it!--It is infamous!' he muttered, between his teeth. `And don't think, Mrs Huntingdon,' he added, aloud, `that I could be guilty of inciting him to persevere in his present pursuits: on the contrary, I have remonstrated with him again and again; I have frequently expressed my surprise at his conduct and reminded him of his duties and his privileges--but to no purpose; he only--`'

`Enough, Mr Hargrave; you ought to be aware that whatever my husband's faults may be, it can only aggravate the evil for me to hear them from a stranger's lips.'

`Am I then a stranger?' said he, in a sorrowful tone. `I am your nearest neighbour, your son's godfather, and your husband's friend: may I not be your's also?'

`Intimate acquaintance must precede real friendship: I know but little of you, Mr Hargrave, except from report.'

`Have you then forgotten the six or seven weeks I spent under your roof last autumn? I have not forgotten them. And I know enough of you, Mrs Huntingdon, to think that your husband is the most enviable man in the world, and I should be the next if you would deem me worthy of your friendship.'

`If you knew more of me, you would not think it-or if you did, you would not say it, and expect me to be flattered by the compliment.'

I stepped backward as I spoke. He saw that I wished the conversation to end; and immediately taking the hint, he gravely bowed, wished me good evening, and turned his horse towards the road. He appeared grieved and hurt at my unkind reception of his sympathizing overtures. I was not sure that I had done right in speaking so harshly to him; but at the time, I had felt irritated--almost insulted--by his conduct; it seemed as if he was prig upon the absence and neglect of my husband, and insinuating even more than the truth against him.

Rachel had moved on, during our conversation, to some yards' distance, He rode up to her, and asked to see the child, He took it carefully into his arms, looked upon it with an almost paternal smile, and I heard him say, as I approached--

`And this, too, he has forsaken!'

He then tenderly kissed it, and restored it to the gratified nurse.

`Are you fond of children, Mr Hargrave?' said I, a little softened towards him.

`Not in general,' he replied; `but that is such a sweet child--and so like its mother,' he added, in a lower tone.

`You are mistaken there; it is its father it resembles.'

`Am I not right, nurse?' said he, appealing to Rachel.

`I think, sir, there's a bit of both,' she replied,

He departed; and Rachel pronounced him a very nice gentle man. I had still my doubts on the subject.

When I met him on the morrow, under his own roof, he did not offend me with any more of his virtuous indignation against Arthur or unwelcome sympathy for me; and, indeed, when his mother began, in guarded terms, to intimate her sorrow and surprise at my husband's conduct, he, perceiving my annoyance, instantly came to the rescue, and delicately turned the conversation, at the same time warning her, by a sidelong glance, not to recur to the subject again. He seemed bent upon doing the honours of his house in the most unexceptionable manner, and exerting all his powers for the entertainment of his guest, and the display of his own qualifications as a host, a gentleman, and a companion; and actually succeeded in


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