old friend and true love,
took not the smallest heed of me. Nor knew I where to find her.'

'What!' cried Lorna; and nothing more; being overcome with wondering;
and much inclined to fall away, but for my assistance. I told her, over
and over again, that not a single syllable of any message from her,
or tidings of her welfare, had reached me, or any one of us, since the
letter she left behind; except by soldier's gossip.

'Oh, you poor dear John!' said Lorna, sighing at thought of my misery:
'how wonderfully good of you, thinking of me as you must have done, not
to marry that little plain thing (or perhaps I should say that lovely
creature, for I have never seen her), Mistress Ruth--I forget her name;
but something like a towel.'

'Ruth Huckaback is a worthy maid,' I answered with some dignity; 'and
she alone of all our world, except indeed poor Annie, has kept her
confidence in you, and told me not to dread your rank, but trust your
heart, Lady Lorna.'

'Then Ruth is my best friend,' she answered, 'and is worthy of you, dear
John. And now remember one thing, dear; if God should part us, as may be
by nothing short of death, try to marry that little Ruth, when you cease
to remember me. And now for the head-traitor. I have often suspected it:
but she looks me in the face, and wishes--fearful things, which I cannot
repeat.'

With these words, she moved an implement such as I had not seen before,
and which made a ringing noise at a serious distance. And before I had
ceased wondering--for if such things go on, we might ring the church
bells, while sitting in our back-kitchen--little Gwenny Carfax came,
with a grave and sullen face.

'Gwenny,' began my Lorna, in a tone of high rank and dignity, 'go and
fetch the letters which I gave you at various times for despatch to
Mistress Ridd.'

'How can I fetch them, when they are gone? It be no use for him to tell
no lies--'

'Now, Gwenny, can you look at me?' I asked, very sternly; for the matter
was no joke to me, after a year's unhappiness.

'I don't want to look at 'ee. What should I look at a young man for,
although he did offer to kiss me?'

I saw the spite and impudence of this last remark, and so did Lorna,
although she could not quite refrain from smiling.

'Now, Gwenny, not to speak of that,' said Lorna, very demurely, 'if you
thought it honest to keep the letters, was it honest to keep the money?'

At this the Cornish maiden broke into a rage of honesty: 'A