The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 395: what you’re looking at

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

THE YOUNG APPRENTICE; OR, Ihe animal was beyond her control. She was leaning down—crouching down, if such a term may be nsed, over the neck of the horse, and clinging as for dear life. She was proceeding in such a direction that she would, if unchecked, return almost to the point where he was standing. He was not far froma pool of water which nestled beneath a cluster of overhanging trees. Here he took up his post. Presently, after he had lost sight of the lady for a moment, he heard the clattering of hoofa, and in another moment she was upon him, He sprang forward at once, Like lightning was the gleam. of his eagle eye as he dashed at the bridle of the wild and infuriated steed. The wild and frightened animal atopped in a moment, and the lady leaped into his arms, She hai hardly left the saddle; bardly had her heart bounded with relief at the unexpected safety, when she fainted, He could now see who it was, The woman saved so strangely and so suddenly was none other than Ettie Leslie. Descending from his horse, he carried her towards the little pool of water, and id her down gently on the bank, A few sprinklings of water upon her forehead revived her a little, and she opened her eyes. She had no sooner done go than she closed — again, like some one awakening from a ream, The meeting with Harold was certainly so surprising, under the circumstances, that it is scarcely to be wondered at if she imagined it to be an unreality. “Dearest Ettie,” cried Harold, “open your eyes again upon me! It is, indeed, I-that saved you +P | _ Ettie opened her eyes and gazed with a beam- ing smile into the face of her lover. “T thank Heaven for the accident that has brought you to me !”’ she said. ‘‘ Yes, my dearest,”’ he said, “I thank Heaven for it also, for it has brought me to you never to part again,” He raised her from the ground as he spoke these words, - But if be had hoped that this was the be- ginning of uninterrapted happiness, he was mistaken, No sooner had he taken her on his arm and began leading the horses to the castle than two men, with cloaks and masks, emerged from the tree and followed them ! CHAPTER XVHil. THE FALLURE OF THE PLOT AGAINST MERCY MARNER-— THE MOCK CLERGYMAN — THE PUNISHMENT, WE must now ask the reader to accompany us back to St, James’s Palace, where we left Sir Robert Fancourt struggling with the stranger. He was getting black in the face from the graep that the stranger had upon him, and he had ceased to stroggle ; hislegs had ceased to support him, and it was tolerably clear that for the time being, if rot for all time, he was out of the way of being mischievous, The stranger flang him into a corner, and drew a long breath as he said—~— This is unfortunate,” “Oh !’’ said the prince, “Oh dear! the Lord have mercy upon us all, Ob, oh!” ‘ Silence,” said the stranger. ‘* Yes, yes ; I only—” A significant gesture to one of his party from the stranger induced that one to approach the prince and to place the point of a poniard against his throut. ‘*Speak again,” be said, “ unless in reply, and you area dead man, Se disercet, and you will live.” Mercy up to this moment Lad been in by far too great a state of agitation to speak, but now rising from the chair in which she had seated herself, she cried out— ‘There must be no violence. There must be no murder. Remember that—all here present. It isa part of the thorough understanding that there should be no blocdshed.’’. “ Be calm, my child,” said the stranger. ‘“ Nay, but I must know that that point re- mains unchanged, Does it not so, brother?” ‘' Yer,” said the young man ; “ with me it does. In good truth I would not give my sanction toa midnight murder,” “Then ali is safe,”’ said Mercy. ‘‘It isso,” said the stranger, “There need be no apprehension, and you will still wed the prince,” | Mercy sighed. The stranger now approached the prince, and motioned to the man who stood over him with the poniard to stand aside, and then, while the others looked on, the stranger pointed to the prostrate form of Sir Robert Fancourt in the corner, and said in a low stern voice— “Is that man a clergyman of your religion ?” ‘It’s all a dream,” said the prince. ‘“‘T ask you, is that man, who appears in what you call canonicals, a clergyman of your re- ligion 7?” “ Eh?” It was quite clear from the appearance of the face of the prince that surprise had, for the time, deprived him of all power of reasoning, and the look of vacant dulness that he regarded the stranger with, was both ludicrous and painful, GOVE OOO eS CO zh, _ 7amalt aaa me —™