llie had told his sister of his friend's success in other directions,
and he gave the Americans credit for "kenning a good man when they saw
him."

"For," said Willie, "it is not just an imagination, or a way of
speaking, to say, that in this land `all men are free and equal.' Of
course, there are all kinds of men--rich and poor, good, bad, and
indifferent--here as in other lands. All are not equal in that sense,
and all are not equally successful. But every man has a chance here,
whether he works with his head or his hands. And no man can claim a
right to be better than his neighbour, or to have a higher place than
another because of his family, or his father's wealth. It is character,
and intelligence, and success in what one has undertaken to do, that
bring honour to a man here. At least that is the way with my friend.
If he cared for all that, he might have pleasure enough, and friends
enough. He is very quiet and keeps close at his work.

"He has been a good friend to me--better than I could ever tell you, and
nothing shall come between us to separate us, _that_ I say, and swear.
Sometimes I think I would like to go back to Grassie again, that I might
give myself a chance to redeem my character there. But still, I do not
think I will ever go. And so, Allie, the sooner you come the better.
There is surely no danger now after nearly three years."

All this Allison read to John's mother, and there was something more
which, for a moment, she thought she would like to read that might give
pleasure to her kind old friend. For Willie in his next letter had
betrayed, that the "something" which was never to be permitted to come
between the friends to separate them, was the good-will of pretty and
wayward Elsie Strong, who since she had come home from the school, where
she had been for a year or more, "has been as changeable as the wind
with me," wrote poor Willie, and greatly taken up, and more than
friendly with Mr Beaton whenever he came out to the farm. And then he
went on to say, that he thought of going to look about him farther West
before he settled down on land of his own. And he had almost made up
his mind to go at once, and not wait till the spring, as he had at first
intended to do.

The letter went on to say that John Beaton had bought land, and was
going to build a house upon it.

"It is the bonny knowe with the maples on it, looking down on the lake,
where John brought me that first day to bre