Soon after their return, our married couple,
wishing to give the old people an agreeable surprise, proposed paying
them a visit in their carriage and pair, at their old home, the
"Headless Lady." What was their surprise and dismay, on their arrival,
to find, in lieu of the time honoured hostel, _a blackened ruin_! "Good Heavens!" cried husband and wife, simultaneously, "what can have
become of the old people?" Tears started to the eyes of Helen at the
thought of the scenes of her childhood and of the many happy hours she
had spent within those old walls; but anxiety for the fate of her
parents filled her soul. Enquiries having been made, Jack Hearty and his
wife were tracked to the house of a neighbour in the village. "Father! Mother!" cried the grand lady, stepping out of her carriage;
and, throwing all ceremony to the winds, she embraced them both with the
fondest affection, while the liveried coachman and footman exchanged
glances together. "Tell us how all this has happened," said our artist; "but first step
into the carriage, and we will drive home. You must come and stay with
us." Neither his father nor his mother-in-law possessed anything but what
they stood upright in, and were not long in making up their minds, so
stepping into the carriage, and waving an adieu to their hospitable
neighbours, were soon borne out of sight. "Well, Jack," said our artist to his father-in-law, after he had
listened to a detailed account of the latter's misadventure, as they
were sitting together that evening in the cosy parlour of our hero's
country house, the two ladies having retired to the drawing-room to
enjoy their own private gossip, "of course I am sorry for your loss, and
for the old inn itself, which I had calculated making a picture of some
day; but really, under the circumstances, I look upon it as
providential." "Providential!" exclaimed the _ci-devant_ landlord, in astonishment. "What! the destruction of the home of my fathers by fire, through my
idiotic folly and besotted drunkenness, providential!" "Jack, my boy, you were but the instrument, and no responsible agent,"
continued his son-in-law. "From what you tell me, the house was most
undoubtedly haunted--the air vitiated and poisoned as by a pestilence,
from having been the seat of deep crime. I know something of these
phenomena, and I have always heard and read that there is no thorough or
lasting purification in such cases save by _fire_. Take, for example,
the Fire of London. That broke out, providentially, after the Plague, in
order to purify the City. The burning of your inn was a necessity, as it
had been rendered uninhabitable through being haunted, and you were
chosen as the instrument." "Why! Good Heavens!" cried Jack Hearty, drawing his chair suddenly
back, and looking straight into the face of his son-in-law, while a fat
hand rested on each stout knee. "To think that that should never have
occurred to me before! Why, of course, it must have been so. I see it
all as plain as a pike-staff." "You were not yourself, Jack, on that occasion," pursued our artist. "You were _beside_ yourself, which means that your will, already
unfeebled, was subjugated by some outside power--viz., the will of some
disembodied spirit stronger than your own, who made use of you as his
instrument." "It is quite true, sir," replied Jack, "I was _not_ myself at the time. Well, well--it is some consolation to think it _had_ to be done, and
that there was no way out of it." Here the ladies re-entered the room, and the conversation took another
turn. "Now, Jack," proposed McGuilp, before all present, "since matters have
turned out thus, what do you say to becoming steward of my estate--my
man of business--caretaker of my house when I am away, and live here
with the missus to the end of your days?" "Oh, sir!" exclaimed Jack Hearty and his wife together, "you overwhelm
us with kindness. How can we ever repay you our debt of gratitude?" and
tears started to the eyes of the old couple. "Then so be it," said the now rich landowner. "Dear, _dear_, Van!" exclaimed his young wife, as she threw herself upon
his neck and covered him with kisses. "You have made me _so_ happy." And so it was that the little family party jogged on from day to day as
united as birds in a nest. Jack Hearty was a good man of business, and an honest, and the post
suited him to a T. Dame Hearty's delight was naturally to cook and to
wash, or in undertaking any of those rough duties that she had been
accustomed to in her former life, but as these were not
necessary--others having been engaged for that purpose, she was
entrusted with the keys of the house, and became an excellent
housekeeper, loved and respected by those under her. Had our artist entirely abandoned art now that he had succeeded to his
uncle's fortune and estate? Far from it. First and foremost among the
improvements that he made was the building of a spacious studio, which
he fitted up in a manner worthy of his taste and his means. In this he
executed his great picture, which created such a _furore_ on the
following year at the Royal Academy, entitled, "Captured by the
Brigands." The English captive in the composition was a faithful
likeness of our artist himself, whilst the bronzed features of his
captors, which were deeply impressed upon his memory were as like to the
originals, our artist assures us, as if they had sat for them. The time
is represented as towards evening. The light and shade powerful. The
whole effect of the picture weird and unearthly. An offer had been made
for it, but the would-be buyer was informed that it was not for sale. So
it was hung up in the parlour of the artist's own country house,
according to the wish of his loving wife, who liked constantly to be
reminded of this weird episode in the life of the man she loved. Time wore on, and not a quarrel, not a difference of opinion even arose
to mar the happiness of this loving pair, when one fine morning a great
event transpired. The lady of this household presented her liege lord
with a son and heir, a fine healthy boy, who was christened John, after
his grandfather, and never called other than Jack by his parents. Despite her household duties, Mrs. Vandyke McGuilp always managed to
find time to pursue her studies, while her natural intelligence and
application were such that the progress she made under her husband's
tuition, was simply marvellous. In a few years the McGuilps purchased a
house in town in a fashionable quarter, and the "at homes" or
"conversaziones," as they were called in those days, of Mrs. Vandyke
McGuilp, were the talk of all the _elite_. Helen now felt herself called
upon to enact the _rôle_ of a grand lady, and in this her natural
dignity, intelligence, and sweetness of disposition, enabled her to
succeed to perfection. Little more remains to be told.