received most hospitably. Of an inquiring
and gregarious nature he went as much among the half-breeds--or 'metis',
as they are called--and Indians as among the officers of the Hudson's
Bay Company and the white settlers. He had ever been credited with
having a philosophical turn of mind; and this was accompanied by a
certain strain of impulsiveness or daring. He had been accustomed all
his life to make up his mind quickly and, because he was well enough
off to bear the consequences of momentary rashness in commercial
investments, he was not counted among the transgressors. He had his
own fortune; he was not drawing upon a common purse. It was a different
matter when he trafficked rashly in the family name so far as to marry
the daughter of Eye-of-the-Moon, the Indian chief.

He was tolerably happy when he went to the Hudson's Bay country; for
Miss Julia Sherwood was his promised wife, and she, if poor, was notably
beautiful and of good family. His people had not looked quite kindly
on this engagement; they had, indeed, tried in many ways to prevent it;
partly because of Miss Sherwood's poverty, and also because they knew
that Lady Agnes Martling had long cared for him, and was most happily
endowed with wealth and good looks also. When he left for Canada they
were inwardly glad (they imagined that something might occur to end
the engagement)--all except Richard, the wiseacre of the family,
the book-man, the drone, who preferred living at Greyhope, their
Hertfordshire home, the year through, to spending half the time in
Cavendish Square. Richard was very fond of Frank, admiring him immensely
for his buxom strength and cleverness, and not a little, too, for that
very rashness which had brought him such havoc at last.

Richard was not, as Frank used to say, "perfectly sound on his
pins,"--that is, he was slightly lame, but he was right at heart. He
was an immense reader, but made little use of what he read. He had an
abundant humour, and remembered every anecdote he ever heard. He was
kind to the poor, walked much, talked to himself as he walked, and was
known by the humble sort as "a'centric." But he had a wise head, and he
foresaw danger to Frank's happiness when he went away. While others had
gossiped and manoeuvred and were busily idle, he had watched things. He
saw that Frank was dear to Julia in proportion to the distance between
her and young Lord Haldwell, whose father had done something remarkable
in guns or torpe