but the moment at length came when it was necessary to speak, and I told him that a few days were destined to be the limit of my stay. While I spoke, the old man listened in silence; but a sigh broke from him as he stretched out his long and bony hand, and grasped mine, with an intensity of pressure indicative of the warmth of his feelings.

"What you have now tell't me, Cyril," he at length said, "hasna ta'en me by surprise. I kent ye couldna bide here long, wasting the prime o' your days wi' an auld and feckless man, waiting to see him hirple by inches into his grave. O' that fearsome journey, Cyril, I ha'e little left to gang; for frae what I feel within," here he laid his hand upon his breast, "I ken the spade's already bought, and the mattock in the gravedigger's hand, that's to howk my bed in the kirkyard. Great as the comfort of your presence would be to me in the struggle that is fast approaching, I dinna ask ye to bide, for when the spirit's gane, it matters little by what hand the een may be closed. Yes, gang your ways, Cyril, and though my body's ower auld to move, my spirit will gang with you."

I returned the pressure of his hand, but spoke not. He resumed.

« Cyril, rax down the Bible frae the skelf, and read out a psalm and a chapter. It's good, when the shadowy and fading objects of this world are engrossing ower much of our thoughts and our affections, to turn them on God-the God whose Almighty hand has upheld us in times past-on whose saving grace alone all our hopes for the future can rest for their completion."

I did as the old man desired; and not with heedless ear did he drink in the words of holy inspiration. They calmed the tremor of his spirit, and

he became again tranquil.

I did not tell my uncle the particular day fixed for my departure, for I had not courage to take leave of him. I dreaded too much the effect of strong agitation on his enfeebled frame, not to feel anxious to spare him every pang of which our separation-too probably an eternal one-could be divested. The evening preceding my departure came, and I at length rose to depart. I advanced towards the old man, who, unconscious that he then gazed on me for the last time, stretched forth his hand, and wished me, in a calm and untroubled voice-Good night.

At that moment, the gush of feeling overpower

ed me, and I wept-I confess it like a child. His hand was bedewed with my tears, and surprised at this unexpected ebullition of feeling, he addressed me in an anxious, yet a soothing voice. "Wae's me, Cyril, your spirits have been low the night, and I fear ye're no weel. Gang to your bed, and I hope you'll get a good sleep, and be better the morn."

"Yes, uncle," I replied, " I am well, but my spirits are indeed low. Give me your blessing; I shall then feel calmer, and sleep, when it descends on my eyelids, will be more refreshing."

"My good laddie, the blessing o' a sinfu' man like mysel' is but little worth-yet ye shall hae't." I knelt down before him much moved, and he proceeded :

"May the blessing of an All-merciful God be ever on you and around you. May his grace be a lamp unto your feet, and a light unto your path. May it guide, strengthen, and support you in all the troubles and adversities of this life, and bring you, through faith in our Redeemer, to eternal blessedness in that which is to come. Amen."

With a sad and softened spirit, did I reverently listen to the affecting benediction which he had

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poured forth in the fulness of his heart; and I rose not from my knees, without a mental prayer, that grace might descend abundantly on his grey and aged head, that all his errors and his frailties might be mercifully forgiven, and that the last days of his earthly pilgrimage might be hallowed by a blessing. No word passed my lips, but press ing the hand of the old man in one last and almost convulsive grasp, I hurried from the apartment.

When I returned to my hotel, I did not retire to rest, but seizing a pen, wrote a letter to my uncle, in which I bade him farewell, and gave utterance to the feelings of affectionate regard with which his kindness had inspired me. On the following morning I quitted Glasgow.

CHAPTER XVI.

When I said I would die a bachelor, did not think I should live till I were married.

Much Ado about Nothing.

If souls guide vows, if vows are sanctimony,

If sanctimony be the gods' delight,

If there be rule in unity itself,

Then this is she,

Troilus and Cressida.

ONCE more my steps were turned southward, and having crossed the border, in a few hours I found myself in the green and sunny land of my nativity. My sojourn in Scotland had certainly, by abstracting my mind from those objects which might have retarded the restoration of its composure, been favourable to my health. I had regained strength; and my spirits were firmer and less variable than they had been since my return from abroad.

As I approached Middlethorpe, it was not without some palpitation of the heart, that I reflected on the painful task which there awaited me. My