Notices to Correspondents.

Brother Cyprian answered privately.

Accepted: "Funeral Dirge from the Syriac:" "Morning and Night;"

ALICE had accomplished a good deal in the time that elapsed between the eventful afternoon of her drive to Poffil, and the day when she travelled to Bath. She did everything that lay in her power to secure the vacant almshouse for Mrs. Banbury, and by the aid of her two potent assistants, Lady Somers and Dr. Soames, she was at last successful.

Jack was very generous about the matter, he did not in the least presume on his services, but left Alice quite to herself, and she appreciated his forbearance. His proposal had almost stunned her, for her mind had been so preoccupied since Herbert's wedding, that the change in the young Doctor's manner towards her had been quite unperceived. Even now she was undecided what course to take, so afraid was she of being unconsciously influenced by the fact that her life at Tregellen was such an unhappy one. To escape misery was no right motive for marrying, of that she felt quite sure.

Mrs. Banbury was her great object of interest in the house; the poor old woman's health was failing, and her mind greatly embittered against Isabel, whom she now regarded as the author of all her misfortunes. Alice spent a good deal of time with her, and was glad to see that she took more kindly to the prospect of the Almshouse, especially when she found what trouble her young lady had taken to procure that refuge for her.

It was Alice who made all preparations, and at last drove her over to Poffil and saw her established in the little red-brick house.

"You must try to cheer up for my sake, dear Banbury,” she said, as she helped the old woman arrange her possessions, "I know several people who will come to see you, Mrs. Soames and the Doctor, and Lady Somers, and Mr. Melville whenever he can, and there is a nice Clergyman, Mr. Bourne, here too, so you won't be lonely, and I am sure this little room looks quite cosy."

"So it does, dearie, so it does, indeed, Miss Alice, I am not unthankful, and the LORD will reward you, may His choicest blessings rest on you for all the good you have done to me; but as for Mrs. Travers, my dear, them as walk in such ways must suffer for❜t. She has hardened her heart, like Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and the LORD will lead her through a sea of sorrow, see if He don't."

"There, Banbury, we won't talk of it any more, I must say good-bye to you, dear, I shall see you again before I go to Mrs. Warren's ;" and then there was a loving embrace, for Alice felt they were friends, not mistress and servant now.

And what, all this while, was Isabel's state of mind? It was chiefly exultant, everything was going as she would have it go, she had established her own right to absolute dominion, gained Herbert to her side, and placed his sister in a kind of semi-penitential position. The evil feeling in her heart against Alice, was strengthened every day by the exercise she gave it, till the power she had of bringing tears to the girl's eyes by sarcasm, or the pained weary look to her face by absolutely ignoring her, became a source of positive enjoyment.

Charles Lamb says it is a popular fallacy to imagine that a sulky temper is a misfortune to its possessor, he regards it rather as a sort of fortress of self-justification in which its owner, when so disposed immures himself. There was really more pride than temper in Isabel; it was her pride which had led her to dismiss poor Banbury, because some incautious expression let fall by the housekeeper had been misrepresented and magnified to her mistress by Bisset. It was pride that urged her to treat Alice with unkindness, because she found, however she might bend her spirit, she could not break her into submission, or win approval from her. She was on the best of terms with her husband now, and in a state of great delight at the beauty of the Travers diamonds, which reset with sapphires had just arrived from London. The bill that accompanied them was a heavy one, but

Herbert could scarcely regret the money, when he had seen them flashing on his wife's white neck and arms.

He was not satisfied at the way in which she treated Alice; he highly disapproved of the old housekeeper's dismissal, but there was nothing of the reformer or statesman in his character, and he was content to take things as they were, and make the best of them.

Although Isabel had expressed displeasure when she first heard of Alice's proposed visit to Bath, she was now longing for it to take place to be rid of her, she could not feel that her sister-in-law was completely subdued, she would have been gratified if sometimes she could have roused her anger, but lately there had been no sign of such a thing being possible. Alice had a kind of absorbed look, and however she might reply to the Doctor's proposal, there was a good deal of consolation in the thought that, let Isabel sneer at, or ill-treat her as she might, there was one faithful heart that was all her own, one home ready to receive her whenever she should choose to enter it.

Yet it was with a feeling of great relief that she said farewell to Tregellen; in old days Herbert would have driven her to the station, now he contented himself with seeing her warmly wrapped up in the carriage, and inserting a flask of sherry into her provision basket.

"The house will seem dull without her," he said with a sigh, as he turned back into it, after watching her round a corner of the drive. "Well, I don't think Alice ever imparted much life to it," observed Isabel, who was standing in the hall, "she is one of the dullest girls I ever met, always wrapped up in herself and her own thoughts, taking no interest in anything."

"She is certainly very much changed then," rejoined Herbert, putting his arm round his wife, and walking her into the library, “she used to be the liveliest little cricket running about and singing all over the place, rather too much of it sometimes."

"I dare say she was all very well as long as she had her own way in everything," said Isabel loftily, "and now that cannot be, she turns sulky. Oh, Herbert, I wanted to tell you-it is rather dull as you say -I am thinking of asking the Brights to pay us a visit, they are in town now, and they used to invite me sometimes."

"What, you mean that haw-haw Captain and his sister, and what are we to do with them? we must have some one else too: I tell you what, when I go to Lord Southbroome's next week, I'll bring back a couple of fellows for some shooting."

'Yes, Bertie, and then we can give some dinners, and a dance, perhaps," said Isabel, her eyes sparkling.

"And you can sport your diamonds; is not that at the bottom of everything, you vain monkey ?"

"Well, I don't want them to waste their beauty altogether, Bertie, I hope you will let me have a month in London this spring."

"Indeed you must not set your heart upon that, you have not married a rich man, Isabel, though you seem to think so, the property is heavily embarrassed still.”

'Well, we won't say anything about that now, but I will send off a letter to Cissy Bright," said Isabel, who was satisfied with one concession at a time.

He

That afternoon brought Mr. Melville to call on her, it was almost the first time they had had a talk together, and he was agreeably surprised to find Mrs. Travers in a most amiable and compliant mood. She could not herself profess to take much interest in the servants, she said, but felt most grateful to him for doing so, and would see that both the young girls had leisure to avail themselves of his classes. tried gently to make her see that their wellbeing was a responsibility she could not entirely shift upon him, but she quietly and pleasantly turned the subject. All was going as she would have it go, so she could afford to give in to an old man's whims she thought, besides, there was a certain pleasure in the consciousness that she was making an unexpectedly good impression on one who was so decidedly Alice's friend.

She was not quite so successful as she fancied, perhaps, for the Rector gave a heavy sigh as he quitted the house; "Ah! poor thing," he murmured," she thinks she has it all her own way now, but she is most terribly left to herself."

CHAPTER XII.

A DEEP LAID SCHEME.

THE course of our story now brings us to consider what were the results dependent on the arbitrary changes made in the Tregellen household by Isabel, at the instigation of Mrs. Bisset. The whole tone of the establishment had been gradually but surely changing since the arrival of the new mistress and her maid. In Alice's reign there had been a feeling of love and loyalty towards her brother and herself,