Year: 1863

as she was woman of high fashion, great
talents, and some severity, he was afraid that
his negligence, if avowed, would not only
cause him to forfeit her favor, but expose
him to her powerful sarcasm.


To avoid being recognized was however,
impossible; and as soon as Lady Leslie saw
him, she exclaimed:


"Oh, Captain Freeland, am so glad to
see you have been quite uneasy concern
ing my letter since placed it in your care,
for it was ofsuch consequence. Did you
put it into the post yesterday 2"


Certainly" replied Freeland hastily. and
in the hurry of the moment =" certainly.
How could you, dear madSm,i doubt my
obediednce to your commands 2"


Thank you, thank you % she cried
How you have relieved my mind"


He had SO; but he had painfully burthen-
ed his own. To be sure, it was only white
lie-thc lie of. fear. Still he was not used to
uttering falseh oods, and he felt the meanness
and degradation of this.s He had yet to learn
that it was mischievous also, and that none
| presume to say where the consequences of
the most apparently trivial lie will end. AS
| soon as Freeland parted with Lady Leslie, he
bade his friends farewell, and putting spur to
his horse, scarcely slackened his pace till he
had reached general post-office and depos-
tied the letter in safety.


"Now them" thought he, "I hope shall
be able to return and dine with Lady Leslie
without shrinking from her penetrating eye.''


He found her, when be arrived, very pen
sive and absent SO much so that she felt il
necessary te apologize to her guests, inform
ing them that Mary Benson, an cd servant
of hers, who was very i'll, and painfully cir
cumstanced, and that she feared she had not
done her duty to her.


"To tell you the truth, Captain Freeland,"
she said speaking to him in low voice. II
blame myself for not sending for my confiden-
tial servant, who was not very far off, and
dispatch him with the money, instead of
trusting it to the post"


cit would have been better to have done
so, certainly" replied Freeland, deeply blush
ing.


"Yes for the poor woman to whom | sent
it is not only herself in delicate state ef
health, but she has sick husband, unable to
be moved and as, but owing to no fault of
his, he is on the point of bankruptcy, his cru
ell landlord has declared that that if they do
not pay their rent by to morrow, he will turn
them out into the street and seize the very
bed they lie on. However, as you put the
letter in the post yesterday, they must get
the fifty pound note to day, else they could
not-for there is no delivery of letters in
London on Sunday, you know" True,
very true," replied Freeland, in a tone which
he valnly tried to rende steady.


Therefore," continued Lady Leslie, If
you had told me when we met that the letter
had not gone, should have recalled Baynes,
and sent him off BY the mail to London, and
then he should have reached Somerstown
where the Bensons live, in good time but
now though own it would be comfort to
me to send him, for fear of accident, I could
not get him back soon enough; therefore
must let things take their chance, and as let
ters seldom mscarry, the only danger is that
the note will be taken out"


She might have talked an hour without in
terruption; Cor Freeland was too much con-
science stricken to reply, as he found that
he had not only told falsehood, but that if
he had moral courage enough to tell the truth
the mischievous negligence of which he had
been guilty, could have been repaired but
now as Lady Leslie said, it was too late


But while Lady Leslie became talkative,
and able to perform her duties to her friends
after she had thus unburthened her mind to
Freeland, he grew every minute more absent,
and more tacturn and though he could not
eat with appetite, he threw down rather than
drank several glasses of hook and champagne
to enable him to ra lily his spirits, but in vain
A naturally ingenious and generous nature
nature cannot shake off the first compunc.
tious visitings of conscience or having COM
mitted all unworthy action, and having also
been the means of injury to another. All on
a sudden. however, his countenance bright
ened, and as soon as the ladies left the table
he started up, left his compliments and ex-
cuses with Lady Leslie's nephew, who presid-
ed at dinner, said he threw himself into
postchaise and set off for Somerstown, whcha
LadysLeslie had named as the residence of
Mary Benson


CAT last" said Freeland to himself, with
q lightened heart, Il shall now have the
satisfaction of doing all can to repair my
fault"


But owing to the d3lay occasioned by
want of horses, and by finding the ostlers at
the inns in bed, he did not reach London
and the place of his destination till the
wretcbed family had been dislodged, while
the nnhannv wife was Reeninw not nnlv nvar |