Mrs. Maitland, without speaking, held the letter towards her. Miss Horton took it, and, hastily unfolding it, exclaimed in an accent of surprise—

"From Glenwood! from Mr. Kingley!"

She read the letter, threw it open on the table, started from her chair, and, rubbing her hands, began to walk up and down the room.

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Well, this is satisfactory!-this is to the purpose!nothing could do better !—such an introduction! And now," stopping abruptly, "pray tell me how this came about, and what communication you have had with Glenwood."

"None for five years;- -none since I wrote to inform Mr. Kingley that I had not, as was supposed, left England. To that letter I never received an answer; and, being unwilling to offer explanation, and aware of his strong prejudices, I concluded he did not wish to resume the intercourse."

"A most fortunate circumstance that he has resumed it; there's no telling what may be the consequence. Why, Helen, I'm surprised to see you take it so quietly."

Helen glanced at Edith, and there was an expression of self-sacrifice in the glance.

Miss Horton understood it.

"Oh! as to Edith, that's quite out of the question; that would never do-quite impossible."

Helen looked amiable resignation.

"Why," continued Miss Horton, provoked at her silence, "you don't mean to say that you would not like to go!" Then, turning to Mrs. Maitland, "Surely you will not lose an opportunity such as this?"

Mrs. Maitland had been struggling to restrain her tears; she did not trust herself to speak.

"My mother," said Helen, "has been excited; indeed, this is altogether so unexpected, that—"

"Very extraordinary!" exclaimed Miss Horton, looking puzzled; "can't understand it at all."

She turned interrogatively to Edith, but Edith remained silent.

"Very extraordinary!" she repeated, as she rose to depart; then passing Edith with a look of stern displeasure, and a very abrupt "Good morning!" she darted towards the door, but, before leaving the room, she turned again, and said emphatically, "The letter must be answered."

The next day the letter was answered, and Helen is happy, for she is going to Glenwood.

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CHAPTER II.

THE scene changes to an old manor-house in Glenwood Forest. The forest occupies an extensive district in the East Riding of Yorkshire; and though now intersected by a public road, the more retired parts present every variety of forest scenery.

The Manor-house is a quarter of a mile from the high road leading to the town of Merton, from which it is at the distance of two miles. It is an ancient irregular structure, and of very considerable extent. There is a stone, on which the characters, almost effaced by time, can still be traced, testifying it to have been built in the reign of Elizabeth, and given by her to an ancestor of the present proprietor, in acknowledgment of services rendered in war.

Large as were its original dimensions, it had continued to receive additions from the successive occupiers, which, being made in accordance with their own especial requirements rather than with reference to the external structure of the building, its claims to uniformity are lost. Yet until the Manor-house came into possession of its present owner, in

each of the successive additions some regard had been paid to the style of the original structure, in so far as related to its architecture. But in the more recent erections, including a spacious dining and drawing-room, this adaptation was totally disregarded, and these rooms were built in all respects in conformity with modern taste.

Such furniture as had escaped the dilapidation of time was in character with the antiquity of the room in which it stood. In the carving of the massive cabinets and cumbrous chairs it would be almost possible to trace the progress in the art of carving, from some of the earlier specimens, down to the latest period of the elaboration of such workmanship, before it was replaced by the more showy but less substantial ornaments of recent times.

In the furnishing of the modern part there was great scope for the exercise of taste, and the result was the production of two rooms as magnificently furnished as any in the county.

Mr. Kingley, or, as he was usually called, Mr. Justice Kingley, the present proprietor of the Manor-house, was what would be called a member of the old school; who, though now very considerably advanced in years, would unwillingly have renounced the beauship by which that school was characterised.

In early life he had been in the army. His favourite theme was still the King of Prussia, telling when, as a child, he had once sat upon the King of Prussia's knee; and how this same King of Prussia had given a wonderful snuff-box to some great man; how that great man had afterwards bequeathed it to the Earl of M- ; and how the Earl of M- had presented it to his brother, Colonel Kingley, till, at last, it had become his own. Yes, this wonderful snuffbox really did now belong to Mr. Justice Kingley! There it stood, with its silver rims and graven letters, proclaiming how it had been handed about, each additional rim, as it had

been added by the successive donors, tending to disfigure the original shape;-there it stood to tell its own history.

In height Mr. Justice Kingley was somewhat below the middle stature; yes, he was decidedly short, and there was no subject on which he was more tenacious. His complexion inclined a little to the florid, his nose a little to the snub, and his mouth, though capable of expressing kindly feeling, which it very often did express, was yet a peculiar mouth, and indicated no disinclination to be the recipient of any of the good things that the table might present. His eyes were small and inexpressive; the colour a colourless grey. The general expression of the countenance was not that of intellect-it was, indeed, far otherwise; yet, fenced up in the paraphernalia of self-created state, he was unapproachable on this point. He had a way peculiarly his own of blunting every probe that attempted to fathom the shallows. In the exemplification of self-evident truths he was an unrivalled master, and as, fortunately for him, the subjects are so numerous as to be inexhaustible, there was no danger of his conversation coming to an end.

In Mr. Justice Kingley the powder-tax had one of its last supporters. One hour before the ringing of the dinner-bell, punctual to the instant, came the hairdresser, with all necessary preparations for making a presentable head. Dressing the hair and fixing the tail was a very long operation indeed; and there was one particular curl that would always prove refractory, and which took more time to fix than did the powdering, and frizzling, and perfuming of the whole. It must be placed, and it must be trained to remain stationary over the slight blemish of an inglorious wart, to remove which all measures had proved ineffectual.

The operation over, and still in dressing-gown attire, Mr. Justice Kingley would proceed towards the kitchen. The fish-sauce must be tasted-he had an exquisite taste in sauces of every description, but about fish-sauce, oh! he

was very particular indeed-so difficult it was to get it up to the exact point! At last it is right, and he returns to finish his toilet.

The style of his costume is original, uniting what is obsolete to certain peculiarities in his own taste best calculated to display those points in his figure of which he is apt to be a little vain. He is rather proud of his calves, and, in total disregard to the fashion of the day, in order to display them to the best advantage, he is never seen in anything but what he calls tights. And then his waistcoats! He persisted that he had one which, if not actually worn by the King of Prussia, was made after the exact pattern of one the King of Prussia had worn. It was very short and very shining, but he liked short waistcoats. His favourite colour for coats was blue-a little too bright perhaps to suit modern taste; and he was fanciful about buttons-in this respect very hard to please indeed. It was whispered that on one occasion he had actually taken a journey to London, with no other object than to procure some particular kind of button for some particular coat—and this, too, at a time when the metropolis was by no means so easy of access as it is at present. The shirt frill was a matter of great research; it was deep and full, and stiffened to a nicety, so that it never failed to retain its standing out position. In fact, when Mr. Justice Kingley stood before his mirror, it reflected a composite costume unlike anything in this or in any former century.

Thus equipped, and shaking a cambric handkerchief, redolent of a perfume that had been in high favour with the King of Prussia, he would descend to the drawing-room precisely five minutes before the announcement of dinner; to which, whether there was company or whether they were alone, he conducted his lady with ceremonious politeness. He chose to do this as a public testimony of the admiration which he retained for her beauty.

Mr. Justice Kingley enjoyed a good dinner, as who does