CHAPTER VII.

Brother and Sister.


On the same evening, in a stately chamber of a noble old mansion of
Elizabeth's time, situated in Southampton Fields, two persons were
seated. One of these, a lady, evidently a confirmed invalid, and attired
in deep mourning, reclined upon a sort of couch, or easy chair, set on
wheels, with her head supported by cushions, and her feet resting upon a
velvet footstool. A crutch, with a silver handle, stood by her side,
proving the state of extreme debility to which she was reduced. It was
no easy matter to determine her age, for, though she still retained a
certain youthfulness of appearance, she had many marks in her
countenance, usually indicating the decline of life, but which in her
case were, no doubt, the result of constant and severe indisposition.
Her complexion was wan and faded, except where it was tinged by a slight
hectic flush, that made the want of colour more palpable; her eyes were
large and black, but heavy and lustreless; her cheeks sunken; her frame
emaciated; her dark hair thickly scattered with gray. When younger, and
in better health, she must have been eminently lovely; and there were
still the remains of great beauty about her. The expression, however,
which would chiefly have interested a beholder, was that of settled and
profound melancholy.

Her companion was a person of no inferior condition. Indeed it was
apparent, from the likeness between them, that they were nearly related.