ittle eyes danced and twinkled as if they would jump
out of their sockets. Reassured, in spite of myself, by his manner, I
exclaimed, as I closed the parlour ~412~~ door behind him, "Well, Peter;
speak out, man--what is it?"

"Oh! my breath!" was the reply, "running don't suit old legs like it
does young uns. I say, sir, did ye see _him_ go by?"

"I saw Mr. Vernor pass a few minutes since," replied I.

"Ah! that's what I've been a-waiting for; we're safe from him for the
next four hours: he didn't see you, did he?"

"No," returned I, "he was fortunately looking another way."

"Well, it's all right then, everything's all right; oh! lor, I'm so
happy."

"It's more than I am," replied I angrily; for feeling convinced that
nothing could have occurred materially to affect the position in which
Clara and I stood towards each other, the old man's joy grated harshly
on my gloomy state of mind, and I began to attribute his excessive
hilarity to the influence of the ale-tap. "You will drive me frantic
with your ridiculous and unseasonable mirth. If you have anything to
communicate likely to relieve my sorrow and anxiety, in the name of
common sense speak out, man."

"I beg your pardon, sir; I was so happy myself, I was forgetting you:
I've got so much to tell you, I don't know where to begin rightly; but,
however, here goes--to the right-about face! March!" He then proceeded
to give me, with much circumlocution, which I will mercifully spare the
reader, the following account. After he had left me at the conclusion of
our last interview, feeling, as he said, "more wretcheder" than he had
ever done before, in going through the park, he observed two persons, a
man and a woman, in close conversation; on his approach they separated,
but not until he had been able to recognise Wilford, and one of the
female servants, Clara's personal attendant. "This," as he continued,
"set him a-thinking," and the result of his cogitations occasioned the
mysterious hint thrown out to me in his note. On receiving my letter for
Clara, he found an opportunity of delivering it in person, inquiring,
when he did so, both when she had last heard from, and written to, me;
at the same time informing her that he had a very particular reason
for asking. He then learned what he had more than suspected from the
interview he had witnessed in the park, namely, that since Wilford had
been in the house, she had not only never received one of my letters,
but ha