There came to him a serenity which was only like his old
serenity from the fact that it seemed entirely unaffected; but it
was based, I felt, on a very different view of life. He was now
content to wait and to believe. It was at this time that the Squire
died; and not long afterwards, the Squire's niece, a woman of great
strength and simplicity of character, married a clergyman to whom
she had been long attached, both being middle-aged people; and the
living soon afterwards falling vacant, her husband accepted it, and
the newly-married pair moved into the Rectory; while my friend, who
had been named as the Squire's ultimate heir, a life-interest in
the property being secured to the niece, went into the Hall.
Shortly afterwards he adopted a nephew--his sister's son--who, with
the consent of all concerned, was brought up as the heir to the
estate, and is its present proprietor.
My friend lived some fifteen years after that, a quiet, active, and
obviously contented life. I was a frequent guest at the Hall, and I
am sure that I never saw a more attached circle. My friend became a
magistrate, and he did a good deal of county business; but his main
interest was in the place, where he was the trusted friend and
counsellor of every household in the parish.
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