his friend. He took every wise
precaution that his miraculous escape should be a profound secret.
Endeared to each other by these extraordinary circumstances, they agreed
never to separate; and Dr. Lloyd removed to a spot where he was unknown,
supported by the income of a small inheritance, and declining the
practice of medicine, except gratuitously among the indigent. Eustace
cut off his redundant hair, stained his complexion, and otherwise
disguised his appearance; and he passed as the son of a gentleman, who,
being afflicted with mental derangement, was obliged to be kept in close
retirement. Dr. Lloyd rented a neat secluded cottage; and the friends
lived in decent privacy, waiting for happier times.

De Vallance now required an explanation of Fido's being seen at
Worcester; and Dr. Lloyd owned that, finding it impossible to restrain
the loyal impetuosity of Eustace, he went to that city to learn the
situation of the King, since, if there were any hopes of a prosperous
issue, he had consented that they should both join the royal standard.
The Doctor further added, that he feared their present comforts could
not long continue. The surrender of the Earl of Derby's Castles had
introduced the rebel troops into the neighbourhood; and he dreaded lest
Eustace should be discovered and recognized. They therefore meditated a
voyage to Virginia; and the plan was now suspended by the anxiety of
Eustace to hear some tidings from his kindred, and to acquaint them with
his situation. The impossibility of sending intelligence of such
importance by a public conveyance, in times when the letters and actions
of royalists were subjected to the most vigilant scrutiny; and the
hazard and difficulty of forwarding it by a private hand had long
prevented him from having any correspondence with his family; nor did he
know the anguish his supposed murder had cost them. In those times of
civil contention the dearest relatives were often long ignorant of each
other's fate. So numerous were the instances of cruelty, so multiplied
the tales of wo, that they wearied and confused the reciter. Many
parents believed their sons safe in a foreign country, who, at last they
found, had long since perished in some obscure skirmish, where valour
bled unshaded by its deserved laurels. Others, who had lamented the
death of their dearest relations, received them back at the King's
restoration, as if they had risen from their tombs. The necessity of
extreme cau