despair; but never
again mock Heaven by petitioning for the pardon which thou hast refused
to grant.'

"He was turning from her.

"'Stop,' she exclaimed; 'I will try--yes, I will try to pardon him.'

"'Gracious lady,' said the old man, 'you will relieve the over-burdened
soul which dare not sever itself from its sinful companion of earth
without being at peace with you. What do I know--your forgiveness may
perhaps preserve for penitence the dregs of a wretched life.'

"'Ha!' said the lady, as a sudden light broke on her, 'it is the villain
himself!' And grasping Sir Philip Forester--for it was he, and no
other--by the collar, she raised a cry of 'Murder, murder! seize the
murderer!'

"At an exclamation so singular, in such a place, the company thronged
into the apartment; but Sir Philip Forester was no longer there. He had
forcibly extricated himself from Lady Bothwell's hold, and had run out
of the apartment, which opened on the landing-place of the stair. There
seemed no escape in that direction, for there were several persons
coming up the steps, and others descending. But the unfortunate man was
desperate. He threw himself over the balustrade, and alighted safely in
the lobby, though a leap of fifteen feet at least, then dashed into
the street, and was lost in darkness. Some of the Bothwell family made
pursuit, and had they come up with the fugitive they might perhaps have
slain him; for in those days men's blood ran warm in their veins. But
the police did not interfere, the matter most criminal having happened
long since, and in a foreign land. Indeed it was always thought that
this extraordinary scene originated in a hypocritical experiment, by
which Sir Philip desired to ascertain whether he might return to his
native country in safety from the resentment of a family which he had
injured so deeply. As the result fell out so contrary to his wishes, he
is believed to have returned to the Continent, and there died in exile."

So closed the tale of the MYSTERIOUS MIRROR.

End of Project Gutenberg's My Aunt Margaret's Mirror, by Sir Walter Scott

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