had been a poor man, decked with the surname of an illustrious family,
but forced to earn a livelihood as best he could, and the most
speculative of money-lenders would not have entrusted him with fifty
pounds on the chance of his ever changing his name for a title, and his
poverty for a great fortune. His father had been near enough to the
fountain of good things to secure one of the family livings, but the
son, even if he had taken orders, would scarcely have obtained so much
as this, and moreover felt no vocation for the ecclesiastical estate.
Thus he fronted the world with no better armour than the bachelor's
gown and the wits of a younger son's grandson, with which equipment he
contrived in some way to make a very tolerable fight of it. At
twenty-five Mr. Charles Aubernon saw himself still a man of struggles
and of warfare with the world, but out of the seven who stood before
him and the high places of his family three only remained. These
three, however, were "good lives," but yet not proof against the Zulu
assegais and typhoid fever, and so one morning Aubernon woke up and
found himself Lord Argentine, a man of thirty who had faced the
difficulties of existence, and had conquered. The situation amused him
immensely, and he resolved that riches should be as pleasant to him as
poverty had always been. Argentine, after some little consideration,
came to the conclusion that dining, regarded as a fine art, was perhaps
the most amusing pursuit open to fallen humanity, and thus his dinners
became famous in London, and an invitation to his table a thing
covetously desired. After ten years of lordship and dinners Argentine
still declined to be jaded, still persisted in enjoying life, and by a
kind of infection had become recognized as the cause of joy in others,
in short, as the best of company. His sudden and tragical death
therefore caused a wide and deep sensation. People could scarcely
believe it, even though the newspaper was before their eyes, and the
cry of "Mysterious Death of a Nobleman" came ringing up from the
street. But there stood the brief paragraph: "Lord Argentine was found
dead this morning by his valet under distressing circumstances. It is
stated that there can be no doubt that his lordship committed suicide,
though no motive can be assigned for the act. The deceased nobleman
was widely known in society, and much liked for his genial manner and
sumptuous hospitality. He is succeeded by," etc.