THE UNSEEN FRIEND
未曾谋面的朋友
1.“Do come，Ned，only this once，just to see how you like it：it is first-rate fun，and not a bit of harm in it；do come.”
2.The boy thus addressed shook his head，and，removing the hand which his companion had placed entreatingly on his shoulder，moved back from him saying，“No，George，I can not；I promised I would not play billiards，and I will not break my word.”
3.“Promised！”echoed several voices.“Who made you promise？”“Your aunt，I suppose？”“Who would mind what a woman says！”“What do they know about billiards？”“You are too much of a man，Fairlie，to be in leading-s t r i n g s t o a w o m a n ，surely！”
4“Well，I hope I am too much of a man to think of going against my aunt’s wishes，”was the spirited reply；“but I made no promise to her.
Indeed，I never heard her speak on the subject；but my uncle asked me to promise that I would not，and I did；and I am sure you would all think me a mean，wicked fellow to break my word.”
5.Some of the boys，on hearing these words，turned away，shrugging their shoulders；only George Miller lingered a moment.“Didn‘t know，Ned，you had an uncle，”he said；“I thought you lived alone with your aunt，in that old-fashioned house.”
6.“So I do，George.My uncle is in China.I never saw him in my life；but，for all that，I love him dearly，and shall do nothing to vex him，if I can help it.”
7.George gave a strange sort of laugh；he meant it to be one of derision；but a latent feeling in his heart that Ned Fairlie was no object of derision，changed it into one of dissatisfaction with himself.
8.“Well，Ned，”he said，“you are a strange fellow，to care about offending an uncle you never saw：and how can you love him so dearly？Can’t make out how you can do that when you don‘t know him.”
9.“O！but，George，I do know him by his deeds.He is the very kindest friend I have.Why，every thing I have I get from him.You can’t think what costly presents he sends me；and then his letters are so full of love；and I，who have no father，owe him much for all the kind advice he gives me.
10.”O，yes，I do love him，though I have not seen him.I‘ll tell you what，George，come and spend the evening.with me.Aunt will be glad to see you，and I’ll show you all my uncle‘spresents.Do come；it will be far better than going with these boys to play billiards.“11.George hesitated a moment，then eagerly accepted the invitation，saying，“Well，to say the truth，you have shamed me；for I know quite well that my father would not like to have me play，though ho has not actually made me promise not to do so.”
12.The boys then set off towards Ned’s home.It was，as George had said，an oldfashioned house，at some distance from the town.Ivy seemed to abound everywhere.It covered the heavy pillars on each side of the massive iron gate；it encircled the old trees，and imparted a fresh beauty to their gnarled trunks，and clung lovingly to the walls of the house itself.
13.But if ivy abounded，so did roses and flowers；and with the golden sunshine streaming over all，George thought he had never seen a nicer place than Ned‘s home.
14.As they walked through the park，a beautiful pony scampered up to them.
15.“What a beauty！Ned，is he yours？And so tame，too！Ishe your own？”
16.“Yes；and he is a present from uncle.I have had him three years.He can go very fast，and yet he is so gentle that a child can ride him.”
17.As they opened the house-door，a pretty little King Charles spaniel，with long ears，jumped upon Ned，in great joy at seeing him.“Another of uncle’s presents，George，”said he “isn‘t he a real beauty？and so well trained-comes at the slightest call，and is up to so many tricks.”
18.The boys remained some minutes amusing themselves with little Frisk；then went into the drawing-room，where they were kindly received by Ned’s aunt，Miss Fairlie.
19.She asked George to remain to tea，which would soon be ready；and，till then，advised Ned to take him to the library，and show him some of his Chinese curiosities.