breakfast, Neville gently broke his intention
of departing in a few days.

"Neville! Neville! I cannot spare you!"
cried my mother. "I have not very long to
live. A fev short years, and then you will
be entirely free. But do not desert me in my
old age. Let my eyes rest on you when I
die; and see me laid by your father's side."

"Mother, you will still have three children
left when I am gone—children who have
never caused you the pain and grief I have.
They will comfort you better than I could.
But for me there is a different lot. I cannot
stay—I dare not! Mother, do not think me
unkind; Heaven knows I would serve you
with my life; but here I must not remain.
If I do, I shall go mad."

"Then, be it so, Neville," she replied. "Be
guided by the counsel of your own conscience.
I know that you love me, and I would fain
have you near me; but if it must be otherwise,
I say Go in peace, and may my blessing
be about you wherever you go!"

"Do you go alone, Neville?" asked Ruth,
who had not spoken hitherto.

"Surely, Ruth, I go alone. Who would be
the companion of a guilty wretch like me?"

"Neville, I will be your companion. You
shall not go alone."

"What, another!" said my mother, rocking
herself gently in her chair, while the
tears followed one another down her worn
cheeks. "One by one they are leaving me,
and soon I shall be childless."

"It must not be, dear Ruth," said Neville,
firmly, but tenderly. "Do not fear, mother;
I will not rob you. I will go alone."

"Neville, I will go with you!" repeated
Ruth in her downright, positive way, as
though she were getting angry about it.
"Listen, mother! Listen, Caleb! Neville is
going far away, among strangers who have
no thought or care for him as we have.
Afflicted as he has been, and as he may be
again, is it kind, is it loving, to let him go
alone while there is one of us free to accompany
him? He might fall ill in a strange
land, and perish for want of some one to
tend him. I am the one who can best be
spared for this holy duty. Helen will be
married in a short time; and on Caleb, now
that he has become master of the school, will
devolve the maintenance of our mother. I
am bound to home by fewer ties than any of
you; therefore my duty in this matter lies
clear and straight before me. Tell me, am I
wrong in what I have stated?"

"Ruth is right, as usual," said my mother.
''She must accompany Neville. I may, perhaps,
never see her again; but I shall know
that my poor boy has one by his side who will
never desert him, come what may; and in
that thought lies my only comfort."

"O, mother, I am unworthy of so much
love and care!" exclaimed Neville, as he
kissed Ruth again and again. "Dear little
sister! it is I who will watch over and
protect you; and strive in all that I can, to
lighten the weight of the great burden which
you have taken on yourself for me. Now
I have something to live for; something to
care for beyond myself!"

A few days saw the preparations completed.
I will not linger over the farewells that were
uttered, or the wishes and hopes that were
wafted after the wanderers by the sorrowing
hearts they left behind.

A few months after their departure, Helen
was married, and went to reside in the south
of England. She is still, as she deserves to
be, happy aad prosperous.

The old house seemed very desolate, now
that there were only my mother and I left
to occupy it. For both of us it was haunted
by many sweet memories of the past; and in
those memories, as age crept over her, my
mother almost entirely lived. Years have
elapsed since she was laid by my father's side
in the little churchyard; one of my
pleasantest recollections lies in the thought that
I did all I could to make her last days
comfortable and happy.

It was the anniversary of Philip's death
when I penned the first lines of this humble
history. Several weeks have elapsed since
that day. In the interval I have received a
letter from Ruth; and with an extract from
her letter I cannot do better than conclude.
She writes:

"Wild, lonely, and uncivilised, as this
place was when we to it first came, comforts
have sprung up around us one by one, until
now we have scarcely anything to wish for
in the way of temporal blessings. Neville
has flocks and herds without number, and
large tracts of land to call his own. The
untamed energies of his nature find a vent
in the vigilance, activity, and hard work
required in the management of his affairs.

"He planted his foot in a wild solitude,
farther in advance than any white man had
done before. Society followed him, and now
has overtaken him. He is looked up to, as
the founder of the community, and is
respected by every one. He is happy in the
idea that he is working for the good of
others as well as himself; and if the dark
shadow ever crosses his mind for a moment,
I hope I know how to chase it away, and
bring back the sunshine, and hearten him on
to fulfil the great task of his life."

Just published, in Two Volumes, post 8vo, price ONe
Guinea,
THE DEAD SECRET.
BY WILKIE COLLINS.
Bradbury and EVands, Whitefriars.