point to a more gloomy
and thornier path, I will not repine to tread it, for

'Here little, and hereafter much,
Is true from age to age.'"

Arthur, as he was about making a reply, was interrupted by his sister,
who came to request Agnes to play for her a favorite tune, and their
conversation, with the exception of an occasional word now and then, was
ended for that evening.

CHAPTER V.

"The only son of his mother, and she was a widow,--" Arthur Bernard, as
he attained to manhood, seemed to realize, in person and character, all
a fond mother's fondest anticipations. His stately form, as he mingled
among his compeers, did not tower more above them, than did his lofty
mind, stored with sound principles, and embellished with varied
learning, seem to soar above their grovelling ideas, and to breathe a
higher and purer atmosphere. A glance at his countenance would have
sufficed for the most casual observer to have read, in every lineament,
the impress of a noble and chivalrous nature. Yes, gentle reader, start
not at the word =chivalrous=. It may be, from his previous conversation
on woman's foibles, that you have been, ready to form a very different
opinion,--but you are mistaken; and so will you often find yourself in
the journey of life, should you thus estimate character in general.
Deceit frequently lurks beneath the smile and honeyed words of the
flatterers, and he who believes that the avenues to woman's heart are
only accessible by such means, proves, beyond a doubt, that he has
associated with none but the frivolous, the vain and weak-minded of the
sex. Poor, indeed, is that compliment which man pays to woman, when he
expatiates on her sparkling eyes, her flowing tresses, and ruby lips, as
though she were only a beautifully fashioned creature of clay, while he
virtually ignores the existence of those higher and holier powers which
she shares in common with man, and which make her, in proportion to
their wise and careful development, akin to the angels.

Arthur Bernard was no flatterer, it is true, but chivalrous in every
sense of the word. A keen appreciator of all that is honorable and
high-minded, he could not stoop to those petty meanesses, which too
often characterize the conduct of those who flatter themselves with the
name of =gentleman=,--a title which Tennyson forcibly describes as

"Usurped by every charlatan,
And soiled with all ignoble use."

Courage to meet any emergency,