THE LEGEND OF THE ABBEY TOWER. 173 



beating brain,, she darted a prophetic glance at Sir Baldwin, and 

 walked rapidly from the house. Parental proprieties now began to 

 give way before the ascendancy of natural love. Both men became 

 alarmed, and issued forth in search of their children. Mary had 

 been too quick, or possibly their astonishment at her strange bearing 

 had restrained them from entering upon the pursuit with sufficient 

 promptitude. 



Sir Baldwin hastened home, to receive from the lady Matilda no 

 more intelligence concerning his son than he himself was enabled to 

 afford. He therefore ordered his horse, and bade his servants also 

 " scour the country round." The day was on the decline, and the 

 moon rising in fair succession. The usual stillness of evening had, 

 however, no existence in the scene of our narrative, which exhibited 

 such a pervading activity as had not been seen for many a day. 

 Among other gossiping groups were seen, in close conference, the 

 lady Matilda and young farmer Cornwood. They were alternately 

 whispering, and looking around and about them as if there were 

 more suspicion than certainty in their minds. While they were 

 thus engaged the baronet rode up, his horse white with foam, and 

 himself exhausted with anxiety. At this instant his niece exclaimed, 

 with a half shriek, " There he is ! see ! he passes up the ruined 

 nave of the abbey as if to enter the church !'^ 



The baronet drawing back his snorting steed, rose on the stirrups 

 and caught a glimpse of his son's figure ere it disappeared through 

 the abbey door. The next moment he was on his way to the church, 

 and his fretted horse in full speed homewards. The sexton joined 

 him in the abbey yard, and they proceeded together in breathless 

 haste towards the door : It was open. " My God !" exclaimed the 

 sexton, "what has happened?" They had looked around the 

 church, when young Cornwood came running in to say, that " The 

 gentleman was on the tower leads !" The baronet rushed through 

 a small archway, and was winding up the steep and confined spiral 

 which led to the summit of the abbey tower, when he heard a loud 

 and continued exclamation, as from a body of spectators in the 

 church yard. A burst of light now shewed that he had nearly 

 reached the top. A few moments more and he was on the leads. 

 His son was standing erect in an embrasure of the battlements I 

 The father stiffened on the threshold with horror. The son gave a 

 momentary look of despair and reproach, and disappeared ! Sir 

 Baldwin rushed to the spot whence he had precipitated himself, 

 and saw a group of people bending over a shattered corpse in the 

 yard below ! Sickened at the sight, he turned to descend, and 



