effect; but as he had been educated in the superstitions of his father, he declined, even after his son became of age, to take the necessary measures for barring the remainder; and, without his consent, the late Sir Stephen could of course do nothing. The difference between them on this point led to some estrangement, as your father, Miss Griselda, had no kind of security that he should ever succeed to the estates; for the birth of an Ashley in the lifetime of his father, as the matter stood, would have barred him from the succession. This estrangement was widened by the late Sir Stephen becoming a Protestant; and, to the day of his death, his father refused to concur with him in a process to cut off the entail. Sir Stephen was turned of thirty when he succeeded to the estates. He had been long engaged to an estimable lady; but their union had been deferred owing to this difficulty in the succession. He now flattered himself that all obstacles were removed. He directed a process of recovery to be proceeded with; but, before the necessary steps could be taken, a boy named Ashley was born from a descendant of Rupert Ashley, on the very day set down as the nativity of John the Baptist!"

"What! on the 24th of June?" asked Tremore.

"On the 24th of June," replied the lawyer.

"How very singular!" exclaimed the scholar.

"Singular, indeed!" returned the lawyer. "But I must now beg your attention to dates. The birth of this boy, who was christened John Baptist, took place fifty-one years ago, and, strangely enough, there was round his neck a distinct and broad band, as of blood, attributed by the surgeons to the fact of his mother, to whom the provision of the will was known, having long dwelt on the history of John Baptist, and on the probability of her giving birth to a boy on the day of his nativity. The parents of this boy were in indigent circumstances; they took care to place the fact of his birth on that 24th of June beyond all dispute; and this band of blood, which seemed significant of the manner of the Baptist's death, served as a mark of identity ever after, but led in the sequel to a suspicion of collusion or imposture, though, as I now think, without any just cause. On the birth of this boy, the late Sir Stephen, whose notions of honour

a poor, wandering, feeble light to guide men right in this world—were very scrupulous— absurdly, ridiculously so, I should say".

"No!" interposed Griselda, whose bright eyes swam in tears at her father's name, "he was conscientious from very high principles -that was all-Millicent has often told me that."

"I have no doubt you are quite right, my dear young lady; I will state it so. Well, he adopted the idea that this young Ashley, having been born on the Baptist's day, while the succession prescribed by the will remained unaltered, was by the true intent of Rupert Ashley the proper heir to the estates, and ought not to meet with opposition. Acting on this idea, he gave up all thoughts of marriage, gave this boy a liberal education, and adopted him as his own son and successor."

"It was a generous resolve!" exclaimed Tremore.

"Too generous, I think; and, as you will hear, the experiment turned out badly. Either from some vice in the boy's blood, or from accidental association with the mean and degrading habits to which his family had early been accustomed, he displayed in his

youth symptoms of irreclaimable wildness, which all the advantages of a liberal education seemed rather to foster than to check. His benefactor bore patiently with his illconduct for a long time, hoping that a better disposition would show itself with manhood. But this was so far from being the case, that when he came of age, and was in some sort his own master for Sir Stephen afforded him a handsome allowance-he sank into more degrading courses, and joined gambling to his other vices. At last, pressed for money, and threatened with a jail, he assigned absolutely and unconditionally his chance of succession to the Ashley estates, for a considerable sum of money paid down to him, and then escaped to the continent, leaving a large accumulation of debt unpaid."

"There was no obstacle, then, I suppose, to his assigning over his interest in that manner," remarked Florian.

"Clearly not," replied the man of law; "for, as I said, the fee simple came to him, and he was in a condition to aliene or dispose of his interest, as he pleased; and, as Sir Stephen was more than thirty years his senior, the presumption of the estates coming to him was a strong one.

"And did this transaction reach Sir Stephen's ears?" asked the scholar.

"It did, and made him extremely indignant, as he conceived that the person who secured the assignment had ministered to young Ashley's vices only to obtain a firmer hold on him. When abroad, young Ashley dropped his own name, and took up that of Clare Captain Clare he called himselfand led a most dissolute and disreputable life, assuming occasionally other names, to escape the consequences of his vile practices. Sir Stephen, who was extremely good-natured, seems never to have utterly lost all hope of his amendment, and could not make up his mind to refuse the pressing entreaties for aid which occasionally reached him. At length, in 1827, intelligence seems to have reached Sir Stephen, that young Ashley had died in some part of Germany. I say seems to have reached him; for there is a mystery hangs over all the circumstances of this reported death, which I have never been able to clear up.

"You must explain," Griselda said, "what pains he took to investigate that rumour, and how thoroughly he satisfied himself of its truth."