not far from Warwick, accounting to myself
and to my mother for not going home by
the necessity of reading for my approaching
examination. My mother wrote to me
frequently, and continually mentioned my cousin
Grace. This I did not remark at the time,
and merely read and replied to her letters in
an absent manner. I was wrapt in the sweet
delirium of a higher existence; all that was
gross and material about me seemed to be
laid to rest. Violet was all in all to me. I
had no thought, no apprehension for anything
except her. Creation seemed clothed in divine
beauty; life, in its larger, fuller sense, was
opening upon me, for I drank deep of the
golden waters of love.

"Thus passed half a year. I returned to
Oxford, but we corresponded almost daily.
I did not communicate anything relative to
Violet to my mother, from an instinctive
apprehension I suppose; for certainly it was
not the result of design. Besides, I never had
been accustomed to speak of my feelings to
her or to any one, and I was such a child in
worldly matters that I had never yet formed
any plans for the future. When I returned
to Warwick at Christmas, however, Mrs.
Elder gently required of me some explanation,
some statement of my intentions. She told
me that it was very much against her wish
that her daughter had ever embraced the
profession of the stage; that nothing but the
representations of her brother-in-law and the
necessities of her family had induced her to
consent to her making use of her talents in
this way; that it would be a very great
happiness to her to see her united to me,
convinced as she was of our mutual attachment;
that she felt the dangers of Violet's
position, and was extremely anxious to place
her in one more congenial to her tastes and
better calculated to develop the softer
portions of her character. She concluded by
informing me that Violet had received an
extremely advantageous offer of an engagement
in London, but that they had delayed
accepting it until she had spoken with
me.

"I replied that I was just ready to take
orders, that there was a good living waiting
for me, and that I would write to my parents
by that night's post to request their consent.
Mrs. Elder looked a little grave that evening,
but Violet and I were perfectly happy. We
sat talking of our future. I described to her
the Parsonage and the surrounding country;
spoke of my father, of my mother, and of
my grand relations at Cobham Hall.

"The next day was also one of unmingled
happiness. We walked in the bright winter
weather along the hard roads, her brothers
running races past us. Her complexion
assumed a more transparent brilliancy; her eyes
sparkled with health and happiness.

"That night, when I returned to my lodgings,
I found my mother waiting for me. She
was white with passion. In unmeasured terms
she upbraided me with dissimulation and
every species of misconduct. In her anger
she told me that my hand had long since
been disposed of; that I was affianced to my
cousin Grace , that she and her brother had
settled it when we were both children. She
reminded me of the calling for which I was
intended, and demanded if I thought an
actress a fit wife for a clergyman and a
Watson? At first her vehemence stunned
me, and I listened in bewildered dismay; but
the contemptuous mention of Violet roused
the dormant passions within me. I sternly
and indignantly protested that Violet was
worthy of a much greater fortune than I
could offer her. I declared that I would not
be bound by a contract made without my
knowledge. I asserted that I would make
Violet my wife—that in the sight of Heaven
we were already united. My mother was in
her turn astounded; she had never suspected
that I inherited so much of her own temper.
From angry denunciation she turned to
entreaty, to supplication. I met her in the
same spirit. I begged her to see Violet—to
judge for herself. She absolutely refused;
and commanded me, if I valued her blessing,
to attend her home on the morrow.

"I had been too long accustomed to obey her
to refuse compliance, especially as she
enforced her command by telling me of my
father's severe illness, and of his imperative
desire to see me. Besides, I was frightened
at the strength of my own passions, and hoped
to be able to soften her, and to win my father
to my side.

"While my mother was dressing next morning,
and while the post-chaise in which we
were to travel was waiting at the door, I
ran down to Violet's house. It was still
very early, and I had to wait some minutes
before Violet could see me. I had not been
in bed nor had I closed my eyes all night. I
suppose I looked very haggard, for she started
when she saw me,

"' Is anything the matter?'

"' No, no, dearest; I am only come to say
good-bye. I am obliged to go to the North.
My father is very ill and wants to see me.'

"Violet's face brightened. She laid her
hand lovingly on my arm.

"' I am very sorry, love; but I hope he will
soon be better, and that you will not be many
days gone.'

"They were the last words I ever heard her
speak. I could not bear her trustful tenderness;
my tears choked my utterance.

"How my mother detained my letters; how
my uncle himself went to Warwick, saw
Violet, appealed to her pride, told her that
if I married her I should be disowned by
my family, and ruined; how by a thousand
other false and cruel arguments they wrung
from her a renunciation of my engagement
to her, and at last induced her to send me
back all my little presents, and all my letters,
I never knew until long, long afterwards.