"She was, my dear young lady," said he, recovering his serenity, "she was all that you imagine her—all that a kindred spirit such as yours may conceive of the angelic, a bright and lovely ornament of society and of her sex. Blessed with this treasure, I ever found her the most amiable and endearing companion; but," he added, "we ought not to retrace past events with any appearance of sadness or discontent, as if we had not taught ourselves the useful lesson of making an entire surrender of our hearts to that wise Providence watching over our destiny, and who assuredly knows what is best for us in time as in eternity,—whose ways, inscrutable, are above our finite understandings to comprehend. But pardon me this slight digression."
"My good sir," returned the General, "a religious discussion is by no means uninteresting to myself or any part of my family; on the contrary, it is a theme peculiarly gratifying."
"Yes," rejoined Mrs. De Brooke, "it is indeed to us a pleasing topic, and we much lament that it is so generally banished from society for details of comparatively little importance."
"It is indeed an observation but too true," replied the Doctor; "we rarely meet with those who take much delight in a religious conversation;
