Amsterdam; and he was
very fain to seek that shelter, being exceedingly weary in spirit, as
one half spent with toil and grief; only two things held him back. The
one was his love for our dear and cruel country England, which made him
shrink from dwelling in a land at enmity with her; and the other was my
sister. Now the first scruple Harry overcame thus.

'You needs must dwell in some foreign land,' he said, 'for England is
altogether unsafe for you. Should you choose France, as Captain Maret
would have you, you choose a land chiefly Papist, and now full of
oppression; and my life on it, there will be war between France and
England this very winter,' a saying which proved too true. 'So the
balance must dip in favour of Holland, a Protestant country, where you
shall live under just laws and among faithful friends who believe as you
do. Is not this worth weighing, brother?' and Andrew said, 'It is,' but
yet he hesitated; and I needed not the sight of his questioning look at
Althea, nor of her dropt eyelids and whitening cheek, to guess the
reason of his hesitation.

The next morning after we had this talk, Harry, Althea, and I were sat
idly on deck, basking in the sunshine, and drinking the sweet air, while
we watched the sailors at work; when we saw Andrew come feebly towards
us, at which we sprang up surprised, for he had not heretofore risen so
early, because of his great weakness. Althea would have had him rest on
the cushions from which we had risen, but saying, 'I would rather stand
awhile,' he leaned on Harry's shoulder for support; and indeed he looked
deathly when his white and wasted face was seen beside Harry's
countenance, all bronzed with sun and wind, and glowing with health and
life.

'Althea Dacre,' he said, looking steadily at her, 'I have sought all
night long for a light on the path I must now take; and a word is ever
in my ears, "Speak to the maiden thou lovest, her word shall lead thee!"
Thou knowest I were loth to part from thee, who hast sought me and spent
thyself for me--and more loth to think that we are parted in spirit. Yet
if thy heart be not as my heart towards God, we must be parted now and
ever. I implore thee, speak the perfect truth to me, and do not colour
or change it.'

'And I will speak truth,' she said proudly, 'as if I stood before an
angel of God; and it shall not grieve you. Andrew Golding, thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God. The Church that I dreamed of,
the