nasty, stuck-up little monkey; and he only wondered how Miss Julia
could be so fond of him." On the other hand, Amos always treated his
sister, even from his earliest boyhood, with a courtesy and
consideration which showed that she was really precious to him. And, as
she grew up towards womanhood and he towards mature boyhood, the beauty
and depth of his respectful and unselfish love made themselves felt by
all who could value and understand them, and among these was Harry. He
could appreciate, though he could not explain, the contrast between a
mere sentiment of affection, such as that which prompted Walter to
occasional acts of kindness to his sister which cost him nothing, and
the abiding, deep-seated principle of love in Amos which exhibited
itself in a constant thoughtful care and watchfulness to promote the
happiness of its object, his beloved sister.

So Harry's heart warmed towards his young master more and more,
especially when he could not help noticing that, while Amos never
relaxed his endeavours to make his sister happy, she on her part either
resented his kindness, or at the best took it as a matter of course,
preferring--and not caring to conceal her preference--a smile or word or
two from Walter to the most patient and self-denying study of her tastes
and wishes on the part of her elder brother. The old man grieved over
this conduct in his darling Miss Julia, and gave her a hint on the
subject in his own simple way, which to his surprise and mortification
she resented most bitterly, and visited her displeasure also on Amos by
carefully avoiding him as much as possible, and being specially
demonstrative in her affection to Walter. Amos of course felt it
deeply, but it made no alteration in his own watchful love to his
sister. As for Harry, all he could do was to wait in hopes of brighter
times, and to console himself for his young mistress's coldness by
taking every opportunity of promoting the happiness and winning the
fuller confidence of the brother whom she so cruelly despised.

But then came the crash; and this well-nigh broke the faithful old
servant's heart. She whom he still loved as though she were his own,
following her own unrestrained fancies, left her father's house to unite
herself to a heartless adventurer before she had reached full womanhood,
and thus closed the door of her old home against her. Then followed a
frightful blank. An allusion by the old butler to "Miss Julia," when