perfectly satisfied with his own, that I do not think he would feel the least interest in yours.'

'But he hasn't a Queen Anne farthing, Mr Medlicott, and do you mean to say he, as a coin-collector, would despise that?' exclaimed Mr Norrys, considerably piqued and excited.

'I mean to say, my dear sir,' replied Mr Medlicott, 'that Doctor Hooliloo is so wrapped up in his own affairs, and is so satisfied with his own coins, that he would neither admire nor covet yours.'

'He must be an egotistical booby, then, that's all I can say for him; and I suppose his residence among the savages must excuse his want of breeding,' drily remarked Mr Norrys.

"That's just it,' returned Mr Medlicott; though he's no fool, and has a deal of good in him, and he is not selfish either, for he talks of giving some of his coins away soon.'

"Giving away his coins!' shouted Mr Norrys, 'after all the trouble and anxiety of collecting them; then he must be a fool, or they must be worthless!'

"They are of the usual value,' said Mr Medlicott smiling complacently, and he will give them to those who will take care of them.'

'Humph!' ejaculated Mr Norrys, 'I should like to have the picking and choosing of a few for myself.'

'And I am sure,' continued Mr Medlicott, smiling benevolently, 'that if you needed them, sir, Hooliloo would be most ready to bestow as many of his coins as you required.'

You speak in enigmas, Mr Medlicott,' replied Mr Norrys with dignity, and I don't understand your joke, sir.'

'I am not joking,' said Mr Medlicott with the utmost urbanity; 'but time will explain the enigma-"Time the revealer, Time the consoler," as my old woman says; and she thinks no harm of Dr Hooliloo, I assure you, sir.'

'I bow to the opinion of your excellent wife,' said Mr Norrys gallantly; but if I ever do succeed in catching hold of your hairy friend when he is fumigating the old ruins with his nasty tobacco, I'll tell him my mind, Mr Medlicott, that's all;' with which terrible threat the conversation terminated.

Fordyce felt half afraid of the strange and taciturn man who sat by Mr Medlicott's fireside, and regarded her so earnestly, that she became quite confused beneath the prolonged scrutiny; yet there was nothing offensive in these regards the look was mournful and retrospective, and he listened to her words with such evident interest and pleasure, that Fordyce soon became accustomed to his wild and shaggy appearance, and would even venture to question Dr Hooliloo respecting the wonderful sights he had seen, and the wonderful adventures he had encountered, during his intercourse with the savages. Dr Hooliloo had fine expressive eyes, and a musical voice; but the eyes were shaded by a profusion of dark dishevelled hair, and a beard of unusual length covered the lower portion of his face. His speech was terse and metaphorical, as

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if he had been much accustomed to hold converse in languages whose idiom differs materially from ours; his metaphors all tended to expose the false polish and glitter of society in general, and to deprecate the social system of which we are the slaves. As to Timothy Bedford, he shared the scrutiny and observation which Dr Hooliloo bestowed on Fordyce. Timothy's hand was grasped as in a vice by the doctor's sinewy fingers-a token of approbation which Dr Hooliloo only bestowed on prime favourites; and that Timothy was a prime favourite with his eccentric friend no longer remained a matter of doubt, when the latter used all his powers of eloquence to persuade Timothy to return with him to the solitudes of savage life, or to the wilds of California. Timothy glanced at Fordyce, laughed, and said he could not leave his old grandmother. Dr Hooliloo's eagle eye detected the glance, and he said sententiously: 'The ancient mother and the fair young maiden may accompany us; there is room in my home for all, and plenty of food.'

Fordyce blushed, but said nothing; and Timothy thought he had never seen her look so beautiful.

Summer had almost begun to fade into autumn, when a sudden and alarming change in Anna Norrys caused Mr Medlicott to look anxious and grave, and to signify his wish for further advice. The physicians who were consulted at once corroborated Mr Medlicott's view of the case; and the family were gently informed that it was impossible the sufferer could survive many weeks. Anna desired to be fully acquainted with the opinion of her medical advisers, and Mr Medlicott, thus urged, tenderly divulged it. I am thankful the summons home is so near,' she whispered calmly. I am more ready to go than to stay, for rest from pain and weariness is welcome as daylight to the night-watcher.'

Adelaide pouted because her marriage must necessarily be deferred; and the Misses Norrys, with forms erect and solemn visages, consoled each other, and studied Blair's Sermons. Fordyce, in mute grief, sat hour after hour by her dear departing friend; for Anna, now her earthly days were numbered, wished to see those she loved more frequently beside her: she had much to counsel and to say during those quiet hours, and she spoke with some difficulty. The words of the dying insure attention, and enforce reverence from all; and Anna's parting words to Fordyce Brandon were almost like commands, for the orphan's future happiness was Anna's last care. She sounded the depths of the girl's heart, and with inexpressible comfort found that treasures of love and hope were still buried in its recesses, only requiring time and patience to bring them forth.

It had been a beautiful warm autumn day, and Anna's chamber-window was open to admit the pleasant evening air, which came loaded with the perfume of clematis, and many sweet garden-flowers. Fordyce watched the stars, as slowly they began

to appear in the cloudless sky; and Anna continued sleeping, for she had slept much during that day, and had been slightly delirious. Suddenly, a prolonged wailing note, as of a flute or flageolet, filled the apartment, coming from the direction of the old ruins, which bounded the garden, and on which the windows looked. Again it was repeated; and Fordyce then distinctly recognised a plaintive melody which had always been a favourite with Anna. She was wondering who the musician could be, when Anna softly pronounced her name, and on reaching the couch, Fordyce found her eagerly leaning forward in the attitude of excited attention, her eyes fixed on vacancy, and her countenance wearing the ghastly hues of death. 'Hush!' she murmured, as the sounds became clearer-'hush! that is my summons: he calls me as he used to do, and the sad dream of separation is over.' She fell back exhausted, and the music ceased. Greatly alarmed, Fordyce summoned the family, but Anna never spoke again; and that night she ceased to breathe, passing away in a quiet slumber. Anna's remains were interred in the family-vault in Lisbourne church-yard; and during the funeral obsequies, when the mourners were assembled round the grave, a bare-headed stranger stood near them, in whom Mr Norrys recognised Dr Hooliloo. His head was bowed, and he appeared deeply affected; on the conclusion of the solemn ceremony, he walked slowly away, nor was he again seen in Lisbourne, saying farewell neither to Fordyce nor Timothy Bedford, but leaving a letter for the former, to be opened and read by Fordyce in the presence of Mr and Mrs Medlicott. Surprise almost prevented her from deciphering the straggling writing, and what with her tears and blushes, and agitated exclamations, it was some time ere she arrived at the end. When she did so, throwing herself into Mr Medlicott's arms, Fordyce in a burst of emotion exclaimed: And you knew all this, and yet you never told me he was my Uncle Aspinax! O how generous, how noble of him! and may I never thank him, never see him more?'

'No, my dear child,' said Mr Medlicott, trying hard to speak calmly, with a choking sensation in his throat-'none of us will see him again in this world, in all human likelihood. Aspinax Ringles hates to be thanked, and it was his wish to avoid both that and recognition. He has gone back to his life in the wilderness, and only came to the haunts of civilisation with his Californian gold, in order to make restitution to me whom he had wronged, and to ascertain his only sister's fate. You, my dear child, were her representative, and of course the handsome fortune he intended for her is yours.-And he says something else in his letter doesn't he, my dear?' continued Mr Medlicott smiling, as he brushed away a tear from off his furrowed cheek.

Fordyce blushed and stammered, and then hurriedly put the letter in Mr Medlicott's hands. May I shew it to Timothy?' he asked demurely. Fordyce was silent; but Mrs Medlicott now

broke in: 'Of course you may, my dear John, as Fordyce doesn't say no. Silence always gives consent.'

Ah ha! that's orthodox, is it, in all love-matters and such like?' cried the old surgeon, rubbing his hands in glee.

But the contents of the letter did not explain all, for it had reference more to Fordyce and her union with 'honest Bedford'—. for so the writer denominated Timothy-than to the writer himself. It was from Mr Medlicott that Fordyce gathered the remaining particulars: how Aspinax Ringles had sent for him to the little inn at Lisbourne, and how Mr Medlicott had promised to preserve his incognito, and to call him Dr Hooliloo, that being the name bestowed by the Indians on their great medicine, whose knowledge of the medicinal use of herbs had won for him his diploma among the aborigines; while his musical voice, which they fancied resembled the notes of an Indian song-bird, known by some such appellation as the hooliloo, had gained for him the cognomen which he continued to adopt. Very lightly Mr Medlicott touched on the early attachment of Aspinax Ringles and Anna Norrys; of her brother's stern displeasure; and finally, of the misguided man's subsequent reckless course, which had separated them for ever in this world.

Fordyce remembered the episode of the flageolet, and recounted it with tears, it was such a touching trait in the disposition of that rough, toil-hardened being.

Ah, poor fellow!' sighed Mrs Medlicott; 'he was faithful to Anna's memory; and though he dared not look on her changed face again, yet he wished her to know before she died that she was well remembered. After the funeral, he destroyed the old flageolet, and took himself off in a hurry, for he said that he should never rest until far away from the haunts of civilised men. I'm sure I hope he'll be comfortable, poor dear, among the savages, now he's been home, and unburdened his mind, and paid all his debts,' added Mrs Medlicott with infinite simplicity and fervour.

'Poor Uncle Aspinax!' cried Fordyce; had I but known the truth, perhaps we might have succeeded in persuading him to remain with us.'

'No, my dear girl,' returned Mr Medlicott gravely, 'you never would. His habits are too confirmed to admit of change, and he always, even in his young days, expressed a wish to lead a wild life. It suits him well, depend upon it; and it is best as it is, all circumstances taken into consideration; and the only thing you can do in order to please your Uncle Aspinax, is to obey the instructions contained in his letter.'

Timothy lost no time in pleading his own cause; and Fordyce was too grateful to her Uncle Aspinax, to prove disobedient to his earnestly expressed wishes for her union with 'honest Bedford.' Anna Norrys left a will dividing her fortune equally between Adelaide and Fordyce Brandon; and when the conventional term of mourning expired, Frederic Arlington led Adelaide to the

hymeneal altar; and shortly afterwards Fordyce became the wife of Mr Bedford. Mr Medlicott gave her away, for Mr Norrys continued sulky, not altogether relishing the deceit which, he declared, had been practised on him relative to Dr Hooliloo being a brother coin-collector. Mr Medlicott, however, stoutly defended himself, and boldly affirmed that he had spoken nothing but truth, for that Aspinax Ringles had an undoubted right to call himself by his Indian name if he liked; and moreover, that he was a bond fide collector of coins on a large scale; and that he had given a considerable portion to those who knew how to value them. It was a famous joke for the facetious Mr Medlicott; but the sedate Mr Norrys of Lisbourne House seldom condescended to joke. The Misses Norrys also were of opinion that Fordyce Brandon-as Adelaide's sister-rather demeaned herself by marrying an individual, however worthy and respectable, who had once been her father's clerk. Nevertheless, in process of time, Sir Frederic and Lady Arlington, who did not live together on the most amicable terms, were glad to accept invitations to the hospitable and princely mansion of Timothy Bedford, the prudent and prosperous merchant, where Fordyce presided, as radiant in happiness, kind in heart, and brilliant in beauty, as in the days of her early prosperity. Thither, too, often came Mr and Mrs Medlicott, as the most honoured guests, the doctor having retired from active life, owing to the infirmities of age creeping on. With unwearied patience, and a ready smile, Timothy listened to Mr Medlicott's oft-repeated joke about Dr Hooliloo; while Mrs Medlicott quite eschewed fictitious romance, and declared there was nothing like the romance of reality.