not without a certain anxiety, that
she broke the seal. It was dated "Wednesday, Irish Office," and began
thus: "Dear S."--she started,--he had never called her Sybella in his
life; he had been most punctiliously careful ever to address her as Miss
Kellett. She turned at once to the envelope, and read the address, "Miss
Kellett, the Hermitage, Glengariff." And yet there could be no mistake.
It opened, "Dear S." "He has forgotten a word," thought she; "he meant
in his mood of confidence to call me Miss Sybella, and has omitted
the title." The letter ran thus: "We have failed at Vienna, as we do
everywhere and in everything. The war is to continue; consequently, we
are in a terrible mess. Glumthal telegraphs this morning that he will
not go on; the Frankfort people will, of course, follow his lead,
so that Mount Cenis will be 'nowhere' by the end of the week. I am,
however, more anxious about Glengariff, which must be upheld, _for the
moment_, at any cost To-day I can manage to keep up the shares; perhaps,
also, to-morrow.. The old Earl is more infatuated about the scheme than
ever, though the accounts he receives from that girl"--"That girl,"
muttered she; "who can he mean?"--"from that girl occasionally alarm
him. She evidently has her own suspicions, though I don't clearly see
by what they have been suggested. The sooner, therefore, you can possess
yourself of the correspondence, the better. I have written to her by
this post with a proposition she will most probably accept; advise it,
by all means."--"This is scarcely intelligible," said she, once more
reverting to the direction of the letter.--"Should the Ministry be
beaten on Monday, they mean to dissolve Parliament. Now, they cannot
go to the country, in Ireland, without me, and my terms I have already
fixed. They _must_ give us aid,--material, substantial aid; I will not
be put off with office or honors,--it is no time for either. Meanwhile,
I want all the dividend warrants, and a brief sketch of our next
statement; for we meet on Saturday. Come what will, the Allotment must
be sustained till the new election be announced. I hope Lackington's
check was duly presented, for I find that his death was known here on
the 4th. Where the new Viscount is, no one seems even to guess. Get rid
of the girl, and believe me, yours ever,--D. D."

"Surely, there is some strange mystification here," said she, as she
sat pondering over this letter. "There are allusions which, had the