rembled as she replied,

"Do you think the beauty I have seen has made me forget the kindness
that has brought me here? I love fine and noble objects, glory of color
and harmony of shape, but more than all these do I love a generous soul
without a blot on its purity, or a flaw in its integrity."

She had meant to utter something that would show her appreciation of his
goodness and the universal esteem in which he was held, but was quite
unprepared for the start that he gave and the unmistakable deepening of
the shadow on his sombre face. But before she could express her regret
at the offence, whatever it was, he had recovered himself, and it was
with a fatherly tenderness that he laid his hand upon hers while he
said, "Such a soul may yours ever continue, my child," and then stood
watching her as she glided up the stairs, her charming face showing
every now and then as she leaned on her winding way to the top, to
bestow upon him the tender little smile she had already learned was his
solace and delight.

It was the beginning of happier days for him.

BOOK II.

LIFE AND DEATH.

XIV.

MISS BELINDA HAS A QUESTION TO DECIDE.

"I pray you in your letters,

* * * * *

Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice." --OTHELLO.

Miss Belinda sitting before her bedroom fire on a certain windy night in
January, presented a picture of the most profound thought. A year had
elapsed since, with heavy heart and moistened eye, she had bidden
good-bye to the child of her care, and beheld her drift away with her
new friend into a strange and untried life. And now a letter had come
from that friend, in which with the truest appreciation for the feelings
of herself and sister, he requested their final permission to adopt
Paula as his own child and the future occupant of his house and heart.

Yes, after a year of increased comfort, Mrs. Sylvester, who would never
have consented to receive as her own any child demanding care or
attention, had decided it was quite a different matter to give place and
position to a lovely girl already grown, whose beauty was sufficiently
pronounced to do credit to the family while at the same time it was of a
character to heighten by contrast her own very manifest attractions. So
the letter, destined to create such a disturbance in the stern and
powerful mind of Miss Belinda, had been writt