"Indeed? That's most extraordinary! I understood he interfered, and saved you from a personal assault." "He?" "Yes! And he certainly bears marks of his efforts on your behalf. By the by, the Ministry seems tottering." "I thought you said, Mr Dobble, this Mr Jeeks pretends to be my relation. Did he ever tell you by what means, or in what degree? "Yes; but I am no herald. Some old lady long ago married a person who had a daughter, who had another daughter, who had a son who is the father of old Mr Jeeks, who made an immense fortune at Canton. Opium, I am afraid--more opium than tea." "It does not seem alarmingly near, at all events; and I beg to assure you that the interference he talks of on my behalf, was of such a nature, that it is of my gratitude he bears the emblems which he attributes to his friendly zeal." I hurried from the parsonage. I had not an hour to spare; but an irresistible attraction drew me to the wood--and there, in the rural seat, was Lucy Ashton once more! She saw some change in my countenance, and spoke in a different tone from what I had ever heard her before. "I am afraid I have been very imprudent, Mr Rayleigh, in carrying on our acquaintance so long; but I am come to bid you farewell--probably for ever!" I looked at the moistening eyes of the fair speaker--but steeled my heart against her arts. "You have tried to break me in to the loss of your society by degrees; you have not come here for three days." "I was busy--disagreeable things occurred at home--I had no opportunity. But it is better as it is--we must now part, and I hope you will forget me"---- "Forget you! That is impossible. But I shall try to find methods of enduring the separation." "I trust you will--I did not mean to part from you in unkindness: your voice is altered--your eyes are changed"---- "Because I am Edgar Ravenswood no longer; nor you Lucy Ashton. You made me know, for the first time in my life, what it was to have a true and absorbing attachment. I worshipped you with the fervour of a boy--I loved you with the sincerity of a man. You played me off for the gratification of your paltry triumph over affections that were too valuable to be wasted on a flirt. I have heard of the assize ball--I have heard of young Jeeks--I have unmasked you, and you are Betsy Juffles." A glance--bright and sparkling, but instantly subdued--appeared for a moment in her eyes, which now swam in tears. "Be it so, then. If I were to stay longer in this part of the world, I might perhaps try to set myself right in your eyes; but as it is"----she paused, and sighed. "You go then soon?" "I go to-morrow."