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"The most that I can do will be to grant a respite,' said the peer, looking steadfastly at his visiter. "If you should be wrong, Sir, neither of us will cut a very good figure, because execution must then be done at last, and the delay will be an act of extreme cruelty to the poor prisoner."

"I see that clearly, my Lord," observed Priminheere, hastily, "but I am satisfied of the correctness of my objection."

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"It is a case of life and death, Mr. Priminheere." "Yes, my Lord, and your Lordship is intrusted with the power upon this occasion to destroy life or to save

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"I don't know, Sir," exclaimed the secretary, after a pause, "I don't know, indeed, whether I shall be doing right or not; but there is a compunction about us all when life is at stake which hardly exists upon any other emergency."

The minister reached his inkstand, and drew forth a sheet of paper. "The most that I can do will be to grant a respite for forty-eight hours," said he.

"For a week, if your lordship will be kind enough," replied Priminheere," in order that the judges may have time to look into the case."

"Well, for a week then. and wrote

"The minister took his pen,

"See," said the peer, "will that do?" The heart of Priminheere sunk within him when he beheld-a respite' so unexpected and so seasonable signed in due form. The secretary took wax and fixed the seal of office.

"Now, Mr. Priminheere," said the peer, "" to whom shall we trust this? shall I send a messenger of my own?". "I will undertake the charge of it, my Lord," exclaimed Priminheere, with unspeakable eagerness. "You shall go, Sir, and my messenger shall accompany you with the respite-will that do?”

Charles Priminheere bowed, and expressed his gratitude.

"Good night, Sir," said the minister, shaking Priminheere by the hand. "A carriage shall be at the door. in less than half-an-hour to convey you and the messenger to Bedford."

Accordingly, in less than the appointed time a post

chaise and four appeared at the door of the Home Secretary, and having received the two passengers, started immediately for the gaol at a rapid rate.

110

CHAPTER XVIII.

CONCLUSION.

"The weariest and most loathed worldly life
That age, ache, penury, and imprisonment
Can lay on nature, is a paradise

To what we fear of death."

Measure for Measure.

We have now arrived at the end of our history. The reader must have already anticipated Charles Priminheere, in his route to Bedford, and imagined within himself the joys of à prisoner rescued from the very jaws of death. And those are, indeed, joys; in spite of the consolations of religion, the resignation of philosophy, or the fervour of enthusiasm. If man had ever

struggled against fear, and committed himself with calmness to the fatal doom which seemed in prospect, Mortimer had done so, and now, on the eve of the intended execution, seemed to live no longer for this world.

Yet when the mandate for arresting the stroke of death reached the prison, it was judged right that the redeeming news should be communicated to the reprieved culprit with the utmost caution.

The travellers had accomplished their journey some hours before the time appointed for the execution. Charles Priminheere descended rapidly from the carriage, and speedily gained the gaol accompanied by the messenger who held the happy packet. The keeper of the prison instantly recognised the courier of the Home Secretary, and anticipated his mission. Such was the regard which each inmate of the gaol felt for Mortimer, and so strongly had his fate been commiserated, that the governor could not refrain from tears. The clergyman had just arrived full of sorrow. His eye was dim from want of sleep, and his countenance faithfully betrayed the sense of a duty which he was awaiting with anxiety and dread. He smote upon his breast when the respite was shown him, and clasped his hands with an earnestness which the reprieved culprit could not have sur

passed. The joyous information at this late hour overwhelmed every one with astonishment and rejoicing, for Mortimer had been the only criminal doomed to suffer.

He had been removed on the previous evening to the condemned cell, the common abode of such as were destined to death, whether of gentle or plebeian blood. We have said that it had been resolved to acquaint him with the news ofhis respite with great caution. This decision was soon made after a consultation between the chaplain and Charles Priminheere, although the latter was with difficulty restrained from seeking an immediate interview with Mortimer. Priminheere, however, could not be dissuaded from visiting the cell where the clergyman proposed to break the important subject to his unconscious disciple.

They approached the fatal room in silence, trembling with anxiety, though they bore the tidings of life. The messenger was invited to accompany them. The doors of the cell were unbarred, and the party entered. But stillness reigned throughout the gloomy apartment. The chaplain approached the bed where the prisoner was lying. He was in a profound slumber; the muscles of his face were undisturbed; and his breast scarcely heaved. "Your counsels must, indeed, have been excellent,' said Priminheere, almost involuntarily, to the chaplain. "Death, indeed, seems to have lost its terrors here!" exclaimed the messenger, bending over the sleeping convict.

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"Give God the praise, then!" cried the minister. "No merit is due to mortal man.

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The noise of the conversation at length awoke Mortimer. He looked around him with a steady eye, and then said, with a resolution which could not be questioned: "Gentlemen, I am ready!"

The fearless accent with which he pronounced these words, and the firm demeanour which he exhibited, had nearly disconcerted the whole party. Charles Priminheere stepped hastily forward, as though he had resolved to communicate the good news on the instant, but the chaplain as quickly interposed. Sitting down calmly by the bed-side of Mortimer, the clergyman disclosed by degrees, and with infinite prudence, the change of circumstances which had occurred. He forbore to raise hopes by holding out the expectation of final deliverance,

and besought Mortimer to consider the present respite as one merely temporary, and which, at its expiration, might very possibly fail of a renewal. But sufficient had been said to inspire the prisoner with the idea that his life was for the present, at least, safe from the hands of the executioner.

When the messenger produced the document which ordained that Mortimer was again for a time to be numbered amongst the living, the sources of existence rallied within him, and the false fabric, which he had conceived strong enough to resist all human impulses, gave way in an instant. He looked earnestly upon his deliverers for a few moments, and sunk back insensible upon his pillow.

The difficulty which Charles Priminheere had so successfully raised, was soon.taken into consideration, and, after a short interval, it was intimated that the prisoner was to have the benefit of his Majesty's most gracious pardon. The peculiar hardship of his case procured this favourable issue, for it was well known that he might again have been subjected to the dangerous ordeal of a jury, the error in his indictment being merely technical. Charles Priminheere, however, remained steady to the interests of Mary Mortimer's brother; and having established the illegality of his accusation to the satisfaction of the great law-officers, he had the less difficulty in gaining the general and full amnesty above alluded to.

The consequence of Mortimer's pardon was his restoration to Byrdwood; but although he had been emancipated from his crime by the kindness of his Sovereign, the slightest reflection served to convince him that his reputation in the neighbourhood where his property was situated was gone past recall. It was soon arranged, therefore, that he should leave home for the Continent, and he was heard to express hopes that years of foreign travel might in some measure redeem him from the ig nominy under which he was labouring in his own country. But before this separation took place, he gladly gave his concurrence to an union between his sister and Charles Priminheere. On his part, feelings of gratitude demanded his consent; on theirs, a long cherished regard sanctioned the accomplishment of their mutual wishes. Byrdwood, too, was to be their place of resi

dence, and Roger Mortimer could not help indulging a feeling of consolation in the idea that his mother and sister were now no longer at the mercy of a supplanting stranger. The difference of creed between the bride and her husband interposed no barrier to their mutual happiness, for the spirit of toleration had enlightened them, and each felt that religious liberty could thrive free from the reproaches of heresy.

Albert Moonshine still continues to occupy the chair of state into which he was installed by Mrs. Hodges, the landlady. He is occasionally rallied, and probably will continue to be lashed by his companions, for the indolence and indifference which he manifested when Mortimer's life was in extreme danger. But he constantly replies to these severe satires by insisting upon the weakness of his health, and by vehemently declaring that he was not less active than the rest of his neighbours in a cause which was universally considered to be desperate. From such declarations we may venture to conclude that he will not be tempted to engage again in any matters of public interest. He will hardly be prevailed upon to try the effect of another speech, or the hazard of another duel; nor is it probable that he will any longer aspire to exchange his mother's gentle dominion for that of a matrimonial alliance.

By a variety of careful and crafty policies Mrs. Hamilton has managed to hush up the inconvenient stories which were spread abroad on the subject of her son-inlaw's death-bed. Mrs. Priminheere soon recovered from the stroke which the awful end of her husband necessarily inflicted upon her, and in all probability she will shortly be found amongst the chief votaries of fashion. Whether Dr. Dundrosy will live to officiate at her second marriage, cannot now be ascertained; but it is certain, that he has not been known to rise before nine at the earliest, since the morning when he was summoned to unite James Priminheere with the daughter of Mrs. Hamilton.

Regarding the rest of the characters who have made a figure in this history, we can only say, that with the exception of Carl Jones, all, as far as we know, are continuing steadily in their several callings. The poor blacksmith, however, is no more. He was returning home late a short time since in a state of sad insobriety;

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