to quarrel with Philip for any woman, phantom or otherwise.

'My dear fellow, don't I know that Miss Villiers was in France at the very time you are talking of?'

'In France! what does that matter if He stopped short. Guy,' he went on in a minute, almost imploringly, you must be mistakenthe-the thing that came to you, never could have worn Mary's like

ness.

How could I answer? I tried to laugh off any necessity for answering; but with a moody ejaculation Philip strode angrily away, and during the rest of the evening palpably avoided speaking to me. Then I tried to mend my fortune with Miss Villiers, and got openly snubbed for my pains; the lady pouted her scarlet lip and turned her white shoulder on me with so charming an expression of disdain, that once more I burned with a vengeful desire to make her change her mind, and her behaviour.

And so the evening came to an end somehow. The ladies retired, Philip disappeared also; but I sat far into the night in the smokingroom with one or two other late men, endeavouring to reconcile things over the midnight tobacco. Nor did I bestir myself very much betimes in the morning, so that the party had plenty of time to disperse on their several ways by the time I had dawdled away an hour over my breakfast, letters, and the morning papers. The drawing-room was empty, and the library ditto, when I sauntered into both; so taking down a book from the shelves, I established myself in comfort on one of the lounges, in this last apartment. I had not been there very long before who should come in through one of the French windows opening on the flower-garden, but Miss Villiers herself. She did not see me immediately; when she did, she hesitated a moment, coloured a little, and then bowed and smiled very sweetly. How pretty she looked with the crisp waves of her brown hair all blown about her shoulders by the fresh morning wind! much prettier in her simple morning dress, with the two or

three glowing autumn flowers at its bosom, than even I had thought her last night. She said something about every one being out, and her wanting a book, which I of course volunteered to find, and which, when found, somehow delightfully opened the way to talk.

Who shall limit the caprices of a lady? Not a trace remained this morning of the evident distaste Miss Villiers had shown last night to my unlucky self. If my presumption in looking at her had been a cause of offence then, it did not seem to be one this morning; and yet I'll swear that I did not sin less in that particular on this occasion, for how could I help looking at what was so very pleasant to behold? Far be it from me to sing in the churlish words of the old song,' If she be not fair for me, what care I how fair she be?' No; rather with the pious Turk I bow my head, and thank Allah for beautiful women!'

Fair for me! Ah! I did not dare let my thoughts run in that direction. I stedfastly did my best to keep the ghost at bay, and by the help of Miss Villiers' really charming conversational gifts, succeeded better than, from my yesterday's experience, I should have dared to hope. Never, within my remembrance, had an hour sped away so fleetly and delightfully as this, which Miss Villiers declared presently had elapsed since her first appearance. Indeed, I instantly declined to admit the idea of any such lapse of time; but she shook her head, laughed, and pointed to the clock on the chimney-shelf. 'I must run away now, and dress, for I promised, if I had a morning's rest, that I would drive over to Masham and pick some of them up, Mr. Thornton among them; so that-' she broke off, with an arch look, which I wished she had spared me, but added, after an instant's hesitation, won't you come too?'

No, thank you-I'm sorry-I should like,' stammered I, confused, recalling Philip's demeanour of the previous night, and thinking it might be as well not to appear on

suddenly friendly terms with Miss Villiers, considering all things. And yet-how I should have liked that drive through the gorgeous autumn woods, bright with the solemn glory of the dying year, and with-wellyes, with as pretty and pleasant a companion, as Miss Mary Villiers.

Instead of which, I took a solitary stroll in the quaint old-fashioned grounds that surrounded the house; and bending my steps homeward in the dim gloaming, I managed to utterly lose myself in a labyrinth of winding walks, fenced in with magnificent holly hedges, that rose far above my head. The air was very soft and still; the fast thinning leaves on the trees stood out transparently dark against the pale green of the sky, where one star was shining just above the orange streak on the horizon; and as I involuntarily stood still to look on this calm beauty, there broke a sound into the stillness that marred it all in a minute.

'I do believe it is all owing to that abominable Mr. Hawksley,' said an indignant voice a feminine voice-a very sweet one. Miss Villiers' voice, in fact.

Something between a growl and a groan was the only answer, in a masculine one, which I justly concluded to be Philip's.

The speakers were evidently on the other side of the hedge, and imagined themselves in complete privacy, and I was too much astonished at the moment to move on. Before I recovered myself sufficiently to do so, the indignant voice took up its burden once more.

'I am convinced that your behaviour to-day has been the result of something that horrid man has said. There, Philip, you cannot deny it. I demand to know what it is, sir! instantly! Detestable creature! I disliked him, the instant I saw him,' ('Oh Lord! poor I,' I thought); 'I know that under no circumstances whatever could I tolerate, or be civil to him.' ('That's a story, anyway, my dear Miss muttered I; witness your Villiers,' charming demeanour to me to-day.') 'And-and-but oh! Philip, how could you, could you'-the voice

faltered, broke, and then the quiet evening air was stirred by a sob. I waited to hear no more. I fled swiftly up one path and down another, and at last made my way out of the confounded place, hurt, indignant, and yet conscience-stricken, too; for of course I knew that if Philip's conduct to his betrothed had been otherwise than it should have been that day, in all probability my unlucky communication had been at the bottom of it.

Oh! that evil hour in which I had rashly engaged in unhallowed doings, out of vanity and bravado! And what was to be the end of it all? Already it had nearly lost me my friend, perhaps it might lose my friend his bride, and certainly it had begun to set my thoughts wandering after a woman, whom honour and conscience forbade me to think of, though all the spells ever practised had showed her to me as mine. What must I do to restore matters to their original footing? Alas! could that be done by anything in my power?

After resolving many things, to relieve everyone of my disturbing presence with all despatch seemed the only thing possible, under the circumstances; and, determining to find means for doing this, I descended to the drawing-room. No one had made their appearance there as yet; though I had scarcely walked to the fireplace, when in came Miss Villiers, dressed for dinner, smiling, serene, and charming. Up she came to me, with a pretty smile, and gesture of greeting, but remembering the horrid man,' and 'detestable creature,' I was not to be taken in, though I emulated her hypocrisy with what skill I could. But what man's acting, in these little social lies, can equal a woman's? I felt myself only a clumsy imitator, and was glad at heart when the door opened to admit Mrs. Villiers.

'Why, Mary, you shame us all by your punctuality; and you, who have every right to be lazy, too!' said she. 'Do you know Mr. Hawksley, or is an introduction necessary?'

Scarcely, I think,' said I; 'I had the honour to

But here Miss Villiers looked up at me brightly, repeating

'Hawksley-I wonder whether your name is Guy, also?'

That is my name, certainly; may I ask why you wonder?'

Ah! thereby hangs a tale: I think I must tell it you; for it would be odd enough if you should turn out to be my-I mean,' she said, correcting herself precipitately, 'the Guy Hawksley.'

She looked so wonderfully bewitching as she spoke, colouring and smiling the while, that I scarce knew what I felt, or what I should have said the next moment, when a whole flock of people poured into the room, Philip among them, looking very sad and sour.

He was coming towards Miss Villiers, I think, but stopped short and turned away, when he saw me. Miss Villiers glanced up atme, smiling.

Is Mr. Thornton always like that, or must we suppose him just now oppressed by weight of happiness?'

You horrid little hypocrite!' thought I, with another of those fierce revulsions of feeling I seemed doomed to feel towards this creature.

'Because,' she went on, 'I have observed nothing but cloudy looks, and curt answers from him to-day; and I was putting it down to

'To that abominable Mr. Hawksley,' I said, with a bow towards her.

To you? oh dear, no!' said the sweet little storyteller, with an air of the most naïve surprise in the world.

'Miss Villiers, I was in the labyrinth an hour ago,' said I, gravely.

'Were you? dear me! I was there too about that time, and I never saw you,' she answered, quite unabashed. 'It would not be a very safe place to tell secrets in.'

Nor to express one's opinion of one's acquaintance, madam.'

She looked at me for an instant, and then burst into a merry laugh.

'One would think you had heard a very unfavourable one of yourself, by your looks, Mr. Hawksley.'

Well, I will own that to be so emphatically declared a "detestable creature," and a "horrid man," by the lady who is to stand in so close

a relation to my oldest friend,' I began, and then broke off, puzzled at the merriment in the bright eyes of the lady I meant to abash.

'Did Mary say that? I don't believe she meant it, then.' 'Mary?' repeated I.

'Yes; for I suppose you are speaking of my cousin, Mary Villiers, are you not?'

'But I imagined myself addressing Miss Mary Villiers.'

I am Mary Villiers, certainly; but I am not Mr. Thornton's Mary. What, Mr. Hawksley! have you really been taking me for my cousin? Ah! we used to be thought quite absurdly alike; but they say the resemblance is not so strong now. I only came this morning. I have been all the summer in Germany with my brother; but of course I came over for Mary's wedding. Look, here she comes; you will see all the difference when we are together. Mary, my dear, Mr. Hawksley has been doing me the honour of mistaking me for you.'

The one Mary made me a stiff little bow; the other looked at me, smiling and blushing. What an idiot I had been! In spite of a similarity of height, figure, complexion, and even features, I thought the two as unlike now; as one, at least in my eyes, was a thousandfold the most charming. I was not troubled by any doubts as to whether this little hand, that I managed to get hold of, during a propitious moment on the staircase as we went down to dinner, was veritable flesh and blood. It thrilled in mine with a warm living touch. I held it closely, as I claimed the promise of her story.

'Please, don't,' said the sweet voice, imploringly; 'I mean, don't quite ruin my new glove. I will tell you the story very willingly; but I don't think you will prove Hawksley, the hero of it. There -there-the story has no hero, to speak of. You must know, then, Mr. Hawksley, that my brother is an artist, if he is anything at all, and that last summer, during a sketching tour, he stayed a week or two at an old rambling house, down at Blythe. Sometimes he is goodnatured, and takes me with him on

these rambles, which I enjoy immensely; but during the time he was at Blythe, I was paying a visit at a friend's, about twenty miles off, and only joined him on the day before he left, that we might return home together. It was nearly evening when I arrived, and I was too tired to do anything but rest after dinner; but it turned out such a glorious moonlight night that, when bedtime came, Alfred declared that he could not stay in-doors, but must stroll up to some old ruins, half a mile off, to see how they looked by moonlight. Then I took a sudden fancy to go with him; and telling the old lady of the house not to sit up, for that I could find my room quite well, we went out, and strolled about the ruins til near midnight, I think. I don't believe Alfred would have gone back then but for me. And when we reached the house, he let me in through a side-door that was often left open for him, and said that he would walk up and down till he had finished his cigar, and that would not take him many minutes. I went in alone, threw down my hat and shawl in the hall, and walked upstairs into Alfred's room, when I saw the door open, a light burning, and supper laid. I sat down and waited a few minutes for my brother; but as he did not come, and I was getting very sleepy, I ate some of the fruit, and then got up with the intention of going to bed. As I did so, it suddenly occurred to me that I had not noticed a queer old china image on the chimneypiece in my brother's room, which was certainly on this one. I went up to the fireplace, and there saw a bracket full of letters, all with one name on them, "Guy Hawksley, Esq." This made me look round me more attentively; and then I became suddenly alive to the fact, that I was in the wrong room!that I had mistaken another for my brother's! You may think with what haste I retreated, and how I congratulated myself on my good fortune in not being caught in my involuntary intrusion.

'Alfred laughed heartily the next morning when I told him of my

adventure, and said that he believed there was a Mr. Hawksley staying in the house, but that he was scarcely ever in, and that they had never happened to cross each other. But

I have often wondered since, whether I should ever chance to meet the gentleman whose supper I ate, and whose room I made so free with.'

'And whom you conferred greater happiness on by so doing, than you can possibly guess,' said I. My dear Miss Villiers, I am very proud to acknowledge myself your-I beg your pardon the Guy Hawksley, whose supper you did him the honour to partake of, on "All Hallow Eve."

Miss Villiers blushed up rosily, and the look in her bright eyes was as pretty a thing as a man need wish to see.

'All Hallow Eve, was it?' she began, and then stopped short; nor did I pursue the subject just then. But I went and drew my chair close beside Philip's, as the ladies left the table, and made confession of my unlucky blunder between the two Marys.

'And as the two girls are wonderfully alike, I hope you will forgive me, Philip, for mistaking one Mary for the ghost of the other.'

'My dear Guy, the only thing that puzzles me is, how you could mistake one for the other. My Mary is a hundred times prettier than-'

'That's a matter of taste,' said I, shortly; and a lover's opinion, may not, excuse me, be thought quite

"There, don't let us be a couple of fools,' interrupted Philip. 'For my part, I'll own that I haven't taken quite kindly to the idea of an early grave, so that you might marry my widow; or to my friend's running away with my sweetheart; but now that's all done away with, why, here's to our old fellowship, Guy, and the lady who supped with you on All Hallow Eve, for I see the charm foretold the event.' As I am happy to say, it did; and my wife and I make it our practice to hold a festival yearly on the last day of October, in memory of that Eve of All Hallow, that opened our acquaintance. J. R. M.