are as liable to sin and error as you are." He then slunk out quite crest-fallen and mortified at the stigma which had been cast upon the authority and character of his oracle Paddy.

CHAPTER IV.

THE next morning I was with young Butler at the appointed hour. On driving up to the house I was charmed with the beauty of its situation; it was one of those old tile-covered mansions which are so rare in this country, and when peeping above the trees, in whose bosom it lay, it filled the mind with a sense of sober comfort and repose, which richer and more splendid edifices fail to convey. Behind it rose a green hill, or knoll, crested with a coronet of trees; and a little to the right lay a deep glen which developed its windings with great natural beauty: it was wooded on each side with oak and ash, that in some places intertwined their branches across it, and formed a shade which no strength of the sun could penetrate; this was on one side the boundary of the park, which was

small. From the front, and to the left of the house, the lawn melted into a fine expanse of fertile plain, which was studded with clumps of beech, and only divided from the lawn by a gravel walk and a rustic palisade. The public road passed a few fields from the house, which commanded a fine view: and as it was then the busy season of autumn, the appearance of the yellow fields was delightful, and the heart felt gratified in contemplating the boons* which were scattered over the face of the country, engaged in the agreeable labour of reaping. The thin shining haze, too, which is peculiar to that season, gave an air of joy and happiness to the scenery; and the appearance of the horses, cars, and embrowned haymakers, that were busy conveying to the haggard the sweet-scented hay, gave something animating and picturesque to the whole landscape.

When I arrived, I found Mr. Butler in the parlour, reading. His father had not then returned from his usual walk, and the son, after welcoming me with a cordiality that I felt to

A boon is a number of men occupied at the same labour.

be sincere, told me we would have time, he thought, to look over the grounds, or see the garden, which he said was better worth seeing than I might anticipate. Just at this moment his father returned, and he introduced us to each other-I never in my life beheld any aged man whose personal appearance impressed me with stronger sentiments of veneration and respect. He was, like the son, tall and in no degree bent with his years; though slen der and feeble, his erect commanding person, and the highly intellectual cast of his pale features, gave an uncommon air of dignity and thought to his face. These, however, were tempered by the same peculiar sweetness of expression which characterized the countenance of the son; his hair was thrown back from his forehead, and fell down in snowy ringlets on his shoulders, which reminded of the words of the inspired psalmist, the hoary head is a crown of glory. When he came in, the son took his hat and cane, and hung them on two brass hooks, which I could perceive were used for that purpose alone: he then changed the old man's shoes, the latchets of which, with his own hands, he lifted on his

feet, lest in his walk he might have sustained any injury by the damp. The father, though clear and intelligent in conversation with strangers, was nevertheless habituated, by the force of affection, to a childish simplicity of manner towards his son, which any man unacquainted with their domestic life and the loneliness of their situation, would have thought inconsistent with the courteous and reasonable tenor of his conduct to others. At breakfast he knew not the degree of sweetness, or the quantity of cream necessary to mellow his chocolate, until the other pronounced it right, for even the functions of his own senses he surrendered in these heart-fixing attentions to the tenderness of that loving and beloved son. When breakfast was over, the old man said, "James, as you will be engaged with this gentleman for some time, I will stroll down to the reapers, and you may expect me in a couple of hours: but, James, when I return, if you be still engaged, I will not disturb you.""Very well, my dear father," said the other, "I will not stir out till your return." As the old man was going out, the son observing the pin which fastened the breast of his shirt to

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