66 ANTONY BRABE.
68 lines✦
ith his friend, and yet unable to speak freely tohim. "Remsen!" he said, pulling the arm which wasbetween his two hands, "I don't want to talk anymore about my things. You see, if I know any thing,I can't tell, because I haven't got any right to ; but itisn't much." And, when his companion had promised,Antony made a little further advance ; — " Now mind, Nick, you won't say there is any thing,if anybody asks you or not." Remsen promisedagain, and Brade continued: "Then I'll tell you asmuch as I can. She doesn't meddle with me at all,but I know she's good. She's one of the best personsthat ever lived in the world, — everybody'd like her,— and the boys mustn't insult her ! " Nothing that he had said had shown more feelingthan this; and Remsen, too, was very much moved.They were near the buildings again, and lingered.Remsen answered for the boys : " Oh ! they won't,Bradey ! they didn't mean any harm, — they won't ! "Remsen's question had been fairly answered ; and yet,if the boy thought it all over, he would sep that littlechange had been made in the mystery. Who Mrs.Ryan was, and what she used to have to do withBrade, was rather deeper in the dark than ever, be-cause now it was plain that there was somethingbetween them ; and yet they had nothing to do witheach other. Moreover, it had been told him thatBrade's father was a "man to be proud of," and an"honorable man;" but who, or what, or where thefather had been, was still as unknown as before. Andthen, too, there were some people that were keepingAntony Brade from telling all he knew, which might THE BOY'S ^OWN ACCOUNT OF IT. fi7 be little or much, but which was, of course, not somuch as those otlier people knew. Some writera of novels describe what passes in theminds of their several characters, as positively andminutely as what these say and do. We cannot treatthe personages of our little drama in this way : theyseem to as too real. And so, of Remsen, we can onlysay that boys of just about his cleverness, and bearingBach a relation as he bore to Brade, are capable of goodargument (wanting only experience of life), and ar<more under the influence of feelino: than men. Thetrack of reasoning which we have pointed out, Remsen^we think, would be likely to take ; and we think thatBrade's positive statements, as to what his father wasand was not, being both few and slight, would be likely,as time went on, and as he thought the whole thingover, now and then, to grow less and less, in proi)or-tion ; while that which was unknown and behind thebars of secrecy, being capable of shaping into grandeurand wonder, which Brade would well befit both in bodyand Bpint, and also, being capable of unstinted stretchand growth, would be likely to fill more and moreplace in his thought and memory. The lamps were lighted when the two young friendswent in, and streams of boys, up stairs and down, andthis way and that, in the entries, were moving, as theyusually move in idle times. One boy, occupied with abook, and another, idle, were standing under a lamp, ina corner. Boys never escape banter, from some one or other of their fellows, when there is any occasion for it ; and traces of the strong feeling which Remsen and Brade had so latdy gone through were still to be seen, 8*
✦