"'He heard me with attention, but strenuously opposed my leaving the kingdom—'If I live, Hilaire,' he said, 'you shall share my fortune: if I die—none but yourself shall inherit it.'
"'As I saw he wished it, I readily promised to remain with him; and from that day my time and attention were employed to effect his restoration: but my efforts, and those of the faculty, were equally ineffectual; he died in my arms, resigned and serene, leaving me, as he had promised, the undivided heir of his possessions.
"'I felt the loss of my brother more severely than might have been expected from the little time he had been known to me; but the tie of nature, never before indulged, joined to the lively regard he evinced for me, made me regret him as the dearest of friends: and as he had left me wealth beyond my wishes, I relinquished my intention of quitting France, and determined to dedicate the residue of my days to the service of my God, and the assistance of my fellow-creatures. In the course of settling my affairs, I came to Rennes, and here meeting with a companion of my boyish days, who had become a Benedictine, I determined to enter into the same brotherhood; and as soon as I had fully withdrawn my money from business, after vainly endeavouring to discover the generous Corbet, to repay my debt of gratitude, here took the cowl. Half my property I settled on the Convent, reserving the other at my own disposal, to relieve those I thought deserving my assistance.
"'And here, young man, I have experienced a foretaste of that happiness I hope to enjoy hereafter. I look forward with hope, I can look back without regret: I have experienced misfortunes, but never was guilty of an action, that can justly raise the blush of shame on my cheek!'"
CHAPTER V.
"The worthy Monk," continued Sir Henry, "here concluded; and I bowed my head in conviction to the justness of the reproach his last words implied. As the good father intended, I could not avoid drawing a comparison of our lives; and the resignation, the fortitude he had evinced, indeed, raised a blush for the madness of which I had been guilty. The mention he made of my Louise, however, and the hope that, by means, I should be able to trace her, soon obliterated every unpleasant sensation; and, without disclosing my history or name, I informed him the infant he had mentioned was at that time the object of my search. I related the treatment I had met with at the convent of St. Ursule, and asked his advice as to the measures I should pursue to discover her. He was urgent to know who we were, but, on my telling him I was not at liberty to reveal what he asked, he desisted; and offered to go himself and speak to the Abbess concerning Louise. I thankfully accepted his offer, and, at his earnest solicitation, consented to take the sustenance I truly wanted.
"He was gone nearly an hour, and returned unsuccessful in his mission. Mother St. Brigide could not refuse to see him, though her answers were very unsatisfactory. She confessed that Louise had been reared in the Convent, but utterly disclaimed all knowledge of the lady who took her. She had not, she said, ever been admitted to the confidence of her predecessor; and the circumstance of Louise leaving the Convent had been both secret and sudden. Finding it impossible to gain the information he wanted, Father Hilaire returned to me. I received his account with a sigh, and declared my resolution to re-commence my search after Louise the ensuing morning. He approved my determination, and imperceptibly drew me into a conversation, as entertaining as instructive; and when we parted at night, gave me his blessing and a purse containing forty louis.
"The supply was seasonable. I parted from him with regret; and early the next morning left Rennes.
"For four months I wandered through Anjou, Poitou, and Bretagne, without meeting with any occurrence worthy of mention, or being able to trace Louise. When I rescued her from the Count, as I before observed, I did not see her face; and, unsuspicious of who she was, still continued my search; till my money being expended, and not knowing how to procure subsistence, I engaged in the vessel which conveyed me to St. Helena."