tified by my reason: my hopes were high, not presumptuous-nothing but the difficulty about her religion stood between me and happiness. I was persuaded that the change by which I had been alarmed in miss Montenero's manner towards me had arisen only from doubts of my love, cr from displeasure at the delay of an explicit declaration of my passion. Determined, at all hazards, now to try my fate, I took my way across the square to Mr. Montenero's— Across the square?-yes! I certainly took the diagonal of the square.

CHAPTER XIV.

WHEN I arrived at Mr. Montenero's I saw the window-shutters closed, and there was an ominous stillness in the area-no one answered to my knock. I knocked louder—I rang impatiently; no footsteps were heard in the hall: I pulled the bell incessantly. During the space of three minutes that I was forced to wait on the steps, I formed a variety of horrid imaginations. At last I heard approaching sounds: an old woman very deliberately opened the door. Lauk, sir, how you do ring! There's not a body to be had but me-all the servants is different ways gone to their friends."

be

"""But Mr. and miss Montenero

"Oh! they was off by times this morning-they

I

suppose my look and accent of despair struck the old woman with some pity, for she added, “ Lauk! sir, they be only gone for a few days."

I recovered my breath. "And can you, my good lady, tell me where they are gone?"

"Somewhere down in Surrey-Lord knows-I forget the names-but to general somebody's." "General B -'s, perhaps."

"Ay, ay, that's it."

My imagination ran over in an instant all the general's family, the gouty brother, and the whitetoothed aide-de-camp.

"How long are they to stay at general B―'s, can you tell me, my good lady?"

"Dear heart! I can't tell, not I's, how they'll cut and carve their visitings—all I know is, they be to be back here in ten days or a fortnight or so.'

I put a golden memorandum, with my card, into the old woman's hand, and she promised that the very moment Mr. and miss Montenero should return to town I should have notice. How immeasurably tedious this fortnight, for a full fortnight it proved, appeared, I need not describe. To those who have ever been in love, and absent from their mistress, the description would be superfluous-to others unintelligible.

During this fortnight my anxiety was increased by hearing from Mrs. Coates, whom I accidentally met at a fruit-shop, that "miss Montenero was taken suddenly ill of a scarlet fever down in the country at general B's, where," as Mrs. Coates added, "they could get no advice for her at all, but a country apothecary, which was worse than nobody." Mrs. Coates, who was not an ill-natured though a

very ill-bred woman, observing the terrible alarm into which she had thrown me by her intelligence, declared she was quite sorry she had outed with the news so sudden upon me. Mrs. Coates now stood full in the doorway of the fruit-shop, so as to stop me completely from effecting my retreat; and while her footman was stowing into her carriage the loads of fruit which she had purchased, I was compelled to hear her go on in the following style.

"Now, Mr. Harrington-no offence-but I couldn't have conceived it was so re'lly over head and ears an affair with you, as by your turning as pale as the table-cloth I see it re'lly is. For there was my son Peter, he admired her, and the alderman was not against it; but then the Jewish connexion was always a stumbling-block Peter could not swallow ;-and as for my lord Mowbray, that the town talked of so much as in love so with the Jewess heiress-heiress, says I, very like, but not Jewess, I'll engage ;—and, said I, from the first, he is no more in love with her than I am. So many of them young men of the ton is always following of them heiresses up and down for fashion or fortin's sake, without caring sixpence about them, that-I ask your pardon, Mr. Harrington-but I thought you might, in the alderman's phrase, be of the same kidney; but since I see 'tis a real downright affair of the heart, I shall make it my business to call myself at your house to-morrow in my carriage. No-that would look odd, and you a bachelor, and your people out o'town. But I'll send my own footman with a message, I promise you now, let 'em be ever so busy, if I hear any good news. No need to send if it be bad, for ill news flies apace evermore, all the world over, as Peter says. Tom! I say! is the fruit all in, Tom?-Oh! Mr. Harring

ton, don't trouble yourself-you're too polite, but I always get into my coach best myself, without hand or arm, except it be Tom's. A good morning, sirI sha'n't forget to-morrow: so live upon hope-lover's fare!-Home, Tom."

The next day, Mrs. Coates, more punctual to her word than many a more polished person, sent as early as it was possible "to set my heart at ease about miss Montenero's illness, and other matters." Mrs. Coates enclosed in her note two letters, which her maid had received that morning and last Tuesday. This was the way, as Mrs. Coates confessed, that the report reached her ears. The waiting-maid's first letter had stated" that her lady, though she did not complain, had a cold and sore throat coming down, and this was alarming, with a spotted fever in the neighbourhood." Mrs. Coates's maid had, in repeating the news, "turned the sore throat into a spotted fever, or a scarlet fever, she did not rightly know which, but both were said by the apothecary to be generally fatal where there was any Jewish taint in the blood."

The waiting-maid's second epistle, on which Mrs. Coates had written," a sugarplum for a certain gentleman," contained the good tidings "that the first was all a mistake. There was no spotted fever, the general's own man would take his Bible oath, within ten miles round-and miss Montenero's throat was gone off-and she was come out of her room. But as to spirits and good looks, she had left both in St. James's-square, Lon'on; where her heart was, for certain. For since she come to the country, never was there such a change in any living lady, young or old quite moped!-The general, and his aide-de-camp, and every body, noticing it at dinner

even.

To be sure if it did not turn out a match,

which there was some doubts of, on account of the family's and the old gentleman's particular oaths and objections, as she had an inkling of, there would be two broken hearts. Lord forbid !-though a Jewisli heart might be harder to break than another's, yet it looked likely."

The remainder of the letter, Mrs. Coates, or her maid, had very prudently torn off. I was now relieved from all apprehensions of spotted fever; and though I might reasonably have doubted the accuracy of all the intelligence conveyed by such a correspondent, yet I could not help having a little faith in some of her observations. My hopes, at least, rose delightfully; and with my hope, my ardent impatience to see Berenice again. At last, the joyful notice of Mr. and miss Montenero's return to town was brought to me by the old woman. Mr. Montenero admitted me the moment I called. Miss Montenero was not at home, or not visible. I was shown into Mr. Montenero's study. The moment I entered, the moment I saw him, I was struck with some change in his countenance-some difference in his manner of receiving me. In what the difference consisted, I could not define; but it alarmed me. "Good Heavens !" I exclaimed, “is miss Montenero ill ?"

My daughter is perfectly well, my dear sir." "Thank Heaven! But you, sir ?"

"I," said Mr. Montenero, 66 health. What alarms you?"

am also in perfect

"I really don't well know," said I, endeavouring to laugh at myself, and my own apprehensions; "but I thought I perceived some change in the expression of your countenance towards me, my dear Mr. Montenero. You must know, that all my life, my quick