he was always sure to
forfeit the paternal favour again, a few days after he had been restored
to it.

At last, matters were brought to their climax by an awkward love
adventure of Ralph's with one of our tenants' daughters. My father
acted with his usual decision on the occasion. He determined to apply
a desperate remedy: to let the refractory eldest son run through his
career in freedom, abroad, until he had well wearied himself, and could
return home a sobered man. Accordingly, he procured for my brother
an attache's place in a foreign embassy, and insisted on his leaving
England forthwith. For once in a way, Ralph was docile. He knew and
cared nothing about diplomacy; but he liked the idea of living on the
continent, so he took his leave of home with his best grace. My father
saw him depart, with ill-concealed agitation and apprehension; although
he affected to feel satisfied that, flighty and idle as Ralph was, he
was incapable of voluntarily dishonouring his family, even in his most
reckless moods.

After this, we heard little from my brother. His letters were few and
short, and generally ended with petitions for money. The only important
news of him that reached us, reached us through public channels.

He was making quite a continental reputation--a reputation, the bare
mention of which made my father wince. He had fought a duel; he had
imported a new dance from Hungary; he had contrived to get the smallest
groom that ever was seen behind a cabriolet; he had carried off the
reigning beauty among the opera-dancers of the day from all competitors;
a great French cook had composed a great French dish, and christened
it by his name; he was understood to be the "unknown friend," to whom
a literary Polish countess had dedicated her "Letters against the
restraint of the Marriage Tie;" a female German metaphysician, sixty
years old, had fallen (Platonically) in love with him, and had taken to
writing erotic romances in her old age. Such were some of the rumours
that reached my father's ears on the subject of his son and heir!

After a long absence, he came home on a visit. How well I remember
the astonishment he produced in the whole household! He had become a
foreigner in manners and appearance. His mustachios were magnificent;
miniature toys in gold and jewellery hung in clusters from his
watch-chain; his shirt-front was a perfect filigree of lace and cambric.
He brought with him his own boxes of choice liqueurs a