s sentiments without
any reserve. "Put herself and the children in mourning for such a
scoundrel as him! Why, if it had been me, I'd have clothed myself and
them in scarlet and gold, just to show how glad I was to be shut of such
a scamp for good and all. But perhaps I'm wrong; they tell me the poor
man repented at the last. Well, a good thing for him if he did, for I'm
sure he'd a precious lot to repent of."

And now Amos bent his mind and energies towards the accomplishment of
that part of his life's great purpose which lay yet nearer, if possible,
to his heart than even his sister's restoration to her father's house
and affection. His mother was still a stranger to her home;--how should
he bring her back? He felt that he must deal in the matter with a
gentle and cautious hand. His aunt and the old butler were the only
members of the household who as yet knew of his desire and intention.
Mr Huntingdon had come to acquiesce in his wife's absence as a sad
necessity, and it did not now occur to him to connect his daughter's
return with the possibility of its being directly or indirectly a link
in the recovery of the mother from her mental disorder. Walter also
never put the two things together. Indeed, the state of his mother was
so distressing a subject, that he had come to act upon the conviction
that the less he thought about it the better.

But what could Amos do? Turning matters over in his mind, it became an
established purpose with him to bring about his mother's perfect
restoration to sanity without letting his father have any suspicion of
what he was attempting. With all his love for that father, he could not
help having a strong conviction that, were he to consult him in the
matter, the attempt at restoration would probably prove a failure.
Either Mr Huntingdon would take things into his own hands, and, acting
with characteristic impetuosity and bluffness, would most likely hinder
where he meant to help forward, or else he would fail perhaps to
understand and appreciate his son's views and methods of proceeding, and
would prevent a successful issue by his impatience or interference. So
Amos resolved that he would take the responsibility and mode of action
on himself. Should he fail, his father would not have to suffer the
pain of disappointment from that failure; should he succeed, he would
have the happiness of bringing about a loving meeting again between
those parents so dear to him, which woul