thrown in her way,-they seemed the links of reunion with Cunnington; for she knew that she could not avoid seeing him, as so many persons, who had been her brother's friends and Cunnington's, ranked amongst her newly-formed acquaintance.

And was she happy away from the land where her younger days had been spent,away from the isle of surpassing richness, where the fashionable pursuits of society were perfect strangers to her? Stormy had been Anna's departure from the island; Rosa's death was resented by the natives; the baron's beautiful house was burned to the ground, the lofty trees were destroyed, -and the bride was driven away for ever to seek a new home with a husband who had severely wrung her consent, and was not the lover of her heart.

The baron knew that he had indeed

placed Anna in a peculiar position; he

must have known that the debt of gratitude sinks deeply in energetic minds, and there were moments when the stern man wondered at his own deed. He remembered kneeling before the young girl, and threatening the dreadful act of self-destruction; and he sometimes wished he had had courage to give her away to a younger lover, and watch over her happiness as a father instead of a husband. But how fruitless it is to wander amidst the past,how deeply impregnated with regret it too often is, how we vainly persuade ourselves we would now act differently, when we are, in fact, in the present moment shaping out new regrets, which the future will weep over as past!

CHAPTER II.

here is the heat amored by more than glee?
There is the eye that kindes not to see
He soon where irst or beam of He began.
And pati put in the energies of man?

R. MONTGOMERY.

It is not my intention to follow the beautiful baroness through the maze of fashionable society, in which she made her frst klar in married life; the task would il sut cae whose experience is more gathered from reading and thought, than from witnessing gay scenes. lovely woman was admired will not be surprising-that her husband beheld, with pleasure, the indifference with which Anna

That the

received the honours which rank, wealth, and beauty generally command, may not be so satisfactory to the readers when they hear that Cunnington was not amongst the worshippers of the much admired baroness.

Lord Cunnington, the good nobleman, existed no more; his soul was with his Maker, his remains, buried in all the

pomp of greatness, were deposited in the family vault. Many, many shed tears when the nobleman's remains, "dust to dust," were consigned to their last resting-place; but after a time other events occurred to take the place of these; and those who first shed tears, spoke calmly of "poor Lord Cunnington."

But although his death had long been expected, his widow could not recover her spirits; her health seemed to suffer, and her son, now Lord Cunnington, alarmed for his only parent, endeavoured to persuade her to accompany him in a tour to Italy; and,

at length, he succeeded in obtaining his wish.

After a time the change of scene,—the beauties of locality,-the grandeur of art, had a beneficial effect upon that lofty mind, which, for the first time, had been bowed down! and then arose from its grief more lovely, more endearing, resigned to fate; the mourning wife was again the less cheerful, but still the brilliant Lady Cunnington.

How willingly she would have merged into the Dowager, and have given Alice her name! for, gentle as ever, the young girl had so assiduously striven to comfort the mourner, and had welcomed with tears the first smile of returning energy. But the subject was a painful one, Lady Cunnington knew that her son and Alice were no longer lovers, and yet she could not understand the reason of the estrangement; Alice replied with tears, Cunnington with a frown,-and yet they appeared every day less dejected.