hundreds of miles away, and not to let me know that you returned last
night; and Mrs. Fraudhurst is just as bad, and I will not forgive her or
you, unless you tell me where you have been and all you have seen and
done. Now, Sir Wanderer, commence and give an account of yourself; you
see I am prepared to listen," apparently waiting with much attention for
her uncle to enlighten her as to the why and wherefore he had journeyed
to London. It was evident that the Baronet had been in the habit of
making a confidant of his pretty niece, but on this occasion, for one
reason or another he had failed to do so; she had taken out of one of
her little embroidered pockets in her apron, some crochet work, and
applied herself diligently thereunto.

Edith was the orphan child of Sir Jasper's much loved and only sister,
who did not long survive the death of her husband, and on her decease
the Baronet had adopted the child, and as she grew up, her affectionate
disposition and natural simplicity wound themselves round the old man's
heart, and thus she soon became the apple of his eye, and he loved her
with all the tender solicitude of a father.

She was gentle and friendly to those beneath her, but dignified and firm
with those of her own station of life, with a fund of good practical
common sense, and was not easily dissuaded from doing any thing when she
had once made up her mind that it was her duty so to do. She loved her
uncle well and was ever ready to minister to his slightest wishes. She
used to delight him with the rich tone of her voice by singing
selections from his favorite operas, being an accomplished musician both
vocal and instrumental. They would frequently wander for hours through
the park or woods, but of late he had restricted his walks to the lawn,
or down the avenue to the lodge at the park gate, to hold converse with
the keeper, an old soldier who had served under him in his Peninsular