er, I would go with you."

"What a blessing it would be!" said Lyndsay.

"Oh! do go, dear Mary," cried Flora, quite transported at the thought;
and flinging her arms about her friend's neck. "It would make us so
happy."

"It is impossible!" said the dear Mary, with a sigh. "I spoke without
thinking. My heart will follow you across the Atlantic; but duty keeps
me here. I will not, however, waste the time still left to us in useless
regrets. Love is better shown by deeds than words. I can work for you,
and cheer you, during the last days of your sojourn in your native land.
Employment, I have always found, by my own experience, is the best
remedy for aching hearts."

CHAPTER VI.

FLORA'S OUTFIT.

Having once matured his plans, Lyndsay hastened to take the necessary
steps to carry them into execution. Leaving Flora and her friend Mary to
prepare all the indispensables for the voyage, he hurried to London, to
obtain permission from head-quarters to settle in Canada, to arrange
pecuniary matters for the voyage, and take leave of a few old and tried
friends. During his absence, Flora and her friend were not idle. The
mornings were devoted to making purchases, and the evenings to convert
them into articles for domestic use. There were so many towels to hem,
sheets to make, and handkerchiefs and stockings to mark, that Flora saw
no end to the work, although assisted by kind sisters, and the
indefatigable Mary.

The two friends held a grand consultation over Flora's scanty wardrobe,
in which there were articles "old and new;" but it must be confessed
that the old and the unfashionable predominated over the new and
well-cut. Flora's friends were poor, and she had been obliged to
dispense with a wedding outfit. An old and very rich relation of her
father had presented her with a very elegant wedding-dress, shawl, and
bonnet, which was all the finery Flora possessed. Her other dresses were
very plain, and composed of common materials; and if it had not been for
the unexpected bounty of the said rich lady, our bride must have done
without a wedding-garment at all; for she had earned the few common
necessaries she took with her to housekeeping with her own hand, in
painting trifles for the bazaars, and writing articles for ladies'
magazines. One small trunk contained Flora's worldly goods and chattels,
the night she entered the neatly-furnished lodgings which Lyndsay had
prepared for her as his wife.

Flora felt al