"Not such as I mean," she said, slowly shaking her head. "Margaret has a happy mind; but she has clouds, perhaps of my causing, and when they come she sinks under them. Hers is not the peace on which an unquiet mind could repose. I think a character, such as I admire, is hard to find-I, at least, have never yet met with such a one." "And yet, my dear, you do but mean a contented mind

Lovely, lasting peace of mind,

Sweet delight of human kind!

I feel like you, it makes me happy to be in its presence, no clouds, no storms...but, believe me, my dear young lady, it is not so hard to find. I have found it often."

Sara was silent for a moment, as if she disdained to explain herself; then she said, hurriedly: "There are two kinds of contented minds, one by nature, and one by conquestit is the latter that I admire. The storms and tempests must have been stilled and controlled to make such a peace as an unquiet mind could rest itself upon !"

"Is your mind such an unquiet one, my

dear, that you admire this peace so much?" asked Mr. Wilmott, inquiringly.

"I was not speaking of myself," she said, coldly and repulsively. Having directed her mind towards herself, he had sealed the fountain of her communicativeness at once.

"But will you not speak to me, my dear Miss Woodvile? you are not happy—I wish I could advise you. Do make a friend of me.”

"Thank you," she said, "but I have nothing to tell;" and, quickening her steps, she placed herself by her sister, and closed the conversation.

CHAPTER VII.

Men, some to quiet, some to public strife,

But every lady would be queen for life.

POPE.

The Moat, April 12,

My dear Claude,

As you were not civil enough to ask me to write to you, I must preface this long letter by telling you that I write for my own gratification, and not for yours. If you wonder why writing (usually my abhorrence) should suddenly become a gratification, I must tell you that this house is not so singularly lively, but that sometimes I feel myself. at a loss for something to do, in which predicament I stand at this present moment. However, I do not complain of dullness, for, though I think it may become tedious, I am at present so lost in admiration at seeing how easily I have descended from the advanced age of

twenty-eight to be again a baby in arms, that gratified vanity in some degree reconciles me to the insipidity of the change. But I will begin from the very beginning, and first for a geographical survey.

This part of the country is very pretty, very English, which is what I thoroughly like: green meadows, wooded banks, clear streams, with here and there a bit of wild heath and common, and interspersed with the prettiest old churches and farmhouses. The Moat itself has also greatly taken my fancy. Why it is called the Moat, I have not been able to discover, as there is not a ditch even round about it; but it is a quaint, old-fashioned looking place, and perhaps the name is a record of some old time. I will ask my respected aunt about it, not that I care, or you either, I dare say. The house is comfortable inside and pretty outside, so are the grounds, but they are not in good order. I am sorry to say that I often find myself planning arrangements, alterations, and improvements to be made, when I am the fortunate possessor of the place; and yet, Claude, I don't wish for

myself very violently; sometimes I almost think that I should be more glad if it went to you, for you certainly deserve it more. This, however, is only when I stop to think about it; my dreams, I fear, are for myself.

My aunt received me rather queerly.— "Who are you?" was the pleasant question addressed to me when I first went into the room; but she was very gracious after that, and has been ever since. But you would laugh to see what a complete child I have become; I made a few faint attempts at resistance, but, finding it quite in vain, I have succumbed, and now ask my dear aunt's leave to write a letter, to take a stroll in the garden, to warm my hands at the fire, and to blow my nose. She is very indulgent, and usually allows me to obtain the favour I request. I think she is almost the ugliest woman that I ever saw, but so ugly that it becomes almost pleasing, to my eyes at least, who prefer any thing to the commonplace description of face. She is very thin and spare, with a long sharp nose, and the sharpest black eyes....... After what I have said, I am afraid you will not think me