Fallen Fortunes

the paddock, looking well to the condition of his horse, an

of ground is mine own, and it will go hard if I let that weasel-faced scoundrel filch it altogether from me. I kno

here he slept, for almost at once he was at his master's side; and old Jock came cautiously out by th

se is full of such, I take it. How slept you, my master? and how fare you this morn? It is good to s

at the old man. "Tell me, good fellow, what know you of the panelled guest-chamber, with the row

had known that! No wonder the dreams were bad that came to me. The haunted room! Tush!

osedly. "Then there is a secret

heard of it. Men have been done to death in that room ere

llid face of the old man. He put the ne

this kinsman of mine would plot to do me

for long the master believed in him. But methinks he never would have die

changed colour, c

s kinsman of ours c

stening ears. He drew a step nearer; and Dicon, with

here he found me. But when the old master came, he often sent for me. Before he became too ill, he sometimes crawled to my little cottage yonder for a bit of chat. He told me the doctors

nd him here?" aske

elieved in him. He eased his pain, but he sank into an ever-increasing, ever-mastering drowsiness, and he shrank away to skin and bone. It went t

en?" asked Grey, bet

r; the word seemed to frighten him. He

ever come home again (travellers met such a deal of peril, he would say), and then his eyes would gle

moment that foul play had been used to compass his father's death. Had he

upon this matter?" he asked. "The

r. Barty's man; and I trow his master makes it worth

mes unloose a mis

s more artful. Don't you go for to anger him yet: hurt might come to you an you did. Get you gone from the

-forsaken hole, not fit for you to dwell in. Take the store of gold pieces, and

o desire to go through the farce of a farewell to his kinsman. He only desired to shake off the dust of his feet against him; and ere the chimes of the church rang out the hour of six, Gr

affluence and fame, and I will yet be lord and master there, and

n unbounded admiration for his young master, and an immense confidence in his luck,

e service of a young English gentleman of quality, and to be the companion of his travels, had been a piece of luck that Dick thanked Providence for every day of his life. He had been one of four servants at the outset; but as Grey's resources diminished, or his roving life took him into perils for which some men had little stomach, he gradually lost his retinue, till, for the past year, Dick alone had followed h

es heard, fortunes are as easily lost there as won, wherefore it may be

jaculated Dick in

many a long day yet. But inasmuch as there are uncertainties in life, and we are going forth into a new world, where perchance I may sink rather than swim, I desire to give you six months' wage in advance, whilst I have my pockets lined with gold, so that

ld him silent. He took the coins without counting them, and producing a greasy leathern pouch, such as sailors often

t went to sea, and she told me as a wise witch woman had given it her. She thought 'twas the caul of a child; and like enough it be, for salt water never hurts

his finger, and it came over him that the shortest cut to fortune might be to present himself as a suppliant for favour at the feet of the great Duchess of Marlborough, who was said to rule the Queen with a rod

ter with the great Duke, the interview which had followed, the consciousness that he had done his country a notable service that day-all these things were very sweet to him, forming an episode pleasant to look back upon. If he now presented himself on the strength of it as a petitioner for place or favour, at once th

of parts, with an attractive person, and, at present, a well-filled purse, he might not improbably please the fancy of the Duchess, and obtain some post in her household

ays by which a man may rise in the world without abasing himself in his own esteem first. I will go to London, and look about me with open eyes. There are the world of politics, the world of art and literature, and the theatre of war, if other spheres should fail. Sur

ther he would be able to bring that crime home to him later, he could not at present surmise. Much might be poss

together silent, and he had many times covered sheets of paper with flowing stanzas or stately sonnets, which bore witness to the fire that burned within. His pencil, too, was not without cunning; and his study of the treasures of many an art gallery, many a foreign church, had given him knowledge and culture beyond what the average gallant of the day could boast. The double strand in his nature was very marked-a reckless love of adventure,

some coach that stood beneath the protecting galleries which ran round the court. The lackeys wore a livery of snuff-coloured cloth, with a quantity of gold lace about it. The panels of the coach were snuff-coloured, and there was much heavy

ded passage, and so to the public room, the door of which stood open. As a boy he had known this house, and it still se

his entrance, "but this room is bespoke for my Lord Sandford.

from the foot of the adjacent staircas

andlord, see you give us of your best, or I'll spit you on your own jack! I've a great thirst on me, mind you; and let the dishes be done to a turn.-Take a seat in the window, sir; the air blows fresh and pleasant, but it will be infernall

hly laced, the sleeves so short that the spotless lawn and ruffles of the shirt showed half-way up the forearm; a wonderful embroidered vest, knee breeches of satin equally gorgeous, and silk stockings elaborately gartered below the knee with bands of gold lace. He carried a fashionably cocked hat beneath hi

in loose, natural curls, just framing his face and touching his shoulders, was so evidently a man of culture and of gentle blood that the dandy was

r very humble servant-always to be heard of at Will's Coffee House or the Mohawk Club. Seem to remember your face; but dash me if I can give it a name. Awfu

fleeting memory, a

at the same college, though; but we have

ce. Lord, it was fine, though I didn't understand one word in ten! Latin or Greek-rabbit me if I know which! And

Lord Sandford's questions, which, if not very delicately put, showed a real interest in the subject, Grey gav

you ask than such a face, such a story, and a few hundred pounds in your pocket? Why, with decent luck, those hundreds ought to make thousands in a very short time. You trust yourself to me, my young friend. I know my London. I know t

ediate future. He did not know London. He had scarcely set foot within its precincts, save on the occasion when he went to bid his father farewell, and when it seemed to him that he stepped into Pandemonium itself. Since then he had visited many foreign capitals, and had accustomed himself to the life there to some extent; but only to the life of a traveller-an onlooker. Now

e diversion myself. Poor Tom Gregory, my boon companion, made a fool of himself over the wine the other night, and got spitted like a cockchafer by Captain Dashwood. I've felt bad ever since. I tried what a trip into the country would do for me. But dash it all, I can't stand the dreariness o

f the old inn, Grey Dumaresq sat within by Lord Sandford's side, and