第21部分(第2/7 页)

　remain　ignorant　of　nothing　that　concerns　the　child　you　have　received；　and　whom　Harry……　unfortunately　for　him；　alas！……drew　from　the　abyss。〃

〃Oh；　Nell！　what　are　you　saying？〃　cried　Harry。

〃Allow　her　to　speak；〃　said　James　Starr　in　a　decided　tone。

〃I　am　the　granddaughter　of　old　Silfax；〃　resumed　Nell。 〃I　never　knew　a　mother　till　the　day　I　came　here；〃　added　she；　looking　at　Madge。

〃Blessed　be　that　day；　my　daughter！〃　said　the　old　woman。

〃I　knew　no　father　till　I　saw　Simon　Ford；〃　continued　Nell；　〃nor　friend　till　the　day　when　Harry's　hand　touched　mine。　Alone　with　my　grandfather　I　have　lived　during　fifteen　years　in　the　remote　and　most　solitary　depths　of　the　mine。　I　say　WITH　my　grandfather；　but　I　can　scarcely　use　the　expression；　for　I　seldom　saw　him。 When　he　disappeared　from　Old　Aberfoyle；　he　concealed　himself　in　caverns　known　only　to　himself。　In　his　way　he　was　kind　to　me；　dreadful　as　he　was；　he　fed　me　with　whatever　he　could　procure　from　outside　the　mine；　but　I　can　dimly　recollect　that　in　my　earliest　years　I　was　the　nursling　of　a　goat；　the　death　of　which　was　a　bitter　grief　to　me。　My　grandfather；　seeing　my　distress；　brought　me　another　animal……　a　dog　he　said　it　was。 But；　unluckily；　this　dog　was　lively；　and　barked。 Grandfather　did　not　like　anything　cheerful。　He　had　a　horror　of　noise；　and　had　taught　me　to　be　silent；　the　dog　he　could　not　teach　to　be　quiet；　so　the　poor　animal　very　soon　disappeared。 My　grandfather's　panion　was　a　ferocious　bird；　Harfang；　of　which；　at　first；　I　had　a　perfect　horror；　but　this　creature；　in　spite　of　my　dislike　to　it；　took　such　a　strong　affection　for　me；　that　I　could　not　help　returning　it。　It　even　obeyed　me　better　than　its　master；　which　used　to　make　me　quite　uneasy；　for　my　grandfather　was　jealous。 Harfang　and　I　did　not　dar