, like a little fool, being only anxious to pour all that she
possessed into the lap of her beloved. The father threw himself on the
mercy of the trustees, reminding them that in little more than three
years Lady Alice would become unfettered mistress of her own fortune,
and begging them meanwhile to make proper provision for the rash but
happy pair. Harry Wensleydale, after all, was a rattling good fellow,
with whom all the young women were in love. The thing, though naughty,
was natural; and the colonel would make an excellent husband.

One Presbyterian trustee left his business in Belfast and ventured
himself among the abominations of Paris. He was much befooled and
befeasted. He found a shy young wife tremulously in love; a handsome
husband; an amiable step-mother. He knew no one in Paris who could
enlighten him, and was not clever enough to invent means of getting
information for himself. He was induced to promise a sufficient income
for the moment on behalf of himself and his co-trustee; and for the rest
was obliged to be content with vague assurances from Colonel Wensleydale
that as soon as his wife came into her property fitting settlements
should be made.

Four years passed by. The young people lived with the Blackwaters, and
their income kept the establishment going. Lady Alice had a child, and
was at first not altogether unhappy. She was little more than a timid
child herself; and no doubt, to begin with, she was in love. Then came
her majority. In defiance of all her trustees, she gave her whole
fortune to her husband, and no power could prevent her from so doing.

The Blackwater menage blazed up into a sudden splendor. Lady
Blackwater's carriage and Lady Blackwater's jewels had never been finer;
and amid the crowds who frequented the house, the slight figure, the
sallow face, and absent eyes of her step-daughter attracted little
remark. Lady Alice Wensleydale was said to be delicate and reserved; she
made no friends, explained herself to no one; and it was supposed that
she occupied herself with her little boy.

Then one December she disappeared from the apartment in the Place
Vendome. It was said that she and the boy found the climate of Paris too
cold in winter, and had gone for a time to Italy. Colonel Wensleydale
continued to live with the Blackwaters, and their apartment was no less
sumptuous, their dinners no less talked of, their extravagance no less
noisy than before. But Lady Alice did not come