seeing her alone, and
assuring her that, spite of appearances to the contrary, the clouds were
beginning to break, and that light and peace would shortly follow.

It was now the month of June; the school and reading-room at Bridgepath
had got fairly established; the growlers and grumblers had nearly all of
them subsided; and many long-benighted souls were receiving light with
gladness.

"Pray excuse my calling so early," said the colonel, as he took his seat
beside the elder Miss Stansfield, on a bright sunny morning. The
drawing-room window was open, and the ladies were seated on either side
of it--the aunt half reclining on an easy-chair, the other occupying a
low stool, with the open Bible from which she had been reading aloud on
her lap.

Miss Stansfield received her visitor very cordially, but it was plain
that the reading of the Holy Book had not imparted any sunshine to her
spirit, and there were traces of recent tears in her niece's eyes.

The colonel saw this, but made no remark on it. For a few moments he
gazed on the lovely garden, visible through the open window, without
speaking; then he said abruptly, "I was thinking how selfish we
naturally are; those beautiful flowers reminded me of it, and seemed to
reproach me. God gives us such a profusion of colour, and harmonises it
so marvellously to delight us; and yet how ready we are to pick out, as
it were, the sombrest tints in his dealings with us, and to keep our
eyes fixed on them."

Miss Stansfield coloured slightly, and then said, after a pause, during
which her niece did not look up, but nervously moved the leaves of her
Bible, "Yes, I quite agree with you, Colonel Dawson; there is abundance
of selfishness in our days, especially among young people. They seem to
think of nothing but having their own way, and seldom condescend to
admit that those who have been brought up in less enlightened days can
have gained any wisdom by experience."

"Ah! I dare say," replied the other; "I've no doubt that young people,
many of them at least, have a large share of this very unlovable
quality. Perhaps we have all of us more of it than we should like to
admit to ourselves. But now, to tell the truth, I am on the look-out
for one or two unselfish people;--can either of you, my dear friends,
help me to find them?"

"I think you will search in vain in _this_ neighbourhood," said the old
lady dryly.

"Nay, my dear Miss Stansfield, are you not a little unc