For how could he tell her then of the intention that had awakened in his breast at the first glimpse of her grand young beauty. To make her his child, to bequeath to her the place of the babe that had perished in his arms three long years before—That meant to give Ona a care if not a rival in his affections, and Ona shrank from care, and was not a subject for rivalry. And the _if_ which this implied weighed heavily on his heart as moment after moment flew by, and he felt again the reviving power of an unsullied mind and an aspiring nature. X. THE BARRED DOOR. “A school boy’s tale; the wonder of an hour.”—BYRON. “Did you know that your niece was gifted with rare beauty as well as talents?” asked Mr. Sylvester of Miss Belinda as a couple of hours or so later, they sat alone by the parlor fire, preparatory to his departure. “No, that is,” she hastily corrected herself, “I knew she was very pretty of course, prettier by far than any of her mates, but I did not suppose she was what you call a beauty, or at least would be so considered by a person accustomed to New York society.” “I do not know of a woman in New York who can boast of any such claims to transcendent loveliness. Such faces are rare outside of art, Miss Belinda; was Mrs. Fairchild a handsome woman?” “She was my sister and if I may say so, my favorite sister, but she was no more agreeable to the eye than some others of her family,” grimly returned the heavy browed spinster with a compression of her lips. “What beauty Paula has inherited came from her father. Her chief charm in my eyes, however, springs from her pure nature and the unselfish impulses of her heart.” “And in mine,” rejoined he quietly. Then with a sudden change of tone as he realized the necessity of saying something definite to this woman in regard to his intentions toward the child, he remarked, “Her great and unusual talents and manifest disposition to learn, demand as you say, superior advantages to any she can have in a small country town like this, fruitful as it has already been to her under your wise and fostering care and such shall she have; but just when and how I cannot say till I have seen my wife and learned what her wishes are likely to be in regard to the subject.” “You are very kind, sir,” returned Miss Belinda. “I have no doubt as to the good-will of your intentions, and the child shall be prepared at once for a change.” “And will _the child_,” he exclaimed with a smile as Paula re-entered the room, “be so kind as to give me her company in the walk I must now take to the cars?” “Of course,” replied her aunt before the young girl could speak, “we owe you that much attention I am sure.” And so it was that when he came to retrace his way through the village with its heavy memories, he had a guardian spirit at his side that robbed them of their power to sadden and oppress.