favourable impressions give way by degrees to better and more desirable ones, a conviction shot into my heart that I should suffer a great deal in this house also that I should owe a great deal of it to myself; perhaps I might become heartless, and have stony eyes-no, this was too sad a fate.

I was forgetting my uncle's lessons already; repining without working. I plucked hold of the nun and the friar, and hid them out of sight; I opened my boxes, spread out all my worldly goods, placed precious possessions and kindly gifts in full sight: arranged all my works of art, (being neither more nor less than my feeble attempts at modelling the faces of those I had just left,) in the place of the nun and friar. Gave a move to some of the chairs, and rearranged part of the furniture, so that to my eyes the room might look somewhat different to one at an inn.

I worked very hard. In fact, this was not my first experience of the necessity of work to

drive away thought; and besides, I was actuated by the determination to make my room assume a different appearance. I would fight out the battle at once with it, and conquer,I hoped.

CHAPTER XII.

"A rose-bud set with little wilful thorns,
As sweet as English air could make her."

TENNYSON.

I WAS very nearly satisfied at the end of an hour or so, that I could do no more. Nothing could mend the hideous paper on the walls, the dingy carpet, the ochre-coloured wardrobe, considerably awry, and the little high bed, canopied over with heavy solemn drapery, fit only for a ghostly four-post bed, looming sadly at the end

of a haunted chamber.

But my books looked gay and cheerful in their bright bindings; my uncle smiled in a friendly manner, (my bust of him was the best likeness I had ever taken), from the

centre of the mantel - piece, surrounded by all his family, equally complaisant, as it appeared

to me.

I stepped back to take a full and deliberate view of all my arrangements. My eyes fell upon the door-way; a woman was standing there, looking at me.

"Don't be startled, miss; well now, to be sure, why didn't you call me? I would have done all this for you."

"Thank you," I answered, recovering from my surprise as quickly as I could.

"Not but what you have done it vastly well, for such a little miss. And what may all these images be, I wonder?"

I told her, but she evidently did not admire them, and took them up one after another, in the vain hope of discovering something either reasonable or handsome about them, I saw.

"I put you such a pretty little man and woman," observed she.

I could not help smiling when I thought of

our different tastes, but she laughed aloud when I asked her if I might have a larger bath, and said, looking from me to the green pan,—

Yes, surely, if you will promise not to drown
Now, come along, and see Miss

yourself. Glynne."

As I followed her, I tried to recal what I had heard of Miss Glynne. My aunt must have said that Lady Maria had requested my presence in her house, to be educated with her daughter. At least that was all I could remember. The knowledge that I was to have a companion of my own age, broke suddenly upon me, as a boon of great price, and coloured my face with pleasure, which the servant remarked, but she added, "I doubt Miss Glynne will be but ill pleased to see you so young. However, she is a sweettempered young lady, and wants amusement sadly."

At first, when the door was opened of a large and cheerful room, I thought I saw Lady Maria lying on a sofa. But each step nearer proved