h been put to the
test and found wanting.

"Well, Reggie, had you a pleasant time at the manor to-day?" said his
mother to him as they sat together at their late dinner.

"Oh, it was well enough," was the reply; but it was not spoken in his
usual hearty tone, and his mother observed it, and also the unsatisfied
look which crossed his face, and she wondered what had vexed him.

A silence succeeded, broken at last by Reginald.

"Mother," he said, "what is it that has deepened that look of sadness in
Mrs. Willoughby's face since I last saw her? And tell me, is the story
about their daughter being disinherited true? And is it certain that she
is dead, and that no child (for I think it is said she married) survives
her? If that were the case, and the child should turn up and be
received, it would be awkward for me and my prospects, mother."

"Reginald," Mrs. Gower replied, for she had heard his words with
astonishment, "if I thought that there was the least chance that either
Mrs. Willoughby's daughter or any child of hers were alive, I would
rejoice with all my heart, and do all I could to bring about a
reconciliation, even though it were to leave you, my loved son, a
penniless beggar. And so I am sure would you."

A flush of crimson rose to Reginald's brow at these words. Then his
mother believed him to be all that he had thought himself, and little
suspected what he really was. But then, supposing he divulged his
secret, what about debts which he had contracted, and extravagant habits
which he had formed? No! he would begin and save, retrench his expenses,
and if possible get these debts paid off; and then he might see his way
to speak of the girl in the Black Forest, if she was still to be found.

So once more Reginald Gower silenced the voice of conscience with, "At a
more convenient time," and abruptly changing the subject, began to speak
of his foreign experiences, of the beauty of Italian skies, art, and
scenery; and the conversation about Mrs. Willoughby's daughter passed
from his mother's mind, and she became absorbed in her son's
descriptions of the places he had visited. And as she looked at his
handsome animated face, was it any wonder that with a mother's
partiality she thought how favoured she was in the possession of such a
child? Only--and here she sighed--ah, if only she were sure that this
cherished son were a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that
the Word of God, so precious to her own s