The Widowed Bride — page 216: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE WIDOWED BRIDE. 907 \you grant me a few minutes’ audience first? I have that to impart to you which will brook no delay.” Lord Glenhampton iooked at the man in surprise. Had he taken leave of his senses? Or upon what other grounds — could his singular persistency be accounted for? ‘‘Perhaps at some other time—” he commenced, haughtily; but Poyuings broke in once more: ‘‘No other time will do as well,” he said, with brusque insolence. ‘‘I warn you, my lord, once for all, that you had better listen to my story before the whole country-side is ringing with it!” Lord Glenhampton stopped, calmly. ‘‘What is it that you have to tell me, Poynings?” said he, quietly. } “Do you remember the murder of Arthur Hunsworth, years ago?” “You, of all others, have no need to ask me that ques- tion, Mr. Poynings,” answered the earl. ‘‘Whatever lesser : aes may escape my memory, | am not likely to forget that.” ‘‘Do you wish to know who was his murderer?” “T would have given my right hand to know, at the time he met with his bloody death,” responded the earl, with emotion; ‘‘I would give it still.” “T ask no such price as that, Lord Glenhampton; I only ask your attention. Will you hear my story out, or’—with a very perceptible sneer—‘‘are you so anxious to rejoin your family as to be able to spare meno time?” he earl sat down on the velvet sofa. : ‘“Go on, Mr. Poynings,” he said, with the cold courtesy that never forsook him; ‘‘I give you my undivided attention.” ‘T'o tell my story as it should be told,” began Mr. Poyn- ings, ‘‘I must request your lordship to convey your mind backward, equally with mine, to the night of the twenty- first of September, 18—.” ‘Will you not be seated, Mr. Poynings?” asked Lord Glenhampton. | | ‘Thanks! I prefer to stand. The night of the twenty- first of September, 18—, Mr. Hunsworth came to cur office, at about nine o’clock, apparently very much agitated. He sat down and wrote a note, which he requested me to take at once, with my own hands, to the Countess of Glenhamp- ton. Iobeyed. She was standing at the window, so that, GEomicbooks:co