the habits and comrades of Clifford's life, he had at heart many good and
generous qualities. They were not often perceptible, it is true,--first,
because he was of a gay and reckless turn; secondly, because he was not
easily affected by any external circumstances; and thirdly, because he
had the policy to affect among his comrades only such qualities as were
likely to give him influence with them. Still, however, his better
genius broke out whenever an opportunity presented itself. Though no
"Corsair," romantic and unreal, an Ossianic shadow becoming more vast in
proportion as it recedes from substance; though no grandly-imagined lie
to the fair proportions of human nature, but an erring man in a very
prosaic and homely world,--Clifford still mingled a certain generosity
and chivalric spirit of enterprise even with the practices of his
profession. Although the name of Lovett, by which he was chiefly known,
was one peculiarly distinguished in the annals of the adventurous, it had
never been coupled with rumours of cruelty or outrage; and it was often
associated with anecdotes of courage, courtesy, good humour, or
forbearance. He was one whom a real love was peculiarly calculated to
soften and to redeem. The boldness, the candour, the unselfishness of
his temper, were components of nature upon which affection invariably
takes a strong and deep hold. Besides, Clifford was of an eager and
aspiring turn; and the same temper and abilities which had in a very few
years raised him in influence and popularity far above all the chivalric
band with whom he was connected, when once inflamed and elevated by a
higher passion, were likely to arouse his ambition from the level of his
present pursuits, and reform him, ere too late, into a useful, nay, even
an honourable member of society. We trust that the reader has already
perceived that, despite his early circumstances, his manner and address
were not such as to unfit him for a lady's love. The comparative
refinement of his exterior is easy of explanation, for he possessed a
natural and inborn gentility, a quick turn for observation, a ready sense