t, that the life which had brought so little of turmoil
and vicissitude must have been calm and tranquil, and in accordance
with the bygone activity of the town in which their existence passed
away.

The alterations that he would have perceived were those caused by
the natural progress of time. The Benson home was brightened into
vividness by the presence of the little Leonard, now a noble boy of
six, large and grand in limb and stature, and with a face of marked
beauty and intelligence. Indeed, he might have been considered by
many as too intelligent for his years; and often the living with old
and thoughtful people gave him, beyond most children, the appearance
of pondering over the mysteries which meet the young on the threshold
of life, but which fade away as advancing years bring us more into
contact with the practical and tangible--fade away and vanish, until
it seems to require the agitation of some great storm of the soul
before we can again realise spiritual things.

But, at times, Leonard seemed oppressed and bewildered, after
listening intent, with grave and wondering eyes, to the conversation
around him; at others, the bright animal life shone forth radiant,
and no three-months' kitten--no foal, suddenly tossing up its heels
by the side of its sedate dam, and careering around the pasture in
pure mad enjoyment--no young creature of any kind, could show more
merriment and gladness of heart.

"For ever in mischief," was Sally's account of him at such times;
but it was not intentional mischief; and Sally herself would have
been the first to scold any one else who had used the same words in
reference to her darling. Indeed, she was once nearly giving warning,
because she thought the boy was being ill-used. The occasion was
this: Leonard had for some time shown a strange, odd disregard of
truth; he invented stories, and told them with so grave a face, that
unless there was some internal evidence of their incorrectness (such
as describing a cow with a bonnet on), he was generally believed, and
his statements, which were given with the full appearance of relating
a real occurrence, had once or twice led to awkward results. All the
three, whose hearts were pained by this apparent unconsciousness of
the difference between truth and falsehood, were unaccustomed to
children, or they would have recognised this as a stage through which
most infants, who have lively imaginations, pass; and, accordingly,
there was a con