arnest, and at last she made it an
absolute condition of my ever getting her at all that I should marry her
under the name of Alden Lytton."

"What reason did she give for this singular request?"

"She said she only wanted to play a harmless practical joke upon Miss
Cavendish, the betrothed of Mr. Lytton."

"But her joke was so deep and earnest that she made it the only
condition upon which she would marry you at all, you say?"

"Yes, sir."

"And did you comply with that condition?"

"Yes, sir. Sooner than lose her I complied with that wicked condition.
It did not seem wicked to me then. It only seemed foolish and
purposeless. And, besides, I firmly believe I was half crazy at that
time."

"Quite likely," said Mr. Berners, dryly. "What followed?"

"Well, sir, and gentlemen, we drove to the rectory. She took a blank
card out of her pocket and with a pencil wrote Mr. Alden Lytton's name
on it, and told me to send that in to the rector as if it were my own.
When I looked at the name on the card, I exclaimed how much it looked
like Mr. Lytton's own handwriting; and she said so much the better."

Again, at these words, a murmur of indignation ran through the
court-room, which was, however, instantly suppressed, as every one
wished to hear every word uttered by this witness.

He continued:

"I rang the bell at the rectory, and sent the card in by the servant who
came to open the door. Presently I was invited into the rector's study.
He addressed me as Mr. Lytton, and wanted to know how he could serve me.
Then I told him what I had come for. And he consented to perform the
marriage ceremony, but said that he must do it in the church, which was
just next door to the rectory. I went back to the carriage for Mary--"

"Meaning Mrs. Grey?"

"Yes. But I called her 'Mary' then. I went back for her, and brought her
into the church, where, under the name of Alden Lytton, I was married to
Mary Grey by the Reverend Mr. Borden, in the presence of John Martin,
sexton of the parish, and of Sarah Martin, his daughter. A marriage
certificate, signed by the minister and witnesses, was then given to
Mrs. Grey."

"What happened next?"

"At her request I drove her back to the Blank House, where she had been
stopping. She got out at the corner of the street, however, and walked
to the house, while I waited in a neighboring reading-room for her
return. After an hour's absence she came back, and we drove to the
Asterick, where I