his mind. Do you know, I would sooner be a captain of a ship than a
minister of state?"

Poor Endymion! Yes, he bore his burthen, but it was not secrets of state
that overwhelmed him. If his mind for a moment quitted the contemplation
of Lady Montfort, it was only to encounter the recollection of a
heart-rending separation from his sister, and his strange and now
perplexing relations with Adriana.

Lord Montfort had passed the summer, as he had announced, at Princedown,
and alone; that is to say, without Lady Montfort. She wrote to him
frequently, and if she omitted doing so for a longer interval than
usual, he would indite to her a little note, always courteous, sometimes
even almost kind, reminding her that her letters amused him, and that
of late they had been rarer than he wished. Lady Montfort herself made
Montfort Castle her home, paying sometimes a visit to her family in
the neighbourhood, and sometimes receiving them and other guests. Lord
Montfort himself did not live in absolute solitude. He had society
always at command. He always had a court about him; equerries, and
secretaries, and doctors, and odd and amusing men whom they found out
for him, and who were well pleased to find themselves in his
beautiful and magnificent Princedown, wandering in woods and parks and
pleasaunces, devouring his choice _entrees_, and quaffing his curious
wines. Sometimes he dined with them, sometimes a few dined with him,
sometimes he was not seen for weeks; but whether he were visible or not,
he was the subject of constant thought and conversation by all under his
roof.

Lord Montfort, it may be remembered, was a great fisherman. It was the
only sport which retained a hold upon him. The solitude, the charming
scenery, and the requisite skill, combined to please him. He had a love
for nature, and he gratified it in this pursuit. His domain abounded in
those bright chalky streams which the trout love. He liked to watch the
moor-hens, too, and especially a kingfisher.

Lord Montfort came home late one day after much wading. It had been a
fine day for anglers, soft and not too bright, and he had been tempted
to remain long in the water. He drove home rapidly, but it was in an
open carriage, and when the sun set there was a cold autumnal breeze.
He complained at night, and said he had been chilled. There was always
a doctor under the roof, who felt his patient's pulse, ordered the usual
remedies, and encouraged him. Lord Montfo