258 
06T. 20 
I 
I 
“ You reall y ought,” proceeded the author¬ 
ity. “I meault. Get Aunt Camilla to let them 
know-” 
“ They are her relations 1” 
“Keliil Ions or not, aho ought to have her own 
way in her own house. She ought, not to be forced 
to have those sort of people about her, making 
themselves at home. Those two ladles, sisters, 
who name in hist—one ot them was Lady Geor¬ 
gina Something-they took them for some of us / 
NO wonder. Mrs. Jermyn never had ‘sister-in- 
law ’ out of her mouth, unless it was to substitute 
‘your aunt’ when she turned to the girl. 1 was 
horribly ashamed. I should have liked to have 
said something, only I didn't know how. Aunt 
Camilla should tell them not to do it.” 
A sudden vision or Mrs. Jermyn’s face, could 
she have hoard herself thus easily disposed of, 
overcame Paulino's gravity, and he could not but 
laugh himself, although he did not choose in yield 
the point. 
Pauline defended Charlotte, but, In vain. She 
had been seen to no advantage, and she had not 
been heard at all. He would not believe a word 
in Inr favor. 
No. Mis. Wy milium must be spoken to. 
“ )'ou are the one to speak to her," lie said. 
“She Will listen to you. She gave me a flaming 
aecountof your Illness last night, evidently t lnnk- 
lug it had been just the thing to make her party 
go oil well. And that was what brought those 
fellows hero to-doy? I’m very much obliged to 
you—I wouldn’t have missed the chance on any 
account.” 
He wua too busy and too happy to he curious; 
It. had turned out well for him, and he was con- 
. tent. 
“But I should suppress the Jenny ns,” ho con¬ 
cluded, after a pause. 
While he had pursued aloud Ills train of (bought, 
his glib comments, and his unhesitating praise or 
blame, her eyes had been search lag vacantly 
among the embers of the lire, and she had, with 
difficulty, disguised the absence oi her attention. 
At every p mse she had inwardly cried, “ Now !” 
hail drawn ner breath, and all but. begun. 
But then he had struck lu again, had gone off 
to his own cares, and hopes, and fears. 
At last the moment came, for which she had 
well-nigh despaired. 
*• I say,” said Tom, with something like an ef¬ 
fort, “whereabouts Is Blundellsuyo? It. Is not 
very far from hero, Is It?" 
“About three miles. You can see the woods 
from our windows.” 
“ Three miles! That’s close by! Well, I shall 
keep out of Ms way, at all events.” 
“ You have no need,” her voice was qulto steady 
and soft; “ ho Is dangerously 11L” 
“111,1s he?” 
The eager lone was followed by compunction; 
and lie added, more gently, “ What Is the mat¬ 
ter?” 
“ Typhoid fever. But the worst Is passed.” 
She hoped, prayed, at least, that the worst was 
passed. 
“I’m glad of that,” said Tom. “1 don’t wish 
him any harm, but what a luelcy thing this Ill¬ 
ness Is-" 
“ Tom /” 
“ \ ou know what 1 mean, if he to as to have a 
fever, he might just as well have it now as any 
time, llo Is not the sort, of man to— He’ll most 
likely come round.” concluded he, vaguely; “and 
It would have boon so uncommonly awkward, 
meeting him. lie behaved shabbily to us alL” 
Any one who did not know Tom, would here 
have supposed that the subject was exhausted. 
Not at all. 
A great deal was said about, Blundell at the 
hunt breakfast, and by the tune ft was over, ho 
found himself quite anxious to claim his acquaint¬ 
anceship. 
lie came to Pauline for a card. 
Had she any ol his with her? They were to 
draw the covers of BlundeUsaye, and some of 
them were going to ride up to the house tlrst as, 
in case ol anything having gone wrong there (his 
way or putting it), they would, of course, have to 
go elsewhere. 
His sister had no cards—how should she? Ho 
had not paused to consider, had merely spoken to 
be heard. 
But Pauline drew him aside. “Do you think 
there is any need for you to go at all, at least to 
leave your name ?" 
“Leave my name? Oh, of course,” ho made 
answer, aloud. Dolly Pinch was standing by, and 
he was hearkening to himself, with Dolly’s ears, 
“linn an old irlend, and I shouldn’t like him to 
hear I had been In the neighborhood, without 
looking him up. \Ve shall only ask how he Is." 
“ Write your name over ml no,” suggested Dolly, 
fumbling for his eurd-caso. 
Tom w.ih delighted. 
“ You were a Mend of Blundell’s?” said Dolly. 
Poor Turn 1 The temptation was too great; he 
ruffled his plumage, drew up his head, and began. 
Blundell and he had been in Scotland, together. 
Blundell was a rattling good shot. He was aw¬ 
fully sorry to hear or his Illness; also to miss see¬ 
ing hnu—the only fellow he knew Hi the County. 
Meantime, Dolly had slipped Into a chair by 
Miss La Sarto, with a smile, and a “This seems 
to be Unappropriated," on tils lips. 
“They nil scon pretty comfortable,” said Dolly, 
looking up and down, “ibope Mrs. Wyndham 
does not mind then re. This room Is too narrow 
by half, and a great ileal too long; It should have 
been cut in two, and placed together.” 
He was unfolding his napkin, but a party of 
riders shot past the window. 
“ Keep t his place for me.” And he was gone to 
receive them, leaving her determined, it possible, 
to disobey. 
The new-comers were adroitly marshalled up 
the room and deposited In the places he selected 
for them, without volition on any one's part but 
his own. They were folks with eyeB, ears, and 
tongues; therefore, he put them where they could 
neither see, hear, nor repeat. 
Then he returned to Pauline. 
But, alas! every few minutes brought fresh 
guests, and with each arrival the diplomatic pro¬ 
cess hud to be repeated. 
He had shown how willingly he would have 
done more, had fortune favored him, and that, was 
all. 
This over, Pauline could draw breath; and the 
muster, the start, and the brisk drive through 
dm morning air, tended unconsciously to brace 
her Spirits; especially as she was happy enough 
to loam among lire earliest, that the master of 
BlundeUsaye was supposed to be doing well. 
The carriages hud rollowed the hunt, as fur as 
the cover. 
“ Lucky, Isn’t It ?’’ said Dolly, who rode up with 
the lnteBIgcneo. “ Although my governor would 
not go up to the house, he was stiff ns a poker 
about, drawing tho cover LIU he knew. We are 
going In directly, now.” 
They were assembled lu a wood of stately oaks, 
and even as he spoke, the more resolute sports¬ 
men were moving to the front. 
Many, however, bring back. 
“I must go,” sold Dolly, reluctantly turning his 
horse. “ You will come no further, 1 suppose.” 
“Get on, man," shouted his father, who was 
experiencing a master’s difficulty in coaxing the 
field info a wood, where the rides were deep arid 
the clay holding. “ Gcton. Tho ladles will wait, 
and see tho sport. There’s a fox at home there, 
or -” TluMinllnlsliefl sentence was carried dow n 
the wind; ho was off, and Dolly after hlru. 
Now followed a hush; eyes and ears on the 
stretch. 
'I hen a rustle, a pause, another gentle move¬ 
ment. something silently stealing along from tree 
to tree—ere a perception of the greatness or the 
moment has entered into the mindsof the pusstve 
rear-guard, there enters on the scene, with un¬ 
quiet eye and stealthy Dead, the fox! 
The fox! A great, red, white-throated fox ! 
“Oh! oh! oh!" Every fair one leaps to her 
feet, and the attendants frantically holloa. 
They are heard, they are attended to, the word 
Is passed, and up comes the pack. 
“Goneaway!" from the end of the cover. 
A rare scent. One good hound after another 
opens, as each in turn inhales a soul-revlvlng 
w hl If, and off they go, horses and men pressing 
hard behind them. 
“1 suppose we Lave now seen all we shall see,” 
says Lady Finch, addressing her little band gen¬ 
erally. 
“ Do you think there Is any use In following fur¬ 
ther?” 
“Only twelve o’clock!" exclaimed Mrs. WynC- 
hnm, as she entered her own drawingroom. “Tho 
day seems nearly over! Well. fVhMfci certainly 
be sorry to spend sucli a morning ev' ry day, but 
just lor once, it was extremely amusing, l won¬ 
der when Tom will appear?” 
They were longing to talk It. over with him, to 
hear the event of tuu run, and to relate their own 
experiences. 
Pauline, as well as her aunt, had been carried 
away by the animation of the moment, and both 
were disappointed whon, at four o’clock, a groom 
rode over lor Mr. La Sui te’s portmanteau. He was 
to dine at Finch Hall; and, In point of fact, he 
dined there at least every other night, during his 
stay at the Grange, 
lie was ot me Finch party, at tho ball, 
ot the envy and indignation tins caused in Mrs. 
Jormyn’sbosom, lie had no conception; he was 
merely In lhs natural element. 
On the next morning ho returned to London. 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
Blcndku., with everything against him, fought 
for his life, and won It. 
The rector confessed that he found Blundell In¬ 
teresting; and even Sir John Finch went so far 
aa to leave his card. 
After this. Mrs. Wyndliam told her niece that 
she thought she must wipe out the word “ terri¬ 
ble.” 
“/have heard nothing,”said Charlotte, aside 
to Paulino, “except tlmt Mr John’s heart smote 
him because the poor man hud been so 111, and 
Dolly worked upon his feeUugs, because Dolly 
adores Kalph Blundell, us all the other Dollys lu 
the neighborhood do. They hang upon him 
wherever he goes, like puppies round an old point¬ 
er, and Dolly yearns to be among the puppies. 
Now, Pauline, upon my solemn word of honor, 
that is at the bottom of the whole of this great 
reformation !*’ 
But Paulino was skeptical. 
“ Hr. Tyndall thinks very highly of him, char¬ 
lotte.” 
“ Of course he does. Mr. Blundell has paid him 
the highest compliment one man can to another. 
And a very substantial compliment It Is likely to 
prove, loo. Dr. Tyndall will point him out as long 
as they both live, aa the trophy of his bow and 
spear. He wUl say—puffing out her cheeks aud 
mouthing prodigiously—’ Look at B1 undell! Ah! 
It you had seen him once as 1 did! Never was 
any one so nearly done for in this world! Look 
at him now I Big, strong man; thirty years good 
life In him yet!’ Of course the inference Is, • Won¬ 
derful skill! Wonderful doctor! A second Dan¬ 
iel !’ Naturally, he adores such a patient!” 
* • • ¥ * 
BlundeUsaye is once more deserted, anil dis¬ 
tinctly now, aintd its leailess woods, may he seen 
from every side the ample, many-windowed 
building, over which the sun, as he sets la the 
west, nightly throws his parting beams. 
Snowfalls, and then come the east winds of 
early spilDg-—[To be continued. 
■-- 
OATHS . 
BV X. Y. X. 
Oaths may be divided into many categories; 
they are as numerous and diverse as the constel¬ 
lations In the heavens. There are compulsory 
oaths; there are voluntary oaths. There arc 
oatliB which emanate from the innermost depths 
Of ft man s heart, anil Be by his heart’s side, as a 
sword does by the side or his body—ready for 
action, witnin ms grasp, yet uuder his control. 
In the intercourse or social life Ihe word of a 
man ol honor Is equivalent to an oath. A man 
capable of breaking his word is capable of break¬ 
ing his oath. 
“Let your communication,” says St. Mathew, 
“be yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatever is more 
than these Cometh ol evil." 
Here we have the real value of an oath reduced 
to Its simple and primeval form and purpose. 
Oaths date ns far back as Noah. The Almighty 
made a covenant that there should never be a 
second flood. 
The witness was a rainbow, 
Abr aham, anxious that his son Isaac should not 
marry a daughter ol the Canaanltes, but one of 
his own kindred, made the eldest servant of his 
house Like an oath to soo Ills wish fulfilled. The 
manner In which that oath was administered Is 
peculiar. Tho servant put Ids hand under the 
thigh of Abraham, and swore unto him. Rebecca 
became the wife of Isaac. 
When Jacob took an oath with Labuan, they 
raised a pyramid of stones, which they named 
“ the pyramid of witnesses.” 
Ar we proceed through the Biblical legends, we 
llud that the children of Israel, obedient to an 
oath, embalmed the body of Joseph, and put it, in 
a coffin in Egypt. In Numbers, Moses lays flown 
the law about oaths clearly enough until he 
comes to the widows, where he breaks down. 
In Deuteronomy, an oath once “taken to the 
Lord" la declared inviolable. “That which 
Has h'one out of thy lips thou shalt keep and per¬ 
form.” 
In tho Acts we find that certain Jews bound 
themselves under “a great curse" not to eat. 
anything until they had slain Paul. 
Are rash oaths to be kept.? We say, no. 
Would 11 not have been ruoio pleasing to the 
I,ord, If Jephtha had spared Ills Innocent child, 
and If Herod had declined to give Ilerodlas John 
Lie Baptist's head In a charger? in our timer, 
twelve honest Jews would have convicted Herod 
of willful murder,and Ilerodlas would, withinr 
mother, have been sent to a penitentiary. 
Amongst the Greeks, oaths wore frequently ac¬ 
companied by sacrifice ; it was the custom to lay 
the hands upon the victim, or upon the altar, 
thereby calling to witness the deity by whom the 
oath was sworn. CUrlstltths, under tho later 
Roman emperors, adopted the same ceremony. 
According to the prophet Daniel, both hands 
were held up; “The man clothed In linen, 
which was upon the waters, held up his right 
hand and Ills left hand unto heaven, and sware 
by Him that llveth lor ever and ever.” 
In Revelations we llud: “Aud the angel 
w lilch 1 saw stand Upon the sea and the earth 
lifted up Ids hand to heaven, and sware by Him 
that livilh for ever and ever.” 
The various lurms in which oaths were taken 
are most, curious. By an old German law a wile 
could elulm a present from her husband the 
morning after the wedding.night, by swearing to 
its amount on her breast, or by swearing on her 
two breasts and two tresses. 
Nothing was more common than for a man to 
swear by his heard. 
Edward the First ot Knglaud swore an oath on 
two swans. 
It. was also very common from an early period, 
to swear by one, two, seven, or twelve churches. 
The deponent went to the appointed number of 
churches, and at each, taking the ring of the 
church door In his hand, repeated the oath. 
One ot the most curious specimens or swearing 
men by that to which they attached most Im¬ 
portance, Is to be found Inu lflndooTftw. Ir.says: 
“ Let a judge swear a Brahmin by his veracity; 
a soldier by Ids horses, his elephants, or ills arms; 
an agriculturist by Ids cows, Ids grain, or his 
money ; and a Soudra by all his crimes.” 
In India, as also In England and in Ireland, 
pregnant women decline to take an oath. A 
Highlander, when sworn on the Gospels or the 
cross, cares little for his oath ; but will keep It if 
sworn on the point of Ills dirk, lu our own 
country it makes little difference to a man how or 
by whom ho swears, and he will do it on the 
slightest provocation Into the bargain. The de- 
gen crate Romans of the Lower Empire thought 
It better to break an oath to God than to t he Em¬ 
peror, because the former might forgive them, 
while the latter would not. Of all the Roman 
oaths, the military oath was the most sacred. It 
was taken upon the ensigns. Soldiers took it 
voluntarily, and promised (with Imprecations) 
that they would not desert, rrom the array, and 
not leave the ranks unless to light against the 
enemy or to save a Roman citizen. In the year 
?10 before Christ, the soldiers were compelled by 
the tribunes to take an oath that they would 
meet, at command of the consuls, and not. leave 
their standards without their orders, thus mak¬ 
ing the military oath a jti&uranduM. in the 
time of the Empire (according to Dionysius) a 
clause was added to the military oath, oy which 
the soldiers declared that they would consider 
the safety of the Emperor more important than 
anything else, and that they did not love either 
themselves or their children more than tliclr 
sovereign. The oath was renewed each time that 
the soldier enlisted, for a campaign. 
The manner In which the natives of India are 
sworn Is curious. A piece of lime (chuman), 
about, the size ot a pea, and a piece or betel-leaf 
are given to the witness to chew mid swallow, 
and he Is then solemly warned that If he speaks 
anything hut. the truth after swallowing the 
above, the first, time ho expectorates afterwards 
his heart's blood will come up. Now the amalga¬ 
mation by mastication of tho lear and the lime 
with the gastric Juices produces a substance 
much resembling blood. This superstition still 
prevails. 
When a Chinese is sworn, a live cock is brought 
Into court, and the head of the bird cut off. in 
our earlier writers some oaths are impious and 
Irreverent. Even In Chaucer It is advisable to 
make selections: 
The Host, swears, “ By my fat her’s soul.” 
Sir Thopas, “ By ale aud bread.” 
Arclte, “ By my pan (head). 1 ’ 
Theseus, “ By rnlgbty Mars the rede.” 
Tho carpenter’s wife, “By St. Thomas of 
Kent.” 
The Marohaunt, “ By St. Thomas of Indc.” 
The Cambridge scholar, “By my father's 
kin no." 
Peter, the apprentice In Henry the Sixth, holds 
up bis hands, and, accusing Horner, says:—“ By 
these ten bones, my lord, lie did speak them to 
me In the garret, one night as wo were scouring 
my lord of fork’s armour.” 
Much discussion has taken place at various 
Huns respecting the form or taking an oath, and 
the term corporal oath. Archbishop Whitgltt, In 
a sermon before Queen Elizabeth, thus addressed 
her: “As all your predecessors were at their 
coronation, so you also were sworn before all t lie 
nobility and bishops then present, and In the 
presence or God, and lu His stead, to him that 
anointed you, - to maintain the church land , and 
the rights belonging to it;’ and this UsUlled 
openly at the holy altar, by laying your bands on 
the Bible then lying upon It.” 
Haley distinctly states, as his opinion, that the 
term “corporal,” as applied to an oath, Is de¬ 
rived from tho “corporate,” the square piece of 
linen upon which tho cliaheo and lies. were 
placed. This opinion is open to challenge. 
Another point is, whether kissing the book Is 
essential. The point Is lucidly put by Lord 
Mansfield. According to the piiuclples of com¬ 
mon law (he says), there is no particular form 
essential to an oath to be. taken by a witness; 
bin. as the purpose of It Is to hind Ills conscience,’ 
every man of every religion should be bound by 
that form which he himself thinks wUf bind his 
own conscience most. 
We now come to what rnay he called the Indi¬ 
vidual oath—ihe oath which emanates from the 
heart ot a man at tho command or hatred, 
revenge, love, or superstition. We shall not 
enter into the latter two; for though we may 
smile at the rash vows and romantic oaths of 
love-sick youths and maidens, our blood would 
boll with indignation at recalling to mind the 
thousands ol victims doomed to be Immured for 
life within the Walls of a convent, through hav¬ 
ing been compelled to take lira oath or celibacy. 
Hatred and revenge give rise to more legitimate 
oaths. They are the sparks which flash from the 
contact, of the flint, and steel or strong passions. 
There Is something grand ubout. them. When 
Argantes hears that Clorlnda has been slain by 
Tailored, he takes a terrible oath : 
HieruBulern ! hear what Argun ton eaitb. 
Hear, Heaven! and if he break bin oath and word, 
Upon this head enst thunder in thy wrath. 
I will destroy this Christian lord, 
Who this fair dame by night thim murdered hath, 
Nor from my Bide will I ungird this sword 
Till Tauered’s he art it cleave, and shed ills blood. 
Aud leave bis corse to wolves and crows for food ' 
How be kept his oath, and paid the penalty 
with his life, terms one or the most brilliant epi¬ 
sodes in Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered. 
-- 
BRIC-A-BRAC. 
BY C. n. E. It. 
Ik the Eastern Question Implies an Interroga¬ 
tion t here can he no excuse lor not asking: Why 
Osman I’ashu resembles our General Devons? 
aud after a painful pause answering, Because lie’s 
a tawny General. All rights reserved. 
Since we of New York have been threatened 
with a water-famine we hear a good deal about 
Boyd's corners. It Is proposed to make a storage 
place of the interstices of poor Boyd. 1 don’t 
think It is light. Boyd Is a square man (or he 
couldn't have Comers) and for our commissioners 
to say publlcally that they intend to 1 IU the old 
man up Is not exactly the conduct we are led to 
expect rrom gentlemen of tbtlr standing. But 
that is not the worst. The Legislature aids and 
abets the scheme by making au appropriation to 
defray the expense ot IllUng Bojd. I don't know 
Boyd personally, but when I'm assured that hl 3 
Corners alone will hold more than two billion 
gallons, 1 take off my hat. In silent admiration as 
1 try to reckon what Boyd might contain If he 
should just conclude to go out with the boys, and 
agree to “ make a night of It.” 
There Is a trait In the lives of great diplomatists 
of which It Is Just possible some of my readers 
may not have heard, which Is, that none of them 
have ever attained to any eminence without an 
attachrdente-I lind no hotter word for It—to 
some woman of superior understanding, who has 
E 
nJ 
