through her they would go into the general mass belonging to the Ardens.
The parchment I have in my pocket, thought the General, will give me but half as many hundreds per annum, as Mr. Arden in his own right, independent of my sister, possesses thousands, and yet I would not exchange with him; a free gift from this noble-minded fellow contains within it that which is invaluable, above every consideration of self-interest; and more so accompanied by the conviction that Robert, in bestowing it upon me, experiences such happiness as, in accepting it from him, I can never feel."
This first ebullition of feeling subsiding, the General, more calmly and deeply reflecting on the property thus forced upon him, felt the strongest desire to restore it; but when he recalled to mind the looks, gestures, and supplicating accents of Robert, he felt sensibly aware that, in opposing his generous views, he should aggrieve and render him most truly miserable. Entering, therefore, upon a solemn covenant with himself, he resolved to consider the property thus made over to him as a sacred gift, a trust for which he was accountable to his God for every shilling he expended of it.
In his days of youth, unthinking as he had been, he accused himself with bitterness in having disbursed with profusion and even wantonness; now, on the contrary, with the experience and discretion he had gained, the property amassed by Robert could
