the truth as regarded
himself, his profession, and his patients, that ever imperiled the
social standing of the science of medicine. For these reasons, and for
others which it is not necessary to mention, he never pushed his way,
as a doctor, into the front ranks, and he never cared to do so. About
a year after Owen came into possession of The Glen Tower, Morgan
discovered that he had saved as much money for his old age as a sensible
man could want; that he was tired of the active pursuit--or, as he
termed it, of the dignified quackery of his profession; and that it was
only common charity to give his invalid brother a companion who could
physic him for nothing, and so prevent him from getting rid of his money
in the worst of all possible ways, by wasting it on doctors' bills. In
a week after Morgan had arrived at these conclusions, he was settled at
The Glen Tower; and from that time, opposite as their characters were,
my two elder brothers lived together in their lonely retreat, thoroughly
understanding, and, in their very different ways, heartily loving one
another.

Many years passed before I, the youngest of the three--christened by the
unmelodious name of Griffith--found my way, in my turn, to the dreary
old house, and the sheltering quiet of the Welsh hills. My career in
life had led me away from my brothers; and even now, when we are all
united, I have still ties and interests to connect me with the outer
world which neither Owen nor Morgan possess.

I was brought up to the Bar. After my first year's study of the law,
I wearied of it, and strayed aside idly into the brighter and more
attractive paths of literature. My occasional occupation with my pen was
varied by long traveling excursions in all parts of the Continent; year
by year my circle of gay friends and acquaintances increased, and I bade
fair to sink into the condition of a wandering desultory man, without
a fixed purpose in life of any sort, when I was saved by what has saved
many another in my situation--an attachment to a good and a sensible
woman. By the time I had reached the age of thirty-five, I had done what
neither of my brothers had done before me--I had married.

As a single man, my own small independence, aided by what little
additions to it I could pick up with my pen, had been sufficient for my
wants; but with marriage and its responsibilities came the necessity
for serious exertion. I returned to my neglected studies, and grappled
re