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CHAP. VIII.

" "Tis a good thing to keep a watchful eye
Upon the heart; for it has windings, where
Oft-times th' unwary will be led astray,
And brought to danger, ere the step recoils."

FROM his father, Alphonzo anticipated no objections to his wishes in this delicate affair. Although, from the habits of the Baron, there had been but little intercourse between him and Mr. du Blesne since the death of the Baroness, Alphonzo was fully aware, that he still entertained the highest respect for the father of Emily. Nor was there any thing to wound the pride of birth in the alliance. The du Blesnes were themselves descended from a noble stem, Albert, created a peer of France by Henry IV. as tradition said, precisely twenty-four hours before he lay mangled in the Louvre

by the dagger of Ravillac. Their family had now been nearly a century resident in Switzerland, and had consequently lost in the eye of the mountaineers the odium of French extraction. On the revocation of the edict of Nantes, they had fled from their native country; and, after wandering for a considerable period in Germany and elsewhere, had finally settled, towards the beginning of the eighteenth century, in that part of the canton of Berne, known to-day under the appellation of the Pays de Vaud. Until lately, their estates had been large, and even at present were far above mediocrity, in a neighbourhood where five hundred pounds a year is an income that falls to the lot of few. Himself a widower, and an only son the sole support of his house, de Mertenburg had long looked forward, with parental anxiety, to Alphonzo's marriage, and settlement in life. He had even occasionally hinted to him the pleasure it would afford him, to see a daughter at the head of his table; adding, that ample provision should be made for her accommodation and comfort.

Though of a peculiar disposition, de Mer-. tenburg was a man of feeling, and much attached to his son. Often had he fixed his eye on Alphonzo with the wish to read his heart, and penetrate into its secrets; not from any invidious or sinister motive, as, alas! is but too frequently the case between parent and child, but with the sincere desire of promoting his happiness. For some months he had remarked that Alphonzo had ridden more fre-1 quently in the direction of the lake; and he was not without suspicions, rather let us say hopes, that something would ere long disclose the reason. He determined, accordingly, to introduce the subject himself, should opportunity offer. Nor did many days elapse before this presented itself.

About the time when we parted with Alphonzo in the preceding chapter, after he had taken his leave at the cottage, and was proceeding slowly towards the castle, the Baron ascended the hill that overlooked his mansion; not, as we would believe, walk in pride', as did the king of Babylon when from his palace he surveyed the mag

to

nificence of his seat of empire, but rather, as we would trust, to meditate on the transient nature of all sublunary enjoyment, which he had so mournfully experienced to be illusory and vain. While wandering, in his pensive manner, to and fro along the side of the mountain, he observed Alphonzo's servant enter the court alone. Anxious to ascertain the cause, he hastened down, and, meeting the groom, enquired where his son was, and why he (the groom), had come home unaccompanied. The servant replied, that such had been his young lord's orders, and he had obeyed.

"Was there any thing that occurred," rejoined the chief, "to affect my son ?" "Nothing, my lord,” replied the servant; “unless it was Miss du Blesne's illness. They told me she was unwell, and had retired to her room, before we left Major Villaret's." She is not seri

"Oh! Miss du Blesne.

ously indisposed, I hope."

"I should think not, my lord.

She was

very well, they said, in the morning, and had gone out to walk with Mrs. Villaret, but

returned some time after we reached the cottage, complaining of being faint."

"Something immaterial, I should trust, rejoined the Baron; and resumed his walk with his accustomed gravity.

In an hour or two Alphonzo returned. His air was embarrassed. The smile, with which he was wont to greet his venerable sire, was absent; and there was a look of irrepressible emotion in his eye. The Baron

perceived the change in his manner and countenance, and was conscious that the moment he had wished for had arrived. In the course of the evening, when they were alone, he thus addressed his son :

"I need not tell you, Alphonzo, how lively an interest I take in your welfare. You are my only child-the sole pledge of the one attachment, that ever warmed your widowed father's heart." A tear stole along his cheek, while he stopped for an instant, as if afraid to trust his voice with a further allusion. After a pause, he continued: "I have long been desirous to see you settled. You are now arrived at such an age as

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