and of your concerns."

They then went out of the room, leaving only the Lord Fitz-Owen and
his sons with the criminal. They discoursed of the wonderful story of
Edmund's birth, and the principal events of his life.

After dinner, Sir Philip requested another conference with the Lords,
and their principal friends. There were present also Father Oswald,
and Lord Graham's confessor, who had taken the Lord Lovel's confession,
Edmund, and Zadisky. "Now, gentlemen," said Sir Philip, "I desire to
know your opinion of our proofs, and your advice upon them."

Lord Graham replied, "I am desired to speak for the rest. We think there
are strong presumptive proofs that this young man is the true heir of
Lovel; but they ought to be confirmed and authenticated. Of the murder
of the late Lord there is no doubt; the criminal hath confessed it, and
the circumstances confirm it; the proofs of his crime are so connected
with those of the young man's birth, that one cannot be public without
the other. We are desirous to do justice; and yet are unwilling, for
the Lord Fitz-Owen's sake, to bring the criminal to public shame and
punishment. We wish to find out a medium; we therefore desire Sir
Philip to make proposals for his ward, and let Lord Fitz-Owen answer for
himself and his brother, and we will be moderators between them."

Here every one expressed approbation, and called upon Sir Philip to make
his demands.

"If," said he, "I were to demand strict justice, I should not be
satisfied with any thing less than the life of the criminal; but I am a
Christian soldier, the disciple of Him who came into the world to save
sinners;--for His sake," continued he, crossing himself, "I forego my
revenge, I spare the guilty. If Heaven gives him time for repentance,
man should not deny it. It is my ward's particular request, that I will
not bring shame upon the house of his benefactor, the Lord Fitz-Owen,
for whom he hath a filial affection and profound veneration. My
proposals are these:--First, that the criminal make restitution of the
title and estate, obtained with so much injustice and cruelty, to the
lawful heir, whom he shall acknowledge such before proper witnesses.
Secondly, that he shall surrender his own lawful inheritance and
personal estate into the hands of the Lord Fitz-Owen, in trust for his
sons, who are his heirs of blood. Thirdly, that he shall retire into a
religious house, or else quit the kingdom in three months time; and,
i