was laid up with that terrible second cold, that I am sure that mouldy refrigerator of a church was answerable for, he preached me quite a private sermon on the advantages and the imperative duty of strength of mind. I am afraid I always was, even in my best days, a poor weak craven of a fellow; except in money matters I had but small discretion, and I could always be moved from my purpose, however unflinchingly I fancied I held it, if my opponent only persevered long enough. Janetta says my motto ought to be 'unstable as water.' I don't know, but I am sure that I was strong-minded enough, and held my own, in my dear Martha's time. Since Janetta bore rule, I have shrieked out for 'Peace at any price;' and I suppose I shall to the end; she has 'sat upon me, till scarcely a remnant of my old manliness and spirit remains."

“Uncle, if I may say so, the fault is that you fly into passions with her, and say the most dreadful things. Then afterwards, you know, you have been in the wrong, and you are fain to acknowledge it, and that sort of thing lessens her respect for you. Why don't you calmly resist her when she is so unreasonable ? Why don't you compel her to obey? It is the woman's part to obey."

"I hope you may go on to preach the same doctrines, and always practise what you preach, for Guy's sake, Hilda."

"Yes; but there are limits to obedience. A good woman is proud to own her master; she naturally rebels at tyranny."

"And so you are willing to take Guy as your 'master' ?" "Or I would never have received him as my lover. I would never have pledged my faith to him. God made the man to be the stronger and the wiser, and He made the woman to lean upon him, and to be his helpmeet. I must sit at my husband's feet and learn from him, proud in my humility; he must be my superior, grander, better, and higher than myself, or I cannot obey him. I could never love my inferior, never render true wifely submission. My master I trust to reverence and to obey; I should be sorely tempted to trample on the man who wished to be my tyrant ; it might end in his being my slave."

"Really, Hilda, you ought to become a public lecturer. will Guy say to your ascending the platform?"

What

"I have never thought of ascending the platform, and I dare say I never shall. What I have to say, he shall say for me; he will say it far better than I can. One mouth-piece, so far as the outer world is concerned, is quite enough between husband and wife."

"Martha used to say something like it. My gentle, devoted wife,-why did I ever put another in her place? She was not

clever, Hilda; she was not at all well-educated; but she was so sweet and good and true, and we loved each other. Ah! an ounce of love is worth a pound of admiration in married life. And your father was very fond of her, Hilda; when he went away he left you in her care, as well as in mine. You were our joint trust. Janetta had neither part nor lot in the matter. She was poor Miss Morrison then, of course, and I thought of her only as a rather intelligent, designing little woman, who could make herself extremely agreeable if it served her turn, and was so willing to make herself generally useful, and so ready to eat a little compulsory dirt, that one could not help laughing and feeling a little distrustful."

"I rememember when she made all the beds. Nurse Marris has never forgotten it, and often quotes it as a good move at the beginning of a game. I can recall, too, that still earlier, when she paid one of her never-ending visits to Aunt Martha-she would carry her umbrella, and wrap, and her church-service, or hymnbook, or anything else, just like Aunt Martha's lady's-maid."

CHAPTER XXXVIII.—TIDINGS FROM FLORENCE.

After that lengthy and extremely discursive conversation, Hilda generally preferred to read to her uncle, feeling that it was not well for either of them to indulge in such unprofitable discourse, the past being the past, and, as such, irrevocable. It was useless to indulge in vain regrets, and it was worse than useless to unite in jeremiads over Janetta's innumerable shortcomings. For a little while, by reason of Hilda's calm prudence, and her frequent submission in comparatively trifling matters, things went pretty smoothly. Frank was pleased to be read to, every evening, and even to hear accounts of the boys' improvement in their studies. and to listen to stories of what went on in the schoolroom, Janetta was really very much out of health, and looked thinner and more haggard day by day. Her complexion, too, was so bad, that Toadles opined that she used some injurious cosmetic, in which white lead was a prominent ingredient. For Toadles, though no longer wanted in the nursery, and by no means a favourite with her mistress, still remained a permanent member of the Willabye household.

The winter was passing into the spring, the first prettiness of the snowdrops was gone, and crocuses, white, golden, and purple, starred the old garden-beds at Southcombe. Here and there, under the hedges, peeped forth the fragile-seeming, yet hardy primrose, from its nest of crinkled leaves; the laurustinus began to unfold its pearly buds; the hepaticas expanded their bright-hued petals;

the sea-the broad, beautiful sea that washes those sweet southern coasts, sparkled once more in the welcome sunshine, or rolled its blue-green waters, dappled with amethystine slants, on the rockbound shore of Chalkshire.

Janetta had decreed that Hilda, as governess," should superintend the rambles of her pupils, but to this she not unnaturally demurred. She flatly refused to enact the role of nursemaid to those unruly lads, who were certain to follow their own devices, and to resist all authority, even that of their doting mother, if it in the smallest degree clashed with their own sweet will. The chosen amusements of "the lambs," also, revolted Hilda's feelings; it made her positively sick to see blind puppies flung into the sea and left to perish on the tide-drenched rocks; to behold chickens and other little birds stoned to death, or dogs set on to worry defenceless sheep and frantic, terror-stricken cats. And Janetta's "lambs" would never allow interference with their cowardly sports, and resented with passionate indignation any attempt to deprive them of the luckless victims of their barbarous amusements. Mrs. Willabye herself strongly objected to the rescue of their sentient "playthings," though she felt herself obliged to condemn the "fun" when it resulted in the untimely death of real lambs, or the destruction of the larger half of a promising brood of chickens. Things that had horns were generally eschewed; and even Leo's snapping little cur learned to be less obnoxiously demonstrative after a certain Durham cow had tossed him into a horse-pond, slightly goring him and breaking two of his four legs. And this served as a hint for his brutal young masters, which they received with unwonted docility.

One bright morning towards the end of March, Hilda walked down to the Rectory. Mrs. Peronett was busy with her weekly basket of mending; the curate was on his rambles in the village, but would be in presently. Hilda sat down wearily, for she was not very well, and she was decidedly not in her usual spirits.

"What is it, my dear?" was Mrs. Peronett's inquiry, when Hilda had given several languid rejoinders to her own observations, and declared herself "almost tired to death."

"I suppose I am lazy, or cross, or something, Auntie Ada, for I am very much out of sorts. The boys have been been extremely tormenting, Janetta is in one of her worst moods, and uncle is not at all an inspiriting companion."

"The season of the year is a little trying, my dear; one day keen blasts from the east, the next balmy summer warmth! I always think one suffers a little in one's health, during the first few weeks of spring; I did, I know, even when I was a girl. A morning like this one is undoubtedly relaxing; your uncle Wattie was

plaining just now of drowsiness, and reluctance to make any kind of exertion. I expect he will come in crying out for one of Susan's batch cakes and a glass of nice new milk. You shall have some luncheon at once, my dear, you are partial to the rectory cake and milk."

"Thank you, auntie, I will accept the milk gratefully, but I do not feel quite equal to the cake.”

"You are overtired, my child; you are doing just a little bit too much."

And without another word Mrs. Peronette went away to the dairy, and presently returned with a dainty little biscuit or two on

up

Hilda's favourite china plate, and an egg beaten with a cup full of delicious milk. "There, my dear, take that, and you will feel refreshed; then you shall tell me all your vexations. I was going to add sherry to the egg, but I thought milk would suit you better, and our new Alderney is giving us an unwontedly rich supply."

Hilda nibbled her biscuit, and drank her egg and milk, and de clared herself invigorated. "And now, my pet," pursued Mrs. Peronett, "what is troubling you, for I know something is? Your heavy eyes tell me you have not slept well, and I am not sure but that you have been crying!"

"I have been crying, auntie, and I feel very much like a fretful baby; I could cry again now, when I reflect upon people's unkindness. Janetta has been behaving abominably!"

"What has she been doing?"

"You know those pretty antimacassars that I have copied from Mrs. Danford's-the new crewel-work ones, I mean?"

"Yes; those very pretty ones-all rosebuds and jasmine and forget-me-nots. What of them? "

"I had just finished the last of the pair, and Janetta admired them very much; she was pleased to compliment me on my work, and said she had never seen any so beautifully done ;—was the stitch extremely difficult ? did I think she could possibly acquire the art? &c., &c. Well, yesterday, having completed the final rose-spray, I was rolling them up preparatory to putting them away in a drawer, empty of everything save those pretty serviettes I brought from Paris, when Janetta came in, and was so very bland and even caressing in her manner that I began immediately to scent mischief. Very soon I found out what was the matter— she gave me to understand that she assumed, as a mere matter of course, that the anti-macassars were for her own drawing-room, and she thought that they might as well come into regular wear. Then I explained-what she knew well enough before-that I had made them for myself, and entirely on my own account-a little contribution to my private stock of pretty things. She affected to

laugh, and told me that, as they were worked under her roof, and during the leisure which rightfully was hers, she should lay claim to them; and when I mildly but firmly refused to give them up, a violent scene ensued.

"Was Mr. Willabye present ? "

"No; he had gone to bed with one of his bad nervous headaches, or I am sure he would have interposed. Janetta lost her temper, as usual, and said the most exasperating things; you know she hates Guy quite virulently, though I cannot guess the reason, except it is that whatever I cared for she detests. She jeered at me for getting ready for a wedding that 'would never come off,' and she repeated her command, that I should hold no intercourse with Guy, not even by letter; and she dared to insinuate that she had good and most sufficient reasons for separating me from a dangerous companion. This roused my anger, I must confess, and when she ventured to call dear Guy a young scapegrace,' and to use other calumniating epithets, I must own that I turned round and gave her a 'Rowland for an Oliver,' and said a good many things that, as a Christian young woman, I had better have left unsaid. Just then the tea-bell rang, and she went away with a most diabolical chuckle, promising me that I should gain nothing by my insufferable insolence, and informing me that I was to hold myself in dire disgrace, and not presume to appear at the family meals till I had made a fall and complete apology."

"And what have you decided upon doing as regards this apology? Oh, my child, you are hardly tried; but do not forget the divine beauty of Christian meekness."

"I did not forget it, Auntie. When I came to myself over my solitary cup of tea, I knew that I had sinned with my lips. I had returned railing for railing; I had behaved badly, and disgraced my Christian profession, and I felt that it behoved me to humble myself before my cruel enemy. So at once, before the good impulse left me, I went to her, and in the presence of the children told her that I was sorry I had spoken to her so rudely, and that as mistress of the house I saw she had some reason to resent my intolerant language, and begged her pardon."

"What did she say?"

"At first she seemed sulky. She must have known that she had provoked me past measure, but she would not acknowledge it, though Gus cried out 'I tell you what, ma, it was just six of one and half a dozen of the other. You both went at it hammer and nails, though you fired away first; and I do not see why Hilda shouldn't keep her needlework for herself, nor why she shouldn't marry the beggar if she chooses.' Janetta wrathfully bade the boy hold his tongue, and when she had ascertained that I still held