o-day, mother," said he.

On that evening, when he came back, he found a moment to take
Margaret by the hand and tell her that his own lawyer also was to
meet them at Mr Slow's chambers on the day named. He took her thus,
and held her hand closely in his while he was speaking, but he said
nothing to her more tender than the nature of such a communication
required.

"You and John are terribly mysterious," said Lady Ball to her, a
minute or two afterwards. "If there is anything I do hate it's
mystery in families. We never had any with us till you came."

On the next day a letter reached her which had been redirected from
Gower Street. It was from Mr Maguire; and she took it up into her own
room to read it and answer it. The letter and reply were as follows:

Littlebath, Oct., 186--.

DEAREST MARGARET,

I hope the circumstances of the case will, in your
opinion, justify me in writing to you again, though I am
sorry to intrude upon you at a time when your heart must
yet be sore with grief for the loss of your lamented
brother. Were we now all in all to each other, as I
hope we may still be before long, it would be my sweet
privilege to wipe your eyes, and comfort you in your
sorrow, and bid you remember that it is the Lord who
giveth and the Lord who taketh away. Blessed be the name
of the Lord. I do not doubt that you have spoken to
yourself daily in those words, nay, almost hourly, since
your brother was taken from you. I had not the privilege
of knowing him, but if he was in any way like his sister,
he would have been a friend whom I should have delighted
to press to my breast and carry in my heart of hearts.

But now, dearest Margaret, will you allow me to intrude
upon you with another theme? Of course you well know the
subject upon which, at present, I am thinking more than on
any other. May I be permitted to hope that that subject
sometimes presents itself to you in a light that is not
altogether disagreeable. When you left Littlebath so
suddenly, carried away on a mission of love and kindness,
you left me, as you will doubtlessly remember, in a state
of some suspense. You had kindly consented to acknowledge
that I was not altogether indifferent to you.

"That's not true," said Margaret to herself, almost out loud; "I
never told him anything of the kind."

And it was arranged that on that very day we were to have