Again the passing bell tolled out.

"At rest-at rest! so may we all go in peace when it comes to our turn," murmured Mrs. Minton.

And then she fell into a reverie; and Susan moved softly about so as not to disturb her; wondering why the death of old Mr. Christopher should so disturb her grandmother, seeing that she had taken no heed of him, and had asked no questions about him since he had been their neighbour. Neither, now she came to think of it, had Mr. Christopher, in the occasional chats she had had with him over the low garden hedge, ever asked after her grandmother, or appeared to be aware of her existence.

He had been a handsome man in his time, and there was a courteousness and gentleness in his manner that had taken the young girl's fancy, and made her feel an interest in his lonely condition; and all at once to learn that her grandmother had at one time of her life so known him as to make her desire to attend his funeral filled her with a degree of astonishment that was quite as great as her curiosity to know how it came to pass.

The afternoon dragged slowly on, the sun-gleam over the meadows died away, and the April showers turned to steady rain.

Susan heaped more coal on the fire, for her grandmother shivered slightly; then she put the kettle on to boil, cut the bread-andbutter, set the tea-things, and finally made the tea.

When it was ready Mrs. Minton took it mechanically, but did not appear to be inclined to speak until Susan had settled to her sewing on the other side of the fireplace. Then, rocking herself gently to and fro, she began :

"It's an old story, and I'd half forgotten it; but, somehow, it's all come up before me as clear as if it happened yesterday. It's wonderful how a door is suddenly opened in one's mind, and all the old pictures come out in fresh colours, or rather in the old ones with all the fading taken out of them."

Mrs. Minton paused.

"And you'll tell it to me, granny," said Susan. "I like old stories better than those of now-a-days, when everything is moving so fast that there is no time for poetry and romance. No quiet little bits of dainty trimness, but a hurry and a flash, and a railway-whistle, and then a puff, and it's all over and ended just as one thought it was but beginning. I should liked to have lived long, long ago, when it was quiet."

"I don't know," said Mrs. Minton; "human nature is human nature in every age, and no better and no worse than it ever was. It's all very well to talk about progress; but it hasn't changel human nature in the least, and certainly hasn't altered love.

making; it's all the same over and over again, and there's nothing new and never will be-that's my opinion."

Susan did not take up the argument; she was anxious to hear the story, and afraid lest her grandmother's train of thought might run in another direction.

"But the story, granny," she said.

"It's an old story," repeated Mrs. Minton. "You must go a good many years back for the beginning of it-years before you were born, or your father either, and he was the youngest of all my sons, and the longest lived of all his brothers and sisters, and he's been dead these twelve years, and you're the only grandchild I have the last of my name, and most of the money gone. dear, dear! to think of it."

"Still we've enough to live upon, granny."

"Yes; the Lord be thanked, Who deals better with us than we deserve."

And again she relapsed into silence, but after awhile went on again :

"You must go back to the time when I was a girl no older than yourself, Susy a young, pretty girl, though I say it myself, for not only did my glass tell it me, but half the village besides, and John Christopher among the rest.

"It was an afternoon in May that I was standing at the gardengate looking along the road to see if father was coming from market. I can see the road now, and the hawthorn all in flower along the hedges as if a fell of snow had come in the sunshine; and the great lilac bushes had come into bloom-I seem as if I could smell the scent now. And the laburnum tree, that was close by the gate, looked as if it were dropping a shower of golden drops upon the holly hedge; and the sky was as blue as blue could be, with never a cloud upon it, and there wasn't a breath of wind; the air was just as still as on a July day. I had set out the table for supper, and had come out to watch for father, and to enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

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Presently the cart came in sight, so I ran to give mother notice: then I went out again, and by that time the cart had come near enough for me to see that there were two people in it. Father was one, of course, and the other was a young man I had never seen before, tall, fair, with clear grey eyes, and a pleasant face,

"It's John Christopher,' said my father; 'he's son of one of my old schoolmates that you've heard me talk of, and he's come to live at Durford. He's got a place at the mill, and Durford Mill's not a bad place for a young fellow to begin at. He'll be miller himself some day, if he's the luck of his family.'

"He'll never be master of Durford mill, though,' said I, to myself; and my thoughts turned to the master who had just got engaged to Farmer Rufford's only daughter, and the news had set the village gossiping, and some were for the match, and some were against it, as people always are when a marriage is in contemplation, though it's no manner of business of theirs. But perhaps if people only talked about their own business they wouldn't find much worth talking about. I was against the match, though I didn't say so, for I had my own reasons for keeping silent in the

matter.

"The miller of Durford was young, handsome, and well-to-do in the world. Sally Rufford had nothing to my mind but her money to recommend her, and some said it was that that had won the young miller; for gold leans to gold, and having made a heap of his own he wanted to increase it.

"Now I was a very pretty girl," said Mrs. Minton, drawing herself up; "there was not a girl in Durford that had a better right to be thought so, and it made me think that I had a right to the best in the place. And the best in the place was the miller, and I had gone along by the river side dreaming of him, and had thought of him while I was at work, and had woven him into all my future, just because he had spoken civilly to me, and dance twice with me at Farmer Rufford's on Christmas eve. And so I took it as a great affront when I found he had passed me by and had chosen Sally Rufford with her plain face and scarce a word to say for herself; for in those days I looked upon all without beauty with contempt, as if they were not to be considered; and to be sure I had some reason for doing so when I saw all around me how beauty wins favour. So I set great store by mine, and should not have been surprised if a prince had come and fallen in love with

me.

"If I'd only had money,' said I, 'Sally Rufford would never bave been thought of. It's the money."

"But the admission made me feel that there was something that was prized even more than beauty; and this enraged me, for I knew that money I should never have. However, perhaps 'twas even; Sally with her plain face and a thousand pounds-I with my pretty one and no fortune. And the thought sprang up within me that if there had been a longer time before the engagement it might not have come about. Indeed, I had got to that pass that I began to look upon Sally Rufford as my mortal enemy, and though I had to keep up appearances, and be outwardly civil, I hated her in my heart, and looked upon her as a successful rival.

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Besides, here was I, the prettiest girl in the village, without a lover. Not but what I had had plenty, but I had turned them

all off with a sharp answer, so that they went elsewhere where they found themselves more acceptable. But I soared higher than the ordinary young men of the village, and had set my heart upon the miller of Durford, and coveted not only himself, but the millhouse, as pretty a black.timbered place as you'll find anywhere, with the old elms before it, and the trim grass plot, and the bee. hives and all its belongings. I coveted, too, the laid-up treasure in the bank, and in my idle dreams had settled how many a grand silk dress and gay bonnet I would have when I came into possession, and I thought how proud the miller would be of his pretty wife, and how all the people that saw us walking to church would say what a handsome couple we were.

"And all my dreams had suddenly vanished away, and I woke up to the mortifying fact that the miller of Durford was going to be married to some one else. It vexed me more than a little that my father should introduce John Christopher as a miller that was to be; and then, too, it vexed my pride that one who was to be a friend made much of, as I knew John Christopher would be by my father, should be serving my rival's husband.

"It put me into a bad temper, though the only way I showe lit was by pretending to be busy over getting supper served, and so taking very little notice of our visitor. My father went on talking and prophesying great things for John.

"Why shouldn't he in time take the mill himself, when the present master had ground as much gold out of it as he wanted? Most millers had been millers' men themselves, and there was no telling what fortune was in store. The Christophers were a lucky family; all John's brothers had done well, and of course he had come to Durford to make good the luck of his family.'

As

"Well, that first night passed away, and days and weeks went by, and John Christopher came to our house as often as he could. His character rose in the place as a man who did his work well, and could be trusted, and great things were expected of him. for my father, he thought no one to compare to him, and was as dull as could be if two days went by without our seeing him. I soon came to see that John Christopher would as soon see me as my father, and though I had not a thought of him, yet it pleased my vanity; and another thought came into my heart. What if John Christopher, through perseverance and industry, should come to be as rich or richer than the miller of Durford? The miller might lose all his money and go down in the world, whilst John might rise, for there were ups and downs for all. And I might have wealth, whilst Sally Rufford might lose hers, and so I should have my revenge. I did not stop to consider what grounds I had for revenge; but I was angry and mortified, and wanted to show

the miller that I could hold my head as high as he and Sally

Rufford could.

"These thoughts made me more gracious to John Christopher than I had been at first, and he, mistaking this graciousness on my part for a deeper feeling, was encouraged to go on paying me more and more attention, till one summer afternoon, when we hal all strolled over the meadows after church-time, John and I being a little behind my father and mother, we loitered under the great beeches on the common to take a look at the landscape, and, almost before I was aware, I had promised John Christopher to be his wife, and was listening to his plans of the future.

"Imay say that during this time I had seen more of the miller of Durford than usual, and had begun to see that he was not altogether insensible to my good looks, but would pay me a compliment now and then, which I took the more heartily, as I knew he could not in any truth have paid them to Sally Rufford.

"After my enga gement to John Christopher I saw even more of the miller, and a greater feeling than ever of rivalry and jealousy got possession of me. I could scarcely have described it, but it seemed as if my greatest desire on earth was to mortify the miller of Durford, and it seemed to me that I could do this through showing him that the miller's man would have a prettier, livelier wife than the master, and moreover, one that the master would have preferred but for the money that stood between. At any rate, this was the way in which I chose to consider the subject.

"My father and mother were pleased enough at what had happened, for they thought all the world of John Christopher, and he had a good character in the village, and had worked his way up in the mill till he stood next to the master, and had his own way pretty much, as well as a good salary; so that there was no reason why, as soon as a house could be found and furnished, we should not be married.

vacant.

"It wasn't long before the very house that was wanted fell It was a good-sized one, let at a cheap rate, from its being old and having no land about it, which hindered people whom it might otherwise have suited from taking it. Therefore, it went at the rate of ordinary cottages.

But it was the very house for me. I had been staying at the county-town with my aunt, and had seen there that things were much smarter, and rooms fitted up more tastefully than with us at Durford; and in this house that I have spoken of, besides the ordinary sitting-room, I should have a parlour for company occasions, just as good as any there was at the mill. Indeed, I decided in my own mind that it should be better, and for this reason I selected a room with a bay window, looking on the pretty slip of