HomeMy WebLinkAboutLucknow Sentinel, 1891-10-09, Page 2Ohrhk *Wilt
#nOnethe kty then table, with her work un-
t $arab• Ann intend upon a thriiii�iag novel -
Atte,
The baker`and the grocermau knocked loudly,
but in vain ; •
Then picked the (isms,, all off the dear, and went
ye nit Met and the light';'krew dim!, bot
unread oron,
0 of I;,ord .Algernon
=pad, r d and wealtby',fatlier diasi riecl,,b
.epi anal°�s3r .
tax�,tho bea?atf of the ¢easont they Zady 41a10
de Y.ore,'
1 ¢ '
e loved hixo, but 14ord. Algernonmuph to his
+fid lov6A�=Fk+i4dyst
la
olt
'"cies
meat.
•
ti6o,ciie ►Ae�
cam ,con
iae o!
theleaf;•"the
0
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tea -table by the window? spread it with a
white cloth, alia fetched m such a luncheon
� tde
n
denhard@rafforded—the remains
ins
of Mrs. MoIntyre's chicken and ham,
some bread and butter, u plateof
biscuits, and a decanter of sherry—.
for it was past 1 o'clock, and Mr. Brion
and Paul had evidently nu inten-
tion-of=going away until their investigations
Were complete. The room was °quite silent;
Her soft eteps ,and the brush of her gown as
they.: passed to and fro. were 'distinctly
, u ib1e. it* her .lover, who would
MAYO ^muc N a s lance at her but re-;
main 7 i# intent n o sthe ' earl
. ediate�°aly' .,. p � • • lP . P,
tgl
before itinl, '"These went fQuntl to
interestipg, but,, -to- have top:,more bearing
upon the matter rn hand than the rest of
the-rehcs-•that hadelbeen overle uled ; for the,.
most part, -they v ere studies,; n various, arts
ff
smaggol prolwro.4.b lilr.
and M
rs: K
lin
fatthc..ial{htaraa. •durtn�the. *kegs .
n
€
their elu tion, a?4d situ odds;; and; ends°'bf'
1ittiirs tun ' ns strotild Abe foun:1 in ii clever
woman's comi non=place hooka.. They had
all been. gone ovsr.at tbatime of Mr Kinn s
death, in a vain hunt for tesstarnentary docu-
ments , and Elizabeth lookingInto the now
k�hbh anaeaerts'niieiut"eg4rtt'
" er
1sTero roil; Sun.
ebo.could,coneol ;
5,4
as s^o `�b,llriQAt{ Of r
-" Come and rive some ,lunch," She said "to
Paul (Mr. Brion was already at the table,
deprecating the trouble that his dear Patty
was taking).. " I don't think you will find
an thin more."
conclusive, I think," said th+e old lawyer,
attending up ` in order to deliver
hie opinion impressively, and rest-
ing his hands on the tattle.'
«At any rate, I must insist on placing the
results of our investigation before ' Mr, Yel-
vertou—yes, Elizabeth, you must forgive
me, my dear, if I take the matter into my
own hands. Paul will agree with me mutt
we have passed the time for sentiment. We
will have another look into the bureau—be-
eause it eeeme f ncrediblethat any man should
deliberately rob his children of their rights,
even if he repudiated his own, and therefore
I think'•there must be legal. instruments
somewhere ; jut, aupp_osing none are with
us, It, will not bo difficult, I imagine, to
supply what' is wanting to complete our case
ropotber..eour .ee—from other records of
the family, in fact. Mr. Yelverton himself,.
,rn five._mtuutes, would .be able to'throw a
grea1de I o l gh-t"upon otic dicovetrie T
la o6Bolutely necessary to consult him l
" Lot us.'look for hat • secret drawer, at
any rate," he said. " I feel pretty certain
there must be one now. Mr. King took
great pains to prevent identificationduring
his lifetime, but, asmy father says, that is
r,�;--d+>til ' 'a�iftic�rL't�' u""U7uti�t'#"'S'friGl%S{�i'`"'�S:�uL3a`4ri7C7i�.tli;iYtj
you..'. If you Will allow mee,P11 Ingo every
inoveable„Ila t ou fieste
^� `'i 'age 4id'aq,.. white slle watched and aalslsted•
• him. A.B. the brass:hhandled drawers, and
sliding shelves, 'and partitions were with-
drawn from .their closely fitting sockets,
leaving a number of holes and spaces, each
differin: in size and shape from the rest.
on their ears, Mr. Brion` anti Paul ex- cote alto loved cher passionately -on hie uni
changed sotto vote suggeat ons
and
opinions testimony,
he loved her as never
a
»
over the parchment spread out before them. loved before, though he made a proud con-
Then presently the `odd rgan opened a second feseion that he had still been utterly- un -
document, glanced silently down the first
page, °le d his duvet and, looking over
his spectacles, said aoleid'nly, " My dears,
give me your attention for a few minutes.
Each changed her position a little, .and
looked at him steadily. „Paul leaned back
in his chair, and put his hand ever his eyes.
" What I have just- beenreading. te you,"
said Mr. Brion,"is yourfather'slastwilland
stament, ae I believe. It appears that his
surname•wasYelverton , .and that..King was
only an abbreviation of his Christian name
.,:assumed .as the surname for the purpose
of eluding the search made for him by bis
fam,�i,s Now certain .circumstances have
collie to our knowledge latelyy, referring,
apparently, ta this. -inexplicable; conduct
on yo a her s pa •a - fie gatisetWIghed
andnervoualy smoothen'out i hif &deef�i e
fore him, glancing hither and thither over
their contents. " Elizabeth, my dear;" he
went on, "I think you heard Mr. Yelver-
ton's account of his uncle's strange disap-
pearance after—ahem--after a certain un
_
" Go ori," said the young man. "I will
coir! e,+back p'esentty. °,a. d •
But where are yon going Y his father
repeated with irritation. " Can't you wait
until this business is finished ?"
" I think," 'said Paul, " that the Misses
King—the Misses Yelverton, I suppose I
ou ht to say=would rather be by themselves
wo>thyy of her ; and so the materials for the
tragedy were laid, like a housemaid's fire,
ready for the match that kindled them.
Elizabeth found her position untenable
amid the streduoua and conflicting atte:.-
tions beatowed on her by the mother- Mail
sons, and went away for a time 'to visit
some.of her other relatives ; anx/ when hoc
presence and influence were withdrawn from
Yelverton, the smothered 'enmity.of the
brothers broke out, .and they had their fret
and last and fatal quarrel about her. She
had Jett a aniuiature of herself hanging is
her mother'sboud it this miniature Pat-
rick laid hands on, and carried off to his
private rooms ; wherefrom Tiirigecote,
vlelent passion (as Elizabeth's., s,ce:optedt k
ver), abstracted -It by ,ore u T#e
Cmei of the Izog e, a ViVinyls,t ti iu.,�,�eki
ast# -
clined to assert himself as" ' such, being
highly incensed in his turn at the liberty
that had been taken with him, marched
into his brother'e room, where the disputed
treasure was hidden, found it and put it
place for it.
They, behaved, like a pair of ilhreguiated
schoolboys, in short, as men do when love
and jealously combine to derange their
nervous systems, and wrought their own
irreparable ruin over this miserable 'trifle.
Patrick, flushed with a lurid triumph at his
temporary success, strolled away from the
•
� ,,r � . �:-]IT�i' y"tii7[dig`a'il'iY';iii""F3G`r7:���i,'fifgi���.3i;Y��'�"•' � f="„`'
"lie will not leave the country yet,"
said Elfzabeth. " What is it, Mr, Brion ? "
"I think I see what it is," broke in
Patty; -ver. "Mr. Brion •thinks that father was
X'elAZr
s top s uncle, who was lost so long
ago. King-King—Mr. Yelverton told us
the other day that they called him 'King,'
"•for short—and he was named Kingscote
Yelverton, like his uncle. Mother's name
was l+',lizabeth. I believe Mr. Brion is
right. And, if so—."
"And, if so," Patty repeated, when that
wonderful, bewildering day was over, and
she and her elder sister were packing for
their return to Melbourne in the small hours
- ofthe next •mprning—" if so, we are the
heiresses of all those hundreds of thousands
that are supposed to belong to our cousin
Eingscote. Now, Elizabeth, do you feel
_,.like,depriving,him .rf everything, and -stop-'
ping his work, and leaving his poor starved
caster -mongers to revert to their original
condition -or do you not ?"
"I would not take it," said Elizabeth,
passionately
" Pooh !—as if we should be allowed to
choose ! People can't do as they like where
fortunes and lawyers are concerned. For .
Nelly's sake—not to speak of mine -they
will insist on our claim, if we have one ;
and then do you suppose he would keep your
money' ? Of course not—it's a most insult-
ing idea. Therefore the case lies in a nut-
shell. You• will have to make up your mind
quickly, Elizabeth." •
" I have made up my mind," said Eliza-
.". -`"•"Neth, 'x if it is a question of which of us -is
most worthy to have wealth, and knows
best how,to use it."
They did not wait for the next steamer,
but hurried back to Melbourne by train and
coach,, and reached: Myrtle. street _once more
ata little before midnight, the girls dazed
with sleep and weariness'and the strain of
F0. so much excitement as they had passed
tiitough.
So they began to work ac the bureau with
solemn diligence, and a fresh set of emo-
tions were evolved by that occupation,
which counteracted, without effacing, those
others . that were in Patty's mind. She
become absorbed and attentive. They took
out all Mrs. King's gowns, and her linen,
and her little everyday personal belongings,
searched tliem,carefully for indications of
ownership, and, finding none, laid them
aside itn the adjoining bedroom. Then they
exhumed all those relics of an olden time
which had a new significance at the present
juncture—the fine lacesthe faded brocades,,
Indian
the Indian shawl and muslins, the
quaint fans and little bits of jewelry—and
arranged them carefully on the table for the
lawyer's inspection.
' ` We know' now," said Patty, " though
we didn't know a few months ago, the Wiese
are things that could only belong to a lady
who had been rich once."
" Yes," said Elizabeth. " But there is
another point to be considered. Elizabeth
Leigh ran away with her husband secretly
and in haste, and under circumstances that
make it seem most unlikely that she .should
leave hampered herself and him with , lug-
gage; or bestowed a thought on such trifles
as fans and finery."
The younger sisters were a little daunted
for a moment by this view of the care. Then
Eleanor spoke up. " How you do love to
throw cold water on everything !" she com-
plained, pettishly. " Why shouldn't she
think oLher_prettpings ' I'm sure if I
were going•to run away—no matter under
what circumstances—I should •take all
mine, if I had half an hour to pack them up.
So would you. At least, I don't know about
you—but Patty would. 1? i'oltldis.'t,,.wvou,•..
Patyt ?"
" Well," said Patty, thoughtfully, sitting
back on her heels and folding her hands in
her lap, " I really think I should, Elizabeth.
4f you come to think of it, it is the heorines
of novels who do those things. They
throw away" lovers, and hnsbande, and
`fortune, and everything else, on the slightest
provocation ; it is a matter of course—it is
the correct thing in novels. but in real
life girls are fond of all nice things—at
least, that is my experience—and they don't
feel like throwing them away. Girls in
novels would never let Mrs. Dfif1-Scott give
them gown and bonnets, for instance—they
would be too proud ; and they would burn
a bureau any day rather than rummage in
it for a title to money that a nice man,.
whom they cared for, was in possession of.
Don't tell me. You are thinking of the
heoriiles Of fiction, Elizabeth, and not of
Elizabeth Leigh. She, I agree with Nelly
•--however much she might have been
troubled and bothered—did not leave her
little, treasures for the servants to pawn.
Either she took them with her, or sotneone
able to keep her destination a secret sent
them after her."
" Well, well," said Elizabeth, who had
got out her mother's jewelry and was gazing
fondly at the miniature in the pearl -edged
Locket, " we ..shall soon know. Get ,.out
the books and music, dear."
Whith this was going on, Patty, at a sign
from Elizabeth, set up the leaves of a little
Se
knitted over his keen eyes;,, and glanced exposed skeleton,- and gazed at it thoi> ht-
askance at the group by the window. fully : after which he began to make care-
" We have not done yet," he said de- ful measurements inside and out, to tap the
cisively ; " and we have learned quite woodwork in every direction, and to prise
enough, in what we haven't found, to some of its strong joints asunder. This
justify us in consulting Mr. Yelverton's work continued until 4 o'clock, when, not -
solicitors."
y withstannding the highly stimulating -ex-
.
" No," she said, " I'1 have nothing said citement of the day's proceedings, the girls
to Mr. Yelverton, unless the whole thing is began to feel that craving for a cup of tea
proved first.'" which is as strong upon the average
Never thinking that the thing would be woman at this time as £he craving for
proved, first or last, she advanced to the a nobbler of whiskey is upon the—shall I
extemporized lunch table and dispensed the say average man ?—when the sight of a
modest' hospitalities of the establishment Public -house appeals to his nobler appetite.
with her wonted simple grace. Mr. Brion Not that they wanted to eat and drink—
was accommodated with an arm -chair and a far from it ; the cup of tea was the symbol
music book to lay across his knees, whereon 'of rest and relief for a little while from the
Patty placed the tit -bits of the chicken and stress and strain of labor and worry, and
the knobby top crust of the loaf, waiting that was what they were in need of. Eliza -
upon him with that tender solicitude to beth looked at her watch and then at Patty,
which he had grown accustomed, but which and the two girls slipped out of the room
was so astonishing, and sol;interesting also, together, leaving Eleanor to watch opera -
to his son - l ., - » es , . tions at the bureau. Reaching their little.
" She has spoiled me altogether,",said the kitchen, they mechanically lit the gas in the
old man fondly, laying his hand on her stove, and set the kettle on to boil ; and
bright head and she knelt before him to then they went to the open window, which
help him to mustard and salt. " I doa't commanded an unattractive view of the
know how I shall ever manage to get along back yard, and stood there side. by side,
without her now." leaning on each other.
=CHAPTER XXX'Yi .Thus they talked by the kitchen window
DISCOVERY. •-�•a' until the kettle bubbled on the stove ; and
then recalled to the passing hour and their
It was between two and three o'clock ; own personal affairs,,, they collected cups
Mr. Brioa reposed in his arm -chair, smoking and saucers, sugar -basin and milk jug and
a little, , talking a little to Elizabeth who cut bred and butter for the afternoon repast.
satbeside him, listening dreamily to the. Just as their preparations were completed,
piano, and feeling himself more and more Eleanor came flying along the passage from
inclined to doze and nod his head in the the sitting -room. " They have found a
sleepy warmth of the afternoon, after his secret drawer," she cried in an excited
glass of sherry and his reeentsevere-fatigues. whisper. - " At least not --a -drawer; but a
Elizabeth, by way of entertaining him, sat double partition that seems to haver been
at his'elbow, thinking, thinking, with her glued up ; and Mr. Brion is sure, by thedull.
fingers interlaced in her lap and her gaze sound of t13e wood, that there are things in
fixed upon the floor. Patty, intensely alert it. Come and see !" °
and wakeful, but almost motionless In her She flew back again, not even waiting to,
straight back and delicately poised head, help her sisters with the tea. Silently
drooped over the keyboard, playing all the E11 beth took up the tray of cups and sau-
" soft things" that she could remember cers,' and Patty the tea-pot and the plate of
without notes ; and Paul, who had, resisted bread and butter ; and they followed her
her enchantments as long as he could, with beating hearts. This was the crisis of
leaned back in his;chair, with his hand their long day's trial. Paul was tearing at
over his eyes, having evidently ceased to the intestines of the bureau like a eat at
pay any attention to , his papers. And, the. wainscot that has just given sanctuary
suddenly, Eleanor, who was supposed to be to a, -mouse, and his father was too much ab -
washing plates and dishes in the kitchen, sorbed in helping him to notice their return,
flashed into the room, startling them all out "Now, pull, pull !" cried the old man, at
of their dreams. ' the .moment.() when the sisters closed the
"Elizabeth, dear," she exclaimed tremu- door- behind therie " Break it, if it won't
lously, "forgive me°for meddling with your come: A—a—ah !" as a sudden crash of
things. But I was thinking and thinking splintered wood resounded through the
what else there was that we had not room " there they are at last ! I thought
examined, and mother's old Bible carne into they must behere somewhere !"
my head—the little oki Bible that slie " What tis- it?" inquired Elizabeth, sett
always used, and that you kept in your top ting down her tea-tray, and hastily running
drawer. I could not help looking at it, and to his side. He was • stripping a pink tape
ere "—holding out a small leather-bound from a thin bundle of blue papers ina most
volume, frayed at the corners and fastened unprofessional state of excitement and agb
with silver clasps—" here is what I have tation.
found. The two first leaves are stuck to- - " What is it?" he echoed triumphantly.
gether-I remembered that—but they are " This is what itis, my dear" and he began
only stuck round the edges ; there is a little in a loud vod,ae to read from the outside of
piece in the middle that is loose and rattles, the blue packet, to which he pointed wither,
and, see, there is writing en it." Thegirl' shaking finger—" The will of Kingscote
was excited and eager, and almost pushed Yelverton, formerly of Yelverton, in ,the
the Bible into Paul Brion's hands. "Look county of Kent—El eabeth Yelverton, sole
at it, look at it," she cried. " Undo the execmtrix."
leaves with your knife and see what the- CHAPTER XXXVIII.
writing is." THE TIME. 7OR ACTION
Paul examined the joined leaves atten- X ces it was their father's will—they will
tively, saw that Eleanor was correct in her' they had vainly hunted for a year ago,,little
surmise, and looked at Elizabeth. " May I, 'thinking what manner of will it was ;
Mise King?" he asked, his tone showing, executed when Eleanor was a baby in, long
that he understo&I- how sacred this relic clothes, and providing for their inheritance
must be, and how much it would go against of that enormous English fortune: When
its present possesor to see it tampered with.. they were a little recovered from the shock
-•-e'4l-suppose-you—had—better- said --.Eliza- of this—last—overwhelming surprise,—Mr.
beth. - Brion broke the seal of the document, and
He therefore sat down, laid the book be- formally and solemnly read it to them. It
fore him, and opened his sharp knife. A was veryshort, but perfectly correct in
sense that something was really going to form, and the testator (after giving to his
`iatppen now—that the secret of all this wife, in the'event of her surviving him, the
careful effacement of the little chronicles sole control of the entire property, which
common and natural, to every civilized was nnentailed, for her lifetime) bequeathed
family would reveal itself in the long -hidden to hisyounger daughters, and to any other
page which, alone of all the records of the children who might have followed them, a
past, their mother had lacked the heart portion of thirty thousand pounds apiece,
to destroy—fell upon the 'three girls ; and and left the, eldest, Elizabeth, heiress of
they gathered round to watch the Yelverton and residuary legatee. •Patty
operation with pale faces and beating hearts. and Eleanor were :thus to be made rich be -
Paul was a long time about it, for he ypnd 'their dreams of avarice; but Eliza-
tried to part the leaves without cutting beth, who had been her father's favorite,
them, and they were too tightly stuck • to- was to inherit a colossal fortune. That
gether. Ile had at last to make a little hole in wee, of course, supposing such wealth
which to insert his knife, and then it was a existed in'fact as well as in the imagination
most difficult matter to cut away the plain of this incredible madman.Paul and his
sheet without injuring the written one. father found themselves unable to con-
Presently, however, he, opened a little door ceive of such a thing as that any one in
in the middle of the page, held the flap up, his senses should; possess these rare and
glanced at what was behind it for a moment, precious privileges, so passionately desired
looked significantly at his father, and
silently handed the open book to Elizand so recklessly sought and sinned for by
Elizabeth. and
who had them not, and should yet
And Elizabeth, trembling with excitement abjure them voluntarily, and against every
and apprehension, lifted up the little flap in natural temptation and , moral obligation
her turn, read this clear, inscription= to do otherwise. It was something wholly
" To my darling child,TClizabetb, outside the common course of human affairs,
From her loving mother, and unintelligible to men of business.
Elean r D'Arcy Leigh, Both of them felt that theyirhust et out
Bradenham Abbey. Christmas, 1839. g
Psalm xv.. 1. 2." of the region of romance and into the
There was a dead silence while they all practical I domain of other lawyers' offices
looked at the fine brown writing—that deli- before they could cope effectively with the
tate caligraphy which, like fine needlework, anomalies of the case. As it stood, it was
went out of fashion when dur grandmothers beyond their grasp. While the girls',
passed away—of which every letter, thotjgh sitting together by the table, strove
pale, ' was perfectly legible.
" This, added to our other discoveries, is
n,...3.. .
u%ePt"r>ni-ww`�.�.�xy���tsw� *,-` � e�*ra--�-•�!C.�.�,�.c.w3+,r � >wrr,..m�- „_>vA•.rx
like. the will, .yen ,know ; it is_a private
matter—not for -outsiders to listen to,"
Elizabeth rose promptly and went to-
wards him, laying her hand on phis arm.
" Do you think we consider you an out-
sider 1" she said, reproachfully. " You are
one of us—you are in the place of our
brother—we want you to help us now more
than we have ever done. Come and sit
down—that is, of course, if you can spare
time for our affairs when you have so many
important ones of your own."
He went and sat down, taking the`seat by
Patty to which Elizabeth pointed him.
Patty looked up at him wistfully, and then
leaned her elbows on the table and put her
face in her hands. Her lover laid his arm
gently on the back of her chair.
" Shall I begin, my dear ?" asked the
lawyer hesitatingly. '0 I am'afraid it will
be painful to you, Elizabeth. Perhaps, as
Paul says, it would be better for you to read
it. by -yourselves. I. will leave it .with you
for a little while, if you promise faithfully
to be very careful with it.
Bat Elizabeth wished it to be read as the
will was read, and the old man, 'vaguely
suspecting that she might be illegally gener-
ous to the superseded representative of the
Yelverton name and property, was glad to
keep the paper in his own hands, and pro
ceeded to recite its contents: " I, ' Kings -
cote Yelverton, calling myself John King,
do hereby declare," etc.
It was the story of Kingscote Yelverton's
unfortunate life, pat on record in the form
of an affidavit for the benefit of his children,
apparently with �tlie intention that they
should claim their inheritance when lie was
gone: Tlze-witnesses were -an- old -midwife;
long since, dead, and a young Scripture
reader, now' a middle-aged and prosperous
ecclesiastic in a distant , colony ; both of
whom the lawyer remembered as features
of the " old days " when he lain-
self
im
self wawa new -comer -to the out -of -the -world
place that counted Mt. King as, its • oldest
inhabitant. , It was a.touching little docu-
ment, in the sad story. that it told and the
severeformality of the style of telling it.
Kingscote Yelverton, it was stated, was
the second of three brothers, sons of a long
line of Yelvertons of Yelverton,, of which
three,. however, according to hereditary
custom only one was privileged to inherit
the ancestral wealth. This one, Patrick, a
bachelor, had already come into•• his king-
doms; the youngest, a, briefless barrister in,
comfortable circumstances, had? married a
farmer's daughter in. very early youth
(+while reading for university honors during
a long vacation spent in the farmer's house),
and was the father of a sturdy, schoolboy
while himself not, long emancipated from
the rude of pastore andrnas,ters ; and Kings -
cote was a flourishing young captain in the
Guards—when the tragedy whish shattered
the family to pieces, and threw its vast pro-
perty into Chancery, took place. Braden -
ham Abbey was neighbor to' Yelverton, and
Cuthbert Leigh of Bradenham, was kin to,
the Yelverton of Yelverton Cuthbert.
Leigh had a beautiful daughter by his first
wife, Eleanor D'Arcy ;;,when this daughter
Was 16 her mother. died, and a stepmother
went to a gamekeeper's cottage to give some
instructions that occurred to hiin. The -. '
gamekeeper was not at home, • and the
squire returned by way of a lonely track
through a hick plantation, where some of •
the. keeper's work had to be - spected.
Here he met Kingscote, striding
g with
his gun over his shoulder. The grt rdsmarr
had discovered his lose, and was in search of
his brother, intending to make a calm state-
ment of his right to the posses' ion of the
picture by virtue of his rights in the person
of the fair original, but at the same time
'passionately determined that this sort
of thing should be put• a stop
to. There was a short parley, a brief but
fierce altercation, a momentary struggle
—on one side to keep, on the other side tau,
take, the worthless little bone of conten-
tion—and it was all over. Patrick, sent
backward by a sweep of his strong brother's
arm, fell over the gun that had been carelessly
propped against a sapling ; the stock of the • •
gun, flying up, was caught 'bye. tough twig
which dragged across the hammers, and as
the man and the weapon tumbled to the
ground together one hammer fell, and the
exploded charge entered the squire's neck,
just under the chin, and, passing upward to,
the brain, killed him. It accident,
as all the family believIr
t to the
author of the mischance itnothing Iess
than murder. He was guilty of his
brother's blood, and he accepted the portion
of Cain -to be a fugitive and ae,
vagabond on the face of the earth
—in expiation of it. Partly with
the idea of sparing pain and disgrace to -his.
family (believing that the only evidence
available would -convict him; of murder in,
a court of law), and partly because. he .felt
that, if acquitted, it would be'too horrible•
and impossible to take an inheritance that
had come to him .by such means, in the
odervwhelining desperation of"his immense
and despair he took that determination to
blot himself out which was never. afterwards
revoked: Returning to the house, he col-
lected some money and a few valuables, and,
unsuspected and unnoticed, took leave of
his- home, and his name, and .his place in the
world, and was 'half way to London, and
beyond recall, before the dead body in the
plantation was discovered. In London
Elizabeth Leigh' was staying with an old
Miss.d'Arcy, quietly studying her music.
and taking a rest while the society which
was -so found of her was out of town ;,'and
the -stricken man could not carry out his
resolve 'without bidding farewell to his. be-
loved. He had a clandestine interview with
Elizabeth, to whom alone he confided the
circumstances of his wretched plight. The
girl of course, advised him to return, to
Yelverton, and bravely meet and bear
whatever might . befall ; and it would,: be
well for him and for her if he had takeathat
nadvice. But he would not listen to it, nor
Abe turned from his fixed purpose to banish
sand efface himself, if possible, for the rest
of his life ; seeing which, the. devoted
,woman chose to share his fate. Whether
'he could and should have spared her that
'enormous sacrifice; or whether she was
:happier in making it than she would other -
soon after took Eleanor DiArcy's place•;. wise have.been, only themselves. knew. She
and not long after the•stepmother came/ to did her woman's part in helping and sustaining
Bradenham, Cuthbert Leigh himself died,, and consoling him through all the blighted
leaving an infant son,, and, heir ; and Piot, years that he was suffered to live and fret
Long after that Mrs. Cuthbert Leigh mar- her with his brooding melancholy and his
ried again; and her new husband adminis- broken -spirited moroseness, and doubtless
tered Bradenham—in the interest of the she found her true vocation in that thorny
heir eventually, but of himself and his owr► path of love..
children in the meantime.: So it happened (To be Continued., -
that Elizabeth Leigh was rather elbowed
out—of herrights—sial, privileges.
her father's daughter ; which being
the case, her distant cousin and; near
friend, Mre.`''Patrick Yelverton, mother fo
the ill-fated brothers. (who lived, poor soul,
to see her house left desolate), fetched the
girl away from the home which was hers no
more, and took her to live under her own
wing at Yelverton. Then the troubles began.
Llizabeth was young and fair ; indeed, all
accounts of her agreed.in presenting the
portrait of a woman who must have been
irresistible to the normal and unappropri-
ated man brought into close contact with
her. At Yelverton she was the daily com-
panion of the unwedded masier,of the hduse,
and he succumbed accordingly. As an im-
partial chronicler, I may hazard the sug-
gestion that she enjoyed a flirtation within
lady -like limits, and was not without some
responsibility in the matter. It was clear
also that the dowager Mrs. Patrick, anxious
to see her first -horn suitably married and
settled, and placed safely beyond the reach
of designing farmers' daughters, contrived ,
her best to elect a union between the two -
But while Patrick was over head and ears
in love, and Elizabeth was dallying with
him, and the old mother plenning'new fur-
niture for the stately rooms where the
queen was to reign who should succeed her,
Kingscote the guardsman—Kingscote, the
handsome, strong-willed, fiery -tempered
second son—came home. To him the girl's
heart, with the immemorial and incurable
perversity of hearts, turned fertfiwith, like
a flower to the sun ; and a very short fur-
lough had but half run out when she was
to digest the mtaning of the legal as deeply over head and ears in Jove with
phrases that had fallen so strangely Kingscote as Patrick was with her. Kinge-
4
:tie s.-7IS
A-timid Knockdown Blow.
The whale blows water while at play;
Trees blow in every clime;
Tho sweetest flowers blow in May,
But wind blows all the time
There's lots of blowing in t1 world,
Sufferers from catarrh blow their noses, and
quacks blow about their " cures." Dr.
Sage's Catarrh Remedy is the only infallible
one. Its proprietors back up this claim by
offering $500 for every case they fail to cure
permanently. This is an unanswerable blow
at humbuggery, coming from men of sterling
reputation and ample capital. Nasal
Catarrh cannot resist the potency of this
Remedy. 'It stops discharges, leaving the
senses acute, the head clear, and the breath
normal. Of all'druggiets, 50 cents. ,
Lost Colo deuce.
" N'o," says Mrs. Sharp to her husband,
«
you cannot'fool me ; it was 1 o'clock this
morning when you came home."
" Now, Mary, it was sutely not later than
12 o'clock:"
" I say no ; for I was a ices when you
came and looked at my w and it was
just 1 o'clock." -
" Well, all right, Maly, if you believe
your old nickel plated 95 -cent watch more
ttha�
than you do me I have nothing further to
say.
IVlrs. Newwed (handing tramp several
biscuits)—Ilere my poor man, are some of
my home-made biscuits. You will find the
aw and axe in the woodshed. Tramp
closely examining the biscuits)—Arethey as
bad as that, mum ?
I"
_
i