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The weather was lovely, the church close by, so, walking was decided upon, and through a perfect lane of friends and neighbours, Lucy went, weeping and smiling by turns, as dear, familiar faces caught her transient view.

The whole precious family of the Wentworths were assembled, ready to greet her arrival, weeping for very joy at the prosperity of their favourite; Mr. Wentworth performed the ceremony, his daughters acting as bridemaids, while the faithful Martha hovered nigh, chiding the tears of her sweet young mistress, as out of season on such a happy occasion, her own loud sobs belying the truth of her affectionate assertion.

Carriages were waiting to take them to the Hall, were they were impatiently expected by Lord Morton. The whole of the villagers following on foot, by his express desire, refreshments of every kind being prepared for them.

It was a fearfully trying moment for poor Lucy.-She trembled, turned pale, and, but, for the supporting arm of her watchful husband, would have fallen to the ground, as entering the superb mansion, she beheld the well-remembered door, leading into the very room, into which she had been ushered by its lordly possessor, on a former nearly as painful inter

view.

"Be composed, my beloved!" whispered Mortimer, with one of those encouraging little furtive pressures of the hand only a fond husband can bestow, "you have nothing to fear."

At this moment, the identical door opened, and a servant approaching Lucy, said, in a most respectful manner, "My lord requests the honour of a few moments' conversation with Mrs. Mortimer, alone, before the breakfast."

"O Edward! indeed, indeed, I cannot go without you," exclaimed Lucy, clinging to his arm.

"My sweet wife, do not refuse my cousin this poor gratification, I implore you."

"I must have a glass of water first, then." Edward hastened for it, sending also by the housekeeper, some rose-water for Lucy to bathe her eyes. She felt rather hurt, that he did not bring them himself, but had no time to brood over her little mortification, the servant once more entreating her not to keep his lord waiting; she, therefore, in the hope of finding Edward with his cousin, hastily swallowed the glass of water, and silently embracing her father, more dead than alive, she followed the domestic, who having announced her, left the room. Lord Morton, who was alone, rose on her entrance, and placed a chair for her; but the apartment was so dark, owing to the blinds being drawn down to shade the sun, which set full on the windows, that she could not even distinguish his

features, much less judge of his state of health; but, by his voice, which was almost inaudible when he addressed her, she thought he must be far worse than he had been described.

"I took the liberty of requesting this interview, Miss Harcourt, I beg your pardon, Mrs. Mortimer, to implore you, now you have honoured my family, by becoming a member of it, to tell me candidly, whether you can ever reconcile yourself to my presence; or, whether, the dire remembrance of a fatal and hateful past will still render it obnoxious to you? I ask this in pity to us both, as between me and my cousin there ever has existed the closest, the most brotherly affection; Edward sympathizing in all my sorrows, consoling me in all my disappointments, reproving me for all my errors. He is the only friend I love and value in this world, still, if you wish it

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"Heaven forbid that I should desire to separate such hearts! No, oh, no! protected by my husband, what have I to fear? See him, my lord, daily, hourly, live with him, become his shadow, and from the brightness of his example, learn wisdom and innocence! But for you, I should never have known him; but, for you, never have known the glorious contrast he affords; but, for you, should never have been the proudly happy wife, I am this day. Thank you then for all! And, O thou merciful Judge of this my heart's pure and absolute forgiveness, do thou blot from thy eternal book, as I now blot, with these delicious tears, forever, the memory of that one terrible scene, whose dismal tragedy yet makes this present blessedness the more joyously radiant!"

"Hear, and grant the angel's prayer, O, my God!" exclaimed Lord Morton, falling at Lucy's feet, and clasping his arms convulsively around her. "Lucy, Lucy, my own! my wife!"

"Edward! Edward Mortimer!" shrieked the frantic girl, "oh, how have I been deceived !"

"Not deceived! not deceived, I swear! O Lucy, how else could I ever have hoped to obtain your forgiveness, your love?" "On the evening I parted from you, in that agony of mind, which bordered on frenzy, here, in this very room, by the foot of this chair, almost blinded as I was by my tears, I saw a small knot of wild flowers lying, gathered by your innocent hands, in the hopefulness of your heart, as you sped hither to crave my succour for your father.

They had evidently dropped from your bosom, the bosom I had sought to pollute! I snatched them up with a fearful thankfulness, and vowed they should never leave mine, until you willingly called me husband, or, I was laid in the grave.

"Look, look at the sacred talisman!" he continued, taking the withered corn-flags and bee-orchises from his bosom; "but

stay, and let me kiss away the bedimming tears, that you may behold them clearly, my most beloved!" and with impassioned ardour, he kissed the pearly lids of the almost fainting Lucy.

"Take me to my father, oh, take me to my father, this is too much bliss to bear alone!"

"Our father, dearest! yes, let us hasten to him, his blessing is all that is wanting to complete our felicity!"

"O my dear, dear father!" cried Lucy, falling into his outstretched arms, as soon as she reached the breakfast room, "what a surprise!"

"I know it all, my precious child; Mr. Wentworth, who was in his lordship's confidence from the first, has told me every particular, all you have endured, all you have concealed. I thought I had reason for loving you before; but now, heaven must pardon me for its excess.

"To think I should live to see this day! It is neither the rank, nor titles, which Lord Morton can bestow on you, which makes my heart swell with this overpowering joy. No, no, it is that you have become the wife of a good man; an intelligent being; one who has learned, by tasting of the cup of error, the bitterness of the dregs which sensual pleasures leave; one, who has learned to feel, from his own experience of their vanity, that there is no satisfaction but in virtue, and nothing ennobling but honour.

"Yet, to think that neither you, nor I, Lucy, ever suspected the truth."

"I did suspect it often, more than suspected it,-but-I thought it impossible!"

"Ah, dearest, and so you once thought about loving me," said Lord Morton, straining both her and her father to his bosom, "but, you know, I told you, nothing was impossible between us!"

Lucy looked up with a beaming smile, in the face of her enamoured husband, but she was glad to hide her blushing cheeks again in her father's bosom; as Mr. Wentworth, filling his glass, proposed, "Health and happiness to Lord and Lady Morton !" The toast was vociferously repeated by the tenantry, servants, and villagers, assembled on the lawn before the house.

May they be long spared to be the comfort and blessing to all around, they both have so long been! May no one within their useful and beneficent sphere, wither beneath the unredeemed promise of hope, and waste existence in gloom and repining; but, all rejoice in the prosperity the gracious Giver above lends ;them to share with the more needy and sorrowful, that they and their children may indeed be blessed in their generation, both by the tongues of men and of angels!"

292

CLARENDON;

A NOVEL.

BY WILLIAM DODSWORTH, ESQ.

CHAPTER XIX.*

How woman lives amongst "The Lower Orders,”—a fight and a flight.

A WOMAN rose up from the darkest corner, as they entered, and stood in the centre of the room, without approaching nearer. Herbert cast a hurried glance at her, as Rudd exchanged a few words with her, in a tone much too low for him to catch what was said; the glance by no means reassured him.

She was gaunt in figure and haggard in features; her dark, eager eyes were sunk far back in her head, her cheek bones projected far out from the surrounding cheeks, and there was a spasmodic writhing of the jaws, that either betrayed intense mental agitation or internal pain; her complexion was perfectly sallow, and her dress sordid in the extreme.

"Has Grimes come back, Bess?" said Rudd, raising his voice, after the hurried colloquy referred to, "he should have been here by this."

"Should he?" she demanded, looking anxiously at Rudd, and then glancing furtively to Herbert, "I have not seen him yet."

Rudd's countenance fell for a moment, and then recovering himself he said, "Well, it's no matter, he'll turn up in the course of the morning, I'll swear, perhaps he had some business of his own to attend to; get us some breakfast immediatelyhere, my little fellow, you can wash yourself in here," and he preceded Herbert to an outhouse, where a broken basin and a piece of villainous soap stood on a three legged stool; "come back as soon as you've done," and then returning, he went up to the woman again.

* Continued from p. 130, vol. lii.

"And so you've failed again, Rudd," muttered she with stern bitterness, laying down the loaf she was in the act of cuting, and fixing her hollow eyes upon his reckless face; "did I not tell you when you came to seek us last time, that a curse came with you-you come back empty handed as you went, and but just escaped the gallows into the bargain."

"And what if we have, Bess?" rejoined Rudd, doggedly, as he stood confronting her with his herculean frame, "and what if we have failed, my lass?-one venture does not always bring good luck."

"It has nearly brought the hangman to us, I fancy," rejoined the woman, firmly, "but who is the young fool you've brought with you this morning?"

"God only knows; we picked him up on the high road yesterday, a couple of miles from B; he wont blab anything, so that we haven't the slightest clue to finding out where he comes from."

The woman's dark eyes glittered as she said, "And you intend to make him a

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“Whisht-here's Barns, and Spike, and Bunting; I'll tell you all afterwards," and then throwing himself upon a rude settle, he welcomed the three men, as they severally entered, with a low peculiar whistle, to which Spike responded.

When Herbert slunk back again, he found the ricketty table already covered with the materials for breakfast; the woman cast a pitying glance upon him as he entered, and even smoothed his curly hair over his forehead, as she placed a basin before him, and gave him a seat next to Rudd."

"Here, my chaffin cove," said the ruffian, with a gruff laugh, shoving a mess of milk and bread towards him, "a hungry belly, like thine, I'll warrant me, will be glad to stomach even such trash as that, sorry as it is."

Nothing but the poor lad's intense hunger could, indeed, have made him relish the unpalatable mess; as it was, however, he devoured it with a rapidity that astonished even himself, but, not all Rudd's rough hospitality, nor the woman's gentler entreaties could induce him to partake of more, and complaining of fatigue, he was permitted to throw himself upon the settle, and was soon forgotten by the other hungry sitters round the board.

"The bottomless pit is mere fudge to your maw, Spike," said Rudd, with a hoarse laugh; "one might throw a cartload of paving stones in, and you'd still find room for a pretty decent meal after that was done."

"Faith, and to my mind, a man may well eat after fasting a

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