showed that Sutherland had made him aware of the true position of affairs. "All has turned out well," said Ella's uncle, " and I think the marriages had better take place as soon as possible; it is not fair to expose constancy to too severe a trial; I shall never place much trust in the plighted troth of young people." "Nay," said Sutherland, advancing to him, and taking the unreluctant hand of Cousin Kate in his own, "permit me from experience to say a few words in defence of true lovers' vows. Ten years ago, Mr. Arnold, I first saw and loved your amiable and excellent niece: I told my love to her, and obtained from her an assurance that she returned it; she was then emancipated from all control; I also was an orphan, and had none to oppose my wishes; but we loved wisely at the same time that we loved well; we decided that our united incomes were inadequate to supply us with the comforts and conveniences of life; I had, however, favorable prospects of affluence; we plighted our troth, but we resolved not to expose ourselves to the prying scrutiny and obtrusive comments of our acquaintance by publicly appearing as a contracted couple; we each met with several opportunities of forming what the world calls a desirable connection, and we each declined such opportunities for the sake of the other; our letters and interviews were not frequent, but we lived in hope; and absence, although it restrained the fervor of our love, did not diminish its tenderness. I had anticipated that in five years I should have attained the situation that I now hold; I have waited double that time; but for a bride like Kate, I would have willingly waited had the years been passed in pain and bondage. You have been contemplating two marriages, I trust you will not object to sanction a third, and that you will allow that we have carried on our courtship with as little trouble to our friends as any pair of lovers whom the county can produce." And have I accused you of being a confirmed old bachelor," said Medwin to Sutherland, "when you have been longing all the time to get married?" "And have I told you that you never had a heart," said Ella to Cousin Kate, "when you had a much truer one than my own?" "I too have many apologies to make," said the host; "I have frequently been in the habit of saying that constancy was like a ghost, often talked of, but never seen; and I have not once had the courtesy to exempt the present company from my strictures. Henceforth, however, I shall compare it to an aloe which blooms once in a hundred years, and take great pride in boasting that my humble abode has been the theatre of its development, and that I have this day witnessed the spectacle of a couple, who, having been contracted ten years, are at length happily enabled to marry without having in the time of probation broken or wished to break their 'Plighted Troth!"" YOUNG THOUGHTS MAKE YOUNG HEARTS. BY CALDER CAMPBELL. THINK not of the winter's cold When the summer's breath is round thee; Think not of the worth of gold Ere its sordid wants have found thee. Take thy pleasure with free hands, Nor content thyself with viewing Flowers and fruits, whose relish stands As much in plucking as pursuing ; Deem not sunshine made, that thou Should'st bar its brightness from thy brow; Heaven hath lent us sweetness-lightAll that's good, and fair, and bright, As much for taste as sight! Wisely should we seize each blessing That comes to smooth life's journey rough, With a joy in the possessing: |