neighbourhood before, for her brother was only a recent settler in the place. I was charmed with her; the more so because she was so like her brother, so bright and so open; so thoroughly transparent. She beamed upon me like a flood of sunshine, and gilded my cloudy reserve with her own radiance, so that I shone out myself in her company; so they told me, and I believed it. I was young then, you'll remember. I wasn't the wrinkled old pilgrim that I am now. We got attached to one another, it would seem, at once; others may _fall_ in love; _we leapt_ into it; I never thought to ask myself whether she loved God. I was content to know that she loved _me_. I was aware that I had a heart, but at that time I hadn't learnt that I had a soul. Well, my friend (shall I drop the `r,' and call him `fiend'? 'Twould be truer); he did all he could to hasten on our marriage. He did it very quietly, so openly, too. He was so radiant with joy at the thoughts of my coming happiness. `She was such a sister,' he said, `she would be such a wife to me.' I never had any misgivings but once, and then the shadow was but as the passing of a white cloud before summer's noonday sunshine. I was going from home for a week, but unexpected business detained me for another day. I walked over to my future brother-in-law's in the afternoon. It was summer time. I went in, as was my habit, by the garden door, and was crossing the lawn, when I heard sounds of wild laughter proceeding from a little summer-house; they were sounds of boisterous and almost idiotic mirth. There was a duet of merriment, in which a male and female each took a part. I hardly knew what I was doing, or whether to go back or advance. As I hesitated, all was hushed. I saw a female figure dart like lightning into the house, and then my friend (I must call him so for want of a better title) came forward, and holding out both his hands to me, said `Welcome, welcome, this is an unexpected pleasure. I thought you were far away on your journey before now; my sister and I have been almost dying with laughter over a book lent to us by a friend. I do think I never read anything so irresistibly ludicrous in all my life.' I hardly knew what to say in reply, I was so completely taken aback. I was turning, however, towards the summer-house in which I just caught a glance of a table with a bottle and glasses on it, when my companion, catching my arm in his, hurried me away to another part of the garden, where, he said, he was going to make some improvements, about which he must have my judgment and suggestions. As we afterwards went into the house, we again passed the summer-house, but the glasses and bottle were gone. We entered into one of the sitting-rooms, and the servant came to tell us that her mistress had just been sent for to see a poor sick cottager, who wanted her immediately. This led her brother to break out into raptures about his sister's benevolence, self-denial,