PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. THIS edition has been revised and corrected. It was my original intention to have made a few remarks about the exceptions which have been taken to the story of JULIAN HOME; on second thoughts I have determined to say nothing. All those who think it a duty to arrive at a generous as well as a just conclusion, will see that it was my sole object to do good as far as it lay in my power. I am thankful to believe that in the endeavour to attain this object I have not wholly failed. CHAPTER THE FIRST. SPEECH DAY AT HARTON. A little bench of heedless bishops there, SHENSTONE. Ir was Speech-day at Harton. From an early hour handsome equipages had been dashing down the street, and depositing their occupants at the masters' houses. The perpetual rolling of wheels distracted the attention every moment, and curiosity was keenly on the alert to catch a glimpse of the various magnates whose arrival was expected. At the Queen's Head stood a large array of carriages, and the streets were thronged with gay groups of pedestrians, and full of bustle and liveliness. The visitors-chiefly parents and relatives of the Harton boys-occupied the morning in seeing the school and village; and it was a pretty sight to observe mothers and sisters as they wandered with delighted interest through the scenes so proudly pointed out to them by their young escort. Some of them were strolling over the cricket-field, or through the pleasant A |