324 THE LOVE TOKEN. 



his breast, nothing was felt by him but the heaving of her bosom, and 

 the emotions of his own. He kissed her cheek, he wept, and the tears 

 fell fast upon her. The crowd of sensitive Irish hearts around, broke 

 forth into sobs and utterances as violent as of those before them. They 

 felt for them both, and with their pikes and guns ready to level them 

 at the word of Leslie, and to the commission of almost any deed of fury 

 or devastation, they still showed that they were men, and wept ! 



He gently raised Lady Mauden from where she had hidden her eyes, 

 in grief and shame his bosom and offered her his hand to remove her 

 from the carriage, alas ! she now refused it not, all resolution and 

 firmness vanished what will not vanish before the strength and 

 weakness of a woman's love ? He led her into the apartment she had 

 occupied during the day, he placed her upon a seat and endeavoured to 

 soothe her from the emotions of her heart. She became calm, she 

 listened to his vows of fondness and fidelity she repulsed him not 

 when he kissed her hands, she was not angry when he pressed his lips 

 upon her own in a word she loved him ; she loved him fondly, tenderly, 

 distractedly she loved him with all a woman's wild, fearless, and 

 uncalculating love but from that hour her peace had fled for ever ! 



The engagement which was mentioned as expected by the rebel 

 troops in a day or two after the last occurrence, was, by the manoeuvres 

 and plans of their skilful leader, delayed until that day week. The 

 result of that eventful struggle is too well known. It is needless to 

 recapitulate it here. We will return to the spot whence we set out 

 the mansion of LordMauden. 



His lordship himself, pale and distressed, sat in an armed-chair, and by 

 his side Mr. Leslie, sen., and Mr. Fitzgerald, all magistrates of the 

 county. It was in a back hall, paved with mosaic stone-work, with a 

 venerable arched ceiling, supported on "rude old fashioned pillars, that 

 the party sat, and forms and chairs were disposed along the walls. 

 Before them lay many papers, proclamations, informations, letters, and 

 at one end of the hall stood six soldiers of Lord Mauden's father's 

 regiment, the same to which young Leslie had once belonged. A 

 servant stood at the door as if he had just answered a call, and was 

 waiting for his orders : he received them from Lord Mauden. 



" Let the prisoners be brought in." 



They were brought in, eight of them, and the foremost was George 

 Leslie ! His father was sitting with his side to the door, and a slight 

 convulsive motion passed over his features as he caught, with half a 

 glance, the commanding and noble figure of his only and beloved son. 

 He could not look directly at him, but after the above half-fearful 

 glance, fixed his eyes with a mingled sullen and vacant stare upon the 

 wall. He was an old man, his back was stooped ; but it was less 

 from age than grief. His wrists rested upon his thighs, his fingers 

 were clasped in each other, while he twisted his thumbs in a rapid 

 manner round one another. 



George looked not at his father nor at Lord Mauden. Had he been 

 only a rebel he might have confronted -them with ease, or perhaps, with 

 pride ; but his conscience smote him fearfully, for he was the betrayer 

 of his friend, the and seducer of his wife ! The other prisoners were, our 

 friend Hennecy, two boys, one of them that stern .son of the widow 

 before mentioned, and the other though as tall, yet bearing on his coun- 



