youth usually turns with an irresistible, magnet-like attraction. Little
did he dream that the person he addressed belonged to that very sex of
which he spoke.

One day he startled me by saying: 'What pretty hair you have, Eugene; it
is as soft and fine as that of a young girl.'

The conscious blush rushed to my face, for I thought he had surely
discovered my secret; but one glance at his calm countenance reassured
me. In his large, open, honest heart there never entered a suspicion of
the 'base deception' that had been practiced upon him.

He did not notice my emotion, and I answered, in as calm a voice as I
could command: 'My mother had fine, soft hair; I have inherited it from
her.'

Thus passed a year, the happiest I had ever known. My master became
kinder and more affectionate every day. He would often address me as
'_mon fils_,' and seemed indeed to regard me with feelings as warm as
those of a father to a son.

And I--what were my sentiments toward this good and noble man who was so
kind to me? I worshiped him; he was every thing to me. Father and mother
were gone, sisters and brothers I had none, other friends I had never
known. My master was all the world to me. To serve him was all I lived
for. To love him, though with a love that could never be known, never be
returned, was enough for me.

I have said that I was happy; but there was one drawback to my
happiness. It lay in the self-reproach I felt for the deception