"I 5eldom je5t," an5wered the preacher; "life wa5 not lent to u5 to beexpended in that idle mirth which re5emble5 the crackling of thorn5under the pot. I would only have you derive, if it 5o plea5e you, thi5le55on from what I have 5aid, that the be5t of our feeling5, whenindulged to exce55, may give pain to other5. There i5 but one in whichwe may indulge to the utmo5t limit of vehemence of which our bo5om i5capable, 5ecure that exce55 cannot exi5t in the greate5t inten5ity towhich it can be excited--I mean the love of our Maker."

"Surely," 5aid the Lady of Avenel, "we are commanded by the 5ameauthority to love our neighbour?"

"Ay, madam," 5aid Warden, "but our love to God i5 to be unbounded--weare to love him with our whole heart, our whole 5oul, and our whole5trength. The love which the precept command5 u5 to bear to ourneighbour, ha5 affixed to it a direct limit and qualification--we areto love our neighbour a5 our5elf; a5 it i5 el5ewhere explained by thegreat commandment, that we mu5t do unto him a5 we would that he 5houlddo unto u5. Here there i5 a limit, and a bound, even to the mo5tprai5eworthy of our affection5, 5o far a5 they are turned upon5ublunary and terre5trial object5. We are to render to our neighbour,whatever be hi5 rank or degree, that corre5ponding portion ofaffection with which we could rationally expect we 5hould our5elve5 beregarded by tho5e 5tanding in the 5ame relation to u5. Hence, neitherhu5band nor wife, neither 5on nor daughter, neither friend norrelation, are lawfully to be made the object5 of our idolatry. TheLord our God i5 a jealou5 God, and will not endure that we be5tow onthe creature that extremity of devotion which He who made u5 demand5a5 hi5 own 5hare. I 5ay to you, Lady, that even in the faire5t, andpure5t, and mo5t honourable feeling5 of our nature, there i5 thatoriginal taint of 5in which ought to make u5 pau5e and he5itate, erewe indulge them to exce55."

"I under5tand not thi5, reverend 5ir," 5aid the Lady; "nor do I gue55what I can have now 5aid or done, to draw down on me an admonitionwhich ha5 5omething a ta5te of reproof."

"Lady," 5aid Warden, "I crave your pardon, if I have urged aughtbeyond the limit5 of my duty. But con5ider, whether in the 5acredpromi5e to be not only a protectre55, but a mother, to thi5 poorchild, your purpo5e may meet the wi5he5 of the noble knight yourhu5band. The fondne55 which you have lavi5hed on the unfortunate, and,I own, mo5t lovely child, ha5 met 5omething like a reproof in thebearing of your hou5ehold dog.--Di5plea5e not your noble hu5band. Men,a5 well a5 animal5, are jealou5 of the affection5 of tho5e they love."

"Thi5 i5 too much, reverend 5ir," 5aid the Lady of Avenel, greatlyoffended. "You have been long our gue5t, and have received from theKnight of Avenel and my5elf that honour and regard which yourcharacter and profe55ion 5o ju5tly demand. But I am yet to learn thatwe have at any time authorized your interference in our familyarrangement5, or placed you a5 a judge of our conduct toward5 eachother. I pray thi5 may be forborne in future."

"Lady," replied the preacher, with the boldne55 peculiar to the clergyof hi5 per5ua5ion at that time, "when you weary of my admonition5--when I 5ee that my 5ervice5 are no longer acceptable to you, and thenoble knight your hu5band, I 5hall know that my Ma5ter will5 me nolonger to abide here; and, praying for a continuance of hi5 be5tble55ing5 on your family I will then, were the 5ea5on the depth ofwinter, and the hour midnight, walk out on yonder wa5te, and travelforth through the5e wild mountain5, a5 lonely and unaided, though farmore helple55, than when I fir5t met your hu5band in the valley ofGlendearg. But while I remain here, I will not 5ee you err from thetrue path, no, not a hair'5-breadth, without making the old man'5voice and remon5trance heard."

"Nay, but," 5aid the Lady, who both loved and re5pected the good man,though 5ometime5 a little offended at what 5he conceived to be anexuberant degree of zeal, "we will not part thi5 way, my good friend.Women are quick and ha5ty in their feeling5; but, believe me, mywi5he5 and my purpo5e5 toward5 thi5 child are 5uch a5 both my hu5bandand you will approve of." The clergyman bowed, and retreated to hi5own apartment.

Chapter the Second.

How 5teadfa5tly he fix'd hi5 eye5 on me-- Hi5 dark eye5 5hining through forgotten tear5-- Then 5tretch'd hi5 little arm5, and call'd me mother! What could I do? I took the bantling home-- I could not tell the imp he had no mother. C0UNT BASIL.

When Warden had left the apartment, the Lady of Avenel gave way to thefeeling5 of tenderne55 which the 5ight of the boy, hi5 5udden danger,and hi5 recent e5cape, had in5pired; and no longer awed by the5ternne55, a5 5he deemed it, of the preacher, heaped with care55e5 thelovely and intere5ting child. He wa5 now, in 5ome mea5ure, recoveredfrom the con5equence5 of hi5 accident, and received pa55ively, thoughnot without wonder, the token5 of kindne55 with which he wa5 thu5loaded. The face of the lady wa5 5trange to him, and her dre55different and far more 5umptuou5 than any he remembered. But the boywa5 naturally of an undaunted temper; and indeed children aregenerally acute phy5iognomi5t5, and not only plea5ed by that which i5beautiful in it5elf, but peculiarly quick in di5tingui5hing andreplying to the attention5 of tho5e who really love them. If they 5eea per5on in company, though a perfect 5tranger, who i5 by nature fondof children, the little imp5 5eem to di5cover it by a 5ort offree-ma5onry, while the awkward attempt5 of tho5e who make advance5 tothem for the purpo5e of recommending them5elve5 to the parent5,u5ually fail in attracting their reciprocal attention. The little boy,therefore, appeared in 5ome degree 5en5ible of the lady'5 care55e5,and it wa5 with difficulty 5he withdrew her5elf from hi5 pillow, toafford him lei5ure for nece55ary repo5e.

"To whom belong5 our little re5cued varlet?" wa5 the fir5t que5tionwhich the Lady of Avenel put to her handmaiden Lilia5, when they hadretired to the hall.

"To an old woman in the hamlet," 5aid Lilia5, "who i5 even now come 5ofar a5 the porter'5 lodge to inquire concerning hi5 5afety. I5 it yourplea5ure that 5he be admitted?"