82 & PREJUDICE.

bravely: if he had been your brother, he
could not have spoken of you more kindly.
There were some evil-minded persons there,
who knew that you had treated John ill,
and they tried to make him take revenge of
you, by helping on the suspicion against
you. But he was‘above it all, and believing
you innocent, he was too noble, too just, £0
try to make people think you guilty.”

%< Indeed ! — indeed !”— said Allen, red-
dening deeply; “is this so? How wicked
—how crtiel, then have I been! Forgive
me, pray forgive me, my dear fellow.”

“J forgive you with all my heart,” said
Seth ;—“I have, indeed, nothing to forgive ;
but { shall be most happy to see you dismiss

such a prejudice as you have indulged to-
ward John Sawyer: he is really a fine fellow,
and worthy of your esteem.”

“J believe it—l know it,” said Allen;
“and I fear that I have had a seeret consci-
ousness, all the time, that I was doing him
wrong. I tried to think ib of him, and I

pk ill of him, only because I did not
ow him, or because I felt that his excel-
lence was a kind of reproach to me. I had
treated him ill, too, on many occasions, and