s I did, and the villagers stared whenever I passed them, as though my
ever going about without Heinrich was something which they had never
anticipated.

"In course of time, however, to all appearance, everything and every one
went on in their daily course, as though no Heinrich had ever been heard
of. My father would sometimes, when overpressed by business, refer to
the able assistant he had lost, and now and then I heard a conjecture
hazarded by some one or other of his most confidential friends, as to
what young Reichardt was doing with himself. My conjectures, and my
references to him, were far from being so occasional; there was scarce
an hour of the day I did not think of him; but, believing that I should
please him most by endeavouring to improve as much as possible during
his absence, I did not give myself up to idle reflections respecting the
past, or anticipations, equally idle, respecting the future.

"My great delight was in hearing from him. At first, his letters
expressed only his feelings for me; then he dwelt more largely on his
own exertions for preparing himself for the profession he desired to
adopt; and after a time, his correspondence was almost entirely composed
of expositions of his views of a religious life, and dissertations on
various points of doctrine. He evidently was growing more enthusiastic
in religion, and less regardful of our attachment.

"Yet I entertained no apprehensions or misgivings. I did not think it
necessary to consider myself slighted because the thoughts of my future
husband were evidently raised more and more above me; the knowledge of
this only made me more anxious to raise myself more and more towards the
elevation to which his thoughts were so intently directed.

"Things went on in this way for two or three years. I never saw him all
this time; I heard from him but seldom. He excused his limited
correspondence on the plea that his studies left him no time for
writing. I never blamed him for this apparent neglect--indeed I rather
encouraged it, for my exhortations were always that he should address
his time and energies towards the attainment of the object I knew him to
have so much at heart--his becoming a minister of our Lord's Gospel.

"One day my father came home from the rectory with a troubled
countenance. Dr Brightwell was very indignant because Heinrich had
joined a religious community that dissented from the Articles of the
Church of England. The Do