difficult for any perfon going from the nearest villages to reach any quarter of the building without paffing along fome part of the ground fhe could now furvey. She faw, however, neither animal nor human being-and fuppofed that, with whatever defign these intruders had before approached, the lightness of the night had now deterred them:-Again she wearied herfelf with conjectures, and again defifted; for the found no way of accounting for fuch an appearance, but by fuppofing that the defign was to rob yet why fhould fuch a rifk be incurred, where there was fo certainly nothing to take?

Her apprehenfions kept her fleepless till the morning broke: fhe then funk into forgetfulness; and it was not till fome time after her ufual hour that the went down into her parlour to breakfast.

As fhe feldom rang the bell that Wansford had contrived to mend for her, fhe was going herself into the

fort

fort of kitchen where he and his family ufually fat, to ask for her breakfast ; when she was met in the paffage by Mrs. Wansford, who, with a look of dismay, faid-" Dear Ma'am, I was coming to fee for you. There are two such strangelooking men along with my husband!— and they are asking fuch a number of odd questions!I cannot, for my life, imagine what they want."

Althea, whofe imagination was ftill full of the track that had been seen in the fnow, fancied that these might be the perfons who clandeftinely vifited the houfe; but as their coming now was a direct contradiction to their motives for coming before, fhe recollected herself, and afked Mrs. Wansford what fort of people they were?

"That is more than I can tell you, I'm fure," replied the good woman."For my part, I do not know what to make of them, and I can fee Wansford knows as little; however, he keeps civil

to them. I wish you would come im my dear Mifs, as 'twere by chance.”

"I'll come, certainly," faid Althea, alarmed, though fhe knew not why."But they cannot be people that want me?"

Then, impelled by fear and curiofity, fhe entered the room, room, but instantly. fhrunk back, for the figures of the two men, who fat oppofite Wansford, terrified her.

Neither of them arofe at her entrance, though her appearance was certainly fuch as demanded that mark of respect from perfons of theirs.-One of them was a fhort mean figure between fifty and fixty, wrapped in an old blue great coat with a red cape, and he wore a carroty fcratch wig pulled forward over a face which could not, without an affront to the fpecies, be called human. Squalid and defpicable as this wretch. was, he seemed to be invested with fome. authority over the other; whofe great athletic

athletic figure impreffed terror, while that of his companion raised abhorrence. This fecond man had a broad red face, deeply fcarred with the small-pox, with a black patch acrofs his forehead; greafy fhock hair, and a fhabby coarse furtout, which altogether anfwered fo completely to the idea fhe had formed of a ruffian, that Althea had, at the moment, no other expectation but that one of thefe men would confine Wansford, while the other robbed the inhabitants of the house.

Such were the alarming figures that, on the appearance of Althea, seemed, with renewed eagerness, to pursue the enquiry, whatever it was, that they were making of Wansford; who, confufed and alarmed by interrogations he did not understand, feemed very defirous of getting rid of his unwelcome visitors, yet afraid of offending them.

Althea, unable to sustain for a moment the infolent looks of the man laft defcribed,

defcribed, hurried back into her parJour-Mrs. Wansford, in increafed difmay, following her:

"Dear Ma'am," faid fhe" what do you think of thefe men? what can they be? and what can they poffibly want?"

"I have never seen bailiffs, or their followers," faid Althea; " but I fhould fear, from the defcription I have heard of fuch people, that these are some fuch

men."

"Bailiffs!" exclaimed Mrs. Wansford, turning as pale as afhes, "what can bailiffs want with my husband?— Mercy upon me!-He does not, I am fure, owe any body five pounds in the world and I am as fure he has never done any harm in his life.-Oh, my God! what is going to happen to him?"

The poor woman, who had eagerly feized on this alarming notion, was now fo overcome with it, that fhe could not ftay in the room; but notwithstanding the terror with which the fight of the

men