Allen Upward

“ Despised and rejected of men. The flush darkened on the young man’s cheek as he flung back his head with a rebellious and angry glance at the river’s northern bank, where the shining walls and towers of the city of Ormuzd seemed to overhang the gulf—the glance which an exile gives at the city which has driven him forth.
He had fled to the spot, stunned by one of those buffets which life is ever waiting to deal to those who have not learnt their lesson aright. And his ears still smarted with the scream of the newsboys who were proclaiming in every street that Lord Alistair Stuart had failed. ”

“ So the millionaire had drifted into a friendship with the music-hall singer without any after-thought; and when the after-thought had gradually grown up of its own accord, he had found it the most comfortable plan to shut his eyes to it and make believe it was not there.
If he had been ten years younger, the Marchioness of Severn might have despaired of her son-in-law. But he had come to that age when life begins to change its aspect; when the white blossom of romance with which it tempts the eye of youth begins to shed its petals, and the red fruit of ambition is disclosed. ”

“ Maximilian was completely conquered. He rose to his feet, deeply agitated, and said—
“Aunt Hermengarde, I beg your forgiveness. I am much ashamed of myself to have judged your conduct so wrongly. But I am hardly myself; certain things which have happened lately have disturbed me very much.”
He paused, and glanced at her as if hesitating whether to take her into his confidence. But perhaps a subtle instinct warned him against such a step. The atmosphere of Courts breeds distrust; and whom should a king distrust more than those who will profit by his ceasing to wear the crown? ”

“ Looking back across his life to this point of departure, it seemed to Alistair that he had found the clue of his tangled skein, and that he might in time achieve a complete answer to the riddle of his fate. For a moment the longing of his heart returned to that green islet in its grey sea, and he bitterly regretted that he had not been left to live out his life there among the clansmen whom he loved, and by whom he was beloved, who esteemed him as a prince among them, and would have still esteemed and shielded him had he become the outlaw of the Raj. ”

“ The secret of true happiness is to turn away from beholding those who are better off than ourselves, and keep the gaze steadily fixed on those who are worse off; and this secret Alderman Dobbin had mastered. Free from that itching to grovel to some one above him which torments so many unfortunate people, he was satisfied with being grovelled to by his inferiors. Thus it was that he had been able to live in the enjoyment of his own greatness without envying that of others. There might be such persons as dukes and archbishops in the world—he was Alderman Dobbin. ”

“ It is an impulse with all murderers to conceal the traces of their guilt. They dig holes in the earth and bury it, they carry it into the wilderness and hide it, they sink it in the depths of the sea. But the earth will not contain it, the wilderness betrays the ghastly secret, the waves cast up the horror.’
His voice rang through the crowded court like that of one possessed, and every man trembled. ”

“ A war now would mean the bankruptcy of the Empire. The others will not believe this, but I know it. I will not have my carefully laid plans shattered by them, for the sake of a miserable province like Galicia.
‘I am a statesman, not a pettifogger. With my railways I am reaching forward to clutch the great Empires of Asia. China is already within my grasp; India is being drawn closer year by year. When a thousand millions of men obey the sceptre of the Tsar, these petty European States will fall like ripe plums into our lap.’
The Russian spoke with real emotion. ”

“ I heard Fauchette dart on her mistress with a well-acted scream, and sprinkle her face and neck with cold water.
Sophia seemed to revive quickly.
“Andreas!” I heard her gasp. “Where? What has become of him?”
“M. Sterling has also fainted,” the maid replied with assumed innocence.
“Ha!”
It was more like a shriek than a sob. I heard a hasty rustling of skirts, and then Sophia seemed to be kneeling beside me, and feeling for the beat of my heart.
“Go, Fauchette! Send Gregory instantly to M. Petrovitch to inform him that M. Sterling has been taken ill in my house, and that I fear he is dead.” ”

“ The Nabob’s army lay in their entrenched camp, one angle of the rampart, that nearest to us, being strengthened with a small redoubt armed with cannon. Behind and away almost as far as we could see, stretched the tents and lines of armed men, the whole just beginning to stir with the first movements of the day. In the midst rose a splendid pavilion, adorned by flags, before the door of which stood a train of horses and attendants, while lesser tents were pitched all round it, each one displaying the ensign of some great officer. ”

“ Maximilian rose from his seat and approached Johann.
“You see, Herr Mark, the position I am in. After what has passed this morning you will be able to understand how little power is really enjoyed by the most absolute monarchs. In my whole kingdom I do not know of one man whom I can rely on to carry out my wishes. Realise the truth: society, as we see it, is merely an equilibrium of forces; it can only be disturbed by force, and it is as difficult and as dangerous for a king to commence a revolution as for any private man.” ”

“ The soul has her imperial moments when she exercises a prerogative that reason cannot take away; when the toilsome knowledge gathered together by the senses falls into shards under her feet, and she enters into possession of herself, freed from the bonds and trammels cast about her by the material brain. In that moment Alistair did not think—he knew, knew well, more surely than if a voice from the beyond had spoken it in his ear, that he was an immortal spirit inhabiting eternity. ”