nt departure of Alick soon after his return from escorting
Stella. He had at last decided on the place in which he was to
settle--a new and rising village in the far West--and had already been
claiming his mother's promise, that so soon as he should be able to
provide a home for her, she would come and preside in it. Mrs. Steele
felt that it would be her duty to comply with her son's desire; and
Mr. Raymond, while very sorry to lose his sister's kind, motherly
supervision of his family, felt that he could not dissuade her from
an arrangement so right and natural, and to which he had long looked
forward as a probability. However, she was not to leave them for some
months at least, and during that time Lucy was to learn all she could
about housekeeping, in order to be able to fill her aunt's place as
well as a young beginner could do.

To Lucy, indeed, there mingled with her regret for her aunt's expected
departure, a certain latent satisfaction at the increased importance
of her own place in the household; and her ambition was so much
stimulated by the hope of fulfilling her new duties in the most
exemplary manner, that it somewhat alleviated her sorrow at the
thought of losing the kind aunt who had filled a mother's place.

Many were the regrets when the time came for Alick's final departure
from Ashleigh to his distant sphere of duty; and Mr. Raymond, in
bidding him a kind farewell, added in an earnest tone the not unneeded
admonition: "Alick, my boy, don't forget who says, 'Seek ye first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things shall be
added unto you.'"

And so the happy party, who had enjoyed together at Ashleigh the
pleasant summer days, were scattered, never again to meet there under
the same circumstances; for the autumn, bringing the cold blasts and
nipping frosts that scattered the rich summer foliage and made the
earth bleak and bare, brought other changes, far sadder than these.

Nelly was the first to whose life came a sudden change. A rumour
reached the village that a deck-hand on one of the river steamers had
lost his life by a fatal accident, and that the man's name was Michael
Connor. It seldom happens that such reports turn out groundless; and
when Mrs. Connor, having heard of it, hastened to the wharf to
discover what truth there might be in it, she met a comrade of her
husband's who had come to announce to his family the sad fact.

Mrs. Connor did not profess any deep regret