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- Мари Корелли
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Towards
the
middle
of
September
my
'
royal
and
distinguished
'
house-party
arrived
and
stayed
at
Willowsmere
Court
for
a
week
.
Of
course
it
is
understood
that
whenever
the
Prince
of
Wales
honours
any
private
residence
with
a
visit
,
he
selects
,
if
not
all
,
at
any
rate
the
greater
part
of
those
persons
who
are
to
be
invited
to
meet
him
.
He
did
so
in
the
present
instance
,
and
I
was
placed
in
the
odd
position
of
having
to
entertain
certain
people
whom
I
had
never
met
before
,
and
who
,
with
the
questionable
taste
frequently
exhibited
among
the
'
upper
ten
,
'
looked
upon
me
merely
as
"
the
man
with
the
millions
,
"
the
caterer
for
their
provisions
,
and
no
more
--
directing
their
chief
attention
to
Sibyl
,
who
was
by
virtue
of
her
birth
and
associations
one
of
their
'
set
,
'
and
pushing
me
,
their
host
,
more
or
less
into
the
background
.
However
the
glory
of
entertaining
Royalty
more
than
sufficed
for
my
poor
pride
at
that
time
,
and
with
less
self-respect
than
an
honest
cur
,
I
was
content
to
be
snubbed
and
harassed
and
worried
a
hundred
times
a
day
by
one
or
the
other
of
the
'
great
'
personages
who
wandered
at
will
all
over
my
house
and
grounds
,
and
accepted
my
lavish
hospitality
.
Many
people
imagine
that
it
must
be
an
'
honour
'
to
entertain
a
select
party
of
aristocrats
,
but
I
,
on
the
contrary
,
consider
that
it
is
not
only
a
degradation
to
one
's
manlier
and
more
independent
instincts
,
but
also
a
bore
.
These
highly-bred
,
highly-connected
individuals
,
are
for
the
most
part
unintelligent
,
and
devoid
of
resources
in
their
own
minds
--
they
are
not
gifted
as
conversationalists
or
wits
--
one
gains
no
intellectual
advantage
from
their
society
--
they
are
simply
dull
folk
,
with
an
exaggerated
sense
of
their
own
importance
,
who
expect
wherever
they
go
,
to
be
amused
without
trouble
to
themselves
.
Out
of
all
the
visitors
at
Willowsmere
the
only
one
whom
it
was
really
a
pleasure
to
serve
was
the
Prince
of
Wales
himself
--
and
amid
the
many
personal
irritations
I
had
to
suffer
from
others
,
I
found
it
a
positive
relief
to
render
him
any
attention
,
however
slight
,
because
his
manner
was
always
marked
by
that
tact
and
courtesy
which
are
the
best
attributes
of
a
true
gentleman
whether
he
be
prince
or
peasant
.
In
his
own
affable
way
,
he
went
one
afternoon
to
see
Mavis
Clare
,
and
came
back
in
high
good-humour
,
talking
for
some
time
of
nothing
but
the
author
of
'
Differences
,
'
and
of
the
success
she
had
achieved
in
literature
.
I
had
asked
Mavis
to
join
our
party
before
the
Prince
came
,
as
I
felt
pretty
sure
he
would
not
have
erased
her
name
from
the
list
of
guests
submitted
to
him
--
but
she
would
not
accept
,
and
begged
me
very
earnestly
not
to
press
the
point
.
"
I
like
the
Prince
,
"
--
she
had
said
--
"
Most
people
like
him
who
know
him
--
but
I
do
not
always
like
those
who
surround
him
--
pardon
me
for
my
frankness
!
The
Prince
of
Wales
is
a
social
magnet
--
he
draws
a
number
of
persons
after
him
who
by
dint
of
wealth
,
if
not
intelligence
,
can
contrive
to
'
push
'
into
his
set
.
Now
I
am
not
an
advocate
of
'
push
'
--
moreover
I
do
not
care
to
be
seen
with
'
everybody
'
;
--
this
is
my
sinful
pride
you
will
say
,
or
as
our
American
cousins
would
put
it
,
my
'
cussedness
.
'
But
I
assure
you
,
Mr
Tempest
,
the
best
possession
I
have
,
and
one
which
I
value
a
great
deal
more
even
than
my
literary
success
,
is
my
absolute
independence
,
and
I
would
not
have
it
thought
,
even
erroneously
,
that
I
am
anxious
to
mix
with
the
crowd
of
sycophants
and
time-servers
who
are
only
too
ready
to
take
advantage
of
the
Prince
's
good-nature
.
"
And
,
acting
upon
her
determination
,
she
had
remained
more
than
ever
secluded
in
her
cottage-nest
of
foliage
and
flowers
during
the
progress
of
the
week
's
festivities
--
the
result
being
,
as
I
have
stated
,
that
the
Prince
'
dropped
in
'
upon
her
quite
casually
one
day
,
accompanied
by
his
equerry
,
and
probably
for
all
I
knew
,
had
the
pleasure
of
seeing
the
dove
'
reviewers
'
fed
,
and
squabbling
over
their
meal
.
Much
as
we
had
desired
and
expected
the
presence
of
Rimânez
at
our
gathering
,
he
did
not
appear
.
He
telegraphed
his
regrets
from
Paris
,
and
followed
the
telegram
by
a
characteristic
letter
,
which
ran
thus
:
--
My
dear
Tempest
.
You
are
very
kind
to
wish
to
include
me
,
your
old
friend
,
in
the
party
you
have
invited
to
meet
His
Royal
Highness
,
and
I
only
hope
you
will
not
think
me
churlish
for
refusing
to
come
.
I
am
sick
to
death
of
Royalties
--
I
have
known
so
many
of
them
in
the
course
of
my
existence
that
I
begin
to
find
their
society
monotonous
.
Their
positions
are
all
so
exactly
alike
too
--
and
moreover
have
always
been
alike
from
the
days
of
Solomon
in
all
his
glory
,
down
to
the
present
blessed
era
of
Victoria
,
Queen
and
Empress
.
One
thirsts
for
a
change
;
at
least
I
do
.
The
only
monarch
that
ever
fascinated
my
imagination
particularly
was
Richard
Cœur
de
Lion
;
there
was
something
original
and
striking
about
that
man
,
and
I
presume
he
would
have
been
well
worth
talking
to
.
And
Charlemagne
was
doubtless
,
as
the
slangy
young
man
of
the
day
would
observe
,
'
not
half
bad
.
'
But
for
the
rest
--
un
fico
!
Much
talk
is
there
made
about
Her
Majesty
Elizabeth
,
who
was
a
shrew
and
a
vixen
and
blood-thirsty
withal
--
the
chief
glory
of
her
reign
was
Shakespeare
,
and
he
made
kings
and
queens
the
dancing
puppets
of
his
thought
.
In
this
,
though
in
nothing
else
,
I
resemble
him
.
You
will
have
enough
to
do
in
the
entertainment
of
your
distinguished
guests
,
for
I
suppose
there
is
no
amusement
they
have
not
tried
,
and
found
more
or
less
unsatisfactory
,
and
I
am
sorry
I
can
suggest
nothing
particularly
new
for
you
to
do
.
Her
Grace
the
Duchess
of
Rapidryder
is
very
fond
of
being
tossed
in
a
strong
table-cloth
between
four
able-bodied
gentlemen
of
good
birth
and
discretion
,
before
going
to
bed
o
'
nights
--
she
can
not
very
well
appear
on
a
music-hall
stage
you
know
,
owing
to
her
exalted
rank
--
and
this
is
a
child-like
,
pretty
and
harmless
method
of
managing
to
show
her
legs
,
which
she
rightly
considers
,
are
too
shapely
to
be
hidden
.
Lady
Bouncer
,
whose
name
I
see
in
your
list
,
always
likes
to
cheat
at
cards
--
I
would
aid
and
abet
her
in
her
aim
if
I
were
you
,
as
if
she
can
only
clear
her
dressmaker
's
bill
by
her
winnings
at
Willowsmere
,
she
will
bear
it
in
mind
,
and
be
a
useful
social
friend
to
you
.
