marriage settlements, including her dower house, which was sold that the
proceeds might go to the completion of Lone.

But all this did not suffice to pay the stupendous cost.

Then the duke did the maddest act of his life. He raised the needed money
from usurers by giving them a mortgage on his own life estate in Lone
itself.

The work drew near to its completion.

In the meantime the duke's agents were ransacking the chief cities in
Europe in search of rare paintings, statues, vases, and other works of
art or articles of virtu to decorate the halls and chambers of Lone; for
which also the most famous manufacturers in France and Germany were
elaborating suitable designs in upholstery.

Every man directing every department of the works at Lone, whether as
engineer, architect, decorator, or furnisher, every man was an artist in
his own speciality. The work within and without was to be a perfect work
at whatever cost of time, money, and labor.

At length, at the end of ten years from its commencement, the work was
completed.

And for the sublimity of its scenery, the beauty of its grounds, the
almost tropical luxuriance of its gardens, the magnificence of its
buildings, the splendor of its decorations, and the luxury of its
appointments, Lone was unequalled.