UNOPENED PARCELS. 145

the world as a truth he believed in, my hero was
convinced: a fact I discovered most conclusively
by his turning the tables on me and pretending
to be amused at my eagerness. And then there
broke over his face that happy smile, the like of
which I never saw on human face but his-——”

“You forget Uncle Frederick’s, papa,” said I
here, interrupting him.

“No,” replied my father, “I do not. It is your
Uncle Frederick I am thinking of at this moment.
My dear friend and your dear uncle are one and
the same person.”

I almost shrieked with amazement.

“And it was Uncle Frederick who saved you
from drowning, and married your sister?” I asked.

My father assented by a nod.

“And was that the way he became a great
man ?” I asked next.

“By marrying my sister?” inquired my father,
smiling, |

“No, papa: by fighting so hard to be honest
and true, I meant.”

“TI shall say ‘Yes’ to that, Honor,” was my

L