here to repeat.

Mr Deane then rose, and filling his glass, did the same in his own
name, and in that of his dame, for the honour paid to their son, and
then drank to the health of all the guests present, beginning with the
ladies, and taking Mr Harwood first among the gentlemen, expressing at
the same time his gratitude to Dr Nathaniel for having undertaken to
introduce his son into the noble profession to which he himself was so
great an ornament.

Alethea watched the countenance of Mr Jasper as he was addressing his
guests, and she probably remarked that it lighted up with far more
expression and animation than a stranger who saw him under ordinary
circumstances would have supposed it capable of exhibiting.

"Well, Mr Jack, and what profession do you intend following?" asked Mr
Harwood across the table.

"That depends upon circumstances, sir," said Jack. "I have no fancy for
sitting indoors all day, and driving a pen, nor any other pursuit that
would keep me out of the fresh air. To say the truth, if I had a free
choice, I would follow some calling which would let me see the world at
large, and our own country in particular. Last year, during the
vacation, I took a trip with Will Brinsmead, Mr Strelley's head drover,
as far as Stourbridge, to the fair, and I never enjoyed any thing more
in my life. I thought then, and I think now, that for a young man who
likes being on horseback, and enjoys the free air of heaven, galloping
across country, there is not a pleasanter sort of life. And it is not
unprofitable either, if a man knows any thing about beasts, and where
are the best pastures on which to put flesh on their bones. If my
father and mother, therefore, have no objection, I have made up my mind
to turn drover."

Most of the company expressed their surprise at this announcement, by
their looks if not by their remarks. Mr Deane was evidently somewhat
annoyed at the announcement his younger son had made. Alethea
especially looked at him across the table with surprise, while the
colour mounted into his sister Polly's cheeks, for though she had heard
him express the same resolution, she little dreamed that he was in
earnest in the matter, thinking that it was only a way of talking in
which lads of his age were apt to indulge.

"I should think, my lad, that you are fit for a higher walk in life than
the one you have mentioned," said Mr Harwood across the table. "With a
trusty sword by your side, and a hu