thing that I asserted; but the colonel knew better; he knew that she was his wife, and he has proved that he considered himself still bound by his obligations to her, by avoiding any second contract to this day."

"Is he then living, and do you know where he is?" exclaimed Denzil, with emotion and surprise.

munication. Could this be real, or was it a fabrication of this adept in artifice and deception, to secure more firmly his services and assistance?

"But to what purpose," he at length exclaimed, "did you impose upon my mother, by representing that the marriage tie, which bound her to my father, was invalid?She had, in the first instance, consented to forego the title of his wife so long as it should be necessary for his interest to conceal their marriage."

"It is true; but the chances were great

"But does he know that he has a son and daughter in existence?" demanded Denzil.

"No," returned Tyrrel; "it was in India that the intelligence reached him of Elinor's marriage with Mr. Levison, and the events which followed it; but the person from whom he learned these circumstances knew nothing, I suppose, of your birth; for, in the short communication which I had with him, Lord Alberton, that is now his title, never once alluded to it-a convincing proof that he was unacquainted with the most important feature of the case."

"And does my mother know that he is living, and in England?" demanded Denzil.

'No, I dared not trust her with that secret," he replied: "I knew that nothing on earth could have prevented her from seeing him; from at once reproaching him with his treachery, and vindicating herself in his eyes; and I felt that my ruin and detection would inevitably follow. The influence I had so long exercised over her mind would have vanished when opposed to his. I doubted not that, though he would never have acknowledged her as his wife, he would separate her from me, and the best that I could have expected would have been abandonment to want and misery. Your promise, which I rely on with full sincerity, has freed me from this fear; and, in return, I will try to facilitate, as far as it is possible, the establishment of your rights."

Denzil remained for seme time lost in the tumult of hopes and fears which crowded upon his mind at this extraordinary com

ledge her without certain ruin to his prospects; and I knew that while she considered herself his wife she would scrupulously retain her affection for him." Denzil now returned.

On the next day he made his usual visit to his mother. She received with joy the announcement that Tyrrel had no natural claims upon her, and was agitated with grief when she learned that her first marriage was real, and thought of the barrier which her subsequent conduct had placed between her and the only man she had ever loved.

When Denzil returned again to the hotel he found Mr. St. George waiting for him. He soon discovered that this person was acquainted with Tyrrel, as well as the Delaney family. He had well nigh formed a connexion with Julia; but, accidentally hearing of some of her indiscretions in London, the match had been broken off.

While conversing with Mr. St. George, Denzil received a summons to attend the death-bed of Tyrrel, who had received a fall in endeavoring to hide himself from a couple of police officers. The unhappy man refused to hear any thing on the subject of religion, and breathed his last contemning the offers of a priest, who had been sent for to attend him. The intelligence of Tyrrel's death, which Denzil communicated to her who had so long regarded him as her only parent, was a considerable shock; but the constant attention of her son, and the prospect of being freed from all care and anxiety for the future, by degrees restored her tranquility.-Her health, too, rapidly amended, and Denzil began to feel the necessity of forming some decided plan for his future life. To return to England, as soon as his mother was sufficiently able to travel, appeared the wisest course he could pursue. It was scarcely probable that Mr. Levison would remain long absent from his home, though he believed that gentleman did not leave

Paris for the purpose of proceeding thither. At all events, Lord Alberton was in England, if Tyrrel's statement was at all to be depended upon, and that was sufficient to vince Denzil that it was advisable to return thither.

He was resolving this subject in his mind, when Mr. St. George, who was now upon terms of great intimacy with him, entered the room.

"I have just seen a fresh importation from England," he observed," and, if I mistake not, one in which you have some interest."

"Me!" replied Denzil, starting, the idea of Lord Alberton being fresh on his mind. "There are few," he continued, "I believe, from thence that could—"

"Has not Mr. Levison a son ?" demanded St. George.

No, he has a nephew; but what of him? It cannot surely be Charles."

"That is the very person-Charles Levison, Esquire; I read the name, in good legible characters, on his baggage. He has gone to the Custom House.

"He is alone, then ?" observed Denzil, taking up his hat to go in search of him.

St. George replied in the affirmative.

"But had you not better remain here, for you may probably have some difficulty in meeting with him, while you may be assured he will soon find you out."

Denzil's impatience could scarcely yield to this suggestion. Something of importance, he thought, must have occasioned Charles to come over alone, and, apparently, without any intention of remaining.His conjectures, however, were soon terminated by the entrance of Charles himself.

"So here you are," he exclaimed, with his usual nonchalance. I have had a pretty hunt for you-but where is my uncle? I understand he is not with you; but, wherever he is, I must see him-for he and I must have a serious reckoning, I can tell him-I will no longer submit to be treated like a child!"

Mr. St. George quitted the room.

so I thought that, perhaps, after all, it was an affair of not much consequence."

"It would not, perhaps, have been of much consequence if the first report had been a true one," observed Denzil, smiling; "but we will pass to affairs that ARE of consequence. How is Mrs. Charles Levison ? and how comes it that I see you here without her ?"

Oh, Emma-she was very well when I left her yesterday," he replied; "but she has gone down to Cumberland to see her mother, and so I have taken the opportunity for a trip, to find out what you are all doing here."

"And is your anxiety to see your old friends your only motive for this journey ?" demanded Denzil, who fancied he discovered in Charles' usually placid countenance, traces of care and uneasiness, which were new to him.

"No, not exactly, I confess," he replied, "but I will at once tell you the truth, because I know no body will make allowances for me, or sooner lend a hand to assist me, than yourself. The real fact is that I have got myself into a confounded hobble in London, and I did not know what better to do than to run away from it altogether, and see whether I could prevail on my uncle to listen to reason, and help me out of it."

"Then you have got into debt, I suppose?" observed Denzil.

"Debt! yes, how could I help it, with such a miserably allowance as five hundred a year? I could not bear to refuse Emma any thing, and she, poor girl, thought her mother would not hold out long in her resentment-so we took a house at five guineas a week; and then we could not do without a carriage and servants; and then, through a cousin of Emma's, who lives in great style, we got introduced into very good company, and this brought on many expenses. But it is of no use my boring you to death with a long rigmarolethe long and short of the matter is, that we have got into such embarrassments, that, if I had not made the best of my way here, and sent Emma off to the country, I should have been in a prison, and she would have been without a house to put her head into; but hang long faces! it is of no use to fret for what can't be helped-my uncle must come down handsomely at once, and so I shall tell him--but I want you to break the matter to him first."

your uncle myself. He has quitted Paris in resentment of my supposed offence-supPOSED, I say, because I am really unconscious of having done any thing that ought to offend him."

"He is an old! But you know where he is," demanded Charles, suppressing the epithet he was about to utter.

Denzil replied in the negative, but it was with difficulty he could convince Charles; the latter conceiving that he merely said so to hinder him from prematurely seeing his uncle.

"Why the deuce, then, don't you speak out at once, Denzil," he observed, "and tell me what it was that drove him off?You cannot, of course, have offended him with regard to Fanny, since every one must be convinced that he would not have brought her over here, if he had not totally withdrawn his opposition to the match between you. Indeed, I fully expected to have found you married."

"And do you not know-have you never suspected," said Denzil, in a faltering voice, "that there exists an impediment to the union you speak of, which not even Mr. Levison could remove? Did you not know that I quitted England under that conviction ?"

Charles stared. "I am totally at a loss for your meaning. Certainly I knew you quitted England in despair; but that you had any other reason to despair, than the improbability of my uncle's consenting to the match, never entered my head. But I wish to goodness you would speak out at once, and let me understand what you are aiming at. It would save us both a great deal of trouble, I am inclined to think."

"And I am inclined to think so, too, Charles; and I wish to heaven I had done so long ago, for I suspect I have been making myself very wretched for the last nine months. But I will not keep you in suspense any longer. Let me, however, first ask you whether you are acquainted with the melancholy circumstances which accompanied my birth ?"

"I am," replied Charles, " for I learned them from Aunt Rachel, under a strict promise of secresy. After your departure, she was anxious to convince me that my uncle was not so censurable as I considered him to be, and she related the story, which I had heard imperfectly before, though without having any idea of its relation to you."

"You know, then, that there were two children-that I had a sister born at the same time,"

"Yes, and who died at Lausanne, soon

after your arrival from England," observed Charles.

"Are you sure of that ?" exclaimed Denzil.

"Oh! Charles! were I but certain of that, it would at once remove

ter.

"Sure of it, why should my aunt assert such a thing if it was not true; besides I myself recollected the circumstance, child as I was at the time, that we had another playmate, a little girl who was called Elinor. She was buried in the same grave with Fanny's mother who was a native of France and died in giving birth to a daughter, a few hours after Mr. Levison's departure to England. Fanny was nursed at Lausanne, and much as my uncle lamented the death of her mother I believe he had no intention of publicly acknowledging her as his daughBut some circumstances induced him to return to Lausanne, and you, your sister and myself, were the companions of his journey. I fancy his original intention was to have left us there for a few years, under the care of the lady who had charge of Fanny, but it seems he had become so habituated to the society of his little family, as he called us, and, after the death of Elinor, so devotedly attached to his little girl, who it appears was the living miniature of her mother, that he determined on remaining there, and there he was afterwards joined by my aunt; a circumstance which you must recollect, as also the death and burial of our good nurse Erckhardt. And now in return for my long story, I trust you will explain the mighty mystery which you have been brooding over so long."

Denzil no longer hesitated to acknowledge the secret cause of his unhappiness. Every doubt, every fear was removed from his mind, and he proceeded to rehearse all that had occurred preceding his departure from England; the terror and remorse that had been created in his mind by the solemn and mysterious warning of his mother; and the conversation with Mr Levison, which he had construed into a confirmation of the averment of the former, and which had rendered him anxious to quit a place which he could no longer remain in, without feeling that every moment added to his guilt.

"And all this comes of romance and romantic feelings?" observed Charles. "Now such a plain dealing simpleton as myself would have none of this scrupulous delicacy to hinder my speaking outright, and saying, 'Are these things so or not?' and thus at once putting an end to the subject. Poor Fanny! well might she be puzzled, mortified and harrased by your strange conduct, which I am sure has been as inexplicable to her as

to me; and I suppose it has been some vagary of this kind, that has given her and her father offence now, and driven them off to look for another husband, and I am sure you deserve it for your stupidity. But pray, you spoke of your mother and Tyrrel, as if you had had some recent communication with them. Has it been that which has given offence to my uncle? because"

"I have another long tale to relate on that subject," replied Denzil with some embarrassment, "but as it is getting late, and I think you must stand in need of repose, we will defer it 'till to-morrow morning, and then, perhaps, I shall supprise you still

more."

Impatient to communicate the intelligence he had received, to his mother, Denzil set out to visit her as soon as Charles had retired to rest. He took the wrong road and found himself near Port Neuf, where he was arrested by a well known voice which proved to be that of Julia Delaney. She was bitterly reproaching a man whom it appeared she had married under false expectations, he not being worth a penny. As soon as he turned away from her, she threw herself into the water, and would have perished but for Denzil who sprang in and drew her from the river. Life was nearly extinct, but Denzil, by the aid of others, succeeded in getting her to a house, and left orders that every accommodation should be afforded her. He was soon after seized with a violent shivering fit; and while lying ill from the effect of his exposure to the water, Julia discovered his place of residence, and came to him professing the most ardent attachment and devotion.

Mr. St. George, however, entered the apartment, and ridiculed her, by asking whether Mr. Montgomery was the first, second, third, or fourth to whom she had made the same professions.

Finally St. George and she went home together.

Denzil soon recovered from his illness and repeated his visits to his mother; but could not make her believe that her daughter was not Fanny Levison.

In the meantime, Charles got acquainted with Mr. St. George and was introduced to the incomparable Julia," as he called her.

sess some knowledge of Mr. Levison's present abode, he expressed himself with so much cordiality, in return, that Mr. Danna entered into a long chat; in the course of which he mentioned that he had only a few days before left London, his wife having been recommended to a warmer climate than England, for the restoration of her health; and in conclusion, invited him, to go home with him and take a family dinner.

Denzil was about to decline the invitation when he suddenly recollected Charles, and considered that Mr. Danna, who was a lively and intelligent companion, and one who had seen a great deal of the world, without having had his warm feelings blunted, or his liberal views contracted might prove a useful auxiliary in withdrawing the latter from the idle and pernicious habits which he seemed to have formed.

At the house of Mr. Danna, Denzil was introduced to Miss Rosa Somerville, a neice of Mr. Danna's, and cousin to Emma-wife of Charles. Mr. Danna casually mentioned that Mr. Levison and his family were in London.

"In London!" repeated Denzil, breathless with surprise and scarcely believing the evidence of his ears.

They were in London, when I quitted it; I saw my old friend, for a few minntes, on the morning we left, and learned from him that he was as yet undecided how long he should remain there. I hardly know whether I ought to communicate some other intelligence I gained-not from him, but from that dear old creature, aunt Rachel, but, as according to appearances, all that I expected would take place- -in plain terms, as all connexion between you and Fanny seems at an end, I may not, perhaps, do wrong in telling you that she is likely to make a very splendid alliance-no less than an earl-the Earl of Raeburn, who has recently come to his title, and who, it appears, was the means of rescuing her from drowning, during an excursion on the water while in Switzerland, whither they went, it seemed, after they quitted France."

"Then my doom is sealed!" exclaimed Denzil. "I had, till now, some hope-but

it is all over-all fled now!"

"Can it be possible that I have been mistaken ?" said Mr. Danna, regarding him with surprise. "I thought, from Rachel's reply to my questions, that you had voluntarily surrendered your claims; and, indeed, I imagined that you had formed some other connexion."

"Never! never!" exclaimed Denzil, with deep emotion. "But it is of no avail. All now is over, and I can only pray that she may be happier than I can hope ever to be. Yet so soon-so soon to forget me! But I will not murmur. I will endeavor to forget. Most ardently do I desire that she may be happy."

"Do not talk thus despairingly, my young friend," said Mr. Danna; "trust the experience of one who has seen forty years more than you have yet to boast, who knows that the deepest wounds are healed by time -and that the most violent grief subsides into a calm. Nay, do not shake your head in that despairing manner, for I shall live yet to hear you acknowledge that I was right, and wonder at your own folly in thinking it impossible that there could be any happiness in store for you."

Denzil did not reply, but his look evinced that he could not agree with his friend; and the latter anxious to divert him from dwelling on the subject, immediately reverted to Charles, of whom he related some circumstances, that utterly astonished the pure heart of Denzil, who could not conceive how it was possible that one, who had been educated in the same manner as himself, and had begun his career in the world with so many superior advantages, could at once have launched into such extravagant folly and vice.

On his return home, Denzil pondered upon the remarks which he had heard respecting Charles, and thought there was reason to believe that the latter was suffering under remorse for his past misconduct and that he would, as he had promised refrain from farther improprieties. While engaged in these reflections, he was suddenly aroused by the cry of "Hoy! hoy!" which is usually addressed to those who place themselves in danger of an approaching carriage. He looked up, and what was his surprise and grief, when he discovered that the exclamation proceeded from Charles Levison himself, who was driving past him in a carriage, in which he was seated, with Julia Delaney by his side. The air of gloom and penitence which Charles's countenance, had worn when Denzil left him, was entirely gone; and as he nodded over his shoulder to the latter, with his usual careless familiar

ity, his look expressed rather triumph and gaiety than any confusion or shame at this open defiance of all that Denzil had said to him, on the folly and imprudence of forming such a connexion.

On reaching home, Denzil found Ned very much discomposed at the idea that Charles should have gone out with "that painted Jezabel," as he denominated Julia; but before they had done talking, Charles himself entered complaining against some one from whom he had received an insult. But what was Denzil's consternation to find that it was Mr. Danna himself against whom Charles was thus bitterly resentful.

By degrees he gathered from Charles that he had met Mr. Danna in a jeweller's shop, which Charles had entered, with Julia, to purchase some GEWGAW which she had fancied.

"The methodistical, canting old fool!" he continued, to take such a time as that, just when I was in tip-toe spirits, to mortify me, and make me look little in people's eyes; and his prude of a niece blushing up to her eyes, and shrinking away from Julia, as if she thought there was contamination in breathing the same air with her!"

"And she was perfectly right," said Denzil with warmth; though as to prudery, I never saw a girl who less deserved to have the epithet of prude applied to her, than Rosa Somerville, If modesty, innocence, and artlessness of manner indeed, can properly be called prudery, she may be considered so; for never where those qualities more strongly delineated than on the countenance and in the manners of Mr. Danna's lovely niece -and I am heartily sorry, more than sorry, that her feelings have been so outraged, as they must have been, to see you in such company."

"Oh! the wind sits in that quarter, does it? Well, I don't blame you, Denzil, the girl is passable enough, and I would not mind becoming moral and religious myself for the sake of twenty thousand pounds, besides expectations. I suppose then I am to dine by myself to-day as you are engaged out."

"I am engaged where you where likewise invited, Charles," replied Denzil," and where you would have been truly welcome, had not your imprudence defeated the good which I had hoped to have effected for you.

it

"I am going to dine with Mr. Danna, whose truly kind intentions toward you deserved a far different return from that which appears you have made. In fact, Charles, it was with the view of entering into some arrangements to remove the embarrassments you are at present suffering, and placing you