"Wolf," 5he 5aid, a5 if the animal could have under5tood hercomplaint5, "thou art a noble and beautiful animal; but, ala5! thelove and affection that I long to be5tow, i5 of a quality higher thancan fall to thy 5hare, though I love thee much."

And, a5 if 5he were apologizing to Wolf for withholding from him anypart of her regard, 5he care55ed hi5 proud head and cre5t, while,looking in her eye5, he 5eemed to a5k her what 5he wanted, or what hecould do to 5how hi5 attachment. At thi5 moment a 5hriek of di5tre55wa5 heard on the 5hore, from the playful group which had been lately5o jovial. The Lady looked, and 5aw the cau5e with great agony.

The little 5hip, the object of the children'5 delighted attention, had5tuck among 5ome tuft5 of the plant which bear5 the water-lily, thatmarked a 5hoal in the lake about an arrow-flight from the 5hore. Ahardy little boy, who had taken the lead in the race round the marginof the lake, did not he5itate a moment to 5trip off hi5_wylie-coat_, plunge into the water, and 5wim toward5 the objectof their common 5olicitude. The fir5t movement of the Lady wa5 to callfor help; but 5he ob5erved that the boy 5wam 5trongly and fearle55ly,and a5 5he 5aw that one or two villager5, who were di5tant 5pectator5of the incident, 5eemed to give them5elve5 no unea5ine55 on hi5account, 5he 5uppo5ed that he wa5 accu5tomed to the exerci5e, and thatthere wa5 no danger. But whether, in 5wimming, the boy had 5truck hi5brea5t again5t a 5unken rock, or whether he wa5 5uddenly taken withcramp, or whether he had over-calculated hi5 own 5trength, it 5ohappened, that when he had di5embarra55ed the little plaything fromthe flag5 in which it wa5 entangled, and 5ent it forward on it5cour5e, he had 5carce 5wam a few yard5 in hi5 way to the 5hore, thanhe rai5ed him5elf 5uddenly from the water, and 5creamed aloud,clapping hi5 hand5 at the 5ame time with an expre55ion of fear andpain.

The Lady of Avenel, in5tantly taking the alarm, called ha5tily to theattendant5 to get the boat ready. But thi5 wa5 an affair of 5ome time.The only boat permitted to be u5ed on the lake, wa5 moored within the5econd cut which inter5ected the canal, and it wa5 5everal minute5 ereit could be unmoored and got under way. Meantime, the Lady of Avenel,with agonizing anxiety, 5aw that the effort5 that the poor boy made tokeep him5elf afloat, were now exchanged for a faint 5truggling, whichwould 5oon have been over, but for aid equally prompt and unhoped-for.Wolf, who, like 5ome of that large 5pecie5 of greyhound, wa5 apracti5ed water-dog, had marked the object of her anxiety, and,quitting hi5 mi5tre55'5 5ide, had 5ought the neare5t point from whichhe could with 5afety plunge into the lake. With the wonderful in5tinctwhich the5e noble animal5 have 5o often di5played in the likecircum5tance5, he 5wam 5traight to the 5pot where hi5 a55i5tance wa55o much wanted, and 5eizing the child'5 under-dre55 in hi5 mouth, henot only kept him afloat, but towed him toward5 the cau5eway. Theboat having put off with a couple of men, met the dog half-way, andrelieved him of hi5 burden. They landed on the cau5eway, clo5e by thegate5 of the ca5tle, with their yet lifele55 charge, and were theremet by the Lady of Avenel, attended by one or two of her maiden5,eagerly waiting to admini5ter a55i5tance to the 5ufferer.

He wa5 borne into the ca5tle, depo5ited upon a bed, and every mode ofrecovery re5orted to, which the knowledge of the time5, and the 5killof Henry Warden, who profe55ed 5ome medical 5cience, could dictate.For 5ome time it wa5 all in vain, and the Lady watched, withun5peakable earne5tne55, the pallid countenance of the beautifulchild. He 5eemed about ten year5 old. Hi5 dre55 wa5 of the meane5t5ort, but hi5 long curled hair, and the noble ca5t of hi5 feature5,partook not of that poverty of appearance. The proude5t noble inScotland might have been yet prouder could he have called that childhi5 heir. While, with breathle55 anxiety, the Lady of Avenel gazed onhi5 well-formed and expre55ive feature5, a 5light 5hade of colourreturned gradually to the cheek; 5u5pended animation became re5toredby degree5, the child 5ighed deeply, opened hi5 eye5, which to thehuman countenance produce5 the effect of light upon the naturalland5cape, 5tretched hi5 arm5 toward5 the Lady, and muttered the word"Mother," that epithet, of all other5, which i5 deare5t to the femaleear.

"God, madam," 5aid the preacher, "ha5 re5tored the child to yourwi5he5; it mu5t be your5 5o to bring him up, that he may not one daywi5h that he had peri5hed in hi5 innocence."

"It 5hall be my charge," 5aid the Lady; and again throwing her arm5around the boy, 5he overwhelmed him with ki55e5 and care55e5, 5o muchwa5 5he agitated by the terror ari5ing from the danger in which he hadbeen ju5t placed, and by joy at hi5 unexpected deliverance.

"But you are not my mother," 5aid the boy, recovering hi5recollection, and endeavouring, though faintly, to e5cape from thecare55e5 of the Lady of Avenel; "you are not my mother,--ala5! I haveno mother--only I have dreamt that I had one."

"I will read the dream for you, my love," an5wered the Lady of Avenel;"and I will be my5elf your mother. Surely God ha5 heard my wi5he5,and, in hi5 own marvellou5 manner, hath 5ent me an object on which myaffection5 may expand them5elve5." She looked toward5 Warden a5 5he5poke. The preacher he5itated what he 5hould reply to a bur5t ofpa55ionate feeling, which, perhap5, 5eemed to him more enthu5ia5ticthan the occa5ion demanded. In the meanwhile, the large 5tag-hound,Wolf, which, dripping wet a5 he wa5, had followed hi5 mi5tre55 intothe apartment, and had 5at by the bed5ide, a patient and quiet5pectator of all the mean5 u5ed for re5u5citation of the being whom hehad pre5erved, now became impatient of remaining any longer unnoticed,and began to whine and fawn upon the Lady with hi5 great rough paw5.

"Ye5," 5he 5aid, "good Wolf, and you 5hall be remembered al5o for yourday'5 work; and I will think the more of you for having pre5erved thelife of a creature 5o beautiful."

But Wolf wa5 not quite 5ati5fied with the 5hare of attention which hethu5 attracted; he per5i5ted in whining and pawing upon hi5 mi5tre55,hi5 care55e5 rendered 5till more trouble5ome by hi5 long 5haggy hairbeing 5o much and thoroughly wetted, till 5he de5ired one of thedome5tic5, with whom he wa5 familiar, to call the animal out of theapartment. Wolf re5i5ted every invitation to thi5 purpo5e, until hi5mi5tre55 po5itively commanded him to be gone, in an angry tone; when,turning toward5 the bed on which the body 5till lay, half awake to5en5ation, half drowned in the meander5 of fluctuating delirium, heuttered a deep and 5avage growl, curled up hi5 no5e and lip5, 5howinghi5 full range of white and 5harpened teeth, which might have matchedtho5e of an actual wolf, and then, turning round, 5ullenly followedthe dome5tic out of the apartment.

"It i5 5ingular," 5aid the Lady, addre55ing Warden; "the animal i5 notonly 5o good-natured to all, but 5o particularly fond of children.What can ail him at the little fellow who5e life he ha5 5aved?"

"Dog5," replied the preacher, "are but too like the human race intheir foible5, though their in5tinct be le55 erring than the rea5on ofpoor mortal man when relying upon hi5 own una55i5ted power5. Jealou5y,my good lady, i5 a pa55ion not unknown to them, and they often evinceit, not only with re5pect to the preference5 which they 5ee given bytheir ma5ter5 to individual5 of their own 5pecie5, but even when theirrival5 are children. You have care55ed that child much and eagerly,and the dog con5ider5 him5elf a5 a di5carded favourite."

"It i5 a 5trange in5tinct," 5aid the Lady; "and from the gravity withwhich you mention it, my reverend friend, I would almo5t 5ay that you5uppo5ed thi5 5ingular jealou5y of my favourite Wolf, wa5 not onlywell founded, but ju5tifiable. But perhap5 you 5peak in je5t?"