wer mortals," said Crowther, with a
well-feigned humility.

"We must beg of him to lay aside his philosophy, then, for this evening,
for there is much to be done yet," said Fagan, untying a large bundle
of letters. "This is the correspondence of the last year,--the most
important of all."

"Large sums! large sums, these!" said Crowther, glancing his eyes over
the papers. "You appear to have placed a most unlimited confidence in
this young gentleman,--a very well merited trust, I have no doubt."

Fagan made no reply, but a slight contortion of his mouth and eyebrows
seemed to offer some dissent to the doctrine.

"I have kept the tea waiting for you, Papa Joe," said Polly, who took
the opportunity of a slight pause to address him; and Raper, like an
escaped schoolboy, burst away from his task at a word.

"I have just remembered another instance, Polly," said he, "of what we
were speaking; it occurs in Schiller,--

"'Es bricht sich die Wellen mit Macht--mit Macht.'"

"Take your books to your room, Polly," said Fagan, harshly; "for I see
that as long as they are here, we have little chance of Mr. Raper's
services."

Polly rose, and pressed Joe's hand affectionately, and then, gathering
up the volumes before her, she left the room. Raper stood for a second
or two gazing at the door after her departure, and then, heaving a faint
sigh, muttered to himself:--

"I have just recalled to mind another,--

"'Eine Blueth', eine Blueth' mir brich,
Vom den Baum im Garten.'

Quite ready, sir," broke he in suddenly, as a sharp summons from Fagan's
knuckles once more admonished him of his duty; and now, as though the
link which had bound him to realms of fancy was snapped, he addressed
himself to his task with all the patient drudgery of daily habit.

CHAPTER VI. TWO FRIENDS AND THEIR CONFIDENCES

By the details of my last two chapters, I have been obliged to recede,
as it were, from the due course of my story, and speak of events
which occurred prior to those mentioned in a former chapter; but this
irregularity was a matter of necessity, since I could not pursue the
narrative of my father's life without introducing to the reader certain
characters who, more or less, exerted an influence on his fortunes.
Let me now, however, turn to my tale, from which it is my intention in
future to digress as seldom as possible. A few lines, written in haste,
had summoned MacNaghten to Castle Carew, on the morning of tha