A TALE.

BY MRS. GORDON,

AUTHOR OF

"THE FORTUNES OF THE FALCONARS."

"The solemn curse of a widow sad,
Above the grave of her darling dead,
Will fester and wither the joy and fame

Of the fairest lands, and the proudest name :
Nor years, nor tears, will efface the shame."

REV. J. C. EARLE.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

THOMAS CAUTLEY NEWBY, PUBLISHER,

WELBECK STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE.

1850.

1-17-46 Hunt. 35.

66 'WHAT 'VAILS THE WORLD SHOULD KNOW

THAT ONE POOR GARLAND, TWINED TO DECK THY HAIR,

Is HUNG UPON THY HEARSE, TO DROOP AND WITHER THERE."

KINGSCONNELL,

A

TALE.

CHAPTER I.

"'Tis true, bright hours together told,
And blissful dreams in secret shared;
Serene or solemn, gay or bold,

Shall last in fancy unimpaired.

Even round the death-bed of the good,
Such dear remembrances will hover,

And haunt us with no vexing mood,
When all the cares of earth are over.

But yet our craving spirits feel

We shall live on, though fancy die :
And seek a surer pledge—a seal
Of love to last eternally."

CHRISTIAN YEAR.

"How happy they are, Helen! Look at them, innocent creatures; like two little lambs at play, are they not? How impossible it is to believe that we were once the same! If poor Harry could but see the darlings now."

VOL. I.

B