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woman, feeling an English lady's drawingroom to be her castle, would have remonstrated thereon, or at any rate would have permitted herself to ask the simple, but leading question of what was the matter?' This, however, was not Helen's way; and knowing that nothing confirms a man's illhumour so much as seeming to notice it, she busied herself quietly and unobtrusively in making the peevish man as comfortable as circumstances permitted. And to do him justice, Philip soon grew rather ashamed of himself, and being grateful for the warm slippers, and warmer tea, that Helen prepared to solace his inner man, he rewarded her attentions by becoming more communicative.

'It seems a long while,' said Helen, when the time came for her to relate the little uneventful history of her two days' solitude, 'a very long while since you left home; but I have been too busy to be dull. Is it not pretty?' she asked, for Philip had as yet ex

pressed no approbation of sundry changes which her tasteful fancy and willing fingers had wrought in their little apartment. They had planned the arrangement of the furniture together, and when he left her, only eight-and-forty hours before, he had seemed as interested as herself in all the details of chintz and muslin, carpets and window curtains; but now all seemed changed, and his eyes wandered over the work of her hands, as though he saw it not. Helen had laboured very hard to please him, and her delicate fingers were chafed with the contact of the pins, needles, and stiffened calico with which she had had to deal; but when all was done, and a few winter flowers had been placed in graceful arrangement upon the table, she looked round approvingly upon the result of her toil, and thought with satisfaction of the kiss that would be her reward.

Foolish woman! foolish among the thousands who have been so since the world began! Had the labour of your hands

gratified, in any way, the selfish vanity of the man on whom you had wasted so much time and thought; he would have taken you into his arms, and let the light of his countenance shine upon you; but after all, and with all your pains, you had only contrived to make a small room (fifteen feet square) habitable (and how poor and mean it looked when compared with the gorgeous apartments of Thornleigh!) and, in so doing, you had but performed a humble household duty, and were entitled to no reward.

Helen was disappointed and mortified, so mortified that she could not at first tell her little story calmly.

'A Mr. Brandreth called here yesterday,' she said, as soon as she could trust the steadiness of her voice. He paid me a long visit, and was very entertaining.'

'Extremely impertinent of him to call, and very bad taste to stay when he found I was not at home.'

VOL. I.

I

'Bad taste?' said Helen, a little archly. 'Now, Philip, you can't think that?'

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'He wants my vote, I conclude,' said the angry man, overlooking Helen's small pleasantry altogether, but he won't get it; I don't know the man, and I don't want to know him.'

'Wait a little, dear Philip, please, before you make up your mind to dislike my new acquaintance. I think you would approve of many of his opinions, and he seems SO thoroughly in earnest! I cannot tell you how wisely he talked about bettering the condition of the poor.'

'A liberal reformer, eh? Liberal enough of words and promises no doubt. Is he a young man? What sort of a looking fellow?'

'Oh, nothing very remarkable—a good head, and in figure tall and slight; but such a kind face! and such a pleasant voice! The only thing against his appearance is a rather ridiculous trick he has of twitching his mouth, which almost made me laugh.'

Helen was not well up in the arts of coquetry, or she would have described her visitor somewhat differently; and would have remembered (had she planned to retain her sceptre) that women are strong because men are weak, and been aware that could Philip only have surmised (what she knew full well) that for two hours Brandreth's expressive countenance had shown his fervent admiration of the one that was now looked upon so coldly, Thornleigh would have appreciated her better for that knowledge than for all the gentle care she had bestowed upon his creature comforts.

But Helen loved too sincerely to be on her guard, and so her opportunity was lost, while time sped on, and the dinner and the evening hours passed away, and there was still constraint upon the two who had so lately been lovers, but whom the breath of the world had come between-that breath which was so soon to drive them, wide as the poles, asunder!

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