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TIIR

ADVOCATE

A NovKi

CHARLES IIEAVYSEGE

Author of "Saul," "Jcrhthah'n Daii^hi

uhler.

Ac, Ac, Jt(

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MONTREAL:
U I C H A R D W O R T H I N a T O N

(illKAT ST. JAMKS HTKKKF.

1 8(15.

(

M. LONOMOORE & CO.. PRINTERS.

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eoi07

THE ADVOCATE.

CHAPTER I.

*< Take, oh take those lip3 away,
That 80 sweetly were forsworn ;
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn :
But my kisses bring again,

bring again
Seals of love, but sealed in vain,
scal'd in vain."

Mtoiurtfor Mtasuie.

On a bright day during the month of September,
of the year 1800, two persons were in earnest conver-
sation in a hiwyer's office in the city of Montreal.
One of them was the most distinguished advocate of
that place ; a man of some three score years, and of a
commanding yet wild and singular aspect. His com-
panion was a well-dressed fe'Jiale of middle age, and
comely, though mournful ccUitenance. Some disa-
greeable topic seemed to have just ruffled both of
their tempers, for her face was moist with tears, and
darkened with an expression of disappointment. His
own was slightly marked with annoyance, and, sud-
denly ceasing to arrange some folded law papers that
he held in his hands, and had gathered up from the
table at which he was standing, he exclaimed in tones
of mingled surprise and asperity : " Still at the old
song ! still harping, harping, harping ! Peace, no
more of it. Heaven would be insufferable with but

THE ADVOCATK.

lymn, hell thrice horrible with but one howl,
uninhabitable with but one evil. Oh, variety,
a charm hast thou !"
Is this, then, all your answer ?" enquired the
female, sorrowfully.

" Ih it not decisive ?" he demanded shnrply.
" Woman, away : am I not busy ? Is not this the
very Passion week of preparation before the Easter
of the Assizes ?" Then with an upward leer of his
eyes, that were now filled with frolicksome humour,
whilst at the corners of his mouth flickered a grim
smile, he continued : " Mona Macdonald, I am neither
selfish nor sensual, though women call me so; not
prone to be provoked to marriage ; though Satan in
your shape has for so many years tempted me thereto,
I have still remained in the bachelors' Eden, in spite
of you and the Serpent. Marry you ! Do I look in
the humour for mischief? Do I appear vile enough
to commit the unpardonable sin ? No, a man may
put himself beyond the reach of mercy by other means
than that."

Mona looked up and sighed, and he continued :
** What more is marriage than mere desert sands,
in which life's current is lost until it reappears in a
parcel of bubbles called babies. What is it but the
fool's end, the knave's means ; a warning to the wise,
a snare to the simple ; the wantonness of youth, the
weakness of years ; a pillory wherein to exercise
patience ; what is it but the Church's stocks for the
wayward feet of women. Marry you ! To marry is
to commit two souls to the prison of one body ; to put
two pigs into one poke ; two legs into one boot, two
arms into one sleeve, two heads into one hat, two

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necka into ono n(K)K(>, two corpHOH into one coffin, ami
this into a wet grav(», I'or marriage is a perennial
spring of tears. Marry ! Why sliould I bind niys^eH'
with a vow that I niiiHt break, not being by nature
continent and loving? Marry you! Yes, when I
hate you. Have I a sinistrous look to meditate such
mischief? Do 1 seem old etiougii to be a bridegroom ?
Pish ! I am ashamed to be so importuned."

This ))adinage was uttered with the lire of youth,
combined with the authority of age, accustomed to
be obeyed, and tlie listener offered no rejoinder; but
the speaker, having approliciied, gazed into her eyes
with i» twinkling smile of mirth, that gradually
changed to one of fondness and pity ; and kissing her
respectfully, he addetl in a soft tone: " Come, come,
how is the maid Anuinda, how fares our charming
foundling ?"

" WelV' was quietly replied.

" Mona, I love that girl," he continued, assuming
a tone of deep sincerity, *♦ for along with tlie whole
web of your goodness, nature has interwoven into
the fine fabric of her form a thread of my evil — not
in the grosser sense, — no, no; still, look after her;
the breath of passion must bo stirring in her, and at
• her years most niaids are tinder to love's dropping
sparks. Remember, tliere never yet was a nun but
once had tender thouglits. Love comes unto all that
live, and with not less ci'rtainty than death's advances
— nay, even the cold, bony frame of death itself, at
last comes wooing, and elopes with life. Now, home
and cheer your charge." And he ])liiyfully pushed
her from the room, then, tiirowing himself into his
chair, resuuied the interrupted study of his briefs.

THE ADVOCATE.

CHAPTER II.

" A seducer flourishes, and a iioor maid is undone.

AU't Well That Eiuh \\\ll.

The advocate was by birth an Englishman, and a
cadet of an ancient family, who, after having spent a
dissolute youth and early manhood, had come to
Canada. Here he became acquainted with an old,
half-pay Highland officer of Wolfe's Army, who for
his signal services rendered during the operations of
the British force before Quebec, had been rewarded
with a grant of land in that vicinity. Like others
of his countrymen, the Highlander had settled in the
Province, and married into a French Canadian family.
But, soon after their union, his wife died in giving
birth to a daughter, which he reared to womanhood
with all the strength of an undivided alfection. The
Englishman's frank l)earing and singular mental
powers won the adnuration of the old soldier, and, at
the same time, dazzled and captivated his comely and
unsophisticated daughter, to whom the stranger was
soon understood to stand in the light of a lover. But
Miicdonald — for such was the name of the Avarni-
hcarted clansman — was not destined to see his dearest
wishes realized in the union of the two. A sudden
sickness laid low his hardy frame, and, dying, he
called the pair to his bedside, and joined their hands
in anticipation of the rite of wedlock. The father
dead, tlu» lover ))etook himsolf to the study of the

THE ADVOCATE.

law, and with an extraordinary aptitude and dili-
gence, not only mastered the details of legal ])ractice,
but comprehended, beyond others, the great principles
lK)th of English and of French jurisprudence as prac-
tised in Lower Canada. Ambitious of excellence, he
resolved to complete his studies of tlic latter in France
itself. Of means he had little, but she, confiding in
his honor, consented that the estate left to her by her
father should be sold, to furnish him with the neces-
sary funds for his maintenance in Paris. In that gay
capital — whilst taking advantage of libraries, and
sitting at the feet of the Gamaliels of the French Bar,
— he associated with gamesters and courtezans, and
was at length left w^ith resources barely sufficient to
enable him to return to Canada. Settling in Montreal,
his extraordinary acquaintance with both schools of
law, his impassioned and versatile eloquence, his ready
repartee, his habitual, grim and grotesque humour,
his outrageous sallies of wit, his unmerciful logic, his
fierce invective, his irony, his sarcasm, and his deep,
irresistible scorn, all heightened by his singularly
expressive personal presence, and eyes kindling with
lambent fire, made him a forensic antagonist with
whom few willingly chose to deal. He soon became
the favorite counsel for the defence. Extensive prac-
tice, and its concomitant, a large income, were now
his, and his betrothed, who, in giving him her
fortune, felt as though she had given him nothing
till with it she had given him herself, day hy day
looked for the nuptial tie, and at length besought him
to relieve her from what had become a doubtful and
even a dishonorable position. But such was no longer
in his thoughts. Instead of performing towards her

THE ADVOCATE.

liis lon«^ plifrhted vows, he sent her to a lonel}' dwol-
liiif? on the then unpeopled Ottawa to hide her shame.
There she remained till the scandal of their connec-
tion way forgotten, and he brought her, along with
her female child, a creature of surpassing beauty, to
a new retreat, called Stillyside, bought by him for
that purpose, and situated behind the bluft" known as
Mount Royal, or popularly the "mountain," that lifts
its wooded sides in the rear of, and gives name to,
the City of Montreal. During these years of their
separation, whilst laborious in his profession, he con-
tinued to indulge his vein for pleasure ; not openly
and abroad, as in his earlier days, but in the semi-
secrecy of his home ; and with a still increasing
income, his expenditure from this ungracious cause
also augmented. Moreover, in thosedays, the province
W51S, in great measure, ruled by irresponsible officials,
and often unscrupulous but energetic adventurers
like himself; — men of powerful parts and free lives,
whom a community of race, religion, language, and
interest, united in a sort of Masonic association,
whereof his house became one of the centres of re-
union. There, aware of his gentlo descent, and im-
pressed with his transcendent abilities ; charmed
with his conversation — as pithy as it was apt to be
impure— his wit, his taste, his information, his judg-
ment ; sensible, too, of the excellence of his wines,
and luxuriance of his table, around which military
officer and civil servant, merchant and judge, were
accustomed to assemble, rank and office were forgot-
ten, etiquette laid aside, and abandon ruled the hour.
Votaries of Venus and of Bacchus were all of them,
however disguised ; and, secure in that close conclave.

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THE ADVOCATK.

where no pure female presence wns found to check
the bncchanulian song, or forbid the rihahl jest, all
Mit to listen to and applaud their host's ininiitahle
stories, his grotesque descriptions, his wayward
thoughts and fantastic images; to hearken to his
close analysis, his robust reasoning, his wondrous pa-
thos, his sublime exaggeration ; and, as the wine cir-
culated, to observe yet more his chameleon aspec'
and Protean character unfold itself; now grovelling
like the Paradisal toad, wherein, at the ear of Eve,
was hidden the form of Lucifer ; now, touched by the
Ithuriel spear of some keen conception, suddenly
soaring, like to the bright expanded shape of the
surprised and fallen Archangel, till the guests them-
selves, like the startled Ithuriel recoiling from the
instant apparition of the fiend, drew back in amaze-
ment, or, as if at the jests of another Yorick, raised
over the table a long, eruptive roar. Nor was that
all. For a moment he would assume the moralist,
the theologian, or, — leaving both revelation and the
pandects, — become the philosopher, pacing the uni-
verse for occult truth ; or the metaphysician, track-
ing the region of the supersensuous ; and, over every
theme, flying on mocking mental pinions, seeming an
intellectual satan, passing through >the region of vain
questionings and doubtful disquisition, dim out to the
abyss. And thus he lived, using, and abusing, his
rare gifts ; no virtuous and accomplished wife presid-
ing at these feasts, ever degenerating into orgies, or
giving sanctity to these walls; within which were
gathered the brightest, gayest, noblest, most power-
ful — often most dissolute — of the land. But now
the guests were thinned in numbers by death, by

THE AI)VO( ATK.

marria^'c, by worn out paHnioiiH; and many a fierce
H|)irit liad been tamed by adversity, till tbe mirth
bad f^rown to bo ball' moody, and tbe Haturnalia
gross ratber in intention tban in I'aet.

Yet ever amidst tbesc distraoti«g pleasures bis
beart reverted, lirst, to tbe woody wilds of Ottawa,
and afterwards, to tbe sylvan sbades of Stillyside,
wbieb latter be still took deligbt to visit and adorn;
cberisbing its mistress, and watcbing over and nur-
taring ber cbild, tbe fruit of ber fondness and of bis
falsebood ; — but commonly known and publicly ac-
knowledged, only as ber foster daughter, and, in bis
own prouder circle, as bis ward. For bimself, be
never occupied otber tban a handsome suburban re-
sidence, situated between tbe chy and the foot of
Mount Royal, and whose doors Mona Macdonald sel-
dom entered ; and when she did so, it was to be
scowled upon by its menial mistress, a French Cana-
dian, named BabetBlais, Avbo viewed tiie melancholy
visitor with angry and jeah>us eyes. Into this house
many comely Al)igails had come and gone ; but
Babet Blais remained in spite of him, having, as she
deemed, accjuired a wife's settlement and privileges,
by virtue of tbe presence of a dwarfish, swarthy
creature, half oai'f half imp, their nmtual offspring.
This strange being, as if in mockery, for he was ugly
from the womb, was named Narcisse, and flitted
a))Out the house rather than made it his home ; rarely
entering it, except in his father's absence, and then
chiefly to obtain largess from his mother, who loved
and indulged him the more because others disliked
or despised him. Reckless, stupid, savage ; ignoble
and stubborn ; with thick, black, stubby hair, and

TIIK ADVrtTATE.

(lark, buMhy, beetling brows; bis protiibrriiiit eyes
tilled witb cunning, and burning witli u lustre like
live cuals; deep-ebested, and witb slmidders raised
and rounded, giving bim an air of iiugniicity ; snarl
written upon bis countenance, and pride in tbe pose
of bis pygmean figure; dull, dissolute, and disobe-
dient, he was, nevertbeless, tbe i(b)l <»f bis niotber.
Sbe, poor woman, reverenced, almost worshipped,
bim, as being sometbing superior to ber plel)eitin self,
by reason of tbe father's part that was in bim; won-
dering how his wire should be s«) blind to bis merits,
and so severe upon bis alleged faults and foibles.
She the rather encouraged him in bis irregularities
since others rebuked them, and was tbe more liberal
towards him, because of his father's stint ; deeming
his vices and extravagance to be not only excusable,
but proper, iii one who had to uphold and play the
part of a gentleman. His father strove to instil into
him some knowledge of law, but soon relin((uisbed
the distasteful and hopeless task, and articled bim to
a Notary, who, for a tempting premium, consented to
take him into bis ofiice. But, instead of applying
himself there, he spent most of his time in idleness
and debauchery ; by night freciuenting the abodes of
vice and infamy, and by day, haunting tbe doors and
corridors of the court-house, in tbe latter always in-
stinctively seeking to avoid a rencontre with his sul-
len and offended parent.

THE ADVOCVTF.

CHAPTER III.

"Ilaply (Icipalr hath leiml her.*

( jfmbiUiu,

It WHS now cvt'iiiiig, and the IiiikIhcuih; lav Htec'pe<l
ill yellow Hinisliiiu'; wlioii Moiiii Miicdoinild rodo
slowly liomt'wards, silent and Imrifd in gloom, llt-r
way lay around the base of the niomituin. l^ut mi
tlier its adjacent and inaJeHtie sidenon the one hand,
nor the placid, mellow-tinted, and HUy-hoimded plain
on the other were regarded by her. Her thoiightH
were still with the advocate in his ollice, or with
her departed lather in her native home btdow Que-
bec, as he and she had lived an<l loved each other
there, nearly t\v<Mity years before. Thus preoccu-
pied, she lent no heed to the landscape, although be-
fore her was the broad, descending sun, and behind
her Avas the mighty Saint Lawrencie basking in bur-
nished gold ; and soon another stream, a l)ranch of the
Ottawa, appeared in the distance, the two clasping be-
tween them as in a zone the Island of Montreal.
But neither the note of birds, the lowing of cattle,
the barking of dogs, the cliurr of the bullfrog, the
distant human voices coming faintlj \< ir the lea, nor
yet the elysean landscape wer^ m-vm >.: licard ; ;.a
not until the carriage drew up at Stillyside, and the
bark of a lap-dog, on the top of the distant steps,
that led to the verandah in front of the house, struck
her ear, did she fully awake from her mournful re-
Y . iio. Tiien, alighting, ehe passed through a postern

TIIK \I»V«M\TK.

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that liuiifT at tlu» nidi' of iMldiiij; jruffM, \\u]. wiiuliiii;
her way up .i v ilk IwrdiTod with slunh?* anil rl(»w«>r^,
appruachfi] the (hvi>l(in^, that stcHxl u|M)ii a knoll.
At that iijt iiioiit th«' souiul <<\' a cowhcll in tlic on-
ti^iious inoiiiitaiii nippicc told the .•<low approaoli ot >.
dappled dairy, in char^ic id" a sw.nfliv Fn-nch <'tin»
dian youth. All idsc was (iui( i ahont tlu' placf, that
Hounied to he lyinj; in a sort uf lintless, hall" dreamy
tran<iuillity and halcyon repo!*e. The numsioii itseM
was Hpacious, and huilt of the jrrey linu'stone '»f tli.
district. Woodhine and hop, t'leniatis and tl •• Vir-
};inia creeper half concealed its ru;rged exterit)r, iml
clothed in tangled luxuriaii 'e the verandah that
extended along the front. The roof was covered
with shingles, painted red; an 1 in it were a nuiuher
of dormer windows, which, lil <• all the other win-
dows, were hidden with closed ireen hlinds or shut-
ters. Swallows were darting aUiut the eavch, and
wheeling around a fountain and jet d'eau in Vont,
that were fed hy a mountain spring hehin<l the
house; whilst from one of the rat' t numerous chim-
neys a frail wreath of hlue Miioke crept, and
lingered lazily ahout the lightning rod, hefore it
rose and melted away into the ])in'e evening sky.
But hy this time the lap-dog had ome forwards to
meet her, and now ran in advance, emitting a fitful
and joyous hark; and as she ascend <1 the steps the
door was opened hy a servant, who, having admitted
her, closed it again ; hut not hefore a stranger might,
from without, have witnessed a fair and youthful fe-
male figure swiftly descend the stair- into the liall,
and, throwing her arms around the neck of the re-
turned traveller, greet her with an ufiectionate sa-

THE ADVOCATE.

luto. A Inrgo, grey iiiaHtiff now appeared from the
rear of tlie luiildiiig, and, while the driver was
removing sundry parcels from the carriage, took a
few Hh>w and s<demn turns ahout the knoll, then, on
the departure of man and vehicle, retired for the
night to his kennel, leaving the scene as quiet as be-
fore.

TIIK ADVOCATi:.

CIIAITKIl IV

" I'liKraciiius wretch,
F"it for till- iiiiiiitiliiiii'*, mill tlic tmrliaroiis ciivi'.s
Where iimiiiierH iii*'rr were j)renclie(l ! ••ut of my sight."

TwiU'th Xhltt.

On tilt! nioniiij^' of the l'()ll()win<; day, Moua Mac-
(lonald sat at ln'i'aUfnMt in a, room at Stillv.^ido. She
was plainly and nually drcMHod ; and with her sit
a ligure niort' liidy-likc, iind still in hor teens, attired
simply, but with n<'ji'iij£ent taste. Both seemed ab-
straeted, and, as they silently si[»ped their tea, w\)-
peared to he broodin}:' over some recent, sad subject of
conversation. The weather, t(»o, without, was as
sond)re as the iiKtod witiiin, A canopy of cold, jrrey
clouds covered tli<' sky; the air was chilly, and the
wind sw^ayed the trees to and fro, betokening rain.
From time to time the cat, with arched back, 'and
tail erect, came loudly purring, and ru])bing its sleek
sides against the skirts of its mistresses ; the lap-dog
was restless; and upon the hearthrug a drowsy
spaniel lay with his nose between his ])aws, and
whined fitfully in a dog's day-dream; whilst the fe-
males, at length altogether ceasing to eat, sat self-
absorbed. On the face of the elder was an expression
of sorrow tempered with patience, but on that of the
younger, an air nf melancholy was mingled with
resentment, that heightened almost into majesty
a form and countenance of extraordinary and statu-
escpie beauty. From time to timelier companion re-

Tin: ADVOCATE.

giinltMl her witli a look of anxiety and tenderness;
and at lengtli, .seeing her still abstaining from the
suspended meal, exclaimed :

" Eat, child, eat : fasting is had for the yonng."

" I have no appetite, except for information," was
mournfully rejdied ; and the elder again regarded her
affect ionately ; then with subdued earnestness, and
in an expostulatory tone, rejoined:

"Be pacified, Amanda; for curiosity often brings
us care. Let well alone, and it will continue to be
well with you; but why should you thus persist to
peer into the bottom of your past ; as it were, asking
the fashion of your swaddling clothes ? Fie ! you
are too impatient ; too importunate. Pray, no longer
question me against my will, making enquiries that
may not be answered. Live without asking why
you live. No more of this. Does not your guardian
love you as though you were his child ; and is he not
wiser than yourself; to judge of what knowledge is
for your welfare ? You ask me, why this mystery
about your birth. Amanda, we move midst mystery
from birth to death, and they who seek to solve it
seek for sorrow."

" These words disturb me more than your past
silence," exclaimed the younger. " What horror is
there to reveal touching my origin, that you yet
dare not shew me ?"

" I dare not break your guardian's command," re-
plied the elder, firmly.

"Neither can 1 control a natural desire to know
what so nearly concerns me," retorted the other.
" I beg of you to solve this mystery of my birth.
It is my right, my birthright, to know who gave me

THE ADVOCATE. 17

birth. It is said thnt I was found — whore was I
found? by wliom? how have I )>een confided to yoyr
care ? bj whose appointment have I had given to nie
this guardian ? and why is he so kind, and wherefore
are you so faithful ? Tell me, nurse, why has he
caused me to be educated with such care; from what
motive has he caused me to be furnished Avith ac-
complishments that seem to reach Ijcyond the
bounds of my prospective s[)here ? Nurse, I charge
you, — if you indeed have nursed me from my birth,
as you declare you have done, — tell me, I pray you
tell me : it is not much to ask : the very poorest
child yet knows its parentage; the meanest ))eggar
knows whether his father once asked alms or not ;
but I know nothing of my i)rogenitors; whether
they were of a proud or of a humljle station, whether
good or vicious ; Avhether they be yet living or be
long since dead. I do not know even whether my
guardian knew them, nor how he has come to be my
guardian, my kind supporter, friend : nothing do
I know of these, Avhose all 1 ought to know. What
is the reason of this singular secrecy ? Nurse, tell me
all you know,— for well I know you know, — tell me,
I say, about my parentage ; declare, again I charge
you, and now most solemnly, if you really love me,
who gave me to your care and to his kind tutelage :
Nurse, Mona, foster-mother, speak; how have I
become the ward, nay, like the very child, of that
eccentric, wise, gay, good t)ld man ?"

" More gay than good, and not so wise as wicked,"
muttered Mona, and, not giving her companion time
to reply, continued :

"Amanda, do not importune me furtlier, 1 conjure

li
I'

TIIK ADVUCATK.

voii. Knouirli for \oi\ to know vour trnardian loves
von, clnrislics von even as it" xon wore liis child.
Lot us arise from tahk' since onr meal seems done; —
what is it that alarms \ on ? Ah I And at that mo-
ment the report of a gun, tiio crashing of a window
pane, tiie sonnd ol" shot hurtling I'a-t, its striking the
opposite wall of the ai)artunMr, and (Iroi)ping, along
with falling plaster, on to the lloor. h u'st upon them;
Ibllowed, without, hy tlie expostulating tones of a
man-servant, that were soon overpowered hy a loud
gnlfaw, and, hefore the interlocutors had recovered
from their astonishment and terror, Narcisse, fol-
lowed hy several men carrying fowling pieces, rushed,
swearing, into the vestibule Amanda saw liim,
and, rising to her feet, regarded him through the
do(n'way with a look of scorn and anger akin to that
cast by the Belviderean Apollo upon the wounded
Python. IJut his dull temperament was invulner-
able to the arrows that shot from her eyes, and, un-
daunted, he swept forward into the rot)ni, and with
coarse familiarity attemi)ted to salute her. He was
unsuccessful, for Mona, advancing between them,
hindered the nearer a])proach of the intruding man-
nikin, who, ballled, and with the eyes of Amanda
still fixed upon him, and yet beaming inefi'able con-
tempt and disdain, at length stonl before her with
downcast look, like one detected in some act of guilt.
His comi)anions one by one slunk back to the lawn,
whither in the dumb disgrace of his discomfiture, he
followed them. There, mooting with the domestic
alreadv mentioned, and who had now been joined bv
a fellow-servant; lirst an altercation, then a scufHe
ensu'.'d, in which latter the mastitt' took an effective

TlIK AHVOCATK.

]i;\rt, ill niiiii'taiiiiipj" llic r<|ii!.lil v of tin* liour^t* iiirains^t
what otluTwisc would liavo lircii ovcrw lu'lniiiifr (xMs ;
liiit lio was at last disahlc*! iiv a blow with the hutt
of a towliij'r-i)ii.'cc, whilst tlu' lap-dog, as it stood bark-
inir on till' borders of tlii' i'ra\, was shot dead hv the
cowardly and viiidictivi' Narcisse. This was too
iiiucli to 1)0 Itoriic, and, indi;:,nant, the ladies de-
scended to the lawn. At the same uionient, three fe-
male domestics appeared upon the scene, and changed
the character of the encounter. Three brawn v ruf-
(ians seized each an Aoiuail. and attempted to bear
her oft", as oi" old the treacherous Hoinan bachelors
carried the Sabine maid.s. S(!reaiiis tilled the air,
mingled with oaths and lanjihter; and the aft'air that
had been begiui in vulgar, aimless, frolic, might
have ended in serions outrage, bnt jnst then a horse-
man appeared at the gate, dismonnted, and, riishing
in, riding-whip in hand, plied it with snch vigor,
that in a few seconds all the rnde gang had tied ex-
cept Narcisse, who, having stumbled, was seized by
the collar, hurried f(n*ward, and spurned through the
gateway into the road, leaving his fowling-piece be-
hind him.

The stranger now for the iirst time seemed to ob-
serve the ladies, and bowing to them respectfully, for
a moment appeared to hesitate whether to a})proach
and address them. They, too, stood silent, but it
was with mixed astonishment and agitation, and
he still stood regarding the younger with an expres-
sion of deep admiration ; till, as if suddenly recollect-
ing himself, and bowing yet more profoundlv than
before, accompanied with an apologetic smile, ( ii-
liancing the beauty of his young and noble coun-

THE ADVOCATE.

tcnance, ho p^racefully retired to his steed, vaulted
into the saddle, and, galloping away, was soon hidden
from their view by a turn in the road.

"Oh, nurse, Mona, we have been rrde indeed!"
then exclaimed the younger : " We have committed
the most odious of all sins, ingratitude; and," she
added half archly, *' we have seen the noblest of all
forms, Mona, a gentleman. Nay, but to have let the
cl'ivalrous stranger, our deliverer, depart without a
word of grateful recognition ; — who will champion us
the next time, good Mona."

" May Ave never again require such timely help,
child," replied her mentor: "But let us go within
and ascertain the damage thathas been done there by
these vjigabonds from the city ;" and, so saying, she
took up the dead lap-dog and carried it tenderly
in upon her arm, viewing it with a wistful expres-
sion of grief and pity, Avhilst Amanda stooped to ca-
ress the wounded mastiff, then followed with an air
of pensive majesty, not without looking in the direc-
tion in which the gallant stranger had disappeared.

THE ADVOCATK.

CHAPTER V.

" An ill-favored thing, sir, but mioo own."

Af YovLikth.

It was near mid-day, and the advocate was en-
gaged in liis office, when the notary with whom
Narcisse hud been placed, suddenly entering, angrily
demanded :

" Where is Narcisse, Avhere is your son, sir ? Here
I am wanting his assistance, now, and he is missing,
he is gone, no one knows where, nor where he has
stowed those papers. Where is he, sir ; where is
the boy, I say ; where is your son ?"

The advocate looked up at this sudden disturb-
ance, and, drawing a deep sigh, exclaimed with bit-
ter emphasis :

" I would he were nowhere ; that he were erased
from the book of being ; I would he were in heaven,
— or else — in your office, Monsieur Veuillot. Is that
a bad wish for either ?"

*' But he is not in my office," said Veuillot.

*' Nor in heaven neither, I fear," rejoined the
advocate.

" Where is he, then ?" demanded the excited no-
tary : '* where is your son ?"

" Such a son ! murmured the advocate, shrugging
his shoulders. " Do you wish to be pleasant with me,
Monsieur Veuillot ? my evil genius call him. Son !

*)')

THE ADVCM'ATK.

I own I feetl him, as I do other vermin that infest my
house."

"But where is he?" reiterated the notary with
growing impatience, and seeming resolved to take no
denial.

" Where is he ?" echoed the advocate : " ask his
motiier ; yes, sir, ask his dam. Oli, Monsieur Veuil-
lot, is there not deep dammition in thus having
an idiot lor one's child ? Here is youv purgatory : —
])urgatorv ? no : lor purgatory is a kind of half-way
house to heaven, Init this son of mine is to nie a
slippery stepping-stone to perdition. Sir, a child
should he a cherub to lift its parents' spirit to the
skies; but mine, oh !" — and a spasm of agony passed
over the old man's visage, succeeded by a forced
exjuTssion of calmness, as he continued :

'* Vcuillot, you have heard of Solomon. He
speaks of the foolish son of a wise father. lie was
himself the father of a fool, that rent the kingdom,
— llehoboam I mean, — and he kept concubines, too ;
so I suppose he waxed fruitful in fools. I have but
one fool, therefore I am thankful ; — but then he is a
thorough fool, a most unmitigated, and unmitigatable
fool ; the fool of fools, a finished fool, the pink of
fools ; a most preposterous, backwards-going, crab-like
fool ; a filthy fool ; an idiot, sir, without either parts
or particle of ambition ; an ape, an owl that flits
about by day ; a ])at, and a bad bat, that flits from
ttu'ern to sty; chief of the devil's nightingales;
.. .aven that, roving to foul roosts, goes beating the
bosom of the night ; a soul that loves the darkness ;
a mole, sir, a blind mole ; a piece of animated per-
versity, a creature that persists to go astray."

! ■

TIIK AI»V(M'.\TK

•>3

"Wlii'iv lia.s he .stiuyed tt» now?" di'inaiuJi'd the
notary.

"Into the hands of ju.<*tico, i)orhnj)s;" was tlie
fierce reply : " into the grip ol' the law ; np to the
foot of the gallows ; on to the hill of my extreme
disgrace."

*' Where is he, where can 1 lind him V tell me only
where," cried Venillot.

" Where ! let echo answer, — would \ on wish to
hunt him V" said the advocate, mockinu. ''Did vou
ever gallop, sir, after a hedgehog ? have y<ai assisted
to draw a badger? 1 am badgered by him, and will
blame him, ay, ban him, for he is my curse, my
bane; why should I not curse him as Noah cursed
that foul whelp Canaan V Beshrew him for a block
head, a little black-browed beetle, a blot of ink,
a shifting sh.idow, a roving rat, a mouse, yes, sir, a
very mouse, that creeps in and out of its hole when
the old cat is away. Away, Mr. Notary, away ; go,
good Monsieur W'uillot. There are more concep-
tions in man than he has yet ex})ressed either in sta-
tutes or in testaments. Go ; you are a deed-drawer ;
I'll be a deed doer : I'll do, I'll do, — I do not know
what I'll do, but somethiug shall be done. He shall
be shaken «»ver perdition ; sent to grind in the i>rison
house ; sold into sluverv : — fool I he shall be banished
to Caughnawaga, or to Loretto ; — the further the bet-
ter; he shall be sent to the Lake of the Two Moun-
tains, sir, or to Saint IJegis to learn the war-whoop
and gallant the squaws. You smile : — l)ut to your er-
rand, Vouillot ; it is not known where my son is: I
saw him last niulit. mav I never see him airain !
Then, dying, my old age, perhaps, may close in
peace : not else, not else."

THE AOVOTATK.

The notary departed, but the oxawpcrated lawyer
Htill conversed with himself. " I cannot decently
die," he said, " any more than I can devoutly live,
pricked through the very reins and kidneys with
that skewer. Alas ! he is my goad, my thorn in the
llesh, the messenger of satan sent to bufTet me. lie
is the mosquitto that stings my knuckles ; the little,
black, abominable fly that will insist to assail my
nose ; he is my bruise, my blain, my blister, my
settled, ceaseless source of irritation • the cause,
the cause — of what is ho the cause? Alas! that
I should ever have been the cause of sucii a foul
eft'ect ! But let it be so ; the whitest skins have
moles, the sun has spots ; he is my mole, my spot ;
and I, I am the father of the fool, Narcisse."

Narcisse was that moment at a tavern in the beau-
tiful village of Cote des NeigvS, adjacent to Stilly-
side, and much resorted to by pleasure seekers from
Montreal. His companions, too, were there, bewail- .
ing the loss of one of their fowling-pieces, and devis-
ing means for revenge on their interrupter and suc-
cessful assailant. There they remained, and, instead
of spending the day, as was their first intention, on
the side of the mountain, in popping at small birds^
they passed many of its hours in quaffing large pota-
tions, the effects of which they in some degree slept
off by a long afternoon nap. It was now nightfall,
and they were returning homewards, conversing
in loud and angry tones on the humiliation of the
morning, and threatening retribution agiinst its
cause, the gallant stranger. Narcisse, with the liti-
giousness of his maternal race, and prompted by his
inkling of law, was for launching an action for assault

TIIK ADViMATK. M

ami lmtt«'ry ii^riiiiiJ^t tlu-ir nssailanrH pnrsc, whilst tli.
others, {Mit-valiaiit, dt'clarod tlioir anxiety to meet
him in Ixxlilv contlict on another iield ; and tinis dis-
coursinj? in the deepenin;: <:looni, the party arrived
opposite the niansion at Stillyside. For a few mo-
ments tliey halted, undetermined* whether to ap-
proacii, and d(>man(l the delivery of ti»e ea|)tnred
weapon ; Imt at last agreed to waive the re<|nisition,
chietly at the instance of Nareisse, wiio autiiorita-
tively ruled, that to demand and aeeept of the feh)-
niously acquired gun, would he to compound a felony.
Hereupon, heing somewiiat more at ease in their
minds, they proceeded, and now less noisily, continu-
ing on their way with only occasional liursts of ahuse,
and the firing oil' of fag ends of French songs, accom-
panied with a fitful fusilade of low, horselaugliter ;
and thus, mollified and maudlin, unsteadily con-
tinued their straggling march, until they halted at a
gate on the roadside, and some distance hehind which,
loomed a large, dingy and deserted-looking dwelling,
half concealed by tall trees. No light was to be
seen, but, after a brief consultation, the party swung
open the gate, entered, and having reached the
house, one of the number gjive a peculiar tapping at
a window, followed by a low whistle or call, that
was immediately answered by a corresponding sound
from within, and this again by a counter signal,
which was repeated like the faintly returning tone
of an echo ; and, after some delay, the door slowly
opened, the voices of men and women, mingling
in boisterous mirth, burst forth like the roar of a
suddenly opened furnace, the party entered, and the
door was closed again.

THE A?)V(MATK.

ClIAl»Ti:i{ VI,

How now, you ivcrvt, bluik, uml ihIiIhIkIiI Iiu^k^"

M<ubfil,.

At the sumo hour tliat NiirriHHciiiKl iiiscoiiipniiioiiH
ciitrred thi' soinbro uiul Hiis|»i('ioiiH loriUin^ (Iwclling,
tlio udvooate rutunu'il to liis hoint' in the upper en-
virons of thu city, wearied in mind and IVame, from
an ap[)lication broken only by the entrance of Mon-
sieur Veiiillot, and tiie arrival of a mchrtenjrer from
Stillyside, who, hot and excited from tin; vi(dent
scene wliereof it had been the theatre, painted tlie
outrage in deepened coh)rH, and exajr;.'erated form.
Anger and shame contended in thi* ohl huvyer's bo-
som as he heard the story; the former sentiment
urging for the punishment of tiiu (h'lintiuents, the
hitter ])leading for forbearance; lor amongst the
transgressors was his iHegitimate son, whoso whare in
the ollence, if brought into the light of tiie tribunal,
would thence cast back a sha(h)W upon the father,
and point, publicly and anew, to their disreputable
relationshi}). Others also, whose reputation was far
dearer to him than his own, must be dragged, either
as witnesses or as prosecutrix, to public gaze, and
thus be made to furnish matter for the tongue of
scandal. Perhaps, too, some latent ])aternal tender-
ness inclined the incensed advocate to mercy; and,
giving the messenger a hastily written note, sympa-
thizing M'ith the tenants of Stillyside, he despatched

THE AUVtJtATE.

liitn tliitluM', iiloi)^ with ti iioMc Ncwrouiiilland
(!<><;, tlh'ii 1\ iii;^ in tito iini<'<>, and wliicit lu> meant
filiould replace tin.' disaliK-d nia^till'. Altcrwards, liin
tln)njrlitH, occMipicd witli tlu' inipoitant piolrssioniil
liusinosH of tin (Imn , s<arcidy revntt'd t<» tin.* \i'.\a-
tioiis oirnrriMncol" tlio morning; but now, at <'M', tin;
tidu ol* attention, that liad heen fo low^ damnu-il
ha<k, canu' lh)win}^ over his t^pirit uith increaninf^
depth and Ibrec ; aiml, in spite of his nnwillingnej^a
and tiio necessity for n'crniting his wasted energii'S,
for tile performance of tlie onerous puhlic duti»'s (»f
tile morrow, he fell to lirooding over the new mis-
deed of tlio already too ohnoxiourt Naicisse. From
the .son, his musings reverted to the menial mother,
nnd, hy contrast, from lier to the fair tenants at
Stillyside; till, tossed l»y the contrary and vexed
tides of thought and feeling, he arose, perturhed from
the lounge, Avent to the window, and, diawing aside
the curtains, beheld in the east tin; full moon climb-
ing the clear, blue heavens, amidst a multitude of
marble clouds. Struck with sudden admiration and
oblivious pleasure, ho opened the folding frames and
stepped into the garden. The air was balmy ; and,
soothed by the change, he returned within, rea.s-
suined the hal)iliments of the day, took a stout,
ivory-headed walking cane from its corner, and,
calling a domestic, announced that ho should for
some time be absent. His lirst impulse was to cross
a contiguous, half-reclaimed tract, s]»rinkled with
vast boulders of tbj glacial period, and reach the
turnpike road that led around the nu)untain. But
before he turned to commence his stroll he jjaused to
gaze dt)wn on the outstretched city, that, lying as

THK ADVOCATE.

asl('«'p on the urm of tlie St. Lawrence, with tin-
c()v<*rt!<l (Ionics, spires, cnpolas, minarets, and radiant
roofs, showing lii\e molten silver in the moonbeams,
contracting with tlie dark shingles covering most of
the honsi's, presented an enchantcd-looking scene of
glory and of gloom. On the left, and oldest of its
class, was the IJonsecours Church, with its high-
pitched roof, and airy, hut inelegant, campanile, re-
fulgent as if cut from some rock of diamond. Nearer
was the Court House, and, beneath it, the Jail ; and,
behind them both, the dusky expanse of the poplar-
plantod Champ de Mars. In the midst of the city
rose the tin-mailed tower and spire of the French
Cathedral, and, at its rear, loomed the neighboring,
wall-girt, solemn Seminary of Saint Sulpice. The
bright, precipitous roof of the Church of the Recollets,
and the spangled canopy of the vast foundation of
the Grey Nuns reposed resplendent; and, within its
ample enclosure, luminous as a moon-lit lake, the
([uadrangled and cloistered College of Montreal. Be-
yond these, in the midst of the shining river, duskily
slumbered the little, fortified and wooded Island
of Sainte Ilelene ; and up the stream, apast the petty
promontory of Pointe Saint Charles, stretched the
low^, umbrageous lapse of Nuns Island, whence the
eye followed the bending flood, that trended towards
where, with eternal toil and sullen roar, agonize for
ever the hoary rapids of Lachine. In the other di-
rection the eye roved downwards over llochelaga
and Longueuil, Longue Pointe and Pointe aux
Treml)les, towards where lay the islet-strewn shal-
lows of Bouoherville, and, lower yet, the village of
Varennes. The mountains of Boucherville, Belanl,

Tin; AI>V«H ATM.

Chamblv, and VcriiioMt shiidowv hounded tlio liori-
zon; and, turniiijj; from tlirsc, abrupt hi'tnro liini rose
the awl'id and spectral presence of Mount Ro^ah
Skirtinj^ itn Toot lie now proceeded, hrushinjr away the
shining dew, distnrhinjr tlie hi/y lizard and the sere-
na«ling grassho|tper, and hearing helow hiiu the harsh
croaking of the bullfrog in the pool ; whilst, ever and
anon, the gust awoke, with a huge sigh, the dream-
ing maples, poplai's, and dark, penitential j)ines.
From the remote, He(^luile(l farms came the faint bark
of dogs ; and amidst such sights and sounds he at
length emerged up(Ui the winding road, that, if fol-
lowed, would lead him past Stillyside. Slowly and
without special aim he continued to walk, ruminat- .
ing and still drawn onwards, lured by the time and
scene, until the sound alik<' of niastilVand of cur had
ceased, the grasshopper refused to ])ipe upon the
dusty road, anti the too distant buUfrojj: was no
longer lu'ard gurgling to its mates, but all was silent,
lying as in a trance, both heaven and earth. And
then he paused, and lapsing into meditation, stood
unconscious of surrounding things, till the tolling ( f
the clock in the distant tower of the cathedral of
Notre Dame awoke him, and, starting from his rev«-
rie and listening, luM-ounted ilie hours to the full
score of midnight. Struck, then, by the weird as-
pect of the scene and singular silence, a vague sense
of horror stole through him, and he exclaimed
hoarselv: "This Is the verv witching time of nitrht.
when (diurchyards yawn and spirits walk abroad!'
and scarcely had the words escajx'd his lips when
a wild tumult rose near him, and he perceived a
bacchanalian an<l disorderly tiooj) of botli sexes

Tin; ADvocATi:.

sallyinp; into tlio moonli^^ht ; wherein with uncouth-
antics and inviting |>ose, they disported towanls
a, frroiip of trees, encircling which, and in the
clie(|uered heanis ])eneath tlieir houghs, lie Indield
them in HarhMjuin and Coluinhin(!-liko appeals of
l)assion, or already mated and forming for the medi-
tated measure; appearing the very gang of (Jircc ; —
and in their midst he now observed his son, the
brutish looking, cunning, and sensual Narcisse, wine-
Hushed and loud, and seeming to be the mimic (Jonnis
of the crew. As with the power of divination,
he at once comprehended the spectacle, lie had ar-
rived opposite the er^uivocal building wherein Nar-
cisse and his companions had disappeared scmie hours
before, and the door of which had just been suddenly
Hung o])en, and kindling with wrath he at once
advanced upon the bacchants in the midst of their
orgies. At the same instant, from the direction of
the city and unseen by him, a tall rider on a lofty
steed, cloak Hying to the breeze, swept by like an
apparition ; greeted only with a comical yell of
astonishment and derision from one of the females,
as like a spectre it swept by. But the hilarious band
before him was too nnich j)reoccupied with the per-
formance of its mockeries to have ol)served anything,
and the advocate, with eyes gleaming and Hxed upon
his son, who now perceiving him stood terror stricken,
approached the revellers, who subsided ])eforoliim,as,
with crev hair Huttering in the wind, he came
beneath the extendiuL;; bouiilis, like some denouncing
Druid amidst the sacred oaks, his countenance in-
flamed, his whole frame seeming to shake as if in
throes to eject some foul ])ossession ; or, rather, as if

TIIK ADVOCATK.

ho wore liimsoU' a fioroo, iiiciiniiito. and unlVioiKlly
spirit; and, at loiijrth, addrosr^iiif;: liis son, wlio
wan now loaning ajjcainst a troo, both for supjKJrt and
foncoahnont, ho burst tbrtli : " Mi.scroant !" — and the
word Wi>.s ochood from tbo sidoofa liuj2;o, dihipidatod
barn, — " Wrotchos," In- bollowod ; and tbo guilty
crowd, loaring both individual recognition and per-
sonal contact, again began to retire.

"' Stay," ho conunanded. imperiously, " you ari^
known, and lligbt shall j)ut the worst constru(;tion on
your case ; — halt, brawlers and bullies, spendthrifts
and bankrupts, breakers of tie peace; sons of af-
liicted parents, husbands of weeping wives, l^rothers
of sisters both ashamed and grieved ; outlaws ; the
city's scum, the country's scourge, the harvest that
sJiall yet be reaped for the jail, and leave gleanings
for the gallows; abandoned creatures, linger; " and
suddenly gras})ing Narcisse : '' Sirrah," \w, cried,
" here is your nightly haunt, these arc your compa-
nions, — come with me, sir, come, — ah, will you
resist vour" — father he was about to sav, but ho re-
coiled from the word as from an adder, and, casting
upon his son a look of unspeakable disdain, he shook
the writhing criminal, who the next moment es-
caped from his hold, and slunk away, still looking
backward over his shoulder and muttering curses
upon his begetter. The advocate stood watching
him in silence, as, withdrawing along with the
others,' the distance dinmied his form, and drowned
his maledictions ; then, drawing a deep sigli, a dark,
vindictive scowl gathered upon his visage, until its
expression became diabolical, and those words rolled
from his heaving chest in deep, irregular murmurs:

r/^

THE ADVOCATE.

*' Thou SOU of a wicked aiul robellious •woman, do
I not know tliat thou hast set my friends against me,
and caused mine eneuiies to liohl me in derision!
]Jut thou shalt sufler, tliou shalt bend, or I will
break thee, yea, dash tliee into pieces. May not the
potter do what lie wills with the cup his own hands
have, fashioned ? Away with thee, misshapen rep-
tile ; may soon the Saint Lawrence hide thee, or
may'st thou soon be laid in tht) burial field of thy
mother's race. Z.wa^^, thou vessel of dishonor; grant
Heaven that I may not yet make of thee a vessel of
wrath ! " and the old man's countenance worked con-
vulsively, as he seemed to be revolving some ter-
rible idea ; but at last growing calmer he exclaimed :
*' Down, down, ye cruel thoughts, ye horrible con-
ceptions ; hence, busiest suggestions of the fiend ;
be silent at my ears, ye visionary lips ; ye perilous
and importunate prompters, peace ! " But scarcely
had he uttered these words, when a report of fire-
arms sounded amongst the trees, and a shot rattled
through the boughs, scattering the leaves upon his
head ; and the replicated echoes had hardly ceased,
when a peal of trium[)hiint laughter rose, and con-
tinued to ))e renewed till the spot appeared a field for
the sport of a hundred goblins of mischief.

" Come in," at length said a voice, and, turning, he
beheld a woman standing in the doorway.

"Who are you?" he enquired.

" Enter, and learn ; " she answered : " I would not
have you murdered in your old age. Do you not
know me?" and seizing him rudely she drew him
towards her until his face almost touched her own
emaciated countenance, on which played a sardonic

TIIK ADMiCATK.

Bmile ns slic turned it tow.irdH the niooiiliglit, and ho
Htrovf to IVee liimself, exclaiminiz :

" Witcli, liajr, loose nic :" and jfazi'd U{)oii licr with
a h)ok of mingli'd aniazt'inent and ahliorroncr.

"Am J then .«o ciiangedV" slio (U'inandi'<l, with
a gloomy smile; "am I become a leper; am I grt»wn
loathsome now, whom you once (leelared to he so
lovely? Follow me, false man; you did not onee re-
quire solicitation." And again the s(jund (d" firearms
startled the night, and once more the leaves iell
fluttering on his head, and the heldam angrily ex-
claimed : " Come in, old fool," and laid hands on him
a second time, as, in a voice thick and hurried with
dislike and terror, he replied : " You are remembered
by me, woman ; give me shelter for a moment,'' and
hastily stepping 'svitli her over the threshhold, she
closed the door after them. Another burst of tri-
umphant laughter rose from the retiring revellers,
and again moonlight and returning silence rested on
the scene.

Tin: ADVOCATi:,

CHAPTER VII.

1!^

" It in my liiily : (ili, it \» my love !''

limiuo (Dill Julitt.

TI»o»ajritiiti()M of the morning at Stillyside liad
siihsidod as the day woro, ))ut tlio niintl of Amanda
Mardonald (i'or such Avas tlie name of the younger
and fairer (k'nizen of that se(|uestered abode) re-
mained pensive and j)reoc'eu[)ied ; and when at her
usual hour she liatl ascended to lier chamber, instead
of retiring to rest, she took up a tale of the troul)a-
dours, and read ; nor did she lay down the Yolunie
till the sudden flickering of the candle in tiie socket
and the simultaneous tolling from the distant belfry
of the church of the village of Saint Laurent warned
her that it was midnight. Then, feeling oppressed,
alike with the heaviness of the atmosphere of her
room, and a strange weight at her heart, analogous
to the lassitude that is sometimes felt in the be-
ginning of sickness, she arose, drew aside the cur-
tains, and throwing open the folding window,
stepped on to the verandah. A clear Canadian
night, appearing a new and chaster version of the
day, greeted her. The moon, at night's meridian,
hung high in the fulness of its autumnal splendor,
tranquil in the solitude of the sky, a solitude un-
broken, save bv a few small stars that were twink-
ling in the azure, and a fleet of low, dappled clouds
that were coasting the horizon. Awhile her eves

TMK AI»V(iC\TK.

o-i

dwelt alistrartedlv on the si^lit, then, t'allinir, tliev
Avaii(U'ro(l listk'ssly over the hroad nnd ^liiiiin^
(■xi)niH(' ot' landscape Ixdore licr ; wliere Nature,
unn)l)ed, seoniod ha in a hath; for in front, tlio grass,
steeped in desecnding dews, glittered as a lake.
Woods confined the view in one direction, and tiu'
gh'amy wave of tlie Ottawa, amidst lihny oliscnrity,
hounded it, yet further olV, in another. Unseen l)ut
felt, like the unperceived Genius of the landscape,
towered close l)ehind her the sonihre-sided mountain ;
and, touched by the solemn scene, she advanced,
and, leaning ui)on the balustrade, heavcnl a deep
sigh; then lapsed into a reverie so profound, that
she failed to hear the tramp of a horse now raj)idly
approaching, and to note the change to sudden si-
lence, caused by its stopping at the postern. But
there, transfixed "with Avonder and admiration, and
looking like u bronze eqnestrian statue at the gate,
now, mounted, sat gazing the lately flying horseman
of the road, the champion of the morning on those
grounds, and contemplated the figure on the verandah ;
then, dismounting, tied his steed, and vaulting
over the fence, swiftly approached across the lawn ;
till, as if suddenly aware of being on holy ground,
he paused, and stood with reverential aspect and
clasped hands, eagerly bending towards her as if
in adoration. Thus engaged, as stands in ecstasy
some newly arrived pilgrim before a shrine, he stood
enrapt ; whilst she remained as moveless as a carved
angel leaning over a cathedral aisle, and, with her
eyes fixed on vacancy, at lengthmournfully exclaimed:
*' Sad, sad, so sad ! — yet Avhy am I so sad ? No den-
ser grows the mystery around my birth ; and if

iiii: AiivocATi;.

Ivni«rlit iM-rants yi-t livi', rescuing' maids, or he is a
wandering' j^'od, and lioro is Arcadia, Avliy sliould
tljal iiiaiu' iiie }j;ri('ve'? It is true that lie is liand-
^oiiie— and vet wliat of tliat ? — most men are hand-
some ill the eves of maids. JUit he ai)l)ears the i>a-
rajioii ol' men. Is he indeed not all a man shonhl
he? Wliere were the Ith'mish, the exception; Avho
shall challenge nature, sayinii', in his ibrm, that here
she has iriven too little, there too much? — Ah, me!
I am not hapj^v, yet I should be so."

" (Jan 1 have heard aright, or do 1 dream ?' gasped
out the stranger.

"A knight, a god;" she continued, yet musing;
" oh, he came hither like a knight of old, or as
an angry angel sent to scatter liends ; — or, rather,
like the lightning he arrived, out of the storm cloud
of I knt)W not where. Where is he now ? whence
was he ? who is he ? what ? Alas, I know nothing
of where, nor who, nor what, nor whence he is ;
all that I know is, 1 am strangely sad ; and that such
perfection was not made for me."

" Is this not Stillyside ?" cn([uired the listener, "or
do I wander in some spirit-land ; lost, lost ; — oh,
so luxuriously lost } She, too, seems lost— lost in
a reverie, and all forh)rn. I'll speak to her : — and
yet I fear to speak, I fear to Ijreathe, lest the undu-
lating air should hurst this, and prove it to be but a
bul)l)le. Yet she breathes, she spoke, and oh, such
words ! Words, be at my command ; I will address
her, for this is not fancy : could fancy shew amovinir
soul of sorrow ? See how the passion pla^s upon
that face, as she thus stands with sad-eved earnest-
ness, maintaining converse with the hollow skv.

■I

0«¥

TIIK AMVOi ATM.

Lo<)k('<l t'ViT MUglit SO fair vi't so lorlorn ".' Mvtliinks
tlicrc s ji tear iiih»ii her clicrk. Why coiiu's it from
the Edoii of licr eye V T must speak to lier ;" and with
mixed fear and lervt)ur lie exehiimed : '" May Heaven
keep you IVom grave eause of sorrow, hidy I Forgive
me, oh,, forgive nie, lady, or vision, for, )>y these
dazzled eyes, and, as 1 fear, i>y your olVench.'d form,
1 scarcely ciin divine whether you are of earth or
air; ])ardon ine if I have appeared here hy night, as
un|)reme(litatedlv as I eanu' hv dav. liid me hegone,
— and yet permit me to remain, for, hy my life, and
the deep admiration w ith which you have inspired
me, I cannot leave \()u till I learn your grief, and
with it, peradventure, my own doom. Whom did
you speak of even now, fair form?"

" Who asks of mo that question ; who is it that
thus listens when I thought myself alcnie V" she
demanded haughtily, looking downwards from the
verandah. "Sir, just now I spoke, and said — I
know not what. What you have overheard me say
I fear was foolish; do not, then, regard it. 1 know
you now. You are the stranger who, thi,'5 morning,
drove those violent intruders from these grounds.
Ah, who would have thought you would return
by night, and thus, sir, play the eaves-dropper ! Oh,
for shame ! Nay, you are not the one I took you for.
Sir, it is mean to overlisten ; mean, very mean ; nay,
it is base, unmanly, to listen to a maid, when she
connnits her vagaries to the moon."

"Scourge me, for I deserve it, with your t(mgue;"
rejoined the stranger — " but, lady, you were not alone,
though I were absent; no; you cannot be alone.
Such excellence must draw hither elves and niid-

THK ADVOCATK.

ni^ht troops of liiiriL's; In iluy, by night, ouch iiio-
inont must array around you the good wishes of the
worhl. No, not alone; tlie very sky is filled with
watchers and the ground covered with invisilde
feet, that have come here to do you homage ; then
why not 1 found here to pay you mine V Arc you
still angry V "

" You hav(^ offended me," she answered ; — " and
yet perhaps I am too severe with you. I fear I am
ungrateful. ' Mean,' did I say V It was mean in me
to say so, and most forgetful of the favor conferred
here by you this morning. No, I vow it Avas not
mean — at least in you. Aiid yet it was mean, it
was very mean in you, sir, thus to overstep the gol-
den mean of manners. Scourge you ? Ah, I fear you
well deserve it; — and yet if I could, I would put to
scourging that word, ' mean,' that has just escaped
from out of my petulent lips, as sometimes a froward,
disobedient child runs into danger* breaking away
from out of the nurse's arms. But you should not
have played the bold intruder, and joined in these
vain vigils ; — nay, begone, or I must, myself, with-
draw. I do entreat vou, stay no longer ; come some
other time, — but go to-night ; make no excuse for
staying, or you may yet compel me to be angry with
you. Indeed, I fear that I am too forgiving. Go, I
pardon you, — but go at once, or I may yet repent
to have condoned what it, in truth, were hard to
justiiy.

'' Heaven pardons heavier sins," observed the
stranger.

" Yes, when its pardon is sought for ;" was Tre-
joined ; " but I pardon you without your cravfng

THE ADVOrATE.

3t>

it; ttinl, ri'iiu'inljcr, IIoiivt'ii'H ))!iriloii Ih not grunttMi
to U8 fiinply for the u.'-kiii<r ; lu-itlicr do we receive it
because our lieurts tire [lenitent ; hut for the wake
of Iliiii who (lii'd lor us ui)on tiu; cross ; hence you
are now forgiven hy me, not tor your prayers' sake,
nor for your regret, hut rather hecause l>eforehainl,
the nijiht's olVeuce has been cancelled hy the morn-
ing's favor. For ti»e rest, retire, sir: what you
have heard, you have heard. You have heani my
words, yet give no heed to them, if I to-night
have walked forth in my sleep, and dreamed on this
verandah ; — why, then, it was but a dream. Let it
be thus esteemed, and so we part. Good night."

"Stay !" exclaimed the stranger, us, smiling with
inellable sweetness, and deeply curtsying, she
drew backAvards towards the window : " Stay ; how
can those i)art Avhom destiny hath joined ; how
be divided whom their fates make one ? Stay, lady,
and let love, young love, plead his own cause. Oh,
I would vet charm you with mv tongue, even as
your own detected tongue has just declared that
this morning I charmed you with my deed. Stay.
If, in truth, you did admire, what, at the moment of
its execution, 1 thought nothing of, and value now-
only as it has relation to yourh'elf, hear my appeal."

" What does this mean ?" she asked, startled at
his earnestness : " I do not know you ; go, oh, go ; 1
say again, I do not know you, sir."

" I never knew myself till now," he cried with
bitter pathos.

" I say, r do not know you ; you do not know
//#./' she reiterated.

' Know me to be irrevocably yours ; " rejoined the

THE Al)V(M ATK.

Ktniiijror, ** lor you liiivc ImjuikI my liciirt in miicIi fiiHt
tliriildoul, tliJit L'von yon rsi-lf could not deliver it."

" And, |H'rlmi)s, I would not, if I <*ould, — uidcss
you JirtUed it : " slio auHWered ; " and yet, nir, possiMy
you jest. Oil, wir, forheiir ; begone, nor Ioniser fool
iiero a (surprise*!, lone ;rirl. What in your iturpose?
who, and whence*, are you V On your honor, answer
uie truly."

" I am thn noigniour Montifjrny'rt only son : my
purpose and my thoujrhts towards you are all honor-
able : " he replied. And she rejoinu<l ; " Oh, if your
intentions are dishonora))le, and vou have not the
spirit, as you have the aspect, of a gentleman, yet
keep this secret, as you are a man."

"What shall he said to reassure you ?" demanded
Montiu^ny. "Witness, Heaven, if I assume to act, or
intend anvthinjr injurious towards von. JJelieveuie.
I am the heir to a proucl seigniory : you are, — I know
not what; encmgli for me to know, you are the fair-
est figure that has yet tilled ;:iine eyes, and surely as
good as fair. Will you be mine, as 1 am yours for
ever ? Speak, why are you silent V "

" Hist," she said, listening.

"What is the matter?" he encjuired.

"Nothing, j>erhaps uotliing : " she continued,
whilst her voice faltered : — " but go, oh, go, and
come again to-morrow, or next week, or when you
will. I'll think (m what you have said ; but go ; 1
tremble so ; stay bore no longer ; think, should we be
observed. I am ashamed to tlii k of it. 1 am
ashamed to look the moon in tin t'ace, asluimod to
look into yours. Oh, sir, what ha\e I done? What
have vou said? lh)W have I answered? for J am

■

THE ADVOCATE.

iMTplrxcd. Away, yt't coiiu' ufraiii ; cimu' lifly tiini'H;
hut May no l(m^<T now; Itciroiu. ; — n'tuin tliouj:li
when you «lioo>»' ; do not wnit lor jin invitation. —
Linton, 1 lioar it iij.Min ; lH';iont', lu'goni' ; did \ on not
licar sonu'tliinfi ? — it wum notliing, iK-rliajH, Imt yet
Ik'^cmk'."

'• Xi'vor vvitliont yonr lovi- pU'diio will I Ifiivc
you," roiilic'd Montigny lirnily.

♦' And would \on force nic to avow iny.«*»'il? " she
nskod. '* May Heaven ahsolve nie if I err herein!
No, give nie leisure to redcM-t : this were too su«lden.
These |)assion-]nirrie<l vows wen' too nuudi like those
vaj)orH, that, ignitinij, rush liUi; t(» unorhed stars
across the night, then, vanished, leave it Itlacker.
Do not tempt nie. To act in haste is to rej)ent
at leisure ; and f[uickliest lighted coals gi'ow soonest
cool. Even now I i'eel my cheek aglow wilh shame,
that burns its passage to my rooted hair. Away ; if
you should not ibrget me, why, you are as though
vou Avere still present ; lor your thought, which
IS viuir truest sell' remains with me. 11" xou should
grow oblivious — Avliy, it is 1 that shall suller, and
not you."

" Oh, waste of words on what can never he I " ex-
claimed Montigny : •' cease todo\d)t me. Forget you !
Love's memories arc iuiTuortal. Love writes the
lineaments of the beloved in rock, not sand."

♦' Yet rocks may lo>.e their eHijiies, the i)vramids
their inscriptions, the strong-clamped monument may
tuml)le, and the marl)le bust, by time, may let the
salient features fall into one indistinguishable
round," she answered doubt ingly.

"They may;" rejoined Montigny : *•' hut neither

;. •;♦ .

jjhM

THE ADVOCATE.

flowing time norcliafing circumstance can erase affec-
tion from the constant mind. Mind is more obdur-
ate tlian steel ; and love, the tenderest of the train
ot" passions, is, in its memory, as indestructible as
gold; — gold that resists the all-corroding lire. No;
the (ire may melt the impress from the seal, the sun
the angles from the stony ice ; the jagged rocks may
from encounter with the wind and rain grow smooth ;
this hilly globe may grow at length to be as level as
is the sea, and every jutting headland of the shore
may crumble and disappear ; but your bright image
must to the eventide of life's cogitation, stay, like a
sacred peak whose lofty ])row stands ever gilded
in the setting sun. Forget you! little hazard: he
whose heart is impressed with the absent's form,
needs wear no miniature upon the breast ; the scho-
lar who knows his task by rote, needs not retain his
eye upon the book,

" Hearts may prove false," she answered solemnly^
" and tasks to treacherous memory committed may
be forgotten ; but will you forget these weighty
words : will you be constant, oh, Avill you prove
true ; for did I give you all I have, my love, what
were there left me should you throw it away ?"

" Injurious and incredulousone," returned Montigny,
"save Lucifer, who ever threw from him heaven'? "

" Forgive me," she replied, "it is but a timid girl
that speaks. She did not doubt you, though she
sought to prove you. Yet are you sure you love
her'? Ask your heart, then render me its reply,
as one might do, who having listened for me to the
murmuring shell, should bring me tidings of the
storm-vexed sea. A'ow not, but listen."

TIIK ADVorATK.

Moiiti^'iiy f*tH'iii«'(l for iiwliik' to liston to his lioart ;
then, lookinii^ iit hn*, rrplicd :

" Surer than in iissiiranco itsolt' I am yours. Say
that you an* iniin', and overy iurtlior word shall
seem only to he redundant and apochrvphal ; tor when
love's lipH have nuuh' their revelation, what more
is wantin*^ to eomplete the ran(m."

" Believe that I have said it," she half whisi>ered ;
then, starting', and eliMnginjf color, ''hist, hist," she
added, "once more I hear it: heard uoii nothing?"

"• I nothing,' heard hut yon." replied Montijrny :
'• Proceed ; lor your voice is sweeter to me than plash-
ing fountain's, or than Saint Laurent's chimes, or
than would he — could we hear it — the lahulous nui-
sic of those nij:,hl-linng sjjheres, coming harmonious
to our listening ears, home «m the shoulders of the
eheruh winds. Why are you silent?"

•' Listen," who said, looking still more alarmed.

" I do," he answered.

" Yet heard you nothing?"

" Nothing hut ourselves,"

"Notiiing hesides?"

**What furthei' siiould \ hear?'' he asked.

'•And yet it seemed as if I heard another," she
continued. "Arc; we watched? speak, tell me," she
demanded, — " I hear it again; listen."

Montigny lislened a moment, then replied sooth-
ingly :

"Dismiss these pale-cheeked panics, for you hear
nothing; or if you do it is hut the common voices of
the night. It is meridy tiie hoarse hullfrog croaking
in the swamp ; and tiie green grasshoi>per a chirrup-
ping in the meadow ; for, saving these, all nature

iNH

THE ADVOf'ATE.

If '

AN itii inysc'lf is listeiiinu' to voii. Be reassured : tliere
is nothing, hut wliat vour own exciter! tancv has
conjured: even tiio Avind has ceased to sigh amongst
tlie K'aves; tlie moon stands still, and her arrested
heam no longer draws the shadow on the dreamv
dial. Then, proceed, my love, ibr when you si)eak
you fill my ears with heaven, but Avhen you pause
then opens the abyss."

" Yet listen ; 1 hear it again : " she said ; " it was
not I'ancv ; no."

" What else ? what can belall you, love, wliilst i am
here?" he munnured.

"Nothing, I hope," she answered, lalteringly.

" Then nothing dread."

" I dread to say it, yet I must : Good night."

"Already ? " he denumded.

*' All too long ! " cried an imperious voice; and the
advocate stood before them.

" Amanda, ah, Amanda, Miss Macdonald," he con-
tinued, " is it thus you fool us ? Go, bird, into your
cage. Nurse, take my lady in." And Amanda beheld
behind her the melancholy Mona, half shrouded in a
cloak covering her night attire.

►Silently they both of them withdrew, and the
stranger was left alone with the advocate, who, lay-
ing his hand detectingly on the other's shoulder, thus
addressed him :

" Claude Montigny, I do not ask of you what ])rings
you here, Im- I have something overheard, and in
that something, all. Given the arc, the eye com-
pletes the perfect circle ; furnished the angle and the
object's distance, and we can tell the diz/y altitude,
Mark me, sir. We climl) with risk, but there is

■

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> 'b

Till: AinOCATE.

greater danfror in tU'sceiulin;;. Yoiin;:: sir r^oij^'iiciir,

vou have ascoiided to a hei''ht vou may not safclv

Mtooi* from. As sportive and adventurous schoolboys

sometimes ascend a scalVoldin*^ in the altsence of tlio

huihlers, and continue to scale from tier to tier,

until they ])ause for breath ; so, I fear, that you this

night, in her protector's absence, have soared in the

afl'cctions of my ward, lieware, beware: I would

not threaten you — a gentleman neither needs nor

brooks a threat — but, bv mv life and the streni!;th

that yet is left me, woe to the man that shall fool me

in yonder girl! Seek not to tritle with me, Claude

Montigny. Tell me your purpose; inform me how

your {U'quaintance with my ward began ; how it was

fostered ; how it has l)een concealed ; and how it thus

has ripened into this secret, midnight interview.

Speak ; what do you say, sir, in arrest of judgment ?

Be seated, and recount to me the story of your

love, if you do love my Avard — as you have told

her that you do — and to that love be attached

a story, long or brief; or if this passion — which

you have propounded most passionately to her —

be of a mere mushroom growth, born of to-night,

sown by the hand of moonlight in a girl's dark eyes;

or in her heart, perhaps, by the fairies that you

spoke of, and producing some form of feeling or

forced fruit of fancy ; coeval Avith, and meant to

be as transient, as is the present fungi of those

iields. Sit down bv me, and let vour tonf«:ue a true

deliverance make between yourself, me, and my

foster-dauuhter." And seating himself heavilv on

a garden bench, and leaning with both bands clasped

over the top of his gold-headed cane, he looked

TIIK ADVOCATE.

cn(|uirin^'ly up into the Ince of the young man, and
added : " Come, plead belore me to this eliarj^e of
heart-.-^tealiujir, as touching uliich you have hoen taken
in the act.''

"Sir,'' tlien said the stranger with dignity, whilst
he slowly seated himself; "sir, you are justified in
thus misdoubting me ; for though a gentleman should,
like the wife of Ctvsar, be above suspicion, never yet
knew chivalry a time but tliere were recreant knights.
Moreover, 1 can perceive that circumstances now
must shadow, and, as with refracting inlluence,
dist(n't me, so that I may well stand here seeming to
be deformed, although my soul, if you could sec it,
would show wanting no part of lionour's fair propor-
tions. Hear nie, then, patiently, for I plead less for
mv own defence than for her vindication who has
just retired beneath your frown."

And the ingenuous but compromised Montigny
sketched the brief history of his passion, and when
he had done, the advocate, looking into his counte-
nance kcenW, but confidingly, rejoined :

" You speak the truth, I know it by your eye,
wherein no falsehood might harbour for a moment;
yet, young seigneur, you have entered on a perilous
path ; dare you walk in it ? It is the Avay of honor,
and will prove to be the way of safety ; but, beshrew
me, if I do not fear that it may prove to you a way
of pain. Whatever may be the ways of wisdom, the
ways of honour are not always ways of pleasantness,
nor is the path of duty always one of peace. If you
would wear the rose you must grasp it as it grows
amidst the thorns. And now, farewell — yet, hold.
I hold you to your bond. The forfeit were the

TIIK ADVOCATH.

forfrit of your word, which you have pledged to me
and mine. Reineiiiher, not only Inive yon olVered
love unto my ward, but you have Ium-u ac^cepted."
•' Even so:" exehiimed Monti'^nv ; ** and nnu' — "
"Call nothing down that might hecome your
harm," said the advocate adinonishingly : " llain has
before now beconu! transfornu'd to hailstones, and
done much damage; and dews descending so benignly,
have once, it is said, in form of rain, swelled to a
deluge that has drowned the world. May the skies be
still propitious to you, Claude Montigny. Although
temptation burn as fiercely as dogdays, do not fall
beneath it, for less hurtful Avere a hundred sunstrokes
to the body, than to the soul is one temptation that
hath overcome it. Again farewell." And he ])ressed
Claude's hand convulsively, then tossed it from him
half disdainfully, and both departed from the grounds.

4!5

THE ADVOCATE.

(JIIAITKR Vlir.

" Think no more of tliis night';) acciduntft."

From Stilljside CIuikN' ^roiiti^my rode towards the
"Western extremity ot'tlie inland ; liis thoughts stei'[)L'd
in IdisH, and the eountry, as it slumbered in the
moonlijrht, .seemiufrto liim the hind of Kh slum. At
tlie ferrv of Pointe Saint Claire he engaged a bateau
in whieli he Avas rowed over the conHuenee of the
rivers Ottawa and Saint Lawrenee by four boatmen
Avho, from time to time, in a h)w tune, as if afraid
of awakening the dawn, chaunted, now an ohl song
of Normandy, and now a ballad upon the fate of some
lost voyageur. The moon was yet shining, and he
was in the mood to enjoy sueh minstrelsy; but when
they neared the opposite shore, a feeling of sadness
and apprehension stole, over him, as he thought
of meeting his father, to whom he knew he must
either communicate distasteful tidings, or Avhat was
worse to his ingenuous mind, practice a culpalde con-
cealment. Thus musing, as day broke he leaped on
shore, and again mounting his horse rode thoughtful
through forest and farm ; now reburied in the dark-
ness of night, which yet lingered amidst the foliage,
and now emerging into the light of the clearing ; un-
til, as the sun was rising over the opposite l»ank of
the St. Lawrence, he entered the manorial gates of

TIIK .\r)VorATE.

Muiiivilk', juul pjis.siiii; (lin)iii:li tlu' park-likr gnmiHls,
was once more in tlio proud home of the Montii^Mivf.

Meaiitiiiie, Ain'uuhi MacdonaM had not sh'pt.
Shame, joy, fear, hope possessed lier ; but fearchielly,
for slie dreaded the cominir morrow, wlien sht' must
.^ meet lier fosterniotlier, and — what to her was vet
more terrible — her, as she supposrtl, deeply olfended
guardian ; and it was not till the birds began to
ehir[) and Hit about her window, that she fell into a
deep, refreshing slumber that lasted long into the
day, and was at length broken by the voice of Mona
bidding her arise.

The advocate, on the other hand, w ho had tit once
returned to town, arose at his usual hour, and repair-
ing to his ollice, began tin- business of the day ;
whilst at a later period, the dissipated Narcisse again
found his boon companions, and with them renewed
the debauch of yesterday.

During the day the anxious Mona did not fail to
question her charge touching the interrupted inter-
view; and the latter at length related how it had be-
fallen, confessed to her sudden [)assion for the gallant
Montigny, revealed his plighted vows, and confiding
herself to the bosom where she had always found ad-
vice and comfort, deprecated the displ(»asure of her
guardian. But I he betrayed Mona could give her
only slight encouragement, in what was now yet
nearer to her than even her guardian's favor, her
lover's truth.

" Child," said Mona to her empliatically and in a
warning tone, after musing, '•' Child, ho[)e not too
much ; fear everything, for man is naturidly f ilse to-
wards woman. Ah, you have yet learned but little

TIIK ADVOCATK,

of iruin, ami muv you iwvfr Inirii too iniirli. H«»\Viirt»,
iM'Wurc, hcwiirc, Aiiiainl;i. Ilii|i|»y tin- i^'iionuil, luip-
])y is the woman wlioiii no i'tilst* iiiiiii lias taiii:lit
to distrust liis sex I Man's lovr to woman is ascvan-
I'swnt as is the [)rrs('n('C' of tlic siiniMnT-moiJiin^^ mist,
that, for an honr or so. hu^is hivin;:lv the K-a, tiirn
vanishes lor over. Wliat ai'e liis vows hut va|)<jnr?
Poor, rasii girl, why, without warning me, have you
opcneil tlio horn-hook of love, and spelled at such a
speed, that, in a (lay's time, you have read as far as
Avarier maids dare con in years"/" And Amanda
looked hoth ahashed and aimi/ed ; hut at length
enquired in wonder :

'♦ What may you mean \)y these strange utterances?
Nay, nsiy, dear Monu : you slander your own lather hy
this language."

" Thou canst not say, child, that I slander tlilne,"
responded Mona, tartly ; ami her countenanee darken-
ed with an e((uivocal e.\|»ression new to Amanda, who,

cutcl

ling a

t th

le inuendo, eai'nes

ily<l

emaiK

led,

"Who was my lather? tell me, lor you know; I
myself know, I feel, (and not untrustworthy is this
intuition) that I am not her(! a mere fortuitous
foundling. Who was my mother? I charge you to
inform me."

" (Jirl, had not nii.a heen false, you had not needed
to have so often asked of mt! that ([Uestion," Mona
replied with a cynical expression, and hoarse, sepul-
chral voice, that, whilst it seemed to vindicate her-
self, reproved her fellow, on wh(»se face an air of hor-
ror now mantled, as she excitedly exclaimed :

" Say more, or else unsay what you have already
uttered. What must he understood fnmi this alarm-

Tin: Ai»v«H'.\TK.

to
[ed

OUil
Mil-

lor-

nuly
irin-

iiiL' laii'_'iiii<!:«' V Altlioiiuli tlit'it' liaiij.r'j a iiin-Iciv
over iii\ liirtli. .siirrlv tlu'i)- rcMts iiiitin it iKMlislmuor.
Aci|iiaiiit iiK', tln'ii, uiicc iiior*' I rliaru'*' v'»m, and now
l)V tin* love itnd kindness tliat \i»ii liavc ul\va\.s

• »

slicw n to Mil', dt'rlart', lor you know — I sav I iV'td voii

know

lia\ (■

u host' clii

I, ul

HTi' wa-

i> >rn,

low

I 1

x'cii coninii

ttcd t

11 \ (Mircai'c, atloiitcM, »

pt.

'lish

(>d ; I, wild lia\(> no filial claims u|)oii voti; a(IJiid;_M'd
tt( !)(' an ()i'|>lian, pi'iliars tlic cliild of «'liarity ; ln>w
Iia\c 1 In'i'n divided ht-lwi-cn yon ami my jfnardian,
or held as if I were your inntiial bond '.' Inl'orin ine,
Mona, my jzood Mona, fo- ler-nio. 'ler, "nv^c, \in\ who
have lieen to me as a Iriie mother n hi he, sav
whose 1 am; whether, and when-, m parents live;
and, ir the\' live, whv thev .. • e thus aha.-loned
nie," and she hurst intt) a llooii of teai's.

"(^uict yonrseir, my lond one," answered Mona,
moved also to tears })y this appeal; "yourhirtli on
one side is as hiiih as any that this country hoasts,
therei'ore is as hiirh as (Jlaude .MontiLiiiy's. Your mo-
ther is descended from a warlike Scottish liu",
your father's lather was an Mn^lish jjet-r. Your pa-
rents are yet livin^i'; hut their union, which was in
many [)()ints une([ual, was, alas ! rendered the more

'1'

d 1

uniMiual i)N' a iru

It-)'

iisproportion in the ])assion

that provoked it; — a gull', too, that was undiscovered,
till, too lati', your mother saw it. Thence, their
lives, their loves, so call it, their mutual ])rogre.S8
(save oil the course (d' loudness towards yourself,
their child, whereon they journey eiiualside hy side)
has tor years ke[)t, and yet keeps, a still disparting

])aco

d, oh, Amanda, excuse these tears, lor well 1

now your mother, and \

I i)itv 1

ler

li:i\'in<j: man\'

TiiK advocate:.

time listened to her fruitless' coinplaiiits ; but until
your lather, who is tho lajitrurd one of this most mis-
a|)i)ointe(l pair, shall, either uiulerneath the whip of
a castiiiating conseienee, or pronj[)ted hy the s[)ur of
N'our poor mother's sharp appeals, come U[) ajjreast,
and (ill a certain chasm of omission hy an indemnifv-
in;r deed, which has been hy him most sellishly left
undone, but whose performance is essential to the full
i'ruition by you of your fortune, you must remain, as
you have hitherto done, my foster-child, and your
grim guardian's Avard ; a Avaif we hold Avaitiiig
for its claimants; and until they arrive, let me
bcseei'h 3 on, i;s though I Avcre the mother T have
spoken of. t) think no Iiirlher of young Claude
Montignv."

; i

TIIK AliVdCATK.

CIIAPTKIl IX.

" Any bar, oiiy cion, iiiiy liii|ii'iliiiii'iit will he iiK'dirinaMe t ' nie : 1 am sick in
di:<pk'asiire m liiiii ; nml wlmlNdi'Vcr coiiifh athwart lii.s atloitiun, ran^oit t-vi'iily
with mine, lluw unnitl tliiiii {•.ni*n tliln Miarriu^c ? "

.[/uch add aliiiiit ni/l/iiml.

A ft'W tlavs alter the conversation detailed in the
preceding elia|>ter, there was nsliered into the otlieo
of the advoeale at Montreal a gentleman, who an-
nounecd hiinsell' as Montigny, Seignenr of Mainville.
He Avas tall, and of a distingiiished asjjeet, and had
scarcely accepted of the advocate's invitation to he
seated, when, likcf ii ninn impatient to he done with
a disagreeahle hiisiness, he hegan :

*' I have a won, sir, and yon, as 1 helieve, a ward,
an orphan girl ;" pnmoimeing with a mixtnre of pity
and contempt the lawt two words.

The advocate ohserved this depreciatory intonation,
and throwing himself hiick wards in his large easy
chair, repeated : ♦' An (M'plian girl," at the same time
putting a half angry, hulf e«miical expressicm into his
countenance, and perpetrating a pun in what followed :
" Yes, many of your Canadian nohlesse would hless
tliemselves to have heen her father. The poor fellow,
it is well he is not here to have overheard you. An
orphan girl : true, as you sny, i have an orphan girl, —
or one that passes for such ; a girl I love, a ward, a
charuLing child, yon<ler at Stillyside. Were ! dis-
posed to praise her I might say she is the Mountain's
maid ; the Drvad of its woods, a grace, a goddess.

lUAiiMMiiAitfMNMH

Tin: ADVoCATK.

fairer than Diana, and far purer, for one may guefss
tlic fool Diana iniido of that jioor boy, Endyniitm.
But what concerning my ward, .sir, my most imma-
ciihito lady ?"

" Would you forhi<l my son access to her ?" en-
quired the seigneur.

"Ah! you wish for an injunction;" said the
advocate; "show me causi'. I have, sir — as you
seem aware— a ward dwelling yonder at my seat at
Stillyside; — a place 1 scmietimes visit; a sort of
shrine, a kind of hermitage or chapel, wherein two
devotees, two nun-liice, holy women consume the
hours; leading there, pious, penitential lives, making
each day a sort of hallowed tide, and every eve a
vigil.

" You are humorous," replied the seigneur. " Ex-
cuse me, I am S(n-ry, but it were l)est that I should
speak plaiidy. I would not wish to see your ward
dishonored."

" Dishonored ! not a seigneur, aor a seigneur's son
dare dream of such a consummation, nor, darinir so to
dream, could compass it," cried the advocate, growing
crimson. " Yet this is kind of you ;" he added,
bowing as if deeply grateful ; — " and yet," he con-
tinued, " there can l)e no fear of an olfence : is not
your son a clergyman ? for, if he he, and they confess
to Mm anything worse than to have admitted him to
their confidence — why, sir, he shall be allowed to
enter, and shrive them when he chooses ;" and after
a momentary silence, "Fie! fie!' he resumed, roll-
ing in his cluiir; '' 'the fool hath s; i 1 in his heart
tliere is no God,' and tlie wise man of Mainville,
who has been all his life looking for purity in a

THK AnvoCATF.

petticoat, pavH ' there is no virtue in woman.' But
I say, botli these oracles are in the wronir; there is
not onlv a Divinity, hut tliere are wonu-n too wlio
are virtuous. Tliis is a chnnsv jest, sir. Mv ward
be dishonored by your son? Ves, when the diamond
can be cut with a feather. Monsieur Monti;:;ny, a
tempest is as harmless as a breath, when that tenjpest
is heing hurled against the rock ; a breath is even as
efTectual as is a tempest, when that breath is pnlVed
against the dust. So buzzing 'ohmdishments of sigh-
ing fops, may Idow^ the frail tlowerets from weai<,
wanton natures ; Avhilst vehement vows of otherwise
most honorable men, though urged as strongly as the
northern blast, are in vain against the marhle front
of virtue. I am marble to your wishes."

" You M'cigh your danger as little as you do your
language," observed the seigneur. " Will you per-
mit a trespasser, a tempter within your grounds ; a
wolf, a fox, a )>ear within your fold ?"

The advocate shrugged his shoulders and replied :
" No, heaven forbid ; — and Stillyside is to me as an
outer court of heaven, wherein my ward dwells as a
sort of semi-solitary angel."

•' Yet angels fell, and so may she fall," interjected
the seigneur quickly.

" Tliey did, and without a tempter, too, Monsieur
Montigny," returned the advocate, ([uietly ; then
added : " the height of heaven turned the head:: of the
angels giddy."

"Girls are giddy," remarked the seigneur giavely.

" Boys are more frequently foolish," drily retorted
the advocate : " and often coming togiils for ki'^scs, go
away with culfs. I hope your son has neither sought

50 TIIK ADVOr.VTE.

for tlic OHO nor yet received tlie other. But what is
tli'iH son, ^Foiisieiir Moiiti^Miy, thiit you ■\vouhl liave
me believe to l)o so ibruiidabU! ? Is lie another Lu-
eiier, eouched at my ward's ear, as his dark prototype
once s(|uatt< d at that of l']\v. ? Or is ho Lothario alive
again? Js he ^ioander, and are the Ottawa's jaws a
western Hellespont, with my ward and Stillyside, for
Hero and her tower ?"

*' Your verandah," remarked the seigneur, " is not
higher than was Hero's tower, although, I trust, your
ward's virtue mav be more exalted than was Hero's.
]5ut are you aware, sir, that already my son has had
her company, alone, at midnight, on your grounds;
all others retired ; she alone watching, Avith Claude
Montigny and the broad, I'uU moon ?"'

" An actionable moon," exclaimed the lawyer, " and
a decided case of lunacy against the lovers. But,
alas, sir, in this respect we have all been sinners in
our youth, and all grown wondrous righteous with
our years. Have we not ourselves, when we were
young, — ay, and upon inclement winter nights too,
courted brown peasant girls beneath both stars and
moon? What it' the nights Avere cold, the blood was
warm ; and now with these volcanic veins of ours
grown cool, why, we may walk on the quenched crater
of concupiscence, and who dares challenge us, and say,
ha, ha ! snuit clings to you, gentlemen ; you have
the smell of fire upon you. No, sir, no ; we are fu-
migated, ventilated, scented, powdered, purged as with
hvssop. Pish ! he must be truly an Ethioy., whom
time cannot whiten; a very leopard, who will not
part with his spots, since the sun himself shall lose
his some day, purged in his own lires."

THE ADVOCATE.

" I repeat, sir, your wurd is in danger," tJuid the
peiii'ncur d<>"'<redlv.

*' Not at all. Is the diamond in dan^'er when it is
put into the crucihle ; is the gold deteriorated when
it is heing deterged iVoni dross?" was responded.

" Infatuated niai , would you open tiie door to the
seducer?" asked the seigneur, throwing anurv witii
the contumelious lawyer.

•' Seducer I" said i\v: advocate, aflecting to he
shocked : " that is a huge stone to throw at your own
son: and rememlx^r ; is not every man's frame a glass
house, whereat the soul that inhabits it should invito
no stone throwing from the little red catapult of a
neighbour's tongue? IJeware, bewai'e; have mercy,
Monsieur Montigny. ' All ile«li is grass,' the Pro-
phet proclaims; but I assert, 'AH llesh is glass.' "

" A womau'ft! reputation is as brittle," was the
seigneur's ready repartee ; " therefore warn oft' my son
from Stillvside."

" But should he not regard me, sir, wduit then?"

" Brandish the law over him, your chosen weapon,"
answered the seigneur.

The law^yer suddenly looked grave, and, aflecting to
beoftended, demanded sternly : " Monsieur Montigny,
am I a mere mechanic to do your bidding? Brandish
the law indeed ! Is, then, the law but an ordinary
(udnel, to thwack the shoulders with or beat the
brains out? The law^, sir, is a sacred w^eapon, not to
be lightlv taken up, neif her to be profanely applied
to paltry uses, any more than we would take the
tempered razor to pick a bone, or ^iUie our cheese
with. Brandish the law I The man t!iat can talk
of brandishing the law would brandish a piece of the

1 ^

■J

Tin: ADviicATi:.

true cross, sir, iflioliiul it; he would drink, .«ir, from
Ills niolhrr's skull, Jind with his lather's thi;.di-bonc.s
pliiy at shinty. What is tho law ? Wiiat k-ss is it
than tho wili and lorco of all employ**! for one; die
savage sense «f justice, disciplined and drilled till it
can lU'Ae in regular arroy, isivincil-y, In >r>V!' uo!
wroii;::; surely too xm-i an engiuoto be cmj)loyed on
trilles. Who v. ants a wheel to break a butterfly upon ;
or, to crush a woiifi who ri.lls for a pavior's rammer?
Monsieur Mojstigny, listen. i\lV<rcy is lleaveii\s Inst
attribute, nnd the executioner i> I he State's- m.eanest,
as well M- last, servant; shall ! tiien, stoop t-^ this,
^. iio may aspire to tlnit? Shall I wield a whip of
legjil s..'-,.Mpions before your son, should he seek to re-
entv 1^ iHysido? Would you have lue, as once Heaven's
chci ;i])im str=od at the gates of Paradise, with fiery
swords turning all ways, to hinder its ejected tenants
from breaking back into the garden, — would you have
me, I say, stand at my gates atStillyside^ and, meet-
ing young ]Montigny, tlourish in his face a list full of
fasces, in the form of threatened pains and penalties ?
No; your suit, sir, is denied: you take nothing by
your motion."

" Dare you deny," retorted the seigneur, loudly,
and with a look of coming triumph; "dare you den^'-
that you are privy to their intimacy ; will you assert
that you — yourself unseen — have not witnessed my
sou in secret, midnight conversation with your ward nt
Stillyside; there overheard them interchanging vows
of endless love, and dealing declarations of devoted-
ness unto each other; — I ask you; did you not hear
and see these doings, and, even when you did at
length surprise the pair, did you not by failing to
condemn their foUv, gi\e it vour sii • u sanction ?"

Till-; AltVOCATE.

.V.)

*' Sonictirm^^ ol' tli'..'^ I dill," said tlio iidvociito
coolly, '* jor 1 ri'inciidn'rcd smiic i-Mthcr lilxTiii
brent hiiiirs of my owd when i w;i.s yoiiiiir, — and
youth will li:ivc its lliiitr, - nay, do not liito your lip,
but listen. Afonsicnr Monti<:iiy, thus lar wo have in(>t
iruile with guile. .Inst like two wily Teneors, both of
us, waiting to spy our advantage, base s':ill witbidd
the lunge, until, at last, yon, having grown desperate,
have rnshed int(> the (dose. Vet, do not let your
anger overbear discretion. The heated iron hisses
when it is j)linige(l into the trough, but shall we hiss
at each other like gei'se or serpents? Shall wc f(uarrel
deny iho undeniable, try to undo the acconi])lised
deed? What is done is done, and not Omnipotence
itself, sir, could undo it."

'• But wo may hinder further evil," ol)serve(l the

seigneur.

" Ay? Would you keep out the lightning by
high buildod walls?" dcMuanded the advocate, " for
you are as likely to accomplish that, as to keep
L)vers from each other. No, let them alone, for they
are as climbing Titans towards their wishes' skies ;
despising guardians' gates and fathers' fences, just as
much as did BriarOus and his crew disdain its rugged
sides, and risk their necks up steep Olympus, when
they were nndving war on Jove. You cannot bar
them. The sun may ))e debarred from attics, and frost
may be kept out of cellars, but, Monsieur Monti-iuv,
the mutually enamoured can never be permanently
parted. Sir, no mjre."

'^ FiUamoured he, and she at length dishonoured,"
cried the seigneur, disi-egarding the injunction.

" Her honour is its own sutlicient guardian," was
responded.

THE ADVOCATK

" Have regard, sir, to your future peace," was
ur^ri'd.

•' Peace, sir, like silence, never comes for calling
for," ri'joined llie advocate.

" Inipracticahlt' man, have you no fear 1" demanded
the foiled Montigny upljraidingly.

" None for my ward ; I liope you have a.s little for
your son," said the lawyer sarcastically.

" Your ward invites my son, hy sitting upon the
verandah at midnight, to attract him when he passes
])y, as the Hebrew woman, Tamar, once sat to decoy
the foolish Judah. Do you deny this ? 1 have
learned all, all," outlau'st the indignant seigneur.

" Do I deny it?" cried the advocate, the blood, in
anger, rushing '" )i\.< t'ace. " Dare you affirm it 1
jNIonsieur, if yo i ■iu'\in ^' -iously to asperse my ward,
I say, prepare'; — !! 1? i'oi' the action of the law, — no,
no, I hate the law, when it is cited for myself, — but
for the iction of an old man's arm. Sir, I have been
a swordsman in my youth, and though the lank ske-
leton of my skill at fence is buried in disuse, it move.j
now in the grave of this right hand, that so long has
wielded only the quiet quill. I do not bid you quail ;
not I, — ))ut, by the angry devil of the duel, you
answer me, either sword point to sword point ; or
from the pointing pistol, that shall speak both sharp
and decisive, and the dotting bullet, perhaps, put a
period to your proud life's scrawl. But no ; 1 am
grown too old to have recourse to violence. Away^
go, go ; but, mind you, do not breathe this calumny
into a human ear, — no, not into the air. Shame^
shame! yor are no noble minded man, to villify my
ward and your own son ; whom, if I accounted to be

rilK .\I>V(" ATK.

as straii'a-lv base as voii have shown voursolf to hv,
and have depicted him, I would Ini hid to tread within
my gates, and hound him iVom my door at Stillyside."

•* Words only anger you," said the astonished and
halt' daunted seigneur.

" Such words as yours have lieen :" was replied.
" What! do you expect to strike upon a hank where
bees have settled, yet not be stung; or dream to he
allowed to draw the bare hand, clasping down a sword,
but not be wounded ?"

" What shall I say, yet not oflend you?" soothingly
enquired Montigny.

" Say what you will," the advocate continued :
" what can be worse than what you have said already 1"

** Hear me," said the seigneur, in the manner of
one who is going to make a confidential proposal:
" Either remove your ward, and receive a comi)ensa-
tion for her absence, or quickly marry her, and I will
provide her with a dower."

'* Now you .ire indeed a generous freitleman," said
the advocate, smiling; " You must have built
churches, suvoly, or founded hospitals, and always
have dealt out dollars liberally to the deser\ ing.
But you are wealthy, and can do these things without
being impoverished. It is fortunate that you are
wealthy, for I shall accept of no paltry sun . Only
imagine, to have to banish her; to quench, or to
remove, the very beam that till < my life with light.
You must be liberal, if you would have me exile her
Come, sign me a bond for what I shall demand."

*' You are in haste," oljserved the seigneur, some-
what startled at the advocate catching so readily at
the '.iiit; but the latter was ready with his reply:

TIIK AI>V<i(ArK.

' I

'* llccniiso your son iiisiy now he nt Stillx suit', and,
wliilst vvc arc* liii^<;lin<r, may carry oil' my ward, — or
I mi;.dit cliiiii^K! my mind," Iio answered.

'' An' !, ♦oc may <hiiiij^e mine," was the rejoinder.

'* Wliy, tiui., we are (juits;" obrtorvod (lie advo-
cj tc earolcssly, and as 11' all parley were at an end;
" we are as we wer<', and, lor tlie yoiin;^' ones, they
are as they were; ])nt \i I Unow the force of youthful
blood, yon, with all yoMv ,u<leav urs, will not he able
lonj^ to keep them ai)art."

" AVhat is your price for her expatriation ?"
demanded the seigneur sullenly, as ifconung to terms ;
and the advocate re[)lied :

" No, marry her, marry her; we will have her
married. We either marry iier or do nothing in this
businesH, sir, which, after all, Avere, j)erha[)S, ]»estleft
to those who have inost interest in it; — but if you
think dilUrentlv, be it vours to lind the nionev, I
will lind the match : — and let it be understood, that
you lind her a dowry which would be fitting I'or a
seigneur's daughter ; or else, williont a dowry, 1 shall
not scruple to give her to a seigneur's son. Why
are you silent ';"

The proud, perplexed parent made no answer, but
secretly groaned in liis dilemma, and at length ex-
claimed : •' Insatiate old man, have you no son, the
thought of which mav teach vou to be just towards
me and mine ? Wha* do I ask of you ? Little , — or
what would cost you little, yet you ask a fortune of
me; and to enrich, too, one, whom, as a punishment,
1 have reason rati r to desire should always be poor.
Do noi denv it; she h;is ensnared mv son. It is
impossible, that lie who has roamed over half the

THE AI)VO<'ATF.

r.3

WoiM, and Iiiis yet toiiK' lioiuc uiuajitlvutiMl, tlM»ii;:li
ill Ills tnivi'Is lie lias im-t the lair* 'tt ami tlic rirlicst,
can have lu'cii < aiitrht at llu> iiicit' passing; l»v Mnir I'ariii
«)J' Stillysidc, can at a ^rlaiu't' liavi' Ixni so sinittt'ii as
to nu'ditatr this inaniairi-. No, 1k» lias liccn decox ctl,
seduced. You niiLrlit as well declare that a yoiiii^
oa^le would iu,t refurii to \{< n»'st, hut plunire
into some casually discovere<l eoo[), and roost there,
as aver that, without some irre;iular intliU'iice, Claude
MontiLHiy would seek xour wai'<l in marriage, ll'she
marry him, she will marry a heiijia r : not an acn- ol"
mine shall he inherit, not u dollar of mine will ho
receive. Giv(! her a dowry '.' (Jive her a dukedom.
No, sir ; I will not huy hrass IVom you at the price
ot" gold ; ' will not subsidize you to avoid your ward."
And, Avith the words, he bowed himseli'out of the
room, and the advocate, casting himself backwards in
his easy chair, laughing, exclaimed : " Was ever such a
proposition started? — started! yes; and shall event-
ually be carried. It is not what we do, but it is the
motive that induced the deed, that gives the color to
it. She shall be Madam Montigny, in s[)ite of old
Montigny's self; and lor her dowry, (which I asked
Montigny to provide, only that it might be returned
to him through his son), I'll mortgage my old brains
to procure it for her."

Tim: advcxatk.

CIIAITKII X.

Wliili' yoii Ihti' i|() miiprliiK lia
Ul'cn-t'jM coii8|iimry

\l\i liinc iIkiIi I jci! :
If of liir Villi ki"|i II I'liri',
.'■ Iiiiltf III) -luiiiliiT, Mini lii'H'uru :

A Will. : Awuku!

'J/ir 'Jinj'f'l,

Ainoiiust tlie seignioricH contif^nioiis lo llii- oastorn
oxtivniity of tlio island oC Mniitifal, lien that of
MontlKunir. Its present owner wan AndrC* Dncliatol,
a ilesccndent of the Sienr Diichatel, a cadet of aii
luieient French nobh' faniih, to wlioni tlie seijiiiiorv
was granted ityroval h-tters jtateiit, ahoiil the middle
of the seventeenth centurv. IJnt if anv nobilitv of
soul, or relinenient of aspect existed in the first of
the Canadian dvnastv of Diichatel, it had not lieen
transmitted to the living rej)resentative of the line.
As the long hung-u]) sword or unused ploughshare,
lose their brightness and edgt? from want of use,
perhaps these (puilities of mind and body had disap-
peared for "Want of a litter held for their display.
Andr6 Duchatel, seigneur of Monllxeuf, was a
vulgar looking, short, broad-set, (lori«l figure, of fifty
years or so; material in his tastes, in disposition
obstinate and narrow-minded, iinenlarged by educa-
tion; shy "with strangers, yet fond of gootl fellowship
with his acquaintance, and, with much reason,
accounted to be rich. He was a widower, but lived

TIIK AMV«mATK.

r.'

in .1 kinii of siiilv, pati Kircliiil .»(:it(', in the iiii<l.>>t oC
tlirct' ^^l»ll^ ami ii tlaii.rlit('r ; tlic InrimM' In-iiij^ tl'Msj.
|)att'<l aixl scM'^iial, the latter of a ^*hn\w juTson, Ixit
in ciiiuactrr, sii]i() liriai. vain, \ in)li(*tiM>, {iroiiil.

An intiniacv liati lonir cNisted lirtwci-n the houses
of MontijiMv and Dtniiatd, Nsliicli, in spito of their
(lillerent ;f»'nins, had lor i^cneratioiis eontiniied i's it
were to :dial\e IuumU across the island. The latter
laniily, thuiiLdi etjUid to the lorniei' in wealth and
pediureo, secretly neknowledtrt'd it as the snperi«)r,
and with u view to an allianee hetween the two,
Sera[ihine Dnehatel, eyeii when a child, was a I'ro-
(pient visitor at Main\ille; her relations hopin;;- that
therehy, she and (,'lande Montiirny niij^ht heconu»
inspired with a nuitnal liking', the prelude to their
desired union.

This union, it was understood, was to he eonientod
on the part ol" Dnehatel, hy the jill't, as her niarriaij^o
portion, of a tract of land adjoinini,^ the seijiniorv of
Mainville, and at ])resent the property of Andr6
Dnehatel; Init whicii, at the nuptials, would he
added to the Montigny manor, as a sort of arriere
lief, and so j;ratiry the cravinu' of the elder ^^onti,^•ny
lor territorial aggrandi/enient. The sj)lendid person
of Claude had long ago caught the slight afiections
of Seraphine, who in her visits to Mainville, would
hang upon him, much to his distaste, ami persist to
make him her reluctant cavalier, though neither her
blandishments nor his father's wishes could in«lucG
him to return these visits, or ap})ear to reciprocate
her preference. Nor would a closer and wider
acquaintance with the Dnchatels have lessened his
reluctance. The eldest son, Samson, was a colossal

wjmm

iiiii

mtam

THE AI)V()('ATK.

ItuUv, dividing his time betwcoii field sports, intem-
peraiKX', and intrigues with the daughters of the
censitors on his lather's seignior \' : or in vet lower
illieit amours with the ])oasant girls of the manorial
village; varied by occasional journeys, made more
lor debauchery than business, to the city of Montreal.
The second scion of the house, Pierre, was a good-
enough looking, and not ill-disposed youth ; whom
his father, as if willing to offer up his choicest lamb
for the sins of the family fold, had intended for the
church. But the former had far other intentions
towards the fair than absolving them from their
peccadilloes, and entertained other ideas of foreign
travel than that of going on distant linlian missions;
whilst the youngest brother, Ali)honse, was an
inil)roken colt and madcap, articled to one of the
principal legal firms in the city. Although in years
he Avas but ancle deep, he was already in potations
full five fathoms; a worthy graduate of the licen-
tiousness of the town, and boon companion of the
dissolute Narcisse ; whom, in a giddy moment he
had made acquainted with the family matrimonial
design on young Montigny. Narcisse, in his turn,
had a domestic story, that instinct, revenge, and a
mother's command impelled him to relrte, and which
he told to the rollicking, but now attentive Alphonse,
with a Avicked glee, raised by the prospect of mis-
chief. A discovery had been made by his brooding
and despised parent. Chance had thrown in her
way an opportunity for which she had watched for
years. Mona Macdonald had visited the advocate at
his dwelling, and her presence had stirred not only
the womanly curiosity of the lynx-eyed Babet Blais,

THE ADVOCATK.

but her iiialicloiis ji'iilousv of one whom she coiihl
never but re^'jinl iim u liiitct'iil and favored rival. So,
overlicariii;^ ihcin in ejirnest conversation in tlie
lil)rarv, hIi", with the unrestrained enjoyment of a
h)W, nnt"itore(l nut lire, stole to the door, that was
slightly ajar, and there, with her ear npplied to the
interstice, learned the circumstance of the discovered
interview het ween ('laude and Amanda at Stillyside,
with their |ili;.';lited troth, not disa[)pr()ved of by the
advocate. Swellin^z; with envy and anger, and recol-
lecting what Narcissi' had told her of the predilection
and hopes of Alplionse iJuchatel's sister in regard to
Claude Montigny, she, with an intent to dash the
proud ])r<JSpiM't which seemed to be opening before
the child of an odious — and as she deemed, unlawful
competitor for the advocate's favors, conceived the
spiteful idea of Informing the Duchatels of what she
had just discovered. Further to instigate her, all the
real and all tlu' fancied wrongs that her son had suflered
from his father rose up before her, magnified by her
imagination, and promising her to the gratificatioi
of her unreasoning s)deen. Her purpose was soon
put into execution. That night Narcisse came home
sober; and giviiig him some warm sup])er, followed
bv a deliciU'V that she hiul set aside for him as a
dessert, a;id whicii, with a half human, half animal
aflection, she watched him devour, she broke the
subject to him. He grinned with an infantile
delight, as he hciird the important secret, and dis-
cussed with her the ])roject that might hinder the

hose disdain

'c>

had long chagrined him, and under the recollecti(jn
of whose Mconi tUiring the recent raid on Stillvslde,

pnassssBSM

THE ADVOCATE.

S-.

lie was yot Hniiirtini--. Witli lioigliteiiod pleasure .she
iH'lu'ld liis Joyful interest, and, ■\variiuii;j: with his
synipathy, whilst she "iloated over the anticipated
revenge, she exchiinied, as her lace assumed a dark,
prophetic asj)ect : "Yes, we will humble that mon-
grel, and her proud, petted child. What better are
they than we, what nearer to thy father 1 See how
1 toil, and do his drudgery; keep him a home, who,
but for me, would have no himie, ' .id no one to care
for him. Yet no tine country' house for me, fine
clothes, rich presents ; no line gifts for thee, my child,
no endless schooling, no sending fJice to travel; no
allowance, no expense to help to make of thee a gentle-
man, like his endeavours to make her child a lady;
no line lady sought for thee to be thy wife, Narcisse ;
no closetings for me, who, but for her, had been thy
father's wife, and not his servant. But God and the
virgin ha\ e at last heard our prayers. Narcisse, my
darling, tell Alphonse Dachatel all that I have told
thy sell'. Bid him quickly inform his father, brothers,
eister ; and if they have French blood in their veins
they will balk this half-breed and her daughter
brat."

Never was there an apter pujtil than Narcisso
proved now ; never a willinger. Scarcely could he
refrain from at once rushinii- forth to find his friend,
Alph )nse ; and he did at length arise with the
blessing and (Jodspeed ot" his mother, intending to
inform him, touching the rival who had so far and
so suddenly outstripped his sister on the road of
Claude's regard, when the voice of the advocate was
heard calling upon his son to attend him in the room

, but iilledwith a sentiment

-y

■ I

THE ADVOCATE.

■

of rising ri'licllion iiiid ncw-honi iiK^olciico, as of one
Avlio iiitciids no longer to lie cluckiMl, nor sulmiit to
umiu'i-itt'il harshness and tyranny. -Thrrc the two
had an altercation, provoked l>y the old jirud^es, and
a,<:\i:ravated hy Narcisse's recent ilissi[)ation, esca[)a(h',
and nejrlect of (hity, and still more siiarpened hy iiis
present pertness and contiiniacy. Ani^er rose high
hetweeu parent and child, and the latti-r, in uni'on-
cealed dudiicon llnnji; I'roni tlie room, and lel't thehonse,
liis l)reast charged with as[)itei"ul iinrj)()se ; and going
straight to the lodgings ol" Al[)hunse Dncliatid, he
told all — and more than all — that lie had learned
respecting the menaced alliance hetweeii tlu' children
ol Mainville and ^lonthcx-nl'.

Burninii' Avith the inibrniation, the \oiinii' and ini-
petuous Aljjhonse scarcely slept that night, and in
the morninii', havinsi' ol)tained leave of ahsence, rcjde
swiftly to his paternal home, and, in sndden, solemn
family conncil. (h.'clared what he had learned of
danger to the cohim ])ial scheme that had long 1)een
planned for his sister and the distincti(jn of their
house.

Tin; ADVOfATE.

CHAPTKH Xr.

" Tlicn liic voii hciiff to Vi'uir Laurence' cell.''

Ji'"ii(to and JiiHet,

" ('liven to '-aptiviiy me and my utmost hopes."

Whilst the news tlmt Claude Montijiiiy had ;;'iviM,
lo a;:irl of dubious Itirtli ;iud uiicertaiii social positi(jn,
the heart, lor the ])ossessioii oT which tiie .supercil-
liouH Seraphiue Duchatel had !^o lonjr striven in vain
was disturbing thesoulsol'the ^rontbtxnil'Manorhonse,
the seigneur of .Maim ille. ill at e:ise, and apprehen-
sive of a hastv and irrenu'diable matrimonial step
on the i)art of his son, started for Montreal again to
visit the intractable advocate.

Later in the sanu' day, Claude also took horse, and
rode towards the banks of the Otttiwa, where he ar-
rived at dusk, and crossing at the i'erry from the
main to Sainte Anne, he thence, solitary, and filled
with che(|uered thoughts, continued his wav, vhilst
the ground grew dimmer and yet dimmer, and star
after star stole out : till, as the moon rose slowly in
the glimmering air, he reached the neighbourhood of
dim i\[ount Koyal.

At the sanu> hour tli;it the large bateau was heav-
ing its way over the \ exed Hood of the meeting
waters of the Saint Law-nce ami the Ottawa, four
horsemen crossed a rustic bridge, thai led frou) the
mainland to the oitposile, or eastern extremity of (In

THE ADVOCATE.

Island of Montreal. Ono of the riders was of frigaiitio
stature, and another of diminutive proportions; and all
were clad in the coarse grey frieze suit of the country,
and wore upon their lieads tl.o common blue cap or
tuque. Pursuing their way, they kept to the least
frequented paths ; endeavouring to avoid recognition ;
until the coming night concealed them, and they jour-
neyed beneath the decroscent and feebly shining
moon.

And now, whilst such was transpiring at the
extremities of the Island, at Stillyside, its centre,
the curtains had been drawn, and the lighted himp,
with its frosted glass globe, shone serene and silvery,
like a minor and domestic moon. Mona Macdonald
sat sewing near a table, whilst Amanda read aloud.
On a sofa a lazy lapdog dreamed, the parrot slept on
its s»ving, and the l)ullfinch on the perch in its cage,
and in the pauses of Amanda's voice, the drowsy cat
was heard purring in its evening doze. Nothing was
heard without, except the fitful bark of the New-
foundland dog at some stray passer by ; and, at length,
even that had ceased ; Mona's needle was laid aside,
the domestics, obedient to the early habits of country
life, were al)ed, Mona herself had now retired, and
Amanda being left alone, nothing was heard but the
measured ticking of the old clock on the corner of the
stairs. The lamp had been taken away by the
departing Mona, and in the obscurity, the moonbeams
fell in grey streaks adown the damask curtains ; and
after a brief meditation on the subject of her reading,
Amanda rose, noiselessly ascended the carpeted
stairs to her room, approached the window, drew
aside the drapery, and gazed towards Mainville.

■MMMMMM

;

i'J.

Tin; ADVOCATK

H''^:

Thus had she done t-ach ni;j:ht since the incmorahle
interview with Chuide M<)nti;iny; and now not less
h)n<^ did slie li)i;i;er there, l>ut h)nger; no' ♦hoiijrht
of retirinjr, till, startled at the approachir j ;■)' 1 of

horses, she hastilv re-closed the curtains

sound

ceased, and she l)e<ran slowly to undress. But her

iou<>;hts were (

Isewl

lere

in(

I, fall

iny; into a reverie,

she sat with her raisetl linj^ers still upon her dre.-s,
that she was ahout to withdnw from before her
snowy bosom, when again she heard the sound of
hoofs on the road, and soon a shakin'.' of reins near
the gate, and champing of the 'bit, mingled with the
smothered growl of the awakened Newfoundlander.
Divining the cause, and seized with tremljling, she
arose, again threw aside the curtains, and beheld in
the moonlight a ligure advancing up the lawn. A
moment she gazed upon the appariti(m ; theiij scarcely
knowing what she did, opened the folding window,
and half within and half without her chamber, lean-
ing forward into the night, deananded in a piercing
whisper of enquiry and alarm: " Who comes there?
Speak, is it Claude Montigny ?"

"It is I, my love, for by M'liat name shall you bo
called, yet dearer, worthier than love ?" responded
the subdued, yet full, clear voice of Claude. Then,
drawing nearer, he continued in an enraptured tone :

'' Oh, my lady, oh, my heart, my love, my life ;
my mistress now, my wife that is to be: iny breath,
my soul; my hope, my luip])iiiess, my all in all; fair
presence — but in vain my tongue seeks for the Avord
that shall embody you, and, like the hunted hare re-
turning to its form, so does my soul return to that
word, love. My love, then, be it, for you are my

TIIK AnVncATF.

love, von art" iii\ liir lirncrrorwiinl : nor sliall tlio
liorcal'tor ));irt ns, for wlicrcx tT von ;irr tliorc nnto nic
will still he heaven. Oli, my love, is if not kind of
fortune tlnis to call you forth? a fiivorjil)le oincn of
the issue ol" this iiiuht. Oh, conK- forth, my lo\t';
eonie I'orth, iuid make ii liallowed aisle of the \er-
undah."

"Alas!" exclaimed Amanda, stepping to the ver-
andah, "why have you \entured here a<:ain so
soon, — or, rather, why so lateV for are there not
rullian rohhers on the I'oad, and all the secret perils
of the nijiht?"

" No ]»eril eijuals that of al)sence from yourself,"
said Claude, "'for passion has jireater jjerils than the
road. Cupid's arrows are more terrilde to him whose
breast i^ l)ared ])y the aijsenee of its mistress, than
would lie at the traveller's throat the armed and
threatening hands of fifty ruthless rohhers. But how
have vou fared since we were so rudelv i)arted ?"

Amanda sighed. " But so so;" she murmured mourn-
fully, *' it is a slight burn that does not smart a little
when the scorched part is snatched away from the
lire:" and hanging down her head bashfully, repeated,
" But so so : — I have felt an unaccustomed care — of
little c<mse([uence, — but, oh, tell me, Montigny, how
your father, the ])roud, rich seigneur takes this matter,
for I know you would niform him of it. Is he not in-
censed, not angry ; does he not ui)braid you, and call
me evil, and perha]>s deserved, hard names ?"

" lie has expostulated with me ; Claude resjionded ;
" yet not with too much earnestness, knowing love'.s
lires are blown by (.)pposition. How seems your guar-
dian ?"

t ♦»

inurniured

74 TIIK ADVorATK.

" FFmw hliiill I (liiro to iiicft liiin
Anianilii Illllsil)^^

" Do not r»'iir liini ;" Claiidi' rejoined : *' ho will not
chide you ; — besides, you sludl he <rone to-morrow. I
come to-niuht, 11 .Ii»>on for the jrolden Meeee, ami may
not I'cturn without it. St ill vsido is Colchis, and luv
d<'sires are d »i[»hins that have l»rou<rht me hitiier,and
will not, returninjr, I'erry mo across the Ottawa, unless
thev shall !)(' IVeiiihted with \our form. Mine own one,
do not stand transfixed like doatli in life, hut live
here no lonjicr; leave it, and live with me for ever,
for from where you are my feet shall never stray.
Do not mis(U)uht me: thoujih nuni were as faithless
as it is said that woman is lickle, vet I were loval
towards uoii, whom I unploro to ho my ullianced
to-nitiht, my hride to-morrow."

'• To-morrow ! — Oh, so soon," exclaimed Amanda,
starting.

" It will 1)0 a thousand years till then ;" interposed
ISIontigny ; ''and yid it will ])e the L-lad millenium,
since you shall reiijiii amidst my nu'ditations, and
towards you all my tliouj>;hts h(» W()rsliij)|)ing saints.
This dumb devotion will he hliss, hut to have sealed
you mine hv thofireat sacrament of marriajxe will be
iiltu'v, such as the saved soul experiences when, in
Heaven sittintr, it feels itself secure, and proof against
the iiossihilitv of loss. Accord me vour consent.
Why do you ponder ? wherefore should you hesitate ?
Amanda, 1)e immediatelv mine. What are vour
tliouii'hts V What are you that transports me with
impatience out of myself, to mingle with your being,
and become one with yourself in history and fate ?
Our fate commanils ; let us obey it, since, what is fate'f^

'Of,

TlIK ADVOfATK.

Itcln'st, Itut iloavi ii's (lircctin;; voiro ; uhat is our
destiny, but tiio dcoil wliioli we [>eiccive may not bo
left undono.'*

" liiush lUiiM, forboiir;" pronounei'd Amanda, lior
face darkcninfj; with displeasure ; " you counsel mo to
evil. Though I would esteem you as I woubl some
annunciutin^ mgol, beyond impi'uchment of veracity,
ajul bent on a generous errand, you seem as a fallen
spirit n«>w; tempting me, not enlightening. No,
Montigny, no. Shall I deceive my guardian so kind,
shall I deiVaud your house, your fatiier, you? 1,
Avho have no fortune, nor — as is your lot — uj)on my
name, neither the rime and hoar of silver, mw
renown, nor golden rust of ))rown anti([uity. — the
dust of ages in heroic deeds, lying on your escutcheon,
dyeing it as the dust that dapples the bright insect's
wingr- ; — shall I, I say, come and lie like to a bar
sinister across it ? for what else should I be con-
sidered by your indignant friends, except, indeed, a
shadow on \o.ir brightness, a shame across vour
-honour?" i.'id she hung her head in despairing
s.'.dness, wh 1st Montigny thus replied :

" Oh, shame cm me, to hear you so self-slandered !
Friends! misiaken friends. And what althouirh mv
father and the world esteemed you mv inferior; what

compared with
'lonours and

were their estimation unto me: and,

}

on,

what ),-, the value of herald

traditionary glory heaped upon the dead, which is,
in truth, too often only as the phosphorescent glim-
mer that hang>^ upon Iccay : what are these gauds
to me, who count you to be far above the worth of
monumental efligy, or marble mask, my living love;
whom 1 will set, — not in the tomb of cold, pale

«i>

Tni: ADvorATK

hreiitliiiiir, ami ciisliriiUMl in inrtiif'-'s IVaiiiiu}' ''old.

o r

Ka>«l itlioiiH iiirl, aM<l pniiulcr thai! i he proiul Moii-
ti;j;nvs, li>tt'ii t<» im-. li^t('ll. We ar(i two straiij^t-r
voHSt'ls liial liavi' met upon the liinhway of (lie
Iniiclv sea ; — \\v arc as two uliips tliat, ln'ing long
fnnii port, liavc, sailiiii:-, iiirl, and rxcliaiiixod niu"
witli the other, whiil carh has iH'odi'd and wliat cacli

(*()idd spai'i

ha\ (' hai'tcrcd lii-art lor heart. Ilavo

'oiiid spar*'; we
yon not }j!;i\cM me yoiii's? 1 1" you ha\(' not, why,
then, return me mine."

"Then were I poor in(h'ed,'' rei)lied Amanchi.
''Yet I weie poorer witliout yours," retorted
Claude, "poorer than he who he^s his hread. I wish

1 had to 1k\i;' my hread lor you, then richly should
you Tare; for who, wlu-n I shoidd crave lor love of
you, (iis mendicants ask alms lor love of heaven),
fould then rel'iise. me ? Oh, rel'iise no lon^joi my
nqu; d. Kstimate not my I'ortune, hut appraiso
!H\;el{'; aud whatsocNiu" you uuiy deem to he my
V!il'.!<', accomit your own worth as heing ten thou-
saiul times that sum. Still take me, a mere luiseraldo
doit; an earnest, an instahnent towards the payment
of the deht oT love and loyalty, that shall rec^nire a
nil' to liquidate, then leave me hankrnpt in untold
arrears."

*' I should foruivo tjie «leht, even helbre you could
have ask(?d Corjiiveness." replied Amanda, smiling,
thouixli nnich moved; "and vet 1 would not leave
vou perfectly ahsolved, hut still retain you l>y some
small riMuinder. some power of execution over you —
not to he exercised towards you to your hui't — far
iVom it, hut 1 would lie ahsolute that 1 might shew you

TIIK ADViM Air. 77

iiicrcy ; cvtii as noMcst kiui:s have lu'cn <l«'Hi>nti<', and

ill tliclr (lay have «l«'li;;lit('il in (lispciivjiiir |»ar(l<in.

So Would i III' tDWanls you ; — or t'Vcii as I lie KiiiLrof

Kiii;;s — to sjioak it ifvi'it'iitly ~ who, uf Ills liuuiid-

IcsH ;;oodii(ss iiid iVoc ^raic*-, remits tlu' tlchts and

manifold ♦ i("-oas!<es of us, his [loor, dcfaultipj

creatures.

"do o. i Ijliss to ln-ar ,\oii," nuiriiunt'd

Claud.'.

"Nay, 1 naw done; — what have I said?" she

(juictly t'ii([niri'd of him.

"Would you unsay it ?" he dt'inandcd oajicrly.

"Only to say it a.^aiii," she ansuert-d Mushiii;.:', —
" yt't 1 fi'ar 1 havo Ivilildcd straniicl}' ;— hut, rt'iin iii-
ber, 1 was never wooed before, nor answei-ed wooer ;
so, beiii"'' a. novice in hive's archerv, it iiia\ be that

7 v ' •

the gust of a too ardent breath lias cauirht niy words,
and from my meaning wafted them awry."

"Ami can a fountain yield both bitter and sweet?"
demaiuled Claude: " or are you as changeful as is you
wauiuL'' moon?" he asked lialf chidiiiL'h .

" liather consider nu* to be as is the sun, that knows
no change of aspect throughout tlu; livehiug }'ear ;
or, if it vary, swells its orb in winter," she observed,
"even as 1 would now ajipear to you with fuller
favor, amidst this young ac(iuaintance's chilly pros-
pect."

"Chilly ! it i.s summer wherever loverH cast their
eyes, the bright Bermudas. Do not libel love, nor
our sweet fortunes," cried Claude imi)etuouslv : " For
me, there never will be winter where you are; and
whv, when 1 am with vou, should vou thus seem
to shiver, as it were, in the shadow of November?"

IMAGE EVALUATION
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Corporation

33 WIST MAIN STRICT

WItSTH.N.Y. M5M

(716) 172-4303

THE ADVOCATE.

" I am no casuist," she said, " and yet it would
appear to be too selfish in me, too much like to
fraud, should I accept all that yoii offer me, such
vast and personal advantage, and for which I
bring you no equivalent, no dower, no estate ;
nothing to counterpoise the wide possessions that
you will inherit ;— ^nothing that may conciliate your
family, rich in material things and heaped with
honors, — save my poor love ; — and what were that?"

" More than them all," ejaculated Claude, " but
why these scruples ? In human hearts love is not
placed against love, as in the scales the commodity
is placed against the weight ; neither is it exchanged
for land, or bartered for position ; but it is always
given, and is the donor's whole, unmeasured and
immeasurable. It is infinite, gr^^wing whilst it is
being given, even as the horizon grows upon the eye
of him who travels towards it. It is because it must
be; it is unselfish; nay, unto itself it is unjust; often
giving the most where it receives the least; possess-
ing nothing, yet possessing all, if it possesses but all
its object's heart. It is towards its object as is the
encircling and cloud-breeding sea unto the verdant
island, encompassing, and in soft showers, shedding
itself over it. As the sea sheds itself in soft showers
upon the island, so do I shed my fondness, and would
shed my fortune, over you, and in return seek for
yourself, — no more, for what more could you give,
what more could I receive, who count all else as
worthless dross. What hinders then our marriage 1"

" Your father," was replied.

" He would not consent unto our nuptials though
I should pray him on my bended knees, so obstinate
and unyielding is his pride/' asseverated Claude.

■^

THE ADVOCATE.

" My guardian, too, is proud," answered Amanda.

" Let us not wait, but wed without, and not against
their leave, then ; " Montigny urged adroitly : — " but
your guardian will consent : he has avowed as much
unto me privately ; so, mark ; when morning brings
the daylight to the east, be ready. Meet me beyond
these grounds; when we will hasten to the village
of Saint Laurent, and there be married. The deed
being thus achieved, none will oppose, for before the
irrevocable all rebuke is dumb."

" And so am I to this," was replied with dignity.

" Yet let me speak :" Montigny urged with despe-
rate eagerness, **let me persuade you, for to this
pass it must come ; then let it come at once, since
each day will cause the path thereunto to grow more
rugged. My father's storm of threats, my mother's
deluge of tears, will make the way impassable and
past repair. You falter; your silence speaks consent ;
you are convinced, and yield to the necessity for this
ungracious consummation. Good night. To-morrow
early, meet me at the church of Saint Laurent, all
shall be ready, — pray offer no remonstrance ; — meet
me there at ten, — the priest is my fast friend ; — nay,
do not grieve, but say good night ; to-morrow you
shall smile : — good night, good night ;" and kissing
his hand to her, before she could reply, the impetu-
ous lover reached the postern, and, vaulting into the
saddle, vanished.

Paralyzed with amazement and apprehension,
Amanda stood motionless and dumb. She would
have called on Claude to return, but dare not, lest
she should alarm the slumbering inmates of the
house, and she was still standing irresolute and

The AbVocATK.

helplcfss, when something was suddenly thrown over
her fiicc, shrouding her in darkness, and before she
could rcsi(*t she was lifted from her feet, hurried
across the lawn in a diverse direction from that
taken by Claude, and on arriving on the road, swung
into a lofty saddle. A huge arm from some one seated
behind received her, passing around her waist, and
feeling like the coil of a boa-constrictor ; and, amidst
the sound of several persons mounting in haste, spurs
were struck into the sides of the large animal, that
reared with a vast bound which nearly dismounted
its riders ; and at once, as it seemed, a troop were
Hying with her at the top of their speed along the
road. Half fainting from terror, and stifling in the
folds of some coarse euA'^elopment, she was unable to
utter a cry for help, and the cavalcade scoured along
its way. One seemed to ride before them, and the
rest behind. No one spoke, but her companion on the
crupper grasped her tightly, like a relentless fate, and
onwards they still bounded, and th 'leeply spurred
steeds in agony of exertion stretc' themselves to
the task, and still they flew, and still Amanda strove
to recover her voice ; till as the dumb, in some
moment of mortal terror, are said to have found speech,
she, with accents, that, buisting through the thick veil,
rung amidst the night, shrieked out the name of
Claude Montigny. A low, chuckling laugh arose
around her, followed by a curse, and a hoarse threat
of violence from the figure that rode on the crupper,
who at the same time again dug spurs into the
flanks of the courser, that once more, with its huge,
responding bound nearly dismounted its riders; and
prompted as it seemed by fear of a rescue, the rate

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rirK A^vo€\TE.

1^1

with the 3iq|*^i >#« tC'm|K'«t. ro»r«s<'(l with-toiTor,
ami a\Mt^V'^ aii^ ilm thti!>fi,l» oi 'WerAil kefpor»

«he r»*iflmv;«'<l siUm i t^irfi ? what dtrt>\;h«in

tbev were hurt , Itxal foJt tUa;t bcr captor iind

Gusti)dian kepr Utt>kit34r|bke&B(ljis if arw<i >^ one

in [>in*miit ; mu! the killing ]>af st» vH

hi.uher, umi the aiilmuls* to (juivt u»tt?» liko

inort«il throes, as the'upiirr* ^i'ri'pi;^ . -vritl,-*.

find the creatuivs '}<oeai(?*i k>HWulkuv t.;u;^it.iuiiu, until

'riJ>rif«tinLnl
■ 'TV of

ugaiti ovor nil burst, twiinit*^]' t^- f .:..r i^i' .. •
r'nome, horn beniwO- '-^
Ain;ihi«<'*XliBj^ .tSj^^"..- ...-. i-A >. ;■ ■-

iind fjppt^jbenaitni ; a»d vvitl
^liip and s[air^ th^' partj t*if
it as tbf* limine is ftUakft*
Ifi-rd of bufiuloeH; '- -f^ '

** Claude, Ckuilel'*' ^f ttjfftki i?h"
.♦<ii3itiot) to tlie thibk; aiwl, » lHi*j# h
t^j|K>n her mouth, y thre<Ui-'t>f in? ■

the tern ble voice bey»*i^*n\ .

lier fornix aadjinafciw^ feet 'Mtk^*?!** \v?^
thut inoraetttthecloitd^, tb«l Nftit b^tw ti hitviv j$»4l*»ff iivt,

.-'a

trom

fi«md

eov't-rod tbunioon. »%«.mthe 1*;v

?cdf>e^j(S!l.l

To the leR it .meandered bft1f!aKu*m^sritl|iK^'?., to
the I'lght it U»omed ^tr«ip}d and upeiihr It^yilii.;! to
Muntroal, oud tlio motion <d- tin- }M.>rKe«, mWHlnvn.^t
:ind iliniriu'i; foam iVflm their Int*; fHjetmA'l like th^
lo^siujr of the boiling v^apidr*/ftiidfi>Wftldv^t; iIk' rhundt-r
of thehoofn the hojirtfo voice of "fiiifiepjii? rodf Vwdwiwl
hiM', hiwsjriu'' with f\trni»Mtnf'.*' •. ;;d if-tt' Hki' n*' t'\'''*«d

I'vTi

lull, t'vcjiiunc't

. .-"Ai^ -"iMtt't>--- ■-V^'-f"'*- r

*t *

i' <

• ■■ ■

THE ADVOCATK.

accelerated till the troop was Hcourin«5 over the ground
with the flight of a tempest. Confused with terror,
nnd alarmed at the threats of her powerful keeper,*
she remained silent, unahletodivine in what direyticm
they wore hurrying; but felt that her captor and
custodian kept liKiking behind, as if afraid of some one
in pursuit ; and the killing pace appeared to rise yet
higher, and the animals to quiver in quick l>ounds like
mortal throes, as the spurs were plied up to the rowelf«,
and the creatures seemed to swallow the ground, until
again over all burst, as might the shriek of an imprisoned
gnome, from beneath her envelopenient, the cry of
Amanda calling upon the name of Claude Montigny.

" Forward! riister,yet faster!" cried a voice in rage
and apprehension; and with renewed application of
whip and spur, the party tore along the road, shaking
it as the prairie is shaken when it is swept over by a
Ifbrd of buflaloes.

" Claude, Claude!" she again shrieked, and now in
addition to the thick cowl, a huge hand was jdaced
upon her moutii, a threat of instant deatii came from
the terrible voice behind her ' he grip tightened round
her form, and, making her (krkness yet darker, at
that moment the clouds, that had been lately gathering,
covered the moon. Soon the way divided before them.
To the left it meandered half hidden with trees, to
the right it lofnned straight and open, leading to
Montreal, and the motion of the horses, now abreast
and Hinging foam from their bits, seemed like the
tossing of the l)oiling rapids, and amidst the thunder
of the hoofs the hoarse voice of him who rode ))ehind
her, hissing with earnestness and fear like an excited
Pytlum, exclaimed :

TIIK ADVOCATE.

** Brother, and you, mtuttcr Imp, make for the city ;
away 1" And hooii, from the dimininhed sound, nhe knew
that they had jiarted company with a portion of her
convoy. She couhl hear, too, that the remaining
horseman of t!»c four, for that had been the number,
hod now fallen into the rear, and, soon, she thought
she heard tlirough lier mufllings a voice crying as if
commanding them to stay ; and again she heard it, but
it had grown fainter, and wider from the track they
were pursuing, and now nothing was heard but the
sound of tlieir impetuous course through the wood.
This was soon cleared, when their speed seemed to
relax, and the hard breathing of the overstrained
beasts, proclaimed how much the chase had told upon
them ; and at last the veil was slightly raised, o large,
coarse visage peered under it, and the hoarse voice
enquired mockingly : " How fares my bir4 1 We will
let a little light into its cage, if it will promise ib
sing no more. What says my hooded crow 1" and a
titanic and convulsive hug followed, causing her to
shrink with pain, and revolt in disgust and horror ;
feelings which changed to mortal apprehension, when
the same lascivious looking ruffian bade his now sole
male companion ride on before. The latter made no
answer, but dashed up alongside, and gazed into the
f ice of Amanda as he passed, with an air of curiosity
mingled with a imiration and respect. There was in
him a likeness to the sinistrous countenanced ogre
behind her; yet he was a rather handsome young
fellow ; and as the wind, caused by their rapid course,
blew backward his long, curly hair, he exhibited a
cast of honesty and openness in his aspect. The other
seemed to be impatient at his lingering, and growled :

TUB ADVOCATE.

"Don't hang glowering here; forwards, and worn me
if any one approaches, that 1 may a)ver up this toy.**
And whilst the monster retuijusted the cowl to the
face of Amanda, his comrade again pricked the punting
sides of his own horse, that being lightlier laden than
its fellow, easily shot ahead. And thus they swept
along the road, whilst the rising hreeze still <lrove
the clouds over the face of the moon, and the race
seemed to have its fantastic counterpart in the wrack
of the sky. And now they silently journeyed, avoiding .
village and hamlet, by making wide detours ; but, in
spite of their precautions, arousing the bark of many
a solitary cur, as they s>yept by each homestead like
an apparition. Even these incidents, and possible
chances for her rescue at length ceased, and the des-
pairing Amanda, too proud to vainly beg for her
release from her stubborn captors, drew the hood
again over her face, and in the double darkness called
upon Heaven to be her protector and deliverer. That
Claude had heard her cries she felt assured ; that he
had pursued a portion of her abductors towards Mont-
real, and would continue his efforts, with those of her
guardian and the inmates of Stillyside, to find and
recover her she did not doubt ; but in the meantime
v.hat might she not have to endure? And shrinking
from the contemplation of the uncertain gulf before
her, she was at length recalled to a sense of
external things, by a sudden change of sound, from
that of the clatter of the horses' hoofs on the hard
road, to one like the roll of a distant peal of thunder,
and telling her they were crossing a rude wooden
bridge, that led from the Island to the main. Then
for the first time the riders permanently abat'jd their

THE ADVOCATE.

speed, and thoir prisoner enquired of tliem whither
thoy were carrying her.

" Never mind that, my pretty passenger pigeon,"
replied the elder with a ghoul-lil(e grin ; " you will
not require to find your way back this year." And
the foaming, exhausted animals, relieved from the
trying gallop, dropped into a fee))le trot or lazy canter,
whilst Amanda gazed wistfully around to discover
some glimpse of dawn. No certain sign of it, how-
ever, could she perceive on the circle of the horizon,
though all around there showed the whitened eaves
of the roof of gloomy clouds. Her companions, too,
casting jealous glances at each other in the obscurity,
had become more mutually taciturn ; and the wind,
that during the previous part of their flight had risen,
as if to be in keeping with the current violence, had
now fallen to a calm ; and, proceeding thus, she con-
tinued to tell the terrors of h6r situation, as they alter-
nately glided through the gloom of the clearing, or
plunged into the denser darkness of the forest; till at
last she was startled by something leaping against her
feet, followed by the pleased but stifled barking of a
huge hound close by her, and at the same instant she
saw a woman bearing a lighted candle in her hand,
emerge from a hovel on the road side. The next
moment the party were halted before it, and the
woman, holding up her light, shed its beams upon the
face and form of Amanda, whose arrival she seemed
to have been expecting ; and after having fixed her
eyes searchingly upon her, turned them with a
familiar and significant look on the still seated ruflian.
The light illuminated her own countenance as much
as that of Amanda, who, repelled by her manners

THE ADVOCATE.

-^o

and appearance, nat niotiunleMH, and checked the
appeal that was rising to her \i\w. Tlio redoubtable
rider dismounted awkwardly Ironi behind her, half
dragged her from the tall beast, and iiurried her
into the house. The woman followed, and having
closed the door, placed the candle on a table, and sat
down by the fire ; when Amanda, still standing in
the midst of the miserable room, began :

" Woman, what place is this? Where am I, and
why have I been brought hither?" then bursting
into passionate grief: " Oh, woman, woman, who-
soever you are, save me, I impK ' i) you, from this
man," and with the words she sprang towards
the door ; but the churlish giant, guessing her
intention, intercepted, and bore her back, saying :
" Keep quiet, gentle lady; have patience, bashful
beauty; sit down, sit down; come pet, come." And
he made as if to approach her ; when, forgetting
the hazard of Ijer position, and inspired with return-
ing native courage, with her heart swelling with
womanly indignation, and looking the vast figure in
the face, she cried with an utterance tremulous from
grief and scorn : " Whither have you brought me,
villain, and for what end? Sirrah, come no nearer
me : I am polluted by your touch. Out, shameless
wretch !" and again she rushed towards the door, but
found it resist her utmost efiforts : and, baffled, turning
within, she once more addressed herself to the female,
who was now carelessly warming herself before some
embers on the hearth.

" Woman," she said, " for that you are one your
form and garb assure me, though your behaviour gives
your exterior the lie; woman, if you be one, save

'•■0- -

1 ■.

THE ADVOCATE.

me. Cliarge thin man — for you have influence with
him — to liberate me ; oh ! charge him to release me.
Turn me into the lane, into the field, or where you
will ; but let me leave this house without delay."

The female, with a grim smile, bade her recompose
herself; whilst the burly brute doggedly hinted to
her that she would have to remain some time in
those parts, and might as well sit down and be con-
tent. Perplexed at this second announcement of her
intended restriction, Amanda stood mute in fear
and horror. To arouse the creature in whose power
she was might be immediately dangerous, but, for a
moment, to seem resigned to her abduction was im-
possible. Trembling with dismay and sickening
with apprehension, her limbs would scarcely sustain
her ; and as she mentally revolved, looking wistfully
around, as if to spy any nook or cranny for escape,
she at last exclaimed :

" Again, I ask, why am I brought hither ? Outlaw,
who are j'ou ? wherein have I wronged you, that
you should drag me to I know not where ? What
place is this, and why have you come with men as
heartless as yourself, stealing me from my home to
bring me hither, and cast me into this den ?" and
her bosom filled as she ended ; but her hearer, know-
ing no compunction, only answered with a sneer :
" To clip your wings, madam," then gave a low
laugh, as if of self-applause at his quickness of rep-
artee, or the prospect of her humiliation, and added :
" Pray, miss, retire ; you have not been abed to-night,
and watching is not good for English ladies* eyes."

" Shameless !" she cried, looking upon him with
unmitigable disdain, "how dare you hint at rest

TIIK ADVOCATE.

within these walU? Ucturn ine to the spot whence
you have taken me ; render nie to my home, so
desecrated, so invaded by such felonious I'eet as yours.
Felon, convey me to my home at Stillyside, and there
reinstate me; if indeed you have the heart, as you
have the outward semblance, of a man ;" and, in spite
of her resentment, she l)urst into a flood of tears.

But not even woman's tears could move his stolid
disposition, or melt his stony heart; and, looking at her
with an expression akin to contempt, he demanded :

*^ What, take the bird back to the bush where we
have caught it V No. Besides at present you have
taken a long-enough ride, and when next you journey
it must be further in the same direction. You shall
see the world, and learn how wide it is ; you shall
have most excellent French society."

" Oh, keep me, heaven, from such society as yours,"
she ejaculated : — "base man ! — but do you know to
what you have exposed yourself? Beware ; I am
not without friends Ijoth subtle and strong, and" one
of whom will not be slow to punish you for this out-
rage. Release me, stranger, or you shall be visited
with his vengeance, not to be trifled with, not to be
risked with safety.".

" Ah, the old advocate," exclaimed the giant, with
more bitterness than he had hitherto manifested;
*' Outrage ! he has himself outraged too many of our
race."

" Ay, that he has ;" the woman chimed in, whilst
her eyes suddenly glared dilating, and she looked
menacingly at Amanda ; " there is Robitaille, and
Lamoureux, and Paille, and myself, and Babet Blais, —
poor Babet ! but her boy, Jiia lx)y, his own son, has

,.n

•,v ;

THE ADVOCATE.

|mi(l liiiri down "svitli sorrow, he has punished him ; —
hii ! ha !" and l)oth she and her Gorgon-like guest
hiuglied a meaning and triumphant laugh, whilst
Amanda yet stood there to be baited by the brutish
nnm and the lost, revengeful woman, the latter of
whom thus continued to vent her spleen : " Mistress,
what are you but an English interloper ? Girl, how
can we endure you ? Do you not despise us ? Do you
not insult, despoil, dishonor us ? Do you not covet
our lands, do you not reap the taxes, take the trade ?
Would you not all be Seigneurs ? What shall we
give you that you have not already taken ! Ah, out
upon you, my young mistress ! Think it well if you
should not receive what I shall not now name to
you, — your guardian's gift to many a maiden — and
worse ;" she added between her teeth ; " death,
death," and turned away scowling.

*♦ Return me to my home, or worse than death
awaits you;" cried Amanda; " endless infamy ; hated
of o'ur race, despised of 3'our's, disow^ned by both,"

But the woman by this time had begun to busy
herself in piling ncAV logs upon the fire, and the colos-
sus, her companion, after having scanned the apart-
ment, seemingly to ascertain whether it was to be
trusted to retain the prisoner, at length, satisfied
with the result of his scrutiny, unlocked the door
with the key which he drew from his pocket, and
bestowing a bow of mock respect upon Amanda, who
affected not to perceive it, departed ; and she, Avithout
vouchsafing a look upon her fern-nine but callous
ijiiilor, sank upon a chair in silence.

III

Hi;i

TllK ADVOCATK.

„

CHAPTER XII.

" Ring the alarm bell.

J/uiOit/,.

I I

The abductors of Amanda wore no other than the
three sons of Andr6 Duchatel, along with the vin-
dictive Narcisse acting as their guide. He and
Alphonse Duchatel, at the branching of the road, had ^
parted company with the others, and so drawn upon
themselves the pursuer, Claude Montigny, who being
magnificently mounted gained fast upon them, till
fearing to be overtaken they leaped from their horses,
and taking to their heels concealed themselves amongst
the trees that covered the side of the mountain, and
where no rider could follow. Claude then saw that he
had been the dupe of a stratagem ; and after galloping
across the country, struck the road that he had been
decoyed from following ; then urging his horse in the
direction which he supposed the principal abductors
had pursued, he at length in despair left it, and again
clearing fence and brook, held his course towards the
city of Montreal, where he arrived betwixt midnight
and dawn, and with the butt of his riding-whip
knocked at the advocate's door.

The old man wjis dreaming of the apparently fair
fortune of Amanda ; of the ingenuous Claude, and of
his father, the importunate and imperious Seigneur,
when the clang rung through the mansion, and rudely
dispelled his visions. At first he was doubtful as to

TUE ADVOCATE.

the reality of the alarm, and was dropping again to
sleep, when once more the riding-whip sent the
startling summons, and leaping from his bed, he threw
open the window, and putting his head out, gruffly
demanded, who was there.

** Claude Montigny,'' was answered from beneath.

*' And what wants Claude Montigny at this hour ?"
asked the advocate, who now perceived the figures
of steed and dismounted rider beneath him in the
obscurity.

" Dress instantly, and quick come down," was the
reply. The window closed, and in a few minutes the
advocate, Avith his morning gown thrown over him,
opened the door.

" Why how is this ?" he demanded in astonishment,
as he beheld Claude on the footwalk, whip in one hand,
and with the other holding his horse by the bridle.

Claude stood silent.

" How is this ?" reiterated the advocate : " Out
with it, man. Is your father wild ? does he threaten
to disinherit vou ?"

** Not that, but worse :" Claude answered ; *' worse
than your worst suspicions, and it may be worse than
the death of one you much regard."

*' Has any thing evil happened to my ward ?" asked
the advocate, exhibiting alarm. " Why do you pause ?
Inform me quickly."

" Too quickly, perhaps, I shall inform you," replied
Claude, deprecatingly. " Something evil has happened
to your ward. Arm yourself now with firmness, and
be calm ; be cool in judgment, prompt in execution ;
you who can counsel others, now prepare to be the
best counsellor to yourself."

V, *

tHE ADVOCATE.

*• What act nhall follow this preamble ?" said the
lawyer, raising his thick, white, shaggy eye])row8 in
enquiring wonder : " Go on, go on ;'* he commanded
in a short, gasping utterance ; " declare the pains and
penalties. She lives ? Amanda lives ? Has she
proved false ? You have not lost her ?"

" Lost her ! oh !'* exclaimed Claude, unable to curb
his emotion.

" Nay, confess it ; announce the worst ; the broadest
misfortune ; my ears are open for it," pursued the
other.

" But I have no heart, no tongue to fill them with
my dire news," Claude stammered, and the advocate
resumed, growing impatient :

" Of my ward what can you tell me that is untoward ?
Of myself say anything : foretell disaster, prophecy
my death ; — but what of her 1 — you say she lives ?"

" She does."

" Is well r

Claude shook his head, and remained silent.

" Sir, let your lips pronounce my doom at once,"
said the advocate, striving to be calm, yet alarmed
and irritated ; " Proceed : — I am ashamed to say it, but
I tremble. What has befallen my ward, what trouble
has alighted on my child ? — for so I call her. Claude
Montigny, what is it brings you here betwixt night
and day, with tidings that you falter to deliver?"

" Calm yourself;" counselled Claude in a warning
tone.

" I will ;" answered the advocate ; " I do ; — resolve
me quickly."

" I fear to do so," Montigny uttered pathetically,
as if his resolution had suddenly given way.

THE ADVOCATE.

" Let mo licnr it, torture me no longer :" cried the
advocate imperatively : " Perfect knowledge, perhaps,
may ntun me ; but far worse to bear than were a shower
of vitriol poured on a green wound, are these distilled,
dire drops of apprehension. Sir, are you guilty that
you thus stand dumb ? What have you done inju-
rious towards my ward, that you so linger upon the
street, and to my queries but gaze like one demented ?
Sir, 1 charge you, tell me without more reserve or
hesitation, lest at last I listen to you with less of fear
than of anger. You have been "

" The innocent accessory, I fear, to others' villany,"
Claude interrupted; *' still, hear me," he continued,
"and forgive me if I bring you tidings that shall
hang as heavy on your soul as lead ; yet have given
me the leaden bullet's swiftness, or that of the
blast, to Wftft them hither, blasting, to yourself. —
Sir, you have been robbed, bereaved; the star of
Stilly side is set,— or, worse, plucked from its firma-
ment ; my life, my lady, oh, my new-made love, your
peerless ward is stolen."

"Stolon!" the advocate echoed.

"Stolen; even from ray very arms is plucked,"
continued Claude.

"Ill-freighted messenger," groaned the old lawyer;
"stolen! oh, Montigny, you have stolen half the
strength from these old limbs, and strained the
sinews that have never bent before, neither to man
nor to misfortune. Stolen! How stolen? It is false;
you jest, you mean that you yourself have stolen
her, — have stolen her heart; you know I lately
caught you in the act; — but, for her person, she
would not, could not, give it you without my leave.

THE ADVOCATK.

IJontigny, you have not stolen toj^ether to the
church? — but this is in the street; como in."

Claude tied his courser to a young maple that grew
near the door; and, whilst Ire was doing so, the
advocate retired within, murmuring: "Monti<iny,
Seigneur Montigny. this is your work, and yet may
prove the dearest piece of petty larceny that ever
man committed; as dear as would have been to have
furnished the dower you refused me. No ;'' he con-
tinued musing, "troulde <loes not spring from out of
the ground. Then whence comes this? Who hates
me?" he continued sharply; ''Covets her? Whom
would her absence serve? who, except the father of
yon boy, the Sieur Montigny?" and he had scarcely
finished his soliloquy when he was rejoined by Claude,
who, straightway in the obscurity of the librarv,
related to him the adventure of the night.

The old man listened in silence, but his bosom
heaved, and when Claude had ceased, he grasped
him by the hand and exclaimed :

''Montigny, we are bound together in that girl,
the outrage upon whom has made us rivals in the
task to find and rescue her. Yet arc you sure the
voice you heard was her's? You did not see her
carried off; you only heard, or thought you heard,
her cry. You may have been deceived. Hasten back
to Still^^side. She may be there now sleeping be-
tween the unruffled sheets, making them sweeter
than the parfuming lavender; — if she be not — why
then — alas! what then?" And ho struck his palm
against his brow, holding it there, perplexed, revolving.

"You say you heard your name pronounced?" he
enquired at length.

THE ADVOCATE.

"I did," said Claude, unhesitatingly; and this
seemed to satisfy the lawyer's doubts, and, rising,
he said, shaking his companion by the hand : " Mon-
tigny, go. Beat up the bush at Stillyside; and if
she be not there, — why all the country side shall be
roused to find and bring her back. But, Claude, she
is safe. Yet hie you thither; mount again your
horse, and bring me word before the day breaks:
begone." And in a few moments Claude was scour-
ing back to Stillyside, and the advocate ruminating
alone amidst the shadows of his library.

■r. -*>

THE ADVOCATE.

CHAPTEIl XIII.

" Thii noble geotleman, Lord Titus herr,
Ii in opinion, and in honor, wronged ;
TImt in tlie rescue of Lavinta,
With htf own hand did slay his youngest son ''

Titu* Andronicu*.

The elder Montigny, wrathful and irresolute, and
like a beaat in the toils, had yesterday again visited
the advocate on the same errand as before, and with
a like unsatisfactory result. But instead of return-
ing to Mainville he had proceeded to the Duchatel
Manor House ; partly for counsel, but chiefly to as-
certain whether its owner — who, he deemed, had an
equal interest with himself in the removal of Amanda
— would join with him in furnishing the demanded
dower. The subject was broached privately to the
shrewd and worldly Andr6, who on hearing it pro-
pounded swore indignantly at the advocate's audacity,
and roundly refused to accfede to any such appropria-
tion of his substance: so after fierce denunciations of
the insolence of upstart English adventurers, and
censure of the infatuation of young fellows in affairs
of the heart, the theme was dropped for the present,
and the remainder of the day spent in looking over
the estate, and in those attentions that are usually
bestowed on a visitor, be he ever so familiar a one,
much more when he is both distinguished and in
prospective relationship. The next day the topic
was resumed, but this time in the presence of Samson

Tin: ADVOCATK.

DucliaU'l, an lie nat yawning hotwocn a.sU'op and
awako, but wlio, (in linuiii}^ the conversation, aronsnl
liiniMt'lf, and l)inK' Monti;^^ny 1)C easy, and not drcnni
of endowing llic lorcigncr, since lie, Sanl^*«)n, luid
already secni'ed tlie tronblesonie lair one. Montij^nv
took little notice ol' this, thinking it to ho hnt the
jest or hoast, or, at I'nrthest, merely the h)()se an-
nouncement of the intenti(m of the unscrupulous
giant; who soon afterwards invited liim to walk
ahroad. The company of Samson was not coveted
hy the more refined and anxious Seigneur, hut the
former ju'essed him, aiid he thought that locomoticm
might divert his mind from the contemplation of the
coining degradation and folly of his son. lie con-
sented, and issuing I'rom the ancient and llower-
festooned ])orch of the Manor House, they walked
along ill mid-morning of late September, the drowsy
charms of the summer's faded foliage just awakening
to a resurrection in the glorified beauty of Antumn;
and, almost in silence, they proceeded along the road
or lane, till they came to the dubious dwelling wlieie,
some hours before. Aniiinda was left a prisoner. The
sullen and sloven-looking female who had received
her was iu)w dressed in gaudy attire, and saluted them
as they entered, at the same time casting a look of
enquiry and surprise into the face of Samson, and of
suspicion on the Seigneur.

" IJring up the body of 3'our prisoner;" growled
the former, loudly, as he threw his huge frame into
an arm-chair. " Come, habeas corpus, habeas corjjus.
Now, if we had Alphonse here/' he continued, "he
could repeat the whole writ in Latin. Habeas
corpus, habeas corpus," muttered the puzzled savage.

THE ADVOCATK.

rumbling in his brains lor the context, "IiiiIk'hs cor-
pus, liiil)eas corpus; — " then, relinqtiishin^ tTie vain
searcli, and addressing liiinselt' to tlie wonum, at the
same time eh'vating his voice, he viK-ifenited: "lliUo,
come, hidy slierif!', bring up the Imdy of vour prisoner,
I Hay;" wlien, as if in obedience to tlie call of a
magician, a door oi)ened, and from an inner room,
with face thished, Inow (hirk and frette<l with indig-
nation, lips pouting, breast heaving, and her eyes
overflowing Avith tears, in bounded his sister, Sera-
phine Duchatel, exclaiming : " And is this the crea-
ture that has stood between me and Claude? and
brought here, too, to" flout me to my face! I'll not
endure it ;" and she burst into a fresh torrent of
tears.

" Who has stood between you, girl ?" encpured the
brother, half tcasingly, half tenderly: "if there bo
a stump between liere and Mainville that hinders
you from driving your carriage thither, tell me^ and
we'll pull it up as quickly as Doctor Lanctot would
pull you a tooth out."

" You have done well, indeed," continued the angry
girl, weeping, and not minding his clumsy ]>adinage,
" you have done well indeed, to bring her here to
answer me, to scorn me, to defy me, to parade herself
before me, to stand in my presence as proud as any
peacock, — only not half so beautiful."

" Fine feathers make line birds, Phin," drily
retorted her brother.

*' She is not fine, and if she be, she shall be plucked
of her finery ;" exclaimed the sister : *' I'll tear lier
eyes out ; what business has she to look at w*f, and
speak so insolently ? I'll have her face fiayed ; her

THF ADVOrATFl.

hair bIihII be plucked up by tlie roots ;" anX she
Htiiinped with her little lout.

•' We'll have her scalped, girl !" condtlxl her bro-
ther.

" Yes, tliis i.s the way you always think to manage
nie; by laughing at nie," cried the spoiled child, in
renewed agony of tears.

" Why, what is the matter?" demanded the Sei-
gneur, wondering, and startled by these thrcateniPL^
allusions : " What is the meaning of all this, Sams<Mi V"

"Oil,'' answered the latter, striving to } cnv iv to
a pun, "Only that we have brought Pliin a hand-
maiden, and she linda her //<(;/(/somer than is agree-
able ; — but there is many a servant comelier than the
mistress."

" Let me behold this Paragon," said the Seigneur,
at the same time rising, and moving towards tho
door of the inner room, that had been left ajar by the
rude Seraplii: t , in her indignant exit. Pushing it
slowly op«'ii, he beheld Amanda, with half-averted
form, seated upon a chair, her head bowed, but her
face wearing an expression of proud serenity mixed
■with grief. His first impulse was to retire ; but
pity, respect, admiration, and even awe, bound him
to the spot, and he remained gazing till curiosity and
commiseration alike combined to induce him to
address a figure so incongruous \\it1' that mean place,
and whose i :;ijestic sorrow seimod too sacrM for
interruption.

•' Young lady, by your leave ; pray pardon me ;
but ca^n a stranger be of service to you V he at length

enquire

tl.

Annu'da looked upward. " Oh, if you are, as you

TIIK At»V( TATK.

Kt't'ii ♦•> be, u ^M'ntlfiimii, ilo not Inixc iiu> ;'" >h«* t'X-
claiiue<i lM"'<*<'t'hiiig|\ , n-4 she sliiulv ntst- aii>i a|»-
prou IumI liiiii ; ' do not louvo nu\ l»iit omvry nw
buck to SlillysifK", iVuni u ]u«nce I hux «• bo«'n htob'U
by that nmn. Oli, sir, yon do not know uith wb.i'
a load of thanks its i>\vnor will rcniiy you, hlioulu
you rescui' mo rrt)ni this base diiuuut'."

Tho sei;jnc'ur looked i'n((uiriii'j;ly at Saiuson, Hiit
the latter seemed more dispo-H'd to wait t() f*e*? how
the seigneur regarded the apiteal, than to reply to tlu
tacit (juestion.

'•Whv hive von been 1»rouirht hither, and a/aiiist
your will?" resumed the seijiienr, respeetlully.

*♦ I am as yet ignorant of the ause ;" she answered :
*' I do not know, 1 cannot di\.ue, why I am hen' a
prisoner."

" She does know;" fiercely int< rrupted the sobbing
Seraphine, ''She does, she does,'' >he reiterated, and
seemed disposed to fly at her tooth and nail. " She
knows she is a bald and wicked cieature, — she, -he,
she ; she is a, a, — I dont know \\ hat she is ;" she
cried, spurting out the last words ui a paroxysm of
sorrow and vexation, and Hung her-ilf into a chair
sobbing hysterically, Avith toilet and temper alike
disordered.

'•Calm yourself, Seraphine,'' said t'le Seigneur.

*•' Yes, calm thyself, girl.'' echoed the ponderous
Samson. '• Why, what a wild duck tlum art, s-ister,
Happing and (piacking because an un-hotted barrel
has been lired at thee. She is an unsh^tted gun, she
has no name ; and what is a thing without a name?
nothing: for if it were somethin"; it would have been

called something.

What thing is there — that is a

100

TMK ADVOCATE.

thing — tliat has not jrot what a pmlding has? a name,"
and ho hmghod till his sides shook, and drawing a
pouch from his pocket, took thence a (juid of tobacco,
and put it into his cheek, at the same time playfully
offering another to the outraged Seraphine, who petu-
lentl y dashed it from his lingers, and aflected to bridle
at the insult.

Meantime Amanda stood in silent sadness, and the
Seigneur, who had been Avatching her during the
heartless llirtation between the brother and sister,
advanced one pace into the room, and said : " I know
your story, and have reason to be angry, not so much
with you as with my son, whom, I believe, you are
acciuainted with, one Claude Montigny." Amanda
turned awav her face and blushed.

" You do know him I perceive," the Seigneur con-
tinued, "and if ]>y chance he has happened to know
you I do not blame him, much less can I blame your-
self: but, lady, remember," and the proud Montigny
advanced, and bending over her whilst his voice fell,
as if it were intended for her ear alone, said " remem-
ber, we are not all of the same degree, though Heaven
has fashioned all of the same clay. The proudest and
the wealthiest in Canada might hail you as a daughter ;
but old prescription, antecedents, prospects, all com-
bine to render impossible your union with my son."

Amanda blushed yet deei)er. and both of them
stood for awhile embarrassed, but at length she said
falteringly, and glowing like a crimson poppy in her
confusion :

" I own it just that you should urge these large
considerations; yet, believe me, sir, I have been pas-
sive in this matter, and have not sought vour son's

■'.VV

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iV»V

TirE ADVOCATE.

101

acquaintance; neither, indeeil, luis he, if he he riirhtly
judged, (and you would not wrong your son), per-
haps, sought mine ; for it would seem there are amities
that Providence provides for us, without our will or
knowledge. It was accident that hrought us face to
face ; as we ohservo the sun and moon — that are
separate in their seasons, and withal so dilferent in
their glory's given degree — brought monthly, and as
if fortuitously, though, in reality, by eternal, lixed
design, into conjunctive presence amidst the sky.

Yet who shall blame the sun and moon for that ?

'* None," said the Seigneur.

*' Then let no one blame your son and me," con-
tinued Amanda, " if Heaven, perhaps to try us, has
ordained that our paths should cross each other, as
might tAvo strange and diverse celestial bodies pass
apparently too hazardously near each other in their
appointed orbits. For the rest, forgive me, sir, and
may He who best knows what is for the benefit of
his creatures, and who sometimes lor their good, sees
it right that they should suffer wrongfully, assist me.
Since this has pleased Him, I ])0W, and bear it the
best I may, and trust too, that He will, in His good
pleasure, deliver me from this that He has permitted
to fall upon me, my present sad and dangerous estate
of a poor prisoner here."

'* Heaven will indeed rescue voii from this infamous
restraint, and I will gluUy be its minister," returned
the Seigneur, melted almost to love Avith pity, and
dropping a tear; " none shall detain you here; you
are safe. Let me, mvself — if therel)v to some extent
niJiy be atoned to you the wrong } ou have sustained in
being hurried hither-:-conduetytu to your guardian."

102

TIIK ADVOCATE.

**Am(1 niim' tin; dovil ! — ay, and brinj; him here :
lior ^^luirdinii is liis Iialf brother," suddenly roared
Saniwm in siirjirise and terror. " No, Montigny, she
has f(iv«'n loo nnicii trouble in the catching to bo hj
lightly relciiMcd. JJesidcs, is she to be still allowed to
Htand between her betters. Leave her with me."

" Yes, leave her with Samson," cried the sulking
Seniphine, starting np in her chair. " He has known
better girls, and handsomer, too; — nmph I how much
men can be mistaken. It is wonderful that Claude
should (!(»vet her. Take her to her guardian! fie,
Monsieur iM(»ntigny," and half turning away in her
seat with scorn and disgust, she cast a look ofincflable
hatred and disdain at the suppliant Amanda, whilst
the woman, of the house fixed her jealousy-filled eyes
on Samson as he murmurred : " She shall not go:
she is my ]»risoner."

•' She nnist return with me, sir, said the Seigneur,
(juietly but firmly. " Are you not Uwarc how great is
the penalty that you have incurred by this disgraceful
scandal V Think it fortunate if ^ ou shall be aide in
any way to compound for it with the lady's guardian.
Seraphine, mollify your indignation towards one who
has not meant to thwart you. Return to the hall
with your brother, whilst I conduct this injured lady
to the parsomige, to remain there until I can escort
her home, and (as I hope) with the aid of her interces-
sion, obtain the pardon of her cruel abductors."

" It is you that is cruel :" cried the Aveeping Sera-
j>hin<'; "it is Claude that is cruel. Not meant to
thwart me ! she has thAvarted me, and you encourage
her, von iustifv her, Monsieur Montisxnv.''
" We will crucifv her," cried Samson.

THE ADVOCATi:.

103

"Say no more," commnndoil tlio .soij;n(Mir: ''you
arc both of you ignorant of tlio lu'lnous nature of
what you have done. Her giuirdian hnn tlie power
to punish you. Tremble lest lie siiould e.xereise it."
And, with these words, he gave his arm to Amiinda,
and, passing amidst the scowling trio, led her from
the place.

104

THE ADVOCATE.

CHAPTER XIV.

" Confess the truth."

ifiumi'i /or MtUiure.

" You would pluck out the heart of my mystery." '

Hamlet.

Claude Montigny rode to Stillyside and back, and
was again with the advocate within the hour. To
conceive the terror and outcry in that quiet dwelling,
when its inmates ascertained that Amanda was miss-
ing, let the reader recall the commotion in the castle
of Macbeth, when on the morning following his fatal
entrance beneath its battlements, it is discovered
that the royal Duncan has been murdered. As
vehement and as Avild as when the distracted Macduif,
in frantic tones and with wringing hands, declares
to the assembling sons and thanes of the ill-starred
monarch, that, "confusion now has made its master-
piece, most sacrilegeous murder has broken open the
Lord's anointed temple, and stolen hence the life
o' the building," Avas the outcry and disorder on the
discovery of Amanda's absence; and the wail and
lamentation rung in Claude's ear as he rode away
from the gate to return to Montreal, where, still
pacing the library, the advocate anxiously awaited
him. By the ratiocination, as well as by the intui-
tion, of the old man, the seigneur of Mainvillc was
rea" )iiably to be suspected of being at least an acces-
sor} to the stealing of Amanda. Claude, too, was
not unvisited by suspicions of his father's complicity ;

THE ADVOC A

105

])ut tliniHt the ilishonoring doubts IVoni him, as miglit
a siillering Huiutdisml.ss hard thoujrhts of tlio (kNilinjis
ol* ProviiU'Mco towards himsolt'. Eacli thought iiioro
than ho expressed to tlio otlier, hut at h'ujrtli tlie
advocate coininunieated toChiude his injurious suspi-
cions, ac([uainting him with the I'act and nature ot*
his father's visits to hisollice; when Chiude, in turn,
informed the advocate of the long cherished project
of an alliance between the houses of Duchatel and
Montigny. This information not only conlirmed,
but widened the Held of the advocate's fears. Ho
•was aware also of the lawless character of Duchatel's
sons ; and recollected to have heard that the youngest
was a comrade of Narcisse, who, ho likewise knew,
entertained a covert spite against Amanda, and, for
his mother's sake, a rankling dislike of Mona Mac-
donald. Against both of these his umbrage might
be supposed to have been heated by his recent ignom-
inious expulsion from Stillyside; and to gratify this
resentment ho might now be executing .some scheme
of revenge, wherein, from his intimacy with the
young Duchatel, he could know that that family had
cause to be ready to assist him. Here was a clue to
thd recovery of his ward : — in legal parlance, hero
was a prima facie case ; and it but rcnuiined to find
and prosecute the criminals. To seize his son, and,
by threats or promises, extract a confession from him
was the first idea. But where was the errant and
suspected Narcisse to be found? His father knew
he was absent, so the mother ^vas summoned. She
came, but advanced no further than the threshold of
the room, and fell a trembling with fear, behaviour
that she would IHin have dissembled to be from cold,

IOC

Till; ADVOCATE.

'■ t

lor, with the (Hviniitioii with whicli guilt endows its
8ul>j(M'f, fill!' ut oneo knew tliat the stranger was the
young Mont iguy, and liersclf luid been cited in order
1o sullcr a st'areliing eross-exaniination.

'* Woman," said the advocate sternly, and wheeling
his arm-chair round so as to lace her, '• Wonuin, where
ih your son ?"

" IIelas!"she exclaimed, and shrugged Irjr shoulders,
as much as to say, " I don't know where lie is ;'' and
smiled a rueful smile.

**No grinning now," cried the lawyoi', raising his
linger and shaking it at her, and frowning as lie Avas
wont to do when he wished to intimidate a witness,
" no grinning now, madam. Will you pretend to say
you know nothing of where he was last night, where
he is at present?

" Jlelas !'' again exclaimed the affrighted Babct :
" sir you forget yourself. Last night ? Why it is
yet night. Open the shutters and put out the lamp,
and you will still be in darkness. Let me return to
bed."

" Babct Blais,many a better woman than you have
1 wished bedridden,'' the advocate cried with bitter-
ness. " Beshrew me, but your answer. Remember I
am Hint if you are steel, hence the less often we are
smitten together in this enquiry, the fewer may be
the revealing sparks. Babet Blais, here is an affiiir
of blackest tinder, whereon yoi'r bated breath has
blown already, until it glows upon your guilty face,
as grimly as the lurid East that brews a rainy day,
to you the type of tears."

«• What do you mean V demanded the half i lysti-
fied and still dissembling woman, in terror.

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Tin; AHVOCATK.

lo:

'• Wlint do I iiH'jiii ? I iiioiin tliat yoii shall tell ine
whore your son was (luring tho last niirht, and where
he is now."

'•Where he Is y/o/r /" echoed IJahet, "last niirht ?
it is now nij^lit, or only Just near dawninu."

" Yes, we are near the dawning," nioeked the old
man, with loud, relentless e([ui vocjue. " iMadam, shed
here the sunheains ol' your hi;ihest intelligence; clear
the dull atinos[there oi' your soul from log; and let
us see and hear respecting this occurrence, ;ill that
yoursclt' have seen, and heard, and known."

" Master, 1 know nothing," said she, " what alTair?"
enquired the woman, liti'ully.

"Is Narcisse at home?" bellowed tho advocate,
quivering with excitement, and red to the roots of
his white hair with wrath. " Evil betide me that he
shoidd have ever made here his home ;" ho continued.
" Who called him hither? I ? No, no ; I called for
aught that might see fit to come, conditioned that it
came in hunuin guise ; but yonder frothy fool, 3on
swarthy pigmy, T did not summon him. I called for
anything of earth, but Heaven (to punish me) straight
passed the unhallowed call to hell, that sent me up a
demon." The apartment resounded with the last
word, and still the old man's voice was heard like the
departing rumble of a thunder peal, as he continued,
with clasped hands and upturned eyes, whilst his
countenance assumed an air of singular elevation,
passionately exclaiming : "Oh, that a man who could
have entertained the gods with high conceits and
philosophic parle, — could have communed with spi-
rits of the skies, shoidd be assailed and postered from
the pit! — (Jo on, woman, we will exorcise you, we

108

TIIK ADVOCATE.

"will purge you, though you he fouler than the Augean
.stable, that had been lei't uncleaned for thirty years ;
ay, though you be as foul as is the stall that holds the
grimy company of the lost, and which goes uncleaned
for ever. Proceed, I charge thee I" and the fierce-
eyed lawyer sat dilated and erect in his chair, glaring
upon her like a serpent rearing its crest from amidst
its coils, as he waited for an answer.

" T cannot, I know no further," she said at length
with meek doggedness.

" What say you ?" exclaimed the advocate, almost
screaming with astonishment.

" I know no further ; I know nothing," she replied.

" Assist me, patience, to confound this creature !
Nothing! yoii know all ;" he shouted. "All, I say,
all; for never had such a mother such a son, but he
did pour out all his purposes, all the infernal cornu-
copia, into her breast from his. You have no secrets
between you ; 3^ou, his mother, know all his course ;
his thoughts, intent^^, conspiracies and plots ; his
loves, his hates, his loose, irregular life; his merry
moments, and his moods of malice. I charge thee,
tell us where he was last night, where yesterday,
where he is now, and Avhere he will be to-morrow."

" Monsieur, I know no more, know nothing," cried
the Avonian, appealing to Claude. "■ My master is
mad," and, Inirsting into tears, began : " Here have
I been his housekeeper twenty years — "

" Twenty years too long," vociferated the advocate.
" One half the period that heaven was vexed with a
stiff-necked generation have 1 endured you, IJabet.
Housekeeper! eh? Kee})er of the King's conscience
next, a she Lord Chancellor, — but continue : call

THE ADVOCATK.

loo

yourself Kooper of tlio Souls, and mistress — or master
either — of the Rolls, so vou unroll vour secret. Tell
all yon may; empty your Mask of lalsehood, then at
the bottom wo may find some sediment of truth.
Commence; don't count upon concealment. I will
wring the truth from you, though it shall ooze out
drop by drop, and each drop be a portion of your life."

I5abet Avas still silent, but the lawyer pursued :
- '' Oh, toad, ugly ; ud venomous, you have i precious
jewel in your head; deliver it; discover to myself
and to this gentleman all that you know about your
son's late conduct. Speak, or you shall have your
closed lips forced apart, or there shall be found and
set you such tormenting penance, that you shall sue
with speed to make confession. What! still silent?
Bathe no longer that face with tears. Out on thee,
crocodile! Oh, that those trite top's were scales,
falling, to leave you bare and vulnerable to arrows of
adjurement; then, with patience I could see them
fall as fast as flakes of snow in winter, till thou wort
as white as Judge's ermine with them! Creature,
hast thou nothing plausible, nothing for us, nothing
for him, nor me ?"

" Nothing for you, nor for this gentleman," she
answered quietly.

" Do not imagine him to be so gentle, neither.
Though he dwells staid and silent, he is a roaring
lion, that should I let slip may soon devour thee,
Babet. Overweening woman, you do not know how
much you and yours have wronged him," said the
advocate.

Claude had heard all this without speaking, but
now he interposed, to try persuasion.

I 1

\i <

110

tllK ADVOCATF.

" (Jood Biibct," Hiiid lie, Hoothiiiirly, "it* you are
awjirc of anythiu<|: untoward of Monsieur's ward, and
will declare it, 1 ^aiarantee to you, not only a condo-
nation lor your son, il' lie have in any shape conspired
ai^'aiust her, but a reward so weighty lor yourself,
that vou shall Ijless the hour that vou were awoke so
early to be scolded. What do you know of the lost
lady oi StillvsideT'

At these *vords a smile covered her face, as if of
satisfaction at good news ; then, shrugging her shoul-
ders, she languidly asked: "Is she missing?" and
added, " Ilelas ! then others have an absent child, as
well as I," and shook her head; and, with another
shrug, continued, as if subsiding into herself, and in
a tone of combined decision and sadness : " I know
nothing of the lady, nothing of my boy. Heaven
grant my son is sale, my poor Narcisse, and that he
mav not return and meet his cruel father, Avho so
hates him ;" and she brushed aAvay a tear from her
cheek.

*•' Heaven grant indeed we do not meet at present !"
ejaculated the foiled advocate; " for if we did, I
might so far exceed a parent's punitory privilege, that
I should win Ijut blame from the blind W'orld instead
of sympathy. Begone, vampire," and she vanished
like a ghost at cockcrow\

That smile of her's at the mention of Ainanda mis-
sing, had been caught by the advocate's keen eye, and
convinced him that she and her son were accessories
to the felony of the night. Brief consultation now
sulliced lietween him and Claude, who also felt con-
vinced of her complicity. Light began to glimmer
amidst the darkness of the situation, and, as it kind-

THE ADVOCATF..

Ill

led into 11 tiroary dawn, as iiii^lit a now scone
unionj'.st dissolviii'' views, sliadowv and hinistrous
amidst it- seemed to loom the ii;2iires ot' the Dr.chatels ;
and, before the sun had risen, Claude, winged e([ualiy
with hojje and indignation, was posting towards
Montboeuf. The advocate threw hiniscH' upon a
couch, and he would lain have thrown up his brielot'
that day, l)ut it was I'or a case involving capital
punishment, iund, at the eleventh hour, to liavc;
deserted his client would have brought ujuju himself,
not only professional dishonor, butguilt. Hence, with
heavy heart and unwilling i'aculties he bent his
attention to the study of the important case, whilst
at intervals he swallowed a portion of the morning's
meal, that at the usual hour was silently placed
before him; and at last, witiian inexpressible sadness
and boding, he left the stillness of his home for the
walls of the busy and exciting arena of the criminal
court.

■V

112

THE ADVOCATE.

CHAl'TER XV.

" Oh, wlmt a rash and bloody deed is this" 1"

Ihmlit.

" Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye "

Macbdh.

The Court had bcon opened, and was crowded with
hiwy(?rH, petit jurors, witwesse!*, and excited spectators.
A criminal trial of such interest as the present one
luid not occurred there for years ; and the business
In the Civil Courts had virtually been adjourned, so
great wan the determination of the pleaders therein
to be present, and witness the conducting of a case so
calculated to call forth the powers of the renowned
and venerable advocate. All conspired to show that
an extraordinary scene was to be enacted there that
<lay. The Judge was more than usually grave,
ullcntiveand deliberate; the CroAvn Prosecutor wary,
and complete in his preparations ; the legal, technical,
and clerical grounds of exception and demur, before
the (vrown was allowed to take up the burden of proof,
were entered and explored by the advocate, as one who
reconnoitres before committing his feet to dark and
dangei'ous precincts^ where any one of his advancing
steps may prove to be Altai. 4^"

And now the case had been laid before the jury,
and the witnesses for the prosecution, each as he tes-
tified touching the fearful crime laid to the charge of
the ]U'isoner at the bar, were being subjected to the
terril)le ordeal of a cross-examination by the advocate ;

Tin; ADVOCATH

ll:^»

;es-

te;

who all I'Vc all oar ii|)])eMrcMl. as in his earlier (lavs j
<liiick t«) (Ictwt, prompt to (Iciiiaiul, stiM'ii to insist, at
watch and ward at every p >int ; ,<t) that iiis client
seemed to have lonnd in him an irresistihle chanipi<ni,
and the crowd, to all ol' whom he was tamili;ir, con-
sidered his snccess as certain, just as the veteran
soldiery anticipate a trinm[)h I'rom the General, who
has so oiten led them to victorv that thev deem him to
have hecome invincilile. 15ut to the thon<;hti"nl and
more observant, at times ho showed si irns of preoccu-
pation, strangely at variance with his present nn-
douhtod supremely master mood ; and as the trial
proceeded those lits of wandering from the point
increased in duration and intensity. An anxious
expression settled on his countenance; his usually
energetic but measured movements when ho was thus
engaged became irregular and nervous ; and he fre-
(juently cast glances towards the entrance, as if
expecting the arrival of some one; and twice in the
midst of withering cross-examinations, stopped short
at the sight of individuals elbowing their way
through the crowd ; gazing upon them en(|uiringly
and with an air of expectation, until, passing, they
became embedded in the serried mass of spectators ;
when, with a look of disappointment, he resumed his
task, and again with consummate talent and charac-
teristic vigor, did battle for his client, whose dark
distinction in the dock went nigh unnoticed, from
the settled attention bestowed on his defender, just
as the prominently exhibited prize is sometimes
overlooked and temporarily forgotten, in the ol)ser-
vation compelled to the rare skill shown by the com-
peting players.

114

Tin: ADVdCATi;.

Ihit whilst the I'iitlicr \v;is thus tiiskiii<r every poAViT
of }»is truiiicd intellect, and crowning his (^areur with
forensic fires, that now, in the evening of his genius,
hurned even nion; signallv, than thev had done in
the midst of its meridian si)lendors ; — whilst thus
calling upon his great gifts, tiiat, like to antique
jewels hrightened hv ahrasion in the wearing, shone
yd the more from the polisli of experience ; and
while lending a legal learning that, as a rapier
li'hich, ever ready and ever in requisition, has
acquired no rust, was the more available from long
practice combined with intuitive tact; — whilst all this
was passing in high and public court, the ignoble son
was awaking in a low lodging ; weary and stifi' after
the raid of the past night, anxious and timid from a
sense of guilt, and fearful of a future calling to account.
His first wish was to discover Avhether his sire was
yet informed of the disappearance of his ward. He
knew that his father was retained in the trial
which had been fixed for that day, and had there
been any whom he could conveniently have sent to
ascertain whether or not the advocate was in court,
he Avould have despatched one thither, but he could
prevail upon none about him to go for love, and
money he had none to offer. His mother, alarmed
at her master's discovery of the participation by
Narcisse in their successful conspiracy, and not know-
ing where to find the latter, had despatched a messen-
ger to the lodging of their bold and insolent accom-
plice, Alphonse Duchatel, requesting him to warn he»'
son to avoid his father during that day. But the
messenger failed to find him, and Narcisse at last
arose, dressed, and, prompted by a curiosity that

Tin: ADVOCATh.

to
)urt,

and
fmed

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ssen-

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the

last

Itliat

ONo'icaiiH' liis apitrclicnsioiis. apprniiclMMl tin- ('niiit
House.

^rcantlinc tlic advociilf, tortured l>v iiicrojisin'r
aliiriM, ai;d with lii« iiiiagiiiation lillin^ with tragic
touches tlie picture of tlie possihh' late of Anuimla,
had lost hotli recolh'ction and temper; and for the
first tinu' when con(Uictin,g a i-ross-oxaurmation,
had heen not merelv l)allle(l, but succe^sfuUv hearded
ami insulted hy an irritated witness, to relieve him-
self from whom, ho was obliged abruptly to bid hiui
leave the box. The occurrence stinig hiui to the
quick, though he strove to hide his chagrin; — no
wouder. Taken at disadvantage, and in a moment
of weakness, the old pleader was obliged to perceive
that the wager of mental duel between himself and
the witness had been decided against him; and to
feel that, in an unsought encounter and fair ailray,
he had been publicly worsted. To add to his niorti-
iication, the witness walked from the box with the
air of a c()n([ueror, and cast an insolent h)ok of
triumph around the court and upon his antagonist,
"whose discomfiture was so signal as to be evident to
judge, juront, witnesses, spectators, all. Still more
to increase the advocate's perturbation, the heat of
the court had become excessive, and the rebuff —
which, at an earlier period of his career, and with
an un wounded heart, would have provoked only
such a, grim and threatening smile as a powerful
Avrestler might wear, when, in the careless security
of proud contempt, he had been thrown by a boy —
now, in the self-esteem of age and the anguish of
bereavement, moved him almost tt) madness. Seizing
his gown, he half cast it from his form, regardless of

lie

TlIK Af)V()CATE.

V,H«4

decorum, nnd btood t\w ])if;ture of nilf«ory, rngo, and
Hcorn.

Ju«t th('!i tlic court arose Tor a hri of recess, (jlad
to])rcatli(' for a moiiu'iit the iVesher air, tlio s|)octa-
torn retiri'd, llio jury ri'tiiriu'd into tlu-ir room, the
nhorifl' and tlu^ crown prostciitor sainitorcd to tlicir
respoctivo olliccs, tin* ])anol of potit jurors escaped in
rt body, the prisoner witlidrew IVoni the front of the
dock, and sat unseen, ))on(Iering his chances l)etween
the gallows and an acc^uittal ; — even the criers of the
court abandoned their posts, and the younger mem-
bers of the bar, who usually gathered round the
advocate on these occasions, greeting him with
pleasant comidiments, and polite and reverent atten-
tions, seeing him thus moody, drifted to the lobby,
and in it paid court to some other, and secondary
legal luminary who Avas there holding his levee.
For awhile the advocate was left alone; then, emerg-
ing through the largo folding doors into the corridor
or lobby, now cumbered with the gossipping groups,
through which he passed, solitary and in his gown,
like Ca?sar in his robe passing through the midst of
the crmspirators, he proceeded past the doors of the
offices occupied by the various crown officials. None
spoke to the old man, he spoke to none, but his breast
burned ni agony, and a cloud was on his brow, like
the sm»>ke that wreathes around the crater of a vol-
cano. Ilis eyes seemed to shoot forth sparks, and his
lips were muttering. Anger and sorrow were upon
his face, but, turning a corner in the building, he
was now hidden from the view of the multitude, and
strode along the main corridor towards the huge
double staircase that, midway therein, wound down

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TIIK ADVOf'ATK.

117

to tlic dim eiitniiu'c liiiU, tlint was diviikMl by pond-
erous doors IVoiu tlu' t'splaiiiidc between tbe building
and the busy Mtre(!t. A low, massive balustrade
guarded tbe bridjr<'-like |)ortion of tbe corridor that
bungl)etweeu Ibc; bends ol'tbe twin lligbtsot"stairs,and
whence, on bioking down, was seen the paved abyss
below. Approach! M'^f this pari, what did be behold
but the truant Niticisse, unconscious of his presence,
ascending one of these lligbts of stairs. At the sight
of him the gh)oniy elements of his soul seemed to
flash within him and explode, rending all resolution
of restraijit, and leaving him a i)uppet of some de-
structive power, as he stood eyeing his son's approach,
asthecat eyes thiil of liie marauding mouse, motionless,
allowing the culprit to draw near, until, detected, he
stood, too nigli to retreat, too terrilied to advance, and,
as the fascinated bird drops into the open jaws of the
serpent, fell resistless into the grasj) of the advocate's
extended hand. Then, as the lircdamp when met by
the miner's candle must ex[)lo(le, or as the liberated
lightning nnist rend the cloud, though the latter be
near Jove's throne, so the frenzied father, regardless,
nay, forgetful, of tiie place, the time, the occasion, of
himself and natiinil ties, assailed the scared Narcissc,
clutching him by the throat with the strength of a
maniac, and |)ushing him backwards against the bal-
ustrade, and holding him there transhxed, while,
with eyes seittbing witii wrath Ijeneath the blanched,
and big, und)rage()MS brows, and showing like a sud-
den opening of the infernal pit, he cried: "Demon,
degenerate dog, where bast thou ])een walking to
and fro in the earth? whom helping to devour? Ah,
son of Satan, ah! Aroint thee. Imp, Abortion."

118

TIIK ADVOCATE,

Tlie astonished wretch strove to reply, hut terror
and strunguhition ibrhade him ; and the enraged
parent, like an incarnate storm, at arm's-length shook
him, as the dog shakes tlie rat which it has caught,
or the lion its prey ; and each moment the shuddering
youth, hearing his father's deep curses, and stiflening
with horror, was urged further and yet further over
the abyss, and still with aimless, outstretched arms,
and disparted, claw-like fingers, strove to clutch the
.advocate's gown; while with upturned and beseech-
ing eyes starting from their sockets, and still half on
the balustrade and half in air, with nothing but the
grasp of his adversary retaining him, he hung, while
the arm that held him quivered, and surged uneasily
fiom side to side, as if irresolute whether to plunge
him or to draw him back ; until a growl of satisfac-
tion, followed by an execration, gurgling in the ad-
vocate's throat, announced the coming climax : the
arni was jerked outwards, the clenched fingers un-
clutched themselves, like an automaton's, and the
miserable mannikin tumbled with a yell down to the
stones beneath. An instant all was silent, then a
faint groan rose from the bruised form, that the next
moment lay on the bloody flags a senseless corpse.
Drawing a loud sigh of indescribable relief, after his
fearful and protracted agitation, the advocate — and
now murderer — stood glaring dowiiAvards with fixed
eyes and yet clenched teetli ; then, sickening at the
horrid sight which loomed beneath, turned and lean-
ed for sii])port against the iKilustrade over which he
had east his child. Hearing the noise of the scuille,
some stragglers from tlie mixed crowd on the lobby
came running to the spot, and one eiuiuired of the

THE ADVOCATK,

11!)

julvocato if lie \v«'i(' sei/cd with u .sudden sicknc««.
IJiit he only jmintetl downwiiids to where hiv his ill-
fated victim; and shook his liead, looking all woe-
begone, in mad, mute mi.serv. Astonished, some des-
cended, and bearing the body np the stairs, laid it on
a bench that stood against the wall, and opoosite its
destroyer; while a still increasing and motley mul-
titude, including jurors, witnesses, c(nistables, criers,
counsellors, clerks ot" the court, crown prosecutor, she-
ritt", and lastly, the judge himself, hurrying, gathered
round the scene of the catastrophe. A surgeon who
happened to have been subptiencd upon the current
trial, opened a vein, but the blood refused to How ;
and a barrister, stripping himself of his gown, threw
it over the body as a pall. No one dared enquire the
origin of what he saw, until the judge arriving, de-
manded : " Who has done this ?"

*' I,'' feebly answered the advocate, ghastly pale,
and yet leaning for support on the fatal balustrade.
Alas ! what a change ! His countenance was grown
haggard, and his white hair hung dishrevelled about
his collapsed visage, like icicles round the pinched
countenance of Winter. Despair was in his look,
and he uttered the name of Amanda, and ga/' d be-
wildered around him, as if awaking from a sorrowful
dream ; and now began to whimper, to gaze upon the
■pall-like gown, and now to call upon the spirit that
had ilown — !is a scan^l bird from a bush — forth from
the body that lay })eneath it,

" Narcisse," he feebly cried, " Xarcisse, my son,
— for thou w^ert yet my son, — Narcisse, Narcisse," he
reiterated piteously ; and the Sheriff advanced in his
purple gown, and girt with his golden liilted sword,

120

TlIK AnVOCATK.

laid his Imnd on tli.. shoulder of the o'd man, the
lately proud udvoeate, l)ut now wretched culprit, fts a
sign of his heing ])ut 'irder arrest. JJut none else
moved ; the SherifV himself siirinking from ordering
the constable to give ell'ect to thcsigiial. All s'jemed
transfixed with pain or chained with horror, as in
tremidous tones of touching tenderness the slayer
cjntinued t, call upon the dead.

" Narcisse, my son, my son," he cried in agony;
*' Oh, I have killed thee, child; oh, thou art dead,
dead, dead. — But thou didst steal thy sister ; yes, 1
know thou didst; ay, that thou didst, and hast deli-
vered her to dishonor, therefore have I killed thee.
Come, Amanda, come hither, dearest, and behold thy
brother ; behold thy father, see what ho has done,
and all for thee. Yes, 1 did it, all you curious crowd
Amanda, oh, where art thou? let me see thee ere 1
die: Amanda dear, Amanda;" and at the words,
Amanda, leaning on tlie arm of Claude, and followed
))y the elder Montigny and Andre Duchatel, a])pear-
ed upon the corridor, a sweet smile playing upon her
features, and hastening forwards she fell upon the
neck of her guardian, who was still leaning agiunst
the balustrade, pale, haggard and forlorn. Her com-
panions, restrained by ; tonishmcnt and fear, gazed
aloof and mute, whilst tlie wretched criminal, eyeing
them with a look of misery and suspicion, in a tone
of inexpressible sadness at length exclaimed :

"Come you to see me, then, before I die; do you
come to triumj)li over me, Seigneur Montigny 1
Look, see there, but do not touch it, for it is aldiorred,
abominable, a foul s])irit, aldack imp of hell. Aman-
da, art thou found '? — Do not tremble, girl, do not

Tin: ADVOrATK.

121

weep; my diinjrhter, cliihl, lor, without a lijiuiv,
thou art luy <hiu«rht('r ; art, to the very letter, love,
my (;hiUl. Oh, we have much to tell each other; see
what I have done — hut hear me, then eoudemn me.
Oh, Amanda, it is hliss to see, to leel tiiee here ; —
hut here, here in this Ijreast is sadness. I have heen
a rash and hasty Ibol, a madman, if you will, hut no,
no murderer; we kill mere vermin, we exterminate
rats, roaches ; and what Avorse than that is this which
1 have done. Pshaw, he was a reptile, a black beetle
that came livinu? auainst me. lie, mv son! Oh,
slander, where wilt thou not east thy slime ? the thing
that the deceitful, wily woman palmed upon me, he
my son, thy 1>rother? preposterous conception. Yet
sad has been the creature's end ; and sad, sad, sad,
I felt this morning when I left my home, w ith a pre-
sentiment which seemed to say, that I should never
enter it again ; and that presentiment is now ful-
filled. Fate urged me on. Unnatural hate has pushed
me to the ledge, and now I sink to lose myself in
the abyss. Oh, foul fate ! this deed foul, foul! Fair,
fair Amanda, close thine eyes on this enormity ; or
be content to sei' it, yet not understand it, for knovr-
ledge here Avould surely drive thee mad.''

"Oh, sir, am I not mad, delirious?'' en(|uirtd
Amanda: "Oh, my kind guardian, my good angel,
. more than father, IViend. "What have you done?
you have done nothing evil !" and she sojjbed upon
his l)Osom, and Claude stood translixed and silent,
until his eyes meeting those of the advocate, he
demanded passi(Muitely :

'• Sir, what may this mean ; what horrible allusions
drop like venom from your tongue ; whence comes

122

Tin: Ar)V0CATi:.

tli'iM cliiuif.M!; U'll 1110, I charge you, nir, why are you
now HO hIihIu'Ii, ho Wiuideriii^j; in your noble intellect,
even iniid ; you whom I left this inoriiing,Hiid indeed,
vet Hiine ?"

" I do not know whether 1 wiis sane or not when
I did what 1 have done, or whether 1 am so just
now ; hut I'or this scene, which must appear most
Htninge to you, nee there what shall explain it all,"
n'plic'd the advocate; and the gown was partially
withdrawn from the corpse hy oin^ of the spectators,
and ('laude with his male companions gazed upon it
agluiHt, whilst Amanda turning away in terror and
uttering a feeble moan, hid her face in the old man's
breant.

"How has this happened ?" Claude demanded at
lust with a voice hoarse and guttural with abhorrence ;
and the advocate shrugging his shoulders cynically
replied :

'* A * . uise, a fatal fall ; strange that he should
have died of it. It has been said, the lower in the
Hcale of being, the higher the tenacity of life. Yet
hero is an inferior intelligence dies of as little cor-
poreal damage, as might a poet or a philosopher. There
is no certainty in speculation, for by this experiment
it has been proved, that the bulls-eye in the stable
window, in falling is as fragile as the palace's clearest
pant! of crystal. Who would have thought it ? A
ilunce, that no one would have branded for having
l)ralnH, has from a mere tumble given up the ghost.
Ihiry him, bury him; I am sorry for it, but cannot
howl,'' and at these lat^t words a howl was heard
from below, and soon Babct Blais came rushing along
the corridor, wringing her hands, and frantically

Tin: ADVOCATK,

VI:

(lomiiiidinir : " Where is lie, where is mv h<»v, my
sweet Nareisse?'' and threw herstlf upon the ri)ri»se
of lier son. The advocate hjoked on with a hitter
smile, and when he heheld her covering with kisses
the cold, coarse features, exclaimed : " How these
thinjjfs love each other! — hut when he was alive she
would give him the food out of her mouth, draw for
him the blood from her veins, sacrifice the immortal
soul in her body with lies and patent perjury and
crookedest execuses, if so was that she might screen
him and his faults, deceiving me. — Beshrew thee,
woman ! — but wherefore should I curse thee ? thou
art what thou wert made to be, even as I am that
which I was made to be, a desolation and a miserable
man :'' and when he ceased Bal>ct started from her
knees, and, looking on him with new born licrceness,
cried : " Monster, not master ; man killer, son killer, —
oh, you have killed my own, my dear Narcisse !
murdered my son, my boy, my child, my only joy :"
and she again cast herself upon the Ijody, and, with
her face nestling in the dead bosom, sobbed and wept
aloud.

The advocate seemed s )ftened, and, looking at
Claude, demanded : " Who is there that shall not
fulfil his fate? for this I was born, and for it I shall
die." The sherift' again essayed to remove him, but he
sank at his touch, as the dust of an ancient corpse falls
before the breath of the outer atmos[)here, and with
mortality moulding his visage: " Stay," he said, *' let
me die here ; death has arrested me, he needs no
w^ arrant." A s])asm passed over his face, his frame
slightly quivered ; and looking besoechingly*at Claude,
the latter bent tenderly over him, and he thus began :

124

TIIK ADVor.Mi:

" It were foolish in me to suppose tliat you luive not
lic'iird of luy irregularities. Vou \vill not be aston-
ished, then, ulieu I call, this girl iny child, no longer
my mere ward, hut mine own child, hO late acknow-
ledged. Amandi', child," — and his voice I'altered,
while he spoke with increasing difhculty, — " will you
acknowledge me in this disgrace^ receiving with the
name oi" lather that of lelon ? Mona Macdonald is
your mother, to v.Iiom I liave ])romised marriage till
my way down to perdition is paved with broken
oaths, as false as her love was true, and as hot as
was the fire which fell from heaven, when Elijah
strove with IJaal's prophets, and that licked up the
water in the trench, as did those burning oaths of
mine so often dry up h.er tears. Give me your hand,
Claude; Seigneur Montigny, give me yours. I see a
change within you towards this lady. Stand not
between her and your son, as you would wish no sin
to stand betwixt yourself and Heaven at Judgment."
Then in a low tone meant only for Claude's ear,
he whispered, gasping :

" Think all I would have said, if there were time,
and we were hap})icr. Farewell for ever; 1 cannot
tarry, neither would I do it now. I have outlived my-
self by near an hour, for 1 was not myself when 1
performed this deed." And again a spasm passed
over his frame, his eyes grew fixed and glazed, and
he earnestly exclaimed : "Gather near me all Avho
love me, and all to love whom is my duty, (iuick,
(piick ; for a lilm overspreads my eyes, the throes of
death are tearing down this frame. Quick, 1 am
dying. Kend over me ; let me perceive your breath,
for 1 am blind. Bend, Ijcnd; — stoop yet lower; 1

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cannot fool you, lor encli nvunv arrows «!ull ; f»t<M»|)
lower vet. — Oil, soul, wliv all this Imstc? Amaiidii,
Clnudo, i)oor, nii.Hsin«,' Mona, I have soiiu'what nioro
to say to you; (|uick, listen, listen, or it will he too
late. Pshaw! pshaw! it i.s too late, too late, too
late!" Ant! his head fell IjacUwards, and witii his
arms elasjied convulsively around the neckn of Claude
and Aniaiula, the advocate, like his son, was a corpse.
On the rollowin;.' day hoth of tlieni were laid in
the English hurying groiuid, hut n:) stone marks tin;
Hpot, and in vain the strangri" seeks to discover it.
None are uhle, or care, to po'...t it oi", restrained hy
a superstitious awe. A lew octovi • irians still re-
memher him, and look grave anu shake 'he head,
when questioned as to th ; ..lory and fate of the
talented und terrihle Advocate of Montreal.