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Meanwhile Clerval occupied himself, so to speak, with the moral

relations of things. The busy stage of life, the virtues of

heroes, and the actions of men were his theme; and his hope and

his dream was to become one among those whose names are recorded

in story as the gallant and adventurous benefactors of our

species. The saintly soul of Elizabeth shone like a

shrine-dedicated lamp in our peaceful home. Her sympathy was

ours; her smile, her soft voice, the sweet glance of her

celestial eyes, were ever there to bless and animate us. She was

the living spirit of love to soften and attract; I might have

become sullen in my study, rough through the ardour of my nature,

but that she was there to subdue me to a semblance of her own

gentleness. And Clerval-could aught ill entrench on the noble

spirit of Clerval?