Rod. Let not the soldiery behold thee thus; I've caught a fiery spirit of thy words; Go, my good cousin, say whate'er you list. Enter MATILDA. (Exit RODERigo. Alm. Now, fair Matilda, wherefore art thou here? Mat. I cannot think me safe but where thou art ; Mothers, with piercing cry, would seeming seek And infant innocence turns wildly savage; Mine ears do bleed, To hear my damsels' tales of death and slaughter; And now myself behold a scene so horrid, As makes me shudder to repeat or think on: A father carried to his pining home; A scant supply of food, himself forbore While from his strengthless hold the treasur'd loaf An infant boy ran forth, and, so had hunger Sought th' untempting meal, when strait the bread Alm. Forbear, my love, to ravel out these horrors. Mat. When may we hope that they shall cease to be? O! be persuade to grant th' unequal contest; To yield were honour now; open the gates, For not the bitterest hate of furious foe Could curse with suff'rings like fierce famine's torture. The pillaging, the lawless violence, and all Th' unhallow'd revelling of victory. No temple's holy fane shall sacred be To saintly relic, or to virgin fears. And thou, the wife of scarce two months-- The English have an honourable fame, And on my knees I'll crave the gallant Stanhope And raising piteously my streaming eyes, Alm. False traitress, hold! thou dost occasion seek To be seam'd and intersected o'er with scars; Mat. Alas! my lord, what means this sudden humour? So strongly, strangely moved, I ne'er beheld thee; T'were worth my life to see thee often thus. Teach me my fault; I false? what is't you say? Alm. Sweet Maud, my words were hasty and unmeaning, I'll be more strange, and cold, and look displeas'd, I have a wild surmise, a mad design; Say, wilt thou bind thyself to do my bidding, Mat. I have no other will than what is thine. Alm. Promise; nay, swear, you will not shrink from it, Curse on my clammy tongue, the words do choke me SCENE II.-Outside the walls.-Distant part of the enemy's camp. SEVORINO and BRIAN. Sev. Why sirrah, knave, how now? didst thou not hear me call thee varlet; whereupon didst thou not answer more quickly? Bri. Truly, methinks, I am over-ready to answer such discourteous summoning, seeing my name is neither sirrah, knave, nor varlet, but honest Brian O'Shilfenord to command. Sev. Yet this thy baptismal name carrieth no patrimony, whereas that I did confer on thee hath an estate entail. Bri. An estate! I pray thee shew it me, captain? Sev. To wit, a halter, fellow, and a scaffold. Bri. I wot I'm undeserving to fill so elevate a station; no, though I be content to hold the title wherewith thou'rt pleased to dub me, yet do I most unreservedly demise the aforesaid hemp-ground to some dear friend who may stand more in need of it. Sev. A truce to foolery; has any one been here during my absence? Bri. Truly has one been waiting this hour. Sev. Villain, why not have given me to know of this at the first? what was his name, who was he? Bri. Exactly no other than myself, who have been looking your return ever since you left me. Eur. Mag. Vol. 82. E Sev. Impudent knave! thou hast been draining draughts of insolence from yonder flagon. Bri. Absolution followeth confession; verily I have tasted of its spiritualities; it did make me an innocent head-pillow, till I bethought me 'twere unsocial such near neighbours should be unacquainted; yet 'tis my intemperate nose should have the blame, which, quaffing as it were involuntarily inhalations of its goodly flavour, did persuade my envious mouth to become partner in the sin, Sev. Shame to thee; let not the evil practice grow to habit, lest this same goodly flavour should prove thy mortal enemy. Bri. Which to my thinking, Captain, would only prove, that I were the better Christian of us two; seeing I do so love my enemy. But 'tis ever thus your abstinent Italian gentleman doth rail at the enjoyment he hath no relish in; yet I warrant thou hast a taste, and I could hit it, whilst there be some dainty bits of fair flesh behind those impracticable walls, report saith the governor's dame alone were worth raising a siege to get a sight of. Sev. Who gave thee licence to prate after this fashion, thou unmannerly groom? I would thou wert compelled to eat thy words. Bri. Fie! Captain, I would not wish a foe so bad a dinner; eat my words! a merry jest, i' faith. Sev. Yet it were no jest to the unlucky dog who was caught skulking through the camp just now, with information for the enemy; he bore his errand in his mouth, but that his awkward speech betrayed him, and when sore pressed he swallowed it. Bri. Surely, as doth every careful man lock up his valuables in a chest ; what, I warrant, you cut his throat to look at his words. Lev. Nay, but the doctor quickly did oblige him to impart the sum of his intelligence. Harkee, fellow, if thou hast any sober sense remaining, General Stanhope ordereth that all things be appointed to the escalade, surrenderment is hourly expected, the signal oft will be a pistol-shot. Bri. There would not have been any thing signal in that yesterday, but of late the town is just as mute as mice; suppose they have been muzzling all the women; alack a day! would I were once more safe on t'other side the channel. [The signal is heard.-Shout several voices.] Capitulation! victory! surrenderment! Lead to the governor. SCENE III.-A terrace belonging to the castle. Oh! sight of horror; ARIA. WHEN Howard quitted Hamiltonplace, it was with a firm resolution to sacrifice his fortune to any extent, or even life itself, in rescuing Meliora from the cruel opprobrium which the Earl's suspicions would have thrown upon her, though he could not but allow, in his own mind, that some of the circumstances elicited in the evidence, might seem to justify them, however fully himself might feel assured of their entire falseness; and on parting from Twiss, he strolled into a retired part of Hyde Park, in order to collect his ideas, to digest his opinions, and to form his ar rangements accordingly. About eight months previous to the present period, Howard, at a small dinner party at Lord Annesley's, had been seated opposite to Colonel Levison, whose features struck him, as having been, in some former event of his life, perfectly familiar to him, though the recollection of them did not appear to be associated with any agreeable impression. On hearing the name of Levison pronounced, he found that he had not been mistaken in his notion; and the whole history of their earlier acquaintauce recurred to his memory, Such was Howard's extraordinary faculty for preserving in his mind's eye any peculiarity of physiognomical expression, that he now recognized Levison to have been a passenger in the same vessel, which transported himself and his brother William from Liverpool to New York. The circumstance that probably had served to imprint this man's coun tenance so deeply in his recollection was, that he, Levison, who was then Serjeant, belonging to a small com pany of soldiers, which had been sent out to garrison a fort on the American coast, had, to beguile the tediousness of the voyage, as he said, engaged William in play, and succeeded in depriving the youthful adventurer of what was to him, at that time, no inconsiderable sum. But it having been subsequently intimated to the younger Howard, that Levison had played falsely, a violent dispute, terminating in blows, had arisen be It was this very man whom Howard had observed engaged in deep and earnest conversation with the Countess, on the night of the concert; and as he passed them by unnoticed, his ears caught these remarkable words uttered by Levison, very emphatically, yet in an under tone,-"Six hundred and seventy pounds--paid-to-morrow morning." The question naturally occurred to his mind, of what nature could be a debt, standing between two mere common acquaintances; the one party, a young and lovely female of high rank; the other, a questionable Colonel, for Levison had appeared to evade Howard's enquiries respecting his regiment, whom Howard knew to have risen from a low origin in life, and had heard accused as an unprincipled gamester? The subject of the confabulation, too, was evidenly a secret, from the retired and deserted spot which they had chosen for the discussion; and Howard fancied, that there was an air of confusion and embarrassment perceptible in the countenance and manner of Lady Annesley, as, on receiving a significant frown from Levison, she started round, and addressed him. And he felt halfinclined, yet sorry, to think, that the sum he had heard quoted, was not, improbably, part of some gambling score, existing between the pseudo Colonel, and the rich, young, and thoughtless Countess. But these impressions and ideas passed swiftly through Howard's mind, and, before the next morning, he had dismissed every trace of so unprofitable a speculation. Immediately, however, on the discovery per of the forgery, the whole occurrence flashed on his recollection. The petration of a fraud in the name of Lord Annesley, to obtain the specific sum of six hundred and seventy pounds, presented a coincidence too remarkable to be overlooked. It was under this impression that Howard had requested the interview with her Ladyship; and after delivering some trifling message from Mrs. Howard, he adverted to the circumstance of the forgery; observing, in a careless manner, yet with his deeply-sunken eye fixed on the Countess's varying countenance, "That forgery was a dangerous matter to meddle with, being denounced as a capital offence, even between a husband and wife." He saw the lady's cheek turn deadly pale, as in á faultering voice she iterated the words, "Capital offence!" but in stantly recollecting herself, she added, "Oh, yes, to be sure it is-I think I have heard so before-a dreadful thing certainly." Howard had seen enough to satisfy himself, and took his leave. But as he passed out of the house, noticing the number of visiting tickets which were lying on the marble slab in the hall, he desired to have Colonel Levison's address; and when the porter delivered to him a card, inscribed, "Lieutenant-Colonel Levison, 160, Strand," he felt as if his suspicions had received confirmation. Still, however, the whole was but suspicion; and as he was careful not to accuse any one on such slight and inefficient evidence, and, perhaps, being anxious, that the merit of bringing about the entire justification and exculpation of Meliora, should rest entirely with himself, he forbore to impart his view of the subject to Twiss, but retired, to form, in solitude, a clear and comprehensive analysis of this intricate and enigmatical transaction. The result of half an hour's deliberation was this: that the surest and readiest mode of arriving at the truth would be, to confront with each other every person who was either accused, suspected, implicated, or in any degree connected with the business in question. He already possessed two principal, and important agents, in the clerk and the coachman. His next aim was to endeavour to produce the veiled lady in black, and to trace the object of her visit to the Strand. In pursuance of this purpose, Howard repaired to Levison's lodgings, carrying Cater along with him, in the hope, that he might be enabled to identify the dwelling. Cater, however, could say no farther, than that he believed it was the house at which he had stopped on the eventful Wednesday; at least, he was sure it was on that side of the street. A ticket on the shop-window advertised the vacancy of the first floor. Howard knocked at the door; and, on enquiring for Colonel Levison, was told, that he had, suddenly, quitted his lodgings a day or two before; but the landlady could not afford any information respecting the cause of his removal, or the then place of his abode. This abrupt departure and concealment of his destination, while it disappointed and perplexed Howard, seemed to be in unison with the doubts and dark surmises that he already entertained of the self-promoted Colonel. To no purpose did he renew and urge his questions; the woman persisted in denying all knowledge of her late inmate, but, at length, allowed, that his man, Phillips, could tell where his master was gone to, whom, she expected, would call there in the course of an hour, to take away a parcel belonging to himself, which had been left in the hasty removal. -Howard requested permission to await this man's arrival, which was readily granted. He had traversed the extent of the drawing room for nearly the space of two hours, devoid of any other amusement or occupation, than what his own reflections furnished, before Phillips made his appearance, who, at first, assumed a most profound ignorance, till a liberal douceur from Howard produced a marvellous effect, in unsealing his lips, and he instantly began to decry his late master as the most tyrannical and avaricious man that he had ever served. is now fled to France for safety," continued the treacherous groom. "I don't care who knows it; I only wish he might be caught, and compelled to give back some part of his ill-gotten gains, the loss of which has made many a heart ache, I war "He |