306 The Leather Plater. 



find. It was a sorrowful day both for the old man and the girl 

 when she left the Lodge, and her letters, which she used regularly 

 to write once a month, plainly showed that she pined after her rude 

 country home. She, however, soon became more reconciled. She 

 was a girl of extraordinary parts ; no task was too hard for her to 

 master, for she possessed a spirit of determination which could sur- 

 mount every obstacle. Years passed quickly on ; her term of 

 schooling had expired, and she returned once more to the freedom 

 of a country life, which she had never forgotten. Old Radford met 

 the coach which brought her home, and he could scarcely believe 

 that the splendid, handsomely-dressed young woman who sprang out 

 of it with the light step of a fawn was his "little Annie," whom 

 he remembered only as a rompish, curly-haired little girl, whose 

 sole delight was in playing with the old Newfoundland dog Nero, 

 or scampering over the common on a pony as wild and untutored 

 as herself. 



Annie had been home from school some time previous to the day 

 on which I saw her first, and although only nineteen, her face and 

 figure had fully ripened into all the charms of mature womanhood. 

 We have not quite done with Annie yet;, but as the reader may 

 probably like to change the subject for a while, we will return to 

 the invalid who sat by the fire, and who had broken my reverie by 

 the simple question, "So, you've bought our bay colt, have you, 

 sir ?" 



To the invalid's inquiry whether I had bought the bay colt, I 

 replied "Yes;" and drawing a chair close to the fire, I seated my- 

 self by his side. 



"And what do you mean doing with him, sir?" asked the young 

 man. 



" Well, I did think of giving him a summer's run, getting him 

 fit by autumn, riding him a bit with the hounds, and, if his pace is 

 pretty good, putting him into a steeple-chase or hurdle-race. His 

 breed ought to pull him through." 



"Yes, he's well bred enough, if it comes to that; and if he only 

 turns out as good as the old mare, you need not be afraid of any- 



