THE BELVOIR CIRCLE 



sumptuous front was the boast and pride of the Midland 

 counties. The surrounding gardens, equalling in size the 

 extent of ordinary parks, were crowded with temples dedi- 

 cated to abstract virtues and to departed friends. . . . Be- 

 yond the limits of this pleasance the hart and hind wandered 

 in a wilderness abounding in ferny coverts and green and 

 stately trees. The noble proprietor of this domain had many 

 of the virtues of his class, few of their failings. He had 

 that public spirit that became his station. He was not one 

 of those who avoided the exertions and the sacrifices which 

 should be inseparable from high position by the hollow pre- 

 text of a taste for privacy and a devotion to domestic joys. 

 He was munificent, tender, and bounteous to the poor, and 

 loved a flowing hospitality. A keen sportsman, he was not 

 untinctured by letters, and had, indeed, a cultivated taste for 

 the fine arts. Though an ardent politician, he was tolerant 

 to adverse opinions, and full of amenity to his opponents. 

 A firm supporter of the Corn Laws, he never refused a lease. 

 Notwithstanding, there ran through his whole demeanour and 

 the habit of his mind a vein of native simplicity that was 

 full of charm. His manner was finished. He never offended 

 any one's self-love. His good breeding, indeed, sprang from 

 the only sure source of gentle manners, a kind heart. To 

 have pained others would have pained himself Perhaps, 

 too, this noble sympathy may have been in some degree 

 prompted by the ancient blood in his veins — an accident of 

 lineage rather rare with the English nobility. One could 

 hardly praise him for the strong affections that bound him to 

 his hearth, for fortune had given him the most pleasing family 

 in the world ; but, above all, a peerless wife. The Duchess 

 was one of those women who are the delight of existence. 

 She was sprung from a house not inferior to that with which 

 she had blended, and was gifted with that rare beauty which 

 time ever spares, so that she seemed now only the elder sister 

 of her own beautiful daughters. She, too, was distinguished 

 by that perfect good breeding which is the result of nature 

 and not of education ; for it may be found in a cottage, and 

 may be missed in a palace. 'Tis a genial regard for the feel- 



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