thoughts were not very lover-like.

"There she is in her room," he thought, "and there are the stars
overhead:--a blessing upon both!" Both were good influences in his life;
both soothed and braced him in his profound contentment with the world.
And what more should he desire with either? The fat young man and his
counsels were so present to his mind that he threw back his head and,
putting his hands before his mouth, shouted aloud to the populous
heavens. Whether from the position of his head or the sudden strain of
the exertion, he seemed to see a momentary shock among the stars, and a
diffusion of frosty light pass from one to another along the sky. At the
same instant, a corner of the blind was lifted and lowered again at once.
He laughed a loud ho-ho! "One and another!" thought Will. "The stars
tremble, and the blind goes up. Why, before Heaven, what a great magician
I must be! Now if I were only a fool, should not I be in a pretty way?"
And he went off to bed, chuckling to himself: "If I were only a fool!"

The next morning, pretty early, he saw her once more in the garden, and
sought her out.

"I have been thinking about getting married," he began abruptly; "and
after having turned it all over, I have made up my mind it's not worth
while."

She turned upon him for a single moment; but his radiant, kindly
appearance would, under the circumstances, have disconcerted an angel,
and she looked down again upon the ground in silence. He could see her
tremble.

"I hope you don't mind," he went on, a little taken aback. "You ought
not. I have turned it all over, and upon my soul there's nothing in it.
We should never be one whit nearer than we are just now, and, if I am a
wise man, nothing like so happy."

"It is unnecessary to go round about with me," she said. "I very well
remember that you refused to commit yourself; and now that I see you were
mistaken, and in reality have never cared for me, I can only feel sad
that I have been so far misled."

"I ask your pardon," said Will stoutly; "you do not understand my
meaning. As to whether I have ever loved you or not, I must leave that to
others. But for one thing, my feeling is not changed; and for another,
you may make it your boast that you have made my whole life and character
something different from what they were. I mean what I say; no less. I do
not think getting married is worth while. I would rather you went on
living with your father, so that I could walk