behaved milliner's apprentice that ever entered a house; but as years passed away, and the child remained a child no longer, her beauty was so conspicuous, that young ladies with ugly hearts and ugly faces grew envious of her, and tried to pick holes in her character and conduct which were in all respects irreproach

able.

Mr. Miller still continued her friend, and her visits were still repeated to the Grove, until I returned home, after my five years had expired at Mr. Wormwood's. This was the only circumstance these nice young ladies could turn to Helen's disadvantage; and they cleverly contrived to show that Mr. Miller was not such a saint as he was usually considered, and that Helen was not what they called "so good as she ought to be." This report was soon widely circulated, and the better part of the scandalloving inhabitants of turned up their eyes with horror at the hypocrisy and deception of the two accused parties, who contrived to look as innocent as though they really were so. Until I was made master of the scandal, Helen and Mr. Miller remained in happy ignorance of the unfounded imputations cast upon them.

My pride was rather annoyed that my mother should allow Helen to live in the house, while she held such a despised situation; but as she formed a portion of the family, I considered it to be my duty to protect her from calumny, and, therefore, when I first heard of the scandal, I asked the narrator if he thought it was true.

This took place in the principal stationer's shop in the town, which held the respectable character of universal lounge and repository of scandal to the parish. A little doctor, an amateur, because he had nothing to do, and a lawyer, who had less, and two or three idle young men, were congregated together there, as well as myself, when I asked the question-"Do you think the story you have related of Mr. Miller and Helen Spencer is true, Mr. Morris?"

Mr. Morris was the doctor, and although he was rather startled at the tone in which I asked the question, replied-" Of course I do-nothing more probable. The old man has a sweet tooth in his head, and, I must say, Miss Spencer is a beautiful creature."

The blood almost boiled in my face, and I walked as calmly as I could into the next shop, which was a saddler's, and asked for a stout horsewhip. As soon as I got one to my mind, I went back with it to the stationer's.

"Mr. Morris," said I, walking up to the amateur doctor, "perhaps you have a sister, a cousin, or a lady depending on you for protection: if you ever hear a scoundrel speak ill of her, I'll teach you how to treat him.-Come into the street with me, sir."

Mr. Morris was not at all inclined to do that, so I carried him out of the shop by the coat collar, and horsewhipped the little monkey in the middle of the street, to the astonishment and amusement of the by-standers, with whom he was no favourite.

"Well done, Arden-served him right," exclaimed the idle

lawyer, who felt happy that the punishment had not fallen upon him.

“And you, sir, and all of you," said I, shaking my fist in the last speaker's face, "if I ever hear you speak one evil word of Miss Spencer, or any inmate of my mother's house, by Heaven, I'll flog you all like dogs!"

Having uttered this grand threat, which was duly appreciated by those cowardly scoundrels, who fought only with their malicious and viperous tongues, I proceeded to the Grove, to request that Mr. Miller would counsel Helen never to visit him again.

"Young man," he replied, rather hastily," you are intrusive and impertinent."

"I am not, sir,” said I. "The scandal-lovers here have got up a malicious story about you and Helen, and I am determined to put a stop to it. I have already horsewhipped one fellow, and I'll horsewhip a dozen more, if I hear it repeated."

"What is it about, young man, that you are so furious?" he asked.

"It is positively ridiculous in itself; but they say that you are a wicked old man, and have been cunning enough to make a victim of Miss Spencer. To you the accusation is of little consequence, but to her it is of the greatest; if not speedily stopped, it may cling to her for life, and mar every prospect of happiness that she may expect in this world. She must visit you no more. To you she still appears a child, but younger eyes than yours acknowledge her to be a beautiful woman; therefore you must see that it is not proper for her to visit the Grove as though she were a child still."

"I do see, young man-you are right," he replied; "I did still consider her a child: but how can you remove the slur that my thoughtlessness has cast upon her? can you tell me how?"

"Shut their mouths with gold, sir," said I. "They had a meeting this morning for the purpose of raising funds for building a new charity school. Their collection amounted to nothing, so they are going to raise subscriptions. Give them a check for fifty pounds," I continued, thinking I was naming an enormous sum, but not more than the case demanded. He immediately sat down, and filled up a check for five hundred.

"Take that," said he, "and present it in my name to the committee. It is a bad method; but Helen, poor child, must not suffer on account of her own innocence, and my negligence. Good morning, young man; I shall be glad to see you again."

Successful beyond expectation in my mission, I carried the precious scrap of paper to the treasurer of the new charity, and told him it came from Mr. Miller, in aid of the new school.

"Thank you, Mr. Arden," said he; "I will give you a little acknowledgment for it. How much?" he continued, slightly glancing at the amount-"Five hundred pounds! there surely must be some mistake."

“Not at all, sir," I replied. "Mr. Miller never does things by halves-I can assure you it is quite correct."

"Well, he is a good man, a charitable man-very.-Whoever can speak ill of such a man is a villain—that's my opinion, Mr. Arden," he exclaimed.

"And that's my opinion," I added; and that was the opinion of almost all the townspeople before many days were over, when the liberal donation was generally known. The scandal died a natural death, and Helen visited the Grove no more.

It was with a feeling of pride that I walked with the pretty milliner to her place of employment on the following morning, and accompanied her and my mother in their evening walk, and on the Sunday to church; just to show that there was some one in the town who defied the whisperings of malice; and a gentleman (for I was considered a gentleman there) who could hold up his hand in defence of a despised girl, obliged by harsh circumstances to learn an employment to support herself by; and that, although this was the case, she was nevertheless entitled to that delicate respect due to every virtuous woman.

In this manner things went on for several months, and Helen certainly admired me for the spirit I had displayed in her defence; although her strictly religious education, and her own beautiful piety, taught her that I had too little command over the violence of my temper. I felt that she clung to me for support against the insults she was often exposed to, and loved her with the affection of a brother, for pride put to flight every other feeling. I could not look upon a milliner as a proper person to become the wife of a professional man. I know not whether that feeling has entirely departed now, but I hope so.

I could sing a good song, write verses in albums, dance tolerably well, play at almost every game that was proposed, and, considering I was country bred, had a good address, therefore I was constantly invited to dinner, or more especially to tea parties, for they are more convenient and less expensive, where London houses have not turned dinner to supper, and tea into nothing but tea and coffee. A merry time I passed, and just felt that I was beginning "to live."

I sometimes spent an evening with Mr. Miller, and so much did I appear to rise in his estimation, that I began to speculate on the exact sum I might expect at his death; for, being an old man with none but very distant relations, it appeared natural that he should leave his money to those he liked best.

Thus matters proceeded, until in a thoughtless moment I communicated to my mother and Helen the exact state of my religious opinions, and, with the Bible before me, fortified my arguments with passages from the Scriptures, reading what I considered contradictory statements, and ridiculing great part of them as absurd traditions, which common sense taught every sensible mind to reject. My mother listened with astonishment and horror, and Helen in indignation; and as I proceeded in my self-conceited opinions, which I had gathered from the most atheistical works ever published, my mother prayed "God forgive him!" and cried in the bitterness of deepest sorrow, while Helen started from her

seat in the anger of insulted piety and commanded me with startling energy to shut the book that I had dared to profane, and quit the presence of my mother, whom I had rendered so unhappy.

I looked with surprise at the astonishing beauty of her who had thus dared to use such language to me in my mother's house, and felt almost inclined to believe that I stood in the presence of one of those spirits whose existence I had just denied. A cowardly sensation crept over me, and while the blush of shame burnt my cheeks like an avenging fire, I left the room in silence to hide my confusion. I locked myself up in my own apartment, and reflected on the opinions I had upheld, and which seemed so horrible and profane in the ears of my mother and Helen; but having become a stranger almost to Christianity and all true religion, no ideas came to my assistance but those gathered from the very authorities that had done the mischief, and I remained firmly rooted to my disbelief of all religious creeds, classing them all together as fabrications and superstitions invented by priestcraft, without any divine authority but that of their cunning devisers.

This circumstance hastened my departure for London, for when we met at table there was an unpleasant restraint upon the whole party, a mutual fear of starting one tacitly forbidden subject, and I expressed my desire to leave the place as soon as possible. It was some days before I could quite forgive Helen's presumption in commanding me to leave the room; but in spite of my own opinions, I had still a respect for the opinions of others, and therefore confessed that she displayed no more than a conscientious devotion to those she had been educated in, and even admired the proud spirit in which she came forward in their defence.

Before I left the place entirely she entreated me, with tears in her eyes, never to express such sentiments again, to give up the perusal of blasphemous authors, and to study the writings of those who were most fitted to instruct the mind in duty to God and in true religion.

After a short visit to Mr. Miller I returned home with a beautiful gold watch and chain, which he had given me in return for sundry trifling offices that I had performed for him. My mother began to think that my speculations upon the old man's death were not unfounded, and pressed me in her arms with pride. The coach that was to carry me away rattled over the rough pavement, and I returned her embrace with emotion insignificant compared with her own.

"Helen, where are you? I'm going," I called out to her, for she was absent, and replied by running into the room. She was weeping. The guard of the coach sounded a blast of impatience on his horn, and I kissed the lips of the beautiful girl who had ever played the part of a dear and amiable sister.

"Good bye, Helen," I repeated, but she had no voice left to speak, and fell fainting in my arms. I laid her gently on the sofa, and next minute was on my way to London.

CAMPAIGN OF THE TURKS ON THE DANUBE. THE WAR ENDING IN THE TREATY OF KAINANDJE.

FOR thirty years after the reconquest of Belgrade, and of all territories north of the Danube, the Turks allowed the Christian powers to repose; these, in turn, being too much occupied with their own wars and rivalry to molest the Turk. Frederick the Great had sprung up. And he occupied Austria, its armies, and its politics, far too anxiously to permit Maria Theresa to cast a thought beyond the Danube, beyond that of preserving peace. The Turks raised some chicane, and demanded certain disputed portions of territory which Austria yielded, rather than raise a dispute. At the same time, no warlike Sultan or Vizier felt emboldened by victories gained elsewhere, to try once more the fortune of war against Europe. In 1769, however, the Sultan, Mustapha the Third, determined to make war upon Catherine the Second, Empress of Russia, because that princess had sent armies into Poland, and displayed unmistakeable intentions to reduce under her power that ancient republic. Mustapha saw, that if Russia succeeded in such a scheme, the balance of power, on which the peace of the east of Europe reposed, would be fundamentally broken. He therefore resolved to march to the succour of Poland, and to defy and obstruct Russia in its ambitious projects. There can truly be adduced no circumstance reflecting greater disgrace upon Europe than this of the Sultan's being the only prince alive to the fate which threatened Poland, and courageous enough to risk a war in its defence. Had the States of Western Europe shown equal foresight, spirit, and activity, Poland would have been still a kingdom, and Russia would have been kept within her natural limits.

Turkey commenced this war, so near our time, with all the barbarity of remote centuries. The Sultan commenced by sending the Russian ambassador, M. Oubrescoff, to the Seven Towers, where he was confined, with the eighteen persons of his suite, in a low, damp, dark room, highly injurious to his health. At the same time the Standard of the Prophet was ordered to be taken from its sanctuary, and hoisted at the head of the army. It happened that M. Brognart, Austrian internuncio, with his family, conceived a great and ill-judged curiosity to witness the procession in which this sacred banner figured. He hired a house or window in the line of procession, and repaired thither with his wife, four daughters, and other companions, male and female. The secret of the Austrian envoy, with his family, being present to behold the Standard of the Prophet, became known to the fanatical crowd of Turks who accompanied it. These, enraged at what they considered a profanation, beset the house, burst into it by doors and windows, dragged forth the men, and the women