I intend
to be a warrior, a conqueror; Napoleon's name shall vail to mine; and
enthusiasts, instead of visiting his rocky grave, and exalting the merits
of the fallen, shall adore my majesty, and magnify my illustrious
achievements."

I listened to Raymond with intense interest. Could I be other than all ear,
to one who seemed to govern the whole earth in his grasping imagination,
and who only quailed when he attempted to rule himself. Then on his word
and will depended my own happiness--the fate of all dear to me. I
endeavoured to divine the concealed meaning of his words. Perdita's name
was not mentioned; yet I could not doubt that love for her caused the
vacillation of purpose that he exhibited. And who was so worthy of love as
my noble-minded sister? Who deserved the hand of this self-exalted king
more than she whose glance belonged to a queen of nations? who loved him,
as he did her; notwithstanding that disappointment quelled her passion, and
ambition held strong combat with his.

We went together to the House in the evening. Raymond, while he knew that
his plans and prospects were to be discussed and decided during the
expected debate, was gay and careless. An hum, like that of ten thousand
hives of swarming bees, stunned us as we entered the coffee-room. Knots of
politicians were assembled with anxious brows and loud or deep voices. The
aristocratical party, the richest and most influential men in England,
appeared less agitated than the others, for the question was to be
discussed without their interference. Near the fire was Ryland and his
supporters. Ryland was a man of obscure birth and of immense wealth,
inherited from his father, who had been a manufacturer. He had witnessed,
when a young man, the abdication of the king, and the amalgamation of the
two houses of Lords and Commons; he had sympathized with these popular
encroachments, and it had been the business of his life to consolidate and
encrease them. Since then, the influence of the landed proprietors had
augmented; and at first Ryland was not sorry to observe the machinations of
Lord Raymond, which drew off many of his opponent's partizans. But the
thing was now going too far. The poorer nobility hailed the return of
sovereignty, as an event which would restore them to their power and
rights, now lost. The half extinct spirit of royalty roused itself in the
minds of men; and they, willing slaves, self-constituted subjects, were
ready to bend their