fall he had descended vertically upon the bandbox and burst it open

from end to end; thence a great treasure of diamonds had poured

forth, and now lay abroad, part trodden in the soil, part scattered

on the surface in regal and glittering profusion. There was a

magnificent coronet which he had often admired on Lady Vandeleur;

there were rings and brooches, ear-drops and bracelets, and even

unset brilliants rolling here and there among the rosebushes like

drops of morning dew. A princely fortune lay between the two men

upon the ground - a fortune in the most inviting, solid, and

durable form, capable of being carried in an apron, beautiful in

itself, and scattering the sunlight in a million rainbow flashes.

"Good God!" said Harry, "I am lost!"

His mind raced backwards into the past with the incalculable

velocity of thought, and he began to comprehend his day's

adventures, to conceive them as a whole, and to recognise the sad

imbroglio in which his own character and fortunes had become

involved. He looked round him as if for help, but he was alone in

the garden, with his scattered diamonds and his redoubtable

interlocutor; and when he gave ear, there was no sound but the

rustle of the leaves and the hurried pulsation of his heart. It

was little wonder if the young man felt himself deserted by his

spirits, and with a broken voice repeated his last ejaculation - "I

am lost!"

The gardener peered in all directions with an air of guilt; but

there was no face at any of the windows, and he seemed to breathe

again.

"Pick up a heart," he said, "you fool! The worst of it is done.

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