sation, during which Amos had
been making his arrangements, he told his father of his sea-side scheme,
and received his hearty approval. "It is very good of you, my dear
boy," he said, "to provide such a nice change for your sister and
Walter. Perhaps your aunt and I may run over and see you, if this
election business will allow me any spare time."

Mr Huntingdon was well aware that the sea-side retreat which Amos had
selected was near the place where his poor wife was in her retirement,
but this was not at all displeasing to him; for though he had never
himself mentioned that place of retirement by name to any of his family
except his sister, he thought it not improbable that his children would
have become by this time acquainted with it, and the thought that they
might go over and see their afflicted mother once or more was a comfort
to him. Not that he entertained any real hope of his wife's return to
such a state of mind as would allow of her coming home again. No such
prospect had yet been held out to him, and, indeed, while his daughter
was still shut out from his house, he had felt that, had there been
sufficient improvement in his wife's state to admit of her return, the
continued absence of her daughter, and the very mention of that
daughter's name being forbidden in the family, would have been likely to
throw her mind off its balance again. So he had learned to acquiesce in
her permanent absence as a thing inevitable, and to drown, as far as
possible, all thoughts about that absence in a multiplicity of business.
But now that Amos and his brother and sister were going to spend some
time in their poor mother's neighbourhood, there arose in Mr
Huntingdon's mind a sort of vague idea that perhaps good to her might
come of it. But the bustling election business so absorbed him at
present that he never thought of bringing that idea into a definite
shape.

It was now, as has been said, early summer. The little family party
were sitting at breakfast the day before the intended trip to the sea,
when Walter remarked to his brother, "What do you say, Amos, to our
taking our ponies to the sea with us? It would do them good, and it
would be capital fun to have some good gallops along the sands."

Amos turned red, and did not answer. Walter repeated his question. His
brother then replied, but with evident reluctance, "The fact is, I have
sold Prince."

"Sold Prince!" exclaimed his brother and sister.

"My de