T V i A -SEW YKAltH BONO. I. a. T01'Ikl The world ia full of mystery, Which no one understands; What it before our eyes we see, Tim wurk of unaeen hands; But whence ami whn,aiidby &eS wrought, escapes trio grup ol Human inougiii. There u a tim when we were not, And there will be again vV hen we mual onue and be forgot, With nil our joy and twin ' Vhiho like the wind, or like the enow That full a thousand years ago. We live a if we ehould not die, Blindly, but wiaclv.too. For il we know Death always nigh, What would we ear or do, But fold our handi, and close our eyei, And cure no mora who lives or dice. if death to each man in hie turn la coming aoon or late, fte ours the soldier's unconcern And hi eourageoua (ate; Better to perish in the strife; Than to preserve the coward's life. Jteforo my heart' Arc pondering long, At twure a bivouao, 1 heard Imt night the solemn aong, Which I have summoned back. It nns my sombre mood to cheer, And it my giecting to the Year New Year, if you are bringing Youth An you ate bringing Age, I would have it hack, in south; 1 have no strong b to wage boat battle over. Let them lie. Itury your head, 0 Memory. , You can bring nothing but surprise And nothing will diatnny, . No tears agnin in those old eyes, No darkucs in mv day, You might bring light aud imllea Instead if you can give me back my dead. 1 have behold your kin, Now Year, Kullybflr time, aud nono Thai wa an happy aud ao drar, 1 wept when 1 wo done, Whv ahould we weep when yars depart; Ami leave their aahca in the heart 7 dood by, nine you have gone, Old Year, And my pait life, good-hv, I shwd no tear upon your bier For II li well to die. New Ycur, your wont will lie my beet, Wbslcan an old man waul but real? TIM0TI1T. lie canie aloiiK, loaning heavily on a crutch. He munitged to oliuib upon the platform of the cur just a the driver -wtartod the horses. With an effort Le woikod Lit way inside. From a grimy pieco- of pnper w hie It be unfoldod, ho took a tuekle and dropped it into the box. lio then eat down in the only vacant plane. There wore no women in the our at that time. The men on tho eido whore the cripple hail loeatod him aelf moved along ao as not to toil their overooaU from Ida thin thrcadbure jacket. They notified that ho had no stockings on his foot; that upon the well foot there was an old shoe, and noon the lame foot there wore several old olothi wound around, which made it look like a bundle of ruga. Who wan he? Ho was no more or lea than a "stront Arab," ao called because they upend tho majority of their livos upon the atroot. He was no tuoro or lea than a pauper boy, who waa obliged to live upon the alruota of great city, now nod thou finding an "odd job" to do, and thus ho managed to scraps together enough to cover his body with rugged garments and to gut food enough ao that ho niunagud to livo. Ho wan a rugged boy, about twelve yoars old. Hit bauda and faoe were clean; hi buir wat combed; but uotwithstand , lug this, bit more fortuuato fellow pus Hcugora considered him an intruder in the street car. After thoy had gone a few blocks the car stopped, and an old lady in fact, to all appearances, a very old lady got on. Kite appeared weuk; her steps were irregular as iha went to tho box to drop in her nicklo, An old, blaok and moou worn veil oonoealod her face from view. All the .teution that that the "well to 'ilo" passengers paid to tho old lady was to draw In their feet, ao that their cloth ing would not be soiled by coming in contact with the much worn dreas of the edd woman. The old lady dropped Iter Avo oont nickel into the box, and slowly turned around facing the rear of the oar. (She looked dowu one aide aud up another, bat not a man offered to give her a seat; not one. They let h?r stand there, lean iug heavily upon a club-like stick, which . she had picked up somo whero and used as a cane. The atroet arab, whom the better dresaed were avoiding, got hold of his crutch. With that to assist him, he got up from his eoat.tououod the old lady on the arm. Hue looked around; ho puiuted to the place vacated by him. "Keep your acat, lad, keep your scat; ?PUL ra lame," said the old lady in a cracked voice. "No, do; I am younger than you, aud besides, my foot don't pain me now," aid the boy. The lady looked at him. Then she. cast keen glance at her fellow passim gent, as much as to say: "Though poor, be is gentleman, and tho only true rjentleman in this oar." ' The old lady sat down. "Thauk you, lad," said she. Yon are welcome, ma'am," replied the boy. 8 oo x a passenger got oat. Then titer was a general moving to got a far away from the old woman as possible, Then two or three more got out. Tho boy thru aat down heaiile the oue whom ha had treated so kindly. In a little while ;Ucri got out and the our was nearly ..nilltV. " What ia your name, lad?" asked l.l ln.tr. the Timothy ma'am." "Timothy; that ia a good name; that is , tin me we road about in the Bible. Tim ;hv: whutelat?" "Timothy Hums, roa'aui." Where do vou live?" "Number 110 Cleaver street, way up to the top." "Live alone, lad? "No, my little stater lives with, me." ' What aits your foot?" ' "A horse etepped on it. I was taking cre of Mr. Dmlge'e horo. You know Mr. Dodge, doo'l you? 4. Hefore the old woman bad time to aa swor the car stoppnl and a tall, nervou--! Jookmg man got ont ana Hastened toaM a i'le street. "Good day, lad. The old woman hob-1 bled out, climbed down from the pUt- orm, and slowly weut along in the di-1 : rection that had been taken by .the tall, nervous man. , The car went along, taking our little hero with it. A few blocks furthor and he got ont. He went into a wood yard near by and busied hinJaelf all day split ting short boards and slabs in thin pieces. These he put up n small bunches, then they were ready for market, and sold all over the city as kindling wood. He could do this work, because he could sit on a block, and with a little batcbet he oonld eorn somotbicg to support himself and his sinter. . , , When bis day's work was done be went home. He earned from twenty five to thirty-five couts a day; owing to his lameness he had to pay ten celte a day cor fare; but thle would nol last long; his woundod foot waa fast healing. Before he went to the top of nnmbor 110 he paid five ceuU for a loaf of bread, three cents for some apples, and throo cents for somo cooked beans. Ibis would inako his little sister and himself a nice supper and breakfast, and then there would be some left for hor dinner. He had a few pennies loft. All but five he must put in n little bag to pay rent; the five was for car fare the next morn ing. In a fow days ha hoped to be able to walk to his work and return, then he could save ten cent more. Ho, in that war. could earn enough to got hia sinter a now iroex wuiuu o uuouou mj luullt. Htinh were his thoughts as he mnnntaJ the rickertr stairs to hia home. "(). oood." said a protty little hare footed girl about ten years of ago, aa he opened the door. Hhe jumped out of the ohair and mot him with a kiss before he had not half war across the room, "What's good, Bess?"- said b, return ing the kiss. "You have got home; how is your foot now? "Better." "Hay, Tim, ldid not eat all of my din nnr." "You outflit to. Bo s." repliod tho brother, placing hia purchases npon rickoty stand, which was the best piece of furuituro in the room. Hhe undid the packages; got from a box a couple of n'utes and two tin cuns. Huiiner was ready. "Oood supper to-night, Tim," said Bess a few momenta after, lookicg up from her eating. "Why, who that she exclaimed, poiuting toward the door. Tim looked around and saw standing the center of the room a small man of mild appoaranoe. He had como in so qnictly that neither of the children noticed him. "Bo, my boy, this is your home?" said the gentleman. "Yo, Bir,"answorod Tim. "Is this the little sister you told me about?" asked the man, coming to whoro they wcro and stroking Bowie a hair. "That's Bessie; she's my sister," said Tim, opening his eyes in amazement. "1 never saw you before, sir." "You never did?" suid tho man, laugh ing. "Not that I know of." "Do you remember an old woman that you gave up your scut to in the car this morning "Yes, sir." "I am that old woman." "What?" exclaimod Tim. iumpiug tit) so quickly that ho hurt his lame foot and had to sit down agaiu. 'I said I was thut old woman, repeat ed the gentleman. I don t understand, said inn. Of course not, but I will explain. My name is Benson, und I am a detective. I was-" "What, are you Benson, the groat de tective?" asked tho boy, interrupting Mr. llcuson. "I am Mr. Benson, the detective. I was shadowing a thief this morning. I dressed np like an old woman and got on tho same oar with yon, and thats the way I came to make your acquaintance. Do you understand?" les, sir, I think I do. Did you catch the thief?" "He is in jail now, replied Mr, Ben son smiling at the boy's question. "I am glad of that, ' said Tim. I am glad of something else, said the detective. "What is that?" asked Buisio. "I am glad that I found your brother. Timothy, you are just the boy I have been looking for. lue boy with a lamo foot that will get up and give an old lady a seat though Iter garments are poor, ia too much of a gentleman to live in a garret ajid eat dry bread, cold beaua and apples for his supper." "Jtut you were a man, said Tim. "You did not know that; tho principle is the same. lo you know what I want yon to do?" "No, sir." "I have a good home. I want you and Bessie to go home with mo and be my Iwy and girl. What do you say?" The children were so astouixhrnl at first that they did not know what to uy. But when Mr. Bonson went away the childreu were with him. On the street they found the groat detective's carriugo, in which they were taken directly to his house. Their days of suffering from poverty, cold and hunger were over. This was several years ago. Timothy lina become a large man. Bessie is a beaatitul woman; married, rich, charitable and respected. As fur Mr. Benson he is yet in the detective business, but he has a partuer, and that partuer is Timothy Burns. Boys, it pays to be polite, especially to old people. Bout's FouTirtt'ATtoMM. The fifteen forts that now surrouud the city of Borne have an extent of aliout twenty five miles, so that the vanguard of a be sieging party would hava lo occupy no less a circuit than thirty two miles, and the main force a circuit of thirty-eight miles. On the mot uiodt computa tion the besieging army would therefore employ six or seven army corps that is, irom iju.ww to ini.ihhj men. The lorta of Home, if furnished with heavy artil lery are now capable of a tenacious, re aistance, without reekouing that a gar rica even iuferior to the eueniv in nnm- hem would be able to embarrass and , tUenl hia movements from tbe very first. ( , f -' I' A nearly tterfect mammoth aklt,.n bi becu discovered by workmen en ; d m making a railroad cutting Dear ! JW IKrade. After photographs are taken Af lu remains "in situ." the bones will j b rursfully removed to the Belgrade Natxa. al Museam. v .' THE KNFIELI) COl'KT ROBBERY. cmrrri i. When are yon going to return Lady Daa ent's vUit, Aunt franco.?" skcd mv niece Amy oue lovuly morning in Augunt. "It Is quite s fortnight since she called." "In a day or so," I replied, knowing the duty mut be performed, particularly aa Lady Daevnt's had, since she called, sent us an invi tation to a ball which waa about lo take plane at Knlleld Court. In myininothearlI should bare been pleased had Lady Patent's visit never been paid. We had lived in soclualun for so long that I almostdroaded any interrup tion to the even tonor of onr quiet existence. Dut Amy was eighteen, and Jimt at the age to appreciate a little gayety.and I felt it my duty to sot my own feelings aaide and allow her to enjoy the present to the utmost. We lived jn.t on the outskirts of one of the principal southern provincial towns, la a little paradise which some one bad aptly designated tbe " Wren'! Nrst." 1 thought it perfect, and would not have exchanged its peaceful beauty for Euileld Itsolf, which waa considered one of lbs finest places In the county. Owing to Lord Dasent's very delicate health the family bad been absent for some yuars, but directly they returned Lady Dsse nl had called onus. Ths Court waa barely a mile distant by road, and we were really their nearest neighbors. It behooved me, therefore, for Amy's saka, lo make an effort and return her "What do jou think of our going to Enfield (his atternoou, Amy?" I ssid presently. "1 think ii would be delightful," sbo replied. "Hhall we walk or drive "Drive, decidedly," I rejoined. Tho day was lovely, and I inwardly hoped that Lady Dasent might bo enjoying Its beauties herself, and that we might thus continue oiy urivo. t,.vlnu ilonu nor dutv bv lesving cures only. Dut my hopes were iissppolutod. Lady Da- sent wss at liome, auu we were usueruu wim due ceremony into her beautiful drawing-room, where we found her most graciously inclined toward us both. Her daughters wero playiug lawn-tennis, she told n. Would wt like to Join them on the terrace? Very gladly would I Imve de clined, but s glsnce toward Amy decided me otherwise. Very probably my diminutive groom and ponies would be entertained hos pitsbly during our detention, and I could fancy, after tho splendors of Knlleld. that Joseph would return home signally dim-alMicd with tho humble ways at the Wren's Nest.' Accompanying Lady Dasent, we found our selves in the midst of unite a Urge party of young people, some playing tennis, hut the greater number merely looking on. Amy was swept from my side immediately, but my anx ious eyes followed her, aud with pleasure I observed the oordislity with which the Misses Dasent welcomed her. liy aud by I saw her stundlng under a lime tree at some littlo distance from where I was seated. Hhe was dressed In white; and as she stood in the half-shade, hslf-snnshine, there was a look of ethereal twauty about her. "How very pretty your niece is. Miss Conr tunsy," Lady Dssenl observed. "Yes; I think she is ralher pretty," I re plied. Home oue else thought so too. Just as Lady Dasent spoke, I saw a gentlemau introduced to Amy; and while we remained, he deturmiuedly maintained a clone proximity to her side, He was young, good-looking, and evidently bent upun nuking hlmndf very agreeshlo to my niece. Hitherto Amy had lived a life of complete retirement. I hud guarded her with a Jealous care from all contact with any outward intlu ence thut might prejudice the future of my darling. Hhe had been consigned to my caro bv her mother on her death-bed, wheu an in fant of a few months old; aud I accepted the charge, vowing to bv faithful to the utmost of ray ability. I had loved her mother; but I had adored her father my youngest brother who had gone out to India with the fairest prospects, aud come home, after being there for only a few years, to die. Out of a large family I was the tuilv cue left who could poxsibly have un dertaken the absolute charge of Amy. And hero was I, with my youth tar behind me, an unloved old maid, until the child came to me, and In the elau of her little chubby arms I seemed to grow young sgsin myself. My sorrows became dim iu the distance as my charge grew; every day aud hour adding to my devotion to her, aud, thank God! to her love and alloc I lor, for inc. We were not rich, but we bad euouKh; and I was enabled to have a governess for Amy, so that not even tor part of her education had she to leave me. Homellmes 1 wished she had some companions of her own age; but wheu 1 mentioned it she always re jected the Idea of such a necessity. Hhe was perfectly happy, vt hat more did 1 want? Noth ing, except to insure her couliuuing to be hap py all the days of her life. Lady Dasent's desire to cultivate- our ao quaiutauce presented at leuat oue advantage for Amy: the Miaaes Dsent were about hor own age, and judging by oulward appearances, ulce lady like girls, who seemed anxious to bo friendly with her. H till. I shrank from giving encouragement to the intimacy between them; for though Amy s birth was that of a lady, still the Misses Dsscut were undeniably above her lu rank, and perhaps from an old-fash-loued idea on my part of possible patronage I rather threw obstacles In the way of any sud den friendahip between them. Hut I am anticipating, and must revert to the introduction I had witnessed in the dls- tauce between Amy and Mr. Alfred Msulevorer, which was the name uf tho individual I before alluded to. I did not make his acquaintance that alieruoou; mat was au honor reserved for the following day, when he, accompanied by two of the Misses Dasent, came over to the ren s Nest lo invite Amy and myself to s small afternoon party. It waa the Isglnulug of many visits both on their Hart and our own: in fact, haiillv a !.v passed without our swing at least Mr. Maulvv erer, who invariably found some pretext for Coming over lo us, if we were not to Ik at Eu ileld. And then came the ball at EnHeld Auiy's first, destined lu be a moat eventful one, and lo which she went arraved In simple Whit.'. I waa uol altogether comfortable on the score of her growing iutimaoy with Mr. Mauleverer. Perhaps he waa trilling with ber; perhaps he was not in every way desirable him self. A thousand diatnrhiug posaibilitics kepi shuoliug through my old heart, as 1 sat watch ing my darling at her flr.t ball, looking ra diaully pretty, while Mr. Mauleverer re doubled his dnvotiou, and immolated himself so thoroughly at her abriue as to insist on tak ing me lu to supper a piece of civility which I duly appreciated. Never Mure had I aim the DsM-nt's cele brated gold plate, which was on this occasion fully di. played. Il was magnitlcent. Kuril tankard, and salvers of solid gold, to asv noth ing of plates, spoons, aud fork, all apparently of the precious metal. Onr converasiion nat urally lurued upou this display; and Juat as we were admlting it, Florence Dasent hap pened to join us. "Mie Conrtenay has been aduiiriug the plate," remarked Mr. Maulcvirer. "Yes; lan'l it beautiful?" alio replied. "But really, I think pretty china would lie almost nicer. I Micro p would prefer it; hot we can't gel rid of onr plate, .imply became il ia entailed; o ars mamma's diamonds." Lady Das. nt as wearinn her diamohd thai eveumg. From qnj-t corner in ths ball room 1 Lad siecully noticid the necklace, which wa. raiher a tklil circlel round her Itmiat. aollu s.pisr-. of a formal, bulof course Magnificent dc-ription. A few Irifling remarks followed; and then Mr. Mauleverer conducted nie back to mv seal, in the vicinity of which we fonud a'bbv, to whom Mr. Mauleverer waa tugagvu for' the next dance. 1 tnuat aay they looked a churning couple as they novrd away. I suppoae mv evea werej-x-prvwlve of my ihonghla. for Lady BaseiM -a voice rlusv bwide me teemed lo echo them. - "They make a good pair, don I thy?'ahe said. "Ah. Mias Conrtenay," .be continued, "1 am afraid yoo nasi sot etpect to keep yonr niece always; some oue is sure to carry ber off '.i'am in no hurry for that time to come," I replied, "hut, Lady Dasent. do yod mind telling ma one thing; who la air. aanieTe .Who is Mr. Mauleverer?" repeated Lady Dssenl, with a shade of ssroasm in ber voice. "Well, my dear Miss Courtonay, I believe be is of very good family, very well off. and 1 kuow l.,..'....i,.i, anil moves in the very host society. Yon may be quite sure, had he not been very desirable In every way ne woum not have been our guost." o,..,.iui4lu luat then claimed Lady Vt- aent's sttonliou, and she moved off, leaving me to digest at my leisure the satisfactory re marks she had made relative to Amy a admirer. Very good family-very well off-very charm ing, end so forth. I was glad to bear I. and could scarcely avoid a feeling of exultation when, on our return home, Amy told me that he bad a.ked her to be his wife, and she had ac cepted him. ,, , Tired as I was after my unwonted dissipa tion, sleep seemed lo have forsaken me; Amy's eiiKsucmenl was all I could think of until day- Hunt began to struggle into existence; men i suppo-e I fell asleep, and might have slept for hours hail not my old bouae-matd, Margaret, bttrat into my room without any ceremony, and wakened me with tbe startling tidings that Eulluld had been on tire, and that the gold plate, also nearly all Lady Daseul's diamonds bad been stolen! It seemed altogether too dreadful lobe true, but very shortly afterward Mr. Manleverer himself appeared, and fully consrnitd the tid ings. Ilo had distinguished himself groatly by his bravery iu endeavoring to extinguish the Haines, and In doing so hsd burned bis right hsnd rather severely. I thought yon might near an exsnK"aie account of It, so I came over at once," ho ob served, with a glance toward Amy. 'Who discovered It?" I asked. "V hat can have originated the fire? and above all. who can have takeu the plate ?" "And tho diamonds?" added Amy. "That remains to bo seen," 'replied Mr. Mauleverer. "On my way here I telegraphed to Hootland yard, and no doubt a sharp detec tive will unravel the mystery." Partly in order to make it more convenient for guest at a distance, partly because Lord Dssenl hlmelf objected to late hours, the ball had begun at the niifsshiousbly early hour of nine o'clock; by half-past two it was over, and by Ihreo o'clock comparative ailenco hail reigned over Enlleld. The butler had judged it safe never droaming of danger to lock up the snpiier room, the shutters of all the win dows being strongly barred as well. With an eaav mind, and the key in his coat pocket, that functionary retired to bed, while the rest of the servants gladly followed bis example. Neither bolts nor bars, howovor, defended tho diamonds. Lady Dasent replaced them with her own bands in their cases, which with out any anxiety whatever, she laid upon ber toilet table. To-morrow they would, as usual, be deposited in tho safe, where they were ordi narily kept. Hhe had dismissed her maid di rectly she came to her room; one of her daughters unclasped tho circlet from her throat, aud shortly afterward as it came out in evidenco Mis Dasent Kit her mother's room, crossed the corridor, and was'jtmt about to enter her own room, whon in the darkuess some oue brushed past her. The circumstance did not alarm her; it was uo doubt one of the servants, so she thought no more of it. Lady Dasent's dressing-room adjoined her bedroom, and her account of the affair was that a few minutes after she had got in bed be distinctly heard the handle of her dressing room door turn, and she fancied she heard a very quiet step in the dressiug-room. which, iu a sleepy way, she fancied was her maid. Lord Dasent heard uothiiig hid nothing to tell; he wished ho had. If any one had brushed past him in the corridor, or he bad heard steps in the drcaidng-rooni, there would have been neither robbery nor tiro. As it was, the stealthy footsteps must have approached tho dressing table, and with a deliberation almost iucrcdiblo, somo one mast have opened the caes and abstracted the contents. Tho circlet, the bracelets, aud a pair of magnificent ear ringsall wore gone. Tbe gold pi a to had also been cleverly carried off; only a few minor articles having been (pared. At first all the energies of the household wero directed toward subduing the fire. It evidently had its origin near the supper-room, which chanced to be directly Mow Lady Da aent's ronms. Atallevents.it was owing to her being wakened by a strong smell of fire, that the alarm was given iu time to save not only the houso, but some of tho Inmates who might olherwiso have perished in the flames. And from this fate it appeared Mr. Mauleverer had a narrow escape. Hu had behaved "splen didly," so the Dasents said; aud as my nephew elect I was proud to hear it. IHAfTKB it. Upon further investigation, it was found that, while the rob' oryal Enfield Court had been nioHt carefully planned and premeditated, the fire had evidently been an accidental part of the thieves' progamme, as a hastily done-up bundle, containing somo valuable articles, was discovered jut outsido the supper-room win dow, as if dropped In a hasty oxit. Happily, the fire bad been subdued in time to save the greater portion of the house, but the damage doue, lo say nothing of the immenso loss caused by the robbery, waa very considerable. In due time two detectives came down from London, and the excitement continued unabat ed in the neighborhood while they remained, but nothing transpired. They maintained an amount of stolid reticence which to the curi ous was moat provoking, and finally they de parted without having appareutly done any thing toward solving the mystery, far less se curing the thieves. Gradually things seemed to settle down, aud the robbery at Euileld was replaced iu my mind by my entire absorptiou In Amy's engagement, to which I had given a qualified consent, on the condition that Mr. Mauleverer's family were satisfied with the connection, and that pecuulary matters were properly adjusted. Now that he bad actually declared himself, I felt emboldened to ask questions and ascertain everything I possibly could as to the antece dents o( the man who was to be my darling husband. He was well connected. His mother was dead, but his father was aliv?, and lived in great seclusion at hia own property, which waa situated iu Yorkshire. He was reputed to be rich, but on this poiut I could gain no definite Information. Bull, remembering Lady Das eut's "very well off," I was not much troubled on the score of mouey matters. I had felt it iacumbent upon me to invito him to spend a few days with us More be left for Yorkshire, aud it seemed natural that be should como to us, I told him frankly that Amy had very lit tle money of her ownsomething less than two thousand pounds; but at my death I inteuded lo leave her everything, which I felt lure he would approve of beiug tied lip and strictly settled upon herself. I thought hia expression changed a little when I mentioned tins, and still more so whon I casually asked him in a friendly war if he al ways meant to be an idle man, for ho had left the army, it appeared, and I was anxious, for Amy's sake, to see some svmptom of his wiidi- lug to get an appoiutmeul or occupation of some kin u. Meanwhile, Amy seemed satisfied, bnt uiy donbts born of my extreme affection for her began lo arise and refuted to lie silenced. Mr. Mauleverer hail written lo hia fatl er aunouuecing his engagement, bnt as vet neither line uor mesaage from the old gentle man had reached ns. It was not treating Amy properly, and though Amy's cntrcaUes to tu'e lo be patient and oft repeated assurance that Alfred said everything would be all rich! si lenced me for a time, I was fully n solved to see matters either ended or placed on a aatie factory footing bitore much lonirer lima lapssd. lo tbe meantime Mr. Mauleverer received one morning a telegram, which, he Inform al us, contained Ibe uea of the illness of an old friend of his in London. He most start im mediately if be wuhed to see him alive. If 1 did not mind be would leave hie heavy lug. gage behind him sad only take a small port al ao traa. fnlest someth iug very special nap- pened to detain bim be would be with us gala In a couple of days. His adieus were hurried, but iinpresalve. Ho seemed really aorry to leave Amy, who was. however, enabled to bid blra a cheerful goodbye on the strength of his speed- return. On the morning of the second day after he had taken his departure, Amy wa evidently expecting a letter from him-not unreasonably, aslthought, as it wri natural she should wish to hear that be had reached bis destination safely. Hhe was ralher ttstlost and fidgety. Perhaps that was the cause of my own almost nervous feelings as post-time approached. I conld settle down to nothing. Amy, darling." I said presently, "suppose you take the garden scissors and snip these ge raniums for me; they want it badly." Ho Amy stepped out on lo the littlo lawn with iU still brightly filled parterres, and I watched her from the drawing-room window witu feelings of mingled love, anxiety aud ap prehension, for do what I might I eould not get over tho sense of some impeuding calamity something sorrowful for her. Boon after ward she Joined me, redistil with her letter, the first she had ever received from him; a very ardent, gentlemanly epistle, I waaouliged to own; satisfactory, too, as it contained the iu formatiou that he had heard from his father, who, on certain conditions, which he saw his way to comply with, had promised to consent to the marriage. A letter for me from old Mr. Mauleverer had been oucloscd in his letter lo his son; hut the latter preferred delivering it to me personally, conseiHeutly I would not re ceive it ntilil bis return to us. Amy had an engagement that afternoon to visit the Daseuts, who wuro now installed iu a mall house they had at somo distance from the court, while tho latter was being repaired. Hho was to drive over, taking our small groom with her, aud I waa not to expect her back un til after nine o'clock at tho earliest; so I was to spcud a solitary evening. After she left mo I wrote a few letters; then I tried to read; but mv attention wandered. A slight drowsiness came over me, aud I suppose I fell asleep. All at once I woke up with a consciousness of some one standiuK inat outsido the closed window, gazing into the room, and I discerned distinct ly the features or a man s laco prossea closely against the window-pane. I was not gonerally nervous, but I confess a thrill of fear shot through me then, and for a moment I was al most too terrified to stir. The next instant I got np, and simultaneously with my doing so the face vanished. Dut the eyes I had so clear ly seen might be watching me still.. I con trolled all outward symptoms of alarm or con sciouues uf what I had seen, and after a few minute.-- to mo cash seemed an hour I moved toward tho deor ud summoned one of tho ser vants. I montioncd the circumstance to her, and enjoined extra caro that night as to our bolts aud bars. Though we had neitnor gold plate nor diamonds to attract thieves, still ilmro was enough silver to satisfy moderate cu pidity, and it was wonderful how such facts got abroad. After the Eulicld court robbery one could not be too careful. Vorv soon Margaret, my servant, bad soon red all the shutters, drawn the curtaius, and I sat down to my eolitarv tea, wishing most fervent ly that Amy wore .afuly within doors again. A sudden storm had come on; the wiud had risen to a hurricane, and bade fair lo continue during the night. About eight o clock a mes sage arrived for me from Lady Dasent telling mo that as tho storm was so severe they Had ventured to detain Amy for the night; iu the morning she would bo with mo early I was both clad aud sorry glad that Amy would not run tho risk of encountering any lurking individuals in the darkness; that she was safely at EuHeld; but sorry for my own sake, I felt so solitary aud, truth to tell, so strsugely nervous. The evening wore on slowly, and as ten o'clock struck I went to my room. It was di rectly over the drawing room. Next to mine was Amy a; aud on the other side of the land ing was the spare room, which had so recently been occupied by Alfred Mauleverer. Above slept the servants. I heard them go up to bed, aim wiuie i could near them moving about overhead I was tolerably comfortable; but soon stillness reigned over tho Wren's Nest. My domestics were asleep. The best thing I could do was to follow thuir exam plo, which altera timo I suppose I did, for I was wakened by a uoise, a distant sound from the hall below. I scarcely breathed. I could Inar my heart beating as I lay listening with strained ears, and recalling with horrified terror tho face I had seen at the window. 1 need hardly say that I was thorouchlv awake. Every nerve was strung to such a itch of tension thtt if a pin had been dropped ; feol euro I should have heard it. It cume again the sound from below dull, this time, bnt distinct; and presently I heard steal thy looiaicps coming rapiuiv and quietly np stairs, evidently shoeless fuel, but none the' less audi ble to my ears. Never since I bad lived at the Wren's Nest had I locked my bed-room door; I bail a dread of doing it; and despite my ner vousness ou this occasion, I hsd not departed from my rule. It was too late to attempt to accomplish it now. Besides, looking back, I think a sort of temporary paralysis had come over me. I heard a hand laid upou the han dle; it was turned cautiously, and the next mo ment, from my curtained bed, I distinguished a man bearing some sort of small lump his face concealed by a mask enter. Il was a matter of life or death to me to remain quiet. Through my mind flashed a resolve lo duliver up everything I was pos sessed of family plate.my mother a amothists, all my small valuables to this ruffian in ex change for my life, should he demand them. But no such intention appeared to be his. He approached the bed, raised his lamp, flaahed it for a second upon my closed eyes, and then withdrew it, apparently satisfied that I slept. It must have been a cursory glanoo, for I could not have sustained the deception for more than a moment. He gave a keen look round the room, only the lower part of his face was covered, so I could see his eyes, small, black, and piercing, with something familiar to me in them, eveu then. My watch a legacv from my mother lay on the toilet table, but he overlooked it. Evidently, mine was not the room he meant to ritle. Almost noislessly lie vanished out of it, aud I heard him proceed into Auuvs room next thank 0d. it was empty hen into the spare room, where he remained. All at once it flashed across me that bv a little courage I might save everythiuir 'and secure the thief. In former days, my spare room uaa oeen a nursery; ana the wimlows were barred, so as to make all exit from them impossible. If I could slip out of bed, get across the passage, in one second I could lock the door, and, secure from any attack, raise an alarm. The agony of fear I was in w auch that I felt equal to any effort. Without losing a moment, I glided out of bed; a moment's pause acquainted me with the fact that the miscreant was busy; I heard him throwing out things all over the floor. He was searching Mr. Manleverer's portmanteau.; they were quite at the far end of the bedroom; so' I cal culated that I could safely close and lock the door before he conld possibly prevent me. Like a ghost, I moved out of my room on mv perilous orraud. Through a chink iu the half open door I beheld the man kneeling in front of the larger portmanteau, rifling it with a rapidity aud iuteutness which secured mv be iug for the present discovered. I had intended to seize the door the inaUnt I reached it, but something made mj pause in the darkness and per with terrified eyes into the bedroom. He bad his back to roe, and I conld see the quick movements uf his arms as one thing after an other was hurriedly thrown npon the ground. Imagine my feelings a I stood within a few paces of him, to see him with tbe utmost celer ity tear open the lining of the portmanteau and draw from it a glittering mass of dia monds, which I instantly recognized as Lady Dasent's famous circlet, tbe oue she bad worn on the night of the eventful ball, and which, with the other things, bad so mysteriously dis appeared! Horror, anguish, and fear well nigh caused me lo fall to ths ground. I made an involun tary movement; I thought I was faiuting; aud the noiae reached him. Looking np, oar eyes met. With the alrensth born of ,trvr.. Hon, I aeiied the handle of tbe door, and ia a moment toe key was salely turned ia the lock. Happily l jr th lives of myself and my ser vants, i!k 4or was an old-fashioned one, of a particularly troat( description, aud having a strong ont. r mohhug, it was almost a physi cal impoiim side of the tiou sustai dity to break II open from the in- iota. , The exigency oi me si ma d m tor the momeut and enabled ni tlirfsa aervants. who must at me torouiM first have l!a,nelii I li.it irons tomnorarilv ont ui ui miuniffbiin 1 tried to make tuom com prchund ouJ portion. It was twq. o'cb ck iu the morning, still blowing a Rallo, ami dark as Erebus, but as sistance rnuat be got. Tbo man within our spare room L0iKUt have accomplices without; our danger eWkt bo bnt beginniug. ' We had au alarm-bell; that must be rung. Four trem bling women, We proceeded iu a group to the outer back e,urt, a hero the boll hang, ouly to flud the rops ncvered. I snatched up a cloak and arrayed my.eif in my slippers and a skirt. The servants! ware as little dressed as myself. Dut ii wa ji.o time to hesitate; immediate action must U taken. We must rouse tho gardener, wholivtd a considerable way from the houso. Throngs the dark dripping shrub beries wo fletw, at every step expecting to be dragged back by some Jurker; but ne oue stomwd us. , jln aiftty we reached tho cottage; and iu a tew jmluuUs Arkwright, my gardener and general factotum, was in our midst. His eottagij was within a short distance of several other; and though he wished to go straight to the house, fearing lest the man should have escaped, or been liberated by ac complices, I would not hear of it. I insisted upon bis getting a v uplo of men to accompany him, a precaution for which I saw Arkwright's nice little i,fe was grateful. This caused delay, but it bad not allowed my captive to es cape. The bull doer was found open, and everything Juat as we had left it, the spare room floor still closed. By my orders, it was not to be unlocked ttntii tbe police arrived. Several volunteers hod hastened to summon them; and while we were awaiting their ar rival, and I had time to think a little of tho horror of the position. How had Lady Dasent's diamond mcklaoe found its way into Alfred Mauleverer's portmanteau? Could he be some impostor, some villain in the guise of a gentle man, whom I; had harbored iu my house, aud to whom I had meditated irivinir mv niece? . i ' o - ... The shock would almost kill Amv. Eveu I felt as if I should never get ovor it. Who was ths ma i? A dreadful tlchtuca came, over mv he. rt when this aucstion tiro- son ted itself, a luspicou to horrible. It nvailo ijm asspum-e almost too terrible. I heard Ilia policemen arrive, and while (I.e. wcro as conditio the stairs to tho spare bedroom I felt almost choked with an apprehension for what I should next bear. The door waa uu lockeil and titers was the thief. Ho made uo resistance; the game was up. Thanks to "the old woman, " a. 1 heard bim stylo me, he had missed the best chunco of clearing a fortune he had ever had. Who was ho ? Whero had I seen him. Tbe mvsterv was goon explained. Hn -. the Dasonl'a magnificont head butler one of a gang, as it afterward was discovered and who had, with the connivance of his comrades, cleared off the plate, but hoped to secure for his own private benefit the famous diamouds. Tho fire had so far upset their plana, that he had found himself left In possession of the diamonds, when bis services came to bo re quired in aiding to extinguish the tiro, lu place of flight, therefore, as he had at first in tended, the wary butler judged it best to lot his confederates make off with the plate, while he remained with the diamonds iu his possession, ono of the most active Iu subduing the flames, and suggesting the most feasible schemes for discovering the thieves. When the detectives came down to Enfield it became imperative upon him to hit upon some safe place tor the diamonds. Mr. Mauleverer was blessed ailh au over-abundant wardrobe, and during his visit to r.ntleld this butler had chosen to consider Mm under his particular care, laying ou his clothes, arranging and set tling tilings federally lor bim. The idea of temporarily depositing the precious ceins within the fining of ono of that gontlemau's portmanteau struck him as a brilliant one. His intoitiob, uf course, was to withdraw them directly Mr. ITaulnverer's departure was about to take fiUee, and he would, of course, have the bosf opportunity of doing so while packing his tluthiw; but his plan by a mero chance miscaAied, aud ho had the mortifica tion of seeing! the portmanteau leavo Enfield with tho dtaniudH still safely secreted with in it. Mr. Mauleverer's temporary absence from onr house sff jided too good an opoortunitv to be missed; lieuce the visit to the Wren's Nest, which vei y nearly terminated my existence, for the ah ck and exposure combined bromrht on an illn fs from which, for lung, it was not expected i Uiould recover. Amv wi my tender nurse all through it. und it was from her lips that I heard all the partic ulars oi the robbery, iu the sequel to which I had been called ou to play ao prominent a ' part. Happily 'or both our Bakes, she nevor knew of the terrible su.-picions I had for a brief time entertained regarding Mr. Mauleverer. That gentleman made in appearanco in due timo at tho Wren's Neat,, bearing his father's letter, which informod lie not only of his willingness to welcome Amy as his daughter, but to settle an income npon tbe young couple of the most satisfactory description. Shortly afterward the butler was placed upon bis trisl, and I was called on, despite my weak ened condition, t give evidence against him. This, however. 1 fas happily spared, as the prisoner, acting to the advice of his counsel, pleaded guilty. Idoed, I was doubly relieved, as Mauleverer's cliaracter was thns vindicated. As tbe wretched prisoner was being removed he vowed he would "pay Miss Courtenay a vis it again wheu bit term of imprisonment ex pired." Howeverj ten years' penal servitude may bring about achango in his iniontions. Lady Dasent aimised me verv much lv th comforting view sko took of the matter. "Do not trouble your lead, my dear Miss Courte nsy, about anyteing tbe wretch mav have aid; in the courstof nature you will be be yond his reach loif before then." "yuite true," I replied, with a smile. "At all events, I am gad I have lived long enough to be the means of your recovering your dia monds." Chambirs' Journal. Chicken Tie vith Oysters. Boil the chicken a year old ia beat until ten der; drain off theliqsor from a quart of oysters, boil, siim, line the sides of a dish with a rich trust; pnt in a layer of chickon, then a layer of raw ovaters, and repeat until the lihh is filled, seasoning each layer with pipper, salt, and bits of butter, and adding the oyster liquor and part of the chidken liqpor until the liquid is even with the top layer; now cover loosely with a crust, leaving nn opening in the centre to allow steam to escape. If the liquor cooks away, add chicken gravy ot hot water. Bake forty minutes in a niodjrate oven. Make gravy by adding to chiiken liquor left in the pot, one quart oi more, two tablespoon fuls of flour, rubied smooth with two tablespoonfuls of,' butter, and seasoned highly with pepjer; let cook until there is no raw taste ol;llour; salt to taste and serya. j Fritters. Hoft) is an excellent recipe for tho fonndatOt of all kinds of fruit fritters: Make hitter of half a pint of sweet milk, ten bunces of flour and two ounces of bmUii t sweeten ana flavor to suit your taste, well beaten are The whites of two ecc- be stirred in last, or to make varied r, jou can sometimes liie both the yolks ami whites. Stir fh - . . .1 tuuepcu irm. 11 turn uwiu;r anil iry iu hot lard, dropia'ng it by spoonfuls or vou can dip tie frnit in the batter and fry. Tue firsV time you try this weigh the Jjgredien; after that it will not bo necessary ii yot are, Jix, rnoet oookj "good at greeting. ' i i r:t : ii,,-. i. . . , . .f il I I 1 .. Jt 1 t If V- 1 i