purpose, and might have excelled in some such _art_; but least of all,
you will acknowledge, was Ernest Ward fitted to be _my_ husband. And
well for us was it, that if he did not know it, _I did_.

"And, last of all of whom I will speak, there was Edward Graham; and
thus I fancy I hear him described by some (whom I _will_ say I am not
sorry to have left behind me,) 'a fine fellow! but driven to
desperation and to sea by that worthless flirt, Florence Cleveland!'
Now I will give you an opportunity, _ma chere_, to laugh in your
sleeve, if you will, for beyond the shadow of a doubt, I am engaged to
this same Edward Graham, who departed in such desperation; and what's
more, I mean to marry him, too.

"And how shall I explain conduct that will appear so strange as this
to you? You know Ned Graham _almost_ as well as I do; and as we both
have known him from childhood, it would be idle in me to speak of his
fine, noble, generous character, and of his _sensibleness_, by far a
rarer component of the human character than many people seem to
imagine. Our engagement was, I confess, an altogether unanticipated
thing to me, though there was always a lingering thought in my mind
that Ned approached a _little_ nearer my standard of manly perfection
than any suitor I ever had. You and I have often together admired the
outward man, so I will not now speak of those great black eyes of his,
which seem to pierce you through and through, as though they _would_
know your secret thoughts, (which, as far as they regarded him,
_could_ be only thoughts of admiration and respect.) And that manly
form, so sweet and noble, that was never yet bent by the weight of a
mean or sordid thought--that _could not_ stoop to any thing low or
ignoble. Now, when I tell you that Ned has hired himself to a
sea-captain, whom his father has known from boyhood, for three years,
that his wages (excepting only a moiety) have been paid at Ned's
request into his father's hands to aid the old man, who is now in
difficulties, when I tell you this, you will concur with me in
thinking _my_ Edward Graham the most noble and generous youth in the
world.

"Only a week before his departure _we_ made our arrangements; for
before that time Ned had never spoken to me of love--and I never heard
of his broaching the subject to any one else, did you? In three years
he is coming back again. By that time _we_ shall have become settled,
and have learned to love our new home. What farm