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Show 160 BICIIAHD HUHDIS. in your family, whateYCr it may be. You 11rc 110t Colonel Grnf. ton, \Villi:un: you lack his prudence, l1is mct]Jod, l1is ex peri· cncc, his years. The harmony of one's household r1cpcnds g-reatly upon the discretion ancl resolve of its master. Heaven knows I wish you happy, 'Villiam; but, if you promise yours<'lf a home like that of this gcntlem:m, you must become a cooler· headed and fnr mol'C prudent personage than :tny of your friends esteem you now. You arc amiable enough, rmd therefore wor thy to have such a f11mily; but you nrc not grave enough to create its character, and so to decree and impel as to make the lights revolve IHtrmoniously in JOUI' circle, nnd call forth the music in its place. Your lights will sometimes mmoy you by their gln.rc, or go out ,rhen you most need their assist:mcc; and your music will ring in your cars at times when your evening nap seems to you the most desirable enjoyment in nature. Joy itself is known to surfeit, and you, unhappily, are not a mnn to feed in moderation." lie received my croakings with good nat~re, and laughed heartily at my tJredictions. "You arc a sad boy, Richard; you are quite too 11hilosopl1i· cal OYer to be happy," was his good.natured reply. "Yon an~lyze. matters too closely. You must not subject tl1e thi11gs wluch give you pleasure to a too close inspection of your mind. or ten to one you despise them. The mind has but little to do with the affections-the less the Letter. I would rather not think, but only believe, where I have set my heart. It is so sweet to confide-it is so worrying to doubt! It appears to me, now, for example, that the fruit plucked by Eve, producing all the quarrel between herself and daddy Adam, was from the tree of jealousy." • "'Vhat a transition!" was my reply. ''You have brought down _your generalization to a narrow and very sclnsh point. But give your horse the spur, I pray you-when your theme becomes domestic, I feel like a gallop." . llc pricked his steed, in compliance with my wish; but the mcrensed pace of our l1orses ofl"ercd no interruption to his discourse on a subject so near his heart. He continued to speak in the same fashion:- "Once fairly married, Dicky, you will see how grave I can lGl be. I will then become a public mnn. You will hear of mens a commissioner of the poor, of roads, bridges, mul ferries. will get up a project for an orphmH1sylum in )farcngo, anti make a speech Oi' two nt tl1e muster-ground in fnvor of nn in~;ti· tule for coupling veteran old maids and inveterate old bache· lors together. The women will name all their first children after n1~, and in fiv? years T will be godfather to half Mnrengo. You smile-you will see! And then, Dick, when Emmeline gives me a dear little brat of our own-ah, Dick!-" lie struck the spur into his steed, and the animal bounded up the llill, ns if a wing, like that in the soul of his master, was lifting him forward and upward without his own exertions. I s•~·ile(~, with a surl Sl~lilc, at the enthusiast-lover; nmlLitterly d!d Ius <~r~am of_ delight force me to brood over my own c:xpe· nonce of dnmppomtment. The brigl1tness of his hope was like some glowing and breathing flower cast upon the grave of mine. I c~uld :tlm.ost 11~ve quarrelled with him for l1is joy on such a subJect. Little ll•tl he or I think, poor fellow, that his joy was but a drenm-~hat the doom of dCJlial, nor of denial merely, was already wnttcn by the fates against l1im! TcniLle indeed, w_ith a .sudden terriLleness-when I afterward reflected upon l11s bo~'ISh ardo,r-appeared to me the sad fate which lay, ns it were, m the \"ery pnth over which he was bound inn- with de. light_! Could he or I have lifted the tl1ick veil at th:t moment, ~1ow idle would have appeared all his hopes-how much more 1dle my despondency ! |