'All the Osbornes have been Tories--Conservatives, you know. Some of the men of the family have been as wild and reckless as any men need be; but they never forgot their principles or struck their flag. Church and State has been their cry for as long as the Osbornes have been settled in Warwickshire; and that goes back to the Conquest, my dear. A young girl cannot, I know, take as much interest in these things as an old woman; but, my dear, I was like you once--I was young, too, and took no interest in politics; but I married into the family, and I was always with my husband in the great elections long ago; and you will come to take an interest in them yourself, when you are married into the family, child. I am not tiring you?' 'Oh no. Please go on. It is very good of you to take such trouble with me.' 'I am taking no trouble with you; and even suppose I was, with whom should I take more trouble than the woman who is to be my George's wife? But it interests me to talk to you in this way. Well, as I was telling you, root and branch of the Osborne family have always stood up for Church and State; and it would be a terrible blow to the name in the county if anything went wrong now with one of the family. I need hardly say it would be an awful blow to me if anything went wrong with anyone of the name belonging to me.' Marie looked up in surprise and fear. Mrs Osborne continued,-- 'I have been in great fear of George. I am greatly afraid he has strayed from the Church. He tells me you are a member of the Church. So ought he to be. Now, my dear child, I have taken you aside the very first opportunity, the very first moment you entered our house, to ask you, who are to be his wife, to do all in your power to bring him back to faith and reason. There is no better-hearted man in all England than George, no more honourable gentleman, no son a mother loves more dearly; but it were better he had never been born than that he should forego religion. I want you, my dear, to do all you can with him. It is natural you should now have more influence with him than anyone else in the world. I want you to do all you can to bring him back again. In the natural course of things, I shall die long before him; and it would embitter all my life to my death, and make my dying moments awful, if I thought my only son, my dear George--' Marie looked up with a bright look, exclaiming-- 'Oh, Mrs Osborne, I am so glad to tell you I think all those foolish doubts are out of his mind. He has not told me in words that they are, but I think I may be as sure as if he had told me in words. 'Thank God!' cried the mother devoutly. She clasped her hands and looked up to heaven. After a pause Mrs Osborne said, 'You are not sure; you only think.' 'I am sure.' Mrs Osborne clasped the girl's hand eagerly, and looked up into her face with beseeching eyes, and spoke rapidly,--