--and of a bridegroom sentenced to languish in prison, with
all his beautiful hair cut off, by Act of Parliament, close to his
head. Supposing she could bring herself to consent to the elopement at
all--which she positively declined to promise--she must first insist on
discovering whether there was any fear of the police being concerned in
her marriage as well as the parson and the clerk. Allan, being a man,
ought to know; and to Allan she looked for information--with this
preliminary assurance to assist him in laying down the law, that she
would die of a broken heart a thousand times over, rather than be the
innocent means of sending him to languish in prison, and of cutting his
hair off, by Act of Parliament, close to his head. "It's no laughing
matter," said Neelie, resolutely, in conclusion; "I decline even to
think of our marriage till my mind is made easy first on the subject of
the Law."

"But I don't know anything about the law, not even as much as you do,"
said Allan. "Hang the law! I don't mind my head being cropped. Let's
risk it."

"Risk it?" repeated Neelie, indignantly. "Have you no consideration for
me? I won't risk it! Where there's a will, there's a way. We must find
out the law for ourselves."

"With all my heart," said Allan. "How?"

"Out of books, to be sure! There must be quantities of information in
that enormous library of yours at the great house. If you really love
me, you won't mind going over the backs of a few thousand books, for my
sake!"

"I'll go over the backs of ten thousand!" cried Allan, warmly. "Would
you mind telling me what I'm to look for?"

"For 'Law,' to be sure! When it says 'Law' on the back, open it, and
look inside for Marriage--read every word of it--and then come here and
explain it to me. What! you don't think your head is to be trusted to do
such a simple thing as that?"

"I'm certain it isn't," said Allan. "Can't you help me?"

"Of course I can, if you can't manage without me! Law may be hard, but
it can't be harder than music; and I must, and will, satisfy my
mind. Bring me all the books you can find, on Monday morning--in a
wheelbarrow, if there are a good many of them, and if you can't manage
it in any other way."

The result of this conversation was Allan's appearance in the park, with
a volume of Blackstone's Commentaries under his arm, on the fatal Monday
morning, when Miss Gwilt's written engagement of marriage was placed in
Midwinter's hands. Here aga