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FRANK LESLIE'S NEW YORK JOURNAL.
261
this is between ourselves—that he has not one quali-
fication for it! He is headstrong as a mule—con-
ceited as a monkey—rude as a bear—and as extrava-
gant as a miser's heir !”
Could Clement Foster have heard the character
thus flatteringly portrayed of him by his father’s
clerk, the generous, high-spirited young man would
have known the exact value of the obsequiousness
and cringing submission which, in his ignorance of
the world; he mistook for attachment. -
“Are misers* heirs extravagant?” demanded
Miles, in'a careless tone, as ‘if the answer was a
matter of perfect indifference to him.
“ Generally,” said the clerk; “ but not invariably
—-since I know of one who does not spend the tithe
of her income! But then,” he added, musingly,
* she is rich 1? > Dae . '
“A-woman!” ejaculated his companion; “that
accounts for it—they are more economical than we
are! Well,” he continued, “T know another, who
inherited, a few years since, five thousand pounds of
an old curmudgeon to whom people frequently gave
alms in the street!”
“Five thousand pounds !” repeated Mr. Griffiths.
« Yes—and he has doubled it!) Now IJ think he
and your lady friend might make a good. match of
She has refused a better offer than that!” ob-
served the clerk, with an air of conceit ; “but she
will never marry_—unless,” he added, spitefully, “it
is the young scapegrace I was lately speaking of:
he appears to have found the way to her favor—he
is invited to shoot, and pass what time he ,Pleases,
at the Grange!”
Miles mentally noted the word that had escaped
im
“ ‘Perhaps they are of the same age?” he said.
“ No—o!” ‘replied’, the disappointed suitor of
Martha, impatiently ; “ she i is old enough to be his
mother!’ .
“Not the less likely to marry him, for all that!’
observed the ruffian, in’ a ‘philosophical’ tone ;
“ women are queer, critters—young and old—green
and grey at the same time!’ I should like to have
tried my | luck with her, for all that ye
'& Yo 5 \ }
“ rane
You, then,” said Mr. Grifmths; “Care the man
who doubled the five thousand pounds?’
Miles nodded - in the affirmative, ‘and his new
friend's respect for him evidently increased.
Miles had frequently noticed that’ Mr. Griffiths
brought letters with him, which were doubtless in-
tended for the post—for on such occasions he left |’
at a much earlier hour. This led him to concoct a
scheme which promised to gratify his long-delayed
curiosity at last.”
One evening, when he saw’ that he had a larger
nunber than usual, he proposed to the clerk a visit
to Drury Lane Lheatre, adding, that he had an order
for two. The bait took: a hackney-coach was sent
for, and off they started. Just as the vehicle entered
the Strand, he pulled the check-string, and told the
driver to stop at the first post-office
“Dear me!” exclaimed ‘the’ clerk; “how for-
tunate!’ J had nearly forgotten my letters 2?”
He drew ‘them from his pocket,’ and held them
ready.
«Jt is not worth while both of us getting out!”
observed Miles, as soon as the coach stopped, at the
same time taking them from his hand. “ Anyhine
to pay?”
“ No—franked 1” -
Allright!” said the raffian, dropping them one
by one deliberately into the. box, and his own, which
was merely a blank, along with them. As ‘he did
so, he contrived to read the address of each. One
was to Clement Foster, Esq., Brierly, Grange: he
had learned all that he wished to know
The affair passed so rapidly that Mr. Griffiths had
no-time’to reflect on the indiscretion he had com-
mitted. ‘How could he possibly suppose anything
incorrect in the conduct of a man whom he believed
to be worth ten thousand pounds—who invariably
lost to him at eribbage—who treated him to the
theatre—and, moreover, insisted upon paying the
coach-hire?’ ‘They: passed the evening together,
and parted, ‘each mutually pleased with his new
acquaintance.’ .
A day or two after, Miles announced that he was
about’ to quit’ London for a few days, an affair of |
importance calling him into the country.
~<A love affair?’ observed the clerk, jokingly.
"The fellow who had so cleverly duped him gave
“him a knowing wink, and owned that a woman was
mixed up with it.
«The next day he’started for Berkshire, having first
shaved off his whiskers, and mounted one of ‘those
~+
respectable wigs called a “ Brown George” over his
rough, iron-grey hair.
So complete was the metamorphosis, that even
et declared she should not have recognised him :
he appeared quite respectable.
On reaching the village nearest to the Grange, he
contrived, under pretence of purchasing asmall farm
in the neighborhood, to make such inquiries as con-
vinced him that he had at last discovered the retreat
of Martha Quin; the next point was, how to avail
himself, of: the information he: had acquired.-, He
hesitated little about committing, crime—detection
was the only thing he feared.7, : ,
The house, which was large and exceedingly ‘old-
fashioned, , was what in the country is, generally
termed a ‘show-house.”., It contained: a room in
which Cromwell was said: to have slept, and a large
gallery hung with portraits of its former possessors.
It was a bold step to-take, but he determined to
visit it—and, with this intention, concealed. himself
several days in the home-wood nearest the mansion,
in order to select the most favorable opportunity :
not that it was his, intention to introduce himself
clandestinely—he was too prudent to run that risk
more than once; his object was to assure himself. of
the absence of Martha, and then to walk boldly. up,
and make his request to the housekeeper.
The third day the occasion, presented itself—for
scarcely had the carriage with Martha and Miss
Wyndham crossed the lawn, when Miles presented
himself at the door, and expressed his wish. to see
the house. : .
Mrs. Everett hesitated: it was not that she was
absolutely, forbidden ,to show. it—but she knew the
nervous dislike its present tenant had to strangers.
“Tf there is any objection,” said the very respect-
able-looking | gentleman in the. brown wig, “I can
call some other time; but Farmer Rudge told me
you would be happy. to show it !??, -.
Farmer Rudge was one of the housekeeper’s best
friends—Miles ‘had ascertained that.. His name yan-
quished her hesitation; .it, was impossible to dis-
oblige the friend of so old a friend. ; Mrs. Everett
even carried her complaisance so far as to invite him
into her own room to take a glass of wine after his
walk :, an offer which her new, acquaintance had-the
politeness to accept.
Cromwell's room was the first that was visited.
“Here it was,’’ observed .the old: lady, as .she
pointed to the, bed on which the great regicide had
slept, ‘that the ghost of the murdered King. was
supposed to have appeared to him 2” ,
“Do you believe it?” demanded the visitor.
“If she did not exactly believe it, the housekeeper
had a sort of half faith upon the subject, and looked
with no very favorable opinion upon those—espe-
cially of her own rank—who affected to treat the
tradition with derision. :
“Tt was all very well. for estated gentry,” she
used to observe, “to doubt—they had a-right to
think as they pleased ;” but for
no wiser than herself it was an ‘mpertinence—and
she resented it accordingly.
Miles very soon perceived her weak point, and
took care to improve the favorable impression he had
made, by expressing his. perfect belief in the tale
which had been handed down in the servants’ hall
at the Grange for centuries; and added something
about once having heard summut himself.
In the picture-gallery two things riveted his atten-
tion: the first was the portrait which had so excited
the curiosity of Martha on her arrival, and which
she had caused to be removed from the room of the
housekeeper. : :
“It’s develish like!” he exclaimed. ‘ ’ ~
“ Like whom?’ demanded his guide.
“Oh, no one that your know !” “muttered ‘the
visitor.
The domestié did not feel quite so assured of that :
she remembered the’ agitation of Miss Mendez when
she first beheld the portrait ; . recollected the . life
which the present baronet had been compelled to
lead—not that she knew or suspected how chequered
it had been ; but she made no further observation.
The second object which attracted the attention
of Miles was the well-known cabinet of Peter Quin.
Like the rest of the furniture in the picture-gallery,
it was exceedingly ancient, and not altogether out
re place in the locality to which it had been intro-
uce
“ Oliver’ Cromwell's “dressing-case, I suppose?”
said Miles, pointing to the piece of furniture.
“Oh dear no!” replied the old woman, with
something like an air of disdain at what she consid-
ered a . vulgar attempt to joke. . «« The lady who now
occupies the Grange brought it with her!” ..
The gentleman in the brown wig could have told
her as much.
ersons who were].
«Tt contains nothing but a parcel of old account-
books,” continued the speaker, “in blue, grocer-like
covers; and an old black dress and shawl, which not
a housemaid here would condescend to wear?”
e remembered the former dress of poor Martha.
‘« Well,”’he said, musingly, “It is a singular old
place ! T should not much like to visit it at night:
I should expect to see some of these stately old lords
and ladies,’’ he added, pointing to’ the portraits upon
the walls, ‘ walk out, of their | frames and dance a
minuet 1) 07 5° “
' No one ever does visit it at might? r replied Mrs.
Everett ; “ the servants are all too much afraid, and
the family apartments are on the | other side of the
mansion !
This was important information, and her, hearer
noted it accordingly.
‘After running through the rest of the’ rooms, her
visitor took his leave, charged with many kind mes-
sages and regards to Farmer Rudge, whose name
had served him as a passport.
In his way home he pondered over all that he had
seen and heard—and it. must be confessed that he
had food for meditation. The portrait puzzled him
the most; as for the cabinet, there was nothing so
very extraordinary i in his finding it it, 0
Suddenly he recollected the fragments of the burnt
letter which he had discovered in ‘the faptaln 8 room,
and given to Martha Quin.
«Tis he!” he exclaimed ;
“her wit was quicker
than mine!
ly Grange! Brierly Grange ! He,
then, is the owner of this large estate—this noble ,
old house and fine title! «I always thought he was
a gentleman! He the’ owner of them!” he added,
with. great deliberation. *‘* We are the, owners of
them—old Quin’s death made us partners !'? ”
With these words, he hastened his steps towards
jhe little public-house where for the last few days
he had taken up his abode, to arrange his plans for
the coming night.
“Could I but secure’ the papers of old Quin,”
he thought, “I~ might bid defiance to his’ grand-
daughter prev ds
As he quitted the wood, close by the park-gate,
he encountered Clement Foster: the young, man
had his gun upon his arm, and was followed byt the
keeper and two dogs.
Miles touched his hat respectfully
“Who is that person?” inquired Clement of his
companion—for, despite the very respectable appear-
ance of the stranger, he had “been struck by,. the
sinister expression of his countenance. ’
“Can't say, sir!” replied -the keeper ; “a new-
comer in these parts—from London, I believe.’ “He
is after some farm, I hear, in the neighborhood. ”
“He does not look much like a farmer! !” observed
the gentleman.’
- “A great deal more like a housebreaker ! ! added
the former, “ or a highwayman! - I wonder what he
wants in the plantation ?’ ,
Clement Foster ‘wondered, too, but the -affair
made merely a momentary impression: he had quite
forgotten it by the time he reached the house; not
so the keeper, who determined to have an eye upon
him.
The evening was passed by the two ladies and —
their guest—although the’ lawyer’s son was almost
as much at home as they were—in the usual. way—
music and reading: it gave Miss Wyndham an op-
portunity of laying close siege to the heart she had |
determined to conquer—for she began to suspect
that, in the event ot Miss Mendez not discovering |
the child of her adoption, his father’s fortune was
not the only one he would inherit: the quiet kind-
ness of Clement had made a deeper impression in
his” favor than all her affected sensibility and devo- .
tion.
Martha was more clear-sighted than she had given
her credit for, and had seen “through them.
~ “Do you believe in presentiments?” Ssaid ‘the :
latter, as they rose to separate for the night.
As a matter of course, the governess did.‘
“T have a strong impression that something seri-
ous is about to occur?” continued the mistress of |
the house. - :
- And I have an impression,” replied Clement,
“that I shall.have rare sport to-morrow, and brin:
you home the deer which George, the keeper, saw ¢
struggling through the covert this morning ! I have
been after him all day—a ball in each barrel!”
Miss Wyndham gave one of those pretty, little ©
starts | “which young ladies of a certain age. indulge ;
in when they wish to” appear interesting.’ It was
followed by just the faintest scream imaginable—for
the speaker. held the weapon: in his hand: it had
been in the drawing-room all the evening. =; 1
~ “Be careful, my dear Clem!” said Martha, “ for
your father’s sake! You are his only child, and :