one,

"Never mind what he is.

heaven's sake

66

Do, for

fully.

"What do you have? Anything-only be quick

At length he got what he little expected, a spoonful of sal-volatile, with many explanations as to the medical man's orders about the same, which, we need hardly say, were spoken to deaf ears.

"Shall your servant fetch_the doctor now, sir, he wishes to know?" were the first words conveying any impression to the mind of the distracted Challoner.

"Doctor? Fetch the doctor? Do you mean to say he has not gone yet?" he began savagely, - but on a sudden he stopped short. Something had hap pened.

"I believe she is coming round," murmured the speaker to himself. "Certainly that was a sigh. And there, she sighs again. Matilda," in a whisper"Matilda." Then raising himself and turning round, "Send off the groom at once. Tell him to fetch the doctor, and also a carriage from the Hall. Do you understand? He is first to get the doctor, and then the carriage. Tell him to be off at once. And, I say, just shut the door, will you?"

"Is the lady better, sir?" "Better? Yes. She must be quiet now, please," impatiently.

"Is there nothing I can do, sir?"

arms,

"Matilda," whispered he he was still kneeling by her side, enfolding her in his "Matilda, do you know me, my darling? Oh, my darling, look, look again! See, it is I. And I thought I had killed you I did indeed. Are you hurt, dearest? Are you in pain?" trembling for her answer. "What? I can't hear. Just whisper. See, draw a breath. Tell me, does that hurt? You shake your head. Oh, thank God! anywhere not anywhere?

what! not

Heaven be

She had spoken at last.

"It is you, not I," said poor Matilda, struggling for sense and coherency. "she fell back

"You are the one who again upon her pillow.

It was obvious, however, that she had not relapsed into unconsciousness, and Challoner, whose fears were allayed anew, contented himself with fond murmurs and soothing assurances, while he again and again assured the passive listener of his presence and of his love. It seemed as though his tongue, thus loosened and set free at last, could not stint itself, 'could never cease to exclaim and endear; and as the motionless form of Matilda, still confused and bewildered, yielded involuntarily to his embrace, his passion found vent unchecked for some minutes, and past and future were swallowed up in the too exquisite present.

Then all at once he felt a movement different from any the sufferer had yet made. "Let me get up," she said faintly. "Let me sit up. II want to speak."

"You are hardly fit to speak yet, dearest," replied Challoner, his deep tones full

No, don't support me, Mr. Challoner," said Matilda quietly; "I would ratheryou did not."

He withdrew his arm, but remained kneeling before her.

"Do you not understand?" he said. "I understand; yes. But we ought to understand each other, I think. Will you please get up?"

"Dear," said Challoner, laying his hand on hers, "dear, you speak strangely; you do not know what you are saying

a

A smile woke up upon her face smile so woful, so wintry, that it chilled the very blood in his veins, for it seemed to him the smile of one distraught; and his fears at once led him to attribute any wandering of the mind to the recent fall, whose ill effects had not yet been fully ascertained.

"You are-are new agitation.

"he stammered in

"I am not mad," replied Matilda; "I am not mad. I"-putting her hand to her head, as one awakening to the sharp reaction which follows on the heels of a narcotic "would you mind repeating once again what you were saying just now?"

"What I said just now?"
"About me."

"About you, my dearest?" "Yes, that's it; about me, your 'dearest.' Well?"

"Lie down again, sweet one," said Challoner soothingly; "lie down here, as you were before. Nay, don't put me away. I will say it all anything you wish, only- again attempting to draw

her towards him.

"You will? cried Matilda, suddenly springing up and thrusting him back with a look of horror. "You will? And you would dare? What?" panting out each word as she had strength for it. "Dare to-touch me? to insult me? to perjure - yourself? You would? Have you no shame? no pity? no-no-oh, God forgive you, Mr. Challoner, for I never can.' She covered her face with her hands, and he heard her sobbing behind them.

It may seem incredible, but until that moment it had never crossed Challoner's mind that anything could have occurred since he had left Overton in the morning, when Matilda had followed him to the door, and waved to him from the door

you please, is the lady better? quired a voice without. "I thought I heard you calling, sir. Do you feel better, ma'am? Deary me!" cried the good woman, beholding Matilda's averted face and heaving bosom "deary me! she is bad. But that's always the way with the 'sterics, they say, sir," turning to the gentleman; "and 'sterics after an accident comes natural! It will do the poor thing good to cry a bit."

Without a word, Challoner led the speaker to the door, for she had advanced to the sofa, and was standing in contemplation of the unhappy Matilda, as she thus delivered her opinion.

"You think she had best not be meddled with, sir? And to be sure, I bain't no great hand at doctoring. Well-a-well! Then you'll kindly call again if you want anything? There's more of the sal-volatile;" but the door had closed.

Challoner had closed it. Then he went and stood by the window, and heard the gusts of wind pass by. It seemed as if there were nothing left for him to do now. All was over, and he found himself dully wondering how it had ever gone on so long.

"Over the devil! What are you talking about?"

Challoner threw off roughly a man who seized upon him as he emerged from the cottage, and in whom he scarcely recog. nized Lady Matilda's usually silent and attentive groom Charles, the same whom he had himself despatched for aid so shortly before, but who with affrighted countenance and disordered speech was now full of a new disaster.

"Oh Lord, sir, it's true, sir!" cried he. "It's Mr. Edward, sir. He was riding along the downs here just now, and

Mr. Edward is not at home, you fool." "He is, sir, he was, sir,—oh what am I saying? He was at home only an hour ago; but he'll never be at home any more, oh Lord, and he such a fine gentleman!"

"Speak sense, can't you?" he was shaken rudely by the shoulder. "What has happened? What

"It was to Endhill he went first, sir, - he went before you cáme home, Mr. Challoner; then you went the same way, but you came down the byroad, — but Mr. Edward, he rides straight home again as soon as ever he finds my lady not there; and then, when he finds her not at home neither, and hears you was off to meet her, he falls a swearing," - the man was too much excited to care what he said, "and nothing would serve him but to be off after you."

And

"And he has been thrown too? all this time - where is he all this time?" "Oh Lord, sir, it's no use now! They are all there - my lord, and all of them "Oh," said Challoner, stopping short. "'Twas right along here he was coming, sir, him and Trumpeter-the coast guard see them going along like anything and all in a minute down they went, not twenty yards from the place where you ran out upon us, sir. It was a slip, sure enough, sir; and you was right enough, and there they are both lying oh Lord! oh Lord!" and the poor fellow broke off, blubbering like an infant. "Stop that, confound you!" said Challoner, who had himself had about as much as he could bear. Stop that, and what the deuce does it all mean? I don't

now,

66

and the men says they went down like a flash, and Mr. Edward's neck's broke, and Trumpeter, they are going to shoot him- oh Lord!" - with a start and a fresh outbreak as the report of a gun close at hand carried its own interpretation to the minds of both. "Oh-oh oh," began the groom

"If you don't hold that d-d tongue of yours," said Challoner, in a cold, dangerous tone, I'll pitch you down the place after them, and you may break your neck too, if you choose. Tell me the rest, and tell it, in God's name, so that I can understand. Is Mr. Edward killed?"

"Whewell! I must be mad. Go on Whewell! Who next? -go on! "My lord is just standing by as if he never would move or speak again in this world; and Mr. Hanwell, 'twas he sent me to tell you: they are afraid of her hearing," looking back at the cottage, "so I was to get at you quiet—that was how we was so long, sir; and see here, sir, here's the very place; and Mr. Whewell says there ain't no hope whatever, for he has been dead this half-hour. Oh Lord!" - under his breath- "and such a little bit of a slip too!"

"Do you say, do you mean that it was this very place that I warned you off which gave way with him?" said Challoner, a new and strange vibration in his pulses. "Good God! And if I had been five minutes later

"Them it is, sir!" He was responded to in a whisper as low as his own, for the group which had gathered around the dead man was not a couple of hundred yards off.

Challoner stood still with compressed

lips.

"Aren't you going on, sir?" No reply.

I was sent to bring you "Tchah! Be quiet, can't you?" He could have struck the fellow for his officious and intolerable suggestions. "You go down to your master and say I am coming-or, stop

66

My lord sees you; he is coming towards us, sir."

Whatever Challoner had intended doing was thus perforce set aside. The two hands met; there was a silence, with averted faces; then, without a word, they stumbled forward together over the loose clods and turf to the fatal spot.

Here were assembled what seemed to be quite a large number of men and boys, a spectral group of figures in the dim light, for those who had beheld the accident had, in terrified haste, made it known far and wide without loss of an instant, and the result was, that the first confused impression Challoner's overstrained faculties received was that he was confronted by every face he had ever seen or known at Overton. That so many people had been so quickly got together in such a lonely spot was his next foolish wonder.

The truth was, he had no idea how long a time had elapsed since he had last known or cared anything about what was going on in the outer world. For him there had only been one thought, one agony. Within that little room he had been living a great death; and in the retrospect, all the bitterness of that bitter dream might have been concentrated into a single drop. He had destroyed the sense of time.

In reality, however, a full hour had gone by.

The landslip had taken place within a very short time of his having seen that it was impending, having been doubtless precipitated by the weight and force of a horse and rider; and now all that was left of the young life so ruthlessly cut short were cold, inanimate remains, already

6

"Went down with the slip," whispered one of the sailors in Challoner's ear, as he and Lord Overton mutely joined the group. "We, my mates and I, was up there, and saw him come ridin' hard along the bank; and as he went by, one of our chaps says, That's too near,' and we turned to look. I don't know if we hollared to him or not; the next thing was, Bill here cried, He's down!' and we down with our things and after him as hard as we could run. Soon as we get to the top, we sees him lyin' just where he is now, and we all come down for 'tis easy enough to get at it, ye see - and as soon as we come nigh the gentleman, I says to Bill," in a still deeper whisper, "says I, He's done for.' Knowed it fra the first, by the way he was lyin'. The horse was over there, throwin' out his legs

"How soon did you get down? "Warn't two seconds, sir. Less time than it takes tellin', we was all here; and we lifted him up and pulled open his collar, and one of them fetched water, and we turned him this way and that way, no use, no use," shaking his head mourn fully, "not a breath was left in his body; and that gentleman there says, 'tis the neck that's broke. He must ha' pitched right on to it, over the horse's head. The slip's nothing-bits like that is always comin' away; and now, with all the snow that's been on it, and soakin' into it for days and days, one would ha' thought any gentleman about here would ha' knowed to keep off the edge. They say he is the Earl of Overton's brother. Bill says so. I'm new to these parts, though I've lived along the coast all my days. It's the same coast all along. Well, the Lord's will be done, poor lad. And the horse too!

Dumbly Challoner stood. He did not hear much, he did not feel much—that is to say, he was not conscious of feeling. Now that the woful scene before him began solemnly to assert its right to a place, to the place in his mind, from very excess and complexity of emotions he found him. self gradually becoming calm. Bareheaded in the cold rain, and with the salt air blowing on his brow, he stood with the rest, tongue-tied and petrified, gazing on the dead.