icta: 'Thy yesterday is thy past; thy to-day is thy future; thy
to-morrow is a secret.'"

"Leo, here is a package and a note which arrived during service, and as
Mr. Dunbar's servant said there was no answer expected, he did not
wait."

As Miss Patty delivered the parcel to her niece, the minister walked
away to lay aside his vestments, but he noted the sudden hardening of
his cousin's face, the flush of displeasure, the haughty curl of her
lips; and on his ears fell his aunt's voice:

"You expected and waited for him at morning prayer?"

"I invited him to join us, if he felt disposed to do so."

"What possible excuse can he offer for such negligence, when he knew
that Leighton would read the service?"

An uwonted sparkle leaped into Leo's mild hazel eyes, and without
examination she handed the package and note to Justine.

"Lay them in the drawer of my writing-desk, and then call all the
servants into the dining-room. Auntie, tardy excuses must wait longer
for an audience than we waited for the writer. Come to breakfast; uncle
will be impatient, and I want to enjoy his surprise when he sees his
Santa Klaus."

She was sorely disappointed, deeply affronted by Mr. Dunbar's failure
to present himself on an occasion at which she had especially desired
his presence; and as she recalled the affectionate phraseology of her
note of invitation, her fair cheek burned with an intolerable sense of
humiliation. Was it partition, or total loss, of her precious kingdom?
In after years, she designated this Christmas as the era when the
"sceptre departed from Judah;" but putting away the chagrin, and
sealing the well of bitterness in her heart, she exchanged holiday
greetings, and proudly wore her royal robes throughout the day, holding
sternly off the spectre, which grimly bided its time--the hour of her
abdication.

Through the benevolent and compassionate efforts of Mr. and Mrs.
Singleton, some faint reflection of the outside world festivities
penetrated the dismal monotony of prison routine; and the hearts of the
inmates were softened and gladdened by kind tokens of remembrance, that
carried the thoughts of bearded convicts back to Christmas carols in
innocent youth, and to the mother's knees where prayers were lisped.

Illness had secured to Beryl immunity from contact with her comrades in
misery, and except to visit the little chapel, she never left the
sheltering walls of her small comfortless room, grateful for the