Year: 1870

Hester Gray ran down to, the parlor to
execute one OF the humorous missions with
which she vas houored by the less energetic
members of the family.


As she stood there she was startled by tha
sound OF approaching footsteps, an1 looked
anxiousIy around for some way of escape.


Het,y might well be pardoned for not
wishing to be seen in her present attire
| especially as she recognized the voice of one
of the intruders Though near the middle
of the afternoon, she still wore her morning
dress, which though clean; was sadly wrln-
kled her collar was awry, and the heavy
coils Of her hair loose and dsarranged by
the ever restless fingers of little Willie.
| Unable 10 make her escape by the door,
she sprang TO the recess in one Of the win
dows, drawing the heavy curtains around
her, SO as to efEectualy conceal her from
view


She had hardly time to do this, when
Edward Gaylard and Charles Clifford enter
ed, and taking a seat upon the sofa, very
near to where iietty stood, half frightened,
hall amused at their uuconcious proximity.


As the girl who had shown them in di~ap.
peared to inform the young ladies of Their
arrival, the conversation between the two
gentlemen took tone and bearing much
too confidential and personal to be agreea
bic to the unwilling listener.


Mrs. Gray has an unusually interesting
family Of daughters. remarked Mr.. Gay
lard


Yes; the Misses Gray are certainly very
pretty, returned his companion.


With the exception OF Hetty. Not but
what she might look very pretty in some
families, but beside such excessively pretty
creatures as Jane, Ellen and Laura, locks
decidedly homely.'


'Homely?" responded Mr.. Clifford.
Miss Hetty honlely?.. Well, yes think,
on the whole, that she has good claim to
that title


Here the conversation was interrupted By
the entrance of Laura and Jane.


Poor Hetty 5 mind took in little Of the
lively conversation that followed; though
It's laughter and nerriment Jared harshly
on her loving and sorciy wounded heart
She thought TIER visit would never be over
and as soon as it was, and she had an oppor-
tunity to escape to her chamber, she burst
into tears, weeping for some minutes with
cat restraint.


Poor child She hardly knew. until it
was thus rudely destroyed, the little romance
that her active imagination had been weav-
ing. Now, she was consci ous that in her
heart she had believed that Mr. Clifford
liked, even admired her.


Her cheeks burned as she recalled how
often she had unconsciousy expressed this
feeling and the pleasure it gave her. And
all this time he had considered her homely
And her eyes filed afresh NTH tears at the
thought.


You, doubtless. consider her very foolish,
reader. Dear lady, if such you are; wise
and philosophic as we will admit you to be,
would yon like to be called homely? We
doubt whether any woman does like it, OF
whether she ever acknowledges to herself,
that she is so. She may admit that she is
not handsome. that she has features quite
at variance with the lines of artistic beauty,
but that she is so destitute of personal at
fractions as to merit the anpellation of home
ly is what few women have the courage to
believe of themselves, or to hear from the
lips of others.


But Hetty, with all her foollshness, was
no coward She was not afraid to look
truth in the face, however disagfeeable
might be the story it told; and going to the
mirror, she gazed long and earnestly on the
features reflected there, scrutinizing it in
every detail, as she had never done before.


We are forced to acknowledge that the
reflection presented was not of the most fiat
tering description.


Heroines of romance can weep, ad H6i-
tum, passing through the ''briny flood only
to shine with increased lustre aud beauty
indeed, that seems to be their normal con
dition-but on the ordinary mortas, from
which our heroine is taken, it has quite I;
different effect.


' The large grey eyes were dim and heavy
the rosy flush had forsaken the checks ant
t taken refuge in the tip of nose, not re
! markably ugly, yet evidently constructed