face and her fixed, mournful eyes, who had not uttered a word, nor
appeared conscious of any thing that was passing around her; and her
appearance, as she sat amongst them, was as though she was for ever
hearing a voice they could not hear, and seeing a face they could not
see. Lilias had yet to learn that "things are not what they seem" in
this strange world, and that mostly we may expect to find the hidden
matter below the surface directly opposite to that which appears above.
She therefore simply concluded that this deep insensibility resulted
from coldness of heart and deadness of feeling, and gradually the
conviction deepened in her mind, that Aletheia Randolph was the name
which had trembled on the lips of her unknown friend, when he warned her
to beware of some one of her new relatives. It seemed to her most likely
that one so dead and cold should be wholly indifferent to the feelings
of others, and disposed only to work out her own ends as best she might;
and thus, by a few unfortunate words, the seeds of mistrust were sown in
that innocent heart against one most unoffending, and a deep gulf was
fixed between those two, who might have found in each other's friendship
a staff and support whereon to lean, when for either of them the winds
blew too roughly from the storms of life.

Once only that evening did Lilias hear the sound of Aletheia's voice,
and then the words she uttered seemed so unnatural, so incomprehensible,
to that light heart in its passionless ignorance, that they did but tend
to increase the germ of dislike, and even fear, that was, as we have
said, already planted there against this singular person. It was after
they had returned to the drawing-room that some mention was made of the
storm of the preceding evening, to which Lilias had been exposed. Walter
was questioning her as to its details, with all the ardor of a bold
nature, to whom danger is intoxicating. "But, I suppose," he continued,
smiling, "you were like all women, too much terrified to think of any
thing but your own safety?"

"No," said Lilias, lifting up her large eyes to his with a peculiar look
of brightness, which reminded him of the dawning of morning, "the
appearance of the tempest was so glorious that its beauty filled the
mind, and left no room for fear. I wish you could have seen it. It was
as though some fierce spirit were imprisoned behind the deep black veil
that hung over the western heavens, to whom freedom and power we