to Adam, and he was unconsciously under
the charm of the moment. It was summer morning in his heart, and he saw
Hetty in the sunshine--a sunshine without glare, with slanting rays
that tremble between the delicate shadows of the leaves. He thought,
yesterday when he put out his hand to her as they came out of church,
that there was a touch of melancholy kindness in her face, such as he
had not seen before, and he took it as a sign that she had some sympathy
with his family trouble. Poor fellow! That touch of melancholy came from
quite another source, but how was he to know? We look at the one little
woman's face we love as we look at the face of our mother earth, and see
all sorts of answers to our own yearnings. It was impossible for Adam
not to feel that what had happened in the last week had brought the
prospect of marriage nearer to him. Hitherto he had felt keenly the
danger that some other man might step in and get possession of Hetty's
heart and hand, while he himself was still in a position that made him
shrink from asking her to accept him. Even if he had had a strong hope
that she was fond of him--and his hope was far from being strong--he
had been too heavily burdened with other claims to provide a home for
himself and Hetty--a home such as he could expect her to be content with
after the comfort and plenty of the Farm. Like all strong natures, Adam
had confidence in his ability to achieve something in the future; he
felt sure he should some day, if he lived, be able to maintain a family
and make a good broad path for himself; but he had too cool a head not
to estimate to the full the obstacles that were to be overcome. And the
time would be so long! And there was Hetty, like a bright-cheeked apple
hanging over the orchard wall, within sight of everybody, and everybody
must long for her! To be sure, if she loved him very much, she would be
content to wait for him: but DID she love him? His hopes had never risen
so high that he had dared to ask her. He was clear-sighted enough to be
aware that her uncle and aunt would have looked kindly on his suit, and
indeed, without this encouragement he would never have persevered in
going to the Farm; but it was impossible to come to any but fluctuating
conclusions about Hetty's feelings. She was like a kitten, and had the
same distractingly pretty looks, that meant nothing, for everybody that
came near her.

But now he could not help saying to himself that the heaviest p