and straightway he plaistered his huge sprawling hands before his eyes, shocked with the immodesty of such a spectacle; nor could he ever be persuaded to take more than a bashful peep at it,-as he said, 'for vara shame.' But when he afterwards saw some young English women coolly surveying and criticising the beauties of certain nude male figures in the gallery, he held up his hands and eyes, ejaculating- God mend them!'

6

They are mended, sir,' said a female, turning sharply round upon him-'Admirably mended, as you call it, or rather restored. Don't you see how exquisitely the contours have been preserved-the fine forms of those manly limbs displayed-the truth in the conformation of the ribs-the power in the broad swelling chest-the nature in the bend of the back! Look here,' continued the fair declaimer, laying her hand upon the back part of the thigh, how beautiful is this!'

Gude Lord! its his b-- exclaimed M'c Muckleman, stopping short at the first letter of the offensive word, as he retreated further from her, with looks of alarm.

'Admire!' continued the unbashed critic, casting a glance of scorn upon the laughing gentlemen who surrounded her- Admire the consummate art in the developement of the fine muscles which play about the abdomen-the perfection of the navel-the'-

'The gude God guide us !'-ejaculated M'c Muckleman, where will she gang till next!-Eh! but it's awfu', sirs.'

An impatient Dilettante, who had been long watching for an opportunity to show off, now profited by this interruption to interpose his strictures; -during which, Breadalbane felt something nudg:

ing his elbow, and looking round, beheld the visage of M'cMuckleman drawn to its most portentous length.

Is yon a woman, think ye?' asked the astounded Minister, in a low voice.

Breadalbane, laughing, averred the fact.

"Eh! but she's an unco queer ane,' ejaculated he, 'An sic an haviril! And than she's no decent!" Miss Emily Harriet Theodosia Bellairs by this time having got the better of the Dilettante, and got in her voice again, had turned her rhetoric upon the famous Alexander the Great, and she was prosperously proceeding in a long harangue, com posed of the second-hand cast of criticism, and affected enthusiasm about its beauties-and expatiating at large upon the noble yet agonized expres sion of the countenance; 'He looks,' she said, 'as if agitated with remorse for the murder of Clitus; -he looks as if sighing for new worlds to conquer;-he looks'

'He just leuks as if he had gotten the gripes, I'm thinking,' interrupted M'cMuckleman bluntly; which unlucky observation so completely overset the gravity of the whole party, that Miss Emily Theodosia's erudite eulogium was drowned in the chorus of laughter which burst from the loungers collected around her and M'cMuckleman.

In high dudgeon, the discomfited fair one was turned out of the gallery, with the other lounging amateurs of the art, by the relentless Custode, the appointed hour for closing the doors having arrived.

Finding that Mr. Breadalbane was immoveably bent upon setting off for Venice the following morning, Lady Hunlocke's inventive genius suggested a manœuvre by which she hoped to counteract the impending discovery of who Mademoiselle Carline'

really was, and the discouraging consequences of her final rejection of his addresses-which she foresaw would inevitably follow his meeting with her. She therefore told him, in strict confidence, and as a great secret, that as 'Mademoiselle Carline's' manners and acquirements were so much superior to her station, and indeed quite those of a lady, she had been pursuaded by her friends, Colonel and Mrs. Cleveland and herself, to assume the name of 'Miss St. Clair,' and pass for an Englishwoman, in order to enable her to visit with them, and enjoy the advantages and pleasures of society. 'Carline,' exclaimed Lady Hunlocke, has of late taken a fancy to be quite an Englishwoman in every respect, and piques herself upon being so completely English in manners and language, that no one could discover her to be a foreigner. Perhaps, adroitly insinuated the artful lady, it is the deep interest she has lately taken in a certain English person, that has caused this rage for being English

and as she is particularly anxious to seem really an Englishwoman in your eyes, you must pretend to believe it; and Colonel and Mrs. Cleveland, who are determined to take you in, will tell you as well as herself, that she is really Miss St. Clair, and only took the costume and character of a Swiss, for the purpose of nursing you after your fall. So be sure not to betray the smallest doubt of it, and you will deceive them in return.'

Breadalbane, who was delighted at being let into this secret, declared he would seem perfectly convinced of it.

'She's a little cheat,' said Lady Hunlocke. That is not the only deceit she means to practice upon you, but I must not betray her'

Breadalbane most earnestly implored her to tell

him, and with feigned reluctance, and after many denials, she at last consented, and informed him, that Carline, distrusting the stability of his attachment to her, was determined to try its power by pretending that she herself was indifferent to him, and never would marry him. 'At all events,' Lady Hunlocke said, 'she most certainly never will give you any encouragement until after your return from Scotland, and until she sees whether your love is proof against absence, and against her pretended rejection; for she thinks you too young and volatile to be capable of constancy, or a permanent attachment.'

Breadalbane at first thought this a most cruel project, and inexcusable in Carline thus to sport with his feelings; but Lady Hunlocke soon succeeded in persuading him, that it was the most decided proof of her tenderness and delicacy-that it arose from a scrupulous regard for his happiness and her own; for a mind like hers would suffer exquisite misery, if married to a man who should prove indifferent to her, and that it was the most noble and heroic of actions. Breadalbane, who was sufficiently romantic, and not over and above right-headed, though peculiarly warm-hearted— swallowed it all, and thought her more charming than ever, for forming this scheme to deceive him. Lady Hunlocke, in this instance-like many other good hearted people-did wrong, with the best intentions in the world. She thought her friend inexpressibly foolish to refuse Mr. Breadalbane; that she never could have so good an offer; and that Caroline herself would inevitably repent of it, when too late; and sincerely believing that if by any art or contrivance, she could prevent her from damping Mr. Breadalbane's hopes-she would

gladly marry him, when a little time had overcome the romantic scruples, which, she conceived, alone prevented her from now accepting his hand,-she thought the scheme she had put in practice for so desirable an end, not only innocent but laudable..

CHAPTER XLVII.

THE APPENINES.

Gl' alpestri dossi d'Appennini.

GUARINO.

It was early in the morning when Breadalbane took his departure from Florence;-but dark night found him still slowly and painfully toiling up the storm drifted Appenines. The snow was falling fast, the wind howled mournfully round the carriage, while the combination of animals, consisting of horses, mules, and oxen, that were harnessed to it, forming a string apparently nearly a quarter of a mile in length, could scarcely drag it onwards. The men who followed it--now propping up the wheels, and now lifting up the falling mules-were scarcely able to keep their feet; and Breadalbane's spirits and patience were nearly exhausted, when he at last descried a bright blazing fire, which, flashing up amidst the darkness of the storm, presented a most inviting spectacle to the benighted traveller.