 practice for you against the time you may wish to do the same
kindness to a living shentleman - or hould! as your father does not approve, you
may leave it alone, as he will pe a greater object of satisfaction to Leddy
Staunton to see him entire; and I hope she will do me the credit to pelieve that
I can afenge a shentleman's plood fery speedily and well.«
    Such was the observation of a man too much accustomed to the ancient state
of manners in the Highlands, to look upon the issue of such a skirmish as
anything worthy of wonder or emotion.
    We will not attempt to describe the very contrary effect which the
unexpected disaster produced upon Lady Staunton, when the bloody corpse of her
husband was brought to the house, where she expected to meet him alive and well.
All was forgotten, but that he was the lover of her youth; and whatever were his
faults to the world, that he had towards her exhibited only those that arose
from the inequality of spirits and temper, incident to a situation of
unparalleled difficulty. In the vivacity of her grief she gave way to all the
natural irritability of her temper; shriek followed shriek, and swoon succeeded
to swoon. It required all Jeanie's watchful affection to prevent her from making
known, in these paroxysms of affliction, much which it was of the highest
importance that she should keep secret.
    At length silence and exhaustion succeeded to frenzy, and Jeanie stole out
to take counsel with her husband, and to exhort him to anticipate the Captain's
interference, by taking possession, in Lady Staunton's name, of the private
papers of her deceased husband. To the utter astonishment of Butler, she now,
for the first time, explained the relation betwixt herself and Lady Staunton,
which authorised, nay, demanded, that he should prevent any stranger from being
unnecessarily made acquainted with her family affairs. It was in such a crisis
that Jeanie's active and undaunted habits of virtuous exertion were most
conspicuous. While the Captain's attention was still engaged by a prolonged
refreshment, and a very tedious examination, in Gaelic and English, of all the
prisoners, and every other witness of the fatal transaction, she had the body of
her brother-in-law undressed and properly disposed. It then appeared, from the
crucifix, the beads, and the shirt of hair which he wore next his person, that
his sense of guilt had induced him to receive the dogmata of a religion, which
pretends, by the maceration of the body, to expiate the crimes of the soul
