Chapter 5

My Lord Marquess Plunges into the Thames

A rich young nobleman at the University of Oxford, who, having all the
resources of wealth and rank at his disposal, chose in these times to
devote himself to scholarly pursuits, made in the minds of his
fellow-collegians a singular and eccentric figure; but that one, more
splendidly endowed by fortune than any other, should so comport
himself, and yet no man find it possible to deride or make coarse jokes
on him, was, indeed, unheard of.

Yet, when the young heir of the house of Osmonde entered the
University, this was the position he held and which none disputed.
There were gay young rakes and ardent young toadies who, hearing of his
coming among them, fell into anticipation: the first, of more splendid
frolics, the second, of richer harvests; and though each party was
disappointed in its expectation, neither found opportunity to display
its chagrin according to the customary methods.

It is, indeed, a strange thing, how a man's physical body may be his
fortress or his enemy. All the world has at times beheld those whom an
insignificant figure and an ill-modelled face handicapped with a
severity cruel to the utmost. A great man but five feet high, and
awkward of bearing, has always added to his efforts at accomplishing
great deeds the weight of an obstacle which he must first remove from
about his neck--the obstacle his own poor exterior creates. An eloquent
man whose voice is cracked and harsh by nature must be fire itself
before he can burn away the barrier between himself and his hearers; a
prophet with an ignobly featured countenance and a small, vague eye
must needs be a god of wisdom to persuade his disciples that high
nobleness can dwell in a temple so mean and poor. The physical body of
the young Marquess of Roxholm was a fortress well-nigh impregnable.
'Tis not well to take liberties with a creature who takes none himself,
and can strike a blow which would fell an ox, if need be. Besides this,
there was in this young man's look and temper a something which, while
it forbade idle familiarities, won to itself the pleasurable admiration
and affection of all beholders. His eye was full of fire and meaning,
of laughter and friendliness; his mouth curved into the finest sweet
smile in the world, as also it could curl into a look of scorn which
could scathe as finely. He had a keen wit, and could be ironic and
biting when he chose, but 'twas not his habit to use his power
malevolently. Even those who envied his great fortunes, and whose
spite would have maligned him had he been of different nature, were in
a measure restrained from their bitterness by a certain powerful
composure, which all felt who looked on him and heard him speak.

'Twas