128 RISEN B V PERSE VERANCE. 



doubly sure respecting the perfect propriety of such a pro- 

 ceeding on her part, she took the laudable precaution of stating 

 the case to her mother's landlord, a thoroughly sensible man, 

 one of the magistrates of the burgh, and an elder of the kirk ; 

 and he at once certified that there was no lady of the place 

 who might not converse, without remark, as often and as long 

 as she pleased with me. And so, fully justified, both by the 

 example of her firiends — all very judicious women, some of 

 them only a few years older than herself — and by the deliberate 

 judgment of a very sensible man, the magistrate and elder, 

 my young lady friend learned to visit me in the churchyard, 

 just like the other ladies, and, latterly at least, considerably 

 oftener than any of them. We used to converse on all manner 

 of subjects connected with the belles lettres and the philosophy 

 of mind, with, so far as I can at present remember, only one 

 marked exception. On that mysterious affection which some 

 times springs up between persons of the opposite sexes when 

 thrown much together,— though occasionally discussed by the 

 metaphysicians, and much sung by the poets, — we by no 

 chance ever touched. Love formed the one solitary subject 

 which, from some curious contingency, invariably escaped us, 



• And yet, latterly at least, I had begun to think about it a 

 good deal. Nature had not fashioned me one of the sort of 

 people who fall in love at first sight. I had even made up my 

 mind to live a bachelor life, without being very much impressed 

 by the magnitude of the sacrifice ; but I daresay it did mean 

 something, that in my solitary walks for the preceding fourteen 

 or fifteen years, a female companion often walked in fancy by 

 my side, with whom I exchanged many a thought, and gave 

 expression to many a feeling, and to whom I pointed out many 

 a beauty in the landscape, and communicated many a curious 



