, if you cannot assure those silly
children of yours that they are too happy in each other to harbour any
resentment against a man who would have parted them, and now repents?"

Somewhat to Kenelm's admiration, I dare not say surprise, old Mrs.
Somers, thus appealed to, rose from her seat, and, with a dignity of
thought or of feeling no one could have anticipated from the quiet
peasant woman, approached the wedded pair, lifted Jessie's face with one
hand, laid the other on Will's head, and said, "If you don't long to see
Mr. Bowles again and say 'The Lord bless you, sir!' you don't deserve
the Lord's blessing upon you." Therewith she went back to her seat, and
resumed her knitting.

"Thank Heaven, we have paid back the best part of the loan," said Will,
in very agitated tones, "and I think, with a little pinching, Jessie,
and with selling off some of the stock, we might pay the rest; and
then,"--and then he turned to Kenelm,--"and then, sir, we will" (here a
gulp) "thank Mr. Bowles."

"This don't satisfy me at all, Will," answered Kenelm; "and since I
helped to bring you two together, I claim the right to say I would never
have done so could I have guessed you could have trusted your wife so
little as to allow a remembrance of Mr. Bowles to be a thought of pain.
You did not feel humiliated when you imagined that it was to me you owed
some moneys which you have been honestly paying off. Well, then, I will
lend you whatever trifle remains to discharge your whole debts to Mr.
Bowles, so that you may sooner be able to say to him, 'Thank you.'
But between you and me, Will, I think you will be a finer fellow and a
manlier fellow if you decline to borrow that trifle of me; if you feel
you would rather say 'Thank you' to Mr. Bowles, without the silly
notion that when you have paid him his money you owe him nothing for his
kindness."

Will looked away irresolutely. Kenelm went on: "I have received a letter
from Mr. Bowles to-day. He has come into a fortune, and thinks of going
abroad for a time; but before he goes, he says he should like to shake
hands with Will, and be assured by Jessie that all his old rudeness is
forgiven. He had no notion that I should blab about the loan: he wished
that to remain always a secret. But between friends there need be no
secrets. What say you, Will? As head of this household, shall Mr. Bowles
be welcomed here as a friend or not?"

"Kindly welcome," said old Mrs. Somers, looking up from the