nearly expended, and seeing no means for relieving my exigencies, and having wickedly quarrelled with her, whose spirit was too mild to retaliate, as it was too fragile to endure sorrow, in an evil hour I forsook the mother and the child, and went I knew not whither. From that day I became a reckless man; no recollection of my parents' solicitude—no memory of my brother's love-no thought of her, I so wantonly deceived, and so shamefully abandoned, ever produced a single good emotion; but I went from place to place, from evil to evil, from one vile association to another, till-(but I forbear to fill your ear with the long recital of my villanies)-I became the plunderer of my fellow-men, and the ruffianly leader of a band of robbers. For many a month I followed undetected this diabolical trade; till at length offended Heaven arrested my progress, and brought me here in order to receive the punishment I so richly merited, and once more to behold him, whose beloved sister I sacrificed, and whose family I endeavoured to disgrace!"

Here he paused,―terrible were the emotions of the guilty man; having, however, rallied once again, he begged Mr. Newton would divulge the names of the merchants with

whom his unhappy boy had been placed, and whom he so wickedly deceived; "for," added the criminal (with half-choked utterance), perhaps they were good men, like my cousin, and my brother, and therefore the offspring of so bad a father might be guilty of like vile dispositions, towards those who deserved better things."

Mr. Newton hesitated for an instant, and then repeated the names of the merchants of our tale, and the employers of his son.

"Then I have lived to hear this before I go hence for ever!" exclaimed the guilty felon; and then gathering up the few remains of strength which still continued to him, he exclaimed-" It is the same-my cousin-my brother!-the owners of my real name,—the employers of my poor, miserable boy! Yes, I shall even now keep my word; I told him my brother Alexander-he would never see me more! The sands of life are fast ebbing away; but ere I die I am permitted to tell a man who is the brother of my departed wife, and the friend of my brother, that though Danville basely deceived him, and wickedly spoiled him of his dearest treasure, and although Huntley went forth from perfidy to theft, and from justice to his dungeon, yet that the owner

of those disgraceful names once rejoiced in a nobler and a better,-even in that you have now been uttering in my ears. My name is Compton - William Compton; here,take this paper-'tis the copy of my last farewell note to Alexander, my brother, and when you see him again, deal gently with him touching the announcement of my fate; slip this document into his hands, and bid him keep the same for my sake."

Here the wretched man stopped suddenly as though choking for utterance ;—he gave a ghastly stare around the walls of his prison, fixed his eyes intently upon Mr. Newton, and falling back on his pallet of straw, closed them for ever!

P

CHAPTER XXI.

"Thou shalt thy sinful self deplore,
Thy worldly wisdom still unlearning—
Still to a father's house returning."

THE CATHEDRAL.

"I have learnt more in yonder tower,
Than in all life's varied day;
I've seen myself, how vile I've been,
I saw, and was afraid."

PALMER.

ON quitting the gaol where he had witnessed so awful and affecting a scene, Mr. Newton glanced at the paper which the wretched culprit had entrusted to his care; part of it seemed to be written in fresher characters, as though recently penned, and on looking more minutely he discovered a date which showed that such was the fact; it was a copy of the note which the reader will recollect was read by Mr. Alexander Compton to Edward Wood

ville, but the additional passage was the following:

"I said I should keep a copy of my farewell epistle to you. Your guilty and miserable brother, condemned by an earthly judge to banishment, and by the Judge of 'quick and dead' to eternal death, writes these words in the cell of his prison, by leave of his keeper, ere he quits it for ever. I told you I should never see you more; may this reach you, if it be only to say-Keep fast hold of the truth, let her not go;' had I done so, these chains would not be about me, and you would not have recognized a felon, in the person of your unfortunate brother,

"WILLIAM COMPTON."

Deeply affected by what had lately transpired, Mr. Newton was also perplexed, as to how he should act, relatively to the communication of these distressing events to the brother of the deceased criminal. Having stated all to Mr. Woodville, that gentleman strongly recommended silence for a season, as the mind of Mr. Alexander Compton was unfit for the reception of such sudden and sad revelations of his kinsman's fate; it was deemed prudent, therefore, to suffer him to return immediately to London, as he had intimated his wish so to