With a charming voice, this young lady would answer to the name of Amanda Milne. She had seen Dick every day, since her earliest childhood; and she had formed a better opinion of him than of any other lad in the village. She was the only one in the place, except his own mother, who felt any regard for Dick Guinane. All his other neighbours looked upon him, as a living evidence of God's amazing mercy! Like most young ladies, Amanda was learning some accomplishments--to enable her to kill time in a genteel, and useless manner. The first great work achieved by her fingers, and to her own entire satisfaction, was a silk purse--which it had not taken her quite two months to knit. This purse, on a favourable opportunity having offered itself, was presented to Dick. Not long after, her mother wished to exhibit her needle-work to some friends--as a proof of the skill and industry of her daughter, who was requested to produce the purse. Amanda knew that Dick was not liked by the inhabitants of the village; and that her own mother had an especially bad opinion of him. Moreover, the Guinane family was not so wealthy as the widow Milne; and in the opinion of many, there was no equality whatever between the young people representing each. Though Amanda was well aware of all this, had she been alone with her mother, in all likelihood she would have told the truth; but, in the presence of strangers, she acted as most other girls would have done under similar circumstances. She said she had lost the purse; and had searched for it everywhere without finding it. About that time, Dick was seen in possession of a purse; and would give no account, of how he came by it. The two facts that Amanda Milne had lost a purse, and that Dick Guinane had one in his possession, soon became the subject of a comparison; and the acquaintances of both arrived at the conclusion: that Amanda, as she had stated, must have lost her purse, and that Dick must have stolen it! Time passed on--each month producing some additional evidence to condemn poor Dick in the estimation of his acquaintances. Mrs Guinane was a member of the Methodist Church, over which presided the Reverend Joseph Grievous. This gentleman was in the habit of holding frequent conversations with Mrs Guinane, on the growing sinfulness of her son. Notwithstanding her great reverence for her spiritual instructor, she could not perceive Dick's terrible faults. Withal, the complaints made to her--of his killing cats, dogs, and geese, stealing fruit, and breaking windows--were so frequent, and apparently so true, that she used to take Dick to task, and in a kindly way read long maternal lectures to him.