HARRY JOSCELYN.

——

VOL. III.

HARRY JOSCELYN.

BY

MRS. OLIPHANT

AUTHOR OF

“The Chronicles of Carlingford,”

&c., &c.


IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. III.


LONDON:
HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS,
13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.
1881.
All rights reserved.
{1}



HARRY JOSCELYN.

CHAPTER I.

AFTER TEN YEARS.

TEN years is a large slice out of a life; but it slips by, not leavingmuch trace in a rural country where everything goes quietly, and whereChristmas follows after Christmas with scarcely any sign by which onecan be identified from another on looking back. We will not say thatnothing had happened in the White House to mark the ten years from thetime when young Harry Joscelyn disappeared from the Fell country, and itbecame evident that no one there was likely to hear anything of himmore. Various things had happened: one, for instance, was that Joan hadmarried Philip Selby, and was now the mistress of{2} Heatonshaw, and couldnot easily remember, so strange is the effect of such a change, how shehad contented herself in her previous life, or what had been the habitsand customs of Joan Joscelyn. More had happened to her in this than inany other ten years of her life; but yet they had glided over verycalmly, day following day with such a gentle monotony that it was hardfor her to decide how many of them there were, or which was which. Shehad no child to measure the years by, which was a misfortune, but onewhich she bore with submission: reflecting to herself that if childrenare a comfort they are often also a great handful, and that when theyare troublesome there is nothing else so troublesome in all the world.Philip Selby himself was less philosophical, and would have venturedgladly upon the risk for the sake of the blessing; but it was not so tobe. And thus they had little evidence before them of how the years stoleaway. But all that he had augured, and Joan had agreed to, about thehouse, had come true. There were the best of beasts in the byres, andheavy crops on the arable land, and a phaeton in the coach-house, andhorses in the stables such as no man needed to be ashamed of. And withall this,...