rformance of the ceremony.
Mr. Trevethlan respected the pride of his chaplain, but he resolved to
meet no other check of the kind. There was a clergyman, a very young
man, seeking to repair his shattered health by a residence on that
genial coast, and evidently in no very flourishing circumstances. Him
did Mr. Trevethlan induce to celebrate the rite, under a special
license, within the walls of the castle. Maud, and a young rustic,
named Wyley, were the only witnesses; and the country-folk might well
conjecture that a marriage, contracted in so singular, and, to them,
in so revolting a manner, was irregular, and might be dissolved.
Moreover, it was not entered in the parish register until after the
birth of Randolph, and then not in the usual form.

So these circumstances provoked much popular indignation. When Mr.
Trevethlan took home his bride all the doors in the hamlet were
closed, and no individual was visible on the green. Even Jeffrey's
face was shaded with discontent when he threw open the gates; and Mr.
and Mrs. Griffith could not avoid displaying a little humiliation in
receiving their new mistress. Polydore Riches, alone of the household,
met her with a sincere welcome, in which kindness was enforced by
pity. Some folks wondered that he remained at the castle. But the
chaplain had satisfied his conscience by his protest, and stayed to
mitigate a misfortune which he was unable to avert.

The day after the marriage the hamlet was startled by an occurrence,
which gave fresh force to the suspicions of the villagers. Mr. Ashton,
the clergyman, was missed from his lodgings. He went out the evening
of the wedding, as was his habit, to stroll along the cliffs, and he
never returned. In much excitement the people made a diligent and
immediate search, and on the beach below his haunt they found the body
of a man, stripped, and so disfigured, that identification was
impossible. It was soon discovered that Wyley, the witness, was also
missing from his home, and the comments made on the coincidence were
loud and strong.

Advertisements brought forward Mr. Ashton's relations. From them
Polydore Riches learnt that his health had been ruined by
self-indulgence, and that he was allowed a small stipend on condition
of residing in perfect retirement. There seemed to be no very
particular concern felt about his fate. The gentleman who came down
was unable to recognise the body, so great were the injuries it had
received, app