That there was a mystery connected with him, was conceded by most of
the villagers, and many a curious gaze they bent upon the grave,
dignified young man, who seldom joined in their pastime or intruded
himself upon their company. Much sympathy was expressed for him in his
loneliness, by the people of Granby, and more than one young girl
would gladly have imposed upon herself the task of cheering that
loneliness; but he seemed perfectly invulnerable to maiden charms; and
when Mrs. Peters, as she often did, urged him "to take a wife and be
somebody," he answered quietly, "I am content to follow the example of
my uncle. I shall probably never marry."

Still he was lonely in his great house--so lonely that, though it hurt
his pride to do it, he wrote the letter, the answer to which excited
him so terribly, and awoke within his mind a train of thought so
absorbing and intense, that he did not hear the summons to supper
until Mrs. Peters put her head into the room, asking "if he were deaf
or what."

Mrs. Peters had been in the elder Browning's household for years, and
when the new owner came, she still continued at her post, and
exercised over her young master a kind of motherly care, which he
permitted because he knew her real worth, and that without her his
home would be uncomfortable indeed. On the occasion of which we write,
Mrs. Peters was unusually attentive, and to a person at all skilled in
female tactics, it was evident that she was about to ask a favor, and
had made preparations accordingly. His favorite waffles had been
buttered exactly right--the peaches and cream were delicious--the
fragrant black tea was neither too strong nor too weak--the fire
blazed brightly in the grate--the light from the chandelier fell