step must seem, there is nothing in it at all
repulsive to the well-known traditions of the
younger branch. Our informant himself met
the P. at Mayence, and speedily recognised him
from the marked resemblance he bears to the
late duchess, his mother, he addressed him at
once by his title, but was met by the cold
assurance that he was mistaken, and that a casual
similarity in features had already led others
into the same error. The general—for our
informant is an old and honoured soldier of France
—confessed he was astounded at the 'aplomb'
and self-possession displayed by so young a man;
and although their conversation lasted for nearly
an hour, and ranged over a wide field, the C.
never for an instant exposed himself to a detection,
nor offered the slightest clue to his real
rank and station. Indeed, he affected to be
English by birth, which his great facility in the
language enabled him to do. When he quitted
Mayence it was for central Germany."

Here was the whole mystery revealed, and I
was no less a person than a royal prince—very
like my mother, but neither so tall nor robust
as my distinguished father! " Oh, Potts! in all
the wildest ravings of your most florid moments
you never arrived at this!"

A very strange thrill went through me as I
finished this paragraph. It came this wise.
There is, in one of Hoffman's tales, the story of
a man who, in a compact with the Fiend,
acquired the power of personating whomsoever he
pleased, but who, sated at last with the enjoyment
of this privilege, and eager for a new sensation,
determined he would try whether the
part of the Devil himself might not be amusing.
Apparently Mephistopheles won't stand joking,
for he resented the liberty by depriving the
transgressor of his identity for ever, and made
him become each instant whatever character
occurred to the mind of him he talked to.

Though the parallel scarcely applied, the very
thought of it sent an aguish thrill through me—
a terror so great and acute that it was very
long before I could turn the medal round and
read it on the reverse. There, indeed, was
matter for vainglory! " It was but t'other day,"
thought I, " and Lord Keldrum and his friends
fancied I was their intimate acquaintance, Jack
Burgoyne; and though they soon found out the
mistake, the error led to an invitation to dinner,
a delightful evening, and, alas! that I should
own, a variety of consequences, some of which
proved less delightful. Now, however, Fortune
is in a more amiable mood: she will have it
that I resemble a prince. It is a project which
I neither aid nor abet; but I am not churlish
enough to refuse the rôle any more than I
should spoil the Christmas revelries of a
country-house by declining a part in a tableau,
or in private theatricals. I say, in the one case
as in the other, ' Here is Potts! make of him
what you will. Never is he happier than by
affording pleasure to his friends.' To what end
I would ask, should I rob that old lady up-stairs
at No. 12, evidently a widow, and with not too
many enjoyments to solace her old age—why
should I rob her of what she has herself called
the proudest episode in her life? Are not, as
the moralists tell us, all our joys fleeting? Why,
then, object to this one that it may only last for
a few days? Let us suppose it only to endure
throughout our journey, and the poor old soul
will be so happy, never caring for the fatigues
of the road, never fretting about the innkeepers'
charges, but delighted to know that his royal
highness enjoys himself, and sits over his bottle
of Chambertin every evening in the garden,
apparently as devoid of care as though he were a
bagman."

I cannot say how it may be with others,
but, for myself I have always experienced an
immense sense of relief, actual repose, whenever
I personated somebody else; I felt as though
I had left the man Potts at home to rest and
refresh himself, and took an airing as another
gentleman: just as I might have spared my
own paletot by putting on a friend's coat in a
thunderstorm. Now I did wish for a little
repose, I felt it would be good for me. As to the
special part allotted me, I took it just as an
obliging actor plays Hamlet or the Cock to
convenience the manager. Mrs. Keats likes it,
and, I repeat, I do not object to it.

It was evident that the old lady was not
going to communicate her secret to her
companion, and this was a great source of satisfaction
to me. Whatever delusions I threw around
Miss Herbert I intended should be lasting.
The traits in which I would invest myself to
her eyes, my personal prowess, coolness in danger,
skill at all manly exercises, together with a large
range of general gifts and acquirements, I meant
to accompany me through all time, and I am a
sufficient believer in magnetism to feel assured
that by imposing upon her I should go no small
part of the road to deceiving myself, and that
the first step in any gift is to suppose you are
eminently suited to it, is a well-known and
readily acknowledged maxim. Women grow
pretty from looking in the glass; why should not
men grow brave from constantly contemplating
their own courage?

"Yes, Potts, be a Prince, and see how it
will agree with you!"

CHAPTER XXI.

MRS. KEATS came down, and our dinner
that day was somewhat formal. I don't think
any of us felt quite at ease, and, for my own
part, it was a relief to me when the old lady
asked my leave to retire after her coffee. " If
you should feel lonely, sir, and if Miss
Herbert's company would prove agreeable—"

"Yes," said l, languidly, "that young person
will find me in the garden." And therewith I gave
my orders for a small table under a great
weeping-ash, and the usual accompaniment of my
after-dinner hours, a cool flask of Chambertin.
I had time to drink more than two-thirds of my
Burgundy before Miss Herbert appeared. It
was not that the hour hung heavily on me, or
that I was not in a mood of considerable enjoyment,