"  And  this,  Kate,"  said  Nicholas,  entering  the  room  where
his  sister  sat  alone,  ''is  the  faithful  friend  and  affectionate
fellow-traveller  whom  I  prepared  you  to  receive."

Poor  Smike  was  bashful,  and  awkward,  and  frightened
enough,  at  first,  but  Kate  advanced  towards  him  so  kindly,  and
said,  in  such  a  sweet  voice,  how  anxious  she  had  been  to  see
him  after  all  her  brother  had  told  her,  and  how  much  she  had
to  thank  him  for  having  comforted  Nicholas  so  greatly  in
their  very  trying  reverses,  that  he  began  to  be  very  doubtful
whether  he  should  shed  tears  or  not,  and  became  still  more
flurried.  However,  he  managed  to  say,  in  a  broken  voice,  that
Nicholas  was  his  only  friend,  and  that  he  would  lay  down  his
life  to  help  him ;  and  Kate,  although  she  was  so  kind  and  con-
siderate, seemed  to  be  so  wholly  unconscious  of  his  distress  and
embarrassment,  that  he  recovered  almost  immediately  and  felt
quite  at  home.
