owed a wink upon his favoured fair one.

"Why that?" asked Jonathan.

"He had his coat taken--ay, and his shirt too," returned the ostler.

"Is that so?" cried Jonathan eagerly. "Was you robbed too?"

"That was I," replied Cumberland, "with a warrant! I was a well-to-do
man when I was young."

"Ay! See that!" says Jonathan. "And you don't long for a revenge?"

"Eh! Not me!" answered the beggar. "It's too long ago. But if you'll
give me another mug of your good ale, my pretty lady, I won't say no to
that."

"And shalt have! And shalt have!" cried Jonathan. "Or brandy even, if
you like it better."

And as Cumberland did like it better, and the ostler chimed in, the
party pledged each other in a dram of brandy before separating.

As for Nance, she slipped forth into the ruins, partly to avoid the
ostler's gallantries, partly to lament over the defects of Mr. Archer.
Plainly, he was no hero. She pitied him; she began to feel a protecting
interest mingle with and almost supersede her admiration, and was at the
same time disappointed and yet drawn to him. She was, indeed, conscious
of such unshaken fortitude in her own heart, that she was almost tempted
by an occasion to be bold for two. She saw herself, in a brave attitude,
shielding her imperfect hero from the world; and she saw, like a piece
of heaven, his gratitude for her protection.

CHAPTER V

LIFE IN THE CASTLE

From that day forth the life of these three persons in the ruin ran very
smoothly. Mr. Archer now sat by the fire with a book, and now passed
whole days abroad, returning late, dead weary. His manner was a mask;
but it was half transparent; through the even tenor of his gravity and
courtesy profound revolutions of feeling were betrayed, seasons of numb
despair, of restlessness, of aching temper. For days he would say
nothing beyond his usual courtesies and solemn compliments; and then,
all of a sudden, some fine evening beside the kitchen fire, he would
fall into a vein of elegant gossip, tell of strange and interesting
events, the secrets of families, brave deeds of war, the miraculous
discovery of crime, the visitations of the dead. Nance and her uncle
would sit till the small hours with eyes wide open: Jonathan applauding
the unexpected incidents with many a slap of his big hand; Nance,
perhaps, more pleased with the narrator's eloquence and wise
reflections; and then, again, days would follow of abstraction, of
listless humming, of f