tended them regularly, and did a
good deal of business in the way of gratuitous counselling and pleading;
advocating and defending with great ability and success the cause of the
poor and oppressed, and winning much honor and praise, but very little
money, not enough, indeed, to pay his office rent, or renew his napless
hat and thread-bare coat.

Besides his unprofitable professional labors, he engaged in equally
unprofitable political contests.

He took the liberal view of State craft, and sought to open the minds of
his fellow-citizen to a just and wise policy, or what he, in his young
enthusiasm, conceived to be such. He wrote stirring leaders for the
local papers, and made rousing speeches at the political meetings.

He was everywhere spoken of as a rising young man, who was sure to reach
a high position some day. Yes! some day; but that desired day seemed
very far distant to the desponding young lawyer.

And to make his probation still more painful, he was in love! not as men
are who are taken with a new face every year of their lives, but as the
heroes of old used to be--for once and forever! profoundly,
passionately, desperately in love, almost despairingly in love, since
she whom he loved was at once the richest heiress, the greatest beauty,
and the proudest lady in the whole community--Sybil Berners! Miss
Berners, of Black Hall!--in social position as far above the briefless
young lawyer as the sun above the earth; at least so said those who
observed this presumptuous passion, and predicted for the young lover,
should he ever really aspire to her hand, the fate of Phaeton, to be
consumed in the splendor of her sphere, and cast down blackened to his
native earth.

Had they who cavilled at his high-placed love but known the truth; how
she whom he so worshipped, on her part, adored him? But this he himself
did not know, or even suspect. Had he possessed much less of a fine,
high-toned sense of honor, he might, by wooing the lady, have found this
out for himself; but he, an almost penniless young man, was much too
proud to ask the hand of the wealthy heiress. Or had he possessed a
little more personal vanity, he might have suspected the truth; for
certainly there was not a handsomer man in the whole county than was
this briefless young lawyer with the napless hat and thread-bare coat.
His person was of that medium height and just proportions necessary to
give perfect elegance of form and grace of motion. His f