t under the influence of the archbishop was
Waldershare. He was fairly captivated by him. Nothing would satisfy
Waldershare till he had brought the archbishop and Prince Florestan
together. "You are a Roman Catholic prince, sir," he would say. "It is
absolute folly to forego such a source of influence and power as the
Roman Catholic Church. Here is your man; a man made for the occasion,
a man who may be pope. Come to an understanding with him, and I believe
you will regain your throne in a year."

"But, my dear Waldershare, it is very true I am a Roman Catholic, but I
am also the head of the Liberal party in my country, and perhaps also
on the continent of Europe, and they are not particularly affected to
archbishops and popes."

"Old-fashioned twaddle of the Liberal party," exclaimed Waldershare.
"There is more true democracy in the Roman Catholic Church than in all
the secret societies of Europe."

"There is something in that," said the prince musingly, "and my friends
are Roman Catholics, nominally Roman Catholics. If I were quite sure
your man and the priests generally were nominally Roman Catholics,
something might be done."

"As for that," said Waldershare, "sensible men are all of the same
religion."

"And pray what is that?" inquired the prince.

"Sensible men never tell."

Perhaps there was no family which suited him more, and where the
archbishop became more intimate, than the Neuchatels. He very much
valued a visit to Hainault, and the miscellaneous and influential
circles he met there--merchant princes, and great powers of Lombard
Street and the Stock Exchange. The Governor of the Bank happened to be a
high churchman, and listened to the archbishop with evident relish.
Mrs. Neuchatel also acknowledged the spell of his society, and he quite
agreed with her that people should be neither so poor nor so rich. She
had long mused over plans of social amelioration, and her new ally was
to teach her how to carry them into practice. As for Mr. Neuchatel, he
was pleased that his wife was amused, and liked the archbishop as he
liked all clever men. "You know," he would say, "I am in favour of all
churches, provided, my lord archbishop, they do not do anything very
foolish. Eh? So I shall subscribe to your schools with great pleasure.
We cannot have too many schools, even if they only keep young people
from doing mischief."

CHAPTER LXXXII

The prosperity of the country was so signal, while Mr. Vigo was