can catch this

Welcome

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HEARTS AND HANDS.

ce that seemed to pen

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"Do tell us," I said, "something

ter
hollowness of mirth and to about him. I have always felt a curi-

the briefness of joy. From long
wclusion in such a haunt, my own mind
as become assimilated to the atmos-
phere, and when I attempt gayety it is
in that subdued form which expresses a
due reverence for the stately gloom of
surrounding associations.

It was a gloomy night, the rain poured heavily, but the winds lay still as if spectators of the performance of the pitiless flood—a slow heaving of the tide that was coming in full from the sea. The fire roared and crackled as if trying to be hilarious in spite of the sullen gloom without. Cousin William, my children, and myself sat around the broad hearth, and a sympathetic silence seemed to fall upon us all. I tried in vain to think of something pleasant or cheerful to say, but as each idea presented itself I found some fault with it, as being too light, too sombre, or too commonplace to be worth the utterance. At length, Cousin William -more in a tone, however, of soliloquy than of conversation-said:

osity about him, for all the intimations I have ever had of him have been faint indistinct glimmers—nothing plain and explicit like the details of our other dead kinsmen—and I am just in the mood tonight to enjoy a rummage into the secret drawers and hidden passages of the past; so, Cousin William, if you will lay aside your cigar and drink this glass of wine, I know you can make yourself so entertaining that the beating rain and moaning sea will be forgotten. I will even volunteer to place you on the train of the forsaken past, by asking if our cousin Sir Hugh was not a very eccentric person?"

"Rather strange, I might say," replied Cousin William, "because his unlikeness to others did not show itself in overt actions, as do the whims of eccentric men. Society recognized him as one conforming to her rules, and welcomed him as a leader who could dictate its opinions or grace its pleasures. His strangeness was known to those who mingled in his daily life, and who,

"Yes; just thirty years to-night since like myself, looked up to him and by he died."

Anything was a relief to the long silence, and we all eagerly caught at the opportunity.

"Since who died?" "Whom do you mean, Cousin William?" "How strange that you should remember so well anything that transpired so long ago!" "Who was it that died?"

chance looked into him. He had the faculty of obtaining the entire confidence of his associates without yielding anything in return, and while seeming to open his mind to you he was only penetrating your thoughts; so that, on comparing your revelations with what you had heard, you were made to know that you had given all and received noth

"Anyone in whom we are interesting." ed?" I asked.

"Only as a kinsman," he said, "and one of whom you have sometimes heard - our cousin, Sir Hugh, who was once possessed of these domains: one who enjoyed the position and advantages which wealth and title gave; one who had a brilliant career, who should have had a happy life, but whose death was strange and sad."

"Was he handsome?" asked my daughter.

"That was always a mooted point," said Cousin William; "those who had only a passing view pronounced him almost homely, while those who knew him well considered him incomparably handsome, the influence of his voice and manner being irresistible."

"I can understand exactly how it was,"

"And yet," I said, "from all you tell me, I imagine he might have chosen and been satisfied."

said I; "even at this distance, I know that cousin of ours, and I feel his power. I believe that I can even tell you what portion of this house he built, for I can see it has some touches greatly differing from others. I believe that he built those two towers on the west side that look like far-seeing eyes, trying to catch visions of something longed for which never came and never was to come to him. I feel as though his heart longed always for the taste of some joy it could never reach, or was imbittered by the thought of something foolishly flung away." "You are romantic," said Cousin summer preceding his death that I beWilliam.

"Not romantic, if you please," said I, "only very impressible; for although, as you already know, I am a widow, possessed of a stout boy and budding daughter, I am not one of those dutiful dames who confer all their bloom upon their daughters and all their heart upon their sons. I still can boast roses on my own cheek, and acknowledge some flushings of the heart when either dead or living heroes are the subject of conversation. No," I reiterated, "I am not romantic, but I can enter into some people's natures, though their possessors have been long dead, and I can gather them close to my heart, and suffer the longings that made them sick, and mourn for the faults that made them forlorn. I wish I had lived when he lived, and had been his sister, or "Or perhaps his sweetheart," continued Cousin William.

"Did he have a sweetheart?" eagerly inquired my little son. "Did he not love any of the pretty ladies?"

"He was married," I said, anticipating Cousin William's reply.

"He was," said Cousin William, "but unfortunately marrying and loving do not always go hand-in-hand, and his was one instance in which, I think, they walked very far asunder.”

"His success with women," replied Cousin William, "was without parallel. His lightest attention seemed to have more weight than the earnest devotion of other men. I might even say he was sought of women. Wealth, family, position, personal fascination, all tended to make him the marked ideal of the female sex; but I fear that his choice fell in what he considered an unpropitious spot, and in this fact lay the secret of his strangeness. It was during the

came acquainted with incidents which opened many mysteries to me. He and I were affectionate companions, I being the younger of the two; and, as I have said, during the summer preceding his death he proposed that we should prosecute together a pleasure-tour among the Highlands; so we set off provided with hunting and fishing implements, and for many days pursued our sports with much avidity—at least I did, but I could afterward, in thinking of this expedition, recall the restless desire which Sir Hugh seemed to repress, while he exhibited an unconscious anxiety about something not present.

"We had pursued our sports for the space of ten days, when, on the afternoon of the eleventh, we suddenly and without any warning arrived at a cottage situated snugly in the cleft of the mountain, looking like the nest of a bird. I was startled by the cultivated beauty of its surroundings, just in the midst of the mountain wilds, reminding me of some rare flower borne by the winds from a foreign shore, with no kindred blossom to bear it companionship. The welcome accorded us by the heads of the family proved that Sir Hugh was a valued if not a frequent guest. A look of inquiry showed me that all the usual family were not there; but the rustling

how she became informed of it. I only remember that when it was alluded to she seemed not at all surprised.

"The last evening of our stay was unusually beautiful. The clear orange sunset was soon suffused with the silvery beams of the full moon. Tea was served in the arbor, where music, song, and subdued tones of conversation beguiled the time until midnight. I know I reproached myself at the time for intruding on the parting hours of those whom I felt were lovers. I think they watched the night out together, and, without any endeavor on my part, I heard so much of their conversation as served for a key to his past and his future life.

of a dress, the sound of a light footstep, of our intention to leave, nor do I know and in the door-way there stood a young woman whose presence certainly answered to Sir Hugh's unuttered question. 'Miss Esther Montrose, allow me to make you acquainted with my cousin;' and I felt a soft hand for a moment within my own, a frank pressure, as though the introducer were a guarantee for anyone, and in a few minutes I was feeling myself unaccountably at my ease among total strangers. The father and mother, though their faces reminded one of the old Covenanters, were plain and kindly in their manner; and the daughter had that sweet graciousness, that dignity of innocence, that no fashionable training can ever confer, but which always accompanies a tender heart and refined imagination. The hours passed unheard, and the days grew into weeks almost unheeded by either of us. I think for the only time in my life I saw Sir Hugh seem quietly happy.

"I can not recall any of our conversations, but my memory of her is like the effect of an autumn day, and her beauty seems to have been made of the tints of the sea-shell, the odor of jasmine, and the fettered rays of sunshine. I watched Sir Hugh closely, and he did not forget his usual caution. His bearing to ward her assumed a high tone of gallantry, mingled with a sternness which I knew was affected; for several times when he thought himself unobserved, I read in his glance a passionate devotion which made me know that here was the talisman which in society shielded him from all the charms and wiles spread before him by courtly dames.

"I have said that hours became days, and days became weeks, in this dream of happiness, when at last I announced that I must be turning my face homeward. Sir Hugh immediately sanctioned the movement, and it was agreed that two days more should conclude our visit. Esther was not present when we spoke

"Are you in earnest about not returning here?' I heard her say. "I said I would not return until I brought my bride.'

"Your bride!' she said. 'Is she already selected?—and how long have you loved her?'

"That is a question,' said he, affecting to laugh, 'hard to answer. I have known her these two years. As to loving, you are the only person authorized to speak on that matter. Surely you know, or ought to know, that no living woman except yourself has ever caused my heart a throb.'

"You love me, and yet you leave me! Strange contradiction,' she said. 'But it shows me that what has been my entire life has been with you only a passing episode.'

"If your design is to be severe,' he said, 'you certainly have driven home the weapon this time, and given me an undeserved thrust. I am glad to say you have done me the greatest injustice.'

"I judge you only by your own actions,' she said. 'Surely no man should demur to such a tribunal.'

"You forget,' he said, 'that I am not

my own master. Position has its de- less of his secret, I might have rallied mands.'

"I promise,' said he. I heard no al routine.