nd after brief demur received a favorable answer. The
squire had a mortified consciousness that his granddaughter's life was
not very cheerful, and, though he did not refuse her wish, he was unable
to grant it heartily. However, the fact of his consent overcame the
manner of it, and Bessie was enjoying the pleasures of anticipation, and
writing ecstatically to her mother, when an event happened that threw
Abbotsmead into mourning and changed the bent even of her desires.

One chilly evening after dinner, when she had retreated to the octagon
parlor, and was dreaming by the fireside in the dusk alone, Jonquil,
with visage white as a ghost, ushered in Mr. John Short. He had walked
over from Mitford Junction, in the absence of any vehicle to bring him
on, and was jaded and depressed, though with an air of forced composure.
As Jonquil withdrew to seek his master the lawyer advanced into the
firelight, and Bessie saw at once that he came on some sad errand. Her
grandfather had gone, she believed, to look after his favorite hunter,
which had met with a severe sprain a week ago; but she was not sure, for
he had been more and more restless for some time past, had taken to
walking at unaccustomed hours, to neglecting his correspondence, leaving
letters for days unopened, and betraying various other signs of a mind
unsettled and disturbed. It had appeared to Bessie that he was always in
a state of distressed expectancy, but what for she had no idea. The
appearance of Mr. John Short without previous notice suggested new
vexation connected with the lawsuit, but when she asked if he were again
the messenger of bad news, he startled her with a much more tragical
announcement.

"I am sorry to say that I am, Miss Fairfax. Mr. Frederick has not lived
much at home of late years, but I fear that it will be a terrible shock
to his father to hear that he is lost," said Mr. John Short.

"Lost!" echoed Bessie. "Lost! Oh where? Poor grandpapa!"

"On the Danish coast. His yacht was wrecked in one of the gales of last
month, and all on board perished. The washing ashore of portions of the
wreck leaves no doubt of the disaster. The consul at the nearest port
communicated with the authorities in London, and the intelligence
reached me some days ago in a form that left little to hope. This
morning the worst was confirmed."

Bessie sat down feeling inexpressibly sorrowful. "Grandpapa is out
somewhere--Jonquil is seeking him. Oh, how I wish I cou