grounds of the
house of Glenallan, and hung right ower the stream - Ah! yes - I may forget that
I had a husband and have lost him - that I hae but ane alive of our four fair
sons - that misfortune upon misfortune has devoured our ill-gotten wealth - that
they carried the corpse of my son's eldest-born frae the house this morning -
But I never can forget the days I spent at bonny Craigburnfoot!«
    »You were a favourite of my mother,« said Lord Glenallan, desirous to bring
her back to the point, from which she was wandering.
    »I was, I was, - ye needna mind me o' that. She brought me up abune my
station, and wi' knowledge mair than my fellows - but, like the tempter of auld,
wi' the knowledge of gude she taught me the knowledge of evil.«
    »For God's sake, Elspeth,« said the astonished Earl, »proceed, if you can,
to explain the dreadful hints you have thrown out! I well know you are confidant
to one dreadful secret, which should split this roof even to hear it named - but
speak on farther.«
    »I will,« she said - »I will! - just bear wi' me for a little;« - and again
she seemed lost in recollection, but it was no longer tinged with imbecility or
apathy. She was now entering upon the topic which had long loaded her mind, and
which doubtless often occupied her whole soul at times when she seemed dead to
all around her. And I may add, as a remarkable fact, that such was the intense
operation of mental energy upon her physical powers and nervous system, that,
notwithstanding her infirmity of deafness, each word that Lord Glenallan spoke
during this remarkable conference, although in the lowest tone of horror or
agony, fell as full and distinct upon Elspeth's ear as it could have done at any
period of her life. She spoke also herself clearly, distinctly, and slowly, as
if anxious that the intelligence she communicated should be fully understood;
concisely at the same time, and with none of the verbiage or circumlocutory
additions natural to those of her sex and condition. In short, her language
bespoke a better education, as well as an uncommonly firm and resolved mind, and
a character of that sort from which great virtues or great crimes may be
naturally expected. The tenor of her communication is disclosed in the following
chapter.
 

                              Chapter Thirty-third

 Remorse - she ne'er forsakes us -
 A bloodhound