after the arrival of the note, a stranger presented himself, and requested a private interview with her.

This could not be Joost, at any rate, thought she, for he looked much younger than Joost would then be; besides, Joost had black hair, and this one was quite fair. When she had conducted the new comer to a room, and he had taken a seat, he thus addressed her,

"Esteemed lady, I am come at the solicitation of a friend on a painful errand, which I should never have undertaken if I had not thought it my duty as a clergyman to mitigate pain and woe wherever I could do so." "Yes, sir," said the woman, scarcely understanding a word he said. 66 But, who—who are you-and what is your business with me?"

"I will state that as briefly and intelligibly as I can," replied the stranger. "My name is Solomon Holderbreit, and I arrived in Java only a few weeks since in the capacity of a missionary, to preach religion to the be-nighted heathen. My intention was to travel about the country, and on my way here, in Tjanjor, I met a gentleman, who has accompanied me to this town."

"Is he here?" exclaimed Madam Soltersdrop, rather alarmed.

my narrative uninter"Let me see-where soon as the stranger

"Permit me, madam, to continue ruptedly," rejoined the clergyman. was I-oh, in Tjanjor. Well, as heard who I was, he made a confidant of me, and told me his eventful history. Now, madam, I entreat you to prepare yourself for an astounding, but, at the same time, most welcome, piece of information. The gentleman alluded to was no other than Mr. Christian Valentine Joost, your husband, who has been separated from you so long.

"Valentine Joost," murmured the woman-" Valentine

X

Joost; then it is true, oh, it is true!-he still lives, and he will return to me!"

"Ile is here already," said the clergyman; on which the poor woman could not help glancing rapidly at the door, expecting him to appear there.

"But what plan does he propose to adopt? He surely must know that I am married again. Oh, when this becomes known, I may as well shut up shop and be off, for I shall never have any more peace.”

"That is, indeed, just what your husband said; so he has taken the precaution of being silent on the subject, and we three are the only persons who know anything about it."

“Then, was it Valentine who wrote that letter to me?” "Yes so that the shock might fall less heavily upon you; you do not know how careful he is of your good name."

"If he is so careful of my good name, why does he come here at all to put it into jeopardy, without any advantage to either of us; for I am now Soltersdrop's wife, and cannot undo that if I would."

'Hum--yes. Why did be come? you say. Probably only to see you again; but I can assure you lie has acted with the best intentions," said the clergyman.

"If he was so anxious to see me, why did he not come before? But if he wants assistance, I will gladly pay him a sum of money, if he will only consent to keep away.” Madam, I do not come here to make bargains.”

"Oh, I beg your pardon, I thought you were probably acting as his agent, with the view of getting money out of me, on which you were to have a per-centage."

"You surely do not think, madam, that I, as a clergyman, would do such a thing."

"My good sir, after having been an innkeeper for twenty-four years, you must allow that I have seen a little of life. Money, I find, governs all the world; and I am pretty sure that Valentine has only come here to get money out of me."

"You judge him wrongly, madam; I have a better opinion of him, and-"

"Sir, you cannot teach me to know men. But it is of no consequence: if he is badly off, I will willingly give him what money I can spare; but then he must promise to keep away from me."

"Oh no ceremony, sir; say at once, will you assist me to arrange this affair?"

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Certainly, if I can be of any service to you,-provided you think I am not acting for my own interests.”

"Well, well! I think you mean rightly. If at any time I can do anything in return for this service, be assured I will."

"I will take you at your word, at least so far as regards my missionary duties. You are, probably, the very best person to help me to carry out my plans; and Heaven may have sent me here to work out its ends."

"Hem!" said the woman, eyeing him suspiciously; "you surely don't wish to convert any of our Malays?"

"With Heaven's help I do," said Holderbreit firmly. "Well then, I must tell you something. First of all, I do not think the government will allow it; for the Malays become insupportable as soon as they are converted. If, however, you have obtained their sanction, I will tell you of two capital places for the execution of your plan; so But to you need not commence your endeavours here. return to our discussion; I must sce Valentine fi

Some one may have thought to play off a joke upon me; I don't say that you have knowingly done so, but you may have been imposed upon. I will not deny that Valentine

may, possibly, still be alive; for I only heard that his ship went down, but never of his actual death. If this man is the individual he represents himself to be, of course he possesses the means of identifying himself. My present husband happens to be fast asleep now; as it is his birthday, he has taken an extra glass or two, and is sure not to wake till I rouse him. So let Valentine come here at once; the sooner the matter is arranged the better.”

"But are you quite prepared for the meeting?" said Holderbreit, who thought that perhaps their meeting might be rather affecting, as they had been separated so long a time.

"Oh, perfectly," answered Madame; "it is better that it should take place as quickly as possible."

"Then you wish him to come here at once?”

The poor woman could not answer-the words stuck in her throat; so she merely gave a nod by way of assent, and the missionary then rose and left the room.

Now that she was alone, the perplexed hostess could no longer control her uneasiness. She paced restlessly about the room, and her despondency kept increasing every moment, when the door opened, and Holderbreit entered the room, leading in Valentine Joost.

The latter individual was of short stature, and appeared to be under fifty years of age; his face was a good deal freckled, and he had light-blue eyes, darkish hair, and rather white teeth. As he entered the room, he exclaimed very mildly,

"Margaret!"

The lady, now addressing the missionary, requested him to retire, as she wished to say something to Mr. Joost alone. The former then slowly quitted the room.

For some minutes after the two had been left together, not a word was spoken by either. At last, Mr. Joost broke the silence by again simply addressing his wife by her Christian name.

"And are you really Valentine Joost," said she, halfdoubtingly; are you that Valentine who left his home fifteen years ago, and has not been heard of since ?"

Margaret!" repeated the stranger, in an appealing tone, while offering her his hand.

"Well, I may be disposed to believe you are Valentine. By-and-by you must tell me all that has happened to you in this long interval; but my husband must not see you.