smile at my romance, Catherine; but true love has the wand of an enchanter, and can turn the very sands of the desert into gold!" CHAPTER XXXV. But now I am returned, and that war-thoughts Shakspeare. It was now the general wish to return to town as soon as possible. Catherine anticipated the pleasure which her father's heart would receive at the sight of her restored happiness; and, he had suffered so much uneasiness almost from the very hour of his arrival, and had always expressed so affectionate a solicitude on her account, that she felt it her first duty to relieve his anxiety. She wrote a few hasty lines, announcing her intended return, and the happy circumstan ces with which it was connected, but deferring more minute explanation till their meeting. General Greville was perfectly satisfied to await the appointed time for the final disclosure; for he had seen enough of the ex tent to which Catherine's indignation, when she deemed it just, had power to carry her, to believe that Vaughan would not have been able to effect such an entire reconciliation without having adduced strong evidence in his favour. On their arrival, his future son was received with a cordial and manly welcome. "I am glad," said the General, "that the affair has turned out as it has; and Catherine, now that I see your choice, I find it easier to forgive the obstinacy of your resolution." Vaughan bowed. "I had but this girl, Major Vaughan, and pleased myself with the idea of installing her husband, whoever be might be, in the rights of the son whom Fate had denied me; but ladies, my dear Sir, are capricious beings at best, and I was beginning to fear that she would never give me the opportunity." "Spare me," said Catherine, playfully silencing him; "this gentleman knows the full extent of my caprice already; let the past be forgotten, or he will absolutely think that I could not have lived without him." "Nay, never blush, my girl; there is no shame but in denying our honourable feelings. I see by your eyes, before your lips have told it, that you are about to pledge yourself to an injured, not a repentant lover, -and this is as it should be. The man who, after trying to gain the affections of a confiding and innocent woman, abandons her, is among the worst evils of society; he is answerable for every misery of her life; his shame ought to be branded on his brow for a mark to all mankind. I could extend no mercy to heartlessness." "Ah! Sir," said Vaughan, "could you think, that one who had once ascertained the value of this hand could lightly throw it by?" "No," said the General, feelingly; "you sought and won her, in her orphan, her most unprotected state,--and deserve her now. You have had some trials, but they are past, not to return, if the possession of ample means and a father's blessing may avert them from you." "There is but one shade on our felicity now," said Catherine, " which is" (and she sighed) "that all are not equally blest; my poor cousin Julia!" "And why Julia ?" returned the General; "is there but one man in the world, think you, that a fair lady can fall in love with?" "I see too plainly," said Mrs. Vaughan, "that you have yet to learn the unhappy tidings of Gordon." "Gordon!" repeated the General, laughing; "why, has he been playing the coquette? But come, I hate long explanations; the shortest way to set all at rest is to let you judge for yourselves;" and, opening the folding-doors, he displayed to their astonished eyes a scene which fixed them to the spot; Julia by the side of her husband! 66 There, there," said General Greville, his countenance beaming with that Benevolence which was the spring of every action, "what melancholy tale have you to tell to these good people, Captain Gordon?" Vaughan advanced towards him, and shaking him most cordially by the hand, "I am at a loss how to express my astonishment, my sincere joy, at this unlooked-for event." "Yes, yes, satisfy his curiosity by all means," said the General, impatiently; "explain, if there be any thing to explain. For my part, I see nothing very surprising,-nothing but what is very natural in this business. Gordon was wounded, carried off by our commissariat, and intercepted by a party of French fugitives, who made free with his cart, and left him to recover in a French cottage, or die as he pleased." "The state in which you left me, my dear friend," said Gordon, "was such as sufficiently to justify your present amazement. I have little to tell in addition to the General's story; as you see, chance and constitution enabled me to combat the great enemy. I was slain at the War-Office, but kept alive VOL. II. 92 by an old French peasant and his wife, and was recovered time enough to reach England almost as soon as yourself." All was now harmony in this united household. When a few days had elapsed, Vaughan, remembering the devices which Courtney had employed, and dreading any farther obstruction on his part, implored the General to permit him to fix a day for the marriage. "Not so fast," was the answer; "this is no every-day marriage, and shall be celebrated in a style befitting the occasion. You must allow the lady at least time to consult her milliner, and me to assemble my friends. As for Courtney, he has by this time perplexities of his own sufficient to keep him at a distance; or, if he should approach, he shall learn a lesson addressed more to his feelings than to his understanding." 1 |