Gladys, the Reaper

of what had passed; and he blustered and raged even more than he had ever done about the Irish beggars. Everybody thought

matter; but as the elders disagreed upon the various points at issue, it was no wond

amily conclave, 'I cannot see so much against the young man after all. Such a fortune

undergone a change, since it had been rumoured that

uldn't be a good match for any prudent 'ooman. To my certain knowledge he drinks and gambles,

have any communication of the kind w

s steady, and settles down, it might be better to l

l's study, I'll turn to smoking cigars. Why, the very night of his f

or his father, my dear;

d began to speculate upon its date, and so on; you used to hunt rabbits, and provoke me by overturning the walls, but Griff got it into his head that there was money buried somewhere, and never ceased digging for it. At last he found an old coin of very ancien

e head! That old coin is noth

ries, that it bears the inscription either of Cunobelin or Caractacus. There is a de

th did he get u

South Wales, against the Romans, and that they held out bravely, I

tta and Howel? Brother, I always shall say

I really do. It's no good opposing young peopl

ain. Mother, go and bring Netta here, and

it not be better to s

ive her a bit of my mind when you are all present. Why don't you go, a

primanded, so, much against her will, she left the room. Rowland was preparing to fol

Oxford, you'd try to teach your sister how to behav

reproof is likely to make Netta change her min

tears on her face. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, during which both Mr Prothero and Netta wer

here was a pause for a few

id Netta, and muttered to herself i

ear a good deal you've no business to listen

rep

stand there and say nothing,

e's a scamp,' sa

embled, and looked i

contradict your father,' said M

. Then you mean to have him,

But I don't see why I may

ther, she could talk better before numbers. She had don

t him again I'll-I'll-I'll-' the good farmer did no

e to Londo

ny more, you good-for-nothing girl,

etta wa

Prothero, gently, 'not to meet Howel again, or h

etta wa

gested Mrs Jonathan, 'and then

taking her by the arm, and looking as if a few more of her rejoind

,' said Netta petulantly.

tinate, pretty, wilful child of his-the only girl,

Netta, by rushing into certa

ook hold o

d this the Inquisition,' said Netta, growing l

lusion to any subject out of the present. 'A cruel court th

, which shook more passion into both

to give up that scamp of a cousin of yo

ta doggedly; and freeing herself from her fath

e known to keep company with him, you may find some other home than this; and if you determ

d on his arm. 'Netta will not disobey us, I am sure. But it is her ob

ht her better. She is a good

provoke not your children to wrath,"' he added, turning to his father. 'You will do nothing with her at present. She

And then to have the impudence to say I was a Papist! Why, I'd rather be a Methody preache

am of Garn Goch and the Inquisition, to

ion at all in her head; generally speaking, women know so little. I assure you, David, it was

f poking his chin and looking on the ground, as if he were always in search for something, which he possibly was, as he never despaired of finding some antiquity or curiosity at any moment. It must not be augured from his devotion to antiquarian lore that he made a bad clergyman On the contrary, he was always ready at the call of the po

e villagers knew his strong-and-weak point, and he rarely appeared amongst them without having various stones and imaginary curiosities presented to him, particularly by the young people. Many of th

ply to which would have been, that theirs was actually one of the 'Matches made in heaven.' The gentleman got money to enable him to follow the bent of his genius without anxiety for

. Netta declined eating, and consequently was left to her own reflections. Mr Prothero inquired anxiously of his wife, when he had cooled a little, whether he had really hurt Netta when he

She joined the party in the parlour for a short time, and gave a message from her father to Rowland, to the effect that he was very anxious for anoth

ing beaten him the other night

e got tired,' sai

Gwynne, as she said, 'oh, no! h

nd. 'I merely beat two games out of th

to follow their own devices, whilst she had followed hers, and did not reappear during the evening. Mr Gwynne had reproached her for her absenc

an Prothero calls it, played by a Goth,' sh

able to speak to them with some degree of composure. The fever and its accompanying delirium had

re how she did, and Mrs Prothero took her thin hand. 'I am better, thank ye; I can

girl's tears

said Miss Gwynne softly, 'and then w

died years ago, and my mother, brother, and sister all di

hilst she felt the strength to do so. It was remarkable that her English was very good, and that, with the exception of an occasional Irish epithet of endearment, you would scarcely

ay you for your kindness to me, a poor, wretched wanderer on the face of God's earth.

and respectably brought up. Her father taught her a great many things that we ignorant people in I

would not be willing that they should marry, so she ran away with him to Ireland. They travelled about for some time with his regiment, but, after I was born, mother went to settle in Ireland with father's family, and there she had three other children, two boys and a girl. After this my father was wounded in India, and

e farmers' daughters wanted to learn, and I helped her; so we managed to live. It was a hard

they really were. We were all starving, dying-I saw enough people die to make me wish myself dead hundreds of times, to be hidden from the sight; but I was fate

ed her speech, and Mrs Prother

amongst those stricken down with the fever; but, woe is me, I never caught it. I fasted from morning to night, day after day, but I could not die

that I know of them I heard from my father when I was quite a child. He told me that mother had written to her father when she settled in Ireland, and that her letter had been returned with a note,

mother's name?' a

t Jones,

name in South Wales. But we will make in

I may go on my way. I would not trouble you any more

er emotion. 'You are not to go away to-morrow; but I daresay in a few days you will be able to do so, and we can help you a little. But your best pl

d Miss Gwynne to become very severe, and to utter something about giving way to foolish wea

and consultations, and greatly fearing to be made a party in the lecturings overhanging the luckless head of the offender, she took a hasty leave of Mr a