Lord Ennismore and Sir Foster Kerrison were selfish men--men who cared for their _own_ pleasures, not for the happiness of those who lived with them. What had Clara reaped from her connexion with the Kerrison family?--Contention and disgust. What had Julia gained by an early removal from her family? He firmly believed she was a victim to the strongly imperious and fascinating Lady Ennismore, who was jealous of any influence over her son's mind, and who would not endure a rival in her power. Christobelle listened to her father's anxieties in sorrowful silence; young as she was, she had been too long his companion not to have gained some powerful views of the great truths he had ever been anxious to inculcate. She had also been too long his companion not to comprehend and feel for his disquietude. She threw her arms round his neck, and promised to be guided by his counsel in every action of her life; but she besought him not to take blame to himself for Clara's wilful conduct, or Julia's determination to become Lady Ennismore. Her father smiled, but did not combat her prayer. Christobelle was too young to be made the confidante of his feelings--much too young to distinguish the cause of his self-reproach. He could not tell _her_ of one whom he deprecated as the cause of Clara's misery; that he was mourning, when too late, the power he had delegated into unsafe hands. He would not tell her his indulgence to his wife had been treacherously and even wickedly dealt with; that he had given his affections to a worldly being, and that its consequences were now gnawing at his heart. True, he could turn with pleasure to Anna Maria and Isabel, and behold _them_ happy. They had married men of principle--men whom he approved and valued; but who would wipe away the tears from Clara's eyes?--from Julia's once smiling cheeks? Not the Protector, who swore to cherish each young and inexperienced creature at the altar. Not the world, which condemns and punishes its erring and unhappy members, with ruthless pertinacity. They must turn to another and more merciful Judge for pardon and peace; and had they been taught to pray for help in time of need? A father could not unfold all this to the youthful mind of his child; though his melancholy tone and countenance struck her attention, as he spoke to her of earthly and heavenly things. She could not _then_ understand the chastening of his mind, but she listened in deep attention to his precepts; and fancied that nothing in this world could have power to attract her from him who loved and cherished her so dearly. To marry, and quit the study, its quiet, its books, its happy associations! Oh! Lucy Kerrison might wish to leave Ripley, and the family quarrels which broke its rest; but Christobelle felt she could never like a human being, as she honoured and loved her father.