CHAPTER XXVII.
SEEKING HIS FORTUNE.
A wide future smiles before him,
His heart will beat for fame,
And he will learn to breathe with love
The music of a name,
Writ on the tablets of his heart
In characters of flame.
—Sargent.
When the winter's course of medical lectures at the Washington College was over, late in the spring, Traverse Rocke returned to Willow Heights.
The good doctor gave him a glad welcome, congratulating him upon his improved appearance and manly bearing.
Clara received him with blushing pleasure, and Marah Rocke with all the mother's love for her only child.
He quickly fell into the old pleasant routine of his country life, resumed his arduous studies in the doctor's office, his work in the flower garden, and his morning rides and evening talk with the doctor's lovely child.
Not the least obstacle was set in the way of his association with Clara, yet Traverse, grown stronger and wiser than his years would seem to promise, controlled both his feelings and his actions, and never departed from the most respectful reserve, or suffered himself to be drawn into that dangerous familiarity to which their constant companionship might tempt him.