I remember to have overheard; for the dialogue was between my father and the
Sheriff, so lately as the last time they met. He then added, that the kings of
England used to keep gentlemen as agents among the different tribes of Indians,
and sometimes officers in the army, who frequently passed half their lives on
the edge of the wilderness.«
    »Told with wonderful historical accuracy! And did he end there?«
    »Oh! no - then he said that these agents seldom married; and - and - they
must have been wicked men, Elizabeth! but I assure you he said so.«
    »Never mind,« said Miss Temple, blushing and smiling, though so slightly
that both were unheeded by her companion - »skip all that.«
    »Well, then he said that they often took great pride in the education of
their children, whom they frequently sent to England, and even to the colleges;
and this is the way that he accounts for the liberal manner in which Mr. Edwards
has been taught; for he acknowledges that he knows almost as much as your father
- or mine - or even himself!«
    »Quite a climax in learning! And so he made Mohegan the grand-uncle or
grandfather of Oliver Edwards.«
    »You have heard him yourself, then?« said Louisa.
    »Often; but not on this subject. Mr. Richard Jones, you know, dear, has a
theory for every thing; but has he one which will explain the reason why that
hut is the only habitation within fifty miles of us, whose door is not open to
every person who may choose to lift its latch?«
    »I have never heard him say any thing on this subject,« returned the
clergyman's daughter; »but I suppose that, as they are poor, they very naturally
are anxious to keep the little that they honestly own. It is sometimes dangerous
to be rich, Miss Temple; but you cannot know how hard it is to be very, very
poor.«
    »Nor you, I trust, Louisa; at least I should hope, that in this land of
abundance, no minister of the church could be left to absolute suffering.«
    »There cannot be actual misery,« returned the other, in a low and humble
tone, »where there is a dependence on our Maker; but there may be such suffering
as will cause the heart to ache.«
    »But not you - not you,« said the impetuous Elizabeth - »not you, dear girl;
you have never