The Morning herald., 1877-10-27

Presently ne rebolInded, shudderingly,
as some thought more terrible than all be.
fore smote upon his brain.
Mistress Camelford Mistress Camel.
ford !" he gasped, and buried his face
within his hands, and prayed of heaven to
have mercy on him and kill him there and
| then. i. a ."- '.l l5,
It had been announced to Rosalie that a
gentleman, who had been sent by Clarence
Hartley, solicited permission to speak with
her.
Conducted to the apartment in which
she was seated, Rosaie rose to receive this
,isitor, and then was silent, expecting him
to speak.
But he did not speak, and Rosalie was
commencing to fear that messenger of
some further woe TO her was this stranger;
! that he had come to tell her Of some acci-
| dent that had befallen Hartley.
| At that moment deep groan smote ups
| IN her ear, and her own name was with
great anguish pronounced, and Rosalie was
| transtixed and terror-stricken.
"Oh! if he were not dead, if he were not
dead !" she faltered.
| Another moment, few more words
spoken, and Rosalie knew, beyond all doubt
that Arthur Gresham was living still. and
was again before her. .,a
Her first impulse then was to fly into his
arms, bat she remembered what now she
7as, and staggered back and shrunk from
aim ii; and then she stood and gazed upon
him, and he on herewith what tortured
feelings, with what tarrible agony, wl.o
could depict. - 0.
"Oh, Augusta, Augusta \ moaned Ro-
sa1ie, rs Mistress Canelford at' that moment
entered the room; not stalking grandly in
as formerly she would have done--for Mis-
tress Camelford was no longer as we have
seen her-but creeping forward with bndy
bowed and wrinkled fare, the wretched
work which she had done, although as yet
she repensed it not, had been, spite Of all
her reasoning, and the supposed wrongs
which had driven her to it, constant tor
ture to Mistress Camelford's guilty heart,
had made Of her haggard, aged-lookAag,
and almost decrepit woman.
Augusta had heard Of Gresham's return j;
had known that TO Clarence Hartley's man
sion he first would hasten, and 80 had her.
sek followed thither.
"There is no need you should reproach
each other" after while she said.
And then she explained what she had
done; in few words made clear to them
that which, even before she had spoken,
the wretched pair had almost perfectly COM
pretended.
"My boy, my little Arthur! !" Rosalie
cried, imploringly, "say that the seeming
proof you gave me Of his death was false as
all the rest that you have made appear SC
real and true to mep Say that that one
solace is left to the hearts you have SO
fiendishly tortured-say that my boy is hv-
ing still !"
And Rosalie bent eagerly forwards TO-
wards Mistress Camelford, who, turning
from her, said with nervous twitching OF
the lips, which belied the assumed coldnes:
Of her tone.
i. "Your son is dead!"
Aud Rosalie. WITH convulsivs cry, and
wrr rging her hands despairingly, dashed
FROM the apartment.
"You have told me much,' Gresham said
sternly, addressing Augusta, ''but there is
something have yet to learn must know
if my son has been stricken by Heaven, OF
by you; if by your hand, or through your
means, he has persisted, I will be merciles:
to you, as you have been to me and mine !!
And Mistress C..meford trembled; hel
former agent would not dare to speak; she
was we'll convinced Of that; for, to comics:
his guilt, would be to doom himself to thf
scaFold; but might not his wifo's suspicion
, have been aroused2 It was Margaret Bur
ford whom Augusta dreaded now.
Margaret jealously guarded Rosalie':
son her husband had commanded her to bt
silent concerning the boy, bat Margare
had resolved that to young Acthur's S mothe1
, she would make known that still was Ivlnc
the son who had 30 long been wept as los
to her for ever.
Finding that he could by no threats shak
his wife's resolution, Adam Burforl thel
condescended to entreaty; implored Mar
garet to be prudent, and to obtain for hel
husband promise Of immunity for his pas
villiany, and to secure for herself reward
which soon would have passed to Adam ;
, hands - for having protected and givel
, back the boy to his natural guardians.
To all Of which Margaret, with seemin!
readiness, agreed; and her husband Wa
i. forced to appear satisfied. Though, in re
aity, Margaret had no intention OF making
conditions with RosaGe for the restoration
of her son, but had determined to give hap
piness to the so long and cruelty bereave'
mother, come what might to herself or tt
her wicked husband.
Margaret had but just explained to yo,lnE
, Arthur that the portrait he so cherishel
was that of his mother, who still existed
and to whom she shortly would conduc
him, when even as she said this, that moth
or was herself before them.
+ Rosalie had fled from Clarence Hartley
, mansion directly to the miserable dwellin!
of Margaret Burford with ne hope that he