Year: 1867




she thought of the gratitude and afec-
ton she owed the doctor? All what
wealth ofpity and devotion she pour


ed out upon him in secret, and what
romantic castles were built up in that
graceful little head of heirs, as she
sat of an evening looking ont upon the
hawthorns of the wonderful ways in
which she was to lie a help end com
fort to him, without his knowing who
had done the work <? But though her
love was an ''open secret" there was
no one to find it out, except indeed, the
doctor himself, the last man on whom
the idea was likely to dawn, and it is
doubtful if even Lizzie had more than
an inkling of tie truth. If she had she
guarded her secret jealously, and only
let it appear III most tender and zeal
Gus performance Of her duty towards
his children, as to Which the dott II
said no words, but thanked and blessed
her in his heart. .st


But within the last fortnight it had
occurred to this young woman to set
herselfup i'll judgement upon the doc
tors conduct, and after mature delib-
Grafton she had come to the conclusion
that he had either made great mistake
or was doing very wrong. The idea
troubled her sorely. Miss Lizzie
was young lady who rather qiqued
herself upon the posses sion of an indie
pendent judgment, and paid the youth
full penalty, of course, by sometimes
too much underwriting the experience
other seniors. Her early training. had,
perhaps, encouraged this state of mind :;
for her father, as she had been to MIN,
had not been able to steer altogether
clear of that wretched system Of "spoil-
ing till five, trying experiments till fif
teen, and contradicting up to twenty"
Besides all this, Miss Lizzie had lately
been studying Dr., Winslow's "Ohscure
Diseases that most popular of scien-
tific works, and had repelled against
the theories therein propounded' with
all her heart ''Very Hard CASH had
fallen in her way immediately after
wards, and she had glowed with SYM
Fathy for Alfred's wrongs and Julia's
love, and for all the supposed victims
detained in a thousand lunatic asylGms
by commissioners in lunacy like those
described by Mr. Reade.


And now Walter Stone had crossed
her path, and 10 her dreams were real
lied. He was pleasant, handsome, and
as gentle as Alfred and, more than all,
he had appealed to her compassion, land
poured into her ear piteous story of
the unnatural brother, who, Tor the
sake OF obtaining the management of
his { (Walter's) property had condemn
cd him to lifelong captivity. Lizzie
knew aa 4 fact that his brother had
consigned him to Dr. Holford' s charge,
and that, in spite of his apparent lib
ty, he was narrowly watched-in itself
a suspicious circumstance, considering
that nervous ailments only were the
plea for his incarceration. She had
even heard Dr. Holford chuckle over
the story of the way in which he and
Edward Stone had managed to entrap
Walter into Voluntarily giving his
purse into their care, so as to render
his escape, by train or other convey
ance, impossible. eli.


And this was the same man! Liz
zie's brain took fire at the thought
TO dispose Of the ticket of lunacy was
the work OF a moment were they not
at all-thOse mad doctors, and DR.
Winslow in particular-ready to swear
to any mans insanity at moments
notice? And then Walter had told her
that he had himself given opportunity
to his enemies in some moments of eX-
cltement consequent upon the loss of
money. But the doctor; there was the
rub. Could it he possible that Dr,
Holford, the upright and honorable
bad deliberately lent himself to this
vile plot? Even Lizzie's excited i'm
Imagination could not lead her to be
lieve that. No: the man was not mad
that was certain but the doctor had
been deceived his keen eye had been
blinded by Walter Stones perfdeous
friends, who, though they had cautious
y avoided emu ting themselves by
speaking Of more than nerves. had
50 cunningly worded their artful testi-
mony that the doctor. had jumped to
the conclusion, without much personal
observation, that Walter must be in
sane. That could not be a fault-at
least-well, hardley, Or if it were, she,
Lizzie Ltuart, would undeceive him,
and enable him to make atonement-
And then she went off into day dream,
and was just in the middle of speech
from the doctor, expressive of his deep
gratitude to her for having, by her wo-
mans keen-sis htedness and quick
Judgment, disabused him Of the idea
under which he had been laboring, &c,
&C., when she looked up, and beheld
the moon had risen and was already
lighting up the top branches of the haw-
thorns! She turned into the house,
fully resolved to speak seriously to the
doctor the very next morning.


The moon was high in the heavens
when Lizzie Stuart went that evening,
as her custom was, to sit in the nurse
nv while the nurse went down to her
supper. At these times Lizzie always
sat in particular chair by the window
Nurse white curtained bed stood in
a recess at the back of the room, a lit
tie to one side, but facing the fire-still
necessary at night--was the baby S
bassinet, of which little but the hood
was to, be seen from where Lizzie sat-
The other two children slept in what
was in TACT an adjoining room, though
the door of communication had long
been removed, to make the two nurse
ries, far as possible, into one. There
was no light in the room but the moon
shine and the glimmer of the fire: Liz
zie lent back in her chair, and resumed
1 I,a,a> d., opI bry 1C1u I'm ol-