finished by making myself ridiculous in the eyes of my more sensible friends. I hope you will pardon my plain speaking, Mr. Atherton; you brought the retaliation on yourself."

"If I were so fortunate," Willie replied, haughtily, "as to agree on the term plain speaking, Mr. Brown, I should feel bound to thank you for the interest you have taken in me, a stranger. As it is, I must consider the words you have spoken to-night a most unjustifiable impertinence."

Minnie had put on her walking clothes; she looked with dismay on the angry countenances before her. Could this be the Uncle Theophilus who had taught her to lisp—

Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
For 'tis their nature too;

Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For God hath made them so.

With a half-audible whisper that Mrs. Brown would be sitting up for them, and consequently be very cross, she drew him away. A stiff bow was interchanged between the disputants, and the Stoneholme clergyman and country parson separated.

There was an awkward pause as the hall door closed on the receding uncle and niece. Then the S. D. Society listened attentively to the rumbling of the chaise wheels, as if it had been a matter of the greatest importance.

Willie felt that he had made a silly of himself. He had been put out; he had spoken rude person

alities; and from what had the argument arisen ? From a mere straw, or rather from the brown paper packet now lying on the sideboard. The sight of the unlucky linendraper's parcel recalled Willie's thoughts to a more pleasant subject.

"Well, after all," he said, "I suppose we may as well have a peep into this affair which has caused so much disturbance. You ladies have worked hard enough for one evening; please put away those most inelegant morsels, and give me your opinion on my choice."

"Oh! how beautiful! oh! how exquisite !" two or three of the S. D. Society exclaimed in the same instant. A rich plum-coloured satin dress was the cause of these encomiums.

66

Oh, Willie, it is lovely," Mrs. Atherton said, examining its texture with a connoisseur's delight, and holding it up so as to allow the light to fall upon it. "Who can it be for, my dear boy? Surely you are not going to get married all in a hurry, are you?"

Willie did not reply; there was a mingled look of pain and displeasure in the face turned towards his mother. Mrs. Atherton knew that she had struck a wrong chord; she hastened to do away with the discord.

"Surely this cannot be cannot be "

"Yes it is, mother; you have guessed quite right. Now I shall be proud of you, and satisfied with your dress, when I chaperone you out into the world ; and I shall be much obliged if some of you ladies

will kindly give my mother a party or two. The dear thing is getting very gay in her old age."

"I wish you had not spent your money on me, Willie," said Mrs. Atherton, too much overcome with her son's present to take any notice of his

nonsense.

"Mother, did you never spend money, time, and eyesight on me? then why grudge me the pleasure of making you some slight return. After all, it is only interest I can pay you, mater; the capital has been long ago sunk."

CHAPTER X.

Do you wonder that they should give the rein to passions within sight of the church and the grave? Do we not all thus? Are there not churches all around us, with their high steeples pointing up to heaven, reminding us of the God that dwells there, and whose commands are daily taught us from their pulpits? . . . . These restraints must come from within our own hearts, from such an earnest love to God, that we shall need no church, no grave, to remind us of His presence.-ANN RADCLIFFE.

THOSE readers who have attentively perused Chapter IX., will know how it came about that Mrs. Atherton and the Rev. William Atherton were ushered into Mrs. Peele's saloon on the evening of her musical soirée. The greater portion of the company had assembled before their arrival. The visitors consisted chiefly of London people, therefore of course Willie felt a stranger among them. the moment of his entrance, a lady was supposed to be singing. But so entirely was the piano surrounded, that her voice did not extend beyond the ring of her admirers. Willie gave his mother the only vacant chair he could find, and standing by her side, amused her with his queer, dry re

At

marks. Presently a child he recognised as the companion of the lady who sat Sunday by Sunday on the pulpit-step, drew near him. There is a

loadstone power about children-loving men that attracts the young to them.

"Come here, little one, and talk to me," Willie said, leaning forward to prevent her escape.

"What shall I talk about?" the hothouse plant asked, quite unabashed at finding herself vis-à-vis with a stranger.

"I want to know if your mamma is here tonight?"

'To be sure; where else should she be ?" "And your papa?"

"Is here, too, of course."

Just as little missy spoke, the object of Willie's inquiries approached. "Lucy," he said, dropping the eyeglass with which he had surveyed our hero from top to toe, "Lucy, why does not come up to-night?" The name was spoken so low that Willie did not catch it.

"I do not know, Louis."

"Then go and ask her, and say I told you."

"What a bother you are!" The child ran off as she spoke. In a few minutes she returned.

"Well, what answer?" he who had given her the commission asked.

"Nothing; but she wont come; she's too busy."

"Run again, Lucy; and tell her mamma wants her to come and play."