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Rh on the clear crystal—stood upon the table; and the half-finished flask exhaled the delicious odour of Burgundy.

The elder cavalier was seated beside the hearth, half asleep; and sleep, which so shows the face in its truth, unbrlghtened by expression—which o little conceals the ravages of years—marked how little time had wrought upon Lord Avonleigh. The brow was smooth and fair; no deep thought, born of deep feeling, had grown there—those indelible lines which stamp even youth with age. True, the fiery eagerness of former days was past, and in its place was the quiet, self-concentrated look of habitual indulgence. His dress was rich; the finest lace formed his ruff, and his curious gold chain was rather elegant than massive; while an attention to the disposition of the whole, together with the intentional grace of the attitude, bespoke the still remaining consciousness of personal attraction.

His son, the companion of his imprisonment, was very like him; but, strange that the young face possessed already stronger lines than its prototype! Scorn seemed habitual to the curved lip; and the starting veins in the middle of the forehead were the unerring indication of a violent temper.