\"yes, i do believe you. let us say no more about it. where are yougoing to reside, miss hale? i understood from mr. bell that you weregoing to leāve milton. you never liked milton, you know,\" said mrs.

thornton, with a sort of grim smile; \"but for all that, you must notexpect me to congratulate you on quitting it. where shall you live?\"

\"with my aunt,\" replied margaret, turning towards mrs. shaw.

\"my niece will reside with me in harley street. she is almost like adaughter to me,\" said mrs. shaw, looking fondly at margaret; \"and i amglad to acknowledge my own obligation for any kindness that has beenshown to her. if you and your husband ever e to town, my son anddaughter, captain and mrs. lennox, will, i am sure, join with me inwishing to do anything in our power to show you attention.\"

mrs. thornton thought in her own mind, that margaret had not takenmuch care to enlighten her aunt as to the relationship between the mr.

and mrs. thornton, towards whom the fine-lady aunt was extending hersoft patronage; so she answered shortly,\"my husband is dead. mr. thornton is my son. i never go to london; soi am not likely to be able to āvail myself of your polite offers.\"

at this instant mr. thornton entered the room; he had only just returnedfrom oxford. his mourning suit spoke of the reason that had called himthere.

\"john,\" said his mother, \"this lady is mrs. shaw, miss hale\"s aunt. i amsorry to say, that miss hale\"s call is to wish us good-bye.\"

\"you are going then!\" said he, in a low voice.

\"yes,\" said margaret. \"we leāve to-morrow.\"

\"my son-in-law es this evening to escort us,\" said mrs. shaw.

mr. thornton turned away. he had not sat down, and now he seemed tobe examining something on the table, almost as if he had discovered anunopened letter, which had made him forget the present pany. hedid not even seem to be aware when they got up to take leāve. hestarted forwards, however, to hand mrs. shaw down to the carriage. asit drove up, he and margaret stood close together on the door-step, andit was impossible but that the recollection of the day of the riot shouldforce itself into both their minds. into his it came associated with thespeeches of the following day; her passionate declaration that there was

not a man in all that violent and desperate crowd, for whom she did notcare as much as for him. and at the remembrance of her taunting words,his brow grew stern, though his heart beat thick with longing love. \"no!\"

said he, \"i put it to the touch once, and i lost it all. let her go,--with herstony heart, and her beauty;--how set and terrible her look is now, forall her loveliness of feature! she is afraid i shall speak what will requiresome stern repression. let her go. beauty and heiress as she may be,she will find it hard to meet with a truer heart than mine. let her go!\"

and there was no tone of regret, or emotion of any kind in the voicewith which he said good-bye; and the offered hand was taken with aresolute calmness, and dropped as carelessly as if it had been a dead andwithered flower. but none in his household saw mr. thornton againthat day. he was busily engaged; or so he said.

margaret\"s strength was so utterly exhausted by these visits, that she hadto submit to much watching, and petting, and sighing \"i-told-you-so\"s,\"

from her aunt. dixon said she was quite as bad as she had been on thefirst day she heard of her father\"s death; and she and mrs. shawconsulted as to the desirableness of delaying the morrow\"s journey. butwhen her aunt reluctantly proposed a few days\" delay to margaret, thelatter writhed her body as if in acute suffering, and said: