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 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N IVE.R5 1TY 
 
 OF ILLI NOIS 
 
 V. 
 
 I 
 
 CLOSED STACKS 
 

t.J i UA-W* 
 
 Ai ^ 
 
SIE THEODORE BROUGHTON ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 LAUREL WATEE. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON; 
 
 OR, 
 
 LAUREL WATER. 
 
 BY 
 
 G-. P. E. JAMES, Esq., 
 
 author of 
 "The Coxvict," '-'Russell," " Eiirexsteix," etc. etc. etc 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 X.B.— A German Translation of this Work is Published for the Author by 
 Messrs. Diincker and Humblot, Berlin. 
 
 LONDON: 
 SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. 
 
 1848. 
 
London : 
 
 Printed by Stewart and Murray, 
 
 Old Bailey. 
 
5 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Though I am not in general fond of prefaces, 
 yet a few words of explanation must neces- 
 sarily be prefixed to this work, in order to 
 guard against any misconception. The name 
 which it has received will naturally lead the 
 mind of the reader to conclude that the tale 
 is founded upon the too-celebrated tragedy of 
 " Lawford Hall," and such is certainly, in 
 c some degree, the case ; but it must not be 
 supposed that I have attempted to give any- 
 thing like a history of that lamentable trans- 
 action, or have even adhered closely to the 
 facts. On the contrary, I have, in the course 
 of the work, done everything I could to mark 
 that such was not my intention, upon the 
 following considerations, and in the circum- 
 stances I am about to state. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 I had Ion"' known tlie general facts con- 
 nected with the death of Sir Theodosiu^ 
 13onghton, and had dwelt upon them with much 
 interest ; but the minute details were more dif- 
 ficult to be obtained, and I was prepossessed 
 with an idea, very generally entertained, that 
 Captain Donellan, who was executed for the 
 murder of the young baronet, was his guardian 
 as well as his brother-in-law. In such circum- 
 stances, the relative position of the two par- 
 tics seemed to me to open a fine field for the 
 display of strong and dangerous passions, and 
 no bad opportunity of drawing instructive 
 lessons from their results. The work was 
 about one-third finished when, after con- 
 siderable difficulty, I obtained a copy of the 
 trial of Captain Donellan, as reported from 
 Gurney's short-hand notes, and an impression 
 of a very painful nature was produced upon 
 my mind. I became convinced that Captain 
 Donellan had been convicted upon insufficient 
 evidence. I do not by any means intend to 
 imply that I felt at all confident of his in- 
 nocence; but merely, that there was not suf- 
 ficient proof to justify his conviction. Some 
 doubts I had, indeed, previously entertained 
 from traditions preserved at Rugby and in its 
 neighbourhood; but when I read the evidence 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 of the famous John Hunter, those doubts were 
 changed into a strong and abiding impression 
 that Donellan was condemned without fair 
 legal proof. 
 
 It must be remarked that the father of Sir 
 Theodosius, when by no means an old man, 
 died as suddenly as his son ; and although 
 the evidence of John Hunter was given very 
 cautiously, yet, in the following portion of his 
 examination, he states a clear and decided 
 opinion, which ought to have greatly damaged 
 the case for the prosecution in the minds of 
 the jury. I may premise that it had been 
 attempted to prove, first, that the body of the 
 young baronet displayed evident traces of 
 poison ; and, secondly, that the symptoms 
 which immediately preceded his death could 
 proceed from nothing but the effects of one 
 particular poison, called laurel water. John 
 Hunter was then asked, after hearing the 
 whole details, exactly as the other medical 
 witnesses had heard them, what inference he 
 would draw from the appearances presented 
 by the corpse. He answered, 6s The whole ap- 
 pearances upon the dissection explain nothing 
 but putrefaction ;" and again, in reply to the 
 question, " Are those appearances you have 
 heard described, such, in your judgment, as 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 are the results of putrefaction in dead sub- 
 jects?" he said, "Entirely." 
 
 The examination then proceeds thus : — 
 
 Counsel. — " Are the symptoms that ap- 
 peared after the medicine was given, such as 
 necessarily conclude that the person had taken 
 poison ? " 
 
 Hunter. — " Certainly not." 
 
 Counsel. — " If an apoplexy had come on, 
 would not the symptoms have been nearly or 
 somewhat similar ?" 
 
 Hunter. — " Very much the same." 
 
 The last reply in his examination in chief is 
 also very important. The counsel observed, 
 " Then, in your judgment upon the appear- 
 ances the gentlemen have described, no in- 
 ference can be drawn from thence that Sir 
 Theodosius Boughton died of poison?" 
 
 He answered, H Certainly not. It does not 
 give the least suspicion." 
 
 Now the judge, in summing up, remarks 
 thus upon the evidence of John Hunter, such 
 as I have stated it to have been : " I can 
 hardly say what his opinion is, for he does not 
 seem to have formed any opinion at all upon 
 the matter." 
 
 It appears to me, on the contrary, that he 
 had formed the most decided opinion that no 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 inference of poison was to be drawn either 
 from the symptoms that preceded death, or 
 the appearance of the body after death, both 
 main points in the case for the prosecution. 
 Add to this, that no distillation of laurel 
 leaves was traced to Captain Donellan ; that 
 it was never shown that he had ever pos- 
 sessed a laurel leaf; that he was never proved 
 to have had access to the room in which the 
 bottle stood, the contents of which were sup- 
 posed to be poison ; and you reduce the case 
 to this, — that Sir Theodosius Boughton died 
 very suddenly, after having indulged for a 
 considerable period in great excesses, and 
 being at the time somewhat in bad health ; and 
 that the conduct of Captain Donellan after his 
 death was extraordinary and somewhat sus- 
 picious. 
 
 It is to be remarked, however, that all the 
 most suspicious circumstances rested upon the 
 evidence of Lady Boughton, the mother of 
 the dead man, who with her own hands gave 
 him the liquid, as a medicine, which was after- 
 wards supposed to have been the poison, and 
 whom Donellan indirectly charged with having 
 poisoned her son. The suspicious circum- 
 stance of his having rinsed out the bottle even 
 before the young man was dead, was stated by 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 Lady Boughton to have taken place at a time 
 when two maids must have heen in the room, 
 as she mentions the occupation of " one of the 
 maids." But one was dead at the time of the 
 trial, and the other was not even asked if she 
 had remarked the fact, or seen Captain 
 Donellan do anything with the bottles. It 
 is, moreover, worthy of notice, that Lady 
 Boughton contradicted herself, as to whether 
 Sir Theodosius spoke to her after taking the 
 medicine ; that she varied in her testimony 
 before the coroner and at the trial, adding 
 some circumstances on the latter occasion ; and 
 that, from the testimony of the coachman, it 
 appears she very soon endeavoured to cast 
 suspicion upon Donellan, which would account 
 for some of the efforts made by him to prove 
 his innocence before he was directly accused. 
 
 The counsel for prisoners charged with 
 felony not being permitted in those days to 
 address the jury in behalf of their client, none 
 of these points were brought prominently for- 
 ward at the trial, for the judge, in this case, 
 certainly did not act as counsel for the prisoner. 
 Doubtless, had he been permitted, Mr. Newn- 
 ham, who cross-examined the witnesses on 
 behalf of Donellan, with verv srreat skill and 
 acumen, would have called attention to the 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 various facts I have mentioned, and would 
 also have pointed out, that if the conduct of 
 Captain Donellan, upon the death of Sir 
 Theodosius Boughton, was extraordinary, so 
 was that of Lady Boughton, who, while her 
 son was yet living, though terribly convulsed, 
 does not seem to have made the slightest 
 effort to restore him. She sent a servant on 
 horseback, it is true, for a medical man, but 
 in that Captain Donellan joined, giving up 
 his own horse for the purpose, as the swiftest. 
 But she seems to have applied no restoratives, 
 to have used no means whatever for her son's 
 recovery — not even such as would have been 
 applied in the case of a person in a common 
 fainting fit; but left a servant to wipe the 
 froth from her son's lips, disputing with 
 Donellan about the bottles and the dirty 
 clothes, and walking away into the other room. 
 The conduct of both was certainly extraordi- 
 nary ; aud no great affection or attention seems 
 to have been shown by either to the unhappy 
 young man. 
 
 It may also be noticed, that, on a previous 
 occasion, as appears, from the evidence of 
 Samuel Frost, a draught, sent by the same 
 apothecary who furnished the medicine which 
 Sir Theodosius was to have taken, or did take, 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 on the day of his death, made hira exceedingly- 
 ill, and produced vomiting ; and also that he 
 was in the habit of keeping large quantities of 
 arsenic in his room, using it to poison fish 
 with very little caution. 
 
 One more point of importance, as taken in 
 connection with other facts, was strongly urged 
 against the prisoner at the trial ; but which, 
 separated from the other facts, would be of 
 very little value. A correspondence was pro- 
 duced between Donellan and Sir William 
 Wheeler, the young baronet's guardian, from 
 which the counsel for the prosecution and the 
 judge inferred, that the former had studiously 
 laboured to prevent the body from being 
 opened ; but I confess that this is not made 
 clear to me ; for not only did Donellan, in his 
 second letter, cheerfully assent to the examina- 
 tion, but he pointedly requested Sir William 
 to be at Lawford Hall when the autopsy took 
 place, which would effectually have prevented 
 the possibility of deferring or omitting the 
 investigation. The distance was only eight or 
 ten miles from Sir William Wheeler's house 
 to Lawford Hall, and therefore there was 
 every probability that he would accede to this 
 request ; but, from some inconceivable point 
 of delicacy, he did not choose to go, thinking 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 fit to suppose that Donellan requested him to 
 be present at the dissection, although his 
 words would not bear that interpretation for a 
 moment, merely desiring his presence at Law- 
 ford Hall. The physicians and surgeon who 
 attended to open the body, declined to do it, 
 from the state of putrefaction in which it 
 appeared; and because Captain Donellan in- 
 formed them that an examination was desired 
 for the satisfaction of the family, without men- 
 tioning that a suspicion of poison was enter- 
 tained, the inference was drawn that he wished 
 the examination not to take place. It is clear, 
 however, that he sent for them, that he re- 
 quested them to open the body, that he invited 
 Sir William Wheeler to be at the Hall at the 
 time ; and, moreover, that he was so careless 
 upon the whole matter, that the very letter 
 from Sir William Wheeler, in which he de- 
 sired the body to be opened, " not to satisfy 
 his curiosity, but the public," fell into the 
 hands of Mr. Powell, the apothecary, and was 
 read by him, by some extraordinary mistake.* 
 I cannot see that any presumption of guilt can 
 be fairly established from this part of Donel- 
 lan's conduct, for there is quite #s much on 
 
 * See examination of Dr. Rattray, answer 10. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 the one side as the other ; and it was perfectly 
 natural that a man in his situation should, in 
 the whole transactions connected with this 
 event, be somewhat agitated and confused, 
 when he knew that suspicions were entertained 
 of his having- committed a great crime, and had 
 reason to believe that the steps employed were 
 directed to obtain evidence against him. 
 
 I do not wish it to be supposed for one 
 moment, that I entertain the slightest sus- 
 picion of Lady Bough ton having been crimi- 
 nally accessory to the death of her son, for I 
 entertain none. But it is clear to me that 
 she was strongly prejudiced against Donellan, 
 and that her evidence was seriously and un- 
 justifiably affected by her prejudices. Nor do 
 I mean to say that I am by any means con- 
 vinced that Donellan was innocent, for the 
 case was one of doubt. But I must con- 
 tort that three things are plain, from the 
 e\ iuence taken at the trial : first, there was no 
 sufficient proof that Sir Theodosius Boughton 
 died by poison at all : secondly, that if he did 
 die of poison, there is no proof that it was 
 laurel water : thirdly, that if he did die by 
 poison, and that poison was laurel water, there 
 was not sufficient evidence to show that Cap- 
 tain Donellan administered it, or put it in 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 his way, for the purpose of procuring his 
 death. 
 
 Such a conviction having been produced in 
 my mind by a careful perusal of the evidence, 
 and it not suiting me to change the whole plan 
 of my story, I have made such alterations in 
 the work as I trust will prevent any reader 
 from supposing that I wish, in this book, to 
 give even my own impressions and opinions 
 regarding the painful tragedy of Lawford 
 Hall. I have changed the scene to a com- 
 pletely different part of Warwickshire ; I have 
 omitted the character of Lady Boughton al- 
 together ; I have represented the counterpart 
 of Captain Donellan, in my tale, as a single 
 man, and as the guardian of the young 
 baronet ; and I have made the counterpart 
 of Sir Theodosius succeed his grandfa her, and 
 not his father. I have indeed retained, in the 
 the one, the loose and unprincipled charrv"*r 
 which Donellan is admitted to have possessed, 
 and in the other, the traits of wilfulness and 
 weakness which were very apparent in Sir 
 Theodosius Boughton. 
 
 Donellan's early history exhibits so many 
 points of unprincipled depravity, especially 
 during his residence in the East Indies, that 
 perhaps there might be no need of being very 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 scrupulous in attributing to him a crime, of 
 which a jury of his countrymen pronounced 
 him guilty ; but I look upon the reputation 
 of the dead as the most sacred of possessions ; 
 because it is the only one they can retain on 
 earth after earthly life has ceased, and because 
 it is without any defence but the conscience 
 and good faith of posterity. I would there- 
 fore, never on light grounds consent to load 
 the memory of any one departed, with the 
 imputation of crimes which might be doubtful, 
 nor even add a word from my feeble pen to 
 the burdens which may have been unjustly 
 cast upon them. 
 
SIR THEODORE BBOUGHTON ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 LAUREL WATER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 There was an old man sitting in an arm- 
 chair — a very old man, and a very ugly one. 
 It is an exceedingly unpleasant thing to be 
 old and ugly, but as the one is brought about 
 by time, and the other by fate, there is no use 
 resisting, and still less use being cross about 
 it. The remark is not impertinent, whatever 
 the reader may think, for the old gentleman I 
 have been speaking of had been cross all his 
 life because he was ugly, and was still more 
 cross now because he was old. He had 
 vol. i. u 
 
2 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 laboured hard at one period to cure the for- 
 mer defect by all the appliances which art 
 can provide, and he had laboured still harder, 
 at a later period, to hide the traces of the 
 latter state by somewhat similar means. But 
 within the last three years he had given up 
 the attempt as hopeless, for inexorable Time, 
 creeping on with that stealthy pace which, 
 sometimes so slow and sometimes so fast, 
 catches us all at last, had got his claws so 
 tight upon him, that he could only move from 
 his bed to his chair, and from his chair to his 
 bed, and then he thought it of no use to 
 employ marechal powder any more, or to lace 
 up stays which would no longer support his 
 shattered frame. He became a sloven where 
 he had been a beau, and there he sat in his 
 arm-chair, with his eyes bleared, his mouth 
 fallen in, his knees, supported on a stool, 
 nearly up to his chin, and his legs swathed 
 in flannel. 
 
 There was a little table on his right 
 hand, with a parchment upon it, by the 
 side of which stood an inkstand ; and on the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 6 
 
 opposite side of the fire sat a man of about 
 five-and-thirty years of age, gentlemanly in 
 appearance, rather good-looking than other- 
 wise, tall and stout, and plainly dressed, al- 
 though his garments had a sort of military 
 cut about them. His feet were stretched out 
 towards the fire — not too near the toes of 
 the old gentleman, for he would not for the 
 world have ventured a shoe within the 
 limits of their territory — and he was skim- 
 ming lightly over one of those little sheets 
 of intelligence which were called newspapers 
 in that day. From time to time, indeed, his 
 eyes stole over the top of the paper towards 
 the old man's face, with a pecular inquiring 
 furtive expression, which was not very prepos- 
 sessing. 
 
 " Can't you say something, Donovan?" 
 said the old man, at length, in a querulous 
 tone. " I am surely dull enough without 
 your sitting there and making me duller by 
 reading the newspaper all the while." 
 
 " I was in hopes, Sir Walter, you were 
 
 b 2 
 
4 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 going to take a nap," replied the person 
 whom he called Donovan, " and so I would 
 not disturb you." 
 
 "Disturb me!" echoed the other, "there 
 is sometimes more disturbance in solemn 
 silence than in loud-tongued loquacity. I 
 could fall asleep, perhaps, while you were 
 talking, but I cannot while you are sitting 
 before my eyes, like a great dark spectre, or 
 rather like the stone-hewn Memnon, emit- 
 ting no sounds except about the break of 
 morning." 
 
 " My dear Sir Walter," answered the other, 
 in a most placable tone, though the sarcasm 
 couched in his companion's speech was not 
 lost upon him, " I can talk as glibly as most 
 people when it is required ; but your evening 
 rest seemed of more importance to me than 
 my idle conversation. I was reading matters 
 of no great interest I can assure you — only the 
 details of that little disgusting affair of the 
 Countess of Champarty, who has poisoned her 
 husband, and half a dozen other people/' 
 
LAUREL WATER. O 
 
 " All !" cried the old man, " let me hear 
 about that. So she poisoned her husband, did 
 she ? That's just like them all. All the mis- 
 chief that takes place in the world is sure to 
 begin with a woman, I never knew it other- 
 wise in all my life. If a man games, it is for 
 the sake of a woman ; if a man robs, it is for a 
 woman ; if a man murders, it is for a woman ; if 
 a man betrays his friend, cheats the revenue, 
 defrauds his neighbour, or ruins his estate, it 
 is all for the sake of a woman ; and the worst 
 of it is, men think it an excuse for every- 
 thing they do, as if woman, woman, woman, 
 was the end and aim of man's existence." 
 
 "Well, thank God!" said Donovan, "I 
 have no such end and aim. I can live within 
 my means, however small they may be ; I 
 covet no man's wealth, however great it may 
 be ; I have not a debt in the world, thank 
 Heaven ! nor know a woman that I care two 
 straws about." 
 
 " And do you mean really to say," de- 
 manded the old gentleman, " that you live 
 
6 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 upon your pay, and thirty pounds a year, 
 Captain Donovan, and that you have not a 
 debt in the world ?" And there was a certain 
 sort of roguish twinkle in his bleared eyes that 
 might not altogether have satisfied Captain 
 Donovan, had he been looking at him at that 
 moment ; but while the baronet had been 
 speaking, Donovan's eyes had been fixed upon 
 the fire, which was flickering and flashing rather 
 in its decline, and he kept them there till 
 Sir Walter had done. 
 
 The moment, however, the other had 
 finished, he replied boldly, " True, I can 
 assure you, Sir Walter. I was early brought 
 up, by my dear mother, your niece, to know 
 how much I had to depend upon, and to 
 limit my expenses accordingly. You may 
 ask, when you like, any man in the regi- 
 ment, and you will find that Tom Donovan 
 does not owe a penny in the world." 
 
 "Why should I ask?" demanded the old 
 man cynically; for he knew right well what 
 was the latent meaning of his worthy cousin's 
 
LAUREL WATER. 7 
 
 protestations ; but the next moment he added 
 with a suppressed chuckle, " Well, Tom, well, 
 the man who can so well manage a little is 
 worthy of managing much, and some day or 
 another you may have the opportunity of doing 
 so. That I promise you, upon my honour." 
 
 Perhaps Captain Thomas Donovan had ar- 
 rived at the exact point which he wished to 
 arrive at, but he exclaimed warmly — not ex- 
 actly nolo episcopari, but what was pronounced 
 with as much sincerity, — " Nay, nay, my dear 
 Sir Walter, I know you are generous and 
 liberal, but you must not quite overwhelm me. 
 You know there is your grandson Theodore, 
 although he is a silly wild boy, wayward 
 and somewhat weak, and not easily instructed, 
 yet " 
 
 " Never you mind, Donovan ; never you 
 mind," said the old baronet. " Pie shall be 
 taken care of — he shall have as much as is 
 right and proper ; but, whatever you may say, 
 this will shall be signed to-night, if that fellow 
 Mullins comes, as he ought to have done three 
 
8 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 hours ago. This shall be signed to-night ; for 
 I feel I am failing, Tom — I am failing very fast," 
 and he laid his hand upon the parchment by 
 his side. 
 
 " Oh, don't say such a thing, my dear Sir 
 Walter," answered Captain Donovan. "There's 
 no need of such haste. I trust I may drink 
 your health these ten years yet. Why, you are 
 much better and stronger to-day." 
 
 " It shall be signed to-night, Tom," repeated 
 the old man ; " ay, that it shall. I '11 take 
 care of the boy, never you fear. He 's a sad 
 'scape-grace, and weak, very weak, but he 
 shall have enough, and it shall come back 
 strictly, too. He sha'n't have the power to 
 squander it ; no, that he sha'n't. Whatever I 
 leave him shall be tied up — tied up as tight as 
 my fist ;" and he clenched his thick and gouty 
 fingers fast, as if he had got a purse within 
 them. 
 
 As he spoke, a large bell rang in the 
 house, echoing through many a solitary and 
 long disused suite of apartments, and giv- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 9 
 
 in°: notice that some unwonted visitor was at 
 the gates, for Sir Walter Broughton had of 
 late seen very little company, and it was seldom 
 that any other persons visited the house but 
 his relation, Captain Donovan, or the village 
 doctor ; and both preferred, from some peculiar 
 idiosyncrasy, the back door to the front. 
 
 " That 's Mullins," said the baronet ; " that 's 
 Mullins, I am sure. Nobody else rings the 
 front bell. He 's an impudent fellow, Mullins. 
 Now run away, Tom : you must not be a wit- 
 ness, you know. Go and talk to the boy, and 
 see if you can do something with him. We 
 must try and mend him. Why, he shot half 
 a score of fowls the other day with a bow and 
 arrow. He laughed when I told him I would 
 disinherit him." 
 
 Captain Donovan shook his head, as if the 
 case were quite hopeless ; and a servant in rich 
 livery, with a powdered head and black silk 
 stockings, opened the door, saying, — " Mr. 
 Mullins, sir, is in the library." 
 
 " Show him in — show him in," said the 
 
10 SIR THEODORE BR0UGHT0N ; OR, 
 
 baronet. "Away with you, Tom, or he'll 
 think you have been persuading me." 
 
 With a bland smile, Captain Donovan with- 
 drew, passed through a different door from that 
 by which Mr. Mullins was about to enter, and 
 then paused for a moment in the ill-lighted 
 passage, saying to himself, — " He is mightily 
 good-humoured this evening. I wonder what 
 the deuce is the meaning of it ; yet it did not 
 seem affected either. However, I will have a 
 chat with Mullins before he goes, and see what 
 I can get out of him. He 's an odd beast, but 
 manner often tells as much as words." 
 
 In the mean time, Sir Walter Broughton sat 
 in his chair with a degree of nervous irrita- 
 bility upon him, which made him shuffle his 
 legs about upon the stool till the attorney 
 entered ; and, as soon as he heard his step, he 
 exclaimed, without turning round his head, for 
 he knew that he could not see over the chair, — 
 " You have been exceedingly long in coming 
 down, Mr. Mullins. You might have been 
 here three hours ago.'* 
 
LAUREL WATER. 11 
 
 " If I had nobody else's business to attend 
 to but yours," answered Mr. Mullins, snap- 
 pishly ; and then advanced to the table, pro- 
 ducing a person and a look the most opposite 
 in the world to that of Captain Donovan. He 
 was a tall thin man, of about fifty years of 
 age, with a long, aquiline nose, exceedingly 
 white hair (where his head could boast of any), 
 eyebrows as black as jet, and large fine 
 dark eyes. There was every characteristic of 
 decision about the mouth and jaw, and the 
 broad, expansive forehead spoke no lack of 
 intellect to guide his determinations aright. 
 
 " Good-evening, Sir Walter," he said, as if 
 what had passed before had been but a pro- 
 logue to their conversation. " What do you 
 want with me that you sent for me in such a 
 hurry ?" 
 
 " I want to sign this," said Sir Walter, 
 pointing to the parchment. " It may do very 
 well, but I want a little codicil." 
 
 " If you only wanted to sign it," said the 
 lawyer, " you were a fool for bringing me 
 
12 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 down here. You could have signed it just as 
 well without me ; and, as to the codicil, I think 
 you are a greater fool still. When a man has 
 made up his mind what to do with his pro- 
 perty, he should not go fiddling and altering. 
 But it is the age of fiddling ; there is nothing 
 left as it is once settled, and we never leave 
 anything alone when it is well." 
 
 It is strange what an influence force of 
 character will have over the great mass of 
 mankind, and especially over the capricious. 
 Nobody on earth but Mr. Mullins could have 
 said what had just been uttered to Sir Walter 
 Broughton, without producing a ringing of 
 the bell and an order to the servants to turn 
 the speaker out. But with Mr. Mullins Sir 
 Walter was as calm and patient as a lamb ; 
 for, although in their interviews he would oc- 
 casionally indulge his acerbity for the first two 
 or three minutes, yet the strong spirit of the 
 lawyer always cowed him before they had 
 exchanged half a dozen sentences. 
 
 " You are cross, Mullins, you are cross,'' 
 
LAUREL WATER. 13 
 
 said the baronet ; " I have made you get up 
 from your dinner. You are a great gastro- 
 nome, I know. What was it I made you lose, 
 Mullins ? — a mayennoise a la soubise, or a pigeon 
 en crapaudine ? But come now, be reasonable, 
 and you shall have as delicious a little petit 
 souper with Donovan, as my man Jerome 
 Augier can produce, and you know he 's a 
 cordon bleu." 
 
 " Donovan!" repeated Mullins ; " have you 
 got him in the house again? Then he has 
 made you alter the will, that 's clear enough. 
 How old men will be such fools as to let a 
 parcel of interested, mercenary, toad-eaters get 
 about them towards the close of their life, I can- 
 not conceive. However, my business is to 
 draw the codicil, if you want it. What am I 
 to write ? " and drawing the parchment towards 
 him, he threw the several skins of which it was 
 composed one after the other over his thumb, 
 and seemed to examine the clauses rapidly, 
 murmuring, " Devil take him ! he might have 
 been contented with what he 's got here. The 
 
14 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 Ballinasloe estate and two farms in Dorsetshire, 
 
 besides the funded property — why, it makes at 
 
 least one-half of the whole. You shewed him 
 
 the will, I suppose, and he was not contented." 
 
 " You are pleased to be very sarcastic, Mr. 
 
 Mullins, but you are quite wrong/' was the 
 
 baronet's reply, as he saw that he had got a 
 
 little advantage over the lawyer, and plucked 
 
 up spirit accordingly. " I did not show him 
 
 the will, and the codicil I have to propose is 
 
 intended to revoke all those bequests. I shall 
 
 leave the whole, with the exception of a few 
 
 legacies to the servants, and two hundred a 
 
 year for Tom, charged upon the Irish property, 
 
 to my grandson Theodore. The estates must 
 
 be strictly tied up, with remainder to Donovan 
 
 if the boy should die without children ; for I 
 
 won't have my money squandered away after 
 
 my death, and estates which have been so long 
 
 in the family brought to the hammer. — Tie it 
 
 up tightly, I say." 
 
 "That 's of very little use," answered the law- 
 yer. " If Donovan is to have it in remainder, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 15 
 
 he '11 squander it as soon or sooner than the 
 other. You can't keep stuff of this kind from 
 getting musty, Sir Walter, do what you will. 
 Somebody will come to spend it at last ; and, 
 unless you put two or three dozen into the 
 entail, the worms will scarcely have made their 
 way into your coffin before the auctioneer will 
 be knocking down your estate." 
 
 " But Donovan tells me he is no spend- 
 thrift," said the baronet, looking slily up in the 
 lawyer's face. " He lives upon his pay, and 
 thirty pound a year." 
 
 " Pooh, pooh ! " answered Mr. Mullins : 
 " you know better, baronet ; he was trying to 
 cheat you." 
 
 " For which very reason," replied Sir Wal- 
 ter, " I am determined to make the change. 
 I will leave him the boy's guardian, however, 
 and trustee, for then he will take care of the 
 property on his own account ; and, to prevent 
 him spending it himself, I '11 have another in 
 the entail. Who shall it be, I wonder ? " 
 
 " Your ploughboy," said Mullins, with 
 
16 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 a cynical smile. " I suppose any one ■will 
 do." 
 
 " Ye-es," replied the old man, drawling out 
 the word doubtfully ; " ye-es, but not the 
 ploughboy. I must have a gentleman." 
 
 " What do you say to Sir Charles Chevenix ? 
 He is as nearly related to you as Dono- 
 van." 
 
 " No, no, the scoundrel," answered the old 
 
 man, with a look of bitter malice, " not a 
 
 I 
 penny shall he ever have. I remember him, 
 
 I remember him, and what he said of me one 
 
 dj^Wr 
 
 " Oh! ay, ay, I forgot," answered the 
 lawyer with a bitter smile. " He called you a 
 vain old fool, I remember, when you were 
 going to marry Miss Birch. Well, you know, 
 Sir Walter, I have no great love or respect for 
 him, seeing that he grossly insulted my 
 nephew, when Reginald entered the same regi- 
 ment as a mere cornet, and the boy was forced 
 to sell out immediately." 
 
 " What for, what for?" demanded Sir Walter, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 17 
 
 " why should he sell out because he was 
 insulted ? " 
 
 " Because Sir Charles was captain of his 
 troop, and Reginald thought fit to call him out, 
 which he could not do till he had left the regi- 
 ment." 
 
 Sir Walter Broughton chuckled, rubbed his 
 hands — then coughed violently, and laugh- 
 ed again, and when all this cachinnation was 
 over, he demanded in a quiet tone, " What 's 
 your nephew's name, Mullins ? " 
 
 u Reginald," answered the solicitor ; " Regi- 
 nald Lisle. What has that to do with the 
 matter 1 " 
 
 " Put him in as heir-of-entail," said the 
 baronet, " put him in the entail ; " and again 
 he laughed, and coughed, and laughed. 
 " So he called out our friend, put him in the 
 entail. He '11 do better than the ploughboy, 
 Mullins ; " and after a moment or two more 
 thought, he added, " I wish he had shot him ! " 
 
 " He did," replied Mr. Mullins, " for though 
 only seventeen, the boy had a stout heart and 
 
 vol. i. c 
 
18 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTO.V ; OR, 
 
 a steady hand, and he wounded him in the hip, 
 but not mortally. He limps a little, however, 
 still, I believe, though it is nine months ago." 
 
 " Put him in the entail, then," once more 
 repeated the baronet, who seemed quite 
 pleased with the idea, " and set about it quick, 
 Mullins. Let there be no delay." 
 
 " Why, it will nearly need a new will," re- 
 joined the solicitor, and once more taking up 
 the parchment, he looked over it more accu- 
 rately than before. " No, these first four 
 sheets will do," he said, " and another will be 
 enough for the rest. Where can one get a 
 skin of parchment, I wonder ? " 
 
 " Paper will do, paper will do quite well," 
 said the old man, " why trouble yourself 
 about parchment ? " 
 
 " Well, well, we will see," said Mr. Mul- 
 lins ; " I shall sleep here of course, Sir Walter, 
 and will sit up for an hour or two to do it. But 
 1 1 11 tell you what, I won't have that damp cold 
 room in which you put me last time." 
 
 " Mr. Donovan 's there," said the baronet, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 19 
 
 with one of his chuckles, " Donovan's there. 
 Bless you, Mullins, he does not care where he 
 sleeps, provided he is near me, dear young 
 man ! " and his ugly features assumed quite a 
 diabolical look of triumph at having fathomed 
 the character of his relation. " But get on 
 with it as fast as you can, I long to have it 
 signed. Can't you go into the library and get 
 it ready at once 1 " 
 
 The lawyer said he would do as much as he 
 could, but that it would take some hours. Sir 
 Walter, however, said he would sit up till it 
 was done, and as a bribe to make haste, he 
 added, " Ring the bell, and I will tell Jerome to 
 get the little supper ready for you when it is 
 complete. But mind, not a word to Tom nor to 
 Theodore either, if you meet with them. The 
 boy keeps out of my way, because I was angry 
 with him yesterday morning. Not a word to 
 either of them ; " and promising obedience to 
 the injunction, Mr. Mullins withdrew. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 It is a curious thing to mark, amongst all 
 the varieties in nature, and all the infinite 
 combinations which are continually taking 
 place, the different effects that external objects 
 produce upon the minds of different men. To 
 many a one, brought up even in the hardening 
 practice of the law, a visit to an old man on 
 the very verge of the grave — feeble, decrepit, 
 decayed, and yet with many of the worst pas- 
 sions and weaknesses of our human nature 
 escorting him as it were to the tomb — and 
 then a walk through a somewhat long and 
 gloomy passage, but dimly lighted, with a row 
 of pointed arched windows on one side, and 
 some stone tracery and curious grotesque 
 
LAUREL WATER. 21 
 
 figures on the other, to a library filled with old 
 books, those tombstones of the mind — would 
 have suggested some grave and even melan- 
 choly reflections. But Mr. Mullins was a 
 man of the world, who very seldom gave him- 
 self the trouble to moralize, and whose calls 
 upon imagination were very few. He dealt with 
 all things out of his own family, sharply, acutely, 
 decisively ; bringing to bear upon them the 
 powers of a strong intellect ; acting amongst 
 them with vigorous character and firm purpose ; 
 and judging of men very justly both by natural 
 tact and long experience. He had a high sense 
 of honour, and was by no means a cold-hearted 
 or an unfeeling man ; but intellect was always 
 predominant. He was in fact judging every- 
 thing he saw as he went through life, as if his 
 bosom were a court, and he were the presiding 
 magistrate. I do not mean to say that his 
 decisions were always accurate. Whose are ? 
 But they were always well weighed, though 
 the constant habit of judging rendered his 
 decisions very rapid. He walked through that 
 
22 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 long passage, then, with no other feelings in 
 the world than that he had just seen a dis- 
 agreeable old man, whom he had known from 
 his own boyhood, and understood from his own 
 manhood, that the old man intended to make a 
 whimsical, but not altogether an unjust will, 
 and had commissioned him to put it into pro- 
 per form, and that he should find pen and ink 
 and paper in a large old-fashioned gloomy 
 room called the library, where there were some 
 ten or fifteen thousand very big books, the 
 greater part of which were not worth reading. 
 He gave not one moment's thought to the 
 lamentable spectacle of vanity, malice, revenge, 
 and hatred carried to the brink of the grave ; 
 he looked not at the curious chiselling of the 
 gothic windows on the one hand, nor to the 
 grinning faces and long straight stony limbs 
 on the other ; he thought not of the world of 
 labour, research, imagination, genius, industry, 
 hope, expectation, disappointment, and distress 
 of which each of those books in the room 
 before him might be a memento. He looked 
 
LAUREL WATER. 23 
 
 at the absolute, the tangible, the direct, and 
 suffered not his mind to stray, even for an 
 instant, to anything collateral or remote. 
 
 On entering the library, he found it tenanted 
 by two persons, different in age, appearance, 
 and character. The one, Captain Donovan, 
 needs no further description ; the other, young 
 Theodore Broughton, the grandson of the old 
 baronet, requires but little. He was a good- 
 looking boy of thirteen or fourteen years of 
 age, well-made and gentlemanly in appearance, 
 with a pleasing face, and good features, but a 
 somewhat weak and restless expression. The 
 boy was seated at one end of the room with 
 some ten or twelve volumes of old-fashioned 
 romances piled up round about him, which he 
 was devouring eagerly but changing often. 
 At the other end of the room sat Captain 
 Donovan, with his feet on a chair, and a large 
 book in his hand apparently enriched with 
 plates, which he was studying intently, but 
 yet from time to time raising his eyes and giv- 
 ing a grave glance towards the boy, his fellow- 
 
24 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 tenant of the library. The door by which Mr. 
 Mullins entered was almost directly behind 
 Captain Donovan's chair, and he was, to say 
 the truth, not a little surprised to see that the 
 object of that gentleman's study was a large 
 work upon botany. 
 
 " Nothing has so many caprices as idleness," 
 thought Mr. Mullins. " If I had found him 
 reading Mrs. Behn's novels, or Mrs. Cent- 
 livre's plays, it wouldn't have surprised me 
 — botany — what has he to do with botany ?" 
 
 " Ah ! Mullins," said Captain Donovan, 
 turning round, " Is that you ? I turned out of 
 the little dining-room to let you have your 
 confab with Sir Walter in private. Has he 
 settled all his affairs?" 
 
 " He has arranged them all," replied Mr. 
 Mullins, very well comprehending that the 
 light and easy tone in which Captain Donovan 
 spoke was not natural. " I have a paper to 
 draw up, and then all will be done." 
 
 " Well, it is no great matter to me," said 
 Captain Donovan in a low tone, modulated to 
 
LAUREL WATER. 25 
 
 avoid the ears of the boy. " I have no great 
 wishes for wealth, and still less expectations 
 of it." 
 
 " That 's lucky," said Mr. Mullins, drily. 
 
 Donovan gave a start that was almost too 
 perceptible. " What do you mean ?" he said. 
 
 " Oh ! I only mean," replied Mr. Mullins, 
 " that it is always lucky to have no expecta- 
 tions, for I have always remarked that those 
 who have the least are the nearest success." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said Captain Donovan, looking 
 up with a smile. " He said something, it is 
 true, just as I was quitting the room to-night 
 about my one day having the command of 
 large property, but I did not believe anything 
 of it." 
 
 There was a spice of that sort of generous 
 malice at the bottom of Mr. Mullins's heart 
 which honest men feel when witnessing the 
 playing of a roguish game, and seeing the 
 wiles of the trickster defeated ; and, shaking 
 his head gravely, he replied, " You might have 
 believed him implicitly, captain. Sir Walter 
 
26 SIR TIIEODORE BR0UGHT0N ; OR, 
 
 is not a man to say such a thing without 
 meaning it ; but, upon my life, I must sit 
 down and finish the paper, for the old gentle- 
 man says he will remain up till it is done, and 
 it will take two good hours at least. Ah ! 
 Master Theodore, how do you do?" he con- 
 tinued, as if he had not seen the boy before, 
 and he held out his hand towards him in a 
 kindly manner. Then, observing the eyes of 
 Captain Donovan fixed upon him, he added, 
 with a sigh — perfectly natural, whatever the 
 reader may think — and in a low voice, " Ah ! 
 poor fellow ! " 
 
 " He dislikes me, that Mullins," said Dono- 
 van to himself. " I '11 turn him off when I 
 come into the property. Well, I '11 leave you, 
 Mullins," he continued aloud. " Theodore, 
 my dear fellow, you had better come with 
 me ;" and the boy, after having timidly 
 shaken hands with the lawyer, followed his 
 cousin out of the room. 
 
 For about an hour and three-quarters, Mr. 
 Mullins continued to labour at what to him 
 
LAUREL WATER. 27 
 
 was an unusual task, that of copying with his 
 own hand, upon a large sheet of paper, the 
 words which had been previously written upon 
 the parchment. He was a solicitor in London 
 of large practice, and consequently, upon all 
 ordinary occasions, had plenty of clerks about 
 him to do the drudgery ; and although at 
 present there were several alterations to make 
 as he went on, yet that did not relieve the 
 dullness of the task so much as to prevent 
 him from getting a little cross about it. As 
 he was a very good lawyer, however, his cross- 
 ness only seemed to make him the more scru- 
 pulously accurate; and Sir Walter having 
 told him to tie the property up tightly, most 
 tightly did he tie it up. 
 
 In the end, he paused for a minute or 
 two in thought. " I don't half like putting 
 Reginald's name in," he said, " and yet I 
 have no business to keep it out. It 's the 
 old man's own doing, and as there 's very 
 little chance of his ever coming in for 
 this good thing, here goes;" and he wrote 
 
28 
 
 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 down the words which entailed the property 
 upon his nephew, failing the issue, lawfully 
 begotten, of Theodore Broughton and Thomas 
 Donovan. This done, he reperused the will 
 carefully, and seeing nothing therein that could 
 be taken hold of by the most critical special 
 pleader, he walked away with the paper to the 
 small dining-room where he had left Sir Walter. 
 The baronet was dozing in the same 
 position, and Captain Donovan, who had 
 talked him to sleep, was sitting gazing at him 
 with the newspaper on his knee, with his 
 mind full of acres, roods, and perches, to- 
 gether with sundry considerations of three and 
 five per cents. Without the slightest cere- 
 mony, Mr. Mullins woke the baronet, who, 
 after a minute or two of that confusion of head 
 which in old people often follows a short 
 sleep, resumed his faculties as briskly as ever, 
 and then with a sly smile, and a nod of the 
 head, sent Captain Donovan once more out of 
 the room, bidding him send in two or three of 
 the inferior servants. In their presence, with 
 
LAUREL WATER. 29 
 
 sjiectacles on nose, and every now and then 
 asking a question of the lawyer, he read over 
 the will, and then, with a shaking hand, 
 signed it, calling upon those present to witness 
 his act and deed. He did it all with a gay 
 and a jocular air, seeming right well pleased 
 that it was accomplished ; and when all was 
 concluded, he bade one of the witnesses tell 
 Lloyd to serve the supper there. 
 
 " I have sat up so long," he said, "that I 
 must have a bit of something before I go to 
 bed, and a glass of wine. There 's no use talk- 
 ing of it, Mullins. My old doctor, Starvington, 
 says I should not taste anything but bread or 
 a cup of gruel after five o'clock, but I get 
 quite exhausted, and so to-night " 
 
 " You shall have a bit of the salmy," said 
 Mullins, laughing. 
 
 " Ay, and a glass of that excellent Verzenay 
 which you pronounced one day, Mullins, to be 
 something between nectar and champagne." 
 
 Mr. Mullins did not at all object to the 
 Verzenay, and when Captain Donovan was 
 
o 
 
 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 called in, the will having been previously 
 sealed up in a clean sheet of paper, and 
 docqueted by the baronet as, " my last will 
 and testament," with his signature added, the 
 worthy captain, radiant in face, and full of 
 quiet inoffensive spirits, joined in the delicate 
 little meal with a good zest, and then gave his 
 arm to his uncle, as the old gentleman slowly 
 moved towards his bed-chamber. 
 
 Sir Walter had not done amiss, considering 
 the state of his health and the opinion of his 
 physicians. He had dabbled with one or two 
 little trifles very pleasantly, and the glass of 
 Verzenay had deviated into five. But if he had 
 done well, Mr. Mullins did better, for he re- 
 mained at the table while Captain Donovan 
 was absent, and amused the time as best he 
 might with the things before him. When the 
 captain returned, it was with the spirit of con- 
 viviality upon him. He was very gay ; and 
 as he sipped his first glass at the tete-a-tcte, he 
 said, "Well, he's a capital old fellow, after all." 
 
 " I am glad you think so," said Mr. Mullins. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 31 
 
 " I do, indeed," rejoined Donovan, on 
 whom the wine had some effect, at least inso- 
 much as opening the lips and untying the 
 tongue, " He 's a capital old fellow ; here 's 
 to him ! " 
 
 " Health and long life to him ! " said Mr. 
 Mullins rather maliciously ; but Donovan was 
 a brave and determined man, and he swal- 
 lowed the toast without hesitation. Indeed, it 
 seemed as if he was inclined to make a night 
 of it, and to carry his potations to the full 
 extent of sobriety ; but Mr. Mullins was rigid, 
 though not abstemious. He drank a certain 
 quantity of wine every day — but no more. 
 He had drunk none that day, having aban- 
 doned his dinner to attend Sir Walter's sum- 
 mons, and, consequently, he took glass after 
 glass till the number was complete, and then 
 refused to taste another drop in spite of all per- 
 suasion. Moreover, when he had rested him- 
 self for a little after this exercise, he rose, took 
 a candle from the sideboard, and retired to 
 rest. 
 
32 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 How long Captain Donovan pursued the 
 engagement of the table, Mr. Mullins did not 
 know. As for himself, being a simple man in 
 his habits, he produced from one pocket a 
 night-cap, a razor, and a tooth-brush ; and 
 from the other a clean shirt, which he spread 
 out upon the back of a chair. He then took 
 off his wig, put on his night-cap, cleaned his 
 teeth, and retired to bed. 
 
 A first sleep is certainly a very pleasant 
 thing when a man has no great cares to fill 
 his mind with the thoughts of this world, and 
 no great imagination to trouble him with th e 
 dreams of any other. Comfortably, quietly, and 
 well did Mr. Mullins sleep for some two hours. 
 Not a vision crossed the wide dull plain of slum- 
 ber. He was not even sufficiently awake to 
 feel he was asleep, but suddenly something 
 startled him, and sitting bolt upright in bed 
 he listened. A bell rang furiously, and then 
 came a sound of hurrying feet, then a tap at a 
 door not very far distant, and voices speaking, 
 and then more hurrying to and fro, and then 
 
LAUREL WATER. 33 
 
 Mr. Mullins getting up sought for various 
 portions of his habiliments, indued, as maiden 
 authors would call it, his breeches, scrambled 
 into his coat without his waistcoat, tied a towel 
 round his neck because he could not find his 
 cravat, and unlocking his door, looked out. 
 There was a light and a man moving along at 
 the other end of the corridor, and Mr. Mullins 
 exclaimed, " Lloyd, Lloyd, what 's the matter?" 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Mullins, Sir Walter is very ill," 
 said the butler. " His gentleman and the 
 captain are with him, and Grub the helper is 
 gone for Dr. Starvington. You had better 
 go in and see him, sir, though I don't think 
 he is much in the way to make a will." 
 
 " That is made, thank God !" said Mullins, 
 and then he muttered in a low tone, " I may 
 as well be in at the death ;" and walked away 
 to the baronet's room. 
 
 The attorney found Sir Walter Broughton 
 lying in his bed, and, as some might have 
 thought, in a very sound and heavy sleep. 
 But yet there was a something — not to be 
 
 VOL. I. J> 
 
34 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 described — that was not natural. lie snored 
 very loud, but there was a sort of gasp withal, 
 and Mr. Mullins did not at all deceive himself, 
 especially when he found that Sir Walter had 
 woke ill, rung his bell twice violently, and 
 after he had been joined by both Captain 
 Donovan and the valet, had fallen into that 
 heavy slumber. 
 
 " He '11 not wake again," said Mr. Mullins 
 to Captain Donovan in a loud whisper. 
 " How lucky the will was signed." 
 
 " Very lucky, indeed," said Captain Dono- 
 van, in a lower tone. " I hope the doctor 
 won't be long." 
 
 " Very little use of his coming," rejoined 
 Mullins. 
 
 " Better have him — better have him," an- 
 swered Donovan, with a significant nod; and 
 then added, in the lowest possible whisper, 
 "The will is all right I suppose, Mullins?" 
 
 " Oh, quite right ! " answered Mr. Mullins, 
 with great internal satisfaction. 
 
 As he spoke, the baronet lifted his hand, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 35 
 
 which was lying on the bed-clothes, — let it fall 
 again, opened his eyes and shut them. 
 
 " He is gone," said Mullins : and so it was. 
 
 The aspect of mourning spread over the 
 house. Captain Donovan was very grave and 
 sad. The servants all looked deplorable : the 
 French cook alone maintained his constitutional 
 and national cheerfulness, and laughed over 
 his stew-pans while preparing dinner the next 
 day for Mr. Mullins, Captain Donovan, and 
 young Sir Theodore Broughton. But amongst 
 them all, perhaps the only one who felt any- 
 thing like real sorrow, was the boy whom we 
 have seen reading romances in the library. His 
 grandfather, it is true, had been cross and way- 
 ward with him, exacting, and at times severe ; 
 but at other times he had been kind, and 
 he was the only one who ever had been kind. 
 The boy mourned, therefore, naturally and 
 unaffectedly, with more of the reality and 
 less of the semblance than others. Mr. 
 Mullins, it is true, did not affect to mourn : 
 he was grave, indeed ; for though not a very 
 
 d 2 
 
36 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 impressible man, yet there is something in 
 death, especially in the death of one with whom 
 we have long been on habits of intimacy, which 
 had its effect even upon him. He shook it 
 off soon, however ; for though in reality a good- 
 tempered man, yet the best natured of us feel, 
 I believe, a little silent, secret satisfaction when 
 we see the wily and the artful taken in their 
 own net. Now, the thought of reading the 
 will in the presence of Captain Donovan was 
 a very great comfort to the solicitor. 
 
 The day at length came for that operation. 
 A good number of the distant relations of Sir 
 Walter Broughton were assembled to hear the 
 last disposition the deceased had made of his 
 property ; and in the old library where the will 
 had been drawn up, the party was received 
 by Captain Donovan with an air of master 
 of the house, while the young baronet, who 
 seemed either to expect very little, to care very 
 little, or to understand very little, sat at a table 
 in the window, with his head leaning on his 
 hand, speaking to nobody. When all had 
 
LAUREL WATER. 37 
 
 assembled who w<^re expected, Mr. Mullins 
 produced the will, the servants were called in, 
 for such was the custom in those days, and the 
 seals were broken. 
 
 In a loud, clear, dry manner, Mr. Mullins 
 proceeded, but every now and then, with a 
 malicious twinkle of the eyes, he looked over 
 the top of the paper at the worthy captain's 
 face, as he sat just opposite to him, expecting, 
 beyond all doubt, some outbreak of wrath — for 
 he knew the man's expectations and his disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 The first glance of his eye, however, had 
 been a warning to the object of his attention. 
 It produced doubt, confurion, anxiety for a 
 moment ; but then Donovan exerted the whole 
 powers of his mind, and they were not small, 
 to subdue the passions within him, so far at 
 least, as to deprive them of all external ex- 
 pression. 
 
 The will was read out, conveying the whole 
 property of the deceased, real and personal, to 
 his grandson, entailing the estates strictly in 
 
38 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 the course I have previously stated ; appointing 
 Mr. Mullins and Captain Donovan executors 
 of the will, and naming the latter as guardian 
 of the young heir. Much to Mr. Mullins's 
 surprise, not a muscle of Captain Donovan's 
 face moved, though his cheek was somewhat 
 paler than usual ; and when the more distant 
 relatives gathered round the young baronet to 
 wish him joy of the large fortune he inherited, 
 the captain was one of the first to offer his 
 congratulations. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 39 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 There was a little blue-bell growing at the 
 edge of the road, by the side of a wild com- 
 mon ; and a lad of about nineteen years of age, 
 who was walking slowly along with the bridle 
 of a horse over his arm, stopped to gather it. 
 Few young men of nineteen ever think of 
 stopping to gather blue-bells — at least vegeta- 
 ble ones. They are past that stage, they have 
 the dawn of passion in them, the seed of their 
 first ambitions, the aspiration after things per- 
 mitted and things forbidden. Ay, after both, 
 for in nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out 
 of a thousand, when the eyes of the youth of 
 nineteen have been opened to the grand 
 panorama of life, his bosom is one mass of 
 aspirations, chaotic, vague, undefined, but still 
 
40 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 containing the germs of all the desires that 
 animate and pervade the rest of his existence. 
 He is burning to possess and to enjoy ; and 
 where is the youth who now-a-day would stop 
 to pluck a blue-bell, with all the mighty world 
 of untasted enjoyment open before him? 
 
 But that youth was peculiarly situated, and 
 of a peculiar mind. His habits of thought, 
 both from natural character — I am a believer 
 in natural character — and from education, 
 were different from those of most men, and he 
 was still at that period of progress when the 
 fresh heart can admire and enjoy the humblest 
 flower that blossoms in the fields. His horse, 
 though now following so calmly behind him, 
 was covered with foam and sweat, and seemed 
 quite exhausted with hard riding. But the 
 youth was cool and quiet in demeanor, as if 
 there had been no struggle, and no exertion ; 
 and, as I have said, he walked on with a calm, 
 deliberate, meditative step, looking thought- 
 fully upon the ground, till his eye fell upon 
 the flower, and then he stooped to gather it. 
 But suddenly he drew his hand back, saying 
 
LAUREL WATER. 41 
 
 aloud, " Nay, bloom on ; why should I con- 
 demn you to wither before your time ? It 
 will come soon enough;" and sitting down 
 upon the little bank where the flower grew, 
 he leaned his head upon his hand, and medi- 
 tated deeply. He had no passion for the 
 flower. Happy had it been for him had he so 
 acted when passion moved him. 
 
 As he was there sitting, a young man, 
 some five or six years older, with a portfolio 
 under his arm, plainly dressed, and with eyes 
 cast over the prospect around at every step he 
 took, crossed the common towards him, and 
 when at about sixty yards cistance, seated 
 himself on a little piece of bank, and delibe- 
 rately set to work to sketch the youth and his 
 horse. Horses, like cows, have a conscious- 
 ness of having their portraits painted, and, less 
 vain than man, are not pleased with the com- 
 memoration. Dear reader, if you ever at- 
 tempted to sketch a cow, you will know that 
 though her back be turned towards you, she 
 will find out what you are about in a moment, 
 and rise and walk away. The horse, tired as he 
 
42 SIR THEODORE RROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 was, began to fret and fidget within one 
 minute after the stranger commenced his 
 sketch, and as he tugged at the bridle over his 
 master's arm, he naturally attracted the youth's 
 attention to the artist. There is such a thing 
 as being bold to dangers, and timid to the 
 merest trifles. The young man, who had 
 ridden that fierce and fiery horse straight 
 across a difficult and dangerous country, prid- 
 ing himself in subduing his spirit and tiring 
 out his vigorous strength, felt timid at the 
 sight of a stranger sketching him. He felt a 
 desire to go up and ask to see the portrait, 
 and yet he could not summon courage to 
 do it, neither did he like to sit still and un- 
 dergo the process of being drawn. Perhaps 
 there might be a little vanity in all this, and 
 it is certain that he never imagined the horse 
 was being sketched, and not himself; but 
 when he at length got up to go away, the 
 stranger raised his voice, saying, " If you 
 would have the goodness to wait one moment, 
 you would greatly oblige me. I want a horse 
 for my foreground." 
 
LAUREL WATER. 43 
 
 " The animal, however, had moved a good 
 deal, and it was necessary to put him right 
 again. This led to a few words passing be- 
 tween the two young men; and when the 
 sketch had been finished, looked at, and ad- 
 mired, they walked on together over the com- 
 mon, talking in a strain almost friendly. 
 
 Perhaps it is no wonder that they did so, 
 for two reasons. In the first place, young 
 Sir Theodore Broughton had hardly an ac- 
 quaintance in the world, and the young 
 sketcher was frank and easy in his manners, as 
 well as perfectly gentlemanly and unpresuming. 
 No one could doubt that he had mixed in 
 good society — that he had been habituated to 
 it, in fact, all his life. Everything was done 
 with ease, and it seemed as if he could not 
 comprehend that there was such a thing as a 
 feeling of awkwardness : but yet, what is 
 strange, with his total want of morbid suscep- 
 tibility, his conversation was full of fancy — oc- 
 casionally perhaps a little too wild and vola- 
 tile ; but with a depth of thought pouring- 
 through the whole, like the deeper tones of a 
 
u 
 
 a 
 
 44 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITOX ; OR, 
 
 line instrument, and harmonizing well with 
 some of the characteristic traits of Theodore 
 Broughton's mind. 
 
 " It must be a great pleasure to draw as you 
 do," said the latter, as they walked on together. 
 
 Pray, may I ask is it your profession ?" 
 
 " Not exactly," replied the stranger. 
 
 There is, indeed, a great pleasure in being 
 able to draw, even imperfectly as I do, and 
 that pleasure has a thousand branches, each 
 bearing fruit. Often when I sit alone, I turn 
 back to the sketches I made some years ago, 
 and as I look at them, not only the scene 
 rises again before me with all the soft aerial 
 perspective of memory, but the persons I have 
 seen therein, the faces that smiled upon me, 
 the voices that made my heart glad, come back 
 as if time were annihilated, the fiat of fate 
 revoked, and the grave gave up its dead. 
 Then, again, if I wish to aid imagination in 
 framing one of the gay day-dreams that we 
 all indulge in, with the pencil or the brush, I 
 can sit down and paint the scene of happiness 
 I fancy, people it with beings that I love to 
 
LAUREL WATER. 45 
 
 look upon ; and better than all, can feel sure 
 that they will neither deceive nor betray, nor 
 malign, nor destroy — that they are all truth — 
 the truth of imagination, which often I am 
 inclined to think is the only truth we find on 
 earth." 
 
 His young- companion thought for a moment 
 or two. He had no great habit of expressing 
 his feelings and ideas ; and whether he pos- 
 sessed the power or not, he was timid even in 
 trying to use it. At length he answered, 
 " These seem to me more the pleasures of asso- 
 ciation than those of the act itself. I meant to 
 say, I cannot help thinking that it must be very 
 delightful to be able to sit down and draw any 
 beautiful thing we see." 
 
 " Oh, I understand," said the stranger ; " to 
 analyse the beauty that charms us, to see and 
 mark its elements, and admire and wonder at 
 the means by which the Almighty, out of a few 
 tints, and a few lines, and a few gradations 
 and contrasts of light and shade, has produced 
 such marvellous loveliness and effects so mag- 
 nificent ; and then to think of how infinitely 
 
46 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 beneficent it was to ordain such harmony 
 between the soul of man and the wide creation, 
 that every sight touches us with some different 
 emotion, as if the whole were some grand 
 instrument of music raising a hymn of praise 
 unto the sky." 
 
 Theodore Broughton turned round and gazed 
 at him with some surprise. He had never 
 heard such words before ; but they were a les- 
 son to him : they taught him that from things 
 plain, and of no apparent depth, were to be 
 extracted thoughts and feelings high and pro- 
 found. It gave him the first knowledge that 
 there is a spirit in all things to be evoked by 
 the earnest and the strong, and compelled to 
 bring forth treasures from the rock. Happy 
 had it been for him had he learned the lesson 
 better ; but as it was, it had its effect. 
 
 The stranger remarked his sudden look 
 round, and the silence that followed, and he 
 said, laughing, " You think I am an enthu- 
 siast ; but it is not so. I only seek to derive 
 the greatest amount of pleasure from all things ; 
 and I know that if we look only at the surface, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 47 
 
 we lose the most precious of the gifts of Heaven. 
 The gold lies down deep in the mine ; the dia- 
 mond veils its well of light till it is cut ; and 
 the mind of man, if it would discover the rich- 
 ness or the brightness of anything throughout 
 the universe, must dig deep and labour hard. 
 But this lesson I was taught by an insect. I 
 was one day watching and admiring a quantity 
 of wild flowers on a bank, when I saw a bee 
 flying from blossom to blossom, pausing a mo- 
 mentupon each, diving down into the cup or into 
 the bell, and flying onward with its load ; and 
 I said to myself all flowers have their honey, 
 but he must search who would find it." 
 
 The young baronet broke away from the 
 subject somewhat abruptly, asking, " Do you 
 stay long in this part of the country ? " and 
 his companion replied, " No, not long. I have 
 been a great wanderer, hurrying from place to 
 place; and, as soon as I get the least tired 
 of any spot, I willingly quit it. Now, per- 
 haps, I shall have to be more steady, both to 
 one pursuit and to one position, for my wan- 
 derings have not hitherto been altogether 
 
48 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 voluntary ; and, when I go back to town, which 
 will be in a few days, I suppose it will be to 
 stay for some months." 
 
 " I should like to see London very much," 
 said the young man thoughtfully. " Are you 
 usually resident there ? " 
 
 " I shall be for some time," answered the 
 other ; a slight shade coming over his face, 
 "which might or might not be from imagining 
 that an invitation would be expected. " But 
 have you never seen London ? ' he added, 
 good-humouredly. " Oh! you should see it 
 by all means. How strange that there should 
 be anyone on this side of the Atlantic who has 
 never seen the capital of the whole world ! 
 Had you been one of my good friends, the 
 Mohawks, I might have understood it; but, 
 for a young gentleman of your figure, I cannot 
 conceive how it has happened." 
 
 " That is easily explained," said the young 
 man, almost sadly : " My guardian does not 
 choose it. He says it will be soon enough 
 some time hence; that it is a vicious, corrupt 
 place." 
 
LAUREL WATER. 49 
 
 "Who is your guardian?" was the abrupt 
 question of his companion, adding, the moment 
 after, as if to soften the apparent rudeness, — 
 " He must be a very strange man ! " 
 
 " Why so ? " demanded Sir Theodore. 
 
 The other paused for an instant, and then 
 replied with a smile, " I will tell you why I think 
 so, as you ask. Here he sets you upon a fiery 
 devil of a chestnut horse, as likely to break 
 your neck and his own back as possible, 
 when there can be no possible need of your 
 ever mounting such an animal again, or of 
 your being obliged to break the spirit of such 
 animals at the risk of your life, unless you be 
 destined, which I don't suppose, for a riding- 
 master or a horse-breaker ; and yet he will not 
 let you go to London, when the risks to your 
 mind are small in comparison, if he has given 
 you a good education, and when they only 
 imply lessons in life which you must one day 
 receive. That was what made me say he must 
 be a strange man, and ask his name.'' 
 
 " His name," answered the young man, " is 
 Donovan — Captain Donovan." 
 
 VOL. i. e 
 
60 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX J OR, 
 
 A very grave, almost stern look come over 
 his companion's countenance as that name was 
 pronounced, and he was silent for several 
 moments, but at length he replied, " You are 
 Sir Theodore Broughton, then." 
 
 " The same," replied the young man. " Do 
 you know Captain Donovan ? " 
 
 " I have seen him," said the stranger. " I 
 have seen him, and may say that I have his 
 acquaintance. I think he is absent from 
 England now, is he not 1 " 
 
 " Yes," answered Sir Theodore. " He 
 spends several months each year abroad. But 
 now that you know my name, perhaps there 
 will be no impropriety in my asking yours." 
 
 The stranger smiled good-hum ouredly, and 
 then replied, half laughing, " Certainly no im- 
 propriety, and yet, for particular reasons of my 
 own, I will consider for a time before I give it 
 to you. Will you come down to the little inn 
 in the village, called the Hen and Chickens, 
 and dine with me to-day, and then I will tell 
 you more. I think I need not add," he con- 
 tinued with a somewhat proud look, " that I 
 
LAUREL WATER. 51 
 
 am a gentleman by birth, education, and 
 habits ; and I do not think, from what you 
 have seen of me, that you will suppose I am 
 one of those men about town, of whose corrupt- 
 ing communication your guardian is so much 
 afraid." 
 
 " Oh ! I will come with all my heart," 
 replied the young man cheerfully. " My tutor 
 is away, so that I am quite my own master. 
 What shall be the hour 1 " 
 
 " At four o'clock," replied the other, " I 
 shall expect you. Good-bye for the present ;" 
 and while Sir Theodore put his foot in the 
 stirrup to mount his horse, the other turned 
 along a path to the right. The next moment, 
 however, he heard the young baronet's voice 
 exclaiming, " By what name shall I ask for 
 you ? " 
 
 " Oh ! the Captain ; they call me the Cap- 
 tain, and know me by no other name," was the 
 reply, and the two parted, I may say, mutually 
 pleased with each other. 
 
 e2 
 
 U. OF ILL LIB. 
 
52 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 While Theodore Broughton pursued his way 
 to the hall, the gentleman with whom he had 
 made a casual acquaintance returned, with a 
 quick elastic pace, to the little village, which, 
 it must be remarked, was an old-fashioned 
 country village, such as was seen in England 
 three-score years ago. Sadly, sadly are 
 changed the villages of once-merry England. 
 There are paintings enough of them remain- 
 ing to show us what they were, and I will not 
 pause to describe this one, for the contrast 
 between what it was and what it is might be 
 somewhat melancholy. 
 
 Past the church, which — with its churchyard, 
 and its elms, and its iron railings, and its grave- 
 stones, and its monuments of old and high 
 
LAUREL WATER. 53 
 
 families, now long passed away — formed one side 
 of an irregular green of perhaps a couple of 
 acres in extent, the young stranger walked 
 on, with his sketch-book under his arm, 
 amongst several merry groups of children, not 
 in their holiday attire, but clothed comfortably 
 and decently, and having that ruddy hue of 
 health, and that jocund sprightliness of aspect, 
 which, from our rarely seeing any of them 
 now, leads us to believe that the pictures of 
 those times, either with pencil or with pen, 
 savour of romance. Gaily and cheerfully the 
 young gentleman went on, patted one curly 
 urchin on the head, pinched another's cheek, 
 said a kind word to a third; and with courtesies 
 and nods, and sometimes a blush, and some- 
 times a smile, and sometimes a shy look of 
 fun, was greeted by almost all, as if they 
 knew him and liked him, and felt that he 
 was a friend rather than a stranger in 
 the place ; yet he had not been there above 
 four or five days in the whole course of his 
 life. 
 
 At the farther end of the green, where, gra- 
 
54 SIR THEODORE EROUGIITOX ; OK, 
 
 dually narrowing itself, it was degraded into a 
 road — a good broad road, however, with a row of 
 green trees and a foot-path on each side — stood 
 the little inn of the Hen and Chickens, with a 
 not-ill-painted sign of the tender plumed pa- 
 rent and her young brood. Whether the 
 earth had arisen around the house — for it 
 might be an axiom in natural philosophy, as 
 well as ethics, that dirt has a tendency to rise, 
 although contrary to generally received opi- 
 nions — or whether the original founder of the 
 house was a man of a lowly mind, certain it is 
 that you approach the nest of the Hen and 
 Chickens by two steps down from the foot- 
 path. There was nothing cheerless, damp- 
 looking, or unwholesome, however, about this 
 sunken story. The windows were not large, 
 it is true, and the panes were very small, for 
 few windows were large, and all panes were 
 small in England at that time. But still the 
 sun contrived to shine cheerfully in, the floors 
 were as clean as a new-mangled table-cloth, 
 and the sand in the passage was as yellow as 
 gold. The landlady, too (for landlord it had 
 
LAUREL WATER. 
 
 55 
 
 none), was, to use the terms of those days, " as 
 clean and as neat as a carrot new-scraped," 
 with an apron of snowy whiteness, a cap that 
 vied with the apron, and a face that looked 
 like a last year's rosy apple, tolerably well- 
 preserved, out of one's great grandmother's 
 linen press. To her the young stranger first 
 applied himself, but the good landlady, who 
 had all an innkeeper's sagacity about, her, 
 having discovered one at least of her guest's 
 favourite pursuits, and perceived that he was 
 a little proud of his drawings, began upon 
 him at once, without suffering him to order 
 the dinner that he meditated, saying, — " Ah, 
 captain, you have been out sketching again. 
 I dare say you have made some beautiful pic- 
 tures of our poor place. Pray, let me look 
 at them." 
 
 " Presently, presently, my good dame," said 
 the stranger. ■* Just let me talk to you for one 
 minute ; and you shall see the drawings after- 
 wards. I have something for you to do ; and 
 you won't have much time to spare. I expect 
 a gentleman to dine with me here to-day, and 
 
56 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON' ; OR, 
 
 you must have as nice a little dinner for us as 
 you can get, about four o'clock." 
 
 " Oh, dear, yes ! captain," said the land- 
 lady. " Bless you, I am quite ready. I knew 
 quite well, you would ask him to dinner. It 's 
 not more than half an hour since he left the 
 door, and a comical looking gentleman he is." 
 
 " Who, in Heaven's name, do you mean, Mrs. 
 Gillespie ? " asked her guest. " You surely do 
 not call Sir Theodore Broughton a comical 
 looking gentleman." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! " cried the landlady, holding 
 her well-lined sides. " Well, that is good, cap- 
 tain ! Sir Theodore Broughton ! Oh, dear ! 
 no. I mean the tall, thin-sided gentleman, 
 with a nose like a crow's beak, and two small 
 eyes, and a patch of hair on his chin. He was 
 asking after you this morning, and all about 
 you, and where you had gone, and then he said 
 1 he 'd take a stroll, and call back in the after- 
 
 noon.' 
 
 A look of some mortification came into the 
 young gentleman's face, and lie muttered, 
 That is unfortunate. The very last man I 
 
 <( 
 
LAUREL WATER. 57 
 
 should like this youth to meet, for he is the 
 last whom he would comprehend. How was 
 he dressed, Mrs. Gillespie ? " 
 
 " Oh ! very funnily indeed," answered Mrs. 
 Gillespie. " He had got on a long blue-waist- 
 ed frock, with a silver lace, and silver frognels 
 on the pockets, and an embroidered waistcoat 
 that was not half long enough to cover his sto- 
 mach, and below that a pair of buckskins and 
 jack-boots, just as much too large as the waist- 
 coat was too short. But the oddest thing of all 
 was, he had two great holes in his ears, and 
 then he wore his hair in a club as thick as 
 my arm." 
 
 " It might have been worse," said the 
 young gentleman, drily; " it might have been 
 worse." 
 
 " Worse ! Lord have mercy, captain ! " 
 exclaimed Mrs. Gillespie, as if the assertion far 
 surpassed her faith. " What, worse than such 
 funny clothes as that ! " 
 
 " When I first saw him," replied her guest, 
 " he had no clothes on at all." 
 
 " Oh dear, sir! fie for shame ! " cried Mrs. 
 
58 Sill THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 Gillespie. " You don't mean to say he was 
 naked, sir ?" 
 
 " Indeed, I do," replied the young gentle- 
 man, " unless you call having a bunch of 
 feathers in his head being dressed, or think two 
 human bones in those holes in his ears, articles 
 of wearing apparel." 
 
 " Goodness, gracious ! " cried the good 
 dame, holding up her hands. " Why, the man 
 must be stark staring mad. I thought so, I do 
 declare." 
 
 " No, no," cried the young gentleman, who 
 was very much amused at the astonishment of 
 his hostess, but did not wish to injure the repu- 
 tation of his friend's brains ; " he is not and 
 was not mad, but he was amongst the savages, 
 Mrs. Gillespie." 
 
 " Ah, that may be, then," said the good 
 woman ; " and a very ugly savage he 'd make ; 
 but I hope you won't have him here, captain, 
 with any of his savage tricks. I should be 
 afraid of his eating the little children." 
 
 " No fear of that, my good lady," was the 
 answer ; " he is as kind hearted a man as 
 
LAUREL WATER. 
 
 59 
 
 ever lived, and moreover, if he comes before 
 Sir Theodore, and I have done dinner, you 
 must keep him down here, and make much of 
 him, Mrs. Gillespie. Tell him I am engaged 
 with a gentleman up stairs, give him plenty of 
 good punch, and a nice dinner, and he will tell 
 you of all sorts of strange things that he has 
 seen in foreign countries. That gentleman 
 once saved my life." 
 
 With this hint, and a significant nod, he 
 turned away towards his own room, saying to 
 himself, with a somewhat rueful smile, " And 
 he has often made me pay for it by his 
 oddities, since. Upon my life ! I must take 
 the Ravenous Crow back to Canada, or the 
 Sandwich Isles, or somewhere." 
 
 " The Ravenous Crow ! " exclaimed Mrs. 
 Gillespie, who was following him unperceived, 
 and overheard the last words ; " Lord have 
 mercy, sir, do you call him a ravenous 
 crow ? " 
 
 * ; No, no, no," cried the young gentleman, 
 laughing. " That was his name among the 
 Cherokee Indians, they generally take them- 
 
60 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 selves, and bestow upon their friends, the 
 names of birds, and beasts, and other objects 
 in nature. His real name is Major Brandrum, 
 a very gallant, honorable, excellent person, 
 as you'll find when you chat with him a 
 little." 
 
 " Well, sir, I will do anything to please 
 you," replied Mrs. Gillespie, " for I am sure 
 you have always behaved very genteel in my 
 house ; but you are sure he is not carni- 
 vorous ? " 
 
 Her young guest quieted her in regard to the 
 propensities which he very well understood she 
 was inclined to attribute to his friend by the 
 term carnivorous ; and to his great relief 
 two hours passed away, and four o'clock 
 came without the appearance of Major Bran- 
 drum. 
 
 Sir Theodore Broughton was punctual to his 
 time, and entered the little sitting-room of the 
 traveller with that sort of depressed expression 
 in his young face which is so painful to see in 
 a countenance where time has left no wrinkles, 
 and the only furrows are those of care. He 
 
LAUREL WATER. 61 
 
 bad been thinking, ever since they parted, of 
 the words of the stranger. They had opened 
 to him new sources of thought — new questions 
 to ask his own heart and his own spirit, and he 
 longed, as the other had pointed out, to inter- 
 rogate the vast universe, and gain replies 
 which would raise up mightier questions still. 
 He came prepared to follow the same strain of 
 conversation ; but for some reason the mood of 
 his companion was changed ; he would no 
 longer rest upon deep things, but spoke lightly 
 and gaily of what men are accustomed to 
 call, " the world," though neither altogether 
 frivolously nor uninstructively. 
 
 Mrs. Gillespie and Mrs. Gillespie's cook had 
 done their best to send up to one of the favour- 
 ite guests of the house, as nice a little dinner 
 as the place would afford, and very successful 
 had been their labours. The wine, too, was 
 good, and, let a man be as intellectually 
 constituted as he may, the spirits will rise, 
 the heart will feel lightened, under the influ- 
 ence of the good things of this life, so long as 
 matter is united to mind, and health cements 
 
62 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 the union. Sir Theodore Broughton soon 
 shook off his grave and thoughtful air, talked 
 and laughed joyously with his companion, and 
 listened with keen zest to many a tale, and 
 many an anecdote of London life with which 
 the other enriched his conversation. It must 
 not be denied that his host watched him, 
 marked the effect his words produced, saw the 
 changes of countenance which betrayed an 
 eager spirit within when pleasures and 
 pastimes were described, and in the end he said 
 to himself, " Perhaps, after all, the guardian is 
 right. Without some very safe companion, all 
 that is good and noble in this youth might 
 be lost amongst the fascinations of the metro- 
 polis." 
 
 In the mean time, the question of his name 
 had been quite forgotten. In the charms of 
 his society, Sir Theodore cared little what his 
 name was, and, with a facility too frequent and 
 too fatal, bent his thoughts to those of the 
 companion of the hour, remembering nothing 
 of his former ideas and feelings. The came- 
 leon mind, which takes its colour from that 
 
LAUREL WATER. 63 
 
 which is next to it, unlike the skin of the 
 i animal, is a peril not a protection. Some- 
 thing, indeed, might be allowed for the fact, 
 that this was the first society deserving of the 
 name which the young man had ever known. 
 His guardian — often absent — was, when with 
 him, grave and stern, indulging him, it is 
 true, in many dangerous sports and over- 
 fatiguing exercises, but repelling all confidence, 
 and treating him as a mere boy. His tutor 
 we shall see more of hereafter, and it will 
 then be apparent that he was not fitted to be a 
 friend or companion. All the rest of those 
 admitted to him were persons upon business, 
 a few masters of different sciences and arts, 
 the parson of the parish — an old-fashioned 
 parson, more frequently in the hunting-saddle 
 than the pulpit — and servants. What a re- 
 lief! what an enjoyment, when the imprisoned 
 thoughts have long been shut up within the 
 close cell of our own bosom, and every one 
 who approaches seems but a gaoler to force 
 them back if they try to escape, to meet with 
 a kindred spirit which gives them leave to 
 
64 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 wander, and encourages them to come forth, 
 even if it be for but one short hour ! No ' 
 wonder the young man gave way to it. 
 
 In the midst of the most pleasant conver- 
 sation which Sir Theodore Broughton had 
 ever enjoyed, he was suddenly startled by 
 sounds very different from those which he and 
 his companion were uttering. First came a 
 loud " whoop," which seemed to shake the 
 floor under their feet, and then something 
 which seemed intended for music ; but the 
 words of the song, whatever they were, though 
 several articulate sounds rose up through the 
 thin compartments, were quite unintelligible 
 to Sir Theodore Broughton. His companion 
 at first looked alittle'annoyed, but then smiled ; 
 and upon the principle of taking the bull by 
 the horns, he said, "That is a friend and 
 fellow-soldier of mine, Sir Theodore — a most 
 eccentric personage, but a highly worthy one in 
 many respects, notwithstanding a few faults 
 both real and apparent. He once saved my 
 life in Canada, and as often happens with men 
 of warm hearts, he seems to think that act 
 
LAUREL WATER. 65 
 
 has bound him by a duty to look for occasions 
 to serve me ever since." 
 
 "But why is he not dining with us?" 
 asked the young baronet ; " it would have 
 given me great pleasure to have met such a 
 person." 
 
 " He only called to inquire for me this morn- 
 ing," replied the other; " and, moreover, you 
 would hardly have understood him in one 
 short interview, and might, perhaps, have felt 
 a good deal of surprise and little pleasure 
 in the society and conversation of one who 
 requires to be well known to be esteemed. 
 But, hark ! I think he is coming up the stairs." 
 
 As he spoke, the tramp of a heavy foot 
 was heard, which from the sounds might well 
 be incased in such boots as Mrs. Gillespie had 
 described ; but when the door opened, a very 
 different personage appeared from him whom 
 Sir Theodore's entertainer expected to see : 
 no other, in short, than Captain Donovan 
 himself. A considerable change had taken 
 place in that gentleman since last I presented 
 him to the reader. The mortification which 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
66 sir theodom broughton; or, 
 
 he had experienced in regard to Sir Walter 
 Broughton's will, though deprived of all 
 external expression, had not been without 
 effect internally. He had become somewhat 
 morose and stern in demeanour, in all things 
 where his young ward was concerned. He 
 could be as gay, as dashing, and as light as 
 ever in general society ; but the very sight 
 of Sir Theodore Broughton seemed to excite a 
 sullen and a bad feeling, to which he gave way 
 a little too much, perhaps, considering .that 
 he wished to establish a hold upon the young 
 man's mind. His dress also was more rich and 
 costly than it had formerly been ; and — whether 
 from the accessories of costume, or from any 
 of those accidental causes which occasionally 
 work changes in the human frame, indepen- 
 dent of those wrought by the great destroyer 
 Time — he looked altogether a younger man 
 than at the period of his relation's death. " On 
 the present occasion his brow, which was 
 generally clouded when he was in that part 
 of the country, was knit into a heavier frown 
 than ever, and his eyes fixed instantly upon 
 
LAUREL WATER. 67 
 
 the young baronet, who seemed to cower 
 beneath its influence. 
 
 " Well, Theodore," he said, " this is a 
 strange vagary. I did not know, sir, you were 
 in the habit of dining out during my absence. 
 Who is your entertainer ? Oh ! Captain Lisle !' 
 he continued, after he had gazed upon Sir 
 Theodore's companion for an instant : " Sir, I 
 am your most obedient humble servant. I 
 did not know you at first. I feel particularly 
 obliged by your kind attention to Sir Theo- 
 dore Broughton ; but you will pardon me for 
 saying, that I think it would be more pru- 
 dent of him, when I am absent, to confine 
 himself to acquaintances of my selecting ; 
 and, on your part, " 
 
 " Stop for a moment, Captain Donovan," 
 said Reginald Lisle, calmly, but yet with a 
 very meaning tone, " comment on the conduct 
 of Sir Theodore Broughton if you please. 
 That you may be entitled to do ; but do not 
 comment upon mine without thinking twice of 
 what you are going to say, for }^ou seem some- 
 what heated just now, and though I am not, 
 
 f 2 
 
68 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON; OR, 
 
 may not bear any unpleasant observations 
 calmly." 
 
 Captain Donovan bit his lip, and paused for 
 an instant ere he replied. He answered, how- 
 ever, at length, in a cold and somewhat sar- 
 castic tone, " Do not suppose, sir, that I was 
 going to say anything which could excite your 
 pugnacious propensities. You have had a 
 good deal more fighting lately, of one kind 
 and another, than I have had, or ever shall 
 have again. For this young gentleman's sake, 
 I have turned my sword into a ploughshare, 
 and have no particular inclination to bend it to 
 another form again. The observation I was 
 about to make was simply this, that on 
 your part you will greatly oblige me if you will 
 not attempt to thwart my views with regard 
 to this young gentleman's education ; for, 
 although you are mentioned by some extra- 
 ordinary accident in Sir Walter Broughton's 
 will, yet you are not appointed his guardian." 
 
 " I am well aware of that fact, sir," an- 
 swered Reginald Lisle, "and shall cn-raiuly 
 not attempt to interfere with his education. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 69 
 
 But clo not let us dispute, Captain Donovan," 
 he continued, good humouredly. " May I beg 
 you to sit down and take some dinner, as you 
 seem from your appearance to have ridden far 
 and hard." 
 
 Captain Donovan seemed to hesitate for a 
 moment, and then, with a mollified look, seated 
 himself, saying, " Well, I have ridden far ; for 
 as soon as I heard that Dr. Gamble had 
 thought fit to go away and leave you alone, I 
 set off to see what was the cause of such con- 
 duct." 
 
 His words were addressed to Theodore, 
 although the invitation had come from Captain 
 Lisle. The latter, however, rang the bell, and 
 ordered a plate and knife and fork for Captain 
 Donovan ; but though he remained, partook of 
 the good cheer, and drank more than one glass 
 of wine, his manner was still cold and stiff, and 
 he seemed dissatisfied and ill at ease. There 
 was a sort of absent meditative air about him ; 
 and from time to time he fixed his eyes upon 
 Reginald Lisle, as if that gentleman in some 
 degree formed one of the elements of his calcu- 
 
70 SIR THEODORE BBOUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 lations. u We see very little of you in 
 London, Captain Donovan," said the enter- 
 tainer at length, " though, to say truth, I can 
 hardly know whether you are much there or 
 not, for I have been so frequently absent. I 
 wonder you do not bring Sir Theodore to 
 London, to let him see a little of the capital." 
 
 A heavy frown gathered upon Captain Do- 
 novan's brows ; and the young baronet seemed 
 actually frightened at the probable effect which 
 this hint might have upon his guardian. But 
 whatever was the reply which sprang to the 
 worthy officer's lips, it was interrupted by a 
 renewal of the sounds from below, which now 
 seemed coming up the stairs : — 
 
 " Joliette, ma Joliette, 
 
 Qu'elle est belle en chemisette ! 
 Je monterai ma charette, 
 Irai voir ma Joliette." 
 
 Such were the doggerel lines which, to a tune 
 then common amongst the habitans of Canada, 
 were sung by a rich, fall, but somewhat over- 
 loud voice, upon the stairs of the little inn, the 
 moment after Reginald Lisle's suggestion had 
 
LAUREL WATER. 71 
 
 passed his lips. Nobody could express won- 
 der, or make any inquiry, before the strange 
 figure, which Mrs. Gillespie had very accurate- 
 ly described, entered the room, and — in an atti- 
 tude half theatrical, half military, with one leg 
 advanced, and his hand, the palm turned out- 
 wards, raised to his forehead — gazed round the 
 company. 
 
 " Ah, Reginald, my boy ! " he exclaimed, 
 "found you at last. That charming old woman 
 below, together with a capon and a bowl of 
 punch, engaged me in deep conversation ; nor 
 did she admit that you were in the house, till 
 I heard your well-known voice raised some- 
 what high just now. I always know a voice, 
 sir," he continued, looking round to Captain 
 Donovan, " the slightest tone of it is sufficient 
 for me. Whether he be roaring through a 
 speaking-trumpet, or whispering soft nonsense 
 in a lady's ear, I know my man in a moment, 
 if ever I heard his tongue before." 
 
 " Pray, is this gentleman a friend of yours, 
 Captain Lisle ? " asked Donovan, with a 
 
72 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOS ; OR, 
 
 slight degree of sarcastic bitterness in his 
 tone. 
 
 " Yes," replied Reginald, who had been 
 leaning back in his chair a little mortified and 
 a little amused, — " Yes, this is my friend, 
 Captain Donovan ; and a very good friend, 
 too. Let me introduce him to you. Major 
 Brandrum — Captain Donovan ; Sir Theodore 
 Broughton — Major Brandrum;" and shaking 
 the major warmly by the hand, he placed a 
 chair for him at the table. 
 
 " Ah, Captain Donovan ! " said the worthy 
 gentleman, taking his seat, and stretching his 
 enormously long legs under the table till he 
 kicked Theodore's shins on the other side ; 
 " that 's not the name I am the best known 
 by since the year seventy-two, nor the name 
 I am most proud of either." 
 
 " Have you got an alias then, sir?" asked 
 Captain Donovan, drily. The major nodded 
 his head, and Donovan proceeded : — " May I 
 ask what it is?" 
 
 " Assuredly," replied Major Brandrum. 
 " In this barbarous and corrupt country — not 
 
LAUREL WATER. 73 
 
 the less barbarous for being corrupt, nor the 
 less corrupt for being barbarous — I am called, 
 as my friend Lisle has stated, Major Bran- 
 drum ; but amongst the more civilized nations 
 in North America, I am known by the name 
 of the Ravenous Crow." 
 
 "No doubt justly," said Captain Donovan. 
 
 " Of that you can tell nothing," said the 
 major, " till you hear how I came by the 
 appellation. You will then see that it is both 
 significant and glorious ; not the less glorious 
 because it is significant, nor the less significant 
 because it is glorious. You must know that 
 when I was in command of a party of my 
 tribe, the Cherokee Indians, we had gathered 
 together some sixty baskets of maize. In 
 whose fields it grew, far be it from me to say ; 
 but it was ours by right of war ; when one 
 day, while we were upon a hunting expedition, 
 a party of Mohawks fell upon our wigwam, 
 and carried off our maize and three young 
 squaws ; one of whom was my own especial 
 property. On my return, I set off with 
 twenty warriors of the tribe, and followed the 
 
74 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 marauders like a slothound. Not a twig they 
 had broken, not a blade of grass their foot- 
 step had bent, but was marked as we went, 
 and we discovered by the trail that there were 
 full fifty men of them. However, we watched 
 our opportunity, fell upon them unawares, and 
 after a desperate conflict, in which I slew and 
 scalped three of their most famous warriors — 
 the Centipede, the Old Buzzard, and the Grisly 
 Bear — we recovered our maize, and our squaws, 
 and marched off in triumph. We well knew 
 that the Mohawks would soon retaliate, and so 
 we sent far and wide to all the families of the 
 tribe, and all our allies ; but everything kept 
 still for seven days, when one morning as I was 
 lying in wait for a moose in a cedar swamp, I 
 saw an old gentleman painted like a Cherokee 
 go creeping along through some sugar maples 
 above. I knew what he was about the mo- 
 ment I beheld him ; but I was blind to him, 
 and a minute or two after he came creeping 
 down till we stood face to face. Then he said 
 'Hum!' and I answered 'Hum ! ' So then 
 after five minutes more we sat down together, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 75 
 
 resting our elbows on our knees, and he said 
 to me, ' Brother, I am the Wappiti with 
 the long horns, a friend of the Great Bison.' 
 I knew he was lying all the time, and that he 
 was the Rattlesnake. So I replied to him, 
 1 Brother, I am the Bald Eagle. What does 
 the Wappiti with the long horns want with the 
 Bald Eagle?' Upon that he told me that he 
 heard we had broken the stick with the Mo- 
 hawks about sixty basketfuls of maize, and 
 that if I would lead him to the wigwam, and 
 give him three baskets, the Wappiti with the 
 long horns and all his people would come down 
 to fight with us against the Mohawks. Then 
 I said, ' Brother, I can give no maize, for the 
 Bald Eagle has devoured it all. He has no 
 maize to give.' To which he replied, ' Then, 
 brother, thou art no Bald Eagle, but a Ra- 
 venous Crow ;' and thereupon he sprang upon 
 his feet, brandished his tomahawk, and set up 
 the war-whoop. But I was upon my legs as 
 soon as he was, and to it we set, whirling round 
 like the foaming of a waterfall, springing at each 
 other like panthers, aiming here and aiming 
 
76 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON; OR, 
 
 there ; and all the time he kept shouting his 
 war-whoop, till I cried, ' Is not the Rattle- 
 snake known by his rattle V and scarcely were 
 the words out of my mouth, when down came 
 ten or twelve men of his tribe, and I was over- 
 powered and tied in a minute. I shall never 
 forget the time when they got me to the wig- 
 wam, and were about to put me to the torture. 
 The dry brushwood was all piled round about 
 me in the shape of a crow's nest, and they 
 began singing a song of how they had caught 
 the Ravenous Crow, and were going to pluck 
 his feathers out. I answered by singing my 
 war-song and laughing them to scorn ; but still 
 what they were about was not pleasant, and a 
 glad sound it was to me to hear the war-whoop 
 suddenly in all the woods round about, and 
 see my own people — all beautifully painted — 
 come rushing through the trees just at the 
 nick of time. I was soon a free man again 
 with a tomahawk in my hand, and I taught 
 them that day that the Ravenous Crow could 
 peck." 
 
 He had spoken hitherto in rather an exag- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 77 
 
 gerated and pompous tone, but now he 
 dropped his voice, and in an ordinary man- 
 ner added, " They had burnt off the calf of 
 my left leg, but that mattered little; I did just 
 as well without." 
 
 The reader must not suppose that this long 
 story had proceeded uninterrupted, for Regi- 
 nald Lisle had filled his comrade's glass more 
 than once with wine, and Captain Donovan 
 had sometimes asked a question in a peculiarly 
 courteous tone. When the tale was finished, he 
 assured Major Bran drum that he fully concur- 
 red in the appropriateness of his appellation of 
 the Ravenous Crow ; and then, turning to 
 Captain Lisle, he said, " You were speaking of 
 my going to London, and taking my young 
 ward with me. Do you not think it is some- 
 what early for him to make acquaintance with 
 the great metropolis?" 
 
 He spoke in so altered a tone that Reginald 
 remarked it with surprise, and even suspicion ; 
 for he could not conceive that there was any- 
 thing in the entrance or conversation of the 
 Ravenous Crow that could have so greatly 
 
78 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON; OR, 
 
 modified Captain Donovan's feelings ; but be- 
 fore he could reply, Major Brandrum an- 
 swered "Too early ! Not a bit. It can never 
 be too early for a young man to be made ac- 
 quainted with life. Life is a curious and 
 exciting thing, Captain Donovan ; not the less 
 curious because it is exciting, nor the less 
 exciting because it is curious. A man should 
 gain a knowledge of it betimes. Then he 
 sows his wild oats at a period when they are 
 not likely to produce too large a harvest. 
 Why, I started in the world at fourteen, with 
 ten pounds in my pocket, three shirts, and two 
 pair of breeches, and I have never regretted 
 it. Oh, take the young gentleman to London 
 by all means. Here 's Reginald will soon 
 make him acquainted with all the pretty 
 squaws — ladies, I mean ; Heaven bless 'em ! 
 and I will show him every hole and corner in 
 the old city from the lowest blind alley at the 
 back of the tower, to Whitehall and St. James's 
 — though, to say truth, I dare say it is greatly 
 changed, for I did not see a tile of it for ten 
 years, from the time I sailed away in the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 79 
 
 Little Mary of Boston, till, about two months 
 ago, when I walked along in my blanket and 
 feathers, with all the women of Wapping fol- 
 lowing me, after my return from Canada." 
 
 " That must have been somewhat annoy- 
 ing," said Captain Donovan, laughing ; " could 
 you not contrive to get a coat and a pair of 
 breeches on board the vessel?" 
 
 61 No, sir, no/' replied Major Brandrum. 
 " I was resolved to make my triumphal en- 
 trance as the Ravenous Crow ; and when the 
 excellent brandyfaced ladies of the metropolis 
 kept asking me impertinent questions as to 
 the warmth of my naked legs, I replied to 
 them in Cherokee, at which they set up a shout, 
 just like a war-whoop. Oh, let him come to 
 London by all means. We '11 show him a 
 little of life." 
 
 " Well, we shall see, we shall see," replied 
 Captain Donovan, good humouredly. " I sup- 
 pose, gentlemen, you are not going to leave 
 this neighbourhood just yet, and I trust that 
 we shall have the pleasure of seeing you at 
 dinner to-morrow at the hall." Thus saying, 
 
80 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 he rose: the invitation was accepted, the hour 
 arranged, and guardian and ward took their 
 departure, leaving Reginald Lisle in a hrown 
 study, and the Ravenous Crow humming 
 " Joliette." 
 
LAUREL WATER. 8] 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 "Why, what's the matter, Reginald?" ex- 
 claimed his friend Major Brandrum, when, 
 after finishing his song, he perceived that his 
 young companion still continued in meditation. 
 (e You are as deep in thought as a white bear 
 in the winter time." 
 
 " I 'm puzzled, Crow," replied Reginald 
 Lisle ; u very much puzzled, and scarcely know 
 how to explain myself even to you." 
 
 " That is strange," answered the major ; 
 " but come, tell me what 's the matter. I '11 
 follow the trail, depend upon it, let it be ever 
 so intricate. Is it the young man that puzzles 
 you or the old one 1 for with them is the mys- 
 tery, I see." 
 
 VOL. i. g 
 
82 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 " It is the old one," answered Reginald : * I 
 do not know what to make of him. A moment 
 before you entered, I was fully convinced that 
 nothing could be so disagreeable to him as 
 any intimate acquaintance between Sir Theo- 
 dore Broughton and myself, and that if any- 
 thing on earth could render that acquaintance 
 more to be avoided in his opinion, it would be 
 to know that I was intimate with such a wild 
 harum-scarum fellow as yourself. He was as 
 sulky as a bear with a sore head, at Sir Theo- 
 dore's having accepted my invitation to dinner, 
 and was decidedly averse to his having even a 
 sight of the capital, speaking like a Puritan 
 on the subject, though every one knows he is 
 quite the reverse of a Puritan in his morals ; 
 and yet the moment you enter with your wild 
 ways and wild stories, he changes all at once, 
 invites us to dinner, half yields in regard to 
 London, and is as civil as he possibly can 
 be." 
 
 "I suppose," replied Major Brandrum, 
 laughing, " he thought you were too good and 
 too prudent, Reginald, and when he saw your 
 
LAUREL WATER. 83 
 
 friend, he was convinced that he had mistaken 
 
 you." 
 
 " Upon my word it looks something like it," 
 replied Captain Lisle ; " and yet what good it 
 can do him, I cannot imagine." 
 
 "Well, let us reconnoitre the ground a little 
 more before we come to any conclusion," an- 
 swered the major, " and in the first place, tell 
 me what is the connection between you and 
 this young baronet. I never heard of him 
 before." 
 
 " No connection whatever that I know of," 
 answered Reginald Lisle, " except my having 
 fought his cousin, Sir Charles Chevenix, and 
 having been put into the entail of the estate, 
 for that very cause I believe, by his grand- 
 father, Sir Walter Broughton. At least, so 
 my worthy uncle, Mullins, always said." 
 
 " Upon my life!" cried the major, "that's 
 an exceedingly philosophical plan. I wish 
 it would get into vogue. I have more than 
 once been tempted to shoot my own cousins, 
 but I suppose that would not do as well. No 
 man would put me into an entail for doing that. 
 
 g 2 
 
84 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 " I am afraid not," answered Lisle ; " nor 
 would it be any great satisfaction if they did. 
 Here, in this instance, there is just as much 
 chance of my ever succeeding to the property, 
 as of your doing so." 
 
 " Why so, why so ?" said his friend ; " the 
 lad might die without children." 
 
 "Heaven forbid!" cried Lisle; "he seems 
 as amiable and fine a fellow as ever lived, 
 if they do not break his spirit by a bad edu- 
 cation. But even if he were to die, there 's 
 still Donovan himself to come in." 
 
 " Oh, ho ! " cried the Ravenous Crow. " So 
 he is the next heir, is he, and the guardian 
 too? What, the lamb left under the kind 
 protection of the wolf! Come, come, Lisle, 
 you give me a new insight into the matter. 
 Master Donovan may have his own views 
 as to selecting the acquaintances of his ward. 
 It might be no bad thing for him if I were 
 to seduce the young man to go and join my 
 friends the Cherokees, or undertake any other 
 mad-headed expedition; which may suit very 
 well with — 
 
LAUREL WATER. 85 
 
 1 A soldier who lives on bis pay, 
 And spends half-a-crown out of sixpence a day ;' 
 
 but would never suit a young wealthy baronet — 
 unless his guardian was heir to his property." 
 
 "I wish you would not put such things 
 in my head, Brandrura," said Lisle. " Do 
 you know any harm of this man, Donovan ? If 
 not, why should you think so?" 
 
 u Because he is not Reginald Lisle," re- 
 plied the major, " nor, for that matter, Jack 
 Brandrum either. I declare I wouldn 't hurt 
 a hair of the head of a boy like that for all 
 the estates in England — bating fair and open 
 warfare where a man may be called upon 
 to scalp his enemy as a matter of course. 
 But I '11 tell you what, Reginald, we must look 
 after this matter, my dear boy. It will become 
 you, being the heir-presumptive, as men call it, 
 to see that the succession to the crown is 
 not endangered. If I know you right, you '11 
 be quite as willing to look after this lad for 
 a year or two, as if he were your own brother. 
 Now, let you and I set about it, and the devil 
 a Donovan of them all will be a match for us/ 
 
86 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 " I cannot endure suspicion, Brandrum," an- 
 swered the young officer ; " we have really 
 no cause for it on the present occasion. I 
 almost feel ashamed of the thoughts that 
 have come into my head ; but yet it is very 
 strange, Brandrum, that one so affectedly 
 careful of the morals and character of his 
 ward, should be so careless in regard to his 
 life. The first thing I saw this morning, when 
 I was sketching upon the common, was this 
 young man riding a brute which the best 
 horseman in Europe might have found trouble 
 to sit. It was rearing and plunging and 
 hogging its back, so that, although I am no 
 very timid horseman, as you know " 
 
 " You 'd ride the devil red hot," interrupted 
 Brandrum 
 
 " I would not have mounted that beast for 
 anything less than to save another man's life, 
 or to obey orders," continued Reginald. 
 
 " Pooh ! pooh !" answered the Ravenous 
 Crow. " Never talk to me of not being fond 
 of suspicion. Where the devil should a man 
 feel suspicion except in this world ? It is the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 87 
 
 only place where it is likely to be useful. 
 After the two sets of people are separated 
 at the day of judgment, we shall all under- 
 stand each other, and there will be no use of 
 suspicion any more ; but as long as we are 
 all here, mingled together higgle-de-piggledy, 
 each man concealing what he is, follow the 
 Indian plan and suspect every body." 
 
 Reginald Lisle gazed at him for a moment, 
 and then burst into a fit of laughter. " That 
 is good!" he exclaimed at length; "that is 
 excellent, my friend, the Crow ! — you who sus- 
 pect nobody, except when you have got a 
 blanket on, and a belt of wampum. Was 
 it not only the other day, when I was in 
 London, that you accepted two bills of ex- 
 change for a man whom I believe to be a great 
 rascal, and I told you " 
 
 *' There, there, don't talk of that," exclaimed 
 Major Brandrum ; " that 's a sore subject just 
 now, Regy. You know, of course, that the 
 villain didn't furnish the money as he pro- 
 mised. It 's that which brings me down here 
 just now. I found there was a writ out, and 
 
88 SI$ THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 didn't know where to go to, so I came down 
 here, knowing that I should find fun with you, 
 if I found nothing else." 
 
 Captain Lisle's face became very grave. 
 " Upon my life, Brandrum," he replied, " I 
 have nothing else to give you. Why, this is 
 a matter of four or five hundred pounds, and I 
 have not got as much at my command in the 
 world." 
 
 " There, don't talk of that," cried Major 
 Brandrum. " Do you think I would take it 
 if you had, lad ? No, no : I '11 keep out of the 
 Fleet as long as I can, but when the time 
 comes, I must go. It doesn't much matter 
 where my old bones lie ; but I '11 give the 
 bailiffs and their bums a run before they catch 
 me. — There, don't let us talk any more of it ; 
 it will be bad enough to think of the day I 
 am taken, but till then I'll not think of it 
 at all." 
 
 Nor could his young friend get him to speak 
 upon the subject any more. With that light 
 and happy humour which, like a cork, floats 
 over the waves of circumstance that overwhelm 
 
LAUREL WATER. 89 
 
 heavier and more solid things, he seemed rather 
 raised than depressed by the difficulties of his 
 situation, and gaily and cheerfully chatted of 
 everything else, although Reginald Lisle re- 
 mained grave and thoughtful, and ended the 
 evening by saying, " I must talk to my uncle 
 about this, Brandrum;" evidently showing 
 that the position in which his friend had 
 placed himself, had remained in his thoughts 
 through their whole conversation. 
 
 On the following day, at the usual hour of 
 dinner in those times, Reginald Lisle and 
 Major Brandrum presented themselves in the 
 large drawing-room at the hall, and were re- 
 ceived with the greatest marks of kindness by 
 Captain Donovan. His brow no longer wore 
 a frown, his manner was no longer cold and 
 distant ; and not only to Captain Lisle, but to 
 Sir Theodore Broughton, also, he seemed a 
 totally different man. The young baronet lis- 
 tened in silent surprise while he laughed and 
 joked with Major Brandrum, and talked cheer- 
 fully with Captain Lisle ; and in the end, after 
 the bottle had circulated very freely, and the 
 
90 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 major had shown that he was competent 
 and willing to drink any given quantity of 
 wine, Captain Donovan turned gaily to his 
 ward, saying, "Well, Theodore, what do 
 you say to a trip to London? — Would you 
 like it?" 
 
 The young baronet did not affect to deny 
 that it would be very agreeable to him ; and 
 Captain Donovan seemed to fall into a fit of 
 thought, at the end of which he said, " I cannot 
 go m} r self for sometime ; but I feel quite sure 
 I could trust your inexperience of London 
 to the guidance of Captain Lisle, whose own 
 character and reputation is the strongest of 
 guarantees." 
 
 From particular circumstances connected 
 with his own situation, Reginald coloured a 
 little at this speech, and perhaps the more so 
 because he saw Donovan's eye fixed upon him. 
 It cannot be doubted that the captain perceived 
 the deepening tint, but it seemed to make no 
 difference as to his views, for he added imme- 
 diately, "What say you, Lisle, will you 
 undertake the task of showing our vounir 
 
LAUREL WATER. 91 
 
 friend here the lions of London, for a day or 
 two, till I can come up and join you?" 
 
 "I shall be most happy," replied Captain 
 Lisle ; " and am only sorry that I cannot 
 invite him to my house, — -not having one," he 
 added, with a laugh, "to invite him to. I 
 lodge at an inn, as you are probably aware." 
 
 "No, indeed," replied Captain Donovan; 
 " I thought your mother was in town." 
 
 " No, I am sorry to say she is not," replied 
 Lisle ; " she went to live at a short distance 
 from London, while I was absent in Ame- 
 rica; and I am too poor to keep a house 
 myself." 
 
 "Oh, that will make no difference!" cried 
 Captain Donovan ; " I could not have thought 
 of burdening your mother's house with an un- 
 invited guest, even had she been in town ; but 
 Theodore can easily take up his abode at a 
 hotel, with his servant, if you will be with him 
 as much as possible." 
 
 "With pleasure, — with pleasure!" replied 
 Reginald Lisle, his face brightening. " When 
 do you propose he should come ?" 
 
92 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 " Oil, whenever you go yourself," replied 
 Donovan. " When a thing is once decided, 
 the sooner it is done the better: to-morrow, 
 if you like." 
 
 " Oh, I am very willing," answered Regi- 
 nald. " Will you come, Brandrum?" 
 
 " Part of the way," replied the Ravenous 
 Crow, nodding his head significantly. " I have 
 business which will detain me some distance 
 from London for a short time ; but I '11 go 
 part of the way with you." 
 
 Captain Donovan's face grew somewhat 
 cloudy : whether he thought that the society 
 of the eccentric major was absolutely neces- 
 sary to the wellbeing of his ward in London 
 or not, I cannot divine, but he asked in a 
 very insinuating tone, " Is this a business that 
 cannot be put off, my dear major?" 
 
 "I wish it could," said Major Brandrum, 
 with a sly smile ; " but it is an important and 
 troublesome affair, and not the less trouble- 
 some because it is important, nor the less 
 important because it is troublesome." 
 
 " Well, it cannot be helped," answered Cap- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 93 
 
 tain Donovan ; " and the only thing that now 
 remains is to settle our plans." 
 
 A discussion then ensued, with which it may 
 be unneces saryto trouble my readers, as it 
 principally referred to modes of conveyance 
 long disused, even before the flaming engine 
 and the clattering rail whirled travellers 
 through Europe at the rate of forty miles an 
 hour. At one time it was proposed that the 
 young baronet should go in the coach and 
 four ; at another, that he and his companions 
 should take the stage coach at Ludlow; but 
 ultimately it was determined that as both 
 Major Brandrum and Reginald Lisle had 
 come thither on horseback, the whole party 
 should return towards town in the same man- 
 ner ; and if they found the journey tedious, 
 should have recourse to post-chaises after they 
 had proceeded a certain way on the road. 
 An early hour was appointed for starting the 
 next morning, and the party separated in great 
 good humour with each other. As they were 
 going down the steps, however, Captain Dono- 
 van followed the two guests, exclaiming, 
 
94 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 " Major Brandrum, allow me to speak with 
 you for a moment ;" and while the major 
 paused at this summons, Reginald walked 
 slowly on into the park. 
 
 " Thank you, my dear captain, thank you ; 
 I never borrow money. It is always unplea- 
 sant to borrow, and often inconvenient to pay ; 
 and not the less inconvenient because it is 
 unpleasant, nor the less unpleasant because it 
 is inconvenient." 
 
 Such were the words which, spoken in 
 Major Brandrum's voice, reached the ears of 
 Reginald as he walked on. A moment or two 
 after he was joined by his friend, the Ravenous 
 Crow, who said, laughing, " Hang the fellow ! 
 he wanted to lend me money. He is a quick 
 guesser, that fellow. He seems to have found 
 out what my important business was in a 
 minute." 
 
 "Why did not you take it?" demanded 
 Reginald. " I dare say he could afford to 
 lend it you very well." 
 
 " Because, my dear Lisle," replied Bran- 
 drum, laying his hand good-huinouredlv upon 
 
LAUREL WATER. 95 
 
 his arm, " there are two sets of men whom you 
 should never ask to lend you money — men 
 you believe to he great rogues, and men you 
 believe to be your most intimate friends." 
 
 " I can understand why the first should be 
 proscribed, but not the latter, my dear Crow," 
 replied Lisle. 
 
 " For the best reason in the world," an- 
 swered Brandrum ; " because they cannot 
 refuse you. It is, in fact, forcing a loan, which 
 no man of honour or spirit would do. I '11 
 seek some Jew or another and borrow the 
 money, and perhaps some time I may force 
 the scoundrel who got me into the scrape to 
 get me out again." 
 
 Lisle shook his head, with many doubts as 
 to the probability of such a thing, and they 
 walked onwards to the inn, to prepare for their 
 journey of the following day. 
 
 In the mean while, Captain Donovan had 
 been conversing with his young ward, and 
 giving him a good number of hints as to his 
 conduct. He had resumed, in a considerable 
 degree, his somewhat stern and grave de- 
 
96 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 meanour, perhaps imagining that if thrown 
 off all at once the change would appear too 
 strange and striking. His counsels were all 
 very seemly and very proper ; and were they 
 all written down here, it would be very diffi- 
 cult, even upon strict examination, to find 
 fault with them ; but yet the tone was not 
 altogether what can be called moral. He 
 told his ward particularly to avoid gam- 
 bling, represented it as a horrible vice, which 
 might lead to the most disastrous conse- 
 quences ; but he seemed to think that it was 
 the only one against which any very serious 
 warning was required. In other respects, his 
 counsels were rather of the Chesterfield charac- 
 ter ; and he hinted very strongly that it would 
 be necessary for Sir Theodore, in all other 
 things, to do as other young men of his rank 
 and station did ; though he cautioned him, in 
 rather a light tone, against excess of any kind. 
 In a word, he said his tutor would soon join 
 him, and he himself would follow in a few 
 days. In the mean time, he placed the sum of 
 six hundred pounds in his hands, that he 
 
LAUREL WATER. 97 
 
 might be enabled to make a figure in society 
 as lie said ; and having concluded his advice 
 bade him good-night. 
 
 The worthy captain's proceedings, however, 
 had not yet altogether come to a conclusion, 
 and the step which was next to be taken 
 seemed to require more attention than all the 
 rest ; for, seated by the table, with his head 
 leaning on his hand, he gave it undivided 
 attention for several minutes, speaking to 
 himself as he did so, and commenting upon 
 the characters of the various individuals whom 
 he named. " Gerald won't do," he said to 
 himself. " It was all very well here, and he 
 has done his work well, as far as it goes ; but 
 we want another sort of tool to work with 
 now. The fellow is too rigid. Then Martin 's 
 such a fool, and so indiscreet. Debauched 
 enough, in all conscience, I believe. No, he 
 would not do ; he could not keep counsel for an 
 hour, and would startle the lad at the first 
 outset. Brown might do, but he 's such a 
 bear. Ay, Zachary Hargrave is the man. 
 His sanctimonious face and canting expres- 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
98 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 sioris, and his loose life, will do very well. As 
 the lad rides, too, he '11 want somebody to take 
 care of his horses;" and rising, he rang the 
 bell, and directed the servant who appeared to 
 send Zachary Hargrave to him. 
 
 " Well, Master Zachary," he said, as soon 
 as the man appeared, " more of the old tricks, 
 I find." 
 
 " Ah, sir," replied the groom, a long-faced, 
 flat-haired, stout made man, of about forty, 
 " we are all poor sinful creatures. The flesh 
 will rebel against the spirit." 
 
 " I know it well," answered Captain Dono- 
 van, drily ; " but yours is peculiarly rebellious, 
 Master Zachary, and therefore I think the 
 best thing I can do for you is to send you out 
 of the way." 
 
 The man, who was not ordinarily fond of 
 looking people in the face, raised his eyes to 
 Captain Donovan's countenance, as if to 
 gather accurately what he meant, and then 
 replied, in a quiet tone, " Ah, yes, sir, change 
 of scene is a pleasant thing." 
 
 " And change of pretty faces, too, I suppose, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 99 
 
 you think," said Captain Donovan ; " but in 
 a word, I intend to send you to London with 
 Sir Theodore, to-morrow morning early." 
 
 u Indeed, sir!" exclaimed the man, with 
 unfeigned surprise in his tone ; and then 
 dropping his voice, he added, " It's a sad 
 wicked place London." 
 
 "True," replied Captain Donovan; "but 
 young people must get accustomed to these 
 things sooner or later, Zachary, and Sir Theo- 
 dore is old enough now to see a little of the 
 world. People must sow their wild oats, 
 Zachary, at some time of their life, and if they 
 do not do it early, they will do it late, as you 
 have done." 
 
 " Ah ! very true, captain, very true," re- 
 plied the man, with somewhat of a nasal 
 twang ; " the earlier they begin, the more 
 time they will have for repentance. We can 
 never tell at what time [grace may come. I 
 believe if my dear respected parents had not 
 been so strict with me when I was young, it 
 might have gone better with me now." 
 
 " Perhaps so," replied Captain Donovan ; 
 
 h 2 
 
100 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 " but for various reasons I shall send you to 
 London with him, as I have said, and you will 
 remember that you are to be useful to him in 
 any way that he may require; but, at the 
 same time, you will inform me, from time to 
 time, either here or when I join you there, of 
 everything that has taken place, even to the 
 most minute particular; for, in case he gets 
 into any of the little scrapes or errors of youth, 
 it will be, of course, my task to get him out of 
 them again as easily as possible." 
 
 " I see, sir," answered Zachary Hargrave, 
 with a low bow. 
 
 " That he will get into some of these adven- 
 tures I do not pretend to doubt," continued 
 Captain Donovan. " It is natural to youth, 
 and he must, in some degree, buy his expe- 
 rience, like other young men. You will easily 
 understand, therefore, that anything you may 
 tell me of him will not make me angry, so 
 you need have no apprehension on the subject of 
 any little escapades of his; only you must be per- 
 fectly frank and straightforward with me. If you 
 are not, I shall discharge you ; if you are, you 
 
LAUREL WATER. 
 
 101 
 
 may reckon upon my favour and protection 
 through life. Now go away and prepare : 
 there 's a five-pound note for you." 
 
 The man expressed his gratitude, bowed low 
 and withdrew, murmuring, when he reached 
 the back of the door, " What does he mean 
 by escapades ? " and then, after thinking 
 deeply upon the subject, and traversing the 
 whole of the long passage that led to the 
 servants' hall, he mattered again, — " Yes, he 
 must mean that." 
 
102 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 There are few counties in England which con- 
 tain more beautiful spots than the county of 
 Warwick ; few that are more thoroughly Eng- 
 lish in scenery ; few that possess so much of 
 those landscape features which, without offer- 
 ing to the eye anything peculiarly grand or 
 striking, satisfy without tiring the mind. It 
 was in the county of Warwick, then, that, 
 about six o'clock in the evening of a fine 
 spring day, three gentlemen on horseback 
 might be seen riding along, with two servants 
 behind them, one of whom led a strong heavy 
 horse, quite sufficiently loaded with portman- 
 teaus and saddle-bags. 
 
 The era of travelling on horseback was 
 rapidly passing away. People had become 
 fond of post-chaises ; and, to say sooth, I 
 
LAUREL WATER. 103 
 
 know few pleasanter modes of travelling 
 when one has but a single trunk and no com- 
 panion. There is a free and easy rattling in- 
 dependence about " the old yellow," as I be- 
 lieve it is technically called, which has some- 
 thing very delightful in it. The stage-coach 
 has its fixed destination : on the rail you are 
 bound in fetters of iron ; if you travel in your 
 own neat post-chariot, you have a world of 
 cares upon your head — almost as many as if 
 you had a wife and a small family of young 
 children with you ; — but in the comfortable old 
 careless post-chaise, you may cast away every 
 heavy thought of where you are going, what 
 you are doing, what the roads are like which, 
 you pass over, what the horses are that draw 
 you. You cannot hurt or offend it. It will go 
 through everything and over everything, and 
 anywhere you please ; and if sometimes it lies 
 quietly down upon its side, you have nothing 
 to do but to get out and help the post-boy to 
 put it right again, and on you go as friendly 
 as before. 
 
 But this is a digression, and yet it is par- 
 
104 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 donable. It is like taking leave of an old friend 
 for the last time. The old post-chaise will soon 
 be defunct, and we shall never see it more. 
 
 To return, however — the era of travelling 
 on horseback was rapidly passing away, like 
 all other mundane things ; but yet it was not 
 actually gone, and a man who came with 
 his saddle-bags behind him, if he had the as- 
 pect and manners of a gentleman, would still 
 be received at the inn-door with almost as 
 much deference as if he came in a carriage and 
 four. 
 
 The inn-door, however, seemed somewhat far 
 distant to our travellers ; for at the little village 
 of Ryton they had inquired how far it was 
 to Dunchurch, and had been told, as is very 
 usual in Warwickshire, that the distance was 
 five miles, when in reality it was nearly seven. 
 The evening, however, was beautiful ; and as 
 they skirted Dunsmoor, the scenery had all 
 that picturesque beauty which is derived less 
 from the forms than the colouring. The face 
 of the country is now terribly changed, for 
 although much has been done for man's con- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 105 
 
 venience, every act that, tends to smooth the 
 ways of life takes away from some of its 
 enjoyments, even while it adds to its ease. 
 Although Braunston Hill, with its steep de- 
 scent, no longer makes the traveller fancy his 
 neck in jeopardy, and though half the valley has 
 been filled up to form a causeway for the high 
 road, the beautiful view which used to extend 
 from the brow of the steep — as the country lay 
 beneath the eye in long lines of purple and 
 gold, at dawning or at sunset — is now lost to 
 the wayfarer, and he jogs on unconscious of 
 half the beauty that is near. At the time I 
 speak of, however, the road from Birmingham 
 led straight through some of the most pic- 
 turesque parts of the county, and Dunsmoor 
 heath well deserved its name. The sandy 
 road upon which the three horsemen were 
 riding now dipped down beneath deep banks, 
 now rose up upon a level with the heath — and, 
 as no space had been spared where ground was 
 of very little value — it was here and there only 
 marked out by its different colouring, and by 
 the tracks of wheels, or by a solitary milestone. 
 
106 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 After commenting more than once upon the 
 deceit which had been put upon them with re- 
 gard to the distance, the tired state of their 
 horses, and their own hunger and thirst, which 
 Major Brandrum pronounced to be intolerable 
 and distressing — not the less distressing because 
 it was intolerable, nor the less intolerable be- 
 cause it was distressing — Reginald Lisle, who 
 was mounted upon a stronger and more endur- 
 ing horse than either of his two companions, 
 though one less fair to look upon than that of 
 Sir Theodore Broughton, volunteered to ride 
 on at a quick pace, and see if he could get a 
 view of Dunchurch, all parties beginning 
 strongly to suspect that they had lost their way. 
 " If I can see nothing of it at the end of a 
 mile," he continued, " I will return, and then we 
 had better all go back to the Black Dog, near 
 Stratton-upon-Dunsmoor. It 's a villainous 
 looking hole enough, but we can put up there 
 for the night, and that 's better than roaming 
 about in the dark, seeking what we very likely 
 shall not find." 
 
 The rest agreed willingly, for the horse of 
 
LAUREL WATER. 107 
 
 the young baronet was dead beat, and that of 
 Major Brandruni was exceedingly willing to 
 go at a walk. Lisle accordingly rode forward 
 with the shades of evening gradually gathering 
 round, although the whole western sky was still 
 yellow with the light of the setting orb. At 
 the distance of about a quarter of a mile from 
 his companions, the road, after surmounting a 
 little rise, dipped down between some deep, 
 green trees, mingled with the yellower foliage 
 of the late-leaved oak. There was a dense 
 mass of wood on either side, and on the right a 
 deep pool of water, so completely shaded by 
 the boughs above, that it was only distinguished 
 in the obscurity by a single line of light where 
 a water-hen dived down at his approach. On 
 beyond, however, through a vista opening be- 
 tween the trees, the broad yellow road, slightly 
 descending, might be seen in perspective, ter- 
 minating with a deep purple line of distant 
 country, and the golden edge of the sky above. 
 Cutting sharp upon the bright light, were two 
 female figures linked arm in arm, and appa- 
 rently walking slowly on. They were so far in 
 
108 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 advance, and the light beyond them was so 
 strong, that it was impossible to judge of their 
 costume, but yet there was something — indeed, 
 there is something, and ever will be — in the air 
 and carriage of a lady, which left no doubt in 
 the mind of Reginald Lisle as to the rank in 
 life of the persons before him. 
 
 " I think I may venture to ask them our way. 
 and whereabouts we are/' he said to himself, 
 "but I must not ride too fast, or they may 
 imagine I am a highwayman." 
 
 Now, highwaymen were common in those 
 days. 
 
 Hardly had the thought passed through his 
 mind, when two objects struck him. One was 
 some fifty or sixty yards of park paling appear- 
 ing through the trees on the left: the other 
 the figure of a horseman drawing out from 
 amongst the trees on the right. Reginald 
 Lisle was generally rapid in his combinations, 
 sometimes rather too rapid in his deductions. 
 " I am near some gentleman's park," he 
 thought," those are the two ladies of the house, 
 that is a servant riding back from an errand." 
 
LAUREL WATER. 109 
 
 For some short time he persisted in this 
 view ; for the horseman rode on at no very 
 quick pace after the ladies, nor did they seem 
 to hurry their pace at all. In a moment after, 
 however, Reginald Lisle put his hand down to 
 his saddle-bow, and into a holster that hung 
 there, the cause of which proceeding was, that 
 he perceived the horseman do something very 
 much of the same kind. The next moment 
 the man passed the two ladies, wheeled his 
 beast right before them, and evidently brought 
 them to a halt. At the same time a sound, not 
 exactly a scream, for it was not loud enough, 
 but rather an exclamation of surprise and fear, 
 reached the ear of Reginald Lisle, and his 
 spurs were in the horse's sides in a moment. 
 On the beast went like lightning. The pistol 
 was out of the holster, and throwing: down the 
 rein, the young gentleman crammed down the 
 ramrod tight, to make sure that the ball had 
 not slipped during a long day's ride. By this 
 time, although it was a soft and sandy road, 
 the sound of his horse's feet was heard by the 
 two ladies, one of whom was evidently bestow- 
 
110 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 ing her purse upon the gentleman before her. 
 The horseman, whose face was turned that way, 
 must have become conscious some moments be- 
 fore, that he was not the only mounted man 
 upon the road ; but to say truth, he seemed to 
 trouble himself very little about it, and made 
 no movement whatever indicative of an inten- 
 tion of abandoning his object. 
 
 The lady with the purse, in her haste and ter- 
 ror dropped it, at the very moment when Re- 
 ginald was within about thirty yards of her, while 
 her companion, who was younger and slighter 
 in form, turned round, and with a sort of joyful 
 cry, ran towards the new comer, as if feeling 
 certain at once that he brought deliverance. 
 
 " Be so good as to pick it up and give it to me, 
 ma'am," exclaimed the deep voice of the man 
 who had stopped them, and then instantly 
 turning the mouth of his pistol towards Regi- 
 nald Lisle, he exclaimed, " Hold back, my 
 man, or I'll shoot you as sure as you lii 
 
 The reply of the young officer was a 
 pistol-shot, and the man's hat flew off his head 
 and rolled along the road. 
 
LAUREL WATER. Ill 
 
 " A devilish neat shot ! " cried the latter, 
 snatching from the lady's hand the purse which 
 
 she had picked up. " Keep off, keep off! " and 
 as he saw the young' gentleman still spurring 
 on, he fired not at him but at the horse, and 
 the poor beast struck in the chest instantly 
 went down, crushing his rider's leg and thigh 
 beneath him. A dying effort the animal 
 made to rise, freed the young officer from his 
 weight, and, regardless of the pain he suf- 
 fered, Lisle started on his feet, snatched his 
 second pistol from the holster, and ran for- 
 ward. But at the same moment, with a 
 graceful bow and a wave of the hand, the 
 highwayman wheeled his horse again, saying, 
 " Good-morning, ladies, with many thanks," 
 and cantered lightly across the heath. 
 
 " Oh ! sir, I hope you are not hurt," cried 
 the lady who was nearest to Reginald. " He 
 has killed your poor horse, I am afraid." 
 
 " He has, indeed," said Reginald, gazing 
 on the animal as it lay, with its feet beating 
 the air faintly and convulsively ; " he has, in- 
 deed!" and he pressed his lips together with 
 
112 SIR THEODORE EROUGIITON J OR, 
 
 a look of much grief. Then turning round, 
 abruptly, lie continued, " I hope the -eoun- 
 drel has not frightened you much. That 
 lady — your mother, I suppose — seems very 
 greatly agitated ;" and so it was, indeed, for 
 she was now supporting herself by a tree, 
 with one hand clasped over her eyes. 
 
 " He is gone! dearest mother, he is gone !" 
 cried the younger lady, running up to hi 
 and laying her hand upon her arm. 
 
 " But he may come back again, Mary," 
 cried the other. " How can we tell that he 
 may not return ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ! " said Reginald Lisle, approach- 
 ing, " there is no fear of that. And if he did, 
 he would only return to be taken ; for I have 
 two friends, not half a mile behind, with a 
 couple of servants. I wish they were here. 
 He should not escape so easily. But he has 
 killed my poor horse, so that I can neither 
 follow him nor ride on my way." 
 
 " I am extremely grieved to hear you have 
 met such loss in our service, sir," replied the 
 elder lady, " and thank you a thousand times. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 113 
 
 If you are in haste, however, and vexed at 
 being delayed, as I judge by your face, we 
 can easily send you forward. There are plenty 
 of very good horses in the stable, and I need 
 not say they are quite at your disposal.'' 
 
 " Many thanks, madam, 1 ' replied Captain 
 Lisle, " I cannot help grieving for my poor 
 beast, for he has carried me through more 
 than one bloody day, without ever getting a 
 wound. To say the truth, however, I fear 
 I must decline your offer, for he has so 
 crushed my knee in falling, that I do not think 
 I could bear the saddle." 
 
 Regret and sympathy were expressed by 
 both the ladies when they heard this an- 
 nouncement; and — while Reginald limped for- 
 ward, and took up the hat which his ball had 
 knocked off the highwaj^man's head, in the 
 hope that it might lead to his conviction — a 
 hurried consultation seemed to go on between 
 his two fair companions, the daughter seeming 
 to urge something upon the mother, in re- 
 gard to which the elder lady hesitated. 
 
 " But, my dear Mary, we are alone in the 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
114 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 house," she said, " and we do not know this 
 gentleman at all ; 1 am afraid your father 
 will think it strange." 
 
 " Not he, indeed, mama," replied the other ; 
 " would he not do so directly, himself? — Well, 
 then, ask Doctor Haviland to come up, if 
 you hesitate only because we are alone. He is 
 evidently a gentleman, and it would be cruel to 
 let him go on when he is suffering so much. 
 I am sure papa would not like it at all." 
 
 This last argument seemed successful, for 
 when Reginald turned back slowly with the 
 hat in his hand, the elder lady in courteous 
 terms begged that he would accompany them 
 to the house, and send for the surgeon from 
 Dunchurch. Reginald Lisle now hesitated, 
 although he felt that he was hardly fit to pur- 
 sue his journey ; and to tell the truth, per- 
 haps, he might have persisted in trying to go 
 on, had not the younger lady said, with her 
 deep blue eyes fixed earnestly upon him, and 
 a very persuasive smile upon her lips, " In- 
 deed, sir, you must not think of proceeding 
 without some advice, and as my mother will 
 
LAUREL WATER. 115 
 
 be frightened all the way home, you cannot, 
 in courtesy, refuse to escort us." 
 
 If Lisle could have resisted the words, he 
 certainly could not resist the manner in which 
 they were uttered, and the only difficulty that 
 remained was, how to inform his two friends 
 of what had occurred, and whither he had 
 gone. That, however, was removed the mo- 
 ment after, while he was consulting with his 
 fair companions as to what was to be done; 
 for, spurring slowly along upon a jaded horse, 
 came Master Zachary Hargrave, bringing in- 
 telligence that Sir Theodore's chestnut had 
 come down in descending the hill, and broken 
 both its knees. " The major therefore thinks, 
 captain," continued the servant, " that it 
 will be better to go back to the Black Dog, 
 at Stratton. If you will return, we can get 
 a chaise there or at Ryton, and go on to- 
 morrow." 
 
 " Look there ! " said Lisle in return, point- 
 ing to his dead horse. "Tell them, I have had 
 a little affair with a highwayman here, and 
 he has shot my poor bay. If they will go 
 
 i 2 
 
116 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 back to Stratton, however, I will join them 
 to-night or to-morrow morning ' 
 
 "If he is able," added the younger lady, who 
 saw that Reginald's face was very pale. " The 
 horse fell upon him and hurt him, and we 
 must send to Dunchurch for a surgeon." 
 
 " Very well, miss, I will say so," replied 
 Hargrave; and turning his bridle he rode 
 back, while Reginald, putting the pistol in 
 his breast, accompanied the ladies at a very 
 slow and limping pace along the same sandy 
 road. The younger, with the light and 
 happy courage of youth, seemed to have 
 forgotten all fear, and talked even gaily of 
 their adventure: but her mother, holding fast 
 by her arm, seemed by no means so easilv 
 re-assurad, spoke but little, and continued to 
 gaze from time to time over the heath, as if 
 she expected every moment to see the figure 
 of the highwayman come cantering back 
 again. 
 
 "Thank God!" she cried, at length, "we 
 are at the park-gates! It is really terrible 
 this state of society, that one cannot walk 
 
LAUREL WATER. 117 
 
 half a mile from one's own house without 
 being exposed to robbery !" 
 
 " Well, dearest mother ! " said the young 
 lady, " as far as we are concerned, it might 
 have been worse ; for I am sure you will 
 admit that nobody could be more civil than he 
 was, although he did take your purse ; and, 
 indeed, I believe there was very little in it." 
 
 " There were seven guineas," replied the 
 lady ; " but that I should care nothing about. 
 It is the terror in which he put me that I 
 mind. You know, my dear Mary, I shall 
 not recover it for many weeks. — Civil ! I am 
 sure I thought he was as brutal as he could be, 
 frightful creature ! " 
 
 " No, no ! he was very handsome," cried the 
 young lady, and laughing, " he made a thou- 
 sand apologies for the trouble he gave in 
 obliging you to hand out your purse. If one 
 always met with such polite people, it would 
 rather be a pleasure to be robbed than other- 
 wise." 
 
 She spoke gaily and playfully, evidently 
 with the intention of effacing from her mother's 
 
118 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 mind the impression left by terror; but the 
 attempt was not successful, and although Re- 
 ginald, understanding her object, endeavoured, 
 as far as he could, to treat the matter lightly 
 also, the elder lady remained in a state of 
 nervous agitation all the way, declaring that 
 she had never heard any of the civil speeches 
 of the highwayman ; that she thought him the 
 most frightful man she had ever seen, and 
 that she w^as quite sure he would have mur- 
 dered them both, if their gallant companion 
 had not come up to their rescue. 
 
 Although Reginald did his best to be cheer- 
 ful, it cannot be denied that he suffered great 
 pain at every step he took ; and at length, after 
 having passed through the gates, and walked 
 some way through a very beautiful and ap- 
 parently extensive park, he stopped, just as 
 they got a view of an old Elizabethan mansion 
 at the distance of about a quarter of a mile, 
 saying, in a tone from which he could not 
 banish the expression of suffering, " I am afraid 
 I cannot go any further. You can meet with 
 no danger between this and the house, and I 
 
LAUREL WATER. 119 
 
 must, at all events, rest a little here, as I find 
 it impossible to proceed." 
 
 Taken up with her own terrors, the elder 
 lady had not perceived the pain which he 
 endured, nor his efforts to master it; hut 
 neither one nor the other had escaped the eye 
 of the daughter. " I saw how he was suf- 
 fering," she said, in a tone of deep feeling; 
 " but here is a nice mossy bank : if you will 
 sit here for a few minutes, we will send up a 
 carriage for you before it is quite dark." 
 
 No other plan could be proposed, and with 
 a faint smile at his own weakness, Reginald 
 seated himself while the two ladies went on. 
 It was nearly half an hour and quite dark, 
 before the sound of carriage wheels met his 
 ears ; for servants are not always as charitably 
 active as their masters, and the young lady's 
 injunctions to make haste were not attended 
 to with all the precision that she could have 
 desired. At length, however, the carriage 
 appeared, with a servant walking by the side, 
 seeking for the spot where Reginald had been 
 left ; and in five minutes from that time he was 
 
120 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 stretched upon a sofa in a large and handsome 
 drawing-room, with the two ladies by his side, 
 making eager inquiries as to how he felt after 
 his removal. 
 
 Everything looked cheerful around him ; 
 the room was well lighted ; there was a 
 cheerful fire blazing in the wide open 
 grate ; the furniture was rich and costly, 
 and there was as beautiful a face as ever was 
 seen, hanging over him with that sweet look 
 of interest which is the greatest of all con- 
 solers. Reginald Lisle thought that the com- 
 pensation was fully equal to the pain, and 
 almost hoped that the surgeon's opinion might 
 pin him to that sofa for many a day to come. 
 The arrival of the man of healing was not long 
 delayed ; for the servant sent for him rode 
 fast to Dunchurch, and he himself rode faster, 
 for a patient at the great house was not an 
 everyday occurrence, and well worthy of a 
 gallop. His first injunctions, however, were 
 by no means agreeable to Reginald Lisle ; for 
 they implied that he was to be immediately 
 removed to bed, and there, as he was well 
 
LAUREL WATER. 121 
 
 aware, according to the ways of society, the 
 beautiful face would be seen no more. How- 
 ever, he had no choice but to submit, and for 
 half an hour or more he was kept under the 
 torture of examination, fomentation, and all 
 the other ations with which skilful surgeons 
 make the process of cure as miserable as pos- 
 sible. The man of art had hardlv taken his 
 leave, promising an early visit on the following 
 day, when a heavy military tread was heard 
 along the corridor, and the next moment, the 
 tall, gaunt figure, and hawk-like face of his 
 friend the Ravenous Crow, appeared at Re- 
 ginald's bed-side. " Well, my lad," he ex- 
 claimed, " so you have got into a very curious 
 and uncomfortable mess ; not the less curious 
 because it is uncomfortable, nor the less un- 
 comfortable because it is curious." 
 
 ie Certainly not, Brandrum," replied Re- 
 ginald Lisle, and after having given him a 
 more circumstantial account of all that had 
 taken place, he explained to him how im- 
 possible it was for him to move, perhaps for 
 more than one day to come — a conviction 
 
122 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 which had forced itself upon him, in despite 
 of an eager and enthusiastic temperament, and 
 a spirit not easily cowed. 
 
 " Well, then, we will wait for a day or two," 
 said the good major. " The young spoiled 
 child of fortune will not be at all the worse 
 for a short drilling of a poor inn ; and for my 
 own part, as London may he a little too hot 
 to hold me just now, I shall do quite well in 
 the country. I shall not go in to pay my 
 compliments to the gay party below ; for I 
 came off in dusty garments as soon as I had 
 housed Sir Theodore." 
 
 Thus saying, he took his leave, and left Re- 
 ginald to seek such repose as aching bones 
 would grant. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 123 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Let the reader transport himself to the Black 
 Dog. What an extraordinary verb that verb 
 to transport is. It is a verb passive in most of 
 its senses, and yet it implies the excess of 
 human joy, and the extreme of human suffer- 
 ing. " I am transported," — it may be a great 
 lie or a simple truth — means that a man is 
 carried out of himself; that his spirit is borne 
 away from its natural placid home of even 
 everyday life to a state of joy indescribable. 
 " He was transported," means that the man 
 himself was carried from his native land, his 
 kinsmen, his friends, the domestic hearth, the 
 ties of dear affection, the long accustomed 
 objects of attachment, the scenes and things 
 which had grown into his soul and mingled 
 
124 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 with his spirit, to a new world of pain and 
 punishment, and worse than death — to degra- 
 dation here, to long days of anguish, and 
 labour, and privation, to the chain-gang and 
 the oppressor's rod, to the contagion of exam- 
 ple, to the corrupting influence of an atmo- 
 sphere of vice, to crimes unheard of, and to 
 moral death, where every feeling and principle 
 of action, and thought, and habit, and sight, 
 and sound, is all putrefaction, and horror, and 
 decay. It is a strange thing, the English lan- 
 guage, and stranger still to find that in almost 
 every tongue under the sun, the terms which 
 imply the highest, imply also the lowest ; the 
 words which signify perfect happiness, signify 
 also extreme misery. 
 
 Let the reader transport himself to the 
 Black Dog, and remember that an inn — a 
 small country inn — in the years 1775-6-7, 
 was a very different place from an inn in 
 1845-6-7. In general, in these small country 
 inns, at the period of which I speak, there was 
 one public room appropriated to the reception 
 of company. At Harrowgate, at Bath, at the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 125 
 
 Hot Well, at Clifton, and at one or two other 
 watering places, each suite of bedrooms might 
 have a sitting-room attached, for there persons 
 came for a specific purpose, which implied a 
 probable residence of some time ; but in the 
 country inn — the small country inn — a travel- 
 ler might stop for a night ; a family might 
 stop for a night ; a bagman might stop for 
 two or three nights ; and in the former or the 
 latter case — as men in those days had not such 
 a shuddering horror of the proximity of stran- 
 gers as they have at present — the one public 
 room was sufficient for all the purposes of the 
 road. If there were two gentlemen, with 
 straight-cut coats and long pig-tails, talking 
 of the price of leather, or the worth of calico, 
 or the call for broad-cloth, at one corner, there 
 might be two gentlemen in buckskin, talking 
 of policy, or horse-racing, or agriculture, at 
 the other, without interrupting each other in 
 the least. Sometimes, indeed, an observation 
 at one table or in one group, made in an over- 
 loud tone, would produce a cross-fire from the 
 other; and such events were known as bottles, 
 
126 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 or decanters, or pewter pots, flying across the 
 intervening space, as hostile messages to an 
 opposite party ; and swords would be drawn, 
 and scuffles ensue, till the landlord and the 
 constable interfered, and the landlord's wife, 
 with shrill voice and excited countenance, 
 scolded all round, with lungs peculiar to the 
 fair part of the Licensed Victuallers' Company. 
 But these things were of rare occurrence, and 
 a man might say, " I will take mine ease at 
 my inn," with less chance of disappointment 
 than in almost any other human aspiration. 
 There was a certain sort of code of politeness, 
 too, which regulated, in a great degree, the 
 intercourse of these places of public resort. 
 It was supposed that a civil speech would 
 produce a civil reply ; that there was a certain 
 sort of free-masonry about the place, which 
 made all men, to a certain degree, brothers, 
 while they remained therein — without implying 
 the slightest intimacy or even acquaintance, 
 from the moment that the foot passed to the 
 outer side of the threshold, unless both parties, 
 by mutual signs and indications, gave notice 
 
LAUREL WATER. 127 
 
 that they wished for closer and more perma- 
 nent communication. 
 
 This premised, it will be hardly necessary 
 to say, that the small inn called the Black 
 Dog, at Stratton-upon-Dunsmoor — I believe 
 the sign has descended to the present day — 
 contained but one room which deserved the 
 name of a sitting-room, and that was open to 
 all comers. If a family arrived and stayed 
 the night, and wished to be very exclusive, 
 they were under the necessity of converting a 
 bedroom into a dining-room or drawing-room ; 
 but that was a case which very rarely oc- 
 curred. 
 
 In that one sitting-room — it was upon the 
 ground-floor, with the windows looking out 
 upon the high road, not over-large, and some- 
 what low in the roof — sat Sir Theodore 
 Broughton and Major Brandrum, partaking 
 of a very comfortable supper, which greatly 
 refreshed the young baronet, who — though 
 capable of violent but not long-continued exer- 
 tion — had been somewhat tired, as well as his 
 horse, by riding the whole day long. The 
 
128 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 major had visited the bar before they had sat 
 down to supper, and had, with nice discrimina- 
 tion, tasted the more ordinary wines which, as 
 was then not unfrequent, the landlord drew 
 from the barrel for the benefit of his customers. 
 
 Now, to ask for claret in such an inn as 
 that, in our own degenerate times, would 
 be something worse than vain. You might 
 insult the landlord, and get vinegar and 
 water for your pains, but no claret ; but the 
 case was very different in those days, and the 
 pure juice of the Bordeaux grape was as fre- 
 quently to be found in a small road-side inn of 
 England, as on the banks of the Garonne or 
 the Dordogne. The Madeira did not please 
 the major, the port was somewhat worse, but 
 at the claret he raised his eyebrows with the 
 air of a connoisseur, and ordered a magnum, 
 informing Sir Theodore, in a whisper, that it 
 was the most delicate and high-flavoured wine 
 he had ever drunk ; not the less delicate be- 
 cause it was high-flavoured, nor the less high- 
 flavoured because it was delicate. 
 
 The young baronet was much of the same 
 
LAUREL WATER. 129 
 
 opinion, although his own cellar — thanks to 
 Captain Donovan's taste and discrimination — 
 contained some of the choicest vintages of 
 Guyeune ; and there they sat with the remains 
 of the supper before them, slowly sipping their 
 wine, the bouquet of which perfumed the whole 
 room. Sir Theodore, who, during the greater 
 part of his life — as is too often the case with 
 happy youth under the rule of severe age — had 
 lived in a state of awe, and who had been 
 suffered to indulge but little (which perhaps 
 would be better for all men) in that consoling 
 juice of the grape, which was undoubtedly 
 given for the comfort and support of declining 
 years, grew cheerful and familiar under the 
 influence of the claret. He conversed with his 
 military friend, not without considerable powers 
 of mind, and stores of knowledge, but evidently 
 rather anxious to gain from him some ac- 
 quaintance with the wide world, in which, and 
 in its wildest and most remote scenes, his 
 companion had been so busy an actor, than to 
 display his own information, limited to the 
 stores of classic lore. Major Brand rum was 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
130 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 inexhaustible; and were this an episodical 
 work, I might relate three or four very curious 
 tales and anecdotes which he told during the 
 evening, before the little party of two, which at 
 first tenanted the chamber, was increased by the 
 presence of a third. As it is my object, how- 
 ever, to tell one tale, and not many, I must 
 leave the account of his adventures in Xorth 
 America, South America, the Falkland Islands, 
 the Low Countries, Bengal, Spain, and Ger- 
 many, for another opportunity, and merely say 
 that as he was closing one of his narratives, 
 the door of the room opened, and gave admis- 
 sion to a very well-dressed and good-looking 
 man, of from thirty to nve-and-thirty years of 
 age. He was habited with great taste and 
 neatness, and seemed to have a respect for the 
 company he was about to join ; for his dress — 
 in which men were more particular at that time 
 than at present — was perfectly well fitted for 
 any evening party in London, perhaps more 
 so than for a country inn. He wore a claret 
 coloured coat, with cut steel button-. >ilk 
 b" eeches, and white silk stockings ; and al- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 131 
 
 though the buckles in his shoes were small, 
 they were of the very last device, and ex- 
 ceedingly brilliant. The ruffles at his wrists 
 were of the finest and most beautiful lace, and 
 his hand, which was small and delicate, was 
 ornamented with several very handsome rings. 
 His countenance was frank and pleasing, though 
 the under jaw was perhaps too large and massy 
 and his figure, though indicating great strength, 
 was light and graceful. His whole bearing 
 and appearance, in short, was that of a very 
 distinguished personage ; and there was that 
 slightest possible touch of superciliousness in 
 the curl of his lip, which is often to be found in 
 the lowest mental rank of the worldly great. 
 
 With a slow and deliberate step, the new 
 comer took his way to the fire-place, glancing 
 his eye for a moment at the two preoccupants 
 of the room, and then leaning his elbows on 
 the mantelpiece, and falling into a fit of medi- 
 tation. The moment after, he rang the bell, — 
 for bells were common, even in England, at 
 that time, though I can remember the day 
 when they were unknown in many parts of 
 
 k 2 
 
132 SIR THEODORE BROUCHTON ; OR 
 
 Germany, except in church steeples, — and 
 when the landlord appeared, he asked if his 
 supper was ready ? 
 
 " In a minute, colonel, — in a minute," replied 
 the host ; " it isn't quite your hour yet." 
 
 " Past, by five minutes," said the stranger, 
 taking out a very handsome watch, with the 
 numerous appendages which it was at that 
 time customary to attach to the little curious 
 contrivance by which man marks the passing 
 of the hours he misuses ; " past by five 
 minutes," he repeated, after he had examined 
 the dial. "You know I like to be punctual, 
 Harrison." 
 
 " I know you do, colonel," replied the other. 
 " Our clock must be behind." 
 
 " A bad habit for the clock," replied the 
 stranger, drily. " Correct it, Master Harrison, 
 or some day it will be brought to a stand." 
 
 " It will only share the fate, then, of many a 
 good neighbour of mine," replied the landlord, 
 laughing. " Have you heard, colonel, that 
 Lady Chevenix and the young lady have been 
 stopped, just under their awn park paling; and 
 
LAUREL WATER. 133 
 
 robbed of their watch, and money, and all 
 sorts of things?" 
 
 "Good Heaven!" exclaimed the stranger, 
 " this is too bad! Upon my life, if the gentle- 
 men in London do not look after these things, 
 it will be unsafe to travel without an escort. 
 When did this happen?" 
 
 " Oh, three or four hours ago," answered the 
 landlord; "those gentlemen brought the news, 
 for a friend of theirs came up just as the high- 
 wayman was taking the ladies' purses, and got 
 his horse shot for his pains, and himself very 
 much hurt." 
 
 " Hurt!" exclaimed the colonel again. "Did 
 the villain shoot him?" 
 
 " Not exactly," replied Major Brandrum, 
 chiming in — this conversation having gone on 
 in a loud tone ; " but he shot his horse, and 
 the horse fell, as horses will do when they are 
 shot, and, in falling, rolled upon our young 
 friend, which was both painful and detrimental; 
 and not the less detrimental because it was 
 painful, nor the less painful because it was 
 detrimental." 
 
134 SIR THEODORE EROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 c. 
 
 A very just distinction," said the stranger, 
 senteutiously ; "for it sometimes occurs that 
 things which are painful to us are rather bene- 
 ficial than detrimental." 
 
 "'True, O king!' replied Major Brandrum. 
 " In this case, however, it w r as the reverse, and 
 our young friend is suffering severely." 
 
 "I regret it deeply," said the stranger, 
 approaching the table, and presenting his snuff- 
 box to Major Brandrum, who immediately 
 took a pinch, and began to discuss the various 
 kinds and qualities of snuffs. Thence he de- 
 viated to tobacco ; described the cultivation of 
 the weed in almost every country under the 
 sun, and the differences between the leaf pro- 
 duced in different climates ; and displayed an 
 extent of information, not only upon that 
 topic, but upon a hundred collateral subjects, 
 which equally surprised Sir Theodore Brough- 
 ton and the stranger. 
 
 "You seem to have been a very great 
 traveller, sir," observed the last comer. 
 
 " I have had the honour of serving wherever 
 the British arms have been carried during the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 135 
 
 last five-and-twenty years," replied Major 
 Brandrum, "and in some other countries 
 besides. I have been in Canada, North Ame- 
 rica, South America, the West Indies, the 
 East Indies, the Falkland Islands, Germany, 
 Hungary, and Transylvania, Spain, Portugal, 
 and Italy, France, and the Low Countries, to 
 say nothing of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, 
 and Russia, with a short stay in Egypt and 
 Nubia, and flying visits to Borneo, Sumatra, 
 and Madagascar." 
 
 " May I ask, my dear sir," said the stranger, 
 with the slightest possible smile, " if I have 
 the honour of speaking to Captain Cook, Lord 
 Anson, or Captain Dampier?" 
 
 " No, sir," answered Major Brandrum, 
 laughing, and not at all offended by the jest. 
 " I am called the Ravenous Crow, much at 
 your service. May I ask your name in 
 return 1" 
 
 " My name is Colonel Lutwich," replied the 
 stranger ; and thus commenced a conversation 
 which lasted for some hours, and in which jest 
 and merriment soon predominated over the 
 
136 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 sliffer and more formal courtesies of early ac- 
 quaintance. The colonel's sapper was placed 
 upon a table near that of the two other gentle- 
 men, and during his meal he continued amus- 
 ing himself with a strain of fine raillery, 
 directed against our worthy friend, Major 
 Brandrum, but in which he did not altogether 
 get the better, for the major had all his wits 
 about him, and was occasionally rather fond 
 of that moderate approximation to the very 
 vulgar kind of fun termed a hoax, which 
 has been termed mystification. To say the 
 truth, too, from particular circumstances, he 
 was less scrupulous perhaps with, the colonel 
 than he might have been with other men, and 
 he was soon in full tilt amongst his friends 
 the Cherokees, relating exploits both of him- 
 self and others, which, though in the main 
 perfectly true, sounded incredible from the 
 manner in which he told them. 
 
 " Very formidable weapons, I have no 
 doubt, those tomahawks," said the colonel ; 
 £ ' but I should think a pass or two with a 
 good small sword would soon settle the affair 
 
LAUREL WATER. 137 
 
 with the most dexterous Mohawk of them, 
 all." 
 
 " JS T ot at all, colonel," replied Major Bran- 
 drum. " I would undertake now, old as I am, 
 to disarm you in five minutes, though I have 
 no doubt you are a perfect master of fence. 
 What will you bet and stake down? Will 
 you say a guinea? There is one now, the 
 best miniature picture of King George that I 
 am acquainted with." 
 
 " A wager we cannot decide upon the spot," 
 said Colonel Lutwich, who had by this time 
 finished a considerable portion of claret like- 
 wise, " otherwise I should be very happy. 
 We shall have to send to ^orth America, or 
 to some museum of curiosities, for the toma- 
 hawk." 
 
 " Ah ! a good workman never fails for want 
 of tools," said the major ; " we '11 soon find 
 what will do as well. There must be a hatchet 
 in the house. Come stake down, colonel;" 
 and at the same time he rang the bell 
 sharply. 
 
 " Mr. Harrison," he said, as soon as the 
 
138 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON; OR, 
 
 landlord appeared, " will you have the kind- 
 ness to bring me a pair of slippers and a 
 hatchet?" 
 
 Mr. Harrison stared. " I am going to per- 
 form for the amusement of the company," 
 proceeded Major Brandrum, in explanation, 
 " in what may be called my native character of 
 the Ravenous Crow. It will all be in good 
 humour, and therefore if you have any women 
 in the house, who would like to see the true 
 Cherokee mode of defence against a European 
 soldier, they may come and share in the enter- 
 tainment. Now, colonel, stake down/' 
 
 " Ah ! with all my heart," answered the 
 other, drawing an exceedingly delicate purse 
 from his pocket, of blue silk, embroidered 
 with gold, from which he produced a guinea, 
 and laid it on the table, colouring a good deal 
 as he did so under Major Brandrum 's eye." 
 
 In the mean time the landlord had quitted 
 the room to obey the orders he had received. 
 Strange things were enacted in those days in 
 the inns and taverns of England, and Mr. 
 Harrison went upon the excellent rule of sup- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 139 
 
 plying everything that his house could pro- 
 duce to those who demanded it, and could pay 
 for it, and asking no questions as to the em- 
 ployment thereof. He accordingly returned 
 in a minute or two with a pair of slippers, into 
 which the major's feet, being unbooted, were 
 speedily introduced, and a hatchet, which that 
 gallant officer first poised in his hand, declar- 
 ing that the handle was rather heavy, and 
 then whirled round his head in a manner that 
 startled, frightened, and delighted a small 
 bevy of women, who, on Mr. Harrison's 
 notification, had crowded to the door. 
 
 " Come in, ladies, come in," cried Major 
 Brandrum ; " I will scalp nobody, I promise 
 you ; and although this tool is not so manage- 
 able as a real tomahawk, it will do, I've no 
 doubt. You will excuse my taking off my coat 
 and waistcoat, for the air is somewhat sultry ; " 
 and divesting himself of his upper garments, 
 with the hatchet in his hand, he stood forth in 
 the midst, tall, lean, and sinewy, and certainly 
 most portentously ugly and somewhat fright- 
 ful; for he had contrived, by running his 
 
140 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 fingers through it, to make the long narrow 
 stripe of grisled black hair upon the top of his 
 skull to stand up like the crest of some strange 
 bird. " Now, colonel," he said, " place your- 
 self where you please, and we will begin the 
 monomachia." 
 
 With easy grace, and a light confident 
 smile, his adversary took his position at the 
 other end of the room, drew his sword, and 
 placed himself in the attitude of attack. It was 
 evident, from the very first movements, that he 
 was a master of his weapon ; but while the 
 landlady and her maidens exclaimed, " Why 
 surely they are not going to fight really?" 
 and Sir Theodore Broughton ventured to re- 
 monstrate, in a low tone, against such danger- 
 ous pastime, Major Brandrum coolly placed 
 his watch upon the table, saying, " Five 
 minutes, you know, colonel. Now begin. 
 Mark the watch, Sir Theodore." 
 
 Thus dared, Colonel Lutwich advanced cau- 
 tiously upon his adversary, made a feint and 
 then a lunge, but his blade was instantly met 
 by the hatchet, and parried successfully. A 
 
LAUREL WATER. 141 
 
 little mortified, and a little puzzled, for lie did 
 not apparently wish to hurt his opponent, the 
 younger gentleman lunged again, and then 
 again, but still the hatchet met him ; till at 
 length, both becoming more eager, their 
 movements grew rapid ; the hatchet and the 
 sword flashed about in every direction ; and 
 spinning round upon his heel, like a dancer in 
 a ballet, while his weapon whirled round and 
 round him, dazzling the eyes that attempted to 
 follow it, the Ravenous Crow seemed not 
 alone animated with the spirit of the Cherokee, 
 but actually to have eyes in the back of his 
 head, for wherever the lunges, now become 
 fierce and rapid, seemed likely to strike him, 
 there the invariable hatchet met them, and 
 turned them aside. 
 
 The landlord laughed, the women screamed, 
 and Sir Theodore Broughton sat in wonder and 
 terror, till at length, with a fiend-like whoop, the 
 Indian sprang upon his adversary, seized his 
 right hand, and both rolled over upon the floor 
 together ; but the sword was in Major Bran- 
 drum's grasp, and with another yell that 
 
142 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 shook the whole house, he waved the hatchet 
 over his opponent's head. 
 
 The worthy major, however, cast off his 
 Indian character more rapidly than might have 
 been expected perhaps, relaxed his fell gripe 
 of the colonel, and retiring to the other side of 
 the room, laid the sword and the hatchet upon 
 the table, and resumed his coat, his waistcoat, 
 and his ordinary air. 
 
 The defeated swordsman rose from the 
 ground confounded and ashamed. The colour 
 was very high in his cheek, and it was evident 
 that a good deal of heat and an^er followed 
 his defeat ; but his adversary, the moment he 
 was dressed or redressed, advanced towards 
 him with a frank and good-humoured air, and 
 presented him his sword, saying, " Upon my 
 life, colonel, I never met a better fencer. I 
 thought you would have pinked me several 
 times, though I never yet saw a sword that 
 could compete with a Cherokee tomahawk, 
 rightly played. The French are very skilful 
 at their weapons, but the best rapier of them 
 all is no match for a tomahawk. It is scarcely 
 
LAUREL WATER. 143 
 
 fair to take your stake, for I knew that the 
 game was unequal, and you did not." 
 
 " Oh, no ! it is yours, it is yours, fairly 
 enough," cried the other gentleman, recovering 
 his good humour immediately ; " I had no idea 
 that a hatchet was such a manageable weapon. 
 I think I must take some lessons." 
 
 " I will give you some with all my heart," 
 replied Major Brandrum ; " and as you are 
 twice as young and as active as I am, you will 
 soon excel me far. I will come and call upon 
 you some day with a real tomahawk, and show 
 you how to use it." 
 
 " Do you know where to find me ? " asked 
 the colonel in a civil tone. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " answered the Ravenous Crow, 
 " I can always find my friends when I want 
 them," and at the same time he nodded his 
 head significantly. 
 
 Colonel Lutwich seated himself at his table 
 and fell into a fit of thought, and in a few min- 
 utes after, Sir Theodore Broughton, who had 
 taken, to say the truth, more exercise, wine, and 
 excitement, than was altogether good for him, 
 
144 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 rose and retired to rest. Major Brandrum re- 
 mained to finish what claret was left in the 
 magnum, and for a few minutes a dead silence 
 prevailed between him and his late oppo- 
 nent. " Come, come, colonel," he said at 
 length, " I am sure you are too gallant a man 
 to bear ill will. Let us drink a cheerful toast 
 together." 
 
 " With all my heart ! " cried the other, ex- 
 tending his hand frankly ; " I was not thinking 
 of our late bout at all, major. I was only try- 
 ing to recollect where you and I could have met 
 before." 
 
 The Ravenous Crow bent forward his head 
 till his beak almost touched his companion's 
 temple, and then whispered a word or two 
 in his ear. The colonel started, turned a 
 little pale, and gazed at Major Brandrum sted- 
 fastly. 
 
 " Upon honour ? " he said in a very peculiar 
 tone. 
 
 "Upon honour!" replied the major; " al- 
 though, perhaps, I might be justified in saving 
 no — but come, let us have our toast. Here 's 
 
LAUREL WATER. 145 
 
 success to all ways of life, and the honester the 
 better." 
 
 " With all my heart ! " said Colonel Lutwich, 
 draining his glass ; " but what brings you so far 
 from London, Major Brandrum? I should 
 have thought you were looking out for fresh 
 service." 
 
 " Why, my dear fellow," answered the 
 major, " you see I am in rather an awkward 
 position. There 's a man who was half-drowned 
 with me once, half-burned with me once, of 
 the name of Wilkinson — as great a rogue as 
 ever lived, ten times as bad as a fellow who 
 takes a purse on the highway. He got me to 
 put my name to a couple of bills for him, swear- 
 ing and vowing that though he had cheated 
 half Europe before, he would never cheat an 
 old friend and fellow-sufferer, but would have 
 the money ready to a moment. I lent him a 
 hundred guineas into the bargain, which he was 
 to pay at the same time, but he has done neither 
 the one nor the other, which is dishonourable 
 and unfriendly ; and not the less dishonourable 
 because it is unfriendly, nor the less unfriendly 
 
 VOL. I. l 
 
146 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON* ; OK, 
 
 because it is dishonourable. So there are 
 now two writs out against me, information of 
 which inspired me with a desire to travel. 
 They shall be backed by all the sheriffs in 
 England and Wales, before they are served 
 upon me ; and, in the mean time, I may catch 
 Master Wilkinson, and take part payment with 
 a tough ash-stick." 
 
 " He is a great villain," answered the colo- 
 nel ; " for, to my certain knowledge, if the debt 
 is not a very heavy one, he can pay it. I know 
 the fellow well : he won two thousand pounds 
 of Joe Benson the other day. When do you 
 gol 
 
 The question was rather abruptly put, and 
 Major Brandrum found it not easy to answer. 
 " Why, I don't exactly know," he replied. 
 " My poor friend Lisle is a good deal hurt, and 
 when he will be able to go on I don't know. I 
 certainly sha'n't go on without him. When a 
 man's knee is crushed by a horse falling, you 
 know, colonel, there is no certainty of how far 
 the mischief may go." 
 
 "Why, what Lisle is that?" asked the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 147 
 
 other ; " not the Lisle who distinguished himself 
 so much at Bunker's Hill ? " 
 
 The major nodded his head, and Colonel 
 Lutwich continued in a tone of much sympathy, 
 " I am very sorry for that, indeed ; but which 
 way do you go, major, when you do go ? ' 
 
 " Oh ! straight on," answered Major Bran- 
 drum, "by Daventry and Stony - Stratford, 
 and either there or at Dunstable I shall leave 
 them, for it might not be quite safe to get much 
 nearer the great Maelstrom — which is a whirl- 
 pool or vortex in the sea, off the coast of Nor- 
 way, colonel, as perhaps you know, and the 
 best image of London I ever saw." 
 
 " Well, I shall go on before you," said 
 Colonel Lutwich, thoughtfully ; " and perhaps 
 may be coming back again about the time 
 you are on the road. If so, we shall have 
 some further talk about your affairs." 
 
 " Take care what you are about, colonel," 
 replied the Ravenous Crow, laughing ; " re- 
 member there are highwaymen about." 
 
 " Oh ! I am not afraid," replied Colonel 
 Lutwich. " I have got my horses down here, 
 
 l 2 
 
148 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 but I think I shall post. Let us have another 
 magnum, major." 
 
 " A bottle will do," replied Major Bran- 
 drum ; and after discussing that quantity, they 
 shook hands with a good deal of warmth, and 
 each retired to bed. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 149 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 We are a cold nation ; there can be no doubt 
 of the fact. In general, it takes a great deal 
 to warm us ; and then the fire is not very hot. 
 We even wonder at the fiercer passions of 
 more ardent nations, and we have to remember 
 that the scene was Italy or Egypt, ere the 
 burning words of Juliet, or the rapt self-aban- 
 donment of Antony, cease to excite surprise. 
 Except in Shakspeare, who could conceive all 
 things, and once in Herrick, there is hardly 
 a piece of passionate love poetry in the lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Nevertheless, there are exceptions ; and 
 sometimes it happens that the eager love at 
 first sight which made Juliet exclaim, — 
 
 11 Go ask his name. — If he be married, 
 My grave is like to be my wedding bed," 
 
150 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 is found even in English men and women. 
 Perhaps, too — as the hardest and the coldest 
 fuel, when once lighted, burns with the most 
 durable and warmest fire — the hearts that are 
 least easily kindled by passion retain it long- 
 est and brightest when it is aroused. It is a 
 curious fact, too, — but no less a fact — that the 
 warm, eager, impetuous love I have described, 
 is seldom without return, if it be excited by 
 one with a free heart. It may startle, surprise, 
 alarm even, at first ; but, like a torrent, it car- 
 ries all before it when the first resistance is 
 vanquished. 
 
 Reginald Lisle thought all night of the deep 
 blue eyes, and their jetty fringes, and the 
 bright face full of soul and heart ; and he re- 
 membered each look as the page of a student's 
 book, which, when rightly translated, was re- 
 plete of poetry. 
 
 The reader unlearned in untutored nature — 
 the reader who has been bound in the conven- 
 tional habits of a rigid society, will ask, "What! 
 after one brief interview?" or perhaps he may 
 
LAUREL WATER. 151 
 
 fancy that Reginald Lisle's was one of those 
 very volcanic hearts which are always in an 
 eruption. 
 
 ISTo such thing. He had never loved before, 
 for his short life had been a very active one ; 
 but its course had been so shaped by circum- 
 stances, that love had never lain in its way. 
 He had met many beautiful girls, it is true, 
 and many very amiable girls doubtless ; but 
 his was a peculiar mind, which sought some- 
 thing more than mere beauty, or mere gentle- 
 ness, and he had never found, or fancied he 
 had found it. 
 
 Take a sphere, reader, and try to put it in a 
 hollow cube containing the same measure, or 
 even something more. You cannot do it, do 
 what you will. In short, it does not fit. No 
 other shape will do but a hollow sphere, and 
 thus it is with human sympathies, more espe- 
 cially when they have place in a firm and sted- 
 fast heart. 
 
 I have said that Reginald Lisle thought of 
 those sweet eyes all night — and from time to 
 
152 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON; OR, 
 
 time throughout the night he certainly did so. 
 Nor is it at all improbable, that the very 
 nature of his thoughts helped greatly to keep 
 him waking, and to make him think at all. But, 
 still, it must be admitted that pain had some- 
 thing to do with his watchfulness. For four 
 or five hours, all the applications of the sur- 
 geon seemed to have produced no effect, at 
 least in mitigating the aching of his knee, 
 and whenever weariness made him drop off 
 into sleep, a new pang woke him again. At 
 length, however, the pain diminished, and just 
 as the first gray streaks were in the sky, 
 slumber more calm and quiet than any he 
 had yet known during the night fell upon him. 
 It lasted not long indeed, but when he woke 
 again the broad daylight stole into the room 
 through the curtain chinks, and Reginald 
 Lisle forgetting the surgeon's injunctions, and 
 saying, " I feel quite well — I will get up," rose 
 from his bed, and proceeded to dress himself 
 as well as he could, deprived as he was of all 
 the usual appliances but mere soap and water. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 153 
 
 It would have been difficult, however, to spoil 
 his appearance, for there was the gentleman 
 in every feature and every line, and though 
 somewhat pale, at the end of his hasty toilet, 
 his face was still one that woman's eyes might 
 look upon well pleased. 
 
 Perhaps Lisle felt, as he was dressing, that 
 he was doing an imprudent thing, and that it 
 would have been better to follow counsel and 
 lie still ; nevertheless he went on dressing him- 
 self to the end, although he experienced much 
 pain in doing so ; and I am afraid the beautiful 
 eyes had somewhat to do with his obstinacy. 
 When he was dressed, he sat down for a 
 moment or two to rest, but soon started up 
 again, and opening his room-door went out. 
 A voyage of discovery in a strange house, is 
 not always an uninteresting enterprise : there 
 is so much of the character of the owner, in 
 the dwelling, that one might almost learn the 
 natural history of the inhabitants by the 
 various objects which a house displays. 
 
 Reginald found himself at once in a long 
 
154 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON; OR, 
 
 and large corridor terminating in a staircase, 
 and lighted by a window at each end. On 
 the wide landing at the head of the stairs 
 were two rich china vases of the size, and pro- 
 bably of the shape, of the oil-jars of Ali Baba's 
 friend, the robber ; and from thence proceeded 
 an odour common in the houses of our grand- 
 mothers, and proceeding from what I believe 
 was called pot pourri: not a very savoury 
 name ; but yet the odour was extremely fra- 
 grant. The walls of the landing-place were 
 hung with small pictures, some of them ex- 
 ceedingly good, and these the young officer 
 paused to examine with an artist's eye. On a 
 large ebony pedestal, too, there was a marble 
 bust, very beautifully chiselled, and pure as 
 snow. It was that of a gentleman of five or 
 six and thirty years of age, and the features 
 seemed familiar to the eye of Reginald Lisle ; 
 but the sculptor — whether in good taste or not, 
 let those judge who are competent — had 
 chosen to dress an English gentleman of the 
 last century in the garb of an old Roman, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 155 
 
 and consequently the likeness, if not lost, was 
 without any accessory help. 
 
 Descending the stairs, Reginald came to a hall 
 decorated with more pictures, notsogood as those 
 above, and a great number of little objects of 
 curiosity and art. He thought he knew the 
 drawing-room door by a large and handsome 
 japan cabinet which stood near it; and he 
 accordingly applied his hand to the lock and 
 went in. Fortune favoured him. The sun 
 was not shining directly on the windows, but 
 its light poured free over the grassy lawn 
 beyond, and there, at the open casement, stood 
 the same light and graceful form which had 
 occupied so much of his thoughts within the 
 last eight hours, with the right arm resting 
 upon the side of the window, and supporting 
 the whole figure, one small foot crossed lightly 
 over the other, and the head bent slightly to 
 the side. The grace of the whole was perfect, 
 and Reginald paused for a single instant to 
 gaze, while she seemed lost in meditation. 
 Two steps more, and the sound of his foot- 
 
156 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 fall caught her ear, making her start and 
 suddenly look round. An expression varying 
 from surprise to pleasure, and then to grave 
 apprehension, came over, her face ; but that 
 which Reginald Lisle most marked, and which 
 pleased him most, was the warm blush which 
 fluttered over her cheek when she first saw 
 him. 
 
 Could she have been thinking of him ? It 
 was a question he did not ask himself, for he 
 was not vain ; but which the reader perhaps 
 may ask, and which, if he do, I will not take 
 upon myself to answer. Certain it is that her 
 demeanour corresponded with the changes of 
 her looks ; for she first paused as if in doubt 
 how to act, then stretched out her hand to 
 him, and then began to scold him kindly for 
 rising. It was exceedingly imprudent, she 
 said, and very wrong ; but he assured her that 
 he was much better, and that it would do him 
 no harm. 
 
 Then began a conversation which could 
 only take place between two people, one of 
 
LAUREL WATER. 157 
 
 whom at the least, intended to fall in love 
 with the other — wild, wandering, dreamy, 
 roaming from the smallest things to the 
 greatest, with the name of love never men- 
 tioned, but with the latent passion warming 
 the ground, like the subterraneous fire near 
 the crater of a volcano. 
 
 The reader has already had a specimen of 
 .Reginald Lisle's conversation, so that it would 
 be unnecessary and indiscreet to repeat all 
 that was said at present, for though there was 
 a great difference in the subjects and in the 
 words from that which he had held with Sir 
 Theodore Broughton, yet there was the same 
 general character. It was, in short, full of 
 imagination, but imagination always directed 
 aright, ruled and guided by a fine mind and 
 high principles of thought as well as action. 
 
 There is many a man who will think a wrong 
 thing, but will not do it. He only is happy 
 who does neither the one nor the other. 
 Thoughts are the mind's deeds, and if mind be 
 immortal, these are recorded for immortality. 
 
158 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 I have said that his conversation on the 
 present occasion was, in several respects, very 
 different from that which he had first held 
 with Sir Theodore Broughton ; but such was 
 the case naturally enough. His present com- 
 panion was a young and beautiful girl. The 
 age as well as the sex made a difference — not 
 that she was older than the young baronet in 
 years, for such perhaps was not the case, but 
 she was older in mind — in feelings. All 
 women are older than their male contempo- 
 raries. Her intellect was more expanded, 
 more free, more active ; perhaps it was na- 
 turally of a firmer character than the youth's ; 
 and she now followed Reginald on all the 
 paths where he chose to lead her with a free 
 light step, and a face sometimes grave, some- 
 times smiling, but always intelligent, and 
 always pleased. Sometimes, too, when she had 
 nearly lost him in one of his wild Mights, and 
 he came back within sight again, a timid, 
 mantling blush of pleasure would spread over 
 her bright face, and make it look a thousand- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 159 
 
 fold more lovely than ever. Her heart was 
 free, her spirit un soiled by the world ; and 
 when, at the end of three-quarters of an hour 
 her mother opened the drawing-room door, 
 she thought the minutes she had passed there 
 the very pleasantest she had ever spent in life. 
 That was going a great way, reader; but it 
 is true she went quite as far as that, and she 
 was not wrong. 
 
 The elder lady reproached her daughter 
 very gently for not having made breakfast, 
 and reproved her guest for not having obeyed 
 orders. The young lady coloured, and ex- 
 cused herself as best she might, and Reginald 
 repeated his assurance that he was much 
 better; but the lady of the house still shook 
 her head gravely, and led the way to the 
 breakfast table, with a moral reflection upon 
 the restless impatience of young men. 
 
 She was no great talker ; a somewhat timid 
 and retiring person, with strong feelings and 
 strong affections hidden under a good deal of 
 reserve ; but there was something so winning 
 
160 SIR THEODORE BBOUGHTOlf J OR, 
 
 in Reginald's manner, so buoyant, so irresis- 
 tible (I must use a word I hate), in his con- 
 versation, that even she was carried away by 
 it, and enjoyed his society nearly as much as 
 her daughter. Nearly — not quite, reader, for 
 there was a difference of four-arid-twenty years 
 between them. 
 
 Before breakfast was over, the surgeon was 
 announced ; and his air of consternation on per- 
 ceiving his patient seated at table, made Regi- 
 nald smile. He suffered himself to be carried 
 off, however; and for nearly half an hour 
 mother and daughter waited to hear the report. 
 
 At the end of that time, the surgeon returned 
 alone. 
 
 " Well, where is your patient, and how is 
 he?" asked the elder lady, while her daughter 
 sat silent, with some degree of apprehension at 
 his non-appearance. 
 
 " He is in bed, your ladyship," was the re- 
 ply ; " and very much worse for having risen. 
 There is a considerable degree of inflammation 
 about the knee, which must absolutely be 
 
LAUREL WATER. 161 
 
 brought down. lie must have on twelve 
 leeches, and then, if he will but keep perfectly- 
 quiet, he may perhaps proceed on his journey 
 the day after to-morrow. If he had obeyed 
 my directions, he would have saved himself a 
 whole day's confinement; and I must re- 
 quest your ladyship to enforce obedience at 
 present, otherwise I will not be answerable for 
 the consequences. The inflammation might 
 affect the cartilages, and leave him with a stiff 
 joint for life, or even require amputation." 
 
 " Good Heaven, how horrible !" cried the 
 younger lady. " If he comes down again, I 
 will drive him back myself." 
 
 " Pray, do," replied the surgeon ; and 
 then, turning to her mother, he inquired, 
 " Does your ladyship know who the young 
 gentleman is? He seems a person of dis- 
 tinction." 
 
 " I should certainly judge so," replied the 
 mistress of the house : " and, I must say, he is 
 one of the most agreeable young men I ever 
 met with ; but I have no idea of his name. 
 
 vol. i. M 
 
162 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON' ; OR, 
 
 According to the old rules of hospitality, we 
 have never asked his name." 
 
 " I fished a little for it," rejoined the sur- 
 geon, " but was not successful ; and I thought 
 your ladyship must know. But I will find 
 out — I will find out. I hear there are two 
 gentlemen — friends of his — waiting for him at 
 the Black Dog, with a number of horses and 
 servants. I will just drop in upon them as I 
 go back, give them a report of the case, and 
 then I can inquire his name." 
 
 Neither of the ladies said, " Pray, do," but 
 they did not tell him not ; and the surgeon 
 cantered away upon his errand. 
 
 He was disappointed, however, for he found 
 at the inn that Reginald's two companions 
 had ridden out to see some sight, at ten or 
 twelve miles' distance, and all he learned was 
 that one was called Major Brandrum, and the 
 other Sir Theodore Broughton. That was 
 something, however, and at night he rode 
 back to pay his evening visit with that degree 
 of increased importance which attaches to the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 163 
 
 possession of information. His first visit was, 
 of course, to the two ladies ; and to them he 
 immediately communicated the fact, that their 
 guest must certainly be a gentleman of con- 
 sequence, inasmuch as he was travelling with 
 Major Brandrum and Sir Theodore Brough- 
 ton. 
 
 The first name did not at all possess the 
 ladies with an opinion that his conclusion was 
 correct ; for in those days commissions in the 
 army were given away with very little discri- 
 mination, and the fact of being a major, or even 
 a colonel, did not at all prove that the indi- 
 vidual was not a valet-de-chambre, or an 
 infant. The name of Sir Theodore Broughton, 
 however, brought up a look of surprise in the 
 face of the elder lady, and she exclaimed, " Sir 
 Theodore is forbidden, I suppose, to visit us ; 
 but at all events this intelligence gives us an 
 assurance of the station and character of oar 
 guest." 
 
 " He cannot be that horrid Captain Dono- 
 van, I am sure," answered the younger lady. 
 
 m 2 
 
164 SIR THEODORE BBOUGHTONJ OR, 
 
 " Oh, no, my dear child !" replied her 
 mother ; " Captain Donovan is twenty years 
 older, and a very different man in appearance. 
 I have seen him. As to this young gentleman 
 I am quite satisfied. He is all that one would 
 wish in manners and behaviour, and he must 
 be a man of honour and respectability, or 
 Captain Donovan would never admit him into 
 Sir Theodore's society. To do the man but 
 justice, he is only too strict and severe as to 
 his ward's companions." 
 
 " Oh, I will find out the young gentleman's 
 name, my lady, depend upon it," answered the 
 surgeon. " I know how to pump it out of 
 him without seeming to do so." 
 
 " I beg you will not, on any account," re- 
 plied the elder lady, in a somewhat cold tone ; 
 " we shall doubtless have his own name from 
 his own lips before he goes : and, in the mean 
 time, I think pumping at all, as you call it, 
 sir, is quite unnecessary, and would be im- 
 proper." 
 
 Not well pleased with the rebuke, the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 165 
 
 ■ 
 
 worthy surgeon took his leave, and pro- 
 ceeded to visit his patient, whom he found 
 decidedly better ; and, notwithstanding the 
 warning he had received, he went on, for his 
 own satisfaction, to angle for the young gentle- 
 man's name, resolving that the lady of the 
 house should not have the advantage of any 
 information he might obtain. 
 
 " I am happy I shall be able to give your 
 friends at the inn so good an account," he 
 said. " I think you may get down stairs 
 to-morrow evening, and may travel, in a 
 chaise, a day or two after. I dare say, Sir 
 Theodore and the major are very anxious 
 about you." 
 
 " Oh, no, my dear sir," replied Reginald ; 
 " Sir Theodore is too voung; to attribute much, 
 importance to such accidents, and Major 
 Brandrum has seen too many severe injuries 
 produce no bad results, to feel any alarm 
 regarding this." 
 
 " Pray, can I give them any message for 
 you, sir?' ; inquired the man of healing again. 
 
166 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 " I pass by the door, and shall just look in 
 upon them." 
 
 " None, I thank you," replied Captain 
 Lisle ; " unless it were that I should be 
 obliged to Brandrum if he would send over 
 my small black portmanteau which was upon 
 the brown horse. I am very much in want of 
 my razors, and other dressing things." 
 
 " But whose portmanteau am I to say, my 
 dear sir 1 " asked the surgeon, with a peculiar 
 air. " You must remember, that though I 
 belong to a learned profession, I am amongst 
 the ignorant as to your name — and so is Lady 
 Chevenix, I find." 
 
 " Lady Chevenix ! " said Reginald Lisle, in 
 a thoughtful tone — " is the lady I had the 
 pleasure of assisting, Lady Chevenix?" 
 
 " Yes, sir; the wife of Colonel Sir Charles 
 Chevenix," replied the surgeon. " A charm- 
 ing person she is, and so is Sir Charles, too — 
 one of the gayest, most light-hearted, friendly 
 gentleman I ever knew. He is, unfortunately, 
 absent just now. But, as I was saying, Lady 
 
LAUREL WATER. 167 
 
 Chevenix is as ignorant of your name as your 
 humble servant." 
 
 Reginald started as from a fit of profound 
 thought — " I will have the honour of inform- 
 ing her myself to-morrow," he replied. " In 
 the mean time, I will write a note to Major 
 Brandrum, if you will be good enough to 
 present it. Could you give me those writing 
 materials ? " 
 
 The surgeon did as he was asked, and Regi- 
 nald Lisle, sitting up in bed, wrote the follow- 
 ing few lines : — 
 
 " My dear Crow, 
 
 " This will be given you by the surgeon 
 who is attending me — a talkative fellow, full 
 of curiosity, who is anxious to know my name. 
 Do not give it to him, and prevent Sir Theo- 
 dore from so doing. You may guess some 
 of my reasons, when I tell you, I have just 
 discovered that I am in the house of Sir 
 Charles Chevenix. I shall certainly rejoin 
 you the day after to-morrow. In the mean 
 
1G8 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 time, send me over, by some of the people of 
 the inn, the small black portmanteau which 
 was upon the brown horse. 
 
 " Yours ever, 
 
 Reginald Lisle." 
 
 This written, he sealed and addressed his 
 letter, and gave it into the hands of the sur- 
 geon, who retired, fully satisfied that though 
 frustrated at present, he should obtain the 
 information he desired before the night was 
 over. 
 
 Reginald Lisle, as soon as he was alone, 
 plunged into thought again, and meditated 
 bitterly. 
 
 
LAUREL WATER. 
 
 169 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 It wanted about twenty minutes to the din- 
 ner hour, on the following day, when Regi- 
 nald Lisle appeared in the drawing-room. 
 It was still untenanted, and he gazed round 
 with a very sad and pensive air, marking 
 the different objects which it contained with 
 the degree of interest that we feel in even 
 small and insignificant things which have 
 connected themselves with any of the strong 
 emotions of the heart. He was only left 
 about five minutes alone, however, ere Mary 
 Chevenix appeared and greeted him with a 
 joyful congratulation upon his recovery. But 
 Reginald answered in so grave a tone, that 
 she could not help remarking it, and said, 
 " You are suffering still, I am afraid, and I 
 
170 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 am foolishly taking it for granted that you are 
 quite well, because old Doctor Haviland al- 
 lows you to come down." 
 
 " Oh, no ; I am much better," replied Regi- 
 nald ; " and if I am suffering, it is not from 
 the late accident, Miss Chevenix." 
 
 " Then you are suffering," she said ; " I 
 was sure of it; for yesterday when the sur- 
 geon gave so grave an account of you, you 
 were quite cheerful, and now you seem quite 
 sad." 
 
 " There are sufferings of the mind as well 
 as of the body," answered the young officer ; 
 "and I know none greater than unavailing 
 regret for any act that we have ourselves 
 done." 
 
 She gazed at him for a moment with a look 
 of surprise and inquiry, and then replied, " I 
 do not clearly understand you. I cannot 
 think that you are one to do anything that you 
 could bitterly regret." 
 
 " Oh, yes ;" answered Reginald. " Onco, in 
 my mere youth, I did what I have regretted 
 
LAUREL WATER. 
 
 171 
 
 ever since, and now more than ever. I will 
 not speak of it more at present, however, 
 for my secret will be all explained to-morrow 
 before I leave you." 
 
 "And do you really go to-morrow?" in- 
 quired Miss Chevenix. " Oh, are you fit?" 
 
 " Fit or not fit, I must go if it be possible," 
 replied Keginald Lisle. " I must not stay 
 longer in this house." 
 
 "Why? why?" demanded his beautiful 
 companion, with her deep blue eyes raised 
 eagerly to his face. " If travelling is likely to 
 injure you, why should you not stay?" 
 
 Reginald Lisle took her hand for a single 
 instant, saying, "Thank you, thank you for 
 your kind interest ; but it would be far more 
 dangerous to my peace to stay, than to my 
 health to go." 
 
 The warm blood came up into her face, then 
 fled from it again, and left it pale as a moon- 
 light night. Reginald saw that he was under- 
 stood ; and there was a struggle in his breast 
 as to whether he should say more ; but resolu- 
 
172 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 tion triumphed, and while Mary Chevenix 
 turned and walked with an uncertain step to 
 the window, he remained silently gazing on the 
 ground. After she had reached the window, 
 however, and had seemed to gaze out for an 
 instant, she suddenly turned, and with glowing 
 cheek said, in a low tone, " I wish you would 
 stay. I am sure you are not fit to travel. I see 
 no cause why you should go ; and my father, 
 who will be home in three days, will be most 
 happy to thank you for the service you ren- 
 dered my mother and myself." 
 
 " He will only think I have staid too long 
 already ," replied Reginald, " and so perhaps 
 will you; and regret even your kind words 
 and feelings towards me." 
 
 " No," she answered firmly. " No, never ! 
 There seems to be some secret, but I shall 
 never regret that I have been grateful, or that 
 I have felt — " She paused, hesitating ; for 
 something rose up in her bosom to tell her 
 that she hardly knew as yet what were the 
 feelings she was about to speak of; and before 
 
LAUREL WATER. 173 
 
 she could finish the sentence, Lady Chevenix 
 entered the room. 
 
 She had greatly warmed towards her young 
 guest. The very habit of thinking about a 
 person familiarizes us to him. We become inti- 
 mate with him in thought ; and Lady Chevenix 
 had been thinking a great deal about Reginald 
 Lisle. She had been somewhat uneasy as to 
 what might be her husband's opinion of her 
 conduct in asking him to the house ; but upon 
 that subject her mind had been relieved, not 
 half an hour before, by a letter from Sir Charles. 
 She had also thought of his gallant interposi- 
 tion in the rencontre with the highwayman, 
 and of the injury he had sustained thereby, and 
 the suffering he had undergone since, and of 
 the loss of his horse, and of his graceful man- 
 ners and pleasant conversation. In short, by 
 the time she entered that drawing-room, she 
 was quite friends with him in her own mind. 
 She now congratulated him kindly upon his 
 recovery, and her attention was so far engaged 
 by her own words and his reply, that she did 
 
174 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITOX ; OR, 
 
 not observe his grave and somewhat embar- 
 rassed manner, nor her daughter's glowing 
 cheek, which, as cheeks will do, had become 
 more crimson than ever, just because she made 
 an effort to banish all trace of emotion. 
 
 At dinner, however, Lady Chevenix re- 
 marked that her guest's demeanour was very 
 different ; that it had lo^t its light elasticity ; 
 that his conversation, though still striking and 
 full of fancy, always sought grave subjects ; 
 that the images were all sad. He described 
 several beautiful and strange scenes which he 
 had beheld in the different parts of the world 
 where he had served, but his descriptions now 
 were like the landscapes of some painters, very 
 true to nature, very powerful even, but one 
 felt a want of sunshine. She, too, like her 
 daughter, imagined he must be suffering, and 
 questioned him upon it ; nor need I tell the 
 reader that his answer was very different to her. 
 I never knew in my life a man answer 
 mother and daughter in the same way. He 
 made an effort for cheerfulness, however, and 
 
LAUREL WATER. 175 
 
 so far succeeded as to cause Lady Chevenix to 
 smile more than once, and sometimes even to 
 laugh. Mary tried to be gay, and happy too ; 
 but still, beneath all ran a train of thought 
 of which Reginald Lisle was the theme, and, 
 perhaps, had he artfully contrived a scheme to 
 win a heart, he could not have fallen upon a 
 better one than that of his changeful de- 
 meanour. The first step in love is to inter- 
 est, and that he contrived to do most com- 
 pletely. But as the Eleusinian mysteries 
 were not more secret than are the feelings of a 
 lady's heart when she is first in love — often even 
 to herself, — I must not go on, lest I profane the 
 temple. And a very beautiful temple it was ; 
 for that pure, warm, kind, snowy bosom, was a 
 fit place for a noble spirit to raise its prayers to 
 heaven. 
 
 Under the influence of her eyes, the effort by 
 which Reginald had at first sought to shake 
 off his gloom was gradually relaxed, and he 
 became naturally cheerful. He felt it impos- 
 sible to be long sad in her company, perhaps ; 
 
176 SIR THEODORE BR0UGIIT0N J OR, 
 
 or, what is still more likely, she engrossed his 
 thoughts so much, that they would not rest 
 upon any other thing — no, not even upon sepa- 
 ration. The hour of retiring came sooner than 
 Reginald had expected. He had not as yet 
 named to Lady Chevenix his approaching 
 departure, and as they all three stood together 
 ahout to part for the night, an anxious and 
 grave expression in Mary's eyes first brought 
 the subject back to his mind. His manner 
 instantly changed, and taking the elder lady's 
 hand, as she extended it to him when bidding 
 him good-night, he said, in a tone of much 
 feeling, " I have many thanks to offer you, 
 Lady Chevenix, for all your kind care and 
 hospitality." 
 
 " No, indeed," she answered ; " it is we who 
 have to thank you, and I know not how to com- 
 pensate for the injury you have sustained in our 
 service, and the fine creature you have lost." 
 
 " Kay, nay," replied Reginald, " that is 
 more than compensated, my dear madam ; but 
 I will not detain you now to say more than to 
 
LAUREL WATER. 177 
 
 assure you that I feel deeply grateful. To- 
 morrow, I shall still trespass upon your hospi- 
 tality at breakfast, and soon after I must take 
 my departure, having ordered a chaise over 
 from Stratton. Before I go, I will trouble 
 you with a word or two about myself, for I 
 have reason to believe that you do not yet 
 know who I am, or anything about me." 
 
 " Not even your name," replied the lady, 
 with a smile ; ei but, though very much of a 
 recluse, I have not the curiosity of one ; 
 though good Doctor Haviland has, I can as- 
 sure you." 
 
 " So I perceived," answered Reginald, " and 
 I would not gratify it. To-morrow, however, 
 I will tell you all about myself; and though the 
 tale in the abstract may have nothing very 
 amusing in it, yet you may and will feel a 
 personal interest in it of some kind." 
 
 " Oh, I certainly shall, in the history of one 
 who came so gallantly to our rescue," replied 
 the lady. " It is, indeed, somewhat tyrannical of 
 you, to keep us in suspense till to-morrow ; 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
178 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 and I daresay Mary will lose her sleep all night 
 in trying to divine the mystery. As you 
 have so arranged it, however, it must be, for 
 we have already sat up somewhat late. Good- 
 night, then, for the present." 
 
 Lady Chevenix prophesied rightly as to her 
 daughter's sleepless night, and Mary Chevenix 
 was up and down very early on the ensuing 
 morning. The words of Reginald Lisle were 
 still sounding in her ears ; his looks still were 
 before her eyes, and she tried hard to read the 
 book thus opened to her. She had thought 
 but little of love before that night; and she 
 dared hardly think of it then ; but the heart 
 still prompted the mind, and the mind asked 
 strange questions. It was vain for her to tell 
 herself that it was all nonsense ; that what he 
 had said was nothing more than a few words 
 of overstrained gallantry ; that he would soon 
 forget her, and she him. She could not per- 
 suade herself of the fact. She felt sure, in 
 short, that he loved her, and not very sure that 
 it was unpleasant to her to be so beloved. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 179 
 
 That there was some mystery, and that it was 
 a sad one — one, perhaps, which would render 
 it difficult, if not impossible, for him to pursue 
 his suit — she clearly perceived, and with the 
 eager, anxious yearning of a young heart, 
 she strove, as I have said, to imagine what it 
 could be that threw such gloom over a lover's 
 hopes. 
 
 Perhaps he might be poor, she thought, 
 and know that she was wealthy; perhaps 
 lowly born ; but then his appearance and his 
 manners, and some of his words, contradicted 
 the supposition. Besides, he had spoken of 
 some act committed in very early youth, which 
 had cast regret upon his after life, and 
 especially upon his acquaintance with her. 
 With a start, she asked herself, Could he be 
 already married? and the feeling that passed 
 through her heart like a pang, first taught how 
 far that heart had yielded. The next moment, 
 however, she cast away the idea with indigna- 
 tion. " No, no ! " she said ; " either all his 
 words and looks belie him, or such is not 
 
 n 2 
 
180 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 the case; and all other difficulties may be 
 removed." 
 
 Ah, Mary Chevenix, Mary Chevenix ! I 
 am afraid the matter was very nearly settled 
 with that little heart of yours. * He will soon 
 be down," she thought, after she had gazed 
 out up a vista in the trees for a few minutes, 
 " and I must not let him find me meditating in 
 this way." 
 
 Alas ! what a hard world it is that makes 
 woman strive ever to veil some of the dearest 
 emotions of the heart ! If there were no rob- 
 bers, what would be the use of locks and kevs ? 
 but as there are plunderers, who spoil the weak 
 and the confiding of all sorts of treasures, it is 
 but too needful to hide the wealth that we are 
 not able to defend. 
 
 Mary sat down to a table and took up some 
 work, but it was soon laid down again, and her 
 beautiful eyes fixed sightless upon air. She 
 had better have remained at the window, for the 
 next instant a shadow darkened the casement 
 near her, and turning her head she saw Rogi- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 181 
 
 nald Lisle looking in. The next window served 
 the purpose of a door upon the lawn, and in a 
 moment he was by her side. She was blushing 
 a good deal, for she had been detected, she 
 felt, in a deep reverie ; and there was so much 
 agitation in her manner, that Reginald Lisle 
 was agitated too. In haste, or passion, or agi- 
 tation, people do not know well what they are 
 doing. It is a truism of the utmost platitude, 
 but yet we very seldom take it into considera- 
 tion in judging of the conduct of others. J^ow, 
 Heaven knows what Reginald Lisle or Mary 
 Chevenix said or did, — I do not, and I 
 much doubt whether they did themselves, — 
 but they were near an hour together quite 
 alone ; and when Lady Chevenix was heard 
 speaking to one of the servants on the stairs, 
 her daughter escaj^ed out of the drawing-room 
 by a side door. Reginald, with more agitation 
 than he liked, stood his ground. The lady 
 was delayed some minutes, however, before 
 she appeared, and though her young guest 
 was very pale when she entered, that was the 
 only remaining trace of emotion. 
 
182 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 " I suppose Mary is making breakfast," 
 said Lady Chevenix, after the first salutation ; 
 "let us come and see." But breakfast was 
 unmade ; and when the young lady did appear, 
 she was again gently reproved for her neglect. 
 Lucky, perhaps, it was so, for the variation of 
 her cheek had then an apparent cause. But 
 it mattered little, for Lady Chevenix was one 
 of those women who cannot conceive it possible 
 to fall in love in three days. 
 
 The breakfast was put all in order, the 
 butler had left the room, and there seemed no 
 earthly reason why everybody should not be 
 cheerful and conversible, but all were silent, 
 abstracted, thoughtful. Every one tried to 
 talk, indeed, just at the moment when no- 
 body else was in a case to help them ; and 
 as conversation is an undertaking which cannot 
 be carried on by private enterprise, it very soon 
 fell to the ground. 
 
 At length, when Reginald had more than 
 three-quarters finished his breakfast, he heard 
 the sound of wheels rolling up to the other 
 
LAUREL WATER. 183 
 
 side of the house, and a moment after a footman 
 came in to inform him that the chaise was there. 
 "Very well/' he said, in an exceedingly- 
 grave tone ; " put in my portmanteau, if you 
 please : I will come in a few minutes. I pro- 
 mised Lady Chevenix," he continued, as the 
 man closed the door, " to tell you my short 
 story, and I secure you against its being a long 
 one, by beginning when the chaise is at the 
 door." He dared not give a glance to Mary, 
 for he feared that even one look might deprive 
 him of the courage which he had summoned 
 up. " My father," he continued, " was of a 
 very good family, being the third son of a 
 peer. His portion, too, was good for a peer's 
 younger son, and he early entered the army 
 and served with some distinction. Having 
 found it necessary to cane a man of high 
 rank, and not being on the best terms with 
 his elder brother, who might have given him 
 protection,* he was prosecuted for an assault, 
 
 * Protection against the power of the law may seem strange 
 to our ears, but there were cases in those days where such 
 shelter was found. 
 
184 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 and saved from serious consequences by the 
 skill and zeal of the lawyer he employed. He 
 became intimate with him, and finally married 
 his daughter, who brought him a moderate 
 fortune. He died on the field some ten or 
 twelve years ago, leaving two children, myself 
 and my sister. My inheritance was not very 
 large, but it was sufficient ; and at the age of 
 seventeen, or a little before, indeed, I entered 
 the army in a dragoon regiment. I had not, 
 perhaps, misspent the years of youth, for I had 
 acquired much which those with whom I was 
 now called upon to associate were without. 
 But that fact was in some degree unfor- 
 tunate, for it taught me to look down upon 
 the understanding of my companions, while 
 they looked down upon me for want of know- 
 ledge of the world, and acquired a habit of 
 calling me ' the book-worm.' I was irritated 
 by their conduct ; but while it kept within 
 certain limits I contrived to master my anger, 
 and to conceal it ; till one day, the person for 
 whom in the whole corps I felt inclined to 
 
LAUREL WATER. 185 
 
 entertain the most friendly feeling, — a frank, 
 gay, high-spirited man, and my superior officer, 
 — rallied me perhaps a little too severely at the 
 mess table. I retorted petulantly, I am sure. 
 He had drunk wine enough to heat but not 
 to intoxicate him, and he answered, I think, 
 rashly. In short, words were spoken which 
 are difficult to bear, and in an evil hour I 
 threw up my commission and called out my 
 superior officer. I had no sooner taken the 
 irretrievable step than I regretted, but regrets 
 were in vain. We met, and I am sorry to 
 say I wounded him severely. He behaved to 
 me with the utmost generosity ; but at the time 
 when his life was despaired of, by the advice of 
 my friends, I embarked for America, entered 
 an infantry regiment, and have risen by degrees 
 in the service, without discredit. The unfor- 
 tunate affair, however, with which my career 
 commenced has always left bitter sorrow 
 behind. I need not tell you, Lady Chevenix," 
 he continued, rising, " how much that regret is 
 increased now, when I inform you that I am 
 Reginald Lisle." 
 
186 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 Lady Chevenix turned very pale, and started 
 up from her chair, exclaiming, " Sir, sir, this 
 is 
 
 She did not finish the sentence, and Regi- 
 nald turned one imploring look to the face 
 of Mary Chevenix. At first the blood fled 
 from her cheek too ; but the next instant it 
 returned, and a smile — faint indeed, but cer- 
 tainly a smile — met Reginald Lisle's sight. 
 
 He could not account for it ; but it seemed to 
 his eyes the smile of reviving hope ; and, turn- 
 ing to Lady Chevenix, he took up the sen- 
 tence which she had left unfinished, saying, 
 " This is — what, my dear madam ? You can- 
 not suppose that, had I known who you were, 
 I would have ever intruded myself into a 
 house where each member of the family must 
 remember that I once raised my hand against 
 a husband's or a father's life. I only became 
 aware of the facts the night before last, and 
 instantly resolved to relieve you of my presence 
 as soon as it was possible to do so. Neverthe- 
 less I must, ere I depart, call to your recollec- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 187 
 
 tion that Sir Charles Chevenix himself declared 
 publicly that I had conducted myself as a man 
 of honour and a gentleman, and was pleased 
 to take upon himself even a greater share of 
 the fault than was his due." 
 
 " He does you justice still, Captain Lisle," 
 said Mary warmly ; " and I am sure were he 
 here, he would be the first to hold out his hand 
 and thank you for the assistance you lately 
 rendered us, and for all you have suffered 
 from so doing." 
 
 " Be silent, Mary," said Lady Chevenix; 
 " you do not understand these matters. Your 
 father speaks, as becomes his character, of an 
 adversary who did nothing dishonourable or 
 actually wrong towards him ; but he does not 
 and cannot forget that Captain Lisle is an 
 adversary, nor I that he shed my husband's 
 blood. I thank you sincerely, sir, for the 
 assistance you rendered to my daughter and 
 myself. It was given as a gallant gentleman, 
 such as we all know you to be ; but you your- 
 self will feel that I could wish it had been 
 
188 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 rendered by another hand, and probably you 
 could } r ourself desire that it had been afforded 
 to other persons." 
 
 " Far from it, madam," replied Reginald, 
 raising his head high with a look of bitter 
 mortification; " if anything could add to the 
 pleasure of being of service to two ladies, it 
 would be the fact that they are the wife and 
 daughter of Sir Charles Chevenix. It gives 
 me an honourable opportunity of assuring him 
 that I bitterly regret, and have ever bitterly 
 regretted, the results of my boyish impetuosity, 
 and that I am well aware I merited more 
 blame in the affair than he was pleased to 
 assign to me. Pray, let that assurance be 
 conveyed to him : and now, with many thanks 
 for the hospitality I have received, I take my 
 leave." 
 
 Lady Chevenix made him a formal inclina- 
 tion of the head ; but her daughter exclaimed, 
 " Oh, mother, this is unkind ! Do not let him 
 go thinking us so ungrateful." 
 
 " Ungrateful ! " replied the elder lady, in a 
 
LAUREL WATER. 189 
 
 sharp tone ; " for raising his hand against 
 your father's life, and bringing him to the jaws 
 of death ! " and, passing her daughter, she 
 quitted the room. Mary tarried for a moment, 
 and held out her hand to Reginald Lisle : 
 " Farewell," she said, " farewell. Do not 
 carry away the belief that either my father or 
 myself feel thus. It is her love for him that 
 makes my mother so unjust ; and, although I 
 do not love him less than she does, it is 
 from himself I have learned to judge of 
 your conduct more fairly. I am sure you 
 will hear from him soon. Let that console 
 you till " 
 
 " Mary, Mary ! " cried the voice of Lady 
 Chevenix from the next room ; " I want you, 
 my dear." 
 
 Reginald Lisle pressed his lips upon her 
 hand, murmuring, " Thank you, thank you, 
 dear, beautiful girl ; " and in two minutes more 
 was in the chaise rolling away towards Stratton. 
 
190 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 In former times there was an inn at Dunstable : 
 I hope none of my readers recollect it, for their 
 sake and my own, because it was seventy-two 
 years ago, and I am going to describe it. The 
 reader may say that perhaps it lasted long after 
 that, so that men of moderate years may re- 
 member it without shame. If he will wait a 
 little, I will show him that could not be. 
 
 However, in former times there was an inn at 
 Dunstable, such as good old English inns fre- 
 quently were. Now Dunstable, in those days, 
 stood on the high road to Holyhead and Bir- 
 mingham. It has removed since by railroad ; 
 but such being the case at the time I speak of, 
 and the little town, which then did not contain 
 
LAUREL WATER. 191 
 
 above eleven hundred inhabitants, being at the 
 distance of a good day's ride from London, on 
 the way to the above-named places, it required, 
 as the reader may imagine — at a time when 
 many people travelled on horseback and others 
 in carriages drawn by their own horses — a good 
 large inn to receive those who chose to stop 
 there on their first day's journey out of, or their 
 last day's journey into, London. A good large 
 inn it had, too, as well as three smaller ones, 
 which swept up the crumbs that were left by 
 their more voracious neighbour. 
 
 In those smaller inns put up pedlars, and 
 stray carriers, and men with pack-horses; but the 
 regular waggons, with their tilt and team, went 
 to the great inn, a part of which was peculiarly 
 appropriated to their conveniences. It was a 
 large building, in the form of a parallelogram, 
 built round a large court-vard, and havino- two 
 wide arched entrances on the main road, one 
 exactly similar on the little road that crossed 
 the highway, and two passages through the 
 back part of the building into a garden, which 
 
192 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 supplied the cook with cabbages for her beef- 
 broth, a favourite dish with the drivers of, and 
 passengers by, waggons. 
 
 The front of the inn was gloomy looking 
 enough ; the windows were exceedingly small, 
 according to our present notions, and the arch- 
 ways enormously large. Over one was a paint- 
 ing, representing something very like a de- 
 formed black cow with golden horns : that ^-as 
 the waggon entrance which lay beneath the 
 picture. Over the other arch, or rather pro- 
 jecting from the top of it into the street, was a 
 carved image of the animal which the painting 
 was really intended to depict ; but so much 
 greater was the skill of the sculptor than that 
 of the painter, that no one could have any 
 difficulty in discovering that the image was 
 meant for a black bull. Lest any one should 
 mistake, however, on a large board in gigantic 
 letters was written along the front of the house, 
 " The Black Bull — Matthew Spinner," with a 
 list of all sorts of things which Matthew Spin- 
 ner could and would supply, upon a considera- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 193 
 
 tion. The house was of four stories in height. 
 The windows were not exactly above each other, 
 but, either for convenience or from whim, those 
 on the first floor had been placed over the piers 
 of the ground floor, and those on the second 
 floor over the piers of the first, and so on. 
 Thus, if it had not been for those two great 
 gaping archways, the front of the house would 
 have looked just like a great chess-board. 
 
 So much for the external face : but now 
 — although the description is somewhat long 
 already, — I must say a word of the internal, or 
 court-yard face of the building. It also showed 
 four stories, but not by the windows ; for it was 
 only on the upper and the lower story of all 
 that anything of the kind was visible. Between 
 were two long wooden galleries, running all 
 round, supported by stout squat pillars, and 
 defended by a balustrade. 
 
 I cannot say that the court was very clean or 
 very well-paved ; for, although the boots and the 
 ostler seemed to be eternally sweeping it out 
 with everlasting birch-brooms, nevertheless it 
 
 VOL. I. O 
 
194 SIR THEODORE BROUGilTON ; OR, 
 
 was continually covered with wet straw; which, 
 perhaps, may be accounted for by the fact that, 
 besides the chaise horses, the waggon horses, 
 and the riding horses, which were constantly 
 going in and out, a whole herd of pigs had, 
 from time immemorial, possessed a right of road 
 through it. 
 
 On the left-hand side, as you entered from 
 the street, was the portion of the yard appro- 
 priated to the waggons ; and that flanking part 
 of the building which overlooked them as they 
 stood ranged in order below, was very ju- 
 diciously assigned to the waggoners, and the 
 guests whom they brought to the Black Bull 
 under their tilt, which, in those days, were not 
 few ; for people who had not much important 
 business to transact, and but little money in 
 their pocket, could be content to travel at the 
 rate of two miles and a half an hour. Now 
 they grumble at twenty. The corps de logis, or 
 principal facade, was occupied by a large dining 
 hall on the ground floor, where an ordinary was 
 served at one and at three o'clock ; the host's 
 own private apartments, including all kinds of 
 
LAUREL WATER. 195 
 
 offices and a small hall for private parties ; 
 various sitting-rooms and one or two bed-rooms 
 for " the quality" on the first floor ; and the 
 same over that again — only here were more 
 bed-rooms and fewer sitting-rooms; while on 
 the fourth story were rooms for servants. The 
 whole right-hand building was devoted to bed- 
 rooms, generally assigned to single travellers ; 
 except, indeed, the ground floor, which disposed 
 itself into kitchens, pantries, larders, sculleries, 
 wash-houses, and an inconceivable number of 
 unnamed and unnameable holes and corners. 
 
 u Upon my life ! here are four or five pages 
 devoted to a description of a very common, old- 
 fashioned country inn ! " 
 
 "Was there ever such a tiresome fellow in 
 the world?" 
 
 " That is the worst of James's books : he is 
 so fond of long descriptions." 
 
 " I always skip the descriptions in your books, 
 papa." 
 
 " I always skip the love." 
 
 Very well, dear reader ; very well, dear 
 
 o 2 
 
196 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 critic ; very well, dear children. Whoever 
 skips anything omits that which was not writ- 
 ten without an object, loses an emotion or a 
 fact, and will in the end, perhaps, be obliged to 
 turn back, because he does not find out the 
 stor}' which he has been running after so 
 eagerly. Oh, railroad, railroad ! you have got 
 even into romances, and one must hurry on at 
 forty-five miles an hour. No : I will not. I 
 will stop for a night at Vantini's — or at the 
 Black Bull at Dunstable, which will do quite 
 as well, and be cheaper. 
 
 I hope the reader has remarked every par- 
 ticular of the description which has been lately 
 given. If so, let him look into the inn-yard, in 
 the fine spring evening with the yellow light of 
 the sinking sun streaming into it, and making 
 the whole, from the garret windows to the old 
 ill-painted wooden pillars — nay, even the stray 
 straws on the pavement — look cheerful. He 
 will see that, at one and the same moment, 
 each archway is pouring into that court-yard a 
 (stream of living creatures. One gave admis- 
 
LAUKEL WATER. 197 
 
 sion to three gentlemen, two servants, and six 
 horses. The other afforded entrance to a wag- 
 goner on foot, and six horses, drawing after 
 them a long, heavy, clumsy, broad-wheeled 
 waggon, covered with a new tilt, inscribed, in 
 large letters, with the owner's name and the 
 vehicle's starting-place and destination. 
 
 The mounted gentlemen were received by 
 mine host, Matthew Spinner, the head waiter, 
 and the head ostler, with assistants. The wag- 
 gon had its own particular attendants ; but the 
 first-named party were encountered with bow- 
 ings and scrapings, and the waggoner at least, 
 if not the waggon, with shakings of hands. 
 The golden calf has ever been the idol of the 
 best repute : Baal, and Dagon, and Ashtaroth, 
 and other gentlemen and ladies of stone, and 
 brass, and wood, and ivory, have had their 
 vogue; but the golden calf is the only peren- 
 nial deity, and even Mammon's simular will 
 bend the knees of men to worship, though the 
 real demon be very far from present. Horses 
 and servants, fine coats, and the mere appear- 
 
198 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 ance of wealth, with half the world, are the 
 great claims to reverence; and no wonder, 
 then, that the aristocracy of the Black Bull, the 
 priests and senators of the temple of mercenary 
 hospitality were busy in doing honour to gen- 
 tlemen who came well attended. 
 
 In the mean while, the democracy of the inn, 
 consisting of an ostler of inferior grade, a horse- 
 keeper, a boy, and two fat, greasy girls, were 
 busy about the waggon. The end of the tilt 
 was thrown back, and two or three words from 
 the waggoner instantly brought forth a wooden 
 chair, which was placed at the end of the 
 vehicle furthest from the horses. 
 
 " Now, ma'am," said the driver, " step on 
 this here. It will help you down easy. I hope 
 the gentleman is none the worse." 
 
 " He says he is better," replied a very sweet 
 female voice, from within ; and, the moment 
 after, a young girl, with bended head and some- 
 what doubtful steps, picked her way to the end 
 of the waggon, and, with the waggoner's assist- 
 ance, descended, putting first one foot and then 
 
LAUREL WATER. 199 
 
 the other upon the chair, and then springing 
 lightly upon the stones, as if the very first 
 breath of the fresh air revived her. There was 
 no room for any great display of grace ; but 
 yet she was very graceful. She seemed hardly 
 sixteen years of age, and there was a childlike 
 way about her, which made her appear younger 
 than she really was ; and yet there was womanly 
 thought in her fair face, mingling with that 
 youthful look somewhat strangely. I am not 
 fond of any exaggeration — not even of an ex- 
 aggerated simile. Many I could find — half-a- 
 dozen at least — to illustrate that mingling of 
 expression. But so it was, just as I have 
 plainly said, a grave thoughtful cast upon a 
 very young and happy face. The look became 
 almost sad as she turned again towards the 
 waggon, after she had alighted, and held out 
 her hand to some one within, saying, "Here, 
 my dear father. It seems a very nice inn." 
 
 With a slow and feeble step, and a frame 
 bent and emaciated by illness, a man of the 
 middle age approached the end of the vehicle, 
 and, with the aid of the waggoner and the girl 
 
200 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 together, -with some stray assistance from the 
 ostler, descended and looked about him with 
 a wearied and anxious look. He then spoke a 
 few words to one of the chambermaids, and re- 
 tired from sight, leaning on his daughter's arm. 
 
 In the mean while, the three gentlemen had 
 dismounted much more rapidly from their 
 horses, though one of them seemed a little 
 lame ; and, though the landlord, with obtrusive 
 civility, repeated, more than once, " This way, 
 gentlemen," the eyes of all three were turned 
 to the little scene which was taking place at 
 the further side of the yard. Sir Theodore 
 Broughton gazed somewhat eagerly at the 
 young girl ; and it was evident to Reginald 
 Lisle that he was in one of those dreams which 
 seize upon the young fancy when a fair face 
 crosses our path, and, disappearing before we 
 have had anv time for observations, seems 
 lovelier than any that we ever beheld, often 
 remaining so impressed upon memory for long 
 years. 
 
 Reginald himself gazed with very different 
 feelings, and with a higher, a brighter interest. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 201 
 
 His imagination was not less rapid and eager, 
 but it was less selfish in its course ; and the 
 daughter's manner towards her father, the 
 stretched forth hand, the anxious thoughtful 
 look at his face, and a something of high breed- 
 ing in the air of both, conjured up a story in 
 his fancy, which was only not a romance be- 
 cause it was too near the truth. Major Bran- 
 drum seemed, or was, the most moved of the 
 whole party. He looked stedfastly at the pair 
 for a moment, and then his lips moved, mut- 
 tering sounds which were only distinct to 
 himself; but the next instant, with a cloudy 
 brow and thoughtful look, he turned upon his 
 heel, saying, " Come, Lisle — come, Sir Theo- 
 dore," and followed the landlord towards the 
 part of the building containing the dining 
 halls, with his spurs jingling over the pavement 
 of the court even more than was there wont. 
 
 " The ordinary is over, gentlemen, I am sorry 
 to say," quoth the landlord ; " have you dined ? 
 or will you please to order any dinner ? " As 
 he spoke, he took a new survey of his guests, 
 
202 SIR THEODORE BHOUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 and more especially of Major Brandrum, whose 
 strange costume seemed to strike him a good 
 deal. But the major was absorbed in thought, 
 and Reginald Lisle took upon him to order 
 dinner, while Sir Theodore walked to the 
 window, and beat time upon his boot with his 
 riding whip. 
 
 " Lisle, lend me ten guineas," said the major, 
 approaching his young friend as soon as the 
 landlord was out of the room, and speaking in 
 a low voice. 
 
 " Certainly," replied Reginald, without the 
 slightest hesitation, taking out his purse. 
 
 " I will pay you on the seventeenth of next 
 month," said the major, taking the money, 
 and hurrying out of the room. Reginald Lisle 
 would not follow, though he murmured to him- 
 self, " Some good deed to be done, I am sure ; 
 perhaps that poor fellow we saw get out of the 
 waggon." 
 
 The next moment, the door opened, and 
 Zachary Hargrave, Sir Theodore's servant, en- 
 tered, with his demure look. " Please you. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 203 
 
 sir," he said, addressing his young master, " I 
 wish you would just come to the stable and 
 look at Roland's back. The saddle has galled 
 him a bit." 
 
 " How is the horse I bought at Stratton- 
 upon-Dunsmoor, Hargrave ? " asked Reginald 
 Lisle. 
 
 " Oh, he is quite well and fresh, captain," 
 answered the man ; " he 's an impudent beast." 
 
 Lisle did not seem to notice this imputation 
 upon his horse's modesty, but turned, musing, 
 to the window, and Sir Theodore followed the 
 man out of the room. 
 
 " Why did you call Captain Lisle's horse an 
 impudent beast, Zachary ? " asked the young 
 baronet, as they walked along. 
 
 " Because they say, c As impudent as a high- 
 wayman's horse,' Sir Theodore," replied the 
 man, with a grin ; " and I 've a great notion 
 that this here horse has been upon the road, in 
 more ways than one." 
 
 " Pooh, nonsense !" cried the young baronet, 
 " it was Colonel Lutwich's horse." 
 
204 bill THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 "No matter for that," answered Zachary, 
 drily ; " howsomdever, it 's a fine piece of flesh 
 and blood, that it is ; but I can show you a 
 finer, I think, Sir Theodore." 
 
 "Indeed !" exclaimed his master; "I should 
 like to see it." 
 
 u This way, then, sir," said Hargrave ; and, 
 instead of leading the young baronet to the 
 stables at the back, he kept to the left, passed 
 round behind the waggon which had last come 
 in, and entered that wing of the house. First 
 came a door, which was open, and a passage, 
 at the mouth of which three or four men 
 were talking together, amongst whom was the 
 waggoner, and then, on the right, was a swing 
 door, which Hargrave pushed open, ushering 
 Sir Theodore into a large, dingy room, fur- 
 nished with two or three tables, several wooden 
 benches, and four or five chairs of the same 
 material. There was some fire in the grate, and 
 a large tea-kettle hissing upon the embers. 
 
 Only three persons tenanted the room. The 
 one nearest the door by which the young 
 
LAUREL WATER, 205 
 
 gentleman entered, was the beautiful girl 
 whom he had watched descending from the 
 waggon. She was busily making tea at a table 
 some distance from the fire ; and now that 
 her cloak and hat were thrown off, with her 
 slight budding figure displayed by neat and 
 well made, though very plain, apparel, she 
 looked, to the eyes of Sir Theodore Broughton, 
 far more beautiful and graceful than ever. 
 Near the fire, and seated on a chair at one 
 side of the chimney, was her father, with his 
 pale and emaciated countenance, lighted up 
 with a bright and cheerful look, while just 
 opposite to him sat Major Brandrum — his body 
 inclined to an angle of forty-five, in order to 
 talk low to the other traveller, and his long 
 legs, in their heavy riding boots, stretched 
 out till they passed his companion's feet on 
 the opposite side. 
 
 " Kate, my dear, come hither," said the 
 sick man, raising his voice, "which was pe- 
 culiarly sweet in tone. " This is Major 
 Brandrum, an old fellow-officer of mine, who 
 
206 
 
 6IR THEODORE BIlOUGflTON ; OR, 
 
 remembers me well at the taking of Quebec, 
 he says." 
 
 The girl put down the cup, and advancing 
 towards Major Brandrum, held out her hand 
 to him frankly, saying, " I am very happv, sir, 
 my father has met with a friend. He needs 
 
 one." 
 
 "Have I not you, my child?" asked her 
 father, "and have I not God? — a friend on 
 earth, and, I trust, a friend in heaven. It is 
 enough for any man ; but still I am most 
 grateful for finding another, when I imagined 
 that all I had were confined to those." 
 
 None of those who were now speaking 
 seemed to notice Sir Theodore in the least, 
 though the young lady had given him a 
 casual glance as he entered. They were 
 occupied with their own feelings, and those 
 feelings were too profound to let the idle 
 thoughts go wandering at the first call of the 
 eye. After pausing an instant, the young 
 baronet was drawing back towards the same 
 door by which lie had entered, but Zachary 
 
LAUREL WATER. 207 
 
 Hargrave led him to another at the opposite 
 side of the room, which opened into the cross- 
 road. When the door had swung-to behind 
 them, the man said, in a low tone, "It was 
 better to come away — it would not do now." 
 
 " What would not do?" demanded Sir Theo- 
 dore, in a tone of surprise. 
 
 " Oh, nothing particular, sir," replied the 
 man, " I only thought you might like to have a 
 talk with the young lady alone, for she is one of 
 the prettiest girls I ever set eyes on, to my 
 thinking." 
 
 "Talk to her alone!" exclaimed Sir Theo- 
 dore ; " why, what should I say to her?" 
 
 " Why, Lord bless you, sir, you'd say plenty 
 of things to her soon enough, I dare say," 
 replied Hargrave ; " and I do not think there 
 would be any great difficulty in the matter, for 
 the waggoner says they are as poor as Job. 
 It is not to be expected that you should do 
 different from other young gentlemen just at 
 present. If it be a sin, nobody can expect 
 grace without sin, otherwise grace is unpro- 
 
208 6IR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 h* table, which can't be, sir; and I do not know 
 many young gentlemen of your years who 
 would let such a prize as that escape." 
 
 Accursed be they who plant the first seeds 
 of evil in the hotbed of the youthful mind ! 
 When Sir Theodore Broughton first gazed 
 upon that beautiful young girl, no taint of 
 coarser passion sullied his thoughts. She was 
 to him, as I have said before, as a fair vision ; 
 and he never even dreamed of the possibility 
 of wronging her ; but the voice of the tempter 
 once heard — the corrupting influence of ex- 
 ample brought to act upon his mind — thence- 
 forth his thoughts hung round the idea placed 
 before them — fluttering away — returning — ho- 
 vering about it and above it, — now scared and 
 timid — now bolder and bolder, urged on by 
 passion and the boiling blood of youth. 
 
 The tempter was still with him; and they 
 walked on slowly towards the stables; but the 
 man well understood his trade, and he left 
 what he had said to work a while, before he 
 added more. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 209 
 
 Sir Theodore wished him to speak, but yet 
 he was silent ; and at length the young baronet 
 asked, in a sharp tone, " Well, where is this 
 marvellous horse that you were to show me?" 
 
 "Why, bless you, Sir Theodore!" replied 
 the man, " it was no horse at all, but the girl 
 we have just seen. I said I'd show you the 
 finest piece of flesh and blood I ever saw, and 
 so she is, upon my honour ! I can see how it 
 is, sir ; you think that the captain would be 
 angry, and make a great piece of work, but he 
 knows better. He's been a young man him- 
 self, and knows, God help us ! that we are all 
 poor frail creatures, who must be tried in the 
 fire, as it were. He has often said, for I 've 
 heard him, that young men must prove every- 
 thing. That is the reason why he let you ride 
 such wild horses even from a boy ; and now he 
 sees that you are growing a man, he has sent 
 you out to Lunnun without going with you, 
 just to let you have your swing. He told me 
 himself that I was not to try and stop any of 
 your little escapades, as he called it, which I 
 
 vol. i. p 
 
210 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 take to mean such affairs as those that are 
 happening to young gentlemen every day."' 
 
 " Did he say that ?" asked the young baronet, 
 musing ; and after the man had reiterated his 
 assurances more than once, without seeming to 
 receive much attention, Sir Theodore said, 
 suddenly, " Come hither, Zachary, — come 
 hither into the stable ;" and going in, he looked 
 through every stall to see there was nobody to 
 overhear. Even then, he and the man spoke in 
 a whisper, though occasionally a louder word 
 was heard. 
 
 But I have no wish to listen to the lesson of 
 iniquity. Suffice it that never was a better in- 
 structor known ; and though the words of hypo- 
 critical cant which'' mingled in his discourse at 
 first disgusted, Sir Theodore soon found that 
 they might be useful in the deceit which he, 
 like all men plunging into vice, was glad to 
 put upon himself. 
 
 Let us return to purer things. Major 
 Brandrum sat with the invalid and his daughter 
 for more than half an hour; and the poor 
 officer's heart opened to the frank old soldier. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 211 
 
 But Brandrum was a good tactician too; and 
 he was resolved to make himself master of all 
 the defences before he opened his fire upon 
 the place. He talked of scenes which were 
 familiar to them both, and events in which 
 they had both had a share; and he told his 
 own story briefly as encouragement, and lis- 
 tened to that of his companion at large. He 
 even took a cup of tea from Kate, because she 
 offered it, although he had not dined; and 
 putting his arm familiarly through hers, as she 
 stood beside him, he said, " And so you have 
 been his companion and his consolation in all 
 these troubles, my dear? That's a good girl. 
 Never you leave him ; for the thought of what 
 you have done for your father, will be the 
 best comfort to you, when you are older per- 
 haps, and sicker than he is." 
 
 " It is so now," answered the girl, simply, and 
 with a smile. 
 
 " Well, well," continued Brandrum ; " and 
 so, my good friend, you have been badly treated 
 by the powers that be. Because you were 
 
 p2 
 
212 SIR THEODORE BRODGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 sick, and not wounded, they would not allow 
 you any pension, and now order you to join 
 when you have neither strength nor money ? 
 That seems hard of them, and stingy; and not 
 the less stingy because it is hard, nor the less 
 hard because it is stingy ; but I'll tell you how 
 it is : these fellows are very shrewd, and they 
 wish to keep up a good feeling in the service." 
 
 " That is what they say," replied the sick 
 man; "but I do not see how their conduct 
 tends to that. Here I became sick in the 
 service, and for the service. During my short 
 leave I have spent a fortune upon doctors 
 and " 
 
 " Oh, it is not that at all," said Major Bran- 
 drum; "you see it is a rule, my dear friend, 
 that every officer should help another. Now, 
 if government were to do everything, we should 
 always look to government to do everything, 
 and we should grow as hard-hearted as a rock, 
 instead of having our purses and our means 
 almost in common, as it ought to be with all 
 old comrades. I recollect quite well, when I 
 
LAUREL WATER. 213 
 
 was wounded in the shoulder and had a pike- 
 hole in ray hip, under Lord George Sackville, 
 in Germany, they were obliged to leave me 
 behind ; and my baggage having been taken, I 
 had not a sixpence nor a clean shirt, and was 
 likely to die of dirt and starvation ; but just as 
 I was giving up spirit, old Honeywood came 
 into the village with his dragoons, — you recol- 
 lect the old ' Chopping-block,' as we called 
 him, I dare say?" 
 
 " Very well, very well," said the sick officer, 
 with a sigh ; il a braver officer, or a better 
 hearted man never lived." 
 
 " Never ! " repeated Brandrum, warmly ; 
 " but, as I was saying, as soon as I saw him in 
 the market-place, I went up to him, and told 
 him how I was left ; and he swore at me very 
 hard, as was his custom, and cried out, c We 
 can't give you a horse, for we have got none 
 to spare ; nor a dinner, for w r e have not enough 
 for ourselves ; but there is something that will 
 get you both ;' and he thrust a large roll of 
 rix-dollars into my hand, which I paid him 
 
214 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 back again as soon as I could, and that was 
 seven years after." 
 
 " It was very kind of him," said the sick 
 man, feebly and sadly. 
 
 "Pooh! not a bit," answered Major Bran- 
 drum; "I'd have done the same for him; but 
 now let us talk of other things. So you are 
 going to Holyhead, are you ? I can tell you 
 what, you must not travel in the waggon. It 
 is both slow and rumbling ; and not the less 
 rumbling because it is slow, nor the less slow 
 because it is rumbling. All very well for a lift 
 on a march, but not for a sickish man going to 
 join. 
 
 The officer shook his head. " I have no 
 other means," he said. 
 
 "But I tell you, you shall not," cried Major 
 
 Brandrum, looking fierce ; " I' 11 be if you 
 
 shall," and he added an unnecessary oath. 
 " There 's a diligence goes down the greater part 
 of the way, and you and your darling Kate here 
 shall go in that, and you shall post the rest, or 
 my name is not Jack Brandrum. There — no 
 
LAUREL WATER. 215 
 
 more about it," he continued, pulling out his 
 purse. " I 'm the senior officer, and I take the 
 command. Kate, attention ! Ground your tea- 
 cup, and hold out your hand — as pretty a little 
 hand as ever I saw, except that of my dear de- 
 parted squaw, who was called the Sugar Maple; 
 but it was blackish. Look, here are twelve gui- 
 neas, of which you are to be a good housewife. 
 Remember that vour father's health is the first 
 thing, and you are not to let him want comforts, 
 but to take him safe and sound to Ireland, and 
 then write me word how he is. There 's a good 
 girl — you understand me, my dear, I see." 
 
 11 Oh ! yes, I understand you quite well," 
 replied Kate, with the tears in her eyes ; but her 
 father interfered, saying, "Indeed, major, I 
 cannot. I never borrowed money of any one 
 in my life, and it would be burdensome to me 
 to think I was in debt." 
 
 " That is insulting," said Major Brandrum ; 
 " do you not think, my friend, that it must be 
 equally burdensome to me to be in debt ? Now 
 if you refuse to take that, you leave me so." 
 
216 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 " How can that be ? " exclaimed the sick 
 officer ; " you owe me nothing." 
 
 " I owe everything to the manly spirit and 
 kind feeling of the service to which I belong," 
 replied Major Brandrum, gravely. " I owe it a 
 thousand acts of kindness of this and many 
 other kinds ; and I am under a bond to pay 
 this debt to any comrade I meet in sickness, 
 sorrow, or distress. Now, sir, refuse me if you 
 have the heart to do me such great wrong." 
 
 " Well, I will not, I will not," cried the other, 
 wringing his hand hard ; and Kate turned away 
 her head and sobbed. 
 
 Major Brandrum seized the moment to rise 
 and retire; but before he did so, he took the 
 beautiful girl by the arm, saying, " Pooh, pooh ! 
 my dear child, do not be silly. Your father will 
 be a general yet, never fear ; and only remember 
 if ever you want help or protection your friend, 
 the Ravenous Crow, is ready to give it to the 
 utmost of his power." 
 
 "The what?" exclaimed Kate, looking at 
 him through her tears, in some surprise. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 217 
 
 " Oh ! that 's an old story," said Major Bran- 
 drum ; " I '11 tell you how I got that name some 
 other time. I shall see you in the morning 
 before you go. Hark you, Malcolm," and he 
 turned back, saying in a whisper to the invalid, 
 " I have seen my young friend, Sir Theodore's 
 servant, Zachary Hargrave, put his head in 
 twice during the last five minutes. He 's a great 
 blackguard that fellow, and a hypocrite. Have 
 an eye upon him ; " and with this caution he 
 left the room and returned to Reginald Lisle. 
 
218 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Reginald Lisle was leaning his head upon 
 his hand in thought, and he had remained in 
 thought ever since his friend had left him. 
 Such had not been his custom ; but Reginald 
 Lisle was very much changed. He had always 
 been a thinker, but he had been a rapid thinker, 
 and not a meditative one. Now, it is always 
 passion of some kind which makes a meditative 
 thinker. 
 
 The reader will instantly deny the proposi- 
 tion, and vow that he has seen a dozen or more 
 meditative thinkers, whose greatest error was 
 having no passion — no not even an object. But 
 that is a mistake ; they were dreamers, not medi- 
 tative thinkers. There is another marked dis- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 219 
 
 tinction, too, to be kept in mind : meditative 
 thinkers are very different from calculating 
 thinkers. The latter have seldom any passion. 
 
 Reginald, however, had become very medita- 
 tive. He was not dreamy, but he was really very 
 thoughtful. He gave both memory and judg- 
 ment way as well as imagination. He thought 
 of Mary Chevenix, and of the position in which 
 fate and his own w T ords had placed him in re- 
 gard to her ; and when love looked to hope and 
 to reason, and asked in the mariner's tongue, 
 "What cheer?" the reply of the first was faint 
 and low, and the second said aloud, " Breakers 
 ahead ! " 
 
 Such was his frame of mind, and such the 
 subject of his thoughts, when Major Brandrum 
 rejoined him, with his heart running over with 
 satisfaction. The table had been laid without 
 Reginald knowing it, and supper, or dinner — 
 be it called whichever any one will — was nearly 
 ready ; but Sir Theodore had not yet appeared, 
 and to say the truth the young officer had not 
 much noticed his absence. 
 
220 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 "Well, my dear Crow," he said, raising his 
 eyes, with an effort to look, not absent, "what 
 have you been about ? " 
 
 " Nothing of much importance, Lisle," re- 
 plied the major. " I fell in with an old brother 
 officer, who fancies he is beginning one journey, 
 when he is far on upon another, I fear. But it 
 was some satisfaction to be able to give him a 
 little comfort, poor fellow ! " 
 
 " Which you did not fail to do," said Regi- 
 nald, " I am sure." 
 
 " To be sure," answered Major Brandrum. 
 " I am still anxious about the poor girl, how- 
 ever;" and so he truly was, for Major Bran- 
 drum, otherwise Jack Brandrum, otherwise the 
 Ravenous Crow, was almost always anxious 
 about somebody, though never about himself. 
 He had a tender, affectionate, benevolent heart, 
 which was full of very refined sensibilities. All 
 this, pray recollect, dear reader, without the 
 slightest touch of sentimentality. He could 
 feel with the young, he could feel with the old, 
 he could feel with the poor, he could feel with 
 
LAUREL WATER. 221 
 
 the sick, and though he was always ready 
 to relieve, to comfort, to console, where he saw 
 real need, or pain, or sorrow, yet he never tried 
 to make miseries to grieve over, either in others 
 or himself. He was at times a little ashamed of 
 his sympathies; and in early days, being of a 
 very gay, cheerful, dashing disposition, had 
 endeavoured to cover over kind actions and 
 kind feelings with a rattling, thoughtless man- 
 ner ; but two or three people detected him, and 
 his cue was now to persuade himself and others, 
 that what he did was only done because it was 
 right and proper, and what every man ought to 
 do, and most men would do. 
 
 i( I am still anxious about the poor girl, how- 
 ever," said Major Brandrum ; and Reginald 
 Lisle asked, " why" — not in an indifferent man- 
 ner, but in a tone which his friend well under- 
 stood to imply a desire of hearing the circum- 
 stances which caused his anxiety. 
 
 " It will be bad enough, you see, Lisle,' 
 replied the major, "to lose her father, whenever 
 it happens. It is always a blow; but under 
 
222 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 ordinary circumstances men feel that it is 
 in the course of nature ; and religion, philo- 
 sophy, and time dry the eyes which torn 
 affections have moistened ; but this girl, I can 
 see, has devoted herself to her parent with that 
 absorbing attention which concentrates all the 
 feelings upon one object. It will be bad enough 
 at any time and in any place for her to lose him ; 
 but what will it be to lose him perhaps on this 
 very journey, or even after he has joined a 
 regiment where he is unknown. Then, she is 
 very beautiful, very poor, and quite defenceless." 
 
 " But surely she has some friends," said 
 Reginald, becoming much interested. 
 
 " They did not appear, to support her father 
 in his career, to comfort him in his sickness, 
 or to help him in his need," was the sad reply. 
 " What they have not done for the father, will 
 they do for the child ? Even if they do, will 
 it not be too late, when she is left alone 
 amidst strangers, and perhaps profligates ? " 
 
 The door opened while he was speaking, 
 and the young baronet entered. His check 
 
LAUREL WATER. 223 
 
 turned somewhat red as he heard the last few 
 words that Major Brandrum uttered; but 
 sitting down without speaking he began play- 
 ing with the knives and forks. 
 
 " If I can help in any way; you know 
 you can command me," replied Reginald, 
 warmly. 
 
 " I know it, my dear fellow — I know it 
 well," answered his friend ; " but you are 
 far too young, and I not quite old enough, to 
 act as the protector of a girl of sixteen or 
 seventeen, without calling forth insinuations, 
 unfounded but injurious; and not the less 
 injurious because they are unfounded, nor the 
 less unfounded because they are injurious. 
 However, I will think about it till to-morrow, 
 and then we can talk it over. If your dear 
 good mother would countenance and protect 
 her, indeed we might do something." 
 
 '.* I was just about to say," answered Re- 
 ginald Lisfe — but at that moment the landlord 
 appeared carrying the first dish, which he set 
 down with all care and gravity, and then 
 
224 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 turning to the gentlemen present, before he 
 took the cover off, he said, " May I inquire 
 if one of you gentlemen is Major Brandrum ? " 
 
 " I am, sir," replied the major ; " what are 
 your commands with me ? " 
 
 " There is a person in the court wishes to 
 speak with you, sir," answered the host; and 
 the officer, putting down his head to Lisle's ear 
 — the latter having already taken his seat — 
 said in a whisper, * I suspect I shall not sup 
 with you to-night. This is a bailiff, depend 
 upon it. — What sort of a person is he, my good 
 friend ? " he continued aloud. 
 
 " Why, an odd-looking sort of man, sir," 
 answered the other ; " he looks like a beggar- 
 man with a patch over his eye." 
 
 " Is there only one ? " asked Lisle. 
 
 " Only one, sir," said the landlord. 
 
 " Send him in, then — send him in," cried 
 the major ; adding, in a low tone, * we can 
 deal with one ; and, moreover, it is after sun- 
 down." 
 
 Mine host, upon the injunction he had 
 
LAUREL WATER. 225 
 
 received, opened the small dining-room door, 
 beckoning to some one without, and imme- 
 diately, with a slow step and limping gait, a 
 very poor-looking object entered. 
 
 He was dressed in a large, dirty, brown coat, 
 worn to the threads, various parts of which 
 showed the marks where the lace, which had 
 once decorated it, had been picked off. The hat 
 which he doffed as he came in, was dented in 
 every part, so as to leave no trace of its original 
 shape ; and the wig which was underneath, of 
 the peculiar cut called scratch, had probably 
 been picked out of some gutter into which it 
 had been cast, when judged by a third or 
 fourth wearer, to be incapable of further service. 
 It was much too large for his head also, but 
 the danger of its falling off was remedied by 
 a large black ribbon nearly worn to shreds, 
 which, passing over the apex of the head in 
 a diagonal line, bound the patch mentioned 
 by the landlord, over his eye. 
 
 " My name is Brandrum, sir," said the 
 major, after this unprepossessing personage 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
226 SIR TIIEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 had made sundry bows ; " what do you want 
 with me ? " 
 
 " Why, sir, I have got something for you," 
 replied the man, "and a message from your 
 friend Colonel Lutwich, if you will just step 
 a little aside." 
 
 The major eyed him very intently for a 
 moment, and then, with a smile, walked to- 
 wards the further side of the room, at which 
 stood another table. The visitor hobbled after, 
 and they were soon in eager conversation, 
 which, however, was for some time carried 
 on in so low a tone that nothing transpired. 
 At length, however, Brandrum exclaimed 
 aloud, " What, the whole — the hundred 
 Guineas too ! ' : 
 
 " Every penny," answered the man ; " with 
 such scurvy fellows as that, depend upon it 
 a neat pistol well crammed is more efficacious 
 in making them pay their debts of honour 
 than a dozen writs of ca. sa. He had the 
 impudence to say, that if you had won it at 
 hazard he would have paid, but because you 
 
LAUREL WATER. 227 
 
 had only lent one part, and become bound 
 for the other, he would not; and so, then, 
 the colonel took to the ultima ratio with him. 
 He knew his man too well to hesitate ; and 
 here is the money; but you must give a 
 receipt in the specified form. Here it is 
 drawn up." 
 
 " With all my heart," cried Brandrum, 
 rubbing his hands joyfully. u Here, landlord, 
 pen and ink." 
 
 " Directly, sir — directly," said mine host, 
 who was skilled in reading prosperity on 
 men's faces, and was always deferential in 
 proportion. The writing materials were soon 
 produced, and a paper placed before the 
 worthy major, which after reading carefully 
 over, he signed with a flourish, saying, 
 " There ! Give my best compliments and 
 thanks to Colonel Lutwich, who is, I suppose, 
 your master, though his livery is somewhat 
 out of the common run." 
 
 " Oh, sir, that is policy," replied the man, 
 producing a small bag and a little paper 
 
 q2 
 
228 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 parcel not much bigger than a letter ; M hav- 
 ing such a sum as this about me, it was better 
 to look as if I had nothing, for fear of high- 
 waymen, you know. So I put off the clothes 
 I usually wear." 
 
 " You did wisely," replied Major Brandrum, 
 taking the bag, and counting a considerable 
 number of guineas which it contained, and 
 then running over the bank notes with his 
 finger and thumb. " Five hundred and thirty- 
 two guineas, good tale," he cried; "well, I 
 never knew such a rascal pay such a sum 
 before — when he could help it." 
 
 " Ay, but he could not," replied the man, 
 pocketing the receipt ; and th.cn, putting his 
 lips close to the ear of the Ravenous Crow, he 
 added, in a whisper, " Take care of your 
 money : you have counted it before the land- 
 lord and the waiter, and it is a prize which 
 might tempt some one to your bed- room door. 
 I had better send the bailiffs to you : thev are 
 both in the house at this moment, following 
 you down to Warwickshire. Pay them in the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 229 
 
 gold, major, and keep the notes. They are 
 easily carried, and not worth any one's risk 
 to take. — Good-by, sir," he continued, aloud : 
 " I hope you'll remember the porter." 
 
 Major Brandrum took a crown out of his 
 purse — it was well nigh the last it contained — 
 and gave it to the other, who, with an awkward 
 bow to the rest of the company, quitted the 
 room, thanking his honour a thousand times. 
 
 Major Brandrum then apologized to his two 
 friends for keeping their meal so long waiting; 
 and, sitting down to table with them, prepared 
 to enjoy himself as was his wont. He had 
 more business, however, to transact before he 
 could satisfy himself with the " cates divine," 
 or quaff the foaming bowl. 
 
 " Upon my life ! here are roast fowls and 
 ham once more," cried Reginald Lisle. " We 
 have had them at every inn where we have 
 stopped." 
 
 " Those two dishes are patent in England," 
 replied the major ; " they are just as much a 
 staple commodity as roast beef. I remember 
 
230 SIR THEODORE broughton; or, 
 
 being seated at dinner, two years ago, beside a 
 Frenchman ; and when, after grace, which was 
 very long, the covers were removed and the 
 contents of the dishes displayed, I saw my 
 neighbour's face work lamentably, and he mur- 
 mured to himself, but loud enough for half a 
 dozen people to hear, • Begar ! dere be cock 
 and bacon once again ! ' — Sir Theodore, shall I 
 send you a wing ?" 
 
 The young baronet, laughing, had just an- 
 swered in the affirmative, when two very sus- 
 picious-looking men entered the room ; and, to 
 the waiter's demand of what they wanted, and 
 intimation that they had made a mistake, one 
 of them replied, " We knows what we are 
 wanting : no mistake in life. — That 's the 
 gentleman, Bob." 
 
 " Pray, who are you, and what do you 
 want ? " demanded Major Brandrum, in a stern 
 tone, very well understanding the nature of the 
 intruders' calling. 
 
 " I am an officer of the Sheriff of Middlesex," 
 replied the man, boldly, touching the shoulder 
 
LAUREL WATER. 231 
 
 of the Ravenous Crow with his finger ; u and I 
 arrest you, John Brandrum, at the suit of 
 Simon Cox and Hezekiah Skeingelt. You 
 must come along with me, major." 
 
 "Show me the writ," said Major Brandrum, 
 coolly. 
 
 " Oh ! here it is," replied the officer, pro- 
 ducing a slip of parchment, which Major Bran- 
 drum examined very carefully. " It 's of no 
 use, major: you must either come or pay." 
 
 " Now, if I served you as you deserve," re- 
 plied the officer, bending his brows upon the 
 man sternly, " I should take you by the neck 
 and back, and throw you out of the window, 
 while my friends did the same by your follower. 
 In the first place, you know that you are 
 executing this writ at an illegal hour; and, in 
 the next place, that it is not backed by the 
 Sheriff of Bedfordshire." 
 
 The bailiff winked his eye to his companion, 
 remarking, in a loud aside, " They told us he 
 was a new un ; but he 's up to snuff, Bob. — I 
 seg your pardon, sir," he continued, in a more 
 
232 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 civil tone ; " but the truth is, one Colonel Lut- 
 wicb sent us word that you had got the money 
 from Mr. Wilkinson, as drew the bills, and we 
 had nothing to do but ask for it." 
 
 " Then why did you not ask for it civilly ?"' 
 demanded Major Brandrum. " I have a very 
 great mind not to pay you one farthing, and to 
 drub you for half an hour : first, because, as 
 you know quite well, that these Cox and 
 Skeingelt are two Jew usurers, who never gave 
 half the money to the wretched vagabond who 
 drew the bills ; and, next, because I hate all 
 bailiffs and men who live by the miseries of 
 their fellow-creatures." 
 
 " Lord bless you, major ! you '11 get accus- 
 tomed to us in time," replied the man : " that is 
 to say, if you go on accepting bills for other 
 people, that you can't pay yourself." 
 
 The look of anger passed away from Major 
 Erandrum's face in a moment, and he hung his 
 head, with an expression of shame and mortifi- 
 cation. " You are quite right," he said, at 
 length, "you arc quite right ; and I acted, not 
 
LAUREL WATER. 233 
 
 only foolishly, but wrongly. I will never do it 
 again." 
 
 " Ay, sir, that 's what many a boy says when 
 he is being whipped/' replied the bailiff. 
 
 " True again,"' replied the Ravenous Crow. 
 " You are a philosopher, my good friend ; but 
 let us have as little of your company as possible. 
 Draw out a receipt, and I will pay you the 
 money." 
 
 The rest of the affair was soon settled, and 
 at length the worthy major was permitted to 
 go on in peace with his supper. 
 
 " Pray, Major Brandrum," inquired Sir Theo- 
 dore Broughton, in his usual timid and diffident 
 tone, when the meal was nearly done, i{ who 
 is Colonel Lutwich that the man mentioned?" 
 
 " The same whom we saw at Stratton-upon- 
 Dunsmore," replied the major, drily, going on 
 with his meal. 
 
 " But who is he ? — of what family ?" per- 
 sisted the young baronet. 
 
 " Oh ! there is a large family of them," 
 answered the major. " I really do not know 
 
234 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 how to describe this gentleman more particu- 
 larly. I saw him once in a very crowded 
 assembly in London, where he played for very 
 high stakes, and won the game. I never saw 
 him afterwards, till we met at Stratton ; but 
 there, after you were gone to bed, we chatted 
 over our last meeting, and I happened to tell 
 him of this man Wilkinson's roguery. It seems 
 that he generously found means to force the 
 fellow to pay me, not only the amount of the 
 bills, but a hundred pounds I had lent him 
 likewise ; for which I am very much obliged to 
 the good colonel. That is all I know of him." 
 
 Perhaps the young baronet might have asked 
 farther questions ; but at that moment the man 
 Hargrave put his head into the room, saying, 
 in a quick tone, " I want to speak a word to 
 you, Sir Theodore, if you please;" and, spring- 
 ing up from the table, the youth left his two 
 companions. 
 
 Major Brandrum gazed at Reginald Lisle, 
 and shook his head gravely. 
 
 " That lad is going- wrong," he said ; " we 
 
LAUREL WATER. 235 
 
 shall have to look after him. Donovan has 
 placed a scoundrel with him, if ever I saw one ; 
 and the result will be — perhaps what he ex- 
 pects." 
 
 " Going wrong !" exclaimed Reginald, start- 
 ing. " In Heaven's name ! what makes you 
 think so ? Surely you must mistake : his very 
 timidity and shyness must have kept him from 
 all temptation up to the present time at least. 
 It will be lost but too soon doubtless ; but 
 it will prove a safeguard at present, I do hope." 
 
 " Those shy and timid lads, who seem fright- 
 ened at the very first step in our evil world,'' 
 replied Major Brandrum, "always make the 
 greatest start when the first step is taken ; and 
 as to his wanting temptation, he will never 
 want that while Master Hargrave is with him. 
 The scoundrel brought the lad into the room 
 where my poor friend Malcolm was sitting with 
 me and his daughter, and I remarked how the 
 boy's eyes kindled at her beauty while we were 
 dismounting. Twice after that the groom's 
 ugly face was thrust in ; but if I find he is 
 
236 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 prompting his young master to insult her, I 
 •will break every bone in his body." 
 
 " He shall not insult her, if I can prevent it/' 
 said Reginald Lisle, rising. " She is very 
 beautiful ; and I too remarked how much young 
 Broughton's admiration was excited. But he 
 is under my charge, and I will interfere to 
 prevent him from doing anything disgraceful to 
 himself or injurious to her. I will go and see. 
 You stay where you are, my dear Crow. You 
 are too much excited : you would peck his 
 eyes out." And, thus saying, he left the 
 room. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 237 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " Sir, you insult me," said a very sweet voice, 
 as Reginald Lisle, after seeking through 
 several places, was walking along one of the 
 many intricate passages of the inn ; " let me 
 pass, I insist, or I will soon bring those who 
 will punish you. Your conduct is base and 
 ungenerous — you think me unprotected and 
 friendless ; and I am sure that man has 
 directed me wrong on purpose." 
 
 " jN"ay, I do not insult you," said the 
 tongue of Sir Theodore Broughton ; " surely, 
 it is no insult to tell you how lovely I think 
 vou, and to " 
 
 
 Yes, sir, it is an insult from a mere 
 stranger," answered the girl's voice ; " and I 
 insist upon your letting me pass." 
 
238 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 Reginald Lisle hurried forward in the dark- 
 ness, which was hut faintly softened by a light 
 in a cross passage which shed some stray- 
 beams upon the opposite wall. But Catherine 
 Malcolm's voice was raised very loud, and 
 just when the young officer reached the end 
 of the cross passage, which was a very long 
 one, some other ear seemed to have caught 
 the sound ; for a door was suddenly opened 
 between the spot which Reginald had reached 
 and that, where the young baronet stood ; and 
 a good-looking and fashionably-dressed man 
 issued forth, exclaiming: "What is the mat- 
 ter? — Why, my young friend, Sir Theodore, 
 what is all this ? Fie, fie ! Let the young 
 lady pass. This is not a bar-maid to hear 
 vows in an inn passage. Madam, this is a 
 mistake — the gentleman is very young and 
 romantic. Come in here with me, Sir Theo- 
 dore — you will have the whole inn upon you. 
 Sir, there is some one coming already;" and 
 without ceremony, he took the young baro- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 239 
 
 net's arm and hurried him into the room from 
 which he had himself just issued forth, so sud- 
 denly, that the latter did not see the advancing 
 figure of Reginald Lisle. 
 
 The door was instantly shut, but the young 
 officer continued his course up the passage 
 drawing to the side, to allow Catherine Mal- 
 colm to pass. With a trembling step the poor 
 girl came forward, with the light she carried 
 shining upon her beautiful countenance, and 
 showing how pale she had become with agita- 
 tion. She looked somewhat wildly round her, 
 too, as if not well knowing where she was ; 
 and judging from the words he had over- 
 heard, as well as her look, that she had been 
 directed wrong, Reginald bowed gravely, say- 
 ing, " You have lost your way — will you allow 
 me to show you ? Nay," she added, as she 
 drew somewhat back, with a look of alarm. 
 " You are quite safe with me, Miss Malcolm. 
 I am the friend and fellow- soldier of your 
 father's friend. Major Brandrum ; and I will 
 
240 SIR THEODORE JJROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 lead you to your parent's room at once. I 
 inquired where it is just now." 
 
 " My father is in bed, and I trust asleep, 
 sir," replied the poor girl. " I stayed with 
 him till he was drowsy, and then went back 
 to the hall for something I had left there. 
 As I returned, a man I met on the stairs told 
 me I was going wrong, and directed me here — 
 one passage is so like another — I really do not 
 know " 
 
 " Well, I will show you," said Reginald ; 
 "but just let me look at the number on this 
 door;" and, advancing a step, he gazed up, 
 repeating 4 Twenty-three.' ' ; Now, Miss Mal- 
 colm, I will attend you. The best plan will 
 be, to ring for the chamber-maid. There is a 
 bell in that next passage. She will go with 
 you wherever you like. I know you have 
 met with some annoyance just now, and was 
 coming to your assistance. The young offen- 
 der shall not go unreproved ; but as he is a 
 mere boy, you must forget it." 
 
LAUREL WATER. 241 
 
 " It was very wrong," replied Kate Mal- 
 colm, colouring ; " I did nothing to deserve 
 such treatment, I am sure." 
 
 " I am quite certain you did not," replied 
 the young officer, " but here is the bell ;" and 
 he rang it sharply. 
 
 The girl who appeared in answer to this 
 summons was a saucy English chamber-maid, 
 and when Reginald informed her that the 
 young lady had lost her way, and directed her 
 to accompany Miss Malcolm to her room, 
 which was next that of her father, and num- 
 bered a hundred and three, she tossed her 
 head, replying, that was not her floor : she 
 had nothing to do with the waggon folks. 
 
 " You will be so good as to do as I direct 
 you, whether it is your floor or not," replied 
 Reginald Lisle, sternly ; " this young lady, 
 whose father is a fellow-officer of mine, has 
 been already misdirected and insulted by 
 some persons in this house, and I am now 
 going to complain to your master of their con- 
 
 VOL. I. R 
 
242 SIR TIIEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 duct. Take care that I have not to add yours 
 to my report. See this young lady safely to 
 her room, and do not leave her till she is 
 there." 
 
 The girl gazed at him for a moment with 
 an air of surprise and sauciness, w'dcli had 
 well nigh made him laugh ; but she was 
 overawed, and with a look of flippant sub- 
 mission, she said, " Very well ! Come along. 
 This wav, madam." 
 
 " Good-night," said Reginald, in a kindly 
 tone ; " tell your good father when he rises, 
 that Captain Lisle and Major Brandrum will 
 botli come to see him before you start to- 
 morrow." 
 
 The tears rose in Kate Malcolm's eves 
 again, and though she murmured, " Good 
 night, sir," it was all she could utter. 
 
 As she retired with the chamber-mnul, 
 [Reginald found his way down to the bar of 
 the inn, and on second thoughts, judging it 
 better to say nothing of what occurred, merely 
 
LAUREL WATER. 243 
 
 asked in an ordinary tone, who was in number 
 twenty-three. 
 
 " Colonel Lutwich, sir, the Hon. Colonel 
 Lutwich," replied the landlord, consequen- 
 tially ; " we have a great deal of fashionable 
 company in the house, to-night — John — 
 William — Thomas — Peter — Harry," he con- 
 tinued at the top of his voice, screaming to 
 half a dozen different waiters and getting none 
 of them, and then putting his mouth to the 
 end of a long tube, which ran up to the story 
 above, he shouted something which sounded 
 like the gurgling in the long neck of a wine 
 bottle when it is turned upside down, and the 
 liquid contained has some difficulty in getting 
 out. 
 
 Reginald Lisle walked slowly away, and 
 found Major Brandrum finishing his wine, 
 without a certain quantity of which — in de- 
 fault of active exertion — he had great diffi- 
 culty in believing that any day was actually 
 ended. 
 
 r 2 
 
244 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 "What news, Lisle?" the major asked, as 
 the other entered. " Have you found the lad I 
 How was he demeaning hiinself ?" 
 
 " Not very well," replied the young officer ; 
 " but yet not so badly as perhaps he might 
 have done. Nevertheless, I fear for the fu- 
 ture. Let him alone, however, my dear 
 Brandrum ; I will give him a sort of lecture 
 when he returns." 
 
 " But where is he?" demanded the major. 
 " What is he doing now." 
 
 " He is in your friend Colonel Lutwich's 
 room," replied Lisle. " That gentleman came 
 upon him in the midst of his impertinence 
 to the poor girl, and really behaved very 
 well ; representing to him the impropriety 
 of his conduct, and dragging him into his 
 room, to put a stop to what was likely 
 1o become a very painful and disgraceful 
 
 scene." 
 
 " The stupid young fool !" exclaimed Bran- 
 drum. " But it is all that knave Hargrav* 's 
 
LAUREL WATER. 245 
 
 doing; and, please Heaven, I will beat him 
 to a jelly before I part with him. Lutwich 
 is a fine fellow, with all his faults, and, I 
 am sure, would not see an innocent girl ill- 
 treated." 
 
 " It is very strange," said Reginald, mus- 
 ing : " I feel certain I have seen his face some- 
 where before." 
 
 " That is very possible, my dear lad," 
 replied Major Brandrum, drily ; " but if 
 you will take my advice, Lisle, you will not 
 ask him where. He is a man of good 
 family, good education, and many good feel- 
 ings, as he has shown in my case; but he 
 has his oddities, of which the less said the 
 better." 
 
 A look of sudden intelligence broke over 
 Reginald's face. " I understand it all now," 
 he exclaimed : " it is the same countenance, I 
 do believe ; and yet there seems a difference, 
 too, so that I certainly could not swear to 
 him." 
 
246 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 " I hope you never will, Lisle,'' said the 
 major, gravely ; " a wig makes a great diffe- 
 rence, and Lutwich has many, as you might 
 see when he brought the money here this 
 evening." 
 
 " Good Heaven ! was that the same man ?" 
 exclaimed Reginald ; " then it would certainly 
 be as difficult to swear to him as to bind Pro- 
 teus. But be assured, on your account, I never 
 would, even if I could." 
 
 " The first time I ever saw him," said 
 Brandrum, "he was, as I told this silly youth, 
 playing for a great stake — for neither more 
 nor less, in short, than his life. It was at the 
 Old Bailey, but he got off, for he cross- 
 examined the principal witness against him 
 himself; and though the man was very much 
 inclined to swear to his person, he asked him, 
 in a stern tone, whether the highwayman had 
 not a very black beard ? i So he had,' ex* 
 claimed the person who had been robbed ; ■ I 
 did not think of that :' upon which the lawyer 
 
LAUREL WATER. 247 
 
 for the prosecution turned crossly round to 
 Lutwich, saying, ' How came you to know 
 that?' 'Because the same man tried to rob 
 me at the very same spot/ replied Lutwich, 
 1 only I would not let him. He had a black 
 beard, as you have, Counsellor Barrett; and, 
 in fact, was very like you indeed. I could 
 almost fancy you were the same man.' This 
 set the whole court laughing, and the jury- 
 acquitted the prisoner without leaving the 
 box. This little scene did not lose him his 
 place in society ; and though he frequents 
 a great number of gay and dangerous 
 places, and associates with a good number 
 of fashionable blackguards, he has never lost 
 the reputation of a gentleman and a man 
 of honour, wherever his means may come 
 from." 
 
 " Perhaps he is not the best companion 
 for Sir Theodore," replied Lisle ; but the 
 major instantly replied, " There might be 
 worse ; there might be worse ; " and the 
 
248 sir tiil:odo!?e brougiiton ; or, 
 
 conversation taking another turn, Reginald 
 raised the gall of his gallant friend, by detail- 
 in"- minutelv all that had occurred between 
 the young baronet and Catherine Malcolm, as 
 far as he knew it himself. 
 
 An hour passed by without the return of 
 Sir Theodore ; and, at the end of that time, 
 Reginald Lisle rose, saying, "I will to bed, 
 Brandrum, for I am tired, and my knee is 
 somewhat painful." 
 
 " So will I," rejoined the major, taking up 
 his heavy riding whip ; and having procured 
 lights, they issued forth. 
 
 Reginald Lisle mounted the stairs first, while 
 his friend paused for a moment to gaze out into 
 the court of the inn, where the moonlight was 
 sleeping quietly ; and the younger officer had 
 reached the middle of the long open gallery 
 which led to his bedroom, when he heard the 
 voice of the Ravenous Crow exclaiming, in 
 violent tones, " Why did you tread upon my 
 toe, sir?" 
 
LAUREL WATER. 249 
 
 " I did not intend it, major," said another 
 voice. 
 
 " You did, sir — you intend everything that 
 is bad — I '11 teach you to behave better ;" and 
 instantly followed a sound like that which is 
 often heard at watering-places, produced by 
 the repeated application of a cudgel to the 
 tough hairy skin and hollow sides of an 
 unfortunate donkey. The report of these 
 echoing blows was mingled with cries and 
 almost screams and shouts for mercy, which 
 soon brought a dozen people and a dozen 
 lights into the court-yard ; and Reginald, 
 looking over the wooden balustrade, beheld 
 his friend holding Master Zachary Har- 
 grave by the collar with a tight grasp, and 
 laying on repeated blows of his horsewhip 
 upon his legs, shoulders, and back, with a 
 force and vigour which had well nigh flayed 
 the unfortunate patient. Seeing people hurry- 
 ing up to interfere, the major ceased for a 
 
250 SIR THEODORE BBOUGHTONJ OR, 
 
 moment — without letting go his hold, how- 
 ever, — and, turning a fierce glance round, 
 demanded, " Does any one want the same ?" 
 
 No one seemed inclined to demand the 
 privilege ; and then, swinging his victim 
 round so as nearly to throttle him, the major 
 raised his foot and applied it to Hargrave 
 with a force and unction which sent him 
 through the crowd almost to the other side 
 of the court. Then stooping down, Bran- 
 drum raised his candlestick from the ground, 
 and in a calm and somewhat jocular voice — 
 for he was well satisfied with what he had 
 done — addressed the mistress of the house, 
 saying, " Will you allow me to light my wick 
 at yours, madam, for candles will go out when 
 people are engaged in interesting occupa- 
 tions." 
 
 Every one gazed at the other while the 
 worthy officer obtained a light ; but no one 
 ventured to say a word ; and bowing round 
 
LAUREL WATER. 251 
 
 with mock courtesy, much amused at the 
 consternation upon all faces, Major Bran- 
 drum walked quietly away and sought his 
 bedroom. 
 
252 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON' ; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " Pray be seated, Sir Theodore," said Colonel 
 Lutwich, when he had drawn the young 
 baronet into his room, and shut the door. 
 " We must let the gentlemen and ladies, whom 
 your somewhat too warm admiration of a 
 very pretty girl may have collected in the 
 passage, satisfy their curiosity, and go back 
 to their supper and their beds, before the 
 provider of this treat for their appetite for the 
 marvellous, makes his appearance again." 
 
 He spoke somewhat sarcastically ; and, per- 
 haps, no better tone could be taken to im- 
 press an inexperienced and shy lad with a 
 sense of the impropriety of his conduct. 
 
 Pray let it be remarked, I say only, the 
 impropriety; for Colonel Lutwich did not 
 
LAUREL WATER. 253 
 
 pretend to go farther. He might feel, and 
 probably he did feel, for his after conversation 
 was a proof thereof, that there was much be- 
 yond mere impropriety to be censured in the 
 young baronet's late behaviour ; but there are 
 men who systematically act wrong themselves, 
 and yet are so conscious and internally ashamed 
 of their own misdeeds, that they do not venture 
 boldly to condemn the misdeeds of others, 
 though the faults and follies they see are not 
 exactly in the course which they follow them- 
 selves. These are persons in whom the moral 
 sense is not yet either quite depraved by habit, 
 or naturally obtuse; for in both those cases 
 the vices that we do not cherish are the objects 
 of our censure or our ridicule. 
 
 Sir Theodore Broughton cast himself down 
 into a chair overwhelmed with confusion and 
 mortification. He knew not what to reply, 
 or which way to look. His pride, his vanity, 
 his desires were all disappointed or wounded. 
 His first step in the career of passion and 
 vicious indulgence had ended in rebuke and 
 
254 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 ridicule; and, for the time, he cursed Har- 
 grave, and himself, and all concerned. 
 
 Colonel Lutwich saw how bitterly he was 
 mortified, and being in reality a very good- 
 natured man, was sorry for him, and hastened 
 to his relief. 
 
 " Come, come, Sir Theodore," he said, " do 
 not let this affect you so much. In all 
 probability the young lady is not aware of 
 who you are, and will think little more 
 about it. Few women are very seriously 
 averse to be the object of admiration, though 
 it may hurry the admirer into somewhat rash 
 actions. I do not, indeed, know the circum- 
 stances of the case, but I think you must have 
 made a great mistake in the character of the 
 person you addressed, and it is very necessary 
 to learn to discriminate. Doubtless you have 
 no great experience in these affairs, and ' 
 
 " None, none ! " replied the young baronet, 
 encouraged by his tone. " Doubtless I have 
 been very wrong ; but it is all that fool Har- 
 grave — my servant's doing. I never saw s0 
 
LAUREL WATER. 255 
 
 beautiful a creature in my life ; and lie told 
 
 me Why do you laugh?" 
 
 " Not at you, my young friend," replied his 
 companion ; " but because a servant — a low- 
 minded vulgar fellow like that, is not fit in any 
 way to give you counsel or information. You 
 must learn, as I was saying, to discriminate 
 for yourself. This young lady is very beauti- 
 ful — very beautiful, indeed. That was evi- 
 dent, even at the casual glance I obtained of 
 her ; but still that casual glance was enough to 
 show any man of the world, that she is not 
 accessible to the sort of means vou seemed 
 to be employing. There are some forts 
 which cannot be carried by storm, Sir Theo- 
 dore, against which nothing will succeed but 
 long and incessant siege, and not even then 
 without bringing up the heavy artillery of 
 matrimony. Even that will not always carry 
 the place ; and that man makes the greatest 
 mistake in the world who thinks that with 
 ^he heart of all women, rank, station, wealth, 
 
256 SIR THEODORE UROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 even accomplishments must be successful. 
 Women have their fancies as well as men, 
 and the most captivating youth of the whole 
 world, will often meet with a bitter mortifi- 
 cation if he thinks that his suit will prove 
 equally acceptable to all." 
 
 " But do you think I have offended her 
 beyond forgiveness ? " asked the young baronet, 
 in so dolorous a tone as to make his companion 
 laugh again. 
 
 " No, no," said Lutwich ; " as a first prin- 
 ciple, no woman is offended at being loved — 
 so far from it, that nine out of ten will forgive 
 any errors that proceed from that love ; and 
 you seem somewhat deep in the mire, my dear 
 baronet, considering that you have only known 
 the young lady — at least so I imagine — a few 
 hours." 
 
 " That matters not," said Sir Theodore, 
 growing bolder as he went on ; " sometimes 
 a few hours are as much as a life time. I 
 have never seen — I am sure I never shall see 
 
LAUREL WATER. 257 
 
 anything half so lovely, and were I master 
 of my own fortune, I would give one-half — 
 nay the whole, to call her mine." 
 
 " Nay, that is a very serious affair," replied 
 the other. " Do you mean to say that you 
 would marry her ? " 
 
 The young baronet paused and hesitated ; 
 and Lutwich resumed more seriously, but in 
 a sort of contemplative disquisitional manner, 
 which took all appearance of rebuke from his 
 observations. " It is indeed a very serious 
 affair to think of marrying a girl one has 
 only known a few hours. It is not only 
 fortune and comfort that we stake upon our 
 die ; but often the happiness, the success, even 
 the honour and conduct of a whole life. Mar- 
 riage blends with our being the being of 
 another, which mingles a certain dissimilar 
 stream with the whole current of our exist- 
 ence, modifying not only our fortunes and our 
 fate, but our thoughts, our feelings, our cha- 
 racter. The person we wed may seem to pos- 
 
 vol. i. s 
 
258 SIR THEODORE EROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 sess no influence over us, may obtain no power 
 of controlling our actions, or directing our 
 course in anything ; but still, whether leading 
 or opposing, going with us or against us, there 
 will be constantly recurring effects produced 
 upon our minds and our deeds, by that in- 
 separable union with another, which will 
 affect us in all our mortal life — nay, perhaps 
 in eternity." 
 
 He paused long between the former and 
 the latter words, and the last were uttered 
 with an effort, as if in despite of himself. 
 The next moment he resumed in a less serious 
 tone, " Doubtless you did not think of mar- 
 riage, my young friend ; and now let us con- 
 sider for one instant what you were about. 
 In this world there are many women who, loose 
 and vicious by habit, are ready to sell, give, 
 grant, favour and encouragement to all who 
 seek them ; there are some, too, who by tem- 
 perament, vanity, idleness, want of charac- 
 ter or principle, though not actually fallen, 
 
LAUREL WATER. 259 
 
 are only waiting upon inclination, opportunity, 
 or temptation. But there are others — and if I 
 judge rightly this girl is one — who in purity 
 of heart and feeling, though not without af- 
 fections, which become passions when strongly 
 excited, devote themselves to high and holy 
 duties in the strength of innocence and truth. 
 I can feel that it is so, 1 ' he added sadly, 
 " though I am not, never have been, one of 
 them. I will not blame the man who, in the 
 hot blood of youth, sports with the wanton or 
 .the libertine, provided he debases not his own 
 mind to the level of theirs. I have no right 
 to blame him, alas! I will not even venture 
 to censure the man who meets passion with 
 passion, and rolls the falling pebble down the 
 bank. These things are wrong, all very wrong ; 
 but it is not for me to condemn. But what 
 must that man think of himself, who for an 
 idle fancy, or a short-lived passion, would 
 deliberately seek to sully a pure heart, to 
 withdraw from a course of noble innocence 
 
 s 2 
 
260 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITOX ; OR, 
 
 and high devotion, a being -whose corporeal 
 beauty is but an image, a type, a sign of the 
 beautiful spirit within? No, no, Sir Theodore, 
 as Shakspeare says — ' We have willing dames 
 enough.' We may be sinful, we may be 
 foolish to make them our companions, or to 
 give them even an idle hour. A man may 
 be tempted of the evil spirit, who is ever too 
 near us all, to fall into wrong and wickedness 
 himself, unwilling slave to his own passions ; but 
 to tempt others who are pure and innocent, is the 
 first great attribute of the evil spirit himself." 
 
 He paused, but Sir Theodore remained 
 silent with his head leaning on his hands and 
 his eyes averted ; and Lutwich gazed on him 
 with a keen and contemplative look, as if re- 
 volving several things in his mind, and striving 
 to draw conclusions from them. The fine de- 
 licate features of the young baronet, his look 
 of extreme youth, and expression of almost 
 melancholy thoughtfulncss, joined with no in- 
 dications, either to the physiognomist or the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 261 
 
 phrenologist, of strength and firmness of cha- 
 racter, might perhaps have some share in the 
 conclusion at which he seemed to arrive. 
 " Come, Sir Theodore, to speak the truth," he 
 said, " did not some one, to use our London 
 slang, put you up to this ? I am sure your 
 own heart would not lead you to such a step." 
 It is a natural impulse of feeble minds, 
 easily led by stronger ones, to throw the 
 blame of all miscarriages upon others. Sir 
 Theodore Broughton, although he had al- 
 luded slightly to the participation of his ser- 
 vant Hargrave in the fault he had committed, 
 had not told the whole ; but since his conduct 
 had been placed in so unfavourable a light, by 
 a man of the world, and evidently a man of 
 pleasure, indignation at having been mis- 
 led and disappointed too, had been gradually 
 rising up in his breast, and he replied aloud, 
 " Yes, you are right. It was that scoundrel of 
 mine, Zachary Hargrave. He saw how much 
 I was struck with her, and led me to suppose 
 
262 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 that she might very easily be won. He would 
 fain have had me believe, too," continued the 
 young baronet, following the common course 
 of endeavouring to create a prejudice against 
 the person he accused — " He would fain have 
 had me believe, too, that you are a common 
 highwayman, Colonel Lutwich." 
 
 His companion smiled sarcastically. " If he 
 had said an uncommon one, he might have been 
 more correct," Lutwich replied. " I certainly 
 do travel the highways a good deal, as much 
 as, or more than any other gentleman in my 
 position of life. I could almost say with the 
 great Earl of Peterborough, that I have seen 
 more kings and more postilions than any 
 man in Europe. But this is all trash and 
 nonsense, Sir Theodore. The man must be a 
 fool, as well as knave, to try to make you 
 believe such idle stuff. I am glad, however, 
 to hear that it is such a low blackguard on 
 whom the blame of misleading you lies. I felt 
 sure that neither Major Brandrum nor Captain 
 
LAUREL WATER. 236 
 
 Lisle would have any share in such things. 
 This man is not a fit counseller for you, my 
 young friend. Lisle may be too high flown 
 in his notions — at least so I have heard — and 
 Brandrum is too old to be a fit companion for 
 youth ; but all I can say is, if my advice and 
 assistance can at any time be of service to you, 
 you may command it. Before we part, I will 
 give you an address where you will always find 
 or hear of me. I will write it down now, and 
 after that we will have a bottle of our land- 
 lord's Burgundy, of which, by the way, he has 
 some of the best in England, and then to bed, 
 and sleep, and forgetfulness." 
 
 From a small but very handsome writing- 
 desk, Lutwich took out a quire of perfumed 
 paper, and wrote down a few lines which he 
 handed to his young companion, who, on his 
 part, put them in his pocket without further 
 thought. The bell was then rung, and the 
 landlord himself appeared, with a look of the 
 most deferential respect. 
 
'2G4 SIR THEODORE UROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 " Bring a bottle of Burgundy, Master Spin- 
 ner,*' said Colonel Lutwicli ; ° a bottle of that 
 same wine which Lord St, Jermyn and I had 
 here, last Saturday twelvemonth." 
 
 " Lord, colonel, how well your honour re- 
 collects things !" said the landlord, fawning. 
 
 " I shall recollect the taste of the wine, too, 
 Master Spinner," replied the other ; " so, be 
 sure that it is the same; and, do you hear? 
 uncork it below, and see that it be not ropy." 
 
 " Certainly, sir ; certainly," replied the land- 
 lord ; and in five or ten minutes the wine was 
 brought, and proved worthy of its reputation. 
 However, whether it was that Sir Theodore 
 had drunk more than ordinary at supper, or 
 that his brain was in an excitable state from 
 all that had lately passed, his eyes soon began 
 to assume a vacant and unsteady look, and his 
 utterance to become less clear, though more 
 voluble. Still, however, he continued to sip 
 slowly, glass after glass, though, to do Colonel 
 Lutwich no more than justice, he did not 
 
LAUREL WATER. 265 
 
 press the bottle upon him, notwithstanding the 
 custom of the times. Those were days of 
 deep drinking, when no man was considered 
 worthy of society who did not occasionally, 
 if not frequently, make himself unfit for it. 
 But still the young baronet's companion was 
 unwilling to lead him to expose himself 
 more on the same night than he had done 
 already. By the time the bottle was finished, 
 the elasticity had strangely gone out of Sir 
 Theodore's knees, and he at length rose, say- 
 ing, " I must go, colonel, and hunt out Lisle 
 and the major. They won't know what has 
 become of me ; but as he spoke the sort of 
 oscillating motion of his body indicated suffi- 
 ciently that he was in no very proper condition 
 for hunting out any one." 
 
 " You had better go to bed, Sir Theodore," 
 replied his companion ; but knowing well that 
 there is not so great an offence to a drunken 
 man as to perceive his condition, he added, 
 
 you and Lisle might quarrel ; for, though 
 
 u 
 
266 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX J OR, 
 
 you do not seem to be aware of it, he was the 
 person who was hurrying up so fiercely to the 
 young lady's rescue, just now." 
 
 " I do not care," replied the young man ; 
 u he has no right to meddle with me ; and I'll 
 go and tell him so." 
 
 " No, no ; let him sleep over it," said the 
 other, " and you do the same. Come, I will 
 show you the way, for I dare say you do not 
 know whereabout you are. I am acquainted 
 with all the turnings and windings of the 
 place from times of old ;" and having ascer- 
 tained the number of the young baronet's 
 room, and obtained a light, he good-humour- 
 edly conducted him thither, and persuaded 
 him to go to bed at once. 
 
 This accomplished, Lutwich returned to his 
 own chamber, and sat down to meditate. 
 " A pretty fellow I am," he thought, M to lec- 
 ture others upon their conduct ! But still, if 
 he knew all, he might well think bis beha- 
 viour bad enough, when I condemn it. And 
 
LAUREL WATER. 267 
 
 Master Hargrave, too, I must settle accounts 
 with him. Where can he have seen me ? He 
 must be silenced one way or another ; and 
 putting his hand in his pocket he drew out a 
 very beautifully-fashioned pistol, mounted with 
 silver, examined the priming, and thrust the 
 ramrod down once or twice into the barrel. 
 
 " Now for Master Hargrave," he said aloud, 
 after about half an hour's farther meditation, 
 and rang the bell. 
 
 " Send up a man named Hargave to me, 
 Sir Theodore Broughton's servant," were his 
 words to the waiter, who appeared. 
 
 u Why, your honour, he is hardly in a 
 condition to come yet," replied the waiter. 
 " He has had as good a horsewhipping as 
 e'er I see a fellow in my life, and so he 
 is just now unstomaching himself to the 
 people in the waggon-room, over a glass of 
 brandy-punch, upon free grace and predesti- 
 nation." 
 
 " Then he's just in the fit state of niind.— 
 
268 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 Send him up," said Colonel Lutwich. " Who 
 horsewhipped him?" 
 
 " Why, one Major Brandrum, they say, 
 sir," answered the other ; " but I hope you will 
 not say I told you." 
 
 " Shall I say the house-bell will not ring 
 when any one pulls the handle?" demanded 
 Lutwich. " See that the man comes up 
 directly, for I am going to-bed." 
 
 Ten minutes elapsed — nay perhaps a quarter 
 of an hour ; for it required some persuasion 
 to induce Zachary Hargrave to trust himself 
 within reach of anything like an arm accus- 
 tomed to wield a horsewhip ; but the waiter 
 assured him that the colonel was all honey 
 and water, and that Sir Theodore had just 
 left him, so that there was nothing to fear, 
 and in the end the worthy head groom, 
 or groom and valet, as he now termed 
 himself, was coaxed into mounting the 
 stairs, and entering No. 23, after knocking 
 respectfully. After having been told to come 
 
 
LAUREL WATER. 269 
 
 in, he presented himself in the glare of two 
 wax candles, but took care to keep the means 
 of egress close behind him, standing with his 
 hat in one hand, while he smoothed down the 
 short flat hair on the top of his head with 
 the other. 
 
 Without speaking a word, Colonel Lutwich 
 eyed him from head to foot with a thoughtful 
 look which is peculiarly unpleasant and dis- 
 courteous in the eyes of small and rascally men. 
 In the first place, they feel, from the very manner 
 of the glance, that they are looked upon merely 
 as things — a very disagreeable mode or state of 
 objectiveness ; and in the next place, they are 
 always more or less afraid of having some- 
 thing or other discovered under such a scrutiny. 
 
 " So your name is Hargrave?" said Lut- 
 wich, neither very warmly nor very coldly, 
 but with the most indifferent tone in the 
 world ; " and you are Sir Theodore Brough- 
 ton's servant ? Look here — I have something 
 I wish you to see." 
 
270 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 The man took a couple of steps forward 
 towards the table, not perceiving what it was 
 the gentleman had in his hand, when, with a 
 rapid movement Lutwich placed himself be- 
 tween him and the door, which had been left 
 partly open, closed it, and turned the key. 
 
 " Now march on, Master Zachary Har- 
 grave!" he said, in a stern tone. " There — 
 place yourself there ; and neither stir hand nor 
 foot, as you value your life ! " At the same time 
 he displayed the very elegant little pistol which 
 he had taken from his pocket a few minutes 
 before, and coolly seated himself in such a posi- 
 tion as to command both the door and the bell. 
 
 " Now, answer me a few questions, Mas- 
 ter Hargrave," he continued, in a contemp- 
 tuous tone ; »■ I find you have done two 
 things, of which you must give me some 
 account. In the first place, you have been 
 leading your young master into mischief. 
 What made you fix upon the young huly he 
 was speaking to an hour or two ago in the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 271 
 
 passage, as the object of the honourable atten- 
 tions you suggested 1" 
 
 " Lord, sir ! I did not know that you had any- 
 thing to do with her," replied the man. 
 
 " No evasion ! " rejoined Lutwich, frown- 
 ing, " What made you fix upon her, I say ? " 
 
 " Because she was very poor, I heard, and 
 her father was too sick to meddle," he replied. 
 
 " Scoundrel ! " said Lutwich ; " who set you 
 on to such tricks ? " 
 
 " ]NTo one, sir — not exactly," replied Har- 
 grave, with his knees shaking ; (l the captain — 
 that is, Captain Donovan did say he did not 
 care about Sir Theodore having a few esca- 
 pades, and so I thought that was a hint to — 
 to " 
 
 " To pander," added Lutwich, finishing the 
 sentence for him ; " well, perhaps it was. I 
 shall remember. Now for the second question. 
 I find that you were wise enough to tell Sir 
 Theodore that I was merely a highwayman. 
 Now what induced you to venture on such an 
 
272 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 assertion? Out with it, for depend upon it 
 you do not quit this room alive till you have 
 spoken." 
 
 " No, sir, no; I did not say so, indeed," whim- 
 pered the man ; " I only said the horse your 
 servant sold to Captain Lisle was an impudent 
 beast, and when my master asked me, why I 
 called him so ; I said, because it was a proverb 
 — as impudent ' as a highwayman's horse.' " 
 
 Colonel Lutwich laughed aloud ; but the 
 instant after, his fine and almost delicate 
 features assumed a look which no one who saw 
 them in their milder expression could have 
 conceived them capable of putting on. Indeed 
 it was a peculiarity often noticed in that re- 
 markable man, that his face, though the lines 
 were all soft, and almost feminine, could, accord- 
 ing to his will, display every kind of different 
 expression, and, indeed, undergo so complete a 
 change, that without even an alteration of 
 dress, he could deceive any one not well 
 acquainted with him, as to his identity. On the 
 
LAUREL WATER. 273 
 
 present occasion, after that gay and almost 
 joyous laugh, the broad, clear brow became 
 suddenly furrowed by deep wrinkles ; a per- 
 pendicular line, in which one could have laid a 
 finger, appeared between the eyebrows, which 
 were drawn down together, and depressed 
 over the eyes ; the nostrils expanded wide ; 
 the corners of the mouth were drawn down ; 
 the muscles of the cheeks seemed to stand out, 
 as if working under strong passion ; and the 
 countenance, so lately all radiant and soft, was 
 changed to that of a menacing demon. 
 
 " Mark me, Zachary Hargrave," he said, 
 in a low, stern tone, speaking through 
 his brilliant white teeth, " you see this 
 pistol. In it there is a single ball. I will 
 keep that ball for you ; and if ever, in the 
 whole course of your life, you venture to 
 breathe such a word as that which you uttered 
 to your master — be it to man, woman, or child 
 — within twenty-four hours after, that bullet 
 shall lie in the middle of your brains. You 
 
 VOL. I. t 
 
274 SIR THEODORE UROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 understand me. You may know me, or you 
 mav not : but those who do know me are suffi- 
 ciently aware, that no one ever offended me 
 and lived. You are warned — Begone ! " 
 
 The man, who, like all of his kind, was an 
 infinite coward, made his way to the door with 
 knees knocking- together, and so great was his 
 terror, that for nearly a minute he could not 
 contrive to turn the key the right way in the 
 lock. 
 
 As soon as he was gone, Lutwich laid the 
 pistol on the table, and casting himself back in 
 his chair, gave way to thought. Once more 
 the expression of his countenance changed : the 
 fierce and vengeful look passed away ; a cloud 
 of deep — may I say tender — melancholy spread 
 over his face. At the end of about half an 
 hour he retired to bed, and, notwithstanding 
 all that had passed, slept profoundly for some 
 hours. 
 
 At length he seemed oppressed in his slum- 
 ber — turned, and tossed, and breathed with dif- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 275 
 
 iiculty : then murmured a few words — " Why, 
 Hal, you have dropped the candle into the 
 chest — don't you see the flame? — the smoke, 
 the smoke ? " and suddenly starting up, he 
 gazed round him exclaiming, " By Heaven, it is 
 no dream ! The room is full of smoke — some 
 one has set the inn on fire ! " 
 
 t 2 
 
276 SIR THEODORE EROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " There, that 's your room, miss," said the 
 chambermaid, pointing to a door on the second 
 story of the wing of the hotel, appropriated to 
 inferior travellers ; " I am sure you need not 
 have missed it, for it is as plain as a pike-staff, 
 just next to the old gentleman's." 
 
 " I should not have missed it," answered 
 Kate Malcolm, " if a person I met below had 
 not misled me, by telling me I had taken the 
 wrong stairs." 
 
 " Pooh, pooh ! " said the chambermaid, with 
 a saucy air, " young ladies should not be so 
 easily misled ; " and away she whisked. 
 
 Kate Malcolm entered the poor chamber 
 assigned to her, which had no advantage on 
 
LAUREL WATER. 277 
 
 earth, either in furniture or situation, ex- 
 cept that it possessed a door at the side, and 
 that door communicated with her father's room. 
 She approached it, and listened. All was still 
 within ; and then she sat down by the little 
 oaken table, and wept. The grief, smo- 
 thered all the day from her father's eyes, 
 because they were too kind : from the world's, 
 because they were too cold — broke forth in the 
 solitude of her own chamber, and her evening 
 hymn was tears. 
 
 But she was weary as well as sorrowful ; she 
 had gone through much labour and fatigue 
 during the day — fatigue of mind as well as 
 body — and she knew that the same was to re- 
 commence very early on the day that followed. 
 So, after having let the drops roll down her 
 fair cheeks for a few moments, to clear away 
 the sense of indignity, and sorrow, and hopeless- 
 ness from the brain, she rose, wiped her eyes, 
 went through the simple task of her nightly 
 toilet; and, only partly undressing, lest her 
 
278 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON J OR, 
 
 father should call, and tying up the money 
 which Major Brandrum had so kindly bestowed, 
 in a corner of her handkerchief, she lay down 
 to rest. She would not let her mind dwell 
 upon miseries, and slept. 
 
 In the mean time, the chambermaid went 
 tripping along the passage, and pushed open 
 a door which communicated with the other 
 parts of the house. As she did so, she met 
 the head waiter, with a decanter half emptied 
 in one hand, and a candle in the other ; and 
 they stopped in that snug corner to talk. I 
 will not trouble myself or the reader with 
 their conversation. Suffice it, that it was 
 sufficient to show that a very intimate friend- 
 ship existed between the two parties, for the 
 waiter liberally offered the decanter to the 
 lips of the fair, declaring it of the very best 
 vintage in the cellar ; and she, after having 
 quaffed an inconvenient draught, snuffed the 
 waiter's candle for him with the scissars which 
 hung by her side, and threw the charred wick 
 
LAUREL WATER. 279 
 
 upon the ground. A step and a loud call 
 from the landlord's own voice, caused them 
 to part suddenly ; and the swing door banged 
 to after Betty, while John took another way 
 down. 
 
 I will pause behind that door, however, for 
 a moment ; and as no one passed it for many 
 hours after, I shall not be disturbed while 
 watching a small spot upon the floor, just on 
 the left hand, within six inches of the skirting- 
 board. It was just where the sides of two of 
 the planks ought to have met ; but the house 
 was old, and they had shrunk away from each 
 other, leaving a crevice between, of half a 
 finger's breadth in width. At first, after the 
 chambermaid and waiter had separated and 
 departed, nothing at all was to be seen, though 
 a light from the court-yard found its way 
 through the windows — a faint, feeble, lantern 
 light, indeed, it was, for gas was not dreamed 
 of. Steam too was in its infancy ; and nobody 
 was aware that one day we should gain the 
 
280 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITOX J OR, 
 
 brightest light and the swiftest motion from 
 the vapours which were blown up our chimneys 
 or hissed out of our tea-kettles. 
 
 Presently, the feeble ray gleamed up upon 
 something, curling gracefully and slowly up- 
 wards from that spot, like the spirit of the 
 Arabian tale out of his copper vessel. It 
 seemed too small in volume, indeed, ever to 
 grow into a giant ; but it did so, neverthe- 
 less, before it was done. For the time, it was 
 only a pale, bluish, spiral column, writhing 
 itself up into the rays that came through 
 the windows, and only growing visible when it 
 reached their light. Then it sank away again, 
 and was not seen for some minutes ; and then 
 rose somewhat thicker, while a faint smell of 
 charred wood was perceptible near the spot. 
 
 Nobody took any notice, however, for the 
 odour penetrated no further, and the light, 
 curling smoke was not perceived. Everybody 
 was very busy, too, till everybody went to bed, 
 and then chance conducted them all the other 
 
LAUREL WATER. 281 
 
 way. The waggoners and their parties had all 
 gone to rest, before the people appointed to 
 attend upon thern took their road to their 
 several dormitories by the court-yard and the 
 stable ; the guests from the better part of the 
 house had no business in that passage, and 
 their servants found their way to their rooms 
 by the open galleries. 
 
 Before one o'clock, all was quiet in the inn. 
 At half-past two, a stage coach stopped, on its 
 road to London, and the coachman, guard, and 
 passengers supped there. A solitary, sleepy- 
 headed youth was usually left by the kitchen fire, 
 to attend upon the passing guests on their arri- 
 val ; and at about a quarter past two, the horse- 
 keeper woke him, on his way to open the great 
 gates. The youth walked along a passage which 
 led just under the swing door I have mentioned, 
 and, as he went out to the hall, where the coach 
 supper was laid, he left an outer door open 
 behind h;m, through which the night wind 
 wept cold. There was, by this time, a good 
 
232 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OH, 
 
 deal of smoke in the upper passage ; but it is 
 wonderful how it increased after that door was 
 opened. Nevertheless, not a speck of fire was 
 visible ; and the coach arrived, the passengers 
 supped, the fresh horses were put to, and on 
 it went, leaving the weary ostler and sleepy 
 waiter to seek their mews, without remarking 
 either smell or smoke. 
 
 Half an hour elapsed, which brought the 
 night to half-past three ; and then a faint, 
 red, ill-defined glow might be seen upon the 
 flooring, in extent not much bigger than a 
 man's hand, and the smoke became thick, the 
 smell overpowering towards that end of the 
 passage. But there was no one sleeping in the 
 rooms adjacent, and the wind blew the other 
 way towards the swing door, underneath which, 
 however, the smothering vapour was now 
 creeping fast. The red patch extended slowly 
 — more slowly and quietly than can be con- 
 ceived ; and about four o'clock, a faint glim- 
 mering flash rose through the dense cloud, and 
 
LAUREL WATER. 283 
 
 passed away ; but the moment after, a red line 
 began to creep along the skirting-board, at 
 first very slowly, then more quickly, but it was 
 stopped by the framework of a door leading to 
 an empty room. It crept round the moulding, 
 spotting it with patches of fire ; and a crackling 
 sound was heard. Another blaze then broke 
 through the smoke, and, like one of the sudden 
 illuminations which succeed a display of arti- 
 ficial fireworks, the whole wainscot, and part of 
 the floor, displayed lines of flame. A roaring 
 sound might now be heard ; but every one was 
 sound asleep, and the progress of the fire in 
 the passage was more tardy than might have 
 been supposed. The smoke seemed to choke it ; 
 for there was a door at either end, and the 
 supply of air was not sufficient to hurry it on 
 rapidly. At length, however, the swing door 
 was burned completely through, about half 
 past four; and then the advance of the con- 
 flagration was rapid indeed. 
 
 Three minutes after, a door was suddenly 
 
284 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 thrown open, and Colonel Lutwieh rushed out, 
 shouting loudly, " Fire ! Fire !" while he made 
 his way to a large bell-rope which he had seen 
 hanging at the head of the stairs. The next 
 instant the alarum was sounded loud and 
 rapidly, and careless of his own safety, Lut- 
 wieh hurried, along, knocking violently at 
 different doors, and still shouting " Fire !" 
 
 First one appeared, and then another; the 
 cry was taken up by fresh voices ; men and 
 women, in every state of dress and undress, 
 appeared in the court-yard, without any one 
 knowing how — nay, not even themselves. All 
 the pranks of terror and confusion of mind 
 were played which such scenes usually display. 
 Some were overpowered with fear, and did 
 nothing; some were more actively terrified, 
 and did all the most absurd things in the 
 world. A waiter was seen throwing up pump 
 water at the windows out of a slop-basin ; a 
 woman-servant was running back into the 
 flames to fetch her garters; the landlord sat 
 
LAUREL WATER. 285 
 
 himself down on the shafts of a waggon, 
 saying, " Well, there goes everything I have in 
 the world ; " and the landlady ordered the bar- 
 maid to throw the best china out of the window 
 to save it from being cracked with the heat. 
 
 There were two or three, however, who did 
 not lose their presence of mind at all, and several 
 more who retained sufficient of that very useful 
 commodity to do what the others told them. 
 Amongst the first were, a middle aged man, of 
 very distinguished appearance and a some- 
 what jovial countenance, Colonel Lutwich, 
 Major Brandrum, and Reginald Lisle. The 
 first at once ordered the great gates to be 
 opened, and the court to be cleared of the 
 women; and he himself led a middle-aged 
 lady, and a younger one who had come down 
 with him, into the street, but returned im- 
 mediately. At the moment of his re-appear- 
 ance, Lutwich was bringing forth from the 
 stables, aided by two or three men, a long 
 
286 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX ; OR, 
 
 ladder ; and Major Brandrum was exclaiming, 
 "They will be too late!" 
 
 No sooner were the words spoken, than, 
 darting through a little knot of stupified ser- 
 vants, the major rushed up to a door on the left, 
 and disappeared. The open gallery on that side 
 of the house was on fire at both ends ; but the 
 instant after, Brandrum was seen at the angle, 
 hurrying forward. He paused one instant as 
 the fire met him. It needed a heart of steel, 
 but he had one. Without setting foot on the 
 burning beams, he sprang across, and darted 
 down a passage near that in which the fire had 
 first began. At the same moment Reginald 
 caught hold of the ladder which Colonel Lut- 
 wich was bringing; forward, and aided to raise it. 
 They seemed to understand each other without 
 a word, for not one was spoken ; but they joined 
 their efforts to rear it and place it against the 
 gallery; and while the end was still vibrating, 
 Lisle was upon it, and halfway up. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 287 
 
 "Gallantly done!" cried the middle-aged 
 gentleman I have mentioned ; " but there may 
 be more to be saved than one. Some of you 
 men come with me ! Stevens, follow quick ! 
 Let us ascertain, as far as possible, that all the 
 rooms are clear before the tire reaches the main 
 body of the building." 
 
 "Yes, Sir Charles, I'm coming!" cried a 
 man in livery breeches, but without any coat. 
 
 But at that moment a sight was seen which 
 made his master and himself both pause. Major 
 Brandrum appeared at the end of the passage, 
 bearing a young girl in his arms, only half 
 clad, and hurried towards the ladder. Reginald 
 was nearly at the top, and with a spring he 
 reached it, and leaped over into the gallery. 
 The major paused for an instant to say some- 
 thing ; but his young comrade exclaimed, 
 " Down, down, Brandrum ! I will see to him," 
 and instantly disappeared. 
 
 Major Brandrum strode on, reached the top 
 of the ladder in safety, and descended cau- 
 
288 SIR THEODORE EROUGUTON ; OR, 
 
 tiously, holding the girl in his long arms as 
 one would hold an infant. It was somewhat 
 perilous, that descent, for he could not relax 
 his hold of the gentle burden he bore, to steady 
 his steps with his hand ; and the people below 
 watched him with breathless anxiety. But the 
 habit of every kind of exercise gave him great 
 advantages ; and as he came near the bottom, 
 Lutwich and another approached on either 
 side to support him. 
 
 " All safe, all safe !" said the old officer, with 
 a smile of conscious skill and power ; and 
 taking the last three or four rounds more 
 rapidly, he reached the court, and set down his 
 fair burden on her feet. 
 
 Kate Malcolm's eyes had been closed ; but 
 now she opened them, and gazed with a 
 terrified and bewildered look around. One 
 glance was given to the burning building, and 
 then her eyes ran over every face in the court. 
 The next instant she put her hands to her 
 head, with an expression almost of distraction 
 
LAUREL WATER. 289 
 
 on her face, and exclaiming, " My father, 
 my father!" rushed towards the ladder. Lut- 
 wich, however, caught her arm ere she could 
 ascend, and stopped her, exclaiming, " Captain 
 Lisle has gone for him ! Stay, I will go, too. 
 Major, take care of her — do not let her follow ! " 
 Thus saying, he began the ascent, and soon 
 reached the gallery. 
 
 u Oh, let me go!" cried the girl; "he will 
 come with me, — perhaps they will not find 
 him." 
 
 " Yes, yes they will," replied Major Bran- 
 drum, detaining her kindly. " Lisle knows it 
 is the next room to yours. There, there, 
 don't you see they are bringing him in their 
 arms : now, be calm, my dear child — turn away 
 your head while they descend." 
 
 But Kate could not refrain ; and, though 
 motionless as a statue, she continued, with 
 eager eyes and parted lips, to gaze, while — 
 Lutwich supporting the feet and Reginald the 
 shoulders, of her father — they bore him to the 
 
 vol. i. u 
 
290 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 top of the ladder; then, one above and the 
 other below, carried him safely down. 
 
 Springing forward, Kate cast her arms round 
 the sick man's neck, and wept. Captain Malcolm 
 turned a faint glance upon her, and murmured, 
 with a voice broken by gasps for breath, 
 " Thank God ! she is safe ! Oh, my child ! 
 a dying father's blessing be upon you !" 
 
 " Come, cheer up, Malcolm, cheer up ! " 
 cried Major Brandrum ; " all will go well. 
 Let us carry him to some place of shelter," 
 he added, in a whisper, to Reginald ; " he is 
 going, poor fellow ! In Heaven's name, where 
 is Sir Theodore? — see for him — see for him. 
 I will attend to Malcolm." 
 
 * He is safe," said Colonel Lutwich. " I 
 saw him cross the end of the gallery just now, 
 and reach the top of the stone stairs. His 
 blackguard, Hargrave, was with him." 
 
 Placing the sick officer on one of the shutters 
 of the hall, Major Brandrum, Lisle, Lutwich, 
 and one of the men, carried him across to the 
 house of an apothecary on the opposite side 
 
LAUREL WATER. 291 
 
 of the street, where a number of the women 
 had already taken refuge ; and, in the mean 
 time, the middle-aged gentleman whom I have 
 mentioned, mounted the stairs, and searched 
 through every room he could find, often 
 venturing further into the fire than was safe 
 or prudent. The servant to whom he had 
 spoken in the court, and several other men, 
 accompanied him, and after insuring, as far 
 as possible, that no living being was left in 
 any of the rooms, he and the rest applied 
 themselves to save some of the property that 
 was most easily carried. 
 
 As may be supposed, the scene was one 
 of terrible confusion : many people had rushed 
 in from the town ; all the hangers-on of the 
 inn, who were not stupified by personal fear, 
 busied themselves either with saving or 
 appropriating; a fire-engine and manifold 
 buckets were procured at length ; and though 
 the flames could not be stopped, their pro- 
 gress was delayed. With the greatest pos- 
 
 u 2 
 
292 SIR TIIEODORE BROUGUTON ; OR, 
 
 sible difficulty, a number of valuable horses 
 were forced out of the stables at the moment 
 the fire reached that part of the building. A 
 pile of trunks, portmanteaus, and saddle-bags, 
 was raised up in the middle of the road, and 
 a man stationed, with a pistol in his hand, to 
 guard them from the over-fondness of those 
 who might be partial to their neighbours' 
 goods and chattels. The landlord was roused 
 to some exertion, and the landlady made 
 aware that porcelain will break when thrown 
 out of a window ; and in the end a good deal 
 of property was collected and placed in safety. 
 Much was lost, much was stolen, much was 
 consumed indeed ; and still the obstinate ele- 
 ment ran from room to room, and passage 
 to passage, on both sides of the spot where 
 it first broke out. The gallery on the left 
 soon fell; the large wooden columns caught 
 fire, and though, as I have before shown, 
 the court was very wide and extensive, the 
 heat and smoke within its area became intoler- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 293 
 
 able. The fire-engine, badly constructed and 
 worked by ignorant men, was of very little 
 service, and it was soon evident that nothing 
 could be hoped beyond the preservation of 
 the adjacent buildings. To that object all 
 attention was at length turned, and though 
 some other houses suffered a little, yet the con- 
 flagration may be said to have been confined to 
 that in which it first broke out. 
 
 Gradually every one had been driven out 
 of the court; and at a little distance many 
 small knots of men and women appeared 
 watching the progress of the flames which 
 they despaired of suppressing. The red light 
 glared through the windows ; a dense cloud of 
 smoke rose high into the air ; the clouds above 
 were tinged with the reflection of the fire 
 which burned in the court as in a vast furnace ; 
 and gradually the lambent flames burst forth 
 from the casements, catching the frames, and 
 licking the thick walls. At length the roof 
 of the main building fell in with a tremendous 
 
294 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON ; OR, 
 
 crash. It seemed for an instant to deaden the 
 conflagration, and nothing was seen but a 
 thick mass of heavy smoke ; the moment after 
 the fire regained its ascendancy, and a tall 
 column of flame rose like a burning steeple 
 into the sky. The large board before the 
 house, with its long inscription, caught the 
 fire, and was soon in a blaze ; and the iron 
 crane on which swung the great sign became 
 red hot. The wood work below took light, and 
 the broad sheet of painted canvass, bearing the 
 black bull as large as life, on both sides, 
 crackled, shrivelled, burst into a flame, and 
 fell thundering into the road, scattering a 
 group of urchins who had collected somewhat 
 too near. 
 
 " There goes the black bully," cried one 
 boy aloud, with all the delight that young and 
 unchastised human nature takes in mischief of 
 any kind. 
 
 " There goes the black bull, indeed!" said 
 the melancholy landlord, in a very different 
 
LAUREL WATER. 295 
 
 tone ; " and there will never be another Black 
 Bull here as long as Dunstable is Dun- 
 stable." 
 
 Whether his vaticination was wrong or right, 
 I leave the reader who has travelled that way 
 to decide ; and I only need add, that if there 
 has been another inn of the same name in 
 Dunstable since, or if there be one there now, 
 it certainly is not the same Black Bull which 
 I have described in the tenth chapter of this 
 true history ; for ere the light of morning had 
 shone for more than one hour upon the sad 
 though busy scene presented by the streets 
 of the little town, nothing remained of that 
 building but a part of the four external walls, 
 with the blackened and vacant windows gap- 
 ing like the mouths of dead men upon a field 
 of battle. It was for this reason, and inas- 
 much as nothing in this book is written with- 
 out a feason, that I averred no one could 
 remember the Black Bull inn which I was 
 describing, unless he had lived, and memory 
 
296 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ', OR, 
 
 had lived with him, some seventy-two years ; 
 and now I will turn to show what were the 
 consequences of the events of that night to 
 the various characters, for whom I trust I have 
 created some degree of interest. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 297 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 I have mentioned a middle-aged gentleman, 
 of distinguished appearance, who busied him- 
 self in searching for any persons who might 
 have been left in the many bed-rooms of 
 the inn, in that state of slumber which was 
 likely to precede one still more profound, un- 
 less some means were taken to rouse them. 
 He did much also to rescue a considerable part 
 at least of the travellers' baggage from the flames, 
 and by his wise precautions prevented more 
 plunder than actually took place. When that 
 was done, however, and he saw that the efforts 
 of the people were directed aright to stop the 
 progress of the fire towards other houses, he 
 quietly turned upon his heel and approached 
 the shop of the apothecary, to whose house he 
 
298 SIR THEODORE broughton; or, 
 
 had previously conveyed two ladies, one of his 
 own age and the other younger. 
 
 There be people who enjoy the sight of 
 big bonfires, whoever may suffer by them — 
 who find pleasure in that sort of excitement 
 which is found in any grand or unusual act 
 of destruction, just as some are fond of see- 
 ing a fellow-creature hanged, or as I myself 
 am fond of watching a thunder-storm. I 
 blame them not, for in them, probably, the 
 sense of the sublime is superior to that of 
 the benevolent. I suppose that is the only 
 method of accounting for such tastes ; and yet, 
 what can be accounted for in that most un- 
 accountable being — man ? One of the most 
 truly benevolent persons that I ever knew — for 
 he was benevolent in small things as well as 
 great — could never hear of an execution or a 
 prize-fight, which is still worse, without going 
 to see it. Yet he would admit the horror and 
 the cruelty of the thing, and, like a wise man, 
 never attempted to account for his own conduct 
 
LAUREL WATER. 299 
 
 on such occasions, merely saying that he acted 
 upon an impulse which he could not resist. 
 
 The middle-aged gentleman whom I have 
 mentioned was not fond of big bonfires of any 
 kind ; and as soon as he had done what he could 
 to render service, he turned his back gladly on 
 a spectacle that was painful to him, and entered 
 the shop, which consisted of two separate rooms. 
 In the first he found no one ; for some of those 
 who had sought refuge there had been taken up 
 stairs, and some had gone to other places of 
 shelter. In the back shop, however, which was 
 called the surgery, he heard voices, and as the 
 glass-door was ajar he pushed it open and 
 went in. 
 
 The pale morning light was streaming in 
 from a window at the back, upon a group of eight 
 persons disposed close together in the midst of 
 the little chamber. A chair stood in the centre, 
 supporting the emaciated form of poor Captain 
 Malcolm, with his face as pale as marble, and 
 his head leaning back upon the arm of an 
 
300 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 elderly woman of the middle class. At his 
 feet kneeled his daughter, with her eyes fixed 
 earnestly, immoveably upon his countenance, 
 her head bent forward in her eagerness, and her 
 hands upon his knees. On one side of the 
 poor officer stood Major Brandrum holding 
 his hand ; and on the other was the apothe- 
 cary, supporting his shoulders with one arm, 
 while he applied a bottle of hartshorn to his 
 nostrils. By the side of Kate was Reginald 
 Lisle, with his hand stretched out towards 
 her shoulder as if about to draw her gently 
 away ; and on the other was Lutwich, gazing 
 down at her with that expression of tender pity 
 which his changeful countenance could some- 
 times assume ; and behind the apothecary stood 
 his assistant with a glass in his hand, the con- 
 tents of which he stirred diligently from time to 
 time. 
 
 " It 's of no use," said the master of the house, 
 turning his head towards the man: "you can 
 put it down. He could not swallow it." 
 
a 
 
 LAUREL WATER. 301 
 
 Kate gave him a look of terror and inquiry. 
 Ah, my poor young lady," he said, with some 
 
 feeling, " it is what we must all come to — you 
 
 had better take her away up stairs. My wife is 
 
 there with the ladies." 
 
 "Oh, no, no, no!" cried Kate, starting up 
 
 and casting herself upon her father's bosom. 
 
 " Not while there is life ; not while there is 
 
 life !" and she burst into a violent passion of 
 
 tears. 
 
 Her sudden movement seemed to rouse the 
 dying man from the cold lethargic doze into 
 which he had fallen. He opened his eyes, and 
 there was light in them : they fixed upon her 
 for a moment, with a look of intense love ; 
 then wandered round to Major Brandrum, 
 He pressed his old comrade's hand with the 
 feeble clammy fingers of the dying; and the 
 good old officer put his left upon the poor 
 girl's head, saying, in a loud tone, as if he 
 thought the ear he addressed must have be- 
 come dull, M Henceforth, Malcolm, she is my 
 child." 
 
302 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 The words were hardly uttered, when the 
 poor father swayed for a moment on his chair ; 
 and then, without a sigh, his head fell forward 
 on his daughter's neck. — He was a corpse. 
 
 Lutwich turned round to one who had 
 entered the room the moment after the gen- 
 tleman I have mentioned, and said in a whisper, 
 laying his hand upon the arm of Sir Theodore 
 Broughton, " Look there ! — You would have 
 wronged her!" 
 
 His face was very stern ; but the eyes of the 
 young baronet were fixed upon the weeping 
 child and the dead father, and he saw nothing 
 else. 
 
 Reginald Lisle stooped down, and gently, 
 tenderly, raised poor Kate Malcolm ; and she, 
 unconscious of what she did, suffered him to 
 support her in his arms, and, turning her head, 
 pressed her streaming eyes and forehead on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Stay a moment," said the gentleman who 
 had entered just before Sir Theodore, address- 
 ing Major Brandrum who was advancing to- 
 
LAUREL WATER. 303 
 
 wards the child he had just adopted ; " I will 
 bring Lady Chevenix to comfort her. Let 
 this poor girl be with her for a short time. 
 She shall be safel}- restored to you shortly." 
 
 " Would to God, she were with her alto- 
 gether ! " said Major Brandrum, in his frank 
 way. " To be solely under the care of an old 
 soldier, without a shred of a petticoat amongst 
 any of his kith or kin, is both dangerous and 
 disagreeable ; and not the less disagreeable for 
 being dangerous, nor dangerous for being dis- 
 agreeable." 
 
 But, almost before this speech had com- 
 menced, Sir Charles Chevenix had turned 
 away. He paused an instant, indeed, by Regi- 
 nald Lisle, holding out his hand frankly, and 
 saying, " Captain Lisle, I am glad to see you, 
 and to see you, as ever, acting the part of a 
 fine English soldier. I must find you out in 
 London ; for, gadsooks ! I shall not have time 
 to thank you half enough now for some late 
 passages. I will bring a lady who knows how to 
 
304 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 be kind to the orphan, and we will do our best 
 to console her." 
 
 Thus saying, he quitted the room, and re- 
 turned in a few moments with Lady Chevenix, 
 who gazed round inquiringly, turned a little 
 pale as her eyes fell upon the dead body of 
 poor Captain Malcolm, passed Reginald with 
 a cold bow of recognition, and then, with 
 her face assuming a more kindly and beaming 
 expression, advanced to the chair in which Kate 
 was now seated. 
 
 "Come with me, my poor child!" she said, 
 in a low and gentle tone. " You are amongst 
 friends, who, though new ones, will prove good 
 ones. This is the hand of God, my child, and 
 you must bow before it." 
 
 " His hand has pressed me sore," murmured 
 
 Kate; "but His will be done!" and, rising 
 
 slowly, she took a step towards the door — 
 
 paused — gazed round at the figure of her 
 
 parent, as he sat with the head now raised and 
 
 leaning; against one of the winces of the ami- 
 es O D 
 
LAUREL WATER. 305 
 
 chair; and then a shudder passed over her. 
 The next moment, however, she walked rapidly 
 towards him, knelt, and pressed her lips on his 
 cold hand. She murmured a few words too, but 
 nobody heard their import; and then, rising, 
 she followed Lady Chevenix out of the room. 
 
 Hardly had they passed the threshold, when 
 a servant came in from the street, exclaiming, 
 " Sir Charles, your honour had better come 
 and see to the things ; for every body is insist- 
 ing upon helping themselves to their own ; 
 and the constable says they cannot lie there, 
 for the coach from town will be down in a 
 minute or two. They 've smashed one of the 
 windows of the carriage, too, in getting it out of 
 the yard. I am sure it was Mildew the coach- 
 man's fault ; for he was in such a fright, he did 
 not know what he was doing. But the poke- 
 mantles is the things just now ; for I shouldn't 
 wonder an' half of them were gone before you 
 can get there." 
 
 This elegant oration was powerfully seconded 
 vol. i. x 
 
306 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTOX J OR, 
 
 by a loud and authoritative voice exclaiming 
 in the road, apparently with much ire, " Sir 
 Charles this, and Sir Charles that, and Sir 
 Theodore the other ! I don't care a button for 
 Sir Anything Anybody. I say the things 
 sha'n't be there. It's bad enough to have a 
 house burnt down in the place, not to say the 
 road blocked up with lumber." 
 
 Sir Charles Chevenix instantly issued forth, 
 followed by all the rest of the party ; and — as 
 so frequently happens on this earth — a scene 
 of worldly business and scramble succeeded 
 quick upon the dark footsteps of death and 
 sorrow. Each man sought his own amidst the 
 pile of infinitely varied articles which had been 
 collected in the road, at a little distance from 
 the inn, and Master Zachary Hargravc was 
 well nigh engaged in personal conflict with a 
 smart-looking groom, who acknowledged the 
 sway of Colonel Lutwich, in regard to a trunk- 
 mail, which after all turned out to be the 
 property of Sir Charles Chevenix. 
 
LAUREL WATER. 307 
 
 The latter gentleman casting off all thought 
 of the darker things just past, looked on, 
 amused at the scene of confusion that was 
 going on, pointed out from time to time 
 some article of his own, exclaiming, in a 
 jocular tone, "That saddle-bag is mine, if 
 any gentleman has a mind to it. — When 
 you have carried off that portmanteau, my 
 good friend, will you tell me where you 
 put it, for I shall want a pair of breeches 
 out of it to-night? — You will find the razors 
 in that case, excellent sir ; they were made 
 expressly for my stiff beard, by Webb. — > 
 Look at that man, Lisle; would you not 
 swear that roquelaure was his own by his 
 affection for it. — Sir, I will thank you for 
 my cloak, I find it cold after the cooking I 
 have had in that great oven. — In the name 
 of Heaven, Mildew, get the horses to the 
 coach, if they be in life, for if I do not make 
 haste away some one will steal myself." 
 
308 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 " Please your honour, Sir Charles, I have 
 neither coat nor hat," answered the man. 
 
 " Then drive in your waistcoat and wig," 
 replied his master. " Now, Lisle, where shall 
 I find you in London? We will deliver your 
 pretty little sorrowful friend safely there, when 
 Lady Chevenix has comforted her a little ; 
 but, by my honour ! she shall pass a day or 
 two with us at my old friend Jarvis's, where 
 we are now going; and as he has as kind a 
 heart as ever beat in an old bachelor's bosom, 
 I should not wonder if he fell in love with 
 her, and tried to cut you out." 
 
 " You are mistaken entirely, Sir Charles," 
 replied Lisle, who was not at all willing to 
 acquire t^ie reputation of a lover of Kate 
 Malcolm's. " I have no feelings towards the 
 young lady but those of compassion for un- 
 deserved sorrow." 
 
 " Pooh, pooh ! " replied the baronet ; * no 
 mistake at all. But w T here shall we bring her ? 
 
 
LAUREL WATER. 309 
 
 — Nay, the best way is, come and fetch her. 
 You will find us in Grosvenor-square. — Who 
 is that young fellow looking so black?" he 
 continued, in a familiar whisper; but before 
 Reginald could explain that it was Sir Theo- 
 dore Broughton, Major Brandrum joined in 
 the conversation, saying, " Sir Charles Cheve- 
 nix, you are a rattle. — So am I; but we 
 always, or at least often, jump at conclusions 
 which are wrong. Miss Malcolm falls to my 
 lot to protect as a father, so soon as she 
 quits the care of Lady Chevenix. I am an 
 old comrade of her dead parent's, have pro- 
 mised him to be a second father to her, and, 
 God willing, will be so. I will have the 
 honour of waiting upon you in Grosvenor- 
 square, as soon as I have ascertained where 
 I can place the dear child in honour and 
 security." 
 
 Sir Charles took his hand and shook it 
 warmly, saying, * I shall be delighted to see 
 you and Lisle too. I was only joking, as 
 
310 SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON ; OR, 
 
 you may suppose. — It is a sad subject to joke 
 upon indeed; but the habit is bad and in- 
 veterate. When this lad here hit me in the hip, 
 I made the surgeon laugh who was probing 
 the wound, by asking him if I should ever 
 be able to dance the minuet de la cour again. 
 Well, I shall expect you, and, in the mean time, 
 rest satisfied that Lady Chevenix, who is the 
 best of women, will do all for your young 
 protege that motherly kindness can do. I 
 will not ask you up to the room where the 
 ladies are; for, upon my life! I believe my 
 wife has got no stays, and my daughter got 
 no stockings.'' 
 
 " Who does this pack belong to ? " cried 
 a voice near. "Captain Malcolm, 19th regi- 
 ment. Where is Captain Malcolm ? ' 
 
 " In heaven," answered Major Brandrum, 
 gravely ; " but whatever part of his property 
 is found, belongs to his daughter, at present 
 under the charge of Sir Charles Chevenix. M 
 
 " Bring it in here, Stevens," cried the 
 

 LAUREL WATER. 311 
 
 baronet ; " and do help that fool Mildew, and 
 the greater fool, Thomas, to put the horses to. 
 We shall never reach our journey's end before 
 dinner-time. Good-bye for the present, gentle- 
 men, both. I trust our next merry meeting 
 may not have so warm a commencement, and, 
 pray Heaven, not such a sad conclusion as 
 this has. had." 
 
 He was turning away towards the house of 
 the apothecary, when, suddenly appearing to 
 have forgotten something, he came back — 
 nearly run over on the way by two splendid 
 horses brought up by Lutwich's servant — and 
 said, addressing Major Brandrum, in a highly 
 courteous and graceful tone, " There is one 
 thing escaped my memory, sir. When I see 
 a gentleman, especially when he belongs to 
 the same profession as myself, whose conduct 
 and demeanour does honour to his heart, his 
 head, his position, and our common nature, 
 I am always anxious to write his name on 
 my remembrance, to be kept amongst the 
 
312 SIR THEODORE BROUGIITON. 
 
 few precious recollections of a life. Of yours 
 I am still ignorant. Curiosity might not be 
 a good excuse for asking. I trust that esteem 
 and respect may prove a better apology." 
 
 u None is necessary, Sir Charles," replied 
 the old officer, in the same tone ; " in war 
 we hold it only a fair battle when the parties 
 are tolerably equal. I have an advantage 
 over you. All the world knows who and 
 what Sir Charles Chevenix is, and I know 
 you to be Sir Charles Chevenix. It is but 
 fair that you should be aware of who I am, 
 though perhaps you may be little the wiser 
 when I tell you that I am called, in one 
 hemisphere, ' The Ravenous Crow,' and in 
 the other " 
 
 * Major Brandrum," cried the baronet; 
 " that is title to respect enough." 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 Printed by Stbwaht and Mckbat, Old Bailey. 
 
 

 

 
 
UNIVIMITY OF ILUNOt£U*tANA 
 
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