thoroughly thrown off her guard, and would have given the measure of her foot, to use a homely phrase, much more readily than she might have desired. Perchance the shortest and most

lively way of explaining the result of the examination will be to give the report of it from the mouths of the Misses Lushington, as they delivered it in the full assembly of the school room, into which they had run from the dressing room whilst Barbara was called another way, to be present at the unpacking of her trunks. "Well, to be sure!" began the elder of these young ladies, we shall all be thrown into the shade-we must never talk again of our acquirements and our accomplishments. What think you of a young lady, who has been taught to read and write by a village school mistress, and to hem and to sew, and to do peacocks and parrots in marking stitch; and knows the tune of the hundredth psalm!"

"And-and”—added the younger sister, "knows half the Bible by rote, though she did not let that out, till Mrs. St. Leger, cross-examined her, as we all know how she can do when she sets to."

"But she told all the rest," subjoined the elder sister, "without suspecting in the least how we were all quizzing her." The word "quiz" had only just then come into general use in superior circles.

"Of course," remarked some one, "the child must want common sense?"

"I should think so," replied Miss Lushington; "it runs in the family-the want of common sense, I mean—the uncle, this prodigy is in sables for, was a-a”—and she looked round with a satirical laugh.

Un simple" said Mademoiselle-" thank me for helping you to a word."

wears the same

"And the niece," added Miss Lushington, cap and bells as this said uncle did." Mrs. St. Leger said, she hoped I would patronise, and try to improve the poor untaught rustic, but I promise our lady that if she cannot find a patroness elsewhere for the girl, she need not look for one in me, nor in my sister."

From that crisis, little Barbara was set down in the seminary, as not only ignorant but incapable of acquiring any accomplish

ment valued in the house; and the consequence was, that she was almost entirely disregarded by her schoolfellows, and if noticed at all by the elders, generally addressed in that ironical, half satirical style, which causes every feeling mind to shrink into itself; and though the little girl performed every task which was set her, with much correctness, yet as none of these interested her affections, she obtained no merit for them in the eyes of her teachers and masters, and even Mrs. St. Leger and the Misses Greatorex almost began to fear that they should make nothing of the child, though they could not perceive any actual deficiency of intellect in her.

And what, it may be asked, was the actual state of the little girl's mind, during the period in which this process of heartless treatment was going on: a period which continued with small interruption, for two years and rather more, for she was not allowed to spend the vacations at Barwell-court, though cóntinually invited so to do by Mr. Watson?

Her young affections never being drawn out by any sympathy towards those about her, were left to feed entirely on the memories of the past, and O! if those memories had only known natural delights to dwell upon; had they not been connected with such glorious things as human eye hath never seen, and human imagination hath never conceived-one of two things must have happened to her: she must have become either irrecoverably dull and inert, or she must have been drawn into that vortex of frivolity in which all her companions were involved. The former was the most probable, for although no one saw it, and no one suspected it, her health had begun to decline from the very day in which she had been condemned to the close air of a crowded city, and could run no more on her breezy hills, and was condemned to a never-ceasing torture of frivolous labors, whilst her free and graceful limbs were forced out of their natural form by bandages and bracers, and her very powers of utterance cramped by the necessity during the greater portion of the day, of trying to use a language which she did not know; for it was the pride of that seminary, that French was there the language in common Furthermore, it must be added that though the family attended a genteel chapel in the square, yet even Sunday brought with it no relief, no relaxation from weary, worldly services.

use.

Probably, religion never was at a lower ebb in England than it was precisely at that period, for there were then few pious books for children or young people, though many were coming out, with great names who set up Reason as the supreme guide of life, and the absence of its influence as the greatest disgrace to the juvenile character. If any catechisms were then used in the superior schools, they were generally compiled in the French language, and so strange was the sight of a Bible in Mrs. St. Leger's house, that when poor Barbara produced her little copy, which had descended from Horace Langford to herself, she was hooted by all the young ladies and teachers, and never afterwards could read that sacred volume but by stealth.

But all was good and all was right, whilst every thing which happened to the gentle child, in that worldly seminary tended only to keep her distinct and separate from evil companions, and to enable her in much inexperience, in much languor and feebleness, from failing health, in all that foolishness which is bound up in the natural heart of a child, to be a faithful channel to that Living Rill which, by the divine blessing had passed from her uncle Jocelyn to herself, and eventually to pour it fresh, sparkling, and uncontaminated, into that vessel which was prepared to receive it, as we shall see in the following number.

(To be continued.)

M. M. S.

THE THREE WORDS.

THE reader is very probably somewhat curious to know whence we obtained the information respecting Emma Singleton, which has been detailed in the two last chapters, nor is it likely that his curiosity will be much abated, when we acquaint him with the fact, that to Mr. Singleton and his niece, we are indebted for a knowledge of its leading incidents. By a singular coincidence, which we need not more particularly advert to, Emma became, on leaving Mr. Glosenfane's, an inmate of our own family, and for some little time our interviews with her uncle were by no means infrequent. But at length, thoroughly satisfied that we were in no danger of being led away by the errors of Puseyism, and would watch over his niece, as those

"who must give an account,” he consented to leave her under our roof, with many anxious and urgent instructions, as to the future direction and discipline of her mind. She was accordingly one of our little circle when the incidents about to be described took place.

"

Well Charles," said Mrs. Enderby, one lovely morning in April, as we were seated at breakfast, "we have never yet resumed our discussion on Education; have you guessed my riddle?"

"Not I," I answered, carelessly," there are more ways than one of getting over a difficulty; perhaps I may work out your problem, instead of guessing it. If I find out the thing itself, the words are but of little consequence."

“Then you really do not feel much curiosity about it?” said my wife laughing.

"Oh! dear no; I leave that to the ladies: we of the sterner sex are not over-curious. I must tell you, however, frankly, that I have thought a good deal upon the subject, and had planned a project for this morning, which may throw a little farther light upon it."

Here the conversation dropped, and the breakfast hour having passed off, the household assembled for family reading and prayer. The lesson for that day was Job xxviii., a chapter so apposite, as introductory to the business of this paper, that I must here transcribe a part of it.

"Where shall WISDOM be found,

And where is the place of UNDERSTANDING?"

MAN knoweth not the price thereof,

Neither is it found in the land of the living.

The depth saith, " It is not in me;"

And the sea saith, "It is not with me."

It cannot be gotten for gold,

Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir―

With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

The gold and the crystal cannot equal it,

And the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls,

For the price of Wisdom is above rubies :

The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,
Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

Whence, then, cometh Wisdom?
And where is the place of Understanding-
Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,
And kept close from the fowls of the air?
Destruction and Death say,

"We have heard the fame thereof with our ears."

GOD understandeth the way thereof,

And HE knoweth the place thereof;

For He looketh to the ends of the earth,
And seeth under the whole heaven,

To make the weight for the winds;
And he weigheth the waters by measure.

When He made a decree for the rain,
And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
Then did he see it, and declare it;

He prepared it, yea, and searched it out,
And unto man he said,

"BEHOLD!

THE FEAR OF THE LORD-THAT IS WISDOM,

AND TO DEPART FROM EVIL, IS UNDERSTANDING."

"Well! Charlotte," I remarked, after we had concluded the devotions of the morning, "I think we can be at little loss as to some of the leading elements of Education now. Here is our Base Line at all events; whatever we may find to say of bearings, and measurements by and bye. God tells us plainly enough in the chapter we have just read, what Wisdom and Understanding are; and He tells us at the same time, that man neither knows the value of them, nor where to find them, till enlightened from above. He may be a miner, an agriculturist, a manufacturer, a chemist, a geologist, or an engineer; he may plough the ocean, ransack the earth, and be far-sighted as the fowls of heaven, without possessing such an education as the God of Truth can recognize, for He only understands and knows the true source and character of wisdom; and the way which it may be best imparted to his creatures.