LI B RARY 
 OF THE 
 
 8ZS 
 
 I

 
 .z
 
 IN SECRET PLACES.
 
 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 ^ lokl. 
 
 BY 
 
 ROBERT J. GRIFFITHS, LL.D. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Honlron : 
 SAMUEL TINSLEY, 
 
 lo, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND. 
 
 1874. 
 
 \,AU Rights 7eservedJ\
 
 r 
 
 
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 > 
 
 a 
 
 
 TO HIS GRACE 
 
 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, K.G., 
 
 t\ 
 
 
 THIS WORK IS DEDICATED, 
 
 BY HIS DEVOTED SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. OUT OF THE WORLD - - - - I 
 
 II. MRS. MONTRESSOR MAKES HER APPEARANCE - 33 
 
 III. TOTTERING HOUSES - - - "53 
 
 IV. A SECRET VISIT - - - - - 63 
 
 V. DAWNING LOVE - - - - - 11 
 
 VL BREAKERS AHEAD - - - - - 96 
 
 VII. MARIA LAYS HER PLANS - - - - I18 
 
 Vin. AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE -' - - - 140 
 
 IX. PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL - - "152 
 
 X. MRS. MONTRESSOR MEETS WITH A REPULSE - 1 64 
 
 XL WHAT WAS IT.? - - - - - 175 
 
 XIL FREDERICK'S MISSION - - - - 1 86 
 
 XIII. THE STORM COMES « . - . 20I 
 
 XIV. DARK DOINGS - - - - - 21 3 
 XV. MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS - - 233
 
 IN SECRET PLACES 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 
 
 Far away from our great cities and towns, 
 from the ever-flowing stream of earnest, 
 toiling, anxious life, and beyond the reach 
 of the great thoroughfares of the kingdom, 
 is the village where our story opens. It is 
 buried from sight amidst the Welsh moun- 
 tains, and the dull, monotonous existence 
 of its inhabitants is never disturbed, except 
 perchance by some casual visitor bent on 
 exploring the wild and unknown regions of 
 the interior of the Principality. 
 
 The village in question is concealed from 
 
 VOL. L **^ I
 
 2 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 view on one side by a range of hills, which 
 form a part of the Welsh mountain region — 
 bleak, sterile, and desolate hills — where the 
 inhabitants are but few and very poor, and 
 where the footsteps of man are but seldom 
 to be traced. Here and there a curling 
 wreath of blue smoke denotes the presence 
 of a humble mud-built cottage, and in such 
 spots the land is cultivated in a rude, bar- 
 barous manner, which shows plainly that 
 the dwellers upon these hills are content to 
 follow still in the steps of their forefathers, 
 and have not yet felt the influence of the 
 ever-advancing tide of progress. Theirs is 
 a sleepy, indolent, and poverty-stricken 
 mode of life, and no aspirations for a more 
 active state of existence ever ruffle the 
 sluggish calm of their long unending 
 siesta. 
 
 To the north and south the country is 
 more level, and in these directions the roads 
 leading to far-distant towns stretch away, 
 until they are lost to view. On the west is 
 the Cardigan Bay, with its sparkling waters,
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 3 
 
 sometimes placid and smiling, reflecting the 
 golden light of the setting summer sun ; at 
 other times .rolling and tumbling angrily 
 about in their huge bed, when dashed into 
 fury by the rude blasts of winter. 
 
 The village of Glynarth was about two 
 miles distant from the sea, and the road 
 which led down to the shore passed through 
 a strikingly beautiful glen or valley. It was 
 narrow and steep, as if it had been cut out 
 of the surrounding hills by the action of the 
 sea. Standing upon the summit of the hill 
 upon which the village had been erected, 'a 
 goodly prospect presented itself to the eye 
 as one looked towards the bay. A narrow 
 uneven road went winding down one side of 
 the valley — in fact, it might almost be said 
 to run along the side of the hill which formed 
 one of its boundaries, — and on either side, 
 to the north and south, arose the hills, 
 covered with heath and mountain verdure. 
 In this glen, or gly7i^ as the natives called it, 
 the land was better cultivated than on the 
 distant hills to the east, although the people
 
 4 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 lived in the same simple, primitive fashion. 
 Looking down into the valley, you could 
 only detect the presence of houses by the 
 white chimney-tops, for they were mostly 
 built in deep hollows, and their privacy 
 further secured by surrounding- them with 
 trees, which were always considerably higher 
 than the cottages themselves. Thus they 
 were completely shrouded from view — they 
 were deep, quiet retreats, where one might 
 pass a lifetime, if one chose, in listening to 
 the bleating of sheep and the melancholy 
 sighing of the wind in the foliage. There 
 was a bright sparkling stream of water flow- 
 ing through the glen, and its silvery rippling 
 murmur was very distinct in the midst of the 
 peaceful calm which generally pervaded the 
 place. Hills, valley, and streamlet — rocks, 
 trees, and fields of waving corn — it was 
 pleasant to contemplate such a scene on a 
 still summer's afternoon, when the sun was 
 high in the heavens and the sea slumbering 
 like a giant in repose ; when the eye rested 
 upon nothing but what was radiantly,
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 5 
 
 gloriously beautiful, and when nothing was 
 present to disturb the harmony of nature. 
 
 At the end of the valley, upon the sea- 
 shore, was a venerable old church, hoary 
 with the weight of gathering years, where 
 hundreds of former dwellers in the valley 
 slept their last long sleep — truly a place 
 where — 
 
 " The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep ; " 
 
 and the affections of those who were left 
 behind clung with loving tenderness to the 
 dingy bare old edifice. Standing on the 
 summit of one of the hills on a sunny day, 
 how very still the valley is ! Not a sign of 
 life is visible anywhere, except the birds, 
 which warble merrily in the pure atmos- 
 phere ; not a human being is to be seen ; 
 a great hush has fallen upon the landscape, 
 and the only other sound is the waving of 
 the corn, which bends beneath the gentle 
 sea-breeze, as if talking to itself in weird 
 melancholy tones. Peace, perfect peace, 
 dwells around ; and often do the weary
 
 6 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 aching- brains and anxious minds of wan- 
 derers from the great cities envy the people 
 who live and die contentedly and placidly in 
 this sylvan retreat, buried from the cares and 
 trials of a world of which they know little 
 or nothing". How natural it is to suppose 
 that human passions never exist in such fair 
 and lovely spots ! 
 
 Glynarth was not a large village. Its 
 inhabitants were probably not more than 
 three or four hundred, but it was greatly 
 superior to most Welsh villages. The 
 beauty of the surrounding neighbourhood, 
 and its perfect privacy, attracted a few 
 people of good position, who had built some 
 neat villa residences close to the village. In 
 time these villas passed into the hands of 
 speculators, who let them for fixed periods 
 to people who wished for a temporary 
 change of scene and relaxation. In one of 
 them a gentleman, named Frederick Dan- 
 vers, resided. He was a young man, about 
 twenty-eight years of age, had studied in 
 Scotland, and had travelled through the
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 
 
 greater part of Europe and the United 
 States. In his youth he had been very 
 poor, and had worked hard in a Manchester 
 counting-house ; and his present wealth was 
 not obtained until he was twenty-three years 
 of age, when an uncle, dying, left him all 
 his property. Frederick spoke French and 
 Spanish with perfect ease, and he had fairly 
 mastered colloquial Welsh also. 
 
 He was a good-looking, although not a 
 handsome man. His hair was black, and 
 his eyes were of the same hue — deep, pene-^ 
 trating eyes they were, which betokened a 
 powerfully observant mind and a habit of 
 serious, thoughtful contemplation. He was 
 tall and slender, and his face was very thin 
 and pale — in fact, he had a studious, seden- 
 tary appearance, which indicated plainly 
 that he was not in strong health. 
 
 There was also the clergyman of the 
 parish, a young man, named Campbell, who 
 had only just been appointed to this his 
 first living. He was a bachelor, and had 
 succeeded in escaping the innumerable
 
 8 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 matrimonial snares which had been set for 
 him by enterprising young ladies, to whom 
 a curate was a rare prize. In fact, every 
 young man whose parents could afford to 
 give him a tolerable education, was sent 
 into the Church ; and there were many 
 instances of farmers who made all their sons 
 clergymen, even though they themselves 
 were Dissenters. As the profession was 
 held in such high esteem, the girl who 
 secured a clergyman of any kind was con- 
 sidered a very fortunate creature ; and Mr. 
 Campbell might have been married a dozen 
 times over if he chose ; but as he happened 
 to be a High Churchman, he had strong 
 views regarding the celibacy of the clergy. 
 He was not a highly educated man, being 
 the son of a well-to-do farmer, and educated 
 in a small Welsh college, and he was ex- 
 tremely narrow-minded. To him the world 
 in general was in a very unsatisfactory con- 
 dition ; nor would society, in his opinion, be 
 in a healthy state until the clergyman was 
 allowed to take the leading part in every
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 9 
 
 movement — political, social, and religious. 
 His parishioners, however, differed from him 
 in this and many other points ; and conse- 
 quently, although the services at Glynarth 
 church were of a very florid and advanced 
 character, the great majority of the people 
 were Dissenters, He was not a vain nor a 
 conceited young man, but he had a mis- 
 taken notion of his duty, and he strove 
 to enforce his views, notwithstanding the 
 violent opposition he called forth in doing 
 so. 
 
 Away down the valley, half-way between 
 the village and the ancient sea- side church, 
 was a cosy, substantial-looking house, built 
 beneath the projecting shadow of the hill. 
 It was a two-storied house, with a small 
 flower-garden in front; and between that 
 and the road was a court-yard, overgrown 
 with grass, in which two straw-thatched 
 cottages stood, inhabited by ancient dames 
 who had known the family for a longer 
 period than some of its members would care 
 to be reminded of These habitations were,
 
 lO IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 in truth, of the rudest kind ; and the house 
 itself would have been greatly improved in 
 its appearance if they had been demo- 
 lished ; but during the lives of their present 
 occupants they were safe from sacrile- 
 gious hands. Many farm-houses around 
 had appendages of this kind — perhaps a 
 lingering remnant of the old feudal system. 
 
 The residents in this place were only two 
 in number, a brother and sister, named 
 Edward and Annie Hughes. They were 
 orphans, for their father died a short time 
 before, and their mother had drawn disgrace 
 and infamy upon their family. Whether 
 she were alive or dead they knew not, and 
 the sad story of her sin and shame was 
 never referred to even by their gossip- 
 ing neighbours, for Annie Hughes was a 
 favourite with all, and no one would wil- 
 lingly cause her pain. Edward was a 
 youth of nineteen at this time, and various 
 schemes had been proposed for the purpose 
 of establishing him in life, to none of which, 
 however, did he pay much attention. He
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. I I 
 
 was, in fact, an indolent, vicious lad, who 
 loved to loiter all day in the village ale- 
 houses, and associated with the lowest 
 companions he could find. He had already- 
 acquired an unenviable notoriety through- 
 out the whole country-side, and strange 
 rumours were in circulation as to his wild, 
 foolish conduct; but not many of his mis- 
 deeds reached his sister's ears, for the kind- 
 hearted people endeavoured to shield her 
 from as much pain as possible. Perhaps it 
 would have been well if she had known the 
 unpleasant truth ! She thought so in after 
 years. 
 
 Edward and his sister possessed jointly a 
 small income, derived from land which their 
 father had left them ; but Annie saw clearly 
 enough that this would be totally inadequate 
 to dispense with the necessity of some occu- 
 pation for her brother. What he was to do 
 was a problem which severely puzzled every 
 one connected with the youth. 
 
 Mr. Danvers had only recently arrived in 
 Glynarth — at the time our story commences
 
 12 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 he had not been there a month, and as his 
 health was extremely weak and delicate, he 
 had not been able to go out much, particu- 
 larly as the weather happened to be wet and 
 stormy, although it was in the month of 
 September. He had taken a small fur- ' 
 nished villa, which was to be let ; and he 
 brought his own servants, horses, and car- 
 riage from London. The change from the 
 metropolis to the perfect serenity of Glyn- 
 arth was very delightful to the pale, hag- 
 gard invalid, and for the first month he did 
 not indulge in any violent exercise. 
 
 One evening, however, the beauty of 
 the autumn sunset tempted him to go out 
 into the fields which surrounded his resi- 
 dence ; and as he felt much stronger than 
 usual, he determined upon taking a good 
 long walk. He could either wander down 
 the glen to the sea-shore, or he might betake 
 himself to the hills which rose on the east ; 
 and he decided upon the latter course. He 
 walked rapidly onwards, watching curiously 
 the lengthening shadows upon the face of
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 1 3 
 
 the landscape, and enjoying the profound 
 stillness which reigned around him, as only 
 a convalescent can enjoy it. He went on 
 thus for a distance of six or seven miles 
 almost unconsciously, and then halted upon 
 the summit of a hill to survey the scene. 
 
 North, south, east, or west there was not 
 a living soul to be seen. He could easily 
 imagine himself transported into the midst 
 of a desert country, where human footsteps 
 had never pressed the green sward, and 
 where the voice of man had never been 
 heard. Even the birds did not sing in this 
 wild region, for there were no trees to shelter 
 them, and they sought more congenial habi- 
 tations than upon this desolate tableland. 
 A heavy, black cloud had also settled over 
 it, and Frederick saw with alarm that a 
 storm was impending, and that it would 
 probably be a severe one. He began to 
 retrace his footsteps ; but he had not gone 
 far before the storm broke. The vivid 
 lightning which accompanied it dazzled his 
 eyes, and peal upon peal of thunder rang
 
 14 IN SECRET PLAC11.S. 
 
 through the awful silence with startling 
 distinctness. To add to his discomfort, 
 the rain began to descend in torrents, and 
 in a very few minutes he was completely 
 drenched. 
 
 He was accustomed, however, to take 
 things in a calm, indifferent manner, and 
 he was not seriously discomposed by his 
 misfortune. He continued to peer curiously 
 round, and at length fancied he saw in a 
 small hollow a shed or hut of some kind. 
 
 *' I daresay it is a cattle-shed, or sheep- 
 fold, or something of that kind," he thought; 
 **if there is a decent roof, however, I shall 
 bless the philanthropic individual who raised 
 it. Here goes to try, anyhow. * Any port 
 
 in a storm.' " 
 
 He leapt into the nearest field, and made 
 his way through the wet marshy ground in 
 the direction of the hut. Several times he 
 sank over his boots in mud, and thought 
 ruefullv of what his London friends would 
 say if they saw him in such a predicament. 
 To make matters worse, he found that the
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 1 5 
 
 erection which had attracted his attention 
 was only a dismantled sheepfold, into which 
 the rain was streaming through numberless 
 holes in the thatch. He was about to turn 
 away, when he fancied that he saw a light 
 further down in the hollow. He gazed 
 intently in that direction, and as the dark- 
 ness was momentarily becoming greater, the 
 light was beaming more distinct. " This is 
 a night of adventure," he muttered; ^'as I 
 have come so far, I may as well go on. 
 Perhaps that is an enchanted cottage, and I 
 may have the honour of releasing some 
 captive princess. The Welsh believe in 
 that sort of thing, although this looks hardly 
 the place for a decent dog, much less a 
 fairy. It is dismal enough for Bluebeard 
 himself." 
 
 Before setting out on this new quest, he 
 drew a cigar from his case, and succeeded 
 in lighting it ; then grasping his walking- 
 stick more firmly in his hand, he left the 
 sheepfold. His way became wetter and 
 muddier at every step, and wherever the
 
 1 6 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 light proceeded from, it was clearly situa- 
 ted at the foot of the hill which rose on the 
 other side of the hollow. 
 
 The descent was very rough and uneven, 
 and he was several times on the point of 
 stumbling ; but he succeeded in reaching 
 the spot from whence the light proceeded 
 without any serious accident. 
 
 The rain still fell in torrents, and he was 
 glad to find a strongly-built mud cottage or 
 hut, for it only contained one room, and that 
 was almost destitute of furniture. The 
 window, through which the faint glimmer 
 he had noticed came, was a very small one, 
 but nevertheless there were several aper- 
 tures in it, which had been stopped up with 
 turf. Frederick would no doubt have sur- 
 veyed the interior of the hut through the 
 window, if he could have done so ; but his 
 approaching footsteps had been heard by 
 the inmates, and the door was thrown open 
 as he entered the yard. 
 
 Frederick could see a remarkably anti- 
 quated-looking old woman on the threshold ;
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 17 
 
 and as he knew she would address him in 
 Welsh, he hastened to speak first, in order 
 to show her that he was not well acquainted 
 with that language. 
 
 **Will you shelter a wet and weary 
 traveller?" he asked, peeping into the hut 
 as he spoke. "■ I have been caught in the 
 storm, and seeing the light from your 
 window, I made my way here." 
 
 "Come in," said the old woman, briefly, 
 for her knowledge of English was very 
 slight. Even to the remoter districts, how- 
 ever, of the Principality some scraps of 
 colloquial English have penetrated, and this 
 old woman was better off in this respect than 
 most of the people who dwelt upon those hills. 
 
 He went in, and found himself in a very 
 curious apartment. A small peat fire was 
 burning upon the floor, and the smoke 
 escaped through an aperture in the roof. 
 The furniture consisted only of a table and 
 a three-legged stool ; but on the walls a 
 number of mysterious objects were hung. 
 Among them was an elaborately carved 
 
 VOL. I. 2
 
 1 8 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 horn, inscribed with queer, cabalistic hiero- 
 glyphics ; a wooden board with movable 
 slides, which Frederick conjectured was used 
 for some kind of game ; a number of flat 
 stones, of various hues and shapes, and also 
 bearing inscriptions, and other things, which 
 he had no time to observe in the cursory 
 glance he cast around, for there was another 
 object present, who immediately attracted 
 his attention. 
 
 It was a young and beautiful girl, ap- 
 parently of not more than eighteen years of 
 age. She was one of those persons, how- 
 ever, whose exact age it is difficult to assign, 
 for there was an old look in her young face 
 — an anxious, troubled expression that told 
 of some lurking sorrow. Her hair was of a 
 light brown hue, and streamed carelessly 
 over her shoulders ; her eyes were of a dark 
 hazel colour, and her complexion unusually 
 clear and transparent for a country girl ; but 
 her blooming, rosy cheeks, on the other 
 hand, betokened her rustic origin. She was 
 rather tall and slender — indeed, her profile
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 1 9 
 
 was classic, and almost perfect in its way. 
 She wore a woven stuff dress, evidently of 
 home manufacture ; and a large shawl had 
 been thrown aside upon her entrance, with 
 which she had previously completely en- 
 veloped herself. Altogether he thought her 
 to be wonderfully pretty, and consequently 
 out of place in that miserable hovel ; so that 
 Frederick found himself conjecturing as to 
 what her errand might be in that lone, 
 desolate spot. 
 
 She was standing near the fire when he 
 entered, and she turned to greet him. She 
 was rather amused by the puzzled expression 
 which was visible in his countenance as he 
 glanced around, and it became more evident 
 than ever when his gaze rested upon 
 her. 
 
 '* I was just thinking before I came in how 
 delightful it would be to find a fairy princess 
 languishing in captivity here," he said, in 
 an easy, gentlemanly way, which always 
 impressed his auditors favourably, and 
 gained their confidence almost immediately.
 
 20 IN SECRET PLACES 
 
 **I was not prepared to find my wish so 
 nearly gratified." 
 
 ** Do I look so very like a captive ? " she 
 asked, in a half-shy, half-amused manner. 
 **Even if I did, I am afraid you could not 
 play the chivalrous knight in your wet 
 clothes. It is difficult to be romantic when 
 one is half-drowned and half-dead with cold, 
 as you appear to be." 
 
 Decidedly she was not one of the common 
 herd, he thought. She could talk as well as 
 girls accustomed to London drawing-rooms, 
 and yet she was in this mud hut ! It was 
 certainly rather perplexing. 
 
 *'You are a very matter-of-fact young 
 lady," he said, seating himself on the three- 
 legged stool, which, however, betrayed 
 several symptoms of weakness. Drawing 
 it up, however, to the fire, whilst the old 
 dame retreated to the other end of the 
 apartment, and, folding her arms, seemed 
 to become oblivious of everything around 
 her, he tried to dry himself a little before the 
 apology for a fire which flickered at his feet.
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 21 
 
 ** I am afraid I could not guess what 
 brought you to this primitive abode/' he 
 remarked, hoping to draw her into some 
 satisfactory explanation. 
 
 "Oh! that is easily explained," she 
 replied, leaning against the table ; " the old 
 woman who lives here was at one time my 
 nurse, and as it was very fine this afternoon, 
 I came to see her." 
 
 ** Oh ! that is all, is it?" responded 
 Frederick, with a shade of disappointment 
 in his tone, for so commonplace an explana- . 
 tion did not harmonize with the romantic 
 mood which had come upon him. ** May 
 I ask if you are one of the natives of 
 Glynarth?" 
 
 She thought that he was rather an inqui- 
 sitive young man, but he was so perfectly 
 courteous and gentlemanly, that she could 
 not refuse to answer him. 
 
 **Yes, I reside near the village," she 
 replied; '*my name is Annie Hughes." 
 
 *'I have often heard of you," he said, 
 with a pleased smile, ''and you must think
 
 22 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 me excessively rude in occupying the only 
 seat in this place, without offering it to you. 
 Will you take the stool ? ' ' 
 
 He had risen as he spoke, but she thank- 
 fully declined the offer. She distrusted its 
 powers of endurance, even if she were dis- 
 posed to sit down. She therefore declined 
 the proffered seat ; but his words had excited 
 her curiosity. 
 
 ** You have heard my name ? '' she asked ; 
 ** then you must be a resident in the village 
 too?'' 
 
 *^Yes, I have been there for about a 
 month," he replied; *' my name is Danvers." 
 
 Of course she had also heard of him, for 
 he had been the chief topic of the village 
 gossip and speculation ever since his arrival. 
 He was commonly thought to be very rich, 
 and although he lived in an unostentatious 
 manner, this circumstance did not lessen the 
 popular belief in his great resources. His 
 servants had been carefully questioned and 
 drawn out upon every possible occasion ; 
 but as they knew little or nothing concern-
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 23 
 
 ing their master's private affairs, they could 
 throw no light on the subject. He was also 
 considered to be an irreligious young man, 
 for he only appeared in church on Sunday 
 evenings, when there was no sermon, and 
 Mr. Campbell read the latter part of the 
 service in English for his special benefit. 
 He came, however, to no other services, 
 and Glynarth, like most Welsh villages, 
 being an eminently religious place, so far 
 as attendance upon a great number of inter- 
 minable services can be regarded as religion, 
 was highly shocked. He was pronounced 
 by public opinion to be an "atheist," a 
 person who was vaguely supposed to be 
 very wicked, but no one knew exactly what 
 the term meant. It was, however, a con- 
 venient one to apply to one who differed 
 from their particular sect, and hence Annie 
 had heard an unfavourable estimate of him. 
 "He looks very mild and inoffensive," 
 she thought, as she recalled the term of 
 reproach; "I am sure he is a perfect gen- 
 tleman."
 
 24 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 *' What are you thinking of, Miss Hughes?" 
 he asked, pleasantly, for she had been silent 
 after the announcement of his name. 
 
 ** I was trying to remember where I had 
 heard your name before," she replied; 
 ** and now that I think of it, I have heard 
 it at least a hundred times, for your sayings 
 and doings have been keenly canvassed in 
 the village." 
 
 *'Have they, indeed?" he said, with an 
 air of profound indifference, for he did not 
 care to hear the local gossip about him; 
 *^it is a matter of no consequence to me. 
 Has the storm passed away, I wonder? I 
 should be glad to return home." 
 
 Annie went to the door, and looked out. 
 The rain had ceased to fall, and the heavy 
 black clouds had dispersed. The moon was 
 bursting through the sombre covering which 
 concealed her beauty, and there were no 
 traces of the so recent thunder and light- 
 ning. The storm had disappeared as sud- 
 denly as it came. 
 
 *' It is quite fine now, Mr. Danvers," she
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 2^ 
 
 said, returning to the fire, ** and as you are 
 going to Glynarth, I shall avail myself of 
 your company to return home, if you will 
 allow me." 
 
 ** I shall be most happy and delighted," 
 he replied ; and he really felt more pleased 
 than his careless polite manner indicated. 
 
 The girl began to prepare for her walk, 
 and as she did so she spoke to the old 
 woman in Welsh. Frederick could not 
 quite understand what she said, but it was 
 merely an explanation as to who the gentle- 
 man was who had come so suddenly upon 
 them, and she told the old crone that she 
 intended returning home with him. 
 
 The old woman made no reply, but came 
 forward to the fire and seated herself upon 
 the stool which Frederick had just vacated, 
 and there began to mutter to herself, in a 
 wild, incoherent manner, that made the 
 Englishman rather uncomfortable. 
 
 ** We will go now," Annie said, earnestly; 
 ** Nurse has one of her fits upon her, and 
 she likes to be alone. Let us start.''
 
 26 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 They went out into the night, and Annie 
 closed the door carefully behind them. As 
 she had said, the rain had quite ceased, and 
 the night was indeed remarkably fine. She 
 pointed out to her companion a path leading 
 to the high road, thus saving the unpleasant- 
 ness of again crossing the marshy meadows. 
 When they were fairly on the road, he 
 offered her his arm, which, after a moment's 
 hesitation, she accepted, and they walked 
 homewards, engaged in lively conversation. 
 
 '' How does the old woman manage to 
 exist in that hut ? " he asked. ** Why does 
 she not come to the village to live ? It is 
 altogether the most miserable place I ever 
 saw ; and where on earth does she sleep ? for 
 I saw nothing in the shape of a couch any- 
 where." 
 
 *' I really cannot tell you," Annie replied ; 
 ** she has refused over and over again to 
 come to the village, because she belongs to 
 a sect few in numbers now and rapidly dis- 
 appearing, but which was once great and 
 powerful. She is a believer in Druidism."
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 27 
 
 Frederick thought only of the friendly 
 society having" that name — he did not 
 imagine that the Druidical religion still 
 existed, 
 
 *^ I was under the impression that men 
 only were permitted to join the society," he 
 said ; *^ I do not see, however, what that has 
 to do with her residence up in the hills." 
 
 Annie saw his mistake, and hastened to 
 correct it. 
 
 *' She is a believer in the ancient faith of 
 the Druids — the Derwyddon^ as we Cymry 
 call them — and the adherents of that old- 
 world superstition love nothing so much as 
 solitude and freedom. They hate our mode 
 of life — our civilization, — our beliefs — every- 
 thing in fact that we prize most. Their re- 
 ligion could not exist amid the active life of 
 the world, but it still lingers in the moun- 
 tains. Nurse is one of these people." 
 
 *'What do they believe in, then?" asked 
 Frederick, naturally curious to know some- 
 thing about this ancient faith, which he 
 believed had been for ever exploded cen-
 
 28 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 turies upon centuries back, but which he 
 found still existing in the nineteenth cen- 
 tury ; *' have they any places of worship — 
 anything whatever in common with us ? " 
 
 ** I am really quite unable to give you 
 any information on the subject," she 
 answered; *'they are few in number, and 
 their places of assembly are in the remotest 
 mountain fastnesses. Unbelieving eyes 
 never witness their mystic rites. Nurse 
 disappears from her cottage for weeks 
 together sometimes, and it is supposed that 
 she goes to attend their meetings. Nothing 
 more is known about them, or of her con- 
 nection with them.'^ 
 
 " I should very much like to find out what 
 their peculiar tenets are," he said, regretting 
 exceedingly that her information was so 
 meagre ; ''in this age of used-up creeds 
 and threadbare theories it would be refresh- 
 ing to meet with a religion more ancient 
 than Christianity itself — as it is said to be. 
 Are there no ways and means of getting at 
 these people? "
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 29 
 
 **I fear not," she replied; '* they are 
 naturally very reticent as to their opinions, 
 and it is quite possible to associate for 
 months and years with Druids, or rather 
 with believers in Druidism, without dis- 
 covering the fact. It was a long time 
 before it became generally known about 
 Nurse ; and even now no one except my 
 brother and myself are allowed to enter the 
 hut without her special permission. She 
 was suspicious of you to-night." 
 
 *' How does she get her living ? " he 
 asked; "is it the custom in Wales for 
 people to live upon nothing in solitary huts, 
 without any furniture, like your old nurse ? ' ' 
 
 '*You are too hard on the old woman, 
 Mr. Danvers," she said, laughingly; *' she 
 does not live upon nothing, as you put it, 
 for there are several people who are very 
 kind to her — Mrs. Montressor for instance. 
 As for furniture, she has enough for her 
 simple wants, — why should she encumber 
 herself with any more ? " 
 
 "Your argument is quite unanswerable,
 
 30 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 my dear Miss Hughes," he replied, with 
 mock gravity; " in fact I am so much 
 struck by it, that when I get back to my 
 place I intend disposing of all my personal 
 property except what is absolutely necessary. 
 It is a truly Spartan idea ; but, by the way, 
 who is Mrs. Montressor, whose name you 
 mentioned ? " 
 
 '' You surely have not been in Glynarth a 
 month without hearing of Mrs. Montressor ? " 
 she exclaimed, in real astonishment; " why, 
 she is the lady of the manor — the ruling 
 star in our local firmament. I am surprised 
 at your ignorance." 
 
 ** It is easily accounted for," he replied ; 
 *' I have not been out very much since I 
 came to Glynarth, and as I take no interest 
 whatever in your local magnates, it was 
 scarcely to be expected that I should have 
 heard of her." 
 
 " Perhaps not ; but I am surprised that 
 she did not send you an invitation to the 
 house," said Annie; *^she is very kind to 
 strangers."
 
 OUT OF THE WORLD. 3 I 
 
 ** When they are young, tolerably well off, 
 and not very bad-looking, I suppose," he 
 remarked, with a touch of sarcasm in his 
 voice, that made his companion believe that 
 he knew more about Mrs. Montressor than 
 he cared to show. They arrived in Glynarth 
 shortly afterwards, and Annie was about to 
 wish her companion good-night, but he 
 insisted upon walking down the valley with 
 her, in order to see her safely home. 
 
 Frederick Danvers was unusually gracious 
 that evening, and in fact he was rather 
 surprised at his own conduct ; accordingly, 
 as he walked homewards alone, he took him- 
 self to task. 
 
 ** I have been making an ass of myself, I 
 fancy — talking in a charmingly confidential 
 way with this mere chit of a country-girl. 
 It looks as if I had wandered half over the 
 world to fall in love with a girl in the wilder- 
 ness at last. She is very pretty though, 
 and extremely sensible ; and I hate stupid 
 women, who say yes or no to everything you 
 start. She is not one of these people ; in
 
 32 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 fact, she is certainly cleverer than a dozen 
 ordinary Welsh girls put together, so far 
 as I can judge — that is why I like her ! " 
 
 Having settled this matter to his own satis- 
 faction, he returned home in a pleasant frame 
 of mind, notwithstanding his wet garments.
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 33 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR MAKES HER APPEAR- 
 ANCE. 
 
 The following morning a footman in a 
 
 faded suit of livery presented himself at^ 
 
 the door of Glynarth Lodge, Mr. Dan- 
 
 vers's residence, with an invitation from 
 
 Mrs. Montressor to dinner that afternoon. 
 
 Frederick was reading a newspaper, and 
 
 smoking his after-breakfast cigar, when the 
 
 highly glazed envelope, impressed with a 
 
 gaudy monogram, was handed to him. He 
 
 opened it, and read the invitation, while an 
 
 amused smile played upon his features. 
 
 *'This is rather odd," he said aloud, for 
 
 the servant had retired ; *' I have never seen 
 
 the lady, and I am sure she has never seen 
 VOL. I. 3
 
 34 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 me, for she never comes to church at 
 Glynarth, and yet she invites me ' to meet a 
 few friends/ as if she had known me all her 
 life. I suppose it is a fashion in this coun- 
 try, so I'll go ; it may amuse me.'' 
 
 He was not far wrong in supposing that 
 it was the fashion to patronize and take in 
 hand every new-comer who might be likely 
 to be of use to her. She, in common with 
 every one else in Glynarth, had heard of 
 the young Englishman and his reputed 
 wealth, and she determined to make ad- 
 vances in order to gain his friendship. She 
 was a Welshwoman by birth, and com- 
 menced life as a barmaid ; but in this 
 humble position she met Mr. Montressor, 
 her late husband, and as he was at the time 
 a foolish impulsive young man, he married 
 her, and made her the mistress of Mon- 
 tressor House. 
 
 She had never been very handsome, even 
 in her barmaid days, and as years rolled on, 
 her good looks gradually disappeared, and 
 her manners, which had alwavs been un-
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 35 
 
 graceful, did not add to the charm of her 
 society. She was a tall pale-faced woman, 
 with a hard and even cruel expression on 
 her countenance, which showed clearly 
 enough that she was not in the habit of 
 consulting other people's feelings and 
 wishes. She had received a good educa- 
 tion in her youth, and this was well-nigh 
 the only redeeming trait in her character. 
 She was never coarse, though often vulgar,- 
 and she contrived therefore to gather around 
 her a tolerably wide circle of friends ; for in 
 a district like Glynarth the local aristocracy 
 did not inquire too closely into the pedigrees 
 of its members. The results might have 
 been unpleasant if it had. 
 
 Her husband died many years before, and 
 she had only one child, a daughter, named 
 Maria. She was generally considered to 
 be a handsome girl, and public opinion for 
 once was not far wrong. She was taller 
 than Annie Hughes, and her eyes and hair 
 were of a deep black hue. Her features 
 were regular, and her lips fresher and rosier
 
 36 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 than most girls could boast of. She was 
 naturally quick and intelligent, and with 
 careful training might have been developed 
 into a very amiable character ; but under 
 her mother's guidance she grew up with a 
 mind bent upon nothing but scheming and 
 intriguing. To make a good match, to 
 secure a handsome settlement, and to be- 
 come the ruling power in some small world 
 of her own, were the great objects of her 
 life. 
 
 The distance from the Lodge to Mon- 
 tressor House was not great, and Frederick 
 presented himself before the entrance of the 
 . latter place precisely at the appointed hour 
 of six. He was shown into the drawing- 
 room, a quaint old-fashioned room with 
 sombre, gloomy furniture, that belonged to 
 a former period of time, and he had not 
 been here long before the hostess came in 
 to welcome him. 
 
 *' Mr. Dan vers, I believe?" she said, as 
 she entered the room. *' I am extremely 
 obliged to you for accepting my invitation,
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 37 
 
 as Maria and myself have been quite long- 
 ing to see you. Our society is limited in a 
 place like this ; and I assure you that you 
 are an immense acquisition. So we got up 
 a little dinner-party, quite in a homely way, 
 and determined to ask you." 
 
 She was endeavouring to make a favour- 
 able impression upon him ; but it was im- 
 possible to like her ; the woman's cold, hard 
 nature betrayed itself in every accent of her 
 voice. 
 
 ** There is only the Vicar, Mr. Edward 
 Hughes, and ourselves. That is all." 
 
 '' May I ask who Mr. Edward Hughes 
 is?" he said, speaking for the first time, 
 and asking the question merely for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining some information respect- 
 ing this young man's sister; for he was 
 aware of the relationship between him and 
 his own companion on the previous night. 
 He wondered why she had not been asked. 
 
 ** He is a young man who resides in the 
 Glen," she replied, rather contemptuously, 
 as her listener thought. ** He and his sister
 
 38 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 are orphans, and live together, as they have 
 a little property. They are both of the 
 common class; but you would be shocked 
 if you knew what vulgar people we have to 
 associate with in the country. It is quite 
 frightful." 
 
 Frederick murmured his sympathy, and 
 wondered whether it were this enforced 
 association which made Mrs. Montressor 
 herself so vulgar. 
 
 '' Where did you come from last, Mr. 
 Danvers? " she asked, seeing that he made 
 no effort to continue the conversation ; *' and 
 what, in the name of everything that is 
 strange, made you select Glynarth as a 
 place of residence ? " 
 
 *' I heard of it through a friend," he 
 replied, *' and being tired of wandering, I 
 determined to settle down here for a while. 
 I have just returned from Egypt." 
 
 " The climate does not seem to have done 
 you much good," she said; although, as 
 her ideas about geography were rather 
 hazy, she was not quite sure as to whether
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 39 
 
 the climate were hot or cold. *' I suppose it 
 was very pleasant there ? " 
 
 *^ Very," said Frederick, who was extremely 
 bored by her conversation. And finding him 
 determined not to exert himself, she left the 
 room to seek her daughter, to whom she re~ 
 marked that the stranger was proud and distant 
 in his manners. That young lady, however, 
 hoped to succeed better than her mother had 
 done ; for the first impression Maria pro- 
 duced was always more favourable than that 
 caused by more intimate intercourse. The 
 other guests arrived shortly afterwards, and 
 a little before seven dinner was announced. 
 
 This was the first opportunity Mr. Camp- 
 bell had had of meeting his new parishioner, 
 and he was anxious to ascertain whether he 
 were likely to prove a useful ally to the 
 Church or not. 
 
 ** I have been telling Mr. Dan vers that he 
 will be a very great acquisition to our circle 
 here," remarked the hostess during the 
 consumption of the soup; ^* Glynarth is so, 
 dull, is it not, Mr. Campbell ? "
 
 40 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 The Vicar certainly did not find it dull, 
 for he was always engaged in deadly strife 
 with his parishioners ; and at that moment a 
 lively contest was going on as to whether 
 the clergyman had a right to be a guardian 
 of the poor or not, and Glynarth was con- 
 vulsed upon the question. He could hardly 
 complain of its dulness. 
 
 *' I am sure we are all very glad to see 
 him," he replied, rather awkwardly, for he 
 did not like so direct an appeal on such a 
 matter. *' Mr. Danvers can do a great deal 
 of good in the parish, if he chooses ; the 
 Church is so weak, and Dissent so strong, 
 that every new ally is of the greatest 
 value." 
 
 ** It would give me pleasure to be of 
 service," replied Frederick, gravely. ** It 
 has, however, been a rule with me — and a 
 rule that I have never departed from — not to 
 mix myself up with religious disputes at all. 
 I do not like continual quarrels about reli- 
 gion, and I never take a side." 
 
 ** My dear sir, I do not see how you can
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR, 4 1 
 
 help yourself/' said the Vicar, eagerly ; ''in 
 England we are all nominally either Church- 
 men or Dissenters ; and if you have no 
 leaning towards Dissent, why not come 
 forward to help the Church ? " 
 
 " Simply because I am not satisfied that 
 either side is right, or anything like it," he 
 replied. " My own opinion is — and I have 
 no doubt you will be greatly shocked when 
 you hear it — that creeds and formularies are 
 becoming obsolete, and that the Church 
 must eventually succumb to the growing, 
 spirit of free trade in religion. Dissenters 
 are fostering this tendency, without at all 
 perceiving that the tide which will sweep the 
 Establishment away will also ruin them in 
 time and break up their corporate existence." 
 
 " Why do you think so ? " asked the 
 Vicar; " they have no emoluments to lose — ■ 
 no connection with the State to forfeit." 
 
 " True ; but the spirit of destruction, 
 which must necessarily be called forth in 
 order to destroy the influence of the Church, 
 cannot be lulled when that has been accom-
 
 42 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 plished," he replied. *' Men will ask them- 
 selves, if one sect of Christians are too 
 narrow-minded and envious to allow another 
 to enjoy revenues and advantages which 
 can never by any possibility be transferred 
 to another religious denomination, if this 
 grasping mean spirit be so manifest in men 
 who call themselves pious, what is the use 
 of having religion at all ? A system which 
 produces such results cannot be a good one." 
 
 *' Dissenters will assert that they are 
 actuated by pure motives," observed Mr. 
 Campbell. *' They say that the union be- 
 tween Church and State is unscriptural, and 
 by raising this cry avoid your difficulty, Mr. 
 Danvers." 
 
 *'Byno means," he replied. '* They will 
 no doubt claim to be actuated by disinte- 
 rested motives ; but who will believe them ? 
 Not the great mass of the people, who know 
 better, but who are generally ready to assist 
 in destroying old institutions. It is always 
 easier to pull down than to build up, and 
 therefore, as a rule, we are readier to do the
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 43 
 
 former. If, however, these men get a taste 
 for destroying religious institutions, then let 
 Dissenters take care of themselves." 
 
 ** I am sure you are a good Churchman, 
 after all, Mr. Dan vers," remarked Maria, 
 who understood only that he was not very 
 favourably disposed towards Dissenters, and 
 therefore concluded that he must be an 
 orthodox member of the Church. 
 
 ** You are quite mistaken," he replied, 
 with a grave smile; ** I think Dissenters are 
 acting foolishly and wrongly, but it does 
 not follow that the Church is acting rightly ; 
 on the contrary, the present state of strife, 
 which is rampant on both sides, is absolutely 
 suicidal to the best interests of both parties. 
 Fifty years hence there will be no Church 
 and no Dissent ; the spirit of anarchy which 
 is being fostered now will swamp both ; and 
 in fact the world would be very much more 
 peaceful if there were no religion in it — 
 at all events, as we now understand the 
 word." 
 
 Mrs. Montressor did not appreciate this
 
 44 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 conversation, and she therefore endeavoured 
 to change the subject. 
 
 *' Mr. Danvers has but recently returned 
 from Egypt," she said, in a slightly louder 
 voice than was necessary ; '* he has travelled 
 more than recluses like ourselves are able to 
 do, and I am longing to hear some of his 
 adventures.'' 
 
 The clergyman bowed, but made no reply. 
 He did not like interruptions of this kind, 
 and had no wish to change the subject, 
 although he saw that the hostess was tired of 
 it. 
 
 Frederick also understood the object of 
 her remark, and was ready to act in accord- 
 ance with it; for he did not think that a 
 dinner-table was a suitable place for the 
 discussion of religious topics. 
 
 *' I daresay you have been in Egypt, Mr. 
 Campbell," he said ; '^ it is becoming quite 
 a favourite trip now." 
 
 *' No, I have never been out of Wales," 
 replied the Vicar. *' We poor clergymen 
 cannot afford expensive excursions. A
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 45 
 
 cheap Welsh watering-place for a fortnight 
 or three weeks every summer is as much as 
 we can indulge in. I have often wished, 
 however, to travel — especially in places 
 mentioned in the Bible." 
 
 ** I presume you have been in the Holy 
 Land, Mr. Danvers ? " remarked Mrs. Mon- 
 tressor, endeavouring to draw him out. 
 
 ** Yes, I visited it two years ago," he 
 replied. '' I cannot say I enjoyed it very 
 much. I was unfortunate enough to fall 
 into the hands of a series of incompetent 
 guides, and came away with a very poor 
 opinion of ever3^body I saw there." 
 
 *' Civilization is at a very low ebb there, I 
 believe ? ' ' observed the Vicar. 
 
 ** Yes ; what people usually call civiliza- 
 tion," he answered ; ** they have none of it. 
 What we call civilization is merely the art 
 of concealing the natural ferocity and vile- 
 ness of our nature by an artificial gloss; 
 the inclination and tendencies are just the 
 same as before, but civilization holds them in 
 check by a system of terrors, ranging from
 
 46 IN SECRET PLACES, 
 
 the gallows to the treadmill. In Egypt and 
 Palestine they plunder the traveller, but they 
 do it openly enough, and you can always 
 indulge in the luxury of shooting the thief." 
 
 The Vicar was greatly interested in a 
 man who showed more intellectual activity 
 than any one he had ever seen before, and 
 he exerted himself to maintain the conver- 
 sation. He was by no means a stupid young 
 man himself, although badly educated ; and 
 he spoke English tolerably well, except that 
 his Welsh accent was unmistakable. 
 
 ** I think you are wrong in your view of 
 civilization,' ' he said ; ^' men, as they be- 
 come enlightened and cultivated, shake off 
 the superstitions and evil habits which clung 
 to them before. This is the process we call 
 civilization — it is nothing more or less than 
 the gradual development of the best and 
 noblest instincts of man. According to your 
 theory, you will be compelled to admit that 
 the less civilized a man is, the better it will 
 be for his fellow- men." 
 
 ** I do not admit anything of the kind,"
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 47 
 
 he rejoined; ** if we cannot change our evil 
 natures, it is well to conceal and restrain 
 them so far as possible. Thousands of people 
 who care nothing for religion, and are not 
 capable of responding to appeals to their 
 moral feelings, are kept in the paths of 
 ordinary rectitude by the fear of disgrace, 
 and of lowering themselves in the eyes of 
 their fellow-men. This invaluable feeling of 
 self-respect is the only beneficial effect of 
 the humanizing process you have described ; 
 although I do not agree with you as to the 
 
 « 
 
 development by it of any of the sterling 
 good qualities of mankind. They are cul- 
 tivated by other means." 
 
 The conversation, which had been atten- 
 tively listened to by Edward and Maria, but 
 not by Mrs. Montressor, who could not 
 understand one half of what was said, and 
 was proportionately disposed to be sullen, 
 was interrupted by the retirement of the 
 ladies, leaving the three gentlemen to sit 
 over the wine for a short time. Hitherto 
 Frederick had not addressed Edward at all ;
 
 48 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 but he now did so. He had noticed that the 
 youth was ill at ease, and was treated in a 
 cold, repellent manner by the hostess and her 
 daughter, and Frederick was sorry for him. 
 He also observed that he was drinking rather 
 more wine than was likely to do him good. 
 
 *'Do you not think you had better not 
 take more wine?" he said, very kindly, 
 as the youth stretched forth his hand to 
 the decanter. The words were spoken so 
 gently and pleasantly, that it was impossible 
 to take offence, and Edward yielded with a 
 good grace. 
 
 *'I am afraid you are injuring yourself, 
 my friend, by drinking too much," said the 
 clergyman, severely, for he was unable to 
 convey a reproof gently ; and the result was 
 that Edward flushed with anger, and would 
 have made a bitter reply had not Frederick 
 interposed. 
 
 ** Mr. Campbell meant no offence, I am 
 sure," he said, soothingly. *'We are all 
 fond of a good glass of wine sometimes, 
 only we must not take it too frequently."
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 49 
 
 ** I do not often drink it, and it does not 
 agree very well with me," said the youth, 
 addressing- Frederick. 
 
 ** Your sister must look sharply after you, 
 I see," laughed Frederick. *^ By the way, 
 why is she not here to-night? " 
 
 ** She caught a cold on the mountains last 
 night, and not feeling very well, she did not 
 like to run the risk of passing through the 
 night air." 
 
 Frederick's heart beat a little faster when 
 he heard of her illness, trifling though it 
 might be. His interest in her was rapidly 
 deepening and becoming stronger. 
 
 *'Your sister is not in very good health, 
 I believe," said Mr. Campbell, again inter- 
 posing. ^' She exerts herself more than she 
 ought to do. She must take care of herself." 
 
 "I feel that; and now I am going away, 
 so that she will have no one to be at hand 
 if anything should happen," replied Edward. 
 " She wishes me to go, however, and of 
 course I cannot stay here always." 
 
 ** Where are you going ? " asked Frederick. 
 
 VOL. I. 4
 
 30 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 ** To Abernant," he replied, naming* a 
 large town and fashionable watering-place 
 on the northern border of the county; '* I 
 am to enter my uncle's office. He is a 
 lawyer, and as we are his nearest living 
 relatives he has promised to help me." 
 
 He was a good-meaning young man, but 
 his indolent, aimless habits had led him into 
 dissipation. He had never been accustomed 
 to work; and Mr. Campbell feared that he 
 would not readily settle down to the routine 
 of legal life. 
 
 *' I hope you will be very successful," said 
 Frederick, earnestly; "you have only to try 
 hard in order to make your life a successful 
 one. Suppose we seek the ladies ? " 
 
 Mrs. Montressor was discussing church 
 questions with her daughter, as they en- 
 tered, and in fact Maria had been trying to 
 explain to her mother what Frederick had 
 been talking about at the dinner-table. 
 
 ** I was just saying how beautiful it would 
 be if all the different sects were united to- 
 gether, Mr. Dan vers," said Mrs. Montressor;
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR. 5 I 
 
 " for my own part I do not see much harm 
 in Dissenters. There is a minister in Gly- 
 narth named Darby, and he is a very good 
 sort of a fellow, I believe. He is better 
 educated too than they usually are, and I 
 have often told him he would make a splen- 
 did curate.'' 
 
 Mr. Campbell had heard something of 
 the kind before, and it was very distasteful 
 to him, for under no circumstances could a 
 Unitarian minister be fit society for a clergy- 
 man. 
 
 ** Anybody seems fit to be a curate in 
 Wales," said Frederick, sarcastically. " Do 
 you ever ordain the parish clerk and sexton, 
 I wonder? By lowering her standard, the 
 Church is injuring her own prospects very 
 materially. What do you say, Miss Mont- 
 ressor ? " 
 
 ** That the whole subject is a very stupid 
 one," replied the young lady, pettishly; 
 ** mamma may patronize this young man 
 as much as she likes, but I do not see the 
 necessity for boring us with him. I want 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINtHS
 
 52 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 you to tell us some exciting story, Mr. 
 Danvers, something that will send us to 
 bed in a delightful fright ! ' ' 
 
 Everybody joined in pressing her request, 
 and Frederick complied by telling them a 
 thrilling story about a tiger-hunt in which 
 he had once taken part. It was unanimously 
 declared to be a charming adventure, and 
 thus the evening passed pleasantly away. 
 
 Frederick thought, however, as he returned 
 to the Lodge, that it would have been very 
 much more pleasant if Annie Hughes had 
 been one of the party, and bright through 
 the deepening shadows arose before his 
 mind's eye the memory of her sweet lovely 
 face. Decidedly Frederick Danvers was in 
 love !
 
 TOTTERING HOUSES. 53 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 TOTTERING HOUSES. 
 
 MoNTRESSOR HousE WES a fair specimen of 
 the average Welsh mansion. It was an 
 ancient erection, originally built about the« 
 time of Henry VIII. , and it had been so 
 frequently renovated and added to, that it 
 was difficult to say what style of architecture 
 had been originally adopted ; and as the 
 subsequent additions had been made more 
 with a view to utility than beauty, the whole 
 effect, to an artistic eye, was by no means 
 pleasing. It was in fact a large gloomy- 
 looking rambling place, built around three 
 sides of ^ square, whilst on the fourth lay 
 the grounds. 
 
 The Montressors claimed to have come
 
 54 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 into Wales at the time of its subjugation by 
 the first Edward, and this particular estate 
 had been in the family ever since. They 
 were not much liked by the people, for they 
 were a haughty stubborn race, mixing with 
 no one except their aristocratic neighbours, 
 if such there happened to be, or at furthest 
 with a chosen few from the middle classes. 
 The present lady of the manor was particu- 
 larly obnoxious, because her own origin was 
 well known, and yet her pride was more 
 unyielding and arrogant than that of any of 
 her predecessors. Unpleasant rumours had 
 also been set afloat at various times, during 
 her husband's lifetime, that her treatment of 
 him was not of the gentlest kind, and some 
 went so far as to lay the blame of his early 
 death upon her shoulders. However that 
 might be, her reputation was not an enviable 
 one out of doors, and she was perfectly 
 aware of it. 
 
 The day after the dinner-party the lady 
 sat in her boudoir, awaiting the arrival of 
 the post, which came in between one and
 
 TOTTERING HOUSES. 55 
 
 two o'clock in the afternoon, and the letters 
 were delivered by an infirm old postmistress, 
 who received the magnificent sum of three 
 pounds annually from Government for her 
 trouble. As she had no other means of 
 support, it was a matter of surprise that she 
 managed to exist at all, but it was evident 
 from her appearance that she only con- 
 trived to keep body and soul together. She 
 brought a number of letters to Montressor 
 House that afternoon, and they were con- 
 veyed to Mrs. Montressor, who examined 
 them all previous to distributing them to 
 their respective owners. This done, she 
 took up the three missives which were 
 addressed to her. 
 
 One of these letters evidently contained 
 news which was deeply interesting to the 
 lady, for she sat for a long time deeply 
 buried in thought ; and, judging from the 
 pleasant smile upon her face, her reflections 
 were of an agreeable nature. The letter 
 itself was in a female handwriting, and was 
 strongly perfumed. It contained nearly
 
 56 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 eight pages of closely-written matter, which 
 the receiver perused carefully over and over 
 again. At length she refolded the letter, 
 and put it away in her desk ; then she sent 
 her maid to call Maria. 
 
 That young lady was in a discontented 
 state of mind, for she had received no letters, 
 and was vexed and annoyed in consequence. 
 She guessed, however, that her mother had 
 something of importance to tell her, and she 
 therefore smoothed her ruffled feelings, and 
 went to Mrs. Montressor's boudoir. 
 
 *' Any news, mamma? " she asked, as she 
 entered the room. 
 
 ** Yes, I have news for you ; but you may 
 as well close that door, and sit down before 
 I begin,'' replied her mother, *' and as we 
 may very likely have a long conversation, 
 you had better tell the servants to say we 
 are out if any one should call." 
 
 The bell was rung, and the necessary order 
 given. 
 
 **What is it about, mamma?" asked 
 Maria, when these little preliminaries were
 
 TOTTERING HOUSES. 57 
 
 over, for she was burning with curiosity to 
 hear her mother's news. 
 
 ** I wish to speak to you about Mr. 
 Danvers," replied Mrs. Montressor; "I have 
 succeeded in discovering who and what he 
 is, and I find him to be a young man of 
 independent fortune, having an estate near 
 Manchester. He has received a first-rate 
 education, has mixed in the best English 
 and Continental society, and although in- 
 clined to be a free-thinker, is a very earnest 
 and clever man. All this a correspondent^ 
 tells me by to-day's post." 
 
 ** How did you contrive to make inqui- 
 ries ? " asked her admiring daughter. 
 
 *' It was not a difificult matter," replied 
 her mother; '*one of his servants told our 
 footman that his master had been residing 
 near Manchester, and as I know a lady who 
 is in that neighbourhood, I wrote to her 
 about him. She does not know him per- 
 sonally, but says she has heard a great 
 deal about him. I suppose you are able to 
 guess why I took all this trouble? "
 
 58 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 Maria had a shrewd notion, but she 
 affected to be in perfect darkness upon the 
 subject. 
 
 *' He will make a very eligible husband," 
 said her mother; *'that is why I instituted 
 these inquiries. He is the very person to 
 suit you, and if we succeed in snaring- him, 
 you will be a very lucky girl. You are get- 
 ting rather old too, 'Maria, and it is quite time 
 you were settled. You have been engaged 
 already I don't know how many times, and 
 nothing ever came of any of your engage- 
 ments. You are nearly twenty-four, and in 
 a short time you will be out of the market, 
 as these vulgar young men say, and I am 
 becoming quite anxious about you." 
 
 The gentle Maria had in fact been engaged 
 several times, for her affections were of an 
 easy accommodating nature, and could be 
 transferred with the greatest facility from 
 one object to another. 
 
 *' Mr. Danvers is very gentlemanly," she 
 remarked mildly. 
 
 ** Yes, and if he were not, he has a good
 
 TOTTERING HOUSES. 59 
 
 balance at his bankers, and that is all you 
 want," replied her mother, roughly; "the 
 only question is, can we secure him ? You 
 must flatter him, talk philosophy and senti- 
 ment to him, encourage him in his whims 
 and fancies, if he has any ; do anything, in 
 short, to win his favour — his love if you 
 can. I am extremely anxious about it, 
 Maria, for, to tell you the plain downright 
 truth, unless you marry well, we may end 
 our days in the workhouse i " 
 
 *' Mamma ! " exclaimed the startled young 
 lady, who began to fear that her mother was 
 a little demented. Was not the Montressor 
 estate theirs, to do what they pleased 
 with ? 
 
 ** We may be penniless before long, girl," 
 repeated her mother, emphatically, rising as 
 she spoke, and throwing open the window. 
 ** Look at the landscape before you, how fair 
 and beautiful it is, stretching away to the 
 sea-shore. Our estate, you will say. It is 
 nothing of the kind : not one inch of it is 
 ours. We are spending money and enjoy-
 
 6o IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 ing rights which do not belong to us. Do 
 you understand me, Maria ? '* 
 
 ** I certainly do not," replied the young 
 lady. ** If it is not ours, whose is it ? 
 Father left it us in his will — ^nobody can 
 dispute that." 
 
 *'True, but it was not your father's to 
 leave," replied her mother; **he was as 
 much a trespasser as we are. He suc- 
 ceeded his elder brother, as you are aware. 
 This brother was married, but about two 
 years before his death he ran away with a 
 young woman from this neighbourhood — 
 herself a married woman — and took his son, 
 a lad of ten years of age, with him. Both 
 of them disappeared completely, but in two 
 years' time we heard of the father's death, 
 but his son had been missed from his 
 American home." 
 
 ** Who was the person that went with 
 him ? " asked Maria, eagerly. 
 
 *' Annie Hughes's mother," was the reply. 
 *'She was an unusually pretty woman, some- 
 thing of the same style as her daughter, and
 
 TOTTERING HOUSES. 6 1 
 
 the elopement caused great pain to the 
 whole neighbourhood. Her name is not 
 mentioned by anyone, and it is not known 
 whether she be dead or alive." 
 
 **You have told me something of this 
 story before," said Maria, impatiently, *^ it 
 hardly bears re-telling. Why should you 
 rake it up again ? " 
 
 "Because this missing son is alive,''^ re- 
 plied her mother, " and he may appear at 
 any time to claim the estate. Do you 
 understand me now? " 
 
 Her pale cheeks, and lips which quivered 
 with agitation, showed how fully she under- 
 stood their position. 
 
 **Are you sure of this, mamma?" she 
 exclaimed, eagerly. "If he be alive, why 
 has he not returned sooner to claim his 
 own ? " 
 
 " I cannot explain it to you now," was 
 the reply, "but it is nevertheless true. 
 Edmund Montressor is alive, and will one 
 day claim the estate — probably before 
 long."
 
 62 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 *' What are we to do, then ? " asked 
 Maria, gloomily. Beggary and a descent 
 from wealth and plenty to penury and want, 
 are not agreeable subjects to ponder upon. 
 No wonder that she was alarmed, for she 
 clung . to the luxuries and ease of their 
 present life more tenaciously, if possible, 
 than her mother. 
 
 ** We must fight to the last, of course," 
 replied Mrs. Montressor, in a fierce, Iiarsh 
 voice, that made her daughter start. '* I 
 will not readily give up the wealth I 
 struggled so hard for, but I fear it will 
 be useless. He must succeed in the end, 
 unless, indeed — " but she checked herself 
 without giving utterance to her thought. 
 
 ** Unless what, mamma ? " asked Maria. 
 
 ^'Unless something unforeseen happens," 
 was the reply, although this was not what 
 she had intended to say. That thought was 
 too dreadful to be uttered ; and for a mo- 
 ment or two, mother and daughter sat in 
 silence, as if the same thing had occurred to 
 both, but neither could utter it.
 
 A SECRET VISIT. 63 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A SECRET VISIT. 
 
 ** You can fully comprehend now my anxiety 
 to see you comfortably settled," pursued 
 Mrs. Montressor at length ; " and I think it 
 will be easy to secure this young man. We 
 are the only aristocratic family in the place, 
 and therefore the only people he can be 
 intimate with. He is sure to fall in love 
 with you — young men are so foolish and 
 ready to fall in love with anybody, unless 
 there is some counter-attraction, and in this 
 case there is none. I believe that, if the 
 handsomest young man in the world were 
 shut up for a month in a cabbage-garden 
 with the ugliest young woman, he would 
 fall in love with her, and persuade himselt
 
 64 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 that she was a rare combination of beauty 
 and wit, and that the cabbag-e- garden was 
 a perfect Elysium ! " 
 
 She spoke bitterly and scornfully, for in 
 her heart the passion of love had never 
 existed. She could not understand the deep, 
 loving tenderness, the attachment of years 
 that bound people together ; the feeling had 
 never entered into her soul, although the 
 words of love had often dwelt upon her lips. 
 Her life had been a loveless one, but she 
 did not miss a joy which she could never 
 appreciate ; and her daughter was in a fair 
 way to follow her example^ 
 
 ''How must I set about it?" asked 
 Maria, who rather doubted her own powers 
 of fascination. 
 
 ** In any way you think proper," was the 
 reply. *' Ask him here as often as you like ; 
 get him to take walks and rides with you ; 
 find out his weak points, and act upon your 
 knowledge — do everything, in fact, except 
 actually propose to him — you cannot, of 
 course, do that ! "
 
 A SECRET VISIT. 65 
 
 *' It is a great pity I cannot," said Maria, 
 sadly; *'it would simplify matters very 
 much, and he is too courteous and gentle- 
 manly to refuse a lady ! It would be the 
 safest course, mamma." 
 
 " My dear, you must not dream of such a 
 thing," cried Mrs. Montressor, who believed 
 her daughter to be speaking seriously ; *'he 
 would be shocked beyond measure. Men 
 have such funny ideas about female mo- 
 desty ! " 
 
 ''I will write to him, asking him to drop 
 in this evening," said Maria. 
 
 '* Do so, for I am obliged to go out after 
 dinner, which must be half an hour earlier 
 to-day ; and then you can have him all to 
 yourself. Make a good use of your oppor- 
 tunity. Go now, I want to be alone." 
 
 The note was duly despatched, and Mr. 
 Danvers promised to look in during the 
 evening. He was neither prepossessed nor 
 prejudiced against the mother and daughter, 
 although he thought the former to be a 
 hard and rather vulgar woman ; but then he 
 
 VOL. I. 5
 
 66 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 thought nearly all people of this class in the 
 country are vulgar, and it was amusing 
 enough to him; so, when Maria's note was 
 brought to him, he determined upon accept- 
 ing the invitation. He was rather dull, and 
 it would be rude to refuse when they were 
 evidently so well disposed towards him. 
 
 When he arrived at the house he found 
 Maria alone, her mother having gone out, 
 she said, to visit a poor sick woman on 
 the hills. Frederick thought that she had 
 selected a strange time of the day for her 
 charitable excursion, but, of course, he 
 made no remark. 
 
 Mrs. Montressor had been silent and 
 gloomy during dinner, and she did not 
 recur to the interesting subject which they 
 had been discussing. When the ceremony 
 was over, she retired to her own rooms and 
 changed her dress, putting on a garment 
 resembling those worn by the native women; 
 and, in order to complete her disguise, she 
 put on a large shawl, and one of those queer 
 high- crowned hats worn by the humbler
 
 A SECRET VISIT. 67 
 
 classes. When her toilet was completed, 
 she surveyed herself in the glass with evi- 
 dent satisfaction. '* Nobody can possibly 
 recognize me," she thought. " Mrs. Mon- 
 tressor would never attire herself thus ; and 
 now, I have only to escape the observation 
 of the servants — my difficulties will be 
 nearly over then." 
 
 This was a comparatively easy task, as 
 there was a private staircase leading into a 
 disused room, from whence a window opened 
 upon the grounds, so that in a few minutes 
 she stood beneath the shadow of the trees 
 which surrounded the house. Every resi- 
 dence in Glynarth with any pretensions to 
 respectability was thickly surrounded by 
 trees ; and when a new house was built, 
 trees and shrubs were always plentifully 
 planted, for the country was naturally very 
 bare and destitute of vegetation, and the 
 small clusters thus formed produced an 
 agreeable variety in the landscape. 
 
 The moon on this particular night was 
 peeping from behind a mass of heavy, black
 
 68 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 clouds, and gave a faint silvery gleam to the 
 sea. It was becoming dark at an earlier 
 hour than usual, and the approaching night 
 seemed fraught with storms and rain. On 
 the hills a deep gloom had settled, and the 
 night wind moaned and murmured plain- 
 tively through the boughs of the trees. 
 Mrs. Montressor shuddered slightly, and for 
 a moment seemed inclined to return to the 
 warm and comfortable apartment which she 
 had just left. The errand that she was 
 bent upon, however, was not one that could 
 be put off or delayed, and, therefore, she 
 set out on her journey. « 
 
 There were but few travellers on the 
 roads. There were but few at all times, 
 fewer still on so cheerless a night, and she 
 therefore ran no risk of detection. The 
 passers-by accosted her with the usual 
 greeting of " Nos dawch;" but as she 
 could speak their language fluently when 
 she chose to do so, she was able to reply to 
 them, and thus avoid suspicion. As she left 
 the village behind, hov/ever, and reached the
 
 A SECRET VISIT. 69 
 
 hilly district in which Frederick Danvers 
 had found himself, the way became quite 
 deserted, and, as the moon was now quite 
 obscured, it was perfectly dark. 
 
 She went on without the slightest fear, for 
 she knew well enough that there was no one 
 to harm or molest her. Only her own dark 
 thoughts, darker even than the black canopy 
 of heaven above her, made her start some- 
 times when any slight sound struck upon 
 her ear. Outwardly, all was still ; inwardly, 
 her breast was filled with guilty schemes and 
 fears. Hitherto her route had been along 
 the high road, but when she reached the 
 turning into the lane which led to the old 
 woman's door, she passed quickly into it, 
 and found herself in a short time before the 
 hut. 
 
 She knocked gently, and the old crone 
 opened immediately and invited her to 
 enter. The lady obeyed the request, and 
 closed the door carefully behind her. The 
 interior of the hut was illumined only by the 
 dull glow of the peat-fire, for the candle was
 
 70 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 not lighted, although It had been placed on 
 the table. The old woman asked her visitor 
 to be seated, proffering at the same time the 
 three-legged stool, but she refused. 
 
 *' I do not intend to remain long, Sian," 
 she said, for this was the name by which the 
 old woman was known; *'you know what 
 my business is, and I came to ask whether 
 you are prepared to come to terms with 
 me?" 
 
 She spoke in Welsh, for the old woman 
 could not maintain a conversation in English. 
 
 *'I know what you are seeking," she re- 
 plied, "and it is no use for you to come 
 here. It is perfectly useless, I assure you." 
 
 " You have not yet heard what I have to 
 say, Sian," said Mrs. Montressor. ** I want 
 these papers, which can be of no possible 
 use to you ; which, indeed, you cannot 
 understand, but which might be of service 
 to me. Why should you wish to keep them 
 in your possession ? " 
 
 ** Because I suspect you would make an 
 improper use of them, my lady," said the
 
 A SECRET VISIT. 7 1 
 
 old woman ; ''I cannot trust you,* for all 
 your fine talk. What do you want them for? " 
 
 *' Merely because I believe they have 
 some reference to our family ; and of course 
 everything which belongs to the family is 
 interesting to me," was the plausible reply; 
 " you, on the other hand, can never turn 
 them to any good account. Restore them 
 therefore to their proper owners. We have, 
 in fact, a right to demand them ; but I do 
 not wish to urge that. Give them up 
 quietly, and you shall have five pounds to 
 buy blankets for the winter." 
 
 The old woman's eyes glittered greedily 
 as she mentioned the bribe. Gold was a 
 scarce commodity in those districts, and she 
 had never even seen so large a sum as five 
 pounds at once. Her cupidity, however, 
 did not overpower her cunning. If these 
 papers were worth five pounds, they might 
 be worth a great deal more. 
 
 *' Ni ddelir hen adar a man us,"* she 
 
 ■^ " Old birds are not caught with chaff," a common saying 
 in Wales.
 
 72 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 muttered; *^you would not take all this 
 trouble, my lady, If it were a matter of mere 
 curiosity." 
 
 *' What other motive can I have, old 
 woman? " cried Mrs. Montressor, haughtily. 
 ** You are forgetting yourself strangely." 
 
 ** People do not come here late at night, 
 if their errand is as honest as you say," 
 replied Sian, with a cunning grin. ** Why 
 not drive here in your carriage in the light 
 of day, if you are not afraid that people will 
 see you ? ' ' 
 
 This was a question that Mrs. Montressor 
 could not well answer, for she perceived that 
 the old crone was shrewd enough to see 
 through her shallow attempt to deceive her. 
 
 "I should be very sorry were it known 
 that I had anything to do with you," she 
 said, with a haughty toss of her head; ** I 
 am equally sorry that I came here at all." 
 
 ** Then you can go back, my lady, as 
 easily as you came," replied Sian, coldly; 
 ** I never deal with people who are ashamed 
 of me in any way."
 
 A SECRET VISIT. 73 
 
 Mrs. Montressor perceived that she was 
 not likely to gain her object by pursuing her 
 present policy, and she therefore attempted 
 to pacify the old woman. 
 
 ** It is no use quarrelling with me, Sian," 
 she said, mildly; '* I have been kind to you 
 before, and I will be again. I have set my 
 heart upon having these papers, and I am 
 sure you will not refuse to oblige me." 
 
 *' If it were only an ordinary thing, I 
 would oblige you directly, my lady," replied 
 the old woman, resolutely; ** but I am afraid^ 
 I should be acting wrongly if I were to give 
 them up ; and I have too many sins to 
 answer for already, without adding any 
 more to the number. If I were only sure 
 you meant no harm, I would give them up 
 directly; but I do not understand the busi- 
 ness, and I will not give them up until I 
 do." 
 
 **Why will you not believe me, Sian?" 
 asked the lady, persuasively. ** You know I 
 have never wronged or injured you in any 
 way, and I would not do so for the world.
 
 74 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 I am quite certain these are family papers, 
 therefore they belong to me as the head of 
 the family. If a ten-pound note will " 
 
 This was an unfortunate suggestion, for it 
 confirmed the old woman's former suspicion, 
 which had been almost lulled by the lady's 
 plausible statement. 
 
 '^The gold has not been coined that will 
 buy them, my lady," she said, firmly, but 
 respectfully, for Mrs. Montressor was an 
 important personage in the eyes of the 
 people : " they were intrusted to me by 
 your late brother-in-law; and until he sends 
 to me to give them up, I will keep them. 
 That is my answer." 
 
 *' Then hear mine I " cried the lady, draw- 
 ing her shawl closer around her; *' unless 
 you leave this place before this day fort- 
 night, I will have it pulled down about 
 your ears. Your insolence shall not pass 
 unpunished. I will not allow impudent 
 vagrants to remain upon my estate." 
 
 And with these words upon her lips, she 
 swept out of the hut, and could almost
 
 A SECRET VISIT. 75 
 
 imagine that she heard the words, *' my 
 estate," repeated scornfully by the old 
 woman. If she had been asked what these 
 papers were which she was so anxious to 
 obtain, she would have been at a loss to 
 know what to reply. She knew only, or 
 rather she believed, that they were of im- 
 mense importance in the coming contest, 
 and she had utterly failed to obtain them ! 
 She had been foiled by a miserable old 
 woman, the veriest dust of the earth, and 
 lowest of the low ! She gnashed her teeth 
 
 • 
 
 in rage as she thought of her futile errand, 
 and paused upon the top of the hill to shake 
 her fist in impotent anger at the hut she had 
 just left. But suddenly her passion seemed 
 to pass away, for strange sounds issued from 
 the old woman's abode. The light from fire 
 and candle was now distinctly visible, and 
 on the night breeze came wafted the strains 
 of weird, solemn music, almost unearthly 
 in its quaint beauty. Stronger and higher 
 came the flood of melody, and the heart of 
 the solitary listener upon the deserted hill
 
 76 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 beat faster as the dirge-like harmony fell 
 upon her ears. Anon it burst forth into 
 wild triumphant tones, and then died away 
 in plaintive wailings, that almost resembled 
 an outburst of human woe, and nothing" 
 more was heard except the mournful mur- 
 mur of the wind ; but as she sped home- 
 wards, spirit-voices, echoes of that wild 
 music she had just heard, seemed to ring 
 in her ears the knell of her ambitious 
 schemes and designs.
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 
 
 Time hung heavily sometimes on Frederick 
 Danvers' hands. It was difficult to be 
 always admiring the scenery, and always 
 taking long walks. He was not a strong 
 man either, and was therefore not much 
 given to physical exertion. Quieter plea- 
 sures suited him better, although they were 
 not easily to be found at Glynarth. Mrs. 
 Montressor was right when she said that 
 idle young men fall easily in love ; but she 
 forgot that Maria was not the only pretty 
 girl in the neighbourhood. Life in the 
 interior of a land which was an unknown 
 one to him, was so dull after its first novelty 
 and charm had faded away, that he was
 
 78 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 delighted to find this new excitement, and 
 this hitherto untasted joy — that of falHng in 
 love. 
 
 His evening with Maria Montressor was 
 an excessively dull one. She bored him 
 with an endless stream of very small talk, 
 flattered him openly and grossly, and had 
 disgusted him by her attempts to discuss 
 subjects about which she knew absolutely 
 nothing. So upon the next afternoon, he 
 determined upon going down the valley to 
 visit Annie Hughes, feeling sure that he 
 would find something more refreshing in 
 her society. 
 
 He started soon after luncheon, and 
 strolled leisurely along, admiring the gleam 
 of light which shone upon the placid waters, 
 the rich verdure and wild blossoms which 
 covered the hill-sides ; and stopping occa- 
 sionally to examine some curious flower or 
 plant that might attract his attention. He 
 was purposely prolonging his walk, not 
 because he took much interest in these 
 things, but because he was rather doubtful
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 79 
 
 as to whether he had any right to call upon 
 Annie at all. She might not wish to culti- 
 vate his acquaintance, although this was 
 hardly probable, judging from their first 
 conversation ; but at any rate she might be 
 displeased at being visited in her own house 
 by a friend of so recent a date. 
 
 '' I don't think I ought to go," he thought, 
 half aloud, as was his wont when musing. 
 *' I only met her for the first time three 
 days ago, and perhaps she won't like it. If 
 I go back, though, I shall be miserable all^ 
 day long, and I should very much like to see 
 her again. What a sweet smile she has ! 
 and such a pleasant face ! I declare I'll go. 
 I may as well risk it." 
 
 A quiet, grave smile rested upon his 
 countenance as he caught himself musing 
 thus. He had often thought it strange that 
 he should have escaped the influence of the 
 fascinations of so many sirens in the gay 
 world, to be caught at last by this simple 
 country girl ! 
 
 He reached the gate and passed in. No
 
 8o IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 signs of life could be seen about the house, 
 and he began to think that he had come, 
 after all, upon a bootless errand, and that 
 Annie was out. He determined to ascertain, 
 however, whether this were the case or not ; 
 and accordingly he pushed open the gate 
 which divided the farmyard from a small 
 flower-garden in front of the house, and then 
 he rapped at the door. Bells and knockers 
 were unknown luxuries there, and he had to 
 use his knuckles. There was the same still- 
 ness as before ; but he repeated the sum- 
 mons, and then a footfall could be heard 
 within the house. A minute or two however 
 elapsed before the door was opened; and 
 then Annie appeared, looking rather flurried 
 and confused, as if she had been endea- 
 vouring to make herself presentable at a 
 moment's notice. She was also rather 
 surprised to find that he had condescended 
 to call upon her, but she was none the less 
 pleased to see him. 
 
 ** I presume you did not expect me to 
 invade your territories," he said, with a
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 8 1 
 
 pleasant smile, as she opened the door; 
 **you are so romantically situated, however, 
 that it was impossible not to explore so 
 charming a retreat." 
 
 ** It is a surprise, certainly; but I am very 
 glad to see you here," she answered, 
 simply. 
 
 He was shown into the sitting-room of the 
 little family, a low, heavy apartment, in 
 which Frederick was in continual danger of 
 running his head against the ceiling ; but it 
 was a very comfortable, cosy room. An 
 antiquated sideboard stood against one wall, 
 upon which was a motley array of glass, old 
 china, and family relics. The fireplace was 
 not a wide, spacious one, like most farm- 
 houses possessed, but a small modern grate, 
 with a still smaller amount of fire in it. A 
 few chairs, a table with folding leaves, some 
 faded pictures, and a small side-table — upon 
 which was the family Bible, containing the 
 archives of the race for many generations — 
 completed the furniture of the room, — with 
 one exception, and that was a notable one • 
 
 VOL. I. 6
 
 82 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 there was a small harmonium, an instrument 
 which had then been but recently invented, 
 and was almost unknown except in the 
 towns. Frederick was surprised to find one 
 in so remote a spot, and he expressed his 
 astonishment. 
 
 '* I happened to hear of them," Annie 
 explained; *'and I thought one would be 
 useful in our little church, so I bought one." 
 ** Can you play?" he asked, wondering 
 to find musical cultivation in so unlikely a 
 locality. 
 
 ** A little," she replied, with a laugh ; '^ I 
 am only just beginning, but fortunately 
 there is no one who understands music in 
 the congregation, so that when I make awful 
 discords they think it is all right." 
 
 Frederick laughed too ; and while she was 
 talking she had taken up a slip of embroidery 
 work, and had drawn her chair near to the 
 window, whilst he sat opposite to her, in an 
 easy-chair, smoking a fragrant cigar. As 
 she spoke, her face was lighted up with so 
 radiant a smile that she appeared positively
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 83 
 
 beautiful, — at least Frederick thought so, as 
 he watched her from the cloud of smoke in 
 which he was enveloped. His eyes wandered 
 from her face to her dress. If she had had 
 an hour to prepare for his visit, she could 
 have selected no attire which suited her 
 better than the one she wore. She had on 
 a plain black dress, and a little shawl over 
 her shoulders ; in her soft, luxuriant hair was 
 a bow of blue ribbon, that blended admira- 
 bly with the rich brown hue of her sunny 
 tresses. As he sat in silence, watching her, 
 an involuntary smile would flit occasionally 
 across her countenance, as if very pleasant 
 thoughts were passing through her mind. 
 
 *' What are you thinking of, that you 
 smile so often, Miss Hughes?" he asked, 
 after watching her a little while. 
 
 ** I am only smiling at my own foolish 
 thoughts," she answered, looking up from 
 her work ; ** it is a habit I have, even when 
 my thoughts are not of a very pleasant 
 nature." 
 
 ** It would be well if we could all form a
 
 84 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 habit like it/' he said; ** for my own part, 
 I am but seldom inclined to smile when I 
 commune with myself." 
 
 ** That is owing, no doubt, to the fact that 
 you take a gloomy view of things ; and 
 magnify every little trouble, instead of re- 
 garding it as an inevitable event, of which 
 we must meet a certain number in life," she 
 observed, gently ; *' I daresay you think my 
 life is a very pleasant one ? " 
 
 She was inclined to moralize, he thought ; 
 but she did it very pleasantly. 
 
 " I am sure it must be a pleasant one. 
 What can you possibly have to trouble 
 you?" 
 
 ^* A great deal that you would never 
 think of," she answered, with a tinge of 
 sadness in her tone; **just now, I am very 
 anxious about my brother." 
 
 " He is going away, I believe," said 
 Frederick ; '* but why are you anxious about 
 him ? " 
 
 '* He has been so strange lately," she 
 said. *' Ever since it was determined that
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 85 
 
 he should go to Abernant he has been rest- 
 less and unhappy. I do not think he likes 
 the idea of going at all ; but, of course, he 
 must do something. I have impressed that 
 upon him, but still he is not reconciled." 
 
 ** He will soon settle down to work when 
 he has been fairly started in his new career," 
 replied Frederick, soothingly. ** You must 
 not be surprised if a youth who has never 
 been from home shrinks a little when he is 
 first called upon to do so." 
 
 ''It may be so," she said, doubtfully; 
 "but I am very much afraid that when he 
 has commenced business, he will take a dis- 
 like to it, form bad acquaintances, and be 
 led astray, he is such a strange, wayward 
 boy. I wish I could be always with him." 
 
 " That is quite impossible. Miss Hughes. 
 Your brother must learn, like everybody 
 else, to make his own way in the world ; 
 and I have no doubt he will try to do so, 
 if only for your sake. It does not fall to 
 every one's lot to have such a sister." 
 
 She blushed slightly, and bent lower over
 
 86 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 her work as he spoke. She was not accus- 
 tomed to hear nor to receive idle compli- 
 ments, and she had no reason to think he 
 was trifling — neither was he. He could use 
 the language of flattery as well as most 
 young men ; but, in the presence of this 
 girl, his every word was full of earnestness. 
 
 ** He has no one to help or advise him 
 but me," she went on, sadly; **and he is 
 not very willing to listen to my advice. I 
 am only a girl, he says, and cannot know 
 the world, about which he is very ignorant 
 himself, if he would only believe it. My 
 power over him is indeed much less than 
 you imagine." 
 
 ** I believe I have as much, if not more 
 real power and influence than any one at 
 Glynarth," he said, seriously; "and if you 
 will let me take your brother in hand — if 
 you will share your burden with me — I 
 should be very glad and happy, more so 
 than you would deem possible. I am older 
 than he is, my social position perhaps is a 
 little higher, my experience of the world
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 87 
 
 much greater, and I am sure I should suc- 
 ceed in gaming his confidence. Shall I 
 try?'' 
 
 *' If you please/' she said, looking up into 
 his face ; and his heart yearned towards her 
 as he saw her beautiful eyes filled with 
 tears. ** I should be so glad to have a 
 friend who could control him in any way. 
 Besides, it is always good to have a friend 
 we can fully trust." 
 
 She was too ignorant of the world's ways 
 to know that polite society would have been 
 shocked by such an admission after so brief 
 an acquaintance. She was a child in the 
 confiding simplicity and artlessness of her 
 nature. 
 
 The subject of their conversation came in 
 soon afterwards, and Frederick was asked to 
 stay to tea. He had not yet dined, but he 
 did not say so, and he gladly accepted the 
 invitation. Annie began immediately to 
 make her preparations, and Edward sat 
 rather sullenly near the fire. 
 
 **When are you going to Abernant ? "
 
 88 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 asked Frederick, feeling it necessary to com- 
 mence the task he had taken upon himself. 
 
 ** In two or three days," was the laconic 
 reply. 
 
 Edward was rather afraid of this gentle- 
 man after the party at Montressor House, 
 and he regarded him with that respect which 
 an accomplished man of the world always 
 commands from a raw youth who has never 
 left the domestic circle. It would not there- 
 fore be a very difficult task to produce a 
 favourable impression upon him. 
 
 The tea was a snug and cosy affair. 
 Annie, as a matter of course, presided at 
 the urn, and Frederick made himself useful 
 by cutting the bread and butter, a task 
 which, he declared, his bachelor experience 
 eminently qualified him to perform. Some 
 apple jam of Annie's own manufacture was 
 produced, and declared to be excellent, and, 
 altogether, the meal was a very successful 
 one. When it was over, Edward took his 
 hat to go out, but Frederick observed, as he 
 was about to leave the room, —
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 89 
 
 ** I hope you will walk up to the Lodge 
 with me, as your stay here is to end so soon. 
 I have some curious things which I would 
 like to show you, and should be glad of your 
 company." 
 
 '* Nothing could give me greater plea- 
 sure, sir," replied Edward, making an 
 attempt to be polite. 
 
 " I shall not start for another hour, I 
 think," continued Frederick; '* until then 
 you may leave me to amuse your sister. I 
 see you are anxious to be off." 
 
 He was already assuming a slight degree 
 of authority over him, and he intended 
 taking him up to his house in order to 
 deepen the impression already made upon 
 him. 
 
 *'I believe I shall succeed in influencing 
 him to some extent," remarked Frederick 
 as the door closed behind the youth. ** Be- 
 tween us we ought to do him some good." 
 
 He was thankful that a bond of any kind 
 existed between them, and he felt that this 
 union with her in the effort to keep her brother
 
 90 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 from evil was one well calculated to ripen 
 into a warmer feeling eventually than mere 
 friendship. How far he was prepared to go 
 in this direction was a question which he 
 had not yet asked himself — he was con- 
 scious only that this girl strongly fascinated 
 him, and he was not disposed to break 
 the spell, — not just yet at all events. 
 
 The hour slipped away, and another in its 
 wake, but Edward did not make his appear- 
 ance. His sister, however, was not alarmed 
 about him, for he was frequently absent for 
 hours beyond the time fixed for his return. 
 Neither she nor her companion found the 
 time hanging heavily upon their hands, for 
 they were engaged in animated conversation 
 about every conceivable subject of local in- 
 terest. He inquired about the Mr. Darby 
 who had been mentioned by Mrs. Mon- 
 tressor, and thought that he detected a faint 
 blush upon Annie's cheek when he men- 
 tioned his name. 
 
 *' Mr. Darby was a young Unitarian 
 minister," she said, *' and presided over a
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 9 1 
 
 small congregation, mostly composed of 
 English residents, at a place some two 
 miles distant." 
 
 She was not disposed, however, to be 
 very communicative about him, and Frede- 
 rick did not press the subject. He was, in 
 fact, perfectly indifferent as to who or what 
 Mr. Darby might be, for he could have no 
 possible connection with him, he thought. 
 He did not dream how deeply this gentle- 
 man's movements would interest him in a 
 short time ! 
 
 The twilight came, and Frederick felt that 
 he ought to return home. 
 
 " Do not send me away without some 
 music. Miss Hughes," he said, glancing at 
 the harmonium ; '* I should be so pleased to 
 hear you play." 
 
 She took her seat before the instrument, 
 and began to play a Welsh hymn tune, a 
 plaintive minor melody, deeply touching in 
 its moaning melancholy cadence, which 
 aroused strange echoes deep in her listener's 
 breast. The waning twilight clung around
 
 9- IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 her like a veil, and her fair head bent low 
 over the keys as she called forth those strains 
 of melancholy harmony, but neither of them 
 spoke a word. Their hearts were too full 
 for words — full of the first rush of delicious 
 joy, mingled with doubt and fear, which 
 new-born love creates ; she rejoiced to find 
 a friend so brave and earnest ; he, on his 
 part, felt his whole soul yearning towards 
 this fatherless, motherless, sisterless girl, 
 who had placed her simple trust so readily 
 in him. 
 
 The music ceased, but she did not raise 
 her head, and he went to her in sudden 
 alarm. She was weeping softly, and 
 Frederick Danvers could not resist the im- 
 pulse which bade him take the girlish form 
 to his bosom, and whisper the one simple 
 word so full of meaning — 
 
 *^ Annie! '' 
 
 She was still weeping, but her head was 
 resting now upon his breast. 
 
 ** I was thinking of my father, and of my 
 poor, unhappy mother.*'
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 93 
 
 He knew the story — the sad, sorrowful 
 story — and from the depths of his soul he 
 pitied her. 
 
 ** Think of something brighter, my dar- 
 ling," he said, tenderly; ** think of the 
 peaceful home I will prepare for you ; the 
 long years of happiness we shall have to- 
 gether, and do not weep." 
 
 How he soothed and comforted her it 
 matters not — she smiled upon him at last, 
 and dashed away her tears. Then he took 
 up his hat to go, for he feared that his long 
 stay would be commented upon ; and as yet 
 he did not wish her to be annoyed by vulgar 
 gossip and banter. She came to the gate 
 to bid him good-night, and with a parting 
 pressure of the hand, he went away without 
 having seen her brother again. That night, 
 in the early night, was a memorable one for 
 him. His heart was full of quiet happiness, 
 which tinged the world and everything it 
 contained with beauty in his eyes. The old 
 listlessness which had led him to wander 
 from country to country, and from town to
 
 94 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 town, In quest of that contentment which 
 seemed to be ever slipping from his eager 
 grasp, was completely gone ; and he walked 
 homewards with a lighter heart and with 
 springing step, full of the new-born con- 
 sciousness that at last he had some one to 
 love and to live for. He had waited long 
 for happiness like this, and had passed 
 through years of trial and anxiety. 
 
 He had not always been a rich man, for 
 his uncle held the estate until a few years 
 before this time. 
 
 During Frederick's youth the lesson had 
 always been impressed upon him that he 
 must earn his own living, and he had paid 
 good heed to it. Throughout the years 
 of his youth he had struggled as but few 
 struggle, without any assistance from his 
 family, and in the hive of human workers in 
 the great city where that period of his life 
 was spent, none laboured harder than he. 
 In those days and nights of weary hoping 
 and striving, when every nerve had to be 
 strained, in order that he might keep his
 
 DAWNING LOVE. 95 
 
 place In the battle, he was happier than 
 when the estate came to his possession, and 
 he had nothing to do but to watch others 
 fighting, and almost to envy them the 
 knocks and buffets they received. He went 
 to a Scottish university, because he found 
 idleness intolerable; and he had wandered 
 about since then a young, but still a weary, 
 aimless man. Love's bright dream had 
 changed all this now ; and the darkness 
 which sat upon the hills was not so great, 
 but that through the gloom his mind pic- . 
 tured a long future of peace and joy. Was 
 it only a picture, or are Love's roseate 
 dreams ever realized in this hard, practical 
 world of ours ?
 
 96 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. 
 
 On the following day Frederick sent a note 
 down to the Glyn, as Annie Hughes's resi- 
 dence was commonly called, asking her bro- 
 ther to come up to the Lodge, and Edward 
 complied at once with the request. Frederick 
 showed him his library, his curiosities col- 
 lected from many countries, and all his 
 treasures, and then invited him to stay to 
 luncheon. 
 
 Edward was in a thorough good humour 
 after all these attentions, and when Frederick 
 began to speak to him seriously and ear- 
 nestly about his approaching departure, the 
 new duties he was about to undertake, and 
 the new responsibilities that would be
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. 97 
 
 imposed upon him, he listened respectfully 
 enough, and promised to do his best to 
 succeed in his new calling. 
 
 ** If you are in any trouble or difficulty, 
 send to me," said Frederick, kindly. *' I 
 will do my best for you, and you may, per- 
 haps, find it easier to trust me than other 
 people in the neighbourhood." 
 
 Edward thought it certainly would be 
 easier, and he promised to do as he was 
 desired. He was leaving early the next 
 morning, and would not therefore be able^ 
 to see Mr. Danvers again, so that gentle- 
 man took his hat, and offered to accompany 
 him to the Glyn. It was in reality a pretext 
 to see Annie, but Edward was not aware of 
 that. Falling in love, and with his sister, 
 was about the last action he would attribute 
 to Mr. Danvers, and he thought that his 
 evident interest in him was nothing more 
 than a passing fancy. On the way Edward 
 suddenly exclaimed : '*Mr. Darby is coming; 
 I daresay he has been at our place." 
 
 The gentleman whom Frederick saw 
 
 VOL. I. 7
 
 98 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 advancing- to meet them was about twenty- 
 eight years old, of average height, with 
 light hair and whiskers elaborately curled 
 and perfumed. He was dressed in a suit of 
 clerical black, and wore the ordinary white 
 necktie, and In one hand he had a bamboo 
 cane with a golden handle. He was a cleri- 
 cal fop, in fact ; and in addition to his little 
 foibles in matters of dress, he was under the 
 impression that he was a profoundly learned 
 and clever man, and although in this respect 
 he did not differ from many who believed 
 themselves to be misunderstood and un- 
 appreciated men, he thought that every one 
 with whom he came into contact acknow- 
 ledged his immense mental superiority. 
 For the purpose of impressing- this more 
 strongly upon their minds, he appeared to be 
 always deeply absorbed in thought, and was 
 generally full of some subject which nobody 
 else took the trouble to think about. The 
 subjects he chose to descant upon were 
 never very abstruse, but his friends did not 
 notice that, and even if they had, Mr. Darby
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. 99 
 
 would have told them that the greatest 
 philosopher was he who directed his atten- 
 tion to the smallest things. 
 
 Frederick had heard all this, and looked 
 curiously at the approaching figure. 
 
 ** Does he often go down to your house? " 
 he asked, wondering whether he was in 
 hopes of converting Annie to his views. 
 
 ** Too frequently to please my sister," 
 answered Edward ; ** I fancy he is in love 
 with her, and she can't bear the fellow. 
 Besides, she abhors Unitarianism, and has 
 told him so over and over again ; but he 
 is much too clever to understand common 
 sense hints." 
 
 A fellow like this in love with Annie ! 
 The thought was simply absurd in Frede- 
 rick's opinion ; for although he was by no 
 means a conceited man, he saw the great 
 social and mental difference between them. 
 Rivalry and jealousy were therefore quite out 
 of the question, and the next feeling which 
 arose in his breast was one akin to anger, 
 that this man had presumed to worship at
 
 lOO IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 the same shrine as he ! It did not strike 
 him that Annie's position was but little 
 superior to Mr. Darby's, and that to many, 
 a minister or curate, however poor and 
 brainless he might be, was nevertheless con- 
 sidered in Wales to be the height of a girl's 
 ambition. He felt only that she whom he 
 loved was by the mere fact of that love 
 completely removed from the sphere she 
 had before occupied. Undoubtedly Frederick 
 Danvers was a proud man. 
 
 As these thoughts were resolving them- 
 selves into shape in his mind, Mr. Darby 
 was coming to meet them with downcast 
 eyes and meditative countenance. 
 
 ''He is preparing a speech," laughed 
 Edward ; *' he is sure to bring something 
 queer out. He always begins to talk about 
 some new theory or discovery whenever I 
 meet him, and I see he is getting some- 
 thing of the kind ready now." 
 
 Mr. Darby had noticed the strange 
 gentleman, and guessed who he was. This 
 first opportunity of making an impression on
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD, lOI 
 
 him was not to be lost, and he accordingly 
 came towards them with the slow lingering 
 gait and absent expression of countenance 
 which he deemed necessary to support his 
 reputation as a philosopher, and when near 
 enough to Edward he accosted him gravely. 
 
 *' It is a singular fact, my young friend," 
 he said, " that every fourth woman one meets 
 is unmarried according to the last census. 
 This is an alarming state of things, which 
 every true philanthropist ought to endeavour 
 to remedy. Now this remedy is, I think, an 
 obvious one, if we consider the question by 
 the aid of the ordinary laws of supply and 
 demand." 
 
 ** Are you going to be married, Mr. 
 Darby?" asked Edward, maliciously. 
 ** Unless you are, it is no use preaching 
 to us. Give us a good example. But I 
 ought to introduce this gentleman to you- 
 Mr. Danvers, Mr. Darby." 
 
 ** I am happy to see you, sir," said the 
 philosopher, gravely, addressing Mr. Dan- 
 vers. '* I was, however, discussing this
 
 I02 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 question merely in the abstract. Supply and 
 demand are the great laws and principles 
 which regulate the marriage question as 
 well as every other. Now it appears to me 
 that the demand is decreasing, because the 
 article supplied is not adapted to the require- 
 ments of the consumer — I mean of those who 
 require it, or, in non-technical language, 
 which we must sometimes have recourse to 
 in treating popular questions, the women 
 who are willing to be married are not proper 
 persons to discharge satisfactorily the duties 
 and obligations of married life." 
 
 ''What remedy would you propose then?" 
 asked Frederick, who was highly amused by 
 this display. 
 
 " I would remove the objections which are 
 now urged with much effect by making the 
 young women suited to their wants — that is 
 to say, in order to express myself more 
 clearly, I would have a law passed prohibit- 
 ing marriage except with women who could 
 
 prove themselves to be qualified for domes- 
 tic life. That qualification would, of course.
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. IO3 
 
 differ in the various grades of society, but in 
 every station of life I would compel them to 
 undergo an examination in domestic economy 
 and general household management. These 
 examinations could be conducted by properly 
 qualified matrons of long experience, who 
 would award certificates of competency to 
 all who passed, and the successful candi- 
 dates only would be eligible for marriage." 
 
 ** Then the first question a gentleman 
 would ask his lady-love would be not, * Do 
 you love me ? ' but * Have you a certifi- 
 cate?' " remarked Frederick, gravely. * 
 
 ** Certainly," replied Mr. Darby; **and 
 unless she had one, he would have to pay 
 his addresses elsewhere. As a matter of 
 probability, however, it is extremely likely 
 that when this examination would be first 
 instituted thousands of young women would 
 present themselves, and in a few years those 
 not holding certificates would be the excep- 
 tion rather than the rule." 
 
 *^ Your scheme is an excellent one," re- 
 marked Frederick, preparing to move on.
 
 I04 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 ** I hope you will ventilate it as much as 
 possible ; and, of course, as you are so 
 deeply convinced of the evils of the present 
 system, you will not marry until this exami- 
 nation has been set on foot, and you find a 
 lady who has passed in honours. Your idea 
 is a very good one ; consecrate your life and 
 talents to carry into effect so beneficent a 
 scheme of reform," and they shook hands 
 and went on, leaving the philosopher rather 
 taken aback at this practical application of 
 his views. 
 
 *' Is he at all clever?" asked Frederick, 
 when they had gone a little way ; *' and 
 
 does he always talk in this peculiar 
 
 manner? " 
 
 *' Yes, he is always the same," answered 
 Edward ; '' the only difference is that he con- 
 tinually changes his subject. Next time you 
 meet him he will have something else in the 
 wind." 
 
 They were at the gate leading into the 
 yard, and Frederick hesitated whether he 
 would accept Edward's invitation to go in.
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. IO5 
 
 Brother and sister might have many things 
 to say to one another before parting for a 
 long period, and he would have plenty of 
 opportunities for seeing her after Edward 
 was gone. He explained his reason for not 
 coming in, and then prepared to turn back. 
 
 ** I have one word of warning again to 
 give you," he said, ''and that is, avoid 
 drink. I do not suppose you will find it 
 difficult to do so if you try, and I fear it 
 is your chief temptation. For your dead 
 father's sake, for your sister's sake, and, if 
 my friendship is worth anything, for my 
 sake, make every effort to be a credit and 
 an honour to yourself and to all your friends. 
 Promise that you will do so." 
 
 He laid his hand as he spoke upon the 
 young man's shoulder, and looked into his 
 face with his own clear^ honest eyes. 
 Edward could not resist such an appeal, 
 and he gave the required pledge. He fully 
 intended at the time to keep his promise, 
 and it would have been well for him and for 
 all belonging to him if he had done so. He
 
 I06 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 was fated, however, to remember his friend's 
 advice a short time afterwards, and to curse 
 his own folly that he had not followed it. 
 At this moment, however, he was so full of 
 the excitement of leaving- home, so glad to 
 be free from the fetters and restraints of his 
 home life, and so confident that he should 
 do well, that warnings and advice were 
 thrown away upon him. Frederick feared, 
 judging from the light, heedless way in 
 which he made the promise, that it would 
 not be observed, and he saw that it was 
 useless at that moment to endeavour to 
 make any impression upon him. 
 
 **Send me your address," he said, as 
 they parted. *^ I will write to you, and if 
 you should want money or advice on any 
 subject, let me know. I shall be very glad 
 to be of service to you." 
 
 Edward promised to do so, and then 
 Frederick returned to Glynarth Lodge. He 
 was sorely troubled respecting the youth. 
 He had heard some unpleasant rumours 
 about him that day, and he noticed with
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. IO7 
 
 pain that the person who told him of his 
 former misconduct seemed to think that 
 Edward's dissipated habits were well known 
 to everybody, and took it for granted that 
 Frederick had heard of them before, 
 
 *' It is a great pity," he mused, as he 
 returned home, *^ a very great pity, for he 
 is a good-meaning lad, only a little head- 
 strong and wild, I can quite believe that he 
 is addicted to drink — th'at was quite evident 
 the other evening. I am afraid his depar- 
 ture Will bring trouble upon his sisten" 
 
 Edward left very early next morning, and 
 about eleven Frederick called at the house. 
 Annie was very much depressed and low- 
 spirited, and although her lover did all in 
 his power to cheer her, he was not altogether 
 successful, 
 
 ** A shadow of coming evil seems to rest 
 upon me," she said. '' I am sorry now that 
 I let Edward go. It would have been 
 better to make him a ploughboy here than 
 to expose him to the temptations he will 
 meet in Abernant."
 
 I08 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 *' You are really distressing yourself need- 
 lessly, my darling," he said, drawing her to 
 him, and caressing her tenderly. ^' The 
 town where he has gone to is not such a 
 large place, and thousands of young men go 
 every year from home, and do well. Why 
 should not he ? If he is a little, wayward 
 and headstrong, he will remember his sister, 
 and do his duty for her sake." 
 
 She shook her head sadly, for her influ- 
 ence had failed to preserve him from tempta- 
 tion even in the country where she was 
 present. Was it likely to be more effectual 
 in a town and in her absence ? 
 
 ** Let us talk about something more 
 cheerful than these gloomy forebodings," he 
 said, lightly; '* I am going to Montressor 
 House this evening, and I mean to tell them 
 of our engagement." 
 
 ** Oh, no ! please don't. You really must 
 not," she cried, earnestly. 
 
 *' Why not, dearest ? " he asked, tenderly. 
 ** You surely are not ashamed of me ? " 
 
 ^'No, no ; you must not dream of such a
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. IO9 
 
 thing," she exclaimed, pleadingly. " I am 
 the proudest, happiest girl in the world, 
 enriched by your love ; but you must not 
 tell them just yet. We have only known 
 each other for a few days ; " and a deep 
 blush overspread her face as she remem- 
 bered how sudden their attachment had 
 been. '' And you must let a month or two 
 elapse before you make it public." 
 
 ^' You little goose ! " he said, laughingly ; 
 '' do you think that love springs up and 
 grows only with time, like potatoes or 
 cabbages — that it must be watered by a 
 certain number of tea-drinkings, and ma- 
 nured by a long course of love-making 
 before the eyes of the world ? That is not 
 my creed. I loved you at the moment when 
 I first met you in the mountain hut, and I 
 shall always do so." 
 
 *' But love is strengthened and purified by 
 time, is it not? " she asked, taking up her 
 embroidery. 
 
 " Most decidedly ; but people have an 
 idea that an engagement formed between
 
 no IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 two persons who have not known each other 
 very long- is improper and ought to be dis- 
 couraged, and yet most of these people have 
 a dim idea lurking in their minds that some- 
 where in the world there is a partner fixed 
 for everybody — that, in fact, marriages are 
 made in heaven. I have been astonished to 
 find this idea seriously advocated in all 
 classes of society. If people are predestined 
 for one another, we will hope that we are, 
 and the sooner we fulfil our destiny the 
 better, of course." 
 
 She laughed and shook her head, still 
 insisting on withholding the announcement 
 for the present, 
 
 ** Wait a couple of months, Mr. Danvers," 
 she said, for she had not yet dared to call 
 him by his Christian name; ** it will soon 
 go by, and no one will feel surprised then." 
 
 "Two months!" he exclaimed. *' Why, 
 I shall be thinking of ordering my wedding 
 suit then. Say a month, and I will agree." 
 
 "No, it must be two months," she re- 
 peated, emphatically.
 
 BREAKERS AHEAP. I I I 
 
 ** Make a compromise then, and say six 
 weeks," he suggested, with a smile." 
 
 *' Not a day less than two months," she 
 said, very decidedly. *' You ought to be 
 very thankful that I am letting you off so 
 easily and that I did not fix a year as your 
 probation." 
 
 There was another tender caress and some 
 more soft speeches, and Frederick found 
 that the time sped rapidly away. It was 
 three o'clock before he rose to go, having 
 forgotten all about luncheon. 
 
 ** I must go to Montressor House this 
 evening," he said, searching around the 
 room for his hat; ** it is not a place I care 
 to go to, but it must be done. We must 
 submit to the iron yoke society imposes 
 upon us. When may I come again ? " 
 
 ** Whenever you please," she replied, with 
 a half shy, half glad look into his face; 
 **you are always welcome." 
 
 Mrs. Montressor and her daughter had a 
 long conference that afternoon in the same 
 boudoir where their former conversation had
 
 112 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 taken place. She had received some un- 
 pleasant communications that day, and her 
 very plain features were absolutely hideous, 
 distorted as they were with ungovernable 
 rage. 
 
 She was walking up and down the room 
 with long swift strides like a caged lioness 
 when Maria entered. 
 
 *' What is the matter, mamma?" asked 
 that young lady as she came in. 
 
 *' The matter, indeed ! " cried her mother, 
 turning upon her ; ** only this, that Edmund 
 Montressor is on his way to England ; that 
 the papers which establish his claims to this 
 estate can be easily obtained by him ; and 
 that / have failed to obtain them. Is not 
 that enough, girl, for one day? " 
 
 Maria made no answer. Her heart sank 
 within her as she heard of this pressing and 
 imminent danger, in which she had not 
 before really believed, hoping that it was 
 in a great measure the creation of her 
 mother's imagination; but now this hope 
 was gone, for the property was actually
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. I I3 
 
 slipping away from them. Maria partook 
 more of her father's easy, indolent disposi- 
 tion than of her mother's high spirit, and 
 she was not a councillor to be trusted in 
 upon an emergency like the present. She 
 could only sit in helpless agitation and 
 alarm, wringing her hands and giving way 
 to her distress. The sight inflamed her 
 mother's wrath tenfold. 
 
 *'Weak, miserable fool!" she cried; 
 *'you look as if a ghost had appeared to 
 you. Would you give up such an estate as 
 ours without even a struggle to retain it ? 
 You are quite worthless in a case like this, 
 when I am so much in need of help. I can 
 place no reliance upon you. I told you to 
 captivate Mr. Danvers, but you have done 
 nothing in that direction. He is as much 
 out of your reach as on the first day he 
 came." 
 
 ** Further, mamma," said her daughter, 
 despairingly, "he is in love with another." 
 
 "In love with another! " exclaimed her 
 mother, with renewed anger and alarm. 
 
 VOL. I. 8
 
 114 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 " Some English or foreign lady, I sup- 
 pose? " 
 
 *^ No, mamma, the young lady is Annie 
 Hughes." 
 
 If a cannon ball had whistled through the 
 apartment, or a bottle of Greek fire been 
 deposited at her feet, she would not have 
 been more astounded. Surprise and asto- 
 nishment made her speechless, and when she 
 began to recover her breath, she could only 
 gasp out a few words at intervals. 
 
 " The hussy ! — the impudent jade ! — what 
 monstrous conduct ! " 
 
 Gradually, however, the paroxysm passed 
 
 away, and she began immediately to take a 
 more hopeful view of things. 
 
 '* How do you know this, Maria ? Are 
 you quite sure of it ? " 
 
 The young lady had heard from her maid 
 that Mr. Danvers had become very intimate 
 with brother and sister, and that he was 
 often at the Glyn — oftener than at Mon- 
 tressor House. Accordingly she drew her 
 own inferences, which were in reality correct,
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. II5 
 
 although her mother refused to look at the 
 matter in that light. 
 
 ** He is only amusing himself," she said, 
 confidently. ** He is too much a man of the 
 world to be trapped by a mere country girl ; 
 but she is none the less to be blamed. We 
 must put an end to her scheme, and I will 
 tell you how we can do it. I know a person 
 at Abernant who is deeply in my debt. He 
 shall seek young Hughes, lead him into mis- 
 chief, get him disgraced, and then we shall 
 see whether this fine gentleman will marry, 
 the sister of a disgraced man — we shall see." 
 
 Her voice was truly diabolical in its 
 passion and evil hatred. 
 
 ** That is your affectionate cousin's por- 
 trait," she said, savagely, producing a 
 photograph taken upon glass in the old 
 style — '* the fellow who is coming to wrest 
 the estate from us, and make us beggars — 
 if he can. But he has not done it yet. I 
 will burn this wretched old hag's house over 
 her head, even if she is roasted alive in it, 
 rather than let him triumph over me ! "
 
 Il6 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 She had discovered then the nature of the 
 papers in the old woman's possession. 
 
 ''How did she obtain these papers?" 
 asked Maria, abruptly. 
 
 " By the aid of her patron the devil, for 
 aught I know," was the fierce reply; "she 
 has them — that is enough for me, but she 
 will not have them a week hence. Come 
 what may, I am determined never to give 
 up this place ; and if Sian is obstinate, she 
 shall feel my grip." 
 
 The words were so cruelly uttered, that 
 the girl could not help shuddering. 
 
 "It sickens you, does it?" cried her 
 mother, scornfully. "It is well for you that 
 I am made of sterner stuff than you are, or 
 else we should be beggared outcasts in a 
 short time. There ! leave me now. I must 
 think! I must think!" 
 
 And with her hand pressed upon her 
 burning brow, she remained in deep medi- 
 tation for some hours, trying to devise a 
 way of escape from her gathering difficul- 
 ties, but she saw none. It was very dark.
 
 BREAKERS AHEAD. I I 7 
 
 and not a glimmer of light fell upon her 
 path. She knew only that to retain the 
 estate she would have to plunge deeply 
 into crime ; but in her present state of mind 
 there was no abyss of infamy into which she 
 would not plunge to save her position. A 
 truly desperate woman she was, for she had 
 arrived at such a pitch that she would stop 
 at nothing, hesitate at nothing, to preserve 
 her beloved place as the Lady of Montressor 
 House.
 
 Il8 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 
 
 Mrs. Montressor and her daughter were 
 in the drawing-room that evening, endea- 
 vouring to appear cheerful and unconcerned, 
 when Mr. Danvers was announced ; and 
 immediately, as if by a magician's wand, 
 their faces were wreathed with smiles, and 
 he was received in the most cordial manner 
 possible. 
 
 ** I really feared that we were never to 
 see you again, Mr. Danvers," said the lady, 
 making an effort to be gay. *' Your visits, 
 like those of angels, are few and far 
 between." 
 
 *^You are too hard upon me," he said, 
 rather stiffly, for he saw no reason why he
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. II9 
 
 should go there too frequently. *' I called a 
 few days ago when you were out, but Miss 
 Montressor did me the honour to receive 
 me." 
 
 ** And she told me afterwards how greatly 
 she enjoyed your visit," remarked the mother, 
 whilst Maria cast her eyes downwards in 
 sweet confusion and blushed. *' I am afraid 
 you are going to abandon society and be- 
 come a recluse. Glynarth was famous for 
 its monastery and monks in the olden 
 times." 
 
 ** Nothing could be farther from my 
 mind," he replied; '* but the fact is, I have 
 been disappointed in Wales — in this part of 
 Wales at least. There is nothing to look 
 at but flat clayey fields and bleak-looking 
 mountains, and I can't go into raptures over 
 them." 
 
 ** That is because you shut yourself up, 
 and never try to discover the treasures 
 about you," put in Maria. *'You ought to 
 take advantage of this glorious autumn 
 weather to hunt up the places of interest.
 
 I20 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 which are numerous enough, if you had 
 some one to point them out." 
 
 *' I was not aware that you could boast of 
 many lions," he said, carelessly. "Judging 
 from the appearance of the country, I should 
 not be tempted to make many excursions." 
 
 ** Except into the glen towards the sea," 
 observed Maria quietly, without raising her 
 head from her work, but watching him nar- 
 rowly nevertheless. 
 
 **Yes, you are right," he replied, in a 
 cool unruffled manner, which quite dispelled 
 their suspicions. *' It is the only beautiful 
 bit of scenery in the neighbourhood, and its 
 beauty is enhanced by the contrast with the 
 desolation above. I am fond of the valley, 
 and it reminds me strongly of some parts of 
 Ireland." 
 
 **We are not quite destitute, however, of 
 objects of interest," remarked Maria, in a 
 sentimental, guide-book manner. *' About 
 eight miles away on the mountain there are 
 a number of cairns or graves of ancient 
 British chieftains. Nearer here there is a
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 121 
 
 large hollow on the summit of a hill, and at 
 the bottom a great circle of stones, where 
 the fairies, the * tylwyth teg ' of the country- 
 side, are said to gambol. Just in the same 
 locality there are several large caves in 
 which lights are sometimes seen at uncanny 
 hours of the night ; and one of them, the 
 farthermost extremity of which has never 
 yet been explored, is popularly supposed 
 to communicate directly with the infernal 
 regions. Have you ever heard of these 
 places before? " 
 
 *' Never," he replied, with great interest; 
 ** and I am extremely thankful that you 
 mentioned the subject. I came down here 
 expressly to find out anything interesting 
 about the people and the country, and I was 
 beginning to think that I had come to the 
 wrong place, and that it would be necessary 
 to make a move elsewhere.'* 
 
 *' You could not have chosen a better 
 spot," said Maria; for her mother allowed 
 her to' monopolize the conversation, firstly, 
 in order that she might make an impression,
 
 122 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 if possible ; and, secondly, because she her- 
 self knew nothing about antiquarian lore, 
 and cared nothing- for sentiment. *' If you 
 went to more populous parts of Wales, you 
 w^ould find the influence of the English lan- 
 guage so rapidly increasing, that it has 
 already almost obliterated in many places 
 the manners and customs of the Welsh peo- 
 ple. It is here in the wilderness, so to 
 speak, that the primitive simplicity of the 
 ancient Cymry is still in some measure to 
 be found." 
 
 She could talk well when she chose ; but 
 this was a favourite subject upon which she 
 frequently descanted to her English friends, 
 and there are but few persons who are such 
 blockheads that they cannot talk upon some 
 subject or other. 
 
 ^' I should very much like to see the 
 places you have mentioned," he said. ''I 
 have some friends in England who made 
 me promise to send them some sketches of 
 Welsh scenery, and hitherto I have not been 
 able to redeem my pledge. I should like to
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 123 
 
 send them a view of the cairns you men- 
 tioned." 
 
 "We will ride over there to-morrow 
 morning, if you like," she said with apparent 
 indifference as to whether her suggestions 
 were adopted or not. ** It is a pleasant 
 morning ride, and I frequently go there to 
 commune with the spirits of the mighty 
 dead," she added, with a laugh. 
 
 ''Nothing could give me greater pleasure," 
 he said, eagerly, not dreaming that he him- 
 self was forging the first link in the chain 
 with which she hoped eventually to surround 
 him. *' What time shall we say ? " 
 
 " About eleven," she replied, sweetly, 
 pleased to observe the animation with which 
 he spoke. *' We shall be back long before 
 dinner." 
 
 On his way home he met Mr. Campbell 
 returning from a visit to one of his 
 parishioners who had distinguished himself 
 as a Radical, and whom the vicar had been 
 ineffectually endeavouring to convert, and 
 he invited him up to the Lodge. Mr. Camp-
 
 124 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 bell gladly accepted the invitation, for it 
 afforded him another opportunity to endea- 
 vour to bring Frederick into the ranks of 
 the church militant. 
 
 Tea and other refreshments were brought 
 up, and afterwards the gentlemen settled 
 themselves down to smoke and to enjoy a 
 quiet conversation. 
 
 *' Miss Montressor has been telling me of 
 some curious cairns and caves near here, 
 and we are going to visit them to-morrow," 
 remarked Frederick. ** May I ask if you 
 have examined them ? " 
 
 **Yes, I have," was the reply, ** and I 
 have not the slightest doubt as to their 
 genuineness. They are situated in a district 
 which is now, and always has been, so far as 
 we can judge, destitute of inhabitants, and 
 they could hardly have been erected by imita- 
 tors. I also find that several severe battles 
 were fought in this neighbourhood between 
 rival British chieftains, as it is almost on the 
 border-land between North and South Wales. 
 I think you will be very much interested.' '
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 1 25 
 
 ** I presume that you have made the local 
 antiquities a special branch of study ? " 
 
 ** No, I cannot say that I have," he replied. 
 ** When I first came to Glynarth I thought, 
 as you no doubt do now, that it was well 
 adapted for a literary retreat. It is not the 
 case. You may stagnate or vegetate, but 
 you cannot work successfully here. People 
 seem to spend their lives in a half- waking, 
 half-dreaming state, and the spirit is, I fear, 
 infectious." 
 
 **You find the place lively enough, I 
 understand." 
 
 ** Yes, in political and religious squabbles, 
 which I am dragged into continually; but 
 I was referring only to higher intellectual 
 work." 
 
 ** You are no doubt right," said Frederick, 
 thoughtfully; *^our minds and bodies are so 
 weak that, in most cases, it requires a very 
 powerful motive, and that ever present, to 
 secure continued exertion. I would almost 
 say that man is naturally lazy, but that there 
 are so many exceptions to the rule."
 
 126 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 ** And yet I feel that I am wrong," con- 
 tinued Mr. Campbell. ** I feel that I ought 
 to make greater exertion in my parish than 
 I do, for if ever there was a place in want of 
 reformation, Glynarth needs it. Sectarianism 
 is rife, chapels are numerous, and yet I think 
 that true Christianity, in its purity and holi- 
 ness, is at a very low ebb." 
 
 ** I suppose this is a fair specimen of a 
 Welsh village? " said Frederick. 
 
 *' Yes. In one and all of them party 
 zeal and prejudice has swallowed up living 
 religion," replied the vicar, with a sigh. 
 *' Instead of doing good, we are pulling one 
 another to pieces." 
 
 ** It was this intolerant, hateful spirit of 
 strife that made me in the first instance 
 renounce orthodox Christianity," remarked 
 Frederick. *' Wherever I turn, whatever 
 country or village I visit, I see nothing 
 amongst professing Christians but narrow 
 intolerance and bitter animosity — one sect 
 fighting against another. Applying your 
 own maxim of judging the tree by its fruits,
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 127 
 
 the system, as a system, has failed. If good 
 has been done, it has been by individual 
 exertion, and in isolated cases; but the 
 great national Establishment and the num- 
 berless sects which teem in the country have 
 utterly failed in their mission." 
 
 *' Why have they failed ? " 
 
 *' Because they have been too fully occu- 
 pied in advancing their own interests, at the 
 expense of everybody else, to care about 
 the interests of the people. The Church of 
 England, for instance, has had magnificent 
 endowments in her possession — the educa- 
 tion of the country, the wealth, rank, I 
 might almost say the genius of England, in 
 her hands for centuries. What has she 
 done with these splendid advantages ? She 
 has been for generations past blind to the 
 truest and noblest interests of the people, 
 whilst her ministers have been surrounding 
 themselves with the good things of this 
 world. It is all very well to pay a poor 
 wretch of a schoolmaster a pittance of sixty 
 or seventy pounds a-year for driving your
 
 128 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 Catechism into the pates of rustic clod- 
 hoppers, who are taught that they ought 
 to renounce the pomps and vanities of this 
 wicked world when they never had the 
 option of retaining or renouncing them. 
 But these rustics and their unfortunate 
 teacher might well gape with astonishment 
 when they see a lord spiritual, with four 
 or five thousand a year, clothed in purple 
 and fine linen. Has he renounced the 
 pomps and vanities of the world ? " 
 
 *^ What remedy would you propose for 
 this state of things, which certainly does 
 exist ? ' ' asked the vicar. 
 
 ** I have no remedy except the dis- 
 establishment of the church, and a more 
 equable distribution of its endowments," 
 replied the other. '* It is not my object, 
 however, to suggest a remedy at all, but 
 merely to trace the train of thought which 
 led me to endeavour to form a purely perso- 
 nal religion of my own. It is impossible for 
 me to believe in a system which contains 
 such monstrous and unremedied abuses."
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. I2g 
 
 ^* You have made the same mistake which 
 many others have made before you, my dear 
 sir,'* remarked the vicar, leaning back in his 
 chair, and preparing to speak. *' Because 
 our Church happens to be encumbered with 
 abuses and evils, which have been produced 
 mainly by the ignorance and apathy of 
 former generations, and because we cannot 
 at once shake away these corruptions, you 
 come to the conclusion that the spiritual life 
 we profess is a sham." 
 
 Frederick made a gesture of dissent, but 
 the vicar went on, — 
 
 "No inference could be more erroneous. 
 You must not suppose that, because these 
 things exist, we do not feel their injurious 
 effect — ay, and feel it deeper in our daily 
 experience than outsiders can do ; — but how 
 can we remedy this? We are bound hand 
 and foot by the present ill-arranged union 
 with the State, and, practically, we are 
 helpless." 
 
 " Then of course you think that a dissolu- 
 tion of the union would be advisable ? ' ' 
 
 VOL. I. 9
 
 I30 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 *' By no means," was the unhesitating 
 reply. ** Schisms and divisions have always 
 existed, and always will whilst human nature 
 is unchanged ; but the union, if properly 
 cemented and adhered to, would be an 
 immense power for good. If only the 
 Church were free to exercise some control 
 over her own constitution, and dealt with 
 generously by the State, it would be im- 
 possible to estimate the benefits which would 
 accrue to the whole country." 
 
 ** You would rearrange the relations be- 
 tween the Church and the State, and not 
 destroy them ? " 
 
 '* Yes, I would have them based upon 
 mutual co-operation in the work of govern- 
 ment," replied the vicar, whose face was 
 flushed with excitement. *' No administra- 
 tion can rule the people, unless they are a 
 loyal, well-disposed people, and it is as use- 
 less to expect the sun to rise in the night, 
 as to look for loyalty in a godless nation. 
 Even the heathen kingdoms of bygone ages 
 were held together by religion, although it
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. I3I 
 
 was a false one ; but if ever the State re- 
 nounces and discourages Christianity, the 
 prosperity and welfare of the kingdom will 
 be speedily at an end. If the endowments 
 given by pious individuals to the Church 
 can be legally taken away by a mere Act of 
 Parliament, the possessions of our Uni- 
 versities and Colleges will not be for one 
 moment safe ; if their property may be taken 
 away also and applied to public purposes, 
 private corporations will be the next suf- 
 ferers ; and as private corporations are 
 made up of private individuals, the land-* 
 owners will be the next victims. In fact, 
 if the principle be once established, that 
 property which was never bestowed by the 
 State can be taken away by the State at 
 pleasure, one of the great ties which hold 
 society together will be broken asunder." 
 
 ''It may be so," replied Frederick, who 
 was carried away by the vicar's earnestness, 
 even against his own conviction. " I fancy, 
 however, that a dissolution of the union is 
 inevitable."
 
 1^2 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 \, 
 
 ** It may be inevitable,'' was the reply. 
 ** It is so very much easier to find fault with 
 existing- institutions and to destroy them, 
 than it is to devise new agencies to accom- 
 plish the work more effectually. With you, 
 I think that those who are crying out for 
 disestablishment and disendowment are 
 playing with double-edged tools, which in 
 the end will injure those who tamper with 
 them." 
 
 ** I firmly believe that in the end dis- 
 senters, who are agitating in favour of this 
 movement, will bitterly repent, because they 
 can never succeed in their efforts without 
 the aid of people destitute of religious con- 
 victions, but who will gladly assist in any 
 work of destruction. At the same time I 
 must say that I am strongly in favour of 
 separation, complete and final, between 
 Church and State. It would simplify 
 matters and strengthen your position." 
 
 " That is the argument continually used 
 by my parishioners," remarked Mr. Camp- 
 bell ; ** for my own part, I believe that it
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 1 33 
 
 would take away from the clergyman that 
 social status which is so useful to him in 
 dealing with rich and poor ; and we are so 
 situated at the present moment that we can- 
 not afford to lose any existing agency for 
 good, because their united power is too 
 small to cope with the depravity of the age. 
 Instead of being destroyed, existing institu- 
 tions ought to be strengthened/' 
 
 ** I see the fundamental difference of 
 opinion between us, Mr. Campbell," ob- 
 served Frederick. *^You think that social 
 status is an advantage to a clergyman. I 
 am of quite a contrary opinion. Faith to 
 overcome the world must be vested in men 
 who do not love the high places of the earth, 
 although educationally, morally, and spirit- 
 ually fitted to occupy them. They ought to 
 be men of the highest culture, free from the 
 cant of the lower lights of dissent — many of 
 whom clamour for disestablishment in the 
 vain hope that it will elevate them in the 
 scale of society — and men who believe so 
 thoroughly in their mission, that for the
 
 134 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 sake of it they are prepared to renounce 
 earthly greatness. Simple-minded men of 
 this mould would do more for the Gospel 
 and for the Church than all the cardinals 
 and bishops who ever wore mitres." 
 
 His pale earnest face glowed with enthu- 
 siasm as he spoke. 
 
 ** And you, who can take such a view of 
 the Church's mission, are you really an un- 
 believer? '' 
 
 " Not an unbeliever in Christianity, but 
 only in your interpretation of it. When I 
 see the results of your teaching, and the 
 endless strife going on in this parish, which 
 I believe are quite contrary to the pure spirit 
 of Christianity, I am compelled to conclude 
 that you have failed to grasp the true mean- 
 ing of the Bible. I am waiting for the 
 advent of some moral force which will put 
 an end to these dissensions, but the human 
 mind must be greatly developed before it 
 can be brought into action." 
 
 *^ It never will be so developed," said 
 the vicar. ** Enthusiasts have hoped, have
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 1 35 
 
 dreamed of it for ages, but it has never 
 come. I cling to the unchangeable rock of 
 the Church ; but the whole human race will 
 be turned into dust before your dream is 
 fulfilled.'* 
 
 *' I do not think so/' was Frederick's 
 reply. ** The creative power of the mind 
 has increased wonderfully during the present 
 century. Science can scarcely be said to 
 have existed a few brief years ago — almost 
 so few, that men now living can reckon them 
 — and see what triumphs it has achieved. 
 Man may in time master the forces of nature, 
 but whether he does so or not, the intel- 
 lectual life of the world will be of a far 
 higher nature than it is now. Christianity, 
 freed from the trammels of creeds and 
 formularies, will become a living power in 
 the future history of the world, and not a 
 theme for theological gladiators as it is at 
 present." 
 
 The vicar rose to go, and his host walked 
 out into the open air with him. The stars 
 were twinkling brightly above them, and
 
 136 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 the moon poured down a stream of silvery 
 radiance on the placid bosom of the sea, 
 which stretched away until it was lost to 
 view in the darkness beyond. The village, 
 which was a little below the lodge, was still 
 and quiet, for the inhabitants were wrapped 
 in slumber. On every side was perfect 
 peace, a great hush, which pervaded earth 
 and sea ; and for a moment they lingered 
 upon the moonlit lawn. 
 
 *' My dear friend," said the young clergy- 
 man, softly, laying his hand on Frederick's 
 arm, and speaking almost in a whisper, 
 '■'■you may wait in the vain hope of seeing 
 the advent of an ideal religion, /am satis- 
 fied with the one I have now in my reach. 
 I have a father and mother and other dear 
 friends sleeping in yonder churchyard, and 
 I have had my share of earthly sorrow ; but 
 when I gaze upon a scene like this — all 
 nature sleeping beneath the protecting wing 
 of an ever-watchful Father — all my little 
 doubts and troubles are dispelled, for He 
 who watches over a world of helpless beings
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 137 
 
 will surely protect me. I prefer to cling to 
 Him and to the Church which He has esta- 
 blished, rather than appeal to the perplexing 
 wisdom of philosophers." 
 
 With a silent grasp of Frederick's hand, 
 he went away, and his friend returned to his 
 study, where he remained above an hour 
 absorbed in deep thought. 
 
 **A well-meaning man, blinded by the 
 authority of the Church, and deeming it 
 necessary to fight everybody on her behalf," 
 he mused. 
 
 Nevertheless the parting words of the 
 clergyman made a deep impression upon his 
 mind, and when at last he took his candle to 
 retire to rest, he was filled with better and 
 holier thoughts than he had experienced for 
 a long time. 
 
 The servants had all retired to rest, and 
 throwing open his window he gazed out 
 into the night. Not a single light could 
 be seen glimmering anywhere, except the 
 bright orbs revolving silently in space; a 
 deep stillness had descended upon Glynarth,
 
 138 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 and as he stood musing he murmured to 
 himself, — 
 
 ** Is there no peace for the soul as well as 
 for the body ? The God who gave a rest 
 to the one has surely appointed some means 
 to secure the other. Perhaps my dream is 
 only a dream, and that whilst man is 
 imperfect outward religion will be imperfect 
 also, I wish I could believe it," and with a 
 sigh, he closed the window. 
 
 At that moment Maria Montressor was 
 sitting in her room, before a fire, knitting 
 her brows angrily. She had just heard that 
 Mr. Danvers had been at the Glen for some 
 hours that morning, and she was extremely 
 angry and alarmed. 
 
 ** It must be stopped," she muttered. 
 *' Mamma's scheme must be adopted 
 directly, whatever it may be. That milksop 
 of a brother of hers must be disgraced, and 
 I must force Mr. Danvers into a declara- 
 tion. He must be induced to believe that 
 she gave him up of her own free will, and 
 then he will be too proud to ask her again,
 
 MARIA LAYS HER PLANS. 1 39 
 
 if he has done so already, as I believe he 
 has, I shall draw him on then, and matters 
 can be easily arranged." 
 
 Not so easily perhaps, Miss Montressor. 
 Planning an undertaking is a much easier 
 matter than actually executing it, especially 
 in love, where people persist in going in the 
 wrong direction ; and if Maria could have 
 seen a short distance into the future, she 
 would have hesitated a little before entering 
 upon this intrigue.
 
 I40 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE. 
 
 Edward Hughes was not doing well at 
 Abernant — that was pretty certain soon 
 after his arrival there. His uncle, the 
 lawyer, had not taken kindly to him, and 
 the immediate consequence was, that the 
 youth sought the pleasures of society in 
 questionable companionship. This was 
 the case before Mrs. Montressor com- 
 menced the task of hastening his downfall ; 
 and rumours, which no one could trace to 
 their source, but which were nevertheless 
 in everybody's mouth, were circulated in 
 Glynarth respecting him. A man may per- 
 form the noblest actions he chooses, and 
 but few will talk about him ; but when he is
 
 AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE. I4I 
 
 on the downward path, people are ready 
 enough to push on the wheels which whirl 
 him to destruction. Talis vita est. 
 
 He had not fulfilled his promise of send- 
 ing his address to Frederick, and when 
 that gentleman first heard the disquieting 
 rumours which were floating about, he took 
 his hat and stick, and prepared to set out 
 for the Glyn, in order to consult Annie, for 
 he was fond of consulting her on every pre- 
 text. He was in a deeply- shaded part of 
 the road, and almost at the bottom of the 
 valley, when he suddenly came upon Mr. 
 Darby. The reverend gentleman tried to 
 appear as abstracted as usual ; but his 
 cheeks were a little flushed, and his manner 
 betrayed suppressed excitement, which indi- 
 cated that something had happened to dis- 
 turb his equanimity. He was coming from 
 the direction of the Glyn also ; but the philo- 
 sopher evidently triumphed over the man, 
 and he began, as he drew near: — 
 
 *' It is a curious fact, a fact which every- 
 day experience testifies to, Mr. Danvers,
 
 142 IN SECRET PLACES, 
 
 that small women always marry tall hus- 
 bands, and vice versa. Whenever you see a 
 very tall man, you may conclude a priori 
 that his wife is a very short woman. It is 
 difficult, you will agree with me, to explain 
 so remarkable a phenomenon, unless it be 
 owing to a feeling of pride on the part of 
 the small wife, that she is the mistress and 
 proprietress of a fine specimen of physical 
 manhood. This theory, however, must be 
 modified ." 
 
 And then, suddenly remembering that he 
 had not formally greeted Frederick, he ex- 
 claimed, ** Good morning, sir;" and went 
 on with his remarks : — 
 
 " Must be modified, sir, in the case of a 
 little man who marries a tall woman. He 
 feels a natural pride that he has conquered, 
 so to speak, the affections of a fine and 
 commanding woman, when she, in all pro- 
 bability, married him because no one else 
 proposed. I cannot explain this interesting 
 point otherwise." 
 
 ** Did it never occur to you," asked
 
 AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE. 1 43 
 
 Frederick, with a merry twinkle in his eye, 
 ** that the smallest states are always the 
 most powerful ? Sparta, Macedon, Athens, 
 Rome, Carthage, and, in modern times, 
 England and Prussia, were all states small 
 in area and in population, but still they 
 ruled and rule the world. Perhaps it is 
 owing to the fact that all the energy and 
 power of the people could be readily deve- 
 loped, and better discipline enforced than in 
 larger kingdoms or countries ; but, whatever 
 may be the cause, the fact is undeniable. 
 Small states have crushed the mightiest 
 kingdoms of the earth, and I think you 
 might account for the social phenomenon 
 you mention on precisely the same principle. 
 The smaller a man or woman may be, the 
 fuller they are of energy and ability, so that 
 they generally succeed in any object they 
 may take in hand ; and, as they feel their 
 own physical insignificance, they select the 
 finest specimen, of humanity they can meet 
 with in the opposite sex. Perhaps this view 
 meets your difficulty ? "
 
 144 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 "Perfectly, my dear sir," said the de- 
 lighted minister, with a radiant face. *' You 
 are a man of mind, sir, who can soar above 
 the dead level of Glynarth, and I am proud 
 to make your acquaintance. In the great 
 domain of the soul we are kindred spirits, 
 for it is remarkable that this very curious 
 question occurred to both of us almost 
 simultaneously." 
 
 Frederick did not contradict him, although, 
 of course, the explanation he put forth was 
 more in jest than earnest. He was anxious, 
 however, to reach his destination, and ac- 
 cordingly he put an end to the conversation. 
 
 ''I must wish you good morning now," 
 he said, with a smile. '* It reflects the 
 greatest credit upon your powers of dis- 
 cernment that you should have grasped so 
 obvious and yet so unstudied a question. 
 Good morning." 
 
 Mr. Darby went on his way rejoicing, and 
 his friend proceeded to the Glyn. 
 
 Annie was at home — in fact she was very 
 seldom away from home — and was attired in
 
 AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE. 1 45 
 
 * 
 
 the same simple black dress and shawl which 
 she wore on a previous visit of his. Since 
 her parents' death she always wore mourn- 
 ing, and she was one of those girls to whom 
 mourning always appears suitable, and 
 she knew it. Most girls have a particular 
 costume which suits their complexion, 
 although they make funny mistakes some- 
 times. I once knew a young lady who had 
 an idea that yellow suited her, and as she 
 was of the same hue as a guinea, she 
 might have been right — in theory ! 
 
 Annie, too, was a little agitated thi^ 
 morning. Could she have heard anything 
 about her brother, he wondered. 
 
 '* I am so glad you have come," she said,_ 
 as she opened the door. '* 1 wanted so 
 much to see you." 
 
 **Why, my darling?" he asked, as he 
 caressed her fondly. 
 
 *' Because you have not been here for a 
 very long time," she said shyly, and blush- 
 ing deeply, for she had not yet got over 
 the exquisite sensation of having a lover. 
 
 VOL. I. lO
 
 146 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 ** People say, too, that you are very devoted 
 to Miss Montressor," she added, timidly. 
 
 ** My dear child, listen to me," he said, 
 very gravely, and seating himself in the 
 easy chair. *' It is as well that we should 
 quite understand each other in reference to 
 our future course. I do not wish you to 
 become jealous in consequence of every idle 
 report — and. Heaven knows, there are plenty 
 circulating about this Arcadian neighbour- 
 hood — and believe everything you hear about 
 me ; and, on the other hand, I have the 
 fullest confidence that you will be faithful 
 to your part of our engagement. Servant 
 girls and footmen may be always doubting 
 and upbraiding each other, but sensible 
 people — like you and I, Annie," he added 
 with a smile — *'must not follow their 
 example." 
 
 She was silent, and did not even look up 
 from that everlasting embroidery upon which 
 she was always working. He noticed her 
 embarrassment, and partly guessed the cause 
 of it.
 
 AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE. 1 47 
 
 ** Has Mn Darby been here this morn- 
 ing? " he asked, believing that the minister 
 had been renewing his suit. *' I met him a 
 little way up the road, and he seemed to be 
 coming from here." 
 
 ** Yes, he was here for a long time," and 
 the heightened colour on her cheeks con- 
 firmed his' suspicion, *' and perhaps you 
 ought to know his errand. He asked me to 
 marry him." 
 
 She spoke this latter part of her little 
 confession with great rapidity and heightened 
 confusion, for she feared lest she should 
 break down in the middle. 
 
 '* I am not sure that it was wise to tell 
 me," he said with a smile, which consider- 
 ably reassured her, *' although of course it 
 does not matter in the least to me if Mr. 
 Darby proposes every day, does it ? You 
 refused him, of course." In his lordly Saxon 
 superiority he had a supreme contempt for 
 the Welsh minister, with his seventy pounds 
 a year, and no expectations. 
 
 " Yes," replied Annie. ** I have refused
 
 148 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 him at least half a dozen times before, and 
 he still insists upon persecuting me with his 
 attentions. I have even told him in a 
 general way that I am already engaged, but 
 he still persists, and this was my chief reason 
 for telling you.'* 
 
 *' I see only one remedy for it ; you must 
 allow our engagement to become known. 
 The two months you insisted upon are 
 more than half gone, and I am strongly of 
 the opinion that it is wrong to keep the 
 matter a secret any longer. I am in favour 
 of our good old English system, an open 
 honourable transaction in the light of day, 
 and I think the Welsh method which com- 
 pels young people to meet in secret places 
 at night, and which forbids all social inter- 
 course between them, is a most injurious 
 one — but here I am moralizing again. 
 Everybody does it here, Annie, even your 
 own sweet self; it is something in the air 
 I believe." 
 
 She laughed at this unlooked-for con- 
 clusion.
 
 AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE. 1 49 
 
 **We will adopt your English system, 
 then," she said, with another little blush, 
 ** announce our engagement as publicly as 
 you like, if you think it ought to be made 
 known." 
 
 *' I certainly do," was the emphatic reply ; 
 *' I hate underhand work, even of this kind ; 
 but I came here to-day about something 
 else too, which I nearly forgot. Have you 
 heard anything from your brother yet? " 
 
 He asked the question as carelessly as he 
 could, but she took alarm in a moment. 
 She knew better than any one else how 
 weak he was, and how prone to fall into 
 temptation, and her anxiety respecting him 
 had been unceasing since that morning, when 
 the carrier took him and his box away. Was 
 he not her only brother, and what on earth had 
 she to think about in that delightfully dingy 
 old house, except her lover and her brother ? 
 this brother who had been entrusted to her 
 by one whose voice had long since been 
 hushed in the awful silence of the tomb ! and 
 if she failed in her duty towards him, how
 
 150 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 could she ever expect peace and happiness 
 herself? So the fair Welsh maiden reasoned, 
 and it cannot be wondered at that Frederick's 
 question made her start up in alarm. 
 
 *' What have you to tell me about him ? " 
 she demanded, almost sharply, not heeding 
 his question, and jumping to a conclusion, 
 as all the dear creatures will do without the 
 slightest reason for doing so, **is there any- 
 thing the matter with him ? " 
 
 ^'I merely asked whether you had heard 
 anything about him," he replied; *' he has 
 not fulfilled his promise of writing to me, 
 and therefore I can't know anything about 
 him." 
 
 Why should he pain her with idle village 
 gossip ? If all the unpleasant rumours were 
 true, or even a small proportion of them, 
 she was likely to have trouble enough in a 
 short time. 
 
 *' I am sure there is something wrong," 
 she insisted, placing her hands upon his 
 shoulders, and looking into his face with 
 such an appealing expression, that the soft-
 
 AN OFFER OF MARRIA.GE. I5I 
 
 hearted fellow found it difficult to restrain 
 himself from telling- her something- of what 
 he knew; ** you must have heard something. 
 Tell me, Frederick, what is the matter ? " 
 
 She had never called him by his Christian 
 name before, and she half wondered at her 
 own temerity in doing so, but her brother 
 always loomed in the foreground to the 
 exclusion of everything else, 
 
 ** There is nothing the matter," the 
 deceitful fellow answered soothingly, and 
 drawing her to his breast ; ** if you like I will 
 go to Abernant to-morrow, and bring him 
 away if he is in any scrape." 
 
 Annie seized eagerly upon this propo- 
 sition, and her fears were greatly relieved by 
 the promise ; but if she could have witnessed 
 a scene which occurred that evening in 
 Montressor House, she would not have 
 spent so pleasant an afternoon, listening to 
 Frederick's words of love.
 
 152 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL. 
 
 In the drawing-room at Montressor House 
 two persons were seated in deep conver- 
 sation — the lady of the house, and a man 
 who was a stranger in Glynarth, a man who 
 had once perhaps been handsome, but upon 
 whose features the impress of dissipation 
 and vicious habits was very evident. He 
 was over forty years of age, how much more 
 it would have been difficult to say, but he 
 endeavoured to assume youthful manners 
 and to preserve even a juvenile appearance 
 in his dress. His attire was somewhat 
 shabby and worn, and his fingers were 
 decorated with a number of cheap rings, 
 whilst a large Albert chain dangled from
 
 PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL. 1 53 
 
 his waistcoat pocket. If one had met him 
 casually in a roadside inn, one might have 
 supposed that he was a vendor of cheap 
 jewellery or a travelling tailor — in fact he 
 had been one and the other in the course 
 of a rather eventful life. His small, cunning 
 eyes and low forehead, his nose rendered 
 more prominent than nature intended by 
 strong drink, and his haggard, bloated face 
 combined to make him an unpleasant person 
 to contemplate. He was not a man who 
 had seen better days, but one with whom 
 life was a perpetual struggle to be regarded 
 as a gentleman, but whose inherent vulga- 
 rity betrayed itself in every word, look, and 
 gesture. 
 
 The lady sat in an easy-chair before the 
 fire, and he had drawn his seat almost to her 
 side, his arm resting carelessly upon the 
 table. He had been waiting nearly an hour 
 for her, and when at length she made her 
 appearance he was not in the best of 
 humours. 
 
 ^'You sent for me on urgent business,"
 
 154 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 he began, sneeringly, as she took her seat, 
 " and you show your sense of its importance 
 by keeping me waiting an hour. Do you 
 act in the same way towards every gentleman 
 who calls upon you ? " 
 
 ** Not towards gentlemen^'' she replied, 
 significantly. *^ Have you never disabused 
 yourself of the idea that you have a right to 
 such a name ? " 
 
 "Not yet,'* he replied, "^' and perhaps 
 before our interview is over, I may convince 
 you that I am nearer it now than I have 
 ever been before. Let us enter upon your 
 business." 
 
 Mrs, Montressor rose, and going to the 
 window, she drew the blind carefully down 
 and then locked the door, for the mission 
 which she was about to intrust to this man 
 would not bear the free light of heaven. 
 This having been done, she returned to her 
 place. 
 
 ** You have not quite forgotten the old 
 times, Henry, when we first knew one 
 another," she began, in a voice that was
 
 PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL. 1 55 
 
 intended to be tender, but which was quite 
 thrown away upon her listener, *'You 
 know how badly off I was then, and that 
 my marriage with Mr, Montressor was in 
 every way a most desirable one, for it gave 
 me wealth and power, which I still retain," 
 
 *'Why do you remind me of all this, 
 woman?'* he broke out, fiercely; *'whydo 
 you remind me of the mad love which I had 
 for you then, and how completely you cast 
 me aside when this rich man came between 
 us ? I have often thought, as I saw you 
 in your carriage — his carriage rather — that \ 
 could have killed you without pity or mercy." 
 
 He was terribly in earnest, and she recoiled 
 a little before him. " Having no softness in 
 her own heart she knew not how dangerous 
 it was to play with this man's feelings^ 
 
 '* No, I do not wish to remind you of 
 that,'' she said, soothingly ; " it was merely 
 for the purpose of asking your help in a 
 matter of the very utmost importance to me. 
 My husband, you must understand, held this 
 estate, because it was supposed his uncle,
 
 156 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 who died a few years before our marriage, 
 died without issue ; but the supposition was 
 a false one, for a son was living, and is still, 
 and he is now on his way to England to 
 claim the estate. Henry, I have sworn by 
 all that heaven and hell contain that he shall 
 never wrest it from my hands ! " 
 
 "How can you prevent it?" he asked, 
 moodily. ** If he proves his claim, you must 
 submit." 
 
 *' I hardly expected such a silly speech 
 from you," was the angry reply. "I 
 thought that you were rather more shrewd 
 than other people ; but you can see but 
 little farther than your nose, after all. He 
 can prove his claim — at least, I believe he 
 can — for the necessary papers are in Eng- 
 land ; nay more, in Glynarth, a few miles 
 from here." 
 
 " Bum them, then," he said, irritated by 
 her taunts. "You are so remarkably clever 
 that I should not have thought it necessary 
 to suggest so simple an expedient. Burn 
 them, and his claim is disposed of at once."
 
 PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL. 1 57 
 
 '* It is almost impossible to get at them," 
 was the more quiet reply, for it was useless 
 to pursue this-system of mutual recrimina- 
 tion when she needed his aid. '' They are 
 in the hands of an old woman who has no 
 definite idea as to their immense value to 
 me ; but she has an idea that, if they fall 
 into my hands, I shall make some improper 
 use of them. She would not give them up 
 to me, and in consequence of her refusal, T 
 threatened to tear down her hut ; but of 
 what benefit would such a measure be to 
 us ? On the contrary it would drive her to 
 seek refuge elsewhere — it would be more diffi- 
 cult for me to obtain access to her. She has 
 even refused to show them to me, and I can 
 therefore only guess as to their contents. 
 There is a baptismal certificate, I believe — 
 the only one existing — for I tore out with 
 my own hands the leaf from the register in 
 Glynarth church. There must be a descrip- 
 tion of some peculiar marks, if any, by which 
 the child may be identified, and what else 
 there may be I know not. This much is
 
 158 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 certain, I must have these papers at any 
 cost." 
 
 '* But how can you get themi ? " he asked, 
 curiously. 
 
 *'You must procure them,'* was the 
 emphatic reply. *' I sent for you to-day 
 to make you an offer. If you can procure 
 them by fair means, or by foul, I will give 
 you a cheque for five hundred pounds ; if 
 you fail, for one hundred." 
 
 *'You forget, madam, that I am a gentle- 
 man," he began. 
 
 ** A gentleman ! " she laughed, with bitter 
 scorn ; ''a man who commenced life as a 
 jockey, and who has been everything from 
 a horse-chaunter to an old clothes' man for 
 the last twenty years, living on villany and 
 swindling of all kinds ! Nothing has been 
 too mean or disreputable for you to be 
 mixed up with ; and if hell itself contained 
 a five pound note anywhere, you would go 
 down into the depths of perdition to find it. 
 I know you too well, Mr. Henry — too well 
 to be blinded by empty words."
 
 PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL. 1 59 
 
 He smiled with gratified pride. If she 
 had told him that he was a greater scoundrel 
 than any that ever strained a hempen cord, 
 he would have been highly flattered. 
 
 ** If I am so great a rascal as you make 
 me out to be, I must be better paid than the 
 mere song you mentioned, only ten ponies ! 
 I am astonished that a lady should have 
 made such an ofler. Make it a thousand 
 and two hundred, instead of five and one 
 hundred, or else I am off.^* 
 
 *' Do it for what I have offered, or not at 
 all," she replied — **in fact, I should hav^ 
 expected you to do it for nothing, after all 
 that has passed between us." 
 
 *' All that has passed between us ! " he 
 echoed, with a derisive laugh. *^ What has 
 passed between us that you should be so 
 eager to recall it ? Is it the memory of the 
 fervent love you once professed for me, and 
 the sudden change in your conduct when 
 this rich man offered you marriage ? I have 
 not forgotten the bitter, taunting words with 
 which you favoured me, when you told me
 
 l6o IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 that you had never loved me, and that the 
 whole affair was foolishly absurd, and ought 
 to be buried from sight amongst the other 
 follies of youth. It would be better for you 
 if you had never recalled the miserable story. 
 You have no claim upon my gratitude in the 
 past; but, on the contrary, there is much 
 that some men might find it difficult to 
 forgive." 
 
 ** But you will forgive it ? " 
 
 *' Not in the sense that you would wish 
 me to forgive," he replied. *' You wish me 
 to do your disreputable work free of expense 
 to you, whilst you reap the advantage, and I 
 have no intention of doing so. If you want 
 these papers, you must pay me a thousand 
 pounds for them, or else you will not see 
 them." 
 
 Other women more educated and refined 
 would have shrunk from this plain-spoken 
 ruffian ; but she was accustomed to deal 
 with such characters, and therefore was not 
 alarmed. Neither did she feel any repug- 
 nance towards him. She regarded him
 
 PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL. l6l 
 
 simply as an unscrupulous man, who could 
 render her good service, and she much pre- 
 ferred paying a thousand pounds, in order 
 to keep the estate, rather than lose all her 
 revenue. 
 
 *' Your price is a heavy one," she said, 
 endeavouring to beat down his demand — 
 *'it is exorbitant. I have already offered 
 you a fair price, and unless you choose to 
 accept it, I must find someone else who will 
 do the business for me." 
 
 *'You forget that you have told me the 
 story," he said, coolly. " What if I felt dis- 
 posed to procure them on my own account? " 
 
 ** Of what possible use could they be to 
 you ? " she asked ; but there was a cold 
 feeling of terror in her heart as she heard 
 his insolent question,- for she had now a new 
 enemy to encounter scarcely less dangerous 
 than Edmund Montressor himself 
 
 *' It is hardly necessary to explain that," 
 he said, with a sneer, rising as he spoke 
 and leaning upon the mantelpiece, whilst his 
 small eyes were fixed upon her face. *' You 
 
 VOL. I. - II
 
 1 62 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 can see well enough that, unless you were 
 disposed to come to terms for them, the 
 other side might be less obstinate." 
 
 ** We need not discuss what the other side 
 might or might not do," she answered, 
 coldly. ** You shall have the money you ask 
 for when you bring me the papers. And 
 now there is another subject upon which 
 I wish to speak to you. You are residing 
 at Abernant for the present, are you not?" 
 
 ''Yes." 
 
 " Very well ; a young man named Hughes 
 has gone there from this neighbourhood. I 
 think he is a little wild and dissipated — just 
 like yourself — and you will have no difficulty 
 in making his acquaintance. Keep an eye 
 upon him, for I may have something to tell 
 you about him ; and in the meantime, if you 
 do make him a little drunk now and then, 
 well and good. Do you understand me ? " 
 
 Yes, he understood that there was another 
 scheme in the wind, as he expressed it ; and 
 he resolved to find out all about it before he 
 left Glynarth. He had a decidedly inquisi-
 
 PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL. 1 63 
 
 tive mind, ever bent on the acquisition of 
 new stores of knowledge, a man of the 
 mould from which great scholars and scoun- 
 drels are alike made, both equally bent on 
 acquiring information, but information of a 
 somewhat different kind, Henry Emmerson 
 was a useful ally, but a dangerous one when 
 it suited his interests to desert his employers. 
 ** When am I to begin this little job ? '' he 
 asked; **and you have not yet told me 
 where the old woman lives/' 
 
 **You must go to work to-night," she 
 replied. ** The sooner it is done, and you 
 are out of the neighbourhood, the better. 
 As for the place, I will show you the way 
 myself. You had better get some refresh- 
 ment and prepare for the night's work." 
 
 He left the room by one door just as 
 Frederick entered by another, which had 
 been left unlocked.
 
 1 64 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR MEETS WITH A REPULSE. 
 
 The lady was rather startled by this unex- 
 pected visit, for she was under the impres- 
 sion that she had guarded sufficiently 
 against intrusion. 
 
 '* I could find none of the servants about, 
 Mrs. Montressor," he said, pleasantly, 
 ** none, except a kitchen-maid, who directed 
 me here. I hope I am not intruding upon 
 you ; but I wished to say that if Miss Mon- 
 tressor chooses, we will ride over to the 
 cairns on the first fine day — to-morrow if the 
 weather changes ; " for it had been wet and 
 tormy. 
 
 *' You are not intruding at all," said the 
 lady, sweetly; *'and Maria will be happy to
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR MEETS A REPULSE. 1 65 
 
 accompany you. Unfortunately she is out 
 just now, and she will be very sorry when 
 she finds that you called in her absence. 
 She was speaking of you this morning." 
 
 He would have been greatly surprised if 
 he had heard that conversation. 
 
 ** Miss Montressor is extremely kind," he 
 said^ feeling it necessary to say something. 
 
 ** I am afraid that you visit down at the 
 Glyn oftener than here," she remarked, with 
 a perceptible tinge of scornful reproach in 
 her voice. " I believe that you admire Miss 
 Annie Hughes very much." ♦ 
 
 This was rather a free-and-easy mode of ad- 
 dress he thought, and one that he did not like , 
 and determined to put an end to the annoyance. 
 
 << Very much, madam," he said, quietly. 
 
 ** She is rather a nice girl, as country girls 
 go," was the gracious remark of the lady; 
 **for my own part I see nothing unusual to 
 admire in her." 
 
 ** I admire her so much that I have asked 
 her to be my wife," he said, gravely; *'and 
 she has accepted my offer."
 
 1 66 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 The lords of the Philistines must have 
 felt rather faint, I imagine, when their 
 temple came tumbling in upon them, and 
 the same feeling possessed Mrs. Montressor 
 at that moment. Her indomitable courage, 
 however, came to her aid ; and perceiving 
 that if she made any further effort to dis- 
 parage the young lady he would be offended, 
 she immediately changed her tactics. 
 
 ** I am very glad to hear it, Mr. Dan vers," 
 she said, with apparent frankness. '* I am 
 glad that your bride will be a Welsh lady, 
 and that there is a prospect of keeping you 
 here permanently." 
 
 Temporarily crushed as her scheme was, 
 she manifested no traces of the storm of 
 passion which was raging in her breast, and 
 her unsuspecting visitor pardoned her imme- 
 diately. He liked her better at that moment 
 than he had ever done before, so that Mrs. 
 Montressor succeeded in blinding him as to 
 the real state of affairs. 
 
 **When is the wedding to come off?" 
 asked the wily lady.
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR MEETS A REPULSE. 1 67 
 
 ** The time has not yet been fixed. I shall 
 hurry it as much as possible." 
 
 ** Maria will be delighted," said the good 
 lady, ** she will insist upon being one of the 
 bridesmaids. Glynarth will be in a great 
 state of commotion then, for it will be a 
 red-letter day in our calendar." 
 
 And so, with many protestations as to her 
 delight and goodwill, she sent him away 
 in the belief that she fully approved of his 
 choice. Maria came in soon after his depar- 
 ture, and then her mother's pent-up wrath 
 burst forth. • 
 
 ** That fool Danvers has been here," she 
 exclaimed, ** and he actually told me that he 
 is engaged to Annie Hughes. It was dis- 
 gusting to see how happy the poor fool 
 appeared to be as he told me that he really 
 intends to marry her. I could understand 
 an intrigue between him and a girl of this 
 kind ; but as for marriage, I would never 
 believe it, unless I had heard it from his own 
 lips." 
 
 The woman's mean and cruel nature dis-
 
 1 68 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 played itself in her passionate utterances. 
 Even Maria, callous as she was, shrank from 
 her in dismay. 
 
 *' There is nothing for it but to fight it 
 out to the end," said her mother, resolutely; 
 **we are driven to fight for everything, 
 even for the very bread we are eating, and I 
 am quite desperate. We shall have a hard 
 struggle here ; but this marriage I swear 
 shall never take place." 
 
 ** Never, mamma!" cried her daughter, 
 whose spirit was rising to the fray. If she 
 missed this chance, when should she have 
 another? That was the view she took of 
 the matter, and it nerved her for her work. 
 
 ** You must pretend to be deeply interested 
 in the engagement," continued her mother; 
 ''you must flatter and be kind to him — 
 kinder than ever. Do not allow him to 
 suspect for one moment that we have been 
 disappointed ; but let things go on just as 
 they are, and do your best to gain the con- 
 fidence of both. You ought to go down to 
 the Glyn to congratulate this girl."
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR MEETS A REPULSE. 1 69 
 
 ** And you, mamma?" asked Maria, 
 ** what are you going to do ? " 
 
 *' I cannot tell you now," was the rather 
 gloomy reply. *' I have work enough on 
 my hands for half a dozen people, and I 
 want a little repose. Go and dress for din- 
 ner, or amuse yourself as well as you can." 
 
 Maria went away, closing the door behind 
 her; and her mother stretched herself wearily 
 on a couch, and endeavoured to sleep ; but 
 the effort was a vain one : her mind was 
 teeming with plots and schemes, full of the 
 dangers and difficulties by which she wa§ 
 surrounded, and rest was out of the question. 
 She rose at length, and going to her room, 
 she bathed her aching brow and eyes with 
 water. 
 
 *' This is fearful work, but it has been 
 forced upon me," she muttered; *' it will 
 kill me unless I get it over soon. It cannot 
 last long, and after it is over there will be 
 rest." 
 
 When ? That rest very seldom comes to 
 a transgressor of every law, human and
 
 I70 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 divine ; and in most cases is a hopeless 
 dream. So she was fated to find it. 
 
 Mr. Emmerson did not of course appear 
 at dinner, for Maria and most of the servants 
 were unaware of his presence in the house. 
 When it was over, Mrs. Montressor told her 
 daughter that she was going out; and the 
 young lady was sufficiently well trained not 
 to ask impertinent questions as to the object 
 of the journey. 
 
 Disguising herself in the same manner as 
 upon a former occasion, and having sum- 
 moned her companion, she stole noiselessly 
 out of the house. Once in the shadow of 
 the trees, she waited for the gentleman, who 
 speedily joined her; and then in silence they 
 pursued a private path which led to the 
 high road. In a few minutes they had left 
 the grounds, and were walking rapidly 
 away from the village. Then Emmerson 
 spoke. 
 
 ''It is just the night for a job like ours," 
 he said, glancing up towards the sky, where 
 heavy black masses of clouds obscured the
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR MEETS A REPULSE. I7I 
 
 moon, and only a few stars could be seen in 
 the dark expanse above. 
 
 *' Yes,*' she replied, with a slight shudder; 
 "everything is so still, and there are but 
 few people abroad even in the daytime, that 
 our task ought to be an easy one." 
 
 They did not speak again for some time. 
 They almost dreaded to give utterance to 
 their guilty thoughts in that solemn silence. 
 An unseen Presence seemed to hover around 
 them in every whisper of the night-wind and 
 in every movement of the foliage ; and as 
 they drew near the spot where the old woman* 
 dwelt, Mrs. Montressor almost sickened with 
 horror. Remorseful thoughts entered her 
 mind, but she told herself that it was too 
 late to withdraw. 
 
 They reached at last a point in the road 
 nearly opposite to the hut. It was almost the 
 very spot from which Frederick started in search 
 of the shelter from whence the light proceed- 
 ed on that evening when he first met Annie 
 Hughes. Here they stayed their steps, and 
 Mrs. Montressor seized her companion's arm
 
 172 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 **Look down into the hollow," she said, 
 in a whisper, *'you can see a faint glimmer 
 of light through the darkness. There ! it 
 flashed out a little brighter then. Did you 
 see it?*' 
 
 **No, I see nothing," he said, aloud; 
 ** nothing but darkness ever3^where." 
 
 ** Hush ! do not speak so loudly," she 
 exclaimed, terrified by the sound of his 
 voice, which seemed to ring out clearly and 
 distinctly in that wild solitude; "fix your 
 eyes steadily on the hollow beneath us, and 
 watch for a little while." 
 
 He did so. Not a word was spoken ; but 
 Mrs. Montressor's heart beat loudly under 
 the influence of a vague, nameless fear, 
 which was fast settling upon her spirit. 
 
 *' I see it now," he said, at length; *^ it 
 glitters like a glowworm. Is that the 
 place? " 
 
 ** Yes, that is the hut, and there are the 
 papers," she replied, in an impressive whis- 
 per. ** You must cross these fields, and 
 walk straight towards the light. There are
 
 MRS. MONTRESSOR MEETS A REPULSE. 1 73 
 
 no obstacles except the embankments, which 
 serve for hedges. When you have reached 
 the spot, you must adopt your own plans, in 
 order to earn your promised reward." 
 
 *^ Is this the only way to the place ? " he 
 asked, preparing to start. 
 
 *'No; there is a lane, the entrance of 
 which we passed a little while ago ; but if 
 you went down that way, you might meet 
 some one, and a man going there at night 
 would be suspected immediately." 
 
 "But who could possibly see me?" he 
 asked. ^ 
 
 ** There may be more eyes about the hut 
 than you may imagine," she answered, still 
 in a low whisper. '* I forgot to tell you that 
 the old woman is a Druid — a believer in 
 that ancient and mysterious faith. Strange 
 meetings, I am told, take place in her house. 
 I have myself heard some extraordinary 
 music proceeding from there." 
 
 After all, his one thousand pounds was 
 not to be very lightly earned, he thought. 
 
 *' It is well that you told me this," he
 
 174 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 said, examining his pistols carefully; **it 
 may be dangerous work/' 
 
 **It is just possible," she replied, **though 
 not at all likely. I have been several times 
 in the place, and saw nothing unusual — 
 only a few strange-looking ornaments. But 
 precious time is passing away." 
 
 Roused by this hint, he adjusted his 
 weapons, and dropped into the field. 
 
 *^ Wait for me here," he said, as he 
 glided away amidst the shadows, " and if 
 you hear anything unusual, make the best 
 of your way homewards." 
 
 And in another moment Mrs. Montressor 
 was alone in the night.
 
 WHAT WAS IT? 175 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 WHAT WAS IT? 
 
 She could hear his footsteps as he crossed 
 the field ; but when he entered the next she 
 could hear nothing except the murmur of 
 the wind. The moments seemed to move* 
 with leaden wings, and she could almost 
 persuade herself that in that wilderness time 
 itself had become motionless. Half an hour, 
 however, passed away in this manner, and 
 still she could hear nothing, see nothing 
 except that flickering speck of light which 
 she watched with straining eyes. Had he 
 succeeded in securing the papers, or was he 
 waiting there for a favourable opportunity ? 
 The uncertainty was agonizing, and she 
 was about to set off in the direction he had
 
 176 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 taken when she was alarmed by a startling 
 noise. 
 
 The light had disappeared, but in the 
 direction from whence it had issued came 
 loud shouts and cries, mingled with sounds 
 that seemed to be imprecations, and the 
 hoarse murmur of men engaged in fierce 
 strife. In that more than Egyptian dark- 
 ness the alarming din struck the terrified 
 listener's heart with fear, and her limbs 
 shook with sudden dread. She stood there 
 rooted to the spot, awaiting in helpless 
 despair Emmerson's return. He came in a 
 few minutes, speeding along the fields 
 swiftly and noiselessly. It was not too dark 
 to notice his pale, terrified countenance, and 
 his trembling hands and voice. 
 
 **What was the matter, Henry?" she 
 asked, as he came up. 
 
 " Matter enough," he said, with a hoarse 
 laugh. *' All the devils in hell are out on 
 these hills to-night. Listen ! " 
 
 High and clear above the murmur of the 
 wind and the distant roar of the sea rose
 
 WHAT WAS IT? 177 
 
 that weird, unearthly music she had heard 
 before, but more wailing and plaintive with 
 its melancholy cadence. It was as if the 
 spirits of the lost were holding an assembly 
 in the hut, and uniting together in a long 
 howl of despair. Emmerson stood for a 
 moment listening to the melancholy strain, 
 and then turning round to Mrs. Montressor, 
 he exclaimed, in a voice trembling with 
 horror and alarm, '* The Druids ! " 
 
 Before she could answer a word he had 
 disappeared from her side, and fled away 
 from the accursed spot, leaving her to wend' 
 her steps homewards as well as she could, 
 and bitterly lamenting that she had ever 
 embarked upon the enterprise, for it needed 
 no word of his to tell her that he had not 
 obtained the papers. 
 
 Let us follow his footsteps when he ap- 
 proached the hut. He found no difficulty 
 in making his way over the fences and 
 embankments which lay in his path. As 
 he advanced the light also became clearer 
 and more distinct, and as he approached 
 
 VOL. I. 12
 
 178 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 nearer to the spot, he became more careful 
 and cautious. At length he ceached the 
 little enclosure which surrounded the hut, 
 and ventured to enter it. It was so dark 
 that there was but little danger of his being 
 seen by anybody. He stole cautiously to 
 the window, and peeped in. The old crone 
 was sitting on the stool before the miserable 
 peat fire, turning round occasionally and 
 muttering some unintelligible Welsh jargon. 
 He concluded that she was talking to her- 
 self, and from her his attention wandered to 
 the poverty-stricken apartment. Upon the 
 walls were the same curious ornaments which 
 had attracted Frederick's attention, and 
 upon the floor were skins and several ragged 
 coats thrown down apparently at random. 
 As he watched, Sian arose, and, going to 
 a corner of the room, she dragged forth a 
 mat, which she unrolled and spread upon 
 the floor. Her next proceeding was to 
 stretch herself upon this, without, however, 
 extino-uishinof the candle. 
 
 ''She can't go to sleep without putting
 
 WHAT WAS IT? 179 
 
 the light out, and I don't suppose she has 
 fastened the door," he thought. " It looks 
 like it, though. She's going off now." 
 
 After turning uneasily about for some 
 time, the old woman sank into what seemed 
 to be placid slumber. The spy at the win- 
 dow was puzzled by this, and still more so 
 when he examined the door, and found that 
 it was not secured except by a simple latch ; 
 but he came to the conclusion that the old 
 woman expected a visitor, and that the 
 candle was left burning until he made his 
 appearance. It was very still now, both* 
 within and without the hut, and Emmerson 
 thought it time to commence operations. 
 He stole softly to the door, and, raising 
 the latch, entered, closing it behind him, to 
 exclude the night air. His eyes wandered 
 rapidly round the room, and fixed upon an 
 old cupboard as the probable place where 
 the papers he was in quest of were con- 
 cealed. He glanced at the old woman, and, 
 believing her to be asleep, he stepped up 
 to the cupboard, and found it locked. This
 
 l80 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 was but a trifling obstacle, for in a minute 
 or two he had opened it by means of a 
 bundle of keys he had brought with him. 
 There was a heap of papers in the interior, 
 and he was just about to transfer them all 
 into the pockets of his greatcoat when the 
 old woman started up and uttered a shrill 
 cry of alarm. To bound over and seize 
 her was the work of an instant ; but the 
 next moment he felt a hand at his own 
 throat, and he was horriiied to find the room 
 full of men dressed in quaint fantastic cos- 
 tume. Emmerson had sufficient presence 
 of mind to extinguish the candle, and then 
 a violent struggle commenced. He shook 
 ofi" the grip of his first antagonist, and, 
 drawing forth one of his pistols, fired 
 directly at the door, which he knew was 
 guarded by one of the new comers. A 
 deep groan and a heavy fall told him that 
 the shot had taken effect ; and, in order to 
 draw off the attention of his unseen assail- 
 ants, he succeeded in changing his position 
 the moment after he had fired the shot.
 
 WHAT WAS IT? l8l 
 
 He rushed In the direction from whence the 
 report proceeded ; but in another instant, 
 Emmerson had flung open the door, and 
 bounded away into the fields. To pursue 
 him would be almost useless, and no eiifort, 
 therefore, was made to overtake him. 
 
 ** By Jove ! that was the nearest touch I 
 have ever had," he muttered, pausing- to 
 wipe away the streaming perspiration from 
 his brow. *'The upsetting of the candle 
 was the luckiest thing I ever did ; for my 
 business would have been settled before this 
 but for that little event. Where on earth* 
 did those fiends come from ? Dressed In 
 skins and something else, I thought they 
 were . The place must be bewitched." 
 
 He had nearly recovered his breath, and, 
 therefore, resumed his flight to the spot 
 where he met Mrs. Montressor. He was 
 not quite sure as to whether the beings he 
 had seen and felt were human or not ; but 
 when he heard that dreary, soul-chilling 
 strain of music, he was convinced that no 
 earthly agency could have produced it. A
 
 1 82 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 terror such as he had never experienced 
 before seized him, and he fled away from 
 the evil-omened place. 
 
 He betook himself to the grounds of 
 Montressor House, and, concealed among 
 the shrubbery, he awaited the coming of the 
 lady. Her alarm had not been a whit less 
 than his ; but fear absolutely prevented her 
 from fleeing as he had done. The mournful 
 cadence died away in quivering, discordant 
 notes before she had gone far ; and, as she 
 left the scene still further behind, her spirits 
 revived, and her courage began to return. 
 Still she could not account for the extra- 
 ordinary events of the night, and she longed 
 to hear from Emmerson's own lips a report 
 of what had occurred. 
 
 When she entered her own grounds he 
 came forth from his hiding-place. She 
 motioned him to follow her, and then led 
 the way to her own room, where a bright 
 fire was burning, and supper had been laid 
 for her. She invited him to partake of it, 
 and together they sat down before the
 
 WHAT WAS IT ? 183 
 
 cheerful blaze, and now that she was no 
 longer in solitude and gloom, her spirits 
 rose wonderfully. She found it easy to be 
 courageous when she had nothing to fear, 
 and she even laughed at the dread which 
 had hung so heavily over her a few moments 
 before. 
 
 **You are a weak, cowardly idiot," she 
 said, addressing Emmerson with supreme 
 scorn ; ** you would run away if a cat hissed 
 at you in the darkness. I need not ask you 
 whether you have the papers ? '' 
 
 *'No; I have not got them,'^ he answered; 
 moodily, for the light and warmth had not 
 produced the same effect upon him. ** I 
 believe I saw them, but I would not go 
 through such another scene as that of to- 
 night for ten thousand pounds. It is all 
 very well to laugh at it, but if you had been 
 there, surrounded by men or devils — I don't 
 know which, perhaps both — you would hardly 
 laugh at the affair as you do.'' 
 
 He told her the story, and he could see 
 that she was impressed by it She sat
 
 1 84 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 staring intently into the glowing embers, 
 apparently lost in thought. She was trying 
 to account for the sudden appearance of 
 these men, in order to divest it of its super- 
 natural aspect. 
 
 " There were skins and other things lying 
 about, you said," she observed ; *' these 
 men were concealed beneath them, I am 
 sure. Their dress was nothing more than 
 the peculiar garb of these fanatics." 
 
 " But what were they doing under the 
 skins?" he asked, *^ even supposing they 
 were there, and I am sure they were not. 
 If they had known of my coming, we might 
 account for it ; but it is quite inexplicable as 
 it is." 
 
 She could not unravel this point, and he 
 was not altogether certain that his recent 
 adversaries were human beings. 
 
 **This is intolerable folly, Emmerson," 
 the lady exclaimed, angrily; **and you are 
 becoming quite childish. Do ghosts grip 
 their enemies by the throat, and groan and 
 fall when a bullet is put into them ? You
 
 WHAT WAS IT? 185 
 
 have had sufficient proof that you were 
 striving with flesh and blood. Don't talk 
 such ridiculous nonsense any more." 
 
 He was silenced, though not quite con- 
 vinced; and she advised him to retire for 
 the night. 
 
 ** Be in the garden at seven to-morrow 
 morning," she said; "you must leave here 
 directly afterwards, lest your presence should 
 be noticed. I will decide upon something 
 by then." 
 
 Clearly Mrs. Montressor did not allow the 
 grass to grow beneath her feet, in fighting 
 for her daughter and for her estate.
 
 1 86 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Frederick's mission. 
 
 Frederick was on the road at an early- 
 hour next morning-, speeding onward as 
 fast as a powerful horse could carry him to 
 Abernant, in order to fulfil the promise 
 made on the previous day to Annie. His 
 way lay along the sea-side for the whole of 
 the twenty miles he had to travel. Some- 
 times it wound along the base of high and 
 precipitous rocks, at others upon the brow 
 of cliffs overhanging the sea. For a part of 
 the road he was riding was above the ocean, 
 which was spread out before him, tinged 
 with the golden hue of the morning sun, 
 whilst far away in the distance, lying beneath 
 the horizon, were the hills of North Wales
 
 Frederick's mission. 187 
 
 and the Carnarvonshire and Merionethshire 
 coasts, studded with tiny would-be-fashion- 
 able watering-places, and rising abruptly as 
 it were from the depths of the sea. It was 
 a sight which would have moved a less 
 enthusiastic lover of nature than he was, 
 and frequently he reined in his horse that 
 he might contemplate at leisure the lovely 
 scene. 
 
 With these and other interruptions his 
 journey was not accomplished until nearly 
 noonday, and as he rode into the town he 
 perceived, from the unusual number of 
 people who were flocking in, that it was 
 market-day. Old and young women, wear- 
 ing beautifully clean white caps surmounted 
 by high peaked hats, were carrying baskets 
 filled with butter and eggs for sale ; and 
 rustic swains, dressed in suits of home- 
 made cloth, were strolling about, stopping 
 occasionally to interchange greetings with 
 their female acquaintances. The stalls, 
 upon which meat, greengroceries, and other 
 articles were exposed for sale, were placed
 
 1 88 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 in the streets, and round them the smartly- 
 dressed country-folk clustered. Welsh 
 greetings of " Sut yr y'ch chwi heddyw," * 
 and *' Boven da i chwi " t were freely inter- 
 changed, and the people stared curiously at 
 the strange horseman who rode slowly 
 along ; the general expression of opinion 
 being that he was a '' gwr dieithr o Sais " 
 (an English stranger), although no very 
 great amount of erudition was necessary to 
 make this discovery. 
 
 He wended his way up to the principal 
 hotel, where he left his horse and made 
 inquiries as to Edward's place of business — 
 or rather, his uncle's. He found that this 
 gentleman was a well-known municipal 
 luminary, and he had therefore no difficulty 
 in finding his house. It was situated in the 
 principal thoroughfare of the town, and 
 presented a very comfortable appearance, 
 as if the owner was a remarkably prosperous 
 man. Into this place Frederick entered, 
 and inquired for Edward, but was told by 
 
 * "How are you to-day ?" t " Good morning."
 
 Frederick's mission. 189 
 
 one of the clerks that he was not in just 
 then. 
 
 **When do you expect him?" asked 
 Frederick. 
 
 ** I really don't know, sir," replied the 
 clerk, '* but I can ask the principal." And 
 in a few minutes he returned, asking Fre- 
 derick to step up to the lawyer's room. 
 Edward's uncle was a man who enjoyed a 
 considerable practice, although he was not 
 at all a clever lawyer. He was a middle- 
 aged, pleasant old gentleman, of great in- 
 fluence in the town, and he often succeeded 
 in settling by private arbitration cases 
 which would otherwise have involved con- 
 siderable litigation. People were there- 
 fore eager to intrust their disputes to him, 
 in the hope that he would conduct them 
 peacefully out of their troubles, where 
 younger lawyers would see no other remedy 
 but costly litigation. In some things he 
 was a hard man, and this was particularly 
 the case where his money 'was concerned. 
 He never spent a penny unnecessarily, and
 
 igO IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 he held aloof from most of his relatives lest 
 they should trouble him for pecuniary help. 
 He was in fact a well-meaning, kindly man, 
 but somewhat of a miser in disposition. He 
 was greatly impressed by Frederick's ap- 
 pearance and manners, for hitherto he had 
 been under the impression that everyone 
 who lived at Glynarth was fifty years behind 
 the age in everything. 
 
 **Will you take a seat, sir?" he said, 
 rising and placing a chair for his visitor. 
 **I am told that you are a friend of Ed- 
 ward's, and reside, I think, in Glynarth? " 
 
 ** Yes, for the present, I do," was the 
 reply ; *^ and I am his friend, because I take 
 great interest in him and his sister, and 
 would do anything in my power to benefit 
 him." 
 
 ** How long have you known him? " asked 
 the lawyer, as if cross-examining a witness 
 in court. 
 
 **Not very long," replied Frederick; *^ I 
 came down to Glynarth only a month or six 
 weeks before he left. But allow me to ask
 
 FREDERICK S MISSION. I9I 
 
 you whether he satisfies you in his conduct 
 and attention to his work ? " 
 
 *' I will be frank with you, my dear sir," 
 said the old gentleman ; *' he is certainly 
 not doing well, for, in fact, he leads a very 
 dissipated life. Whenever he gets money 
 he spends it very recklessly, and I am com- 
 pelled to pay his bill at his lodgings before 
 I allow him to have the rest of his salary, 
 he is a gambler, too, I am told ; and indeed, 
 if he were not my nephew I would dismiss 
 him in a moment. He is going to destruc- 
 tion with a run." 
 
 Frederick was greatly shocked to hear 
 this confirmation of his worst fears. The 
 youth was evidently breaking through all 
 restraint, and if a dread of his uncle's dis- 
 pleasure had not sufficed to deter him from 
 his evil practices, it was not likely that the 
 influence of a comparative stranger could be 
 of much avail. 
 
 *' Where is he now?" he asked, after a 
 pause. 
 
 *' At his lodgings,, perhaps — or in a beer
 
 192 IN SECRET PLACES. " 
 
 shop, somewhere," replied the lawyer; *' he 
 complained that he was not well this morn- 
 ing, and his eyes were bloodshot, and his 
 hands trembling, as if he were on the verge 
 of an attack of delirium tremens, so I allowed 
 him to leave the office ; but I am afraid that 
 he is drinking with some of his bad com- 
 panions." 
 
 "But, my dear sir," objected Frederick, 
 *' he has not been here above six or seven 
 weeks, and if he drank day and night during 
 that time, he would hardly be so near deli- 
 rium tremens as you seem to think." 
 
 " The evil was more than half done when 
 he came here," said the old gentleman, with 
 a solemn shake of his head ; *' he must have 
 been drinking in secret before he left home, 
 and this dissipation here has nearly finished 
 him. I really am at a loss to know what to 
 do with him." 
 
 Frederick rose to go. 
 
 *' I will find him out and speak to him," 
 he said, drawing on his gloves ; "if nothing 
 else will do, he must be sent away some-
 
 Frederick's mission. 193 
 
 where, but I should not like to see him at 
 home again ; it would break his sister's 
 heart." 
 
 **She is a very good girl, I believe," 
 remarked the lawyer. 
 
 *'She deserves a better brother, sir," was 
 the grave reply. " A nobler or purer girl 
 never breathed; and when she hears this 
 story — which shall not be told unless it is 
 absolutely necessary — it will cause her the 
 deepest pain and sorrow." 
 
 **What an ungrateful scamp the fellow 
 must be," observed the lawyer, as he escorted* 
 his visitor to the door. '* There is a craving 
 for drink so deeply rooted, I fear, that it 
 cannot be counteracted. It is a hopeless 
 case; but let me know what you intend 
 doing in the matter." 
 
 Frederick promised to do so, and then 
 went in search of the lodgings which Edward 
 occupied. They consisted of a couple of 
 rooms in a detached house a little out of the 
 town. It was a clean, respectable-looking 
 place; and the landlady who answered his 
 
 VOL. I. 13
 
 194 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 knock was a pleasant, kind-hearted old lady, 
 who spoke English with a decided accent, 
 and whose whole appearance showed her 
 nationality. She was, in a word, a type of 
 the better class of Welsh matrons. 
 
 *'Is Mr. Hughes at home?" asked our 
 friend, when the door was opened. 
 
 *'Yes, sir," she replied, promptly; *^ he's 
 lying down, not quite well, with a bad head- 
 ache, sir." 
 
 She would have told him all about her 
 lodger if he had cared to listen, for she was 
 brimming over with gossip and good humour. 
 
 *' Take this card in," he said, *' and tell 
 him that I am waiting to see him." 
 
 She did as she was bidden, merely stop- 
 ping for a minute at his door to spell out 
 the name of the visitor ; and when Edward 
 read the name, he jumped up from the couch 
 upon which he was reclining, and hurried to 
 the door. 
 
 '*This is a surprise, indeed," he said, as 
 he led Frederick upstairs. " I certainly did 
 not expect to see you at Abernant. What
 
 FREDERICK S MISSION. 1 95 
 
 could have induced you to leave the sylvan 
 retreat of Glynarth for this noisy abode of 
 men?" 
 
 He was trying to be gay, but it was a 
 miserable failure. His eyes were bloodshot, 
 and his hands trembled, as the lawyer had 
 said, and he looked more like a broken- 
 down debauchee than a youth of nineteen 
 or twenty, who a few weeks before had been 
 residing in that quiet farmhouse in the glen. 
 
 ** I may as well tell you the truth, Edward," 
 said Frederick. ** I came over here to see 
 you. 
 
 *^You are very kind," was the nervous 
 reply, for he dreaded what was coming. ** I 
 am very sorry that I forgot to send my 
 address as I promised. It was quite an 
 oversight." 
 
 *' That was not the only promise you for- 
 got, I fear," said Frederick, very gently, 
 but gravely. '*You promised a few weeks 
 ago to keep away from temptation, and to 
 strive to do well here. I ask you, how has 
 that promise been kept? "
 
 196 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 He hung his head in shame and silence. 
 
 ** I have been to the office, and your uncle 
 told me a sad tale of foolish misconduct and 
 reckless disregard for your own interests 
 and everyone else's,'' pursued Frederick, 
 ^* a tale that I hoped never to hear of your 
 sister's brother. What will she say when 
 she hears that her only brother has become 
 a confirmed drunkard and gambler before 
 he is twenty years of age ? What are you 
 to do in the years of manhood if this is the 
 beginning? Where do you imagine your 
 present course will terminate? and has it 
 made you happier than you were before you 
 entered upon it? " 
 
 He spoke very earnestly, thinking of the 
 fair girl in her secluded home, who loved 
 this wretched boy before him. 
 
 ** Happier! " he groaned, and he covered 
 his haggard face with his hands. '' God 
 knows ! it has not. I was never more 
 miserable in my life." 
 
 ** Give it up, then," pleaded Frederick; 
 '* a man must be a slave indeed if he cannot
 
 FREDERICK S MISSION. 1 97 
 
 shake off a habit which is ruining him, soul 
 and body. What pains me most deeply 
 is the knowledge that your sister's anguish 
 will be inexpressible when she hears of this/* 
 
 ** She must not hear it," exclaimed Edward, 
 starting up in real alarm; ** you would not 
 be so cruel. I will never touch drink again, 
 only do not tell Annie." 
 
 ** My dear boy, rumours of your dissipated 
 conduct are circulating through the whole 
 neighbourhood. People are always readier 
 to talk of a man's sins than his virtues, and 
 your failings have been pretty freely dis-* 
 cussed. As yet your sister has not heard 
 these rumours, but how long she may be 
 kept in ignorance I don't know. She may 
 have heard it to-day." 
 
 **It will kill her," cried the miserable 
 youth. 
 
 ** And yet, knowing how deeply such 
 tidings would affect her, you still persisted 
 in your mad conduct. Edward Hughes, 
 you never deserved such a sister, for bro- 
 therly love is utterly worthless unless it has
 
 198 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 some effect upon our lives, and is not con- 
 fined to mere professions." 
 
 Edward was silent, and Frederick went 
 on : 
 
 *' All your faults and errors when at home 
 have been fully canvassed," he continued, 
 not heeding the pain he was inflicting; 
 **they must have been widely discussed 
 before I could have heard of them, for I 
 never mix with the villagers at all. My 
 valet told me some of the stories afloat, 
 and would have told me a good deal more 
 but that I checked him. Even your conduct 
 here has become known, and I was almost 
 compelled to tell your sister a little of the 
 truth, but she has no idea of this — neither 
 had I when I promised to her yesterday that 
 I would come over." 
 
 ** How has it become known, I wonder ? " 
 muttered the youth angrily. 
 
 **How?" echoed Frederick. ** These 
 things are carried about, as it were, by the 
 winds — they are passed from mouth to mouth, 
 and from village to village. Evil tidings
 
 FREDERICK S MISSION. IQQ 
 
 proverbially travel fast, and you surely did 
 not dream that you could keep it a secret. 
 I am almost sure that everybody in Abernant 
 has heard it, and, of course, people from 
 Glynarth are constantly here. But it is use- 
 less to speak of this. It can matter but 
 little to you to be publicly regarded as a 
 rake — the only thing- to be considered is 
 what your future course is to be? Where 
 do you intend to go ? " 
 
 ** I shall remain here, of course," he said, 
 looking up with an alarmed expression on 
 his face; *' why should I leave? " ^ 
 
 ** Because I fancy that your uncle will not 
 tolerate this misconduct much longer," was 
 the quiet reply — ** in fact he told me this 
 morning that if it had been anyone else, he 
 would have dismissed him long ago. As it 
 is, I can see that his patience is nearly 
 exhausted; and, when he dismisses you, 
 which he is sure to do in a few weeks, may 
 I ask what do you intend doing ? " 
 
 He spoke in a quiet, almost sarcastic 
 manner, which alarmed Edward still more.
 
 200 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 '* I do not know — I really cannot say," 
 he stammered; "do you think he will 
 dismiss me? " 
 
 **Have I not said so?" was the quick 
 reply. *' He is not likely to acknowledge a 
 nephew who disgraces him before the world, 
 and you may regard it as certain, for it is 
 merely a question of time. You will certainly 
 be dismissed, and I should like to know 
 what in that case your plans will be ? ' ' 
 
 This was a question by no means easily 
 answered, and Edward tried in vain to escape 
 from his accumulating difficulties* Ruin 
 and disgrace stared him in the face, and 
 he shrunk in horror from the natural conse- 
 quences of his own folly.
 
 THE STORM COMES. 20I 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 THE STORM COMES. 
 
 Frederick's manner was so uncompromis- 
 ing, and he seemed so positive that Edward's 
 dismissal would eventually take place, that 
 the young man was almost in despair. He 
 felt that to return to Glynarth disgraced and 
 branded with something very like infamy, 
 would be intolerable to his own feelings and 
 also to his sister's, and he had no other place 
 in which to seek refuge. In a town, one unit 
 of misery and shame is lost amid the crowd, 
 but in a little country village people have 
 ample leisure to discuss and magnify each 
 other's failings. Now that the matter was 
 placed fully before him, he saw that he had 
 been deliberately ruining himself, and he 
 could perceive no loophole for escape.
 
 202 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 **You promised to be my friend, Mr. 
 Dan vers/' he said at last ; *' be so now ; for 
 no one ever stood in greater need of a real 
 friend. What can I do ? To go back to 
 Glynarth would be simply impossible, and 
 to remain here in idleness is out of the 
 question. I do not see what can be done 
 unless I blow my brains out, and Heaven 
 knows I am ready enough to do that." 
 
 *' Do not invoke Heaven to witness any- 
 thing so silly and stupid," said Frederick, 
 impatiently. **You have no one but your- 
 self to blame for your present position ; and 
 as you have got into it yourself, you ought 
 to get out of it unaided ; for I can be of no 
 real assistance to you unless you change 
 your habits completely. Give up your pre- 
 sent dissipated life; and I think I can venture 
 to promise on your uncle's behalf that not 
 only will he not dismiss you, but receive 
 you into his confidence and favour." 
 
 ** Very well, I will promise," was the some- 
 what too ready reply. 
 
 *' You may promise a dozen things in
 
 THE STORM COMES. 203 
 
 your present state of mind, and break all 
 your pledges when I am out of sight," said 
 Frederick, seriously. ** You must, at all 
 events, remember that, if you still persist in 
 drinking yourself to death, and in walking 
 straight to utter and complete ruin, you are 
 doing it now with open eyes. There is no 
 chance of escape. Unless you become alto- 
 gether reformed, you will be summarily dis- 
 missed, and you ought to know how much 
 unhappiness that would involve. Do you 
 understand your position ? '* 
 
 Yes, he thought he did ; for he had 
 sufficient discretion to see that he was on 
 the brink of a precipice, and if he fell, he 
 would never be able to retrieve his fortunes 
 or regain his lost place in the world. Frede- 
 rick had foreseen that self-interest would 
 probably operate more powerfully upon his 
 mind than almost any other motive ; and he 
 was right, although he might have come to 
 the same conclusion in the case of every- 
 body else. 
 
 Frederick promised not to reveal the
 
 204 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 actual state of things to Annie unless he 
 heard that he was still following- the same 
 course of misconduct ; and after much 
 friendly advice on the one hand, and solemn 
 promises on the other, Frederick bent his 
 steps again towards the office. Here he had 
 another interview with the lawyer, and told 
 him of his nephew's promised reformation, 
 at the same time requesting him to write, 
 unless the anticipated change took place. 
 The old gentleman promised to do so ; and 
 with this understanding Frederick took his 
 leave, and started on his homeward ride. 
 
 From that day an apparent reform took 
 place in Edward Hughes's life. He was 
 very regular in his work, punctual in his at- 
 tendance at the office, and anxious to please 
 everybody. He still had a somewhat dissi- 
 pated and haggard look, but this was attri- 
 buted to his former bad habits; and his 
 uncle was highly pleased with this sudden 
 and complete change in his nephew. He 
 wrote to Frederick in terms of great satisfac- 
 tion, and this letter was duly shown to Annie.
 
 THE STORM COMES. 205 
 
 But this reformation was too sudden to be 
 either real or lasting. The exigencies of his 
 situation compelled him, not to put away 
 his vices but carefully to conceal them. 
 He never entered a public-house, and never 
 touched a card, when strangers were pre- 
 sent ; but some of his boon companions 
 could have told of orgies continued far into 
 the night, and of heavy winnings and losses 
 at cards. He contrived, however, to mask 
 his misconduct so effectually that all except 
 those connected intimately with him were 
 completely deceived. 
 
 This was the state of affairs when a new 
 actor appeared on the scene, in the person 
 of Mr. Henry Emmerson, who was eager to 
 execute Mrs. Montressor's designs. He 
 readily succeeded in gaining admission to 
 the circle of dissipated revellers to which 
 Edward belonged, and from that hour the 
 young man's downward path was a rapid one. 
 His losses at play became heavier than ever, 
 and his salary was quite inadequate to pay 
 his very heavy expenses. He dared not
 
 206 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 apply to his sister for money ; and he refused 
 most strenuously to follow Emmerson's in- 
 sidious advice, and raise money upon his land. 
 The plotter knew perfectly well that, being a 
 minor, he could not legally do this ; but he 
 knew, also, that if he could be induced to 
 do so, his sister would repay it even if she 
 beggared herself in doing so. 
 
 He was desperately pressed for money, 
 but he would not rob his employer. He was 
 one of the family, and had been much kinder 
 to him than he had at all deserved ; and to 
 defraud him of a penny would have been 
 such gross ingratitude that even he could 
 not descend to. Whatever might become of 
 him, he could not injure those who had 
 heaped benefits upon him, and he told 
 Emmerson so clearly and distinctly; and 
 that worthy failed completely to overcome 
 his scruples. An event occurred, however, 
 at this period which precipitated matters. 
 
 Edward was sitting before his desk one 
 morning, feeling dispirited and moody, when 
 he was summoned to his uncle's presence.
 
 THE STORM COMES. 207 
 
 *' Sit down, Hughes," he said, gravely, 
 as the young man entered, ** I have some 
 painful questions to put to you, which I must 
 ask you to answer as candidly as possible, 
 for your own sake." 
 
 The young man's face became deadly 
 pale, and he staggered into a seat. Could 
 his misconduct be discovered after all the 
 pains he had taken to conceal it ? 
 
 ** We were all — that is, all your friends — 
 beginning to hope that at last your habits 
 had undergone a complete reformation, and 
 promising ourselves much comfort in conse- 
 quence. I was greatly shocked yesterday 
 to find that this apparent change has been 
 nothing more nor less than a systematic 
 course of deceit and false pretences." 
 
 The blow had fallen, and it was a crushing 
 one, — so crushing that he could not utter a 
 single word in reply. 
 
 ** I never like to take an important step 
 without considering it carefully first; and, 
 therefore, I did not tell you of this yester- 
 day," continued his uncle. ^^ It is my duty,
 
 208 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 however, to tell you that I cannot allow you 
 to remain here an hour longer. You have 
 been trusted too completely as it is ; and 
 although I am very sorry for you, and still 
 more sorry for your sister's sake and for 
 your friends, I could not possibly permit 
 you to stay." 
 
 *' What proof have you of my miscon- 
 duct ? " he demanded, driven to desperation 
 by his position. **It is a miserable calumny, 
 which has been circulated by some of my 
 
 enemies." 
 
 His uncle held up a tavern bill of recent 
 date, which he had accidentally dropped. 
 
 *'That is one proof," he said. **I have 
 others here in a letter written, it is true, 
 by an anonymous correspondent, but which 
 contains indisputable evidence of your evil 
 and wicked ways. Denial is quite useless, 
 and can only add to your difficulties." 
 
 The questions he had mentioned had not 
 been asked, but the young man did not 
 notice this. 
 
 **Why should I be dismissed in this
 
 THE STORM COMES. 20g 
 
 way?" he said, angrily. '* Whatever I may 
 have done, I have done my duty in the 
 office ; and, as my employer, you have 
 nothing more to do with me. Have I ever 
 wronged you of a halfpenny ? Examine my 
 books, and see if I have appropriated one 
 farthing of the money which was constantly 
 passing through my hands. Whatever I 
 may have done elsewhere, I have served 
 you conscientiously, uncle ; and yet I am 
 to be ruined and disgraced by this sudden 
 and most harsh dismissal." 
 
 *' You may not have defrauded me of any 
 money as yet," replied the lawyer, gravely; 
 ** you may not have been sufficiently 
 tempted yet ; but a gambler is never 
 secure from temptation, and he may at 
 any moment rob his employers. The time 
 might come, and that before long, when 
 you would be driven to so desperate a pass, 
 that my property would not be a moment 
 safe in your hands." 
 
 *' Never!" he almost shouted, in his 
 anguish and excitement. 
 
 VOL. I. 14
 
 2IO IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 " I cannot believe you," replied his uncle, 
 sadly. *' You have proved yourself unworthy 
 of an honest man's confidence. From hence- 
 forth take your own course, whatever that 
 may be. You have made your own bed and 
 you must lie upon it." 
 
 It was useless to plead for leniency any 
 long-er ; and the young man passed out into 
 the office, slamming the door angrily behind 
 him. The chief clerk was sent for ; and 
 Edward knew well that his uncle was an- 
 nouncing his dismissal to him. He there- 
 fore took his hat, and w^ent to his lodgings, 
 to avoid the ignominy of a formal discharge. 
 
 His landlady saw that something unplea- 
 sant had occurred, and his return at so early 
 an hour was also quite an unusual circum- 
 stance. He w^ent to his bedroom, and threw 
 himself upon the bed, with dark thoughts 
 crowding thickly on his mind. He shud- 
 dered as he thought of his fearful position, 
 and his heart sickened with dread as he 
 tried to realize what his future would be. 
 
 ''Lost — disgraced — ruined for ever!" he
 
 THE STORM COMES. 2 I I 
 
 murmured, with trembling lips, as he buried 
 his face in the coverlet. He could not 
 return home; he would prefer to face a 
 hundred hungry tigers rather than meet 
 the scorn and gibes of the villagers. He 
 could not remain in Abernant. The towns- 
 people would hear of his fall, and shun his 
 society ; and if he could brave this, where 
 was the necessary pecuniary supply to come 
 from ? What could he do ? What, indeed ? 
 And in the meantime how sf>ed the time 
 with Annie — gentle, loving Annie ? Fully, 
 occupied with her small household cares, and 
 filled with the new, and yet old, happiness 
 which had entered into her life, she was 
 very happy. Her brother's supposed refor- 
 mation added to her peace of mind ; and 
 her days and months, her weeks and nights, 
 were a long period of uninterrupted happi- 
 ness. She was loved by a true and noble 
 man ; and that one fact was enough to 
 drive gloom and sorrow away from her 
 heart. There was one man, at least, in the 
 world for whom her face was more beautiful.
 
 212 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 her voice sweeter, her eyes brighter, than 
 those of any other woman, — a man in whom 
 she had perfect trust, and upon whom she 
 placed the most implicit reliance. How 
 sweetly these days of early love glided 
 away, with scarcely a passing shadow of 
 care to dim their brightness ! It was a new 
 and hitherto strange bliss which gladdened 
 her spirit ; and under its wondrous influence 
 her heart became lighter, her laugh more 
 merry, and her days far brighter. 
 
 But it was not to last. Sorrow and trou- 
 ble were very near that sylvan home, — very 
 near, as they always are, in this world of 
 clouds and shadows.
 
 DARK DOINGS. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DARK DOINGS. 
 
 The Lady of Montressor House was sorely 
 perplexed, for her horizon was darkening- 
 and her difficulties increasing. Edmund 
 Montressor had actually landed in England, 
 and in a few days would probably arrive to 
 take possession of his property, so that it 
 was but natural that she should almost be 
 in despair. , 
 
 She sat in her private room one evening, 
 in an attitude of expectation. Some one 
 was coming, and the lady was evidently 
 impatient, for she rose frequently from her 
 seat to listen for the footsteps which were 
 long in coming. 
 
 They came at last, however. A man's
 
 214 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 heavy tread was heard on the gravelled 
 walk, and in a few minutes he appeared in 
 the room. He was carefully muffled and 
 disguised, but when in her presence he 
 threw away his wrappers, and stood before 
 her with his wonted smile and greeting, for 
 it was Emmerson, her tool and confederate. 
 
 *' How goes the time here?" he asked, 
 rather roughly, helping himself as he spoke 
 to half a tumblerful of brandy. " Any news 
 about ? " 
 
 ** Yes," she answered, quietly; '^ Edmund 
 Montressor is in England." 
 
 **Ah, well, your game is pretty nearly 
 played out," he said, carelessly; **he will 
 easily obtain the papers we failed to get, 
 and then his claim is established." 
 
 He spoke lightly and indifferently, but he 
 was watching her carefully, to observe the 
 effect his words had upon her. 
 
 She sprang up in a moment — he almost 
 thought she was about to spring upon him. 
 
 *' It shall never be established — never ! " 
 she hissed between her closed teeth. " I
 
 DARK DOINGS. 21 ^ 
 
 will kill him and myself also before he shall 
 reign here instead of me. I will stop at 
 nothing — hesitate at nothing — -in order that 
 I may defeat him. Do you think I am 
 made of straw, you idiot ? ' ' she asked, 
 angrily, as she observed the alarmed ex- 
 pression of his countenance. 
 
 *' No ; but you will get into mischief 
 unless you curb your temper,*' he said. 
 ** It is all very well to go into heroics about 
 this matter, but it won't do. You must look 
 at it from a common-sense point of view. 
 This man is in England : how can you act' 
 against him ? You can do nothing — abso- 
 lutely nothing." 
 
 **Can I not?" she sneered, turning 
 upon him so sharply that he drew back his 
 chair from its place, lest she should come 
 into collision with him. " Why did I send 
 for you to-night, do you imagine ? To talk 
 and prate as you are doing now ? " 
 
 Her barmaid experience, rough and ready 
 as it had been, was useful in managing a 
 character like his.
 
 2l6 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 '* I did not exactly know what your object 
 was," he answered coolly. ''You are such 
 an inexplicable woman that it is not safe to 
 guess about your intentions and plans. I 
 have found that out long- ago." 
 
 His manner was sarcastic, but she re- 
 garded the speech as a compliment, and she 
 recovered, in a great measure, her good 
 humour. 
 
 " I suppose there is no chance of getting 
 at the papers?" she said, hoping that he 
 would volunteer to make another attempt. 
 " If we could procure them, it would save 
 a great amount of trouble — perhaps even 
 of life." 
 
 *'They are not in the hut," he said, posi- 
 tively. "I called there last night; and 
 finding no one in, I examined the place 
 carefully. The cupboard and everywhere 
 else were empty. There has been a grand 
 clearance, and everything of value has been 
 removed." 
 
 "Was there any furniture left?" she 
 asked.
 
 DARK DOINGS. 21"] 
 
 *'Yes; the stool and the table, nothing 
 more," he answered. '' The door was 
 locked, too — an unusual precaution in a 
 Welsh mountain district. Altogether, it is 
 quite evident that the old woman's sus- 
 picions have been aroused, and she has 
 removed the papers to some place of 
 security." 
 
 *' If that be the case, we may look in 
 vain for them," she said, gloomily. '*The 
 Druids know the mountain fastnesses so 
 well that they can hide anything they wish 
 in the most effectual manner, and hold their 
 strongholds against a regiment of soldiers, 
 if necessary. We must use other means." 
 
 "And those are ?" he asked, curi- 
 ously. 
 
 " This man must not be allowed to enter 
 Glynarth," she said, emphatically. "If he 
 comes, he will be recognized by a score of 
 people, and he will no doubt discover some 
 means of obtaining these all-important 
 papers. We must stop him on the thres- 
 hold of his enterprise, as it were."
 
 2l8 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 *' Before you tell me the means you pro- 
 pose to employ, let me ask you where the 
 young man has been all this time ? " 
 
 ** He was carried off to America by his 
 nurse, when his father and his companion 
 went," replied Mrs. Montressor. '* Soon 
 afterwards she ran away, taking him with 
 her, in the hope, perhaps, of securing a 
 handsome ransom ; but the father died soon 
 afterwards, and as nothing could be heard 
 of the son, my husband took possession of 
 the estate. One or two letters, received 
 from her afterwards, fell into my hands, 
 and you may guess what I did with them." 
 
 '* Burnt them, I daresay, or else you pre- 
 served them for Sunday reading," he replied, 
 with a cynical smile. ''How did the nurse pro- 
 ceed when she found her letters unanswered?" 
 
 "She did not live very long after the 
 boy's father. She was stricken, I believe, 
 by yellow fever, which was prevalent in that 
 part of the States where she had taken up 
 her abode. She died, and I hoped that the 
 secret died with her."
 
 DARK DOINGS. 2ig 
 
 This was but one of the many vain hopes 
 she had formed during her lifetime, and one 
 after another they burst like so many air- 
 bubbles. 
 
 ** It was not so, however," she continued. 
 ** She left a written statement behind, and 
 this document was placed in the young 
 man's hands but a few days ago. Mrs. 
 Hughes had long since disappeared — 
 Heaven knows where. When he discovered 
 his parentage, he came over at once, and is 
 here in England, as I have already told you. 
 This is not a time to allow the grass to 
 grow under our feet. We must ad.^^ 
 
 ** Very good," he said, placidly; '*but 
 ^ow are we to act ? " 
 
 *' You must endeavour to intercept him be- 
 fore he reaches here," she replied. "Intoxi- 
 cate him — drug him — do anything to make 
 him completely helpless, and then " 
 
 She paused. The dreadful thought that 
 was in her mind made her, hardened though 
 she was, shudder. 
 
 *' What then ? " he asked, impatiently.
 
 2 20 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 ^^ He must die,^'' she said, in a distinct, 
 hissing- whisper. 
 
 Emmerson started from his seat, and 
 paced up and down the room. 
 
 *' You are a perfect she- devil," he said, 
 and his face was of an ashy hue. "■ Why 
 should you take this man's life and dip your 
 hands in blood, the stain of which can never 
 be washed away ? It is a hanging- business, 
 too," he added, abruptly. 
 
 "It is quite evident that the last fact is 
 the only one which weighs against the pro- 
 ject in your mind," she said, scornfully. 
 "You are growing sentimental under the 
 influence of fear ; but in' reality there is no 
 cause for alarm. One life more or less can 
 make no difference in this over- stocked 
 world, and perhaps the man himself would 
 thank you after the blow was struck, 
 because you had released him from his 
 troubles. Human life is cheap, and it is 
 wasted every day, so that we need not 
 hesitate so much about putting one poor 
 fellow out of the way."
 
 DARK DOINGS. 221 
 
 Villain as he was, he could not listen 
 unmoved to her callous words, and his face 
 became still paler and almost livid. 
 
 ** If there is any other way of getting- rid 
 of him besides this, I should be only too 
 glad to adopt it," she continued; *^but 
 there is none. If zve are to be safe, /ie must 
 die : and for my own part, I am willing to 
 run the risk." 
 
 " You cannot strike the death-blow, and 
 therefore no hangman's noose will dangle 
 over j'^-^^r head," he answered, sullenly. '* I 
 shall have to run the risk, whilst you enjoy 
 the fruits of my crime. It is not a fair 
 bargain." 
 
 ** I shall be an accomplice," she said, 
 *'*and therefore liable to a long term of 
 penal servitude. If it became known that I 
 planned the crime, I should probably be 
 shut up for life, and I would rather die at 
 the hangman's hands a dozen times over 
 than spend a year in penal servitude; and 
 yet you talk about my running no risk. Do 
 you think that I should make so successful a
 
 212 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 convict that you imagine it would be nothing 
 if I were shut up for life ? '' 
 
 '* It is all very well to discuss a matter 
 like this in your boudoir, before a cheerful 
 fire, and with half a dozen lights burning," 
 he said, impatiently; *' it is another matter 
 to do the business, and you have no idea 
 of the difficulties I should have to contend 
 with/' 
 
 '* I tell you, you dolt, that I would kill 
 him myself, if I could do so when he had no 
 power to struggle with me and overpower 
 me," she exclaimed, angrily; '*and what is 
 more, if you refuse to do it, I shall be tempted 
 to try in any case/' 
 
 They were dangerous words to utter to a 
 man who might one day be a witness against 
 her; but she believed that he was wholly 
 devoted to her service, and she was nearly 
 certain that he would agree to help her in 
 her dark design. ^ 
 
 " You are a great woman — a very great 
 woman," he said, admiringly. *' You ought 
 to have been alive in Boadicea's time, for
 
 DARK DOINGS. 223 
 
 you would certainly have been commander- 
 in-chief." 
 
 '* It is not a fitting- period to indulge in 
 vain compliments, Emmerson," she said, 
 coldly, although she was secretly pleased, 
 for susceptibility to flattery was one of the 
 weak points in her character. '* Make up 
 your mind on the subject. Will you help 
 me or not ? ' ' 
 
 " What is the reward to be ? '' 
 
 " One hundred pounds a year for life," 
 she said, slowly and distinctly, and watching 
 the effect of the announcement upon him. 
 He was evidently somewhat disappointed. 
 
 ** A hundred a year ! " he exclaimed, con- 
 temptuously; *'you will make over two 
 thousand a year by the transaction, and out 
 of that I am to have a hundred. Your usual 
 lavish generosity, Mrs. Montressor." 
 
 ** Do not treat me to a long discourse 
 on the value of your services," she said, 
 quietly; *' name your own price, and I will 
 consider it." 
 
 He paused for a few minutes, gazing
 
 2 24 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 intently into the fire. He was pondering 
 the whole affair, and at length she saw by 
 his brightening eye that he had fixed upon 
 his price. 
 
 *' It seems to me that our interests are too 
 widely separated in this affair," he said; 
 *' I am to incur most of the danger, and yet 
 will receive the least advantage. This was 
 the case also in the little transactions in 
 which in past years I have been useful to 
 you, and it must be so no longer." 
 
 "How can you remedy it?" she asked, 
 although her heart sickened within her as 
 she read his answer and her fate in his face. 
 
 " If I commit this deed, you must become 
 my wife^'' he said. 
 
 He said no more, but she buried her face 
 in her hands, and groaned deeply. She 
 hated this man, as the designer of evil 
 deeds always hates the instruments he em- 
 ploys, and yet he had the hardihood, know- 
 ing this, to ask her to marry him ! 
 
 '* I loved you once," he said, in a voice 
 which was far from being sentimental ; "we
 
 DARK DOINGS. 22 ^ 
 
 were engaged once, and had a deep regard 
 for one another. Let the old dream be 
 revived — it is the only offer I can make, 
 and it is not a bad one. You will be 
 released from a great deal of trouble, and 
 would be much happier than you are now." 
 As if a union cemented with human blood 
 could be a happy one! As if she could 
 ever sleep peacefully upon a murderer's 
 breast, and clasp at the altar a hand which 
 had taken away a fellow-creature's life ! He 
 had truly remarked that it was an easy thing 
 to contrive a murder in one's own room, and* 
 altogether a different matter to be brought 
 face to face with it, as she was now ; to be 
 chained for life by marriage to a grim 
 spectre, which would follow her everywhere, 
 embodied in the presence of her husband ! 
 Human life was too long to endure such 
 awful agony. She could never accept this 
 offer, she thought, and yet it was absolutely 
 necessary that this man, who was coming 
 down upon her, should be removed. How 
 could she do it? How could she secure 
 VOL. I. 15
 
 226 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 Emmerson's services without his society for 
 life ? 
 
 ** Have you decided? " he asked, roughly, 
 after waiting for some minutes. 
 
 She would promise and break it off after- 
 wards, for he could not compel her to carry 
 out her part of the agreement. This plan 
 appeared to be a feasible one, and she deter- 
 mined upon carrying it into execution. 
 
 ** I have decided," she replied, coldly, 
 looking at him with cruel, glittering eyes ; 
 *' remove this man, and I will marry 
 you.'* 
 
 ** Do not attempt to deceive me in any 
 way," he said, plainly; ** I will stand none 
 of your devil's tricks. The hand that can 
 remove a man can remove a woman also, 
 and I should have no hesitation in doing so, 
 if you play me false." 
 
 He would certainly be a nice stepfather to 
 the gentle Maria ! 
 
 *'You had better not threaten me," she 
 said, contemptuously; ** I will carry out my 
 part of the compact, but I will not listen to
 
 DARK DOINGS. 2 27 
 
 vulgar threats. You must be civil, my dear 
 friend." 
 
 He knew from former experience that it 
 was not wise to provoke her too far, and 
 therefore he made no response. He would 
 let her feel his power when they were 
 married ! 
 
 *' We have settled about the price, then," 
 she observed; *'we will now arrange how 
 the thing is to be done. You must keep 
 a strict look-out at Abernant, in order to 
 meet him when he arrives. He must come 
 through the town, because it is his most 
 direct route, and he has no idea that he is 
 in danger. You must follow him on his way, 
 and when you have an opportunity — strike." 
 
 ** Why not do it near Abernant?" he 
 asked; "the chance of detection would be 
 much less." 
 
 "I do not think so," she replied; "a 
 whole army might be killed amongst the 
 hills, and no one be any the wiser. But that 
 is not my only reason. Before I marry you, 
 I must see his body yvith my own eyes."
 
 2 28 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 She was determined to put an end to 
 rival claims once for all — to stamp them out 
 for ever. 
 
 *'Be it so; it matters but little to me," 
 he replied, carelessly ; *' there is one thing 
 more before I go — how am I to recognize 
 him?" 
 
 It was strange how carefully both avoided 
 the mention of the doomed man's name. 
 
 She rose, and going to her dressing-case 
 unlocked it, and from one of the drawers 
 she drew forth the photograph drawn upon 
 glass, which she had shown to Maria. It 
 was the portrait of a young and handsome 
 man, about twenty-eight years old, with 
 bright curly hair and a ruddy, pleasant face. 
 He was somewhat shabbily attired, but 
 his figure was a fine one, and his appear- 
 ance highly prepossessing. Even Emmer- 
 son, hardened as vice had made him, was 
 touched. 
 
 " He looks a likely young man enough,'' 
 he said ; "he deserves a better fate than the 
 one which is in store for him."
 
 DARK DOINGS. 2 29 
 
 '* Sentimental again!" cried Mrs. Mon- 
 tressor, with a scornful laugh; *'you are a 
 great ass, after all, Henry." 
 
 He did not reply, although he was irritated 
 by her continual taunts ; but he resolved to 
 bide his time, and have a heavy reckoning 
 with her when the opportunity came. 
 
 *' Have you anything more to tell me?" 
 he asked, coldly, as he rose to go. 
 
 ** Yes, one point more," she replied; *'you 
 wrote to say that young Hughes had been 
 dismissed some days ago. What has be- 
 come of him ? " 
 
 *' He is still in the town, with neither 
 hopes nor plans for the future." 
 
 *' You can do anything with him, then ? " 
 she said ; ** he must be drawn into mischief, 
 somehow. It is of the utmost importance 
 that he should commit some offence against 
 the law, and you must manage it." 
 
 ** I cannot," he replied; "I tried to 
 induce him to rob the old lawyer, but it was 
 quite useless. The lad is a much better 
 scamp than most of us."
 
 230 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 **He owed his uncle a debt of gratitude," 
 she observed; ''he would not like on that 
 account to injure him. He is differently 
 situated now, and probably in a few days 
 he will be at his wits' ends for money. He 
 must join you in this mur — in this little 
 affair. He need know nothing- about the 
 particulars — tell him that a rich man from 
 England is coming here to see me, and that 
 you intend to relieve him of his gold. If 
 you can, persuade him to fire the shot — 
 supposing that you will use pistols, which 
 will be the safest way. At all events, he 
 must be an accomplice, and afterwards 
 impressed with the fact that, if detected, he 
 will be hung." 
 
 He raised many objections to the plan, but 
 she overruled them all. He did not wish, in 
 fact, to have an accomplice in the business, 
 and would have much preferred to execute 
 the deed alone and unaided ; but she insisted 
 that he should act as she directed, and when 
 he expressed his belief that trouble would 
 arise in consequence, she said, roughly : —
 
 DARK DOINGS. 23 I 
 
 '* If trouble does arise, we can put him 
 out of the way too." 
 
 And with this decision he had to rest 
 satisfied — or dissatisfied. 
 
 He went away immediately afterwards 
 and the lady turned to a side-table, wher 
 several bottles were placed. She selected 
 one of them containing* brandy, and 
 poured out nearly half a tumblerful — almost 
 as much as Emmerson had drunk — which 
 she quaffed without adding a drop of 
 water. 
 
 ** Over proof," she said, when she had 
 drained the glass; *' one needs a stimulant 
 in a place like this world, where one has to 
 be always fighting and struggling-." 
 
 She was fighting in real earnest now, 
 and even the fiery spirit she had imbibed 
 could not prevent a great sinking at her 
 heart, as she recalled the dreadful compact 
 she had made that night. 
 
 ** If Maria only knew — if Mr. Dan vers 
 only knew," she muttered, ** how horrified 
 they would be ! "
 
 2S2 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 Horrified would have hardly represented 
 their feelings, and it is an unmixed blessing 
 that we cannot perceive the dark under- 
 currents of each other's lives.
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 2;^^ 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 
 
 The lawyer had written to Mr. Danvers the 
 day before Edward's dismissal, announcing 
 the step which he had determined to take, 
 and enclosing the proofs. Upon further 
 consideration, however, he thought it un- 
 necessary to send these latter papers, as Mr. 
 Danvers could see them if he came over, as 
 the lawyer had no doubt he would do. This 
 letter, however, never reached its destination. 
 The postal arrangements of the district were 
 in the worst state possible, and it was im- 
 possible to trace a letter when it was lost. 
 Whatever was the fate of this missive, it 
 never reached the gentleman to whom it 
 was addressed, and Frederick was therefore
 
 234 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 unaware of the exposure which had taken 
 place. 
 
 Neither did the unhappy youth write to 
 confess his miserable plight. He could not 
 nerve himself to announce his own disgrace 
 to those who had loved and trusted him ; 
 and the first intimation Mr. Danvers received 
 of what had occurred was in the shape of 
 a rumour which reached the village, that 
 young Hughes had left Abernant. Seriously 
 uneasy, Frederick determined upon riding 
 over ; and when he presented himself in the 
 lawyer's sanctum he was greatly dismayed 
 to find that Edward had been dismissed, 
 and that the old gentleman's letter an- 
 nouncing the fact had been lost. He was 
 greatly pained and annoyed, and was at 
 first inclined to vent his vexation upon the 
 old gentleman. 
 
 **You dealt very hardly with him, sir," 
 he said, reproachfully ; *' he might be a 
 drunkard and a gambler, but he had not 
 injured you; and he was your nephew — one 
 of your own relations. But you turned him
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 235 
 
 adrift upon the world at a moment's notice." 
 
 ** I had suffered enough from his irregu- 
 larities before, sir," replied the old lawyer, 
 stiffly. *' He was my nephew, as you say, 
 but he disgraced me and everybody con- 
 nected with him. The bad feature in his 
 case, and the one that irritated me the 
 most, was the systematic deception he 
 practised. We all thought that he was a 
 changed and reformed character." 
 
 ** True, it is hard to pardon a man for 
 making a fool of us," replied Frederick, 
 with a touch of sarcasm in his voice ; *' no 
 one likes to acknowledge that another man 
 is cleverer than he, even in deception." 
 
 "You are altogether mistaken, sir," said 
 the lawyer, loftily ; " there is nothing I 
 abhor more than deceit, and chiefly because 
 he was guilty of it I dismissed him. I 
 detest so dark a side of human nature." 
 
 **You always see the brightest and best 
 phase of men's characters, I suppose," re- 
 marked Frederick, with as near an approach 
 to a sneer as he was capable of; "you are
 
 236 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 not accustomed to make allowances for the 
 weaknesses of human nature! " 
 
 *' Such language is intolerable, sir," said 
 the lawyer, rising; *' I consider that I have 
 done my duty in this painful business, and 
 I wish to hear no more about it. The 
 young fellow has left the town, and I sin- 
 cerely hope he will never return. I wish I 
 had never seen him." 
 
 This piece of intelligence heightened 
 Frederick's indignation and anxiety. ** Left 
 the town, has he?" said he, sternly, and 
 rising also; **then you have the satisfac- 
 tion of knowing, sir, that by precipitating 
 matters as you have done, you have com- 
 pleted the ruin of this unhappy youth ! He 
 has not returned home, neither has he writ- 
 ten a word to any one in Glynarth. For 
 his sister's sake you might have written to 
 her or to me before adopting such extreme 
 measures. I could almost express a wish 
 that the mercy you have meted out to this 
 erring, wretched boy, may be measured out 
 to you."
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 237 
 
 ** I have done nothmg, sir, to deserve this 
 extraordinary language/' began the lawyer, 
 angrily. 
 
 " If you can persuade yourself that you 
 are blameless in the matter, it will be all 
 the better for your peace of mind," was the 
 stern rejoinder. '*You turn the lad away 
 for going astray, and if you had done it in 
 a proper manner, nobody could blame you ; 
 but you drove him to desperation : and let 
 me ask you, what did you ever do to restrain 
 him from his evil courses ? Nothing, abso- 
 lutely nothing. You paid him his salary, 
 and looked after him during office hours ; 
 but when he was away from here, surrounded 
 by those temptations which your common 
 sense and experience of the world told you 
 would surround him in one of the most 
 fashionable towns of the Principality, you 
 never endeavoured to guide him. What- 
 ever may be his fate, sir — and I say it in 
 the hope that in similar circumstances again 
 you will act differently — his ruin is in some 
 measure due to your negligence."
 
 238 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 He passed out without another word, 
 whilst the lawyer sat down again and 
 applied himself assiduously to work, in the 
 hope of drowning the reproving voice of 
 Conscience. He had been very careless 
 and rather harsh, but it was now too late 
 to remedy his mistake. Too late ! How 
 often this despairing cry meets us in life ! 
 
 From the lawyer's office Mr. Dan vers 
 went to Edward's lodgings, and was told 
 that the youth had left three days before, 
 ostensibly for the purpose of returning to 
 Glynarth ; and the landlady was consider- 
 ably astonished to find that he had never 
 made his appearance there. He had been 
 so depressed and melancholy before his 
 departure, that she began to fear that he 
 had committed suicide. 
 
 She suggested this to her visitor, and 
 he recalled a despairing expression which 
 Edward had made use of in their last in- 
 terview. It was quite possible that in the 
 depth of his despair he had committed this 
 last crowning act of madness and folly.
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 239 
 
 His ride homewards was a gloomy one, 
 for he knew not how to meet Annie with 
 tidings like these. Could he but have 
 known the real position in which Edward 
 was at that moment, his sorrow would have 
 been, if possible, heightened. 
 
 The youth was not dead. He was sitting 
 in his room one evening, brooding over his 
 troubles, and speculating upon the probable 
 writer of the anonymous letter which had 
 done him so much mischief, when Emmer- 
 son entered unannounced. He stood by 
 Edward's side almost before the lad knew 
 he was in the room, and laying his hand 
 upon his shoulder, he said, cheerily — 
 
 '' Rather down in the mouth, my boy, 
 eh? Never say die ! it won't help you, to 
 look at things in a gloomy way." 
 
 *^ It's all very well for you to talk In that 
 way, Emmerson," replied the youth sullenly; 
 "who wouldn't be down in the mouth when 
 he has had the sack as I have, and money is 
 getting scarce ? " 
 
 ''Oh, you want money, do you?" said
 
 240 IN" SECRET PLACES. 
 
 his friend ; ^* if that's all it is easily remedied. 
 I don't mind helping a friend in need ; " and 
 as he spoke he flung six or seven sovereigns 
 on the table — Mrs. Montressor's gold, by 
 the way. 
 
 Edward's eyes glistened as he turned 
 towards his friend. 
 
 ** You are the best of the lot, Emmerson," 
 he said, fervently; '*not one of the others 
 has been near me since I was dismissed, and 
 for aught they know I might have starved. 
 You have done differently, Emmerson, and 
 I am immensely grateful." 
 
 *' Don't mention it, my dear fellow," said 
 the other deprecatingly ; "I never like to 
 see a man in trouble if I can help him out, 
 and you can repay me if you like, when you 
 are able," 
 
 When would that be ? wondered Edward, 
 and the shadow returned upon his face 
 again. Emmerson was determined, how- 
 ever, not to allow it to remain there long. 
 
 *' Send out for a pint of brandy," he said, 
 putting down a half-sovereign; '*and some
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 24 1 
 
 tobacco, too, at the same time. By Jove, 
 we'll make a night of it ! " 
 
 The articles in question were procured, 
 and the two boon companions made a night 
 of it. When the revelry was at its height, 
 Emmerson thought it time to introduce the 
 subject which he wished to discuss. 
 
 ** Now, look here, Hughes," he began, in 
 a bluff, hearty way, ** I am a fellow fond of 
 my glass and pipe, and I don't care very 
 much how I get them. Sometimes the way 
 I adopt is not what people would call strictly 
 honest, but I never care about that — a man 
 must live ! I manage to keep clear of the 
 law — that is, in fact, the only article in my 
 religion ; and I get on famously with plenty 
 of money at all times." 
 
 ** You might get into trouble some time, 
 though," said Edward, doubtfully. 
 
 ** Of course it is just possible," admitted 
 Emmerson ; ** a man can't tell what may 
 happen, but it isn't very likely ; and even if 
 I did, I should make myself scarce, and 
 begin again in another part of the country. 
 
 VOL. I. 16
 
 242 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 A change of residence now and again is 
 pleasant, although it is but seldom necessary, 
 if one is moderately careful." 
 
 His statement was plausible and enticing, 
 and it came at a moment when the lad 
 was ready to do anything rather than return 
 home. 
 
 *' What kind of business do you under- 
 take? " he asked, wishing to know a little 
 more about the undertaking before commit- 
 ting himself to it. He was sober enough to 
 know that there was danger connected with 
 it, and that it behoved him to be careful. 
 
 *' I have a little job in hand now, which 
 will explain the whole thing to you," replied 
 Emmerson, confidentially, drawing his chair 
 nearer to the youth. *' A man has landed in 
 England lately from the gold-fields, and I 
 have heard that he is going to Glynarth — 
 your native place, by the way — to visit a 
 Mrs. Montressor, whom I presume you also 
 know." 
 
 Edward nodded wisely. Emmerson, of 
 course, was not supposed to know the lady.
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 243 
 
 ** Well, I have an idea of waylaying- him 
 on the hills, and relieving him of his valu- 
 ables," pursued Emmerson, with a wink at 
 his victim, who was drinking heavily; "he 
 is rich enough, I believe, to part with a 
 little for our support ; and if we left him 
 unmolested, I have no doubt he would make 
 a wrong use of the money, so that it is only 
 common charity to lighten his burden." 
 
 Edward laughed a hollow, bitter laugh, 
 that would have made his sister shudder. 
 
 " When we have taken our booty, we will 
 go for a trip to England, and see what can 
 be picked up. We will make a first-rate 
 living, old fellow. Will you join ? " 
 
 He was more than half intoxicated, and 
 was also driven to desperation. What did 
 he care what became of him ? 
 
 " Yes, I don't mind if I do," he said, in 
 a reckless manner. "I can't be any worse 
 off than I am now, and I may be better. 
 In any case it doesn't matter." 
 
 And so the poor deluded victim of a 
 foul conspiracy walked into the snare set
 
 244 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 for him. If he had but known that this 
 sleek, smooth-tongued friend of his had 
 actually written the anonymous letter to the 
 lawyer, he might have been more careful, 
 and less ready to trust him. But in his 
 ignorance he sealed his own doom. It was 
 arranged that he should leave Abernant on 
 the following morning, and should accom- 
 pany Emmerson to a cottage which he occu- 
 pied in the country, where he might remain 
 until he was wanted. He was in this place 
 at the very moment when Frederick was 
 inquiring about him in the town. 
 
 Tired and unrefreshed, Mr. Danvers rose 
 from his sleepless couch, on the morning 
 after his visit to Abernant, and set out to 
 walk down to the Glyn. It was useless, he 
 thought, to conceal the real state of affairs 
 from Annie, for she would hear in time, and 
 perhaps from unfriendly lips. 
 
 Once more he met Mr. Darby coming 
 along the road in his usual contemplative 
 manner. He had given up persecuting 
 Annie with his attentions, but he loved to
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 245 
 
 wander in the direction of the spot hallowed 
 by her presence; and it was a favourite 
 practice of his to climb the hill overlooking 
 her home, and gaze with rapt attention 
 for hours on the tiles of the roof which 
 protected her. Here, also, he was wont to 
 rehearse his sermons at the top of his voice, 
 in the vain hope that some stray fragment 
 of his eloquence might occasionally reach 
 her. It was a delusive hope, however ; for 
 the hill was so high that it would require 
 an extremely powerful pair of lungs to make 
 the owner audible in the house below. 
 
 He was returning from one of these 
 periodical excursions, and as he had heard 
 of the rumoured engagement between Annie 
 and Mr. Danvers, he was somewhat embar- 
 rassed at the meeting. 
 
 He concealed his confusion, however, by 
 his usual philosophical stratagem. 
 
 "It is a curious and extraordinary fact, 
 sir," he began, *' a very curious and extra- 
 ordinary fact, that men congregate in the 
 ugliest spots they can find. Whenever the
 
 246 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 scenery happens to be a little more romantic 
 than ordinary, the population falls off, and 
 in the spots which are the paradises of the 
 world there are scarcely any inhabitants- 
 You have travelled considerably, I believe, 
 sir, and are aware that such is the 
 fact? " 
 
 *' It is undoubtedly true, that nearly all 
 the great cities of the world are not remark- 
 able for the beauty of their sites ; but it must 
 be remembered that their sites were chosen, 
 not because of their beauty, but because of 
 their convenience and because they were 
 adapted for the purpose to which they were 
 applied. I see nothing- more in the fact 
 than that men prefer utility to beauty.*' 
 
 ** I am not satisfied with your explanation, 
 sir," replied Mr. Darby, shaking his head 
 with a profound air; ** it might account for 
 the fact that cities are generally erected 
 upon unattractive sites, but it does not 
 explain the almost perfect solitudes in which 
 nature's most beautiful scenes are found. 
 To my mind, it proves that in the majority
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 247 
 
 of cases there is a natural leaning in the 
 human mind towards ugliness." 
 
 " Men could not always earn their liveli- 
 hood amidst romantic scenery/' observed 
 Frederick, who was amused at this ponder- 
 ing over trivial subjects, which presented 
 no difficulties to ordinary persons, but was 
 nevertheless anxious to shake him off, that 
 he might proceed to his destination. '*We 
 cannot live upon aesthetics, Mr. Darby," 
 
 **No; but aesthetics may render life sweeter 
 and more enjoyable," returned the minister, 
 *' only people refuse to believe it. They a*re 
 content to spend their lives in the jfirst hole 
 into which they may happen to drop, and 
 hundreds of well-to-do people, who might 
 live anywhere, go in summer to visit the 
 beautiful scenes of the world, and feign 
 raptures and intense enthusiasm, which they 
 prove by hurrying away as fast as possible. 
 It is simply a natural taste for the ugly, sir." 
 
 ** It may be so," replied Mr. Danvers ; 
 *' it is at least a very interesting subject, but 
 I have really no time to discuss it further
 
 248 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 now. I must wish you good morning, Mr. 
 Darby." 
 
 He went on his way, and in a few minutes 
 was telling the sad story of Edward's 
 humiliation and disappearance to the sister 
 who had hoped so much from him, and 
 latterly had begun to believe in him. This 
 was indeed a bitter awakening — one of the 
 great shocks we have to meet in life. And 
 she was so weak and feeble to bear it, so 
 despairing in the presence of a blow which 
 came so suddenly and so crushingly ! 
 
 In the meantime Mr. Darby pursued the 
 tenor of his way towards Glynarth, and 
 instead of entering the village as he was 
 accustomed to do, he made his way to 
 Montressor House. He was about to build 
 a small school-room in connection with his 
 chapel, and he called upon his patroness, 
 Mrs. Montressor, for a subscription. 
 
 She received him very graciously. As a 
 Unitarian, there was a delightful tinge of 
 heterodoxy about him which commended him 
 to the lady's notice. She had a penchant
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 249 
 
 for forbidden fruit, like her ancestress Eve, 
 and, like her, she was destined to get 
 into trouble through her weakness. When 
 he had explained his errand, and pocketed 
 a subscription, she offered him some refresh- 
 ments, which he thankfully accepted. It 
 was not every day that he fed upon choice 
 viands such as were found on Mrs. Mon- 
 tressor's sideboard. 
 
 *'You are not looking very well, Mr. 
 Darby," she remarked, as she poured out 
 a glass of wine. " I fear the air of Glynarth 
 does not agree with your constitution." 
 
 '* Ah, madam ! " he replied, sadly, *' it is 
 not that. Bodily I am very well, but the 
 mind, as Sallust says, * dux atque imperator 
 vitse mortalium,' the director and ruler, 
 madam, of the lives of mortals. My mind 
 is not well, Mrs. Montressor." 
 
 ** Dear me ! what is the matter with it ? " 
 asked Maria, who chanced to come in as 
 he was making the remark. *' What is the 
 matter with it, Mr. Darby? *' 
 
 *' Circumstances over which I had no con-
 
 250 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 trol '' — and here he heaved a deep sigh — 
 ** these made me unhappy — very unhappy," 
 he added, emphatically, as if he gloated 
 over his own imaginary misery. ^* I am a 
 hopeless wanderer on the face of the earth 
 now, Mrs. Montressor." 
 
 ** How very sad I " exclaimed Maria, pre- 
 paring, nevertheless, to leave the room ; for 
 she was not inclined, like her mother, to 
 patronize this would-be philosopher. ^' I 
 hope you will confine your wanderings to 
 Glynarth, Mr. Darby. It would be a sad 
 thing if you went astray, and lost yourself 
 in this world of sin and sorrow, that you 
 are so fond of abusing." 
 
 *' Maria thought you were joking," said 
 the lady, when her daughter had left the 
 room ; " she did not understand that you 
 were in earnest, and I am sure you were." 
 
 Maria's banter had wounded Mr. Darby's 
 dignity. Like many other great men, he 
 could not endure ridicule, even in its mildest 
 form ; and Mrs. Montressor saw his uneasi- 
 ness during her daughter's speech.
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 25 1 
 
 ** Miss Montressor has not 3^et had stern 
 experience of the world, and her young 
 affections have not been blighted, as mine 
 have been," he said plaintively. *' We live 
 in a very hard, pitiless world, Mrs. Mon- 
 tressor ; and men of mind, like myself, have 
 no chance against men of action, who study 
 only the world and its ways. We are con- 
 stantly shelved by them." 
 
 ** I am sorry to hear that your hopes, 
 whatever they might be, have been, as you 
 say, blighted," she replied, gravely. [' I 
 should not think it possible to meet with a 
 serious disappointment in Glynarth. May I 
 ask who the young lady was ? But perhaps 
 she does not reside here." 
 
 The lady was, in fact, beginning to fear 
 that he had fallen in love with her daughter. 
 The presumption of these low radical fellows, 
 she thought, is something dreadful ; and 
 although she might praise and flatter him, 
 and extol his virtues in public, it was quite 
 another thing when he fell in love with her 
 daughter — supposing him to have done so.
 
 252 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 Mr. Darby, however, had not done so. 
 
 " The young lady does reside here," he 
 repHed, solemnly; "and it cuts me to the 
 heart to see her, day after day, and yet feel 
 that she is beyond my reach. She refused 
 me flatly and decisively, and that not once, 
 nor twice, only." 
 
 *^ It was very good of you to make her so 
 many offers," said Mrs. Montressor, who 
 had an idea as to who the young lady was ; 
 *' most men find one refusal enough, with- 
 out being trailed in the dust a second 
 time." 
 
 " Miss Hughes refused me flatly, as I 
 said before," he remarked, unconsciously 
 revealing her name ; but the lady did not 
 manifest any surprise; *' and yet I offered 
 her a good home, a place in society as 
 the wife of a minister and a philosopher; 
 and last, but not least, a salary of seventy 
 pounds a- year. It is not an offer she will 
 meet with every day." 
 
 '' It is certainly a little strange that she 
 should be so blind to her own interests,"
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 253 
 
 remarked the lady, wishing to draw him on 
 to expatiate on the theme. 
 
 '' She is no born aristocrat," he went on ; 
 **her family is a plebeian one; and if she 
 married she would have ascended higher in 
 the social scale than any of her relations 
 ever succeeded in doing. Besides, it is not 
 given to every woman to be the helpmeet of 
 a gifted and great man ! " 
 
 **True; but then it is not always easy to 
 decide as to whether everybody is gifted 
 who wishes to be regarded as such ; ' ' and 
 Mrs. Montressor curled her lip as she 
 thought, that if the specimen before her 
 was a gifted and great man, she would 
 prefer not to be mated to such a man. 
 
 ** Did she assign any reason, Mr. Darby, 
 for her most inexplicable conduct? " asked 
 Mrs. Montressor, sympathizingly. 
 
 *'None whatever; but I am afraid it is 
 clear enough now what her reason was. 
 She had set her cap at this rich, clever 
 Englishman, who, I admit, is a very good 
 fellow, and would have, I thought, more
 
 254 I^ SECRET PLACES, 
 
 sense than to be entrapped by the arts of 
 a simple country girl." 
 
 *' But those arts captivated you, Mr. 
 Darby/' she said, maliciously; "and you 
 are a greater man than Mr. Danvers, you 
 know. If you succumbed, how could he 
 hope to escape? " 
 
 This was a somewhat difficult question to 
 answer, and Mr. Darby evaded it. 
 
 ** I do not know whether their rumoured 
 engagement is a fact or not," he said, 
 wholly ignoring the point she had made. 
 "I do know, however, that it has caused 
 me a great deal of unhappiness, and 
 blighted my young life." 
 
 To most people it would have been 
 amusing to hear him talk thus ; but 
 Mrs. Montressor was too much occupied 
 with a scheme — indistinct and dim as 
 yet, it is true — which was forming it- 
 self in her mind, to enable her to make 
 
 m 
 
 use of this man's foolish passions for 
 the furtherance of her own views and 
 objects. She regarded everything, in
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 255 
 
 fact, from this point of view, of her own 
 self-interest. 
 
 "You should not despair yet, Mr. Darby," 
 she said, with apparent kindness and sym- 
 pathy; '*she is not married yet, and I am 
 convinced she never will be to this gentle- 
 man. He is altogether unsuited for her, 
 and I have a conviction that the match will 
 not come off.'' 
 
 "That would not improve my case," he 
 responded, gloomily; " she would not accept 
 me if she missed him." 
 
 " Not at once, perhaps ; but she would in 
 time, when she found herself in danger of 
 becoming an old maid," said Mrs. Montres- 
 sor, encouragingly; "you men are always 
 in such a hurry, and in your haste you spoil 
 everything. One would imagine, from your 
 haste in courtship, that married life was to 
 be very brief indeed ; and that you were 
 anxious not to lose any more of its delights 
 than you can well help." 
 
 She spoke sarcastically, almost bitterly. 
 She had no sympathy with love, and the
 
 256 IN SECRET PLACES. 
 
 doubts and fears it causes; for she had 
 never really loved any one except herself, 
 and she could not understand the vagaries 
 caused by the tender passion. 
 
 ''Do not create false hopes in my breast 
 — hopes that can never be realized, madam," 
 he exclaimed, in a tragic manner; ''life has 
 lost its sweetness, and it can never return, 
 for she will never be anything to me — not 
 even a friend. Ah ! I am very miserable 
 and unhappy, notwithstanding my philo- 
 sophy and my seventy pounds a-year." 
 
 He was in sober earnest, although she 
 could hardly believe it. He really con- 
 sidered himself an exceptionally favoured 
 mortal. If we could all take a similar view, 
 the world would be a much more cheerful 
 place than it is at present. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Darby, you ought not to 
 be so despondent," said Mrs. Montressor, 
 with her most winning manner. " I think 
 that in time I can promise you the bride 
 you have set your heart upon. But you 
 must not be impatient, Mr. Darby; you
 
 MR. DARBY UNBURDENS HIS GRIEFS. 257 
 
 must wait, and keep aloof from her. Do 
 not trouble her with unwelcome attentions 
 which she might not like." 
 
 ** But if she is to be my wife they ought 
 not to be unwelcome attentions/' he per- 
 sisted. 
 
 ** Never mind all that just now," she 
 replied; ** leave the matter in my hands, 
 and I will arrange it satisfactorily for you." 
 
 So it came to pass that the Reverend 
 Mr. Darby left Montressor House greatly 
 cheered by the lady's assurances. He had 
 no conception of the way in which she pro- 
 posed to set to work, neither did he care, 
 provided the result was the bending of 
 Annie Hughes to his will. Mr. Darby's 
 love, like that of most people, was a very 
 selfish passion. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 VOL. I, 17
 
 '/