to his noble name, and did not promise to end in being
anything but a selfish, wasteful, insignificant man, with no manly or
noble qualities. It was very bitter, the old Earl thought, that the son
who was only third, and would have only a very small fortune, should be
the one who had all the gifts, and all the charms, and all the strength
and beauty. Sometimes he almost hated the handsome young man because he
seemed to have the good things which should have gone with the stately
title and the magnificent estates; and yet, in the depths of his proud,
stubborn old heart, he could not help caring very much for his youngest
son. It was in one of his fits of petulance that he sent him off to
travel in America; he thought he would send him away for a while, so
that he should not be made angry by constantly contrasting him with his
brothers, who were at that time giving him a great deal of trouble by
their wild ways.

But, after about six months, he began to feel lonely, and longed in
secret to see his son again, so he wrote to Captain Cedric and ordered
him home. The letter he wrote crossed on its way a letter the Captain
had just written to his father, telling of his love for the pretty
American girl, and of his intended marriage; and when the Earl received
that letter he was furiously angry. Bad as his temper was, he had
never given way to it in his life as he gave way to it when he read the
Captain's letter. His valet, who was in the room when it came, thought
his lordship would have a fit of apoplexy, he was so wild with anger.
For an hour he raged like a tiger, and then he sat down and wrote to his
son, and ordered him never to come near his old home, nor to write to
his father or brothers again. He told him he might live as he pleased,
and die where he pleased, that he should be cut off from his family
forever, and that he need never expect help from his father as long as
he lived.

The Captain was very sad when he read the letter; he was very fond of
England, and he dearly loved the beautiful home where he had been born;
he had even loved his ill-tempered old father, and had sympathized with
him in his disappointments; but he knew he need expect no kindness from
him in the future. At first he scarcely knew what to do; he had not been
brought up to work, and had no business experience, but he had courage
and plenty of determination. So he sold his commission in the English
army, and after some trouble found a situatio