hould attempt to urge on this match, I can at least make
her the offer of sharing my poverty: there is my mother's roof to
shelter her, and, if her guardian refuses his consent to our marriage,
why, we must contrive to do without it, that is all. So now, Peter,
if you will wait a few minutes, I will give you a note for your young
mistress, and then get to horse without further loss of time;" and
calling for pen, ink, and paper, I hastily scribbled a few lines to
Clara, informing her of the events of the morning, and of my unalterable
determination to save her from a union with Cumberland; begging her, at
the same time, to continue firm in her opposition, to acquaint me with
everything that might occur, and to rely upon me for protection in the
event of anything like force being resorted to. I then entrusted my note
to old Peter, begged him to watch Master Richard Cumberland closely,
told him that upon his care and vigilance depended in great measure the
happiness of his young mistress's life; tipped him handsomely, though
I had some trouble in making him take the money; and, mounting my
ill-disposed horse, rode back to Hillingford, on the whole tolerably
well satisfied with my morning's work.

I found two letters awaiting my return: one from my mother, to say that
she should be at Heathfield Cottage on the following day, and begging
me to meet her; the other from Ellis, telling me that at length he hoped
Oaklands was in a fair way to recover, it having been ascertained that a
piece of the wadding of the pistol had remained behind when the ball was
extracted; this had now come away, and the wound was healing rapidly. As
his strength returned, Harry was growing extremely impatient to get back
to Heathfield; and Ellis concluded by saying that they might be expected
any day, and begging me at the same time to remember that from the first
he had always declared, in regard to his patient, that it would have
killed any other man, but that it could not kill him.

Days glided by, the absentees returned, and matters fell so completely
into their old train again that the occurrences ~309~~ of the last eight
months seemed like the unreal creations of some fevered dream, and there
were times when I could scarcely bring myself to believe them true.

Harry Oaklands had recovered sufficiently to resume his usual habits;
and, except that he was strictly forbidden to over-exert or fatigue
himself (an injunction he appeared only too will