LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 364, 19 February 1863, Page 5

LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET.

Sy the Awtlior of "Lmlj' Ws)e»" uAwror« Floyd," &C tFrom the Sixpenny Maposiiw.)

CHAPTER XIX,, [CQKTmiKD,] Mr Andlcy rose from the dinner-table awl walked over "to the obintt in which he kopt the document ho luul drawn tip relating to George Talboys. He unbowed the doors ot this cabinet, took thu paper from the pigeonhole marked "important," awl seated hlmsolt at his desk to write. He added several paragraphs to those in the document, numbering the fresh paragraph* as carefully as he had numbered the old ones. v Heaven help w» all," h«s muttered once; "is this paper, with which no attorney has ha-1 any hand, to be my first brief?" He wrote lor about half Rn hour, then replaced the document in the pigeon-hole, and locked the cabinet. "When he had done this, he took a candle in his hand, and went into the room in which were his own portmanteaus nmi funk belonging to George Talboys. He took a bunch of keys from his pocket, anil tried them one by one. The lock of the shabby old trunk was a common one, and at the fifth tiinl the key turned easily. 14 There'd been non^ed for any one to Weak open such a lock as this," muttered Robett, as he lifted the IM of the trunk. lie slowly omptiC'l it of its contents, taking oKt each article separately, and laying it carefully npon a chair by his side, lift hanoied the' things with a respectful tenderness, as if he had been lifting the dead Indy of his lost friend. One by «ne he laid the "neatly folded mourning garments on the «hah\ He found <Vdinoe^chanm pipes, smd soiled,«n\Wplea clo\ts thst Ivad once been t«x»h from the Parisian waktr* old play bills, whose biggest letters snolkd the names xrf the actors \vhn we« "tlead >md «*te^ old \wrft>nw bfttles, <V*tfwmt Wth t-ss Whose fi^Wft had Mssed ?i\vav^ Yic'it little psjssels «f kwtws vaeh cirofnlly Mvslh-d with th^awe of thcWnWrj frtitfrtio^tsofoid ftftW^pftfterss atttl \ <\tv* M«> of bvftks «ach V)t WhV;h \nittb\xU*Vto ss w^-^^ »\J wek v>t *a\Nls in l^VhcvtNs M%i ««> *woft*st *M the \\\i>s»i \^ Wort^oss l»tM\ «Ach *tf \\^kh kd i^ee WSJWNM* wi»^» \iw by wife Iktev \\lb\v%, n*^<l t\«j-\^x^Yaft wow to«w« Vh<s V-\^Vev^c xNttW^e \»\>*'rK \WW biw xsv\«^.n^^v>^M\ k*w^Uw> wM^ h^ \vfwe K\« li\vA\X »« )\<;lw<\ftfhsmw^ w»vo\yn\\W\\\» vwwxwte vhtsy V>^v\ tew \\w>\\\\ v)^\\w» % V»\W b«\^ tt \\*^ V\«t V«\V Vd>

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evMcnt\y been bought at a book stall, wivd horo«n w«cviMi»n, U>\tei\ March U\K I^B, seltin>? ft»rtU that \\w w«rk wan a tribute of respect to Thomas Scrowtow from his obo« dient servant, Jnmra Auderty; the Jhm Jmtt and tho Te.stumc.nt were blank, Hobert Andley bnathed more fcwly; ho hm\ arrived at the last but one of the Waks without any result whatever, and there only remained the flit gilt-and^crimsou-hound volume to be examined before bis task was finished.

It was an annual of the year 1845, The copper-plate engravings of lovely Indie* who had flourished in that day wore yellow and spotted with mildew; the costumes grotesque and outlandish ; the simpering beauties faded and common-place. Kven tho little clusters of verses (in which the poet's feeble camllc shed its sickly light upon the obscurities of the artistes meaning) had an old-fushioned twang 5 like music on a lyre whose strings arc slackened by the damps of time. Robert Audley did not stop to road any of these miFd productions, lie ran rapidly through the leaves, looking for any scrap of writinjr, or fragment of a letter, which might have'been used to mark a place. H« found nothing but a bright ring of golden hair, of that glittering hue which is so rarely seen except upon the 1 head of a child,—a sonny lock which curled as naturally as the tendril of a vine; ami whs very opposite in texture, if not .different in hue, to the $ofi s smooth tross winch the land* hdy at Ventnor had given to George IMboyi , after his wife's death, ttobert AuuUy s\u« pended his examination of the bdok > and folded this yellow Jock in a sheet of lettct ■ paper, whklt he scaled with Ins signet rin& and laid &<i<te, viih the memorandum &bout GeoVi?e Talboys and Alicia's fceiM\ in Ihe j pigeon hole mavked hnpnvrtmtw tie wsis goinj* t»> veplaeei the Tax annual amongst th<S ntfher [ bwks, wlun he lUveovctvd thit the t\vd ; bknk leavts »t thti l«^nnh^ \vei\s stttck toj^the.\ lk> w lx> ' $,:t\tt<! hi* vc.l>th trt th<e wry «tt*\ vttV«^ thSit ho h>M< the tr »ttblo W y>»>t \hv.^> k^s^a with tne shamvttd %t his *sn<fcs «ft*i!i hfe \v&% WwaWkd Kw l^s por*\\:^x\co l\S> fe\^\Sf »tt. in^viplioft wponw^ohh. Wu l^isft\sc\ip^ft. 1 WaS in thvto \V\W« «M tft ViV^'e* <l;^M\t Mndn \N^ftr*t^«>«*Nlph\VA%\^*A !a%t)»v b«ik &% tWyv*V^\SVhteh»W«l«Vkttal h!*;l Wv\\ «s\\i\\ \vhv> hM Ww Vdkftte & W\Y«u\* v h*\At* s>V vV\\te\ »W\ t\W V^V\«! U th* M\hO«Ntkt* V^ tVsV|\^\ live MVte\ tW IVH^ 'A WNtk V\V \\\\%\\Vs «W*i. \to\\to\\ \\vwv\^vs v*^\\\\ \M« \\%% \\%% tw ftv\\\ \>v v \\\\^\ im^>\\ w^Wk mvi ; k» vs «i *^V^\ K»vVe\v |\m\\\ ■ I tV>\v*^ svs>\\W K> w.v vv &i«\\ \k v S\m^