away the winter; and not to one, even of the highest, I venture to say, did it give more happiness, or leave more profit more real advantage-than to our humble apprentice boy; for he had established a relation or rather had detected the relationship between him and the external world. Things to him had a meaning. Ideas woke, either rejecting or corresponding ideas. He was not a machine. He became a

living and pervading presence. He entered into his subject, and filled it with himself. with his heart — his soul his mind. But not

yet had he reached the Highest Thought; nor caught even the remotest expression of that thought. In his Religion he was not yet positive. He had taken his Belief, because his fathers had the same because it was sanctioned by the authority of great and good men

because, in short, every body worth caring for sanctioned it; and to be without it was to be not respectable yet not because he had weighed it, measured it, scanned it and knew that it was full, and good, and true. He had not gone aside far enough, even to behold it. He stood within its own shadow and how could he understandingly consider its proportions; or even appreciate its defects and beauties? Yet

the refiner's fire was at hand; and the day even for these things, also.

In another way Miss Gray was of great service to our hero. He had a decided talent for drawing; and that excellent young lady, on discovering some rude attempts at copying architectural designs, which indicated talent underneath, began at first gently to direct him, and afterwards gave him regular lessons; for she was, herself, a proficient in the theory of that elegant art; and the scholar did ample credit to the skill and untiring exertions of the teacher. All these kindnesses were not unmarked by Rankin; and Victor was not long in perceiving that the latter regarded him as a rival in the good graces of the young lady; although her superior age and previous engagement, must have precluded all thoughts of any other than the purest-nay the necessary friendship, between two persons of taste and genius, who were thus constantly associated. In short Rankin was a rejected suitor of Miss Gray. She had long since declined receiving his addresses, kindly but positively; and until the period of Victor's coming, he had appeared for a long time perfectly resigned to his fate. He seldom sought her society—indeed, he gene

rally avoided her with studious care. But the attentions she bestowed on Victor, carried home a new dart to the covered, but not healed wound, thus exciting the venom, with which his nature was redundant. But he was too cunning a diplomatist to commit himself by any overt act of unkindness. Every circumstance was invested with his own bitterness, and treasured up against the day of wrath, which he had inly sworn should come.

As the spring opened, Victor discovered that himself and Miss Gray had another coincident taste. The latter was an ardent devotee of that charming science, which no woman should fail to make herself acquainted with she was, in short, an intelligent and practical botanist. This study also from his quick perception of the beautiful, and ardent love of nature, was peculiarly adapted to the mind of Victor. He had taken it up during the last term he had attended school at the Academy of his native town, and advanced so far as to perceive its beautiful system, and to take much interest in gathering, analyzing, and preserving specimens. Since then it had been hallowed and shrined in his bosom, with one of the sweetest memories that ever stirred a gentle and loving heart. But when he found that Miss Gray had a kin

dred taste -and that much more highly cultivated than his own - not only love for the science itself, but gratitude to his charming preceptress, prompted him to renewed interest. Every swamp, wood, meadow, marsh, and river side was made to yield a part of its hidden treasures; and never a holyday came without bringing some valuable addition to Miss Gray's Herbarium, through the untiring earnestness of her grateful young friend.

Here, again, let not the poor boy say, "The Natural Sciences are entirely beyond my reach,' for, in this also, he is wrong. Behold, is not a fly, a moth, a flower, a stone, a bit of earth, cheap? Yet each of these is a study. These are the spontaneous publications of nature, which she scatters abroad over her whole domain, even that the poor may gather them together and read. A manual containing the Elements of any one of the natural sciences may be bought for less money than even the poorest boys among us spend in a year for cross-bows, and crackers, and squibs, and gunpowder, which they are better without than with; and the time consumed in mischief would be sufficient to acquire a knowledge of any one of the natural sciences, besides furnishing healthful, instead of troublesome, wanton and dangerous exercises.

CHAPTER V.

"Mark you this, Bassanio,

The devil can cite scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness,

Is like a villain with a smiling cheek;

A goodly apple rotten at the heart;

O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!"
MERCHANT OF VENICE.

But this height of happiness was not to last long; or rather it was to be tested. Rankin had forborne making any observations upon Victor's religious habits - his strict attention to all the duties enjoined by the spirit of Christianity but, after a while, whenever he could find him alone in his chamber, he began to throw out sly but keen inuendos. One evening it happened it was not a very common thing as Rankin seldom came home until late, that they ascended the stairs at the same time. After a few moments the latter knocking slightly, threw open the door familiarly, and entered the room of Victor. The latter was engaged, as usual, in reading a chapter before he retired. His visitor stood over him a few minutes; and