ety. At twenty he had
been a poor man, decked with the surname of an illustrious family, but
forced to earn a livelihood as best he could, and the most speculative
of money-lenders would not have entrusted him with fifty pounds on the
chance of his ever changing his name for a title, and his poverty for a
great fortune. His father had been near enough to the fountain of good
things to secure one of the family livings, but the son, even if he had
taken orders, would scarcely have obtained so much as this, and moreover
felt no vocation for the ecclesiastical estate. Thus he fronted the
world with no better armour than the bachelor's gown and the wits of a
younger son's grandson, with which equipment he contrived in some way to
make a very tolerable fight of it. At twenty-five Mr. Charles Aubernoun
saw himself still a man of struggles and of warfare with the world, but
out of the seven who stood between him and the high places of his family
three only remained. These three, however, were 'good lives,' but yet
not proof against the Zulu assegais and typhoid fever, and so one
morning Aubernoun woke up and found himself Lord Argentine, a man of
thirty who had faced the difficulties of existence, and had conquered.
The situation amused him immensely, and he resolved that riches should
be as pleasant to him as poverty had always been. Argentine, after some
little consideration, came to the conclusion that dining, regarded as a
fine art, was perhaps the most amusing pursuit open to fallen humanity,
and thus his dinners became famous in London, and an invitation to his
table a thing covetously desired. After ten years of lordship and
dinners Argentine still declined to be jaded, still persisted in
enjoying life, and by a kind of infection had become recognized as the
cause of joy in others, in short, as the best of company. His sudden and
tragical death therefore caused a wide and deep sensation. People could
scarce believe it, even though the newspaper was before their eyes, and
the cry of 'Mysterious Death of a Nobleman' came ringing up from the
street. But there stood the brief paragraph: 'Lord Argentine was found
dead this morning by his valet under distressing circumstances. It is
stated that there can be no doubt that his lordship committed suicide,
though no motive can be assigned for the act. The deceased nobleman was
widely known in society, and much liked for his genial manner and
sumptuous hospitality. He is succeeded by