nsibility; for nothing but the sense of poverty and the pride of a
poor gentleman, added perhaps to the brotherly regard he has always felt
for Grace, could have kept him from seeking her hand. Grace, properly
enough, would have requited his affection."

Such is a specimen of the delusion under which we live, daily. Here was my
sister dying of blighted affections, under my own roof; and the upright,
conscientious father of the wretch who had produced this withering evil,
utterly unconscious of the wrong that had been done; still regarding his
son with the partiality and indulgence of a fond parent. To me, it seemed
incredible at the time, that unsuspecting integrity could carry its
simplicity so far; but I have since lived long enough to know that
mistakes like these are constantly occurring around us; effects being
hourly attributed to causes with which they have no connection; and causes
being followed down to effects, that are as imaginary as human sagacity is
faulty. As for myself, I can safely say, that in scarce a circumstance of
my life, that has brought me the least under the cognizance of the public,
have I ever been judged justly. In various instances have I been praised
for acts that were either totally without any merit, or, at least, the
particular merit imputed to them; while I have been even persecuted for
deeds that deserved praise. An instance or two of the latter of these
cases of the false judgment of the world will be laid before the reader as
I proceed.

Mr. Hardinge continued for some time to expatiate on the loveliness of
Grace's character, and to betray the weight of the blow he had received,
in gaining this sudden knowledge of her danger. He seemed to pass all at
once from a state of inconsiderate security to one of total hopelessness,
and found the shock so much harder to endure. At length he sent for Lucy,
with whom he continued closeted for near an hour. I ascertained,
afterwards, that he questioned the dear girl closely on the subject of my
sister's malady; even desiring to know if her affections were any way
connected with this extraordinary sinking of the vital powers; but not in
the slightest degree inclining to the distrust of Rupert's being in any
manner implicated in the affair. Lucy, truthful and frank as she was, felt
the uselessness, nay, the danger, of enlightening her father, and managed
to evade all his more delicate inquiries, without involving herself in
falsehoods. She well kn