Lady Alice, or The New Una (review) [pp. 529-538]

Lady Alice, or the New Una. [SEPTEMBaR,
and Alice, similar to that considered by the Duke
and Duchess, from the latter of whom our hero ine seems to have derived an hereditary right to
some such talk. The conversation took place
in Lennox House Chapel. in the sumptuous sanc tuary," in the light of "the golden lamps," of
which a description has already been furnished
our readers. She has just objected to his Ro manism, and the necessity of their marriage be ing celebrated according to the ceremonies of
that communion-a point which she cannot con cede, though she frankly admits that the difficulty
could be got over by adjourning to France,
where there could be no question of conflict of
jurisdiction between the Anglican and Roman
churches. But her scruples of conscience are
such that she cannot well permit herself to yield
them. Still they may be got over, but another
difficulty lurks behind. Clifford presses to know
what that is.
"'Go on without fear, dear Alice. Forget
that I am your lover. Forget my sex.'
"' You anticipate what I find it hard to express.
Yes,' she continued with great softness of manner, and hastily dashing away a tear,' I know,
of course, dearest Frederick, that to consent to
be your wife is to promise to lie, one day, in
your bosom and become, almost certainly, the
mother of your children.'
' Beloved Alice!'
"'When Mamma was married,' pursued Alice,
' it was agreed that all her children should be educated'in the Church of England. A good and
pious Presbyterian might well consent to that.
but not a good and pious Romanist. Could
you consent, I would not that you should be
placed in so ignominious a position."-Vol. 2,
page 41.
Clifford here proposes an arrangement similar
to that which existed between his own parents
"a division of the spoils," or rather offspring;
an arrangement which she rejects, and in such
fashion as to convince him of the hopelessness
of any attempt to change her resolution on the
subject. He saw that this
"was not a case of those ordinary prejudices
against his religion which he would have combated. Alice had none. She herself was surrounded by all the external signs of his faith.
She accepted its dogmas apparently nearly as
himself. She did not consider the doctrine of
his church as heretical, nor its worship idolatrous. The intolerance was wholly his, and was
the cause that her mind, nurtured in religous
sympathy, recoiled from a union with him, and
not the less because he was personally dear to
her."
In fact he saw pretty clearly that if he wished
to marry her he must learn to look at the respective jurisdictions of t;he Church of England and
the Church of Rome within the realms of Queen
Victoria in a very different light from what he
had been in the habit of doing. So after another
affectionate embrace or two, he disappeared by
a back stairs to a very serious consideration of
this important question. Our readers, who doubt less will charitably take into consideration Clif ford's youth and tantalizing position, and also
the fact that Alice is a great heiress in her own
right-a fact which we omitted to mention-will
not be surprised to find that in the course of
a few pages, (vol. 2, p. 68,) he writes the Hon.
and Rev. Mr. Courtenay a letter announcing his
conversion from the church of Rome to that of
England; and assigning his reasons, which we
confess our inability to appreciate. Upon this
conversion the marriage is agreed upon, and as
we before stated, is broken off by Lord Wessex's
abduction of the intended bride.
We here leave our hero and heroine, whose
present position we beg our readers to bear in
mind for a few moments, for the purpose of relating an episode which has much to do with the
story and especially with its moral. It is the
history of Louise Belmont, Countess of Schonberg, whom our Lennox party meet in the Alps,
and with whom Alice is speedily on the most
confidential terms. It is just after the rejection
of Lord Wessex, who nevertheless has joined
their party on their Alpine excursion, and who
avenges himself by making love to the beautiful
countess, albeit that she is the wife of anothera proceeding which the virtuous Louise contrives
shall be witnessed by Clarie, Lady Alice's femme
de chambre. Next morning Lord Wessex disappears, and in the evening Louise exposes him to
Alice, and thereupon relates her history, which
occupies Book the Fourth, being one eighth of
the two volumes.
Miss de Belmont turns out to be the illegitimate cousin of Lord Beauchamp and Frederick
Clifford. She is adopted and recognized, however, by her father, and put by him to a school,
at which she becomes acquainted with Lady Augusta Dudley, sister of our Lord Wessex, and intimately so with Lady Isabel Fitzgerald, also the
cousin of the Cliffords, and, so far as family arrangements go, the intended bride of Lord Beauchamp. Lady Isabel insists upon Louise passing the vacation with her at her mother's mansion. Here Louise meets the Cliffords. With
Frederick she has a most curious and Platonic
flirtation. But Augustus forms an earnest attachment for her, which we suppose, for we are
not so told, was reciprocated by her. At least
charity would lead us to offer the excuse of violent passion for her subsequent conduct. Their
first meeting takes place when Louise has just
passed sixteen. Two years later they meet again,
Lady Alice, or the New Una.
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