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Article THE PURITAN'S SISTER. ← Page 11 of 13 →
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The Puritan's Sister.
" Other relative ! " echoed Grace , " none but by uncle—and brother —him you would not harm—his gentle nature never made an enemyyet he is not here . Edward ! oh , tell me where is my brother !" The crowd opened as she spoke and discovered the sad spectacle . No shriek , no tear escaped her ; in an instant she was on her knees beside Mm . The dying man knew the sound of her voice , and , opening
his fading eyes , he struggled for a few moments with death . " Grace —my boy—you will be a mother to him , now I am gone . Promise me , Grace , dear sister ! " A silent appeal to heaven was all the maiden could trust herself to make . " Thanks ! " he continued , " I am happy now . Grace—accident—poor William—I come . " A few convulsive movements of the limbs , and all was over .
Sir Richard and William returned to London after several vain attempts to see Grace Marston . Mindful of their promise to her brother , by their representations and interest the resistance of Saul and its fatal consequences were overlooked by the government . In the gay court of the licentious monarch , the brothers moved with eclat ; alternately the companions of Charles ' s pleasures and councils , honour and
appointments were lavished upon them with an inconsiderate hand ; both rose to high military command . At length , when time had sufficiently effaced the memory of Grace , William again began to indulge in thoughts
of love . Ellen Digby , the only daughter of a staunch royalists , was the object ofhis choice . The court and its gay allurements were abandoned for marriage and retirement . Nine months after the death of Edward , William and his young bride arrived at Ms brother ' s seat , Tyler Hill , near Canterbury . Grace , who , since the death of her brother had given up her mind entirely to the guidance of Saul and the preacher Newlight ,
heard of their arrival , if not without emotion , at least without a tear . " Wait , " exclaimed her uncle , " I have that engendering here shall work retribution ; they have trampled upou us , but we will turn and rend them . " Within the year the bride presented her husband with a sonfortune seemed to smile upon its birth : the young stranger was not only heir to his father and grandfather ' s estates , but to the fair earldom wMch
Charles had just conferred upon Sir Richard Clayton , who heard of the birth of his nephew with unmixed satisfaction . Meanwhile , Saul and Grace had disposed of all their property in Kent , and a light vessel was secretly engaged to carry them to their future destination : one night-they suddenly disappeared , and were never again seen in that part of the country . Great was the consternation on the following morning , when it was
discovered that the young heir of the Claytons had been carried off , no one could tell how ; in vain did the distracted parents offer rewardsmessengers were dispatched into distant parts of England , but in vainevery clue seemed lost , and the search was at last abandoned as hopeless .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Puritan's Sister.
" Other relative ! " echoed Grace , " none but by uncle—and brother —him you would not harm—his gentle nature never made an enemyyet he is not here . Edward ! oh , tell me where is my brother !" The crowd opened as she spoke and discovered the sad spectacle . No shriek , no tear escaped her ; in an instant she was on her knees beside Mm . The dying man knew the sound of her voice , and , opening
his fading eyes , he struggled for a few moments with death . " Grace —my boy—you will be a mother to him , now I am gone . Promise me , Grace , dear sister ! " A silent appeal to heaven was all the maiden could trust herself to make . " Thanks ! " he continued , " I am happy now . Grace—accident—poor William—I come . " A few convulsive movements of the limbs , and all was over .
Sir Richard and William returned to London after several vain attempts to see Grace Marston . Mindful of their promise to her brother , by their representations and interest the resistance of Saul and its fatal consequences were overlooked by the government . In the gay court of the licentious monarch , the brothers moved with eclat ; alternately the companions of Charles ' s pleasures and councils , honour and
appointments were lavished upon them with an inconsiderate hand ; both rose to high military command . At length , when time had sufficiently effaced the memory of Grace , William again began to indulge in thoughts
of love . Ellen Digby , the only daughter of a staunch royalists , was the object ofhis choice . The court and its gay allurements were abandoned for marriage and retirement . Nine months after the death of Edward , William and his young bride arrived at Ms brother ' s seat , Tyler Hill , near Canterbury . Grace , who , since the death of her brother had given up her mind entirely to the guidance of Saul and the preacher Newlight ,
heard of their arrival , if not without emotion , at least without a tear . " Wait , " exclaimed her uncle , " I have that engendering here shall work retribution ; they have trampled upou us , but we will turn and rend them . " Within the year the bride presented her husband with a sonfortune seemed to smile upon its birth : the young stranger was not only heir to his father and grandfather ' s estates , but to the fair earldom wMch
Charles had just conferred upon Sir Richard Clayton , who heard of the birth of his nephew with unmixed satisfaction . Meanwhile , Saul and Grace had disposed of all their property in Kent , and a light vessel was secretly engaged to carry them to their future destination : one night-they suddenly disappeared , and were never again seen in that part of the country . Great was the consternation on the following morning , when it was
discovered that the young heir of the Claytons had been carried off , no one could tell how ; in vain did the distracted parents offer rewardsmessengers were dispatched into distant parts of England , but in vainevery clue seemed lost , and the search was at last abandoned as hopeless .