Year: 1864




viting smell from short pipe quickly recall
led me from my fancies to the sense of ordi-
! nary existence.


All that noticed of his dress was that he
had on a rough pilot-coat, with a low hat,
while thick walking stick formed his only
| apparent weapon of Offense and defense in
short. it was with him that the sentences
| & first above written were exchanged.
| | soon found that my new acquaintance
was one Of that very body of men that had
so often pondeled about; and 50, having
fallen into conversation, | walked on bit
with him.


g | suppose you have much to do now,
besides walking up and down, do you ?''


Why no, sir. There not so much do
ing as there used to be, once on a time,
! though | have seen some goings on in my
! time. Mind where you are treading,
sir!'' he exclaimed The cliff is not very
safe along the edge, and if it gave way you
would be smashed on the rocks below, like a
poor fellow ] knew was some time ago God
rest his soul"


. What of him?" l said. Did any one
fall over herc?'


Why, no, sir. lie didn't exactly fall
over, and it WASH t over this cliff, neither,
| but the one we shall come to next My beat
ends there, and, as ! am bit before my
time, | expect my mate won't be up for ten
minutes or so; and, if you like to hear the
tale, though it's not 50 much after ali, | will
tell you Oh the spot where it all happened.
Indeed, to say the truth, shall be very glad
Oily your company, for it : a whist spot, and,
often as ] have waited there | am always
glad to turn my back upon it again. y


We soon reached the bay by the light Of
the moon, After looking along the cliff, to
see if there were any signs ofh companion,
and, not finding any, he sat down ON Il
stone, and lighted cigar, and, taking my
place beside him he began:


" 1t Is not so many years ago, sir. eight
or nine maybe, when II young gentleman
came down here, as it might be you, to
spend a month or so--our town being Il
quiet sort of place, like. He was mt a bad
looking sort Of fellow, and had small and
white hands. Indeed most people would
have called him handsome, though there
was always kind OF look about his mouth
! did mt like to see. He was staying up at
the Miners Arms, and there soon got tales
about the town, of the way III which he and
two or three other wild young fellows about
here, as there are everywhere, used to go
on; the sitting up at nights, the drinking
aud card playing, and the wild freaks they
used to be at. But as he always had plenty
Of money, and paid his bill every week lit
was his own wiSh). Polmarthcn, the land
lord, sir, never cared to say anything to
Inn. He was a close man, was l'olmarthen,
and no doubt he made plenty of money out
Of his customer; but it would have been
Hendon under his roof His daughter,
X ,,lN
called, was the prettiest girl for miles about
u see yOu guess what 5 cuming), and many
was the glass that had been emptied i'll her
honor, and many Il young man would have
given much to have stood well III her good
graccs but though she was a bit Of tfiirt,
there was none that had ever found favor
i'll her eyes but Ralph Megaya-a likely
young fellow as ever was seen. Folks often
wondered how it was that old Polmarthen
ever allowed his daughter to engage herself
to young Trcgava, whowas only atisherman;
but though the old man loved money much,
he loved his daughter more and though |
hear there was some trouble about it, yet
in the end, he gave way to her i'll this. 1t
was not long, however, after Mr.. Hendon
came down here, that a change seemed to
come over poor Kate. She would sit silent
for hours, and if Ralph came to try and
cheer her UP, she would speak sharply and
harahly to him, and then sometimes burst
into a flood OF tears, and beg his pardon,
and kiss him. and tell him that he was the
dearest and best OF men, and that she was
not worthy Of him. ! was Il great friend Of
his, and | gathered most Of this from him
at the time, poor fellow ] was sitting in
my cottage one day, toward the evening
thinking it would soon be time to be going
OFT on my beat. when young Trcgarva burst
ill., with a face as white as a sheet and
scarcely able to stand. What is the mat
ter, man, said | 'haycyou seena ghost?'
but he staggered to chair, and fell rather
than sat, down on it, holding his face be-
tween his hands, while the big sobs that
burst from him seemed to shake him from
head to foot, though not tear fell through
his fingers. ! stood by him for some little
time, but he seemed to grow worse instead
OF better, Come, Ralph, be man what
is all this about?" He turned on me like a
tiger Leave me alone, curse you. DO
you, too, mock at me?' and, with one
spring, he was past me, and out at the door
like madman. followed in haste, greatly
alarmed, as you may suppose, but could see
nothing Of him. There was a mist rising,
and any one would have been invisible at
any moderate distance; but it was with deep
fUrcbodlngs that | went my rounds that
night When [ returned to my cottage,
noticed snail paper lying Oh the floor. 1t
explained all. twas letter from Hendon
to Kate, evidently written in a hurry, and
was all crumplcdup, as if it had been clench-
ed in the fingers. No dou, It had dropped
from Ralph hand, though how he got it |
do not know 1t left no room for doubt
He urged her to fly from the village before
her condition became known, and promised
that he would provide for her. Soon after,
| heard more. The same evening Kate Poi
marthen had disappeared. That morning
her bedroom had been found empty, and
she was gone. What surprised others,
though not me, was, that her father made
no search after her-for he make none. He
knew only too well why she had gone Hen
don was still in the village, in order, sup
pose, to divert all attention from himself as
he was not aware that the note had been
found, Ralph and each keeping our own
counsel What need to publish the certain
ty Of her shame? We heard nothing of
Ralph for three days, whenhe returned and
went about his work as usual, but resenting
ferceIy rny mention Of the past His man
ner, too, was quite changed. Oh so hag-
gard and wild he looked, and with dogged
kind Of sullenness in place of his former
light hearted gaiety. Even to me he never
spoke now, and one or two attempts made
to draw him out into conversation were met
with such bursts of rage that was obliged
to leave him to himself. And now | must
come to the most painful part of my tale.
You see that the bay below is closed in at
high tide, and the sand gets quite covered.
1t was high water about half past eleven on
the September evening, when was on my
beat, and bright nj ight, just like this. I
was walking along the top of the cliff, just
where we are now, when I thought ! heard
voice down below, on the beach which was
nearly under water. Surprised at this. |