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The Coi droHHing- in May hi niul wnit( The largf with pin) been love the lilies autumnal threw a li tion cov< brushes, i Htill hand 8he had not more three yea George's, shape of elderly, b It is a bloom, ci white, we for realiti mansion : ec[uipagc, his, the 1 vainly ai Tory of t wanted h( man — a e light in o Bockal] alono iu i of numbe The bri GUILTY. OR NOT GUILTY. CHAPTER I. " Oh I the licnrt. llko n tendril, AociiHtorm (I to cllnm:, Will twiiif rDHiul tlio nearest And loveliest thing." MoonE, The Countess of Rockalpiiio sat in licr oloirantly-furnishod drosHing-room in Park Lano. The soft liglit of an afternoon in May stole m through the tinted plato-glass, the roHO ailk Biul winto lace curtains, and tho flowei-H tliat filled tbo balcony. Iho largo oval mirror, draped witli loco and muMlin, looped up with pink ribboiiH, rellected a Htill lovely face. It would havo been lovelier, jierhapH, but that Art had vainlv tried to supply tho hlies and rosea of youth ; and a good deaf of real beauty- autumnal bcauty-thus accpiired an artificial gloss, which threw a doubt on what was real. Cosmetics of every descrip- tion covered tho toilet table, mixed with jowclr\', combs brushes, and every kind of elegant trifle. Tho Countess was Btill handsome, fascinating, thoughtless, vain, and romantic; siie had lieen much handsomer, much more fascinating, but not more vam, thoughtless, and romantic, when, some twenty- three years before, she had been of!; -d up at tho altar of St. Georges, Hanover S(|iiare— a sac. ihco to Mammon, in tho shape of the cold, stern, rather bald, rather grey, rather elderly, but very wealthy Earl of Rockalpino, It is a very common sacrifice. At tliat altar, in her first bloom, crowned with orange-lilossoms, veiled and robed in white, were sacrificed the Maiden, Love, Liberty, and Hope, I for realities of twenty thousand a year, a countess's coronet, u mansionin Park Lane, Rockalnino Castle, Beech Park, an eriuipage, an opera-box, and a handsome settlement. Onco his, the Earl, who was a proud and disappointed man—having I vainly aimed at political influence and senatorial fame, as a : Tory of the old school— took her to Rockalpine Castle, and I wanted her to hve there almost entirely. There he was a great man— a solitary star ! In London ho was only a twinkling light m one of many constellations. ^ Rockalpine Castle, stern, grey, and bald as himself, was also aiono III its grandeur. Hauteville House, Park Lane, was ono 01 numberless town mansions of equal or greater importance. The bride was timid, and sighed in heart over her enforced 9 Guilt,/, or Not Gnltlij. ROcliiMion and Politinlo. Two houh were horn to licr in tho courMo of three yciirn, and when thoy loll i\\v nursery an' ^"0^ . otriKe me — « oTi/1 1^4. e — ; '^^"r"» ^"^ "S huid nis cneek to lus brother spS^e '^I^Ff^r^^''^^''^^^ ^t''^'' gushed forth as he UD ciari«L^i^ ^""'^ Pi-esenthr why vou must cease to follow up Clmssa-why you must think o/her with respect, and Ouilfj/, or Not Gutlty. speak of her with tenderness, but never dream of lovo as con- nected with her. ' "YouwiUP— you will tell me why everything worth living for 18 to be yours P Why aU are to bow and cringe before you, and to be hail, fellow, and well met,' with me P Why you are to lord It on two thousand, and I on five hundred a-year P Why you are to strike me with impunity, as you would your hound ? W Y-f *^*^.!T?"lf ^ ^ ^®^° ^« *o ^6 torn from my life to adorn yours P And i will teU you in return, that I hate, that I loathe, that I curse you I— ves, from the depths of a broken heart I curse you ! And as lor Clarissa, I wiU never give up the pursuit— never, never, never I ' ° i i » •' Yes, you will, now at once, and for ever, when I tell you. When 1 swear to you by the heaven above us, that she is mine ! Come, brother, forgive me ! Shako hands, and Hsten to me. My own Clarissa is " As the beloved name passed his lips, the spirit of the first murderer entered the breast of the younger brother. How oft the means to do ill deeds make ill deeds done ! " ^ ±lis gun was loaded and cocked. In the fiend-like rage, envy, jealousy, and revenge of his heart, he took aim at the noble beloved, and beautiful young form before him. Lord Haute- 1^'7a^a * ^^^ ^^y' sprang up with a bound, and then fell, in a nuddied mass, on the ground, while, from the wound in his breast, the crimson blood welled forth, and a little rill from that l^\i^}^;^P/;''^S''^l^rother'a heart, came trickling rapidly down to Wilfred 8 cold feet. The ground on which Lord HauteviUo stood when the fatal shot was fired, was rising ground ; and down, down, quickly down, as if in pursuit of the fratricide, came the red fife-blood, and Wilfred rushed from the spot with horror. He felt as if that blood would engulf his very soul. Yes, It was done I But was he a murderer P Life might not be quite extinct. ^ "No eyes have seen, no ears have heard what passed between us! he said to himself He thought he could hasten home through the fields, pretend to be about to summon Ferret and ms son, and be by Hauteville's side in time to succour him if life were not extinct, and so divert aU suspicion from himself if he were indeed dead. All happened as he had expected. . He gained the courtyard ot the castle unseen, leaped into his own room at the open window, called Ferret and Joe, his son, the stopper, and saying he wanted to get a bra<;e of pheasants for a friend, he led the way to the Black Wood, as it was called. Altogether about an hour had elapsed since he had left that «)ot, with the brand of Cain upon his brow, and the curse of cam on his hfe, and on his heart. Twice as he approached the ovo as con- OuiHij, or Not Guilty. 7 dreadful spot a pheasant rose ; twice ho took aim, and twice ho missed his aim; and old Ferret and his Joe marvelled, for Wilfred was what they called a "naihng shot," and seldom missed. At ength they reached the little amphitheatre of grass, surrounded bv yews, holUes, and ilex-trees. I Wilfred's knees shook ; his heart seemed to die in his I breast. "Whatever ails Dido P" said old Ferret ; « what's ^o snuffing so hard at ? Lord have mercy upon us ! Whatev i has been up here? The ground's all stained with blood ! Oh 1 there's been a murder done here ! '' " My brother ! " gasped Wilfred's conscience against his will, ile did not dare to glance where ho knew he had left his I brother. "Ay, Mr Wilfred, it's my lord's gun a-lying here, sure enougn; and how it came here, or whose blood's been shed, jwhos to guess? k ^^^^mf ^^ *^^^? ^ovAs, slowly and nervously turned his inead. Iherewasthe blood-stained spot; the long grass, bent and clotted with gore, where his brother had fallen ; but, aUvo r^wM?' A "^ °^ ^^^ brother was no longer there ! Wilfred was not imaginative— he was not superstitious. I ^ome poachers have murdered him," he gasped out, "and Lrrps'o? ffi." '^'' "^ "^ '' "^ ^^^ *^-^ ^^^^^ «^^p« ^^ T ^1^' *^^i^ terrible track was to be seen, from the spot where Lord Haut^eville had fallen, along the path through the wood, across the fields, and to the entrance of the villa of old Croft, the agent. The iron gates were open, the terrible track was on the wide gravel path, and glared frightfully on the broad stono I® lyr'iZ" i^i^ ^^^^^^y housekeeper had carefully pipeclayed. I Wilfred Lorraine was not, at that time, a ' ardened villain. ±118 heart was new to the sense of actual crime ; and when the parish doctor came downstairs, and not seeing him, said to the gamekeeper, whom he recognised, "This is a bad job. Ferret. It's all over— he's dono for! w^?°j^ *o break It to the Earl and his brother? " fl 1,1^ consciousness forsook him : he fell insensible on tho \^Th ^^5- ^^ "*'"''' *° ^^"^'^^^ ^^ ^""^ lying on the sofa in \rl:.k , 5 ^'"''^^l^T ' *^'^ ^°^*«^ ^^« V ^ side, and Mr. 1.1 oft stood at a little distance, his arms folded, and eyeing him .. iir" ^^Pression before which Wilfred cowered. LmJl • '-'T' ^Z^'^]" said Mr. Croft, with a curious ' emphasis on tho wnrri " liUo f^ -«- ^ ■r,"*-"^-^ A ---" Vr,oii "^ f1*'''^'," ^^^ °°^'' ^^i^ed title sounded like a knell. He had not thought of the fact, that his brother's death made him Lord HauteviUe, heir to the earldom— the future Lord 8 Ouiltii, or Not Ouilty. Eockalpmo. Bitterly as he had grudged his brother those titles. It was not for their sake ho had done that dreadful deed— it was done in the wild height of those bad passions which had long smouldered m his breast, and which the blow he had received! ^d the announcement that Clarissa was his brother's, had wrought to the highest. But, oh ! the vain remorse— the deep and shuddering chill ! No coronet could remove the brand of L nn trom his brow; no star, no ermine, could lighten his breast of its secret load of crime and anguish. It seemed that some labourers, returning from their day's iTS rf .i^'l'^- ""^7^'^*,^ ?"° *^^"? i* ^o^ld be to be a youig loid, hke the heir of Rockalpine, and to have no work to do but to shoot at will over thof 3 preserves, where, if they broueht down a bird, or shot a hare, they would be punished as poachirs, came suddenhr on ih^ object of their envy, bleeding to death in hismasteVwd^^ ^^^^'^^^^""^^^^^^^ ^^ he watched by They at once inspected that he had been killed in an affray To!? ^TS desperate poachers who infested the estate, and the "ame of Rough Rob passed from hp to lip. ^r^A- ffT'"'' disputing what to do, Mr. Croft came up, and directe(f them to get a Eurdle from the nearest fence, and to carry the victim to his house, which was much nearer and more a<;cessible than the castle H^h^A^^''^ HauteviUe was laid on the bed, and somerestora- « w vi^T ad°ii.^ptered, he rallied a little. Mr. Croft was dor^nr'^fL^''?' 7M^ *^? ^"^ ^^"*' «°«^« i^ search of the newstotSari. ^ ^l^^gyman, and to break the terrible InJ^Ti the parson and the doctor came, he was breathing his last, and to the questions they put as to who had done the deed, he either could not or would not return any answer. ' TTJ^!/=^m^''''t*^'',H!' ^^**^^ *^^° ^^^^^'i ^aye been expected. He had still an heir left ; that heir was his favourite son ».nt.T''T/i''''^''^^* sat upon the body-that beautiful and noble body ! so lately warm with health and youth, and now cold clay Many circumstances conspired to throw suspicion on Eougl' in '^^'^ff Rob's father, also a desperate poa<;her, had been killed Sd Rnr^lf^ kV^ under-gamekeeper of Lord Hauteville's, ^Ai .T S*"^ ^^^ ^^^"^ ^^^^^ ^"^ «^^»^ 1^0 ^o^ld have blood tor blood Meantime, he owed the young lord a grude-e for l^nn^S,f'\^'''' ^T'{^^^ ^°^- ^^ ^^^^d not satisfactorily account for himself at the time of the murder. And all thesb things coming out at the inquest, the verdict found by the Quilty, or Not Ouilhj. iry, and proclaimed in a loud, triumphant voice by their preman, was one of "Wilful Muuder" jigainst Eobin Redna+h, commonly called Rough Roh. Rough Rob was hooted as he was carried ott" to the nearest lagistrate by three policemen, and the crowd that followed Ihe fly in which he was driven would gladly have torn him limb from limb. CHAPTER III •• Why did she lovo him ? Curious fool, be still f Is human love the growth of human will ? To her he might be gentleness." Byhon loTJGH Rob stood in the dock, with a policeman by his side ; ind even through the bronze of his weather-beaten face, there ■vas a pallor which all present attributed to conscious guilt. There was also a visible tremor throughout his frame, and a luskmess about his voice. He was not an ill-looking man exactly, but he had something of the down-skidking look of the babitual poacher. His poor wife, with a babe at her breast, was in court, re^pmg bitterly; she had persuaded him to smooth his shaggy tiair, and plaster it down with grease, and to wash his face, ^he thought his wild look would go against him with the nagistrate. She was a beautiful, devoted young creature, passionately attached to him. He wore an old velveteen Bhootmg-jacket, with large horn buttons, and, owing to his Marys forethought, he looked much more respectable, but luch less picturesque, than usual. Rough Rob's examination elicited that, on the day of the lurder, he was out on the sly with his gun, and a lurcher, ■which he said had followed him. L T^^^ ™ned that he wis not obliged to criminate himself, ■but that his words would be used in evidence against him, he |said^n a tone very meek and subdued for such a ruffian— My lord, or rather, your worship— I can't criminate myself, and nobod> can't criminate I ; I'm as innocent of this black Ideed as the unborn babe, or as your lordship, which I means your highness. Why, it seems but yesterday that my young lord, and Master Wilfred, and I (poor hunted cretur that is *iow), wor all lads together. Father wor an earth-stopper then, 3n the estate, and I kept birds ; and I was always a dab at ishmg and setting traps and lines, and rat-catching, and all nanner. And when my young lord and Master Wilfred came lome from Eton, the first person they axed for were" Rough tob ; and they'd get up o' the dark mornings, unbeknown, and 10 Ouilty^ or Not OiuUy. r^er^<^tl"r:^'S^%^]^l^ «M- I t-"g^*'<^- to shoot, of tLir own anTi tanJhf 'n T *5T "^^^^ *"'«ted with ono flies ' And thnn„h T ^ V''"' *° f'^' »"^ "^ako their own ahareorarabbifcfnr^L Vn f- ^a^^^ t l^ecause a man 'ud shoot If my youne lord^' «^rf?« f'^^^^^"^' J^^^^us mischief-makers, the tr/th af d that Ro .IpT ^T"? "«' *^^ ^"«^« ^ ^P^aks life, would have shetew^^^^^ ^^^i^^ bispreW.s I've got to say mv lord T'^ « i^ T.^ ^™- '^*'''*'« ^" about it. than i b^" mnoceut of this crime, nor more cut up the policemrby Sr ^^^"^«' ^ air of t|J: ^SpL^^^^ te,\H.^'« ^ace too well, far frn^??-' t^*^ ?.^^ a fine estate, preserved'rigidly. and so tttTente^'lfoSer^^ any amount of crime ^Tn,f i. ?? u\''5''''«°' ^^^ ^^P^^le of out iHhrdark wnnH w^?>.T^ ^""^ had owned that lie was no one present was at aU sm|rised whenfarTho dose of wt Ouilty, or Koi Ouilty. H 'em to shoot, ated with ono ko their own Jat'ning or so hich ho dono 3ting the hen 5n— I'd have id tears filled f, and added, the cupboard at hor empty lan 'ud shoot d he's got a ild things is he'd known who'd often fvould never hief-makers. ws I speaks his precious . That's all r, but there more cut up I a curious Bcial air of ice too well. Hy; and so )ught them capable of lat he was ime of the words, and king away )n whom a ing in that any ill-will Jular, that, night have out effort, >r he knew said; and ose of his Ing oration, he committed Rough Rob to prison to take his KttI at the assizes for the wilful murder of Lord Hauteville. I piercing scream — a heart-rending scream — a wife's, a loman's scream— rang through the court as the magistrate Vonounced this sentence; and Rough Rob's pretty young ife, with hor babe at her breast, fell in a dead swoon into the ktendcd arms of some kind sympathising woman near her. |no young and nursing mother took the poor babe from its kother's cold exhausted l)rca8t, and warmed and nurtured it \ her own. They tended the poacher's wifo aa if they liad Den her sister. How kind the poor always are to the afflicted, the distressed, ie disgraced ! And what a sublime lesson do they give the Ich, who fly from the lost and ruined, hko rats from a failing ouse or a sinking ship ! ° Rough Rob was at once removed to the County Jail, and le hissings and hootings, and the execrations of the mob vhich had followed him to the police court), assailed him aa ? left it. Alas for Rough Rob and his pretty young wife, just recover- [ig to a sense of her misery ! The day of his brother's funeral was a terrible one for the atricido. On the plea of illness, both the proud old Earl and Wilfred, lOrd Hauteville, had kept aloof as much as possible during le investigations and proceedings, but they could not absent lemselves from the funeral. Rough Rob, on his wretched pallet in Morpeth Jail, innocent f the crime for which he was now committed, was in a state f bhss, of beatitude, compared to the fratricide on the bed of .own, that to him seemed full of thorns, when waked from ideous nightmares by the toll of the funeral bell booming on lis ear. He rose and dressed himself hastily, nervously, for the partment seemed to him full of shades that took his murdered mother's form. How tedious, how dreadful were the preparations ! How 'avely officious were the undertaker and his assistants with he hat-bands, scarfs, and gloves ! How horrible the whispers among the guests ! for guilt ia always afraid of a whisper. How sickening the smell of all Jthe gloves, hatbands, scarfs, and, above all, the funeral cake ™and wine ! The long drive in a mourning-coach was madden- ■mg ; slow, slow, slow, was the well-trained horses' pace, for ■they followed the hearse. What a black forest of plumes I 12 OuiUy, or Not OuiUy. Kwpf tTr *^^ 'i*^'" ^"^ ^^"^'^V ^""^'^t^ J ^ g^e^<^ crowd m>nnTnr ft ""T^ proccssion. tho deceased had been so popular-the murder liad caused so intense an excitement. TnrTo^ 1 J-"* ."""v tJio churchyard were soon filled, so were the anos leading to it. All the well-to-do were in decent mourn- l?rn;«^ •!? i- P°°''''^* ^^"""^ rummaged up some bit of crape, brown with time or an old faded black 'ribbon. The poor r&^.?l ^^T?^' '^^^^'' ^^ S'«^^« ^^^« a"«"ed them, were £ffrien7»''Tt*^/°-?^ ^°'^'^ ^""^^^^5 *^« ^^d been their uest triend! The fratricide's greatest trial was in the church anH ?lf '^"^!^ ^i *^? "°^^ «" *^^° *^'«««el«' covered bfthe pall he rnn?H ^ *^ ""Y '^ ^^^^^ained, and how it had come to pass ^reservi-nr'^''^^ suppress a shriek, but an instinct of self! ToTZtZSri^t^ l^^ wentthrough it with all outward de- K warin^th^ ?am5; .'a^^ ^^^ ' ^' "^^ «^^^ ^ *^^ ^^"^ " And dust to dust was given 1" oMFlr^nL^i.^'P^'"'!^^',^'''^ J^^ ^^^^ coach bore the proud om ±iarl and his son back to the Castle. The dreadful day was over, and night came at last' The tTeTarT/' ^^'^ ^f ' ^^^ ^^\^^^^ ^^^^^ f^« was mfrrored in TZT^ ' ^^^^-^^ through the Eockalpine estate. The pine- retal b?,uZ*^' f^^ T^^ ^^^^ ^^PPe^ ^'^ silver b/ her regal bounty, and the wild moors beyond were flooded bv her raaiance and seemed almost as bright as by day ^ r.1 A V * 1"^*^ ^0^ over his brows, and an amnle through r«f°^ a'' ^?^' ^^"'^^^' ^°^d Hiute^L! gSfed through that wood on his way to the lone hovel on tho ^nniT oncej|e wretched abode of B^ Rob! and sIm inhabitTb^ from*" thI?VnfL^'''''^l K^^' °^ experience, or will learn T^JT' ' ''**'^''l' ^^""^ terror, angiifsh, and self-Ioathine fu t W."hr«'Sr;:^\^ ""Ti^ °°* ^^^^ ^« l^eart from onesS? before "^h; ^t^"\^T^ *^^^ °"" ^* °^ ^^^^ ? ^ ^cek ago. oeiore the deed that damns eternally was done." Wilfred Lojaine and his brother had gone outsat night, by different t^n^A^Z^V'^'^''^^^':^' ^^^ ^^ ^g^^^d t^o me/t a a cer- tain old grand fir-tree in that wood ! crime'" ^Ki?^^ ""^ u^^'-^^ *^^^ ^« ^^^ committed no rS?,V« f half-moon shone then on a blooming, handsome resolu e face, a fine manly form, a firm foot. Itow. iC^Al eSunk ab°l '''i 'J'^^'' ^y? «^^^^d and hoUowed.'a fig^i^e Wthof?h«r?''?.'J^'^'^^t,n^^' uncertain step. In eVery breath of the night wmd he hears his brother's sigh; ever? Ouilty, or Not Quilty. 13 3180 startles him; every ebon shadow cast by the silver lamp ^lught takes his brother's form; and the flitting of a fhite owl from tree to tree seems to him his brother's ghost bmmg out of the httle grassy amphitheatre where he fell, to ammon him to follow him to the grave. The Innocent, hiw- rcr hapless go through a long life, without knowing a tithe f the angmshHautevillo felt in that midnight walk to Rough lob s hut on the moor Ho wildly rushed past the trees that hclosed the scene of the murder, and did not stop till ho came \xt upon the purple moor. He felt a little less of abject terror on the moor than he had i)no in the Black Wood, but still there came cold drops on his brehead; his knees shook under him; and he had a horrible bnso of being pursued. [Ho hurried across the wild moonlit moor, and at length Ime in view of Rough Rob's hovel. It was a wretched little bttage of clay, standing m a mtch of potato and cabbage ^ound,anda gnome-hke old thorn and a few furze-bushls bse to It. As in all cottages in Northumberland, where coals Je so cheap and abundant, a mound of coal-dust and ashes Bjomed the house, and a shed full of coal formed part of the [There was a light in the small window, and through a broken fcno came a voice of wild and exquisite sweetness, singing a Irt of lullaby. e> es " J Hauteville listened. The air was changed to the old nursery Itty— originally the lullaby of a poacher's wife :— "Bye, Baby Bunting, Daddy's gone a-hunting, Gone to find a pussy's skin To wrap his precious baby in. Bye, Baby Bunting 1" l"Och hone! och hone!" sobbed the singer. "Och hone' Jiat It were thrue, my darUnt, then we'd have him soon back lul us— but now ! Och hone ! och hone ! Holy Virgin nro- Ict my puir Rob ! I've lighted a candle till ye ; and to you. bod bamt Robert, my puir Rob's pathron saint ! And so I till though I can ill afford it, for a month to come, if ve'll l-ing him safe back to me. Och hone ! och hone ! " I Lord Hauteville pushed open the cottage door, and stood in fie only room It boasted. The young wife had just risen from er knees, and stood with a candle in L^ hand, which she had ?lited m true Irish fashion, by thrust ^ it between tL> bars, K. was just going to fix it in a iitiie tin shrine, in which pint Robert was placed. The candle threw a strong light on Rob's wife. She was a eautiful young Irish girl, of that type which the inspired 14 Ouilttf, or Not Quiltij. pencil of Edmund Fitzpatrick lias immortalisod. Slio was ono of that influx of IrLsli mipors who, in tho harvest season, como over t<) tho North of England and fill thu golden corn-fiolda with beauty, mirth, and Hong. Hautovillo thought, as who Htood before him, that Hho onlv wanted a whcat-Hheaf on her head to bo the bmu-idml of a Ruth, only that thoro was moro ot tho wild daring of a daughter of Erin than of the meek sweetness of the voung Hebrew widow. She was tall, and though she had the strong broad shoulders (mercifully given to the poor, who have so much to boar), yet they had a grace- lul tall, and her waist " fine by degrees and beautifully less " was marked bv a scarlet bodice, while her short blue serjro skirt showed her fine leg and neat foot and ankle in red stockings and buckled shoes. A yellow handkerchief crossed nor tull and lovely bosom. Her head was proudly set on a long round sun-burnt throat; her abundant black hair, gathered under a Pamela cap, was braided in pretty ripnloa across a fine brow, and formed a soft frame to a face of irreat beauty; large, wild blue eyes, with long black lashes, and iefc cvobrows, a pretty straight nose, a short upper lip of soft rod. the under one fuller, and of a brighter scarlet, and both, when she spoke, disclosing white, even, and glittering teeth! Tho baby, a fine little fellow, lay in a cradle covered with hare- skins, which she had stitched together. The fire burned brightly, but the cupboard was bare, and Mary had tasted nothing that day but a cup of tea and a cake forced upon her, after Rob was carried off to Jail, by the vountr nursing mother who had taken charge of her baby when she tainted, and who had compelled her to rest awhile in her poor tittle lodging and eat a morsel, and share that panacea of^^tho poor, " a cup o tea." Mary when she perceived Lord Hauteville, dropped a verv low curtsey, and wiping down a chair with her apron, said, Plase your honour to be sated ; ye may rest ye in mv Rob's poor cabin, my lord, for the blood of yer blissed brother is aot on his hand or his sowl! He's bearing the shame and the pun- ishment he never desarved 1" ^ In spite of his passionate and persistent love for Clarissa. Wilfred, or rather Hauteville, had often been struck with the rare beauty of the wild Irishwoman of the moor, and at any other time he could not have refrained from telling the lonely unprotected beauty how splendid a creature he thought her and from trying at least to lead her into the slippery paths of dalhance; but the consciousness of a great crime sat on the young man s heart, and crushed out aU its lighter foibles and vanities. Beauty was nothing to him now— Love saw nothing. He Guilty, or JVoi Onilhj. 15 rorTd^^c'vcrr"' '^^^'"««-^--r -^ >- -i-o, and jo luMl resol V0.1 that Rouffli Rol, slio.ild not bo l,ro„ffht to lil; no not It ho hoKgarcl lnm.s..lf to l.rcsoi.t it Bu thi« iovo dul no 8pnng from tho horror of ho thought of d:^ormilt!^^V;;^■^""^ "?'.''-^'-J I'ttlo wJIS in t this thougfit tho murderer shook n« wJ^i! VV , ibo the jai er, whom ho know n iiVfi//- i V i , ' "° wouhl 'inrcent but vof h^l fii^^ 'P^'\°^ apncarancos. ho bolirod i^mnocent, but yet he felt sure bcwould bo found guilty and lo?tu\^''''^-??^*^'^"^' ^'^d to l^^">e very high for tho Kudt, and that Eob on,!; aafo off.r sCtJld Kho 'mor°o ptri^^:trx.!tMii2r:r^;?di^^^^^ 16 ChiiUy, 0r Not Ouilty. V ) could manage that Rob Hhoiild oscapo from jail, you would bo willing to go to Australia with him Y " " Would 1 ? Oh, vor honour, wouldn't I go wid Rob whoro- cver God aiul ho pluses P Hut why need ho oscapoP He's innocent us his bubo in the cradle there ; and why should ho ilee like a guilty cratur P " " Because, guilty or not guilty, he's sure to be condemned — circumstantial evidence is so strong against him. Well, as I Buid before, for the sake of old times, and the love my poor brother once had for Rob, I'll contrive an opportunity for you to see 1 im, and to tell him to loosen a bur of his window. You'll give liim this book to wile away the time. It is called •The Prisoner's Help and Guide;' and so it is, in sooth, for look, in tlie bjick is a easeful of tools — you touch this spring, BO, and then they appear. Well, tell him to tie his bed-clothes together, and let himself down from the window on the leads, in the dead of to-morrow night, and then to make for the creek, where he will find you, your bf>bo, and the boat awaiting him." " Oh ! yer honour," said Mary, " how will I ever thank yor ? But will not my poor Rob be overheard and stopped P " " No ; I've managed all that.'* " The Saints and the BUssed Virgin reward yor as yer de- serves ! " said Nora. Wilfred winced and shuddered. " I understand, it's gold is the key as will let my Rob out. And is there no odor hope ? If they will find him guilty that's innocent of all but shooting wild things, which, we both thinks. He who cares for the Poor and feeds the ravens sint more for them, than for the Rich ; for haven't you yor Cfi] ons' and yer ducks, and yor noble jints, and hot soups, and sw .en. ad wo almost dying of hunger, agra? Very true, it's p.v,>.h' ,c J. law; and Rob's being a poacher will set all the judge;^ agamst him." " He has no other chance ; will you do what I have explained to you P" •'Och hone! och hone!" cried the poor wife. "I'm sorely ten, ted; but what's to become of his good name P" "Vv - " 't' ould not suppress a ghastly smile at the thought of the i^-y. nam( jf Rough Rob, the notorious poacher. " Osi}. :o.'.:e I" she ?' led, glancing mournfully at the babe in the < '{..die " Maybe, y her fivjjy bosom. "No no no n.?f If^ ^''''''' **"^ '^^'^ting iaea^ZrZn?'^''' ''''' ^^" -^i^^' ^0- c^ot endure the tubs.'^ Fn prayt" lim^fo^^^^^^^^ ''f ^"^« ^^^ «^- »"- the yet I may not be act ing hko aCl 1 '''' ^"'•.^'^y'" «"ko; u„d mnicent, and yet would have hKn^""^'*^ "I-'f^' ^"^ ^ ''"^w him longcircuLusJt^^^^^^^^^^^^ poSnralSl^S^^^^^^^^ ^-t discontent and disap. no trace was discovered of him or hif^.-f^'^S ^" P^^^s^it ; bit It was not till he had been So fwni ^^i ^""^ ^^^^^- ^^ fact, gave the alarm. ^'*''° ^^^^^^ ^ours that the jailed toS'lSlft^tre'^^^^^^^^ ^-fh Robhadagreed were hunting wooLannoves S^^^ ^^^ K town rooms and country hovels Rou^^^^^ child, were sailing across the briad pSifi ""^'A^^'i^T,^'" ^^^^ ^«d heart was hght, for he wn« ?r.^^ V^^^f ' ^^ ^^ough Rob's world to eacf other as Tong as Th v' ^^ ?' '^^^ ""''' ^" *^' Mary cared not whither the^y ^ent ^ ^^ *°^^^^^^' ^° ^^d his But even he could nnf l Tow i hind, and he m^de^C M^; seek 3T"5^S^^'« °^"^^ ^^- exact a promise from him t^^We ^n J"^""^ Hauteville. and cover the real murderer ami f^^ ""P. «*o°« unturned to dis- black a blot, the name of Rough Rob. ' ^''^ *° '^'^' ^^"^ «« CHAPTER IV THE escape of Roue-h Pr^K i «. " , -^-'-" ^i«uy. mind ofWone !tw^''eWdenT/°;'"/'''« ««"* »- the Of .rideace that ^ould'to Z^t ^Zll^' "^ '''^ «»»«« 18 Ouilty, or Not Guilty. His crafty and daring r>scape was a nino days' wonder, and then other events occurred to excite and occupy pubUc atten- tion, and Eough Eob sank into comparative oblivion. Nearly a year had passed, and Wilfred, Lord Hauteville, had hoped that when Rough Rob was far away, and the perils of the trial were averted, he should be able to sleep and rest. Alas ! like Macbeth, he had " murdered sleep," and driven rest from his life and soul. The old Earl had always lived in comparative solitude. He was a lonely being, and had but one passion, almost always cul- tivated in soHtude— Avarice. To hoard was his great delight ; the chink of the ruddjr gold was the only sound he loved to hear ; money-bags and iron chests were his chosen companions. This vice, for surely it is a vice, and a very mean one, hke Moses' rod, swallowed up all others. As a young man he had been proud, vain, and a great wor- shipper of beauty, as his marriage proved. He had been am- bitious. Now he was nothing but a miser. And he spent as much time, and used as many arts to conceal his hoards and to tell them over, as if the ghttering piles were not his own by right, but stolen from others. He had no interest in his son, or in anything but his gold. ^ And Lord Hauteville's loneliness had become so odious and intolerable — for a bad conscience is a guest never so unendur- able as in solitude — ^that he resolved to marry ; to marry some heiress, who would rejoice to barter her wealth for a title and a future coronet, and with whom he could live in the gay world, whose noise, tumult, and din would, he hoped, drown the " still small voice." There was a lady of fabulous wealth, on whom Wilfred had long cast an eye. She belonged to his own county, and lived in a new but gorgeous hall, some fifteen miles from Rockalpine Castle. Her father was one of the greatest of our princely coal-masters. He was a self-made man ; and was M.P. for the northern division of his native county. Sir James Armstrong was a very fine, manly fellow; but Miss Armstrong, though pretty and accompMshed, was, at heart, vulgar, ambitious, and ashamed of her poor relations and low origin, and resolved to obtain that unquestionable rank and po- sition which a grand marriage alone would ensure. She had always intended to be mamed to Lord Hauteville ; and thouo-h he at whoni she had aimed was in his grave, yet a Lord HaiMe- ville was still to be had, and she resolved to have him. Worldly as she was, she was oniy seventeen, and singularly elegant and pretty. > Lord Hauteville, having ascertained that Pride had been so completely swamped by Avarice in his father's breast that he mnder, and iblic atten- i. teville, had )erils of the est. Alas ! n rest from litude. He always cul- at delight; tie loved to Qmpanions. Q one, like great wor- d been am- fcie spent as irds and to his own by in his son, odious and unendur- larry some title and a gay world, 1 the " still 'ilfred had , and lived Rockalpine ir princely :.P. for the bllow; but IS, at heart, IS and low ak and po- She had nd though )rd Haute- Worldly egant and d been so it that hQ I Guilty, or Not Ouilty, 19 i was willing to receive the low-bom heu-ess as a daughter-iu- - law, resolved to wait on the young lady. He determined to ride over to Armstrong Hall, quietly and unattended. He had now a great dread, a vague but terrible dread, of servants gossip, and so he would not take a groom lie was too great, and his position too lofty and too well under- stood, tor ^im to care, hke a meaner suitor, for pomp or display. 1' ^'^Ti.'^ld ride over and see the young lady, and, if she welcomed him, he would make very short work of it, and get ner to name the day. * It was a glorious morning in August. The sun shone as it does m Italy. Its intense brilliancy created a solitude on the moors, grouse shooting had not yet commenced, and the fo- rests and the woods were cool and pleasant in comparison. L.ord Hauteville rode over to Armstrong Hall. He was kept some time waiting before the young lady appeared. She was making an elaborate toilet. At length she appeared, over- dressed, but looking very pretty. She proposed to show Lord I iiauteviUe a new annual m her own parterre. She culled for • ' If ^*.u A*^"^f ^? ^^^y ^^^g** ^"^^ of a pale lilac, which was I caUed the Annabella, after herself I Wim-ed held, for a moment, the Mr Httle hand which, with- I ou^ a flutter, remained in his, saying, ; _ " WiU you make this heart's-ease an everiasting flower, bv i gmng me the hand that offers it ? " ® **«»"/ The young lady replied, " If papa consents, I agree." J And thus did the young lord propose, and thus did the younff lady accept. They were both young, both beautiful-a blue sk? above them, and flowers of every hue at their feet. But this world was too much with them— and their troth was plighted, without a blush on the part of the maiden, or a quickened pulse on that of the suitor. ^ Lord HauteyiUe left Armstrong Hall, and, remounting his P^^JJ' took ills lonelv way back to the castle. i^.7^ 1 ? ^^™sed the moor, just where it adjoined, on one side, Si 1 ixr ' ^ , *^^''' circuitous bridle-road, and, on the other, the iilack Wood,he overtook ataU,shght female form, which suddenly w "f ""R. S^ Y^^^? ^^^?^ furze-bush, and rushed wildly oh towards tlie Black Wood. TW form was very wasted, the dress Z^.^}^'^ ?^' uncared for; the long golden hair streamed over the shoulders ; there was no hat, hood, or bonnet on the little urecian nead: but thprfi wajo nwr^oofu ^.p^-^aa a • corn, and grass, an Opheha wreath— round the pale brow. ,,.f Hauteville grew ghastly pale. He felt, though he did w^f!^ I % u t' ^^ ?''^^^, ^^^ ^°^ ^o^^ed fo^^ was BO wasted— he felt he gazed on Clarissa ! c 2 20 Guiltij, or Not Quilty, He had heard nothing, seen nothing, of that hapless girl since after h'er ^""'^^' ^' ^ ^"* ^^'^^ *° ^^^^ Lr, of S^ He dreaded her anguish, her despair. And there she was and-ohl hoiTor of horrors !-the s^'s rays flamed on somel thing she held in her hand. It was a knife ! Instmctively Lord HauteviUe foUowed her. «T,ilWK ^\ T"^' passing unheeded the water, across the folSZl r ' ??^^^*^r,«itl^« dark wood, and ins inctively he &d'a& cS:r ' "-^^ '^^ P^"^' ""^^ ^- *« - *-' -d ,-„'??^f-L^^^^^*^ • ®^® ^^^ stopped where the evergreens fence ^a^e'of llT'^'^'^P^'^^^^^^^ ^^' ' i^l^-dbeen^a ?J^sUng! " S^e has heard that he died there," said Wilfred to himself and there she means to kill herself." nimseii, And, at the thought, he darted forward, and, just as she knelt on the spot where he had faUen, the fratricide stole behind her and snatched the upraised knife from her hand. ' . Ha, ha! is it youP " shrieked Clarissa, the fire of madness m her eyes "And you wiU not let me join him? HiXhisti do you not ^ow he was mine ? Mine through time and throu Jh eternity ! Ha, ha ha ! I saw it all in a driam. Murderer C Fratricide !-you have killed my darling ! " ' Hush, hush! "said Lord HauteviUe, "you are mad' vou rave ! Let me take you home to your father's house, t^^ IZ stajong there ? Have you escape'd P Where would yo^o P To him ! to him ! to him !" shrieked the manias, teargi/up the Se' ^^^""^^^^ *« g^* fr^^' «^d to reposse;s herTeWf he^tSef ir^'^ ^ut ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^--^' -^ tol^y^ nnwl^'f '''T ^^^ J>u^ ^'^ discovered; she had been at home only a few days, and her stepmother and her attendants were in search of her. Mr. Croft was from home. He was In? S search of some asylum where she could be placed ™al?y, fo? her malady had been increased by her return to her home^ Mrs. Croft was young and pretty, but a very artful time- serving, hard woman ; sle expressed the greatest gratUudTto Lord HauteviUe, who fully impressed upon her th^at Clarissa Croft ought to be placed in a private lunatic asylum as he? mmd was corapletefy gone. He th^n fnot \.\. wal w,f iif? the echo of Clarissa's shrieks long rung in~his eaTf ' ^ By degrees she became calm, and so rational that she was al- lowed to return to the charge of that kind aunt who had been Guilty, or Not Guilty. 21 . as a mother to her Here her malady took the form of a settled ■ melancholy varied by occasional affecting intervals of half, crazy, half-frantic mirth. Here, too, she was allowed the solace ■ of the (H)mpany of her child-a child bom in secrecy, a noble httle fellow, about three years of age Her chief amusement was to twine bridal wreaths and bou- quets, and throw a long muslin scarf over her head Uke a veil, and then, with a garland on her forehead, she would kneel be' fore a couch, as if it were an altar, and place a chaplet on the head of her child, and call him her Hauteville r.o?"?i. ^^ ! ^^^ \^'^^ engaged in the room appropriated to her-(lier aunt was hvmg in a suburb of London, and Clarissa's expenses were defrayed by her father)-when that father ac! compamed by his young wife, arrived at her aunt's. Mrs. j£l ionrwr* Pi^-"'"' ^^^ ^'- ^'^^^ ^^ o^c^ proceeded to the room where Clarissa was. As he opened the door, his sly, smiling wife by his side a spasm contracted his heart and brow. ^ "^ '*" "J" ""^ ^^^®' ^ There was that wreck of beauty, talent, love ! Ihere was Clarissa-poor, crazy Clarissar-veiled, wreathed kneehng before a couch, which she called the altar. a™own: ing with flowers the head of the little child, whom she ad Sla^^dTh".''""'?"'?'-;' ^.^^^ ^^«- Croft perZaded her ?n?fTi ^ *^^* ^ ?ri^^^ ^^°^*^« ^«yl^^ ^as the only fit place ^t^:Z:^^:^^' '' was veiy dangerous to trust'the ?hild tXh'^tL'S'''' ^^' ^""f, ^^r/^ *« a P^i^ate mad-house, httle boy. ^^^ ' ^""^ ■^''' ^"""^^ *°°^ ^^^^g^ o^ t^^ The parting from her child was the overflowing drop in Clarissa s cup of bitters. She did not survive her Removal o The Happy Home " more than a month. The same day that saw Clarissa laid in her quiet grave at fMTnPZjT^' '7 ^°r^ HauteviUe united to Annabe^a, only and thl ZTf^^!^S^''''^' ^^^*-' ^■^'' of Armstrong Park, wealth chuckling over this addition to the family CHAPTER y. "S.K,'^"* T?"^; ' ^*" give thee this plague for thy dowry- Jhn^'lV.n^'/''^^ ^^ ^''^' «« P"^« «« unsunned BDow,^ ^^ p< f-.,!.?roi5j. Hamlet. TH^REjras a good deal of whispering among the old maids nPptrZi ! country town nearest to Kockalpine), and scraggy necks were stretched, and quaint old heads met over the te?- 22 Ouilty, or Mt Guilty. to Croft Villa abeaSrM litfi. vT "j??, •"•ought back with him called his era^dsZ Thl it m^ °^ '•''T 5"'="'^ °'''- '^t"'" 1>« dood wore Ed Mrs Croft'"''* ™ '" "'«'? "•"■^"S. as in- an'^o^h^'* ™' named Arthur Bertram, a.d was introduced as attacked by Sffevfr^^ heart that she had been flveptedgeTofter aSfe^i^'^tht^^^PT'?'*'^ ^^ '-d with ss-d "- «^^^^ 5^«:"i^h4tri^^dTc^^'s ^df^ffiv""* V "^J " *"™«J o"?«act^rtheXj°C*' an-df^hJ fXr^Sret^eSTffL^Tf-^ provision for the litUe Sr^Snate ^K th'rh^''^ ""f ^ "? at once to some orphan asylum ^''""''' """* ■■« ''as not sent baSrd^-c^l'^dtr^lfe^sStt ''slT™/'^'''' «^^^-' =ti-\rLa^v-^r'5?SB^^^^^^^^ s=Tn^d'L^o';?:,rK^,SS5 K^^^^^^^ ^ff,??„t^.''l*?">d -*,{i™ on to an'e\t:mroSt:" tT^ Tning, as in- ntroduced as Guilty, or Not Guilty. £3 : the two thousand per annum which his murdered brother had ■ enjoyed, and an estate of considerable value, which his father's mother had entailed on the eldest surviving son of the house of Kockalpme and which was to be his absolutely on his attaining the age of twentv-fiye. This estate, which was called BeecS Park, was m Berkshire, close to Windsor Forest, and it in due time became the country seat of Lord and Lady HauteviUe Lord Hauteville was, of course, in his inner self, a. miserable man, for the consciousness of guilt sat heavy on his soul, and the possibihty of detection often palsied him Vith fear. But he tried to lose the memory of the Past in poUtical excitement! He entered Parhament, he studied oratory, and became a popular speaker He appHed himself to finance, and b^amo useful to his party. He set charities on foot, promoted Se bmldmg of schools and reformatories, and the ameUoration of prison disciphne. His name headed every subscription for the good of the masses. He had a morbid craving for that poudar esteem, which he weU knew he had forfeited; andhew6rked incessantly to obtain present power and popularity, and to drown thoughts of the future an^ the past. ^^"^"j"' ^^ *<^ In ;^8 own family, he was cold, stern, reserved; but he let Lady HauteviUe have her own way, and aUowed her to spend aa brou hThii a considerable portion of the income sL ha4 There was no affe#on, no sympathy between them ; but then por. op, there was none of the jealousy of love, none of its dissensions. Whatever other noblemen twho stood high a^ husbands and fathers) did by their wives and chUdren. hi did^ and the world quoted him as amoral man, a religious man a good husband, and , model father ! ' iCT^i^^ rt^' ^^ ^% ^^ ^^u ""f ^^^ • " "^^^ ^o^ld Kttlo dreamt that the hand so ready with the annual subscription or the large donation was red with a brother's blood ; or that the ereat reformer, who was so anxious about the moral improvementand sanitary condition of our prisons, ought to be hin^self a prisoner in I^ewgate, and to cross its threshold only for the scaffold lime roUed on ; Lord HauteviUe stood very high both idth the few in power and with the many to whom tfey owe that £r^'':i, ^A }^}'^^'' for some time member for iockalpine when the death of one of the county members gave him an on portimity of offering himself as a candidate fof noStbu L" one of the M.P.'s for North N . His poUtics and prSe' were of the popular kmd (then in the ascendant). His fam 1 v . -J Qrv.jit;, lixvr xiOuivaipiiiu property was verv large ; but the election was fiercely contested by two other can didatea. of even greater family wealth and influence; and yet Lord HauteviUe was returned. His reputation carried it I 24 GuiUy^ or Mi Chiiliy. So good, so gifted, so useful ! A man not merely of such Tirtuous and noble thoughts and principles, but a man of action, too ! A moral man, a pious man, a good churchman. Not a fay man ; there were no sad stories afloat about him. It was a erce contest, and a great triumph, and it was followed by a greater still. A change in the ministry caused three important vacancies. One of them was offered to Lord Hauteville. He had always longed for office— not merely on account of the power it gave him, but for the sake of the absorbing occupation it ensured, the engrossing labour it compelled. These promised a safe and constant refuge from thought. ^ Of course, previous to his accepting the office, he had to re- sign his seat, and to be re-elected. He did not feel quite safe and secure of re-election ; for not only a guilty conscience made him afraid of everything and everybody, but he had received several anonymous letters, written in a mysterious, a menacing, and to him a very startling tone ; warnmg him that he had a secret foe, and that he had better not carry his head so high, nor look down on better men than himself; that he was not horn to he drowned, and was better known than he imagined. To any man of Lord Hauteville's position, blest with " the Ermcely heart of innocence," these anonymous attacks would ave api)eared as the result of private or political pique, and he would either have burnt them at once, o» have put them into the hands of a detective. But not so Lord Hauteville. They drove the blood from his cheek, they shook Mm as the ague might have done. They made his flesh creep, his 'knees knock together, his head swim, and his heart sink. They might mean nothing ; they were couched in the ordi- nary cant of those meanest of the weapons of vulgar, coward, and vile enmity— anonymous letters. The words " not horn to he drowned " would have made an innocent man of Lord Haute- ville's rank, station, and reputation laugh ; but to him, the murderer, the fratricide, who knew in his secret heart that he deserved to be hanged, those words made him feel as if a rope were tightening itself round his throat. However, after the first servile palsy of fear, he roused him- self. He thrust the letters into the fire; and hearing that Lady Hauteville was still asleep (she had been up late at a ball the night before), he set ofi'for Cumbercourt (where he wp<,s ex- pected), resolved to do his utmost to ensure his re-election ; for of course on that re-election his being in office depended. Mr. Croft, his father's agent and lawyer, had a good deal to do with the election ; and as Lord Hauteville had a nervous horror of Croft Villa, he sent for Mr. Croft to the Castle. I y of such of action, a. Not a It waa a wed by a vacancies, id always ir it gave ensured, I safe and lad to re- quite safe snce made I received nenacing, he had a so high, ' was not agined. rith " the ks would e, and he hem into from hia e. They ad swim, the ordi- , coward, t horn to d Haute- him, the that he if a rope led him- ng that at a ball ! WP.S ex- ion ; for id. Mr. do with Lorror of I OuiUij, or Mt Guilty. 25 Mr. Croft in his heart owed Lord Hautcville many a bitter grudge. Mr. Croft was a man of very humble origin, and was mean enough to be ashamed of what ought to have been his pride and glory, namely, that he was a self-made man. He had been a charity or blue-coat boy at N ; and when Hautevillo was a younger son, and very haughty, insolent, and overbearing, he once forgot himself so far as to remind Mr. Croft of his origin, and that in presence of several strangers. This he did in revenge for Mr. Croft's complaining to the Earl of the young gentleman's breaking down hisfences.and treading down his corn. Mr. Croft was not a noble-hearted man. He never forgave the boyish affront. However, it was now Lord Hauteville's policy to conciliate Mr. Croft, and Mr. Croft appeared to be conciliated. He was always rather stiff and cold certainly ; but he professed to be at his lordship's service, while in heart he was as bitter as ever. On his arrival at Kockalpine, Lord Hauteville, as usual, waited on the old Earl, who, disturbed in counting over some gold, which he hastily thrust into a drawer, paid little attention to his son's plans and projects. While the son was sitting (as a mere form) opposite to his father, Mr. Croft was announced. Lord Hauteville soon arranged matters with him, and the lawyer took his leave. Lord Hauteville then strolled out. It was a lovely spring day, or rather evening, and Lord Hauteville walked briskly on, to look at the young plantations, and, as he rambled along some newly-made paths, unexpectedly to himself he came to the entrance of the Black Wood. By this time the shades of evening were closing in, and the Black Wood looked blacker than ever. In spite of himself his eye would try to pierce those deep, mysterious shades ; and the memorjr of the dreadful crime he had committed there, came back on his mind with the freshness of yesterday ; when suddenly a tall, hooded female form in black advanced to the entrance opposite to which he stood, and beckoned him to follow her into the wood. Mechanically he obeyed. The "Woman in Bla • ivttx idnight ' ^•liBte -^^"^^ J] Ouiliyy or Not OuiUij. 27 putting some gold into her hot trembling hand. "And hid him keep close, or they'll nalj him ; and if they do, innocent though he be, they'll hang him." The wife turned deadly pale, and hurried off at these words, after dropping a very low, rustic curtsey to his lordship, and calling on the Blessed Virgin and Rob's patron saint to reward him as he deserved ; and Lord Ilauteville, thrilled with horror to find himself standing on the very spot where his brother fell, slain by him, gazed around him with a glance of terror. As he did so, the moon came out — the full moon — and lighted up the tree at whose base his brother had fallen. To his horror, he saw that the exact date of the murder was cut in the bark, and his murdered brother's initials, and his own also. They were picked out with red — that sort of raddle with which sheep are marked ; and under his brother's monogram was a coffin, and under his own a coronet, while a little lower down, t(f his dismay, he saw a gallows deeply cut into the bark of the old tree, marked out in black, and the motto, "I bide my TIME !" legibly chiselled above it. Who had done all that P and what did it mean P Hauteville's heart beat high against his cold breast, as he sped, like one pursued, back to the Castle. # * « # « At midnight, a taj5 at the library window (which he had left partly open) made him start. He hastened to see who was there, and — though looking older, |terner, stouter, and more respectable than of yore — he recognised Rough Rob. His sunburnt face was pressed against the glass of the window, which flattened his nose, and gave him a strange, ogreish, unnatural appearance. The interview was not a pleasant one; for when Lord Hauteville, seeing Rough Rob almost decided on standing his trial, started from his chair with assumed fierceness, and called him a fool, a doomed, predestined, obstinate, pig-headed victim. Rough Rob answered angrily, and was about to leave the room, with the words — " I may be a fool, my lord, and I may be a victim, but I'm not a murderer. And if I don't give myself up like an inno- cent man now, at oust, and stand my trial, I'll not die till I've done it. And I only gives in now because of Mary being so dead agen it, and a man standing so poor a chance if he've got no friend in his pocket to help him." " Well," said Lord Hauteville, " Mary has told me of your them. Name the sum you want, and you shall have it. But get out of this neighbourhood at once, or, as sure as you stand there, you'll be taken, tried, and hanged,'* 28 (Guilty, or Mt Ouiliy. , "I don't beliovo it, my lord." said Unh «t i i- innoccnoo would ho mado Hnn^ oo ,\ 7' ^ beliovo my poZtToolf-aTfiCmli^r^ Hautovillo. taking out his Sow, in Healen Wme^o^^yru'fe^^^^ ^''' ^'^^^'''^ God in Heaven ' Ston f rif 1„ "" ^'f^''* ^' f "^^ ^s there's- a -I was goinTto d^iVTivertrirsJrZ'Crr ' ^^^^^^T await me at t^e cross-road on the moor^ni ?"" ^''^ ^"^^' back on some pretext or anof Tip^L^ t • • " ^^"^^ "7 P^^o™ take up Mary at the old hSt a'^ T'n ? f^ •'"^'^ ?^"- ^^'" *^^^ minutes' walk of the station '' '"^ ^°^ ^°^" ^^^^^ fi^« andRranThis^^^frgS^^^^^^^^ joined Mike O'RouJke at hi. In/-''"'^^^ ^^*^^ '"^^l *^^in. ultimately sailed foriLrLf. IS^''^ '"^ ^*- '^^^««'«' ^nd real culprit. ^^^erica, to the unspeakable relief of the CHAPTER VI. vvith little to wish or to fear • ^.2{!r' '''*". ''^ P'««««°t as hers, T.^ TT ^'«*»t^OTlew her enjoying it iiere." Cowper aXoX'^'H^'rraUag^^^^^^^ --' -^culating, andpower.^ s£ lonS fo be n ^f "JO^^J gave her position coronet and robes SeHnL!: TS*^'"' ^^^ *« «^<^' ^^ her sions; and she Sdld th^ oM °^ ^^^^"z ^° ^^^ ^^^^ occa- protr^ted exiSeTandl W^^^^^^^ ^arl at Roekalj^ine, his he should live onAn-Km?^^^^^^^^ mostof theadvantJeslheL^lo ^''l^''^7^^ *« ^ake the peer's eldest son ^ ^''^ ^""'^^^ ^^ ^er union with a fans, that >arvJ^t^s wer^ «n ^^^^^\said, behind their not Exactly lirSrpropTe.''bv^rw'/''^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ august, hi^h-bred, hLghty selvel £t «S^ S'^?*' ^1!^^ *^^^^ be haughty too, aid offen bv JSl ■ ^^^ HauteviUe could them to* court W Mv *g,^,^^^^„^ Whence, she compelled Omlty, or Nut Guilty. 29 dressed to such perfection— (taking care to get all her things Ironi the niillinera and mantua-makers of Eugdnio, Empress of tno J^ ronch)— that she set the fashions in England. She knew when to bo grand and defiant, and when to bo humblo and concihatmg. She had a son and three daughters, born in the early years ot her marriage ; and six years later, a fourth girl came into the world, unwelcome and unwished - for ; somehow, her arrival interfered with some fashionable arrangements of her worldly mother's; and as she was rather a delicate, sickly child, and did not possess the regular beauty of her elder Bisters, Lady Hauteville from the first treated her rather as an intruder, and took no interest whatever in her. The pride (which she called maternal affection) with which she regarded her boy, her son, her heir (the future Earl of llockalpine), and even her three elder girls— had uo part in her leelmgs towards poor little Edith. To add to this worldly mother's disHko, the poor little girl, left m her lonely, deserted, but once bustling, merry nursery, to the care of servants, met with an accident while the family were staying on an annual visit to the old Earl at Eockalpino. Ihe doctors decided that the spine was injured, and they announced, in conclave, that they much feared that Edith would be a cripple. Thev said she must live entirely in the country, and not far Irmn the sea, and must remain constantly in a rechning posture. Edith, at this time, was eight years of age. Her three sisters were respectively eighteen, seventeen, and sixteen, and her brother fourteen. As Lady Hauteville had resolved that very spring to present her two elder daughters, Augusta and Creorgina, she was not at all disposed to postpone a matter of such "importance"— in her opinion— for the sake of poor little Edith. _ At the same time, she knew that Lord Hauteville would not risk the censure of the httle world of Alnwick and Rockalpine by neglecting the doctor's advice about the poor little invalid. However, diplomacy, and the spirit of manoeuvering came to her aid. Two vears before Edith's accident she had made a long stay at Rockalpine Castle (for the air of the north was considered ora^mg for Edith) ; and the old miser Lord, hearing that little Edith, who was his favourite, was ordered to spend the summer b^ the sea, had proposed, as a saving of expense, that she snould sta^ with her nui'se at the castle ; and, in acQordance with his wish, she had been left there for several months with one female attendant. She had been much courted during her stay at Rockalpine 4 80 Ouilbj, or Mt Oullty, company but his monoy.ba« '^,.^'^,■,1^^^^^ P'tyjng nature made hor cE oven t f In V''^^' ^^'^^^^^ '«^i«g. would sometimes knock at ifsdnnr ^^^?,f^°^«' P';«y old man. flowers and coax him out for a wairfn Tl' * ^'^'^'^^^ «^ ^"'1 or by the sea. And the rnU '^'*'^/" ^*^o sun, or the woods. fond of the only thin f>?of' '^^''^'^' '""^^7 old man trrew and a sort o? Unlhin tew ^in T] ^''^^ J'''^ ^^^P^'^^ liatures. '"^ ^^^^^ "P between tlieso opposito ^^:^^ IZl noThaVS f T ^^'-^^ ^^ — civil and concihatory to Mr ProV "^^ '^5"^'^' ^'^^ always very visit she paid to Mrs Croft rS?^ ' ?^ ^"^^ Hauteville, in a wish to 4ve EcSat RoXw'ti^rf^^^^ ^'^^"^1-' sacrificing her eldest daiin^hfor'^ ' ^^^ *^^ impossibility of Iitte invalid to a s^rvaWat Mrrr'^S'^'^^"^ of the young lady, a^d to^-^o w Z''^* offered to take cfargo and the greatest care and S nf?!.^''''^ 5°f '^^'« advantage, Mrs. Croft did not s^aTord abon7' ^""^ *'"^?" "'^^^^"g mont, as connected with thiTmaf fit i ^^.P^^^^iary arrange- "loney, and had an eye io the Zl Av, ""* '^° ^.^' ^^^3^ ^ond of "lade. Mr. Croft, X was ^mo-.f f'" '"^ i*^." P"«P««^1 «he every other respect was rT^? n= . * *f ^'Pecked husband in of liis cheque.bo':>k!;nTpVrse ' l&TsVt '"^^^"^^ "^««*- whateyer was paid for the board nn^i™^^ ''^."t"^^^ «« that be received by herself so thTlhn ^ fe"^?'"^ °^ ^f^ith should }n every expensive wWm of Lr . ^^^S ^^ ^"^^^^^ *« indulge he^pet, Eoger. ""^ ^''^ «^^ ^^^^^^t son, her idol and brin?hini™to\tej^^^^^ ^%^^-> object was to for him), Roger himself; and Wslnd mn't^ '^^ % ^V"^ ^^^^y ■Roger wished to be a liian of fL^ ^^^i^^^' ^ad other views. ;«en; f id even at Eton he trie&^^n p'^ *• mix with noble- of wealth and liberaUty "^^ ^'^ ^^^^^^^ <^lio reputation himjf MrrSrp^^^^^^^^^ "HeE^^"!f ."^?^ ^^« ^^^^ told handsome stipend forSh's b?ard^n''/i ^S ^^' P^^^ent of a he neyer went to the ■\^ir-L^f ?; T^ ^""^S^g; and though spot in which his brother had brp!f^^ i^ ^^^^ ^^^^or of the -g those door steps which had'St^^^^^^^ «f -^-d- ■-"e-uiuua— lie ijot the niri tTo^i +" ■"•''-^-^ "■'^" tnat brother's I ff resery loves, that it intere.s Bad bad fee But Lorraii Her hf might rippled horse-a Her to them features Edith of fire a: iihe littl( With and thre the shor decide p( with wo might en As it 1 reclining all the pl( been into and devoj rrntoful for (loliffhfc in in that of Ml at first 18, with no •so loving, ' old man, fc of wild ho woods, nan jf^ew company; opi)osito ho novor rays very 'illo, in a )lend her ibility of Jting the e charge vantage, irsing. irrange- fond of osal aho >and in master i so that should indulge lol and was to : ready views, noble- itation ytold t of a lough f the cend- iher'a ?Mr. 36 of G^uilty, or Not QuiUy, gj a?Sfc'v1lla:' ^'""' ^'''•^"goments al^out tho abode of Edith brougham, to rcSo at rrnrvr'?'^ °"". "^ ^'^- ^>'>ft'« "well, I'm Very glXmtW^^^^^ ^""^ iT- '^^^^^^^^^o period. Bad thing if your prosT^^^^^ It would mdoed. have been a on account of poo^r Sh nn^f"^ Gcorgma'shad been delayed lundly offered toTkfwLw ^''\'{^^^- Croft had not so " I sunnoso «L ^ Tl ^^""^ ''^"'^ ^'^^'^ been done P" andwK;mLra''saTd'Mr7"^^ ''r ^'''^ ^-^^P'^Pa manners. She his no rtiil ' '''"' *""■ dixpoaition or hor loves, Ton wmMt?o7j'l„-™'"'"°-''''''''™i >»" I »»g. my that it is b«l taste Zft t "/'""' '"'""•• ""li <»" m™lid anj interest inTr ?• "' '*""' '° "«'"* '» ftjol ^ affeotiinato ba|tS?„t!ith':r cat^ttKe-'"''^ that it was ve^ Lor^lT^f^t rS'c?[Z,e C.« '^i'l? "«•" ^ ^^"^ Edith Her hair was cortainlv'of'„ ^" ™kly, ugly, little thing P" might call it ca7ror\,rt it''^^ "'' auburn, and ill-nature rippled; andwasjurof lehJtorr -'^f."' '"■"''"^O' »°<' horse-chestnut orihe lAeaLttbreaft """ ""^ "°'°" "f "'« features, digMy Si ne a deSe n'™"' "^^"^ '>'«' ^S"'"^ "^itf ^r^^di^rSH'^^^'^^^^^^ '"^^ "" decide positively whTthe*res;^?nfT" *''«/«<='«■•« could no? with would bef A trm.ft „!.„„• ^Z^"*"' si's had met might enable her ttrfcoverSr ''"""' ""'^ =''^"8"' reotiiXA'!^ Z^d'^m^JPf "£,«>« 'jvelong day on a and devoted kindness ofttil trtrffeSS^JP' 32 Chiilty^ or J^oi Chiiltij. fnJi!'r.?i''''^* children, headstrong, selfish, and quarrelsome, took httle notice of poor Edith, who could not in any way contribute to their amusement. ^ But Arthur Bertram would sit by her reclining-board the livelong dav, reading to her; for when Edith went to Uve at the Orojts he was four years older than herself, very precocious m intellect, but rather a proud, sensitive boy, who preferred the company of the grateful and bright httle invaUd to that of ^/" ' J®^^o^^» bullying young Crofts. Mrs. Croft was as good as her word ; Uttle Edith had every care and attention. Bhe was made a great deal of, for she was the Earl of Eockalpme's granddaughter, and had no httle influence with the miserly old recluse, who, to please her, as she gained strength and was able to sit up and drive out would mvite her and her chosen friend Arthur to spend weeks together at the Castle; and Edith would sometimes get one or other of the Croft children included in the invitation, and induce her grandpapa to let Roger and some of his Eton schoolfeUows, whom he invited during the hohdays (always selecting the sons of the rich and affluent) to fish or shoot in the Jtockalpme preserves. Edith was fast growing straight, strong, rosy, and very P^^ Y \^^^^ ™°^^ charming httle couple than Edith Lorraine and Arthur Bertram could not be found. And while they grow together m grace, goodness, and beauty, we must inquire what Liady HauteviUe and her handsome daughters are doing in town; and how the presentation of the Msses Lorraine went ofl at ner Majesty's Drawing-room. CHAPTER yil. " So full of dismal terror was the time." Shakespeabe. " With scores of ladles, whose bright eyes Bam influence, and adjudge the prize." Milton. We have said that at the first Drawing-room of the season held by our beloved Queen (then a proud wife and a happy daughter), Lady HauteviUe intended to present her two eldest girls. Miss Lorraine and Georgina Lorraine. Miss Loiraine was eighteen; and seventeen (which was her sister s age) is that which Fashion has fixed for that ceremony, which IS, as it were, the inauguration of young Enghsh ladies ot the "upper ten thousand" into fashionable Ufe. It IB an anxious and important event to all mothers and daughters. Of course it is much more so among the aspiring Classes (whose predecessors in the female line have not had the i nif j i mmMi w w. ii m i nwngm wi i i Chiiliy, or JVot Ckiilty. 33 honour of bending the knee to, and kissing the hand of the queens of other days) than it can be to those "born to tread the crimson carpet, and to breathe the perfumed air," and to whom presentation at Court comes as a natural event and almost as a birthright. But still, even to the loftiest, it'is an event of importance. The young beauty, whom the wise JJelgravian mamma has so carefully kept from the eyes of those whose fiat decides her rank as a beUe, lest the great charni of novelty should be worn ofi", is now exhibited for the first time to the world of Fashion, and that in the searchincr glare of the mid-day sun; and bare-headed, and her neck her arms, and shoulders uncovered— in short, in her evening dress which a wag once severely called almost a dress of Eve— is as it were, put up in the matrimonial market. ' For what else in reality is this introduction into society ? And what are all the rich old beaux (whether widowers or bachelors), " who from sordid parents buy the loathing virgin " but bidders-the highest bidders, perhaps-in that marketfand those to whom the youngest and loveUest are sure to be " knocked down ? " Lady Hautevillo was, as we have said, a narvenu: and though a very clover one, and a very adi-oit imitator of the calm self-possession and high-bred indifference of the fair patricians around her, she was not, as they were, exactly what she seemed. In reahty, she was very much excited at the idea of presenting her daughters. She was in an inward fever about their dress, their appear- ance, and the effect they would produce. Her eldest was rather backward, both m the development of her person and her mind; while the second was precocious, at least as far as the former is concerned. And therefore it was ttat Lady HauteviUe had decided to give Miss Lorraine the advantage of another year, hoping she would fill out into greater roundSess and have more manner, and more to say for herself, and be even then not more of a woman than her sister at seventeen bhe had axjted wisely. Miss Lorraine, who at seventeen had been lank and scraggy, with very thin arms and red elbows a very flat bust, and a tendency to purple arms and a red nose shy, nervous, silent, and awkward, at eighteen was a weU' rounded, graceful creature, with white hands and a white nose easy manners, and plenty to say. * It was a very gay Drawing-room. Victoria, every inch a &\^''"f^i •\''?''^^'^^^^<^ many, but lookhig taller than she is, stnnd with h^f ir^^i" n^-^^^1 -,1--- .- 1 ° -. , o^fl- ^ • 11. "-• ''"'-"^' \^'^ixa\ji.i- eiuau UD nana, ihe soft sprmg sun sparkhng m her jewels, and a bright light and a soft beam m her large blue eyes, whenever any fair young rtefewfaw^e bent trembHngly before her. ^ 34 ChiiUy, or Not ChiiUy. Fair Queen ! the Angel of Death had not then left the shadow of his dark wmgs on her heart or hearth ; she had never knoZ Ivt^T- ^^''''l ^^^'- ¥^ ^'^ «^^ ^Wt since that bS bear It and in His mercy temper the wind to the shorn lamb But to our tale. Lady Hauteville, although all rich brocade and gorgeous colours, and flashing gems hers! If, was well aware that an elegant simpUcity best becomes the springttimlof beauty Autumn has her gorgeous velvet dahlias ; sf rinTh^ her pale primroses, her snowdrops, her soft hlies ^ ^ Among those presented at that Drawing-room, the Misses Lorraine were pre-eminent for that fair, deUcatrnroud ™S cian beauty which is almost peculiar to our you^^^^^^ tocracy l^heywere-as^eizl^a^/^e. always s^oullbe^nZ; S^efcjf th;\^^t"iVr" "^^^ ornamented with bouc Se^rof «Soif 1? A^' white roses, and stephanotis; their many, skirted tulle dresses were looped up with the same. Thevwore no ornaments but pearls ; long and ample white tuHe veHs hun^ like a soft vapour about them ; a pearl tiara was on each fS? brow; a plume of white feathers waved gracefully from eS blonde head and drooped on to the white^ shouldeV TheT^^ citement of the occasion flushed their cheeks with a becoming and dehcate rose tint ; and they had been so well tutoreTand trained by Monsieur Le Zephyr their dancing-master th^tthev made no mistake of any kind, but backed fdmi% and gS fully out of the Queen's presence, having taken with preSon d,r.=jr ^''' '''' ^^ ^^^^ '^' -^ havi^g^s:^:! Lord and Lady Hauteville, who, as he was a minister h^A the^privilegeof the entree, joined their fai? dau^iters £ thf Lord Hauteville was always silent, pale, reserved and nrn an automaton. His thoughts were far awav nerhans thpv lencea m by hrs and other evergreens, in a dark wood three S"^"^ ^^les away. Perhaps a certain fir-tree, Tth some deadly, and to him, appalling symbols carved on its bark ?Z pat^^on iTof?- ^-^-PTl*"i- withered and dSiur'ed patches on the soft, green sod that carpeted the spot forced theniselyes on his memory, and brought Vith them mSdenW recollections of blood-a brother's blood! Perhaps that sS recaUed alr^ee nt which, twenty years beforrKfder brother then Lord Hauteville, and him^nfe h^A hop^ -rc^-rtJS *'^°^*^^^' Quit^ against his will, and in spite of himself aUthe na^L might have come ba.,k upon his miid ; and thelate noble Cm of Ls brother-his fino fe full of life, and hope! and love- left the shadow id never known tee that bright \r enable her to e shorn lamb, ill rich brocade was well aware spring-time of as; spring has )m, the Misses 3, proud, patri- ig female aris- ild be — ^in pure ith bouquets of i ; their many- le. They wore ulle veils hung IS on each fair xlly from each der. The e\. h a becoming ill tutored and ster, that they tl^and grace- vith precision aving been, in minister, had ighters in the •yed, and pre* ing-room like perhaps they amphitheatre* c wood, three e, with some its bark, rose id discoloured 3 spot, forced m maddening ps that scene elder brother, nt-eu. ', all the past be noble form 3, and love — Oniltij, or Mt Quilty. 85 laye come before him, and shut out his gorgeous, triumphant vile, those fair and proud young beauties (his daughters), and Ul the young, meanmgless, and blooming, and the old, haggard, ind worn-out faces of those who crowded round to congratSate |io admire, or to criticise. ^ J^^^^^ *^^^® ^^^ pressed round to admire were the old Earl )f Kichlands, a childless and almost childish widower- the (romig Marqms of Malplaquet, a red-haired, long-backed noodle, TTith a hoUow roof and a hollow heart ; Sir Joseph Brownlow. a QiUionau-e, who had made his fortune by speculation, and who ms ot low birth, red face, vulgar person and habits, sordid ^md, and middle age; but yet was an object of constant aim f? 7iV^ mterest to Belgravian mammas, and— alas ! that wo thould be obhged to own it— to their daughters, too ! I ,™e was, also, a very handsome, dark, moustachioed count, fcaU, slender, looking hke a hero of a novel, who, from a Uttlo Hastance, was shooting dark glances at Miss Lorraine. He was I Italian, who caUed himself Eomeo de Eoccabella. He had Deen presented at a levee, by an EngUsh nobleman, with whom le had been intimate m Italy, and to whom he had rendered pome service, and therefore he found no difficulty in getting to the Drawing-room. .^ o e « This Itahan had constantly met the Misses Lorraine takinc fcheir early morning walk in the park, before breakfast, with then- governess. He had been struck by their beauty, and had ioUowed them home. "^ He had made inquiries, and had ascertained who and what they were ; and they, on their side-with the curiosity of their age, the love of any sort of excitement that belongs to a life M enforced seclusion, and the romance that lurks even in the fcoldest female breast— had begun to anticipate meeting him in Itheirmormng walk-to speculate about him-to count up the iftimes they had seen him-to comment on his looks and dress, land to interchange signs and whispers about him, when the > weary pale governess had dropped asleep, or had left the school- Ifrom them °^^^'®^ °^ hl^^^edi quiet, freedom, and seclusion I The inquiries of Count Romeo de Eoccabella ended in hia jhearmg an exaggerated account of the wealth of the HauteviUe tamily, and, what interested him still more, that the two elder -; }^ni ^TT! H^«^^ a f«f^^ne of twenty thousand pounds, I ASr,«fI*^'''^''J^^l-^^ J^^ inillionau.e grandfather, Sir^ James I Armstrong, and which became her own on her of > o^^ir,^ +v^ „^q 1 blfol^e''^' ^^ ^"^ ^^ marrying, with the^onsent of hei^n^. After this, the Count never once missed the morning walk in |Js.ensington Gardei^s or Hyde Pqrk, in which he was sure to D 2 36 Ouilty, or Mt Chiilty, K foi^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^* S^^^-ess, and the two tall, Nor was this all. He haunted the neighbourhood of thpiV ^X^ol\^^^ P"T^^^. ^^«^* *^^ i^«^ railinlTrthe square 'n which they sauntered with poor little Miss LindleHhenover ness, every evening. He even contrived to borrow aSt^lf S'i^ thT slutr ^^^^ ^^^^^^^' ^-- ^ friendTh^irot:^ fn.!!?rj^f ^ Lorraine thought he was her admirer. Augusta ZttnkttoYI^ V^^ ^'"^ figure, and "aJ^tytSd tiSg ^""^ "'^ wearing, enervating dmdgeiy of The Count had contrived, bv the offer of nn inn ^' co^e^irdTs^^atd^TL^ lar^^'^Jr,??^*^'^^ "^^r overjoyed to see that the Earl of Rich- lands aiid the young Marquis of Malplaquet were, after thev had est H^'iS'"''^ Y^?."""' P^^^g ^^^idSous court tXy^^^„. Sd ?„^^^' P'^^.^-Proud old fooCattributed aU this LtSty '?one of tW^'^'M being the object of the admSon T o^ TT ! greatest catch-matches of the se",son. Ijady HauteviUe was in an inward ecstasy. She had alrpprlv Se^nlf ?'^ '^T^" ^^^^^ ^"^ *^^^ ber eldest SXs3 become Lady Brownlow, with an almost fabulous fSrtune and that her Augusta should bo allowp^ to rhoo-^s "-^-- -- -' ^a Earl of Richlands and the yomig Ma;quL o^mS^uX^ The arrangements at St^ Jales's are as ifra known anything bat judicious. There is a terrible crushT and gr^t I >.MUIM.J1U"WII-1.I- | .1WI- . mil id the two tall, •urhood of their f the sc(uare, in Uey, their gover- rrow, against all d whose mother airer. Augusta quest ; and even square face and pretty foot and sre the heroines, erness," "Jane hat she herself 1 day and nighi, 3 ItaUan palace, 5 drudgery of umbrella (one haps purposely with, the young which was the ing which had pounds, fvere in future desperately in Earl of Rich- after they had 1 to her young- i, strained his c, and rose on ilgar personal eyes nor ears '-ered Sir Jo- fa incoherence. is to timidity, le admiration 1. 9 had already ighter should fortune; and jwecn tho old )laquet. well known, b, and great Guilty, or Mt Guilty, 87 lestruction of finery, before getting into tho royal presence- ^nd the same passions agitate an aristocratic mob that excite % democratic one. Self reigns supreme, and elbowing is tho order of the day. L T^^^'^^^® V ^^^^' *^®^*^ ^^ another and a very protracted one, ^nd which a httle management might greatly mitigate— that of getting your carnage. - Bare-headed, bare-necked belles, of all ^ges, stand, closely jostled together, by the hour, just outside bt. James 8 Palace, awaitmg the announcement, by the Queen's footmen, that their servants are in attendance, and ready to an- nounce their carriages. Beaux become very anxious, fussv, and 3usy, and are perfectly useless. L T^! ^^°^^ daylight out of doors is very trying to the temper tmd the complexion of all but the yomigest and most gentlef ^ Jjord Kichlands looked much more made up, old, and grim, In the broad glare of day, than he had done in the softened lieht pside the palace. * Both he and the young Marquis were very officious about jadyHau^evilles carriage; and Sir Joseph Brownlow was in perfect fume. But yet it was a very long time before the burly coachman, I Ills wig, and the tall footmen, with their powdered heads, gorgeous liveries, gold-headed sticks, and huge hothouse bou- quets, appeared m view. And all this time the fair young beauties gained in reputa- tion for lovehness, for no dayhght can reveal grey hairs, or wrmkles, or hollows, or rouge, or Poudre Imperatrice, or false ringlets, or artificial charms of any kind, where they do not lexist; and the Count de Roccabella, as he hovered near Miss iJjorraine,and saw the love-Hght in her large blue eyes, and read fmessages from the heart, w an in blushes on her cheeks, be- Igan to fand Interest and Inclination unite in his determination I to marry her. , Sir Joseph Brownlow said to himself, « I've made an impres- rv"" S!".. ^""^^ heautj. No girl ever looked and blushed like that, unless something was busy at her heart, for the first time; and I won t stand shilly-shallying, either, tiU she's got a bevy of young coxcombs about her. I'll strike while the iron's Kuin^^ ^^^,^ P^^^®^ °^^^ ^y ^^ad I'll propose— and in a "^« 1T7 I 1- t^®"^ ^ -^^^y Brownlow worth looking at !" WeU, the girls have made a triumphant debut, Hauteville." said my lady the Belgravian mamma, as soon as they were sately shut into their splendid new carriage, and were «lnwi.r progressing back to Belgravo Square. ' " "^ 38 Quilty, or Not Guilty. CHAPTER VIII. " Why looks your grace so heavily to-day ? " Shakbspeami. " nL^P^'^T'^^^' i? ^'^ ¥y*« «^d^ ^ *^« fro«* seat of the «.af^^ 7- ' .^^^^^ ^'"^^ Lorraine were in the "beauty seat, a?ta« the back seat. Miss Lorraine was in a sweet «S^'' ^^'*'' ^^\ ^""J^y^^S *^® admiration of the « out- athonU fWf 71^"^ too much self-engrossed to notice that, jJT^ then, father mechanicaJly answered, or rather echoed L^y Hauteville's remark in the words, "Very triumDha^f Sm^Z'T" *^-r^^^ ^°^^«^ quaver VhifvS^^Sd that his fax3e, always pale and stem, was positively livid; that whifn.?^''^ ^^^^^y' ^' '^^^ H «een a ghost, ixd thit his 7^P« T\Z^r ^rr^^'"^' .^' ^°. ^^^^ ?^^°' ^*^« the lace qw.w^ol ^^** ^^'^ ^^1* ""^^ ^^^°' *^ ^a^se *^8 abject terror? oimplyabronzed,weather.beaten,rough.headed,sturdvfeUow with his wide-awake pulled down over &s bushy browsV^ffi coloured choker drawn up to his mouth, but witl 6^^^ Ms dreaded, weU-known face uncovered, for Lord HautlviUe to nfdp^'A^'^"^^^ ^f'- ^^^^ ^ *^« *^"' elastSforTat his siOe, and the face, and air, whore native beautv, character, and ^gnity would have weU become a train, a ti^a. anda pCo of feathers, and, so set off, would have echpsed many Slhe ™dest beauties he had just left behind, the paC^LbW HauteviUe recognised Rough Rob's handsome l4h Wife, M^l wi*!. .?'''i-^^"? ^^ ^°P^^ ^""^ ^eli^^ed that Rough Rob was by tins time far away-that he was on the broad Itla^ic at least, if he had not already landed at New York with the friends who were to join him in the speculation for wMch Ms lordship had furmshed Rough Rob with the funds. , What could have detained him in London? And what could induce him to show himself in the broad light of day Sin so bcTm%" At\r.h"^ t'r'T^ ^PP-^--on, dkXd^ll Bcaflold t^ At the thought Lord HauteviUe shook like an aspen Rough Rob innocent, and therefore fearless, took no ure- cautions but those which his Mary enforced. He ^ stS a great hankering after giving himself up, and standing his trial like a man. He was strong in a conviction that God would not norTw.^T'''!? "^^1 ^"^ ^" ^^r^ ^il*y ^^d *« be hanged, nor the real murderer to escanfi tho nuniqliTr^e^^ of ^i :- - sav "tW't n^TY ^^'^^^"^d f^r ^y life' Mary I" he would rrJfnr. ^t! T ^f /^o^^ who cares even for a poor hunted cretur hke I, and I ought to have trusted in Him, aaid have i-L Guilti/, or Koi Ouilty. 39 stood mv trial like a man, and not have sknlked oflf like a ffuiltv Iwretch.'" * ^ " Och hone ! " his Mary would repljr ; " och hone, och hone ! I why will ye not be ad\ised, Eob, whin the best frind ye ims [in the wide world says ye'd be hanged hke a dog ! Surely my lord must judge better than the likes of you. Ye'll break my heart wid yer daring ways, ye will. It 'ud kiU me dead to have ye dragged to the gallows, and I'd never know a minute's pace after I was oust a widow— no, not if I Uved till a hundred. I'd never recover the shame ; and my people, how they d cast it up to me, that I ran away and got married to a gaUows-bird. Och hone, och hone ! '* With these and similar arguments, Mary induced Eough Rob to keep mdoors a good deal (a great trial to the wild man of the woods), and when he could not bear to stay in, to conceal his person as much as he could. An inevitable delay in the arrangements of Mike O'Rourke, had kept Rough Rob and his wife in St. Giles's. But they were to set sail for America on the very night of the day on which the Queen held her first Drawing-room for that year I at St. James's. Now, Mary had a cousin, who had bettered herself— had married a rising man, who had met with great luck in life ; and a letter from Ireland brought the news tlxat Mary's cousin, I once her equal, her playfellow, her confidante, Nora O'Halloran, who had married Lawyer O'Hara, now Sir Miles O'Hara, was I to be presented at Court, " and wear a long thrain and fine i feaders, and jewels, and all to knale down before the Queen, and kiss her Majesty's hand." Mary felt no envy of her cousin Nora's prosperity, al- though the contrast in the lot of the two beauties, who had been girls together (and Mary much the handsomer of the two) would force itself on her mind; but she felt a great desire, an mtense curiosity, to see Lady O'Hara in her Court dress ; and Rob, finding out this, her secret wish, ovennastered her fears, and resolved she should see all that could be seen, by early taking up their place in St. James's Street. And Mary did see* her cousin; Mary, the head of her giey cloak drawn over her bonnet, and her features concealed as much as possible ; Mary, m her Irish peasant costume, much the worse for wear, cling- ing with love's strength to Rough Rob, the suspected mur- derer, the escaped prisoner, for whose apprehension a thousand pounds was offered, Rough Rob with a price upon his head, and iTora, sparkling with jewels, her white piumys heaving in the breeze, looking all pride and triumph, with a little, mean- looking, sly, ugly old man by her side, on whom she looked down, far she was much taller than he was, and who was 40 O^iUij, ar Not Ouiliy. ill-humonr 7 T^ *^^* S^."^^ ^* ^«^' ^"d scorned in a vory Statin t^'^'/f*' «f ^^^f^els. her feathers, herS Srlt ?Jn '^^""u *'^'* P"^^' *^^^^ ™ a dreary discontent L?e":aV"oVl:n^rt^l^^^^^^ lordjharpl,, iTd fowe?s'^and W wv! *^T ^°f ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^ splendour, her }w T'^ . ^ feathers, her thrain and her cooch- and for nil It was while Mary spoke thus-her fine erefeve^ fiill Af mm. But the si-ht of them disturbed his pea<;e bv dav nn^ his sleep by night. For many a long day K wVn I^ hi^ lonely cUmber he woke from a troublfd sleep £ VWch Ws ho? breast seemed to be trampled on by the sharn hoof, nf o coronet. A scaffold would weave itself into the coat^ nf n/rr,o on ^e velvet and on the chair backs; and the Past touffn^^^ =fl fl TJ^"""^ ^*^ all the freshness of yesterday He wo^U see the httle grassy amphitheatre in the^BM Wood ar^l H« sptS rcirlet'rm ;??' ^T/^^^ ^-" ' a^dt^smat spectral, scarlet nil that would trickle down the gentle slonp •that ^Pw TA^^" ^"^.^^r- ^d then FL?rd^?sol?ed that v^ew, and he saw a dark mob of countless heads a^d heard low groans of execration, and shouts and yells and he tZ whT*'°^' with ice-cold feet, the steps of the sSld ; and iWp^ Tv,-™ t"^^ °^^^ ^« fa^e, and the cord was Td- S? Th^r ^P ""''^^r^f was over in this world But the And whilfi her lr»r(l i« }„•« v^«i_ -i-_— v ~ . tortnrPQ r.f fi,^^„*" i T T S^^-J' C""i"oer, was suffering the tortures of the damned, Lady Hauteville, in her soft la<;e can with Its pmk rosettes, and her richly-embroidered niXVpt? was smihng in her sleep, as she dreamt of tL^ay we&fs of 'I! Ouilti/, or Not Ouilty. 41 the fatiiro Lachr Brownlow, and that of the Countess of Rich- lands, cr the Marchioness of Malplaquct, she did not care which, for if the Marquis was a grade higher in rank, the Lord of Richlands had finer estates, the handsomer town mansion in Grosvenor Square, and the more splendid family diamonds. Besides, he had been married, and knew what a lady of fashion required, and had been very liberal, in every way, to the late countess; while the Marquis of Malplaquet, though so young, and a roue, was a sordid one. Ee was known to be mean ; indeed, his stinginess about settlements had caused the breaking off of a match between him and a belle of the preceding season. And after all Lady Haute ville did not care which of those two noble and ignoble suitors led her fair Georgina to the altar, but lay on her bed of down, smiling in her sleep, under the influence of the spirit of fashion, which " Oft in dreams invention may bestow 1o add a flounce or cliange a furbelow." And so this time the partner of her life — ^he whom she had taken for better, for worse, and had sworn to keep in sickness and in health, in weal or woe, till death did them part — ^lay, in a room separated from hers only by a dressing-closet, lying on that rack which a guilty conscience spreads upon every bed of " stubble or of stubble-down ; " cold drops of sweat upon his brow, " the worm that dieth not " feeding on his heart, and the fire that is not quenched scorching his brain. Oh! who that could count the cost would ever stain his hands with blood, and sell his soul to the great enemy of man- kind, who is ever at hand, first to tempt to crime, and then to exult in the anguish it entails, and the hideous penalties it enforces ? CHAPTER IX. " Oh, there's nothing half so sweet in life As Love's young dream." MoORB. Once fairly launched in the world of fashion, the Misses Lor- raine, like all the other belles of Belgravia and fair of Mayfair, resolved to drain the cup of pleasure to the dregs. They were reigning belles. They dressed, danced, rode, flirted, to perfection ; they waltzed or polked all night, and yet were in their cold baths at eight, and in the parks betimes in the morn- ing, riding in search of the roses of health. They ate like troopers at that substantial early dinner which the gay world calls a luncheon. They sipped their cheering, refreshing five o'clock tea, with its relays of delicate toast and thin bread-and-butter, in Lady Hauteville's boudoir ; and talked over their own conquosts and charms, and the failures and thoy were able at an eie-ht oVWlfX ""i"^ ^ '^^"^J ^^ ^^en air, and, not to offend the re^-'^^'^"''''' ^'"'"'^'''^ *° ^'^^ "f*^'^ Bite, by any disXv of n Lf ^^ ^'^^^. *^^«^"»^ high-bred exqui- to r^b&ingVbi? Xh-ck^ rl^^fF'"*^^ ^'^'^^"^ themse l^s ice. or some choice fruft'^' "^"^ *'^"^S ^^^^ » *«^*i?4 a jelly, an HlutSHo tfS",^ t^^^^^^^ -er in^ted by Lady contrived to meet ^TssWaine at ?>^? ^^i ^'^ •'^^ ^°«««' msolent, hauchtv ar^T^c^F^ ^^'^alla and parties; and, all her tone from Z'sc^fety S^^^^^ '^' h/becom'e (taking her proud looks" trhi?/ e7en thn^ wT"^^ '^^ ^'^'^^^ "^^^^ had proposed and been ^;>er)ted ?J^^\^^^} of Richlands her daughter out of aU ^S! ^f ^7 Hautevillo had laughed Adoni8,"old enough to be h?rf!;^^" ""H^^^^^?' *« the ci-devant the wedding presf nts ihJf ^^^''''' /"^^'^ ^^^^^^1 settlements I>lace at the end of Jmie MeanwhllT. l^ ^eddmg was to take sipation, perhaps to sUence th^ "Si ^ T^ herself up to d^s- heard in solituSe. ^^"^ ^"'^ ^^^ce » that wiU bq had^not'^t^f^Xs'LJd^^^ ff"^.^ ^^"^^ of Malpla,nefc would. A new b^uty-a t^llB^''^r^%^S^ ^^'^^^ they made her debut since the " T o3' ""^^T ^,**^^ bnmette-ha5 and the young M^qul forsook t^^hln ^^'^'' ^^^ *^^ ^^^ ^arl .Lady Hauteville would W lll!^ •'' 1' ^^^^^"^ate Augusta, gina's splendid prolpects And . '"^ ^^T''' ^^* ^^^ ^^eor- which the brideS^was toa^i. T/^l^^'* grand fete at which approaching weJbckenS^^t^^^^^^ *A^<^ brief seclusion Lady Loiisa SeylouSTniHf t ^l ^u''"* *" " ^^^^^ off" at ama^mee, whichT-aan aullt ^^^kenham. It consisted of ^ The weather wasixqutteLd'^i: \^T^P^rty, and a baU dens were illuminafpH TJ! i' i f^^ ^^^t mtense. The ear- silver mooi^^ S H-ffr^i'^'l^^^^P^' ^^^ «*«! more by^he by a cold accepS irtTilZt'''T'''f'''^ *« ^^^ ^oo^ Duchess of Snowdon Lo/dSind^^ the chaperona^e of the not escort his bride-elect °bn«i^o ^"^ J"'^ ^^^^t ^Tef, could had summoned Hm ^oli^rp^rr^^'^^^^^ rev?a?l^£:?^r..^p^l%|f- Oh 1 wretched" wear'^?iir^"^"T^''-^^? ^^^ to be at this fete. less system I sLrthe bride^.lSf ' "^'^'"^ ^^* ^«^« ^^ heart: one, tue bnde-elect is m a secret tumult of joy, Chiilty, Of Not Qmlty. ^ because tho Count will be present, and her intended will be far away. The matinee passed off wearily to the bride-elect, nor less so I to Augusta Lorraine, who was doomed, in spite of a new and [ most decant toilette, to see the old Baronet and tho yountf Marqu.8 devote themselves to Brillantd de Bean voir, the spark- Kng brunette, with so much to say, and so much a la mode, who hiid brought dark beauty into fashion, and without a tithe of the personal charms of the blondo Lorrainos, had, with her Baucy httle Roxalana nose, put the dehcato aquilines of Augusta and Gcorgma quito out of joint, as the Earl would have said, only that he, at least, poor fellow ! was faithful to fair beauty. for he was really in love with a blonde. \m?^^y Georgina ! she was beginning co feel very sick at heart. X <^er passed heavily off; the baU began, and still he camo not. The Dvi chess of Snowdon, the Lorraines' chaperon, sat [down to whist; tho company, in the intervals of 'the dance, spread over the grounds. Georgina'a impatience and disap- pointment became unbearable. She watched her opportunity, and just as the dance recommenced, she slipped out at a glass door, and hurried away, to hide the tears she could not repress. m a dark shrubbery that skirted the river. She had not been there long when she heard the splashing I of oars, and a voice, that made her heart bound and her cheeks I glow, sang A te, o ca/ra, in a voice which — " Music to the ear. Became a memory to the aoul." " He is come I he is come !" she whispered to herself, wildly I clasping her hands. « I wiU see him I I must speak to him ! 1 must teU him my heart is his, although I am compelled to i give my hand to another I " She rushed out of tho shrubbery, and found the Count who had just landed from a boat, standing near a marble urn. "You are come," t,he said; "come at length!" and there were tears m her voice. He drew her arm in his, and led her back into the shrubbery. Ihere, m language fuU of passionate eloquence, he told her that tie adored her ; he painted to her a hfe of misery with her in- tended—of purest happiness with him. He told her he was there, not to see her for a moment, and then to leave her for ever, but to bear her away with him to his own sweet, sunny Italy, there to devote his whole hfe to love and her ! " My mamma ! " faltered the distracted girl. "Mamma! "he cried. *-\Vhy, she would sell your youth, your beauty, and your warm, young heart, for gold. I have arranged all. I have a licence ready. To-morrow, before a registrar, I will make you my wife — my countess — the 44 OullUj, or JVot Guilty. BomrpJ "» ™' °f "SO! A carriage will „„t bo valid, will it, they willSkoYhoZrin?''"'"",'' "v'""'" '' i« onco done Wo a boat and two men c fo „T.v "h "'"'" ■!V/'"-' '"'"• "^7 I whero "oarriago-and-four awaits L V''" ^"^ ™ '<" ""Pot no objootions, no seniplos, S? ™; S^^'- ""y. I will hoar not love mo, and I will ,,i^',™™»"»«-' If you rofuso, you do hoartl Co''m7rfl^Syo„?lV' '7.^™'' "»' of ".y % with mo!" ■^ ^"' """"O-like a second Juliet, WildoredfCnin^'",?,? «™"° ''«'•<'«. tho Count lod the n„l/ hand claspi^^ff^h&rP'r'' «"^ '» t^o boatf^th'^oio waist; hogofherto hoa?^,'^f ™°"'"'- """f onci'rctogher Rucsts, who had failed to soeuro™^ '"""' '"*<'' "■"""S "ho had tC^T r^rh'erVoT^' ?' «»^sina Lorraine figure they only saw the b^k.'rfvr'^ of hor°tall gr.S in the dark-mantlod ™w„, i ^^ was an earncstne»? I?*'?S. as they said, to .ng nothing that couW tfrow "tS'^' '^^ ''™''«d on say? appearance of the bride-elect S fomfne ■"y^"^™"^ dii CHAPTEE X. i "^&'/fHf ^ **!' «h«"'d ever bel OuiUy, or Not Guilty. 45 to that world for which alono sho Hvorl thnf ).«^ r« daughter (on the ovo of bocomiim »n SLr 1 n ^^^^o^rito cloned with an Italian ilontrer^ "^^''^ ^°""^^««) ^^^ |ruLXrobb:d%7abl"^^^^^^^^^^ of a tender n^othcr. her dearLo'H fato?dreadhi„^^^^^^^^ *''^''^^^i"« ^^ a disobedient and uneXfil l.fihfn , ^^''^^ '"^ ^^^^^ ^^^ generally inflicted by thovorv hanfcr^^ tho punishment L; he/grief was mVde n^^^'^^^ofwtntd^^^^^^^^ pride disappointed ambition, sle M so rtll W TA T^'^^,9- cipated triumph over Belgravian mammn^ n?lT t u-^T ^"^^• far more thorough-bred feel n.i. !IT ^^^"g^^ '''''*^*^' ^^"1 whose daughters "hung on 3'' faAC^f 1 *^? ^^^«^^f' and who. hiving passed t^rS^^^h tho cold TpHrtTh^' T^' summer, and the gloomy autumn of fl-lv^Ji^' ^° ''"''^''"^ "winter of their di^contLt" coTin^ on w^h f^^^ ^^ *^« twentieth year. For tho career Tffr, ^ *h''",'^'?^*-»«d. world of fLhion caZorbo Xwed trexSTo?^ ^'"^ ^"1^^ wh ch time she dwindles into a "has been '' and'lf ?"'i ''^'' rather unfairly, shelved We sav nnSvi^f^-' ^ is fairly, or enrich tho form, to atone for tho KJ nf t^ Ti'T^ "'"«' Iostm«.nrightUnl;^ltS;tnS"^chrr''^ "'^' "'^^^''™ PoSro^t^uat ofThXlf ' ^^-^^^P^'- '•"d «'° "o™ iU-veiled ei^ta«on of tho'o who Z'l *T ^i'dolences, and U old Earl of Biemlt^t"eir\tfl .^X™" '" *''" nory^'o*:?: ^of^E*trthrwo°3ir *■■" i"-?'™ '^■' " ^^ -« thought as -Hhe e^ot'cripnte .' ± Sl'T ?"*''<"• ""'^ the (Jroft family, a crippleT chiMhl^ H't'"' ''™ "" '''* and old ago, if It w™S ^soW toeed^S„rT"^ru^' removed from aworld inwhinh Jn» l,„!„^ij T^ she should bo i^^f^.abnrthen^o^er^dftMrird'^^F^^^^ blighted being must a carrotv criDnlo 1«. l w™ i I? ''*'•''* * beno"8easoiS"noDrese>it»tX>^??i / For Jer there could the world of f^shion'^ "' "°'^' "° introduction into IwMelltal fr ,!l\^™?„r..'^"?-''"^*''« breakfast-tray. ptru^^ts-^- »-»^^"^'norbS^ieS^ Urb^L%iiKtr^'Kttc^.-oisi-^^ 4a Qmlty, or Mt Guilty. asu Misa Augusta knocked at the door. mamma. I cZ I tSiS^t ™L l^- «« .yo« directed hor, she had yovHrd^^^lofToirfcT^' ^' f*^ «"^'j mine." ». imu oi course they were her law aud ^oir look JsXiJt^^J^^^ gSytLkSrt ^?- sai^i'^^.^'-JS'^r.iT^-^^'^o^^^^^ been heard of her An^l +v,o^^„r IT '-r ^^^ nothing has that this MaTI; a^dVenSeT^nTn^^^^^^^^^^ 4t*«' he has eloped with Georgina for the s^e of t^^ f f' ^""^^^f papa left her. And " ^* *^^ fortune grand- anl^TJha^ftSf^^^^^^ ous/^nd w^^hts'lisr-is r^X'p^rsheTlt^' 'T-'^^' her from my thoughts— mv heart '^EfT.i / ^^"^ ^'^^° white hand to the bosom Shp^k ^^? *5^ -^^^^ P^^^^^d her vacant place wLere a W «ho^^^^^^^ «^ *h« you to do the same." '^®®^^' ^^'^ ^ command " But we were always together. From mv t^i'tw-t, t ^oice, in its angriestT^es '^ ^"'''^^^^ ^^ ^^^ '^ot^r', noble intended; S If Vou Sjteli^^^^^ ^T ""^ *"^^ ''^ ^^^ sole me, and to akme ff h^ ^S? of domg a 1 you can to con- hT.iiiio,,;_„"l_^.^^J^^ her degradmg choice, bv Tn«.Hr,,> „ fuf^J^yeTslire'S r^^/" frf yourself i^toTfriglt: who was^vl^l^r^T^Ld ^P^V^^l-^^^^^^^^ Chiilty, or Not Guilty, 4,7 shall not remain in London to witness such insane folly. I shall go at once down to Armstrong Hall or Rockalpine ; and there vou can weep away to your heart's content. Ida, as you well know, cannot be introduced till next spring, and she is getting on so well at Hyde Park House, that I shall not remove her I have no daughter, then, to comfort me but you; and unless you promise me to forget all about your unprincipled sister, and to try all you can to make a brilliant match, to atone to me for ^s disappointment, I shall leave town to-morrow for Armstrong Augusta, though she had some natural feeUngs left, was still a beUe of Belgravia. "The season" was everything to her. Ihe sohtude of Armstrong Hall, with her bitter, taunting, and exasperated mamma as her companion, was intolerable. She had not even the governess to turn to, for she had been dis- charged when Augusta had completed her seventeenth year. " I wiU do my best to obey you, mamma," she said, drying her eyes ; " I know Georgina has acted very shamefully: I will try to atone to you for her disobedience." " Sensibly yjoken," said the mamma. « What's done can^t be undone. I hope, for the family credit's sake, things may not turn out so bad as they seem. If the man is really an Itahan count, even if he is (as of course he must be) a fortune- hunter, and, to some extent, an adventurer, all we can do is to make the best of it; but until we hear from the wretched fool herself, we can know nothing about it. Your papa was for pur- suing and separatiixg them, as she is a minor ; but those things never answer— they make a great esdandre ; parents have a dis^aced and dishonoured daughter thrown back on their hands ; no one else will marry her; and thus she is for hfe an eyesore, a dead weight, and a great expense. No ; I have decided to let matters take their course. And now, what say you, my love, to the Earl of Richlands for yourself?" Augusta shuddered and turned pale. Lady Hauteville did not appear to notice the effect of her suggestion. "The dear old feUow once told me," said the mamma, " that It was quite a chance which of the belles blondes he proposed to; for he thought you like two hhes on one stalk— two pearls m one bed of cotton. Now, I think that a httle sympathy at this msis would bring him to your feet, and the triumph and deJight of the Rosevilles, the Belmonts, the Roscommons, the Irehngs, and the Fitzarthurs, would be turned to woe and envy. t^F ^I? all spreading their nets already. Write him a Httle no„c, xi^y love, luid ask him to come and diuo quietly with mamma and yourself, and then go alone with us in a private box to see Charles Kean in his great character of Othello. ttiohlands wiU take it kind; and I think if we don't do«ome- 48 Guilty, or Not QuilUf. I ■< i thing of the sort, Lady Elfrida Belmont, or that sly Rhoda of them before he knows what he is about. So write, my love r^yXttrs^l"^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^-^ -^ "-^^ ^^^ tlZl'^r^T^^^Kl^i^' ¥.^^ ^^^ *^^ cSmsonTervet c,^! tarns of her bed with her dehcate hand, said • o.'lr^''? l^^^^ ^^ J''^^ y^*' ^y ^^ssy • You can write pre- • sently; butnowlwantyou to read me this letter ZmFvl Croft. I suppose it is something about Edith-some new irons or fresh doctor, or backboards, or systems to be tried. \t Z rate, I must know what it is ; so read it to me." ^ Augusta took the letter and read as follows :' "Croft Villa, NRAit Alnwick, Northumberland, "November lith, 18—. .^'IPifnt-^ ^^^ HAUTEviLLE.-First allow me to congratulate vou on the brilliant marnage which I see by the Morning Post and the Court Journal MiBB Lorrame is about to contract. I have no doubt her lovely sister. Miss Augusta, will soon follow so good an' example, and that the fair image of yourself, the beautiful Miss Ida, will, in due time introduce a third coronet into your noble family. And now to business! luTfn L^?u "^ r^-?^""^ *°>^^'' *^^* y^'^^ ^^^^^^*« *larfi°g and ours-sweet !;::i fri*^"?^ ^"^^ S*^°S strength and health. No remains of curva- ture of the spme are now apparent. The darling young lady can walk with ease and grace; but of course we do not aUow her to inddge ki any exertion which might produce relapse. Miss Edith is now, as you know, fourteen ; and I have attended to her education as much as her delicate vp„r! ^-^l ?; ^^^ } T ^T^ ^ ,*^^« °*y ^^"^i'y abroad for three years. We shall embark from Sunderland in a yacht, which Mr Croft Noir^T?''^ ^*/^' '^K""^ ?" ^^}' ^"^^ °^ N— • We intend ;isitit.g Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, during the summer. We shall winte? S. ^^' I ^^'^"' ^""^.^ ^"""^ ^**y '^b'^o*'^' *o ^sit, with my family, aU the cities of Europe, and make such a stay in the principal ones as will S^^sh tnSl'''^'''' *° ""''*'' *'' ^''°'''' ''''"^'"' ^*^'^' ^^ tv,l'^' J^Pxu-^y* *^at such a tour, as the one we propose, would be the very best thmg possible for Miss Edith ; and I now wnte to ask you fnZ^^'i^ ^r*';PH.*° -f''^ ^" *^ ^« °^ *b« party- With regard to the outlay, Mr. Croft wiU communicate with my lord; but we shall travel so economicaUy, that I think the liberal sum you now kindly remit quarterly will very nearly cover Miss Edith's expenses. • * 5^ Rockalpine, who continues in his usual health, and takes great interest in the welfare of Miss Edith, highly approves of our schemeS cttjo, ii iio wci-o a younger man, he would be of the party. ' Should your ladyship agree to our plan, we shaU set off by water from Sunderland, on this day week ; and if not, I must beg you kmdly to s Guilty, or Not Chiilty. 49 lat slyRhoda ni^aged to one Tite, my love, arling knows l\ was about i write to the n velvet cur- m write pre- • er from Mrs. tie new irons, led. At any AND, »er I2th, 18—. agratulate you Post and the no doubt her example, and , in due time, y to business, i ours— sweet ains of curva- can walk with idulge in any as you know, s her delicate 3ad for three chMr. Croft itend visiting shall winter ay family, aU [ones as will Italian, and •se, would be ie to ask you With regard but we shall kindly remit 1 takes great 3cheme, and DfF by water ou kudly to lend a competent person to take charge of Miss Edith, as I cannot delay py departure. ' ^ "With best respects to the fair young bride-elect and her sweet sister •' I remain, my dear madam, ' " Your ladyship's most devoted servant, "Ann Cboft." I "Ox course I shall agree at once," said Lady Hauteville. ^ Vi- hat could I do vdth the poor Uttle carroty cripple ? What |ompetent person have I got to send for her?' And where #)uld she reside ? No; I think it's a capital plan." " But, mamma, if she has no remains of the curvature, and can walk with ea^e and grace, she cannot be a cripple now." _ " Nonsense ! She is, and was, and always will be a cripple. Vv. Dulcibel said so, and he never makes a mistake. That's all ^oast and br-T-^ao of Mrs. Croft's, just to exalt herself, and the -nre she hr en of poor little Edith. Let me see ; Ida will seventt -^^t spring, and Edith is now fourteen. Not that Cdith s ago matters— I could never introduce a cripple— but da s does ; and you, my darhng, must contrive to get off before la comes out ; for she's very pretty, and so much in your style that you wouldn't have a chance. But now, for a lort time, you've the field to yourself; so play your cards well. ly love. * ^ .^ > " What cards have I, mamma ? " "Youth, beauty, position, and, that queen of trumps, a sensi- le mother, my pet. And now go, write to the Earl, as I sue- 3sted; and then write for me to Mrs. Croft, and say that I ftghly approve of the Continental scheme, and shall be very Jad to let Edith be of the party. We must dine at six. Tell ieEarl tobem time for 'Othello'; and do you come down > tea with me at five, and I will advise you what to wear. So •ff r "P.'„"^y ^^^^5 you are my only hope and comfort now, and ; r 5,^,^^^ season, when Ida comes out ; and all the pre- pnts i had meant for your ungrateful, treacherous sister shall B yours. I have m that drawer some such exquisite things, I ride t d 9^ *^°^ ^* °^ ^^® ^'''^^''^ *^^ ' ® ^^^ ^^^S «* I ^ate riding alone, mamma. I have no one to ride with." JMever mmd ; go and take a country ride, and when you Dme m, have a bath, and go to bed for a few hours ; you will jen get up as fresh as a rose. Or, suppose you ask Miss De telton to ride your sister's horse, and canter off to Clapham, Id order some flowers from Acre. Not that it matters about icompamon. with sunh o °too,ix. ^^-,^^:„__-j _._, . -r l . I , jT ■ ,-— ■'^, •'■ "'^^^"^j'. cj-pcricUcuu trx'uom as dames. IpI a' l"""^ ^¥ ^^^ ^^ *^^® yo^ "de, your bath, and your l?^ttr,r^-^T^ ^^^^*^ does your hair in the usual style, fichlanda hkes to see it waving round the face, so let it doVn E 50 auilty, or mt Guilty, he?^rtS*an'^^^^^^^^ -amma to finiah Earl a .d Mrs. CroKnd then wifh'^^^^^^ "^^^ *« ^^^ f^eorgina's horse to ifiss de SlVnT f ^ ^'^^' ^°°* *» offer offer was gladly accentPr? A ?'' ^°'' ^ country ride. The from her long cante? and ^"T^^ ""J^^^^^ ^^^^^ed and rosy tremulous ha^dTom th^'oM M Tal atl'''"-*^'!- ' "°'^ ^"^ tation to dinner and to escort the iaSn^^'f^^^^ *^^ i^^i" Augusta, full of Miss drBeUnnl • °.*^^ P^^^' and her wonder nt Ti.^ • ^ ^ ^ aspirations after a coronet fully intoTe. mXrt pfans Au^u^. " '^"^' ^^^^^ '^^^^^ pressionable ; and the wnrl%^ ^^ ** ^^\ imitatiye and im- a.nd again the sotninfinLn^^^^^^^ VV "^^--^^ ripples touched with paL " oi^^ ^IJ'T "^^^^^ ^onde hair (its shoulders) was lent to &5° .' ^'"'^ ^^"^ ^^^^ locks on her iug face. '^ ^^ *° ^^^ ^^^^^^^te, aristocratic, and now bloom! h/fi^^^^^^^^^^ boudoir to partake of white tuUe, many.skir?Jd ^r^;7 thought that her daughter's with blue conrol^^^^,t.Z"Zhj)'^' ^'"^'' ^"^ ^^-"^d head, forming a diadem on 1,1^^ • \ *^^ ^^"^^ encircled her beautyofher^^gh SiVand foL^^^^^^^^ be^ghtening the taste and in effect, iSt she couini-- ^ '^''' '° ^"'^^'^ ^° only when Augusta produroH fho ? ^"^^^«^no improvement ; of the old Earl, herCothe, tet in t''7^'''''' ^^^^*^»^ "nes out a jewel-case of maJoon m^^ntn >^ ^""^r^'' ^"d' taking of sapphires and vSr^ScaZ'^^'F^f an exquisite set rings, and to fasten the necklace Hr^-^^^ ^f.'"" *^^ ear- said, embracing her deli^hJlr? /lo V^^/r^*^^' ^"^ brooch, she ber closet), ^ ^leiighted daughter (Leno having retired to fancj,?nll;?,^|^^them t you ^^^T^^^ .^^ ^^^-d^. and I mark." * ™ '° y°"' ™y lo™, I have about hit tho e.gS"''''^ *™'i »»' >« Lady Hautoville had planned and tioi »•! ISoraMe'' He It Tnf ^'■^^*''' ^?'^ «^=^«° beauty. He was nnvi™.* T °™' °" marrying a youaff nophe-W who had car oTurt°rt ^™ ^^ '«''■■' *» dislppZt f eiiijbleinhfae^eaS'^Srgfl''™- '^"^''* '^ ?»■*" "^ had™ILut"n'!r«4*'pfP' very dose, for Lady Hautevill^ ridiouie. -d7hi,™d5e\'Sf:r'tr?£^Sl.'^EKrlr ' I i I namma to finish to write to tho 1, sent to offer ntry ride. The heered and rosy able a note in a epting the invi- )lay. after a coronet, began to enter litative and im- s de Belton, a lite turned the «h had tinged y her mamma, blonde hair (its locks on her tid now bloom- to partake of her daughter's ', and adorned encircled her 'ghtening the 3 so perfect in mprovement ; slanting lines i, and, taking txquisite set t in the ear- [ brooch, she ing retired to Uands, and I bout hit the planned and a-lace season ing a young lisappoint a i-s quite as ■ Hautevillo eat dread of Ji d from ono U Chiilty, or Mt OuUty. A v.. - 51 daughter to another would be as r>,a «.«n i matter was stiU pending as Sir?fn.,-\^''^I ^^^' ^^^^ the i flies were bS^zh^ about tK^ T"^^ ^?^.^^f<^ ^^^> and So ■: "Rag and I^ami^.-'^p^^^^^^i^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^s oiZ • Right Honourable Fel^ M ^^?^ 5 """^""^ ^^ *^« ? Augusta, second daughter of Lord and T^"^^ V"^ ^°''' *° ^and-daughter of the Riah/ Wn^^ ui "'"1^^ Hauteville, and pine. The^Oo^^. Jonmai%^te^T^f'^^ ?' f ^"^ ^^ ^o^kal- the man-iage ceremon^ls SrmeS ^^"^ $^^ ^^^ «^d a few select friends and reKs mrtook n^^ ?* ^^^^"^' *^^<^ at Armstrong HaU, the 8e«rn/T . S ""^/^ ^^^^^^^t cZejetiner and that soon after he coUattn th. '^ ^"^ ^^^ HautiyiUe^ Contznent, .^.^ FolkntoneXtnLX^^^ f* ^^ ^«r the Switzerland, and at the German spas. Iioneymoon in CHAPTER XL rPxTT, X • ^ " ^^^ "8 from Heaven." nvi>n» an^op^dan at Eton! ^ravelhng party; and ho, too, was \ Oroft's ^^ S^^" J!^ ^-^-?^ed themselves in Mr ^Poorboywhoihe SadSd^T^/^^^ *« gi^e toS f of an undutiful daughtr'sTlandP^H ^ "^^"^^ (**^^ «ff«Pring tages which many ffSitW^ . lv''^."'^^"^ge) ^^^ advan- ellest sons-an eS on at S^^^^'^^^ "^ * *^'^ [subject Mr. Croft Jl. 7i^5_ ^|^?^ ^^^d Oxford. But on t^Z iforbidden Mrs. C^oFio mSS' ' ^ ?; ^^^'?^' ^' ^^^ ^^ [stand; while to officious^^sito^ 'tif^**^^« '^^ ^^ 'lo*' under- E 2 02 Guilty, or Not Chiilty, I f 1 * I his own affairs, and that when ho needed advice he would ask for it." After this, no one presumed to express an opinion, or to offer any advice as to the education of young Bertram. They contented themselves with casting up their hands and eyes, and with whispering two very unpleasing and disparaging words, in reference to the poor departed Clarissa, and the beautiful and noble boy whom she had left to her father's care. Nothing could exceed the delight of Edith Lorraine at the prospect of visiting all the beautiful countries and noble cities of which they had read together, in company with one whom she had always loved as a brother, until, with her fifteenth year, stole into the maiden's heart a feeling more subtle, more vague, more enchanting, than sisterly affection. Arthur, nearly three years her senior, and consequently seventeen, had only just begun to feel his heart leap in his bosom at the sound of her voice, m d his blood ebb and flow at the accidental touch of her little hand. But the heart of woman ripens much sooner than that of man ; and the maiden and her unacknowledged lover felt at the same time the influence of him who " will be lord of all." But as yet no suspicion of the power that bound them (as with a spell) had entered the heart or the mind of either. No thought of the Future, no plans, no prospects, no doubts, no fears, intruded on them in that freehold each young heart has, in the fairy land of Hope and Love. Indefeasible inheritance ! — our little all of the Eden we lost through Sin, and which passes away from us as soon as Sin steals into the fairy bowers of Love, and the innocent heart of Youth. Mrs. Croft had said truly, that there were no remains of the curvature of the spine, which had threatened with deformity the graceful shape of Edith Lorraine ; no vestige of lameness remained, and her health and strength were entirely restored. Mrs. Croft's cue was not, as Lady Hauteville imagined, to make Edith appear better and stronger than she was ; but, on the contrary, to affect to consider her still as in a great degree an invalid, who might relapse into a cripple, and for whom change of air and scene was a great boon. Mrs. Croft found the handsome stipend, which Lord Haute- ville paid so regularly into her own hands, an inexpressible comfort and help, botn to herself auu to that aspiring youth, her son, whose great object was to be considered " fast" — an object not to be attained without a very great outlay. The day before the departure of the Crofts, and of Edith Lorraine and Arthur, the old Earl of Rockalpine called at Croft Villa, to take leave of his grand-daughter, and to make her le would ask inion, or to bram. They Is and eyes, disparaging 3sa, and the her father's [•raine at the [ noble cities ti one whom her fifteenth subtle, more 3onsequently leap in his 3 and flow at than i'lat of -^er felt at the of all." md them (as either. No doubts, no ig heart has, inheritance ! I, and which fairy bowers mains of the th deformity of lameness jly restored, imagined, to le was; but, 3 in a great pple, and for Lord Haute- inexpressible ig youth, her b" — an object nd of Edith lUed at Croft bo make her Chiilti/, or Not Guilty. 63 whAt, for him, was a magnificent present, namely, an old traveping-bag, which had been his mother's, curiously fitted up with toilet requisites of nearly a century back, and with silver and ivory handles. When the old Earl arrived at Croft Villa, Arthur and Edith were roaming about the woods, taking a fond leave of scenes where they had been so happy. But Mrs. Croft received hia lordship in her best drawing-room; and, while she went in Search of Edith Lorraine, she proposed that her youngest child, a show-off, of the naine of Gloriana, who was supposed to be a great musical genius, should entertain my lord by an exhibition of her talents on the piano. The old Earl had a keen sense of the ludicrous, and watched the little precocious caricature, at the piano, with a smile which the proud and enraptured mamma consfcruud into admiration. The old Earl of Eockaipine was come to take leave of his favourite grandchild Edith. He had listened with great Satience to Gloriana'g grand sonata, and had delighted both [rs. Croft and t^-e precocious young musician by his praises, and by a, present of a sovereign to the young lady, to buy a keepsake m memory of himself. But when Edith came run- ning in, out of breath with haste, and rosy as the Dawn, the Earl begged to be allowed to see his grand-daughter in private and Mrs. Croft and Gloriana left the room. Edith, although with the prospect of all the delights of novelty, change, new countries, and new people before her, and that, dearer still, of Arthur by her side to double and share every joy, could not choose but weep when the old Earl, mth a softness and a feeling very unusual in one whose only affection for many years had been for his gold, took her in his arms, and stroking her bright, glossy, auburn head with his old withered hand, said, " Farewell, my sunbeam !~my love !— my darling ! I wish 1 were ten years younger, and then I would be of your party, my httle one; for, indeed, the glory of poor grandpapa's suns-t fades with your bright face and sunny smile, my precious httle girl!" "^ '•]PVj^t^ cannot you come now, dear, dearest grandpapa P" said Jlidith, throwing her white arms round the old man's neck, and pressmg her roseate cheek to his parchment-yellow and wrinkled face, sere with age. "No, my child. I a.n too infirm, too aged. Old trees, my ^ L^^^^®'. «°x''"*' -~ transplantiiig. And now. do not weep, my ±,dith, if I say that I fear I shall not eee you again; but snould It prove so— if the darkness that now and then over- shadows my path, is, indeed, cast by the wings of the Angel 01 ueath— li the rushing of those wings causes the chiU, the 64> Chiilti/, or Not Chiilty. shudder that occasionally thrills through me, icing the blood in my veins — then, my child (nay, do not sob) you will not see me on this earth again ! " " Oh, I will not go ! " sobbed Edith ; " I vnll stay with you — I will read to you — pray with you — sing to you — comfort you I How can I go away, and leave you to live and die alone P" "Edith," said the old Earl, smiling, *'I have read and re-read the little book you gave me ; indeed, I know many of its hymns by heart. Kow, listen. " « Why Bhould we faint and fear to l.'ve alone, Since all alone— so Hearen had wUlod— we die 7| Nor even the tendercBt heart and next we own, Knows half the reasons why we smile and sigh ? •' ' Each In his hidden sphere of Joy or woe Our hermit spirits dwell, and range apart ; "^ Our eyes see all around . \ gloom or glow. Hues of their own, fresh borrow'd from the heart I •' ' And well it is for us our God should feel Alone our secret throbbings: so our prayer May readier spring to Heaven, nor spend Its zeal On cloud-born idols of this lower air.' I know the hymn all through, my pretty one," added the Earl, ** and I learned it to please you ; but there is no time to say it now, for you have much to do, and I must return to the Castle ; but before I go, sweet child, take an old man's thanks, an old man's blessing. Edith, till I knew you, and heard those truths which are hidden from the learned and the wise, proclaimed by you, thai almost a babe, a suckling, and listened to hjonns and ; rayers from your lips, I was hving without God in the world ! I had made an idol of gold, my love, and I worshipped it ; but Heaven sent an angel, without wings, in your shape, my child, to lead me from darkness into hght. Edith, I was an infidel — I am a believer, a penitent believer, and through you! So do not weep, my pretty one, your mission here is done. You have said, 'Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee life.' Do you remember where we were when you read that text to me, Edith P" " We were sitting on some rocks by the sea," said Edith, very gently, looking up from the old man's bosom, on which her head was laid, and soft tears trickling down her cheeks. "There had been a terrible storm, grandpapa, and we had taken shelter in a cave, deep, deep in the rocks, and we had heard the thnnder roa.r and '/%TT/%>» l-» f\-V. and we had seen the forked lightning flash, and the rain beat down in torrents, and we drew closer together. It was so grand, BO terrible, so awful a storm I Aak by degrees it li-wiiw ing tho blood )u will not see stay with you you — comfort I live and die ave read and know many of 3?; >> I? art! al Ided the Earl, time to say it return to the man's thanks, lU, and heard and the wise, r, and listened iving without ly love, and I out wings, in 3s into Tight, bent believers ty one, your :e, thou that Edl give thee ou read that ," said Edith, om, on which 1 her cheeks, and we had , and we had L the caverns, jhe rain beat '. It was BO Y degrees it Guilti/, or Not OulUy. 55 abated. The rain ceased, tho winds were hushed, the sun came out mall his glory; the rocks and tho sands were soon drv and a glorious rambow spanned the sky. Its arch began on the horizon and ended on the keef of the castle tower; and wo left our cave, and sat down by the sea on some masses of rock 1 hey were warm in the sun, and countless beautiful |: shells and delicate sea-weeds had been cast up by the waves m and I filled my basket with them, and I have them still Oh grandpapa that storm and that heavy, awful darkness, and the lury of the elements, as we shrunk into the darkest corner of that cave I never can forget ; nor yet tho heavenly calm ra?nbow° "^ glorious sunshine, and that brilliant, beautiful "Edith," said the old Earl, "I never told you before, but, on the eve of a long parting, I tell vou now, my child, that that storm, that darkness, that calm, that sunshine, that rainbow worosymbols of what was passing in my soul at that time'. Darker than that darkness had oeen my benighted spirit, when I entered that cave; fierce as the war of those elements was the contest going on within me; sudden as the gush of sun- shine that followed, was the light of Grace shimng into mv soul ; and bright and beautiful as that rainbow in th? sky, was the bridge of penitence, pardon, und faith, by which my spirit was to mount to Heaven. When you prayed in the fervent piety of your pure young heart-when you prayed for deliver- ance from the perils of that ^tovm, I prayed too; and when you returned thanks J ^ott^ecZ .^0.*. Edith, since I was a chil/at my mother s knee, until that hour in that cave with you, I had neither prayed nor thanked God for anything! '^A.nd now prayer IS my great solace; now I 'search the Scriptures,' as my little one told me I must do; now I live a new life; and now, instead of heaping up riches without knowing who shall gather them, I thin£ night and day howl can brinf a bles3 on others, by the gold I have hoarded, and I mean^o ^ave to poofand'needy^^^ dispensmg my wealth for the good of the xi^v?^' ^??'* ^^^^ so— you will break my heart!" sobbed Edith, putting her little hand on his lips. " -Nay, you must hear me," said the Earl, kissing her finger, tips :— you are my heiress, my sole executrix, my residuary i^nH ffVr"?^'"? *^^*^' "^^^^ ^''^^^^^' g«^« to you, my child^ And It m the days to come, when you are a woman, my Edith, you wish to marry one worthy of you, in all but this world'« uross, ana Iriends would oppose and part you, and try to unite r«n i ^""^^ ''^''' ^""^^f worldling who is rich and great, you mft & ^°.'.?'^^/^'^^P^?^ ?T^'^^ *^^ t^i^-l^ thft awaited me. He felt that I should wish to give my haad, where my 66 Chiilti/, or Not ChiUiy. 11 heart had long been given ; that I hIiouW prefer a good, noblo Christian lover, whom I had known from childhood— (for had we not grown up together.?)— who loved mo for myself, to some titled coxcomb and spendthrift, who wedded me for fonnoction or wealth. And ho has empowered mo to raise that dearest, truest one to my own level, and to select from tho vorld, the Christian man of ray heart to bo tho husband of my youth and the sharer of my good fortunes ! ' Ah ! darline never blush about it ! Has old grandpapa discovered tho dear delicious secret, scarcely known to her own heart, and never never whispered to his?" Edith, snailing through her tears, hid her face in the old ^t/'ml^^^^*' J^^^ ^^^^ hugged her up, and continued:— Ihey say there IS a sort of second-sight given to those who are not long for this world; and I fancy I see my little Edith's future spread before her. And that noble youth, Arthur • I see he loves you, Edith, and I see that you love him; and whatever Worldlmess may say about the disparity of birth and station between you, if you wed him you have your grand- lather s blessing, for I see he is a true-hearted, noble-minded youth, and I see, too, in the distance, a halo around his head, indeperdently of you, my Edith. That youth wiU be a great man; 1 cannot tell how or when it will come to pass, but I do clearly see a coronet on your Arthur's brow. Perhaps he is to achieve greatness; but be that as it may, I feel that he will be great, and that, m the end, those who have opposed and con- demned will congratulate and approve. And now I so my love; but not as of yore, to a dreary solitude, with no com- panions l)ut inanimate money-bags. No ; my home now is tho home of a Christian. Each hour has its pleasant Christian auty.^ in my Bible I have an inexhaustible source of comfort and interest, and this Kttle book, this * Christian Year,' your gift, is its fit companion— its handmaid. My soUtary halls are no longer dark and dreary— the light of Grace is there; and I am no longer alone, for Faith is ever by my side." Edith, still sobbing, slipped from the old Eai^l's breast, and lell on her knees before him. " Don't weep, darling," he said, raising her, "but listen your portrait, my Edith, stands on my table; your sweet tace smiles on me, and your raised finger seems at one time to beckon, at another to warn. So do not weep, as if I were still the godless old miser going to count his hoards ; I am now the aged Christian awaiting his summons. And now let me Rive vou a sum I have brnnorht, xcn'tli rno oti/j cm^ nf td-v^-"! can distribute your farewell chanties to those poor pensioners - of whom you have often spoken to me; and if you will send me a hst of their names, my darling, my steward ehall visifc •Mb* Oniliy, or Not Ouilty. 57 a good, noblo lood— (for had for myself, to Jdded me for I mo to raise elect from the usband of my Ah! darling, 'erod the dear rt, and never, 30 in the old iinuod : — I to those who little Edith's :h, Arthur ; I ve him; and T of birth and your grand- aoble-minded nd his head, II be a great ass, but I do haps he is to lat he will be sed and con- )w I go, my ith no com- le now is the mt Christian e of comfort Year,' your ary halls are bhere ; and I 3 breast, and ut listen: — your sweet one time to ' I were still ; I am now now let me i wiiiCii you f pensioners - Qu will send d shall visit and relieve them in your abaenco." So saying, ho put a purse into Edith's hands, who took it with a fresh burst of tears. With these words, the old Earl clasped the wildly weeping girl in a long embrace, and tore himself away. She rushed out, and saw him enter his carriage, to which Arthur, who was in the garden, was assisting him. She heard him say, " God bless and prosper you, Arthur— tak care of my Edith; " and then she saw no more, for the Earl .rew himself up in a corner of the carriage, and hid his face in his hands. CHAPTER XII. *• Child no more I I love, and I am woman 1 " RionEtiEU, As soon as the old Earl was fairly off, Edith hastened to her own room to think, to pray, to weep, and then to wash away the traces of her tears, for she had to repair to Mr. Croft's library, to complete some calculations, accounts, and book- keeping (which, as she was an excellent arithmetician, sho always managed for him). Edith longed to bo once more in the woods and fields with Arthur, for it was exquisitely fine; but she promised Mr. Crcift to complete all she had undertaken, and Edith never broke her word. Since we saw him last, Mr. Croft had been to Paris, and a French hair-dresser had persuaded him to adopt a curly ven- tilating peruke. It gave him a jaunty, perky air, by no means natural to the staid old attorney ; and as he sat in his easy chair by the fire, conning liis Murray's Handbook, and glancing ap- provinglv at Edith, his pretty book-keeper, pondering over a total at her own little writing-table, a more cheery home-scene could not have been designed. By the time Edith had finished her work, Arthur had en- tered the drawing-room in search of her. They had agreed, as it was their last day at Rockalpine, to pay farewell visits to some poor cottagers living on the moor. "Duty first, and pleasure afterwards," was Edith's motto; and now, with loving hearts, they wander forth together, bathed in the lich sunset, hand-in-hand, on their errand of mercy,— silent, but yet happy"; for them it was the Spring-time of life— the Dawn of Love — the fairy-land of the heart ; and they wanted nothing to make them blest but the dear delight of roaming to- getlier through Nature's wild scenery— silent with that silence which IS more eloquent than words, and a soft sigh occasionally proclaiming a happiness far deeper than that which translates itself into smiles and words. Mrs. Croft's eldest son was, as we have said, to be of the continental party, and a young fellow-Etonian, Lord Pontecraft, 58 G^*%, or JVot Ouilty. tron sing «ort of mannoTori'Stlo E^^ ""'^T'"' ^'" ^ T'a- habit of calling her- but n J.,-, f Ti * .' ^^ ^^^ was in the for Edith Lorfaino/as tlo ..^nd .Z, t ^'V ^''^' '^^'^^^-- too, so powerful in his naHv,./*"^'^ '''''' "^ *^n earl~an earl, in all hUan prZhuT^ZZt^t^: H ««^kalpine-and daughter of the Earl of Rockalpine '''^■- "^^^^ I^orraine, A^^^^^^^ of rank, title, had he and his worldly motW ^ „ ' "" ^Po«^<^'0" ; and very early what had been deS^^^trfe^ fer'^^^ hand Lord Pontecraft showeZa nvrnin J^ ^^T' °" ^^"^ ''^^'^'' Edith, although it had been ll?fi ?? .^ symptoms of love for would have had power to at?rte^^ "*'"'^ ^^«"^^« ^^^o^ dressed well, and worths „r~r r^7^^''^ ^^^^ Pretty. that peculiar charm-thSeSfirP tr ^i ^?* ^^^^^ ^^^^ can resist. It was not merely bcJ^^^ffT'^^ "1° ^^^^'*^ «*" "^'^n Misses Croft might have contifS f / V ^^ •",*^ °^ '^^'^»^*7' ^^'o that rare unicn of^a^rexnre^sfnn ^ Edith-ft was faseination, naturefw^'ch o^ccTS^^ *^"^^°^' ^"'^°"-' whole, and make the woraanT w?;"^ ^'i,^'"''"' ^"^ irresistible of Hearts, evenif endoreTwith a mZ i^'T,"'^?"' *^^ ^"^^« than that which fell to the lare o?tl«\. fJ^""/ v^'^ «^ ^^^"<^y ^ Both young Croft and LorSn/p.l/ffP''''^*^^^ ^?^^^^*^ ^'iitli- Aclose league existed beSn thp,^ /^ "^T l^f °"^ «f ^ mint" propensities bofrw!^""' ^^.^^ ^^oth had very " yar- raeing;1)otUad triumpt^r^^^^^^^ ^™^k^°^' ^^tting, visits to casinos, and conm w^ fo '"^ *^^ ^^^ ^^ clandestine Both were very dis^grS^^^^^^^^ C^ disgraceful than defeats ! . susceptibilities of Edlt^ Wine p'l'"?^*^" Jf t^ ^^^ ^^fin^d ' pam. and often concealed fh«!^H!n ^i^* ^dith hated to give than wound the matSl af^^^^^^^^ T^ ^\^^«* «^° f^l*. rafhir Croft, who took aTfntel S^^^^^ If'^'' ™%) of Mrs! elegant, and was extremely aSu?th«? t ""Z?? ' "'^^^^^^ ^« ^^ find sufficient attractio7in™ W Hr'n'i'^ Pontecraft should - abroad, to secure his foUowinoTlii^^ , ?,® -^^^ut to remove While the young LordTontecraft !f fi^^''' P^^^F^^ations. strutting together up and doiT^h ' f S'" ^'^"y' ^^o^' were grounds of 6roft Vi£a^thei?^«l«^ w^^ ^^^^^ walks of the ther costume nauticat^d^rfLr^^^ «ide, their ciD-aT-c or,^ u„- .7 „ prepared for the vach<---<=T«oi,,-^ J plentifully seasoneTTdth^^^^^ adventures in odious ■slangl Guilti/, or Not Ouilty, flg jmaid, in doviaing tho most hocnminj* yacliting costntnes, with ■ft view to captivulu Lord rontecruft ; and Alrn. Cmft, a groat toUopathiat, was intent upon hor medicino-chest, and a glasH jar lof leoclios, travelling coinpaniona with whom she could not poa- |Bibly dispense. I Meanwhile, Arthur and Edith walked on, hand-in-hand, across [the fields golden with buttcrcii'^s. and fragrant with cowslips, over the stiles, across the r ■ alio\\ brooks, through (ho Black Wood (of such terrible menory in Uiis tale, and which even they could not pass withonc f shudo t, for they knew its dark Btory), and came out upon tw purplr moor, I A poor old cripple now live- ii that hovel which had onco bo- longed to Rough Rob and his Irish Mary. In their long rambles, Arthur and Edith had come upon this poor old cripple, and had more than once helped him with small sums of money, and had taken him tea, sugar, broth, and other nourishing thmgs. And now they had resolved to pay a last visit to poor old Juke, and to leave with him a share of the sum the Earl has left in Edith's hands to distribute in farewell gTts to hor poor pensioners. The sun was setting as the young lovers crossed the purple, buoyant, and fra^ant moor. "Look ! what is this, Arthur P " said Edith, just as they left the Black Wood, stooping down to examine a little feathery bundle of mauve and green and gold, fluttering in the heather. " A wood-pigeon 1 " said Arthar, " a wounded wood-pigeon ! Ah, doubtless, one shot by Lord Pontecraft or Roger Croft, when they were out with their guns this morning. See, it is bleeding." " Is it much hurt ? " said Edith, growing pale. "Oh, the cruel, cruel sport 1 to wound a bird is much worse than to kill it." " I do not think its wing is broken, although it is bleeding," said Arthur. " Shall we try to save it, dear Edith P " " Of course, Arthur ; we could not leave it to die." " Stop, then," said Arthur, " I will make a sort of basket of heather for it, and we will carry it home." "And I," said Edith, "will bind up its wing with my hand- kerchief; for I think, in fluttering as it does, it keeps the wound open." Arthur, who had helping hands, soon wove some branches of heather into a sort of nest or basket, and Edith adroitly bound the injured wing, and then she hfted the poor wood-pigeon into tiie nest, covcrud it over with Arthur's pocket -handkerchief^ and walked on with it towards the hovel on the moor. Arthur and Edith had proceeded as far as an old thorn, which stretched its gnome-hke and distorted trunk across their 60 OuUty, Of JSTot OuiUy. path, and wJhioTi of 4-1, • the cJuMn^lir: SSr- •^' » ^^ part of dowed her with the power ffS?^ ^'P^^' ^^^ Superstitioren casting evil eyes, b5^StLi hf '^^ ^^^^'i^^^' f«retVna ^^^^^^ evil, if offended, Ct often IVnt?'°^^ ^°^ ^^^"g ever^ VoSle where she "took ?o peoy.^^^^^^ ^nd^valuSrSd was a sinffularlv nnwi^fi 1 '• f^ *^® country folk harf if ou and her ^^S^ATZ'^T: andTeCtoMewonS? "tS ''^^' "''^'«'» *'«" - ■' would scare the ■ , " Ne™ °?elS;'S? r?,^'' ''''^ '"^ ^^^ ^'^'a^^' iiandsome face, doZ t^Zr off ^ °'' ^'■*?^ ^^^ no Sybarite), that was bent B^u^utterfcoT'^T^^^ f?^' with looks of such confiding! Bucn unutterable love. The birds were singing as if to welcomo 62 Guilty, or Mt ChiUty. tlTlintW^Z^^^^ «Pri-g "P to deck their path, (concealed b^f rfl? ffi.^^l*^^^^ /^ ' ^ ^^^^^li railway a cottage. hllolSS^ fnn^!^ ^Af ^ ''m''^ ^^^* distance; anS T>,o «^- 1 P^"™^^® and performed their errand of mprpv cantag, hurried, and «Lal in wW he saS wJ'i^Y- ?? Swhrh:i''S?;sx?£v^'Y^^^^^^^^ whiskey pervaded thJ hnvS t f ^' i"" ? •'*'^°^ ^"^^^ °^ strongly of t^ofi 1^ • l^ the close hovel, that smelt so men." "^® "'^ "f"''® 'O'-Jay. nor ttose savage-looking EMh" ^•" "^'^ ^""^ = " ^'" °= 8"=' '"«k ^ i^t as we can, felWs"^Lt''?2^i;!^^"fL:!:^-_S- a- iU-looting and lonely as it Guilty, or Mt Chiilty. gg |e then perceived that the three ill InnVi'ti., «,n^ t , , k Juke's hovel before them and who bad lln 7' ""^^ ^^ fesaulted him, and mth a well-aimed blow brought Edith'! Bsailant to the erround But tho «,^«*„ * urougnc Jl^dith g bhe two other^iU™„3 fell tpon Irtha/wl,^ •"™''?*"' °?''- [aliant resistance, was OTerpoTred stunned i^l V" 'P',*! °V* [round which was soon batC[rUs blood fIS^ ^^^^ tate, sank fainting .^"nfs'idr^^'''^ "'"' '"''™ ^' ^■'"""■'^ Ifer head on his brealt ' ^"^^^^ "' '^ ^^^^ «^oon. en, and were waiting for their dav'^ w«Lo J \- •^,*^" i>S' My'l^^W '^XTb*''!"" °™"- ^'''^^^- 'he official's Win,^ber4^vstt^s%rc^?ri;sj^^^^^^^^^^^ »t on that brow, and said Xr ,V"^'**'« »=>* was Wngtr^o-^ '■''"'*'^' "''='^' «■"» »y camphor julep will soon Ztd'^rSasttltf addin'ir'^^"'"P ^'^i*'' '"="' «■"' Jr mother and ^^^^^''^1^^^.^^^'^^ t'"" °' ito paiuculars. Ho only said, ° *" ""'*'' KrhraettT^- J -C - » -- = - ao 64 Quiliy, or JSTot Guilty. I will be 'm^^I;?- •»"«■-• "«" *o has only fainted. . „,„ ^ So saying, he carried Edith infn «,, ' lef? ?^? ^'^^ ^^d *^^° toed b^k ?o Z' "^^"^V^^d placed In i^^?^ to assist the laboi^S t 1 • '^^* ^^^^^ ^^ had youth to his mother's cottage ' ^ ^^^^^S the wounded hadreft^tV'^^ at the spot where he tage. Gently and carefnlW ff ^"^^ ^^^ removal to the cot eyed the p„orbi?dfS™^;Swf'"? "'^ ^"""6 »» welo».ed and c^essed b, t:'^^^^^^^^^^'-^ w^b^u^hlCS,^^- tdTr ^^ ""^ *™«^^>>- from the bed on which shp W i? '^^''^ ^^^^^^s she sprang «ic£s'^S'S^^^^^^ ^^^ '^Z'Zt Z^'^' ''""'.^ ^-* d^ai of Jer own simple ways a veX L Ji ^""^^ ^ ^^pital nurse, but, in best for ArtU7 4til ThJ ^Ce'd^^^^^^ sent, could reach the spot ^ ^°''*°'"' ^°^ ^^^^ she had r^^Z^l^^Zu'sl^^^^^ of blood, but not lips and cheeks when fc ParW^^^'V^^'^^^d *« Edith's with smgular presence of mind tnS TTi K«^ *^^« 5 and. good motherlf woman to wash the hlnnTr^' '^f ^^^^^^ ^^^ face, to cut away the o]nH^ i f^ "^^^^d from Arthur's Dale to bind it up, aTd to a^Ser^^me'^-"' ^"^ ^^^ *^^ ^^^ 'd soon enabled him (witH St sS "V"^P^« restoratives, ^ ^ :. tis hand to Edith, who heThe T f recognition) to extend was WUng by his^U ' "'^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^r eager eye.^ "let ns b?ttSl.\'a"d2itTs7w ^^ ^r«- Parker; " Now that I feel a little H • ' ^^* '* '« "« ^o^se." will tell you how this came f^ "" '"^ ^/ ^^°d'" «aid Edith, « I She thV as simpVTnd Sr%W^ ""^^ ""?.^^^* ^^ are.'' adventures of herselHnTArtCrf^''!v,Po^«^ble, related the li:ft^t^^?^y^^^^t^^^^^ ofTbe^ttr. li^^i^ -et- Ouilty, or Not Guilty. gg Parkerf-ldt r4t7mef ;■'' J»ko myself," said Mrs. to let your frLds kno;"of^he SLTr ' ^-^ ''""^^ ™°'"™ imbibed a pint of beer thTs TZ. ,^r'""j' ™d after he had 1 kitchen /nd pocketthat ZCwWi?^^^^^^^ ^^^'^ -^^^ °^ ^i« o^ 'ningjoke which he crackS a?Uhrme^d"is''rf ^^^^ %™- Eockalpi^hTdbnc and v,l,lv ?*'/!;"?'"''' "f Alnwick and :ases, both real Ld rmt'rar^''''C " ^""^ *" T-"*'''''' <*'^- .ington-the Honourabfe Sissf TrnZ; T ^Sj"^^' .er, that ^~^'LZT^t^ZS r^^t^ '^.^T^ off. she did w o^ i 1 ^^ "^^^^* ^* aii.y moment >:,rrv her top: toredTiLtrr^f ^^^ ^^" ^^ - ^y -^^^ ^S.':m^sXn^n^t^^ n}'J''r'' '^'^ «f ^^"^^'^ding the Miss Moss if nnZvfded 4 in L^'f *'"" that waited poor Misq Trnr»,^,- ^V '^, ^" *^®^ patroness's will. imss 1 rumpmgton very hauo-htil v reni-d thJf i, - - t;ompetent to the manao-pmpnf °^f i," ^^'i*'" *^'"^^t bHu was quite no hints from anyZ^SHf M" Ir'^'^^ ^^^^^«' ^^^ wanted was at fuU Hbe/tyTI and^^^^^^^ '^^t'^"* '^^^^^^'^ «^« uwtyco go, and there the subject ended. Dr. ee Gtnlty, or X^ot Guilty. Fussell never aJluded to it again, and for a !Vw rlav^ rrumpm^on did not send for lim. But ere Ion.. «oXha;n' on hf.^w^ rr^d pride, and he was reinstated He wT^ Dr. TusseU staned when he recognised Edi i Lon aine "n fho yoimg bdy knedi^g by the woundid youtb's si^ ':^th W mure th.a once beea under hi. care. Irthm-, toc^^iou^^Z^ rally heai... 1,7,. n.d been ai^ patient in the case of two ?r £« ehJ^ -'^i-^'^- Both were favourites with tLe^S S "Ah I fiih EdiU of the swan neck!" he eald, offerine. b,-« warm lm.d, "What, bending over Haroldf Not S f hopet' -No nol Never saydfe! Come, how are we now P'^ ana he sat dowii by Arthur's side, took his hanci^th a vZL mortal air, and felt his pulse. "Very low and fluttei W " he safd Mi^. Parker have we a little good brandy in om cupboard P" ;; Yea, su- ; I have some French brandy."^ cupboard P Very^ good. Now let's have some boiling water and ^ glass, and some lump sugar. This spirit, fair slith, which does nL??,'^ T!'q^°'' sometimes a great deal of good. It has ll nf 'T^^ ^'"'-^''^ P"^*^ ^^*« *^« ^orld, but Sometimes the hfe of a dear one is owing to its potency. Now then E we are. Take a sip yourself, fair EdiU. You need it fo^ vou Z much shaken, and we know who wiU think the corffluh^ sweeter, if those pretty lips touch it : *^® ' But leave a kiss within the cup. And I'll not ask for wine,' " ^®saiig in a Uttle, squeaky falsetto. and^.'S*Hi7^'''J-^P',^^'^^'«^ll P^^^^ ^^^ glass, drank .hli^''^.^^''K ^'^ ^"^^ ^^^' I^octor. Do - ■) '^dith so- she s frightened to death." ^^^^ P.l?'"'^- 'i ""f-'i ''"^ '" ^^* "^ ^* • She's not f-^'-rhf. Pretty girls hke a iMe blood shed in their • ^ , better if he's got a bloody costard in her Irr. ^ take another puU at this mixture here," ana • into owo other glasses. " Now then, Edith faii Prince Arthur; now then. Dr. Fussell— a lonaJiV- .- ^ ' pull and a null 9lto.,otV.'f ri.f "i'/ri.. ^ ^^pg P"! -\-v a strong were Mrs Port^^ "ni i ' "T """V^'^^° ^^^^^ "^^^^ men we >d; not she. There isn't fellow all the There, now, ', ' ■ ired some ■ uow then, n. ;i w dajR Misa Ion..' oome sharp, nstated. He was jourer met with lere u poor man, )ulJ have bled to '• Lon^anie In the side, ::dithhad 00, tiiough gene- of two or three L the good little uJd, offering his ? Not slam, I ■ are we nowP" Id with a profes- tei mg," he said ; om- cupboard P" g water, and a dith, which does f good. It has t sometimes the V then, here we i it, for you are 3 cordial all the e glass, drank ed his eyes, he said in a faint tc') '^dith so- • '^d; not she. There isn't fellow all the There, now, j j> "red some ii's iiow then, > £»)!<{ a strong CO tile men we sie and Patty, ned to death." Guilty, or JSTot Guilty. ^^ I Ari^u? S^T/ t^f ffSS fo &^^J n-ter, and scious of au^ht but r,he Lt^eofsfethT^'' *?^ ^* ^^^«»- |a«d|o her, tSe Uttlc Docto? saTd ^ '"^ ''^'^^^^'^ *» ^ifo jof the^'damage.'' MrlXke^ToJfl Z"^ 'l' ^^^*'« *^« ^^tenfi |dd a light, if you plea^ll'^1^ JSf InL'T'^^' ^-^ 5 Indeed! l^ow, have you a bed mvl!iM''''^^^^*^y Pressed ^ou can spare for ouJyoi^g g^ wf ''n^T^"*' ^^^^^ fe composing drau^t, t^tCT^^^e^^, S^^^^^' ^^^^<'. %o have to exact from our womankind "^^^/o^ i^^m; and all #oes work miracles-^amel^ sS^„^ » %t miracle-but Lovo fongues, for when onceXmt^T; .T^^^xf^^'^ ^^^^ their fill depend on rest-entSeCt Thf *^^^^^ *H' anodyne, all f ver ; and that's the (^y tWwe^ ^^? ? ^'**^^ tend^icy to |ed he can have." ^ ^ ^^ ^^^® *» ^ar- Show methe ii hl^?£e'Sit ^h^SlS r^^^^^ --^ -0-. and ■ " The very thinffN^^^^^"!^^^^ Placed, the field, weV get^ur woi^de/^T^^^^^J ^fjon^iU leave quite comfortable, HI come^wlvf ° i° ^^J' ^nd when he^a fi^e a brief account of thr^m?^r' ^""-^ ^'^ ^^^^^^ ^air to give mat led to this dlaster '' ^^^ ^'''^"^<^ ^^ A^^d and fidd^ Ax^ ^:: s ;i'r i'a^^ ^^r«' -^^^h he Heaven bless you!" they parted ^''^^ ""'Sht" and I -In about half an hour the lif fin n ^ Ke upstairs to hear Cm Edith f>,«?''*^ ^^^ ^^«- ^^arker [hich she had alreadrgTven to the P^'S^^ %U^^ <^i«aster fed it, a carriage drove urtoflT/^^'''::. ^^^^ ^^^ re- hionate wish to r^ain wS^sl^^.^^^^^f ed *^ ^^^^^'^ Ivmg offered to give up her little W f .1 *^^* ^^^^*' J^ssy he ^nthhev mother aSd sTster '^ *° *^' ^^^^^ ^^dy, an J ^hur would be well enougS^^i^t t^^^^^^^^ CHAPTER XTY. " Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all." IhILE the Worlrllir «r,..^ T , SHAKESPEAia^ r 2 68 Ouilti/, or Not Quilty. Earl of Richlands, and while Edith— whom in her hard heart she had doomed to the perpetual spinsterhood that so often awaits a cripple — is enjoying all that happiness that Love and Youth can bestow on Innocence, there were hearts in which the proud Lorraine blood was chilled by dread, or fevered with anguish and despair. Lord Hauteville, in spite of his success in public life, in spite of Popularity, Reputation, Office, could never shake from his soul that nightmare, the consciousness of Crime, and that ever-haunting, chilling terror that attends the dread of Detection. Rough Rob and his Mary were in Canada ; but things did not go well with them there, not any better than they had done in Australia. Mike O'Rourke, from Mary's account, was a rash speculator and an inexperienced farmer, and had led them to the verge of ruin. Mar^ was the scribe of the party, and would write to Lord Hauteville, although the sight of her handwriting, and her square letters, and her thimble seal, caused him an ague of fear and anguish, and though he sent lar^e sums to keep Rough Rob abroad; for he was haunted by an impression, so vivid as to seem almost b. 'presentiment, that if once Rough Rob were taken and tried, the long-hidden and terrible truth would come to light, Augusta, on her side, could not stifle with wedding finery the yearnings of a young and not unfeeling heart. She dreaded to be alone — she dreaded to think; she studiously {./oided all tete-d-tetes with her intended, the wigged, padded, rouged old Earl, with his glittering false teeth, so out of keeping with the thin blue lips of age ; his blackened eyebrows and whiskers, so harsh and unnatural when contrasted with the wrinkled parch- ment of his cheeks and brow, and which the silvery locks of age would have softened ; and his stiff gait, so ill suited to his assumed juvenilitv. Alas ! poor shrinking bride elect ! If thou so dreadest a few minutes alone with thy lord elect, how wilt thou endure the close intimacy, the forced companionship of wedded life — the unbroken seclusion of that honeymoon which will so soon tear thee from all but him at whose tottering steps and squeaky falsetto thy cheek grows pale, and the young blood dancing in thy veins grows icy cold ? Happier — oh ! ten thousand times — beautiful and stately Augusta ! bride elect of an Earl ! is little Edith (the carroty cripple). Carroty cripple, indeed! why, Hebe might envy the golden auburn of her rippled tresses, and Psyche could ask no form more perfect and more sylphlike. Yes, ten thousand times happier, is Edith, with her young, adoring, but unacknowledged lover by her side, though he ^s the grandson of Attorney Croft, adopted out of charity, and, in the world's opinion, as far beneath thee as Attorney Croft . her hard heart i that 80 often i that Love and hearts in which or fevered with 3 of his success )n, Office, could onsciousness of hat attends the but things did than they had '■'s account, was r, and had led »e of the party, ie sight of her ' thimble seal, though ho sent vas haunted by isentiment, that )ng-hidden and Iding finery the She dreaded to sly {„/oided all ed, rouged old leping with the id whiskers, so rrinkled parch- silvery locks of ill suited to his dreadest a few bou endure the edded life — the ill so soon tear 3 and squeaky ood dancing in )usand times — L Earl ! is httle indeed! why, ed tresses, and nore sylphlike, ith her young, B, though he is >f charity, and, A.ttorney Croft Gtillii/, or N'ot Ouilty. 60 U beneath the great Lord Hauteville, the popular orator, tho Labinet Mmister, the man whose reputation is without a stain or blemish and who if there ivere an order of Virtue and Merit, would be a Knight Grand Cross of that Order, and wear Its priceless star on tho breast of— a fratricide ! In about a week from the time of the assault and robbery on t^ TiS"' n^'tl^'' "^f sufficiently recovered to embark on board Mr Croft s yacht, the Water Lily, in company with tho r?F P^^ ^°^"° abroad for the first time. The police had made every possible effort to discover and apprehend the ruffians who had committed the .ssault and thett; but all their endeavours proved abortive. Old Juko had lett his hovel, and was gone none knew whither; and thus one great chance of detection was lost. A reward of a hundred pounds was offered by the Earl, and another to the same amount by the parish authorities, for the apprehension of the culprits; but fn vain. Our party em- barked without any progress having been made in the detec- tion 01 the rumans. Edith spent the last day of her sojourn in England at Eock- alpine Castle, with her grandfather. It was a happy day, for wbi-.r^oTH *^^^^^^^f T^ere proportioned to the great boon which he felt he owed to his little Edith ui^^^i^^^^ '"^ *^^ departure of Mrs. Croft and her party en- abled the former to receive before she embarked the wedding i 3pH%1 f ^r^"*" V °^ H'^l^^ds. Yes, Augusta had con- Sf *^5,^^^,«^5^^ «^^*or ?f lier sister ; the sacrifice was com- plete. ^ bhe had wedded her eighteen summers to the Earl's S7;t'^T i''*^''^' f?^.^° 'l^^^^y ^ad i* all been managed, that the London world of fashion was taken quite by surprise and before Slander, Gossip, and Ridicule could make a feast out ot their engagement. Interest silenced all three; for Augusta was a Countess, and the Countess's robes covered up all tho vanity, avarice, and ambition of such a match. Lady Haute^Ue, although for a time her occupation was gone, as she had no daughter to marry, continued in town for the remainder of the season, she so thoroughly enioyed the \27\f' ""t' ^""^ discomfiture of high-born matrons, with Idaughters of many ..asons still on hand. Lnf w^"!?^^ Countess had promised that her absence should inot extend beyond the honeymoon, and then she was to return llir^; be agam presented as a bride-the Countess of Rich- llands-to ghtter .'^, the Birthday Drawing-room, give some su- € dinners and -nrees, and a fete and ball h^thevio unap- iproached for magniixcence, at Richlands House. Park Lane, and Ito display her diamonds and her trousseau before admiring or leuvymg eyes, to the deUght of Lady Hauteville, who scarcely 70 ^^■%, or ]^oi Ouilty. ever now eave . thrm..-,. i. viH^SotSt^S^S^^^ 'He wit .;t„ .,„.„ „ di«g"'r""; ,t",'t- f S"-^™ ;;ill receive by thia port ,!,» „, dear g>,.. iu ,,„ g„, Be»8™ S "7 ' t " "' «'*la„d The' off a ,,r,,;e for which high bo" a'^Zhi"",,,™'^ *"^™. '"'"arS d li»v,> oiig contended in vain r„ '""hlonahle mothers and daiiS™ niarrjang a fort-if-n nobleman, consiS 1 ' ^^ °'^'" eWest dariW in I ^-'^n^a great measure lostTo S "^^ "^" *^^*^«' °«* ^'^r^. an^di" Nonhumbnans are liie Scotchmen IthevUvefo? Adieu, my den -^ -St Mr r w t? i. believe me ever yours most fdtlSally "''''" " "^^ 1^"°^ ^ ^^t^ ^^r me, and To Edith, her mother TH-ote :- ,«f.T^!"A^«^EDiTH,-Tamgriev, " Gr .R3INA Eauteville.' enchanted f,n h^o. <•...„ ^^^^"^ ^^^ «» chtumingly contrived for v ^^ sonlatnotbei g able »o -chanted to h:aXm"C Z roort ""-A'^ -Sr^/'^Tili naps When you return from this inZ Z • ®° ^ ^*^* «aw yo«- Per- mll be grown so much iThall h^S ^^°"'^ °" *^« Continent vou ^metoxntroduce you to yZr ^w /roTht^i'? ^^^^^^ ^ hope at tCt t^J^---^ - -n H.e ^TS-^-^ -Bio. -* and^ S^SSS^^devS S.i^ ^^^^^« -^^h over you. I^ * Georgina Hauteville." << I Georgina, or to mpletelv was she u match her Au- it "to assume a Villef/ertoMrs ) Edith. To the tliia post tlie wed- f Bichlands. The jiiteen, has carried lers and dauprJitcrs ultuous hapi)ine83 '^. of her Eichlanda >joiced with me to 3 of air and scene, te in son in degree ville is more '^han im by office, but ' ^'appy marriage, eldest darling, in not ours, and is, fe this, to have »"i', her seconi dful death, Lord never visits the so. n the Earl, my he should be so 1— they live for iith for me, and AUTEVILLE." t bei g able to 1 the deligJitfui 'pr y I am in all resppcta 'W you. Per- ontinent, you hope at that Earl of Rich- [usta is a very I over you, by JTEVILLB." Mrs. Croffc ^vas <3^«%, or Not Quilttf. n municativo letter as fhut « m L? ''•" ^J^^^'onato and com- villo. Great as was to A^, received fWnn Lady Haute Lawyer Croffc and Ladv frt'^^'M ''T ^'^^^^^^ the^w n of Sir John Arrnstrlg b/eamo i'il '' *?" '^"^ ^'^^ l^een J efore Miss Armstrong and Mls^nnff y"'' T^ ^ millionaire when drawing and danciW Ichoo^ a.''? r^>f ^ ^^^^°ded the Tamo beauties at the danci?^ ^^r^s it ^'t' T"^ ^^^ ^^^^ rival 'W i'«o.-KinaP Hr?ho vdl Metf *'•' '-■^guided, the un- ■-7>c'll of passion outlasted the hom%m''°'"•^■'■«'i^''*' H"" tl,o ;l^es so. no. , «eor«i„..^ea^Jre;t1on^'rtU'ge*3 ,r4;..:s:^:?47Wsroua^^^^ insured h. , life for douMe Z „^„ "f^ ^^y^'^^< a"d he has gained f, ot^tithT^ilVT^S ,«l!j!,*-P- ^» ^as Pense, a reproach ! She h^C-™?" I'r ™<=™braaee, ar ! watchful '^"'^ " A^nontented, too, unhappy, jeaiou;, 'tE''^fl?"^^'"^^e^hrh'tt»^ :repents of that one ialso sten r w™; /^ ?™ ?<"»• young wife for restoration to her honJe P„d?°7J^'j° P/"«^ for pidol and •In vain, in vain ' A ii fi,« i 71 fister J Nened; and Bomio rRoccateS^^^ f ' """^''^ ^^^ ^^*^ned un- per tears, her misery, commanfi,''^'P^^^^^^ ^* ^^er despair «f S'^t to ,^ite nS'^o^J?" To a^J<]V "? ^'^^^ «^ ^^« dirrre! oalth and strength fail her,' her be^ , ^'''- T' '"^^^^'^e^^' l^er Uickness as unto death conS K ^^"^^'^^f" ^'^^ ^ dream. ^ L .^t j,,^, jjj ^^y half .=,^41^' I" "^ ^^'^^^ rtutecfcs »P. However, h3 insists on her Wn ^ """^ ^'^ monstachioed ■of the first phy..cian in Hombi-g ^ ^^^''^' ^^^ *^^ ^Pi^ion 72 Ouilli/, or mt OuiUy. Goorgina watched Inm closely whilo the doctor oxpresqed hU onnion. and the rl.ud that dirkcnod his brow Zt 1 redd Bhadow on her Binl.a.pr heart. The doctor, an old Zirlvn^ and a laughing philosopher, nibbed his hands, chuck cd and congratulated the Count and the Countess, say nr*' You'll bo Unhaopy Georgina! there is no joy. no sympathv in his ovo TiC . T *^7l^»^band-he is the'fJther ofThrchM to be bo^rn ^Itil ^?*^"?l^«^«^«i«P:all and wormwood. Ho does not clasp thoo to his heart, and bless and cheer thee. He Teavea nrchm the llf '^.r iPT^^^-^^"^ P"'^^^^°" ' ^>^t even 7.; cZ ^rn ink f^ a7 7"^^ ^^^""^^ ^^'^^'^ fi'*^*^ learns that she is to be a mother ! Nc ! ho cannot rob thee of that strange mvstic rapture And he sees thee, with an eyil. mocking efe' Sw Zr^}}!l 5'^\' ^^""^^^ ^'^^ ^^^^ «^k« of the unbo?n-re whos? wishes that death would claim both the branch and the fn^t fo? he has insured thy young life for twenty thousand pounds CHAPTER Xy. " O'er the glad waters of tlio dark blue sea, wlfnii';^!; M^^ boundless and our souls as free : 2f™^/ "'^ "^ °*'^ ''''" '^'^"' t'»e billows roam. Survey our empire, and behold our homo." BrnON. Mr. Chopt although his wife had induced him to purchase that H|)lendid yacht, the Water Lily, was by no means nanfl! cally disposed. He as he said, did not kno7a ropTo?The sht ten^dTobe :^: '^'^ '""^'"l ^^^ ^' ""^^ ''' *«« seSe to pr?-' tend to be what he was not, or to undertake what he could nnf ttZesKh ::'^ H ^" "^"i 'r^ r --Id W^^Xnge^el ine lives ot others. Ho wisely hired a thoroughly comoctent bl hTaTd MtsT'%^ T^''7' T^ '''--'''' eUaXtfon oocn ne and Mrs. Croft, their daughters Roo-pr Crnfl- ^r^A +i, young Lord, wore all lying on the AS S^&l^Cin^l Z ^ZTh^^T^''"'*'^' "8°-™^ "f sea-sickness, alY^sUng tor nothing but to be once again on term firma; all resolvini? ^„i T' T"" ^P'"" """'^ t''^'-^. noti&g would ever aaafn induce them to enter a yacht, or to do ajiythEie in thit 1^1 were not m the least ill , on the contrary, th™ w7^ i";,,,.T±^ hu-ai.u ana smnto (as those who are not afflicted Tvithsiokne'r, always are wfen at sea). The wood-pigeon, now quMe re^wed tor OTprcssod his ow cast its cold old hon i-lv(mt. Is, chuckled, and ^yinp, •• You'll bo ' s hie, not death, a little stranger )athy, in his eye, 3 child to be born 3d. Ho does not hee. He leaves but even he can- ns that she is to strange, mystic iing eye, taking lorn — lie, who so md the fruit, for nd pounds. e; am. BTnON. m to purchase ) means nauti- 3pe of the ship, ensible to pre- it he could not ive endangered hly competent r embarkation. Croft, and the r berths, in all )s, all wishing all resolving, iild ever again ', in that way, nmer day, via to all the rest Lrthur. They Te m iimip.iip.l with sickness li ' e recovered Ouilfi/, or Mt Quilty. 73 witV^IZorLr }^ ^T^'--\ST^^--^on, and wa. a pot happy in the soo hing ret,^; ofTl e'sofV ^^I"? I'r"^ '^'7 ^^^^ breeze freshened the?lovol , ' 1 .1 ""^"^^,^^0"; when the now wafted 0^11^.0^ InLd ll ' Tf^ ^^^"•'^' ^"^^ '^" Eflith woiiM ♦•o,- I pinngecl below, but always toffethor of ftf doT V « troriio''o™f'' ""'' 'h ^ 3^"8"u sufferers below B,.t tw ♦ '"''""^ ""'' ''""■'hs of the long suffertag and they socSrh/T '" ■'"''""^ "^^ "'"'■• was such purmtorT tn^h^™ fl, r ,. "^ ""f "Wmont of what ment to p^oC^, tnori, r Vsto " tr? "cfoftTrr" iaru„Tu:rro;xr"£ir°rf?'«'^^ '^^^^^^^^^^ wsiXtT;;arars^7s';iL^^^^^^ b rrditr"'! r ^Sre*:u?d"t; .y'rete^^^^^^^^^ fkv Z fl,i tl,' ""m ""= ?P™ '^' *'"' '■■■<'* air. and the beautiful bndArt,h,7r mVj fif^ . at length the paradise of Edith The? laideT nJ^r''«'"°'3' °' '^^ «"= others, rame to a close in a Iw dfys aU the "T"'"^ ?' ,^'?-"°'''' '" "''"■""■'l^ 'and -0 cnJOTthrbeautv of „ w ' '"'^'"^mg Mr. Croft, were able nindVith «l,„t ^ " W? ™ associated n every Enslish Hsinore (indeed it Hn^iff . ux ^.^^ ^^^ unexpectedly at •aid her a good deal 71?.' J?!"'^ ""'^ ^ gentleman who Ld .ondon. ^ * attention during a visit to an aunt in ,Jii' P^^^f.' a. ^r. Horton, was a vonntr ham-iof.. ...t,^„ ■ter and rather si,. ^m^S^St^^^^lT^^^l^^^^ 'fliPI '^HnH MIh f'-fl '^H^Q !■ :^^^H « '9B 74, Guilty, or Mt Guilty, the thankless task of ronrfmn. +i.^ t , to meet with any oneat p11 if^ the yornig Lord, was very glad inthis^xeursion^S^^^^^^^^^ and meet them at the old cas^lo wifh'^ ^T *° ^^ ^^ ^ ^^^™ge. a lovely day ; the slSes werf ota deen t" ' ' '-" '^'- ^* ^^^ smooth as glass, was rich in wof f-r'^'^'l''^''^ ^^"^^^ t^e water banks werefo bea^tTfjf enanTetd ^^^^^ ^^d the Edith's request the boaf w"s ^,^1 in } 7.!^^ ?°^^^^' *^^t at ladies might gather the wfw ^l? "'5"^ t^ey landed, that the 4red?ota:^^^^^^^^ ^-k did not seem Mrs. Croft not to keen "th? r^nV^^ '.^'"'■^'^^^ Edith by the hand to helX^^to tK"'? ^°'a ^^^hl^on, took with his oar in one hand and thp^ft ^°^*• • ^"'^ ^« ^^ stood, her into the boat, his animftedft^^i '^^- P'"» ^^^^^'« *« ^^^Ip she blushing beneath Ms Ardent ^aze hp^"\^P ^^^•^"^^«' ^"^ back under her little turban hat for «1^ ^''Y''''' ^^^^ ^^^^'^^d their eyes, and the " celestial ?ofv rS' ' ™ ""^ love-light in their blushing cheeks tdnJ^^*'"™.^ P™PO"- hul," on them, and m4 Ihom form Sh rcont'raTf 7^'"i '° ''"*'' "* ing, mercenary coquette and tLf* *" ^hepak. calculat- fortune-hmiterf a ferstcMrehin^tl,? ''"''"'i"' .^^^-'ooking that an opportinitylr a'^^eSntll^ l!?; '""' t"L ""''<= ™*kin| Arthur was an amfcosL e^stTv » ^ barter, which to Edith and too sweet to last, a^^re rste ^f fe^' happi„e>^^ Katnr. s lo.ehest hannts in the preSe ofThe aS oS' "' CHAPTER XVI lrt,inate°(lt™f,: cSl'SllT^'f ^^ *"» "^^ "^ 'h^ for a short spaoe.V eS and hfr A?th^ t'' '""iT" '^''™- heroine of our tale, to trace in rL, ■ . ' ^^^ ™' '""'O and quencesofonofalsesten aS,hef™ •^""',1 """""^ ^^^ <^onse- aifairs. nl„„^„.t.-„; :°P' ™'' ™ '™glo results of secrenv in ].,„„ natural res„it:::t£;emeS:P'*'"'™™' """i' ™«' of-aU'thJ" ..^L^^kM 'd, was yery glad sr, and she hoped Guilty, or JSTot Guilty. 75 I and Miss Croft go in a carriage, etc., etc. It was e blue, the water lotuses, and the flowers, that at landed, that the ihe wood straw- , did not seem ^o had promised luncheon, took nd as he stood, Edith's to help 3 into hers, and ^n hair braided m arrayed in a nd a black silk ht have sought or a handsomer al, and Arthur le love-light in 'opor hue," on irm to both of pale, calculat- Vench-looking were making [ to Edith and iness, perhaps enjoyment of iored one. 10 fate of the ve will leave, eal hero and f the conse- crecyin lovo 'f all, their ,sof butThef t^TchSe^^^^^^^^^ well-they have often done PrinceHfor titles are rife o^^b^^^^^^ ^''''^ Marquis, Duke, or tre of little value or dtnitv^ «^ liT*^' ^"^ ^^^"^^ ^^ ^^em tnd well known irE3^^^^^^^ •bject of his choice T^itlh ^°^T^' l^^^S" t^ie parents of the id resources wen aVceSnp7r*/'^'\°",^^ ^" ^^^'^^^d «l««ely. .f hfe thorougMy sSd t^itf "?^ ^"^^'^^ "^^^e >Uiance, may, Ihere there 1^2-1! ?. ^1^'^^*'°°^' "^ ^^^^^gn tnd competence, and sv^mthvln "S-^^-*"''^"'"-"*- ^^ ^"*^ ^^^fs, lappy one. sympathy ui religious opinions, be a very *lVms a'^laXn ^^'" " '^^^' ^''^"^^°-^^' ^^y^terious ■ith^ you™ EnS '^^^^^ acquaintance and a secret Intimacy ,ipon her passiottf foV^ndfuve;^;!^ ^^^ ^°^^""?' ^"^ ^^^ks lope Witt him ? Let thosi ir T^'i-f *° ^"^^^^^ ^^r to ^occabSVo^f^f :L's^r^^ °' ---'.j^-- di jerfect specimen of thrtaD, aristocratic" fS 1 P^«^^"f J^^ a eauty, so dear and so new to t ?p «nf '/?u ' ^^^^^f Jed, blonde kccabella, villain and ruffian o A. ii""^ *^° ®°^*^- ^^^n Di )ond to tiie graceful and rn^n f- T"? ™' ^^^^^ "^^^ but re- ire, who haf sacrled a r^T 7^''' ^^ '^« ^^^^ ^ ^^ea- loimtess'scoronet IndfttJe to?l "^"'^"""^ ^^ ^^^^^^^ ^ unsuspectingly agreed to^n'^i^r ' lu^ '^^'' '° '^^^^^y ^"d [ith regard to^tKrtunnKrK^'"^*^1.^", P^«P°«^d knatureand her consent w:re nece'arrb!^?^^^^^^^^^ i?^^ bs reversion and to his insuring her ]ffe^ ^""^^ *° ^'' «^"^"g iTs"rfrkSthiir^^^^ inghsh attorney (one Samiiel SkuXn T^' ""'^^ *A". ^^^P ^^ ^" > a considerabfeUount-W^^^^^ f^'l^^' ^^^"'^ ^^^^ B had obtained. With the So., f t'-^t'f *^^ ^^"^ ^^^i^h on, he, as the reader Lnw«i? 7 '''; '^^'''^ ^^ «old her rever- Int oniarrying out sevS^^^^ '-?' ??'"^^^ ^P^^' ^"■ Id by degrees as T. Jn.^l ' '^ ?"" breaking the banks ;" ^thin^g mCto ;ithhoFor%r'^'^^°'^ "^ ^^'^ '^^ ^^^ ^e CoSnt grew firlt negl gen aid foU and T^T^ '". "^°"^^' id abusive. ^ ° ^°^*^' ^^^ finally rude, cri J, ■Ihif^b fillf^j T-- . 1 "^"''^er, and the knoAvleflD-fi of fhl" ^'--f 76 Guiltij, Of Not Q-uiltij. he looked upon as a nuisance and a bore, while an^er ra^ed within him at the thought of the inevitable expense. A success^n of heavy losses compelled the Count to leave -tiomburg. He had not patience and temper to be a successful gambler; and he sternly desired Georgina to prepare to go with him to an old castlo. the seat of his ancestors, in a wild, remote part of Sicily (on the sea-coast). There, he told her, the heir to the House di Eoccabella must, in all probabihty, be bom. It did not seem to occur to him that such a spot might boast neither doctor, nurse, nor any comforts necessary for the un- fortunate Countess's safety and solace. Alas! she was too much atraid of him to object. Thither, then, they went, and thither came, soon after, and bv degrees, numbers of dark, fierce-looking, moustachioed ItaHans —who lounged about all day, idling, smoking, and playing cards, and who often did what was far more objectionable, for they tried with their glittering black eyes and their rich Italian voices, which they accompanied with their guitars, to convey to the miserable young wife's mind that they thought her very S'hd^fe^f ^* sHghtest encouragement, t£y would 1^ Often for days and nights together Georgina neither saw nor heard of her husband and these his "/ree companions;" and she knew that sometimes they were out on excursions by land, and sometimes by sea; that they met with perilous adventures ot which her slender knowledge of ItaHan (as taught in England prevented her understanding the object or the nature, but which even she began to suspect had some deeper, darker motive than W^' A V^^^^l)? ^\ ^°¥^*y °f *^^ ^omAvj, to which her husband haughtily and rather sneeringly attributed them. It Q- 9,T?i*e certain that these visits were never returned. No bicihan lords and ladies ever entered the CasteUo di Eoccabella. ihe castle was a very large, gloomy building, partly in ruins, and so close to the sea that in stormy weather, the cellars and even the marble entrance-hall, had been flooded more than once. Ihe Countess s apartments were on the first floor: they looked on the open sea and the blue skies of Sicily. There were some remains of former grandeur about them, but not one iota ot comfort, accordnig to our English notions. The windows had no shutters, and the stone arches of the corridors were open to the air. The fireplaces were Hke caverns, and, looking up through the broad chimneys, you could see the blue sky^ Ihe floors were paved; the stairs were of marble. Theve were no carpets anywhere but in the countess's bed-room and draw- «f ii, " ' -^ .=4-t«,xea ui uia Lu-uustry in tne middle 01 the rooms. "^ Poor Georgina had no Enghsh maid with her; in fact, an rhile anger raged cpense. le Count to leave to be a successful to prepare to go icestors, in a wild, e, he told her, the obability, l^e bom. spot might boast ssary for the un- she was too much soon after, and by stachioed Italians ind playing cards, ionable, for they beir rich Italian bars, to convey to ihought her very it, they would be I neither saw nor impanions ;" and 3ursions by land, ilous adventures, ight in England) ature, but which •ker motive than y, to which her buted them. It returned. No lo di Eoccabella. partly in ruins, ler, the cellars, oded more than first floor : they ly. There were but not one iota The windows corridors were as, and, looking 3 the blue sky. e. There were oora and draw- * in the middle er ; in fact, an GuiUi/, or Not Guilty. 77 lEngHsh maid would have died of discomfort, ennui, and de- .-pair in such a place. When first she arrived there, an old iwitch-hke woman had the care of the castle, and did all that )vas not done by wild-looking, banditti-hke men in attendance »)n the Count and his followers. But when the Contessa's increasing dehcacy of health ren- iered some additional female attendance necessary, and the an- broach of an heir dekanded that it should be some one who Md ply her needle in the cause, old Perpetua recommended •hat her orphan granddaughter, who had been taught needle- rork at the nearest convent, and who had been in good service |)esides, should be hired to wait on the Contessa. . Accordingly, Jocunda was introduced to the Contessa during bne ot the long and frequent absences of the Count. She was a plondid young creature, of twenty-two, but looking at least &vo-and-twenty. Her dark complexion had a translucency ihout It that gave it a singular eloquence and charm. Her fcheeks were rich m the car-nation of youth and health Her feyes were those of the gazelle ; and above her rather low brow he thick ripples of blue-black hair waved in beautiful luxuri- te, and were gathered together in two thick, long, Clothilde blaits tied with red ribbon, and which reachecl down to |he middle of her fine, tapering leg. This densely black liair matched the ebon arch of her eyebrows and the long lashes Ihat hung from the upper and under lids of her glorious eves llernose was delicately aquiline, her upper lip short and curved' Nr well-chiselled lips were of the richest vermihon, and her "eeth were like two rows of Eoman pearls. She was a younjr hana m form, with the broad shoulders, full bust, rhort waist lolumn-hke throat, and powerful, well-shaped limbs that mark ine cnud of the people. She wore the half-military, half- easant costume of her country, in which a good deal of black relvet, gold braid, white musHn,and scarlet, set oft' her singular Ind most picturesque beauty. The Contessa took a fancy to rocunda at once. The strong, healthy, young SiciHan, who had ever knowii a care whose cheek was indeed " unprofaned by I tear, felt her good, kind heart soften and warm towards the IvI' f ^'^^^,?' ^-^^ i^nhappy-looking being, who, in j^ears a girl Cv«T n *^'^* ,^yooi^ing, care-worn air, those pale "leeks ana ■swoUen eye-lids, that air of self-neglect and self- Jandonmeut and that sacred, crushed, forlorn look, which, in II lands and at all times, bespeaks the unloved, unhappy, OTv-n-trodden, and frightened wife. ^^^ ' ^^lV^L.:^■ ° iC f ^^^H'fe'5 Mild, m spite oi ail ulu Teraeraa's IntW ZtTff' ^^''''f *'' .^^'! promises (for Perpetua had no sym- t vnli T ^^ ?''',^'' '^^^^^ ^"P^'" ^^ ^^^'^ «^"ed Georgina): all [tie joimg Jocunda s energies were secretly directed to cheering 78 Chiilty, or Not Guilty. and comforting the yonng Contessa. and preparing for the little stranger, of whom she spoke with the love and enthus asm generally only bestowed on the little one already born into ?hS world of sm and sorrow. Not that, to Jocunda, it was the world ofsm and sorrow which it had proved to her youn^ mirress Jocunda was as mnocent as the wild flowerl she bved to gather, and as glad and merry as the birds in the air, and the lads that leaped from crag to crag. But she was fuH of darint courage, moral and physical strength. She knew no fear and' Inr&Tf^*^" ^"^¥ ^^^^°^^ ^^ *^^ neighbourhood we're ti' ove with Jocunda, she as yet, knew the'master-passion on y by name; for though her heart was not a httle^incCd to ^IT<\^!T~^^T'' ^l^ ^^^^ y^^^g fisherman, who would have died to serve her-she, as yet, felt only for hini that erow- "of r^^lTntXe' ^'^^ '^™"^ -terestf which may^^Xy The doubt kept the handsome young Eenzo in a fever of suspense an agony of devotion, and a perfect thm Idom of atLn tions and homage. He was very glad when he Tard that Jocunda was going to reside at the Castle, because hL little fishing hut was situated among the rocks about ten minutS he could see her waving her graceful hand to him, and at nirfif a hght m her window told him that if she would not owiihfm as P r^at^^^^^^^^^^ ^" r ''^"^ ^^^ thoughts^andTh" pernaps thdfc light was meant as a beacon to guard, and a star to light him on to an Eden of love and joy. CHAPTER XVII. "No radiant pearl that crested Fortune wears vL^^i" that twinkling hangs from Beauty's'ears, Nor the bright stars that heaven's blue arch adorn. Nor rubies bright that deck the early mora Shine with such radiance as the tear that breaks. Jfor other p woe, down Womnn's lovely cheeks I ' Akon. Ir^£ ^1"^ 'T^ Jocunda soon understood each other. Tlio former qmckiy learnt the soft Sicilian dialect that flowed like music from the sc^let hps of her maid ; and Jocunda b^gan to t1^ palfL^Jof ^^^^^ "'f "^ ^"^^ picking it up as it felTfrom mf n P tinhapp} C-mtessa. ±.'^,r«^"i.^^/r 'r-!?]?!"' ™^, ^-' .^-" -»« -ek. absent, but soveml of tbo ..ghTwiiri/seTvi^rir^JJS ti)e castle. assi>^t nlA Piimofiio T„ „]! i.„, ■> _„_. 'li m rli^vc^ r^V .-. Iv^ • IT-. behind to STiard iioid labours, evxjii in those of a boaicmaid and cook, , . by t^ieir fishing, sh.x.tmg, and ga,rd^„ing, to supply the wJ These aark, mou.ta£-hioed, f^arded fellows v ore farmed HuS Oh! -iiiir-ir-Kil tig for the little id enthusiasm '■ born into this j was the world oung mistress. she loved to he air, and tho full of daring, 7 no fear ; and, 'hood were in r-passion only jle inclined to in, who would im that grow- 1 may or may in a fever of Idom of atten- e heard that iuse his httle ten minutes' I the morning , and at night )t own him as ?hts, and that rd, and a star n, Akon. other. The ' flowed like ida began to 3 it fell from some weeks n remained >ok, i, ^. by ^ the table, irmed; and GhiiUt/, or JVot GuiUt/. 79 |ho Contessa, accustomed to tho woli fT^niv.^ i fcuteville estabhshment (one of &f\^nTf^''T''^^ ^^ *^^ £ England), smiled a faint «^;?« f most perfectly appointed fcubSng he wJ^ SrTwoJ?''' «lie saw these Lndits Cbles, and watching iherolsf or bonpH"' 1?^^ ^"^ ^^^ vege- ix spite of their da'Jers and S.Si: A^^^'*/?{.^*"^^ «^der. f rmVnt temper of old PerpeC ' ^^ '^' '^"" '""Sne and V^^^^e^l^Z^ ^"^^ ^r ^o under, ince, her wedded WrvLdT P^^^^^* ^^^ filial peni- fathising, devoted bS oTth'e'Sr/o tl^"^*?^^^^^ '^■ licihan had great natural shrewdness ner^nttn /?"^ these qualities in her sunnlied fl,^ So J^^ "^"' -^^"^ ^'^^' Inowledge of the world sZ l.o ^l^"" ""^ experience and Ife-assurances, buTwhen the rnnfT """^^'"f ^^ reversions and fad been don^ JociSda shook h^^^^^^^^^ '^^/^'^°^ *^ ^^^ ^l^^O ftelyand cautioustyas strcJa^r^^ ^.^ ^^^i" W the Count had a dreadfhl rT^T^ZlfW '?^'^ ^^^ mistress mn. was a remorseless Xin-thT^ ? ^"^^P"' ^'' ^'^^ 3 the charge of both and thp 3^ aT^^? ''^™^'' ^^re laid ppear to suspect nothing W "^'"'^ ^^'' *,^ dissimulate-to Id her tealth^req^ed t?Te restorpdT ^' t' '^^^ ™ ^^^^^ ' the baths of L— for a littlP J^?' "" ""^^M"^ ^^^^^^ *« go ^r escape to EngUnaZ.lTre^:^^'' ^"' ^^^^ *- --ke I^B^^^ -^e ^^S^ - ^-^-- enei^. wtV^o\^l!^^r4'tora»^^^^^^^^^^ "IwiU |u, Eccellenza" (and here« %'lit^f i? i,""' ^^Y^^m I spoke to h, "he shaU he?^ us By h?^^^^^^^^ ^T ^^«^^*^d h to escape, or fc mavairTt,? ^ ^ 'T'?' ^^ ^^^^^ enable fcrryhmnpbackedBeS." ^ "P' ^^^ ^^^^ ^"^^^If^ or fddenwife. "It is not ne.-es-r^-f T *^\^«r^' down- ft you look pale, EcSza T^l]^« '^' than m this castle, will talk of^thiL wh^'fy^u' Lrte """t :?°'1, "* r.^^^"*' !my grandmother that the Count t'u not T/^'^v ?'??« fe ' tha'nf ^^"^ ^TP^^^'^ toTeM'th^^" '^ '^^' ^°^ ^- 3 thVcont^«fet:!S;h^_« "?* -°-J«g for six weeks then I" « Tw ""P^^^o ""-'' J^mn, wiiite hands. You St? "^"^ '»'"^ transparent of huo, \ Oil » T ^ ^ ' ^ '""" """ »"««« «hine through " p^nj Jocunda, what a reli*^f i=, f},.,f f v [ a. renti is tbat ! J,rery morning and 80 Guilty, or Not Guilty. I ! every evening I pray that God in His mercy may take me and my expected babe to Himself before the Count returns to curso me, as he did ere he departed." And this was the young girl of some ten months back, who had so cunningly deceived her parents, so adroitly wrought her own ruin, and realized the romance of a foreign alliance and a love-match. CHAPTER XVIII. " Unhappy woman ! still thy lot shall bo A dream of love, or a reality Of unshared sorrow ; raise your heart, you need A firmer pillar than the broken reed Of man's affection 1 Why will you bestow On Mm the worship which to God you owe ? Know you the cause of all your careworn years, Your days of watching, and your nights of tears ? Love you, and are you sad ? and would you know Why tale of Love is ever traced in woe ? Ask— ask your heart : you've reared an idol there ; You've laid up treasun^s, with mistaken zeal. Where moth and rust corrupt, where thieves break through and steal !" Bride of Sikna. One bright but windy night, just before the Contessa undressed, preparatory to seeking her couch ( Jocunda and herself had been working till a late hour for the expected one), loud screams in the entrance-hall below caught the ear of both. Jocunda started to her feet, and ran upstairs to rouse Perpetua, and to get a dagger which the old crone kept under her pillow. She begged the Contessa to await her return; and Georgina would certainly not have ventured dowii alone, but that the shrieks which had disturbed her were mingled with English ejaculations, in a voice famihar to her ear ! Yes, it was the well-known voice the poor Contessa had so often longed to hear again— the voice of the constant companion of her girlhood — her sister Augusta ! Without a thought of self, the Contessa rushed downstairs, and there, by the hght of the hall-lamp, she saw two of her husband's free companions —the one was carrying a lady who had fainted, the other was struggUng with a fair, dishevelled young creature, who shrieked wildly, and resisted all his efforts to drag her along. Despair gave her strength, and she clung to the door-sill. The door was open, and the sea, flooded by the silver radiance of the moon, was to be seen in all the glory of both. " Beppo," cried the Contessa ir, Itahan, " let the lady go - Rhe IS my sister ! Augusta," she cried, " do you not see me ?— do you not know me ?— do yoi^ not recognise youi- unhappy In a moment the sisters w^e in eaeh other's arms ; and Eeppo and Marco, all ruffians as they were, felt there was some- ly take mo and cturus to curso nths back, who ly wrought her I alliance and a leed ars, iars? know there ; hrough and steal!" IDE 01' SiKNA. !ssa undressed, jrself had been ud screams in 3cunda started , and to get a ■. She begged ?^ould certainly eks which had ulations, in a lown voice the I — the voice of 3r Augusta ! 3d downstairs, w two of her ig a lady who ir, dishevelled [ all his efforts md she clung ea, flooded by a all the glory the lady go — lot see me P — ;^our unhappy Ouilti/, or mt Guilty. gl ftaUan of gi-eat beautv Ladv^twLT /.i ^^^P^mon, an 1 The beautiful NeanoE hL „ '"'''■ ^'"' ^Partment. Uent. by flood Ldtu .''""''• °"'* "^ ^"' """"^S uj. doors, ^df^dr^ rasper ' ^"""^"^ "'^^^-^ *^« randmother knows all nhmnf v.^ i ^^^P^'P^sts. I thmk my hw looks of iSwLfexla^' ;J'h^ '\^' "^°«^ ^« ^^^ id growing pale a^s' the rSld ' '''''' ''"' ^'"^*^««a' shivering, bam^7itey';m^&V^^^^^ T '' ^^ «^-^-*'" -^ J^ win ormk deep, and sleep soundly. I have i ' 82 Guilfi/, or Not Guilty, inatnicted Renzo to bo in readiness; and Hiavo told him if two ugncs instead of ono, ho is to row at once, in his iiahin '""" ^'^o"' disturbing .hose ruffians ttaW %hlt' 5'°". ^'y •'=''??'''!; ^'='='="^"^^' -30 not throw It away ! J. hat woman's arrival bodes you no cood I Lpt mn jSrtSenc?S:Sirwrds'?"''P'"''' "' ""'^'^ "^^ - Jo?uft^\°eeMe"d'rr\t*"'''"' "-"^l- "ut her sister and Jocunda signalled to hor lover, and ere long the licht sn!«h of his oars was heard beneath the windows; i^d hisloat Ck SsilX'Ces™'^"^*™^'' ""^ f^".-''^ '^^ ^dufatioltf strln°Z'^the''rSt"P'''" *'"', ^''^y;'^?'' P^P^d for tho little r^^iXt^X'^inSie?;^ --" *''™*^° «,-/«1^ T ^^''f ^''^^^"'°^*^ helpless with fear; but, with tho aid of Jocunda and her sister (Lady Richlands) The wn! m-apped up n a large, black, hooded cloak and pkied in The boat. Lightly Lady Richlands and Jocunda sp^ane in afW her; and Eenzo, plying his oars as if for his omihSdhwt " Polt her brow become more light Beneath the freslmcss of the night ;" and, to enliven the ladies (when they were out of earshots Jocunda and Renzo chanted the Sicilian Mariners' hZn^ fll'^'^l^''^^ "'^''^^ "^f *^e south; and the melody tKoo? light the sense of her sister's presence, and Jf Joci^^s" LfiLf"^. devotion filled the Contessa's heart witHte Ina pT^*' ^''" 5'^? ^"°°I^^^ «^ Jocunda's broad ^houlS r^Lw """f ^ 'Z^^ '^^^^P ^lo^^^d her weary eyelids-the first refreshing sleep she had known for many a long mouthi "^'^ Renzo knew of a safe shelter among the roSs ft wo« n place where he had often moored his bL, and ? possesZ a dZfSfh^f ^' fr'^ *^^* *^^ ladies should rL^n hidden during the glare of day; and that when night again set in ^o ^oXorey^'tirtr^^ r^-^^ with^som:^:Ssef whie\' England P''''*^ ^^^''''^ ^^^^ ^°^d ^^l^ark for ^t —as unght mooiiKght when they entered the rsi^ro Pat,.,^ moored his boat behind a jutting an^le of "Xre it eS i rwrr ifflinn ^iiBi e told him, if, bed, ho sees n his fishing- outside. Wo lihose ruffians, do not throw 3od ! Let me lady, all your 2ty. I feel as ler sister and hght splash lis boat, black undulation of 1 for the littlo )ney she had, red down to ned that the 3ut, with the Is), she was placed in the rang in after e and liberty, e nerved the of earshot), fs' hymn, in Yy the moon- •f Jocunda's '< with hope d shoulders, s — the first 3nth ! 3. It was a possessed a aain hidden in set in, he Bssel which embark for ve. Renzo ere it could Ckiilti/, or J^t Chiilty. 88 not be seen from the castle side of the coast; and then he busied himself in helping Jocunda to mako things comfortable lor the Contessa and her sister. Jocunda had brought a good supply of cushions, shawls, and a rug and as there was clean, dry straw in the corner of the ciivc, Renzo and Jocunda soon contrived, with the shawls and the rug, to make a comfortable couch whereon the ladies could repose. She had forgotten nothing; and Renzo, by her com- mands, began to kindle a fire among the rocks outside, to fetch water from a rill that trickled in a silvery stream down tho rocks, and to boil tho same. Soon the fragrant steam of coffee saluted the nostrils of the recumbent, half-sleeping sisters. Renzo was in the seventh heaven. It was such ecstasy to him to be permitted to help Jocunda,to be byher side,to bo praised, consulted, or even Bcolded by her, to fee? her sweet breath wave his thick cluster- ing black hair, and fan his bronzed, manly cheek, now and then to touch her hand, or even the hem of her garment— all this was ecstasy. "Trifles make the sum of human things," and this beautiful truth applies especially to the inner hfe of love. J^. kind glance can ensure happy days and nights of sweet repose. A cold look, a frown, or a haughty, sarcastic smile have, ere this, driven Passion to Suicide. Oh! then, ye who are loved, beware how you trifle with the great and sacred power bestowed upon you !— " The rose we wear upon the heart, bhould have no thorn to wound us." Jocunda, we must own it, loaa a little over-bearing, exacting, and tyraimical, but Renzo was a very good-humoured young iellow, and he could see that there was a growing softn'Lss i§ Jocunda s black eyes, even while she scolded him wiih her soft bicihan tongue, or even when she hit him (hard, though iii sport) an occasional slap with her largo, well-shaped band? TiT °n" , ^^t ^''S''**®^ nothing-coffee, cream, sugar, cakes. Ihe Contessa had a small Enghsh travelling-case, with tea and coffee pot, two cups, &c., &c. This Jocunda had brought with her, and, after the ladies had done, Renzo and his beloved repaired to an outer cavern in the rock, out of hearing, that they might not disturb the Contessa and her sister; and there S'. k f*^*^ on the coffee and the cakes, and Renzo on twrv^^l'^f filhng his own heart to an overflow, and on that which he began to fancy trembled in Jocunda's voice, ftS? . ^\^\^^^ bosom, beamed in her oye., and translated Itself into blushes on^her cheeks, and into sd lies on her Hps. H^^irCr.^\ZT'^'%^^^ ^^% -Kiciiianda slept tht deep, dreamless the vnn^^ P ^^'^^^V ^°"^^ ^« ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ those slumbers, the young Renzo and Jocunda were alone. That " sun of the g2 i^ m 84 i I G^iiil/y, or mt Quilty. Wmmm^ rl','"ii-''"Ve' «»' 'Z'St t,™»»o.." with He " Who como7' tw j„^°?Pf' °?^^' "'oy ^---e!" "Tho p ^"^^ "^aw Jocmidii, ii, r, fr;n.|,i,.,.„j _ Who como?" said"rZ';''i"'''"-'"''"' ^^"^ ''ok.c!" Konzo." ^'"'^ i'-™ »ot d.-camt of the boaf ^Td „T yS™ " Why. we Wxi '.;„&: wo "^,v ^T ■"' ^"i'' 'h« maid, '7s i, '^''f «"' SO onTo B^T" ''port. The Coteasa is across tho hard, smooth! silvery L^Sr^Tf''*''', '*<''«"od S fly SXS,er"°""^ P-^"« «^- Sinl'r i-r„Tcr?i jon, ha,r floats i. ,he .So^Urslikf ^ Sfet l^;,^^\^i " Oh '" '^ T> olOW - Wi.?; 5SS i -■-" S '-1 ■"' - M, .i..,.„~ • '•" """^ '° "^ ^^-'-'^-i -'•en she, poor lady, is safe,'> * ^.3 X h and lookini? f^zo led hor l)y ■ions sea. Ho ^'tis AloDo with fo Js n sort of navo blushed cr fnir ima^o and hy his ' looked thus, •ont. lectin g rock, lispor. they art ia foot and are and of you, kissing her laid. ^02itessa is ocks where tned to fly rater- and 3 of crag, ' and what • and her ler. Who tiere some the slow emember tar stay ielp this e." he stole ilder. 3 safe." GuiUf/, or JVot Ouilfy. 85 never even kissed her hanrl l„.fl.,v. +i ! t"^' "'"' ^^ ^ad it was a fact that ho dkrshe tow 1 ^i!'^'^*^ " ^^^ ^t kiss from hor sweJt vi miu lips-" " Inn^T' '''V "^"^"'^ ^'^^<^ vouth n „d love • " and fl.nf /^' , ?"^' ^°"? ^^^"' "- ^^^^ of what s.o blushinHy i "d^ tS he w'/f ^"f 9on^P'-"i"^ of ho would set all . ^it i ' nuttin'L Vl ' Y- '^ T^^^l J^^- exclaiming very spt whence o ZlTf^^'ll^^^^ "^'"" °" ^^^^ long time in getting Jocuiil T f£ • i ^"'''''' ""'^ was a would only do .,,on his r,n^^ • "^''''' '""^5 «»^1 this she again, mil go^ qv .^v '<^J5^ 86 Ouilty, or JVot Ouilty. ose^od an ntorvicw witl. her taakcn a 'orj^ » '"" ^°"'"^'' Kciizo was silent I. nffhn «" '>oard tlio Nautilus. in his dX;, pel i"Vves a^nT;'"^"'^ was a t^avpllVn^^^^ irresistible still, therj ontheb.,„Llehee^kri^^^ a dead,, pallor ^onlVtr^LZr^Lnfl^^^^^^^ «^f «-?' "I P-miscd safe. TheContersairsafenow H^ ^u^^ **'« Contessa was Bhoro; wo shall repair at onro f'n fi "V" "'P'^ "^« '^"^^^ *« ^ho among the hills; ri't^LrtheVood oM^ath" ^^^^ ^^"'*' join our hands. Farewell dearladvf a 1 1- ^'iT-^'^UT" ^^^ Kenzo. at tliese words thrpw h?^ ^ddio addio, aAiio ! " and wavid his red Serml^s ^nT.T"^ ^> ^"^'^ ^'^^*. adieu, while she bowed heila^efuFhon^ *7V"^P^ ^^^^ and the crew on board thr^flSii'^^!'^ *.l'^ "°^'« captain splendid English y^iranrth^^^ and then the Sieilian fishifg-boat parteT^o^panv^^^^^^^ ^^"^^ ''^^ for Naples in the first instancT^nn J' n ^ ^°''"'^^ ^*« '^^"nd latter Ibr the nearest poStio The ^tle 2'^ H" /^o^ ""^* ' ^»^° confessions each other's nameXd t often Ln^ed' ""'"^^"^ littlTsli^^^^S^^^^ to the of the heart. ' '^'^ '^''' *° ^^^^ert into a^i Eden "Ilappy, linppy, happy pairi ^ollclmt the brave, None Ijut the brave, rnia may be wear it Jong I ^°'"'' ' ^^ "^ '' 'fc". CHAPTER XIX. rbe old, the ugly, may the fair control' If he reveal nobfiif v «* =«„i '. ^""i^™'. _ , Kcuuraiiy . something great, beneath the bubbles of I ■MM mm Ouilfi/, or Not Guilfy. 87 'arcs, was on- tlio Contc3sa of JocundaP itlemen (Lord cunda, whom TautUus. 3 and entreaty lo still, thero deadly pallor " I promised CJontessa was back to the Santa Maria, • Filinno will io, addio!" J biido elect, triumph and loble captain and then tho 1 black old p was bound ^ next; tho Santa Maria tho havens ands of tho ^o innocent i. altar to tho to on Eden 5 fair. Ho on it well, SCELLES. Richlands. jubblea of vanity and folly, in the heart of an English nobleman. Froth nnd strawri may floau on tho surface, and cold waters, that chill and repel, may shock away sympathy ; but there are gems of value in the caves beneath. And so with the vain, mndc-un old Earl. He would not let his young wife see him in his dilapidated state, denuded of all his artificial charms. He was resolved she should not have ono glimpse of his person until his valet, and the artistes in teeth, hair, and complexion had restored him to his former self. Bub for the first time he let hii-; young wife see into bis heart — his inner self; and this glimpse of his true nature did more to win her love and fealty, than all that Art had effected in patchhig up his face and form. The Contessa, remembt: ing how she had jilted him, feared ho would refuse to allow his voung wife to receive and to shelter her. Augusta, Countess oi' Kichb'nds, herself felt very uneasy on the subject. Both sisters were very much reUeved, and tlio wife was touched to the heai-t, when a note, written by the Earl in ])encil (from his berth), was put into Lady Richlands' hands. Ho simjily said : — " I am sorry, my darling Angusta, that I cannot af present receive you and your fair sistpr, and congratulate you both en the miraculous escape, of which I do not at present know the full particulars ; but my nervous system has been so much impaired by this shipwreck, I have caughi so severe a cold, and um so much disfigured in my personal appearance, that I cannot bear to present myself before you until I am in some degree recovered and restored. To your lovely sister, my Augustft, present my brotherly regards and warmest sympathy. Tell her that her sister's husband will be in all respects a brother to her ; that our sj-mpathy shall comfort, our love cherish her, our roof shelter, and our protection shield her. Beg her, my darling Augusta, to rest assured that no harm I can avert shall ever befall one who is tho sister of the idoliseA wife of " RiCnLANDS." Oh ! if men who really covet the love of their wives, and are jealous of their tenderness did but know how their hearts re- spond to any act of generosity to those dear to them from the cradle, they would surely take as much pains to make their re- latives welcome and happy in their homes, as they often do to estrange and annoy them. For tho^rs^ time (as she read this kind and generous letter) Augusta's heart warmed towards the Earl, and she inwardly vowed to be a good, a true, a loving, and a faithful wife to ono who had proved that ho had such true nobility of soul, such a sublime power of forgiveness of what a vain man hardly ever does forgive — the being jilted, on the eve of marriage with a girl young enough to be his daughter. It is wonderful how much good a man does himself with his I !. JJ 8S OuHhf, or Mt Guilty. con T.ors,mrlo herself i£ ?s deTervc.l ° ^^"^^^ W«' ^l'«» «l^o r-^^^^^S^ Geo^ina •' «aia the tcssa, whom her former loveX i^^no..o^/"T*!J^ ^*^*^ P^^'^ Con- sohs unci tears. - You w^ nr? ,f "^ ?«' ^ ^'ad conviiVsed with , "No! no I no ! I couM cvo, tvn^^^^^^^^ EaHlT^er^SriJ^:?' n"" "'•■«■" jcalo... of «,„ now! Wdl ,l„„o, ol,l Eari of kVm V , ^'"' '" I'™'"' "f W m more ma,lo „p i,, faoo amlformTlmn ri' ' T""? """' '»» '^o" I'astjuat Riven of a gcnorZ^! ,™ '"'""'''^•''•''"'•'''loi'cc thou ""..d, would win the fovo Z„n;"uo';oSr;ar " "<""° CHAPTER XX. grandson of Lawyer S r.'i'i^''P°°'^' dependent, adopted Hve years as an oppidan at i '^^^•f >^«''«d at Oxfird. iSe ! the Continent, as are thmp -.? ^'s vacations aro spent on and the pWest'son of thehonse ^Hn^,^''.?,^' ^^^^ I^fecraft" Rockalpmo still livos-a Hfe devot^r? . ''^'"!- '^^^^ «'d Earl of passion Sf hi. crony! Wd ScrlftT"'"^ ^^ ^^^^^^ '^nd the Arthur IS still what he has heen iS-n' ^T^" ^^^ ^^^^ his. But ^^Fi^m^: s?.Ty te 41 ?.«^ "^ h:;i?!^'^^^«^^-^^ - the loveliest, mo^t de ieSv T^"'? ^^^'' ^^^^^^ i« grown into pioT,rui"SS'-T.^^ " Olvon to marbio, ],aa Immortalised a nnmo." one \^ Tlu How groat, griefs narro' Mrs the C in the Arthu be fol] Edith' The Arthui higga^ a iierv; from t] Whe Arthur coverec Croft n impati( nei ujij in the plaid el mmm ' juM tm f and the his. But -the one '^vn into lating of lost and •illc and n wn Ouilfy, or JSTot GuiUy. And all this time Lady irauteville, who 89 80 values, or rati ler over\ulue.s, tho "dowpv ^.f ....,., '» i ,< r. ' •■ •••-■"-» HpiiiHtorhood. Edith, tl Her third daughter, liL, .., „,,, .„ „er « ?f. ?",',"' "? ""■^";- «'»« 'ms been mucl carroty crippk.." doomed to perpetual I, i« now ni her second season, and yet has had no offer Sho I.nu iV« °^-^"»u «eason, and as Ht her dvh.^), but she sees or T """" • '^ '^'"'r'* (especially The old millic>,utU Si^J.^ o;;.^^^^^^ ^^'^""^^ ^^-^^ toms of liking; but Ida J rZ ' '"}\»'»«^T» «ome symp. now she woutd^/ot refuse evei; him ''" '" ^''' "''' season! a,!d ^^^TSL^C:^^:^ r^/- claughter, tho fortunate Contessa, whom h " ^viU uiV f """* "'^"/'T^ ^^'^' ""- llichlands is so de cted a cham on n/'hP'"' ''"^^•''^"' ^^^''''^ "^ The Earl's charms are ah rl3T„,f,. "liPT'''''''*-"'-''^^^' his eyebrows more iettv in t .^. \ . ^^T\ '"^ "^"'"^^ P'"J--» glittering, and h sAy^i^r 1 curls'';^ ''^ T'^' *""^ *^*^^'' ">'^''-' grant than ever. He is mddo^ ." 5 ^'^"""^ ""^^ '"«''^' f'*'^- ?W man is only to be detStun w' ^"^^"^ ^y^^J^^'y. and tho is the very proiulest and Ir nni t f ""?'' ^'^ '"'^ ^'"'t- Ho prescntedVim with an ei7^So ,1 ''i' ^"' \"i' .^'o"»te3s has IS indeed a brother to t ^pooi Co2ssn '"V'^V"" ^*'^^^'^'^' ""^* one word of her rufiuin hu^hnnri .? f ' '''''•" ''"'^ "^^-^'i' ^^eard The poor Conte^'a wa S IZ^" '?* "nraculous escape. How c!,uld a treacherou and td ti ,1 d-u^Jl Y^'"^^ ''''''^'T great, all-atoning bk .sing of mat^^^^^^^^^ tl>« griefs ended in tfio birth of a stilTbnrn iVf i <^? ^T''^''' '""^ narrowly escaped with hef oln ^^ Hf^ ^^ ^-S^^^-)' «i^o the^co^^M: - XlaWf r ^'^^' ^-^r ^ ^-^- - in the neighbourhood oftSk'^A fd'SthV^at ' r^^^ Artliiir had come to snrail h:. ™«„.- ■., . • '" I'nnstmiw, be foUowed, Zl afto? v ELTr'°";^"l"' ^^'T' ^o was to Ee»vi„g his a servant, had contrived tn l^lt\?' ■ ?"'"•• ""ended by from tho -riUa. '^™'"™'' '" "«»' lum m a forest about a mili ArSrwte^e'teS 'st T "'7,^°^ \' ^y "P°° -'-" covered tho landscane Sl,„ 7- 1^"'.,'^ ""^^y *>" "f snow Croft might iS oTLr not Z urh ''"S 'TT? f^f- ?^'-^- jmpatonee, and the fear of dk:.;';o7Z„"'irtN;.''^L"' '?™,' in'.h^'SSS;^^anT"£, orfe!""^ ,"■!"« »" ^'--o^nts plaid cloak, sh4saKtortLlone ^'"'"''"' "'"' '""• ^"'^'^'^ 1 90 Ouilfy, or Kot Ouilfy. i I I t^^^ii^j^i^^^z:^' ^ -d to got out into the open roimtrv tS Y '^ ''''''' "«' t'" Editli fhoulci never HncI the Ta^t mu^ *? ^T ^^"^^ «''« looked so difFerent; the coimtrv of i r (""^^f ' Everything path, was now ull s'trangeT hT; » 7^ti S f'^i ^'T "^''^'y fierce north wind set 'n and chnl;! h ^ ^"^ ^^ desj.air, i -alr*k adored her! ed to surpass her lover's exS^S^^^^^^ ^^"^^^^ ^^^ght- Htront* r>"°"' — a^- ' • ^-M^^'Ciiacions 1 If ho f»nTr« i — °j.y ^ aweot Edith „paid hixn .^C f^'r mLC^'S^w^rt * . tlio road to lot till Edith 'ear that who Everything knew every 3r desj)air, a Jood; down, id then the •at 8ho had d not cared 'js, and ren- wiw weary, atigue, and conviction iranco gave that forest work with r, as they "She ia so kindly >ther day," . place her mbed and lalf-frozen iway with vue Villa sing. ist in the . slighted, ^e to the ire as fit- crushing me a re- ft was so red her I I delight- cr 11113 It heart, ' was not Ouilti/, or Kot Guilfif. qi one jot of coquetry one sha.le of artifice, one iota of vanHv in tho nature of Edith Lorraiiip >un.iy ni The Misses Croft were full of worl.llv maxims, instilled hv hc.r mamrna MU-h a.s. " Fly, and they'll follow foil w a X licy 1 fly;" "Bv keepn,^ them ofl; you'll keep them o "'a You 11 never r,e dear If you make yourself cheap" E"e„ ?ff r^^rJ?-^ Ican^t to toss her he.ul, and arch her neck and affect indifference ; but E.lith was all truth. tendernc"^dco ion She loved Arthur as Virginia loved Paul, a d A rth,^ loved her as Paul loved Virgima -^utuur Of- course Mrs. Croft coul(l not be miite blind to the strong affection that bound these fair and noble young hoartrtoSe? But she affected to treat it ns a chihlinh frioiulHhip-atter UK sister love She knew that the old Earl of RockaEo had efl to his dar Ing Edith everything that was not str/ctlv entailed on his heir, Lord Hauteville.*' Mrs. Croft was not above occasionally ingering at doors or peeping into^etters ' tW V"" \Y' ^' u 'T. "^^■"'^' *" *^'^^t'» and her holy inSeTco that the old man had been induced to lay up treasures in heaven ho had left the hoards of a hfe to her ''^^**''"^^« »" bho loiew, then, that Edith, at tho Earl's death wnnlrl nnf only be Lady Edith Lorraine, but heiress to fabubrweluh she knew that her son-her Roger, in her partial eyes the mosf, modish, handsome, and fascinating of young men-loved sweet Edith, with such love as such natures can fbel ; that a passln- ate desire to possess and be master of a creature so lov el v aTd iiiThtsTJ/r r '^^'"V;: ^'^ ^it^^ ^^^^^ ^^^° amSn "o ally hiniself with the great house of Kockalpine ; to have fas ho said) a handle to his wife's name, even if hj covdd have none to forirdie^rVyw'^ ^^ ^^r^^ «'*^^^ «^^ EarrsTeall" Ve^ ^re he d ed, and before it was known to the wo, ' and to Ladv Hauteville, that poor little Edith, "the carroty c. le,'' to whom she had destined two hundred a year, to iJVe a ? defoTmed spinster at Croft Villa, was an autum Aphrodke m face and form, and heiress to a 1 the hoards of her miser grandf aTer Ihero were great difficulties in the way of getting her fast over-dressed, under.bred, cigar-smoking, casin^o and^Cremorno F2rV"?i^.T" r^"^i° *^° ^^^'^^^te and heart-stS° Hnni 'p M }!,°*^^°^.«t¥r and son 80 highly estimated the attrac" tions of Mr. Croft, junior, that they agreed it ^ms "on the carX" Une great impediment arose (as they fancied) not in the form ?hi n?p ' ^^«™ Jl^^y both secretly hited and despised? Ut i^ oved F^^f f'^'^r^ .^l^^t"^"™' ^«^^ PonLraft. He his immense estates and boundless wealth, he felt he had onlv to ask and have— to nroj^ose and be accepted. He had no Bel- gi-aviau mamma to plot and counterplot— no sisters to pick out h 02 • h Quilty, or Xoi Guihy. flaws \r\ swoot P.liM. i . immamm "ur ms mother over for- OOR ^vith flomo dear tlioy were aim- "It her, WHS ft '"('0 u Mar(|niH •tevillo (Hh(,ni, '/«>'»lith; and ' "oin thorn, iwirted nriHto. [wtunoc; tall, "1 Jii.s motlier, lut liad iirvor •»«ci()iiHoftlio lion for L'dith >crat. Roger liord I'onte- l^voro at liiin. 't'lpated with lul of marry- t »i ilusli to luo eye, or a cd to marry 'Wo friend's • and to bo of coldness f his Eton nis sot, had letters, to ^"r Was an of (?aj)rice. n hy mas- greater in- upon In's onfl upon, Croft and ired. At n he had traced a and four soundly, ftcr this, had two vor for- ^«%, or Not Omlfy, 03 Vilht JJolleyue. and doscrZ t ife a Jo v'r n '" ^/"'''' ^^'^'''>- to the r«mo certain that Edith was nrnvlX t^/i !• ' "^',''*"* ^^'^" '^ bo- H'ff frantically about the cmintrv , '''• '"''"'*• ^e was rn.sh- cu ers. and o,1 their V/J^^^S^^^^^^^ iho wood- Iho men motioned to him not to „rn^;'^'«^ ^"'"'^ ««' J^^'Htli. "' "« «^'ony of suspense w^lkod \t H "'', ''''':• ""^ ^^tliur, nnd wlien it stop, ed at f In .? ^ * r ''i^^'' "^ ^^^ r//«nv^^; • the apparently hVile s form of Z'\?^^ ''^' •''!"'> ^^ ^'*"^'J»t and earned her un infn .t\ Vi , "' yo""i.' girl n his arm^ «oon rushed in. One^^ U,L 1 ol?l '""'i' "^ '^'^ household sensible woman, and well niCainted wi^i.' ''''' ^"''tunately a o restore animation in cas^s^S' d owrw! f"" '^'^'"^'^ ^^ '^«"«ed y. tlie room, which was Sod-as a T ^'■'""?"8; etc Lucki- ''y a large earthenware stove was V^^ T""' V^ ^""ch are- h^ood fire blazed in an omTi fiTn^n Z'"'''"'^^' '^"^^ "^ '^''iKl^t (ooantrv) in Edith's d.J s ng roo n^' Ivi^"' ''"^'''^ "^ ^^^^^^ ^annUh,and a warm bed^weretHn^l ""i"' a'*\'' -■'"<=«' a larily driven away, was pacinrtL l j''"'^ Arthur, neces- Moor, and praying fJrventlvP? ^he lamhng outside Edith's for Iiis susUi fnd aSy wJnTout^to'r n'V- ^°°^ -»^« ^''^^ ^'lon was restored; that wkmth h«V^ ^'" ^'3"^ that anima- 'olour to the hps aAd cheelTs H if Iho ^^*^^"^«^ ^o the body, ho breathing heard ; and that - - ^'""h "^^^^ '^« f^lt, and loft, deep slelp. ' ""^ ^^'^* *^^^ ^oung lady had sunk iAto a - tfoS^'nfomenl ^fte'CHtni^ *« ^<^ -"o-d to •ould not refuse to port ^h^^^^^ tpproach Edith's bedside ^^'^^'* °'^"^ restrictions) to CHAPTER XXI. -"5^«^tiJ^;^^^^^ ;^f ^ darkened chamber ^L -aded lamp ^^^.^^^1^ ^^^^^^^^^ M Ouilty, or Kot Ouilii/. 'i- ii- tored over tho pi low and 1^1.""*' '^TP '^^^^ «"°^' «^'«t- sweot mouth, lio saiTk ?i, h . i ^'''^V"'."/'^ ^1 '"'""^'^ ^">-^« ""'l of grief and fear Ho .1^ T '''''"^"i ^''"' '^^'^ "» an ugony young girl'H bed and i, Lni n /"if ,'" ^''^ ".""^7 '"""' "^^the controi^ot tearn^^^^^^^^^ Ihh manhoocl, all his self- *Tr Jf^tVe'^^^^^^^^ ' ^^'^ """ tho cXur«e;Z?sStt into a pretty yoXwomI?wa« Z "S^'^^'''^- ^'r'*^"^' P^">^» Borrow at the foot ffTl?T. 1 ? «<^anding in real anxiety and kerchief, as CvMemrrvw' f'"^°«S «'"-'"6 J»or pocket-Lu . many liitb Si^n^sTs Zrl^^^^^^^^^ awakene'd Conscienco lousy) which she had S S 3 Fd IT ''"*"' '"^y' '^"^^ J*^^"' and bitter words, many ^ett; sZ"L^s a, d'wXf ''• ^'^'^' T"^^' turns, and all in rotnini Wr, i ., ^""" ""'^-construe- cither in word or deed «nSn^''°'^"''fv. *^'"*^ ^^'-^ "^^^r weary but that of Enw and rnnnHr'"'''' ^-^^^ ^""^ '^^'^:^ ^"y ^rat^ folt. a^^knowltSd, and^^^^^^^^ «"d small-all The eldest Mi^t J^'J^r^^^^emberod perhaps too late! hardeneTwas sm linra Tml bit^ T ''''?' '^"^ "^^^'^^ "^^^^ an^i«h. Arthur. Srallv so Pnllo^^^^^^^ P''"^''^'' ^<^ ^"'"^'s fied with these hiafmlf n3. collected, so reticent, so digni- prostrated b^gr of al^^^^^^^ T'"^'?'' *° ^' '^^'^ malicious, holrthss ZmarmLtih^, T^ T^ '^""'P^ ^"^ ^ suchasccnewithasrcTorwhocmiM. ' ''""^^ ^""^ °" could hear a mai. s^ob, ^^J^^ ^^ --eep. or Th^exhaultTonTas'^o 72^2^7 ^'^"^ ^^j^^'^ ---^• for Edith had never bcfn«trn^ there was so little re-actioi. liichter (ho was a Swi^.^ Lf i "^ iT ^.''^'"^^- Everything Dr fulnursig;Thlt\1Sorg\^^^^^^^ restorative administemrl J^rLJ^^ ^[ n "^"'^^ ^^ave some jelly, strong br^lTbrandvtlL?'''''^ ^" tour-chicken- quantities,Lt at reguT&e^^^^^^^^ ^^"^" l"/«,^ «"^-" so that the room shonl n^ ^^ f Vi ^^^ ^^'^ ^^^^ ^^ kept up. and hot bottri'bo kepT"o S t " "-"'" ^-P-"'-'; 8-t up with Edith, but "m^S;„t?^^ '° '" P<'™iM<=d to their looks, particularlv JS SZ.', n /"' ^"^ *■"' '« »•»"' tu helievue \iila. would nnf >.i:.o^ V^I "i' U " "^"^ "" a visit clared she was qS'^it ^o^rs^^^tVl^riot. t «vluto and cold th snow, Bcat- losed vycH and d in an agony y <\yuh of the d, uU his Bolf. ing sobs con- pationfc.wliilo f)riana, grown 1 unxietv and pocket-hund- id Conacienco nvy, and jea- angiy, cross, mis-construc- nover weary fiy any wrath tid small— all late ! much more at Arthur's nt, so digui- o bo seen so 3epl But a uld look on lan weep, or erself. * 's recovery. 16 re -action, rything Dr. ) most care- '' have some r — chicken- very small be kept up, mperature, fis own life tteh. The rmitted to i' us about id to bring i On a visit 3lf, she de- t hour, so OuiUy^ or Kot OuiUy. 95 lorrihle had boon the shock which her nor^'ons system had sus- Lmed, by ho absence an.l alarming condition «.f i.c d " • J H khom she h,ul reared and cherislKMl us h.T own. No L ibc 1 Was wjlhng to take charge of Edith Lorraino-L sbeth ho bo(,k, at one time a regular nurse, accustomed to sit m, t i X ^nd every way suited lor the responsibility. ^ ^ ^' vatcnea hdth, he would take care to watch Lisbeth. Lisboth I P"o*^' '»i^''<^,-workn)g creature, who rose every morn ng at fi o lid toiled all dav long-could Arthur sloop wrtlTloknowlc to Muvt o» her notctropinng off to sleep the l^ of Midi 5 ZulT Edfth "in'l^^n?''" ^V> l«^c? «"«wer tfiat question ^ ' Edith lay still, 'white as her sheets," wl en Arthur with he rest of the family, retired-they for the ufght he o siTo d he long hours in walking up and cfown before Ed tVdooro sten whether Lisbcth was up and stirring, and v;^et er iho kgularly administered the sustenance on which depended tha? hmng hfo, and, consequently, his own "cpcnucU tliat 8oerLw1hat^nu/-T • w'v. '''"l' T'^ ^'^ ^^'^ "° '^'^''^^^tv in «oIf .iTl^ A. ol^„I^i«l>cth, who kept on muttering to her- BO If. dul her duty well. Ho coula heir hor stirring!" nraisincr b2 as?Jn\rLT"^^'-^^'^^^^^ "I\^^^^ «-' and l?X7h ? a few soft in i7 » nursing.mother her babe. He could hear a low soft weak, gentle words of thanks from Edith But at t e coldest, shortest, darkest hour that precedes the da^-^ 1^ &o (aavZr^^^?'' ^""''^'V ruddy glow from the open fire^ Kr he dis ncthi K;r / ''"'^^"^^^^ ^»« \^^^^^ R'^^w cold and lioavy, WiniriSr ^ oud. regular snore, and then all tlfo I St somn lo^^ • "i"'*^- ^° ^"'''\'^" ^"^ ^'^^d '^nd f,K-e, for ho e said '^SrinTl' '"^'-^^ ""V^^ ^^"""^ ^dith. He thought «ink- T r ,^M ^^l«^^^^'- " ^'"^0 brandy I Oh, haste' I horr^^s » 1 " 1. Y-^f\' ^'•'^"^y • " ^"d Lisbeth-horror of fw JT ''1^''^ '"^ labour-earned sleep, only replied by aiio Love"^f„\"r^'- frr- }^^"^ '^"^ faithful.sLpCs:wLhu After imbibing ttoso few drops, a faint tingo of colour re- I 0(1 OuiUy, or Not OuiUy. n?l?7/ l"i^''? imlocheolcH nn.l lipH. Edith minod tho moy,s- im wn lusl u'H 1 ho lur^o |,|„o j,^oh ^rleamod with lovo mid iov mid then. Hlowly fil od with ioavn, ti^,\u^r fair }.cml drcH,nin/on Ins .roust, nho Haid. " Hoavon I,1osh you, Arth..r?mX 3^ ho nnrne Lis both hud .h-opnod ftHleop in u cha^hy ^^^^^^ watchn.ff Homo broth, which' luid all lK,ilod aC l^f ^o Iw coHodoyoH. Arthur mudo Homo uttomj.ts to arZsri iThe h h..t ho Hoon Haw that, oven if ho sucrcot/od in awaking 1 ^r nh o ns wntcii at i^dith h door. Ho did not ko to take advantacro of hor unconHciouH and holploH« state, to ontablinh lu n of hftho br^b ^"m^i^;?' ^'^i '^"^^'^ "^'^*^« "Ptlio firo, put on moro broth, rohllod tho kottlo. trimmed tho limp, and takin J^ out hk mdo Ldith 8 door on tho lun.ling, an ho OHtablishod himself there h oundor and sounder slept old Lisboth ; and louder and Joudor beeamo .her regular snore. Every quarter o? an iZr Arthur adminiHterod tho necessary nourishment in retun,' for which ho heard Edith I.Iohh him! GradudTy tho colour deepened on her cheeks and lips; her pulse iSostron^^^^^^ Tnw.n TV"^" T ' her breathing softer and freer ^ '' rowards hvo o'clock (old Lisbeth's usual hour for risinj?) she hegan to stir to snort, to groan, to stretch. Arthui saw she would soon bo wide awake ; and so, with a blessinij a^d a prayer ho softly on tij.too left tho room. Lisbeth va^ed nibbed her eyes, and was frightened at first to fmd shrhai fallen asleep; but when she saw tho firo burning tho water hoihng and Edith looking so much better and l^^s waiT sho persuaded herself that she had only slept for a few riniTtos ' and our lovers never undeceived her. «- ^i^w mmutos, and Arthur watched her for some time, until ho felt certain that Edithih'af hi".? ^""/-r^^' --1 ^-tt- able to nursTswee JK^dith than ho was; for, tho excitement and anxiety over ho foimd himself cramped .,ith cold, and very, very wea% ' But ho had saved his darling's life; but for him sho mn<,f have died of exhaustion, as, alas ! so man^do whHo Wred nurses sleep. But she is saved-saved by Lovo and Tim ' And witji this conviction warm at his heart, irthur hurried 'to iSs cold bed, and was soon fast asleep. CHAPTER XXII. " Oh, there's nothing hnlf so Bweot In llfo As Lovc'h young dream," .aiOOHE, Edith Lorraine's recoveiy was very rapid. Youth ai^ a cood constitution were on her side, and, better still, the deh^gE Ouilty, or Not Quilty. f ^^ Olioijffli silent) conviction that hIio owed lior lifi, * a t . an.l the lovc-liKht t,W,;.',! oj.;"'"* ''"'' ^''" ^^»«"» to her check. Lishcth houMtcd of u recovcrv whici, .1,0, ffr.;! . i , , her nnreniitfini/ c.uv and K/^ ^^'^ ^^'^1*1 U lonelv. except fo^r him? \S Xi' ho "toT """^-^^"'^''^^' pier faith, and her cheerfulness a fee ni oV f '''^ ^'^'' patience, Vation, and of deep tenderner'™ mf t 'cvoronce. of admi- ires, presseitn 1„," ™«t"°'-4" ".^'i''-'' ♦;,f'"-»kirto,l 4lrot »o.st ™ brought to her md so w' A m^ '''"''"''■' W"!'^ [•each, looked like many c2,ir»7!Il 1 '^}'^^'^' '"''''■'■• <»> "•» h "^"g=- when try"CT;irSr';"^if.r ' ^"^"^ P™^' ' I ij 1 18 98 Chiilty, or Not Guilty, Edith could scarcely remember the time when Arthur hnrl not been her ^reat solace, guide, companion, and ffie am Arthur felt that he had always loved Ed th but Hh.V had never been in love with hlr till she was' fifteen nd h" seventeen. And now, the stronger the nassion tW ^n i li • young hearts, the more reservedCre tf ^ n e^^^^^ ^^ pany Love, as m Lalla Rookh's case, had fled from their pvpT to hide himself in their hearts. ^" ^^ ^^' Edith was again a member of the family circle when Rnimr Croft arrived at Bcllevue Villa, with his tutor, or "rol,h''^u; he called him, and with a gay party of vomm mon of 1.?™.' travelling during the lonf v£atiJn aSf "Xm h^^^^^^^^^ Lord Pontecraft was pre-eminent for wealth, rank imnorC '^ and influence over his younc? comnanions Thn«n n • ' were all singularly ahke f thef wcTal Xssed 1 y oneTalior' adorned by one ieweller, shodV one bootmaker^ t& ^w^ cut by ono haird'resser. their hats came from one hatter-eTon their shirts gloves, ties, collars, were all furnished bythe sam lX7^C^^^^7c^^^ been educated in one school-^ on one ^inS^? '* ^^^r^'' ?^^^ ^^^« ^^1 «lo«e imitators of oe Tft • f ^""^"^ ^,f ^"^' ' ^"^ ^"' ^^«eP<^ Roger Croft were of the aristocracy We say all except Roger, for in evervtK Arthur was as unhke as possible to the "set" now honour n 5 the Bellevue Villa with tW presence. They auThoS bn same thoughts, felt, or affecteli to feel, to tlJnk to ta | ta^ sit loll, yawn, and smoke alike. They had one common iCa fTn Wif ^^°^;i ^''•^ ^r "^°" ^^^^^' one ^ery bad sTow 3 though they all aimed at being thought " fast » Thev nH joined mquizzmgHarkup Hackney, their "coa^h.'" whom the young Marqms set the fashion of cafling " Old HackneTS A " ?rTt ' ";^ nT ." ^'''^f' ''Y^^- ^"^ n^^thematSn- J .^doubio farst who had lived from the age of eighteen to fiftv fw^ f i,! cloistered, monkish hfe of an OxfW privllftutor^nd'^X wa as simple, absent, unworldly, credulous, and igAoranrof The world and Its ways as any village girl of fifteen^ He was also as pure of heart, as impulsive, and affectionate. He was United to be married, too, as soon as he had amassed a rertaKm wherewith to make a settlement on the object of his affection^ -a cm.ate's seventh daughter. This curate had been his school master ; and Prudence Pryme and Harkup Hackney had been lovers from the time that he was a gaunt, plain, but very cleVe' kind-hearted boy, m jacket and turn-down collar, anrSudenco a rosy Wden, in white frock and frilled trouser^ and m"th her ?^ f ?,!;?:^^^.^"/!"^ J^rg^^*« ^«^n her back, till now, that his umc iOn^, uiici uiacK hfiir was iron otpv nnri till 'r.w,^ i, j Stolen the gold from her locks, and leftTe'^change fn siW Harkup Hackney was a tall, wiry, powerfS man, with a All thir world an of tempej "fast pa; mortal m Ouilty, or Not OulUy, ^^ parchmenfc skin, deeply furrowed wIM. fJ.n r . , Like Dominie Sampson, he nSnn r/f .-^ ^'T ^^ thought, it was the delight of the yoC KnuK ? T '" ^^'^ /^^^'^^ ' '^"^ money he lavished on what e^camH "s i' \'° .'^'"■'^? ""<^ ^^l^^t old lia^jkney-Coach's threadbare iln.1 "'^ *° «»'^«titute for trousers, whatever was o^avp«f n g ^"^"^^ »"^ washed-out full of squaring tL^cllTtur'n^^^^^^ -^ he whatever he found on the chair Tv hf. hn^l i^ cp'gram. put on done so had it been a Lnemrf.n ff ^''^'^' ancfwouli have darin's robes. ^''''^^^ ^ uniform, or a Chinese man- neyt^etSi^^^^^^^^^^ Markup Hack- period; forold#ryme the iTd^ fnH °^''" ^'^^^ ^" ^^^^t long of NorthumberlanraiSrkuD har r ' -^^^ ^^'^ ^OP had in view, no money to fnend Fn/tn' ^^"«^^«';"^g the object hi stantly correspondec^ anrHarkun wa^'T' ^f they h^d con- and Belf-deniai; fast approachinrZ Zv / ^^^^^^ industry Pryme insisted on, beC he wm^^^^^^ «»"» old He had suffered such miser? wln 1 7^ Prudence to marry, he was a gentleman by iirtl anXd ± ^T'Y himself-^ vowed no girl of his sCd inSf herseTf to f ^ ^^^^T^^^^ ^^ not keep her in comfort andTffin ^ ** ^^^ ^^o could a compitency in caTof ^dowhood "" ""°"^^ *" «^^^^ ^^e? hadS aSZ^rtfe^^l-^^^^^^^ ^-> H-^ney speculation, into which Craft hn^T ""• i T^ '^''^"'^ «^' «ome threw him back again as far n. ''''f^'^ ^"' Simplicity, Prudence! He wa? however ve' nea'r ^i^ '^' "^^^^ ^"^ sum he was to receive as travemStn?L'^ "°'^' ^"^ ^^^ would all but enable him t^roL^it h?m^^l?"7.\"*y ^^ " '^"^s " ?ri^/ Borders, to claim Keeur^f.f,.*^ parsonage, huu-ed daughter of forty-nine— hT«^Ui^ i • f ^^^^ ^^^ grey- young m Eis eyes and fn r fn^ ^ "^u^^l ^"^«' ^^^o was stHl ^s/ght,andth7imTge?/^^^^^^^ hani study had dimmed on his heart; while th! recoTlStion of W ^^^ '-^''^^''' demess, and her truth mad7 lin^ ? ^^ constancy, her ten- womankind. * ^^^ ^'''^' *^ ^m* the 6e4 ^t^ea^ of CHAPTER XXIII. " Wlfte?/.^'*")'"^ '« the worst of nis. All things consirlprpd H— ^--t- tt ^ • ■ ^^ttletgn. world and its waysrhis absenr?nf ^-""^^^ ^'^°^^°^«^ of the of temper, he was^ ^s Ut to be t^,^°,^' ^°d simple credulity "fast party" now at XuevSe Vii^n «'Tf""}? ^'^^^^ «f <^hi mortal memory himself ' ^^ *^® Dominie of im- H 2 100 Onilti/, or JVof Guilty. ll! l\ young V"rc°„Ts1dt' o co^vTne'id "ttaf-t oXtf ' ^'^ "H pathy sincere • inrl Tv.n,7n ' ^^''^Y^^. ^hoir interest and sym- How ' *'' .r ^'^ '""'V^'''^ ^^il «^- f^£ehood in any one ^flXr^ttdSf^^^^^^^^^^ -y^i sible, to an ndcfin te Sd /if. '""'^'^ *° postpone, if pos- fast approacSnp MaSn ° Be^^^^^^^^ 'Y IS^^ ^^^^^^ *« ^^ Croft and the &rqX wL Se both' '^-^^^^^^^ ^?^^^ to yary the scene bv ik^nuvrZ^f . "^^ P'^^' resolyed Which Vedes^eratVg&S^^^^^^ *^° to Spa, at Roger Croft was onfTthe mo^f ^^r T""' J'*"' T^ngon. men. He disliked o d Valne?C^^iT''\^''^ "?^^^"«^« ^^ Arthur-a preferencHhi^r nS: . ^^i ^' Preference of Edith's cyeLndTflLftoLfche^^^^^^ ' ^'^^ ^' *"^^P^ *« in the first instance^e lost nr wn 1 ''^ '^''*^^' and whether, perseyere. ' ^""'^ '''^ ^^°' ^« ™ equally certain to woKt!'o?''±^Je'^^^^^^^ -an of the world, he himselfop^nlya^aSn^tahlP wW "'"^u*"*"^^^ ^^^« «^°^" in private : hi^t he |^? "^4± / ^^^^^^^j: ^e might have done picious, that when the Voun^^Mn'/'''''''"^.'^''!?' ^^^ '° ""«"«" tending to he yer, mtrSe^t^d^-U^^^^^^ Hackney; they -bio, as a tutor, :hing; and the of fun " would our, that ho at igagoment was attended; and 3rest and sym- 3ted Prudence as, bowing all =g! God bless ;tachment was I to shield old prevent his Prudence the i have feared iny one. in old Hack- merwith the 1 very jealous tpone, if pos- seemed to be arters, Eoger lay, resolved TO to Spa, at vas going on. malicious of preference of triumph to ery thought- pted and re- ' postponing *rudence. ning-tables ; ambling, in- tnd whether, y certain to Guilfi/, or Mi Guilty. 101 wS ti:?;^ and napoleons. concert), old Hafl^iey CoacK ' '"'i- n '^ ^^' '*^ Government without leaving hfmXeJo^^^^^^ "l^-? ^ho snare; and mto an cUganUhy puttTna- on iZ' ^^^^ j^'-^^^ily converted him (who was very tallf a t o?)f L n'"X^"*^ "^ ^^^^ Marquis's called it, of young 'iC^^^ ^^^^ .\"<1 ^ "tile," is ho in company VithSllWs 7 unils^ol? H^""^' •" Hackney-Coach, tlieope'nair,andw.ssZ3^ " Y'^''*' «unny day and seated between tl^X 'Mar mn'^ i"]? ^ ^"^'^^ ^" ^"« hand, table, at which were croL^l 1 T\ ^^''^^'' p^^^^ at a long bound slaves of tl J De^no.fof C' ^"""^■^'^^^' ^^ous, spelC the cWefof\r g^^^^^ they remained, lost to everything but men, looking oWann;iv wfth IT ^^r'"->'°""^'' ^'^^ ^^'^^ who ought to have bLn Sjl ,Mf "' "^ P""^^ anxiety-women there! Young menX h?d fnf«nt "'!',^^'*^ becoming demons to Fame and Fortunr^th flf t """ ^^'^ "I''^'^"' ^''^^^J Path lucky throw; and moi'o^i,,,*^^' ^T f Setting rich by one their all, had irthenocternilV^ whom, having ventured ure, to stifle the vole^of Co„?niin '^^T^^^^' "^ ^^«« ^^ fail- Poverty and Despair ^^"'^"ence, and to cut short a life of hadLfl^ma^hS^^^^^^ ^^ --^ on, on, on, and him at once to reward his Pruln.^f'"?i necessary to enable of a long hfe. His eves wer? n?'fi ^^^'i .^^e patient constancy his heart beat high-wLrio r n f , ''' p '?^ '^^'"^ '^^^ «"«l^«i he lost all!-all his winnfni Lfd '^" f ?°?;i^^"^> ?^l^^'^i and By this time it was dark?uts^rl. f i l^^^i ^'^ °"^"^^J «<^ock! and still on on cm t^.Za ^^^^^^^i^ and the lamps were lighted • Marquis. E^ge; C^f fnd X'rSf '^^ ^'''''^ ' ^^^^ ^^^^ teur^s close by to dine but Harknt ' ""Ti ^°"" *« ^ rclmm- Hackney thought hrdetLtedsor/ T" f ".^t '^''' Suddenly to the ice. Maddened by hiHo^^^^^^^^ ^ouiner, and demanded t7be alloworl Vn '°'- ' ^°".^^'"^ ^^^ the latter had tlim^f infn^ i • '^^^^^^ to examme a do which clared was loader The whX ^t^t'' '"^^?^^^ ^^'^^^^ ^^^ a furious scuffle ensued betwoen S "P" ^^^\roHo in tumult; two of the gamblers fell to Th! "^^^^/^^ ^^^^ the cro^ipier] their fierce struggrupL ?hpl J combatants, in drew a stiletto from hifbreast andT" ^^^"'^^^ *^^ ^'-^^^F^'^^' to thfi hpart ^hr" " ? ' ^^ ^^^ ^hout to stab TIar-knpv would probably ha;;jil£f^:L^^^^^ *'^om 1^ and hi the gamblers, LeW the c-o3>^^^ '""^ *^'^^^' t^^* *^^^<^ *^« of the coat-tails, and i^lk^ K^^ d^-J--^^^^^^^ 102 OuiUy, or JVot QuiUt/. * ! \ alf S^t^^^'t^^^^^^^^^^ -addoncd by his losses, tain ho had dete^ctedrwas a vorvln '""' ^"^ ^^^'^ ^« ^^^^ cer- ho was still armed ^Th the T)dnn.?r'?"l oipponent ; and, as from the croupier, there wonfr? ^^ '^^'t ^^ ^^^ wrenched had not the youne Marlk n.^ certamly have been bloodshed. Of coursefarE^ni^^'hC/^^^^^ the party returned certainty of thrashiL tC' Vrei'Jnfi." "^ '" ^ H^^" «"d the but stand by and bacl „p thdr Sr 'id^lr^'f ' *^?7««?Id not he insisted upon was iSs riJhffn « ^'^^.^^^-^^^^'i- ^1 which he had been robbed of fhn i ^"""^T J-^^ ^'° t^^-ough nected with the ^I^iTAr! ^"^"^"^^ ^^ «- ^^^e. As all con- ruin the character? &^^^^^^ they knew wouW brmser, brought his fistrfn T,« ^®^*' *^*^ Marquis, a great gamblers. aIi hi^ ,artv lilnt iT° *^^ «''^"°^ ^^e« of the cially engaging wL thl f ^"^"^ his example ; Ha<;kney espe! sawiis bUi,^which the SrSV^nTr ^T ^"' ^^^^ ^^ his embroidered shirt-front asTLfl!? i"'" "claret," soaking broken nose. ^' ^^ '* ^^^^^^ ^om his cut hp and the^ltd:d'lic^e?'^Artl;1;^^^^ P^-^^^^d himself of young Marquis or his imitSTrnnM ' ^""^ ??*.^^"& ^^^^ the beyond, ^' ixperientia S'' ''^^^ «^J^ ^^^^ elicited any reply hetUt^drrnrt^^jJf Maroui, caused him, by himself oMwt ^ ?• ^"^^ the agony he had up the sumV&cnWate oM ?l^''p^ "^ *^^ tolir, making ney to settle on his bride ^nd t^l^^^^ Prudence, she is workinrhWd at h^^^^^ communicated to and happf Ho^e hf ^: t .eT^^l?at ^^^^^^^^^^^ 4" om^ ™s"oT ferlirr"]'' ^-^Vr^^^ at the set » at Bellevue Villa *'^' ^ ^'""'S Harqms, and Ma "fast ha?^"^::=S:^4t™t^3Sl^:f™rJ^^^^^^^ P-tt^ e„o„gh to dition to the selfish caUousnP«« Sf ?i, 1 ^^*^ ™^° 5 but, in ad- tinguishes such nawS Z^'^e^^^^^^^^ respect, such imitators ~oiihi\^^^^ ' '" , '^ *"^ ^^^^ other they aU admired EdiTh! I'd tS SS™'^. """'^ '^^'•' '"^ 'd by his losses, iich ho felt cer- onent ; and, as had wrenched )een bloodshed, larty returned, fight," and the they could not sy-Coach. All e die through 2. As all con- y knew would irnuis, a great V faces of the Tackncv espe- 3 in, when ho iret," soaking 3 cut lip and Bd himself of e the Juge do convicted of I money, and, 3 the savings lis first, so it ling that the ;ed any reply ig Marquis, gony he had 3ur, making uired Hack- unicated to id the con- )re him, the e kind wife years I nted at the i his "fast enough to but, in ad- !s that dis- very other )ader, that OuiUy, or Not Guilti/. 108 eye^ste7eiu fix'ffi^^^^^ f?:.^^"' ""J '^^^ '""''^ '^'^^^ their admiringly. SrLer e e ' S'i'V'I.^'"'*-^"^ '"''^^^^'P ^^^^d so chmr or'l.ouch on which 2o su ll"^^ ^'"^^ ^'^^'^^^^'^ ' ^ho a httlo Cour^ was formed ''™'' *" ^''''°"''' ^'"'^""^ ^^"ch thn'l'lf^rrmthroVi^^onfsl*" ^Tli ^\ ^-"^ '--^^ and reviving (i„ s^ite of reconf r^i' T^'""^ *^ ^^^^ "^^^ ^^^^ ance) all the demons of fnr^?i''''^'°"' ^'^"^"''^e, and rcpenti in the ho^ornXG^Alnriir^S^' '"^n' ^"^ detraction.Weu nnamiable. of the S' famr '^'''^\^\l^^^ov the least vvhen he returned found hJr^^n/' "^''"^r, °^^ Hackney-Coach, Bide; she >C so fulf of ^f^;^^^^^^^ Misses Croft were so affivf?7 J '' T^ sympathy, and the ful to Eoger'sTutor * '° ""^^^^' «° ^«W, and so scorn- ag^Jat'^cLturrr^Cr^ he had t)ie management of the^ estate ZfA''^^^^ *^' °'^ ^^^^ ^"'^ and old tries do not bear Lansplaifth L > f." T 1^^^^"^ °^'^' was over, continental Hf'n ,™"^P'^nting. After the first novelty office ; h; couM not o cunv he cIT?' '? ^'^' ^° "^^^^^^ J"« hated foreiirn cooktw who T' ^'H.^^"^^i "9,^ amuse himself He hated chearFrench^i^e' h- 'i'" ^ ''"''"' '' ^''''"^^' ^' his old cr^rstyport,™'r^tT^^^^^^^^ P^ ^^^ed legged, sinewy, half-starved r.S' i '^^ ^''P^"'' ' ^^e long- da|, stringy ^^at^IttlK'^^ '^'"'^' ""^ *^^ *«"g^' wafnoTsoJ^to^e't tid^ol S '? "^^ ^^"^' ^^ ^-- ^-ft andwasforJverfmp;^4i-;e[-^^^^^^^^^ CoS^nd^Ijl'ht^S^^^^^^^ T^- Old Hackney, as good as his word-Hark^^^^^^ *2 ^^^'''^- '^^^ ^^^H^^^ ^^^ repaired to the parlntewL^^ 7 ^'''1' "P coaching; he father the curate. TSe^rllled s^,^ w"'" ^TA ""''^^ ^^^ ^^^ and in his own little chuS old Pp^.T '^*^*^^^ ^" Prudence, of those whose hearts hid res L^^^^^ "^"^ T*''^ *^^ ^^^"^^ chance, and change to sever ti^^^ *^' ^^^^^^ °^' ^^^^^^^^ time, oranglKomttthXou?s tr I^'"'^^"^^^; ^ -"' - quiet, grey silk, and a npnf wfiV t ^arria^e and four. In a dence ^afked to'l^^erwitl^Hlrkr^H^^^^ " ^f ^^^^' ^^- married sister being present Th^^ Hackney, her only un- to the parsonage to partake of J^^.^WJ pair then returned ofVe^ Ju:_i, , e^/v ,Pari;aKe ot a quiet, comfortable hr^„uxt,_x ter of the former-a Xasin« ntf ""^ accompanied by the sis^ 1^ il i Harkun fwlin '3^"J«h, spirits. ' "" ^"« ^^ tlie very Hackney cS'M ''"^''^ deserves the nlnt Pior weddinTr. ! ^""^ ^^tremely kind nml n'^^^^^n^e of " Old J^orno in tt"slow!tjnf '/"? ^/^'^ ^^-7 P^^ ^"'^^ ^^ fall conveyed'thnr^ f T ^, *^^ *^ie swift train «^k' JJ^^y ^^ro CHAPTER xxiy The winter " ""'"' °° '"^''^ ' ^^«>-«. and i am woman l" .,. the best years^f ^>? -^^^ *° ^^^^ that they t^n^ ^^^^.^H" for the ier dauffhter.^^' ^""^^^ ^^ ^y her own in of. T^"' ^'^^^ n^ono- '0 let them d^^'"'"? ^>^ft 'ten be«,nf„f "■""*!.'"■ '«»'»Wul "s^t ifSr»oSl-t?ttr^ -• -o i-'Oiidon for the '!§ to see all the P/i.and London- ^tminster Abbey, ^aWe, Mudume J^-ensington JVIu- 'rytlnngl And '.was (as Roger 't entertained a len vrith whicJi was in the very name of "OJd *[; and a hap- ^n consisted of »e. They were hich by night. >sited them at jRrcnELiEu. 'Ua, after the e spring foJ. eet past, and 5^ dull for the ting some of n. but mono- ambition and nit the villa, »/; and as hotels, the of beautiful eir mamma team-Boats, onaire, Mr. »e Convent married to cbes, too," ung Lord ascending Jiraine to Guiify, or mt auilty. ..^ bo content, sitting in those dnll r . ^ berries, and sketeHinitho,b-«f/A^'''*^' Pothering wild straw out, and that pretty sharn fnn \ i ' ^"^ ^^ must look ^7p;f^*."^9^rdes?ffi&' '"' ^^^^'^ ^'^ "^<^^". like M?st ^n 1 said Miss TrfifV »« t> wants to marry Edith-not fn?? "^^ t' ^"^^ ^^^^^^^ of his own fashion of admiring her Ko ? ?^^1 ^ P''«"ii«c you~set S>' She despised every one of "hem' ^T .7^"^ ^^^^ *h«r«- I think she's over head aifd ears n Jove'^mf l^' ^^^^^^ excepted Oh the justice to .ay, she treated JlThe. W ' ^V^ ^ ^^^^ do her And so must I " qoiVi a i" • ^^^ ***st set ' very coldlv " co„tcm,,t of all womil'"'™' """ "»" tte/deser^e the ter^t wasWi;^^ r^^JoHan, -.I fea. in ,«„ ease, sU- 4: 7 r """' "'" ■"' -"^ ^-' - — taste would s^fthiueTmuSl-' ^^' ^ ■"» of good -^tert ""b nt- 1^' ^4 -«• "e: daughters Boger Croft were toTok thJm at7„T ,^rq««. Arthuf S had found out the truti of the old lonjl '^'"'"- '^ ^'^'^ and, as our yomraH,?'"'"'.'"""'" «""'»■'*■■ ,■• paHenoewhepiStr„tStn* T^ to practise gsol™ he had confided to l^S™Croft t1?„r??^,^1.''-'»'l ^at /d^'rwirht r""T""™^ ''""'' •" J^idaW wL^Sl?ntaXc^^.;'ft?tr^- ""^ ^I"™'™- tad wisely given up aU honeanf T^ ?? *'"" ^'^s^s Croft, who J»ts ; for eaeh had, or fZcied ,h^ I,^'"''""''; '^"■'o ^ « Wgh ers w '"V"' •"■ »«t them evef^w""!^!,"® costume,'^who era wore also making love hv „P^ ™.' ^^^^ a set of foreim, "■anu.uvres, to the tCrCr^ftS'S;"^^ ^t '?'*>" -^^^ vrracoa. lor foreigners fancy lOG that Ouilfij, or JVot Ouilfy. must n,,n .^ travelling English fan .iin'dSr JS it'^afa^Ct I- f^. -mo- tion, and constancy-she Si' conrs^ J i'i ?i ^'"'^.'^; ^?^^' ^'«^«- and more than her So l^Z^^v.■ f}^ ^^''^* ^"^^ ^^^^ «hare, there was a virgin modes?; n\lf ^-^^^'^"^ ^"^^ flirtation; but quility about hfr which rmnp1^"'?r^ '"'T''-'' "" ^'"ly-liko tran- beauty) kept in J;rthe Krent 4rni7 ^^T'''^}'''' ^'^<^^ ^"^^ huntii^ foreigners ^^S^nt-street gents and the fortune- the\t:^'uirS^/rtt? ''^^r^ mountains, visiting the same forests the 0« .t ^"^ ^''''''^'' ^"^ picnicking in foreigners haTelllteco^f ^^i^ -^the disappomted when thov disrnvnro^i fi rJl ^"^^^'^ ^^'''^ » ^'^^t^o in their inexperien^L-e hU iuS > I • f ^'"^'' ""^""^ *^^^y' to be vouno- noblnn.n« •'k ^ "^ ^'^ *^^'^ ^^e«s and their airs plain iSS and th^r.^''''^""^' ^* *^^^ ^^^^ l«^«t' were only iratic. TheraCted sfcf ^^^^^^ ^'"^ ^^^ "° "^«^"« a"«to^ versation o/driH reviews Wn '^' ^'f' ^^«"«t^hios, and con- Croft and he^dLaE \ "/T'"''i'?r' *^'"-' *^-' ^^^^ ^^^s. Alas ! alas ! they we^re onlv ?Ff ^hey were guardsmen. Miss Croft's esnS S ""■ ^''S/^J?''" ^^^ anticipate, was Mr. Cutts and GloiST^ other hand, Le ComtP Pn^li ' ■^^- ^ o^er. But then, on the Leopold de ChA^teru Ro^e IL^^^^v- ^^"^^^our, Le Baron Valle'e Noire, wSreTt hnnT^.n^ .^"^ Viscomte Amddde de la and illustrious descent Cn^T ?»,*'' f u"^' ^^ ^^^ ^« "^"^6' title, admirers. True! the v^un^ F.tf P^'^^^'^"^^"^ «f the English nicer, and evidently better fro^l^"^.T i^^'^ "^^^^ ^l^aner, their foreign riva s^ butTnS nf qT*^ ^'^""^ ^^^ ^^^^ than "What's iS a nl^e ?'' the fi:^"^^^^^^^ exclamation, for? LUlKn^h^^ '"^ T!^ ^^^-^ ^ bTalthou^h, be- Sdf -^ "--/- ^^^^^^^ fe.e .d idowtnthlX'lS^^^^^ ^^« --!'« imitative "fast set^'^aWd. ^ °^' ^""^ *^^ ^^'* ^^ *^« wh?Lf 8(^147^^^ to show off before those of aspirants whT^t^nt^'ttm";:^^^^^^ ^*' *^^ ^^^^^ ^-* tvealtliy, and >t petticoat, immonplaco . love, aovo- l Jier share, tation; but ly-like tran- •* grace and ho fortnnc- ns, visiting micking in ts, and the i'ere a little f^hom thoj, their airs were only ans aristo- i, and con- that Mrs. aardsmen. ^icipatc. 3ria's beau on, on the Le Baron dde de la ame, title, e English 1 cleaner, ;ash than lamation, Kcited by ronne de fe, as op- ough, be- st in, the was now srce and rupture, is soul's it of the •e those itle host Omlty, or Mt Guilty. 107 Ky S to jSlsoIol? t T^ ^"^ ""^^ ™'""' do^-xtS said, .ifcrtho'':^iv"?tf fr^ots Msr ^ "irs-^'^'" exchanging rw^rd^t' wVotrtt'fd^&TwTrtr"''^ "! rose, tho mtle & m of stS^'fe'tera^dtot^™ 108 Oullt^, or Not GulUy. tho rocky 8ul„tonco in wl,f "l. ?l "" "1"'': ™'"""' P'"-' "f liKht sroou lcw™li ft, 2,v r^ T" ™'«*1'"1. '>ut whoso beauty to tho "conirv K™ !'njncho» Ravo »uch gnu-o n„,l tip thoso pcrpcSSr Mw7 ' V ■'•'•''■, "■'''J"»' '""«1». 1""1 piled depth. bfvoXo Zd bloom"' '""' '" ^•°"^'"'" *''«'' I«"l™» couU e„2™c!*Ha?et' much t^'th™' ""''^'' ""'i ""-Tthiug that quia and hi^' feHt J wl """"""yi"'™ of tho young Mar- ii wore yeT„o tl of 'coSit Ih i'X ^l">^ ,"7' *""« "'»»' Bwcr for the safety of X K,,l i u"'?.^ '1<='-I";'e>l they could an- off iA h^hTirir""'-^' ""■'"" " *''" *^""" -1 mL*^ cj^ar^t mu^'^tfrrtuXncoand't'oir ''^'i' "^'^^^ *" E^««"s mule, not like to make Ihdr m 1 ^1 f/'v'"""" f Arthur, who did Marquis. qulLtg Lnd Xe ' ol'* ntsThi^^^^'^'j^t ^l'"" entirely toTho'Se;^^^if;:/?,C™ftw^^^^^^^ t„e been left H^'jh$irw„°'th'e':,;«ro'? ;r,^ «™' "- *" *-^ ''^"-• ^ntl^r&^X^}r^: '".""F?"" for him the steep tojja"htgrw«'&t ~r£t"" "■<> had an odio3.W mfcta?e pZ t? ffl!'' ''°^"' ^'«' asking Edith if she worSd iSve " a'Tr™ tholV^r ''•° = tongue to eive it, „t.t»rp"cp •" oF-"r- ?< -k "^ ' ™'*- ^^^^ ^hceks of the IhIi loved to ^mcd part of 1, but whoso h gnico and Is, had jMled loir perilous ything tliat ^oung Mar- thing about y could an- ler of those ft was roso- S8 Croft, set lith's mule, ur, who did ject of the by taking If. But for e been left the belles. have been 3d, and the lUee Noire s in favour 1 the steep wished he Ele did not ;e ; and so, % eonsult- s to push jlt certain at, on the thing was mountain oger, who iccession ; md some le Baron, )usly dis- was very Oui/ii/, or Not Ouilty. i^ At length the guides and Mrs. Croft boean to H.JnL v h.gh t.mo to prepare to set out home a d^riitUo sS^ '^ ''''' the cliffs was ])ronoscd nrminnM f,. • """ among Edith, hoping t'„ £ s £ SnAibH" ;r„arAT;'- left the noisy, excited sot biK^v w,f^ „ i ^ i "" '^''^ ^^>"i Arthur, and Roger J;oft, and itoZi:^^,^^^^^^ while the Croft girls were flirtini wVA /i tV ^'^""^ ''"'^oj Count, and Mrs. ^roft llVnXv l"t U "« o^T ""^ "^° Arthur was gone to see to the salbtv of' VSn ' ^hampagno. give the guides leave to sup onThe i-lts^f tt fcuT^^ '" meant to try to get a few moments' <5 'l4t wS FdiH %^*''" whom he had been crucllv sovornH ihr^r.,. ['^f^ wuu ^.aith, from ^. The ladies had all a^^d rdispe i^^"^^^^^^^^ ^^^!? ^'^3^- lines, as, in ridin^r on mnln/nr^ r i- ''*'°P'' ^"^'^ crino- rocks, such appSges wTe found a n^.^'^^ mountains and ment; and Ekh,ifLT:olZtl^^^^ muslm, looked, as she moved anion;^ '^f^P^^ ^^ ^^olicate white her way along the narrow ^^Ih^Eome mo^taTnf' ^^^1^^"^ guardian spirit of the spot mountain nymph or It was the young Marquis nullT^\f^^T' ^^^^o; champagne, Ld rWvTr^r'^'lnte't^ ^ ^^^ Bion and to make Edith an offer of his hand «nT?n T *"' P^'" an angle of the craK°pfckod wlf?' """"d sharply round and wt, aeon losHi'his W fotZ\'''""T <'''"''^".''' cursed his fate, and swore at him«Tfo ^ j '.?"' ™»™>'red, he where could ho see thltTnctl^ti^g fZ -'''''"^ '" ™ ^O" werer^td^l^£p^:»> ^rs. ^^{* ""'■ her daughters set off and still Edith CStme not™'^ ""^ ^^ ^"^y "> of UsorifTtl',r;;L'^/ir^;,^*"-™*ed about. regardle,s echo. only. ans^er7d- S^ire^l'^^jfrrCroft thr ' V' "^^^ Marquis, even Roger, the "fast set " .L fk J ■ S"'"'- *'"<' had made sure thSt Edith w»»' h?i;„„°?f i'^.^f^-'^S^e, St Edith was Wding Tsrort, norSn" to 110 Ouilii/, or Kot Ouilly. cxrhanpro blank bok. ,f terror, and to trcml,lo and grow palo. I u> Kuides Hhook their ).oads. There wa,s a fatal Hpofc not far of whoro several ar(id(.r:tH had happened-one ve^y recently 1 hey had ropen and lantern.s, they never ascended these heiKhta jyi hout, but they were of no use, sinco there was no trace or indication of Edith's whereabouts. Presently Arthur's shout was hoard. The guides, who know whence the sound came, exclaimed in Swiss, •' Blessed Virgin preserve us I It is the Death Valley I do is shouting from the rocks above it I " ^ Again came Arthur's shout on their startled ears ; and still they moved not. Arthur in a lew moments camo back, deadly white— his eyes en fire, liis hair on end. ^ "I have seen her !" he said. " She has fa'len from a hich crag into a dark deep chasm; but I can see the gleam of a white dress ! What is to be done P " ^ The guides shook their heads. "Nothing can bo done; she is dead by this time." said one of them; "and it is useless to risk the Hfo of living men to save a dead woman !" ^ " I wiU give a thousand pounds— nay, two thousand pounds -totheguide who tries to save her, or who brings her up. deader alive!" smd the young Marquis, trembling^ violently The men shook their heads. " What is the use ot^the money to dead men P" they murmured. ^ " Fools ! cowards ! brutes ! " said Arthur, «' I will risk what you. mouutain-born, misnamed guides, shrink from ! Follow "^mi^ t° ^^ silently and promptly tdl my commands !" Ihey have reached the crag: down, down, down, deep in the darkness below, the gleam of the white ^..v. is ; een " Now, the strongest, of your ropes !" It was produced. " Now your lantern 1" The guides gave it into Arthur's eager hand. " Now you. my lord, and you all. help these men to hold fast this rope. Do not yow give way— be sure I will not. Father xn heaven, give me strength to save her! If not, blessed Jesus . =i. ive ny spirit !" ^ W^xh. the lanternin his bosom, and the rope fast clutched in ., *;b ms hanu' , Arthur swung himself at one fling half-way do.,ii the chasm. There he paused, gaining a momentary foot- ing on a slopmg ledge of the cliff. More eagerly thL, he peered into the dark chasm, and saw the form of Edith sense- less at the bottoni. He pla^^ed the lantern on a proiectin^ an^l« or tnerock,aiia by the aid of the thick rope, he" went" do^: down, down, to the bottom of the dark abyss. Edith lay, white as her dress, and perfectly insensible, on a I grow palo. hold fast b. Father ised Jesus lutched in ? half-way titary foot- T then, he ith sense- ting angrle ent down, I Ouiltjf, or yot Quilt, J. ^^ bod of moss, withered loavoH. and loose earth A xrJn i I.O lKm...s were l.n.ke... ;„. bl.m.l shed f ll' I A.-H "^ ''\^"'T'« ^hafc nerved him afresh. He threw (...oufT.' ^••thur.s ]n ut, and r...M.d the .shLfht \n\n nn7^^^^^^ i<-ft arm) tho rope. I'fc 'M::;";in :^uide: '3^, r;i' '" "^"' "^'^"^ of he eru^.. pull.d ,,l,,vdy and wel '• ^^A^u. '"'''^ .V" *''« top pull, mid U pull ail tocroth,.,. " nth nr^- "'f '"'"' "' '^^''^''^ lovely bunk'.n (still q.^te i s'en I o in :* t7 ^'"t'^'"" '^"'l *»« ravmo. Midway, where ho 101^/0 ..! ^'"^'"'r) o<'fc of the ment's footing, a .d^Ih ov . oh - 'J' •" ""''^'"''"'^ '* "^"- th^jlc..lu.r^iunt,y&:;?Le;!^^^ ^aS;:;^^ t;s^^^^ that ^^.h ro. 'ofc. sore, blistered, and almost ,^Iv.^ S"""^'' *° ^' "thur's IS grante.l to those on he migU ^urS> "^^^^^ ^"^ ^' ""^'th iip-for they can now see Art^LT ^^^l^'-o P""itu^ l.im that black aiyss and Elthin t^m'K'?' ^" °^'^-"- ' ^"ve ull-cZiSnglovef ' SyTe" d. "' l^'^"^^' alLendunng. her froi. his arm4l ey 1 XT orf tCi^ '\ '7~'^''y '^^^^ side her. The Marquis i,lds Zh L^rS'^T^''' ^"^^^^^ '^o- Arthur chafes her hands aXcmnlLw'^^'^^^^^^ ^« ^^•* li"«; opens her eyes ; she smiles on A^K ^x!'"' ''"^^'^^ ^^^ums ; , he bless and reVar'd you, Arthur ^ "" ' '^' "^"^°^^«' " ^eiv n .PbrHl.tiataTl^Lt^^ and i.- Arthur, would have perished ^ere hnf ?^i^''' ^"^' ^^^^ ft.- H of leav^.s and loosL earth she nse.'^H^ T"'^' "" ^hat sof i« told to this day bv the -nr^'''^","^''""t5andthestor. Mountains;" indeej, tit do^^no? V the '« Miracle of thi maiden's rescue to spirSl agency ''"P^" *° ^""^ute the CHAPTER XXV fl^,^^«'^-g^' thougrnot^^n^^^^^^^^ .ibIe,ona ^^^- -uld n^ot burS X^tr/o^^tl^ young peer, with a self- 112 Guilty, or Not Guilty, absorption and aa egotism perfectly aristocratic, thanked Arthur for Edith's life. Yes, perfectly blind to the fact that the life Arthur had risked his own to save was ten thousand times dearer to him than his own, and entirely engrossed by his own emotions, his own passion, and the misery spared himself, the young Marquis took an opportunity, on their return to the hotel, to say — " I honour and admire you for your bravery, and I am proud, as an Enghshman, that you have done a deed that will be talked of among these guides and their descendants as long as these mountains stand. I dare say, a hundred years hence, they will have made a fine weird romance of this bold English venture of yours. Indeed, I should myself have acted exactly as you have done " (how many people think this is the highest praise they can bestow, and what intense conceit there is in the notion !) " yes, I should have let myself down, as you did, by means of a rope, only that I felt the chances were ten to one in your favour ; and, where Miss Lorraine's hfe was concerned, I would not suffer any personal feehng to interfere." (He has actually made a sort of favour of allowing Edith to be saved by Arthur.) "Tor compare my weight with yom-s; I doubt whether the rope would have borne me at all, even if the men at the top of the crag could have held it. And now, what I have to say is, that I feel under a deep personal obligation to you. Some day I will tell you why ; suffice it at present to say that such is the fact. You may have heard me ofier two thousand pounds to any one of those cowardly guides who would do what you have done. I am not going to affront you, my dear sir, by placing vou on a level with them, and offering you a reward of that kind ; but if you have any wish which I can gratify— any object m life which my interest can enable you to attain— any ap- pointment in view, in obtaining which I can aid you, you have only to remind me of this day, of the glory you have shed over the Enghsh name, and the inestimable service you have done to myself individually, as well as to Miss Edith Lorraine, and all her family." There was something in the tone and manner of this address, kind and comphmentary as it was, that yet did not please Arthur. However, he took kindly what seemed to be so kindly meant, thanked the young Marquis, and got out of his way as soon as possible. Edith was much too weak to support herself, and sit upright on a mule; but Arthur, who had a suggestive mind and helping- hands, contrived a sort of hammock^out of some rugs and shawls they had brought with them, and, with the aid of the guides, carried Edith safely down the mountain side, and back to Interlachen. Guilty, or Not Guilty. 113 Miss Croft did not appear, as usual, to preside at the well- spread tea-table. The English maid, whom the Crofts had brought with them, announced that Miss Croft had begged she might not be disturbed, as her headache was of a very distress- ing kind. Edith Lorraine was at once conveyed to bed, there to ponder, with passionate gratitude and tenderness, on all she owed to Arthur, who, for the second time, had saved her life. If the first time she recalled his devoted watch at her bed-room door with tears, she now dwelt on the daring heroism of his perilous descent with a glow of enthusiastic admiration ; and in the silence of the night — the bright moonhght night, so clear that she could see, as she lay in her bed near the window, the giant mountains and the transparent lake — she registered a solenni vow to devote to him the life he had twice saved — to repay, with all the love and tenderness of her woman-heart, and idl the powers of her mind, soul, and strength, the devotion he had shown her — to let no obstacles, no impediments, no preju- dices, ultimately sever her hfe from his ; but, sooner or later, to reward him with her hand and heart, and, as the wife of his bosom and the partner of his Hfe, to double his every blessing and lighten his every sorrow. The next morning the Marquis was at the breakfast-table much earlier than usual. Ho was in very high spirits, and his handsome face betrayed some inward exultation, siich as he always evinced when he had some capital joke or choice bit of scandal to repeat at somebody's expense. Mrs. Croft, who had a passion for peers, always toadied the Marquis to a painful degree. " Ah ! " she said, " my dear Marquis, I see you are brirnming over with some capital bit of fun. Now, let us have it, my dear lord ; it is running over at those bright eyes, which are destined to break so many hearts. Ah ! I can see it stealing out at the corners of your loidship's mouth. Now, what is it, my dear Marquis ? I positively cannot wait. I must have it." " Well, so you shall ; but first let me ask how Miss Lorraine is?" "Better, my lord— I thank your lordship for inquiring. Edith is better ; but not well enough to appear at breakfast, my lord." "And Miss Croft?" " Oh ! I hope she'll be down presentlv, my dear lord. And '''^ 5^our lordship mugt tell us tlic joke. Well, then, I've found out why ' the gents ' absented them- selves yesterday ! And, more than that, I can tell you what they are ! " Mrs. Croft turned a little pale. She had greatly encou- Guilti/j or Mf Guilty. ^ raged the attentions of Mr. Tippit to her eldest daughter, Miss Crott. Mr. Tippit was a very dressy, fair, delicate young man, of rather pert and off-hand, but effeminate and insinuating man- ners. He had hght curly hair, pretty features, teeth of incompar- able beauty, a small straw-coloured moustache, a slight figure, white hands (wJiich he had a habit of rubbing softly), abrilUant ^^iTr m?' • ^® ^^*^^ breguet chain, rings, pins, studs, and links. Mr. Tippit might be a little finnikin, and talk a little too much about the weather, and in a sort of off-hand way about i/"f^j^^ general; but he had a great command of money, alluded to many ladies and gentlemen of distinction, as if he were intimate with them, and gave Mrs. Croft a great number ot autographs to add to her coUection. He had also prese.vod her and her daughters with some very fragrant dentifrice, such as he used himself; he was good-natured, too, and iad very cleverly cur^d Mrs. Croft and her English maid of a raging toothache, by an application known only to himself. Miss Croft was desperately in love with him ; and Mrs. h ^T^^ she did not suppose that a Mr. Tippit could be of a noble family, imagined he might be a gentleman of fortune, and was very anxious to promote the match. And now the thought of her rashness, her imprudence, blanches her cheek ; for it is evident, from the Marquis's man- ner, that there is something very much against Tippit— some- thing ludicrous ; what can it be ? The Marquis kept her a lone time in suspense. Her anxiety delighted him. He hinted that he also knew who and what Cutts and Blower were. xt. ir®"^*^.^' "^^®" ^® ^°"l