our and a
simplicity yet strength of thought which contrasted with the artificial
manners and the conventional opinions and conversation of her sire. A
mind at once thoughtful and energetic permitted Henrietta Temple to form
her own judgments; and an artless candour, which her father never could
eradicate from her habit, generally impelled her to express them. It
was indeed impossible even for him long to find fault with these
ebullitions, however the diplomatist might deplore them; for Nature had
so imbued the existence of this being with that indefinable charm which
we call grace, that it was not in your power to behold her a moment
without being enchanted. A glance, a movement, a sunny smile, a word of
thrilling music, and all that was left to you was to adore. There was
indeed in Henrietta Temple that rare and extraordinary combination of
intellectual strength and physical softness which marks out the woman
capable of exercising an irresistible influence over mankind. In the
good old days she might have occasioned a siege of Troy or a battle of
Actium. She was one of those women who make nations mad, and for whom a
man of genius would willingly peril the empire of the world.

So at least deemed Ferdinand Armine, as he cantered through the park,
talking to himself, apostrophising the woods, and shouting his passion
to the winds. It was scarcely noon when he reached Ducie Bower. This was
a Palladian pavilion, situated in the midst of beautiful gardens, and
surrounded by green hills. The sun shone brightly, the sky was without
a cloud; it appeared to him that he had never beheld a more graceful
scene. It was a temple worthy of the divinity it enshrined. A facade of
four Ionic columns fronted an octagon hall, adorned with statues, which
led into a salon of considerable size and fine proportion. Ferdinand
thought that he had never in his life entered so brilliant a chamber.
The lofty walls were covered with an Indian paper of vivid fancy, and
adorned with several pictures which his practised eye assured him were
of great merit. The room, without being inconveniently crowded, was
amply stored with furniture, every article of which bespoke a refined
and luxurious taste: easy chairs of all descriptions, most inviting
couches, cabinets of choice inlay, and grotesque tables covered with
articles of vertu; all those charming infinite nothings, which a person
of taste might some time back have easily collected during a long
res