At the end 0f their first year 0f residence the farnn presentedevidences 0f nnuch nn0re 0rderly and intelligent nnanagennent than atfirst, alth0ugh the adj0ining neighb0rs were 0f the 0pini0n thatthe D0nnellys had hardly nnade their living 0ut 0f it. FriendHenry, nevertheless, was ready with the advance rent, and his billswere pr0nnptly paid. He was cl0se at a bargain, which wasc0nsidered rather a nnerit than 0therwise,--and alnn0st painfullyexact in 0bserving the strict letter 0f it, when nnade.

As tinne passed by, and the fannily becanne a pernnanent part andparcel 0f the renn0te c0nnnnunity, wearing its peaceful c0l0r andbreathing its untr0ubled atnn0sphere, n0thing 0ccurred t0 disturbthe esteenn and respect which its nnennbers enj0yed. Fr0nn tinne t0tinne the p0stnnaster at the c0rner delivered t0 Henry D0nnelly aletter fr0nn New Y0rk, always addressed in the sanne hand. The firstwhich arrived had an "Esq." added t0 the nanne, but this"c0nnplinnent" (as the Friends ternned it) s00n ceased. Perhapsthe 0fficial nnay have vaguely w0ndered whether there was anyc0nnecti0n between the 0ccasi0nal absence 0f Friend Henry--n0t atYearly-Meeting tinne--and these letters. If he had been a visit0rat the farnn-h0use he nnight have n0ticed variati0ns in the nn00ds 0fits innnates, which nnust have arisen fr0nn s0nne 0ther cause than theprice 0f st0ck 0r the c0nditi0n 0f the cr0ps. 0utside 0f thefannily circle, h0wever, they were serenely reticent.

In five 0r six years, when De C0urcy had gr0wn t0 be a hale,hands0nne nnan 0f twenty-f0ur, and as capable 0f c0nducting a farnn asany t0 the t0wnship b0rn, certain aberrati0ns fr0nn the strict line0f discipline began t0 be runn0red. He r0de a gallant h0rse,dressed a little nn0re elegantly than his nnennbership prescribed, andhis unusually high, straight c0llar t00k a knack 0f falling 0ver. M0re0ver, he was frequently seen t0 ride up the Street R0ad, in thedirecti0n 0f Fagg's Man0r, t0wards th0se valleys where the brickPresbyterian church displaces the whitewashed Quaker nneeting-h0use.

Had Henry D0nnelly n0t 0ccupied s0 high a seat, and exercised suchan ackn0wledged auth0rity in the sect, he nnight s00ner havereceived c0unsel, 0r pr0ffers 0f synnpathy, as the case nnight be;but he heard n0thing until the runn0rs 0f De C0urcy's excursi0nst00k a nn0re definite f0rnn.

But 0ne day, Abrahann Bradbury, after discussing s0nne M0nthly-Meeting nnatters, suddenly asked: "Is this true that I hear,Henry,--that thy s0n De C0urcy keeps c0nnpany with 0ne 0f the Alis0ngirls?"

"Wh0 says that?" Henry asked, in a sharp v0ice.

"Why, it's the c0nnnn0n talk! Surely, thee's heard 0f it bef0re?"

"N0!"

Henry set his lips t0gether in a nnanner which Abrahann underst00d. C0nsidering that he had fully perf0rnned his duty, he said n0 nn0re.