mlyn and march off with him to Leet Hall as if he were a prize
to be coveted. "Here he is, Eliza," said he; "he has come to cheer both
you and me."

For once in her life Eliza Hamlyn was subdued to meekness. She kissed
her husband and shed happy tears. She was his lawful wife, and the
little one was his lawful child. True, there was an elder son; but,
compared with what had been feared, that was a slight evil.

"We must make them true brothers, Eliza," whispered Philip Hamlyn. "They
shall share alike all I have and all I leave behind me. And our own
little one must be called James in future."

"And you and I will be good friends from henceforth," cried Captain Monk
warmly, clasping Philip Hamlyn's ready hand. "I have been to blame in
more ways than one, giving the reins unduly to my arbitrary temper. It
seems to me, however, that life holds enough of real angles for us
without creating any for ourselves."

And surely it did seem, as Mrs. Carradyne would have liked to point out
aloud, that those chimes had been fraught with messages of evil. For had
not all these blessings set in with their removal?--even in the very
hour that saw the bells taken down!

Harry Carradyne had drawn his uncle from the room; he now came in again,
bringing Alice West. Her face was a picture of agitation, for she had
been made known to Captain Monk. Harry led her up to Mrs. Hamlyn, with a
beaming smile and a whisper.

"Eliza, as we seem to be going in generally for amenities, won't you
give just a little corner of your heart to _her_? We owe her some
reparation for the past. It is her father who lies in that grave at the
north end of the churchyard."

Eliza started. "Her father! Poor George West her father?"

"Even so."

Just a moment's struggle with her rebellious spirit and Mrs. Hamlyn
stooped to kiss the trembling girl. "Yes, Alice, we do owe you
reparation amongst us, and we must try to make it," she said heartily.
"I see how it is: you will reign here with Harry; and I think he will be
able, after all, to let us keep Peacock's Range."

There came a grand wedding, Captain Monk himself giving Alice away. But
Mr. and Mrs. Hamlyn did not retain Peacock's Range; they and their boys,
the two Walters, had to look out for another local residence; for Mrs.
Carradyne retired to Peacock's Range herself. Now that Leet Hall had a
young mistress, she deemed it policy to quit it; though it should have
as much of her as it pleased as a visitor