loraine had lingered out existence to its last thread; till at length, being made sensible of his near dissolution, he expressed a strong desire once again to behold Douglas; in whose arms he breathed his last!—an event which, however melancholy, had not been altogether unexpected by Douglas, he having paired to Scotland upon the intelligence of his brother's illness sooner than he had otherwise intended. In right of succession the family estate and title devolving upon him, he became in consequence Lord Deloraine; but this new dignity was not likely to produce an alteration in the heart and mind of one whose genuine worth and true nobility of soul had acquired such strength and consistency, superior to exaltation derived from any worldly cause whatever.
Not desiring to prolong his stay and absence from his friends in Wales beyond what was incumbent upon him with regard to a due observance of the necessary arrangements consequent on the death of his brother, he departed from Scotland with the inten tion at some later period of returning to it, and of probably making it the chief place of his future residence. Passing through London he chanced, as has been said, to fall in with Harcourt, whose salutations were most particularly warm, rejoiced to meet a friend to whom he was so signally indebted, and also to avail himself of the occasion of prosecuting his journey into Glamorganshire.
Perfectly aware of Harcourt's motives in going thither, Douglas spoke but little, absorbed in silent
