by the
poisoned arrow of jealousy.

At this moment the voice of Colonel Clifford was heard, loud and ringing
as usual. Julia Clifford had decoyed him there in hopes of falling in
with Percy and making it up; and to deceive the good Colonel as to her
intentions she had been running him down all the way; so the Colonel was
heard to say, in a voice for all the village to hear, "Jealous is he, and
suspicious? Then you take my advice and give him up at once. You will
easily find a better man and a bigger." After delivering this, like the
word of command upon parade, the Colonel was crossing the turf, a yard or
two higher up than Hope's workshop, when the spirit of revenge moved
Bartley to retort upon his insulter.

"Hy, Colonel Clifford!"

The Colonel instantly halted, and marched down with Julia on his arm,
like a game-cock when another rooster crows defiance.

"And what can you have to say to me, sir?" was his haughty inquiry.

"To take you down a peg. You rode the high horse pretty hard to-day. The
spotless honor of the Cliffords, eh?"

Then it was fixed bayonets and no quarter.

"Have the Cliffords ever dabbled in trade or trickery? Coal merchants,
coal heavers, and coal whippers may defile our fields with coal dust and
smoke, but they can not defile our honor."

"The men are brave as lions, and the women as chaste as snow?"
sneered Bartley.

"I don't know about lions and snow. I have often seen a lion turn tail,
and the snow is black slush wherever you are. But the Cliffords, being
gentlemen, are brave, and being ladies, are chaste."

"Oh, indeed!" hissed Bartley. "Then how comes it that your niece
there--whose name is _Miss_ Clifford, I believe--spent what this good man
calls a honey-moon, with a young gentleman, at this good man's inn?"

Here the good man in question made a faint endeavor to interpose, but the
gentlefolks by their impetuosity completely suppressed him.

"It's a falsehood!" cried Julia, haughtily.

"You scurrilous cad!" roared the Colonel, and shook his staff at him, and
seemed on the point of charging him.

But Bartley was not to be put down this time. He snatched the bracelet
from the man, and held it up in triumph.

"And left this bracelet there to prove it was no falsehood."

Then Julia got frightened at the evidence and the terrible nature of the
accusation. "Oh!" cried she, in great distress, "can any one here believe
that I am a creature so lost? I have not seen the bracelet t