Mary, daughter and sole heiress of the very man to whom his property had been assigned. This lady he married in 1657, and, through her interest, he not only redeemed his former vast possessions from the hands of the sequestrators, but assured to himself the claim of succeeding to a large accession of wealth, as a further result of the connection. The only blameless and happy period of his life, indeed, appears to have been that which he spent under the roof of his father-in-law, in consequence of this marriage. Yet this residence, and this connection, such was his influence over the mind of Charles the Second, deprived him of no portion of the royal favour; for after the restoration, not only was he left to the enjoyment of the largest estate which any subject at that time possessed in England, but rank, and honours, and power, were accumulated on his head.

"Thus endowed with all that wealth and influence could give, with all that wit and humour, and the faculty of pleasing could bestow, what might he not have effected, both for the benefit of himself and others, had not a boundless love of pleasure, and an ambition ever restless and

you

unsatisfied, converted these splendid donations into the instruments of his ruin and destruction! Yes, my friend, not only has the poverty to which have alluded overtaken him, as one consequence of this abandonment to appetite and passion, but vices of the most atrocious kind, both public and private, disaffection, and rebellion, seduction, adultery, and murder, have followed in the train. But the subject is awfully distressing, and we will, therefore, revert to what, though incidentally connected with this extraordinary character, is of itself an object of pleasing contemplation, the Castle of Helmsley."

"I must confess," remarked Llwellyn, "that while these relics of feudal strength and magnificence are haunted by a being so guilty as their present Lord, they can scarcely be viewed without the intrusion of very unwelcome associations. His absence, therefore, must render a visit to these striking remains of ancient baronial grandeur, an object not to be neglected by those who have never had the gratification of seeing them; and, of course, I recommend you, my love," addressing Hoel, "to avail

yourself of Edward's kind offer, whenever the weather and his leisure will allow you to undertake the excursion."

One great source of entertainment, indeed, to these young people, was founded on their mutual taste for the beauties of nature, and for those interesting vestiges of other days, which time, and the still more destructive hand of man, had spared. For Hoel, though apparently not more than fifteen years old, had long been the companion of his father's walks; and to have been with Llwellyn on these occasions, while the enjoyment of sight was yet granted to him, without catching a portion of his enthusiasm was impossible. Edward, as we have already seen, was, both from disposition, accident, and reading, a lover of whatever was wild and pensive, imaginative and sublime; and it is, therefore, an easy task to conceive, how greatly their pleasures must have been enhanced, by the free and unreserved communication which now subsisted between them. From the rising to the setting sun, in fact, with the exception of a few hours devoted to the educational arrangements of Mr. Walsingham, they were

in pursuit of all that hill and valley, wood and stream could afford; gratifications which, from their simplicity and variety, are well known to those who are happy enough to have acquired the taste necessary for their enjoyment, to be never-ceasing and never-palling.

It was, during one of these perambulations, and not long after the conversation which we have just recorded had past, that towards the evening of a fine day, they unexpectedly came within view of the Keep of Helmsley Castle. They had been ascending, for some time, a very steep acclivity, and on reaching the summit, which formed, as it were, a natural terrace, they beheld immediately beneath them, and at a considerable depth, the beautiful Rye, winding through its equally beautiful valley, and forming, in the very centre of it, a noble cascade, thickly overhung with dark and lofty wood; while in front of their position, and between hills of no mean altitude, and through which the river poured its course, was seen to open another branch of this extensive and variegated vale; in the midst of which, and in the bosom of numerous scattered groups of trees, appeared, as if placed there by

the directing wish of Claude or Poussin, Helmsley Church, picturesque portions of the town, and, rising above all, the venerable ruins of the castle. The effect was beyond measure striking; and as Edward, with all that glow of animation which so generally lighted up his features on such an occasion, was pointing out these objects to his companion, the westering sun caught the summit of the lofty keep, and completed the picture.

After pausing for some time to admire this sudden developement of beauty and grandeur, they hastened to take a nearer view of what had charmed them so much in the distance; and descending through hanging woods, the darkness of whose foliage contrasted in a very remarkable manner with the sparkling brightness of the river, they soon reached the object of their walk, the ancient residence for many generations of Sir Walter L'Espec and his descendants.

Hoel, to whom this place, from the style and object of its architecture, presented in every point of view the attractions of novelty, was in the highest degree gratified and amused. Not only was he interested by the magnificent re