towards you. Surely our souls have met at last. Annette," said he, in a
voice full of emotion, "is it not so? May I not look on your hand as a
precious possession, to hold till death us do part?"

"Why, Mr. Luzerne," said Annette, recovering from her surprise, "this is
so sudden, I hardly know what to say. I have enjoyed your companionship
and I confess have been pleased with your attentions, but I did not
dream that you had any intentions beyond the enjoyment of the hour."

"No, Annette, I never seek amusement in toying with human hearts. I
should deem myself a villain if I came into your house and stole your
purse, and I should think myself no better if I entered the citadel of a
woman's heart to steal her affections only to waste their wealth. Her
stolen money I might restore, but what reparation could I make for
wasted love and blighted affections? Annette, let there be truth between
us. I will give you time to think on my proposal, hoping at the same
time that I shall find favor in your eyes."

After Mr. Luzerne left, Annette, sat alone by the fireside, a delicious
sense of happiness filling her soul with sudden joy. Could it be that
this handsome and dignified man had honored her above all the girls in
A.P., by laying his heart at her feet, or was it only a dream from
which would come a rude awakening? Annette looked in the glass, but no
stretch of imagination could make her conceive that she was beautiful in
either form or feature. She turned from the glass with a faint sigh,
wishing for his sake that she was as beautiful as some of the other
girls in A.P., whom he had overlooked, not thinking for one moment that
in loving her for what she was in intellect and character he had paid
her a far greater compliment than if she had been magnificently
beautiful and he had only been attracted by an exquisite form and lovely
face. In a few days after Mr. Luzerne's proposal to Annette he came for
the answer, to which he looked with hope and suspense.

"I am glad," he said, "to find you at home."

"Yes; all the rest of the family are out."

"Then the coast is clear for me?" There was tenderness and decision in
his voice as he said, "Now, Annette, I have come for the answer which
cannot fail to influence all my future life." He clasped the little hand
which lay limp and passive in his own. His dark, handsome eyes were bent
eagerly upon her as if scanning every nook and corner of her soul. Her
eye fell beneath his gaze