John de Lancaster: a novel; vol. II.

During the movement all were silent, when at once the harp was heard to break forth into a melody of the most gay and joyous character, inviting all present to festivity and good fellowship, and invoking blessings on the hospitable and time-honoured house of De Lancaster.

The harp now ceased, and the several minstrels, as well those, who had attended and were unheard, as those, who had performed, being assembled on the platform, the venerable patron and projector of the entertainment stood up in his place, and addressed himself to speak as follows—

Gentlemen, who have so highly gratified us with your excellent performances, and you also, who, if time had permitted, would have increased that gratification; masters and professors of that science, which is at once so dignified and so delightful, I offer you on the part of all here present the tribute of our unanimous acknowledgments, and our unqualified approbation and applause. We beg you will be pleased to share our praises amongst you; we do not presume to apportion them according to your respective merits. And now friends, neighbours and countrymen, who have done me the honour to accept any invitation to this our domestic eistedfodd, you have heard the lay of our minstrel David Williams, and although, for brevity’s sake, he took it up from the deluge only, yet, if you do not already know, you ought now to be informed, that this unconquered soil whereon we dwell, was in times antecedent to that visitation as fully peopled, and arts and sciences were as happily cultivated here as within any spot upon the habitable globe. If therefore in the recitation of the lay, which I allude to, mention of that early time was omitted to be made, it was not because records are wanting of sufficient authenticity to illuminate the subject, forasmuch as not a few of those, who lived before the flood, have spoken for themselves, and their words and works have descended to us through the lapse of ages. Witness those treatises upon natural magic, which Ham the son of Noah, when in the ark with his father, possessed himself of, and having bequeathed them to his son Misraim, were afterwards made public to the great edification of the repeopled world. Nay, gentlemen, let me assure you, there are those, who trace the origin of the Chrysopeia, or art of making gold, even up to Adam himself, who in a tract of his own composing (after the fall we will suppose) expounds that curious process.

I lay this before you, friends and countrymen, knowing that there are few amongst you, who do not trace your pedigrees up to the ante-diluvian ages, and I rest what I have said upon sound authorities that you, being true and ancient Britons, may have wherewithal to defend your derivations from your father Adam, if any there may be, obstinate and absurd enough to dispute them.

I shall now trespass on your time no longer, than whilst I express my hope that you, my gallant countrymen, who have held the tenure of this soil from ages so remote, will persevere to defend it through ages yet to come from all invaders foreign and domestic.

CHAPTER VII.

Harmony of Sounds does not always ensure Harmony of Souls.

Whilst these performances were going on, Mr. David Owen, sullen and unsocial, had planted himself on a bench as far apart from the principal gentry as he could, and obstinately resisted all solicitations to take a seat more suitable to his rank, and more respectful to the company there assembled. Mr. De Lancaster however, as a mark of his attention, had desired his son Philip to place himself by his side, and take care that nothing was omitted, that could add to his entertainment or accommodation. Nothing could be more acceptable to Philip than a commission of this sort, which consigned him to a post, where he might sit unseeing and unseen, and happily enjoy a complete vacation from thought, whilst his sulky neighbour, wearied with his morning’s chace, and little interested by what was going forward, fell asleep.

The bustle however, which Nancy Ap Rees had occasioned when she led her father on the stage, caused the drowsy gentleman to open his eyes just as our John De Lancaster was sallying to her assistance—That youngster of yours, said David, methinks is very officious. I am weary of this mummery. Can’t we slip aside, and repose ourselves in a quiet room till this tiresome business is all over? I believe you find as little amusement in it as I do.

I find none at all, Philip replied, and rising up, cried, now is the moment, follow me.

When the assembly had broken up, and the gentry were filing off to the collation, that was set out for them in the great parlour, Mr. David Owen and his umbra in the bottle green were missing. It was suspected they had retired to Philip’s private room, and our hero John was dispatched to find them. This discovery was soon made, and his message as soon delivered. Philip set out upon the summons, when young Owen, instead of following him out of the room, which he seemed prepared to do, shut the door, and turning to John, who was civilly attending upon him, said to him in his ironical and sneering way—Upon my word, young gentleman, you have made a very capital display of your agility before the company in jumping on the stage, and shewing off your gallantry towards a young wench, who is in the high situation of daughter to our old blind harper, and a domestic in our family.

Sir, replied the youth, I considered her situation in no other light than as she seemed to want assistance, and in tendering that, I trust I have not offended Mr. David Owen.

Oh, by no means, replied the other in the same taunting tone; you afforded me an opportunity of admiring you in the amiable attitude of succouring a distressed and fainting damsel—besides, give me leave to observe, that such a heavy load of music without a little dancing between whiles would have been absolutely insupportable, and I felt myself unspeakably obliged to you for the relief, which your elegant performance so seasonably afforded; and if my respect for the ladies present had not bound me to silence, I should have requested you to have repeated that delightful rigadoon with Miss Nancy Ap Rees for my particular entertainment.

There are no ladies here present, cried the gallant youth, stepping up to him; so, if you are in the same humour still, your respect need not stop you: but let me remind you, Mr. Owen, that it is no mark of courage to insult me under the sanction of a roof, where the laws of hospitality forbid me to resent it. Take your opportunity of playing off your spiteful jests upon me in any other place, and you shall find me, though your inferior in the art of ridicule, at least your equal in the spirit of a gentleman. I know you can throw dirt and bespatter very ingeniously, and enjoy the mischief as a joke, without remorse for the pain and injury it inflicts.

At this moment Edward Wilson entered the room, and from the last words, which he had heard, and the angry countenance of his pupil, guessing what had passed—John De Lancaster, he cried, recollect yourself!

Aye, sir, resumed the demy-Spaniard, now more pale and sallow with his rage, teach your schoolboy better manners, and warn him how he carries himself so unbecomingly towards one, who is every way his superior.

Tell me first, said Wilson, in what my pupil has offended you; and as you are his superior in age, avail yourself of that advantage by stating your dispute calmly and dispassionately, and let me fairly judge between you.

No, sir, replied the haughty youth, I shall state nothing, nor let any man be judge over me; least of all a gentleman in your predicament, Mr. Wilson, whose judgment I can pretty well guess at. Let your angry boy make up his story as he likes, and you may believe it, or not, as you like. I care not. Into this house I will never enter more with my good will.

In that respect, said Wilson, you must do as you see fit; but command yourself at present, and that you may not disturb the harmony of the night, let me recommend it to you to join the company.

And if I do, sir, resumed the insolent, give me leave to tell you that wherever and whenever I sit down at table with any one, that bears the name of De Lancaster, I shall consider myself as in company with my inferior.

Hold! You forget yourself, cried the reverend Mr. Wilson; you are much too lofty; and if you do not speedily correct that pride yourself, somebody will be found to do it for you.

Go, go! said Owen, don’t tutor me, tutor your schoolboy, and let him think himself well off, that he has escaped chastisement.

Chastisement! exclaimed John, and put himself before the door; you dare as well eat fire, as repeat that to me in another place.

As John was saying this, David Owen, who was making for the door, put him aside, rather roughly, with his hand, and walked out of the room in that kind of strutting style, which a braggart finds it convenient to assume on his departure, when he feels the time is come, that counterfeited courage will no longer serve his purpose.

Was not that a blow, cried John, eagerly arresting Wilson, as he was about to follow? Has not that Jew-born miscreant given me a blow?

What ails you? Are you mad? It was no blow.

It makes my flesh burn where his hand was on me. Indeed, indeed! I feel it as a blow. I’m sure he struck me. Why should you deny it? I thought you had been my friend.

I am your friend, said Wilson, looking him stedfastly in the face, and if you do not consider me as such because I did not suffer you to disgrace the hospitality of your grandfather by a fray with one of his guests, you do not judge of me with truth and candour, but in the heat of passion and resentment.

Disarmed, and brought to instant recollection by this temperate remonstrance, the brave youth cried out—I’m wrong, I’m wrong! I pray you to forgive me. You are my friend, and I depend upon you: but call it what you will—a push, a touch—the spite and malice of the action gives it the cast and character of a blow; and to put up with a blow from David Owen, what could there be in life so disgraceful, what in death so dreadful as that?

John, John, said Wilson gravely and authoritatively, I must remind you in what charge I stand towards you, and by what duty you are bound to me: I tell you once again, it was no blow. You put yourself between him and the door; he could not pass you otherwise than he did. Come, come, you must reform this angry spirit; it savours of revenge; and to carry such an inmate in your bosom, would be neither for your reputation, nor repose. There is however one species of revenge, in which I will assist you, I mean the revenge of virtue, the triumph of a good and noble character over an ignoble and an evil one: that victory if you can obtain (and it shall be my study to point out the road to it) you will then establish a fair title to that superiority over David Owen, which he now vainly arrogates over you. Come then, my dear John, let us henceforward set about that honourable task in earnest, and in the mean time treat his insolence only with contempt.

CHAPTER VIII.

Our Hero goes to Glen-Morgan, and pays a Visit to Mrs. Jennings at Denbigh.

Lawyer Davis (universally so called) was an active honourable little fellow in great request, and would ride further for a few shillings in the prosecution of his business, than some physicians will for as many pounds. He was a light weight, was always well-mounted, and travelled by the compass with extraordinary expedition. In the early morning of the day, immediately following the festival at Kray Castle, he called upon our hero John with an invitation from his grandfather at Glen-Morgan to come over to him upon particular business, and Davis did not disguise from him that it was for the purpose of communicating to him the disposal of his effects by will.

To a summons so important there was neither prohibition nor delay. John however in a short interview with his mother suggested to her the opportunity, that now offered for presenting to Amelia the miniature of her father, with which he was entrusted. Mrs. De Lancaster had no objection to his making an excursion to Denbigh, and allowed him to use her name for his introduction to Miss Jones, but the proposal of writing to Mrs. Jennings had been laid aside. Lawyer Davis was to go with him, and John under such a swift-sailing convoy soon found himself safe moored by the side of his grandfather.

John, said the good old man, I have been putting down a few items in the only work of mine, that will ever descend to posterity, and as you have a concern in the purport of it, I think it is but right you should know what it is. In this paper, which is my last will and testament, and which friend Davis has translated out of English into law, I have bequeathed my estates real and personal to your mother independantly of her husband for her life, and after her decease to you and your heirs, executors and assigns, for ever. So God bless you with it! I for one shan’t hold it from you long. However take notice, I have not forgotten certain friends and dependants, who will have claims upon you; and as I have not been notoriously uncharitable in my life, I have not quite overlooked that duty at my death. I shall not turn out rich in money, for the labouring poor have been so confoundedly pinched, that they would not let me gratify the rascally passion, which I naturally had to be a miser. There is Dame Jennings will come upon you for an annuity, and that little witch Amelia Jones is down in black and white for another. I could not help it. They were both too good, and one of them too pretty, too innocent, and too helpless to be left to the wide world; I could not go out of it in peace, and leave them to starve in poverty: you must think, John, that would not do; would it? No, no; I was forced to take care of them for the sake of an easy conscience, or in other words (do you see) for my own sake; else I should not have done it for the mere pleasure of giving away; for I have no pleasure in it. As a proof of that, look you, here is a hundred guineas in a canvas purse; I took from the greasy pocket of a drover for twenty head of scabby cattle, that were neither use nor ornament to me. I cheated the poor fellow, or rather I should say, let him cheat himself; for I took what he offered. Now here’s a case in point, if you don’t take and rid me of it, it will lie upon my conscience, and what with that and the gout together, I shall get no sleep.

You know, my dear generous grandfather, said John, I don’t want money.

Perhaps not; but I want sleep, replied the grandfather; therefore take it, if you love me, and dispose of it as you like. John made no further opposition, but received the present.

It so chanced that in the evening a certain Jew, Israel Lyons by name, who was in the practice of travelling about the country at stated periods with his portable stock in trade, came to the house. He had the character of a fair-dealing man, and was well known to the principal families in those parts. Israel either bought or sold, and was a trader in all respects conformable to the occasions of those, to whom he resorted. Old Morgan having retired to his chamber, John, according to custom, had stepped aside to pay a kind visit to Mrs. Richards and the old butler, whilst Israel was descanting upon the excellence of a pair of spectacles, which the good lady was cheapening; these were soon purchased and paid for without any cheapening at all, and in the mean time our hero’s eyes were caught by the attraction of a rich and elegant gold chain of curious workmanship, which Israel displayed with address and eloquence, at least proportioned to its merit. It instantly occurred to John that this brilliant chain would admirably become the beautiful neck of Amelia, and be a fit and apposite appendage to the miniature picture of her father, which he was about to present to her. A speedy transfer of the aforesaid chain was accordingly made by Mr. Israel Lyons, who had no kind of difficulty in parting from it for value received in ready cash upon terms of his own proposing; and thus it came to pass, that the present, which John hesitated to receive, was, as it now turned out, most opportunely bestowed.

The next morning brought our young De Lancaster to the door of Mrs. Jennings; he was admitted to that lady, but Amelia was not present. When he had communicated the object of his visit, and signified that he waited on Miss Jones with the entire approbation, and in fact by the immediate desire of his mother, Mrs. Jennings paused, and after a few moments recollection, said—I should very much wish, Mr. De Lancaster, that Amelia Jones, agitated as I am sure she will be upon the sight of this most interesting present, might with your permission be allowed to receive it in the first instance through my hands; that so she may have time to recollect herself, before she undertakes to pay her acknowledgments to Mrs. De Lancaster through you, and to you in person; and I hope, sir, you will believe that I can have no other inducement for proposing this to you, except that of my consideration for the feelings of the young and sensitive creature, who is under my immediate charge.

To this appeal our hero instantly, replied—As I promised my mother that I would deliver this token of her affection into Miss Jones’s hands, I confess I wished to have fulfilled my promise; but your authority supersedes those wishes on my part, and with all possible respect for your superior judgment, I beg you will transmit this pacquet to Miss Jones in the way you think best: I am only the bearer of it, and shall intrude no further—Having risen from his seat whilst he was uttering these words, he had no sooner made an end of speaking, than he bolted out of the room with a rapidity, that precluded all reply—Never will I enter those doors again, he exclaimed as he stepped into the street, whilst that dragon is within them.—

We make no comment on this hasty proceeding of our disappointed hero: some of our readers perhaps will find a plea for it; we offer none. The good lady whose caution had given cause for it, (if any cause there was) had by the sudden departure of her visitor been precluded from making any of those efforts for detaining him, which politeness might else have dictated. He had passed her windows before she had sufficiently recovered her surprise to attempt at explanation, and she had now to reflect how far it was, or was not, incumbent upon her to relate the incident with all its circumstances to Amelia. In her sense of the responsible situation, in which she stood towards the families of De Lancaster and Morgan, she conceived it highly behoved her to be extremely careful how she gave them any grounds to accuse her of favouring interviews, that in course of time might lead to an attachment, which she had reason to apprehend might involve her in much trouble, if considered by those families as originating in her house.

When she had weighed these circumstances in her mind, she found so many reasons, that justified her reserve towards young De Lancaster, that she no longer regretted the interruption she had given to a second interview, which would probably have excited some sensations, and drawn out some expressions on the part of Amelia, which she by no means was disposed to encourage. She now took up the pacquet, and entering the room, where Amelia, unconscious of what had been passing, was employed upon her studies—My dear child, she said, I have a present for you from Mrs. Philip De Lancaster, which I am sure you will very highly value, being a miniature portrait of your father, which that lady has long had in her possession, and now kindly bestows it upon you—Bless me, exclaimed Amelia, how very kind that is in Mrs. De Lancaster! What a good and generous lady she must be. In the meantime she eagerly proceeded to open the pacquet, which inclosed two shagreen cases, and instantly taking that, which evidently contained the miniature of her father, rapturously exclaimed—Oh, what an exquisite, what an admirable resemblance; how lovely, how divine is the expression of this countenance! I can look on this with more delight than I can on the portrait below stairs; for here I behold him happy and in health; there he appears so melancholy and dejected, that I can hardly ever look upon it without tears—But what in the name of wonder is this, said she, opening the case, in which the gold chain was contained? Bless me! can this fine thing be intended for me? Did Mrs. De Lancaster give me this also?

I suppose so, said Mrs. Jennings: at least I know nothing to the contrary.

But who brought it? demanded Amelia; and thus interrogated, Mrs. Jennings was constrained to answer, that it was brought and delivered to her by young De Lancaster himself.

Oh then I am sure this chain at least is his present, said the enraptured girl, (her face flushing, and her eyes glistening with joy) why didn’t you call me down instantly to pay my thanks to him? Come, madam! why do we keep him waiting?

Hold, my dear. The gentleman is not waiting: he is gone.

Gone! exclaimed Amelia! you astonish me; you alarm me. Is it possible Mr. De Lancaster could bring me these fine presents, these inestimable presents, and go away without seeing me? Ah dear madam, tell me at once without disguise where is he gone; why is he gone?

Have patience, my dear child, and you shall hear—It was by no means my wish that he should go without your seeing him, and paying him your acknowledgments so justly due; but as I did not know to what degree you might be affected by the sight of your father’s picture, I thought it on all accounts adviseable to desire Mr. De Lancaster would allow me to be the bearer of the pacquet to you; for which I assured him I had no other motive but consideration and regard for your repose; upon which he gave me the pacquet, expressed himself disappointed, and before I could answer, left the house.

In anger—

I suspect it.

Ah madam, madam, where then is my repose, which you so cautiously consulted? Gone for ever. I might have been the happiest of human beings, I am now the most miserable. Much as I adore the memory of my father, infinitely as I prize this relique, which presents me with his image, and dear to me as this token of Mr. De Lancaster’s favour would have been, yet as he wished to give it to me, and that small, that trifling gratification was denied to him, never will I wear it, touch it, look upon it more, till I receive it from his hands, and am assured of his forgiveness.

Having said this, she burst into tears, and what Mrs. Jennings suggested for her consolation would not be very interesting to relate.

CHAPTER IX.

A Hasty Retreat. Meditations by the Way.

When a hasty youth is mounted on a hasty horse, who can foresee where the spur of passion will transport him? The patience of an ass, or the obstinacy of a mule might either weary out his anger, or so divert it, as to give him some chance for recollection; but John and his steed were in the same humour for a start at score, and it seemed equally indifferent to both which way they bent their course, so they did but agree to outrun discretion. They soon left Denbigh behind them, and as Glen Morgan did not just then occur to the rider, and old Ben could not come up within earshot to remind him of it, where they might have gone is mere matter of conjecture, but certainly not to Kray Castle, had not that inextinguishable spark of humanity, which John cherished in his bosom, given him a memento, that a generous animal ought not to suffer merely because a hot-headed rider had got astride upon his back.

The impulse of pity, that now struck upon the heart of John, was instantaneous. He stopped his horse, dismounted, relieved him by slackening the stricture of his girths, turned his nostrils to the wind, wiped the sweat from his face and ears, caressed him and in his heart asked pardon for the unreasonable fatigue he had exposed him to. Whilst this was passing Ben came panting up: what he had in mind to say is lost to the world, forasmuch as being rather pursey, Ben had not breath to utter it; besides which, the offender having now recollected himself, had prevented his curiosity at the same time that he softened his remonstrance, by apologising for his excursion, confessing that he had forgotten himself, and did not know why he came there, nor where he was.

’Tis very well then that I can tell you whereabouts you are, Ben replied.

Well! and where am I? John demanded.

Out of your road, said Ben, quite and clean; that’s where you are, and so I would have told you in good time, hadn’t you gallopped on at such a pelting rate, that I couldn’t get up to you: And now may I ask without offence where it is your pleasure to go next?

Home, to the Castle—was the answer.

Then we must not travel quite so fast if you please, said Ben; for the road is somewhat difficult to hit off, and not over smooth besides.

Lead the way! John replied: go your own pace, and I’ll follow—This point being adjusted, conversation ceased, and our young hero began to meditate as follows—

That I have cause to feel and resent the treatment I have received is an opinion that I still persist in, but I am conscious of the folly I have been guilty of in suffering myself to be hurried into such ridiculous excesses, as I have now been giving way to. Of this I am most heartily ashamed; but after being denied access to Amelia, when coming by my mother’s authority, and bringing her present in my hand as my introduction, I hold myself justified in resolving never more to enter Mrs. Jennings’s doors, nor subject myself to be considered by that precise repulsive lady as an unwelcome and obnoxious visitor. If there was no collusion between the governess and her charge, (and I confess there does not appear to have been any such) I certainly have no reason to be offended with Amelia, who perhaps may have felt some portion of that disappointment, which fell so heavily upon me. All that I have promised and solemnly pledged myself to do in her behalf, I will faithfully fulfil; but I will not allow Mrs. Jennings to misinterpret my attentions and suspect that I am governed by any motives with regard to the lovely and engaging orphan under her care, which are not simply directed to her service, and strictly consistent with the purest honour: She shall not therefore be alarmed in future by any assiduities on my part, which it shall be possible for her to misconstrue and suspect. Heaven knows I have need enough of instruction, and to my studies under the direction of my excellent preceptor I will henceforward so totally devote myself, that if there was any early preference forming at my heart, which time and opportunity might have ripened into positive attachment, it is now the moment for me to suppress it, and by application to acquirements, in which I am so glaringly deficient, give them all my thoughts, and let no wandering wishes turn them from the tract, they ought to follow and persist in.

Whilst our young heart-wounded hero was arguing himself into this wise resolution, and proposing to derive profit from disappointment, he came within sight of a cottage, whose lonely and desolate situation seemed ill accordant with the neatness and studied comfort of every thing about it. Two women were sitting at their needle-work in the little garden in the front of it, and he was already near enough to distinguish the features of the youngest before she had started from her seat, and ran into the house. He was so struck with the resemblance, that she bore to the daughter of Sir Owen’s minstrel, blind Ap-Rees, of whom we have made former mention, that he stopped, and put that question to the elderly dame, who kept her seat: the dame at first did not think fit to answer, but upon the question being respectfully urged a second time—Whether that young person was, or was not, Nancy Ap-Rees, she briefly replied—That young person is my daughter, and my name is not Ap-Rees.

Then I am mistaken, said John, and rode on.

Satisfied with this answer, which at the present time made but a slight impression on his thoughts, he proceeded homewards, following his guide step by step through all the sinuosities of a craggy road, ruminating upon what had passed at Denbigh, at some times accusing, and at others acquitting himself for his conduct upon that occasion. He formed a wild and fanciful conception of those brilliant lights, that science would in time unfold; but whilst he was enjoying this platonic vision, the sylph-like image of Amelia would recur to his imagination in the captivating attitude of standing at his elbow, as once she had been seen, when, taken by surprise, he caught her in his arms, and rapturously pressed her to his heart. Thus advancing onwards, though not conscious of progression, he was at length recalled to recollection by the sight of Kray Castle, and his reverie dispersed.

The awful character of the time, in which we now live, calls upon every writer to be cautious how he appeals to the passions of mankind. The novelist, who is professedly a writer of this description, has no arbitrary power, independant of morality, over the characters he exhibits merely because they are fictions of his own inventing: he has duties, which he is bound to observe, and cannot violate without offence.

Under this impression, I endeavour to conduct my fable, studious to make that amiable, which I strive to make attractive; and although, in obedience to nature, I must mingle shade with light, I flatter myself that vice of my devising will have no allurements to attach the unwary, nor virtue be pourtrayed with those romantic attributes, which, bearing no similitude to real life, leave no impression on the reader’s mind, nor can be turned to any moral use.

END OF THE FIRST BOOK.

BOOK THE SECOND.

CHAPTER I.

Sir Owen ap Owen on his Death-Bed takes leave of Mr. De Lancaster.

There was an apartment in one of the turrets of Kray Castle, which commanded a fine view of the park and country, bounded by the sea: here it was that young De Lancaster commenced a course of application to his studies under the instruction of his excellent preceptor, to which he devoted himself with so determined a passion for improvement, that it was not long before he had made a progress in the learned languages, that would have qualified him to pass muster with most young scholars of his standing.

Nature had endowed him with a strong and retentive memory, and parts rather solid than brilliant: he had great industry, a ready apprehension and a mind turned to enquiry. Few temptations were now sufficiently alluring to detach him from his books; so grateful to him were the lectures of his instructor, and so delectable the acquisition of knowledge, that he sought no pleasures, and seemed to regret all avocations. His volatility of spirit had now in a great degree subsided; he became cautious in the company of his seniors, and more disposed to listen than to talk. The neighbours did not think him mended by his studies, and the servants, who had been the companions of his puerile sports, pronounced that he was spoilt.

An unatoned insult still rankled at his heart, and he shunned the sight of David Owen, not because he feared him, but because he doubted his own self-command upon the meeting. That arrogant young man had now taken a decided character; was a loud talker and a bold assertor, and, being under no restraint, gave himself all the latitude, which the actual possession of what he was only presumptive heir to, could have emboldened him to assume.

As for Sir Owen, he was now in the last stage of a decline, never stirred from his chamber, and was considered by all about him as a man, who had not many days to live. In this extremity he dispatched a messenger to Kray Castle to request an interview with his old friend De Lancaster, who immediately put himself in order to obey the summons. As soon as his arrival was announced, Sir Owen dismissed his attendants, and received his worthy visitor alone in his chamber. After the customary enquiries had passed, the baronet delivered himself as follows—

I have asked this favour of you, my good friend and neighbour, because I perceive myself going out of the world, and, having great esteem and respect for you, I would willingly bid you farewell before I am gone. I have thought very little about death till it has come upon me as it were at once; all I know of the matter is that we must all die, and so, you see, I must take my turn, as others have done before, and every one must do after me. If it had been my good fortune to have made myself acceptable to your amiable daughter, I might have lived to enjoy, as you do now, a healthy old age; but when a man has neither wife nor family nor friend at hand to jog his memory upon occasion, he will be apt to forget himself at times, and by going too fast come the sooner to his journey’s end. That has been my case, friend De Lancaster, and how could it be otherwise. I have none of those resources that you have; if my house was full of books, they would be of no use to me; I should not read one of them; I never had a turn that way. Time was I took delight in hunting my own hounds; that, you know, is a rational and gentlemanlike amusement, but when I could no longer follow it up, you must think, I was fain to fall upon other means for making away with my time: every man must do that; and what is so natural as to fly to the pleasure of the table, when we can no longer enjoy the sports of the field? So long as I could do both, and take them in their turns, all things went well with me. If a country gentleman like me takes a cup too much over night, he rides it off the next morning, and there’s an end of it; but when he is reduced to the helpless situation, in which you now see me, what is to be done? Life becomes a burden, and the sooner we are quit of it, the better.

In truth, my good friend, said De Lancaster, I cannot wonder, if a life, that furnishes no intellectual enjoyments, becomes burdensome: and since it must be resigned when the disposer of our fate sees fit, it is happy for us, when called upon to quit this world, if we find upon reflection that the pleasures of it are not worthy of our regret.

I have had no pleasure in it, replied the dying man, since these people came out of Spain to molest me. Had your daughter heard reason, when I first proposed to her, I might have had a son and heir of my own, British born, and, had that been the case, this mongrel of my brother’s fathering, half Jew and half Spaniard, might have been a pedlar, and hawked buckles and buttons about the country to his dying day, for what I had cared: But that is over, and, except the few personals I have willed away to huntsman and other of my friends, together with a keep-sake to your daughter, and my favourite horse Glendowr to my godson, all the real property I am possessed of must go to David by entail, and a despicable David he will be, take my word for it.—

He would have said more, and struggled hard for speech, but his efforts had already exhausted him, and he sunk back in his chair. Robert de Lancaster rung the bell; the attendants came upon the summons: The good man cast a pitying look for the last time upon his dying friend and departed.

CHAPTER II.

Sir Owen ap Owen Dies.

The next day Sir Owen died, and upon the opening of his will there was found a bequest to Cecilia De Lancaster of a valuable brilliant diamond, which he used to display upon his finger on certain days of ceremony, and a remembrance to his godson John of his favourite hunter Owen Glendowr. After a proper interval, during which the interment took place, upon enquiry being made for these tokens, answer was given that no diamond ring, as described in the will, could be found, and as for the horse, they might take him away when they would; Sir David Owen saw no reason why he should find stable room for him, and had ordered him to be turned out upon the heath.

Galled by this insolent message, our hero with young Williams and two or three domestics of the castle set out upon the search, and having traversed the waste for a considerable time, at length discovered the poor animal, laying in an obscure dell, hamstrung and dead.

When young De Lancaster cast his eyes upon the carcase of this fine animal, and saw the wounds, that had been inflicted on him, it was with the utmost difficulty he could command himself so far as to abstain from any animadversions, that might indicate to the people with him, that his suspicions pointed at Sir David Owen. He caused them to collect and pile a heap of stones to mark the spot. He sate upon his horse in melancholy silence, whilst this work was going on, and having imposed like forbearance on his party, and completed what he was about, he bade them follow him, and took his course to the castle.

Whilst this was going on consultation was held at the castle with the family lawyer upon the circumstance of the diamond ring. In the discussion of this delicate question the man of law and the man of learning did not quite agree upon the means to be pursued; but as Davis, although a pertinacious lawyer, had generally more resources at his command than he chose all at once to call out, a compromise was made for time, and the deliberation brought no other point to a conclusion, except that it was agreed upon to deliberate further on some future occasion.

John now arrived and in his grandfather’s hearing simply related his adventure in search of the horse. Mr. De Lancaster was much less reserved upon this subject than he had been on that of the ring. He even declared that the wretch, who had been guilty of so barbarous and malevolent an action was not fit to live: he would give twice the value of the animal to discover the perpetrator, and Davis immediately proposed to issue hand bills, offering a liberal reward for that discovery. To this measure the old gentleman in the warmth of his resentment gave no opposition, and one hundred pounds was determined upon as the premium for information.

As soon as our young hero found himself alone with his friend and tutor Wilson, he avowed the most unreserved suspicion of Sir David Owen—Could there be any doubt, he demanded, if the wretch, who would not give the horse the shelter of his stable, could have been any other than the contriver, if not the actual perpetrator, of the cruelty, that had been practised upon him? was there any name too bad for such a spiteful rascal; he would post him upon every whipping post and stocks, in every ale-house, barber’s shop and blacksmith’s shed throughout the county: he would set a hundred men to work, and erect a pyramid of stones upon the horse’s grave, that should perpetuate his infamy to ages.

Heyday, exclaimed Wilson; you are very fertile in devising methods of revenge, and seem to forget, that you have neither yet brought conviction to the criminal, or, if you had, that the law will put the power of punishment into your hands; can you not recollect how much more noble it is, how much more becoming of a christian and a gentleman, to forgive than to revenge a wrong? I must wonder where you found that bitterness of spirit, that would prompt you to entail a never ending animosity upon your respective families. Can you suppose your grandfather, your aunt or your parents could be reconciled to such a proceeding? Certainly not. I am persuaded therefore you will dismiss all meditations of so revengeful a nature, and wait the event of the measures, which Davis has in hand for discovering the offender, and in the meantime, recollect that if you cannot absolutely avoid entertaining a suspicion, you can at least abstain from publishing it.

I have abstained, he replied, except towards you to whom I open all my heart; but as I am persuaded that the perpetrator of this scandalous action, if ever he is traced to conviction, will be found in the person of him, whom I suspect, before that happens I wish you would contrive to take or send me out of the way; for unless I were to imprison myself in the castle, I might chance to cross upon that unworthy gentleman in my excursions, and indeed, my good sir, I am far from sure, that I should be capable of that self command and forbearance, which you recommend to me.

It is to be presumed the substance of this conversation was reported at head quarters, for the next morning John was summoned before his grandfather and his aunt in the library, when the former of these addressed him in the following terms.

John De Lancaster and my grandson, attend to what I am about to say to you—I would have you to understand and remember that revenge is not amongst the attributes of a hero, or the virtues of a christian. It behoves me therefore to caution you against it: I hold it as my indispensible duty to apprise you of what is expected from a gentleman of your pure and unpolluted descent through successive generations from times of the remotest antiquity to the present moment, in which you are standing before me, the last and only hope, whereon I rest my fortune and my name. You conceive yourself injured and affronted by a rash and inconsiderate young man, your senior by some few years, who now inherits the title and estate of my late friend and neighbour Sir Owen ap Owen: upon this suspicion, for it amounts to nothing more, you meditate revenge. Are you quite convinced you can with honour own yourself affronted by him? I will not speak degradingly of any person’s family, whether it be Spanish, or whether it be Jewish; but to one, or to the other, of these we must resort for the pedigree of Sir David’s mother. I draw no inference from this; I leave it with you for your consideration. Recollect yourself however, my dear child; compute your age, your strength, and, if there were no other bar to your resentment, how are you to execute it? Puerile resentment—What is that? A boyish scuffle it may be; an interchange perhaps of blows; and what is the result of blows?—Eternal enmity—Can the spirit of a De Lancaster endure a blow? Impossible. Sacred and inviolable as the oath of the young Hannibal against Rome, would be his resolution to avenge himself upon the giver of that blow.

Ah, sir, sir! exclaimed Cecilia, are you not going from your point, and justifying what you truly said was not fitting either for a hero or a christian? I beg you will allow me to send my nephew out of the room, for I have something to impart to you, that I would not wish him to hear.

John, who knew too well what his aunt alluded to, instantly left the room; but the words were irrevocable; the fatal authority, so congenial with his feeling, had sunk into his heart never to be eradicated.

As soon as he was gone Cecilia apologized to her father for the interruption she had been guilty of; she said, that knowing, as she did, that her nephew had for a considerable time past harboured resentment against young Owen for a blow, she could not but regret that he should hear a justification of his resentment from such high authority as she feared would outweigh any thing, that his tutor could advise against it.

Whether this remark, which was confessedly not very politic on the part of poor alarmed Cecilia, or the consciousness of having overshot his argument, piqued and disconcerted the good old man, certain it is he did not receive his daughter’s apology with his usual suavity and candour, but coldly answered that he was not bound to revoke his opinions merely because they might not chance to conform with those of Mr. Wilson; and least of all, said he, should I have suspected that you, Cecilia, who have ever shewn such deference to my authority, should be alarmed lest it might outweigh that of any other person.

Heaven forbid, cries Cecilia, that I should ever fail to reverence that wisdom, which I am of an age to comprehend, but which a youth like my nephew may misconceive and construe not according to reason and its true sense, but according to the bent and impulse of his own passions.

You are right, said De Lancaster, recovering his complacency, you are right, my dear child, and I am sorry that I alluded to the example of young Hannibal, as I have ever disapproved of Hanno for bringing him at so early an age to the altar, and implanting hatred and revenge in his heart by a solemn oath for ever. All this while take notice, I am an enemy to blows; I never struck your brother Philip in my life, nor should allow of his striking my grandson John; at the same time there are blows, that inflict no disgrace; the blows for instance, that are received in battle, when combating the enemies of our country, where the hero, although bleeding with his wounds, spares the life of the opponent, who asks it of him and submits himself to his mercy. I shall speak upon this more at large to my grandson, and define to him the several characters and descriptions of blows in such a manner, as may enable him to distinguish which may be passed over, and which may not; copying the example of the Sage Chiron the Centaur, who, when tutoring his pupil young Achilles upon the nature of blows, put a whip into his hand, and set him astride on his own back, threatening at the same time to kick him off without mercy, if he ventured to make use of it.

With submission to your better judgment, said Cecilia, smiling at the ridiculousness of the allusion, I should conceive it may be well to postpone this lecture till our young Achilles is more able to understand it, and in the meantime, till this matter of the ham-strung horse is cleared up, to send him out of harm’s way with his tutor Mr. Wilson, who meditates to pay a visit to his parish, and has, as you well know, repairs and improvements to superintend at his parsonage house, where your people are at work for his accommodation.

Your advice is excellent, my dear Cecilia, cried De Lancaster, rising from his seat, and shall be strictly followed: Let John be off with the lark to-morrow morning, and no fear but, in the peaceful mansion of the christian teacher of forgiveness, he will recover his tranquillity, and consign all injuries to oblivion.

It was not many minutes after this conversation had passed, when Mr. De Lancaster, addressing himself to his friend Wilson, said—I perceive, my good colonel, that the knowledge, which a man gets in his library is of very little use to himself or others in the world at large: I suspect that I have been reading every thing to no purpose, whilst Cecilia, who has read scarce any thing, is wiser than I am.

Aye my good sir, replied Wilson, ’tis even so: we must carry our grey hairs to school, and learn wisdom of our children. If we would wish to know what the world is about, we must not enquire of those, who are out of it, but of those, who are in it.

CHAPTER III.

Our Hero sets out upon a Visit to his Tutor at his Parsonage House. Occurrences by the Way.

In a fine autumnal morning, whilst the sun was mounting in the clear horizon, the Reverend Mr. Wilson and his pupil took their departure from the castle. They had not less than twenty Welch computed miles to traverse over a romantic country before they reached the parsonage house at Shells, now prepared for their reception. What were the prospects, that opened upon them by the way, how wild, how various, how sublime, we shall not study to describe, though all the requisites of mountain, wood and water are at our command, and court us to employ them. If these beautiful objects lost their effect upon our hero John, it was in great part owing to another beautiful object, not then present, which greatly occupied his thoughts, as the immediate scene of his meditation just then laid at Denbigh, where the young Amelia, unseen but not forgotten, still kept possession of his heart. The point, towards which he was shaping his course, would bring him nearer to Denbigh by more than half the distance between that place and Kray Castle, and though his mind was not perfectly at peace with respect to Mrs. Jennings, he felt every tender sentiment for her unoffending charge, and cherished a fond hope that some happy opportunity might occur to repay him for the disappointment he had met with and the long absence he had endured.

Whilst our young hero, wholly occupied in these meditations, was incautiously riding along a slippery path in his descent from the heights, his horse’s footing failed him and he fell upon his knees: being an active horseman he lost neither his seat nor his temper, but it brought other ideas to his recollection, and turning to his companion he calmly observed, that had his favourite Glendowr been under him, nothing of that sort could have happened—and what a treasure, added he, have I been defrauded of? what kind of heart must that man have who could turn a fine animal, that had been cloathed and pampered in the stable, naked on a barren heath, only because an uncle, who had left him every think else, had bequeathed this one token of his remembrance to me as his godson?

At this instant lawyer Davis rode up to them on a brisk gallop, and saluting them as he reined in his horse, cried out—Well met, gentlemen; I thought I kenn’d you as I crossed the hill, and hastened to give you the intelligence, that I am carrying to the castle, of my having got such information, as will secure ample damages for the loss of Sir Owen’s legacy of the horse, and expose to the world one of the basest and most rascally transactions, that was ever brought to light.

As Davis uttered these words young John De Lancaster turned a look upon Mr. Wilson that could not fail to be understood, and desired Davis to relate the particulars—They are soon told, he replied, for the informer Joe Johnson, who was feeder to Sir Owen’s hounds, has deposed, that by the express order of his present master the young baronet betook the horse called Owen Glendowr out of the stable in the evening of the 12th instant, and accompanied by the said Sir David led him to a bye spot on the mountain, where in a dell they contrived by ropes to cast, and then and there to hamstring him by deep incisions on the sinews of his legs, leaving the poor mangled animal to expire in tortures. Johnson describes his reluctance to obey commands of so barbarous a nature, but his master was peremptory, and had caused him to be plied with liquor till he was so intoxicated, that unless Sir David himself had assisted in the act, he could not have executed it.

Davis having related these particulars, addressing himself to Mr. Edward Wilson, added—’Tis a villainous business, reverend sir, a very villainous business, and if old Mr. De Lancaster shall think fit to bring it into court, I would not be in Sir David’s case for his estate. Mr. De Lancaster will do no such thing, said Wilson, that you may rely upon—No, no, cried John, ’tis not a case to be settled in that way: I’m satisfied my grandfather will not resort to the law, nor accept of any compensation for the injury I have suffered from Sir David Owen and his dog-kennel accomplice. The man, who degrades his character by an action of that sort, puts his person out of the reach of a gentleman’s resentment.

This said, the conference broke off: the companions proceeded on their way, and Davis shaped his course towards the mansion of De Lancaster.

When there arrived and admitted to an audience in the library, he stated facts rather more circumstantially from the chair than he had done from the saddle, and having concluded, the old gentleman remained silent for some time, pondering in his mind the measures he should take: at length, breaking forth in a tone, that bespoke his resolution formed, he said—Davis, we must save this wretched young man, if it be possible. He, who has dabbled in the blood of an animal, may be wrought by desperation to attempt the life of a fellow creature: he is young, and may be turned to better thoughts; I am old, and must not be extreme in justice: Furthermore, I must confess to you, Davis, that I am not quite reconciled to the means we have taken for eliciting this information from a scoundrel dog-feeder by the lure of a reward. Your law, I know, allows it; but your law and my conscience do not always harmonize. This very fellow, whom we have paid for confessing the act, was probably paid also for committing it: that is a traffic in iniquity, which I am sorry to have countenanced. However I will write to Mrs. David Owen, who in her twofold capacity of mother and guardian, seems the properest person to recall this young offender to a due contrition for his offence.

I should doubt that, Davis replied; I am much afraid, worthy sir, you would not mend your chance by that appeal; for I have another unlucky evidence in my possession of a damned Jew’s trick in the article of the diamond ring—

Speak to the point, friend Davis, said the old gentleman, but spare your expletives; for oaths are not ornaments to an honest man’s discourse—

I ask pardon, rejoined Davis; but really, sir, when one hears of such scandalous practices, as are carried on in that family between mother and son, it is enough to make a parson swear—

I should hope not, said De Lancaster; but what do you allude to?—

Why you must know, replied the lawyer, I had my suspicions that all was not right in the going of the diamond ring, bequeathed to Madam Cecilia, and reported non est inventus; so it came into my mind, that it might not be amiss to put the old proverb into practice, and set a thief to catch a thief—

Speak, if you please, without a proverb, said the good old man; I shall comprehend you better; for in my opinion, Mr. Davis, when our conversation is to turn upon thieves, the sooner it is concluded, so that we may dismiss them from our thoughts, the better it will be for us both.

CHAPTER IV.

The Humanity of De Lancaster is not permitted to obtain its End.

Our readers will recollect a certain Jew pedlar, Israel Lyons by name, of whom we have heretofore made mention: this man was in the habit of employing Davis as his man of business for collecting debts, and enforcing payments. In the course of his late circuit he had called upon him, and consulted him upon a secret transaction he had engaged in with Mrs. Owen respecting a diamond ring of considerable value, which he was to dispose of in Holland on her account, and for which he had deposited security in her hands. Upon the production of this ring Davis instantly recognised it to be the very ring devised to Cecilia by Sir Owen in his will. Lyons, who immediately saw the danger of his negotiation in its proper light, readily consented to accompany Davis to Kray Castle for the purpose of more fully identifying the ring, and to this it was that Davis alluded, when he was answered by De Lancaster, as was related in the preceding chapter. He now shewed the ring to that gentleman, who no sooner cast his eyes upon it, than he said—Put it by! I am satisfied.

So was not Davis, but importunately demanded how he was to proceed—Not at all, replied De Lancaster, not at all. I am neither prepared to blast the heir of the Owens for the consideration of a horse, which I can replace from my own stable, nor the mother of that heir for a bauble, which I desire you will return to the pedlar, and take care that I have no concern with dog-feeders, or with Jews.

Davis, struck with astonishment, exclaimed—This is above my comprehension; it must be as you please; but you will give me leave to take care of myself, and keep out of the scrape of compromising felony.

With these words he departed, and a servant, entering the room at the same moment, announced the names of three gentlemen, who solicited a private conference with Mr. De Lancaster; they were persons of respectability in the county, but not in the habit of visiting at the castle, being of the opposite party in politics, and zealously attached to the interests of the ancient house of Owen.

The venerable owner of Kray Castle met them at the door of his apartment, and received them with all possible courtesy and respect. When they were seated, Sir Arthur Floyd (a name not new to the reader of this history) opened the business as follows—

We wait upon you, Mr. De Lancaster, as friends of the lately deceased Sir Owen ap Owen, and in virtue of the regard, in which we hold his memory, are solicitous to preserve the like good opinion of the successor to his estate and title. A report, which, if true, would stamp indelible disgrace upon his character, has reached us, relative to his treatment of a certain favourite horse, which our departed friend bequeathed to your grandson; we know you lived on terms of friendship with Sir Owen, and we trust you will participate in our motives, when we request you (who must of course be acquainted with the particulars, we are anxious to be informed of) to say whether or not there is any foundation for the report we allude to.

Gentlemen, said De Lancaster, it is a fact that the horse, which you describe as a favourite of my late friend, was bequeathed by him to my grandson John.

And is your grandson now in possession of that horse? In plainer terms, is the horse alive? This question was not put by Sir Arthur Floyd, and Mr. De Lancaster, turning to him, with some discomposure demanded, if it were expected of him to answer all manner of interrogatories in a case, which he was desirous of dismissing from his thoughts.

To this Sir Arthur Floyd replied, that with all imaginable respect for his character as a gentleman of the highest honour, they did expect of him to answer all such questions, as might be honourably put to him in the matter of a charge so fatal to the reputation of Sir David Owen, if true; so injurious, if false. We presume also to remind you, sir, that where the name of De Lancaster is attached to a report, it is such an authority as no man can dispute, and of course no man ought to doubt. Upon a point of honour therefore, which by consequence affects yourself not less than it does us, we conjure you to tell us plainly whether the horse be dead or living.

The horse is dead; in that state he was found by my grandson and his servant on the heath.

You will permit us to ask, said one of the party, if there were not marks of violence upon the carcase; in short, sir, was not the horse hamstrung upon all his legs?

I am told he was.

Was there any enquiry made as to the perpetrator, or perpetrators, of that butchery?

I am constrained to say there was. Lawyer Davis made enquiry.

And when lawyer Davis traced out the perpetrators of that most shameful act, have the goodness to inform us whether he did, or did not, find evidence to implicate Sir David Owen as a party in the act itself.

Let lawyer Davis answer that himself, replied De Lancaster in a firm tone of voice; I decline it, and you must excuse me.

We shall refer ourselves to lawyer Davis, said the spokesman, and we hope you will permit your grandson and his servant to attend on the occasion. If we find Sir David Owen guilty on the charge, this will be no country for him to live in; at least he cannot live in it with us. In the mean time we thank you, worthy sir, for your very handsome reception of us, and shall be ever forward to bear testimony to your candour and delicacy towards the character of a most unhappy young man, if our fears prove true. We are sensible, Mr. De Lancaster, you could have said much more, and we know that it was honour alone, that extorted from you what you did say, and generosity, that suppressed what you did not say.

The party were now rising to take their leave, when the old gentleman entreated their patience for a few minutes—we have been discoursing, he said, upon a very unpleasant subject. The young man, who now wears the title of my departed friend, is just entering on the world, and being native of another country, and not educated amongst us, may perhaps have been betrayed into some irregularities, that cannot stand a rigid scrutiny; I will venture therefore to submit to you, whether it may not be advisable to let this affair pass over without any further investigation, assured as you may be, that the charge shall never be stirred by me, or any one of my family.

To this Sir Arthur Floyd made answer as follows—What you have now proposed to us, Mr. De Lancaster, is a proof of that candour and benignity, which have ever marked your character; but you know full well what has long been the state of party interests in this county, and to which side we have hitherto adhered; you must also be aware that the day is not far off, when probably we must again declare ourselves: It behoves us therefore to be made secure of the honour and character of that gentleman, young although he is, on whom that consequence and leading interest have devolved, which we have been accustomed to look up to. We must therefore in our own justification decline your generous proposal, which we are convinced you would not have made, had you not been satisfied, or suspicious at least, of the young man’s criminality.

This said they rose, and with much courteous ceremony on both sides took their leave, and departed.

CHAPTER V.

Philip De Lancaster sets out upon his Travels.

That’s true; that’s true. He would take his leave of you before he sets out upon his journey to the south of France. An opinion has prevailed that your mother must winter in a warmer climate, and your father is going to make preparations for her residence at Montpelier. Upon these occasions I do not chuse to interpose: he will follow his own fancy, and that is about as likely to lead him to Jerusalem as to Montpelier: and your mother, John, your mother, never will go hence but to her grave. Nature is in absolute decay; her vital powers are exhausted, and Llewellyn either knows her inability to undertake the journey, or is blockhead enough to believe it practicable, and knows nothing of his business. You will say, why do I not dissuade your father from setting out upon this fruitless journey? I answer, because it is not worth my while; for whom does it concern in what spot of earth upon this habitable globe a listless creature doses out unprofitable time? Let him go, let him go; I rest no further hopes on him. The tree, which emblematically bears the fortunes of my house, is withering at the top, dead in its middle branches, whilst there is yet one scyon, that has life and vigour: Yes, my child, I am passing away; thy father is gone by, but thou, with the blessing of providence, art springing up and bursting into bloom, I have thy tutor’s testimony strongly vouched in thy favour, and with rapture I contemplate the auspicious promise of those dawning virtues, which in the riper character of the man will be the ornament and safe-guard of our ancient stock. And now, John, I must apprise thee of an affair, that will put those virtues to the test. Some neighbouring gentlemen, who are amongst the chief supporters of the Owen interest, have this morning been with me to enquire into the circumstances of Sir David’s treatment of you in the matter of the horse bequeathed to you by your godfather; and they are determined to call upon you and Davis for your evidence, that they may sift it to the bottom.

With all my heart, cried John, the colour mounting to his cheeks. I desire nothing better than to meet Sir David Owen face to face, and depose what I know of that rascally transaction in the most public manner before all his friends, be they who they may.

Hold, hold, my child, said De Lancaster, you must not forget how much modesty and forbearance become your years. You must put all angry thoughts aside, when you are called upon to speak the truth without prejudice or animosity; and that you may be kept in mind of that duty, I shall desire your worthy tutor to accompany you to that discussion.

I hope you will not think that necessary, John replied, for if I have nothing to do but to speak the truth, I trust I do not want a tutor to teach me that.

Go then, said De Lancaster; be it as thou sayest! for I perceive the spirit of my race, which has passed over thy father, descends upon thee. Go, when thou art called for; but remember, truth must not be told with aggravation, nor in our resort to justice must we gratify revenge.

At this moment Mr. Philip De Lancaster walked into the room, and addressing himself after his cool manner to his son—You are come just in time, he said, for I have taken leave of your mother, and have nothing to do but to pay my duty to my father, and set out upon my journey. I leave you in the care of such good friends, that you stand in no need of any advice from me; and, if you did, I know not what else I could say to you, but to recommend it to you to be a good boy, to pay attention to your tutor, to carry yourself dutifully to your grandfather, mother and aunt, to recollect that you are but a child in age and understanding, and in a word to mind your book and say your prayers. Now go up to your mother; she expects you in her bed chamber; tread softly, (do you mind) and be careful of alarming her, for, though she bore parting from me with perfect tranquillity, the least noise will shake her nerves, and throw her into tremors.