should never have attempted to play? "We will
leave this house if you please, both of us, at eleven. We will go to
town together. The carriage will be ready at eleven. You had better
see to the packing of your things, with the servant."

"Shall I not say a word of adieu to Lady Elizabeth?"

"No, sir! You shall never speak to a female in my house again."

The two were driven over to Penrith together, and went up to London
in the same carriage, Sir Harry paying for all expenses without a
word. Sir Harry before he left his house saw his wife for a moment,
but he did not see his daughter. "Tell her," said he, "that it must
be,--must be all over." The decision was told to Emily, but she
simply refused to accept it. "It shall not be so," said she, flashing
out. Lady Elizabeth endeavoured to show her that her father had done
all he could to further her views--had been ready to sacrifice to her
all his own wishes and convictions.

"Why is he so changed? He has heard of some new debt. Of course there
are debts. We did not suppose that it could be done all at once, and
so easily." She refused to be comforted, and refused to believe.
She sat alone weeping in her own room, and swore, when her mother
came to her, that no consideration, no tidings as to George's past
misconduct, should induce her to break her faith to the man to whom
her word had been given;--"my word, and Papa's, and yours," said
Emily, pleading her cause with majesty through her tears.

On the day but one following there came a letter from Sir Harry to
Lady Elizabeth, very short, but telling her the whole truth. "He has
cheated like a common low swindler as he is, with studied tricks at
cards, robbing a poor man, altogether beneath him in station, of
hundreds of pounds. There is no doubt about it. It is uncertain even
yet whether he will not be tried before a jury. He hardly even denies
it. A creature viler, more cowardly, worse, the mind of man cannot
conceive. My broken-hearted, dearest, best darling must be told
all this. Tell her that I know what she will suffer. Tell her that
I shall be as crushed by it as she. But anything is better than
degradation such as this. Tell her specially that I have not decided
without absolute knowledge." Emily was told. The letter was read to
her and by her till she knew it almost by heart. There came upon
her a wan look of abject agony, that seemed to rob her at once of
her youth and beauty; but even now she would not yield