ements; while, nearer the house, gray beech stems towered out of
the brown dead leaves below up to the brown live buds a hundred feet
nearer the clouds.

On the remaining two sides of the castle you were not supposed to bestow
attention, since after the old custom the home farm approached more
closely than is fashionable nowadays; though to the curious they were
the sides best worth attention, owing to the cultured pagoda-builder
having deemed it beneath his dignity to molest them.

One afternoon in early spring Ellen Berstoun walked slowly down a
sheltered garden path. She had been singularly moody of late--so
distressed, indeed, and so little like a lucky girl whose wedding might
be fixed for any day she chose to name, that her five unmarried sisters
held many private debates on the causes of her conduct. The three next
to her in years expressed grave apprehensions lest the very fairly
creditable marriage arranged for her should after all fall through.
Ellen was not treating Andrew well, they complained; while on the other
hand, the two youngest, being as yet irresponsibly romantic, declared
vigorously that they had sooner dear Ellen remained single to the end of
her days than introduced such a long-lipped, fat-cheeked brother-in-law
into the family.

It was a part of poor Ellen's burden that she was acutely conscious of
the duty which her parents and all her aunts assured her she owed these
sisters. But, on the other hand, to share the remainder of her existence
with Andrew Walkingshaw--There rose vividly a picture of that most
respectable of partners, and the emotion attendant on this vision drew
from her a sigh that ought to have convinced the most skeptical she was
very hard hit indeed.

It was at this moment that she spied a lad approaching from the house.

"Well, Jimmy?" she inquired.

With an appearance of some caution, he handed her a note.

"It was to be gi'en to yoursel' privately, miss," he said mysteriously,
and turned to go.

"Is there no answer?" she asked.

"He said I wasna to bide for an answer."

He hurried off as though his directions had been peremptory, and Ellen
opened the letter. It was written upon the notepaper of a local inn, and
if she was surprised to discover the writer, she was still more
astonished by the contents.

"MY DEAR ELLEN," it ran, "I should take it as a very great favor
indeed if you would come immediately on receiving this and meet me
at the farther