Beatrice.

thought , Hymen 1 0 , Hyinenea ;! I quite agree with a maiden lady of my acquaintance , who Twamley declares is " forty-nine if she ' s a day , " who avers that in her " opinion the man who says so has not got a heart . " Tes , I quite agree , I repeat , with that excellent single-minded , single-conditioned woman , whose labours in schools and refuges are priceless and praiseworthy ! But on certain points the good soul is inclined to be bitter , and one point is

matrimony . AVhy ? I pause for a reply . In my opinion the man generally feels it more than he likes himself to own , and Molesey , we all observed , was very silent and " distrait , " for sometime " down in the mouth , " as Twamley put it , and seemed to be a good deal unhinged , and " outside " his normal condition . Never believe a man who avows he " does not care , " that " it all meant nothing , "

and that " there are yet as ' good fish in the sea as ever were caught "; poor consolation at the very best , is it not ? though it he perhaps perfectly stoical ! But a still more serious " coup " was impending . Young Morley , who had to return to Aklershot , became all of a sudden ( he who had been the gayest of the gay ) , taciturn and absent to a degree . AVhile Beatrice , curiously enough—I suppose by some mysterious law of electric sympathy—grew , as'Twamley expressed his opinion , " silent

and savage , " —she who had been the life and delig ht of our little circle . What did it all mean ? AVhat could it all portend ? The answers to these questions I leave to my intelligent readers ! And , curiously enough , as if to add to the " complication of circumstances , " and the " concatenation of atoms , " old Miller openly came forward as an assiduous admirer of Miss Beatrice , and it was quite clear , as Twamley liked to point out to us all ,

that that " old rascal , " as he irreverently termed him , was " playing his little game . " " But , " as Twamley added , " I doubt very much if he has found under which thimble the pea really is . " Somehow or other Miss Beatrice —( how queer some girls are !)—did not and would not notice it , and so Mr . Miller ' s suit did not seem to prosper . Here was wealth , a fine estate , a good-natured old boy himself , and that perverse girl " positively turned up her nose " at all these good things . Oh , woman , woman ! real inexplicable paradox art thou ! if , nevertheless , the veriest perfection "when you only take the ri ght line .

Now was not such a proceeding on the part of Miss Beatrice a little odd , in these match-making , and some folks will say mercenary , days ? Yes , I confess , looking upon the matter from the world ' s eye , it seemed simply and really incredible , that a young woman not very well off should put out of her consideration so much wealth and position , and positively assert , in reply to her mother , anxious for her dear child's interests and happiness , that in her opinion " golden love was a snare , " and " loveless marriage a sin ! " How very strange ! AVhat words are these in a young woman ' s mouth ? Yet so it was .

Mrs . McCrowther , a sedate and stout good-natured widow lady , declared to me that such conduct in a young woman was as " singular as it was indefensible , " and that , in her opinion , Beatrice was " out of her mind" to refuse such an offer . But who after all is right—Mrs . McCrowther or Miss Beatrice ? In my opinion , as young Pottleton says , " the young ' un will win . " Whether she will or no , time , however , alone can shew ; to that I refer m yreaders , and recommend them to await the denouement in faith and hope . ( To be continued . )