much of beauty and of goodness,
that by the fine maxim of our Church, it is held to include the force
and efficacy of prayer?"

"I am sure that I should complain of no toil that would benefit you,"
said Hatton; and then addressing himself again to Gerard, he led him
to a distant part of the room where they were soon engaged in earnest
converse. Morley at the same moment approached Sybil, and spoke to her
in a subdued tone. Egremont feeling embarrassed advanced, and bade her
farewell. She rose and returned his salute with some ceremony; then
hesitating while a soft expression came over her countenance, she held
forth her hand, which he retained for a moment, and withdrew.

"I was with him more than an hour," continued Morley. "At first he
recollected nothing: even the name of Gerard, though he received it as
familiar to him, seemed to produce little impression; he recollected
nothing of any papers; was clear that they must have been quite
insignificant; whatever they were, he doubtless had them now, as he
never destroyed papers: would order a search to be made for them, and
so on. I was about to withdraw, when he asked me carelessly a question
about your father; what he was doing, and whether he were married and
had children. This led to a very long conversation in which he suddenly
seemed to take great interest. At first he talked of writing to see your
father, and I offered that Gerard should call upon him. He took down
your direction in order that he might write to your father and give him
an appointment; when observing that it was Westminster, he said that
his carriage was ordered to go to the House of Lords in a quarter of an
hour, and that if not inconvenient to me, he would propose that I should
at once accompany him. I thought, whatever might be the result, it
must be a satisfaction to Gerard at last to see this man of whom he has
talked and thought so much--and so we are here."

"You did well, good Stephen, as you always do," said Sybil with a musing
and abstracted air; "no one has so much forethought and so much energy
as you."

He threw a glance at her: and immediately withdrew it. Their eyes had
met: hers were kind and calm.

"And this Egremont," said Morley rather hurriedly and abruptly, and
looking on the ground, "how came he here? When we discovered him
yesterday your father and myself agreed that we should not mention to
you the--the mystification of which we had been dupes."

"And you did wrong,"