Year: 1866

SECOND THOUGHTS.


"Nick, old fellow, tell NE what's the row
There have been thinking you sulky and
all sorts of things; tell me-" and / got
up and put my hands on his shoulders
"Poor old boy what is it!"


"Oh leave me alone. There's nothing
the matter; only I'm fool. Well, if you
must know, read that. shall be all right
soon; only got that this morning-read
it. It's my own fault; l know I'm an
assm


l took the letter he held out, and he
twisted up his mouth and tried to whistle
'1'm ahoat;;" but it was failure, and he
added, in a lower tone:


"One can't pull up ten years fancy of
that sort without shaking the soil a Bit
Thank you for making me let the cat out;
Pm all the better for it. Goodnight"


was sorry-more sorry than l could
say--for him. He was the oldest friend |
had got We had slepti in the same cham
Der at Winchester, and rowed in the same
boats at Oxford, and could have done al
most any thing for him, any thing-but
but wish him any other answer than the
one l read by the fre-lgbt now. 1t was
this;


"MY DEAR BARNARD:-You must not think
more of the subject mentioned in your letter.
do not speak off-handed or unadvisedly but
l do speak decidedly, wishing 10 aid you in
determining to turn your mind from a subject
which (you must believe me) eau only bring
you pain.


THAT you may be more satisfied of this,
enclose letter from my daughter Minnie, who
is much distressed at being obliged TO give you
pain. Believe me, yours sincerely,


"T. DARLEY.'


/ could not bring myself to read Min
MES letter, so | folded Mr.. Darley's up
again, and gave them both back.


"Poor old Nick! Pm very sorry for
you. l hadn't a notion you really cared
for her. Good night, old boy" and !
squeezed his hand, feeling half hypo-
crite all the time, aud lay down to think
till fell asleep.


| think that any one who is rash enough
to attempt to describe even an ordinarily
pretty girl issure to make failure; SO all
| shall venture to say of Minnie barley is,
that she was slight and very pretty indeed.
Possibly some critics might object that her
lips were rather thin. Perhaps, too, that
her delicately-chiseled features were, at
times, almost so colorless as to be more
suggestive of marble than soft flesh and
blood; but in moment a blush or a
smile could warm the beautiful statue in
to charming English girl; and any one
must have been something altogether less
than human who could watch her, flushed
and animated, in the momentsry pause in
valse or galop, without acknowledging
Enthusiastically speaking at least-she
was lovely.


| really was very sorry for my friend
Nick, for | know how should have felt
that letter. 1 had only known her six
months; he, poor fellow had loved her
for ten years. 1t had been, according to
his own account, his one idea since he was
a boy at school, and he was inconsolable
now, and seemed quite unable to rouse
himself up to any thing. had the great
est difficulty in stirring him up enough to
start for Switzerland; and if it had not
been for my mother and sister, whom |
had promised to escort as far as Geneva
| am not sure that either of us would have
left England at all. When we did start
he was not really lively companion, and
for the first whole day Travelled with his
hat resting on his nose, without speaking
a word.


Fortunately our passage over the Chan
mel was very rough one, and Nick, who
was never an over-good sailor, was COM
PEELED, against his will, for time to turn
his thoughts away to other more immedi
ate troubles.


There is nothing, as every one knows,
ike time and change of scene to take the
edge off any sorrow; and nothing, per-
haps, helps their effects more than another
sorrow intervening. His shocking sea-
sickness was, as it were, an awful black
chasm yawning between him and his re-
lection; and when we landed at Boulogne
his spirits had risen in way that sur
prised us ALL We had lovely weather,
iuxuriant fruit and amusing company
Nv mother and sister, who both liked him,
and had heard his story, did all that kind
ness could suggest to cheer him up, and
by the time we reached Geneva, after a
leisure journey, he was quite himself again,
merry and uproariOus, the life of the par
ty; and his condolences to me had been
dropped for at least week. -


We had arranged, at his suggestion be-
lieve, to go with the ladies of our party as
far as Chavronix, solitary chalet, standing
in its own pinewood and vineyard, on an
isolated marble rock, little way up the
mountains between Bex and Aigle to the
west of the Rhone above the Lake. A
steamer was starting very soon after our
train arrived, so We made up our minds to