“Yes--yes,” continued the old gipsy, “we met in Hampshire--and circumstances revealed him to me. The mark on the arm then proved that it was indeed he! I told him the history of his birth--and he expressed his intention to visit London and seek to recover from Old Death--that was the villain Benjamin Bones--the money of which he had been plundered. Alas! poor Tom Rain--you went to the great city to meet your doom! You were captured--you were tried--you were cast for death--and you were hanged on the roof of Horsemonger Lane gaol. Yes--I saw it all with my own eyes: for I was amidst the crowd--drawn thither by God alone can tell what strange infatuation! And if in the deep anguish that rent my heart, there was a single gleam of joy--a single gleam, however faint--’twas to mark how boldly you died, my brave Tom Rain! Died--died!” exclaimed the old gipsy, now speaking with thrilling emphasis: “no--no--you did not die! Methought, however, as did the rest of the multitude, that you were indeed no more: and for years--for many years--for nineteen years have I held that same belief. And during that interval, oft--oft have I thought of thee,--thought of thee as once I knew thee, Tom Rain--a flaxen-headed boy, and before thou didst bear that name of Rainford! Yes--I have thought of thee--aye, and wept bitterly, bitterly. But--am I dreaming--am I becoming crazy?--or is it indeed true that ten days ago, when in London, I saw thee--yes, thee--alive and in the full enjoyment of health and wealth? Ah! I recollect--’twas not a dream: no--no--I saw thee,--and I recognised thee, too, disguised though thou wert. For not even the hair dyed black--nor the change effected by time--nor the plain and unassuming garb,--no--naught could deceive me, Tom Rain, in respect to you! I beheld you in a carriage, with your half-brother the Earl of Ellingham, and with a fine young man whose countenance was of glorious beauty.” These words suddenly made Perdita as attentive and interested a listener as her mother, both having by this time finished their hearty meal.