all the while. To be sure, I dare say you would spare no trouble; but after all, there is nothing like the eye of a mistress." Shocked as I was at this careless mention of my friend, I forced myself to answer, "Miss Mortimer's method was so regular, that I never could perceive where any trouble was neces sary." "That might be the case in Miss Mortimer's family. For my part. I have hard enough work with mine from morning to night. I really can't conceive how people get on who take matters so easily. To be sure there must be great waste, but some people can afford that better than others." "There was no waste in Miss Mortimer's family, madam," answered I, my spirit rising at this reflection on my friend, "not even a waste of power." I repented of this taunt almost the moment it was uttered. But it was lost upon my hostess, who went on to demonstrate, that, without her ceaseless intervention, disorder and ruin must "Miss Percy," said the doctor, gravely, "are you satisfied with the order of pins in ordinary papers; or do you purchase the pins wholesale, that you may arrange them more correctly for yourself?" ensue. "Oh, none of your gibes, Dr. ; you know very well I don't spend my time in sticking pins, or any such trifles. I have work enough, and more than enough, in attending to your family." "Ay, my dear: and fortunate it is that all your industry has taken that turn, for you can never be industrious by proxy; you can work with no hands but your own." It was now the hour of rest, or, more properly speaking, it was bed-time; for I was disturbed by the bustle of the household long after I had retired to a chamber, finical enough to keep me in mind that it was the "stranger's room. With a sigh, I remembered the quiet shelter I had lost, and that true hospitality which never once reminded me, even by officious cares, that I was a stranger. I hoped, however, that the turmoil occasioned by my arrival, and the destruction of the blue supper set being over, peace might be restored in the family, and the calm of the following morning be the sweeter for the hurricane of the night. But the tumult of the evening was a lulling murmur to the full chorus of busy morn. Ringing, trampling, scraping, knocking, scrubbing, and all the clatter of housewifery, were mingled with the squalls of children, and the clang of chastisement; and above all swelled my landlady's tones, in every variety of exhortation and impatience. In short, Mrs. was one of those who could not be satisfied with putting the machine in motion, unless she watched and impelled the action of every wheel and pivot. The interference was of course more productive of derange ment than despatch. Besides, by taking upon herself all the business of all the maids, my hostess necessarily neglected that of the mistress, the consequence of which was general confusion and discomfort. Few can be so ignorant of human nature as to wonder that I endured the petty miseries to which I was thus subjected with less patience than I had latelyTM » shown under real misfortune. A little religion will suffice to produce acts of resignation, when events have tinctured the mind with their own solemnity, or when, "by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is," for a time, “made better;" but Christian patience finds exercise on a thousand occasions, when the dignity of her name would be misapplied; and I had yet much to gain of that heavenly temper, which extends its influence to lesser actions and lesser foibles. A few hours served to make me completely weary of my new abode, and I anxiously wished for the summons which was to transfer me to another. Dr. assured me that his sister would lose no time in endeavouring to serve me, and I was determined to accept of any situation which she should propose. Mrs. Murray, the lady to whose patronage I had been recommended, was the wife of a naval officer. Captain Murray was then at sea; and she, with her son and daughter, resided in Edinburgh. Far from being averse to follow my fortunes in this distant quarter, I preferred a residence where I was wholly unknown. The friendship of Mr. Sidney procured for me the offer of an eligible situation in town; but I was predetermined against hazarding the humiliations to which such a situation must have exposed me. The wisdom of this resolution, I must own, would not bear examination, and therefore it was never examined; for I retained too much adroitness in self-deceit to let prudence fairly contest the point with pride. I was destined to pay the penalty of my choice, and to illustrate the invariable sequence of a "haughty spirit" and a "fall." The expected letter at length arrived, and I thought myself fortunate beyond my hopes, when I found that Mrs. Murray was inclined to receive me into her own family. My knowledge of music, particularly my skill in playing on the harp, had recommended me as a teacher, in a country which pays for her fruitfulness in poetry by a singular sterility in the other fine arts. Mrs. Murray inquired upon what terms I would undertake the tuition of her daughter, and seemed only fearful that my demands might exceed her powers. After the receipt of her letter, I was most eager to depart. To terms I was utterly indifferent. All I wanted was quiet, and an asylum which inferred no obligation to strangers. It is true that my hostess often assured me of the pleasure she received from my visit; but my presence evidently occasioned such an infinity of trouble, that, if her assnrances were sincere, she must have been filled 7th more than the spirit of martyrdom in my service. I was too impatient to be gone, to wait the formal arrangement of my engagement with Mrs. Murray. I instantly wrote to commit the terms of it entirely to herself, and then took measures to obtain my immediate conveyance to Scotland. A journey by land was too expensive to be thought of; I therefore secured my passage in a merchant vessel. It was in vain that Dr. advised me to wait further instructions from his sister, in hopes that she might suggest a more eligible mode of travelling, or at least give me notice that she was prepared for my reception. My dislike of my present abode, my restlessness under a sense of obligation to such a person as Mrs., prevailed against his counsels. In vain did he represent the discomforts of a voyage at such a season of the year. I was not more habitually impatient of present evil than fearless of that which was yet to come. In short, after little more than a week's residence at the parsonage, I insisted upon making my debut as a sailor in the auspicious month of February, and committing myself, at that stormy season, to an element which as yet I knew only from description. Dr. and Mr. Sidney accompanied me to the vessel, and I own I began to repent of my obstinacy, when they bade me farewell. As I saw their boat glide from the vessel's side, and answered their parting signals, and saw first the known features, then the forms, then the little bark itself, fade from my sight, I wept over the rashness which had exiled me among strangers, and coveted the humblest station cheered by the face of friend or kinsman. The wind blowing strong and cold, soon obliged me to leave the deck; and when I entered the close, airless den in which I was to be imprisoned, with fourteen fellow-sufferers, I cordially wished myself once more under the restraint imposed by nice arrangements and finical de coration. I was soon obliged to retreat to a bed, compared with which the worst I had ever occupied was the very couch of luxury. "It must be owned," thought I, "that a sea voyage affords good lessons for a fine lady." Sleep was out of the question. I was stunned with such variety of noise as made me heartily regret the quiet of the parsonage. The rattling of the cordage, the lashing of the waves, the heavy measured tread, the tuneless song repeated without end, interrupted only by the sudden dissonant call, and then begun again, these, besides a hundred inexplicable disturbances, continued day and night. To these was soon added another, which attacked my quiet through other mediums than my senses: the ship sprung a leak, and the pumps were worked without intermission. Meanwhile, the wind rose to what I thought a hurricane; and, among us passengers, whose ignorance probably magnified the danger, all THE NOVEL NEWSPAPER.-No. 366. was alarm and dismay. A general fit of piety bespoke the general dread; and they who had before been chiefly intent upon establishing their importance with their fellow-travellers, seemed now feelingly convinced of their own dependence and insignificancy. For my part, I prepared for death with much greater resignation than I had found to bestow upon the previous evils of my voyage ;-not surely that it is easier to resign life than to submit to a few inconveniences, but that I had a tendency to treat my religion like one of the fabled divinities, who are not to be called into action except upon worthy occasions; whereas, it is indeed her agency in matters of ordinary occurrence that stamps her true power and value. I am much mistaken, if it be not easier to die like a martyr than to live like a Christian; and if the glory of our faith be not better displayed in a life of meekness, humility, and self-denial, than even in a death of triumph. I am sure the question would not bear dispute, if all mankind were unhappily born with feelings as lively, and passions as strong as mine. Whether my faith would have been equal even to what I account the lesser victory, remains to be proved; for, on the second day, the gale abated, and, from our heart-sinking prison, we were once more released, to breathe the fresh breeze which now blew from the near coast of Holland. The bloody conflict was then only beginning which has won for my country such imperish. able honours. At Rotterdam we could then find safety, and the means of refitting our crazy vessel, so far as was necessary for the completion of our voyage. It will readily be believed, that those of our company who were least accustomed to brave the ocean, were eager to tread the steady earth once more. We all went on shore, and I, wholly ignorant of all methods of economy in a situation so new to me, took up my abode in a comfortable hotel, where I remained during the week which elapsed before we were able to proceed upon our voyage. At the end of that time I discovered with surprise and consternation, that my wealth had diminished to little more than ten guineas. I comforted myself, however. by recollecting that once under the protection of Mrs. Murray, I should have little occasion for money; and that a few shillings were all the expense which I was likely to incur before I was safely lodged in my new home. The remainder of the voyage was prosperous; and in little more than a fortnight from my first embarkation, I found myself seated in the hackney-coach which was to convey me from the harbour to Edinburgh. Not even the beauty and singularity of this romantic town could divert my imagination from the person upon whom I expected so much of my future happiness to depend. I anticipated the character, the manners, the appearance, the very attire of Mrs. Murray; imagined the circum stances of my introduction, and planned the general form of our future intercourse. "Oh that she may be one whom I can love, and love safely," thought I; "one endowed with somewhat of the spirit of her whom I have lost!" My intercourse with the world, perhaps my exannination of my own heart, had destroyed much of my fearless confidence in every thing that bore the human form; and now my spirits sunk, as I recollected how small was my chance of finding another Miss Mortimer. A sullen twilight was closing as I entered the street of dull magnificence, in which stood the dwelling of my patroness. Though in the midst of a large city, all seemed still and forsaken. The bustle of business or amusement was silent here. Single carriages, passing now and then at long intervals, sounded through the vacant street till the noise died in the distance. The busy multitudes whom I was accustomed to associate with the idea of a city, had retired to their homes; and I envied them who could so retire, who could enter the sanctuary of their own roof, sit in their own accustomed seat, hear the familiar voice, and grasp the hand that had ten thousand times returned the pressure. All around me strengthened the feelings of loneliness which are so apt to visit the heart of a stranger; and I anxiously looked from the carriage to descry the only spot in which I could claim an interest. The coach stopped at the door of a large house, handsome indeed, but more dark I thought and dismal, if possible, than the rest. I scarcely breathed till my summons was answered; nor was it without an effort that I inquired whether Mrs. Murray was at home? "No, madam," was the answer; "she has been gone this fortnight." "Gone! Good heavens! Whither?" "To Portsmouth, madam. As soon as the news came of the captain's coming in wounded, Mrs. Murray and Miss Arabella set out immediately." "And did she leave no letter for me? No instructions?" The servant's answer convinced me that my arrival was even wholly unexpected. Struck with severe disappointment, overwhelmed with a sense of utter desertedness, my spirits failed, and I sunk back into the carriage faint and forlorn. "Do you alight here, ma'am?" inquired the coachman. may have left some message with Mr. Henry for you." "Mr. Henry," cried I. "Is Mrs. Murray's son here?" "Yes, ma'am. Mr. Henry staid to finish his classes in the college. He is not at home just now, but I expect him every minute. Will you please to come in and rest a little?" With this invitation I thought it best to comply; and, dismissing the coach, followed the servant into the house. I was shown into a handsome parlour, where the cheerful blaze of a Scotch coal fire gave light enough to show that all was elegance and comfort. My buoyant heart rose again, and, not considering how improbable it was that my patroness should commit a girl of eighteen to the guardianship of a youth little above the same age, I began to hope that Mrs. Murray had given her son directions to receive me. In this hope I sat waiting his return, now listening for his approach, now trying to conjecture what instructions he would bring me, now beguiling the time with the books which were scattered round the room. Though some of these were works of general literature, there was sufficient peculiarity in the selection to show that the young student was intended for the bar. Indeed, before he arrived, I had formed, from a view of the family apartment, a tolerable guess of the habits and pursuits of its owners. Open upon a sofa was a pocket Tibullus; within a Dictionary of Decisions lay a well-read first volume of the Nouvelle Eloise. Then there were Le Vaillant's Travels, Erskine's Institutes, and a Vindication of Queen Mary. "If the young lawyer has not disposed of his heart already, I shall be too pretty for my place," thought I: "and now for my patroness." The card-racks contained some twenty visiting tickets, upon which the same matronly names were repeated at least four times. A large work-bag, which hung near the great chair, was too well stuffed to close over a half-knitted stocking, and a prayer-book, which opened of itself at the prayer for those who travel by sea. My imagination instantly pictured a faded, serious countenance, with that air of tender abstraction which belongs to those whose thoughts are fixed upon the absent and the dear. Miss Arabella's magnificent harp stood in a window, and her likeness in the act of dancing a hornpipe hung over the chimney; her music-stand was loaded with easy sonatas and Scotch songs; and her portfolio was bursting with a humble progression of water-colour drawings. My conjectures were interrupted by a loud larum at the house-door, which announced the return of my young host. My heart beat anxiously. I started from the sofa like one who felt no right to be seated there, and sat down again because I felt myself awkward when standing. I thought I heard the servant announce my arrival to his master as he passed through the lobby; and after a few questions asked and answered in an under voice, the young man entered the parlour with a countenance which plainly said, "What in the world am I to do with the creature?" As I rose to receive him, however, I saw this expression give place to another. Strong astonishment was pictured in his face, then yielded again to the glow of youthful complacency and admiration. On my part I was little less struck with my student's exterior than he appeared to be with mine. Instead of the awkward mawkish schoolboy whom I had fancied, he was a tall, elegant young man, with large, sentimental black eyes, and a clear brown complexion, whose paleness repaid in interest whatever it subtracted from the youthfulness of his appearance. I was the first to speak. Having expressed my regret at Mrs. Murray's absence, and the cause of it, I begged to know whether she had left any commands for me. Murray replied, that he believed his mother had written to me before her departure, and that she had hoped her letter might reach me in time to delay my journey till a milder season. 66 Unfortunately," said I, "most unfortunately, I had set out before that letter arrived." "Excuse me," returned my companion with polite vivacity, "if I cannot call any accident unfortunate which has procured me this pleasure." I could answer this civility only by a gesture, for my heart was full. I saw that I had no claim to my present shelter, and other place of refuge I had none. Oh how did I repent the self-will which had reduced me to so cruel a dilemma. "In a few weeks at farthest," continued Mr. Murray, my father will be able to travel, and then I am certain my mother will bring Arabella home immediately." 66 Still I could make no reply. "A few weeks!" thought I. "What is to become of me even for one week, even for one night!" Tears were struggling for vent; but to have yielded to my weakness would have seemed like an appeal to compassion, and the moment this thought occurred, the necessary effort was made. I rose, and requested that Mr. Murray would allow his servant to procure a carriage for me, and direct me to some place where I could find respectable accommodation. To this proposal Murray warmly objected. "I hope I beg, Miss Percy," said he eagerly, "you will not think of leaving my mother's house to-night. Though she has been obliged to refuse herself the pleasure of receiving you, I know she would be deeply mortified to find that you would not remain, even for one night, under her roof." I made my acknowledgments for his invitation; but said, I had neither title nor desire to intrude upon any part of Mrs. Murray's family, and renewed my request. Murray persevered in urgent and respectful entreaties. They were so well seconded by the lateness of the hour, for it was now near ten o'clock, and by the contrast of the comfort within doors with the storm which was raging abroad, that my scruples began to give way; and the first symptom of concession was so eagerly seized, that, before I had leisure to consider of proprieties, my young host had ordered his mother's bed-chamber to be prepared for my reception. This arrangement made, he turned the conversation to general topics, and amused me very agreeably till we separated for the night. I know not if ever I had offered up more hearty thanksgivings for shelter and security than I did in that evening's prayer; so naturally do we reserve our chief gratitude for blessings of precarious tenure. But I omitted my self-examination that night, either because I was worn out and languid, or because I was half conscious of having done what prudence would not justify. I slept soundly, however, and awoke in reviving spirits. My host renewed all his attentions. We conversed, in a manner very interesting to ourselves, of public places, of the last new novel; and this naturally led us into the labyrinths of the human heart, and the mysteries of the tender passion. Then I played on the harp, which threw my young lawyer into raptures; then I sung, which drew tears into the large black eyes. In short, the forenoon was pretty far advanced before my student recollected that he had missed his law-class by two hours. All this was the effect of mere thoughtlessness; for I was guiltless of all design upon Murray's affections, or even upon his admiration. I now, however, suddenly recollected myself, and renewed my inquiries for some eligible abode; but Murray, with more warmth than ever, objected to my removal. He laboured to convince me that his mother's house, for so he dexterously called it, was the most eligible residence for me, at least till I should learn how Mrs. Murray wished me to act. Finding me, however, a little hard of conviction, he proposed a new expedient. He offered to call upon a sister of his father's, and to obtain for me her advice or assistance. Most cordially did I thank him for this proposal, and urged him to execute it instantly. He lingered, however, and endeavoured to escape the subject; and when I persisted in pressing it, he fairly owned his unwillingness to perform his promise. If Mrs. St. Clare should wile you away from me," said he, with a very Arcadian sigh, "how will you ever repay me for such self-devotion!" "With an old song," answered I gaily; "payment enough for such a sacrifice." But I registered the sigh notwithstanding. "Touched already!" thought I. "So much for Tibullus and the Nouvelle Eloise." At last I drove him away, but he soon returned, and told me he had not found Mrs. St. Clare at home. I made him promise to renew his attempt in the evening, and proposed meanwhile to write to Mrs. Murray an account of my situation. My companion at first made no objection, but afterwards discovered that it was almost too late to overtake that day's post, and offered to save time, by mentioning the matter in the postscript of a letter which he had already written. I consented, but afterwards obliged him to tell me, rather unwillingly, in what terms he had put his communication. "From the way in which you have written," said I, when he had ended, "Mrs. Murray will never discover that I am residing in her house. Were it not better to say distinctly that I am here?" I looked at my young lawyer as I spoke, and saw him blush very deeply. He hesitated too, and stammered while he answered, "that it was unnecessary, since his mother could not suppose me to reside anywhere else." The full impropriety of my situation flashed upon me at once. Murray evidently felt that there was something in it which he was unwilling to submit to the judgment of his mother. My delicacy, or rather perhaps my pride, thus alarmed, my resolution was taken in a moment; but as I could not well avow the grounds of my determination, I retired in silence to make what little preparation was necessary for my immediate departure. If my purpose had wanted confirmation, it would have been confirmed by a dialogue which I accidentally overheard, between Murray and a youth who just then called upon him. My host seemed pressing his friend to return to supper. "Do come," said he," and I will show you an angel- the loveliest girl-" "Where? in this house?" "Yes, my sister's governess." "Left to keep house for you? Eh? a good, judicious arrangement, faith." "Hush -I assure you her manners are as correct as her person is beautiful;-such elegance, such modest vivacity, and then she sings! Oh, Harry, if you did but hear her sing!" "Well, I believe I must come and take a look of this wonder."The wonder," thought I, "shall not be made a spectacle to idle boys,-nor remain in a situation of which even they can see the impropriety." I rang for the house-maid, and putting half-a-guinea into her hand, requested that she would direct me to reputable lodgings, and procure a hackney-coach to convey me thither. Both of these services she performed without delay; meanwhile, I went to take leave of my young host. He heard of my intention with manifest discomposure, and exerted all his eloquence to shake my purpose; entreating me at least to remain with him till he had seen Mrs. St. Clare; but I was more disposed to anger than to acquiescence, when I recollected that all his entreaties were intended to make me do what he himself felt to need disguise or apology. Finding me resolute, he next begged to know where he might bring Mrs. St. Clare to wait upon me; but suspecting that my apartments might not be such as I chose to exhibit, I declined this favour. I took, however, the lady's address, meaning to avail myself of her assistance in procuring employment. CHAPTER XX. Lend me thy clarion, goddess! Let me try With a feeling of dignity and independence which had forsaken me in my more splendid abode, I took possession of an apartment contrived to serve the double purposes of parlour and bed-chamber. "I have done right," thought I," whatever be the consequences; and these are in the hands of One who has given me the strongest pledge that he will overrule them for my advantage." Yet, alas for my folly! I was almost the next moment visited by the fear, that the advantage might not be palpable to present observation, and that it might belong more to my improvement than to my convenience. I now felt no reluctance to address Mrs. Murray, and to inquire whether it were still her wish to receive me into her family. One circumstance alone embarrassed me. I plainly perceived that I had already made such an impression upon Henry, as his mother was not likely to approve; and it seemed dishonourable to owe my admission into her family to her ignorance of that which she would probably deem sufficient reason to exclude me. I knew the world, indeed, too well, to expect that the passion of a youth of twenty, for a girl with a fortune of nine pounds three shillings, was itself likely to be either serious or lasting; but its consequences might be both, if it relaxed industry or destroyed cheerfulness, darkening the sunny morning with untimely shade. But how could I forewarn my patroness of her danger? Could I tell her, not only that one day's acquaintance with her son had sufficed me to make the conquest, but, which was still less selon les regles, to discover that I had made it ? I dared not brave the smile which would have avenged such an absurdity. After some consideration, I took my resolution. I determined to introduce myself the next day to Mrs. St. Clare, who, I imagined, would not long leave her sister-in-law in ignorance of my personal attractions; for I have often observed, that we ladies, while we grudge to a beauty the admiration and praise of the other sex, generally make her amends by the sincerity and profuse ness of our own. "And if her description alarm Mrs. Murray," thought I; "if it deter her from admitting me |