her touch as if the weight of her light hand on his was almost more
than he could bear. Could it be that affection and generosity were
on the side of the younger after all, and that in this respect, at
least, he was the truer man and more considerate brother?

I could find no more satisfactory answer for this question than for
the many others that had suggested themselves since I had been in
this house; and being determined not to allow myself to fall into a
reverie which at this moment might be dangerous, I gave up
consideration of all kinds, and yielded myself wholly to the
pleasure of my ramble. And it was a pleasure! For however solemn and
austere might be the interior of the Pollard mansion, without here
on the lawn all was cheeriness, bloom, and verdure; the grim row of
cedars encircling the house seeming to act as a barrier beyond which
its gloom and secrecy could not pass. At all events such was the
impression given to my excited fancy at the time, and, filled with
the sense of freedom which this momentary escape from the house and
its influences had caused, I hastened to enjoy the beauties of walk
and _parterre_, stopping only when some fairer blossom than
ordinary lured me from my path to inspect its loveliness or inhale
its perfume.

The grounds were not large, though, situated as they were in the
midst of a thickly populated district, they appeared so. It did not,
therefore, take me long to exhaust their attractions, and I was
about to return upon my course, when I espied a little summer-house
before me, thickly shrouded in vines. Thinking what a charming
retreat it offered, I stepped forward to observe it more closely,
when to my great surprise I saw it was already occupied, and by a
person whose attitude and appearance were such as to at once arouse