I thought to myself in despair, under what protest can I also escape from England and my own intemperate mind?  It seemed a miraculous answer:—­There lay at my chambers a note written by Count Kesensky; I went to the embassy, and heard of an Austrian ship of war being at one of our ports upon an expedition to the East, and was introduced to the captain, a gentlemanly fellow, like most of the officers of his Government.  Finding in me a German scholar, and a joyful willingness, he engaged me to take the post of secretary to the expedition in the place of an invalided Freiherr von Redwitz.  The bargain was struck immediately:  I was to be ready to report myself to the captain on board not later than the following day.  Count Kesensky led me aside:  he regretted that he could do nothing better for me:  but I thought his friendliness extreme and astonishing, and said so; whereupon the count assured me that his intentions were good, though he had not been of great use hitherto—­an allusion to the borough of Chippenden he had only heard of von Redwitz’s illness that afternoon.  I thanked him cordially, saying I was much in his debt, and he bowed me out, letting me fancy, as my father had fancied before me, and as though I had never observed and reflected in my life, that the opportuneness of this intervention signified a special action of Providence.

The flattery of the thought served for an elixir.  But with whom would my father abide during my absence?  Captain Bulsted and Julia saved me from a fit of remorse; they had come up to town on purpose to carry him home with them, and had left a message on my table, and an invitation to dinner at their hotel, where the name of Janet was the Marino Faliero of our review of Riversley people and old times.  The captain and his wife were indignant at her conduct.  Since, however, I chose to excuse it, they said they would say nothing more about her, and she was turned face to the wall.  I told them how Janet had taken him for months.  ’But I ’ll take him for years,’ said Julia.  ’The truth is, Harry, my old dear!  William and I are never so united—­for I’m ashamed to quarrel with him—­as when your father’s at Bulsted.  He belongs to us, and other people shall know you ’re not obliged to depend on your family for help, and your aunt Dorothy can come and see him whenever she likes.’

That was settled.  Captain Bulsted went with me to Lady Sampleman’s to prepare my father for the change of nurse and residence.  We were informed that he had gone down with Alderman Duke Saddlebank to dine at one of the great City Companies’ halls.  I could hardly believe it.  ’Ah! my dear Mr. Harry,’ said Lady Sampleman, ’old friends know one another best, believe that, now.  I treated him as if he was as well as ever he was, gave him his turtle and madeira lunch; and Alderman Saddlebank, who lunched here—­your father used to say, he looks like a robin hopping out of a larderquite jumped to dine him in the City like old times; and he will see a great spread of plate!’