enjoyment in its possessors. As it stood in the window, the passer-by would sometimes stop and gaze, attracted by its beauty, and then proud and happy was Mary; nor did even the serious and careworn widow notice with indifference this tribute to the beauty of their favourite.

But little did Florence think, when she bestowed the gift, that there twined about it an invisible thread that reached far and brightly into the web of her destiny.

One cold afternoon in early spring, a tall and graceful gentleman called at the lowly room to pay for the making of some linen by the inmates. He was a stranger and wayfarer, recommended through the charity of some of Mrs. Stephens' patrons. As he turned to go, his eye rested admiringly on the rose-tree, and he stopped to gaze at it.

"How beautiful!" said he.

66 Yes," ," said little Mary, "and it was given to us by a lady as sweet and beautiful as that is."

"Ah!" said the stranger, turning upon her a pair of bright dark eyes, pleased and rather struck by the communication; "and how came she to give it to you, my little girl?"

66

Oh, because we are poor, and mother is sick, and we never can have anything pretty. We used to have a garden once, ane we loved flowers so much, and Miss Florence found it out, and so she gave us this."

"Florence!" echoed the stranger. "Yes-Miss Florence l'Estrange - a beautiful lady. They say she was from foreign parts; but she speaks English just like other ladies, only sweeter."

"Is she here now? Is she in this city?" said the gentleman, eagerly.

"No; she left some months ago," said the widow, noticing the shade of disappointment on his face; but," said she, you can find out all about her at her aunt's, Mrs. Carlysle's, No. 10-street." A short time after, Florence received a letter in a handwriting that made her tremble. During the many early years of her life spent in France, she had well learned to know that writing-had loved as a woman like her loves only once; but there had been obstacles of parents and friends-long separation, long suspense, till, after anxious years, she had believed

the ocean had closed over that hand and heart; and it was this that had touched with such pensive sorrow the lines in her lovely face.

But this letter told that he was living,that he had traced her, even as a hidden streamlet may be traced, by the freshness, the verdure of heart, which her deeds of kindness had left wherever she had passed.

Thus much said, my readers need no help in finishing the story for themselves.

A VALUABLE THING WITHOUT CAUSING YOU TO OPEN YOUR PURSE! Which will you do?-smile, and make your household happy; or be crabbed, and make all those young ones gloomy, and the elder ones miserable? The amount of happiness you can produce is incalcu lable, if you show a smiling face, a kind heart, and speak pleasant words. Wear a pleasant countenance; let joy beam in your eyes, and love glow on your forehead. There is no joy like that which springs from a kind act or a pleasant deed; and you will feel it at night when you rest, at morning when you rise, and through the day when about your business.

A smile,-who will refuse a smile,
The sorrowing heart to cheer,
And turn to love the heart of guile,
And check the falling tear?

The

LETTERS FROM HOME.-Letters from home! How musical to the cry of the boy-sailor on the far-off main, when from the friendly vessel drawing nigh, across the billow floats the gentle strain. words, the tear-drops of his memory move; They tell a mother's or a sister's love; and playmates, friends, and sweetheart to him come, out on the sea, in letters from his home. The frail, sad mother, by her children's prayers, driven from her native but ungenial air, to where the breeze amid the pine-wood sweeps, or orange blooms nod white o'er southern deeps; feels the deep mother-heart suspend its beat; half hoping and half fearing, see her come, stretching her thin hand for those lines from home. Home is where love and gentle trust abide; 'tis .where mother, wife and child, reside. Bereft of these, roam on, O, lone heart, roam o'er crag, and wood, and fell, thou hast no home.

SCIENTIFIC AMUSEMENTS.

To melt Iron in a moment.-Bring a bar of iron to a white heat, and then apply to it a roll of sulphur; the iron will instantly melt, and run into drops.

To extract the Silver out of a Ring that is thickly gilded, so that the Gold may remain entire.-Take a silver ring that is thickly gilded; make a little hole through the gold into the silver; then put the ring into aquafortis, in a warm place; it will dissolve the silver, and the gold will remain

entire.

RIDDLES. 1.

What is the difference between the Emperor of Austria and a beggar with holes in his shoes?

2.

How do you prove that all people are wise?

3.

If you want a Doctor of Divinity to play on the violin, what word would you say?

4.

If a man has a very thin wife, how will he make her fat, by throwing her out of the garretwindow?

5.

If you expect from me my birth,
I'm near as old as mother Earth;
And (though no credit) I allow
That I am living even now,
The greatest rascal owes to me
Show of respectability.
I'm often on a lover's lips,
And offer help to each who trips.
All would-be patriots owe to me
Alone their popularity.

If any one my features traces,
He'll always find me with two faces.
"Tis said the poets love my art,
And oft in tales I bear a part;
Assist an orator in diction,
(Most when he fears no contradiction);
And last, though all join to abuse me,
Too many condescend to use me.

6.

I'm tall, straight-form'd, and never sick,
But cannot stand without a stick;

And I please most when light in the head-
Now what I am be quickly said.

7.

Here is a shoemaker who works without leather,
But calls to his aid the elements together;
Of fire he makes use, water, earth, air,
And for every customer makes a double pair.

8.

My first is near the chicken's breast, My second in the wave,

My whole when in his scarlet vest, For it his life he gave.

9.

Bright and gloomy is my first,
Emblem of the fate of man;
Thousands of my second are,

In every nation, race, or clan; My whole one only can appear, And can be seen but once a year.

ENIGMA.

Please, listen, Lydia! to this Riddle-Rhyme; 1. I am as old,-if not more old,-than Time: 2. Light look'd upon me, when the fulgent grace, Came, by commandment, from a secret place: 3. Yet, oft beyond the glorious ken I lay In the dark regions, fathomless to day! 4. Inert, at first, I afterwards was made A live participator of sweet shade. 5. Living, I gloried in the sunny sheen, Where Eden spread her golden grace serene: 6. The pair trod on me by the river's flow; 7. While, also, I was far, its bed, below: 8. Resuscitated by revolting Cain,

I rose, resplendent, looking down on plain : 9. His skilful progeny enjoy'd mine aid In several species of useful trade. 10. After the flood, I grew again of note; Being, by Babel's planners, keenly sought; 11. They, thoughtless, guess'd not, either men or dames,

My figure bolster'd bulwarks of their frames: 12. World holds me, yet, in very vast esteem; Now, lovely Lydia! this is not a dream. Nay, 'tis a verity, that will unfold Its simple store, when is its clew unroll'd.

REBUS.

The fruitful source of griefs and evils dire,
The thing to which we ne'er should bow the
knee;

A city famed for arts and warlike fire,
A title in this land of high degree,
The land of great wonders as travellers tell,
She who tends us in birth, and in childhood as
well-

The initials of these show for what we are famed,
And him whose wants we should with care attend.

CHARADE.

Though my first may be found in a stable, And to horses yield food and delight; Yet to give us great pain it is able

In the hands of intolerant spite. My next must be paid by most people, Although in distress they may be; Unless they live up in a steeple, Where taxes and such things are free. My whole is my second made larger, And a farmer detests e'en my name. If his landlord is much of a charger, And seizes without fear or shame.

ANSWERS TO FAMILY PASTIME.
Page 149.

CHARADE-A-corn.

HISTORICAL ENIGMA

G racchus, Lucilius, O tho, U tica, Cincinnatus, E ros, Sabines, Tarquin, E qui, Regulus: Gloucestershire.

TRANSPOSITIONS

Crate, Rate, Rat, Atè, Tea, Tar, Tear. RIDDLES

1. Post-age 2. Heart, ear, hear, tear, eat, tea: earth. 3. It is always infirmity (in furmety). 4. A Yard. 5. WIT. 6. A Member of Parliament. 7. When he is a-board.

ELLEN LYNDHURST;

A TALE OF TRIAL AND TRIUMPH. (Continued from, page 156.)

CHAPTER XII.

OLD RECOLLECTIONS AND NEW RESOLVES.

ALFRED Beresford soon decided upon the course it was necessary to pursue in order to rescue, if possible, his cousin Ellen from the terrible consequences of a misplaced attachment. His first impulse was to proceed at once to Windmere, and there openly denounce the man who had gained, by artful practices, the good opinion of his excellent uncle, and had insidiously won the affection of a simplehearted and unsuspecting girl. The heavy duties of his profession, however, prevented him from taking this step; for Dr. Montague, to show his entire reliance upon the skill and character of his pupil, had left several cases, requiring close attention, to his care; and he therefore determined upon writing. Taking pen in hand, he addressed the following letter to his cousin: "I tremble, dearest Ellen, to think of the anguish of heart these few lines may occasion; but my love to you, and the duty I owe to one who has treated me with all the indulgence of a fond parent, induces me to warn you of the dangerous brink to which you have been drawn by the artifices of a villain,-I mean, Charles Langford! I have long had my suspicions that this man was assuming, at Windmere, a character which did not belong to him; but the warm admiration you had expressed for his apparent good qualities, and the feeling that there might not be any real foundation for certain rumours that had reached me of his folly and extravagance, led me to abstain from any remark that might have pained you, or injured the reputation of an innocent person. The veil is now, however, drawn aside; and the man who, as you have informed me, could discourse so eloquently on the sufferings of the poor, and depict the vices of society with such honest indignation, proves to be a depraved spendthrift, guilty of the most dishonourable practices, and who has forfeited, by repeated acts of baseness, every claim to consideration. This is not mere assertion,

but the facts have been confirmed to me by a person who had been deceived like yourself and others, by his apparent frankness and amiable manners; but who, by a singular combination of circumstances, has found out the true character of the man he was serving, and has cast him off with disdain. Painful as it is, my sweet cousin, to become the accuser of any individual, I am grateful to Providence that I may be the means of preserving you from a fate which I cannot contemplate without dread. I will endeavour to see you soon, and give you sufficient proofs that all I have stated is true. Meanwhile, be on your guard; and, believe me

"Your affectionate cousin,

"ALFRED BERESFORD." "Heaven protect my gentle cousin," said Alfred, as he folded and sealed the letter; " many a guileless heart has been bitterly tried, by confiding in a smooth exterior and bland words, easily practised by men used to the world's seductions; but virtue will be sustained from above, and Langford will not be permitted to triumph in his iniquity. No! I feel myself endued with additional strength to resist this villain, and defeat his projects. Let him but cross my path, and he shall know the full extent of my contempt for him!"

With a flushed brow and indignant eye Alfred Beresford addressed the letter; and after despatching it to the post, resumed the study of a case which had greatly interested his attention.

Leaving him thus engaged, we will now transport the reader to the village of Windmere, and entering the picturesque little cottage occupied by Mr. Lyndhurst, take our stand in the neat and comfortable study, at that moment tenanted by him. The morning sun darting its rays through the thin drapery of ivy that partially screened the windows, shed a cheerful light through the apartment, and set off to great advantage the newly-decorated backs of some old volumes, the acquisitions of Mr. Lyndhurst during his college career. The influences of the weather seemed lost, however, upon their possessor; who sat in a high-backed chair, deeply absorbed in the examination of some letters and papers that lay outspread before him. An expression of deep sadness pervaded his countenance,

N

as he perused and replaced them from time to time; and it seemed evident that his mind was intent upon certain circumstances in his life, not to be remembered without emotion. At length his eye rested with mournful eagerness upon a miniature which had apparently eluded his search, for he held it with the grasp of a man who has unexpectedly found a treasure, but is afraid of losing it. The portrait was that of a lady, with singularly expressive features, bearing a striking resemblance to his daughter Ellen. Indeed the wife (for it was the likeness of Mrs. Lyndhurst) and the child, for whose sake she had resigned life, seemed present before him.

"Poor Ellen," he exclaimed, and a tear stood in his eye. "I shall lose her soon ! The sweet association of ideas, the studies we have pursued together, our daily walks, and the many pleasures of social intercourse will be broken up or interfered with by new ties, and other spheres of action. But why should I complain, if this change is for her happiness? Heaven grant it may be so !"

At this moment there was a knock at the garden door, and the subject of his thoughts stood before him; her face beaming with smiles, and a nosegay of the fairest spring-flowers in her hands.

"Here, father," she exclaimed, with a cheerful laugh; "here are the trophies of my morning expedition. I have been a faithful general in your service, and have levied contributions on all my friends, especially Squire Langford, to adorn your study. But," added Ellen, in an altered tone, observing the sadness in her father's countenance, "what is the matter, father? Are you unwell, or have you received any ill news?"

"Neither one nor the other, my child," returned Mr. Lyndhurst, forcing a smile; "but come, take a chair. I was wishing to see you just now, for we have many matters to discuss. Take off your bonnet, and listen to me for a few moments."

me.

ing to memory many events of my past life, and these letters," pointing to the heap before him, "have greatly assisted Most of them were written by your mother before her marriage, and the sentiments they contain are such as would do honour to the noblest and most talented of your sex. But," he added, observing her tears, "I will not continue this subject if it distresses you."

"On the contrary, father, you cannot speak to me too often of my mother. Pray go on."

"My attention," continued Mr. Lyndhurst, "has been directed to these matters in consequence of your probable marriage. You are aware that our circumstances, owing to heavy pecuniary losses in the early part of my life, have been very limited. The small property of your mother, and the liberality of a relative have enabled us to live without sensibly feeling the deprivation of a fortune to which my family position perhaps entitled me; but I feel, now that my child is about to mingle in a society full of prejudices and exigencies, that I ought not to send her penniless from my hearth, but raise her with honour to that station she will so eminently adorn."

"Do not speak thus," interrupted Ellen. "I desire nothing more than to remain here, to cherish and aid you, and to receive in return the same love you have always shown to a giddy and thoughtless girl."

"Not so, not so!" replied Mr. Lyndhurst, smiling; "the waywardness you mention has long subdued itself into the discreet and industrious little housewife, ever ready with her hands to save her father the least trouble, and with an eversmiling contenance, to cheer him down the vale of life. But to return; I am endeavouring to procure a reversion of some part of my property, small as it is, in your favour."

"I do not need it, father. Indeed I could not leave you. It would break my heart."

having a claim to our love and esteem. Besides, Ellen, I am getting old, and I have no longer the same energy which in past days I devoted to your improvement and happiness. As I advance in years, disappointments and sorrows I had hoped to have forgotten, press heavily upon me, and I feel that I am no longer a suitable companion for one so young and so susceptible of passing impressions as you are. I am glad, therefore, that a suitable opportunity presents itself for your settlement in life with a man who appears to me calculated to make you happy. You still regard him favourably, do you not?" "I think that Mr. Charles Langford possesses many estimable qualities; but, as you know, my acquaintance with him is brief. Let us change this subject, father. Did you not expect Squire Langford to-day? He spoke of calling upon you in the course of the morning."

With a light step Ellen Lyndhurst quitted the apartment; and soon afterwards the hearty voice of Squire Langford was heard in the garden rating Matthews, his groom, soundly for having forgotten to bring a basket of game which had been packed up for the cottage.

66

Too bad, too bad!" he exclaimed, bustling into the apartment in a perspiration, and adjusting the frill of his shirt which had become disordered during his temporary loss of temper, always the way, Lyndhurst, with these sleepy fellows who hang about the kitchen from morning to night with their eyes on the jack. But, after all, Matthews has his good qualities, though for memory my blind horse Bess would beat him out of the field. But never mind, you shall have the birds soon."

"To London!" exclaimed Ellen, in astonishment, "why what would Mrs. Davis, his housekeeper, say to that?"

"There lies the chief difficulty," replied Mr. Lyndhurst, smiling; "the worthy woman has superintended for so many years the domestic matters at the Hall, as to exercise a kind of control even over the master, and obstinately sets her face against such a resolution. The Squire, although he brought all the arguments he could unite to support his project, could not remove her objections to it.".

"I suppose," observed Ellen, "she considers the metropolis a city of ogres, with Gogs and Magogs walking about the streets, and devouring all the unlucky passengers who come across their path?

"Probably so," replied Mr. Lyndhurst; "having scarcely been beyond the limits of Windmere during her long life, Mrs. Davis entertains peculiar notions of what passes in the wide world. She is, however, in every respect, a most estimable person. But hark, there is a ring at the gate. It is almost too early for the Squire, and is most probably some petitioner for charity. It is little indeed I am able to afford. Go and see who it is?"

to show at once that he at least possessed the essential gift of remembrance, he produced from his pocket with great deliberation a small phial, containing a mixture, prepared by the hands of Mrs. Davis, for the relief of a cold, to which Mr. Lyndhurst was subject.

"The good woman," observed the Squire, "bade me say that it was an infallible elixir against sore throats, hoarseness, and colds, and had effected wonderful cures in Windmere and the neighbourhood. Though as for that," he added, in a low tone, as if afraid that his words would be heard at the Hall, "every thing she says and does has some remarkable virtue attached to it.. I have been obliged to test in succession all the recipes handed down through a long list of her ancestors, and in all of which she places implicit faith."

"Has she any remedy against travelling?" inquired Mr. Lyndhurst, smiling significantly.

"The very point upon which I have come to talk with you," replied the Squire; "would you believe it, that this crotchet of mine to visit the great city has raised such a storm at the Hall that I doubt where it will end. My worthy housekeeper was quite aghast when I told her of my intentions, and has prognosticated the most serious calamities if I persist in them. She has already related several tradi