Henry, astonished as he was at these events, was still more surprised when he learnt that General St. Maur was really Lord Langleigh, the father of Emily.  He had not, as all the world had thought, been drowned in his escape from the Tower.  In the wreck, he had succeeded in saving not only his own life, but the life of a young man named Ireton.  Ireton had never forgotten the debt, and now, in the package which Henry had brought over from England, had endeavoured to repay it.  He had persuaded the Council that the estates of Penford-bourne had been improperly sequestrated by King Charles, and should be returned to their lawful owner, Lord Langleigh; and the letter contained a decree of the Council once more granting him his lands and title.

When Walter Dixon heard of these events, which again snatched the prize for which he had attempted so much from his lips, he determined on yet another effort to achieve his object.  Bribing two men to assist him in the deed, he lured Lord Langleigh into an ambush.  Only the prompt arrival of Henry Masterton prevented the success of this foul deed; and it was Dixon himself who fell a victim.

Lord Langleigh, too good a Cavalier, courteously refused the offers of the Council of State, and remained in France until the Restoration, when, with Henry, now Lord Masterton, and his wife, Lady Emily, he returned to Penford-bourne to spend the remainder of his days in his native land.

* * * * *

SAMUEL JOHNSON

Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia

Samuel Johnson was born at Lichfield in Staffordshire, on September 18, 1709, and died in London, December 13, 1784.  In Volume IX of THE WORLD’S GREATEST BOOKS appears an epitome of Boswell’s famous “Life of Johnson.”  “The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia,” was written by Dr. Johnson in order to meet the expenses incurred by his mother’s illness and death.  According to Boswell, the work was composed in the evenings of one week, and the sheets sent to the printers exactly as they left his hands, without even being read over by the author himself.  It was published during the early part of 1759, Johnson receiving for it the sum of L100, and a further amount of L25 when it came to a second edition.  Of all Johnson’s works, “Rasselas” was apparently the most popular.  By 1775 it reached its fifth edition, and has since been translated into many languages.  The work is more of a satire on optimism and on human life in general than a novel, and perhaps is little more than a ponderous dissertation on Johnson’s favourite theme, the “vanity of human wishes.”  As to its actual merits, Johnson’s contemporaries differed widely, some proclaiming him a pompous pedant with a passion for words of six syllables and more, others delighting in those passages in which weighty meaning was illustrated with splendour and vigour.

I.—­Life in the Happy Valley