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animated, that I should never again hear his sweet voice, which always breathed affection

for me.

Again were all my kindly feelings nipped in the bud. One of the very few human beings whom I could love without a crime, and who dearly loved me, was torn away almost without a shadow of preparation.

I need not dwell on the last sad scene. His poor remains were followed to the grave by Lord Henry, Madelina, myself, Griffith, and Patrick. I planted some myrtle and rose trees over his lonely tomb, which I constantly visited as long as we remained at Florence.

As I was uncertain whether or not Lady Henry was aware of the relationship which had existed between her lord and her favourite page, I did not allude to it or to the scene I had witnessed the day of his death, as I was fearful I might raise doubts and fears in her mind which might destroy all her happiness. I was, however, soon relieved from all anxiety on the subject, by Lady Henry opening the conversation on the evening after the funeral.

"You are by this time aware, my dear Theresa," she said, "of the tie which bound us to poor Carlos. I have often wished to mention it to you, but could not do so without the permission of Lord Henry, which I felt a great unwillingness to ask for; not knowing whether he might approve my speaking to you upon so delicate a subject. My dear Enrico concealed nothing from me. Carlos was his son by a young Spanish girl, whom he saved from the ferocity of some French soldiers; and who, in the wildness of her affection and gratitude, would follow him in a toilsome march for many weeks. She died in giving birth to the dear boy whom we all so much regret. The young mother implored Enrico to take care of her child, and not to leave him in Spain when he should return to England. My husband faithfully promised to comply with her dying request; and how well he performed that promise you have yourself seen. That he never acknowledged him as his son, is easily accounted for: if we had had children, poor Carlos would have painfully felt his situation

in relation to them and to us; therefore we resolved to keep him in ignorance, and never to enlighten him unless it should please Providence that I should have no family, when we determined that the dear boy, whom, as you know, I dearly loved, (for Enrico's sake,) should be acknowledged, and eventually inherit his father's fortune. Carlos was born nearly a year before I saw his father, who placed him under the care of the serjeant's wife of his regiment, and he remained with her till we left Spain; when Enrico informing me of all the particulars I have just narrated, I insisted upon having the poor child under my own care, and he never quitted us as long as he had life."

Lord Henry, I am certain, took the death of his little son very much to heart, though he endeavoured to conceal it from his wife. I often thought over his manner to the poor dear little fellow, and his extreme affection for and anxiety about him, his care about his education, and a thousand other things, and wondered that the idea of the connexion between them had never entered my imagination. The

more so, when I remembered how often I had remarked the likeness poor Carlos bore to Lord Henry when he smiled, though not the least like his noble father in other respects. How strong must have been the feelings of nature in the poor boy, to make him (unconscious as he was of the strong bond between them) speak with such fond energy of his parent in his dying moments.

It will scarcely be believed how great a blank was caused by the death of our dear little favourite. Lady Henry, too, was far from strong, and appeared to have taken a dislike to Florence since the sad event, and it was therefore in contemplation to remove to Naples.

I believe this plan would have been immediately put into execution, but that Lady Henry, who was again likely to become a mother, was strongly recommended to go to Madeira previous to her confinement. Any thing that could contribute to his dear wife's recovery was eagerly caught at by her devoted husband, and it was finally settled that we

should quit Florence within a month, and embark in a frigate from Leghorn, and proceed in her direct for Madeira.

I had a great horror of a sea voyage; but as Lady Henry said she should be unhappy if I did not accompany her, I did not for a moment hesitate; and we began our preparations accordingly. Madelina was made happy by being included in the party, as we all felt sure she would be found extremely useful in the strange island to which we were going.

About a week after every thing had been decided for the voyage to Madeira, I was struck by a strange and most unaccountable change in the manner of my kind mistress towards me. She became suddenly grave, silent, and cold, never raised her eyes to my face, scarcely gave me an answer when I spoke to her, and appeared to be quite distressed, if not annoyed, when I approached her. I had now lived in her service two years and a half, and during the whole of that time she had treated me more like a friend than a servant, and I was truly and warmly attached to her. It may therefore be

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