dwell upon the particulars of our mutual passion. Suffice
it to say that she was the only child of her widowed mother, in
moderate but independent circumstances, and being hitherto secluded
from the society of the other sex, soon conceived (for my visits were
frequent) an affection as ardent as my own. At length I apprized my
father of the attachment, and asked his consent to our union. He
refused to sanction the alliance in the most positive terms, and
commanded me never to mention the subject again. He said that I was
poor, and that he would not consent to my marriage with any other than
an heiress. I returned to London, resolved to disobey his injunction,
for I felt that my happiness entirely depended upon my union with the
lovely Juliet. But I had never yet definitely expressed my desire to
her. Yet there could be no doubt from her smiles that my wishes would
willingly be acceded to. I determined to arrange every thing at our
next interview, and a few weeks afterwards I repaired to the cottage
for that purpose. Instead of meeting me with her ever blissful face, I
found my Juliet in tears! She was alone; but in the adjoining chamber
I heard a man's voice, and feared that it was my father. I was
mistaken. Juliet soon brushed away her tears, and informed me that she
had been _again_ assailed by the same ruffians, and on the lawn within
sight of the cottage. She said that the gentleman in the next room was
her deliverer. I seized her hand, and when about to propose a plan to
secure her against such annoyances for ever, her mother entered and
introduced the stranger to me. His name was Nicholson, and he stated
that he was a partner in a large banking establishment in Lombard
Street. He was past the bloom of youth, but still his fine clothes and
his reputed wealth were displeasing to me. I was especially chagrined
at the marked attention shown him by Juliet's mother. And my annoyance
was increased by the frequent lascivious glances he cast at the
maiden. The more I marked him, the more was my uneasiness. It soon
occurred to me that I had seen him before! He resembled a person I had
seen driving rapidly along the highway in a chariot, on the morning
that I first beheld my Juliet. But my recollection of his features was
indistinct. There was a condescending suavity in his manners, and
sometimes a positive and commanding tone in his conversation, that
almost roused my enmity in spite of my peaceful calling and friendly
dispo