austed his London
clique, he rolled through the cities of Europe in his carriage, and
cruised its shores in his yacht. But he was not happy!

He was a man of taste, and sipped the arts and other knowledge, as he
sauntered Europe round.

But he was not happy.

"What shall I do?" said _l'ennuye'._

"Distinguish yourself," said one.

"How?"

No immediate answer.

"Take a _prima donna_ over," said another.

Well, the man took a _prima donna_ over, which scolded its maid from the
Alps to Dover in the _lingua Toscana_ without the _bocca Romana,_ and
sang in London without applause; because what goes down at La Scala does
not generally go down at Il Teatro della Regina, Haymarket.

So then my lord strolled into Russia; there he drove a pair of horses,
one of whom put his head down and did the work; the other pranced and
capricoled alongside, all unconscious of the trace. He seemed happier
than his working brother; but the biped whose career corresponded with
this playful animal's was not happy!

At length an event occurred that promised to play an adagio upon Lord
Ipsden 's mind. He fell in love with Lady Barbara Sinclair; and he had
no sooner done this than he felt, as we are all apt to do on similar
occasions, how wise a thing he had done!

Besides a lovely person, Lady Barbara Sinclair had a character that
he saw would make him; and, in fact, Lady Barbara Sinclair was, to an
inexperienced eye, the exact opposite of Lord Ipsden.

Her mental impulse was as plethoric as his was languid.

She was as enthusiastic as he was cool.

She took a warm interest in everything. She believed that government is
a science, and one that goes with _copia verborum._

She believed that, in England, government is administered, not by a set
of men whose salaries range from eighty to five hundred pounds a year,
and whose names are never heard, but by the First Lord of the Treasury,
and other great men.

Hence she inferred, that it matters very much to all of us in whose hand
is the rudder of that state vessel which goes down the wind of public
opinion, without veering a point, let who will be at the helm.

She also cared very much who was the new bishop. Religion--if not
religion, theology--would be affected thereby.

She was enthusiastic about poets; imagined their verse to be some sort
of clew to their characters, and so on.

She had other theories, which will be indicated by and by; at present
it is enough to say that h