ject. I was
reminded very unpleasantly, next time I appeared in the town, that
the affair had become public property. Lord William would not allow us
to send for a surgeon, but had the wound dressed by his own servant;
and, fortunately, it turned out to be less dangerous than I feared
at first. I sought my own room, and hid myself there with all the
remorse of a Cain. I resolved to throw myself at his feet and beg his
pardon. But the reaction to my excited state of feelings had now set
in, and I fell exhausted on a sofa, where I slept for several hours
a feverish kind of sleep. When I awoke Lord William was gone. After
this I was seriously ill; and on my recovery my grandfather took me
as soon as possible to the Werve for the fresh country air. Sir John
told me, when I was quite well, that Lord William had certainly given
proof of his good-nature to allow me to touch him; for while at Eton
he had been considered one of the best fencers in the school, and
just before quitting England he had fought a duel with an officer in
the Horse Guards, and wounded him in a manner that report said was
likely to be fatal.

"My answer to this was that I had never suspected Lord William of
being a duellist.

"'That he never was; but in this instance his honour was at stake. He
could not leave the insult of this captain unpunished. Perhaps,
however, he would have acted more justly if he had put his wife
to death; and though an English jury would certainly have brought
him in guilty of murder, yet, considering the great provocation he
had received, public opinion would have sympathized with him in the
highest degree. Now he is reconciled to her again, at least in outward
appearance; but he has written to me that he is going to make a tour
all over the world.'"

"And you have never since heard of this 'My lord?'" I asked Francis,
to whose story I had listened with as much sorrow as attention.

"Never; and I don't even know his family name to this day. Changes now
followed in rapid succession. My father died suddenly; my grandfather
was promoted in rank, and we removed to Zutphen, where I proposed
to begin a new life. But though we break with our antecedents, it is
impossible to sponge out the past. However, more of this hereafter. I
must attend to the other gentlemen, otherwise I shall be accused of
neglecting my duties. I will tell you more of this history at another
time if it interests you; for it is a relief to me to confide it to