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fended the tower, they seemed to linger to enjoy the decline of day.

The conversation, however, did not partake of, or chime in with, the quiet and tranquil character of the scene, but turned to the disturbed and distracted state of the country, ravaged and desolated, in many places, by bands of marauding ruffians, who, under the pretence of a commission from Tyrconnell, brought fire and sword wherever they came. Serious were the doubts expressed by the owner of Oakwood as to the propriety of remaining any longer in the country; and, alluding to the departure of thousands with the Lord Lieutenant, he expressed his determination of removing his sister to England immediately. "Though, Heaven knows," he repeated, "in the distracted condition of that country, there will soon be but little safety; yet our letters, dear girls, will inform us better of the actual state of things, and of your father, I trust, Florence."

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'Lady Sackville," said Lucy, "has been very anxious about Sir Arthur for some time, and has conjured up such melancholy pictures as almost to blanch her daughter's cheek."

"I could scarcely, Lucy, help being anxious about my father, though I plead not guilty to the charge of being terrified."

As she spoke, the great bell of the castle, hung just beneath, was tolled, to mark the sunset hour, and to summon all stragglers in before the outer gates were closed, and, as its mellow sound resounded through the still evening air, it awoke the sleeping echoes of the hills, and reverberated, now distinctly and then faintly, till the chiming died away. As the last stroke sounded, the Oakwoods and Florence Sackville left the turret, casting as they did one look into the gathering night, for the strange ship they had been watching, but even Lucy's quick eyes could not discern it through the thick veil of vapour spread over the

scene.

In the chamber in the more modern part of the house, which they now entered, sat Lady Sackville, in conversation with a grave-looking man, who, from his appearance, seemed to be a clergyman. He was, in fact, a French Protestant, who, in order to escape the continued persecutions of Louis the Fourteenth, had fled to England, where

he had sought and found the protection of his old friend, Sir Frederick Oakwood, who had made him his domestic chaplain in Ireland, and he now continued at Oakwood, by desire of the present possessor. To him was Lady Sackville addressing herself, as her daughter entered the room, bewailing the delay of the letters, and the irregularity of the packet.

Lady Sackville, one of the most celebrated beauties of the gay court of Charles the Second, was, as Count de Grammont once said, "as handsome as her daughter, and twice as young." In fact, her vivacity of manner, her extremely sweet voice, and her elegance and grace, made her look a dozen years younger than she was. It was this gay, lively lady, who now engaged the Rev. Hugo D'Lisle in conversation about her absent lord, but she quickly turned from her somewhat unwilling auditor to Henry Oakwood, and sought from him that verbal consolation which, with D'Lisle, was only monosyllabic in character.

The chief servant now entered, bearing two large silver branches, with half a dozen candles in each, which he placed on the table, and, at the same time, presented his master with the keys of the outer gates, which, for precaution, were regularly locked at nightfall.

Lady Sackville composed herself to fondle the King Charles dog; Lucy recommenced her embroidery, while Florence played on and sang to the lute at intervals, and Henry, engaged in arranging his papers, stopped ever and again to listen to the sweet melodies breathed forth by one of the most musical voices in the kingdom. As Florence sang one of Sedley's charming little songs, Lady Sackville raised herself from her languid indolence, and listened with attention. When the refrain was concluded, she broke the silence that ensued, with

"Ah! Florence, you can scarcely do justice to Sedley's witchcraft, as the king used to call it. There was a grace of expression and a courtly manner about all he did, most captivating. The verses you have just sung, he wrote, poor fellow, on my marriage, when, for a few hours, he was plunged into despair!" And, as she indulged in this reminiscence of her youthful beauty, the lady sighed over the days of Wilmot and of Sedley.

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CHAPTER II.-AN UNEXPECTED GUEST, HIS TIDINGS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES. He ne'er is crowned

With immortality, who fears to follow
Where airy voices lead.-Keats.

As Henry Oakwood hurried along the oak-panelled corridor which led to the entrance-hall of the mansion, whence the noise and confusion appeared to proceed, a rapid succession of ideas thronged through his mind: the distracted condition of the place in which he lived-the armed bands of licensed plunderers who roamed through the country-the present plans of James the Second, whose purposes, Oakwood, with the generality of the people, feared and distrusted-the position of his brother Reginald, attached to the unpopular court of Mary of Modena-his own opinions, so opposed to that brother's, with reference to the Prince of Orange and the succession to the throne; all these considerations, with a thousand others to which they gave birth, careered before his mind, and produced the same sort of sensation which a drowning man is said to experience, when, in one swift instant, every incident of his past life, every scene which he ever visited, every crime he ever committed, every word that ever passed his lips-is daguerreotyped upon the brain as with a flash of lightning.

As he entered the hall, he met one of the servants hurrying along, and, in reply to his cager questionings, he learned that a vessel was said to be on the Bull rock, at the entrance to the bay, and that the alarm had been just given by some of the fishermen of the little neighbouring village. A group of these men, who had ceased their clamouring at the appearance of Oakwood, informed him that they had heard a signal gun, a

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"Lose no time, my men," said Oakwood; man the boats; I myself will lead you. The night is very calm; how could the accident have happened?" True, your honour," replied one of the boatmen; but I reckon the stranger is a foreigner, by her build, and that the ways of the bay were unknownst to her."

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At this moment, another gun was heard, startling the stillness of the August night, and, hastily stepping out on the terrace, Henry Oakwood quickly walked down the lawn, cleared the low fence at the bottom at a bound, and was soon treading the white and glis. tening beach, followed by the fishermen who had brought the intelligence, and by many of the servants from the house.

The moon was up, and shining gloriously; and, when a turn of the bay revealed the perilous position of the illfated vessel, stranded, as it seemed, on the dark and dangerous rock, to which, from its grotesque shape, the country people had given the name of the "Bull"- -no doubt, from its fancied resemblance to the animal-the light showed distinctly the people on the deck, and the ear could catch the orders issued by the captain to the sailors. Scarcely, however, had Oakwood leaped into a boat, which was instantly manned, in order to succour the persons on board, when the ship, with a long grinding noise, went off the lower and sunken

part of the rock on which she had grounded, and floated into the deep water. A loud cheer from the crew, responded to by the groups on shore, assured Oakwood that all was safe, but he nevertheless desired his men to row towards the stranger, lest any injury might have been sustained by her in her contact with the reef.

On nearing the vessel, Henry perceived, standing near the bow, Sir Arthur Sackville, whom he had believed to have been at the court of William of Orange for some time past, and whose presence in this country was a dangerous step, obnoxious as he was to James the Second, as a partisan of his son-in-law, William, and notorious as a steady opponent of the aggressive measure of the ill-advised and obstinate monarch against the rights and liberties of the people of England.

Sir Arthur recognised the steersman of the boat, and, tossing his trunk and cloak into the hands of the rowers, leaped in, and desired Henry to make for the land.

Perceiving that a number of the boats from the village were now hastening to the spot, and that such assistance as might be necessary would be promptly rendered, Oakwood turned the head of the boat for that part of the shore nearest the mansion house and most remote from the village, believing it the wish of Sir Arthur (which it really was) to escape notice as much as possible.

During their short row little was said, and that little in an undertone, which was inaudible to the crew; and until the boat grated against the sand and shingle, the unexpected visitor had not asked after Lady Sackville, or his daughter, but then, when alone with Henry, his inquiries were anxious and incessant.

Sir Arthur Sackville, one of the most distinguished men of the day, as a statesman was remarkable, and as a soldier was renowned. Integrity of mind and rectitude of conduct, unswerving honour and undaunted courage, were not the least parts of his character. Graceful in conversation, courtly and captivating in manner, a shrewd, clever man of the world, yet an elegant and accomplished literary man, the friend of Dryden, Congreve, Wycherley, Suckling, and the other poets

of the time; a consistent and liberal politician, an earnest and unflinching supporter of the Church. Sir Arthur Sackville was adored by his own party and hated by the other. And now, dressed in a dark travelling suit, and muffled in a long cloak, he walked up the terraces with Oakwood; whilst in the alertness and decision of his step, in his full sentences, delivered in his deep and resonant voice, in his broad, white forehead, on which the moonbeams shone, one could trace the force and energy of his character, and well understand the influence he had acquired and the power he wielded in the days of 1688.

He had, twenty years before, served with Churchhill, then a young man, in the expedition against Tangiers, where his bravery and discretion were the theme of universal praise. In the famous campaigns of Louis the Fourteenth against the United Provinces, Sackville served as a volunteer in the army of Amsterdam, and fought against the French and their English auxiliary force, in which his old companion in arms, Churchhill, was serving under Turenne.

On his return, he retired to his own property in the South of England, and there, in study, passed the next few years of his life, having first, however, married the celebrated court beauty whom we have already introduced to our readers, and where, in retirement, he had remained till the marriage of William of Orange with the Princess Mary, when he had visited the court of the Hague, since which time he had been the adviser and counsellor of the sagacious Prince who was destined one day to rule this great country.

As Alison, the historian, remarks :"One of the most interesting and instructive lessons to be learned from biography is derived from observing the long steps, the vast amount of previous preparation, the numerous changes, some prosperous, some adverse, by which the powers of a great man are formed, and is prepared for playing the important part which it is intended he should perform on the theatre of the world. Providence does nothing in vain, and when it has selected a particular mind for a great achievement, the events which happen to it seem to conspire in a mysterious way for its deve

lopment. Were any one omitted, some essential quality in the character of the future hero, statesman, or philosopher, would be found to be wanting."

It was to illustrate this principle, thus eloquently enunciated by the Historian of Europe, that we briefly sketched the previous career of Sir Arthur Sackville up to the period at which we present him to our readers ; and we beg of them to remember the incidents we have hurriedly noted.

The first joyous greetings with his wife and child over, and the excitement and bustle of his arrival having subsided, the statesman of fifty and the student of five-and-twenty were soon engaged in close, serious, and earnest conversation. In clear, forcible, and energetic language, did the veteran of the court display to the country gentleman the dangerous and insecure position of the reigning monarch. He touched on the king's strong prejudices for his religion, he reminded Oakwood of James' daring character in temporal matters, and he urged, with reason, that no efforts had been spared, or would be omitted, by the monarch, for the aggrandisement and support of an unpopular religion. He pointed out to his auditor the parallel which France had just witnessed, and from the effects of which she was suffering.

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The Edict of Nantes," he continued, "my dear Henry, has been revoked within the last three years, nearly half a million of the most industrious, the best educated, and most liberal citizens of France we have seen exiles and strangers throughout the world. Look at D' Lisle driven from his native country by such wrongs and injuries as these; and do you imagine that James is behind in the work? Look at the condition of the country, see your Bishops ill-treated and despised—mark, ay look well, Henry, at the heir to the crown, as they call the puny changeling baptized by an Italian priest. The hour is come, boy, when the blow must be struck, and the hand who strikes it must be William of Orange!"

Oakwood was, as we have already mentioned, an opponent of the combined encroachments on the rights and liberties of the nation, which James was daily making; he was also an admirer

of the heroic William-of his perseverance, his simple, steady, and unwavering resolution, and his firm principles; besides, he had served under William on the Continent, and was a personal friend of the Princess of Orange. The arguments, the exhortations, and the appeals of the man of action fell into prepared ground for their reception in the mind of the man of thought; and when Sackville drew from his casket a letter from the prince, Oakwood had made up his mind to risk everything and join his standard.

"Need I tell you, Oakwood, that already we have received assurances of support from half England—aye, and that even Churchhill, favourite and minion as he was and is of James', has sent us his adhesion." 'He thinks it what he owes to God and his country;'* but he continues in the service of his patron until the prince has need of him.”

Oakwood started with surprise that Churchhill, the most devoted adherent of James, the general, by whose ability the crown had been preserved during the rebellion of Monmouth-that he should desert his royal master could scarcely be believed.

"Gratitude might have kept him, Sir Arthur," said Henry; "but my brother"—and he paused-" what says he?"

A slight shade of embarrassment crossed the handsome features of the diplomatist, as he replied-" Alas! he has been sounded, but in vain; he is wholly devoted to the king, and is a willing slave to the cunning arts and allurements of her of Modena."

"You wrong the queen, Sackville, and Reginald no less: though I detest the mingled cruelty and incapacity of James, yet her majesty is above scandal.”

"Ha!" laughed Sir Arthur, who, like all the ultra-Orange supporters, singled out the queen as the object of their most pointed and bitter attacks-" Ha! ha! You do not, then, believe in the warming-pan, in which worthy transaction Reginald assisted. Why, it is notorious that the prince, as they call him, is the child of a washerwoman, whom they have brought to nurse him; but his life will be a short one, as, unless

* Letter of Churchhill, 4th August, 1688.

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THE barbarian tribes, during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, poured down upon the provinces of the Roman empire in overwhelming floods. The inhabitants, enfeebled by long tyranny and extortion, scarcely offered even a show of resistance. Their savage conquerors entertained slight respect for life, literature, property, or any of the products of civilization that met them in their career of murder and destruction. Wherever they came, they spread waste and bloodshed. In senseless ferocity, they destroyed an immense amount of wealth and property, of whose value their untutored minds had no conception. Famine and pestilence followed in their train, and completed all that was necessary to render the period of the barbarian settlements one of the most calamitous in the history of the human

race.

Under such a policy, it need not be wondered that, at the end of that period, we find the whole face of Europe completely changed. Scarcely a trace of Rome remained, except perhaps on the monastic shelves. The countries of Europe had received new names, new inhabitants, new languages, new manners and customs. The stern government of the empire had been replaced by the anarchy and confusion of barbarian democracy. Europe, in fact, had ceased to be Roman, and had become barbarian.

For an explanation, therefore, of the strange, and, in some instances, anomalous customs which we find prevailing in the centuries which succeeded, we must look almost entirely to the previous habits and manners of the savage tribes. These, from the scanty records which we possess, it is not easy accu

rately to decipher. As regards the administration of justice among them, little information is to be obtained except what may be deduced from what we know of their manners, customs, and form of government. From this it requires no great stretch of reasoning to conclude at least, that the magistrate, if such he could be called, possessed little more than a shadow of authority. His tribunal was very rarely had recourse to, except perhaps by the lower orders of the people, or for the settlement of very minor disputes. The sentiment of personal respect was too deeply felt, and too widely disseminated. The haughty savage would not submit to the decision of any other tribunal than that of personal valour, or to any other equity than that dictated by an indestructible vengeance. The person injured had alone to do with the offender; and vengeance, not justice, was the all-powerful motive to his prosecution and punishment. And this their laws, such as they were, seem to have sanctioned and encouraged, so far as to render it incumbent on every one to pursue with his vengeance him who had inflicted an injury upon himself, or on any member of the family to which he belonged. Such were the system and principles of judicature which the new inhabitants of Europe brought with them from their pristine forests; and these it is necessary to keep in view in surveying the administration of justice among them in their adopted countries.

The feeling of personal, exclusive independence, seems to have been the ruling motive of the barbarian in every act and under all circumstances. The story told of the bold Frank, at the division of spoil during the invasion of

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