ows,
although he scarcely knew the foundation of that fancy, except the
circumstance of their living together, and the husband of the younger
lady never appearing; nor was his name ever mentioned in the
confidential conversations he sometimes had with them, which the service
he had had in his power to do demanded. Mrs. Amesfort, the daughter,
still possessed great beauty, which a shade of pensive thought,
sometimes amounting to deep melancholy, rendered even more lovely. Her
age might have been six or seven and twenty, she could not have been
more. At an earlier age, there was still evidence that she had been a
sparkling, lively girl, and her mother would frequently relate to the
young man the change that sorrow--and sorrow, she hinted, of a
peculiarly painful nature--had made in one who, ten years previous, had
been so full of life and glee. Decline, slow but sure, it seemed even to
Percy's inexperienced eye, was marked on her pale features; and at those
times when bodily suffering was greatest, her spirit would resume a
portion of its former lightness, as if it rejoiced in the anticipated
release. There was a deep thrilling melody in her voice, whether in
speaking or, when strength allowed, in warbling forth the pathetic airs
of her native land; for Agnes Amesfort was a child of Erin, once
enthusiastic, warm, devoted, as were her countrywomen--possessing
feelings that even beneath that pale, calm exterior would sometimes
burst forth and tinge her cheek, and light up her soul-speaking eye with
momentary but brilliant radiance, and whispered too clearly what she had
once been, and what was now the wreck.

The gaiety, the frankness, and unassuming manner of Percy rendered him a
most acceptable visitant at Isis Lodge, so the cottage was called; he
was ever ready with some joyous tale, either of Oxford or of the
metropolis, to bring a smile even to the lips of Mrs. Amesfort. It was
not likely that he should so frequently visit the cottage without
exciting the curiosity and risibility of his college companions; but he
was enabled cheerfully and with temper to withstand it all, feeling
secure in his own integrity, and confident that the situation in which
he stood relative to the inmates of that cottage was mutually
understood. Several inquiries Percy made concerning these interesting
females; but no intelligence of their former lives could he obtain; they
had only settled in the cottage a few months previous to the period o