hopes that I am in a state of conviction, and then you know conversion follows of course," said Rosine, with a sly smile.

"Now, Rosine," said Hugh, "if you go to playing any pranks with aunt Aggy, I'll expose you. Poor aunty, she is crazy enough already; and you want to turn her head altogether, you little sly hypocrite. But all this is not half so interesting as the heathen gods and goddesses we shall read about here in Virgil-allons."

"But I must go-you shall read alone and tell me all about it when I return; I dare say you will find a great deal of amusement in the book by the help of the translation, which you used to like so much better than the original.”

"Oh! certainly it is much finer! I always thought so," said he, laughing; and then they had to go back to their childhood again, to talk of the mischiefs and mishaps of those joyous days; and "do you remember this?" and "do you remember that?" was interchanged so often, that

that Rosine quite forgot her important business with aunt Rose. Suddenly recollecting her engagement, she looked at her watch, and exclaimed-"I must go -mon Dieu-I am half-an-hour past my time; but I will be back soon."

"You must go well, I will go too, and study afterwards; I have no idea of staying here all alone."

"Ah, rebellious truant! is this your docility ?"

"Will you give me a kiss to console me in your absence, and then I will sit down to my book?"

"A kiss! and asked for with such a doubting look and tone?"

Rosine would have given him a thousand with pleasure. She gave him one long, sweet kiss of friendship and inno

cence.

Heavens, what carelessness! what dangerous inconsequences do thoughtless young people commit! and all without the least suspicion in the world! But, tremble

F 3

tremble not, good reader-all is safe while a friendship so tender and so exalted remains between our hero and heroine; and pray what should disturb it?

When the kiss was finished, Rosine darted out of the room; but stopped on the outside, and locked the door after her from mischief.

She found the three worthy aunts assembled in close divan, in aunt Rose's room, consulting together upon some domestic affairs of no importance: when she entered, they all inquired at the same moment-"Where is Hugh?"-" Where is Hugh?"—"Where is Hugh?”

Rosine had to tell the whole story of his undertaking to read Virgil under her instruction, and of her locking him in her library, whereat the old maids were mightily amused, and even aunt Agatha cackled audibly for the first time in many months. She reproached herself for her sinful levity for two hours afterwards.

The locking up, however, they all, upon

full

full deliberation, thought was carrying the joke too far, and the tender-hearted Rose was for going at once to release him; but she finally acquiesced in his durance, upon Rosine's promising to set him at liberty in half an hour.

Hugh, left to himself, soon found that even the loves of Eneas and Dido were not sufficient to command his attention, and in five minutes he laid down his book, and fell into a profound reverie."This is a strange freak of destiny-to make out of the daughter of a poor French barber, out of a destitute orphan brought up by the hand of charity, the most beautiful, the most lively, most spirituelle, fascinating creature I have ever seen in this country, ay, or in any other, and so entirely free from pretension. It is true she is not quite so grand a beauty as la bellissima M-i-' at Rome, who set us all crazy, nor perhaps so devilish piquante as the witty little comtesse at Paris, who was beautiful to boot; but the tout enF 4 semble

semble, eh! I see no comparison. And yet, poor girl, she is entirely without fortune will she ever get a husband worthy of her? I doubt. She says she has had no admirer yet—a shame! our sex is getting so prudent, that such an angel stands but half the chance a rich simpleton would-out upon it! she ought to have a fortune. I must look after this -she is one of our family, and she shall have a fortune and a husband! I wonder if I could not persuade my rich aunts to give her a fortune. I believe they intend to leave her something handsome, and why not give it to her at once, and announce it everywhere? then she would have hecatombs of lovers dying at her feet. I'll broach it to my good aunts tonight, or the first opportunity. "Tis but just that they should provide for their adopted child. For my part, I don't want their hoardings, and I will offer to relinquish half, if it is necessary, to give her so much, to make her independent. To be

sure,