"Did he acknowledge his marriage?" said Lord Colambre.

"Never, till he was dying--then he confided his secret to me."

"Do you recollect the name of the young lady he married?"

"Yes--a Miss St. Omar."

"St. Omar!" repeated Lord Colambre, with an expression of lively joy
in his countenance. "But are you certain, my dear count, that she was
really married, legally married, to Mr. Reynolds? Her marriage has
been denied by all his friends and relations--hers have never been
able to establish it--her daughter is--My dear count, were you present
at the marriage?"

"No," said the count, "I was not present at the marriage; I never
saw the lady; nor do I know any thing of the affair, except that Mr.
Reynolds, when he was dying, assured me that he was privately married
to a Miss St. Omar, who was then boarding at a convent in Vienna. The
young man expressed great regret at leaving her totally unprovided
for; but said that he trusted his father would acknowledge her, and
that her friends would be reconciled to her. He was not of age, he
said, to make a will; but I think he told me that his child, who at
that time was not born, would, even if it should be a girl, inherit a
considerable property. With this I cannot, however, charge my memory
positively; but he put a packet into my hands which, he told me,
contained a certificate of his marriage, and, I think he said, a
letter to his father: this he requested that I would transmit to
England by some safe hand. Immediately after his death, I went to the