Year: 1873

PLOTS AND MYSTERIES.


When Lucy entered the hall, she was met
to her surprise, by two strangers.


The first was middle-aged woman, dark,
sallow-faced and foreign-looking, shrewd and
cunning in expression, and dressed in rusty
black. She wore long white apron, and a
bunch of keys dangled from her waist.


The second was boy Of nine or ten years
of age, with blue eyes and fair hair, and ape-
culiarly sweet and interesting countenance.


As the woman advanced, leading the boy
by the hand, Stanley said to his wife


"Allow me, my dear, to present to you two
new inmates ofour house. This is Mrs Ford,
whom have engaged to act as housekeeper,
and who will, henceforth, take that trouble
some business off your hands This little fel-
low is my nephew, Claude Stanley, who has
been sent home from boarding-school, on ac-
count of the death of his principal, and whom
have decided to keep with me for time.
He is an orphan, and you will, I am sure, per-
NIT him to find mother in you"


Lucy took the child's hands in hers, and,
quite won by the expression Of his soft and
pleading eyes, as he raised them to hers, bent
down and kissed his brow, saying tenderly-


"I am sure I shall love you, my dear"


But az she turned to address the new house
keeper, strong feeling of aversion, caused
by the repulsive look and air of the woman,
who was regarding her with an unpleasant
smile, took possession of her mind, and it was
with difficulty that she could force herself to
make civil acknowledgment of the intro
duction.


Mrs. Ford perceived her constrained man
ner, and was not slow in divining its cause.


From that moment mutual dislike arose
in the hearts of both in Lucy's, augmented
by suspicion and mistrust.


AS soon as she found herself alone with her
husband, she ventured to say


"Alfred, I did not object to keeping house !;
why did you bring that woman here?"


"My love, I judged it best" said Stanley,
in his smoothest Tone 81 dislike to see you
annoyed with the drudgery of domestic af-
fairs and I know Mrs. Ford to be most ex'
cellent, trustworthy person, in whom you may
safely place entire confidence. 1 do not wish
to keep you, my Lucy, so confined to the
house as you have hitherto been in fact, /
have arranged several little excursions for
you, in order to make you as cheerful as pos
sible, and of course you could not satisfacto-
rily partake of any amusement, unless your
mind was perfectly at ease regarding all
household matters"


"Has there been any gaiety going on since
I left homer" asked Lucy.


"Why no, not that have heard of partcu-
larly," said Stanley; "but it is easy enough to
arrange these little pleasure parties, If one
feels inclined to do so. Henceforth we must
not lead the hermit-life we have hitherto in
dulged in, and which fear may be exciting
some remark among our friends confess
it is the most congenial to my taste, but we
muss sometimes defer to the opinion Of the
world besides, would not have people think
that kept you prisoner. Of course, these
are minor considerations, compared with the
solicitude feel for your health and enjoy
ment; still, they have their weight, my love
they have their weight"


Lucy could not overcome her surprise, at
finding how entirely Stanley's sentiments had
changed since she had parted with him; she
did not, however, express this feeling, which
she feared might annoy him.


She soon found that he intended to carry
his resolutions into effect. The very day af-
ter her return, he signi6ed his desire that she
should pay one or two long.owed visits, on
which he would accompany her.


He was critical on the point of her dress,
and solictous that she should appear to the
best advantage.


He also took care that their best equipage,
handsome open carriage, should be in the
best order, and saw that the horses and har-
ness were faultless in their appointments.


Lucy wondered more and more ; yet it was
with a feeling of unusual cheerfulness that
she took her place in the elegant equipage,
and drove off with her husband on their un.



accustomed mission.


The delighted Melissa stood watching them
from her "Missys" chamber window, rejoicing
that the beautiful dresses and bonnets she
owned would at last be turned to some ac-
count, and feeling more charitably inclined
toward "Mas' Stanley" than she had ever
done before.


At the first house where they called, Stanley
and his wife were received with some GOODNESS
by its owner, who conceived that they had
treated them impolitely in not calling before


Lucy's gentle and winning manner, howev-
er, appeared to mollify them and Stanley,
with all the polish and courtesy he knew 50
we'll how to display, apologized for their seem
ing negligence.


"My dear Mrs. More" he said in his blan'
dest tones, "nothing has annoyed me more
than that we should have so long been pre-
vented from acknowledging your kind atten'
tion to us, but my wife's health was so delicate
during the summer months that was posi-
lively obliged to forbid her all exertion.
felt reluctant to pay any visits without her
you know, dear madam, gentlemen are lit
tie backward on these occasions sometimes
and so waited until she should be sufficiently
recovered to make this agreeable duty prac
ticable. was obliged to send her on visit
to her excellent mother, in Charleston, in or
der to renovate her health, and [ am happy
to say that this desirable result has been at