mere by the skimming of a stone, and for a long time the clear images of
blue sky, and wreathing cloud, and green mountain-top, are shaken and
confused on the tremulous and twinkling wave, but unite together into
the old picture when the water has recovered its glassy smoothness--so
still more slowly did Kennedy's troubled memory reflect the incidents,
(alas! unbeautiful and threatening incidents), of the preceding days.
They came back to him as he lay there quite still; and then he groaned.

"Hush! dearest Edward," said Eva, who had watched his face, and guessed
from its expressive workings the progress of his thoughts; "hush, we are
with you, and all is going on well. Your hand is healing."

He found that his right hand was tightly and firmly bandaged, and kept
still by a splint.

"Was it much hurt? Shall I recover the use of it?"

"Yes, almost certainly, Dr Leesby says. I will tell papa that you are
awake."

"Is he very, very angry?" asked poor Kennedy.

"He has forgiven all, dear," she said, kissing his forehead. "It was
all very dreadful,"--and a cold shiver ran over her--"but none of us
will ever allude to it again. Banish it from your thoughts, Eddy; we
will leave Camford as soon as you can be moved."

She went to fetch her father, and as he came in and leant fondly over
his son's sick-bed, and grasped warmly his unwounded hand, tears of
afflicting memory coursed each other fast down the old man's cheeks. He
had been hard, too hard upon Edward; perhaps his severity had driven him
of late into such bad courses, and to the brink of such an awful and
disgraceful end; perhaps if he had been kinder, gentler, more
sympathising for this first offence, he might have been saved the
anguish of driving his poor boy to lower and wilder depths of sin and
sorrow. It was all over now; and amid the apparent wreck of all his
hopes, even after the death-blows which recent events had dealt to his
old pride in his noble child, he yet regarded him as he lay there--
wounded and in such a way--with all the pity of a Christian's
forgiveness, with all the fondness of a father's love.

"Oh, father, I have suffered unspeakably. If God ever raises me to
health and strength again, I vow with all my heart to serve Him as I
have never done before."

"Yes, Edward, I trust and believe it; think no more of the past; let the
dead bury their dead. The golden present is before you, and you will
have two friends who never desert th