the new great house of Morfa Mawr. I saw the broad road cut in the side of a thickly wooded hill, the rapid descent into the valley, the down-sloping avenue, and then the gleaming white mansion whose stately terraced pleasure grounds and "ordered gardens great," turned the once sterile valley among the hills into a wonder of cultivation. Best of all, however, I saw the figures that gave life to Lady Helen's picture-Mr. Lester standing midway on the lofty flight of marble steps that led to the door, his white head bare, his cheeks flushed with excitement, both hands held out eagerly to welcome his guest; and at the top, withdrawn into the shade of the doorway, Rosamond Lester, a tall lithe figure, a ridingcap shading her black brows and almost fierce-looking eyes (my fancy said fierce, Lady Helen's letter said strangely bright)-one hand gathered together the folds of her riding-habit, the other played with her whip; there was no hand ready for Lady Helen, but a cold smooth cheek, exquisitely coloured, was negligently turned to receive her kiss. A long interval appeared to have passed between the writing of the commencement and the conclusion of the letter. I remember the exact words of the latter part, for they referred to Hilary.

66

During these weeks I have seen much of your son Hilary," Lady Helen wrote. "Ah! my dear Mrs. Scott, now you are interested, now you hold my paper firmly, you have found what you have waded through all this preamble to seek. Well, you are right to prize this son of yours; even I can acknowledge that he is a son for a mother to rest on, and be proud of. He has great influence with every one here. I fancy he owes it to a certain singleness of character which favourably affects people like Mr. Lester and Rosamond, who are always quarrelling with each other and with themselves. It is a dangerous gift, this power of gaining influence; I don't say your son will find it so, but I drop a word as a warning. Young people are fond of power, and elderly people, even when they have wills as strong as Mr. Lester's, submit sometimes to self-imposed authority, till some unexpected disagreement causes them to feel its restraint. I don't know a position which calls for the exercise of greater tact and good sense, than that in which your son stands towards his relatives at Morfa Mawr. Don't be alarmed, however; he has so very much good sense, that the tact he has not may in his case perhaps be dispensed with. Having spoken so long of your son, I may now say a word about mine. I have heard from him this morning.

He returns to England from his long sojourn in the East next Thursday, and purposes to join me here. I have written to urge his doing so, and yet I mean to leave Morfa on the morning of the day on which he will reach it. You don't believe me; the very idea of such an unnatural proceeding makes your maternal hair stand on end; but such is my intention, and I mean to keep it. That you may not think me quite a monster, I will explain my reason for acting in this way. I wish Mr. Lester to know and like my son, now that he is a grown-up man and worth knowing; and I think this end will be best attained by my keeping out of the way during their first interview. Both are so reserved, that they will never really find each other out, if I am there to interpret between them. I shall go to London for a few months, and look up my old friends. Your house will be one of the first at which I shall call.

"Yours faithfully,

"HELEN CARR."

"What a strange reason Lady Helen gives for leaving Morfa," I observed, as I returned the letter to

Nesta.

"Why should she care so very much what

opinion Mr. Lester forms of her son?"

"There are other people at Morfa besides Mr. Lester," said Ernestine, demurely.

"Rosamond!" I exclaimed. "Nesta, how clever you are. Yes, I see. I can understand why Lady Helen should covet her good opinion for her son, and why she should feel that he is more likely to gain it if she keeps out of the way. Rosamond has always disliked Lady Helen, but she may get to like Mr. Carr. If she did-if they became attached to each other-how happy Lady Helen and Mr. Lester would be. It would make up for the old disappointment, and really be a beautiful end to the history."

66

Only it has not begun yet," said Nesta. "And it is after all only a guess of mine, that Lady Helen has such a thought in her head. So don't let us say any more about it."

CHAPTER IX.

"Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel."

IT had become such a settled custom that Nesta was to be my mother's helper in all domestic affairs, that I had no opportunity of judging how her preparations for receiving Charlie went on during the day. But when my father came to me in the evening to receive the notes for his lecture, which it was my business to write out legibly for him in large text-hand, I gathered from my first glance at his face that his preparations, of whatever nature they had been, had brought back tranquillity and gentle feeling.

"So, Janet," he said, while I was busy arranging his notes and books of reference in his coat-pockets, "your birthday will be kept; you will have a guest after all."

There had been some talk between Nesta, my