Year: 1871

has had very limited income ant
a saucy girl like you to plague him
Mr.. Pendennis is rich, and has n,
one to care about but himself"


"How sad! He must be very sat
land desolate. You had better max
| him stay with us a long time, nam
ma, = said Lima, mediatingly.


Perhaps he would prefer a home
of his"


Marry! Oh, mamma,what an idea
He is too old to think of such 6
thingp


Nonsense, Adeline! It is only
your foolish childishness that makes
you think so. He is scarcely in the
prime of life and with fortune that
would command any girl he liked to
ask"


"He said l was childish" said the
girl petulentlY. "But, mama, you
surely Go not think a woman ought
to marry a man because he is rlchr'


81 do not do so, certainly, Lima;
but wealth brings great attractions;
and 1 do not suppose Mr.. Pendennis
would be refused by any one he liked
to ask"


Sand he could never know whether
they liked him. observed the girl.
no IcOuld not endure that, mama"


"Your antecedents are not very
clear, my dear. Do you mean that
you should not like to be married
for your fortune? for if so you are
perfectly safe. 1 am afraid yours
will be slender dowery, if you have
any at all, my love"


And having thus, as she considered
performed her duty as a wife and
mother in a truly admirable manner,
Mrs. Tremaine left the room.


Cuthbert Pendennis found him
self alone in the pretty square room
Of the Rectory, and for a moment
forgot that he was not once again
the young ardent man who had,
nearly twenty years before, loved
and wooed Custance Penfold. Leon
ard Tremaine and he had both been
smitten by her beauty and gentle
ness: they had agreed that their
sympathy in this love should not
break their friendship. Only when
he left the presence of his beloved, a
rejected and heartbroken man, he
had vowed not to marry unless it
was the daughter of her whom he
deemed the very pearl of her sex.


Now he had returned to redeem
this pledge. He once again saw his
early love. Did he feel a pang OF
jealous envy as he looked upon the
wife Of his friend? Must it be con-
fessed? he felt instinctively that
Custance had chosen Alright for his
happiness, as well as her own, and
that the winning, helpless gentleness
ofthe girl had developed into the soft
apathy Of the woman, and that his
own vigorous energy and quick per-
ception would have banked and
deadened by the utter want of coz
geniality between their natures.
But deep sigh escaped him when
he thought of the bright, eager
Adeline.


"If were but younger-if I could
go back'' he sighed. "But to pur-
chase such a bright JEWELS it not
a sin, and a cruel sinY'


And Cuthbert Pendennis was long
awake before he slept that night.


y


"It is too bad, Adeline. Ever
since that detestable nabob came,
you have been engaged by him, and
1 have scarcely been able to get
a word with you. Are you so
easily induced to forget old days,
old friends-old lovers?"


"Hush-hush, Horace; you must
not speak to me-" was the girls
trembling reply; ''you know it is
Wrong-useless." :"


81 know nothing of the sort; Lima;
I only know that 1 always consid-
cred you quite belonging to- me,
ever since we were children, and till
this old fellow came you never
avoided me, or made excuses for
everything 1 asked. Now you
neither walk with me, nor sing with
me, and when we are thrown togeth-
er you seem as if you would rather
talk to any one than me. If l had
not, by accident, or rather by per
sistent watching, managed to join
you in this dear old summer house,
1 should never have had the chance
of even asking you the reason OF
this caprice, Adeline. But now ]
am determined to know the truth"


Cuthbert Pendennis had been an
involuntary eavesdropper to this
little scene, and he listened breath.
lessly for Adeline's next reply.
Horace, there is very little tC
tell, but you ought to guess with
out giving me the pain of speaking
it. We have been boy and CIR
hitherto, and been indulged in the
liberty which childish friendship
warranted. Now, it is different
Neither mamma nor Sir Ralph
Dasant would be pleased if we were
to do Just as-as if" =


GAS if we were something more
than friends, Adeline. Are we not
so? You know-you must know
how dearly love you, Lima. l al
ways called you my little wife when
1 was a boy, but it was not in jest,
1 meant it then, and mean it now.
Lima, shall it not be so? Will you
not consent?


'No; l cannot, Horace. Please
do not ask it. Your father would
never consent to your marrying a
girl without a fortune; and you
would be miserable if you could not
spend all you wanted


"Who told you this, LinaP'


aMamma did. She said it would

be necessary for you, to make you
happy, and to help you to live as
you ought to do. And have moth
ing. So you must never think ol
me, except as a dear old friend
Horace"


"Oh, yes, understand. You are
too wise, or your mother teaches
you to be so, for such a foolish
thing as marrying for love, when
you can get hold of wealthy ma
bob. But 1 could never have be
llieved you would sell yourself in
that way for gold, Lina-I am glad
to be undeceived ere it is too late.


The girl appeared to sit silent
and mOtionless, for the deeply in.