He  collects  the  rents  from  my  fields,  my  mines  and
my  manufactories.  Now,  I  fear  that  just  such  fellows
are  undermining  old  England  and  producing  our  panics


ARLINGTON    CASTLE.  27

and  depressions.  You  think  our  peril  is  from  Russia,
and  I  think  our  peril  is  from  the  United  States."

Colonel  Neville  was  more  surprised  than  ever.  He
perceived  in  Lord  Arlington's  mind  a  species  of  double
operation,  and  knew  while  he  was  talking  on  one  sub
ject  he  was  thinking  of  another,  and  also  that  he  was
drifting  toward  some  unexpected  conclusion.  With  a
puzzled  look,  at  last  he  said:

"  My  lord,  you  speak  in  riddles.  I  cannot  under
stand  you."

"I  will  explain  myself,"  returned  the  Earl.  "Do
you  remember  the  American  who,  twenty  years  since,
just  after  your  marriage,  visited  Arlington  Castle  ? "

"I  had  utterly  forgotten  him/'  said  the  Colonel,
"but  now  his  image  rises  before  me,  as  I  speak,  with
unusual  distinctness."

"Well,"  answered  the  Earl,  "that  man,  standing
on  this  spot,  made  an  impression  on  me  I  can  never
forget. '  He  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  remarkable
persons  I  have  ever  known  during  my  long  and  varied
life."

"Remarkable,  as  I  remember,"  rejoined  Neville,  "for
his  assurance  and  the  part  his  nose  played  in  his  con
versation.  I  can  now  recall  his  insufferable  impudence,
and  the  disagreeable  twang  of  his  sharp  Yankee  tones."

"I  do  not  wonder  at  your  disgust,"  said  the  Earl,
with  a  gush  of  laughter,  "nor  the  vividness  of  your
memory.  He  went  about  with  his  hands  in  his  pock
ets,  and  asked  more  questions  about  the  Arlington
Estates  than  their  owner  would  have  ventured.  Still,
I  fear  the  fellow  was  a  prophet."


28  KINGS  OF   CAPITAL.
