twenty years' war, he might have won a peerage, and a monumental tomb in Westminster Abbey.

General Véray presently reseated himself; motioned his subordinates to their places; the lieutenantsecretary nibbed his pen with a business air, and the interrogatory of the self-constituted prisoner forthwith began.

"You acknowledge yourself,' said General Véray, 'to be Webbe, captain of an English corsair lately sunk by French gun-boats off Cherbourg ?'

'I repeat that I am Kirke Webbe, late captain of the Scout privateer, which foundered off Cherbourg a few days since.'

'And that you are the Jacques Le Gros whom the commander of the Columbia, an American ship, met with at St Malo ?'

'It would be absurd to deny that in presence of the gallant commander of the Columbia himself, who, to avenge an injury done to him by a man, has endeavoured to hunt to death a stripling, as innocent of offence towards him-in a responsible sense-as yourself, Monsieur le Général. That he has not succeeded in doing so,' added Webbe, 'is solely due to the magnanimous offer of the court to permit the boy to save his own life by the sacrifice of his father's.'

'You further admit,' continued the general, that you are the commander of the French cutter, L'Espiègle, and, when acting in that capacity, are known as Captain Jules Renaudin ?'

'Yes; and who in that capacity, it has been established by the unimpeachable evidence of the Moniteur, beat off, with a slight vessel mounting only four guns, a British frigate of forty cannons, after a runningfight of nearly an hour's duration, in which the ascendency of French valour, compensating for any odds, was, as ever, strikingly displayed. That, messieurs, you will in candour admit to be something per contra.' Old stagers in such scenes as the members of the court were, the man's cool audacity took them completely aback, and they mutely questioned each other with interchanged looks of indignant astonishment as to whether they could possibly have heard aright. The mob of spectators, on the other hand, greeted the privateer captain's jibing sarcasm with a buzz of satisfaction and approval. The French are no doubt an acute as well as brilliant people; but for all that, he or she who could suggest a compliment to their genius or valour so outré, extravagant, that, if uttered without laughing, would not be taken by the mass of them au sérieux, must, according to my experience, have a great talent for invention. For myself, I was in doubt whether Webbe was comporting himself as such a man might when certain that nothing on his part could delay or accelerate the doom he had challenged, or whether he might not possibly have some expedient in reserve which would save him under all circumstances. My superstitious reliance on his fortune or 'luck' could alone have suggested the latter hypothesis. Certain it was, however, that he had at all events perfectly succeeded in impressing the court with a thorough conviction of his reckless, devil-may-care sincerity.

"The prisoner's confession is ample warrant for his condemnation to death as a spy,' said the general, looking round upon the members of the court, and gathering their, on this occasion, unanimous suffrages, given with a curt 'Oui,' or silent nod. 'Record the judgment,' he added, addressing the lieutenantsecretary.

'Stern and sharp,' interposed Webbe, 'as may be the practice of such courts as these, it permits the accused, I suppose, to speak a few words in defence or explanation, before definitive judgment is pronounced?' 'Well, yes; say on, but be brief.'

'I have first to state most solemnly-and standing as I do upon the brink of a grave voluntarily dug with

my own hands, my word ought not to be doubtedthat the prisoner, William Linwood, is guiltless of the offences laid to his charge. He came to France, as Father Meudon will, if necessary, be able to clearly prove, for a perfectly legitimate, honest purpose'"That is true, messieurs!' exclaimed M. Meudon ; 'for an entirely innocent, laudable purpose.'

'As to his assumption of the character and attire of an American and French citizen, and passing by the name of Le Gros, all that was done by my direction and advice, and with no more thought on his part, that he thereby incurred the doom, than he had of lending himself to the work of a spy.'

'I beg to reassert my thorough conviction,' said Mr Tyler, again rising from his seat, that William Linwood is guiltless of participation in the crimes of the privateer Webbe.'

General Véray, after briefly consulting his colleagues in an under-tone, said, addressing Webbe:

'We are disposed to place faith in your declaration as regards the prisoner Linwood, and the execution of the sentence passed against him will be respited, in order to a further investigation of his case. Have you anything to urge on your own behalf?' added the general with abated sternness-the courage and generosity of the self-immolated prisoner having somewhat won apparently upon the veteran's favour.

'Nothing that to-day would avail me!' replied Webbe; and for the first time I detected a flush and tone of anxiety-slight and swiftly passing, but distinctly discernible by me who knew him so well, and watched him with such breathless scrutiny. It resembled the irrepressible gleaming forth of the fierce disquietude of a practised gambler, when about to turn the last decisive card upon which depends success or ruin.

'Nothing that would to-day avail me! The mighty emperor who raised France so high amongst the nations of the earth, has fallen: at this moment, the crownless monarch is being ignominiously driven forth into exile by kings who are indebted for their thrones to his generous forbearance; and who is there even amongst the veterans whose scarred brows the most directly reflect the glory which he has shed over all Frenchmen, that will now respect the wishes of one so contemned, powerless, cast down, when by so doing they must render themselves odious to the Bourbon whom foreign bayonets have placed upon a throne based upon a thousand victories, won for France by the great emperor? It would be folly to expect such self-sacrificing fidelity in these degenerate days; and I knew this morning, when I saw the white flag waving from the tower of St Thomas's Church, that the time had passed when Napoleon's protection would have availed me. It may be as well, therefore, that an appeal certain to be fruitless should remain unspoken.'

I should vainly attempt to describe the effect produced by this speech. Affected, bombastic as it may sound in English ears, nothing could have been more skilfully suited to the tribunal it was designed to influence. Even the miscellaneous crowd, who, if timeservers, worshippers of the rising sun of the Bourbons, were still Frenchmen, murmured hesitating, timid applause; and General Véray, who had several times risen from his seat as if about to speak, and as often checked himself and sat down again, his keen, hard eyes flaming, softening the while, at the allusions to the past glory and present humiliation of the emperor, burst out, the instant Webbe had concluded, with:

'Perish the Bourbon flag and those who display it! It does not wave over Havre yet; and whilst I command here, the emperor's authority shall be maintained intact, supreme as when his voice gave laws to Europe! But hope not, crafty, audacious man, that assertion unvouched by clearest proof will save you. Your word is nothing; but prove to me that you are

under the especial protection of his imperial majesty, which could only be for some signal service rendered by you, an Englishman, to him or to France, and I will set you free, though the Bourbon and his allies were at the gates to forbid me doing so.'

'The proof is easy, conclusive,' said Webbe. 'It was for a signal service rendered to General Bonaparte, and therefore to France, that I obtained the protection which, a few moments since, I had no hope would serve me in my present strait. It is true,' he added, drawing forth a folded, carefully kept paper-'it is true I am an Englishman; but'

'What paper is that?' interrupted the general, with impatient vivacity. One written in a kind of hieroglyphic hand, which those who have once seen it never fail, I have been told, to instantly recognise. Monsieur le Général,' added Webbe, has no doubt, I perceive, upon that point.'

'None-none whatever it is the emperor's character, and written when he was a young man. "I commend to the good offices of my friends and of all Frenchmen, the bearer of this writing-a foreign seaman who has just rendered me the greatest service that one man can owe to another.-BONAPARTE, General of the Army of Egypt." How came you by this?' sternly proceeded General Véray; and what was the great service spoken of ?'

'It happened,' said Webbe, in a voice which I strove to persuade myself must be that of truth-so firm, clear, sonorous did it ring through the hushed hall'it happened that I was in Malta when the French army, on its way to Egypt, landed there and took possession of the celebrated fortress of the Knights of St John. One morning, when the wind, having become favourable, the troops were re-embarking '

'Stop!' thundered General Véray-stop till you have heard me say that I was at Malta with the army, and distinctly remember all the circumstances, the minutest, connected with the deed to which, I have now no doubt, this paper refers. If you are "the foreign seaman" mentioned, you shall be instantly set at liberty; if, on the contrary, I find you to be an impostor, and if you are one, cool, astute, daring as you may be, detection is, be sure of it, inevitableyou shall be as immediately shot. Go on,' added the general, in a calmer, almost respectful tone, after having keenly marked the effect, or, more correctly, non-effect of his abrupt intimation and menace upon the privateer captain-'go on; I begin to believe you -and yet; but go on.'

'One morning,' resumed Webbe, when the wind having become favourable, the troops were re-embarking under the personal supervision of the commanderin-chief, a fanatical Maltese priest-a Spaniard, it was said, by birth-suddenly rushed at the general, whose back was towards him, with a naked poniard in his hand; and if he had not ended that great life, he would most certainly have inflicted a severe wound upon the Man of Destiny, had not the "foreign seaman," who chanced to be on the spot, perceived the danger in time to receive the assassin's blow upon his own arm. Here is the cicatrice of the wound inflicted by the poniard of the baffled priest,' added Webbe, turning up his right sleeve.

Silence!' exclaimed the general, checking a movement of applause amongst the body of the audience. All this may yet prove, so far as the prisoner is concerned, to be an audacious fable. Where,' he added, continuing his interrogatory-where, on what spot did the occurrence take place?'

'On the esplanade overlooking the great harbour.' 'Were any officers present with General Bonaparte at the time?'

'Not exactly present. Murat was sitting reading a newspaper upon one of the cannons a few yards off;

and Kleber had just left the general-in-chief, who at the moment was observing the embarkation through a telescope.'

'What became of the intentional assassin ?' 'He was shot within five minutes of his atrocious attempt by a party of the 2d regiment of the line.' 'How is it you remember so slight a circumstance as the number of the regiment?'

'Because the 2d of the line remained at Malta, and I several times afterwards saw and even drank with individuals of the firing-party.'

'The affair must have caused a great sensation in Malta?'

'It caused no public sensation whatever, inasmuch as it was forbidden to speak of it, perhaps because a disposition to murder is thought to be epidemical. I know, at least, that one French soldier was punished for alluding openly to the matter.'

'How was it that General Bonaparte did not, in return for such a service, recompense you in a more solid manner than by a recommendation to the "bons offices" of Frenchmen, which might never have been of the slightest service to you?'

'I wished for no other recompense; and besides that, General Bonaparte himself embarked within, I should say, a quarter of an hour of the occurrence.'

'How is it that the document neither gives your name, nor states that you were an "English" seaman?' "The omission not only of a name but of a date, as you will have observed, I can only account for by the general's hurry. As to the expression "foreign seaman," I so designated myself. It would have been as imprudent on my part, at that time, in Malta, to afford a hint or suspicion that I was Webbe, captain of the English privateer Wasp, as to have made a similar avowal the other day at St Malo.'

'How has it happened that you have never sought to utilise this precious document during the many years it has been in your possession?'

'My vocation as captain of an English privateer was incompatible with a request to the emperor for any other than a pecuniary reward; and I was too proud, and, I may add, not sufficiently necessitous, to ask for alms, even of a Napoleon, in recompense of what, after all, was but an act of common humanity. It is, however,' continued Webbe, 'not quite correct to say that I have made no use of so precious a document, since, but for a secret reliance that it might one day stand my puissant friend at a pinch, I might not have ventured to play the hazardous game which, but for the fortunate accident that it is General Véray who commands at Havre, might this day have had a fatal termination.'

'And may have that termination yet,' retorted the general-though, so much do I respect a man of nerve and courage, that I heartily wish the contrary. I shall ask you but another question,' he continued, and if you answer that with the same readiness and precision as you have all the previous ones, I can, and will doubt you no longer.'

The general paused before putting that last decisive question, and my pulse beat wildly, my breath came thick and short, for I again detected, or thought I did, the faint flush of disquietude which I had before observed. It had seemed to me during the last ten minutes that I was the spectator of a duel fought with flashing, fatal weapons, in which from one moment to another a mortal stroke might be given and received. That dread moment was now I believed come, and my heart sank within me.

"Your look quails not,' at length resumed the general, 'and your aspect seems to challenge and defy the menaced question; which in itself is to me a more satisfactory reply than you could make in words, for after all, one who has shewn himself to be so intimately acquainted with the Malta affair, will not find it a

difficult one to answer. Nevertheless, it shall be put. It is this: Where did General Bonaparte write this document, and where did he procure the paper and ink?'

"The paper and ink were supplied by an invalide who had been partially crippled by an accident on board the Guillaume Tell, I believe, and who was just then returning from the great harbour, where he had been to write letters for such of his embarking comrades as could not write themselves. The table used by General Bonaparte was one end of a big drum.'

'Enough. I am satisfied. You are free.'

A burst of applause from the changeful crowd followed the general's decision, which was, however, sternly rebuked and silenced.

"By my authority, as the general commanding in Havre,' said General Véray, 'I revoke and annul the findings of the court-martial upon all the accused, since it is manifestly impossible to pardon the chief offender and punish his subordinates, and I order that they be forthwith set at liberty. Record my decree in form,' he added to the lieutenant-secretary, and I will sign it at once.'

Captain Lenoir,' said the general, after the formality of signing had been gone through with, 'you will escort the acquitted prisoners to their homes. As for you, Monsieur le Capitaine Webbe,' added the veteran, with a grim smile, 'I advise you to quit France without delay. A government may be installed here tomorrow from which I shall not be able to protect you, and in whose eyes the emperor's protection would be a crime, instead of, as with me, an inviolable safeguard. The court is dissolved.'

It was not long after three o'clock when I emerged from that stifling hall into the free air: in but little more than an hour I had, as it were, passed from life to death; and back from death to life! My brain swam with the rush and conflict of emotions so acute and violent, and, darting away in a kind of delirium from the escorting soldiers, I pushed my way through the crowd in I neither knew nor cared what direction, so that I could obtain sufficient space to think, to breathe in. That fevered tumult of the mind subsided, and I presently found myself in La Rue Bombardée, whither I do not now ask the reader to accompany me. There are incidents in the lives of us all before which, though an angel would smile as he looked thereon, it is imperative to draw a veil.

We dined late on that day; and I was sitting alone, as evening closed in, over the dessert, when Captain Webbe made his appearance. The torturing ordeal through which he had so lately passed, had not left a perceptible trace upon his buoyant, elastic spirits; and it was not long before I knew that his resolution to marry his son to Maria Wilson was as fixed and determined as ever. He said he should probably quit France in a few days for Jersey, though not for the reason suggested by General Véray, as he had nothing to fear from the Bourbon government, which, there was no longer any doubt, would be formally proclaimed in Havre on the morrow.

'Which formal proclamation,' added Webbe, 'would have taken place some hours too late for us, but for my success in bamboozling the illustrious General Véray to-day.'

"That elaborate story was then a fabrication—the imperial voucher a forgery!'

You have an unconquerable propensity, Master Linwood, to jump at extreme conclusions: the imperial voucher was perfectly genuine, and the story, with one slight variance, true throughout-the slight variance being, that the name of the foreign seaman was Hans Kliebig instead of Kirke Webbe.'

'How on earth, then, came you in possession of the important document ?'

'By a very natural sequence of causes. I was at

Malta when the attempt was made upon Bonaparte's life, and Hans Kliebig was one of the crew of the Wasp, which was dodging about off and on in the vicinity of the island. Hans had the misfortune to be killed a few weeks afterwards in a brush with an armed French transport, and the paper in question fell into my hands. It was not, however, till General Bonaparte and Captain Webbe had respectively become emperor and Captain Jules Renaudin, that it occurred to me that such a testimonial might some day prove a trump-card in the very ticklish game to which I was inextricably committed. And now as to matters of pressing moment. Madame de Bonneville has been arrested and lodged in prison.'

'Say you so? That is indeed a swift commending of the poisoned chalice to her own lips.'

'She is charged with having fled from her creditors, and, as a consequence, with fraudulent bankruptcy. She must, of course, be liberated by the immediate payment of her creditors in full.'

'Pray, who must of course liberate Louise Féron by the immediate payment of her creditors in full?'

'I-you-your family; all of us who, from various motives, are interested in not setting such a plotting, unscrupulous devil at defiance. In the note you received from me in the early part of the day, I apprised you that I had been compelled to compromise with her- Ah, the reverend Father Meudon, the very person I have been wishing to see and speak with!'

"That wish has been reciprocal, Monsieur Webbe,' replied M. Meudon, as he shook hands with me in silent gratulation of my escape from that day's perils; 'for I was told you were about to fight a duel with Monsieur Tyler, the American captain.'

'It was fought an hour since,' said Webbe; 'at least, I was twice fired at by Mr Tyler, which was held by the seconds to have afforded him complete satisfaction, as, not being hit, it certainly did me. I hardly need say that I did not return his fire. And now, my dear Linwood,' he added, 'I have to request, with leave of this reverend gentleman, that you inform Mrs Linwood that we, Father Meudon and I, wish to speak with her for a few minutes privately.'

'Meaning that I may not be present?'

"That is my meaning. I am anxious to consult Mrs Linwood and Monsieur Meudon upon a matter chiefly personal to myself, and for the present only them.'

'Not having the slightest wish, Captain Webbe, to force myself upon your confidence, I will at once convey your message to Mrs Linwood.'

That private council of three lasted for perhaps an hour, at the end of which, Webbe and M. Meudon left the house together without seeing me, and my mother herself not very long afterwards sent a message to say she was about to retire to rest-my father had done so some time before-and advised me, after a day of such painful excitement, to do the same.

I was in no humour to comply with such sensible advice. This avoidance of me gave strength to the suspicion which had begun to dawn upon me, that the private conference related to some scheme hatched in Webbe's fertile brain for bringing about a reconcilement, and if a reconcilement, the immediate marriage of his son with Miss Wilson. My mother was, Webbe knew, strongly desirous of promoting the match, lest, forsooth, her precious son should throw himself away upon a mere nobody, whom God had nevertheless gifted with rarest personal and moral loveliness and grace. I was not so clear with respect to Father Meudon's part in the plot, unless, indeed, they were about to attempt carrying their point by a coup de main, as it were, and celebrating the marriage forthwith.

Absurd! impossible!-I must have lost my senses to imagine such a thing. Equally absurd to fear, to suppose that romantic, hero-admiring Maria Wilson could possibly be induced to unite herself with the

wretched craven that, in her presence, had crawled in the dust before-been spurned, in her sight, by the booted foot of an insolent Frenchman, and resented it not. Never, never, never!

The eccentric pas seul which accompanied my arrival at that delightful conviction, was arrested by a brisk rat-tat at the street door, presently followed by a step ascending the stairs, which I believed to be that of Father Meudon. I was right-it was Father Meudon; his round face and black eyes sparkling with radiant bonhomie, with goodness enlivened by benevolent joy, and a few gleams, perhaps, of gratified self-esteem. Ah, my young friend,' he exclaimed, almost running to, and then tightly embracing me, 'allow me to again congratulate you! This is, indeed, a day of happiness. But where is madame your mother?' 'In bed, long since.'

'Madame is right, and you also ought to have been in bed long since. So ought I; but never mind, I shall not leave Havre to-night, so there is still time for me to sit down and take just one glass of wine with you. You do not know what that fierce, gentle, mean, generous Captain Webbe wished to consult Madame Linwood and me upon,' added the exulting priest. 'No, but I may tell you now, for the mission with which he intrusted me is accomplished, the object gained, completely, finally! Blessed are the peacemakers. Gloria!'

'What is accomplished completely, finally?' 'The reconcilement of two youthful lovers, whom a misunderstanding-no, not a misunderstanding, that is not true-whom, what shall I say?-a misfortune, yes, a misfortune, had estranged. Ah! the beauty, the grace, the ingenuous candour of that young girl! I give you my word,' added M. Meudon, proffering me his snuff-box, that never, to my recollection, have I seen a more charming person than Mademoiselle Marie Wilson. Do not be impatient, my young friend; that is no doubt a platitude to you who know Mademoiselle Wilson; but'

'But-but me no buts,' I rudely interrupted. 'If you have anything to tell me, tell it.'

Father Meudon looked grave, almost offended for a moment, but his happy face, refusing to be wrinkled into that expression, relaxed immediately. You are evidently suffering from febrile irritation,' said he; nevertheless, I should like to make you a participator in the pleasure I have this evening experienced.' 'Proceed, Monsieur Meudon: I will listen in respectful silence.'

6

'Well, this is what has occurred since I left you: Monsieur le Capitaine Webbe explained to madame your mother the estrangement that had taken place between the lovers, and its cause-before known both to you and me. Madame Linwood shewed the liveliest anxiety to remove that estrangement; and when Monsieur Webbe hinted that I, as an entirely disinterested person, could do so more effectually than any one he knew, madame entreated me to exert myself to the utmost to bring about so desirable a result. I consented, the more willingly that the young Webbe's heroic sacrifice of himself to-day, rather than betray his father, had given him, spite of previous prejudice, a high place in my esteem.'

"The heroism of refusing to purchase shameful life by butchering his own father! Bah!'

'Not heroism in you, my young friend, nor in others physically and morally constituted like you, would there be heroism in such an act. You would do so as readily and instantly as you would interpose your person between your mother and the uplifted dagger of an assassin; but the young Webbe is, you know, physically, morally, a—a

'A coward! out with it-a wretched coward! You will say nothing truer than that, reverend sir, if you talk for a week.'

'Be it so; and how much greater, sublimer, therefore, the effort which enabled him to triumph over that physical and moral weakness, that- But the discussion, I perceive, irritates you, so I will just glance over the incidents of the last delightful hour, and take leave. I was to go, you understand, to the Hôtel de France, where Mademoiselle Wilson, Madame Dupré, and Mademoiselle de Bonneville, or Waller, are staying-not ostensibly as a reconciler of estranged lovers, but to speak with Captain Webbe, who would precede me there by a few minutes. Having in that manner introduced myself, it was arranged that Madame Dupré should refer to the doings at the Hôtel de Ville, and question me thereon-opportunity for me to dilate upon those agitating occurrences in a sense favourable to the young Webbe, who sat apart in an attitude of the profoundest dejection. I do not think I was ever so eloquent before,' continued M. Meudon with swelling self-esteem; and the result was that the way having been judiciously prepared by me, the proposition of reconcilement was made in a direct manner by Madame Dupré, and seconded, enforced by everybody. Such an appeal, judiciously prepared for as I stated, could not be permanently resisted; and at length Mademoiselle Wilson yielded reluctantly—yes, reluctantly, I must admit that to our entreaties. With a modest grace which would have delighted you, as it did me, she rose from her chair, and gliding towards Webbe fils, who was fairly sobbing with excitement, said, in the sweetest voice in the world: "Let the past be forgotten, Harry Harry, by the way,' M. Meudor interrupted himself to inquire, 'is an endearing variation of Henry, is it not?'

Repressing with difficulty a malediction upon both Harry and Henry, I asked the priest if he had finished.

'You are ill, very ill,' said he that is clear, and I will no longer detain you from needful rest, than to say that the reconcilement was perfect; and that to-morrow Marie Wilson and Harry Webbe will be married by Monsieur Pousard, the Protestant minister at Ingouville-both bride and bridegroom being, unhappily for themselves, members of the heretical Anglican church. And now, my dear young friend, go to bed at once, and good-night.'

I think I must have fainted after M. Meudon went away, for I had no recollection of the interval-more than an hour-which elapsed from the time he left till I crept to bed, not to sleep, but to toss about in feverish unrest till towards the morning, when I dozed off into dreamy broken slumber, during which the terrible events of the day oppressed my struggling faculties with shadowy incongruous terrors. Suddenly light and calm took the place of darkness and tumult. I stood before an altar near a bride, Maria Wilson; but the next moment my grandame Linwood replaced her, and called upon ‘Master William' to come nearer. I vainly strove to do so; my limbs seemed to be manacled, till, with the fierceness of the struggle, I awoke.

Awoke to find my dream in part realised-that good Dame Linwood was bending over and calling upon Master William to arouse himself, in a voice broken with joyful, tenderest emotion. As soon as we could speak of anything but the joy of again seeing each other, I learned that immediately upon the receipt of my mother's letter, sent through Mr Dillwhyn, Mr and Mrs Waller hurried to Portsmouth, communicated with Mrs Linwood, and hired a fast-sailing cutter, in which all three embarked for Havre, where they arrived shortly after the substitution of the white flag for the tricolor gave notice that the port of Havre was at last unsealed to the nations so long at enmity with France.

It is late-nearly eleven o'clock,' said Dame Linwood, and Mrs Waller is waiting with nervous