heaven or so above him; she was so beautiful and had so many perfections!

Oh, the purity, the self-abnegation, the humility of love! It makes a man
scarcely lower than the angels, and quite superior to not a few reverenced
saints.




CHAPTER II.


"I must say," observed Thurstane--"I beg your pardon for advising--but I
think you had better accept your grandfather's invitation."

He said it with a pang at his heart, for if this adorable girl went to her
grandfather, the old fellow would be sure to love her and leave her his
property, in which case there would be no chance for a proud and poor
lieutenant. He gave his advice under a grim sense that it was his duty to
give it, because the following of it would be best for Miss Van Diemen.

"So I think," nodded Clara, fortified by this opinion to resist Aunt
Maria, and the more fortified because it was the opinion of a man.

After a certain amount of discussion the elder lady was persuaded to
loosen her mighty grip and give the destinies a little liberty.

"Well, it _may_ be best," she said, pursing her mouth as if she tasted the
bitter of some half-suspected and disagreeable future. "I don't know. I
won't undertake positively to decide. But, if you do go," and here she