Vixen.*

agreeable , unfeeling women of the world , not caring a jot for anything , or anyone really , in the world but her orchids and her poetiy . Ancl yet we must not do injustice to her . She will fill well her position in society , she will receive her husband's guests with infinite grace , she will do her duty in her " own sphere . " she will make an excellent wife , and be a clever , conversational woman . But yet she is too unimpassioned and sublimated forus ; we prefer warmth and

truth ancl friendship ancl affection to all the showy qualities and all the most ethereal emotions in the world . Captain Winstanley is a well-conceived ancl powerfully drawn character- ^ -no inapt representation of many men we know and meet with clay by clay . He is a hero without a heart and without a concern—but himself ! He may have been struck with Vixen ' s golden hair ancl truthful heart and happy grace ; but " Prudence" the great friend of all

, such , whispers , " Forget youth ancl good looks ; remember the jointure of the comely widow ; leave sentiment to the young , the hairbrained , the fantastical ; you are worth a good settlement , a well-cooked dinner , a comfortable balance at your banker ' s ! " And so Captain Winstanley marries the still fair and well-to-do widow , and is , no doubt , happy , contented , and considerate—in his way . After the poor weak lady ' s death , his "Nemesis , " alike amusing ancl

becoming , meets him in the plain and illiterate heiress of a Hebrew moneylender at Frankfort . Ancl with still more of wealth , he enjoys life at Monaco and Paris , and we trust that he is happy at last ; but we confess rather to hope that his second wife will prove more than a match for him , ancl keep him in order ancl have her own way . We delight , however , in his maiden aunt , who , living in an old Manor House in Jersey , and having been disappointed in her own youthhas given herself up to an universal reliion and

, g a sort of " Hymen of Humanity . " It is a sublime idea , worthy of that quaint benevolent soul . Miss M'Croke is the model of governesses , the best and sweetest of friends , who , though she confides with the faith of a fatalist in Vixen ' s charioteering , cannot understand why the ponies will " stand up on their hind legs . " We need not go through the other characters who fill up the Watteau-like scene , as they are only accessories , not principals . But

we must not forget Lord Mallow , a warmhearted , excitable Irishman , who , in love with one woman , marries another , but will , nevertheless , be the kindest of landlords , the . coming man for Home Rule and a regenerated Ireland ! But bedlad , as Paddy says , " when will that be ? " We commend "Vixen" to our readers , whether old or young , married or single ; they will , we are certain , like it as much as we do , and , when they put it clown , thank Miss Braddon for one of the most pleasant ancl agreeable of novels .

An Old Masonic Chair And Its Historical Associations.

AN OLD MASONIC CHAIR AND ITS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS .

THE VICE-RKGAL DAYS OF LORD BOTETOURT AND OLD WILLIAMSBURG LODGE , . NO . 6 , VIRGINIA . A FEW months since there was to be seen at the wareroom of a prominent - £ * - furniture dealer of Richmond , Va ., whither it had been sent for repair , a quaint relic of the past whichfrom its history ancl appealing associationswas

, , invested with far more than ordinary interest . It could not have been otherwise than attractive to the least thoughtful , but to the many in our midst who enjoy the privilege of fraternity in the most honourable and beneficent Order of the Ancient Free ancl Accepted Masons it was endowed with golden memories .