CHAPTER VII.
THUS the struggle went on, Mr.Howland's power to control his boy growing less and less every year.

Naturally, considering the relation of the two families of Mr.Howland and Mr.Winters, and the bad reputation of the son of the former, the intercourse between Andrew and Emily was more and more restricted.

Still their friendship for each other remained, to a certain extent, undiminished, and they met as often as favorable circumstances would permit.

To Emily, the kind feelings entertained for the wayward boy proved sources of frequent unhappiness.

Few opportunities for speaking against him were omitted by her parents, and she never heard his name coupled with words of censure without feeling pain.
One half that was said of him she did not believe; for she saw more of the bright side of his character than did any one else.
As before intimated, by the time Emily gained her sixteenth year, she had developed so far toward womanhood, that Andrew, who still remained a slender boy in appearance, felt his heart tremble as he looked upon her, and thought of the distance this earlier development had placed between them.