* * * * * Not long after Colonel Shute had assumed the government of Massachusetts Bay -- now nearly a hundred and twenty years ago -- a young lady of rank and fortune arrived from England to claim his protection as her guardian . He was her distant relative , but the nearest who had survived the gradual extinction of her family ; so that no more eligible shelter could be found for the rich and high-born Lady Eleanore Rochcliffe than within the province-house of a Transatlantic colony . The consort of Governor Shute , moreover , had been as a mother to her childhood , and was now anxious to receive her in the hope that a beautiful young woman would be exposed to infinitely less peril from the primitive society of New England than amid the artifices and corruptions of a court . If either the governor or his lady had especially consulted their own comfort , they would probably have sought to devolve the responsibility on other hands , since with some noble and splendid traits of character Lady Eleanore was remarkable for a harsh , unyielding pride , a haughty consciousness of her hereditary and personal advantages , which made her almost incapable of control . Judging from many traditionary anecdotes , this peculiar temper was hardly less than a monomania ; or if the acts which it inspired were those of a sane person , it seemed due from Providence that pride so sinful should be followed by as severe a retribution . That tinge of the marvellous which is thrown over so many of these half-forgotten legends has probably imparted an additional wildness to the strange story of Lady Eleanore Rochcliffe . The ship in which she came passenger had arrived at Newport , whence Lady Eleanore was conveyed to Boston in the governor 's coach , attended by a small escort of gentlemen on horseback . The ponderous equipage , with its four black horses , attracted much notice as it rumbled through Cornhill surrounded by the prancing steeds of half a dozen cavaliers with swords dangling to their stirrups and pistols at their holsters . Through the large glass windows of the coach , as it rolled along , the people could discern the figure of Lady Eleanore , strangely combining an almost queenly stateliness with the grace and beauty of a maiden in her teens . A singular tale had gone abroad among the ladies of the province that their fair rival was indebted for much of the irresistible charm of her appearance to a certain article of dress -- an embroidered mantle -- which had been wrought by the most skilful artist in London , and possessed even magical properties of adornment . On the present occasion , however , she owed nothing to the witchery of dress , being clad in a riding-habit of velvet which would have appeared stiff and ungraceful on any other form . The coachman reined in his four black steeds , and the whole cavalcade came to a pause in front of the contorted iron balustrade that fenced the province-house from the public street . It was an awkward coincidence that the bell of the Old South was just then tolling for a funeral ; so that , instead of a gladsome peal with which it was customary to announce the arrival of distinguished strangers , Lady Eleanore Rochcliffe was ushered by a doleful clang , as if calamity had come embodied in her beautiful person . `` A very great disrespect ! '' exclaimed Captain Langford , an English officer who had recently brought despatches to Governor Shute . `` The funeral should have been deferred lest Lady Eleanore 's spirits be affected by such a dismal welcome . '' `` With your pardon , sir , '' replied Dr. Clarke , a physician and a famous champion of the popular party , `` whatever the heralds may pretend , a dead beggar must have precedence of a living queen . King Death confers high privileges . '' These remarks-were interchanged while the speakers waited a passage through the crowd which had gathered on each side of the gateway , leaving an open avenue to the portal of the province-house . A black slave in livery now leaped from behind the coach and threw open the door , while at the same moment Governor Shute descended the flight of steps from his mansion to assist Lady Eleanore in alighting .
But the governor 's stately approach was anticipated in a manner XXXXX excited general astonishment .
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