It] THE SILVER FAIRIES. 161

 

answer would be difficult to give. The only thing to
be said is that Simon considered that the Fairy Queen,
in giving him riches which were apparently unlimited,
had done so much for him that he could not decently
ask for more, or perhaps he thought that to go for
advice would be evidence of a weak and uncertain
spirit which he did not wish to give, and might more-
over look as if he thought the Silver Fairy had not
already dealt with him in a sufficiently liberal manner.
Be this as it may, he yielded to the pressure of Martha
Pattison and his friends, and allowed a large house to
be taken for him in a fashionable part of the town.
They could not persuade him, however, to part with
his old home, and although strenuously urged to let
or sell it, he resolutely refused to do cither the one or
the other. An old woman was accordingly hired to oc-
cupy and look after the premises, and Simon promised
himself an occasional visit to the place in which so
many of the happiest days of his life had been spent.

The night before the family quitted the old house
Simon felt much depressed, and all the joy of Mrs.
Pattison and light-hearted conversation of Dolly failed
to rouse him even to tolerably good spirits. After
the others had retired to rest, he betook himself to
his den for the last time—took out a quantity of
notes and put them into a small desk in which he
generally kept his private papers, and then, throwing
himself with a groan into his arm-chair, lit his pipe
and tried to smoke away the grief which rose within
his breast.

It was in vain. Visions of past days of tranquil
enjoyment flitted before him, faces loved and lost

M