Juliet, if my thoughts had strayed from heaven to earth. I
will, however, tell you the purport of them. If all men are equal in the
sight of the Creator, why does not the same feeling pervade the breast
of his creatures?"

"Because men are not endowed with the wisdom of God, neither can they
judge righteously, as he judges. That all men are equal in his sight,
the text we have just read sufficiently proves: 'The rich and the poor
meet together. The Lord is the maker of them all.'"

"Then why is wealth an object of adoration to the crowd, whilst poverty,
even in those who once possessed great riches, is regarded with contempt
and pity?"

"The world gives a value to things which in themselves are of no
importance," said Juliet. "I think, however, that I should scorn myself,
could I regard with indifference the friends I once loved, because they
had been deprived of their worldly advantages."

"You make me proud of my poverty, Miss Whitmore. It has rendered me rich
in your sympathy."

"Obtain your wealth from a higher source, Mr. Hurdlestone," said Juliet,
not, perhaps, displeased with the compliment, "and you will learn to
regard with indifference the riches of the world."

"But supposing, my dear friend, for argument's sake, that you had a
lover to whom you were fondly attached, and he was suddenly deprived of
the fortune which had placed you on an equality, would this circumstance
alter your regard for him?"

"Certainly not."

"And, in spite of these disadvantages, you would become his wife?"

"That would depend on circumstances. I might be under the guidance of
parents, who, from prudential motives, might forbid so rash a step; and
it would be no act of friendship to the man I loved, to increase his
difficulties by attempting to share them."

"And in such a case would you not act upon the decision of your own
heart?"

"I dare not. The heart, blinded by its affections for the object of its
love, might err in its decision, and involve both parties in ruin."

"But you could not call this love?"

"Yes, Mr. Hurdlestone, and far more deserving of the name than the
sickly sentiment that so often wears the guise of real affection."

"This girl is too much of a philosopher. I shall never be able to win
her to my purpose," said Godfrey, as Juliet quitted the room.

A few days after this conversation, Godfrey proposed taking a ride on
horseback with Miss Whitmore.

Juliet was fond of this exercise, in which sh