"Poor must be the attempt to describe his emotions at that moment: he flew to raise her, and on her revival an eclaircissement, dreadful indeed to him, took place. Sir Horace stamped and raved; but still declared, she should instantly marry Joseph.
"This Joseph resolutely refused to consent to; and severely reproved him for the measures he had pursued. Sir Horace did not receive the rebuke unmoved, and was denouncing vengeance on them all, when my mother likewise entered, to inform him the clergyman he had sent for, was arrived. What a scene for a wife, like my mother: Eliza was weeping on the bosom of my father!—there needed no more——
"Oh, Captain Howard, let me pass what followed! Sir Horace, finding it impossible to terrify them to compliance, as a last resource, sunk on his knees, and vowed to fix his eternal curse on my father, if they longer refused the marriage he had proposed: and began to pronounce a solemn anathema, when the half-distracted Eliza broke from my father's arms, and throwing herself beside him, implored for mercy on her Henry: she would consent—she would marry Blond!
"Joseph's horror and agitation were nearly equal to Eliza's, nor dared he longer urge denial: the clergyman was summoned, and my wretched father, amidst the taunts and reproaches of his unfeeling wife, was witness to the marriage!
"This was the last tyranny of which fate allowed Sir Horace to be guilty. Displeased at a letter, he intercepted, from my grandmother to my father, he went to Cornwall, and was severely upbraiding her, when Lady Corbet, who had been some time in a decline, regarded him with a look of mingled anguish and pity, and, extending her hand to him, said—'I forgive you, Corbet; but, oh—have mercy on my children!' then, sinking gently back on her seat, resigned her spirit without a sigh!
"The impressive manner of her last few words, her death, by him so unexpected, struck to his heart; he felt he had been a tyrant, and had accelerated an event which must shortly happen to himself; and, for the first time, wished he had been less severe. The expressive exclamation—'Have mercy on my children!' still vibrated on his ear: he returned to the Hall, from whence he was summoned to the bedside of Mr. Holly, who died a few days after.
"This was too much, even for the callousness of Sir Horace: horror filled his bosom; and his constitution, apparently robust, yielded to the agitation of his mind; he took to his bed, and for some days experienced torments unspeakable. Repeatedly he conjured my father, who never quitted him, to forgive him; and at last desired to see Joseph and Mrs. Blond; but the appearance of the pale, emaciated Eliza, added to his agonies: he struggled for breath.
"'Forgive—forgive me!' he pantingly cried. 'Do not curse me! Oh, Ellenor! my child, mayest thou find a better friend than thy father has proved!—Send for my lawyer this instant—let me alter my will: for you, too, Corbet!—'
"He sunk in the arms of my father.
"At such a moment, could they refuse the forgiveness he entreated? Oh, no! Death was fast approaching: with a last struggle he seized the hands of my father and Blond, and, joining them, pronounced an emphatic, 'Bless you!' and immediately expired!