ve
forgotten all about me."

She winced at the accusation, for it was true. Beyond her daily domestic
life, which she still carefully fulfilled, she had in truth forgotten
every thing. Outside people were ceasing to affect her at all. What _he_
liked, what _he_ wanted to do, day by day--whether he looked ill or well,
happy or unhappy, only he rarely looked either--this was slowly growing
to be once more her whole world. With a sting of compunction, and
another, half of fear, save that there was nothing to dread, nothing that
could affect any body beyond herself--Miss Williams roused herself to
give young Dalziel an especially hearty welcome, and to make his little
visit as happy as possible.

Small need of that; he was bent on taking all things pleasantly. Coming
now near the end of a very creditable college career, being of age and
independent, with the cozy little fortune that his old grandmother had
left him, the young fellow was disposed to see every thing _couleur de
rose_, and this feeling communicated itself to all his friends.

It was a pleasant time. Often in years to come did that little knot of
friends, old and young, look back upon it as upon one of those rare
bright bits in life when the outside current of things moves smoothly on,
while underneath it there may or may not be, but generally there is, a
secret or two which turns the most trivial events into sweet and dear
remembrances forever.

David's days being few enough, they took pains not to lose one, but
planned excursions here, there, and every where--to Dundee, to Perth, to
Elie, to Balcarras--all together, children, young folks, and elders: that
admirable _melange_ which generally makes such expeditions "go off" well.
Theirs did, especially the last one, to the old house of Balcarras, where
they got admission to the lovely quaint garden, and Janetta sang "Auld
Robin Gray" on the spot where it was written.

She had a sweet voice, and there seemed to have come into it a pathos
which Fortune had never remarked before. The touching, ever old, ever
new story made the young people quite quiet for a few minutes; and then
they all wandered away together, Helen promising to look after the
two wild young Roys, to see that they did not kill themselves in some
unforeseen way, as, aided and abetted by David and Janetta, they went on
a scramble up Balcarras Hill.

"Will you go too?" said Fortune to Robert Roy. "I have the provisions to
see to; besid