His years were barely nine and forty, yet in all save years, he was an aged man.
A noted character had been the Earl of Mount Severn.

Not that he had been a renowned politician, or a great general, or an eminent statesman, or even an active member in the Upper House; not for any of these had the earl's name been in the mouths of men.

But for the most reckless among the reckless, for the spendthrift among spendthrifts, for the gamester above all gamesters, and for a gay man outstripping the gay--by these characteristics did the world know Lord Mount Severn.

It was said his faults were those of his head; that a better heart or a more generous spirit never beat in human form; and there was much truth in this.

It had been well for him had he lived and died plain William Vane.
Up to his five and twentieth year, he had been industrious and steady, had kept his terms in the Temple, and studied late and early.