my Father, and shalt not turn away from me,' Jer. iii. 19. "When wilt Thou call me home to Thee? 'Behold, I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus,' Rev. xxii. 20. "Oh, Lady! we receive but what we give, And from the soul itself there must be sent COLERIDGE. HELEN had scarcely finished when she heard the carriage coming up the avenue, and in a few minutes Effie came running into her room. "Well, Helen, here I am again; it has not been so bad after all. And I have news to tell you-quite interesting news. We have been to the Thorntons, and they are all in such a state of excitement; Mrs. Thornton is expected home." “Indeed! oh, I am so glad!” "And so am I; though I am quite astonished at myself for caring about it as I do. But in this quiet life every little thing becomes of importance, I suppose; and, besides, the children's pleasure was quite infectious. But, Helen, what a turbulent temper Maria seems to have. I should think her grandmother must find it a hard task to rule her." "I believe she does, but I dare say her mother will understand her better. When does she come ?" "I don't know; in about a month, I think." But Effie's further conversation was stopped by the entrance of Mrs. Herbert's maid, who came to request Helen's attendance in the drawing-room. In the evening Effie resumed the subject, and her aunt's temper being unusually calm, she took the opportunity of eliciting from her a great deal more information than that lady was usually inclined to bestow. "Do you know the younger Mrs. Thornton, aunt ?" Very little; she was here for a short time about five years ago, when she left the two. elder girls with their grandmother." "And what sort of person is she?" "Not at all agreeable, to my mind. She has strange notions, and always seems to take the lead in conversation." "Is she very clever, aunt?" "I never heard that she was; but really, my dear, this generation of people is so selfopinionated, and, with all their new-fangled notions about education and what not, so unbearable, that I really dislike society more and more. And as to the young people! why, in my young days we were taught to look up to elders, and listen to their opinions, but F now, every young girl just emerged from the school-room has an opinion of her own, forsooth!" Helen saw that they were getting upon dangerous ground, so she suddenly addressed Effie, and asked her whether Mrs. Thornton was ill. "Yes, it is on account of her health she is coming home; but the doctors think the voyage will do wonders; they say it always does. She is coming by the overland route. Helen, I don't quite understand about that route; will you be good enough to show it me on the map ?" "Yes, I will, with pleasure," said Helen, and she rose to fetch an atlas from the bookshelves. "I am afraid I am very ignorant about India," said Effie; "I have never taken any interest in the country." "Perhaps it is because you have no near relations there; you would know enough about it if you had. But do you know, Effie, I am |