or blend your thoughts with those of a man who has neither?'

She stood still and did not utter a word.

'There are some--I do not know if you are one of them--who have an almost
shrinking dread of poverty.'

'I am not afraid of poverty.'

'It has but one antidote, I know--intense love! The all-powerful sense of
living for another begets indifference to the little straits and trials of
narrow fortune, till the mind at last comes to feel how much there is to
live for beyond the indulgence of vulgar enjoyments; and if, to crown all,
a high ambition be present, there will be an ecstasy of bliss no words can
measure.'

'Have you failed in Ireland?' asked she suddenly.

'Failed, so far as to know that a rebellion will only ratify the subjection
of the country to England; a reconquest would be slavery. The chronic
discontent that burns in every peasant heart will do more than the appeal
to arms. It is slow, but it is certain.'

'And where is your part?'

'My part is in another land; my fortune is linked with America--that is, if
I care to have a fortune.'

'Come, come, Donogan,' cried she, calling him inadvertently by his name,
'men like you do not give up the battle of life so easily. It is the very
essence of their natures to resist pressure and defy defeat.'

'So I could; so I am ready to show myself. Give me but hope. There are high
paths to be trodden in more than one region of the globe. There are great
prizes to be wrestled for, but it must be by him who would share them with
another. Tell me, Nina,' said he suddenly, lowering his voice to a tone
of exquisite tenderness, 'have you never, as a little child, played at
that game of what is called seeking your fortune, wandered out into some
thick wood or along a winding rivulet, to meet whatever little incident
imagination might dignify into adventure; and in the chance heroism of your
situation have you not found an intense delight? And if so in childhood,
why not see if adult years cannot renew the experience? Why not see if the
great world be not as dramatic as the small one? I should say it is still
more so. I know you have courage.'

'And what will courage do for me?' asked she, after a pause.

'For you, not much; for me, everything.'

'I do not understand you.'

'I mean this--that if that stout heart could dare the venture and trust its
fate to me--to me, poor, outlawed, and doomed--there would be a grander
heroism in a girl's nature than ever foun