Page:Duty and Inclination 1.pdf/282

274 the tear from his swarthy but honest countenance. "Yes," added he, "me hab my views, and may de goot Fader above prosper dem!"

"May he bless and prosper all your worthy, noble, laudable endeavours," warmly ejaculated De Brooke.

He turned; but Robert, who had burst at the close of his last sentence from the room, was no longer to be seen. He recalled him, but he answered not, he was already beyond hearing; De Brooke sighed deeply, and mournfully paced his narrow chamber, giving vent to that aching void of which the heart is so sensible, when it has bid a long and last adieu to a well-tried, confidential, and beloved friend!

As soon as his convalescence permitted, he had been informed by Mrs. De Brooke of the step she had taken in addressing his father. She had shown him a copy of her letter; various and mixed feelings had accompanied him on the perusal of it: in the sentiments she had expressed, he had beheld a reflection of herself; the dignity, or rather that lofty independence of thought, usually attending upon an unerring soul, united with those softer shades, justly delineating her refined, susceptible, and feminine character. Though he could not blame his wife for having written it, under the