CHAPTER VII.
Early in the morning, the Captain rose, and having dispatched his servant to Monmouth for a licence, left the house for the purpose of enjoying a ramble, till the appearance of his Ellenor; but had not proceeded many paces, when he perceived his son, Sir Henry, and Frederick. He immediately joined them, and, under the guidance of Edward, traced the tangled wilds, which had afforded an asylum to his Ellenor.
"It is now more than eighteen months," said young Howard, "since the appearance of Mr. Talton drove us from the house of Lieutenant Booyers, whither we had retired on the report of Sir Henry's death. Not knowing which way to direct our steps, and uncertain whether, in flying from one evil, we were not hurrying into a greater, we pursued an indirect road to Monmouth; where, leaving my mother and Mrs. Blond, I set out with our faithful Thomas, in search of an obscure village, or cot, that might afford us the shelter we required.
"Fortune conducted me to this spot, which was then in the wildest state of ruin. The beauties which surrounded it, and its retired situation, immediately pointed it out as a place designed by Heaven to afford the asylum we wanted. The owner, for a trifling consideration, agreed to my becoming his tenant, and here we removed the whole of our property, not amounting to a hundred pounds.—Industry, however, found out many means of procuring a livelihood: needle-work, embroidery, painting, every accomplishment was turned to account, and, with superintending our household affairs, employed the time of my mother and her friends.
"Thomas, before he entered the service of Sir Horace Corbet, had been engaged in the farming business; and under his direction, your Edward, my dear Sir, set his hand to the plough and spade; nor was our friendly Booyers idle; though deprived of an arm, he assisted in sowing, pruning, &c. and under his care, the garden soon assumed a pleasing and flourishing appearance.—On our first coming, we engaged an useful active man, who lived in the only cottage near our residence; and who, from his knowledge of the land, directed, as well as executed, our first plans of husbandry: his wife likewise superintends our dairy, who, with Susan, comprise the female attendants of our family. This man, we sent, as being unknown, to dispose of the furniture left in the residence we had so abruptly deserted: and he executed his commission with the greatest exactness; leaving the village, as we had directed, by a different route from the one he was really to pursue; by which means, we hoped to avoid being traced. Our house was soon repaired: and our harvest, though late, richly repaid our labour. Plenty, indeed, has here deigned to dwell; and, could we have forgotten the past, we might have been happy; but remembrance still recalled the friends we had lost, and, by a retrospect of the injuries we had suffered, cast a shade on the passing moment."
"But what, my son," said the Captain, "are the injuries to which you allude?"
The appearance of Mr. Talton and Lieutenant Booyers, prevented Edward from replying; and, on being joined by those gentlemen, the conversation was renewed on general subjects, till they arrived at the spot where the Captain had the preceding evening met with his son; when Mr. Talton said,—"I yesterday, Howard, should have treated the idea with the greatest ridicule, that the accidents we met with, could be the means of conducting us to Mrs. Crawton, or that by losing our way, you should meet with a son, you have so many years vainly sought.—But under your present embarrassments," he continued, addressing Edward, "do you think, young gentleman, you acted prudently in inviting two strangers to your house? Had Talton been the man you suspected, it might have been attended with unpleasant circumstances. But it was benevolence which impelled you, and it has been rewarded!"
"Or rather, Sir," said Edward smiling, "it was nature; which, the moment my father spoke, attached me to him, and destroyed the caution, which the situation of our affairs certainly required."
"Providence," said Frederick, "equally guided us all. By deviating from our road yesterday, we saved the life of a man and his son; who, in crossing a foot-bridge, by the heedlessness of the boy, fell into the current beneath. We likewise had the satisfaction of relieving a family, reduced to the lowest state of poverty and distress. These circumstances detained us a considerable time; and afforded such ample scope for conversation, that all remembrance of you and Mr. Talton was lost; and it was not till the close of day, you recurred to our recollection. Willing then to rectify the error we had committed, we took the nearest direction toward Brecon; but had not proceeded far, before Sir Henry's horse sunk into a morass; and in endeavouring to assist him, my own met with the same fate. This completed our distress; and by the time we had succeeded in extricating the unlucky animals, darkness had nearly enveloped the heavens. We would then have retraced our path, but could not discover it; and fearful of wandering from the spot where we were, we hallooed for assistance, but without effect; and I began to have very disagreeable ideas, when we were relieved by Argus, who sprung to Sir Henry, with the familiarity of an old acquaintance, enticing us to follow him; nor did we deliberate long, but, tying a handkerchief to his collar, submitted ourselves to his guidance. He soon conducted us to a firm road, and we were directing our steps toward the light, which beamed from the windows of our friends, when you, my dear uncle, so happily joined us."
They were here interrupted by the arrival of a servant, with a summons to breakfast, and, on entering the parlour, they had the satisfaction of seeing Mrs. Blond, assembled with the rest of the family. Sir Henry instantly flew to her, and affectionately welcomed her return to their society.