DILEMMAS OF PRIDE.
BY MARGRACIA LOUDON
THE AUTHOR OF FIRST LOVE.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
BULL AND CHURTON, HOLLES STREET.
1833.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXV.
DILEMMAS OF PRIDE.
CHAPTER I.
Alfred felt a strong and restless desire to absent himself fromCheltenham for a time. What might ultimately occur he saw as a frightfulspectre in the distance, and he even strove to keep his mental visionfixed with stern steadiness on the unwelcome image, while he laboured todiscipline his mind to generous emotions, and teach it to desireabsolutely the happiness of his truly generous brother, without anyremaining reference to self, even though Willoughby should become aserious and a successful admirer of Caroline's. But to witness the earlysteps, the daily progress towards such a consummation, was what seemedto his imagination impossible to be endured. Caroline's gentlesmiles—the privilege of walking beside her on the Montpelierpromenade—of sitting near her little work-table in Lady Palliser'sdrawing-room—of joining his voice to hers in certain duets which hecalled to mind individually: these had been his own. The dread of seeingthem appropriated by another, appeared, in the present disordered stateof his mind, to terrify his fancy even more than all the vague anddistant views of that irremediable step; the very despair attending thecontemplation of which awed every gentler emotion into stillness; andproduced comparatively, a seeming, if not a salutary calm. Accordinglyhe made up his mind to go to town, on the plea of aiding to completesome arrangements then in progress for his promotion. We forgot tomention that our hero held one of those fashionable licences to be shotat, an ornamental commission in the Dragoon Guards. By using the wordornamental, we do not wish to infer that a regiment of Dragoons is notuseful in a field of battle; we only mean to say, that in peaceful timeslike the present, young men go into the Guards more with a view tobecoming ornamental members of society than useful engin