te in opposition to their natural
character, as with them all is outside, surface, appearance, varnish,
bark; or they soon find that, if their real characters are detected,
they are undone; so, thanks to the sort of instinct of self-preservation
with which they are gifted, they feel all the necessity of the moral
mask, and so paint and costume themselves with all the alacrity and
skill of a practised comedian. Thus, after six months' residence in
Paris, Sarah was in a condition to contest with the most Parisian of
Parisian women, as to the piquant finish of her wit, the charm of her
liveliness, the ingenuousness of her flirtation, and the exciting
simplicity of her looks, at once chaste and passionate.

Finding his sister in full panoply for his campaign, Seyton left with
her for Germany, furnished with the best letters of introduction. The
first state of the German Confederation which headed Sarah's "road-book"
was the Grand Duchy of Gerolstein, thus styled in the diplomatic and
infallible _Almanach de Gotha_ for the year of grace 1819:

"_Genealogy of the Sovereigns of Europe and their Families_.

"GEROLSTEIN.

"Grand Duke: MAXIMILIAN RODOLPH, 10th December, 1764. Succeeded
his father, CHARLES FREDERIC RODOLPH, 21st April, 1785. Widower
January, 1808, by decease of his wife, LOUISA AMELIA, daughter
of JOHN AUGUSTUS, Prince of BURGLEN.

"_Son_: GUSTAVUS RODOLPH, born 17th April, 1803.

"_Mother_: Dowager Grand Duchess Judith, widow of the Grand
Duke, CHARLES FREDERIC RODOLPH, 21st April, 1785."

Seyton, with much practical good sense, had first noted down on his list
the youngest princes whom he coveted as brothers-in-law, thinking that
extreme youth is more easily seduced than ripened age. Moreover, we have
already said that the brother and sister were particularly recommended
to the reigning Duke of Gerolstein by the old Marquis d'Harville,
caught, like the rest of the world, by Sarah, whose beauty, grace, and,
above all, delightful manners, he could not sufficiently admire.

It is superfluous to say that the presumptive heir of the Grand Duchy of
Gerolstein was Gustavus Rodolph: he was hardly eighteen when Tom and
Sarah were presented to his father. The arrival of the young Scotch
lady was an event in the German court, so quiet, simple, and almost
patriarchal in its habits and observances. The Grand Duke, a most worthy
gentleman, governed his states with wis