'It is an effect sometimes produced on a sensitive mind,' I more definitively asserted. She is convinced of the man's innocence; and finding it doubted by those she thought would be as slow as herself to suppose even a suspicion of it possible, had the effect of arousing an energy, of which her mind did not seem to be possessed when it was not called for, and of restoring her to a degree of composure-at least of apparent composure, though her suffering on that account will not be less. An outward composure is often enforced by circumstances which renders anguish more intolerable, when those circumstances allow of its being laid aside.'

'You do not think, papa, that Tennisson is really guilty?'

Not that he is guilty of deliberate murder; never would think that. All I feared was, that Delany might have provoked him to a quarrel, which ended in a way poor Tennisson-who I believed was, in the common meaning of the term, as good-hearted a youth as ever lived,-very little expected. But I trust a conversation with himself will enlighten me more on the subject.'

The good rector went to his study to compose his mind, and we sat still, talking over the same event, and arriving at sundry conclusions, which being all unsatisfactory, shall not be here set down, and therefore we pass on to the evening of the next day, when the rector having returned from his visit to the county jail, we gathered round him, to hear if he had adopted one that was less so.

'I found no difficulty in obtaining admission to poor Tennisson,' he said; but as I was entering the prison-gate my arm was grasped by Kate Conolly,

who was only just able to say, ' For the love of heaven, take me with you!'. So changed a creature, Nanny, you would scarcely know her.'

'I expected to hear you had seen her; for when I called at the house this morning, I could get nothing more from her old mother, than an assertion that she was not within; and she walked all that long way, I suppose.'

She

I told her,' the rector continued, 'that I could not bring her in then; but if she waited until I had seen Tennisson, I would apply to the authorities for leave for her to see him in the presence of witnesses. then handed me a slip of paper, saying, that whether she ever saw him again or not, she would be for ever obliged to me, if I asked him that question. There is the paper, Nanny.'

There was written on it, in a very good but agitated hand, ‘John Tennisson, does the blood of one of my father's people lie at your door?'

6

'Poor Tennison,' the rector continued, was looking very pale, but did not seem much agitated at seeing me. The colour rushed over his face for a moment, and his eyes filled with tears, as he said he knew I would come to him. I felt he was a guiltless man.'

Oh, delightful!' broke from Nanny.

'I told him I had come to hear his own statement of this dreadful affair, and warmly charged him to relate to me every particular of that deplorable evening. He said, that he and Kate, being occupied in the business that brought them to the fair, did not meet much with Delany and O'Toole until it was nearly over, when, being much tired, they went to get some refreshment: these two men then joined

them; and the conversation naturally turning on the subject of the new take,' O'Toole mentioned that the landlord whom Tennisson had wanted to see was staying at a place about six miles off. He directly thought he would go there, and see him, if he could get Kate to go home without him. He said this, however, privately to her, as he did not wish to dwell on the matter before O'Toole, and therefore did not tell him of his intention. Kate objected to his plan, on the ground that the day's enjoyment would be spoiled by a solitary return; he urged her to yield, and Delany saying that he seemed very anxious to have her out of the way, offered to see her home. Kate was very averse to his offer, and hurt at his allusions to John, and made some smart speeches, which, together with other provocations, appeared to excite a very unpleasant temper in the two men, who soon became so rude and quarrelsome, they were anxious to get out of their company. He therefore told Kate, as it was getting late, they must go and see their purchases put up, and prepare to go home. To this O'Toole was especially opposed; they were both inclined to drink, and when he endeavoured to get away, this man put his back to the door; and Delany, chiefly urged on by him, tried to hold him in the room. Kate was alarmed, and the noise became so great, that the people of the house came up, and said they did not want to have the police come in. Tennisson then got out with Kate, using, he admitted, some very angry and even threatening words. He says he was very angry, and would probably have struck them both, if it had not been on Kate's account. When he had got away, he felt.very sorry that he had let his temper rise so high, for he knew

it would come to the grandmother's ear, and cause more unpleasantness; and Kate blamed herself for opposing his wish that she should go home without him; because she thought this, in a degree, contributed to the quarrel. When he had spoken quietly to her on the subject, she saw the reasonableness of his request; and he put her on the car with her parcels, and saw her out of the town. He might have accompanied her a small part of the way, but he wished to buy her a present after she had left him; and while tying up this new purchase in a handkerchief, his two adversaries again came up, and he could not help thinking they had been watching him. He was therefore surprised and pleased to find that they seemed disposed to make up the quarrel, and be on friendly terms again; and as he wished this to be the case, and also did not desire that they should overtake the car on which Kate Conolly was, he was inclined to yield to their invitation to go to the common resort both for making up and commencing a quarrel-the public house. One erroneous step of these unhappy young people has led to anotherthey should never have gone to the fair;-they should have avoided the company they went in ;-Kate should never have left him ;-and he should never have suffered himself to be entangled with these men, and that alone.

'As they were both disposed to drink much more than he wished, he thought he could get away and leave them there; but though Delany appeared stupid, and inclined to linger, the other would not suffer him to do so, but drew him away at the same time. Tennisson was very much annoyed at finding they were bent on keeping his company; but as he

was to turn off by a cross road to get to the place where his landlord was, he thought he could contrive to get so far with them peaceably. He soon began to find his situation, when he came to part at this place, would be unpleasant, if not dangerous, and therefore he was very glad, when they had come about half a mile of the road, to hear O'Toole exclaim that he had forgotten a bundle at the publichouse. He wanted them to turn back with him to get it, but Tennisson resolved to be firm in not doing so, and pleaded fatigue and haste. Delany was going back with him, but he called him aside and whispered something, and then desiring they would walk very slowly on, he said, as he was a good runner he would overtake them shortly. Tennisson cordially hoped this might not be the case before he had parted with Delany, for he says my warnings had often come to mind, and though he did not fear the assault of men in such a state as one of them at least was, he was anxious that no collision should take place between them. Instead, therefore, of walking slow, he hastened on as fast as he could, until he came to a road which would lead him by a much longer way to the place he wanted to go to, and he resolved to go by this instead of taking that which would keep him for about three miles further in Delany's company, although it was the direct one to the village where he was going.

'On reaching this turn he bid his companion a hasty good night. Delany was scarcely able to notice his departure; and as it was becoming very late, John walked on as fast as he could, till he reached his journey's end, where with some difficulty he got admitted into a house, and threw himself into bed, say