the truth. Yet her heart was more weary

than her limbs.

During the few days that elapsed between Major Harper's visit and their quitting London, she had scarcely seen her husband. He had been out continually, coming home to dinner tired and exhausted, though afterwards he always tried to talk and be cheerful. To her surprise, Major Harper never again called, nor, except in the brief answer to her question, "that Frederick was gone from home," did Nathanael ever mention his brother's name.

"This is Kingcombe," said Mr. Harper, as they drove through a little town, which Agatha, half blinded by the wind, scarcely opened her eyes to look at. "My sister, Mrs. Dugdale, lives here. I thought they might have met us at the station; but the Dugdales are always late. Ah, there he is!"

"Who ?"

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My brother-in-law, Marmaduke Dugdale -or 'Duke Dugdale,' as everybody about here calls him. Holloa, Duke!"

And Agatha, through her blue veil," was ware," as old chronicles say, of a countrylooking gentleman coming down the street in a mild, lazy, dreamy fashion, his hat pushed up at a considerable elevation from his forehead, leaving a mass of light hair straggling out at the back, his eyes bent thoughtfully on the pavement, and his hands crossed behind him.

"Holloa, Duke," cried Nathanael, for the second time, before he caught the attention of this very abstracted personage.

"Eh-is it you? You don't say so! E-h!"

Agatha was amused by the long, sweetsounding drawl of the last monosyllable, which seemed formed out of all the five

vowels rolled into one. It was said in

such a pleasant voice, with such a simple, child-like air of delighted astonishment, that Agatha, conquering her shyness at this first meeting with one of her husband's family, peeped behind Nathanael's shoulder at Mr. Dugdale.

She saw what to her keen sense of beauty was a considerable shock-the very plainest man she had ever beheld in her life!

"Mr. Dugdale-my wife."

"Indeed! Very glad to see her." And Agatha, who was intending merely to bow, felt her hand buried in another thrice its size, which gave it a shy, gentle, but thoroughly cordial shake. "And really,

now I think of it, I was coming to meet you. The Missus told me to do it."

"How is the Missus ?'" asked Mr.

Harper.

Quite well-they're all waiting for you. So make haste the Squire is very particular as to time, you know!"

Nodding to them both with a smile which diffused such an extraordinary light over the uncomely face that Agatha was quite startled and began to reconsider her first impression regarding it,-"Duke" Dugdale turned to walk on; but just as the horse was starting, came back again.

"Nathanael, you are here just in time— general election coming. You're a Freetrader, of course ?"

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Why, I never thought much about the matter."

"Eh! What a pity! But we'll convert you, and you shall convert your father. Ah, yes I think we'll get the Squire on our side at last. Good-by."

"Who is 'the Missus,' and who is 'the Squire ?" asked Agatha, as they drove off.

"The Missus' is his wife-my sister Harriet, and the Squire' is my father," said Nathanael, smiling. His face had worn a pleasant look ever since he caught sight of Duke Dugdale's. "When I first came home I was as much amused as yourself at these queer Dorsetshire phrases, but I like them now; they are so simple and patriarchal."

Agatha agreed; yet she could hardly help laughing. But though this brother-in-law of Mr. Harper's-and she suddenly remembered that he was her own brother-in-law too-used provincial words, and spoke with a slight accent, a soft drawl which she concluded was "Dorset,"-though his dress and appearance had an anti-Stultzified, innocent, country look, still there was something about Marmaduke Dugdale which bespoke him unmistakeably the gentleman.

"I am glad we met him," said Mr. Harper,