d been schoolfellows and intimate
friends; and, when he left home, ten years before, he was a handsome,
vigorous young fellow, with hair dark as a raven's wing, and a brow
clear as alabaster. Now, his hair was iron-grey, his features were
dark and sunburned, and the scar, of a sabre-wound apparently,
disfigured his forehead. Even with my knowledge of his identity, some
minutes elapsed ere I could persuade myself that the friend of my
early years stood before me; but my recollection slowly revived as I
gazed upon him, and I wondered at my own stupidity in not having
sooner recognised him.

"Musgrave, my dear fellow," said I, shaking him cordially by the hand,
"I rejoice to see you. Time has altered us both outwardly; but, I
trust, it has left our hearts unchanged. The recollection of youthful
joys and sorrows is the last to leave us. Amid all the changes and
chances of life, our thoughts fondly dwell upon the days of our
innocent and happy childhood; and all the friendships we form in after
years can never efface the remembrance of those who were dear to us in
early youth. I have often thought of you, Musgrave, and often, though
in vain, I have made anxious inquiries after the fate of my old
friend and schoolfellow; and, now that you _have_ returned, I should
have passed you by as a common stranger, had your memory been as
treacherous as my own."

"You forget, my dear fellow," replied he, "that _you_ are but little
changed; your florid cheek, and smooth, unwrinkled brow, prove that
time has been flowing on in a smooth, unruffled current with _you_;
that you have been leading a life of ease and comfort. But look at me;
on my sunburned features you may read a tale of hardship and exposure.
Look at my brow! these premature wrinkles are mementos of care and
anxiety. But, come, I have much to ask and to tell you; if you have
leisure, let us retire to a private room, and talk over the past. I
cannot, I find, proceed on my journey till the morning, and I could
not employ my time more agreeably than in conversation with an old
friend."

I willingly complied with his request, and we were soon seated beside
a comfortable fire, with "all appliances and means to boot," for
making the evening pass with _spirit_.

"Now, Frank," said Musgrave, "before we commence, set my mind at rest
about my family. Do you know anything of them?"

"It is some time since I saw them; but I heard a few days ago that
they were all well."

"Thank