duty, driving like a wild man to Melchester, and thence by the
direct highway to the capital. But he soon saw that he was acting
to no purpose; and by and by, discovering that the marriage had
actually taken place, he forebore all attempts to unearth them in
the City, and returned and sat down with his lady to digest the
event as best they could.

To proceed against this Willowes for the abduction of our heiress
was, possibly, in their power; yet, when they considered the now
unalterable facts, they refrained from violent retribution. Some
six weeks passed, during which time Barbara's parents, though they
keenly felt her loss, held no communication with the truant, either
for reproach or condonation. They continued to think of the
disgrace she had brought upon herself; for, though the young man was
an honest fellow, and the son of an honest father, the latter had
died so early, and his widow had had such struggles to maintain
herself; that the son was very imperfectly educated. Moreover, his
blood was, as far as they knew, of no distinction whatever, whilst
hers, through her mother, was compounded of the best juices of
ancient baronial distillation, containing tinctures of Maundeville,
and Mohun, and Syward, and Peverell, and Culliford, and Talbot, and
Plantagenet, and York, and Lancaster, and God knows what besides,
which it was a thousand pities to throw away.

The father and mother sat by the fireplace that was spanned by the
four-centred arch bearing the family shields on its haunches, and
groaned aloud--the lady more than Sir John.

'To think this should have come upon us in our old age!' said he.