inued: "I
saw him, but do not think he recognized me; and perhaps it is as well
that he should not, until I have made myself indispensable to him and
his family."

"Which you will never do with the haughty Mag, I am sure," said
Lenora; "but tell me, is the interior of the house as handsome as the
exterior?"

"Far more so," was the reply; and Mrs. Carter proceeded to enumerate
the many costly articles of furniture she had seen.

She was interrupted by Lenora, who asked, "How long, think you, will
the incumbrance live?"

"Lenora," said Mrs. Carter, "you shall not talk so. No one wishes Mrs.
Hamilton to die; but if such an afflictive dispensation does occur, I
trust we shall all be resigned."

"Oh, I keep forgetting that you are acting the part of a resigned
widow; but I, thank fortune, have no part to act, and can say what I
please."

"And spoil all our plans, too, by your foolish babbling," interposed
Mrs. Carter.

"Let me alone for that," answered Lenora. "I haven't been trained by
such a mother for nothing. But, seriously, how is Mrs. Hamilton's
health?"

"She is very low, and cannot possibly live long," was the reply.

Here there was a pause in the conversation, during which we will take
the opportunity of introducing more fully to our readers the estimable
Mrs. Carter and her daughter. Mr. Hamilton was right when he
associated the resigned widow with his old flame, Luella Blackburn,
whom be had never seriously thought of marrying, though by way of
pastime he had frequently teased, tormented, and flattered her. Luella
was ambitious, artful, and designing. Wealth and position was the goal
at which she aimed. Both of these she knew Ernest Hamilton possessed,
and she had felt greatly pleased at his evident preference. When,
therefore, at the end of his college course he left her with a few
commonplace remarks, such as he would have spoken to any familiar
acquaintance, her rage knew no bounds; and in the anger of the moment
she resolved, sooner or later, to be revenged upon him.

Years, however, passed on, and a man whom she thought wealthy offered
her his hand. She accepted it, and found, too late, that she was
wedded to poverty. This aroused the evil of her nature to such an
extent that her husband's life became one of great unhappiness, and
four years after Lenora's birth he left her. Several years later she
succeeded in procuring a divorce, although she still retained his
name. Recently she had heard of