"THE STORY OF OUR LIVES FROM YEAE TO YEAR.'—SHAKESPEARE. ALL THE YEAR ROUND. A WEEKLY JOUKNAL. CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DICKENS. WITH WHICH IS INCORPOEATED HOUSEHOLD WORDS. 470.] SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 1863. [PKICE id. wlielmmg flow of trousers wbich had quite THE MOONSTONE. prostrated our little community, he had ar­ TTMAninoBOF "THE WOMAS E« WHITB," &C &C. ranged to take coffee in Montagu Square, and to go to a ball afterwards ! The afternoon of the next day had beeu selected for the Festival BCCHD PERIOD. THE DISCOVEHV OP THE of tlie British-Ladies'-Servauts'-Suuday-Sweet- TRUTH. (1848—18^9.) heart-Supcrvision-Socicty. Instead of being CHAPTER IV. (CONTINUED). present, the life and soul of that struggUng In­ I OCCUPIED the parlour floor, at that period stitution, he liad engaged to make oue of a my residence iu Londou. The front parlour party of worldlings at a morniug concert! I s my sitting-room. Very small, very low in asked myself. What did it mean? j\las! it } ceiling, very poorly furnished—but, oh, somean t that our Christian Hero was to reveal xt! Ilooked into the passage to see whicii himself to nie in a new character, and to become Lady Verinder's servants had asked for me. associated in my mind with one of the most was the yonng footman, Samuel—a civil awful backslidings of modern times. ah-colonred person, with a teachable look To return, however, to tbe liisioiy of the d a very obliging manuer. I had always felt passing day. On iindine myself alone in my spiritual interest in Samuel, and a wish to room, I naturally turned my attention to the ' hun with a few serious words. Ou this parcel which appeared to have so strangely in­ casion, I invited him Into my sitting-room. timidated the fresh-coloured young footman. He came in, with a large parcel under lus Had my aunt sent me my promised legacy ? and n. When he put the parcel down, it ap- had it takeu the form of cast-oif clothes, or ared to frighten him. " My lady's love, worn-out silver spoons, or unfashionable jewelry, iss; and I was to say that you would fiud a or anything of that sort ? Prepared to accept ter inside." Having given that message, the all, and to resent uothing, I opened tbe parcel— ;sh-coloured young footman surprised me by and what met my view ? The twelve precious )king as if be would have liked to run away. ublications wbich I had scattered through the I detauied him to make a few kind inquiries, Eouse, ou the previous day ; all returned to aid I see my aunt, if I called in Montagu me by the doctor's orders! Well might the uare ? No : she had gone out for a drive. youtbful Samuel shrink wlien he brought his 185 Rachel had gone with her, and Mr. Ablc-parcel into my room! Well might he fly lite had taken a seat in the carriage too. when he had performed his miserable errand! lowujghow sadly dear Mr. Godfrey's charl- As to my aunt's letter, it simply amounted, )le work was in arrear, I thought it oddpoo r soul, to this—that she dare not disobey it he should be going out drivmg, like her medical man. idle man. I stopped Samuel at the door, What was to be done now? With my train­ 1 made a few more kind inquiries. Miss ing and my principles, I never had a moment's «hel was going to a ball that night, and doubt. \ Ablewhite had arranged to come to coffee, Once self-supported by conscience, ouee cm- i go with her. There was a morning barked on a career of manifest usefulness, the icert advertised for to-morrow, and Samuel true Christiau never yields. Neither public nor 3 ordered to take places for a large party, private influences produce the slightest efi'ect ludmg a place for Mr. Ablewhite. "All the on us, when we liave once got our mission. tets may be gone, Miss," said this innocent Taxation may be the consequeuce of a mission; ith, "if I don't run and get them at once!" riots may be the consequence of a mission; wars may be the consequence of a mission: ran as he said the words—and I found my- we go ou with our work, irrespective of every [ alone again, with some anxious thoughts to human consideration which moves tbe world |npy me. outside us. We are above reason; we are fv e had a special meeting of the Mothers' beyond ridicule; we see with nobody's eyes, all-Clothes-Conversiou Society, that uight, we hear with nobody's ears, wc feel with no­ imoned expressly with a view to obtaining body's hearts but our own. Glorious, glorious .Godfrey's advice and assistance. Instead privilege! And how is it earned!' Ah, my sustaining our sisterliood, under an over- 470 •^ 45S [April 2i, 18i;S.l ALL THE YEAR ROUND [Condncted by friends, you may spare yourselves the useless leaving it to attract her curiosity, by means of inquiry ! Wc are the only people who can earn its solitary position, apart from the rest. A it — for we are the only jieople who are always second letter I put pm-posclj on the flootin the right. breakfast-room. Tlie first servant wlio went in In the case of my misguided aunt, the form after me would' conclude that my aunt had which pious )>ersevcraucc was uext to take droj^d it, and would be specially careful to revealed itself to me plainly enough. restore it to her. The field thus sown on the Preparation by clerical friends had failed, basement story, I ran lightly up-stairs fo scatter owing to Lady Verinder's own reluctance. Pre­ my mercies next over the drawing-room floor. paration by books had failed, owing to the doc­ Just as 1 entered the front room, I heard tor's iufidei obstinacy. So bcit! What was the a double kuock at the street-door—a soft, flut­ next thiug to try ? The next thing to try was— tering, considerate little knock. Beforelcould Prcparaiiou by Litllc Notes. In other words, the think of slipping back to the library (in which books theraselves having been sent back, select I was supposed to be waiting), the active young extracts from the books, copied by different footman was in the hall, answering the door. hands, aud all addressed as letters to my aunt, It mattered little, as I thought. In my aunfs were, some to be sent by post, and some to bc state of health, visitors in general were not distributed about the house on the plan I had admitted. To my horror and amazement, the adopted on the previous day. As letters tbey performer of the soft little knock proved to would excite no suspicion; as letters ihey would be an exception to general rules, Samuel's be opcued—and, once opened, might be read. voice below me (after apparently answering Someof them 1 wrote myself. " Dear aunt, may some questions which I did not hear) said, I ask yoni" attention to a few lines ?" &c. " Dear unmistakably, " Up-stairs, if you please, su." aunt, I was reading last night, audi chanced on The next moment I heard footsteps—a man's the following passage," &c. Other letters were footsteps—approaching the drawing-room floor. written for me, by my valued fellow-workers, the Who could this favoured male visitor possibly sisterhood attheMotliers' Small-Clot hes. "Bear be? Almost aa soon as I asked myself the madam, pardon the interest taken in you by a question, the answer occurred to me. Who true, though humble, friend." " Dear madam, could it be but the doctor? may a serious person surprise you by saying a In the case of any other visitor, I should lew cheering words r"" Using these aud other have allowed myself to be discovered m the similar forms of courteous appeal, we reintro­ drawing-room. There would liave been no- duced all my precious passages under a form thing out of the common in my havmg got fired which not even the doctor's watchful materialism of the library, and haviug gone up-stairs for a could suspect. Before the shades of evening change. But my own self-respect stood m the had closed around us, I had a dozen awakening way of my meeting the person who had insulted letters for my aunt, instead of a dozen awaken- me by sending mc back my books. I sUpped ing books. Six I made iinmedlate arrange­ into the little third room, whidi I have mai- ments for sending through the post, and six I tloued as communicating with the back draw­ kept in my pocket for personal distribution in ing-room, and dropped the curtains whicii the house the next day. closed the open doorway. If I only waited Soou after two o'clock I was again on the there for a minute or two, the usual result m field of pious coufllct, addressing more kind such cases would take place. That is to aay, inquiries lo Samuel at Lady Veriuder's door. the doctor wonld be conducted to his patient's My aunt had had a bad night. She was room. again iu the room in wliich 1 had witnessed her I waited a minute or two, and more than a Will, restmg on the sofa, and trying to get a minute or two.