hem."

"Or," said Mr. Mowbray, "he may have, after all, been prevented from
reaching the place of rendezvous--it was that very day on which your
lordship, I think, received your wound; and, if I mistake not, you hit
the man from whom you got the hurt."

"Mowbray," said Lord Etherington, lowering his voice, and taking him by
the arm, "it is true that I did so--and truly glad I am to observe,
that, whatever might have been the consequences of such an accident,
they cannot have been serious.--It struck me afterwards, that the man by
whom I was so strangely assaulted, had some resemblance to the
unfortunate Tyrrel--but I had not seen him for years.--At any rate, he
cannot have been much hurt, since he is now able to resume his intrigues
to the prejudice of my character."

"Your lordship views the thing with a firm eye," said Mowbray; "firmer
than I think most people would be able to command, who had so narrow a
chance of a scrape so uncomfortable."

"Why, I am, in the first place, by no means sure that the risk existed,"
said the Earl of Etherington; "for, as I have often told you, I had but
a very transient glimpse of the ruffian; and, in the second place, I
_am_ sure that no permanent bad consequences have ensued. I am too old a
fox-hunter to be afraid of a leap after it is cleared, as they tell of
the fellow who fainted in the morning at the sight of the precipice he
had clambered over when he was drunk on the night before. The man who
wrote that letter," touching it with his finger, "is alive, and able to
threaten me; and if he did come to any hurt from my hand, it was in the
act of attempting my life, of which I shall carry the mark to my
grave."

"Nay, I am far from blaming your lordship," said Mowbray, "for what you
did in self-defence, but the circumstance might have turned out very
unpleasant.--May I ask what you intend to do with this unfortunate
gentleman, who is in all probability in the neighbourhood?"

"I must first discover the place of his retreat," said Lord Etherington,
"and then consider what is to be done both for his safety, poor fellow,
and my own. It is probable, too, that he may find sharpers to prey upon
what fortune he still possesses, which, I assure you, is sufficient to
attract a set of folk, who may ruin while they humour him.--May I beg
that you, too, will be on the outlook, and let me know if you hear or
see more of him?"

"I shall, most certainly, my lord," answered Mowbray; "but the