrously has found asserters
too. All mere animals are observed to be born complete—their
instincts, their organization serve but the individual; and though
accident may train an individual to feats beyond his fellows, yet
there is no appearance of new organs being formed to be
transmitted to its race. Now, these modern progressionists, who go
back to the time
'When wild in woods the Noble Savage ran,'
deprive man of his soul, assimilate him to the brutes to make him
perform what brute nature never did perform, namely, create
faculty. Men have lives to laugh at the doctrine of the transmigration
of souls, but methinks the doctrine of the progression to bodily
beauty from monkeys without tails; of barbarians to civilized man
without aid, is to the full as absurd; to say nothing of that
comprehensive power of contemplation which enabled Newton to
demonstrate the order of the universe, it would be very difficult to
understand how abstract ideas could be latent in the soul of a
monkey waiting development. Besides, by the theory of progression,
during the time of which we have record, say six thousand years,
men should be steadily on the improve—both as to arts, science,
moral government, legal government, self-government, and bodily
development; but we do not find it so. The ruins of Babylon, of
Thebes, and of other great cities built soon after the flood, attest
architectural skill among the ancients such as is hardly aimed at no.
Callisthenes found astronomical tables reaching as far back as within
a few years of the deluge, in the Temple of Belus, when he
accompanied Alexander the Great on his expedition to the East. And
28. many arts have been lost altogether that were well known to the
ancients. The half-barbarian Copt erecting his hut amid the fallen
pillars and statuary of ancient Thebes, the Mameluke riding
recklessly and savagely amid the pyramids, that still remain to puzzle
the assertor of progression even with the mere mechanical
difficulties of the machinery used for {179} raising such immense
stones to such a height and in such a plain, so distant from any
known quarries. These are hut poor indications of the race
advancing, though individual nations, worked on by a regenerative
influence, may appear to make, nay do make, great improvements in
all respects."
"Do you, then, think that man's tendency is to degenerate?" asked
Eugene.
"Not necessarily, by any means," replied M. Bertolot; "but in
proportion as he departs from the centre of unity, from the truths
once imprinted on the soul of Adam, thence to be transmitted for
human guidance, it will, I think, be found so."
"But," said Eugene, "is Adam's religion yours? Surely he was not a
Christian."
"If not in name and with the same outward rites, yet in reality he
must have been," replied the mentor. "There is but one truth, and
the difference between his creed and ours was that he looked for a
Redeemer to come. We believe in him as having come."
"But was Adam's religion that of the Jews, then?" asked Eugene.
"In creed and in spirit, yes. In form and observance it differed,
because the Jews had typical forms specially given to them, alike to
commemorate their deliverance from Egypt, and to typify their
delivery through Christ from sin. They were living amid idolatrous
nations, and the safeguard of a special ceremonial was needful to
them."
29. "And save in the fulfilment of their expectation, is the Jewish creed
Christian?" asked Eugene.
"As far as it goes it is; the Christian revelation is a fuller
development of the old tradition, a clearer exposition of God; it
destroys nothing of the past revelation, it fulfils and expands. The
Jews were the preservers of the great tradition, transmitted through
the patriarchs to Noah, and by him, through his sons, to the race it
large. The tradition became corrupted by the majority; yet it is found
in some form or other mixed up in all mythologies; and what
deserves remark is, that the further back we trace mythology the
purer it becomes. The early records of all nations tell us of purity,
discipline, and sacrifice to secure purity of morals, and teach of
justice after death, of good and evil spirits, and of the interference
of the deity to check man in his career of evil. Men seem at first not
so much to have denied the true God, as to have associated other
gods with him, and to have changed their worship from seeking such
spiritual union as would render them 'sons of God,' to adoration of
the creator and upholder of physical power, physical grandeur, and
physical beauty. Atheism, and the lowering of man's nature to that of
a mere mortal animal, is an invention of modern times, and has for
the most part only been held by men satiated, as it were, by a
spurious civilization."
"I am but little versed in the Bible," said Eugene, "but I have heard
learned men assert that all the education, so to speak, of the Jewish
nation was of a worldly character; and that though there are
passages of Scripture containing allusions to the immortality of the
soul, yet that doctrine was nowhere definitely asserted, but that, on
the contrary, all the rewards and punishments promised, or
threatened, were of a temporal nature."
"And yet no one disputes that the Jews did, and do believe the soul
to be immortal, as also that they believed, and still believe, in the
traditions concerning the fallen angels, the fall of man, the promised
redemption, and many others. These doctrines, promulgated to all
30. the world, were kept intact by Abraham and his descendants; and it
is a very general belief that they were renewed in their purity in the
soul of Moses, during that long communion vouchsafed him on
Mount Sinai. The material law for exterior conduct he wrote down;
but the spiritual themes which formed the staple of the expositions
given by the rulers and doctors of the synagogue {180} and which
were only figured by the material types, were probably deemed by
the holy lawgiver too sacred to dilate upon in writing. If, after that
forty days' sublimation, his spirit was so triumphant that he was fain
to veil the glory of his face, we must needs suppose that not the
mere written law, or setting forth the ritual of their worship,
occupied his whole attention, but that his spirit expanded beneath
the graces vouchsafed to him, and that he was, in a sense, made
partaker of those spiritual truths which lie concealed from more
materialized minds."
"These facts deserve attention, at any rate," said Eugene; "can you
refer me to authorities within my reach?"
"Indeed, I know not what your resources are, and my own books I
have lost. My memory, too, serves me but treacherously on
controversial subjects; but I think if you will turn to Grotius de Verit.
Christ, you will find him quoting Philo Judaeus in proof of the
similarity of the Christian doctrine with the Jewish."
Eugene handed the book to his friend, who read the passage, of
which the following is the translation:
"We have still to answer two accusations with which the
doctrines and worship of Christians are attacked by the Jews.
The first is, that they say we worship many gods. But this is
nothing more than a declaration thrown in hatred at a foreign
faith. For what more is asserted by the Christians, than by Philo
Judaeus, who frequently represents three in God, and who calls
the reason, or word of God, the name of God, the framer of the
world, neither uncreate, as is the Father of all, nor so born as are
31. men (whom both Philo and Moses, the son of Nehemanni, calls
the angel, the deputy for ruling this world); or what more than
the cabalists assert, who distinguished in God three lights, and
indeed by somewhat the same names as the Christians do,
namely, of the Father, of the Son or Word, and of the Holy Spirit.
And I may also assume that which is confessed by all the Jews,
that that spirit which moved the prophets, is not created, and yet
is distinct from him who sent," etc., etc.
"But," said the old man, starting up and closing the book, "I am
forgetting myself; I came not here to deliver a lecture on theology,
but to inquire after my former friends. Excuse an old man's garrulity.
Adieu!"
"Not yet," said Eugene; "your conversation interests me much; do
not go yet."
"Yes, for to-night I leave you; if you permit me, however, I will
return on another day. Meantime, I would suggest to you one
important reflection. When Almighty God had created all things, and
pronounced them good; when he had formed man from the slime of
the Earth, and rendered him the most perfect of animals, man was
not yet quite complete; and the completion, what was it? No angel
had command to fulfil that wondrous office, nor was it by word that
that mysterious power was called into being: but God breathed, and
man became a living soul. The soul of man is, then, the in-breathing
of the divinity —immortal in its essence, God-like in its affinities.
Quench not its trembling impulses, when it bids you look upward in
love and confidence; but pray—ever pray—fervently, confidently,
perseveringly." This he added with a half-smile, which revealed to
Eugene who had been his former monitor. He then abruptly quitted
the room.
32. CHAPTER VI.
MODERN PAGANISM
The Duke of Durimond and his fair bride prolonged their tour among
the lakes and mountains of the "land o' cakes" until autumn begun
to show the fallen leaf. Hester was not a little disappointed at this—
she was impatiently expecting a summons to {181} meet her sister
at the dacal mansion, and she thought the period unnecessarily
delayed.
At length the wished-for invitation came, and father, mother, sisters,
brother, aunt, and Euphrasie were called upon to welcome the young
duchess to one of the costliest and most elaborately finished palaces
in England. Hester shouted in glee as the carriage entered the mile-
long avenue of stately trees that formed the approach to the ducal
dwelling. The bevy of liveried servants that awaited their approach
at the hall-door, the quiet, respectful bearing of the gentlemen
servants out of livery who waited within to escort them to the suite
of rooms prepared for their reception—all this was charming!
delightful! only a look from her parents presented the merry girl
from dancing round the house in ecstasy. The entrance-hall itself
was sufficient to send her into raptures. The beautiful marble of the
floor, the large fires burning on each side, the triple row of balconies,
raised one above another, on the three sides within the hall,
betokening the communication of the upper stories with the rest of
the house by some unseen means, and displaying the full height of
the edifice, crowned as it was by a beautifully carved cupola, into
which sufficient skylight was artificially admitted to display to
advantage the figures of the rosy Aurora accompanied by her
nymphs, scattering flowers on her way as she opened the gates of
morning, which subject was skilfully portrayed on the ceiling. They
33. passed through this, the outer hall, to another, which contained the
magnificent staircase leading to the apartments opening on the
balconies described. To Hester's joy the entrance to their suite of
rooms opened on the first of these, and she could look up to the
painted ceiling and down to the marble floor, and gaze, unrebuked,
on the colossal figures of bronze which appeared to uphold the
balconies.
How happy Adelaide must be, mistress of so gorgeous a palace! And
Adelaide was there at the door of the apartments to greet her
mother and her mother's friends. What was there in her manner to
damp at once the ardor of Hester's enthusiasm? Grace, kindness,
and dignity were there! and yet Hester was not satisfied; a chill
came o'er her unawares as she returned her sister's kiss. She
mastered herself, however, sufficiently to express her admiration of
the splendid hall.
"Oh, that is nothing," said the young duchess, with a faint smile.
"His grace will introduce you to his hall of sculpture and to the
picture gallery by and by, and then you will be really pleased. I
believe royalty itself cannot boost such master-pieces as Durimond
Castle."
"So I have heard," said Mrs. Godfrey; "but where is the duke, my
dear?"
"He was unexpectedly occupied when you arrived, mamma, but
doubtless he will be here to welcome you immediately."
There was a constraint and melancholy about Adelaide's manner
that struck the whole party, and their pleasure was more than a little
damped as they entered the magnificent apartments prepared for
them.
"Here," said the hostess, "you can be as private as in your own
house when you wish it; and when you desire society you will
34. generally find some one either in the library, or in the conservatory
or drawing-room."
"Have you many guests?" asked the Countess de Meglior.
"Your friend, the Comte de Villeneuve, came with us from town; he
is not here to-day, though I think the duke expects him to-morrow.
He is absent on some business; there is a strange gentleman
closeted with the duke just now, for whom apartments are ordered;
he is a foreigner, I think; the duke seems to have business with him.
He will be our only visitor today."
{182}
Just then the bell rang to warn the guests it was the dressing hour.
Valets and ladies' maids were in attendance, and though only to join
a family party, state-dresses were in requisition.
Adelaide retired to make her preparations, and the visitors, amid the
luxurious surroundings, felt oppressed with a sadness for which they
could scarcely account, and which they cared not to express, even to
one another.
The duke met them in the drawing-room before dinner, and his gay
manner in some degree dispelled the gloom that had crept over the
party. He inquired kindly after Eugene.
"Eugene, from some cause or other," said Mrs. Godfrey, "keeps away
from home altogether. He spent his long vacation at the lakes, and
has again returned to Cambridge. He has taken a studious fit, I
suppose, and must be allowed to gratify if ."
"And does he not, then, intend to honor us with his company?"
inquired the duke.
"Oh, he will run down for a day or two ere long, I dare say. He must
see Adelaide, of course; but when, he does not exactly say."
35. Adelaide did not appear displeased to hear this. She turned to her
husband and asked what he had done with his visitor.
"He would not stay, he had an appointment to keep, so we must
make up for all deficiencies ourselves."
The dinner passed away stiffly enough, and as the season was too
late for a walk afterward, the gentlemen, following the then national
custom, passed a considerable time over the bottle, discussing the
politics of the day. It was late in the evening ere they joined the
ladies. They found them in a large conservatory, which was
illuminated in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey's arrival; and in this
flowery retreat sundry self-acting musical instruments were hidden,
which, from time to time, sent forth, as it were unbidden, melodious
sounds and tuneful harmonies, which, vibrating amid the flowering
shrubs that formed an artificial spring within the glass enclosure,
contrasted pleasingly with the "fall of the leaf" that made all nature
desolate without.
"Art conquers nature here," said Mr. Godfrey, as he entered the
enchanted scene. "We might fancy ourselves in a fairy palace now.
What says my Hester to this?"
"Oh! this is beautiful, indeed! Music, moonlight, love, and flowers are
it 'A glorious combination,'" said Hester, pointing to the moon, which
shone brightly through the windows; but her voice had lost its usual
animation as she made the quotation, for a feeling passed over her
heart, as if one ingredient, and that precisely the most important
one, was wanting; she could not be satisfied that "love" presided in
this abode of beauty and of grace.
The next morning the state rooms of the house were inspected. The
duke was the great patron of the fine arts, and taste shone forth in
every part of the stately edifice that was exposed to view.
The picture gallery and the hall of sculpture were celebrated far and
wide, particularly the latter. Nor were the figures promiscuously
36. arranged that decorated this scene of art; on the contrary, much
care had been expended to form one harmonious whole. On the
dome which formed the ceiling was painted ancient Saturn
devouring his offspring as they rose into being, and beneath this
centre-piece were painted the war of the Titans against Satan on the
one side, and the war of the giants against Jupiter on the other.
Thus far the ceiling. In the midst of the marble floor stood the
mighty Jupiter, armed with his thunderbolts, majestic in strength and
grand in intellectual sensualism. Beside him, grouped symmetrically
and appropriately, were the legion of subordinate divinities—Venus,
attended by the graces; Apollo, radiant in beauty; Hercules
strangling the serpents while he was yet in the cradle; the Muses in
various attitudes, with appropriate symbols of office. Scarcely a god,
goddess, or demigod {183} could be named who was not here
represented. Types of beauty—sensual, intellectual, and physical;
types of grandeur and of tenor; types of mystery, beneath the veiled
figure of the Egyptian deity, Isis; types of knowledge and of artistic
skill were there. All that man bows before and worships when the
sense of the supernatural is shut, and he learns of self to deify his
own passions, was here, other delineated on the walls or chiselled
out in the sculptural forms. It was ft Pantheon dedicated to all the
gods of human sense, refined by beauty and grace, and polished by
artistic merit of the highest order. Unbounded and unfeigned was the
applause elicited from the party: hardly could they satisfied
themselves with gazing on these perfect forms: even the lack of
drapery seemed scarcely a drawback. Euphrasie, indeed, retired, but
she was so strange habitually that her absence was hardly
commented upon; and but for the smile that went round the circle
as she left the hall, might have been deemed unobserved.
"The true gods of the earth are these yet." said Mr. Godfrey, when
the door had closed behind the young French girl, "and the race has
sadly degenerated since their worship was abandoned."
The young duchess and her sisters looked up in mute wonder at the
speaker, but the duke cried, "Hear, hear!" and the elder ladies tried
37. to look wise and responsive.
Mr. Godfrey continued: "That is god to a man which his mind
worships and reveres, and which to the extent of his power he
strives to imitate. Julian, the Roman emperor, understood this well.
He felt (what time has proved true) that the human frame must
degenerate when its proportionate and due development ceases to
be the primary object of the legislator. He saw that when, instead of
these glorious physical powers, there is substituted a pale,
emaciated figure nailed to a cross for the glorification of an ideal
good, that all nature's teachings must become confused, and a fake
romance lead to decay the powers that heretofore were so beautiful
in their proportions."
"Surely, papa, you do not believe in paganism," said Hester,
wonderingly.
"Yes and no, Hester. In the fables of the personal divinity of Jupiter,
Venus, and Minerva—No! In paganism as the expression of a grand
idea, well suited to man's capabilities, and to his nature—Yes! You
must not confound the hidden meaning of the myth with the
outward expression. The uninstructed multitude will always look to
the outward, and believe the fables as facts, whatever religion they
profess, and often times they penetrate no further; but the learned
look through the myth to the meaning, and the meaning of the
pagan myth is,—Cultivate physical strength, in union with intellectual
power, worship beauty, study and contrast nature. Destroy infirmity:
it is the most humane way, and the most just way. Do not
perpetuate disease. Let all ill-constituted children die. Let the
conquered—i.e., the weaker—serve; it belongs to the strong to rule.
To develop the physical frame duly, Lycurgus caused even the young
women to wrestle publicly, without drapery of any kind. Our more
fastidious tastes cramp the form of our women, and distort the
figure; and, worse than this, our perverted theology distorts their
intellect, and makes it afraid even to look at the human form. Again,
I say, Julian was right. The Christianity he forsook has caused not
38. only the degeneration of human power, but has substituted false
ideas of good. The real has given place to the ideal, and a sickly,
romantic, sentimentalized race has taken the place of the hardy
heroes of antiquity."
And Mr. Godfrey bowed profoundly to the deities before him.
{184}
The duke laughed and clapped his hands. "Well said, Mr. Godfrey,
well said. I hardly knew till now, how great a benefactor I was to the
human race when I collected these statues. Hitherto I have thrown
open my house but once a week for the public benefit. Henceforth I
will direct my steward to allow instructions oftener in this temple of
the true gods of the earth. By the by, I believe there is a very good
chance of restoring this gone-by worship, if, as you say, it consists in
the exaltation of physical power. Science, in its diffusion, is fixing
men's minds on material agencies, very much to the exclusion of
superstitious ideality. We have only to throw in a vein of the love of
beauty, and much will be effected toward bringing back men's minds
to the natural worship, here so beautifully symbolized."
"I believe so," said Mr. Godfrey; "but, meantime, how much evil has
been effected by letting in upon the race so many delicate
constitutions! How shall we restore the hardy races that peopled the
earth, when these mighty types of glory ruled the populations?"
"Indeed, it is difficult to say. Men have accustomed themselves to a
false estimate of mere vitality, as if life without enjoyment were
worth the having. We shall, I fear, find it difficult to persuade English
mothers to destroy their diseased and crippled children for the good
of the public, or to train their daughters in the gymnasium."
"Would you seriously wish it, my lord duke?" asked his wife.
"I hardly know. We are all trammelled more or less with the feelings
our mothers instilled into us. I think Lycurgus a great man, and
39. perfectly reasonable. Had I been born a Spartan, I think I should
have thanked the gods for it, but now—"
"Now," interrupted Mrs. Godfrey, "you are more nearly a Sybarite. I
know of no one whom a crumpled rose-leaf disturbs more easily
than yourself."
"Nay, Mrs. Godfrey, the argumentum ad hominem is hardly fair;
but, after all, I suppose we must admit that character is
geographical and chronological, besides being modified by individual
circumstance. I think freely, but I am scarcely free to change my
character; so in legislating I must legislate on public grounds for
others. It does not follow that I can keep the law I deem it fitting to
make.
"But if you cannot keep it, how can others?" demanded Annie.
"Well asked, my fair sister—asked not only by you, but by others
also, and therefore is it that we must practically legislate not as we
think best, abstractedly, but as nearly best as can be carried out. So,
as the people are not yet ripe for ancient Spartan laws, we must be
content yet a while to diffuse the principle that physical
development, physical beauty, and physical power are the legitimate
objects of human worship. When we have accustomed the people to
adopt these views, the rest may chance to follow. Meantime, I see
De Villeneuve coming up the avenue: excuse me for an instant;" and
somewhat to the surprise of the party, the duke bolted through the
open door that led on to the grounds to meet his friend, who
dismounted when he saw him coming. In deep conference they
slowly approached the house. There was a cloud on the duke's brow,
but he shook it off as he entered and gayly introduced his friend.
"I am afraid De Villeneuve hardly admires these divinities, Mrs.
Godfrey; let us adjourn to the drawing-room."
"Nay, defend yourself, M. de Villeneuve; you will not plead guilty to
not loving art?" said the lady addressed.
40. "No, indeed, dear madam, his grace is only avenging himself for my
criticisms. I suggested to him the other day that he might get up
another temple of modern art as a supplement to this, and he felt
piqued, I suppose; yet I have found him many times standing rapt
before a Madonna."
{185}
"The gentlemen decided this morning that these were the true gods
of the earth, and that Madonnas and Crucifixions were false, unreal
types, and to be discouraged."
"Not possible!"
"Nay, it is true, they were voting a return to paganism."
"But you, ladies," said M. de Villeneuve, "you, ladies, were not of
that mind, surely?"
"I don't know," said Hester, mischievously, "papa was very eloquent
In lauding ancient institutions."
"But," said the comte, turning very earnestly to her, "he did not tell
you how woman was treated in the olden time, before Mary's fiat
repaired the fault of Eve. Women, intelligent, beautiful women, owe
everything to that divine Mother; and if they cast off their religion it
is because the misery is hid from them which the sex was subject to
formerly."
"There is no necessity just now of making it more clear," said Mr.
Godfrey drily.
"No," said the comte; "and yet when I see the tendency of the age,
I often feel that it would be safer did our ladies know the truth.
Eve's fault should at least bring knowledge when knowledge is
necessary to truth. Woman could not help but be fervently religious,
41. did she know from what an abyss of degradation Christianity has
raised her."
Mr. Godfrey turned impatiently to the window. "It is splendid
weather for riding," said he; "suppose we order the horses."
CHAPTER VII.
MARRIAGE OR NO MARRIAGE.
But why was Adelaide so sad? Why was the young duchess
apparently most constrained when with her husband? Why, on the
contrary, was he, as usual, gay, cheerful, and animated? These were
questions for a mother's heart to ask, and yet, uneasy as she was,
Mrs. Godfrey asked them not. She dared not seek the confidence of
her daughter, lest aught should be betrayed which it were better she
should not know. She knew that the confidence of a married woman
is sacred even from a mother, in all that appertains to her husband;
and what other secrets could Adelaide have?
Several days passed, and no clue to the enigma was discovered.
Parties of pleasure were formed, the grounds were traversed, the
library ransacked—literary, scientific, nay political excitement created
for the amusement and entertainment of the guests; but no familiar,
confidential chit-chat gave occasion to the disclosure of the secret
which it was evident was weighing on Adelaide's mind.
One morning, however, Mr. Godfrey shut himself up in the library, in
order to search through some volumes for a passage he desired, and
his daughter entered, turning the key in the door as she did so. Mr.
Godfrey looked up. Adelaide was pale and trembling. He took her
hand and led her to a sofa. In a few moments she partly recovered;
yet it was in a faltering voice that she asked:
42. "Father, is a marriage with a Roman Catholic valid?"
"Valid? Yes, I suppose so; why not, my dear?"
Adelaide became still more pale, but did not answer.
Mr. Godfrey was alarmed. "How does this concern you, my child?" he
asked.
"Why—why—the duke is then married to another lady," faltered she.
"Impossible!" said the father. "Impossible! he would not—dare not
do such a deed. You have been imposed upon, Adelaide. Tell me the
story, and the authority for it."
"Did you hear of a woman fainting, almost under the carriage-
wheels, on the morning of my marriage, father?"
"I did; what of it, my child!"
{186}
"That woman believes herself to be his wife! She followed us, and
confronted the duke in Scotland in a narrow glen. She watched day
and night to speak to him; her watching was noticed, pointed out to
me, and one day as he was returning home I saw her start up from
under a hedge and stand before him. He evidently sought to avoid
her, but she would not be avoided; she held him by the skirts of his
coat till he consented to speak with her. Unperceived by both I stole
near them; I heard her claim him as her husband; I listened in vain
for his denial; I heard him urge her to go home; I heard him say
that he would satisfy her another time—that it should be all right if
she would only quietly depart; and I heard, too, her indignant
refusal to depart until he had told her his true name, and where he
was to be found. 'To me,' she said, 'you have called yourself Colonel
Ellwood, and my boy has borne that name!'"
43. "'Let him bear it still,' replied the duke.
"'But is it the right one? is it yours!' she shrieked.
"'I am the Duke of Durimond,' answered he. She fell fainting at his
feet. Unthinkingly, I pressed forward to succor her, thus revealing
that I had overheard the conversation. The duke started, and said,
'This is no scene for your grace; if you will send an attendant from
the house yonder to wait on this poor stranger, it will be kind of you.'
I did as requested, but the agitation of my feelings caused an illness
which detained us a long time in Scotland. I did not like to inform
you of my illness then. The duke would have been kind, but I liked
not to see him near me. Once or twice he tried to explain to me that
the whole was a mistake, but I asked him not to mention it. When
we came to London he again tried explanation, but I told him all
explanation must be to you. He endeavored in vain to shake my
resolution, and at length brought me here and sent for you. A lawyer
was with him in London several times, and a Catholic priest was
closeted with him the day he arrived. I suspect this unhappy
business was the cause of their visits, but I have asked nothing. We
have held little communication with each other since that
unfortunate recognition in Scotland."
"My poor child!" said the father "and was this your honeymoon?"
Adelaide laid her head on her father's shoulder, and wept.
"But why do you think the woman is a Roman Catholic, Adelaid?"
"He told me so one day, and therefore, he says, the marriage is not
valid."
"Perhaps it is so, Adelaide."
"But if it is so, she believes herself his wife, and she is pure, good,
innocent; it is written in her face."
44. "My poor child?" again ejaculated the father.
How long they sat sorrowing silence they heeded not. Each felt that
whichever hypothesis were true, married or not married, there was
bitterness enough. At length the sound of voices in the hall warned
Adelaide to seek her own apartment. Mr. Godfrey went immediately
to the duke.
"My daughter has been with me this morning, your grace," said he,
in solemn, deliberate tones.
"Ah yes! Well—Mr. Godfrey—well—your daughter is not quite well, I
fear."
"She is seriously unhappy, I am sorry to inform you, my lord duke."
"Unhappy!—ah!—well, well; she has taken a youthful in discretion of
mine somewhat too sorely to heart; but you, Mr. Godfrey, know that
those little affairs are common enough to men of the world."
"My daughter speaks of a previous marriage, your grace."
"Pshaw! some few words she heard have been made to signify too
much. Adelaide is my wife, my duchess. Let her be satisfied on that
point."
"It is just on that point she is not satisfied—it is just on that point
that I now require to be satisfied."
{187}
"How can I satisfy you save by denying any other marriage?"
"Has no ceremony ever passed between your grace and another
woman who claims to be your wife?"
"No legal ceremony, upon my honor as a nobleman."
45. "No legal ceremony; some kind of ceremony has taken place, then?"
said Mr. Godfrey.
"If not a legal one, then none which concerns you. Be content, Mr.
Godfrey, daughter is indisputably a duchess."
"I am not content, my lord duke; I must see this other claimant to
the ducal coronet," said Mr. Godfrey, rising.
"By heaven, you shall not!" answered the duke, rising as suddenly;
"you shall not—indeed you shall not. No, my poor Ellen, no: injured
you have been, but at least I will save you from insult."
"Methinks your grace's words are strange ones to the father of your
ride," said Mr. Godfrey. "Is the peace of your mistress to be preferred
to that of your wife?"
"Let us understand each other, Mr. Godfrey," said the duke; "and to
do that, I must caution you not to say one word in disrespect of the
person you falsely term my mistress. Listen: Fifteen years ago I met
a being, lovely, tender, innocent; before one personating a Romish
priest I called her wife; she knew not, until now, the title was not
legal; for fifteen years I have, as a simple gentleman, sought her
society when weary of ambition and of the selfishness of the world;
for fifteen years have I, at such intervals as I could steal away from
grandeur and false honors, found repose and happiness in the
society of that gentle, that unworldly being. Children have been born
to me and died, all save one, a noble boy—one whom I would gladly
train to deeds of glory, were it that—O Ellen, Ellen!"
"And with such feelings as these, my lord, you dared to lead my
daughter to the altar?" indignantly demanded Mr. Godfrey.
"Yes, and why not?" replied the duke. "Your daughter suffered no
injury. You sought for her not love, but a coronet, and that she has
now. Let her enjoy it. I acted not the hypocrite. I promised what I
46. gave—power, rank, grandeur, and respect; these she has: what
cause is there for complaint?"
"But why, if a peerless beauty were already yours, why seek another
bride, my lord? Why not have made the lady of your love your
duchess?"
"Because—because—I knew not her value at first. At first it was her
beauty that attracted me; then her virtue kept me true to her, and I
loved her unworldliness, her want of ambition. To have made her a
duchess would have spoiled my dream of being loved for myself
alone. Besides, Ellen is a Catholic, a sincere one, and never would
she consent that a child of hers should be brought up in the
paganism of these times."
"But why, I must yet inquire, why, with these feelings, did your grace
marry at all?"
"Why? did I not want a duchess in my halls? a pagan heir to my
Pantheon, sir? To whom were these gorgeous collections of heathen
idols, these entailed estates, these titles, honors, to descend? Ellen's
son could not inherit all, even were he legitimate. His Catholic
feeling would turn aside in disgust from much, and English law
would exclude him from office or dignity in the nation. Had I lived
anywhere but in England, perchance my child had risen to compete
with the highest."
"He and his mother still hold, evidently, the highest place in your
affections. And is my daughter for ever to play second part in your
heart, and this incomparable miracle of goodness the first?"
"Your daughter, sir, is to reign supreme, the imperial queen of the
Parnassian deities. Juno-like, she treads her path o'er high Olympus;
all bow to her, and Jupiter himself shall treat her with reverence,
save when she {188} intrudes upon his private moments. She has
bargained for wealth, and power, and pomp, and influence; she has
them: let her be content. Love was out of the 'bargain;' it is useless
47. now to contend for it, as if it were her due. But for my Ellen, you
misjudge her, if you think that, with the knowledge she now has, she
would ever admit me to her presence again. I do not even know
how I can induce her to accept a maintenance from me—from me,
who would have died to save her, yet who have caused her such
bitter pangs! Oh! I could stab myself from sheer remorse!"
And the dark shade that passed over the features, now convulsed
with mental agony, showed that the words were not ones of mere
expression.
Mr. Godfrey paused, yet was his anger not subdued; he had not
deemed that the duke had so much of human feeling in his
composition. Worldly and courtly as he seemed, who could suspect
go strong an undercurrent of deep and passionate emotion?
That this should be there, and not felt for his wife! Mr. Godfrey did
feel this an injury; though, as the duke said, love had not been in
the bargain.
The long pause was at length broken by Mr. Godfrey's saying: "Your
grace must excuse me, but, for my daughter's sake, I must insist on
obtaining evidence that this marriage, which you admit did take
place, was not legal. If I may not approach the lady myself, who can
procure me the evidence I demand?'"
"I know not—unless—stay; I would willingly make one more attempt
to secure Ellen's acceptance of a provision for her child. Hitherto she
has rejected all mediation: not only the lawyer, but De Villeneuve,
and a bishop of her own church, have solicited her in vain to listen
to such an idea; a lady—a Catholic might be more successful. You
have in your family one seemingly as pure and good as Ellen's self—
one holding the same holy faith; if she will consent to undertake the
mission, I will confide to her the secret of Ellen's residence. De
Villeneuve will escort her, but I doubt if she will gain admittance;
none have yet succeeded who went from me."
48. "You mean Euphrasie, I presume?"
"I do; if you can trust to her report, I shall gladly make her my
ambassadress to treat respecting the future provision to be made for
mother and child."
"I will see her on the subject."
"Tis well; good morning, Mr. Godfrey."
How little do we know of the inward feelings even of those with
whom we fancy ourselves intimate! Here was the cold, heartless
man of pleasure, so-called by the world, so thought of by his father-
in-law, a prey, when left to himself, to the most violent emotions of
grief for the loss of Ellen. Had it been possible at that moment to
redeem her affections by the sacrifice of earthly grandeur, there is
but little doubt that the sacrifice would have been made, for the loss
of that sweet solace had never been contemplated as a necessary
accomplishment to this marriage. For fifteen years he had kept his
incognito in her society as Colonel Ellwood, and as Colonel Ellwood
he meant to visit her still, and to indemnify himself in her sweet
society for the heartlessness and cheerlessness of the ducal
mansion.
This dream was at an end; he's incognito had been discovered, and
at once all intercourse was over. The gay and courtly duke felt as if
all interest in life had suddenly vanished from the earth. His outward
demeanor appeared, indeed, unchanged, at least to superficial
observers, but those who looked beneath the surface could detect a
latent disdain for all things; and if the same pursuits still seemed to
engage his attention, it was from habit, or from want of occupation,
not from any relish for the pursuit itself. {189} Little did the world
suspect that his gay and polished manner covered a broken heart,
and that the munificent owner of countless rangers, the haughty
scion of a long line of ancestors, was pining away beneath the blight
49. which had destroyed is happiness, and was eventually to destroy his
life. But we must not anticipate, rather let us return to our theme.
Euphrasie heard with surprise and pain of the position of her young
friend Adelaide, but was most unwilling to undertake the negotiation
proposed; it was only at M. de Villeneuve's reiterated assurance that
it was a great work of charity which she demanded of her, that she
at length consented.
On their arrival at the village, some hours' journey distant from
London, and further yet from the duke's residence, M. de Villeneuve
requested Euphrasie to proceed from the hotel alone to Ellswood
cottage, as his presence would be suspicious, and probably prevent
her gaining admittance. A dark-haired, bright-eyed boy was playing
in the garden before the cottage; he came to the gate on seeing a
stranger approach, and as he held the gate in his hand, he said,
before Euphrasie addressed him:
"Mamma is very ill, no one can see her today."
"I am very sorry to hear that. Has she been ill long?"
"Yes, ever since she took a long, long journey, and came back so
tired. She went to find papa, and did not find him," and the child's
voice dropped to a whisper: "I think papa is dead, but I must not tell
her so."
"Why do you think so, my dear?"
"Because he would never stay away so long if he were alive; he
never did before: and when he did stay away he used to leave
mamma lots of money; now she has no money at all, and she is
going away from here."
"Where is she going to?"
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