lication, terrified
by that terrible menace, and finally consenting to his petition.

It was past ten o'clock when the train reached the London terminus. The
loquacious Edinburgh housekeeper had informed him that Lady Vivian was
the guest of Lady Augusta Langdon. The lateness of the hour forbade a
visit that night; yet, after having engaged a room at Morley's hotel, he
could not help strolling in the direction of Grosvenor Square, and was
soon searching for the number he had written upon his tablets. It was
easily found, and Maurice stood before one of the most sumptuous of the
magnificent edifices which adorn that aristocratic locality. The windows
were thrown open, and the richly embroidered lace curtains drawn back,
for the evening was more than usually sultry. He crossed to the opposite
side of the street, and took up a position which enabled him to
distinguish forms moving about the spacious drawing-room. With what
straining eyes and breathless anxiety he scrutinized them! Now he saw a
lady of noble carriage walking to and fro,--_that_ might be Lady
Langdon; by and by he caught sight of a gaunt, ungainly figure, and
recognized Lady Vivian. Who would have believed that a glimpse of that
angular, unsymmetrical form could ever have called such radiance to the
eyes of a young and handsome man?--could have kindled such a glow upon
his cheeks?--could have quickened his pulses with so joyful a motion?

Not long after, a group of young ladies clustered together, just beneath
the chandelier, to examine some object which one of them held in her
hand; and now the heart of Maurice throbbed so tumultuously that its
beats became audible. He had singled out one maiden whose height and
graceful proportions distinguished her from her companions,--Madeleine!
Her face was turned from him; but surely that statuesque outline, that
slender, flexible throat, that exquisitely-shaped head, about which he
thought he traced the coronal braid that usually crowned her noble
brows,--these could belong to Madeleine only! Could he fail to recognize
them anywhere or at any distance? The longer he gazed the more certain
he became that it was she herself,--that she was found at last! How
eagerly he watched to see her turn, and render "assurance doubly sure"
by revealing her lovely countenance! She remained some time in the same
position; then the little group dispersed, and she glided away, but not
in the direction of the window. The eyes of Maurice