words. All the truth flashed upon him now. And this was the
brother whom he had been holding up to ridicule and accusing of
meanness. As thoughts of shame and stings of conscience stabbed into
his heart with their thousand points, he sank down lower and lower to
the ground till he had buried his face in the grass, sobbing
convulsively. Then, before Amos could reply to the old butler's pitiful
apology, he sprang up, and flinging his arms round his brother's neck
and hiding his head in his bosom, wept for a time as if his heart would
break. At last he looked up at Amos, who had pressed him close to him
and had lovingly kissed him, and cried out, "Was there ever such a
beastly, ungrateful sneak of a brother as I am? Here have I been
calling Amos all sorts of names, and treating him worse than a dog, and
he's been acting like a hundred thousand moral heroes all the time! Can
you forgive your cowardly snob of a brother, Amos dear?"

There was no reply to this but another long and close embrace.

As for old Harry, his face calmed down into its usual peacefulness. He
no longer waited for any reply from his young master, but turned towards
the house with a smile beaming all over his countenance, and saying half
out loud, "All's well as ends well. There'll be good come out of this
here trouble as sure as my name's Harry."

When he was fairly gone, both nephews drew close to their aunt, and took
each a hand as they sat one on either side of her. Smiling at Walter
through happy tears, she said, "I cannot cross my hands, you see, for my
dear nephews have each got possession of one."

"But they _ought_ to be crossed," said Walter in a low, sad voice.

"Not _now_, dear boy," she replied; "I think we may let bygones be
bygones, for surely better and brighter days are coming."

"I hope so, aunt," said Walter, now more cheerily, "But you must give me
the example for all that; for you have one to the purpose, I know."

"Yes," was her reply, "I think I have, and I will tell it because it may
help to confirm you in keeping on the right side that new leaf which I
feel sure you are now turning over."

"Ah, tell it me then, auntie; if it shames me a hit it will do me no
harm."

"My hero then, this time, did not look much like one at the time when he
displayed his heroism. He was a poor schoolboy, a Christ's Hospital
lad."

"What! one of those who go about without hats, in long coats and yellow
stockings?"

"Yes, the sa