Mrs Smith, won't you lend me your assistance in getting this affair hushed up?"

"I am sure,” replied Mrs Smith, "I am willing to do all in my power to assist you in so good a cause; but really if they will not soon consent to agree, I must be going; but if you wish it, I shall wait a few minutes longer to see how things are likely to terminate."

Mrs Smith here spoke the simple truth; she did indeed remain for the sole purpose of ascertaining whether peace or war was to be the order of the day; for none of her sex could surpass Mrs Smith in the alacrity with which she entered into all the squabbles of her neighbours; no misunderstanding was complete without her interference; in short, she was a woman who must have a finger in every pie, and though she often got it burnt, that circumstance never deterred her from those mal-practices, to which the idle and the ignorant are in general so much addicted.

At length, after many exertions, Miss

Macdonald succeeded in patching up a hollow truce; and silence as to the occurrence of the morning having been enjoined and promised, the party dispersed; but it stands upon record, that more visits were paid on this memorable day than had been made for a month before. Not a breakfast cup was washed, or a knife cleaned, that whole forenoon, and many a slip-shod maiden was reprimanded for a neglect of duty, which was occasioned solely by the flux and reflux of visitors to her unreasonable mistress.

CHAPTER XXII.

Orleans. Ill-will never said well.

Constable. I will cap that proverb with-There is flattery in friendship.

Orleans. And I will take that up with-Give the

devil his due.

King Henry V.

Swift be thine approaching flight.

SHELLEY.

ON Miss Kennedy's return home, she found there her nephew and niece, Mr and Miss Stevens, who, quite unexpectedly, had arrived on a visit; and that amiable lady was obliged to declare herself extremely happy to see them. Although she had that morning called on Lady Lennox and offered her company to tea, she thought it necessary again to wait on her ladyship, for the purpose of introducing Miss Stevens, and of requesting permission to add her and her brother to the party in the evening; and

Miss Stevens, half willing, half afraid, accompanied her aunt.

At this moment, Charles Lennox was seated by the drawing-room fire, in Hope Street, meditating upon the perfections of Catherine Dundas, and, as William was lounging at the open door when Miss Kennedy and her niece appeared, the ceremony of ringing the bell was dispensed with; of course the first intimation which Charles had of visitors, was the sound of their feet on the stairs. Highly annoyed at this interruption, and finding it too late to escape down stairs, he rushed into a small room adjoining, but from which there was no egress, except through the drawing-room; and here he was doomed to remain till these tormentors took their leave. In a few moments Charles recognized the voice of Miss Kennedy addressing some one.

"I wonder what can keep Lady Lennox -but it is always her way to be an age of coming down to her visitors-It is quite abominable in people to be so rude-if she

is not prepared to receive visitors, she should not admit them. If she does not make her appearance in five minutes, I shall pull the bell and ask if she has been told that we are here.-But what is that under the table? oh, Miss Lennox's reticule-I suppose our approach made the ladies scamper off-I fancy they would not like to be seen in their morning dresses-nothing more probable these fine ladies are generally great slovens."

"Are they fine ladies?" said Miss Stevens; "I thought you rather liked them. I am sure I heard you praise them to Miss Mason the last time I was down here."

“Oh, child, you must not mind all one is sometimes obliged to say. I had my reasons for praising them to her. She runs them down constantly, just because she cannot get acquainted with them, for I refused to introduce her; and I make a point of standing up for them, though, between ourselves, I do not much like any of them. Miss Lennox is an upsetting thing, who fancies, because she has got a tolerably good nose and