The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-02-13 00:00:00

!ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]
HIDDEN PROOFS.

CHAPTER I.
Have T, then, no tears for thee, my father?
Can I forget thy cares from helpless years;
Thy tenderness for me ; an eye still beamed
With love; a brow that never knew a frown,
Xor a harsh word thy tongue ?—TnomsoN.
"ALAS !my father, art thou indeed gone from me; and
shall we meet on earth no more? Is it possible that a
few brief hours can have made so fearful a change? I
cannot realize it !"
Such were a few of the half-frenzied exclamations
which burst from the lips of Maurice Glanville, the
youthful lord of Ravenside, as he paced the floor of
his bedroom, stopping ever and anon to gaze on the
Portrait of his father, which seemed to mock his sorrow
as it looked down upon him with a calm smile. He
was alone in his grief; for his stepmother, the haughty
Lady Marion, since the birth of her own son, had
treated him with marked coldness; and in this, the
bitterest hour of his life, he had no earthly comforter.
But there is one Father of the fatherless who never
forsakes his children; and sinking on his knees, the
youth sought relief in prayer. Ho arose calmed, if not
'Comforted; and throwing himself, dressed as he was,
on his couch, exhausted Nature asserted her rights.
Maurice forgot his sorrow, for a time, in slumber.
Whilst he rests, let us change the scene to another
chamber in the large mansion of Ravenside.
In a lofty room hung with black,' and on a bed
ornamented with sable plumes, lie the mortal remains
of Hugh Glanville, Baron Ravenside. Five days ago
he left his mansion in health and strength; but a fall
from his horse produced concussion of the brain, and
be was brought home senseless. He lingered three
'days, but was never able to speak, though evidently
anxious to do so; for at intervals he was sensible, and
seemed wishful to communicate with Maurice privately;
but that Lady Marion prevented, for she never left her
husband's bedside, and certainly no wife could have
been more dutiful. But why, now that all is over, is
she crossing the threshold of the chamber of death so
late?
The thick waxen tapers, set in heavy candelabra of
silver,throw a shadowy light on her figure, which is robed
in a white dressing gown ; her face, with its beautifully-
chiselled features, is pale as marble, and forms a striking
contrast to her largedark eyes and hair of raven black-
ness; she moves stealthily across the room, without
casting a glance on the bed, and, throwing back the
drapery from a small chest of drawers, presses a secret
Spring, which opens, and discloses a bunch of keys;
with one of these she opens an escritoire near the head
of the bed; and now, indeed, she glances fearfully
towards it, as if he thought the occupant would rise,
and disturb heel that most unhallowed search. At
length she grasps a roll of parchment, bearing the
Words, "The last will and testament of Hugh Glan-
ville." Hastily concealing the document within the
folds of her robe, locking the escritoire and replacing
the keys, the Lady Marion quits the chamber, flying as
if pursued through the silent corridors to her own
apartment. Only one terrified domestic crossed her
Path, and she declared to her gaping auditors in the
kitchen that she had met a ghost; the consequence
wilich was, that fcr many months not one ef the
inaid servants durst answer a bell after nightfall with-
" Out a companion. But we must follow the Lady
Marion to her dressing-room. Carefully bolting her-
self in, and pouring a few drops of some strong
Stimulant into a glass of water, she drank it, and
seated herself. For a few moments her whole frame
trembled and her bosom heaved convulsively; but,
gradually regaining her composure, she prepared to
read the document she had run such a fearful risk to
!obtain. As she read, her brow became clouded, and
it was evident she was irresolute how to act.
"Ten thousand pounds to me, besides my own mar-
riage dowry, and the jointure house; and thirty
thousand to Alfred, with the estate of Eaglesfield. I
Suppose this ought to content me; but it does not.
To descend from my position as Lady of Ravenside,
and give place to the wife of Maurice Gtanville ;
, whilst my son takes a younger brother's position, and
'the nephew of my brother's murderer becomes Baron
Of Ravenside! It must not be. And yet, unless I
consign this parchment to the flames, I cannot prevent
it; for Maurice is named here as the lawful son of
Hugh Glanville and his dear wife, Ellen Archer.
"Dear wife, indeed !" and the lady laughed scorn-
fully; but her mirth sounded hollow and unearthly,
even to herself; and, burying her head in her hands,
She sat in painful meditation for some time. At
length she arose, but the change that had passed over
her face was fearful to look upon; doubt and irresolu-
tion were gone, but the evil passions of pride, revenge,
and malice were stamped on that marble brow, as,
lifting the parchment, she placed it deliberately on the
glowing embers of her fire; and whilst the heat
brought out line after line of the written characters,
even to the signature of her husband's name in his own
band, she looks steadily and gloomily on. When every
Particle was consumed, the unhappy woman sank into
a chair, and exclaimed—
"I have passed the rubicon; I have taken the first
Step in crime. Where will it end ?"