Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-02-26
during the attack on the gate, contributing it,

during the attack on the gate, contributing its
1osrlole merrment 10 the general din. now
party, headed By one OF the proctors. were
ALREADY pressing forward into my court Be-
hind The proctor and his constaolss was a
strong BODY OF the town police, with a .eta III
mant from the fire brigade. The MAYOR rol
lowed. arm IN arm with the vice chanc ,lor.
and IN the rear were legion of roughs. VINO
% c| eS , aaen fstandng ground
Nobody TO be seeB." heard tie Vice Chan
CeilOr saw as ne entered the court, mo smell of
1ire anywhere! What can it all mean, Mr..
That officer was about to reply when one NJ
the police interposed. I'VE shall soon d nd out.
upper rooms; the room at the back, sir, where
the open window Is; some one is standing by it
In effect, on hearing the voices outside had
hurried forward to explain matters, aud was
proceeding to DO so as well as the Babel of
sounds which followed my appearance would
admit. But | was unexpectedly cut short
Pressing 70 tne front of the throng, which he
mad joined unobserved on quitting the bell I
saw the commanding figure or Captain Paken-
ham fresh delusion had swept across the
olstempered brain, and he nov advanced In
great apparent agitation but with gentleman
courtesy, TO the Vice Chancellor. who was tn
academical costume
81 presume, sir" he said, 81 am speakInp IN
some one In uthority In this placer"
"Unquesttonably," said the Vice ChanceI-
loa, ,to can you explain to us what is the
pleXtty."
Il am come here in quest of my daughter
sald che captain; Il have reason to fear that
she has been decoyed into this college by the
person whom you see standing &C the win low
there. Yes, yes; there she ISL
Tnefe she was, 90 doubt. On hearing her
fathers voice, Miss Pakenham had stepped for
ward also, and was trying 70 gain his attention.
BUT she might as well have talked to the Nile
cataract.
agnes. Agnes!" he exclaimed again. in
n nv
Child! she is all l have left. sir" he added,
turning 10 the Vice Chancellor; "the only prop
or my Old age; her mother is dead. ner two
brothers dead; and now. through the machina-
lions OF heartleSs villain-" he stopped I'm un-
contrOllable emotion.
The mob hitherto had been In the best of
with the liveliness Of the whole PROCEEDINGS:
but on hearing the captains speech their mood
changed entirely. Taken Individually, the con-
characters; but collectively, their enthusiasm
for virtue, and reprobation of any departure
from It, would content a Radamanthus A vol
ley Of exeerations broke forth.
"ScOundrel!" "miScreantl !" "call Itself a
passon lndeed!' (which. by the way, didn't;
leave summat ard at I'm. Jim;" 'pltch un out
OF yon Winder;" "leave I'm to we, and see If
us'n don't make hole in the river for un. ~
were among the mtldeSt OF the remonstrances
addressed to me. Agnes had Withdrawn from
the window terrified by the uproar, but I re-
NAMED there gesticulating aud endeavoriDg to
make myself heard, although quite frutJlessly:
every movement was the signal for new out
break.
At length lull came In the storm, and the
Fioe-Chanceltor called to me.
"CoIne down at once, STR" he exclaimed; ARE
You lost to all sense OF shame? Come down i'm.
me mediately, and bring the unfortunate young
II can't come,' l replied; the lock Is ham,
pered-I mean the handle has"
ugh! ughvt burst forth again from the mob;
one or two or the more active employed them,
c., Syly{th ,fn>
court was pitched but the police stopped this
and also cleared the staircase, for which
general rush had been made. Silence was
again restored for moment, and the Vice
Chancellor turned to Captain Pakenham, VINO
still stood near him, looking the image OF grief
and dispair
the Vice-Chancellor, that your daughter came
here OF her own accord? 1 mean, had there
been any previous acquaintance between ner
and thiS-perSOn?"
"Alas!n said the captain, "Iknow not; we are
almost strangers in the place. We We're walk
Ing In the street together, when she suddenly
disappeared, and 1t was only after numerous
Inquiries that l traced her here, and then the
college seemed deserted"
''It was you, then. who rang the bell?"
YES" answered the captain, unoushingly;
at seemed the only means OF obtaining assist
ance. My poor child"
excuse me" said the Mayor, who here inter
posed, 'but what IS your daughters age? she
seems very youthful"
mot quite sixteen" was the answer.
"fhen tnat Will enable us to deal with the
case. Even II the young lady came with her
own Will, her abduction under sixteen Is now
by statute criminal offence. Sergeant Pill
chard. you had better make the arrest at once;
take Two OF the cOnstableS with you, and YOU
can force the door If necessary"
No force was needed, however: the default
Ing handle and spindle lay On the floor outside
my room, the 1atch responded TO them and In
less than Two minutes was In the hands OF
the police. 1t was In vain that Agnes pro-
IA ri
comprehendtd something OF the position, and
she attempted, again and again, to explain
what had really happened. But the mems
orders were peremptory, and, In any case the
prejudice against me would have been too
strong; whatever she said was attributed to the
Influence had acquired over her, and any fur
appearance In the room. Eventually they
walked away together, the terrified girl cling
Ing TO Captain Pakenhams arm, and endeavor-
log to screen her features from the scores OF
curious eyes that were strained upon them My
own removal was delayed for a much
longer time, as the mob were evidently pre-
pairing to take the law into their own hands.
Gradually, however, the college was Cleared:
hackney.coach drew up close to the gate, and
Ia this l was placed, and, under strong
escort OF constaoies, reached the pouce-station
10 safety. here was locked up for the night,
1t being arranged that my examination should
be taken the first thing next morning.
1t was all miserable enough. The cell was OF
the vllest description, very small, very dirty; no
straw paiiiase in one corner; nothing to eat or
drink, no light, and a torrent of cold air
streaming IN from an open grating above my
head. Miserable enough as far as the surround
1ngs went. But my own feelings were far from
belngin unison With them; was conscious OF
them as facts; but that was all; even the Sc.
rious charge which hung over me, and which,
absurd as IL was, would still have to be rebuilt.
ed hardly caused me moments thought. MY
whole faculties were absorbed In the cOntem-
plat1On OF one object-Agnes Pakenhan: her
loneliness, her Intelligence, where she had
stood, how she had spoken, every detail, even
to The most ordinary and most minute, Of our
Drief acquaintance. The fair vision had flashed
before me, andI was speu-bound from that mo
ment; the nympholept of a naiad haunted
grotto. Had the days proceedings resulted i'm
penal Sery1tude for life, 1t would hardly
nave troubled me at present she would
be IN court, the exquisite face and form
would gladden. my sight once more-that
was the sole idea OF which | was capaoIe
But was doomed to disappointment.
Toward daybreaz 1 slept or dozed, my brain
teeming with confused images OF last ntght's
occurrences, but with radiant halo shed over
them, like the opening OF gate In Paradise.
AT S O'Clock some coarse food was brought. aud
was told to prepare for my examination at 10.
But before that hour arrived the cell was again
unlocked, and, this time, my visitor Was no less
parsonage than the Mayor himself.
Il nave come 10 offer you my sincere apoIo-
giles, Mr.. Burchiil. ;" he sad Il trust you nave
not been greatly announcements"
was on the point OF saying that had never
spent happier night In my life, but checked
myself and substituted something appropriate