trong nature--Mr. Grayson, you know, is quite fond of him, and in
certain things has got into the habit of leaning upon him. Mr.
Harley seems to me to be fitted by temperament and strength to be
the shield and support of some one. He could make the girl who
should become his wife very happy, and I am wondering if he will go
out of our West without forming such an attachment."

"That surely," thought the lady, "will bring him to the question which I
present to his mind, and he will answer it whether he will or not, by
saying this attachment has been formed, and it is for Sylvia." She
continued:

"Like Mr. Grayson, I am very fond of Mr. Harley, who has proved
himself a true friend to us, and I should like to see him
happy--that is, married to a true woman, who would not alone
receive strength, but give it, too. In the course of his vocation,
he has already roamed about the world enough, and it is time now
for him to settle down. If I had my way I should select for him one
of our fine Western girls; about twenty-one or two, I think, would
be the right age for him--there is a fitness in these things."

"I wonder if that is blunt?" she mused. "No, he will think it just
popped out, and that I was unconscious of it. I shall let it stay." Then
she resumed:

"It ought to be a girl with a temperament that is at once a match
and foil for his own. She should have a sense of humor, a gift for
light and ironic speech that can stir him without irritating him,
because he is perhaps of a cautious disposition, and hence would be
well matched with one a little bit impulsive, each exercising the
proper influence upon the other. She should be strong, too,
habituated to physical hardship, as our Western girls are. Such a
marriage, I think, would be ideal, and I expect you, Mr. Plummer,
when you rejoin us, to help me make it, should the opportunity
arise.
Yours sincerely,
"ANNA GRAYSON."

She folded the sheets, put them in the envelope, and addressed them. It
was the second time that she had written to Mr. Plummer, but with a very
different motive, and she had more confidence in the second letter than
she had ever felt in the first.

"That will cause him pain," she reflected, "but the task cannot be done
without it."

In her heart she