ears. How you would like our home--I call it home,
forgetting that I have been only a visitor, and in a short time must go
back to my real home, Montreal."

"Must you indeed!" And Agatha felt sorry. She had been at once surprised
and gratified by the confidential way in which this usually reserved
young man talked to her, and her alone. "Why do you live in America? I
hate Americans."

"Do you?" said he, smiling, as if he read her thoughts. "But I have
neither Yankee blood nor education. I was English born; brought up in
British Canada, and by Uncle Brian."

He spoke the latter words with a certain proud affection, as if his
uncle's mere name were sufficient guarantee for himself. Agatha secretly
wondered what could possibly be the reason that Major Harper had never
even mentioned this personage, whom Nathanael seemed to hold in such
honour.

"Of course," he continued, "though I dearly like England, though"--and
he sunk his voice a little--"though now it will be doubly hard to go
away, I could never think of leaving Uncle Brian to spend his old age
alone in the country of his adoption."

"No, no," returned Agatha, absently, her thoughts still running on this
new Mr. Harper. "What profession is he?"

"Nothing now. He has led an unsettled life--always poor. But he took
care to settle me in a situation under the Canadian Government. We both
think ourselves well to do now."

Agatha's sense of womanly decorum could hardly keep her from pressing
her companion's arm, in instinctive acknowledgment of his goodness. She
thought his face looked absolutely beautiful.

However, restraining her quick impulses within the bounds of propriety,
she walked on. "And so you will again cross that fearful Atlantic
Ocean?" she said at length, with a slight shudder. The young man saw
her gesture, and looked surprised--nay, gladdened. But nevertheless he
remained silent.

Agatha did the same, for the mention of the sea brought back to her
the one only noteworthy incident of her life, which had given her this
strange antipathy to the sea and to the thought of traversing it. But
this subject--the horrible bugbear of her childhood--she rarely liked
to recur to, even now; so it did not mingle in her conversation with Mr.
Harper.

At last Nathanael said: "I would it were possible--indeed I have often
vainly tried--to persuade Uncle Brian to come back to England. But since
he will not, it is clearly right for me to return to Canada. Anne V