My mother, who had preserved her beauty wonderfully, sat in a chair of
green velvet, and astonished the courtiers by the fashion of a dress
only just imported. The worthy Countess (she had dropped in England the
loftier distinction of /Madame la Marechale/) was however quite innocent
of any intentional affectation of the /mode/; for the new stomacher, so
admired in London, had been the last alteration in female garniture at
Paris a month before my father died. Is not this "Fashion" a noble
divinity to possess such zealous adherents?--a pitiful, lackey-like
creature, which struts through one country with the cast-off finery of
another!

As for Aubrey and Gerald, they produced quite an effect; and I should
most certainly have been thrown irrevocably into the background had I
not been born to the good fortune of an eldest son. This was far more
than sufficient to atone for the comparative plainness of my person; and
when it was discovered that I was also Sir William's favourite, it is
quite astonishing what a beauty I became! Aubrey was declared too
effeminate; Gerald too tall. And the Duchess of Lackland one day, when
she had placed a lean, sallow ghost of a daughter on either side of me,
whispered my uncle in a voice, like the /aside/ of a player, intended
for none but the whole audience, that the young Count had the most
imposing air and the finest eyes she had ever seen. All this inspired
me with courage, as well as contempt; and not liking to be beholden
solely to my priority of birth for my priority of distinction, I
resolved to become as agreeable as possible. If I had not in the vanity
of my heart resolved also to be "myself alone," Fate would have
furnished me at the happiest age for successful imitation with an
admirable model.

Time rolled on; two years were flown since I had left school, and