"You may laugh, sir," exclaimed Mrs. Gurnett, furiously; "but I ken weel how you and yon red-headed brother o' thine, wad hae fettled me if ye could."

Come, my dear madam," interposed Mr. Collins, "let us confine ourselves to business. We have not come to implore your charity." And as he spoke he took from his pocket a large yellow canvas bag, the sight of which caused a painful emotion in Bump Willis's heart, for it looked suspiciously like a bag heavy with gold, and if so, it was probably the mortgage money. If the sight of this bag caused Willis to tremble for future bills of costs against the luckless mortgagor, Mrs. Gurnett actually started back, as though confronted by a basilisk.

"What! is that the money? I don't believe it. It's a trick!" shrieked the infuriated dame: "I'll no tak it, Willis. I'll bae Cheney's house and land; I'll nae suffer you to meddle wi' my affairs again sae long as ye live, if you let me be robbed i' this fashion."

"Really, Mr. Willis, I wish you would speak to your client, and try and make her hear reason."

The wretched Willis, who knew that he could as soon induce a wild beast to listen to reason as Mrs. Gurnett in one of her angry moods, hesitatingly remarked to her, that if the money was forthcoming they must accept it.

"I won't tak' it; I tell ye, I won't. I'll hae th' land. Ye mun put it i' the bag again," she vociferated, as Mr. Collins com. menced emptying the contents of the bag on the table.

"You are a witness, Mr. Willis," said Collins, calmly, but firmly, after he had counted out one thousand pounds, along with a few months' arrears of interest, that I tender the full amount due. If Mrs. Gurnett refuses it, I shall just take it away with me again; and while she makes up her mind, I will trouble you to get me the title-deeds of Mr. Cheney's property."

Willis knew that Collins had the law on his side; so he rose, and, though very reluctantly, went and unlocked his ponderous iron safe, which stood in a corner of the office, and took out the deeds.

The widow's mood now for a moment took a different turn, she shed tears, and bemoaned her hard fate, in a sort of soliloquy.

Lack-a-day, since my dear gude man's death there's not been an affliction or grief that's been spared to me; and here's Master Willis, that's lived, as I may say, and fattened many a year upon Yack Gurnett, he mun lend a hand, too, to plunder his poor,unprotected, defenceless widow."

'Not fattened," murmured John, audibly, with a sly glance at the thin meagre form of Willis, a remark that added another

to the long score of grievances which the lawyer had against the young farmer.

"I suppose, sir," said the widow, pitching her voice again in a shriller key, and addressing Mr. Collins," that if I mun take the money, you'll pay me interest on the arrears? I reckon I've a reet to that, and I mun stand by my reets mysel', sin' there's no one else will tak' the trouble."

And saying this, she looked daggers at Willis, who trembled for his love-suit just then.

Certainly ma'am," replied Mr. Collins, very quietly, “though it is not usual to claim compound interest when the arrears are so trifling."

"What's my due, I'll be bold to tell you, sir, is no trifling thing to a poor lone widow. I've been robbed and cheated everywhere," exclaimed Mrs. Gurnett, her voice rising in volume as she went on, whilst she clutched at a ruler, and brandished it about, as though she would have liked to belabour some one with it. "There's those rogues o' tenants at Shap-rot 'em !-them's been at the same work; they hev not paid me aw their last half year's rents yet, though they were due on Christmas day. I hev had nowt but £200 fro' them, and there's fifty owin' yet. It's scandalous, so it is! They're just like a pack o' vultures, tryin' to pick the verra e'en out o' my head. But I know wha 'twas put 'em up to not payin' till the will was proved," she added, looking vindictively at John, and tightening her hold of the ruler. "My other tenants," and she laid a pompous emphasis on the word, "at Eamont and Penrith were none so nice; but I'll be even yet wi' them Shap rogues, or my name aint Jane Gurnett."

Mr. Collins here looked up from the heap of gold on the table before him, as though struck by some sudden thought, and said, after a moment's pause:

"You say you have had £200 from the tenants of the Shap estate for the Christmas half year's rents?"

"That's aw, I tell ye, and there's £50 more owin' yet. But I know," she added, looking in John's direction again, "wha does me kind services ahint my back, and them's mighty kind people, to be sure; and I'm vastly obleeged to 'em, and I'll return aw their kind favours some day."

Having fired this shot at John, the widow turned to Mr. Collins again; the latter, however, addressed himself to Willis, who, having laid the deeds upon the table, was about to take possession of the money.

"Pray, stay a little, Mr. Willis. As soon as we had settled this mortgage business, I had another matter to arrange with you, or rather your client; but what she has just now told us about the

Shap rents, will make a little difference in the amount Mr. Cheney has to pay her."

"I really do not quite understand you, sir, said Willis, looking much astonished.

"And, pray, what has Mr. Cheney and his debt to do wi' my Shap estate and rents?" shrieked the widow. "Marry come up! what am I to hear next?"

What she did hear next was more astounding and terrible to Mrs. Gurnett than anything she could have imagined. After Mr. Collins had narrated all the circumstances of the milier's consultation with him about the will, on the day he met with his accident, he proceeded to explain how the Shap estate having been her mother's, descended to Mary Gurnett at her father's death, and how at her decease it had now passed to her cousin and heir, Miss Helen Cheney.

"Is the world comin' to an end?" gasped Mrs. Gurnett. Receiving no answer to this solemn adjuration, she became more matter-of-fact, and with a motion of her hand, which seemed like shaking her fist at Mr. Collins, she said

"My husband, that's dead and gone, Yack Gurnett, always said the property was his, and he left it aw to me: an' what can ye say agin that?"

Collins quietly turned to Willis.

"Mr. Willis, I suppose I need not remind you that of course the husband takes only life-interest- a tenancy by courtesy, you know, in his wife's estate; after Mr. Gurnett's death it went to the daughter, as heir to her mother."

Willis, who was himself almost confounded by this sudden and unexpected change in the state of affairs, soon perceived that Mr. Collins was perfectly right; and he attempted to explain the matter more fully to his client, and to reconcile her to what was inevitable; but all in vain --she was now almost beside herself with passion.

"Ye auld liar ye pettifogging old liar! I see through your wily ways. 'Tis aw a conspiracy fro' beginnin' to end! This is what ye wanted me nae to be i' th' room for, when your accomplices came. And that auld sinner, too, that's in his grave! that infamous, wicked man! this is what he meant by sayin' on his death-bed that he left his wench well provided for! I never knew till now what he was driving at. Oh, the black-hearted, cruel villain to go out o' the world quite quiet like, when he knew what a trick he meant to play on his lawful wedded wife!"

Willis, who saw that neither explanation or persuasion had any effect on the enturiated widow, thought it best to say no more to her; so he turned to Mr. Collins, and suggested that the money

should now be handed over to his client in exchange for the title-deeds.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Willis; but I must remind you that the rents of Shap estate, which Mrs. Gurnett has received, belong to Miss Cheney, as heir to Mary. The miller died on Christmas Eve, just the day before they were due; so that there will be, as I have told you, a little difference in the amount Mr. Cheney has to pay The rents must be refunded, and the easiest way to settle the affair will be to deduct the £200 from the mortgage-money."

This Collins accordingly very deliberately proceeded to do, whilst Mrs. Gurnett exclaimed, with uplifted hands and eyes,

"Oh, the robbers, the cheats!" I'm being regularly plundered! They wad strip the flesh off my bones an' they dared! John Clifton," she screamed, menacing that individual with the ruler, "dinna glop at me i' that fashion w' that sneerin' smile on your lips, or I'se do ye a mischief-"

Here Mrs. Gurnett was forced to pause to take breath, being quite overpowered by the violence of her emotion; then springing up, as though by some sudden impulse, she advanced to the door, paused on the threshold, looked at John Clifton, and said in a final fury,

"I'se ne'er be satisfied till I'm even wi' ye, ye fausse, smilin', deceitful vagabond! I spit at ye!-at you and your dainty auld mither, and your forward minxes o' sisters, and your red-headed brother. and the painted bit o' dirt, the artful young baggage, he's goin' to wed; and I wad like to hev ye aw under my feet, and to trample on ye!"

PHAON TO HIS MISTRESS.

O BELOVED, from thine eyes
Flow two rivulets of light,

So bright,

That the silly moth, that flies
In the night,

Has perished in their shade;
And the glowworm, afraid
Of their splendour, to her lair
Has vanished in the glade.
Like sunbeams on a rose,
Are the glories of thy hair,
On thy shoulders floating free;
While thy ruby lips disclose,
When thou smilest upon me,
Gems more beautiful than pearls.
O, my love among the girls
There is none compared to thee.
Yea, beloved! on thy breast

It were ecstacy to rest,
Gently rising, gently falling,

With the perfume of thy breath,

For aye;

And a fate 'twere more appalling,

Ay, than death,

To be banished from thy presence for a day.

W. T. G.