But if thou wilt be constant then,

And faithful of thy word,

I'll make thee glorious by my pen

And famous by my sword.

I'll serve thee in such noble ways

Was never heard before;

I'll crown and deck thee all with bays,

And love thee evermore.

--James Graham.

"Well, if there be any truth in the old adage, young Herman Brudenell

will have a prosperous life; for really this is a lovely day for the

middle of April--the sky is just as sunny and the air as warm as if it

were June," said Hannah Worth, looking out from the door of her hut upon

a scene as beautiful as ever shone beneath the splendid radiance of an

early spring morning.

"And what is that old adage you talk of, Hannah?" inquired her younger

sister, who stood braiding the locks of her long black hair before the

cracked looking-glass that hung above the rickety chest of drawers.

"Why, la, Nora, don't you know? The adage is as old as the hills and as

true as the heavens, and it is this, that a man's twenty-first birthday

is an index to his after life:--if it be clear, he will be fortunate; if

cloudy, unfortunate."

"Then I should say that young Mr. Brudenell's fortune will be a splendid

one; for the sun is dazzling!" said Nora, as she wound the long sable

plait of hair around her head in the form of a natural coronet, and

secured the end behind with--a thorn! "And, now, how do I look? Aint you

proud of me?" she archly inquired, turning with "a smile of conscious

beauty born" to the inspection of her elder sister.

That sister might well have answered in the affirmative had she

considered personal beauty a merit of high order; for few palaces in

this world could boast a princess so superbly beautiful as this peasant

girl that this poor hut contained. Beneath those rich sable tresses was

a high broad forehead as white as snow; slender black eyebrows so well

defined and so perfectly arched that they gave a singularly open and

elevated character to the whole countenance; large dark gray eyes, full

of light, softened by long, sweeping black lashes; a small, straight

nose; oval, blooming cheeks; plump, ruddy lips that, slightly parted,

revealed glimpses of the little pearly teeth within; a well-turned chin;

a face with this peculiarity, that when she was pleased it was her eyes

that smiled and not her lips; a face, in short, full of intelligence and

feeling that might become thought and passion. Her form was noble--being

tall, finely proportioned, and richly developed.




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