May Brooke

hey will be her

ow, and d

after a pause, "that ski

hen; what the

the horses might shy a little to the left,

that

readful to t

; I should be sorry

y cousin! Did y

ve committed some crime for which I am to suffer, by being

to me, and it shall be the endeavor

two African monkeys under my care-don't laugh-it exasperates, and m

s that

s. They are like sponges, and absorb every particle of evil that the devil sprink

een your experience? Have y

you holy innocent? I have never

le Still

ha

ou. Something very dreadful must i

May. Don't interrupt m

, s

the pages of which he examined with the most incomparable patience. A snuff-colored wig sat awry on his head, and a snuff-colored coat, ornamented with large horn buttons, drooped ungracefully from his high, stooping shoulders. His neckcloth was white, but twisted, soiled, and tied carelessly around his thin, sinewy throat. His legs were cased in gray lamb's-wool stockings, over which his small-clothes were fastened at the knees with small silver buckles. His face was not originally cast

ful, feverish glow of earth, but, like rays from an inner sanctuary, the glorious realities of faith, hope, and love, which possessed her soul, diffused their mysterious influence over her countenance. Thick braids of soft, brown hair, were braided over her round, childlike forehead: and her dress of some dark, rich color, was in admirable harmony with her peculiar style. Her proportions were small and symmetrical, and it was wonderful to see the serious look of dignity with which she sat in that old crimson chair, knitting away on a comfort, as fast as her little white fingers coul

I hear carriage-wheels, uncle!" she e

d. Brother-spendthrift, shiftless, improvident-marries a West Indian papist; turns one; dies with his wife, or, at least, soon after her leaving another ne'er-do-weel on my hands. I wish you'd all gone to purgatory together. To be shut up in my old days with two wild papists is abominable!" muttered the old man, slamming the ledgers together, until ever

un

fortune to be your u

lied, whilst she cast down her eyes to

s candlestick, lighted his candle, and retired, leaving the poor girl standing with a frightened, heart-broken look, in the middle of the floor. For a moment she looked after him; then a sharp cry burst from her lips, and she turned to rush out into the wintry storm, when she suddenly felt herself enfolded in some one's arms, who led her to the warmest corner of the so

s: he seems rough and stern, but in reality

, oh, I did not expect

very, very different

obbed, struggling to

ry

ke our old clock-it never strikes the hour true, yet the han

are

her. "I am your cousin, May Brooke; an orphan like you

u happy

you know, of soiling my robe, if I floundered in them!" said May, laughing. Helen did not understand the hidden and beautiful meaning couched under May's expressions; she h

e-such a nice, soft-vo

r long, white han

ke something warm. Your supper is on the

tchen? Do you ea

ometimes; it is

I do not wis

e nice toast, after your fatig

nk you," was th

you wish

leep, and never wake again," s

o reflect that each trial has its heavenly mission; and the thorns which pierce us here

aint!" was th

ic?" asked May, chill

languidly, "but I

n and homage, she threw herself on her knees, leaned her head on her arm, and yielded to a perfect storm of grief and fury; which, although unacknowledged, rag