Benjamin Disraeli

The Young Duke

1830. The Bradenham Edition of the Novels and Tales of Benjamin Disraeli, Vol. 2. Peter Davies, 1926.

The Duke of St. James took his way to the Regent's Park, a wild sequestered spot, whither he invariably repaired when he did not wish to be noticed; for the inhabitants of this pretty suburb are a distinct race, and although their eyes are not unobserving, from their inability to speak the language of London they are unable to communicate their observations. The spring sun was setting, and flung a crimson flush over the blue waters and the white houses...A sudden thought struck him. Would it not be delightful to build a beautiful retreat in this sweet and retired land, and be able in an instant to fly from the formal magnificence of a London mansion? Lady Aphrodite was charmed with the idea; for the enamoured are always delighted with what is fanciful

The Duke's inamorata is also the wife of Sir Lucius Grafton, so a wild sequestered spot where she wouldn't be noticed had an additional charm.

Nine acres were obtained from the Woods and Forests; mounds were thrown up, shrubs thrown in...All was surrounded by a paling eight feet high, that no one might pierce the mystery of the preparations. A rumour was soon current that the Zoological Society intended to keep a Bengal tiger au naturel, and that they were contriving a residence which would amply compensate him for his native jungle. The Regent's Park was in despair, the landlords lowered their rents, and the tenants petitioned the King...The truth was then made known that the young Duke of St. James was building a villa. The Regent's Park was in rapture, the landlords raised their rents, and the tenants withdrew their petition