trafficked rashly in the family name so far as to marry the daughter of
Eye-of-the-Moon, the Indian chief.

He was tolerably happy when he went to the Hudson's Bay country; for Miss
Julia Sherwood was his promised wife, and she, if poor, was notably
beautiful and of good family. His people had not looked quite kindly on
this engagement; they had, indeed, tried in many ways to prevent it;
partly because of Miss Sherwood's poverty, and also because they knew
that Lady Agnes Martling had long cared for him, and was most happily
endowed with wealth and good looks also. When he left for Canada they
were inwardly glad (they imagined that something might occur to end the
engagement)--all except Richard, the wiseacre of the family, the book-
man, the drone, who preferred living at Greyhope, their Hertfordshire
home, the year through, to spending half the time in Cavendish Square.
Richard was very fond of Frank, admiring him immensely for his buxom
strength and cleverness, and not a little, too, for that very rashness
which had brought him such havoc at last.

Richard was not, as Frank used to say, "perfectly sound on his pins,"
--that is, he was slightly lame, but he was right at heart. He was an
immense reader, but made little use of what he read. He had an abundant
humour, and remembered every anecdote he ever heard. He was kind to the
poor, walked much, talked to himself as he walked, and was known by the
humble sort as "a'centric." But he had a wise head, and he foresaw
danger to Frank's happiness when he went away. While others had gossiped
and manoeuvred and were busily idle, he had watched things. He saw that
Frank was dear to Julia in proportion to the distance between her and
young Lord Haldwell, whose father had done something remarkable in guns
or torpedoes and was rewarded with a lordship and an uncommonly large
fortune. He also saw that, after Frank left, the distance between Lord