rt leapt out to young English
gentlemen.

My name, he said, reminded him of a great character at home, in the old
days: a certain Roy-Richmond, son of an actress and somebody, so the
story went: and there was an old Lord Edbury who knew more about it than
most. 'Now Roy was an adventurer, but he had a soul of true chivalry,
by gad, he had! Plenty of foreign whiffmajigs are to be found, but you
won't come upon a fellow like that. Where he got his money from none
knew: all I can say is, I don't believe he ever did a dirty action for
it. And one matter I'll tell you of: pardon me a moment, Mr. Richmond, I
haven't talked English for half a century, or, at least, a quarter. Old
Lord Edbury put him down in his will for some thousands, and he risked
it to save a lady, who hated him for his pains. Lady Edbury was of the
Bolton blood, none of the tamest; they breed good cavalry men. She ran
away from her husband once. The old lord took her back. "It 's at your
peril, mind!" says she. Well, Roy hears by-and-by of afresh affair. He
mounted horse; he was in the saddle, I've been assured, a night and a
day, and posted himself between my lady's park-gates, and the house,
at dusk. The rumour ran that he knew of the marquis playing spy on
his wife. However, such was the fact; she was going off again, and
the marquis did play the mean part. She walked down the parkroad, and,
seeing the cloaked figure of a man, she imagined him to be her Lothario,
and very naturally, you will own, fell into his arms. The gentleman
in question was an acquaintance of mine; and the less you follow our
example the better for you. It was a damnable period in morals! He
told me that he saw the scene from the gates, where he had his
carriage-and-four ready. The old lord burst out of an ambush on his
wife and her supposed paramour; the lady was imprisoned in her rescuer's
arms, and my friend retired on tiptoe, which was, I incline to think,
the best thing he could do. Our morals were abominable. Lady Edbury
would never see Roy-Richmond after that, nor the old lord neither. He
doubled the sum he had intended to leave him, though. I heard that he
married a second young wife. Roy, I believe, ended by marrying a great
heiress, and reforming. He was an eloquent fellow, and stood like a
general in full uniform, cocked hat and feathers; most amusing fellow at
table; beat a Frenchman for anecdote.'

I spared Colonel Heddon the revelation of my relationship to his hero,