tunes."

"Be it so, and may we ever thus banish despair by such hopeful
propositions. Lean on my arm, Flora; you are safe with me. Come,
dearest, and taste the sweetness of the morning air."

There was, indeed now, a hopefulness about the manner in which Henry
Bannerworth spoke, such as Flora had not for some weary months had the
pleasure of listening to, and she eagerly rose to accompany him into the
garden, which was glowing with all the beauty of sunshine, for the day
had turned out to be much finer than the early morning had at all
promised it would be.

"Flora," he said, when they had taken some turns to and fro in the
garden, "notwithstanding all that has happened, there is no convincing
Mr. Chillingworth that Sir Francis Varney is really what to us he
appears."

"Indeed!"

"It is so. In the face of all evidence, he neither will believe in
vampyres at all, nor that Varney is anything but some mortal man, like
ourselves, in his thoughts, talents, feelings, and modes of life; and
with no more power to do any one an injury than we have."

"Oh, would that I could think so!"

"And I; but, unhappily, we have by far too many, and too conclusive
evidences to the contrary."

"We have, indeed, brother."

"And though, while we respect that strength of mind in our friend which
will not allow him, even almost at the last extremity, to yield to what
appear to be stern facts, we may not ourselves be so obdurate, but may
feel that we know enough to be convinced."

"You have no doubt, brother?"

"Most reluctantly, I must confess, that I feel compelled to consider
Varney as something more than mortal."

"He must be so."

"And now, sister, before we leave the place which has been a home to us
from earliest life, let us for a few moments consider if there be any
possible excuse for the notion of Mr. Chillingworth, to the effect that
Sir Francis Varney wants possession of the house for some purpose still
more inimical to our peace and prosperity than any he has yet
attempted."

"Has he such an opinion?"

"He has."

"'Tis very strange."

"Yes, Flora; he seems to gather from all the circumstances, nothing but
an overwhelming desire on the part of Sir Francis Varney to become the
tenant of Bannerworth Hall."

"He certainly wishes to possess it."

"Yes; but can you, sister, in the exercise of any possible amount of
fancy, imagine any motive for such an anxiety beyond what he alleges?"

"Which is merely that he