his mind upon, and, through the patronage of his friend Mr. Forbes, who took great interest in his advancement.
During this long interval he never visited his home, and seldom ever hearing the name of his never-to-be-forgotten Bella mentioned. The following article in a London paper destroyed all his hopes of again seeing her, but as the wife of another:—"On dit.—Marriage in high life. It is currently reported in high circles that Lord Lundy, upon his attaining his majority, which will be in a short time, will lead to the altar the beautiful Miss McKay; or, as she is commonly called, the 'Highland Beauty,' and that the happy pair will then visit the Highlands, and pass the season there."
Bella McKay was no less surprised on reading a similar article in an Edinburgh paper, regarding her former lover, Charlie Stuart, shortly after his admission to the Scotch bar, and which destroyed her last hopes of happiness on earth. The article in question was as follows:—"A case of considerable interest came before our High Court of Justiciary, and which is fully inserted in another column, in which two of our young advocates figured, one as counsel for the pursuer, and the other as defender in his own case. What gives it more interest is that both are reported to be rivals to the hand of a beautiful daughter of a leading member of the bar, and, according to accounts, the issue of the case will decide the claim to the fair prize. We must, therefore congratulate the young advocate, who so ably and successfully carried the day, not only for the valuable and well-earned laurels, but also in exposing the profligacy of the defender, whose expulsion from the respectable profession by the Lord Chief Justice was a just retribution, "We trust that all lovers of honour will join us in complimenting the successful advocate, who made such a brilliant debut on his entrance into public life. We have also heard from good authority that he will shortly present his lady love at the shrine of Hymen, and afterwards take a tour with his young bride during the honeymoon, among his native Highland hills."
The action which brought the above comment in the public journals, had created a great noise and gossip in
