38 BRAGGADOCIO.

of Mr. Sands Cramer. It was a mystery to
the friends of Sir John, why he, an English-
man, a Londoner, should require his son to
reside in the United States, until the age of
one and twenty, with his guardian, Mr.
Cramer. Yet, so it was. Sir John gave no
reasons, himself, for this singular choice, but
doubtless he might have given good and
sufficient ones. Not many months after his
father’s death, Howard Framingham was
placed under the charge of the captain of
a Liverpool packet, and in fifteen days arrived
safely in New York. The captain immediately
wrote to Mr. Cramer, announcing his arrival.
A youthful stranger, in a strange land! An
orphan, too. Mrs. Cramer’s kind heart warmed
towards the boy. Her husband was absent on
a journey to the South, and she with her
children hastened to the city to welcome the
stranger. }

Mrs. Cramer entered the large parlor of the
—— House, Broadway, with George at her
right hand and Ada at the left. Partly
concealed by the crimson drapery of one of the
large windows, a stout lad was standing, look-