ally a good brother, sacrificing much to his
orphan sisters, and living a moral and religious life--such as gained
for him much credit, and made Mrs. Ledwich congratulate Averil on the
great excellence and kindness of her incomparable brother.

Averil assented, and felt it a dreary thing to have an incomparable
brother.

But when Leonard came home, the face of the house was changed. Now she
had something to look forward to. Now there was something to hear that
stirred her deeper feelings--some one who would understand and
respond--some one to make common cause with. Little as she saw of the
schoolboy, there was life in her day, for sympathy and comprehension
had come home with him.

After all, there were recesses in Leonard's confidence to which Ave did
not penetrate; but there was quite enough to be very happy upon,
especially those visions that had been built on the Melanesian letters.
They were not near enough to terrify her with the thought of
separation, and she was sufficiently imbued with Mary May's sentiments
to regard mission-work as the highest ambition. Leonard's strong will
and manly disposition would have obtained her homage and affection,
even without the lofty sentiments and the lesser graces that made the
brother and sister thoroughly suited to one another; and the bond of
union was unfortunately cemented by equal annoyance at Henry's
peculiarities.

It certainly was rather hard on a young head of a family to have a
younger brother his superior in every respect, and with an inseparable
sister. That Henry had not found out Leonard's superiority was no
reason that it should not gall him; and his self-assertions were apt to
be extremely irritating. Even in the first flush of welcome, he had
made it plain that he meant to be felt as master of the house, and to
enforce those petty regulations of exact order that might be easily
borne from a mother, or played with in a sister--would be obeyed
grudgingly from a father, but could be intolerable in a brother.

The reception of Mab and the ammonites was but an earnest of similar
ungracious acts on the one hand, and aggressions on the other, often
unintentional. Averil did, indeed, smooth matters, but she shared
Leonard's resentment, and outward submission was compensated by murmur
and mockery in private.

Still the household worked on fairly; and Mrs. Ledwich was heard to
declare, with tears in her eyes, that it was beautiful to see such a
happy fam