Love And Loyalty.

Love and Loyalty .

[ AU . Kiel UTS KESEUVKD ] ,

A STORY OF THE ' -15 .

BY T . C . WALLS , Author of "The lied Boom Mystery , " "The Old Manor House , ' . "A Nigld of Pen' / , "" Saced by a Sign , " "' Lig ht and Shade , " " Tlui Secret Tribunal" " Fatal Divination , " " Tho Ihrmit of Dusntanboroagh , " " A Vision of Evil , " " A Life ' s Hatred , " "The Legend of 'Dead Man ' s Wood ; " . yc , th .

CHAPTER L tejSst—^ Spf ^^^^^^ NE night in the month of November , in the eventful J («!« $ )) if . V eiU' 1745 , there were seated in the small yet cosy ilr $ ^)) ifi coffe e room of the famous " Old Bell lim , " Holborn , in ^^^^^^| the City of London , a party of four persons , whose g ^^* " ^^^! appearance bespoke them to be of gentle birth . On the highlv-polished oak table was a huge china bowl .

and from it was wafted the fragrant odour of brandy punch . The apartmentwas also filled with thc fumes of choice tobacco . A ( ire blazed merrily on tho hearth , and the lig ht of several wax tapers shed a soft radiance on the scene . To complete the p icture of comfort and ease , a fine specimen of the felis doiuesliciis was purring with happv

contentment on tne hearth-rug . The scene without doors was tor the time of year wintry in the extreme . The large courtyard was covered with hoar frost , and from tlie galleries that surrounded il the ice hung in pendants like stalactites , which in thc bright beams of the moon presented a brilliant appearance . The massive gates of thc iim-yavd were closed for the night .

" Seymour , said one of the parly , yawning , I am very tired and sleepy . Mine host's punch is too strong for my taste . My head aches . It is not so seasoned as yours and our friends . I must get me to bed . "

The speaker was about three or four and twenty , or delicate features and graceful proportions . He was attired in a handsome travelling suit of dark green cloth . His companions wore wigs , but his dark brown unpowdered hair flowed negligently from his intelligent temples and was secured b y a satin queue .

" Wharton , we cannot part wilh thee yet . \\ hy mini , tis not yet niiil-iiiglit . Thc burning of lhe convivial incense , in other words , an indulgence in 'the braiit-cloudi-ig weed , nicoliaiui Inline am . ' as my old tutor-, a non-smoker , was wont disparagingl y to call ( lie soothing p lant , is to you a p leasure yoi unknown . As lo the liquor it is a

generous brew , bill you have not done il justice . The niatlcrol I ' oui small glasses ( hat you have had . is but a poor allowance for a lad of spirit . Wherefore Ihy headache ' i Egad ! I have known the time when four discijiles of Baechus have drunk the contents of as many bowls of liquor as fiery as arrack . ' " And the speaker laughed heartily at ( he recollection .

"Was no ! your head racked in I lie morning r " was ( he sly queiy of ( he young man . " Faith ! it was ! but a cup of small ale soon pill matters right , ' replied the other . "My dear fellow , one cannot indulge in the pleasures of life without sometimes experiencing Ihe penalties of

discomfort lhat they engender . Dick , " he continued , after a pause , addressing another of ( he parly : " I will thank you lo pass my snuff , box to Wharton , a pinch or two of its contents will clear his brain and dispel the vapours . Nay . youngster , shake not thy head in dissent , 1 vow that the snuff will not hann you . 'Tis one of the

Love And Loyalty.

best blends in town ; ami , forsooth , is quite thc fashion , as my Lord Chesterfield has given it ( lie publicity of his distinguished approval . " Thus pressed , Wharton , somewhat , reluctantly , indulged in a small pinch of the highly perfumed mixture . "Ned , " resumed Seymour , " what do you say to a rubber ? I know that Wharton and Marston will cut in . "

"No , Seymour , not to-night , " replied the person addressed , who was soberly enjoying the delights afforded by the slow combustion of tobacco and the gentle sipping of liquor . " I am not iu the humour for such frivolity . " "Frivolity ! " echoed thc ofcher , wifch mock gravity . "I am aghast afc your temerity . If friend Hoyle , that prince of gamesters ,

were here he would challenge thee on the spot to a bout in the morning at the Scrubhs , or Marybone Fields , for presuming to sully by such a word the noble pastime of ' whist . ' and of which game he is so brilliant an exponent . Frivolity , indeed ! But in thc name of all ( hat is festive and good , what ails you and Wharton to-night Y Are ye both in love ? "

" I cannot answer for him , " remarked Ned , " as he is young , ardent and impressionable : but as to myself , I can honestly say that I am heart , whole . Love , or the sensual ardour that passes i ' or it , has not as yet shed its transient glamour over me . " " Transient glamour ! " repeated Seymour . " By the zone of Venus , 1 am lost in amazement ! Do you not , believe in men seriousl y smitten with the noble passion becoming permanently fettered by the shackles of love Y "

" I have not up to the present met a descendant of the first temptress of man capable of inspiring either one or the other in my breast , " was the cynical reply , accompanied by a contemptuous shrug of the shoulders . " The fact is , my dear fellow , " he added , " I am worried and absent minded to-ni ght . " 'Twas a disappointment fo me that

( he post ( o-day brought no tidings from my cousin at Preston . He presaged great things in the North , but 1 fear mc that the canny Lancastrians and Yorkists are not giving either the support or I'lteouragement that our party had a ri ght to expect . . Methiiiks that Ihey scent danger and defeat to the ' Cause ' that we four have so much at heart . "

' •Hush ! friend Somerville , " whispered Marston , " do not raise yonr voice so loudly : there may bc listeners about . If we are suspected ' twill be a serious matter for all of us . Although my head contains nothing of value to the community at large , yet personall y it is loo precious to he rashly jeopardised . "

" Head , egad ! I pray ye all listen to the egotist , ' gaily interposed Seymour . " On the strength of his being a cousin six times removed from a noble lord he—in the event of disaster—consoles himself with

the reflection ( hat lie will he driven to the scaffold in a carriage and four to sillier decollation in a truly patrician manner , whilst we of humbler extraction will perforce have to ride up llolborn Hill in a filth y straw-littered vehicle , and ere the ominous tones of St . Sepulchre ' s 'passing bell' shall have died away in the distance wc

shall be lasting a last stoup of liquor at St . Giles ' s Pound . Then will fhe lust y rogues of Loudon town give us a consoling cheer-, and some kind-hearted , yet frail nymph , will present each one of us wilh a posy as we continue our way to grim T y burn , that p lace of skulls and crossboncs . "

"A truce ( o this foolery ! " exclaimed the other , impatiently . "I like not : jesting or : such matters . " " Nay , friend Marston , you escape me not so easily , " baiifei-ingi y retort cd Seymour . " You must hear the sequel . Having arrived at

the fatal goal after . sundry mortifications of body and Inhalations of mind , we shall he compelled , as eld Rabelais ha ( li it , to take a ' leap into ( he dark ' from the cart ' s tail or ladder ' s rung as if may please their worships , the Sheriffs , ( o order . Tableau ! E . eennt' omncsl Ring down the curtain ! Life ' s play is ended ! "

" Seymour , thou art a mad-eap , " remarked Marston , smiling . " I veril y believe that when thy time comes , if conscious , thou wilt bid ( lie world ' good night' with a jest on th y lips and a smile on th y face . Methinks that Gay must have studied one such as thee when he created that merry , volatile dog Maehealh . "

" I am honoured b y thy good opinion , " said Seymour , as he rose from his seat and bowed with seeming sincerity . " Life , my dear . Marston , presents itself to me as a ileefing panorama of liglil and shade . An even-hanging scone of joy and sorrow . To my mind ( he most brilliant existence affords nothing more substantial than does the insignificant soap bubble from au mchin ' s blow-pipe which

gleams for an instant in the light and ( hen dissolves into space . Asa-lad I remember one day in idle curiosity faking from my lather ' s shelves an old-lime hook written by a man of parts in his day— 'Twas Tom Heywood—In listlessl y turning over its pages I came across a passage that struck me as conveying a great deal in a . small compass . The epigrammatic lines were : ' Thc world ' s a theatre , lhe earth a

si age . which God and Nature do with actors fill . ' In all seriousness I have always endeavoured lo act as if existence were really a play . . My dt'liiit ou life ' s slage was made without my consent—1 did not ask to be born . Whatever the Kates may have in store for me I shall cont iuue lo enact ( he rule of a free-lance , sans pear et sans repruc / ie , and when the time arrives for me to make my lust appearance on

Earth's platform I shall bow to the mystic inevitable as light-hearted as a lover on his wedding morn . To my fliinking ' tis only the nervous man or hypochondriac who muses or acts other-wise . However , we have had enough of Ihis dry matter . 1 am afraid that our meeting which commenced so merril y is ending as solemnly as a gathering of . Methodists . . Marston , refill onr glasses for Ihe last time to-night , and then to slumber . Jlarjc ! listen to the dulcet notes of the night-owl .