ss.

"You must have heard of table-turning, and all those strange
manifestations?"

"La! Mr. Dempster, I never thought of YOU giving in to a pack of
nonsense like that. I beg your pardon for my rudeness, but really you
DO surprise me."

"What would you think of spirits who can read unseen letters--tell the
names of persons whom none of the company knew--find out the secrets of
every one in the room? You recollect Tom Bean, who was lost in the bush
twelve years ago, and more; his spirit appeared to me in London, and
gave me a message to his old mother, to say he was expecting her soon;
and the old lady did not live three months after."

"Well, that is strange, but I would be very hard to convince. But yet,
Mr. Dempster, that is no reason why you should not get a nice tidy body
to make you comfortable. The spirits would not surely begrudge you
that. And so you had a pleasant voyage, and went round by Melbourne so
as to see all that was to be seen. Did any of the old colonists come
out with you?"

"We had a large party altogether--Mr. and his family, who had just been
home to finish their education."

"And you admired the young ladies, of course, but really they are too
young for you. Have they grown up handsome?"

"Not particularly handsome, but very pleasant-looking; but if you talk
of beauty, it was a Melbourne lady who bore off the palm on board ship.
Unfortunately, she was married, and it would have been very improper to
take a fancy to her, but Mrs. Phillips is superb."

"Mrs. Phillips of Wiriwilta?" said Mrs. Peck, eagerly.

"Yes, I fancy that is the name of the place; at least the children used
to talk about it by that name. Mr. Phillips is a sheep-farmer on the
Victoria side," said Mr. Dempster.

"And you say she is handsome?" said Mrs. Peck.

"Perfectly beautiful!--but uneducated, and somewhat capricious. I fancy
her face must have captivated her husband, who is a very intelligent,
agreeable man."

"I suppose they are rich now?" said Mrs. Peck.

"Oh! very well to do, I fancy. I visited them a good deal when I was in
London."

"How many children have they?" asked Mrs. Peck. "I knew them long ago."

"They lost one with scarlet fever before they sailed. There were four
on board ship; but there are five by this time, for Mrs. Phillips
stayed in Melbourne for her confinement, and had a little boy within a
week of landing."

"Is her husband with her?" asked Mrs. Peck, eagerly.

"Oh, no! I think P