"Where is he ?--Ah, I see him .-- Come to me, my dear lord," she added, stretching out her arms to him, "Come to me." But evil thoughts kept Rochester motionless.

"Oh! come to me, my lord," cried Amabel, in a troubled tone, "or I shall begin to think what I have dreamed is true, and that I am not wedded to you." "It _was_ merely a dream, your ladyship," observed Judith.

"I will bear witness you are wedded to his lordship, for I was present at the ceremony." "I did not see you," remarked Amabel.
"I was there, nevertheless," replied Judith.
"I am sorry to hear it," replied Amabel.
"Your ladyship would rejoice if you knew all," returned Judith, significantly.
"Why so ?" inquired the other, curiously.
"Because the clergyman who married you is dead of the plague," was the answer; "and it may chance in these terrible times that the two gentlemen who were present at the ceremony may die of the same distemper, and then there will be no one left but me and another person to prove that your marriage was lawful." "But its lawfulness will never be questioned, my dear lord, will it ?" asked Amabel, looking beseechingly at Rochester.
"Never," replied Judith, producing a small piece of parchment, "while I hold this certificate." "Give me that document," said the earl, in an undertone, to her.
Judith directed her eyes towards the chest.

"It is yours," said the earl, in the same tone as before.
"What are you whispering, my lord ?" inquired Amabel, uneasily.
"I am merely telling her to remove that chest, sweetheart," he replied.
"Do not send it away," cried Amabel.

"It contains all the ornaments and trinkets you have given me.