partings were the first sorrows that had
reached the Lovells.

At first, all went well; Charles was not
wanting in ability nor in a moderate degree
of application; and Emily wrote cheerily of
her new life. She was kindly received, well
treated, and associated with the family on the
footing of a friend. Neither did further experience
seem to diminish her satisfaction. She
saw a great many gay people—some of whom
she named; and, amongst the rest, there not
unfrequently appeared the name of Herbert.
Mr. Herbert was in the army, and being a
distant connexion of the family with whom
she resided, was a frequent visitor at their
house. 'She was sure papa and mamma
would like him.' Once the mother smiled,
and said she hoped Emily was not falling in
love; but no more was thought of it. In the
meantime Charles had found out that there
was time for many things at Oxford, besides
study. He was naturally fond of society, and
had a remarkable capacity for excelling in
all kinds of games. He was agreeable, lively,
exceedingly handsome, and sang charmingly,
having been trained in part-singing by his
mother. No young man at Oxford was
more fété; but alas! he was very poor,
and poverty poisoned all his enjoyments.
For some time he resisted temptation; but
after a terrible struggle—for he adored his
family—he gave way, and ran in debt, and
although the imprudence only augmented his
misery, he had not resolution to retrace his
steps, but advanced further and further on
this broad road to ruin, so that he had come
home for the vacation shortly before our
visit to T—, threatened with all manner of
annoyances if he did not carry back a
sufficient sum to satisfy his most clamorous
creditors. He had assured them he would
do so, but where was he to get the money?
Certainly not from his parents; he well knew
they had it not; nor had  he a friend in the
world from whom he could hope assistance
in such an emergency. In his despair he often
thought of running away—going to Australia,
America, New Zealand, anywhere; but he had
not even the means to do this. He suffered
indescribable tortures, and saw no hope of relief.

It was just at this period that Herbert's
regiment happened to be quartered at T-- .
Charles had occasionally seen his name in
his sister's letters, and heard that there
was a Herbert now in the barracks, but
he was ignorant whether or not it was
the same person; and when he accidentally
fell into the society of some of the junior
officers, and was invited by Herbert himself
to dine at the mess, pride prevented his
ascertaining the fact. He did not wish to
betray that his sister was a governess.
Herbert, however, knew full well that their visitor
was the brother of Emily Lovell, but partly
for reasons of his own, and partly because he
penetrated the weakness of the other, he
abstained from mentioning her name.

Now, this town of T—was, and probably
is, about the dullest quarter in all England!
The officers hated it, there was no flirting, no
dancing, no hunting, no anything. Not a man
of them knew what to do with himself. The
old ones wandered about and played at whist,
the young ones took to hazard and three-card-
loo, playing at first for moderate stakes, but
soon getting on to high ones. Two or three
civilians of the neighbourhood joined the
party, Charles Lovell amongst the rest. Had
they begun with playing high, he would have
been excluded for want of funds; but whilst
they played low, he won, so that when they
increased the stakes, trusting to a continuance
of his good fortune, he was eager to go on
with them. Neither did his luck altogether
desert him; on the whole, he rather won than
lost; but he foresaw that one bad night would
break him, and he should be obliged to retire,
forfeiting his amusement and mortifying his
pride. It was just at this crisis, that, one
night, an accident, which caused him to win
a considerable sum, set him upon the notion
of turning chance into certainty. Whilst
shuffling the cards, he dropped the ace of
spades into his lap, caught it up, replaced it in
the pack, and dealt it to himself. No one
else had seen the card, no observation was
made, and a terrible thought came into his
head!

Whether loo or hazard was played, Charles
Lovell had, night after night, a most
extraordinary run of luck. He won large sums,
and saw before him the early prospect of
paying his debts and clearing all his
difficulties.

Amongst the young men who played at the
table, some had plenty of money and cared
little for their losses; but others were not so
well off, and one of these was Edward
Herbert. He, too, was the son of poor parents
who had straitened themselves to put him in
the army, and it was with infinite difficulty
and privation that his widowed mother had
amassed the needful sum to purchase for him
a company, which was now becoming vacant.
The retiring officer's papers were already sent
in, and Herbert's money was lodged at Cox
and Greenwood's; but before the answer from
the Horse-Guards arrived, he had lost every
sixpence. Nearly the whole sum had become
the property of Charles Lovell.

Herbert was a fine young man, honourable,
generous, impetuous, and endowed with an
acute sense of shame. He determined
instantly to pay the debts, but he knew that
his own prospects were ruined for life; he
wrote to the agents to send him the money
and withdraw his name from the list of
purchasers. But how was he to support his
mother's grief? How meet the eye of the
girl he loved? She, who he knew adored
him, and whose hand it was agreed between
them he should ask of her parents as soon as
he was gazetted a captain! The anguish of
mind he suffered then threw him into a fever,