makes a sensation?"

"Naturally; for he is handsome, witty, and said to be very rich--that is,
as long as he receives the revenues of his exiled kinsman."

"I see you are well informed, Mr. Leslie. And what is supposed to bring
hither the Count di Peschiera?"

"I did hear something, which I did not quite understand, about a bet of
his that he would marry his kinsman's daughter; and so, I conclude, secure
to himself all the inheritance; and that he is therefore here to discover
the kinsman and win the heiress. But probably you know the rights of the
story, and can tell me what credit to give to such gossip."

"I know this, at least, that if he did lay such a wager, I would advise
you to take any odds against him that his backers may give," said
L'Estrange, drily; and while his lip quivered with anger, his eye gleamed
with arch, ironical humor.

"You think, then, that this poor kinsman will not need such an alliance in
order to regain his estates?"

"Yes; for I never yet knew a rogue whom I would not bet against, when he
backed his own luck as a rogue against Justice and Providence."

Randal winced, and felt as if an arrow had grazed his heart; but he soon
recovered.

"And, indeed, there is another vague rumor that the young lady in question
is married already--to some Englishman."

This time it was Harley who winced. "Good Heavens! that can not be
true--that would undo all! An Englishman just at this moment! But some
Englishman of correspondent rank, I trust, or, at least, one known for
opinions opposed to what an Austrian would call revolutionary doctrines?"

"I know nothing. But it was supposed, merely a private gentleman of good
family. Would not that suffice? Can the Austrian Court dictate a marriage
to the daughter as a condition for grace to the father?"

"No--not that!" said Harley, greatly disturbed. "But put yourself in the
position of any minister to one of the great European monarchies. Suppose
a political insurgent, formidable for station and wealth, had been
proscribed, much interest made on his behalf, a powerful party striving
against it, and just when the minister is disposed to relent, he hears
that the heiress to this wealth and this station is married to the native
of a country in which sentiments friendly to the very opinions for which
the insurgent was proscribed are popularly entertained, and thus that the
fortune to be restored may be so employed as to disturb the national
security--the