where some of my fellow-passengers, with whom I had become rather intimate during the voyage, were staying, and whom I had promised to visit. But I would not permit the guide to come with me to show me the way, as I could already see the hotel, not a hundred yards off, from the window; or to carry my cloak and umbrella for me, as I was still blessed with the use of my arms, and able to do it myself. The kind fellow looked bitterly disappointed at discovering this unnatural independence in me. But I was not out long. Having stayed a short time with my friends, we sallied out together, accompanied by some other of our late companions, to walk about and see the town; but the rain soon came down again in torrents, and we were all driven back to the shelter of the hotels. I was heartily welcomed back by the guide. He appeared quite glad to see how wet my cloak and umbrella were again, anticipating the pleasure of drying them once more for me. By this time, I had become fully aware of the causes that rendered me an object of such affectionate solicitude to this man. It was not alone my sex, age, and unprotected condition, that called forth such an overflow of his regard as he bestowed on me. It was the fact that the rest of the hotel being occupied by the jury, who had no necessity for being guided anywhere, except to and from the court-house, and that duty was performed by the two policemen; and the English gentleman, who was an old and frequent visitor to Gibraltar, and

knew the place as well as the guide himself, possibly better, the only person in the house to be "guided" was myself; and consequently the attentions usually distributed amongst a number of visitors, were now concentrated altogether upon me.

The suggestion of my friends, that I should join their party at dinner at the table d'hôte of their hotel, relieved me from the embarrassing prospect of the little table at the top of the room all to myself, with the twelve jurymen and the two policemen at the other table. But there were still a couple of hours to be got through before dinner, and I ruefully contemplated the by no means cheerful or comfortable apartment that I was destined to pass them in. It was a room about twelve feet by eight, with one small window, looking right into the similar small window of an opposite and very near house, and nowhere else. It was blue whitewashed (the term is odd but descriptive), and the look of the walls dazzled my eyes, and the feel of them set my teeth on edge. There was a small bedstead with a rather undesirable-looking bed, a minute washstand and dressing-table, and all the rest of the room that was not occupied by a huge chest of drawers, was filled up with my luggage. I sat upon my largest trunk, and contemplated the dismal scene.

But I was not left long in gloomy solitude. Soon there came a hasty knock at the door, and the guide entered with a note.

"For you, señora, from de lord and de lady"—he gave them brevet rank-"at de Garrison Hotel. I wait to take de answer."

I had to disappoint him: there was no answer for the present. It was only to say that they had received an invitation out to dinner, that I should receive a similar one, and that they would be happy if I were to accompany them.

I dismissed the guide. But scarcely two minutes had elapsed, when a knock came again. This time it was Louis, ushering up visitors: a gentleman belonging to Gibraltar, with whom I had some business to transact, and his clerk.

I was just awkwardly and anxiously interrogating Louis as to the possibility of my conversing with these gentlemen for five minutes in the drawing-room, or salle à manger, when Marie, the ancient garlicky chamber-maid, appeared in haste and excitement, with another note.

Following close upon her heels, came the guide. He evidently considered himself as defrauded of his just rights by Marie's having got possession of the note before he had been able to seize upon it. But he was determined she should have nothing more to do with the matter. He evidently knew where the note came from, and what it was about.

"I wait for de answer, señora!" he cried in excitement. "And you vill vant a carriage to take you. I go to order one!"

I

I was not accustomed to having five strangers in my bedroom all at once. It made me feel as if I had been having a fit, or had taken poison, or something. promised the guide to write the answer in a few moments, and convinced him, to his chagrin, that I should not require a carriage, as my friends would call for me. I then got rid of him and Marie, and descended to the drawing-room with my visitors.

But we were not there two minutes, when the guide came again in haste and agitation, to urge me to write the note. For peace' sake, I complied, and sat down and wrote it, and gave it to him, and got rid of him for a time. But I felt that if he plagued me much more, my overwrought feelings would give way, and that, yielding to a sudden fit of frenzy, I should find myself throwing something at him.

I returned to my room to dress for dinner. The guide only came twice again. First, to bring me candles, and the second time as an ambassador from the jury, who had now returned from the court-house, and who made him the bearer of a civil message, begging me to consider the drawing-room-retained for them-as mine during my stay, and assuring me that they would do all in their power to avoid incommoding or inconveniencing me in any way.

This was a stretch of courtesy and politeness that I certainly had not expected. Juries, I considered, could not be nearly such disagreeable people as I had supposed.

I accepted the offer with great satisfaction, and sent back an urbane message to that effect by the guide. I am very much subject to the influence of outward circumstances, particularly when alone; and I had regarded with some consternation the prospect, in case I were detained by bad weather in Gibraltar, of passing the time seated on a trunk-than which there was no other place, unless I chose to go on the chest of drawers in my blue whitewashed den.

But my acquaintance with the jury was not destined to be limited to messages. While waiting in the drawing-room for my friends, who were somewhat late, the jury came in one by one to fetch their hats, coats, and other possessions which they had left there; and as they did, each made me some polite speech to the same effect as their collective message by the guide, with a few individual additions of offers of assistance in any way that I might need or that might be in their power to render. I was considerably touched by this behaviour. Their presence in the hotel, when first I had heard of it, had filled me with consternation. I had regarded them in their collective and judicial capacity, and in this they had inspired me with feelings somewhat akin to those with which I would have regarded a hangman, or other representative of the terrors and majesty of the law. Now that I saw them, however, I was not at all frightened. I did feel a little like a criminal certainly, as they inspected me one by one; a sensation that was