CHAPTER IV.
THE SOLILOQUY, AND THE CHARACTER, OF A RECLUSE .-- THE INTERRUPTION.
"Or let my lamp at midnight hour Be seen in some high lonely tower, Where I may oft outwatch the Bear, Or thrice-great Hermes, and unsphere The spirit of Plato." -- Milton .-- Il Penseroso.
As Aram assisted the beautiful Madeline into the carriage--as he listened to her sweet voice--as he marked the grateful expression of her soft eyes--as he felt the slight yet warm pressure of her fairy hand, that vague sensation of delight which preludes love, for the first time, in his sterile and solitary life, agitated his breast.

Lester held out his hand to him with a frank cordiality which the scholar could not resist.
"Do not let us be strangers, Mr.Aram," said he warmly.

"It is not often that I press for companionship out of my own circle; but in your company I should find pleasure as well as instruction.

Let us break the ice boldly, and at once.

Come and dine with me to-morrow, and Ellinor shall sing to us in the evening." The excuse died upon Aram's lips.