At the same time his handsome person, his ardent and amiable temper, his
poetic and musical tastes, made him a very general favorite even in the
most miscellaneous society. The enthusiastic Christian was also a popular
man of the world; and the esoteric elements in his character, though
perfectly well known to all who were in any degree his intimates, were
jealously hidden from the multitude, who welcomed him as a good-looking
fellow and an agreeable companion. He had been four years in the Guards,
and some years in India, as private secretary to his uncle, the Viceroy. He
was a good shot, a passionate dancer, a keen musician; and that mysterious
note in him of the unbending and the inexorable only made him--in
general--the more attractive both to men and women, as it became apparent
to them. Men scoffed at him, yet without ever despising him. Perhaps the
time was coming when, as character hardened, and the glamour of youth
dropped away, many men might hate him. Men like Coryston and Atherstone
were beginning indeed to be bitterly hostile. But these were possibilities
which were only just emerging.
Marcia was well aware of Newbury's distinction; and secretly very proud of
his homage.
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