it. All these
things infused into him an emotion intense in power and supremely
distressing in quality. The paper in his hand quivered as he read:

'THE VALLEY, ENDELSTOW.

'SIR,--A woman who has not much in the world to lose by any censure this
act may bring upon her, wishes to give you some hints concerning a lady
you love. If you will deign to accept a warning before it is too late,
you will notice what your correspondent has to say.

'You are deceived. Can such a woman as this be worthy?

'One who encouraged an honest youth to love her, then slighted him, so
that he died.

'One who next took a man of no birth as a lover, who was forbidden the
house by her father.

'One who secretly left her home to be married to that man, met him, and
went with him to London.

'One who, for some reason or other, returned again unmarried.

'One who, in her after-correspondence with him, went so far as to
address him as her husband.

'One who wrote the enclosed letter to ask me, who better than anybody
else knows the story, to keep the scandal a secret.

'I hope soon to be beyond the reach of either blame or praise. But
before removing me God has put it in my power to avenge the death of my
son.

'GERTRUDE JETHWAY.'

The letter enclosed was the note in pencil that Elfride had written in
Mrs. Jethway's cottage:

'DEAR MRS. JETHWAY,--I have been to visit you. I wanted much to see
you, but I cannot wait any longer. I came to beg you not to execute the
threats you have repeated to me. Do not, I beseech you, Mrs. Jethway,
let any one know I ran away from home! It would ruin me with him, and
break my heart. I will do anything for you, if you will be kind to
me. In the name of our common womanhood, do not, I implore you, make a
scandal of me.--Yours,

'E. SWANCOURT.

Knight turned his head wearily towards the house. The ground rose
rapidly on nearing the shrubbery in which he stood, raising it almost to
a level with the first floor of The Crags. Elfride's dressing-room
lay in the salient angle in this direction, and it was lighted by two
windows in such a position that, from Knight's standing-place, his sight
passed through both windows, and raked the room. Elfride was there;
she was pausing between the two windows, looking at her figure in
the cheval-glass. She regarded herself long and attentively in front;
turned, flung back her head, and observed the reflection over her
shoulder.

Nobody can predicate as t