. Before them spread the noiseless sea, basking in the sunshine, without visible ripple; to the left there was a distant glimpse through gaps of brushwood of the public gardens and white water

m less important than the duties he owed to one for whom he entertained that deep and noble love which is something stronger than brotherly, for with brotherly affection

cherished by a friend so tender; for in the friendship of this man there was that sort of t

ld as an English summer day, lingering on the brink of autumn; the sun sloping towards the west, and alr

of the subject introduced, "Lay your hand on your heart, Tom, and answer me truly. Are your thoughts as clear from regrets as the heavens abov

oved to distraction! No; surely I made that clear to you many

ove and reason, should say, 'Reason shall conquer, and has conquered;' and yet-and yet-as time glides on, feel that the conquerors who cannot put down re

en Jessie again, another man's wife, mother to his child, happy in her marriage; and, whether she was changed o

ave been long abroad from her. Do you ever think of her,-think of her still as your f

. We correspond. She writes such nice letters." Tom hesitated, blushed

D

st of such letters fr

slowly, carefully, while Tom watched in vain for some approvin

cated, well brought up, evincing affection modestly, intelligence modestly too; the sort of letter in which

his lips congratulations, not perhaps quite sincere, but which amply satisfied the lover. In uttering them, Kenelm rose to his feet, threw his arm round his friend's shoulder, and said, "Are you not tired of this place, To

ily herself? If you had never come to Graveleigh, never sa

serted him. A duller companion than he was you could not have conceived. He might have been the hero of a young lady's novel. It was only when they parted in

ly,-wrought so as to leave you heart-free for the world's actions and a home's peace, on that eve when you saw her whose face t

ress it otherwise, but t

door of the carriage that was to whirl to love and wealth and station the whilom bully of a village, along the iron groove o