began to close in, and Lady Fortrose came up to see Bessie, and to warn Minna and Winifred that the carriage was ordered to take them

away.

Rhoda went to help them to get ready, and the two brothers having gone down to join the rest of the party, Honoria and Bessie were left together.

Honoria began to speak of Margaret, and of the loss Bessie had sustained by her marriage; and Bessie was grateful for the sympathy, but was eager to assure her cousin that while she had Rhoda there was nothing to complain of; that there was so much comfort in having a sister so much older than herself, and that nobody could be more fortunate than she was in that respect. Then Bessie proceeded to talk of Winifred, how she wished she would soon come again, and that they might become more intimate. "That I could know her as well as Minna does; not quite so well perhaps, because they are quite like sisters," added she; "but I am sure I should like her very much, she looks so happy and kind, and Minna is so fond of her."

Lady Fortrose was quite ready to hope there might be many more such happy meetings while she was in town, and she left Bessie quite cheered by the prospect. Poor little girl! it seemed like a promised reward for the effort she had made to think and speak unselfishly of Minna's love for Winifred, and never once to betray her longing to keep Minna. Since the conversation of the previous evening it had become a point of honour with Bessie to let no one know of this wish.

Minna left King's Holm with great regret ; not that she would have wished to remain there without Winifred, but she had become very much interested in Bessie, who indeed never failed to interest those who

came into close contact with her, and Minna was always ready to take pleasure in the observation of new phases of character.

Bessie's retiring diffidence, and unfeigned admiration for those she thought wiser or better than herself, were a source of wonder and amusement to Minna. Not that she was incapable of feeling an almost devoted admiration for others, but there were so very few people for whom she could feel it, and Bessie seemed to extend it to almost everybody. Minna knew that this arose in part from Bessie's very humble opinion of herself, but she could not ascribe her own different feelings on the subject entirely to conceit, as she was well aware of her deficiency in various ways, but yet if she saw the same deficiency in other people, she could not admire them any more than herself. But Bessie never seemed to see any deficiency in others.

Minna's world was widening; it was not Bessie only who was to give work to the reasoning powers in her favourite study, and before another week had passed, two or three more characters had come under our heroine's notice, whom, as they will occupy a place of some importance in her story, we may as well introduce at once.

"It is as I expected," said Lady Fortrose, after reading a long foreign letter one morning; "my mother writes that a yacht voyage is decided on, and they mean to spend the autumn and winter in Madeira. Lord St. Melion will not remain another year in Italy.

"Really a yacht voyage?" answered Lord Fortrose; "well, I should think it may be good for him; at any rate, the change may be of use to your mother, she must have been so long shut up during this last

illness.

But what will Anne do, and what becomes of Beatrice? Surely a yacht voyage is not the thing for her."

"No; she is coming directly to England. Poor little Anne goes with them, but Beatrice is to be with her aunt in Dover-street this week, and my mother says she will be most thankful to accept our offer, as Lady Elizabeth cannot keep her long."

"No, poor child, I think she will be happier with you. I suppose you will call on Lady Elizabeth and settle about it. Let me see, Beatrice is how old? How will she fit in with Minna and Winifred ?"

"Oh, she is much older, she must be seventeen now, but I fancy her somewhat childish for her age. You see my mother has never been able to attend to them much, and Anne could not be pressed forward. Besides which, all that moving about disturbs education so much; I think Minna is probably quite as well up in good sound information as Beatrice. I suppose Lady Elizabeth will wish to keep her while she is in London, and if that is the case, I can of course make no objection; but it will be an additional reason for shortening our stay, for I shall not see much of her while we are in separate houses; and indeed I should be afraid to go to Dover-street very often, for I think Lady Elizabeth is a little tenacious about her brother's children; at least she has always given me a little that feeling with regard to Hazelby."

"By-the-bye, what is to become of him this summer? I hope we shall have him in Wales."

It

"Oh, yes; I mean to beg for him certainly. would be too bad not to let us have him in the holidays, since he cannot join his father as usual.”

D

"I must say I think that is rather an advantage; he is a nice boy, but it is a great pity he should not see something of English country life. The holidays spent abroad may have given him a more cultivated taste than is usual with boys of his age, but after all, a knowledge of languages and a taste for scenery are not the first requisites to form the character of an English gentleman."

"No," said Lady Fortrose; "and I quite agree in thinking Hazelby had better be more in England now, but I hope his foreign trips have given him something more valuable than a knowledge of languages and an appreciation of scenery; one thing I really believe, that his value for and love of his own country, and her institutions, have been strengthened and increased by seeing something of the many troubles, and miseries, existing under less free and constitutional governments."

"Why, Honoria, a speech on politics and patriotism, I declare! you are coming out in a new character. I am very glad you think your brother so likely to have made the most of his time abroad; but don't let him see too much of Lady Elizabeth, for she will not improve him.”

And with this piece of advice Lord Fortrose left Honoria to reflect on what she had to arrange on her young sister's behalf. Beatrice Arlington was the daughter of Honoria's mother by the second marriage, which was mentioned before, and had spent much of her life in Italy, on account of the delicate health of her father, Lord St. Melion, whose inclinations, as well as the advice of his doctors, led him to prefer a residence abroad. And this was not to be wondered at, as he was entirely precluded by the state of his health from

taking any part in the avocations proper to his position at home. He had one son, Lord Hazelby, the subject of the last conversation, and one other daughter, the little Lady Anne, who seemed to inherit much of her father's delicacy of health.

Beatrice had been educated in a very desultory manner, but was sufficiently quick and clever to make readiness often pass for knowledge, and frequently gained credit for more information than she really possessed.

A very lively, prepossessing manner also contributed, as it always will, to make her generally popular; and as she was not shy, she found no difficulty in getting on with strangers, under which category many of her nearest relations were included.

It was a long time since the sisters had met, and Honoria felt very anxious for a renewal of acquaintance, and rather disappointed at not being at once allowed to assume the charge of Beatrice; but Lady Elizabeth Fairstone having been applied to by Lady St. Melion, who was not aware that Honoria would be in London so early in the year, had offered to receive her niece on a visit until Lady Fortrose returned to Wales, and would have been much hurt and offended had any change in this plan been attempted. Minna and Winifred were much pleased to hear that Beatrice was expected; they had never seen her, but were quite prepared to be pleased with Lady Fortrose's sister, and many were the conjectures as to what she would be. like, and how they would get on together. Winifred had some misgivings that her young aunt would despise the companionship of a niece of ten years old, but Minna suggested that Lady Fortrose did not think Winifred too young to talk with, and therefore Beatrice