this is so absurd. How came it about?"

"I cannot imagine," she replied, in a faltering voice; for at that
moment the thorn-crowned head of Jesus Christ--his sorrowful face
stained with drops of blood, until its divinely beautiful lineaments
were almost covered--was visioned in her soul with such distinctness,
that she almost shrieked; then it faded away, and she went on:

"I have seen very little of my uncle since his illness. He keeps my
cousin May by his side, and is uneasy if she leaves him an instant."

"And she is a Catholic?" asked Mrs. Jerrold, anxiously.

"Yes, a perfect devotee," replied Helen, bitterly.

"An infatuation! He is weak; his nerves and senses are shattered by
this attack. He has been influenced by her and the priest. My dear
Helen, I fear _your_ interests will suffer."

"Do you really think so?" said Helen, growing pale.

"Mr. Jerrold, you will please to come up for a moment. My uncle
desires to see you particularly," said May, appearing at the door.

"That is a designing girl, depend on it," whispered Mrs. Jerrold, as
her son left the room; "and now, Helen, I must warn you. Be on your
guard, and do not feel hurt when I say, that if she should have
succeeded in cozening your uncle to revoke his will in her favor, my
poor son's happiness will be wrecked for ever. He is not rich, you
know, and is too proud to marry a woman whom he cannot support in good
style; consequently, this marriage, which, under existing
circumstances, gives us so much pleasure, would then have to be broken
off."

"Mr. Fielding was with him, and I heard them talking about a will, but
whether it was the old, or a new one, I could not determine," said
Helen, becoming very white.

"Hush! not another word; Walter is coming down. But remember what I
tell you. Well, dear Walter?"

"I think Mr. Stillinghast is sinking, but he is perfectly himself,"
said the young man, in a low tone, as he seated himself. "He is much
changed, and speaks in broken sentences."

"He knew you?" asked Mrs. Jerrold.

"Perfectly. He told me that our recent engagement was all secured, and
begged me to keep up the credit of the old house; spoke of our
marriage, dear Helen, and gave me some advice, which I could not
understand, about faith and baptism, and truth, and all that kind of
thing, peculiar to old men who are dying," said the young man, with a
light smile.

"Then he has not made another will?" asked Mrs. Jerrold.

"No, I