The Press., 1895-01-31


 living on h;s late wife's fortune, whiOh had been settled upon herself and was held in trust The share of it which now came to Isabel put tie newly mar ried pair at once into DO: ition of great material comfort if not wealth. But Paul was already making way ill his profession.
 II must be judge by 45, he said to me, laughing "Otherwise shal think that have failed.
 And then, Paul." asked Isabel.
 'Then must be made lord chancel- Tor. and shall pass great measures for the law of the land and shall become immortal. y
 l never knew any couple so entirely happy as they were during the first 12 months of their marriage. They had very few friends, and these were all Paul's own friends They lived on Campden hill.
 Remember, it was long before Campden hill was covered with houses-and they were as selfishly and as completely happy as love could make them. Gradually the pensive and troubled look vanished from Isabel's eyes. The "cloud, " the "thing,' the secret, whatever it had been, was wholly put away and forgot ten.
 Isabel's brother came to town soon after his fathers death and called upon me.
 1T have made up my mind" he said to me soon after his sisters marriage, "what I shall do So long as I remain in this country Isabel will always have somebody to remind her of the past. If once go away, she will belong entirely to her husband While am here I shall always be in terror of the thing being found out. I shall go away, then, and travel. After year or two I shall con- vey to Isabel the news that am dead. Then she will have broken altogether with the past. I shall settle down some where perhaps some day. am not sure where or when, and if I am quite sure that I can never be identified l shall marry perhaps. But never. never will l come back to England So we shook hands, and we parted. Six months after ward there came note to Isabel in pen cil from her brother, saying that he
 
 and that the letter would be sent on after his death.
 Isabel wept over the letter, but she dried her tears soon, and think it was better that the last link which reminded her of the shame of her childhood should have been broken.
 As for their happiness, however, it was rudely shaken.
 One day Paul, the junior counsel in a case of no apparent importance, found himself unexpectedly called upon to maintain a legal position against the opinion of the court. He displayed in his argument so much ability and knowledge of the law as to call forth an expression of admiration from the judge himself I was myself present in my quality of briefless barrister. On the termination of the case we came out and stood for few minutes talking over the point which had been raised. Paul's senior joined us and congratulated him, prOphesying that his table would never be without briefs after that morning. s work. Others came to shake hands with him, and there was quite a little scene of congratulation and triumph. In the midst of our talk saw, bearing straight down upon us, with the evident inten- tion of speaking, no other than that ter rible ex-Q. c. He was clearly half drunk. One of the men among us whis- pered in disgust, Good heavens, here's that miserable man Brundishr' Every body stood aside to make way for him, as one makes way for leper Worse than leper in the courts of Lincoln s Inn is man who has been disbarred. As we'll should man who has been stripped of his commission and drummed out of his regiment for cowardice show himself again upon parade. This man, then, with a half drunken laugh, walked straight to Paul and held out his hand.
 'How are you, Paul, my boy?" he cried, addressing him independently by his Christian name. "Isabel quite well?' Paul turned perfectly white. "How dare you, he cried, ''how dare you speak to me? How dare you address me l>y lny Christian name?''
 "4~GW d2re I? Ho, ho! Not use his CLIis ,if,a Lame to the man who married ny ,'-'@r old friends only daughter! now do you do, Sir John?'' He ad- dressed one of the group, a we'll known counsel of very high standing and ex- solicitor general, who made no reply. "Gentlemen, you know me, all of you. l have been in court today, and I de- clare E>never heard better argument than my young friends here. Why, l never put a point better myself '' Your friend! Yours!' cried Paul, with gesture of loathing.
 Come, come!' cried the man. "This is rather too much. Why, Paul, you for get that you married the only daughter of my old friend, Sir Robert Reeve Byrne, baronet, whom defended. You remem- Der my famous defense, gentlemen. l am sure it nearly pulled him through, but not quite, for he got his five years penal servitude. y
 Then there was a dead silence, and nobody dared to look at his neighbor. As for me, understood it all The case of Sir Robert Byrne was a cause celebre. He had been, I remembered, defended by MT. Brund;sh, Q. C., with marvellous skill and ingenuity. My delightful host was no other than that famous baronet then, and the rest of his guests-were they also what the ex-Q. l 2. had described them?
 Paul recovered himself. ''It is quite true" he said proudly. II married the daughter Of Sir Robert Byrne, but this man I know nothing of, except that he is rogue.
 MT. Brundish looked round him. He saw on every face loathing clearly writ ten. Half drunk though he was, he was