sented with much warmth and
willingness. He was not only content, but resolved on being introduced
to Miss Grahame as soon as possible, without, however, saying a word to
Edward of his intentions. He took Ellen with him, he said, to convoy him
safely and secure him a welcome reception; neither of which, she assured
him, he needed, though she very gladly accompanied him.

A few weeks passed too quickly by, imparting happiness even to Ellen,
for had she been permitted the liberty of choosing a wife for her
Edward, Lilla Grahame would have been her choice. Deeply and almost
painfully affected had she been indeed, when her brother first sought
her to reveal the secret of his love.

"I cannot," he said, "I will not marry without your sympathy, your
approval, my sister--my more than sister, my faithful friend, my gentle
monitress, for such you have ever been to me," and he folded her in his
arms with a brother's love, and Ellen had concealed upon his manly bosom
the glistening tears, whose source she scarcely knew. "I would have you
love my wife, not only for my sake but for herself alone. Never will I
marry one who will refuse to look on you with the reverential affection
your brother does. Lilla Grahame does this, my Ellen; it was her girlish
affection for you that first attracted my attention to her. She will
regard you as I do; she will teach her children, if it please heaven to
grant us any, to look on you even as I would; her heart and home will be
as open to my beloved sister as mine. Speak then, my ever-cherished,
ever faithful friend; tell me if, in seeking Lilla, your sympathy, your
blessing will be mine."

Tears of joy choked her utterance, but quickly recovering herself, Ellen
answered him in a manner calculated indeed to increase his happiness,
and her presence at Llangwillan satisfied every wish.

Unable to resist the eloquent entreaties of all his friends and the
appealing eyes of his child, Grahame at last consented to spend the
month which was to intervene ere his daughter's nuptials, at Oakwood.
That period Edward intended to employ in visiting the ancient hall on
the Delmont estate, which for the last three months had been in a state
of active preparation for the reception of its long-absent master. It
was beautifully situated in the vicinity of the New Forest, Hampshire.
There Edward was to take his bride, considering the whole estate, his
uncle declared, already as his own, as he did not mean to be a f