The Works of George W. M. Reynolds — page 180: what you’re looking at

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

THE RAMBLE 163 had so lucky an escape; Lord Harold’s mysterious, and I might almost say, burglarious entry, with some common ruffian, into the castle; Lord Saxondale’s monstrous mar- riage — ”’ ‘Monstrous indeed!” ejaculated Hawkshaw. ‘‘ The epithet is the very best you could have applied to it. But does his wife possibly entertain the hope that she will be received into society by the good families in Lincolnshire? ”’ ‘Tt is very certain,’’ rejoined the squire’s friend, ‘“‘ that neither Mrs. Denison nor any other members of my family purpose to call at the castle. It may seem hard that a woman who has been acquitted by a jury should be thus punished by society; it may even savour of unjustifiable vindictiveness on the part of the world, but it is impossible to read the trial without coming to the conclusion that she was really guilty.” ‘““Ah! you have read it then?” said Hawkshaw. “ So have I. It has been published in a work of celebrated criminal trials — ”’ “The very book in which I myself found the account,” observed Denison. ‘“‘ But come, squire, let us turn the conversation on a more agreeable topic. Tell me candidly,” continued the old gentleman, with a smile, ‘‘ have you not so far recovered your passion for Juliana as to think of committing matrimony in some other quarter? ”’ “Recovered? ’”’ exclaimed Hawkshaw, almost indig- nantly. “‘ You ought to know, my dear friend, that I was startled up from that dream in the very hour that I obtained the conviction of her tremendous perfidy.”’ At this moment a footman entered to inform Mr. Hawk- shaw that a peasant requested an audience of him in his capacity of a magistrate. The squire directed that the man should be shown to the library, and luncheon being now over, he said to Mr. Denison, “‘ You may as well come with me, and hear whatsoever the applicant may have to say.’’ To the library the two gentlemen accordingly repaired, and Hawkshaw immediately recognized the peasant as one of the witnesses who had given evidence at the inquest held upon the two murdered women, — at which inquest, be it remembered, he was present as a spectator. The man now carried a large parcel done up in paper, for we should observe that before quitting Saxondale Castle he had dried the dress - CONNICOOOKS (C@)