penalty of the law, until I shall have taken as many lives in vengeance
of this atrocious murder, as the old man had grey hairs upon his venerable head.
There is neither ruth nor favour to be found with him.«
    Jenny Dennison, who had hitherto remained silent, now ventured, in the
extremity of distress which the lovers felt, but for which they were unable to
devise a remedy, to offer her own advice.
    »Wi' your leddyship's pardon, Miss Edith, and young Mr. Morton's, we maunna
waste time. Let Milnwood take my plaid and gown; I'll slip them aff in the dark
corner, if he'll promise no to look about, and he may walk past Tam Halliday,
who is half blind with his ale, and I can tell him a canny way to get out o' the
Tower, and your leddyship will gang quietly to your ain room, and I'll row
mysell in his grey cloak, and pit on his hat, and play the prisoner till the
coast's clear, and then I'll cry in Tam Halliday, and gar him let me out.«
    »Let you out?« said Morton; »they'll make your life answer it.«
    »Ne'er a bit,« replied Jenny: »Tam daurna tell he let onybody in, for his
ain sake; and I'll gar him find some other gate to account for the escape.«
    »Will you, by G-?« said the sentinel, suddenly opening the door of the
apartment; »if I am half blind, I am not deaf, and you should not plan an escape
quite so loud, if you expect to go through with it. Come, come, Mrs. Janet -
march, troop - quick time - trot, d-n me! - And you, madam kinswoman, - I won't
ask your real name, though you were going to play me so rascally a trick, - but
I must make a clear garrison; so beat a retreat, unless you would have me turn
out the guard.«
    »I hope,« said Morton, very anxiously, »you will not mention this
circumstance, my good friend, and trust to my honour to acknowledge your
civility in keeping the secret. If you overheard our conversation, you must have
observed that we did not accept of, or enter into, the hasty proposal made by
this good-natured girl.«
    »Oh, devilish good-natured, to be sure,