ELLEN NEVILLE. 
149 
down for fuel by the Cavaliers when they encamped 
in the neighbourhood : — all that remained of his 
ancient estate was the broad lands, blackened over 
by the traces of the consuming fire. He was one 
of those who wished to overturn the old monarchy 
through the purest of motives ; who from his soul 
believed King Charles to be a tyrant, an oppressor, 
and an enemy of his people ; and who, like the 
noble-hearted patriot Hampden, made up his mind 
to sacrifice both estate and life, when he rushed 
into the struggle, to do battle for the good of his 
fellow-men. 
More than one of the confiscated estates which 
belonged to the Royalists had before been offered to 
him, as a compensation for the losses he had sus¬ 
tained through the wars, but these he had steadily 
refused, from honourable motives, when he ascer¬ 
tained that the heirs were still alive, although in 
exile ; nor could he be induced to take possession 
of the ancient manor-house of the Nevilles, until the 
most solemn assurance was given him, that not one 
of the family was then left alive upon the face of 
the earth ; nor did he know that such a person 
as Ellen Neville ever existed in the world, for she 
had been educated in a remote part of the country; 
neither was it long before the eve of her brother’s 
death that she had, since her youthful days, dwelt 
under the ancient roof of her forefathers. Thus 
