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ETTICE was pleased to find herself in the pretty country near Clanmena on one of the first sweet days of spring - one of those days that verily and indeed make a paradise of this earth of ours.

Every year is alike. Spring is never tired of repeating the same lovely tints, the same innocent beauties, and human hearts and eyes are never tired of delighting in them. It is always only a wondrously delicate blue wherewith she paints the sky; and it is always only green in its sweetest, tenderest shade she lays on the opening leaves. It is for ever and for ever the same; and yet it always seems as if a new and enchanting miracle had been wrought on nature at that especial time and for our especial benefit-on nature, who was herself before we were

born, and who will be herself after we are laid beneath her pretty grasses, and yet whom we never can regard except as something created only for us.

Lettice's spirits rose, as the spirits of every creature worthy to have spirits at all ought to rise, when, finding herself alone in the fir wood, she raised her young eyes to the heavens over her head, and then let them rest on the charming sight of trees, and flowers, and mosses around her.

'How beautiful it is,' she said softly; 'I wish Frank was here!'

So she passed on through the wood, but instead of entering the Castle grounds and taking the round that probably would have led to the fulfilment of her wish, as it was the road on which her husband had promised to meet her, if he could, she was tempted to wander for a few minutes along a narrow footpath which led her by the bank of an exceedingly pretty river. On the other side of the water a little mound covered with the first delicious spring primroses caught her delighted eye, and an irresistible impulse seized her to cross the stream and gather the flowers, and so make her room at home beautiful.

She looked eagerly about to discover some way of doing this safely, and through the branches of the trees that almost hid the dancing, sparkling water from her sight, she thought she discovered some

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stepping-stones; so without another thought, she plunged down among the bushes, and had taken two or three steps from stone to stone before she discovered that the treacherous way would only lead her to the middle of the stream, and leave her there unable to proceed farther.

But this was not the only discovery that she made. Her rapid movements had disturbed a young man who was standing in the river fishing, and by causing him to turn suddenly round, upset

his basket.

'Hullo,' cried he, 'what is this?' and then with an impulse that often makes the person who is hurt crave forgiveness from the person who has hurt him, he added, 'I beg your pardon!'

'It's yours that I'm begging, then,' replied Lettice, smiling, blushing, and looking regretfully at his upset basket of fish.

The gentleman, for he evidently was a gentleman, now took off his hat and made her an extremely polite bow.

'Can I do anything for you?' he said. 'You can hardly cross the river here, I am afraid. Is it your way home? or were you coming for anything?'

He held out his hand as he spoke, to assist her to retrace her steps to the shore, for her position as she stood there balancing herself on a not very firmly placed stone was rather precarious.

'You had better return,' he said. 'Do let me help you.'

Lettice accepted his assistance thankfully.

'Indeed, then, it's not my way home,' she answered. 'And it is only that I was wishing to gather those primroses, the first I have seen. And I thought I could cross here; but it's impossible, and sure it doesn't really signify.'

She looked with blue regretful eyes at the primroses as she spoke.

Without saying a word, the fisherman pulled his trousers up to his knees, stepped lightly over the stones Lettice had just left, waded a bit in the water, and so made a flying leap on to the opposite bank.

Once there, he shook himself like a Newfoundland dog, took off his hat, filled it with handful after handful of the pale scented blossoms, and returning to our astonished heroine in much the same manner as he had left her, laid the hat with its lovely burthen at her feet.

'Oh, thank you,' cried she almost incoherently in her surprise and pleasure. 'Oh, how could you? Oh, how pretty they are! How I can ever thank you enough, I don't know.'

. He laughed, and picking up his rod, began lazily whipping the water.

'I'm only too happy to have been here,' he said civilly. 'You are staying at the Castle, I presume?

This question, showing that he thought her not only a lady, but a lady capable of staying at the Castle, delighted Lettice more than anything that had yet happened, pleased as she was with the whole adventure.

'I am not,' she replied, but very much as if she might have been.

'Oh,' he said with a strangely disappointed air and manner; then he paused a moment, and added, 'Mr. Hope returns to-morrow, does not he?'

Lettice felt extremely glad that she had seen Mr. Hope drive through the town from the station on his way home the day before, as it enabled her to reply with easy nonchalance:

'No, indeed; it was yesterday he came back.' The fisherman turned eyes of blank amazement on her, and gave a little low whistle.

'You don't say so?' he exclaimed, and added almost under his breath, 'What an awful sell!'

And the Miss Hopes did not leave the Castle at all,' continued Lettice with the air of one who knew about the family, and their papa returned to them yesterday.'

He had recovered himself by this time, and said very carelessly:

'I suppose they are going to the ball on Thursday. Are you going?'

'Indeed, then, I don't know,' said she, though she knew perfectly well that she was not.

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