CHAPTER IV.
"O cunning enemy, to catch a saint
With saints dost bait thy hook! most dangerous
Is that temptation that does goad us on
To sin in loving virtue."....
Shakspeare.
Mrs. De Brooke, during her temporary suspensions from sufferings had frequently expressed to Rosilia her disapprobation of the long visits of Melliphant, and charged her in future to excuse herself from accompanying him to the drawing-room, and that, immediately upon receiving his instructions, she should hasten back to her apartment. This she had practised for several successive days, when Melliphant, harassed by the frequent disappointments he had endured, had the satisfaction at last of meeting her alone.
She had just returned from a short walk in those retired gardens, where she had been accustomed to ramble, free from intrusion. She had been urged by her mother to go there, under the apprehension that her health might suffer from a too great confinement to her sick room. When Melliphant first perceived her, he contemplated her for a time with
