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streams of Lauterbruennen! Oh! if those whom thus I loved on earth, be yet conscious of the attachment which still I bear them! If they do but know how dear they were and are to me, how must it delight them, to perceive that the remembrance of their virtues and affections, forms one of the sweetest consolations of my existence."

"And do not the vallies of Mona, and the mountains of Caernarvon,― does not the land of the harp, and the country which gave you birth, whose dear bosom has received the companions of your earliest youth, and still covers with its protecting turf the sacred relics of your fathers, have not these, my beloved friend, an equal claim on your recollection, an equal influence over your heart and feelings?"

"Oh, never Llwellyn; never shall they be forgotten by me! It is thither, after all my deprivations, anxieties, and cares, I long to turn my steps and die at home at last! It is a wish congenial to the soul of man; for though as I have just mentioned, no relative, as far as I can learn, awaits me on my natal soil, yet do I feel a daily increasing desire to retrace the scenery

of my childhood, and to linger on the spot, where sleep the ashes of my parents. To do this, and once more, if possible, to drop a tear on the grave of her who loved me with an angel's love, form the ultimate objects of my life. But my allotted task is not yet finished here, and the hour, come when it will, which shall separate me from thee, my child, (addressing Edward,) may bring with it, a struggle too mighty for this frame to bear. It is my prayer indeed, and for reasons too not merely selfish, that when I leave this sweet sequestered valley, thou mayest be the companion of my steps; and if providence permit, need I say, what added gratification it would give me, if thou too, Llwellyn, couldst wait to be the partner of our way, couldst return with us to the fields of thy youth, and, after all thy sorrows and privations, sit down beside the social hearth with Hoel, and the favoured pupil of thy earliest song: but we are in the hands of one who knoweth what is best; on him let us repose our trust; and then my friends, whether we sleep beneath the green turfs of Ryedale, or within the once regal walls of Aberfraw, all shall yet be well!"

This appeal to the tender sympathies of Edward and Llwellyn, the most forcible, perhaps, which Mr. Walsingham could have made, was deeply felt by both; and it was some time before the former could recover himself sufficiently to express, in terms adequate to the strength of his emotions, that fulness of affection for his guardian, and that wish to accompany him, go where he would, which warmed and animated his bosom.

The impression, indeed, had proved more powerful than Mr. Walsingham could have foreseen, and he was in fact, sorry for the depression which he had thus involuntarily occasioned. Assuming, therefore, a more cheerful tone, and turning towards Hoel, who had sate for some time with his face shaded by his hands, he asked him, if, during the period when he and his father first saw Rivaulx Abbey, they had also seen the ruins of the Castle at Helmsley; and receiving an answer in the negative, he added, "that, as connected not only with the history of the former place, but with that of the kingdom itself, this castle presented an object of peculiar interest. It is, however," he con

tinued, "independent of these historical associations, in itself a picture of very striking beauty and effect, and enjoys at the same time, a situation not less remarkable for its pleasing and romantic features."

"I have often heard my father, Sir, who occasionally visited Helmsley on business connected with his farm," replied Hoel, "mention these ruins with admiration, and I shall certainly be most happy in the opportunity of seeing them. I understand, however, that His Grace of Buckingham is at present in the adjoining mansion house, a circumstance which may possibly prevent the access of strangers."

"The Duke, my dear youth, after having for many years absented himself from his Ryedale estates, which include nearly the whole of the parishes of Helmsley and Kirby Moorside, and part of the parish of Kirkdale, came hither a short time ago in a bad state of health. He is now, however, with a great part of his household on a visit of some weeks in the neighbourhood; and if any obstruction to the gratification of a laudable curiosity ever occurred, 1 from his presence, which yet I do not believe, that is of course for the present removed."

"I can assure you, Sir," interrupted Edward, "that not the smallest obstacle is thrown in the way of those who wish to inspect the ruins. I have repeatedly gone thither since His Grace's return, and it will afford me great pleasure to accompany our young friend to the castle, and to add what little information may lie in my power."

"I can have no objection, Edward,” replied Mr. Walsingham, " provided Llwellyn sees none in intrusting his son to your care; and I rather wish, indeed, the present opportunity should be seized, as the Duke's establishment when at home, and increased as it usually is by the retinue of numerous visitors, is not, I am sorry to say, very remarkable either for order or sobriety."

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Indisposition has then, I am afraid," cried Llwellyn, "made little improvement in the moral character of the Duke. Fame has gifted him, I understand, with some of the most brilliant attributes of wit and imagination, and she has more than whispered, I believe, how much these have been prostituted to the worst of purposes. Can you, my friend, add any thing in mitigation of the public judgment?”

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