a beautiful residence, which every one allowed was an ornament to the village; and removed thither with his wife and aged mother a short time after his marriage.  My aunt’s marriage made quite a change in the home arrangements at Uncle Nathan’s, but he finally persuaded my mother to sell her old house and Elmwood, to come and reside with him.  It was some time before my mother could make up her mind to leave her old home, hallowed by so many associations of the past; but, judging the lonely situation of the brother, who had done so much for me, she at length consented; and my uncle’s home is now presided over by my mother, who was always his favorite sister.  Cousin Silas’s eldest daughter, now an intelligent girl of eighteen, stays with my mother, as an assistant companion; and the summer gathering of friends from the dusty city is now held at Uncle Nathan’s farm-house instead of my mother’s old home at Elmwood.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Some of my readers may inquire what kind of a husband my old school-mate Charley Gray made; some will be ready to suppose that his young and light-hearted wife at once worked a great and wonderful change in his disposition; others, that failing in her endeavors to do so, she became disappointed, sorrowing and unhappy.  Neither of these conclusions is entirely correct.  Flora did not all at once change her husband into a genial and social being; but her affectionate devotion inspired a confidence in her which gradually extended to others, and has now strength to say to the tumultuous waves of jealous passion “Thus far shalt thou come, and no further,” and I am happy to say that my sister’s cheerful and happy countenance does not indicate a sorrowful and disappointed heart.  Yes, Charley Gray is a changed man, and there are deep lines of thought in his face, and a serene expression on his brow, and a clear happy light in his eye, which all speak of the battle fought and the victory won over the dark passions of his own heart.  This summer we are all together at Uncle Nathan’s, and our time is about equally divided between the old farm-house and the more elegant home of Aunt Lucinda.  All the usual accompaniments of such a season of joy and festivity are here but the tremblings of emotion, the out-gushings of the heart, the thanksgivings and gratitude, as we blend the sometimes dark past with the bright present, and the rosy hue of the future, I am quite unable to describe.  Years have come and gone with their scenes of sunshine and shadow since that glad reunion, we have each grown older and I trust wiser.  Sorrow has been experienced and tears shed, but gentle hands have wiped away our tears and loving voices soothed our sorrows, and now, dear reader, I leave the actors who have appeared in the simple scenes of my story to pass onward, and perform their allotted parts in the great drama of life.