A few months only had elapsed when the father sickened.

But he never communicated to his son, or brother, the secret of his sufferings and grief.

Worse, he never sought relief in change or medicine; but, brooding in the solitude, gnawing his own heart in silence, he gradually pined away, and, in a brief year, he was gathered to his fathers.

He died, like many similarly-tempered natures, of no known disorder! The boy received the tidings with a burst of grief, which seemed to threaten his existence.

But the sorrows of youth are usually short-lived, particularly in the case of eager, energetic natures.