re enlisted in her behalf, we
deem it an April shower, which we hope to see ere long give place to the
sunshine of a smile; but tears are foreign to the sterner nature of man,
and any emotion powerful enough to call them forth indicates a depth and
intensity of feeling which, like the sirocco of the desert, carries all
before it in its resistless fury. Fanny must have been more than woman
if she could have remained an unmoved spectator of Harry Oaklands'
agitation.

Apparently relinquishing her intention of quitting the room, she stood
with her hands clasped, regarding him with a look of mixed interest and
alarm; but as his broad chest rose and fell, convulsed by the sobs he in
vain endeavoured to repress, she drew nearer to him, exclaiming:--

"Mr. Oaklands, are you ill? Shall I ring for a glass of water?" Then,
finding he was unable to answer her, completely overcome, she continued,
"Oh! what is all this? what have I said? what have I done? Harry, speak
to me; tell me, are you angry with me?" and laying her hand gently on
his shoulder, she gazed up in his face with a look of the most piteous
entreaty.

~375~~ Her light touch seemed to recall him to himself, and uncovering
his face, he made a strong effort to regain composure, which, after
a moment or two, appeared attended with success; and taking her hand
between his own, he said, with a faint smile:--

"I have frightened you--have I not? The last time I shed tears was at my
mother's funeral, and I had never thought to weep again; but what
pain of body and anguish of mind were powerless to accomplish, joy has
effected in an instant. This must all seem very strange to you, dear
Fanny; even I myself am surprised at the depth and vehemence of my own
feelings; but if you knew the agony of mind I have undergone since the
night of that hateful charade--Fanny, did it never occur to you that I
loved you with a love different to that of a brother?"

As she made no reply, merely turning away her head, while a blush, faint
as the earliest glance of young-eyed Morning, mantled on her cheek, he
continued, "Yes, Fanny, I have known and loved you from childhood,
and your affection has become, unconsciously as it were, one of the
strongest ties that render life dear to me; still I frankly confess,
that till the idea of your loving another occurred to me, I was blind to
the nature of my own affection. To be with you, to see and talk to you
daily, to cultivate your talents, to le