While she was weighing probabilities in her
sick dizzy mind, she heard soft steps outside her
bolted door, and low voices whispering. It was
the bedtime of happy people with hearts at
ease. Some of the footsteps passed lightly on;
but there was a gentle rap at Ellinor's door.
She pressed her two hot hands hard against her
temples for an instant before she went to open the
door. There stood Mrs. Forbes in her handsome
evening dress, holding a lighted lamp in her
hand.

''May I come in, my dear," she asked.
Ellinor's stiff dry lips refused to utter the words
of assent which indeed did not come readily from
her heart.

"I am so grieved at this sad news which the
canon brings. I can well understand what a
shock it must be to you; we have just been saying
it must be as bad for you as it would be to us
if our old Donald should turn out to have been a
hidden murderer all these years that he has lived
with us; I really could have as soon suspected
Donald as that white-haired respectable old
man who used to come and see you at East
Chester."

Ellinor felt that she must say something.
"It is a terrible shock—poor old man! and no
friend near him, even Mr. Osbaldistone giving
evidence against him. Oh dear, dear! why did
I ever come to Rome?"

"Now, my dear, you must not let yourself
take an exaggerated view of the case. Sad and
shocking as it is to have been so deceived, it
is what happens to many of us, though not to so
terrible a degree; and as to your coming to
Rome having anything to do with it——"

(Mrs. Forbes almost smiled at the idea, so
anxious was she to banish the idea of self-
reproach from Ellinor's sensitive mind, but
Ellinor interrupted her abruptly:)

"Mrs. Forbes! did he—did Canon Livingstone
tell you that I must leave you to-morrow?
I must go to England as fast as possible to do
what I can for Dixon."

"Yes, he told us you were thinking of it, and
it was partly that that made me force myself in
upon you to-night. I think, my love, you are
mistaken in feeling as if you were called upon
to do more than what the canon tells me Miss
Monro has already done in your name—engaged
the best legal advice, and spared no expense to
give the suspected man every chance. What
could you do more even if you were on the
spot? And it is very possible that the trial
may have come on before you get home. Then
what could you do? He would either have
been acquitted or condemned; if the former, he
would find public sympathy all in his favour; it
always is for the unjustly accused. And if he
turns out to be guilty, my dear Ellinor, it will
be far better for you to have all the softening
which distance can give to such a dreadful
termination to the life of a poor man whom you
have respected so long."

But Ellinor spoke again with a kind of
irritated determination, very foreign to her usual
soft docility:

"Please just let me judge for myself this
once. I am not ungrateful. God knows I don't
want to vex one who has been so kind to me
as you have been, dear Mrs. Forbes; but I
must go—and every word you say to dissuade
me only makes me more convinced. I am going
to Civita to-morrow. I shall be that much on
the way. I cannot rest here."

Mrs. Forbes looked at her in grave silence.
Ellinor could not bear the consciousness of that
fixed gaze. Yet its fixity only arose from Mrs.
Forbes's perplexity as to how best to assist
Ellinor, whether to restrain her by further
advice—of which the first dose had proved so
useless—or to speed her departure. Ellinor
broke in on her meditations:

"You have always been so kind and good to
me,—go on being so,—please do! Leave me
alone now, dear Mrs. Forbes, for I cannot bear
talking about it, and help me to go to-morrow,
and you do not know how I will pray to God
to bless you!"

Such an appeal was irresistible. Mrs. Forbes
kissed her very tenderly, and went to rejoin her
daughters, who were clustered together in their
mother's bedroom, awaiting her coming.

"Well, mamma, how is she? What does
she say?"

"She is in a very excited state, poor thing!
and has got so strong an impression that it is
her duty to go back to England and do all she
can for this wretched old man, that I am afraid
we must not oppose her. I am afraid she really
must go on Thursday."

Although Mrs. Forbes secured the services
of a travelling-maid, Dr. Livingstone insisted
on accompanying Ellinor to England, and it
would have required more energy than Ellinor
professed at this time to combat a resolution
which both words and manner expressed
as determined. She would much rather have
travelled alone with her maid; she did not feel
the need of the services he offered; but she was
utterly listless and broken down; all her
interest was centred in the thought of Dixon
and his approaching trial, and the perplexity
as to the mode in which she must do her
duty.

They embarked late that evening in the tardy
Santa Lucia, and Ellinor immediately went
to her berth. She was not sea-sick; that might
possibly have lessened her mental sufferings,
which all night long tormented her. High-
perched in an upper berth, she did not like
disturbing the other occupants of the cabin till
daylight appeared. Then she descended and dressed,
and went on deck; the vessel was just passing
the rocky coast of Elba, and the sky was flushed
with rosy light, that made the shadows on the
island of the most exquisite purple. The sea
still heaved with yesterday's storm, but the
motion only added to the beauty of the sparkles
and white foam that dimpled and curled on the
blue waters. The air was delicious, after the
closeness of the cabin, and Ellinor only wondered
that more people were not on deck to enjoy it.
One or two stragglers came up, time after time,