"Of Ellenor and your son, Captain," answered Sir Henry, "I have little to relate. At the time she left London with her infant, she sought the protection of my father, who procured her an honourable asylum in the family of the Reverend Mr. Blond; with his relict I believe she at present resides. Edward, when I first quitted England, was pursuing his studies at the University; which he left previously to the report of my death; and, with his mother and Mrs. Blond, fled--to avoid the unfeeling hand of oppression; but where to--I know not." "I feared as much!" sighed the Captain.--"But Heaven," he continued with a more cheerful accent, "may yet befriend me. I have by a miracle, I cannot call it less, recovered you from the grave: and from your hand I still hope to receive my Ellenor. I am, I find, necessary to the elucidation of the mysteries Mr. Talton formerly mentioned: the friendship you have shown to my son, independently of the regard I entertain for yourself, demands from me the readiest assistance: tell me, then, what course I am to pursue, and doubt not my proving the friend you wish." Sir Henry warmly thanked the Captain for the generous offer. "Personal protection," he continued, "is all I at present request...." He paused a moment, then again continued--"I last night, Captain Howard, promised to explain to you the accident by which you were led into the belief of my death, and, as far as I am at liberty, to relate the particulars of my conduct. Of the latter, I can say but little; and only entreat you will not judge or condemn me by appearances. "Mr. Talton, I presume, has already acquainted you with the marriage of my parents; of which I am the only offspring: the offspring, indeed, of indifference! Since reason dawned, I have drunk the bitter draught of unhappiness: my childhood passed in sorrow; parental hatred still pursued me--and the events of one night, soon after the death of my father, I acknowledge, nearly bereft me of reason! To fly from scenes I had not strength of mind to support, I left my home, and sought relief in the bosom of friendship; till a mother's tears won me to return, when again I became the prey of midnight horrors! "Long I sustained them; till nature sunk beneath their influence, and nearly resigned me to the grave! Again I resolved to fly.--'Seek my Edward,' said your Ellenor; 'his generous hand will sustain thee, and hereafter bear thy character open to the world!' She accordingly wrote, and, with the assistance of a gypsey, from whom I procured an humble disguise, I eluded the watchfulness of my mother, and again became an itinerant.