THE GENTLEMAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL. AUTHOR OF A TALE. BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ., THE HUGUENOT," THE GIPSY," "THE ROBBER," IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF-STREET. 1 8 3 9. THE GENTLEMAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL. CHAPTER I. WHEN Ralph Strafford, left alone by the bank of the stream, had gazed for some ten minutes upon the bubbling waters as they rushed rapidly by him, he was startled by hearing a sound as of some human being murmuring to itself upon the bank over his head, and the next moment a stone rolled down, followed by some earth, and bounded into the stream. It had been evidently displaced by a footstep: too short a period had elapsed since Castle Ball's departure to admit of his having gone home and returned; and Strafford drew somewhat farther back under the bank, in order to avoid the notice of any one above. He still heard a murmuring sound, however, evidently all in one tone, as of a person speaking to himself; and at length the snatch of an old ditty met his ear, beginning with the often-repeated words, "He's gone away," &c. SONG. "He is gone away, maiden, He is gone away; Thou ne'er shalt see his face again, For many a livelong day. The earth upon his breast is cold, The turf upon his head, And two small stones, six feet apart, He's close beside the dwelling-place The voice was very sweet and the air very melancholy, and the lips that sung were evidently those of a woman. Strafford's curiosity was somewhat excited, and, moving round a bush that intercepted his view, he tried to obtain a sight of the singer, without himself being seen. In some degree he was unsuccessful, for the motion attracted instant notice; but the moment he put forth his head from beyond the bush, he saw the object which had raised his curiosity, though the sight by no means tended to satisfy it. The person who sang was, as he had supposed, a woman, who had seated herself upon the edge of the bank, and was playing carelessly with the wild flowers on the verge. Her form appeared to be fine, and her dress somewhat gaudy in colours. It was by no means, however, an English costume that she wore; the waist, contrary to the custom of the day, being high and broad, and the bright blue petticoat enormously full, with the folds into which it fell sewn together at the bottom. The heavy leather shoes, which covered but clumsily the foot on which they were placed, were also stitched all over with white thread. All this part of the dress Strafford instantly recognised as belonging to various cantons in Germany which he had visited; but the headdress puzzled him a little, and he could only ascribe it to the Zigeuners or gipsies of Hungary, where he thought he recollected having seen something of the same kind. It consisted of a long thick red and yellow handkerchief or veil, drawn apparently tight over the top of the head, yet so as to leave a broad edge hanging down over the forehead as far as the eyebrows. The two ends of the handkerchief, which must have been of considerable length, were then brought down on either side, covering the greater part of the cheeks, crossing over the chin, and passing in graceful folds round the neck, so as to meet the part which fell down behind, and enclose it as they crossed each other over the shoulders. They then were brought round under the arms, and were carried up, covering the whole bosom, till they met the folds upon the neck, where the whole was fastened together by what appeared to be a silver clasp. The rest of the dress consisted in a yellow woollen jacket, which met the bright blue petticoat we have mentioned, and fitted close to the arms. When first Strafford set his eyes upon this figure, he was convinced in a moment that he saw a German gipsy before him; but his movement, as we have said, instantly attracted attention; the head of the woman, which had been bent down, was immediately raised, and to his surprise, instead of the yellow skin of a gipsy, he beheld a face of jetty black. The distance between them was not more than ten or fifteen yards at the utmost, so that he could see all the features distinctly. They were not those of a negro, as we commonly apply the term, but far more like those of the handsomer classes of Hindoos, with which the large, sparkling dark eyes and snow-white teeth accorded well. She started up as soon as she saw the stranger, and for a moment seemed about to dart away. The next instant, however, her resolution was changed; and though the bank was steep and the footing dangerous, she descended easily and lightly, and in a moment stood by Strafford's side. I “Shall I tell your fortune, good sir?" she said, with a slight foreign accent; shall I tell your fortune? can tell it better than any of the people of your own country; the past, the present, or the future." Strafford smiled, and answered her in German, though he could not well account for her swarthy features under such a dress. The girl laughed, and replied to him in the same tongue, but added, "That's not my language, though you think it is. You can't speak my language, or any one else here. But I can speak French better than that, though that's not my language either." Strafford could have instantly detected that she was not a German, though she spoke a peasant dialect of the language fluently. He was resolved, however, to try her in French also; but that tongue she had still more at command, and perhaps, if she had not herself told him that it was not her native language, he might not have discovered such to be the case. "And now," he said, "let me hear your own tongue then." She smiled, showing all her white teeth, but still the smile was a melancholy one; and she then spoke a few liquid and musical words, of which the only one that Strafford could catch was " rayah." "But now," she added in English, "shall I tell your |