1030.] [ 401 ] 



COLONEL VERNON ; OR, THE WARNING VOICE : A TALE OF THE 



CIVIL WARS. 



BY THE AUTHOR OP " THE LOLLARDS j" " OALTHORPE ;" ' e THE WITCH- 

 FINDER/' &C. 



" BRIEF is the date of human happiness, and they who boast that 

 felicity is theirs, should evermore be prepared for an awful change." 



It was the venerable Herbert who spoke, and it was while the 

 bride, deeply impressed with the solemnity of the marriage vow, 

 which she had but that moment pronounced, faintly replied to the kind 

 speeches of congratulating friends, that these words were poured into 

 the ears of Isabel. In the cloudless brow of the bridegroom, and in 

 the beauteous eyes of the bride, he saw, that, happy then, they looked 

 for long years of uninterrupted bliss. The esteemed pastor wished to 

 bring down their transports to the sober level of reason. He reminded 

 them that when solemnizing marriage rites, the Jews, in memory of the 

 destruction of their temple, break a goblet, to show how soon the 

 brightest objects on earth are annihilated. He cautioned them against 

 being too sanguine, that, fortified by a just and salutary apprehension, 

 should sorrow approach, they might endure without dismay. The 

 kind spirit of him who spoke, beamed in his countenance, and the 

 gentle tone of admonition falling 



" Soft as the dew from heaven descends," 



from the revered lips which had just pronounced the nuptial benediction 

 was as respectfully received as it was piously intended. Yet those on 

 whom it was bestowed, felt that if ever it were permitted for mortal to 

 calculate on happiness, they might indulge the hope without presump- 

 tion. 



Theirs was the union of affection, of affection founded on reason ; as 

 its basis was a long and intimate knowledge of each other's minds and 

 virtues. High and powerful connections each could claim, and all ap- 

 proved of the union of the families of Vernon and Bolingbroke. 



The civil war which eventually cost Charles the First his crown and 

 life, was then raging : but even this circumstance, however sad for the 

 nation, seemed fortunate for Colonel Vernon. His valour in the field, 

 had already gained him the fame of a loyal subject and a gallant soldier, 

 nor did he doubt but the perfect triumph of the royal cause, would even- 

 tually yield him additional laurels and higher honours. 



Days and months of domestic happiness and professional success, were 

 his, and he would sometimes recal to Isabel the warning voice of the 

 venerable churchman, by the exulting remark, " We have known 

 happiness, but not the awful change/' The growing fame of Vernon 

 pointed him out as a fit person to be entrusted with the command of 

 Bletchington House, then deemed a fortress of some importance. 

 Isabel had often seen her husband depart for the field, and lamented 

 that she could not accompany him ; but it was possible for her to share 

 the danger and the glory of his present duty, and she determined not to 

 separate from him. The garrison was so well provided, that Vernon 

 anticipated no catastrophe. He consented to her being his companion, 

 and Isabel with her infant, just then beginning to walk, took up their 

 abode in Bletchington House. 



Nothing could exceed the ardour felt by Vernon and the men under 

 his command. The knights in the olden time, panted not with ibre 



M.M. New Series VOL. IX. No. 52. 3 F 



