passed, she did not leave it. She had made herself
useful in many ways to the farmer, by assisting him with his farm-work;
and, as both felt loath to part, she became a sort of fixture on the
farm of Sunnybraes.

There is still one circumstance connected with her removal, which must
be noticed. Mr. Black, in general, did little to deserve commendation;
but he could not endure the idea of any one becoming more popular than
himself; and, as William Chrighton was warmly praised for his conduct in
this affair, he soon began to regard him with a feeling which was more
akin to deep-rooted hatred than ill-will.

We now pass over a period of six years, during which nothing of
importance occurred--save that those who, at the commencement of this
period, had been mere infants, were now boys and girls; those who had
been boys and girls, were now men and women; and of those who had then
been men and women, many were now in their graves. Nor of those who
remained had a single individual escaped, without having undergone some
change. In some, the gaiety of youth had been exchanged for the
thoughtful expression of maturer years; upon the foreheads of others,
grey hairs were seen where glossy ringlets were wont to wave; the rosy
hue which had once adorned the cheek, was now broken into streaks; and
on brows formerly smooth, the handwriting of care was now visible.

About this time, Sir Patrick Felspar, after being absent for a number of
years, paid a short visit to his tenants. On coming to Sunnybraes, and
expressing himself highly satisfied with William Chrighton's manner of
farming and general management, that individual thought it a favourable
opportunity for introducing Elspeth and her two children to his notice.
The story seemed to affect him, and he immediately proposed taking the
boy into his own service. This proposal was agreed to; and, at his
departure, Sandy Roger accompanied him to London, where we must leave
him.

George Chrighton, though only a schoolboy when we last noticed him, was
now a stout-looking, well-built young man, rather above the middle size,
and, for some time past, he had been his father's only assistant at
Sunnybraes. Nor was the change which had been produced on Nancy Black
less conspicuous. From being a mere girl, in the course of six years she
had become a beautiful maiden, in the last of her teens, and with a
natural modesty, which, though it added greatly to her other charms,
almost unfitted her f