eakfast
time, when the sun is shining brightly into the room, and midnight, with
dark corridors and a feebly burning lamp--especially when it goes out."
"True, father," said Clara, laughing; "but I intend to provide for quite
an illumination to-night, and do not expect to let poor Magdalena stir
from my sight all day."

That day passed off without any incidents, and was very agreeably spent
in an examination of the ancient castle, with its many relics of by-gone
times, its collection of portraits, its spacious rooms, winding
galleries, and magazine of armory and weapons. From the battlements they
enjoyed a view of the country beneath them, unsurpassed in extent and
grandeur: it spread out before their eyes a beautiful panorama,
comprising hill and dale, forest and cultivated land; the little
whitewashed cottage, with its ascending smoke, and the flocks of sheep
scattered about, gave a lively interest to the scene, and endeared it to
their hearts: man ever loves to see tokens of the nearness of brother
man. Magdalena clasped her father's hand: "O, may we not always live
here?" "But what about that ghost?" "O, I forgot; but if Clara lays the
uneasy spirit of Don Pedro, then will you not remove here?" "I think I
will, my daughters, if you both desire it. I dreaded to come here, but
find that time has so mellowed and softened my grief, that I can now
feel pleasure in revisiting the spots made sacred to me by your dear
mother's presence. And I also feel as if I had neglected my duty,
through too great an abandonment to grief; here, in my ancestral
possessions, it certainly lies. The peasants, I fear, have greatly
suffered from my absence, and now they scarcely know me; and I am almost
a stranger to the neighboring gentry. If we remove here, will you, my
daughters, aid me in making this castle the scene of hospitality and
kindness, and will you extend your care to the neglected poor and
ignorant, who are scattered through these valleys?" The girls answered
with joy in the affirmative, and already began laying plans for visiting
the sick, reading to the old, and teaching the young.

That night Magdalena's fair head was encircled by Clara's arm, and their
hands clasped together; the younger sister soon fell asleep, after some
light confidential chat, such as sisters only can have, there being in
that connection the sensation of perfect safety, of the fellow-feeling
of youth, and of that entire understanding of every thought an