'-/Yu \ a I E> R.AHY OF THE U N I VERSITY Of ILLINOIS V\ZbZ / HAROLD THE EXILE. IN THREE VOLUMES. In truth he was a strange and wayward wight, Fond of each gentle and each dreadful scene. In darkness and in storm he found delight : Nor less than when on ocean wave serene The southern sun diffused his dazzling shene. Even sad vicissitude amused his soul : And if a sigh would sometimes intervene, And down his cheek a tear of pity roll, A sigh, a tear so sweet, he wished not to controul. VOL. I. LONDON: ******* 1819. j. r.illft. Primer, Ciown.fourt. fleet Rtrfft, LonHow. V f INTRODUCTORY LETTERS. To On the Lake of Geneva* August 10, 18-. If there be any period when the name of sister is capable of conveying a more than common sensation of pleasure to the heart, it must surely be now, when in addressing it to you from a foreign land, it is associated in my imagination with the beloved idea of home, and the tender ZL recollections of affection : yet shall I con- fess to you, that when at my departure, you requested a journal de mon voyage, you imposed a task upon me, which I find it very difficult to fulfil. I cannot, like the traveller that journeys en courant y amuse you with a list of routes VOL. I. b 2 INTRODUCTORY LETTERS. and inns, describe cities I never entered, and countries I passed through in the night, or detail the entertainment at every stage, and the squabbles with mon hole about the charge ; I cannot, like the mere picturesque traveller, expatiate through whole pages on the beauties of a moss- covered wall, or be ready to fall into rap- tures at the sight of an old tree mantled with ivy ; neither do I expect, like the sentimental traveller, to meet adventures at every step, and behold the hero or heroine of a romance in the petite villa- geoise, or saucy postilion : yet I have gazed with admiration on nature in all her varied forms of sublimitv and beauty, and the view of rustic felicity always awakens a correspondent emotion in my heart. But all this has been detailed a hundred different times, by a hundred different writers, who possess the talent of embellishment in a far higher degree than myself, and leaving the minutiae of our journey hither to be discussed in INTRODUCTORY LETTERS. 3 person by the fire-side at C- — — , I prefer introducing you at once to the spot where myself and my amiable compagnon de voyage have at present fixed our abode. To a mind depressed by recent calamity, and a frame languid from long protracted disease, the hurry of a gay and crowded metropolis, and the petty cares and plea- sures of fashionable society, present but few attractions, and a change from the noise and dissipations of Paris to the quiet seclusion of a cottage on the banks of the Lake of Geneva, could not fail of being highly gratifying to Lady G. For her sake I became as you know an exile from my native land, and cheerfully relinquished all the endearments of ma- ternal and relative affection, to accom- pany her abroad in search of renovated health and happiness ; both I fear for ever blasted, by the untimely death of an only and beloved son, who fell in the service of his country, at the moment when victory b2 4 INTRODUCTORY LETTERS. had crowned him with laurels, too dearly purchased with his life. And here, my dear sister, you will, I know, require a more minute description of our present residence, that you may be able in your solitary reveries to form some definite idea of the spot which your sister inhabits ; but description must fail in conveying to you an adequate idea of the fairy cottage from whence I now address you. Situated on the lovely shores of the loveliest lake in Europe, it seems to share in the aspect and character of the sur- rounding scene, where nature, throned in " mountain majesty," sheds on every object a portion of her own loveliness and tranquillity. Mountains whose fantastic forms defy the wildest flight of imagina- tion to give them a resemblance. Rocks crowned with foliage, and mantled with vines ; every variety of land, of wood and water unite in rich assemblage to INTRODUCTORY LETTERS. 6 complete the most perfect picture ever sketched by the hand of nature. Nor are there wanting those signs of social life, which unite the sentiment of moral and natural beauty in the mind of man. The rustic hamlet, the princely mansion, and the consecrated temple alike em- bellish and diversify the prospect, which is terminated by the spires of the city of Geneva, glistening in the distant horizon. Our cottage, whose white walls are almost hid by clustering roses and honey- suckles, stands in the midst of a garden, which is literally a paradise of sweets, divided by a low paling from the banks of the lake, whose blue expanse of water is spread before us. A grove of limes shelters it from the northern blast, and from the window where I now sit, I can discern the church spire and white houses of the village of peeping from amidst the foliage which embowers them. In this spot, we enjoy all the charms of soli- 6 INTRODUCTORY LETTERS. tude, without its weariness. Books, music, and the pencil, agreeably deversify the scene within doors ; and without, the cultivation of my flowers, and occa- sional excursions in the surrounding; country, fill up every interval of leisure, and leave no room for the indulgence of ennui. Already have I visited Clarens Vevay, and la Melerie, immortalized to the lovers of genius by the romantic pen of Rousseau. The vivid colourings which his ardent imagination sheds over every- thing he describes, have still left their traces upon them, and the rocks, the mountains, and the groves, which were the scene of his impassioned reveries, still glow with other hues than those of nature ; those delightful hues with which fancy embellishes the objects of her reverence and admiration. Yet shall 1 confess to you, a sentiment which never fails to accompany every perusal of this celebrated romance, and which I do not remember to have heard INTRODUCTORY LETTERS. 7 expressed by any other person, I mean the infinite disproportion which exists between the characters he has drawn of the lovers, and the refined and ardent passion he so eloquently pourtrays : nor f mind — a fatal circumstance to the young Augustus, whose opening dispositions and early talents required the steady, yet tender guidance of a ju- dicious and affectionate monitor, to re- strain the strengthening passion, and prune the too great exuberance of a warm imagination. But nature had not qualified her Ladyship for this important office ; and they to whose care the young Harold was afterwards consigned, but imperfectly discharged the part they had undertaken. The anxiety a virtuous mother will al- ways feel for the principles of a darling son, combined with that excessive fond- ness, which rendered her very unwilling that he should be removed from under her own eye, decidedly influenced Lady Harold in favour of a private education ; but her friends strenuously urged the su- periority of public tuition, and the ad- vantage of emulation, to the promising HAROLD THE EXILE. 87 talents of the young Augustus. Lady Harold was not convinced by these ar- guments, but, like many others, she re- linquished an opinion she had not suffi- cient firmness to maintain against oppo- sition, and Harold was accordingly placed in one of those large public semi- naries, where the mind of the young pu- pil is in general plentifully stored with the seeds of learning, while those of mo- rality and religion are but sparingly sown and slightly cultivated. In this situation the ductile and sus- ceptible mind of Harold received its first impressions, and while he hung, with rapt delight and eager attention, on the classic lore of Greece and Rome, his ar- dent imagination caught the inspiring spark from the hallowed fane of ancient genius, and sighed to emulate the perfec- tion he admired. Even then he began to discover in his early habits and inclina- tions, the shades of that character which marked his riper years. The athletic 88 HAROLD THE EXILE. sports and puerile amusements of his ju- venile companions soon lost their attrac- tions, and Harold, like his young proto- type, Edwin, ; " From the rude gambol far remote reclined, " and thrown beneath the shade of some friendly tree, would pass whole after- noons in the perusal of a favorite author, or in indulging the secret reveries of his awakened imagination. The time he spent at home served to nurse these grow- ing propensities, for the lovely spot which contained the mansion of his forefathers, was classic ground. To the glowing Fancy of the young enthusiast, the vale of Towy was another Tempe, and "Gron- gar Hill," the Mount Parnassus where he offered up his first invocations to the tuneful Nine. Here was his favorite haunt, and with a volume of Virgil in his pocket, and a thousand poetic images floating in his imagination, Harold might frequently have applied to himself the ex- HAROLD THE EXILE. 89 quisite description of the Bard of Gron- gar— '* So oft I have, the evening- still, At the fountain of a rill, Sat upon a flowery bed, "With my hand beneath my head, While rov'd my eyes o'er Towy's floods Over mead and over wood, From house to house, from hill to hill, Till Contemplation had her fill." Dyer. From every friend that knew him, Lady Harold heard the praises of her son's extraordinary genius, and conse- quently took for granted all that was said to her on the subject. Of the fact itself she was no judge ; for Nature had de- nied her a taste for poetical composition, and she would, with the same emotion, have listened to Harold's recital of the finest passages from the classics, or a production of his own juvenile muse. With the ilrst she was unacquainted, of the latter she was unable to form a due 90 HAROLD THE EXILE, estimation. Her vanity, however, well as her maternal fondness, was gra- tified by the encomiums bestowed upon this darling son, and she felt delighted in regarding him as something superior, though she could not exactly discern in what his superiority consisted. She would sometimes, indeed, enquire of the partial friends abovementioned, " Whe- ther the attainments so highly boasted of were likely to make the boy more pious and virtuous, a better member of society, or more generally useful to mankind, than the less shining talents, but solid virtues, of his departed father, who had presented in his life an example of unaffected good- ness, in a conscientious discharge of his several duties, and had died the death of a Christian ; and I cannot but think," she added, " that, whatever other ac- quirements Augustus may possess, but little pains have been taken to make him the latter." In answer to this, Lady Harold was HAROLD THE EXILE. 01 assured " that her son's rare abilities were calculated to ensure universal ad- miration, and that the objections she had urged against the paucity of his religious instruction weighed but little in compari- son with his future figure in the world, and would be obviated by his own re- flections on the subject, when he came to riper years." "But why not inculcate those princi- ples now ?" enquired the anxious mother. " Because, my dear madam, it will be time enough when we have acquired a competent knowledge of things more ne- cessary to his establishment in life. — Were he intended for the church, the case, indeed, would be different ; but a young nobleman has surely no occasion for a species of learning which will only cramp his genius, and be attended with no evi- dent advantage." Lady Harold did not feel satisfied by this kind of reasoning. She was herself unaffectedly pious, without bigotry or 92 HAROLD THE EXILE. enthusiasm • and the importance of reli- gious sentiments to the future conduct and principles of her son, was deeply im- pressed upon her mind ; but she shrunk from the idea of opposition to those on whose judgment she was accustomed implicitly to rely, and Harold was left, unassisted, to form his own opinions on a subject which was not deemed by his instructors of sufficient importance to be- come a part of liberal education. Fatal negligence ! which deprives the young debutant on the great theatre of life, of the best safeguard of virtue, the highest enhancer of prosperity, the only sure so- lace in affliction, and bounding his views to this transitory state of being, leaves the present without comfort, and the fu- ture without hope. Soon after he had completed his nine- teenth year, Lord Harold was removed to Oxford, where he continued to make daily improvements in knowledge, and in those personal graces which Nature HAROLD THE EXILE. 93 had so profusely lavished upon him. Of his progress in morals and religion, we leave them to judge, who, like him, have been transplanted from the peaceful shades of domestic privacy, to scenes where vice is generated by the contagion of example, and dissipation invites de- ception to aid those practices it dares not openly pursue, and where, like him, too, the delusions of a heated imagination, and a mind unfortified by previous dis- cipline, expose the youthful inmate of these abodes of learning and of danger, to peculiar perils, and unavoidable temp- tations. It is true Harold had not as yet been guilty of any flagrant violation of the laws either of piety or virtue. He neither gamed nor intrigued, ran no horses at Newmarket, nor drove his cur- ricle, with a dashing Jille de joye for a companion. From the first, he was pre- served by those feelings of filial affection which would have been shocked at dis- tressing his fond and indulgent mother, 94 HAROLD THE EXILE. and the delicacy of his sentiments on tiie subject of love, joined to a laudable de- gree of pride, had hitherto proved his se- curity against any unworthy inclination. Happy had it been for Harold if, at this period of his existence, he had found a friend whose example would have con- firmed and strengthened his fluctuating principles — whose counsels would have matured his yet unripened virtues — who possessed of judgment to discern, and delicacy to point out the errors of a friend, might have checked the effervescence of an uncontroled imagination, and direct- ed to their proper ends the noble energies of a superior mind ; but, alas ! the being who most possessed the confidence of the generous, unsuspecting Harold, was in every point the reverse of the above cha- racter, and, like the demon of ill, that deluded our first parents in the bowers of Eden, he only exerted the influence he had obtained over his inexperienced vic- tim, to mislead and destrov. HAROLD THE EXILE. 95 Edward Berrington, who was a few^ years older than our hero, was the eldest son of a baronet, whose family was much superior to his fortune. His person was handsome, his manners specious and in- sinuating, and his abilities of the first order ; but these natural endowments were shadowed by vicious principles and libertine conduct. Devoted solely to the gratification of his pleasures, every ho- nourable and virtuous consideration were but too often sacrificed, in pursuit of this primary object of his existence, and, as his means of expenditure were limited, he was compelled to resort to many ex- pedients to supply the deficiency. The gaming-table was a never- failing re- source, and the inexperience^ the weak- nesses, and the vices of his young asso- ciates, were all made subservient to the same end. Quick in discerning the cha- racters of others, and skilful in concealing his own ; complacent by nature, and a flatterer from habit, he readily insinuated 96 HAROLD THE EXILE. himself into the favour of those whose confidence he desired to gain, and while he initiated the young and the unwary into scenes of dissipation and vice, he at the same time participated in pleasures, of which another defrayed the cost. From his first introduction to Lord Harold, Berrington conceived him to be a fit object for the exercise of his nefa- rious arts, and eagerly sought his friend- ship and confidence ; but to obtain either was a task more difficult than he had at first believed. Harold possessed no in- considerable share of pride, as well as that reserve, so frequently observable in those on whom Nature has conferred extraordinary mental endowments ; not the pride of birth, nor the still more con-* temptible pride which often accompanies a great superiority of fortune, but the proud consciousness of genius, the peiv ception of feelings and faculties, which raise the possessor above the common race of mankind, and create for him a HAROLD THE EXILE. - 97 world whose visionary enjoyments are elevated far above the cold and dull realities of life. To a mind thus constituted, the at- tractions of society (in the general ac- ceptation of the term) are very circum- scribed, and in proportion to the pleasure it derives from an intercourse with a congenial spirit, is the wearisomeness and insipidity of the common-place sen- timent and limited perceptions of those beings of whom the great mass of society is chiefly composed. Their petty cares, and paltry contentions, excite only sur- prise, or, at most, indifference in him> whose enlarged and cultivated mind em- braces the vast boundaries of nature and of passion ; and the man of genius who is uncontaminated by the seductions of pleasure or the influence of vice, gladly turns from the bustling and giddy crowd to the solitude of his own heart* and the delightful, though narrow, circle VOL. I. F 98 HAROLD THE EXILE. of domestic life. But to return to Lord Harold : — Of retired habits, and possessing in himself sufficient resources of occupation and amusement, he had hitherto formed no intimacy beyond the common courte- sies of society and good breeding ; and the frequent essays which were made by Berrington towards a more intimate ac- quaintance, were for some time returned only with cold politeness by Harold, who was almost vexed by the persevering, and often intrusive attentions of his fellow collegian. The latter, however, was not discouraged by the coolness with which his proffered friendship was received ; the confidence of Harold presented too many advantages to his imagination to be readily relinquished, and he deter- mined to leave no means untried to over- come his reserve. With this resolve, he sought every opportunity of obtaining a closer knowledge of Harold's character, HAROLD THE EXILE. 99 and the result of this scrutiny was but too favourable to his designs. He judg- ed rightly, that his naturally affectionate and susceptible disposition could not remain insensible to his endeavours to please, and to that appearance of regard which he took every occasion, both in public and private, to profess for him. He perceived, too, in Harold a tendency to mekncholy, which might render his own powers of amusement an acquisition to the frequently drooping spirit of his less lively companion, who inherited that constitutional pensiveness which is so often the concomitant of genius, and which was in him much augmented by the usual tenor of his pursuits and stu- dies, and the influence of that solitude he so greatly loved. All these peculi- arities were observed by Berrington with secret complacency ; and chance, as if favouring his wishes, produced an inci- dent which conduced, in no small degree, towards their completion. f2 100 HAROLD THE EXILE. Lord Harold was attacked by a linger- ing illness, that, without endangering his existence, rendered him unequal to every exertion of the corporeal or intellectual powers, and depressed his spirits to an uncommon degree. It was now he felt the want of those endearing attentions which home and friends bestow, of those comforts which the presence and the assiduities of woman diffuse over the couch of sickness and of suffering, and in the solitude of his own apartment, unheed- ed by all his gay associates, he bitterly sighed for some one to share the cares of a mercenary attendant, and alleviate, by their attentions, the nervous irritation of his diseased mind. This assiduous friend and cheering companion he now found in Berrington, who, secluding himself from all other societv, devoted his whole time to Harold ; his hand administered the medicines of the youthful invalid, and the seducing charms of his conversation, al- ways entertaining, and enlivened by bril- HAROLD THE EXILE. 101 iiant flashes of wit and humorous anec- dote, contributed even more than the prescriptions of his physician to renovate the health and spirits of our hero, by re- moving the weight that preyed so heavily on the latter. On a heart so susceptible as Harold's, such attentions could not be vainly bestowed ; a thousand times he accused himself of ingratitude, in not having been sooner sensible to the efforts of Berrington to obtain his confidence and friendship, and resolved, in future, to guard against what he now considered as highly reprehensible, an unsocial and misanthropic disposition. The impressions which his mind had imbibed in the hours of sickness and de- spondency,were not effaced by returning health and cheerfulness. An intimacy commenced between Berrington and Lord Harold, which originated, on the one side, in the purest sentiments of gra- titude and esteem, on the other, in selfish motives which at first prompted those at- 102 HAROLD THE EXILE. tentions whose result had been so favour- able to his desire of obtaining the confi- dence of his unsuspecting companion. Much, however, still remained to be ef- fected, before he could hope to derive those advantages from an intimate friendship with Lord Harold, which had been his sole inducement in seeking his acquaint- ance. It was necessary to initiate kim into the mysteries of pleasure and profli- gacy, ere he could himself reap the fruits of his infamous instructions ; and as the innate delicacy of Harold's feelings would have been disgusted by vice in its grosser forms, it must be presented under the veil of sentiment, of refined and ele- gant pleasure ; of any thing, in short, which might excite the warm imagina- tion, or interest the sensitive feelings of the romantic enthusiast. How far he succeeded in this design will be disclosed in the sequel ;. but, at this period/ his guardian angel, in the shape of Love, ap- peared to preserve Harold from his ma* HAROLD THE EXILE. 10$ chinations ; but as we are now entering upon a new era in our hero's history, we will, with the reader's permission, defer its commencement to another chapter. If what has been already detailed appears tedious or uninteresting, they have now a fair opportunity of laying aside the vo- lume. If, on the contrary, they should experience any degree of anxiety to be informed of his subsequent adventures, we shall request them to accompany us in our next. CHAP. II. Since his residence at Oxford, a regu- lar correspondence had existed between Lady Harold and her son, which was a source of mutual pleasure, to both parties ; for the latter, who had no concealments from this indulgent parent, made her af- fectionate bosom the repository of all his cares and proceedings, and her Ladyship 104 HAROLD THE EXILE. delighted to communicate to Harold every domestic incident which she thought likely to interest him. In one of her letters, a few months prior to his late illness, was the following passage : — "You will be surprised to hear, my dear son, that I have lately obtained a companion to supply your vacant place by my lonely hearth, and one, too, who will not, I am sure, excite a sensation of jealousy in your mind. You have fre- quently heard me speak of a Miss Leslie, who was the most intimate friend of my youth, and for whom I cherished an al- most sisterly affection. Soon after my marriage, she went abroad, where she was shortly united to a gentleman of large fortune, who was then a resident at a foreign court in alliance with this coun- try, where he held a high official situa- tion. At the end of five years, she be- came a widow, with a lovely girl of three years old, who was her only child ; and, unable to tear herself from the spot which HAROLD THE EXILE. 105 contained the ashes of her beloved hus- iand, she continued to reside on the con- tinent, and devoted her whole attention to the education of the charming Gabrielle, for so she had named her daughter. — Though time and absence had, in some measure, abated the fervour of our early friendship, we still maintained a regular correspondence, and in her last moments she committed her danghter to my guar- dianship, with a solemn entreaty that I would extend to her orphan that friend- ship and affection which I had cherished for herself.. Not to dwell upon particu- lars, the necessary arrangements were soon made, and, on her arrival in En- gland, Miss Montgomery was placed un- der my protection, by the friends who had escorted her from Sicily, and is now an inmate of the castle. I shall not attempt, Harold, to describe my young compa- nion, as I hope you will shortly see her yourself. Beautiful she indeed is, beyond my highest encomiums, and accomplished; 106 HAROLD THE EXILE. as she is lovely ; but it requires some time to discover the varied perfections of Ga- brielle Montgomery, since she takes as much pains to conceal them from obser- vation, as many would testify in their display — but I may speak of the virtues of her heart, of the sweetness of her dis- position, of the affection she shows me, and her unwearied endeavours to pro- mote my happiness. In short, my dear son, the arrival of Miss Montgomery has considerably augmented my domestic comfort, and I eagerly anticipate the time when I shall introduce you to my lovely protege." In every subsequent letter from Lady Harold,, the fair Gabrielle was mentioned with the warmest encomiums. Harold thought his mother had never been so animated on any subject before, and half in love with a being of his own creation, he rejoiced when the long wished-for mo- ment arrived which again recalled him to the shades of his native Wales. It was HAROLD THE EXILE. 107 that delicious season of the year, when the vivid freshness of spring still lingers on the bloom of summer, that Lord Ha- rold once more beheld the mansion of his forefathers — its antique turrets illumined by the bright beams of a radiant sun-set. The birds sang their hymns to Evening from every grove, and all Nature seemed to harmonize with the present state of his feelings ; or rather, the latter had assum- ed their character from an hour and scene which never fail of exciting correspond- ing sensations in the bosom of sensibility and genius. Never had the thoughts of home ap- peared so delightful to Harold as at this moment, fraught too as they were, with the recollection of his boyish pursuits and pleasures. In one spot he beheld a group of fantastic elms, where, in the fine after- noons of summer, he had so often sat un- der their shade, with a favorite author for his companion. A babbling brook, which ran by the road-side, recalled to his mind 108 HAROLD THE EXILE. many a moonlight ramble along its banks, and Grongar Hill, whose dark outline was scarcely discernible in the deepening twilight, revived again the emotions of that moment, when, yielding to the influ- ence of an uncontrolable impulse, he poured forth the first inspirations of his infant muse. With these recollections was associated the image of its native bard, and with an involuntary enthusiasm he repeated — <* Silent nymph with curious eye," &c. &c. It was almost dark as Harold entered the park, and willing to give his mother the pleasure of an agreeable surprise, he alighted from the chaise, which he order- ed the post-boy to drive slowly on, and took a foot-path across the grounds,which soon brought him to the castle. The door was opened by an old domestic,who, in the exuberance of his joy, was hasten- ing to spread the news of his lord's ar- rival through the family, but was prevent- HAROLD THE EXILE. 109 ed by Harold, who enquired at the same time for his mother. " Her ladyship is in the garden, my lord, with Miss Montgomery," replied the old man. " I will go to them, then," exclaimed Harold ; and, without waiting an answer from Jasper, he directed his steps to the favorite retreat where Lady Harold ge- nerally passed some part of every evening during the summer season. The moon shone brightly in an unclouded sky, and the fragrance of the flowers through which he passed was inhaled with a pe- culiar sensation of pleasure by Harold, fatigued as he was by a long journey, which had been performed with an un- usual degree of expedition. As he approached the pavilion, the soft tones of a female voice, apparently en- gaged in reading, caught his ear ; and gliding cautiously beneath the umbra- geous foliage, he presented himself before the entrance unobserved. It was thrown. 110 HAROLD THE EXILE, open to admit the reviving freshness of the perfumed breeze, and the bright moonlight afforded him an uninterrupted view of the objects within. In the centre of the pavilion, under what might justly be termed a flowery canopy, sat his be- loved and venerated mother ; and beside her stood a form so fair, so etherial in its appearance, that it rather seemed the bright creation of poetic fancy, than aught of mortal mould. The blushing wreaths that entwined the columns, drooped over her graceful figure, and as the breeze swept at intervals the slender sprays, their fragrant blossoms were intermingled with the ringlets of her luxuriant hair. A white and fleecy drapery faintly marked the outlines of her perfect form, and a transparent veil floated back upon her shoulders, and slightly shaded her sera- phic countenance. Her hands were fold- ed on her bosom, as if in devotion, and the blue and trembling light, which the moon -beams shed upon her figure, gave HAROLD THE EXILE. 1 1 1 it a shadowy appearance, that finely har- monized with the surrounding scene. Lost in wonder and admiration, Lord Harold gazed on the beauteous vision, for as such he felt inclined to consider the object before him, and almost believ- ed it one of the genii of those romantic tales which had so often fascinated his fancy ; for he was now at that happy pe- riod of life when the mind surrenders it- self without resistance to the illusions of the imagination — those delicious illusions which are so soon destined to be destroy- ed by the cold and melancholy realities of succeeding years. The moonlight scene — the still and lonely hour, conspired with the form before him, to entrance his senses in a visionary spell, and he continu- ed to gaze, fearful that a sigh might dis- solve the fairy vision, when a slight rust- ling which he made among the boughs, attracting the observation of Lady Ha- rold to the spot where he stood; she start- ed up in alarm at beholding the figure of 112 HAROLD THE EXILE. a man, and was moving precipitately to- wards the door, when Harold rushed from his place of concealment, and pre- sented himself before her ! The scene which ensued will be easily conceived by those who have been in a similar situation. As soon as the first emotions had subsided, Lady Harold ap- proached her fair companion, who had retired to a distant part of the pavilion, and taking her hand, led her to her son, saying — " Harold, you have already heard of Miss Montgomery. I have taught her to expect in you a friend and brother, and she is prepared to cherish, for the sGn of her adopted parent, the warmest senti- ments of fraternal affection." " And will Miss Montgomery," ex- claimed Lord Harold, with one of his most fascinating smiles, " confirm the kind assurance which is thus given me ?" " Most readily, my lord," replied Ga- brielle, extending her hand, while a blush HAROLD THB EXILE. 113 and a smile, the genuine offspring of can- dour and delicacy, accompanied the movement. " The son of my dear, dear Lady Harold, must ever claim from Ga- brielle Montgomery a sister's kind re- gard." Enchanted by the naivete and innocent frankness of the lovely speaker, Harold raised the hand she gave him to his lips, involuntarily exclaiming — " Good Heavens ! What an angel !" Gabrielle blushed still deeper; and hastily disengaging her hand, retired in confusion behind her friend. " Harold," said her ladyship, after a moment's silence, " you have quite taken us by surprise. Tell me, what secret at- traction allured your wandering footsteps to this spot ?" " The voice of a syren," he replied, glancing towards Gabrielle, who was un- consciously plucking off the leaves of a rose which she held in her hand. " You know my evening custom," re- 114 HAROLD THE EXILE. turned Lady Harold, with an air of ten- der seriousness.