1 10 THE SMUGGLER. 



" God bless herl" cried Harding, heartily. " She's a nice 

 young lady, I believe, though I never saw her but twice, and 

 then she looked very sad." 



"Ay, she has cause enough, poor thing!" said Mrs. Clare. 

 "Though I remember her as blithe as the morning lark; a 

 great deal gayer than Miss Zara, gay as she may be." 



" Ay, I know; they crossed her love," answered Harding; 

 u and that's enough to make one sad. Though I never heard 

 the rights of the story." 



" Oh, it was bad enough to break her heart, poor thing!" 

 replied Mrs. Clare. " You remember young Layton, the rec- 

 tor's son; a fine, handsome, bold lad as ever lived, and as 

 good as he was handsome. Well, he was quite brought up 

 with these young ladies, you know; always up at the hall, 

 and Miss Edith always down at the rectory; and one would 

 have thought Sir Robert blind or foolish, not to fancy that 

 two such young things would fall in love with each other; 

 and so they did, to be sure. Many's the time I've seen them 

 down here, in this very cottage, laughing and talking, and as 

 fond as a pair of doves; for Sir Robert used to let them do 

 just whatever they liked, and many a time used to send young 

 Harry Layton to take care of Miss Croyland, when she was 

 going out to walk any distance; so, very naturally, they pro- 

 mised themselves to each other; and one day, when he was 

 twenty and she just sixteen, they got a prayer-book at the 

 rectory, and read over the marriage ceremony together, and 

 took all the vows down upon their bended knees. I remember 

 it quite well, for I was down at the rectory that very day 

 helping the housekeeper; and just as they had done old Mr. 

 Layton came in, and found them somewhat confused, and the 

 book open between them. He would know what it was all 

 about, and they told him the truth. So then he was in a ter- 

 rible taking; and he got Miss Croyland under his arm and 

 went away up to Sir Robert directly, and told him the whole 

 story without a minute's delay. Every one thought it would 

 end in being a match ; for though Sir Robert was very angry, 

 and insisted that Harry Layton should be sent to his regiment 

 immediately for he was then just home for a bit, on leave 

 he did not show how angry he was at first, but very soon 

 after he turned Mr. Lay ton out of the living, and made him pay 

 I don't know what for dilapidations; so that he was arrested 



