He wrung the surprised and unwilling hand, and before the youth,

startled and overcome, had recovered enough to attempt a reply, he had

come back to Rachel, resumed her arm, and crossed the churchyard, still

shivering and trembling with the agitation, and the force he had put

on himself. Rachel neither could nor durst speak; she only squeezed his

hand, and when he had shut himself up in his own room, she could not

help repairing to his uncle, and telling him the whole. Mr. Clare's "God

bless you, my boy," had double meaning in it that night.

Not long after, Alick told Rachel of his having met poor young Carleton

in the meadows, pretending to occupy himself with his fishing-rod, but

too wretched to do anything. And in a short time Mrs. Carleton again

called to pour out to Mrs. Keith her warm thanks to the Captain, for

having roused her son from his moody, unmanageable despair, and made him

consent to accept a situation in a new field of labour, in a spirit of

manful duty that he had never evinced before.

This was a grave and subdued, but not wholly mournful, period at

Bishopsworthy--a time very precious to Rachel in the retrospect--though

there was much to render it anxious. Alick continued to suffer from

recurrences of the fever, not very severe in themselves after the first

two or three, but laying him prostrate with shivering and headache every

third day, and telling heavily on his strength and looks when he called

himself well. On these good days he was always at Timber End, where

his services were much needed. Lord Keith liked and esteemed him as a

sensible prudent young man, and his qualities as a first-rate nurse were

of great assistance to the Colonel. Lord Keith's illness was tedious

and painful, the necessity of a dangerous operation became increasingly

manifest, but the progress towards such a crisis was slow and the pain

and discomfort great; the patient never moved beyond his dressing-room,

and needed incessant attention to support his spirits and assist his

endeavours to occupy himself. It was impossible to leave him for long

together, and Colonel Keith was never set at liberty for exercise or

rest except when Alick came to his assistance, and fortunately this

young brother-in-law was an especial favourite, partly from Lord Keith's

esteem for his prudence partly from his experience in this especial

species of suffering. At any rate the days of Alick's enforced absence

were always times of greater restlessness and uneasiness at Timber End.

Meantime Rachel was constantly thrown with Mr. Clare, supplying Alick's

place to him, and living in a round of duties that suited her well,

details of parish work, walking with, writing for, and reading to Mr

Clare, and reaping much benefit from intercourse with such a mind.

Many of her errors had chiefly arisen from the want of some one whose

superiority she could feel, and her old presumptions withered up to

nothing when she measured her own powers with those of a highly educated

man, while all the time he gave her thanks and credit for all she had

effected, but such as taught her humility by very force of infection.




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