Year: 1873

i taking the lapse of time into; considera tion, not an hour should have certain 1y sent in my resignation, which she, Fol her side, wonld have accepted as grace l fully as she did every ything, from bouquet. tc bracelets, with faint sigh, perhaps over the fckleness of mankind generally soldlerknd individually. But Miss Duva was never doomed to receive modification at my hands; she had swarms of admirers some of whom were declared lovers, ani who was . very young and yer1 foolish and not little vain, actually al lowed myself to be aggravated into falling in love with her, Ireally cannot describe tho process m any other way, and the amount of excitement went through in keeping my place among my rivals and my anxiety always to be first by her side almost cured me of my early failing.

 When the rife brigade, or, to use the Agnesville abbreviation, ''the brigade, had been quartered there two months, ii was agitated among us that ball to oul hospltable entertainers would not only bt right and proper, but politic-in fact, the only thing wanting to restore completely and immediately that loyal state of feeling that once existed in Agnesville. We al once called 8 meeting to discuss and settle

  as we were in fear of being recalled tC headquarters immediately, now that the Fenian panic seemed to have abated. Aft. CT the question of funds had been discus. sed, and We had all declared our readiness to place onr enormous fortunes at the dis. posal of the mess committee, the nexi question was mooted as to- "when?" and .twhere? ?"

 "When? Next week." was the answer from one of the younger and more enthu. siastic of the Prince ConsorHs Own. ''Where In Aylmer's hall, to be sure, not in this wretched rat-hole they call a barrack. '

 The first part of this suggestion was negatived as impossible by the steadie1 members of our council, the second was taken into consideration and ultimately carried without dissenting voice. The ball was finally fixed for that day fortnight at Aylmer's hall, g tolerably good set oi public reception rooms in the heart of the little town which were used for state af- fairs and small entertainments, and called Aylmer's hall, after a former Canadian governor of that name who had passed through the town dqring it's erection.

 1t was the day before that fixed for our ball, and when my arduous duties were over, I drove out to. Villa Duval to pay my respects to la belle Marguerite. It was lovely weather in early spring, and the delicate, tender green grass and foli- age was an inexpressible relief after the endless wearying miles of snow we had been gazing on and walking over for months. The sun had already attained considerably heat, and wllen reached my destination l found the ialousies closed, the awnings spread over the balconies, and some of the inhabitants of the villa assem- bled under the sheltering colonnade. while tpe more venturesome were return ing to croquet with all the zest that a long interval devoted to sleight and toboggin was likely to inspire them with

 was received with considerable enthu- siasm, and hattering increase of color on Maggle's fair cheeks as she left her game and came forward. mallet in hand, to greet me. was not little annoyed, however, when discovered in a young man who sas her partner in croquet, one of my brother officers, as had hoped I should reign supreme on this occasion and did not fancy the espionage now, and the chaff aftefward, that would most assured be my lot. I therefore rather surlily refused Marguefits's request that would join their party on the lawn, and throw ing myself 1azily on 8 rug that was spread under the colonnade devoted myself to a younger sister of my enchantress. who. for her age, scarcely 16, had a very fair idea of flirting. Miss Eunice was kept as a rule in the background, and how heart fly she enjoyed on this occasion being first instead of second, I could see by the dimples rodnd the mouth and the quiver of the dark eyelashes, in spite of her efforts to look demure My back was turned on the croquet party, but I could see the whole scene rejected panorama like in the plate-glass of the window in front of nae, and in spite of my access of temper l was not little amused at the evident pique which Maggie endeavored to hide by apparent absorption in her game, and was as usual irresistlbly fas- cinated by her grace, and the perfect foot she displayed in the rapid movements en- tailed by the vagaries of croquet.

 Meanwhile Eunice did lo belle ingenue to perfection. and while her little white fingers moved rapidly through her tatting, or some other pretentious work she was engaged in, her eyes and tongue were uot slothful.

 "And you will, you promise me-, won't you, MT. Manners ?' she said, ending with these words torrent of viyacious nonsense about her first ball and her fears that should be too grand to dance sswitb such a stupid little thing as me, you know"

 ''Yes, you poor little Cinderella, I will do anything in the world you like to please you, l replied, returning her soft glances with interest, and in absurdly tender tones; for could see in my impromptu looking glass that Maggie was approach ing and was probably within aarshot.

 Eunice. to 3Q her 5uztiee, looked little astonished, and, I fancy, received an ad- monishing look from her sister, for she got up and went into the house, saving something about ordering tea, and then Maggie and were left to certain extent alone. AS the house was @ square sur rounded by a piazza, the step or two had taken in rising had carried me round one corner of it, newly -leafed and thick ly-growing Virginia creeper screening us from the rest of the party.

 There was silence for a moment, and then she said, "oame and see the mon- key.n

 Dear me :! how. many tete-a-tete visits we paid that monkey; and how very little attention that small representative of our former inglorious but untrammeled state ever received In that day MT. Darwid's theory had not attained it's pres ent beautiful perfection; had such been the case, what inexhaustahle resource of scientific arrangement would that little an imal have aHeGested to usi AS it was, in my faolish, and must add insolent, ig- noranee of the close connection between ourselves and that little gibbering nut cracker, wondered how God, who had created so frightful parody on man, could have devised so beautiful a crea- ture as the fair woman who stood beside me, holding out here delicate snow-vhite hand to be emptied of it's treasure of nuts by black paw with curved nails, and hairy cgttiielas'

 Pardon this Aggression; perhaps the rea- son of our undue partiality for the mon- key was that he lived in house, suitable as to size, at the end of q long avenue, which house by fortunate coincidence, and a luckY contrivance of art aud nature was not visible from any window of the