The Argosy, Vol. 57

# The Grey Monk

This is Chapter IX of a serialized gothic novel by the author of The Mysteries of Heron Dyke. Ethel Thursby, a young woman raised by her aunts Miss Matilda and Miss Jane, learns on her nineteenth birthday from a letter left by her late Uncle Matthew that she is adopted—her supposed mother, Mrs. Vane, died aboard the ship Pandora years ago and was not her biological parent. Ethel's identity remains mysterious. After her initial distress, her aunts and their longtime servant Tamsin reassure her that nothing will change; she will remain their niece and Vale View her home. Tamsin, who witnessed events aboard the Pandora, confirms Mrs. Vane was not a lady and showed no maternal affection. The chapter ends with Ethel alone in the grounds, resolved to confess her secret to her lover.