riously in her own
happy thoughts. Knowing what I knew, it was nothing less than
heart-breaking to see her and hear her. Afraid to trust myself to say
another word, I softly closed the door, and charged Zillah (when her
mistress rang her bell) to say for me that I was weary after the events
of the day, and had gone to rest in my bed-room.

At last, I was alone. At last I was at the end of my maneuvers to spare
myself the miserable necessity of opening Oscar's letter. After first
locking my door, I broke the seal, and read the lines which follow.

"KIND AND DEAR FRIEND,--Forgive me: I am going to surprise and distress
you. My letter thanks you gratefully; and bids you a last farewell.

"Summon all your indulgence for me. Read these lines to the end: they
will tell you what happened after I left the rectory.

"Nothing had been seen of Nugent, when I reached this house. It was not
till a quarter of an hour later that I heard his voice at the door,
calling to me, and asking if I had come back. I answered, and he joined
me in the sitting-room. Nugent's first words to me were these:--"
'Oscar, I have come to ask your pardon, and to bid you good-bye.'

"I can give you no idea of the tone in which he spoke to me: it would
have gone straight to your heart, as it went straight to mine. For the
moment, I was not able to answer him. I could only offer him my hand. He
sighed bitterly, and refused to take it.

"'I have something still to tell you,' he said. 'Wait till you have
heard it; and give me your hand afterwards--if you can.'

"He even refused to take the chair to which I pointed. He distressed me
by standing in my presence as if he was my inferior. The next words that
he said to me--

"No! I have need of all my calmness and all my courage. It shakes both to
recall what he said to me. I sat down to write this, intending to repeat
to you everything that passed between us. Another of my weaknesses!
another of my failures! The tears come into my eyes again, when my mind
attempts to dwell on the details. I can only tell you the result. My
brother's confession may be summed up in three words. Prepare yourself to
be startled; prepare yourself to be grieved.

"Nugent loves her.

"Think of this discovery falling on me, after I had seen my innocent
Lucilla's arms round his neck--after my own eyes had shown me how she
rejoiced over her first sight of _him;_ how she shuddered at her first
sight of _me!_ Need I tell you wha