"I left Ella a giddy child." she said affectionately; " and now I find Miss Thornton a thoughtful woman."-Vide page 102.

"He will not be with us long," returned Ella, "and as I have but a short time to make amends for much ingratitude, please do not say any more about it."

And so nothing more was said, and Ella still continued to fulfil her mission, as she persuaded herself, from a consciousness of duty, although the heartfelt sorrow with which she saw the invalid sinking rapidly, from day to day, proved that her concern did not arise entirely from obedience to the behests of that

"Stern daughter of the Voice of God."

At length all was over! The alternations of hope and fear, the anxious watchings, the earnest solicitude-he who had been to her a father, and who had in turn received from her a daughter's care, was gone; and one part of her mission on earth was well accomplished, for he died blessing his adopted child. With tears of almost filial tenderness she bent over the lifeless corpse, and a dreary vacancy was left when the hearse bore to their last resting-place, within the chancel of the village church, the mortal remains of her protector; and when her uncle's will was read, and Mr. Graham, the cold, stern lawyer, who was appointed one of her guardians, in the same breath condoled with her on the death of her lamented relative, and congratulated her on her succession to so fine an estate, the words jarred on her excited feelings, and she would have given all to restore the dead to life.

Mistress of Greyhurst! How often had her heart beat high at the idea! but then she had forgotten that death alone could open a way to the longed-for possession. Now, in the usual course of events the rich inheritance was hers, and she was as "independent," (save of the authority of her guardians,) and as much "at liberty to follow her own tastes and inclinations," as though she were one of the self-styled Lords of the creation, instead of being one of the weaker half of humanity; and yet no glow of exultation flushed her cheek, or caused her pulse to throb with pleasure. Natural regret for her loss, a knowledge that it was the execution of that humiliating sentence on her race, "Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return," which rendered her so rich and envied, and the recollection that one day she must also pass away and leave her place to others, checked the emotion of pride, and made her forbid any demonstrations of rejoicing among her tenantry. But this depression could not last. As her affection for her uncle, though sincere, had not been very deep, so her sorrow was but transient, and before the first months of her mourning were expired, she was busy with plans for altering the house, and laying out the grounds in a different way.

"Who would believe," she said to Mrs. Maitland, "that this mansion of Greyhurst was built by my great-grandfather Hyde within the last hundred years? An antiquary would at first sight tell us that the old north wall was piled up by some Norman follower of the Conqueror; that the eastern side, with the elaborately carved shafts of its arched windows, surmounted by those grotesquely hideous masks, was the work of some medieval lord; and that my own little morningroom, half-boudoir, half-conservatory as it is, with its cupola and little spires, was executed to revive the memory of past scenes, by some warrior, returned from the crusades to his paternal home."

"And the somewhat fanciful forms on the south might bear date from the times of 'good Queen Bess,' ""observed Mrs. Maitland, who was making a baby's cotton frock. Her companion was resting idly on a cushion at her feet.

"It reminds me," resumed Ella, musingly, "of many an ancient family, which traces its line of ancestors from the mercenary but successful soldier, the military devotee, the mail-clad baron, and the polished courtier, down to the gentleman of the present day, and it shows the natural development of the gentle and refined from the stern and rude.”

Mrs. Maitland made no remark, but stitched away busily, for it was growing dusk, and she was anxious to finish the little dress.

"But as the pedigree of many such families would on impartial investigation be found rather mythological," continued Ella, "so, if its past history were generally known, Greyhurst would not be found to possess a tithe of the interest for antiquaries of which its exterior gives promise. Do you remember Mr. Graham's surprise when, after having laboured to prove that the stone and brickwork in the farmyard were Roman remains, my uncle exclaimed, My good sir, they were the foundations of some stables that my father built and I pulled down. As for Roman antiquities, I do not believe that you will find any abouthere, for there was not a brick on the estate, nor a stone either, except in the quarries, when your grandfather was born!"

"It was certainly an unaccountable whim to build a house in so irregular a manner," said Mrs. Maitland.

"I believe that I inherit my great-grandfather's fancy, for I greatly prefer my rambling old home, to the compact, modern villas of parvenus.'

"Do you?" asked the elder lady, absently. She was arranging the gathers in the skirt.

"And more than that, I mean to make the interior corre

spond with the outside. The hall shall be wainscoted with dark oak panels, and properly decorated with a stag's head and antlers, and other trophies of the chase; the staircase must be widened, and the balustrade supported by ugly carved figures. Then, as some parts should be shrouded in mysterious darkness, the light shall come

'Through the rich gloom of pictured windows flowing,'

casting hues of purple, and orange, and crimson, on the tesselated floor. The dining-room and library must be somewhat in the same style. The drawing-rooms are to be furnished with either blue-and-silver, or rose-colour-and-gold; with chandeliers, and lustres, and sconces wherever it is possible to place them effectively; and pier-glasses, and mirrors, and marble tables, and inlaid cabinets, and old china jars for potpourri, and figures in Sèvres porcelain, and alabaster vases, and a silver easel, bearing a Raffaelle or a Correggio, or some other exquisite specimen of art; and a case of antique cameos and mosaics, and-and everything, in short, that taste approves and wealth can purchase. My own room shall be a perfect little gem, simple and elegant, and cool and fresh-looking white muslin curtains, with green cord, and tassels, and a profusion of flowers, in wire stands, either on the ground or suspended from the ceiling; orchids, you know, would do best that way. And speaking of flowers reminds me that we must have a new conservatory, opening from the drawing-room, filled with rare exotics, a fountain in the centre, perhaps, and birds, with glossy plumage of a hundred brilliant dyes, flying about freely, like living, breathing, moving blossoms-music, and fragrance, and beauty united-for it is a great step towards the perfection of luxury, to gratify all the senses at once. There must be Chinese lanterns too, shining like manycoloured stars amidst the thickets of dark glistening leaves. Then, if the corridor is hung with cloth of deep crimson, and the light is admitted from the ceiling alone, it will be an excellent gallery for pictures and statuary.'

For a moment Mrs. Maitland was actually speechless from astonishment. "Ella!" she at last ejaculated.

It was a warm evening in autumn, and they were sitting on the covered terrace, which was a favourite place of theirs in all seasons, being sheltered from the hot summer sun, and from the piercing winter winds. The house was situated on the side of a gradually rising hill-a link in the chain of undulating downs which traverses the south of our island-and the colonnade, being "towards the sunsetting," commanded