had a fancy for the sea, like many other land-locked men to whom the great deep is a mystery and a fascination.  He read law-books with relish; and, once happening to borrow De Lolme on the British Constitution (or some such title), he talked about jurisprudence till he was far beyond my depth.  But to return to Holdsworth’s letters.  When the minister sent them back he also wrote out a list of questions suggested by their perusal, which I was to pass on in my answers to Holdsworth, until I thought of suggesting direct correspondence between the two.  That was the state of things as regarded the absent one when I went to the farm for my Easter visit, and when I found Phillis in that state of shy reserve towards me which I have named before.  I thought she was ungrateful; for I was not quite sure if I had done wisely in having told her what I did.  I had committed a fault, or a folly, perhaps, and all for her sake; and here was she, less friends with me than she had even been before.  This little estrangement only lasted a few hours.  I think that as Soon as she felt pretty sure of there being no recurrence, either by word, look, or allusion, to the one subject that was predominant in her mind, she came back to her old sisterly ways with me.  She had much to tell me of her own familiar interests; how Rover had been ill, and how anxious they had all of them been, and how, after some little discussion between her father and her, both equally grieved by the sufferings of the old dog, he had been remembered in the household prayers’, and how he had begun to get better only the very next day, and then she would have led me into a conversation on the right ends of prayer, and on special providences, and I know not what; only I ‘jibbed’ like their old cart-horse, and refused to stir a step in that direction.  Then we talked about the different broods of chickens, and she showed me the hens that were good mothers, and told me the characters of all the poultry with the utmost good faith; and in all good faith I listened, for I believe there was a good deal of truth in all she said.  And then we strolled on into the wood beyond the ash-meadow, and both of us sought for early primroses, and the fresh green crinkled leaves.  She was not afraid of being alone with me after the first day.  I never saw her so lovely, or so happy.  I think she hardly knew why she was so happy all the time.  I can see her now, standing under the budding branches of the grey trees, over which a tinge of green seemed to be deepening day after day, her sun-bonnet fallen back on her neck, her hands full of delicate wood-flowers, quite unconscious of my gaze, but intent on sweet mockery of some bird in neighbouring bush or tree.  She had the art of warbling, and replying to the notes of different birds, and knew their song, their habits and ways, more accurately than any one else I ever knew.  She had often done it at my request the spring before; but this year she really gurgled, and whistled, and warbled just as they did,