consequence; and now, since I have read through it, I shall leave the answer to yourself, should you not feel too much overcome by your late fright to attend to the contents."

"My dear, was you ever there before?" demanded Mrs Fife, who could not, or would not, perceive the slight smile that played about the young lady's mouth; "for, if I recollect right, the last time that I wished to take you to Colonel Brown's, we staid at home to entertain Mr Monotony, who, however, did not go one foot out of his road. Am I right?"

"Perfectly so, my dear Mrs Fife. And if you also recollect, we drove out in the evening to meet him; and if you remember, though we stopped the carriage, and called aloud, he did not seem even to recognize us."

"The funniest thing in the world, my love. Mr Monotony certainly astonishes me more than any body else. But, by the bye, I must away and answer these sad notes. Be so kind as order candles," she continued, as Miss Leslie went out; "and, do you hear me, my dear, you had better reply to your own yourself."

CHAPTER V.

All things that are,

Are with more spirit chased than enjoyed.

So we'll live,

And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh

At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues

Talk of Court news; and we'll talk with them, too,—
Who loses, and who wins; who's in, who's out:-

And take upon us the mystery of things,

As if we were God's spies.

SHAKESPEARE.

"You play whist, don't you, Mrs Fife?" said Colonel Brown, while seated in the withdrawing room at Bertie Castle, awaiting the arrival of the rest of the company; for it was one of the Colonel's favourite plans of operations to ply the enemy with every possible means of warfare, instead of quietly exposing himself to the attack.

"Don't you?" Mrs Fife was just going to reply; which in turn again was to be evaded, in order to make way for something else on the part of Colonel Brown, when the roll of a carriage caused her to profess herself pleased with the view from the windows, though these commanded only that part of the approach which made the circuit of a small grass plot before the portico of the house. The august presence of Lady Methodical, keeping by the arm of her husband, and the "pointed to a moment" arrival of Mr and Mrs Horn Regular, served for a while to set the contending parties at rest. The ceremony of the dinner, and the tittletattle of the tea-table, succeeded in course.

"I forgot, Mrs Fife, whether you said you liked whist?" cried Colonel Brown, so soon as his party came up, determined, it would seem, to pursue the same prompt measures he had adopted upon Mrs Fife's first arrival.

"O, I am dying for a rubber, Colonel,” answered Mrs Fife; whose inexhaustible questions amongst the ladies, the gentlemen had now timeously arrived to interrupt.

"My dear," said Colonel Brown, turning to his daughter. Miss Brown ordered the cardtable to be produced, and a party was formed with the greatest possible despatch.

In her first hand Mrs Fife held four Aces and four Honours. She tired, however, before she had had time to play them out-which she as speedily intimated by commencing a bye-play conversation with some gentlemen grouped together at the further end of the room.

"You do not care very much for cards after all, I suspect, Mrs Fife," observed Colonel Brown, who happened to be her partner, and who felt not a little provoked that their opponents, with nothing but a few small trumps in their hands, should have managed to carry off the odd trick.

Mrs Fife rose from the table.

"O pray, Mrs Fife, don't rise, perhaps the next round may turn out better."

"I am too anxious, Miss Brown, to hear you play," returned Mrs Fife, still making her way from the table, and not altogether displeased that Colonel Brown should suppose her offend

ed, since it partly served to excuse what she had already resolved to execute-" To think of cards to-night: Do, pray, give us a little music."

Miss Brown took the proper time to comply; but at last began to stammer through the Huntsmen's chorus, followed by the Freischutz waltz.

"Ah! very pretty, my dear; very pretty!" exclaimed Mrs Fife, putting her hand on Miss Brown's arm in the middle of the waltz-" But it is a song we want-we want a song. Miss Leslie, my dear, won't you be delighted to hear Miss Brown sing?"

Miss Brown gave a quick look to Mademoiselle Antoinette, who, faithful to her agreement, immediately began a long reel-ral detail of school-room anecdotes, and tricks played upon Colonel Brown and Mr Squeake, having previously obliged Mr Campbell Hyndford to give

up

his seat, (which he had taken by Miss Leslie), begarnished with the story of Mr Charles Suttie's pretending to lose himself, and personifying his own valet for a week; and then a more gentle one of appeal to Lady Methodical, which