THE WEIRD SISTERS.
A Romance.
BY RICHARD DOWLING,
AUTHOR OF "THE MYSTERY OF KILLARD."
In Three Volumes.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE ST., STRAND.
1880.
[All rights reserved.]
CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS,
GREAT NEW STREET, LONDON.
TO
EDMOND POWER, ESQ.,
OF SPRINGFIELD,
Whose kindness to Mine and to Me
I SHALL NEVER FORGET
WHILE I AM.
CONTENTS.
Part I.—A Plain Gold Guard.
| I. | —A CONSCIENTIOUS BURGLAR | 1 |
| II. | —A GENEROUS BANKER | 24 |
| III. | —THE MANOR HOUSE | 47 |
| IV. | —AN UNSELFISH MOTHER | 69 |
| V. | —AN UNSELFISH FATHER | 99 |
| VI. | —"TO THE ISLAND OR TO ——" | 123 |
| VII. | —TRUSTEE TO CANCELLED PAGES | 148 |
| VIII. | —WAT GREY'S ROMANCE DIES OUT | 174 |
| IX. | —A FLASK OF COGNAC | 194 |
| X. | —ON THE THRESHOLD OF DEATH | 216 |
| XI. | —BY THE STATE BED | 235 |
THE WEIRD SISTERS.
PART I. A PLAIN GOLD GUARD.
CHAPTER I.
A CONSCIENTIOUS BURGLAR.
Mr. Henry Walter Grey sat in his dining-room sipping claret on theevening of Monday, the 27th August, 1866. His house was in the suburbsof the city of Daneford.
Mr. Grey was a man of about forty-five years of age, looking no morethan thirty-eight. He was tall, broad, without the least tendency tocorpulency, and yet pleasantly rounded and full. There was noangularity or harshness in his face or figure. The figure was activelooking and powerful, the face open, joyous, and benignant. The hair hadbegun to thin at his forehead; this gave his face a soothing expressionof contented calm.
His forehead was broad and white; his eyes were constant, candid, andkindly; his nose was large, with quickly-mobile sensitive nostrils; andhis mouth well formed and full, having a sly uptwist at one corner,indicating strong sympathy with humour. He wore neither beard normoustache.
His complexion was bright without being florid,