greed the property which would accrue to him, should it please
Heaven to provide for his twin brother by taking him to itself. But when
that brother stood before him in the pride and glory of manhood; with
health glowing on his cheek, and beauty on his brow, he could scarcely
conceal his envy; for he beheld in him a formidable, and, if seen by
Elinor, in all probability a successful rival. Hatred took possession of
his breast, and while he pronounced with his lips a chilling welcome,
his mind, active in malice, had already planned his ruin. In the first
joyous moments of return, and while describing to his delighted mother
the lands he had visited, and his adventures at Paris and Rome. Algernon
scarcely noticed his brother's unkind reception. He knew that little
sympathy existed between them; but he never suspected that Mark bore him
any ill-will, still less that he was likely to act the part of an enemy,
and endeavor to supplant him in his father's affections.

Before many days had elapsed, the decided hostility of his brother's
manner could no longer escape his attention. Candid himself, and
expecting Mark to be the same, he demanded the reason of his singular
conduct. Mark turned upon his heel, and answered with a scornful
laugh--"That if the bluntness of his speech displeased him, he knew his
remedy, and might quit the Hall. For his part, he had been brought up in
the country, and could not adapt his manners to suit the delicate taste
of a fine gentleman." Then, muttering something about a travelled
monkey, left the room.

During the first burst of honest indignation. Algernon determined to
follow him, and demand a more satisfactory explanation of his conduct,
but he was deterred by the grief which he knew a quarrel between them
would occasion his mother; and for her sake he put up with the insult.
His wrath, like summer dew, quickly evaporated, and the only effect
which his short-lived passion produced was to increase the urgency with
which he entreated his father to allow him to make choice of a
profession, which would remove him from the vicinity of one whose sole
study was to torment and annoy him.

His father, who wished to make him feel the effects of his extravagance
abroad, calmly listened to his proposals, and asked time for
deliberation, and this interval had to be passed by Algernon at the
Hall. For his mother's sake, whom he fondly loved, he forbore to
complain; and he hailed the approaching shooting