tell, because it is, in many respects, curiously characteristic of the
time and place.

The Duke, who, as I have said, spoke English perfectly well, was
fond of surrounding himself with foreign, and specially English,
dependents. He had at the time of which I am speaking, two English--or
rather, one English and one Irish--chamberlains, and a third, who,
though a German, was, from having married an Englishwoman, and
habitually speaking English, and living with Englishmen, much the
same, at least to the Duke, as an Englishman. The Englishman was a
young man; the German an older man, and the father of a family. And
both were good, upright, and honourable men; both long since gone over
to the majority.

The Irishman, also a young man, was a bad fellow; but he was an
especial favourite with the Duke, who was strongly attached to him. It
is not necessary to print his name. He has gone to his account. But it
might nevertheless happen that the printing of my story with his name
in these pages might still give pain to somebody.

There was also that year an extremely handsome and attractive lady, a
widow, at the Baths. I will not give her name either. For though there
was no sort of blame or discredit of any kind attached or attachable
to her from any part of my story, as she is, I believe, still living,
and as the memory of that time cannot but be a painful one to her, it
is as well to suppress it. The lady, as I have said, was handsome and
young, and of course all the young fellows who got a chance flirted
with her--_en tout bien tout honneur_. But the Irish chamberlain
attached himself to her, not with any but perfectly avowable
intentions, but more seriously than the other youngsters, and with an