e. He had written but a line to Mr. Burns, to
acknowledge the receipt of the power of attorney, and had given his
employer no inkling of what he was attempting to do.

As the stage, a little after sunrise, drove into that beautiful village,
Hiram felt glad to get back to its quiet, charming repose. He thought of
the glare and hustle and excitement of New York with no satisfaction,
contrasted with the placid beauty of the scene he now witnessed. The
idea of being welcomed by Louisa and Charlotte Hawkins filled his mind
with pleasure, and Sarah Burns did not at that moment suffer in
comparison with the Miss Bennetts.

'It _is_ a happy spot!' said Hiram. 'Can I do better than stay in it?'

It was an instinct of his better nature which spoke. He had given way to
it for a moment, but _only_ for a moment. The next, the old sense
returned and was triumphant.

* * * * *

The stage whirled on, and soon Hiram was driven up to the house of Mrs.
Hawkins. How rejoiced they all were to see him! The widow Hawkins had
missed him so much! As for Louisa and Charlotte, they were ready to
devour him.

Hiram hurried through his breakfast, hastily adjusted his toilette, and
walked over to Mr. Burns's house. He rang the bell. The door was opened
by Mr. Burns himself. He greeted Hiram most cordially.

'I did not expect you back so soon. Come in; we are just sitting down to
breakfast.'

'I have already breakfasted,' said Hiram, 'and am going to the office.
Please look these papers over,' he continued. 'By them you will see
precisely what I have been able to do.'

Mr. Burns took the papers and turned to go in. He thought Hiram had
accomplished little, and he did not wish to mortify him by asking what.

Just then Sarah Burns came tripping down stairs, and, passing her
father, extended her hand to Hiram, and said:

'Welcome back! What have you done?'

'Do not forget your promise,' replied Hiram, in a low, distinct tone. 'I
have WON!'

AURORA.

'For Waterloo,' says Victor Hugo, 'was not a battle: it was a
change of front of the universe.'

Great events are developed by nearness. "To-day," says Emerson, "is a
king in disguise." Probably half the soldiers of Constantine's army
regarded their leader's adoption of the Cross as his sign of hope and
triumph as of small account. Their pay and rations, their weapons, their
officers, were the same as before; the enemy before them, their dut