e had finished the first sentence, a curious dull feeling came
over him, and he found that he could not understand what he was reading;
he must go over the passage again. But as he re-read it the same
numbness and impossibility of comprehension came over him; and yet the
words were very clearly written:

'Shall you be very much surprised, my dear Michael, to hear some news I
have to tell you? I am engaged to Mr. Blake. I will tell you all about
it presently, just as though you were my father-confessor; I will not
hide one little thing from you. But I was never one to beat about the
bush, and I hope my abruptness has not made you jump; but oh, Michael
dear, I am so happy!' etc.

He read this sentence half a dozen times, until something of its meaning
had taken hold of his dense brain; and then he read the letter straight
through to the very end, slowly, and often pausing over a sentence that
seemed to him a little involved. And as he read there was a pinched gray
look upon his face, as though some sudden illness had seized him; but he
was not conscious of any active pain, though the whole plan and purpose
of his life lay crushed in the dust before him, like the chrysanthemum
that Booty was tearing, petal by petal, until his master's coat-sleeve
was covered with golden-brown shreds. On the contrary, as he sat there,
holding the letter between his limp hands, his mind wandered off to a
story he had once read.

Was it the wreck of the _Royal George_, he wondered? The name of the
vessel had escaped him, but he knew the story was a true one; it had
really happened. He had read how the vessel was doomed. She was a
troop-ship, and there were hundreds of brave English soldiers on board;
and when they knew there was no hope, the officers drew up their men on
the deck, just as though they were on parade; and the gallant fellows
stood there, in rank and file, as they went down to their watery grave.

'And not a man of them flinched, you may depend on that,' he said, half
aloud; 'for they were Englishmen, and Englishmen know how to die.'

And it seemed to him that he was still ruminating over this old story
that had happened so many, many years ago, when Kester returned, and he
must needs tell him the story again, and he told it very well, too.

'And not a man of them flinched,' he repeated, rising a little feebly
from his chair, 'for they were Englishmen, and Englishmen know how to
die. Why are you staring at me, boy? It is a