Produced by Louise Davies, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) MATTIE:--A STRAY. BY F. W. ROBINSON THE AUTHOR OF "HIGH CHURCH," "NO CHURCH," "OWEN:-A WAIF," &c., &c. "By bestowing blessings upon others, we entail them on ourselves." HORACE SMITH. IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. III. LONDON: HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 18, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1864. _The right of Translation is reserved._ LONDON: PRINTED BY MACDONALD AND TUGWELL, BLENHEIM HOUSE, BLENHEIM STREET, OXFORD STREET. CONTENTS OF THE THIRD VOLUME. BOOK VI. SIDNEY'S FRIENDS. I. MATTIE'S CHOICE II. MATTIE'S ADVISER III. THE OLD LOVERS IV. A NEW DECISION V. ANN PACKET EXPRESSES AN OPINION VI. MR. GRAY'S SCHEME BOOK VII. SIDNEY'S GRATITUDE. I. MAURICE HINCHFORD IN SEARCH OF HIS COUSIN II. MAURICE RECEIVES PLENTY OF ADVICE III. A DECLARATION IV. MORE TALK OF MARRIAGE AND GIVING IN MARRIAGE V. MATTIE'S ANSWER BOOK VIII. MORE LIGHT. I. A NEW HOPE II. MATTIE IS TAKEN INTO CONFIDENCE III. HALF THE TRUTH IV. ALL THE TRUTH V. STRUGGLING VI. SIGNS OF CHANGE VII. RETURNED VIII. DECLINED WITH THANKS IX. MATTIE, MEDIATRIX X. CONCLUSION BOOK VI. SIDNEY'S FRIENDS. CHAPTER I. MATTIE'S CHOICE. There are epochs in some lives when the heart cracks or hardens. When humanity, wrung to its utmost, gives way, or ossifies. Both are dangerous crises, and require more than ordinary care; the physician must be skilful and understand human nature, or his efforts at cure will only kill the patient who submits to his remedies. Man--we speak literally of the masculine gender at this point--though born unto trouble, finds it hard to support in a philosophical way. A great trouble that in nine cases out of ten shows woman at her best, transforms man to his worst; if he be a man of the world, worldly, he is dumbfounded by the calamity which has fallen upon him. It is incomprehensible why _he_ should suffer--he of all men--and he wraps himself in his egotism--his wounded self-love--and thinks of the injustice and hardness that have shut him out from his labours. Such men, heavily oppressed, do not give in to the axiom, that it is well for them to be afflicted; they will not bow to God's will, or resign themselves to it--their outward calmness is assumed, and they chafe at the Great Hand which has arrested them midway. Such men will turn misanthropes and atheists, at times.