The Lady Muriel.

event of theie being no son , the title and estates went to a distant cousin , and the Earl , always a careless man and by no means a loA'ing husband , had made no provision for his widow whatever . Poor

tiling ! it was a time of great anxiety for her . If , in the course of the uext three months , she should happily become the mother of a boy , he would be the eighth Earl of Kilpatrick , the possessor of a proud title and ample estate , and she , as his mother and guardianwould live in comfort

, and even affluence . If , on the contrary , the posthumous child should be a girl , she Avould be left almost penniless and Avithout a home . The family had never taken any notice of her , always talking , as I heard of " that dreadful mesalliance ' , ' as they were

pleased to call it , Avith much disdain . It was not likely , therefore , that she would look to them for anything . Meanwhile , of course , she was left iu possession at Castle Court . I did not go to Canada after

all . Our regiment had been ordered out to the Crimea , the Avar having broken out . I should have preferred staying in England for her sake , especially just then ; but no man of honour could leave the army at such a time . I suppose it was owing to her

trouble and anxiety , poor thing ! but the little stranger made its appearance two months before it was expected , and it Avas a girl . The UBAVS reached me just tAvo days before I sailed , aud I went immediately to my bankersarranged for the purchase of

, £ 10 , 000 Avorth of consols—almost the whole of my available property then—and had it entered iu her name , so that she should not be entirely penniless . I left instructions also that . £ 200 should be

immediately paid her , and that the money should be conveyed in such a manner as to lead her to suppose it was her husband ' s property . I well knew that her proud spirit would not allow her to receive it from me . The next news I heard was that she had left Castle Court with her child , and

had gone to Ryde for the Avinter . I did not meet her for three years , though I hacl taken occasion to write to her once or tAvice to proffer my services if she needed them , and she always wrote me pretty frank replies . "It Avas in the spring of 1857 that Ave met , s . oou after my return from the Crimea , Directl y the Avar Avas over I sold out

making up my mind to ask her to marry me . Prom motives of delicacy I had refrained from approaching her as a lover hitherto , because I kneAv she felt her husband's death very much , though he had uot treated her kindly . As I told you , howevershe was ailingand in 1858 I took

, , lodgings for her at Dovercourt , the doctors T- _ 1 * recommending her to leave Derbyshire , where she then was , and try the sea alitor herself and the little girl . I grew very much attached to the little Muriel , as you may imagine , for she Avas very like her

mother ; and her delicacy of health , Avhilst it endeared her more to her mother , perhaps , was not the less attractive to me . Poor g irl ! I could not bear to lose her now ; it Avould break my heart . Well , Lady Kilpatrick at length grew , I think , to like me

enough to promise me her hand , 'and we were to be married in the autumn of that year . But , to my great grief , as the summer drew on , she had another attack of the disorder with which she had been previously afflicted . It baffled the skill of the doctors , ancl soon her clays Avere numbered , ancl I found that I must lose the only friend , the only woman whom I loved

in the world . A countess is never without friends of a sort ; but Muriel was not rich enough to mix in the society her rank would warrant , and the circumstances of her life , the troubles she had passed through and her always delicate health , combined to make her lead a very secluded —ill

natured people called it a very exculsive—life . She was an interesting invalid—a lady of title , Avhom every one knew by name and by sight ; but no one -intimately ; and although many people of position called upon her at Ipswichshe always returned

, their calls , and the acquaintance ended there . Not that she was proud—far from it ; but the circumstances of her life altogether , as I have said , led her to live secluded and much alone . " It was just such a clay as this , I

remember , that I saw her last—a lovely , soft autumn clay . She was much better , and hacl so far recovered that she could be carried into the garden to enjoy the balmy air and the beautiful sunlight . " ' John , ' she said , ' I feel better to-day , much better . If I recover , I will try to be a good wife to you . ' " ' God grant you may , clear , ' I answered .