"'I sometimes think there is none when Nathan has been going so well;
but'--and a cloud came over her face--'there is one colt I am really
afraid of,--a little black mare of Harry Dunn's. O, how that creature
flies over the ground!'

"'I am not afraid,' I answered. 'You shall win, Miss Burton, if I die
for it.'

"She laughed at my eager way of saying this, and we rode towards home,
she talking all the way of Darrow and of the neighbors, of farming and
of sailing,--for she was as much at home in a boat as on horseback. Ah,
what a contrast to the dark-eyed, proud Miss Ferrers! I wondered how I
could have been in love with any other than Lillie Burton, whose ways
were so unaffected, whose whole nature was so healthy. What cared I for
the languid accomplishments of city belles? Here was a real woman, kind
and strong, and unhurt by the world's ways. Even in the excitement of
the hardest gallop I saw no trace of vulgarity, no sign of unwomanly
jockeyship, only a true, unconcealed interest in her horse and his
performances,--an interest worthy of her English heart. We rode home in
high spirits, feeling sure that the race would be ours, even Nathan
entering into the gayety of the moment, and actually shying at a boy who
lay asleep by the roadside. Lillie yielded so lithely to the sudden
jump, that I could not help saying, 'How did you learn to ride so well?'
and she answered, laughing: 'O, it is born in us; and then I rode
recklessly for years before I got a good seat. I mean that I folded my
arms, and galloped anywhere with tied reins, and half the time no
stirrup. That is the best thing to do. Your old roan there has carried
me at his own will for many a mile. He was as fast as Nathan at his age,
and twice as spirited.'

"So we chatted as we rode home through the low lanes. The midday sun
shone down on us as we came to Darrow House; and as I left Lillie at the
door, to go up and dress for the farm dinner, I felt a new man, warmed
with the bright day, and with the new hope which rose so sweetly in my
tired heart.

"I will not weary you with the details of my days at the Burtons'. The
old father ruled over his household like a king, and all yielded him
loving obedience. Jack and his two stalwart brothers came and went, busy
with all sorts of farming operations, and Lillie and I devoted ourselves
to Nathan's further education. On Sunday the farmers and peasants came
to church at the chapel in the house, and Philip Burton d