Am I not his most unhappy sister ?" "Thou art the sweetest, purest maiden my eyes ever beheld," answered Reuben, his words seeming to leap from his lips against his own will.

Then commanding himself, he added more quietly, "But he is like to be punished for his sins, and it may be the lesson learned will be of use to him all his life.

It will be a marvel if he escapes the distemper, having been so exposed, and that whilst inflamed by drink, which, so far as I may judge, enfeebles the tissues, and causes a man to fall a victim far quicker than if he had been sober, and a temperate liver." "My poor brother!" cried Gertrude, beneath her breath.

"Oh, what has my father done with him?
What will become of him ?" "Your father brought him hither at once--not within the house, but into one of his old offices where in past times his goods were wont to be stored.

He has now gone to consult with your mother whether or not the poor lad should be admitted within the house or not.