the form of a bow, took from the material alone an interest
almost as impressive.

The old man saw his wife pass down in front of the house and descend
toward the river. The black dress and scarlet shawl which she wore,
rendered her a picturesque object in the landscape, and as such the old
man was admiring her. Directly after, his son followed, and another
stately figure was added to the view; but his walk verged toward the
hills, and he was soon lost among the trees.

The old man was vexed at this derangement in his picture; but directly
there came in sight a little boat, ploughing through the golden ripples
cast downward by the sun, and half veiled in the glowing mists of the
river. He watched the boat while it came dancing toward the shore, and
smiled when his wife paused a moment on the bank, as if awaiting its
approach.

"She is right. A figure upon the shore completes the whole thing. One
seldom sees a picture so perfect! Claude Lorraine!--why, his sunsets are
leaden compared to this! Oh, she turns off and spoils the effect by
throwing the willows between us! Why will women be so restless! Now a
female caprice--nothing more--has destroyed the most lovely effect I
ever saw; just as I was drinking it in, too. But the boat is
pretty--yes, yes, that enlivens the foreground--bravo! Capital, Ben,
capital!--that stoop is just the thing; and the youngsters, how
beautifully they group themselves! Hallo! upon my honor, if that young
scamp is not making love to Lina! I don't pretend to know what the
attitude of love-making is!"

The old man fell back in his chair, and drew a hand over his eyes with a
restless motion, muttering uneasily,

"Ralph and Lina? upon my word, I have been blind as a bat. How far has
the thing gone? Has Mabel encouraged it? Does she know? What hand can
James have had in bringing this state of things about? These two
children--why, the thing is preposterous!"

The old man left his easy-chair, as these unpleasant conjectures forced
themselves upon him, and, as if sickened by the landscape he had just
been admiring, shut it out by a jerk of the hand, which brought the
crimson drapery flowing in loose folds from its gilded rods, and gave
the whole room a tent-like seclusion. In the rich twilight thus
produced, the old man walked to and fro, angry and thoughtful. At last
he took his hat and left the house.

CHAPTER III.

THE HILL SIDE ADVENTURE.

Ralph Harrington and Lina French had be