the age required by the Bishop, and on few occasion had a more careful preparation been made for th due observance of this important rite. The time ha gone by when the verbal repetition of the Churc Catechism was alone deemed necessary for the ca didates. A more zealous spirit had arisen, an many, who had themselves been allowed to rene their baptismal vows without thought or praye now, warned by past experience, endeavoured mo earnestly to urge upon others the importance of th period which they had reached, and the real meanin of the words, which from childhood, had been famili to their lips!

The Confirmation of that day was felt to be a mo solemn act of self-dedication; and as the knights old, when preparing to assume the insignia and e counter the perils of their order, were accustomed fast, and watch and pray, that they might be enabled struggle and conquer in the unknown dangers befo them; so the young aspirants to the full privileg of Christianity were taught to humble themselv by repentance, and prepare their hearts by praye that in the hour of temptation they might not forgetful of their high calling, and fall short of the eternal reward. The spectacle which the cathedr church of St. Mark exhibited when the choir w filled, before the service of the church began, was o of no common interest. The broad light of the su as its rays streamed through the stained window fell upon fair young faces chastened by hoiy thought and boyish features subdued into stillness by t pressure of a strange and hitherto unfelt awe. The were countenances which told of fear and wonde and some, it might be, of indifference; there we eyes bent upon the page in which the vow to be newed was recorded; and lips moving in silent pray that strength might be granted for its fulfilmen

sciences of many by whom it had scarcely before been remembered, and they trembled as the moment approached when they were to seal it with the con sent of their own lips.

The peaceful soothing words of the daily service were said, and when they were ended there stood before the altar of God, the high-born inheritors of honour and wealth, and the gentle children nursed in affluence and retirement, and the humble offspring of poverty, united by one creed, one hope, one danger, and summoned to join in one common act of selfdedication.

Together they listened to the earnest supplication which was to bring down upon them from on high the "sevenfold gifts of grace;" and then side by side they knelt, and each in turn bowed beneath a hand of blessing—the blessing of their spiritual Father in Christ.

Once more they were seated as before, to receive from the Bishop's mouth the words of advice, and warning, and consolation, which were to guide them amidst the temptations of life; and when the final benediction was given, and the full tones of the organ pealed through the long aisles, they parted even as they had met, for the greater part unknowing and unregarding, to many a distant home, never to meet together again in one place till they should stand before the judgment-seat of God, to answer for the fulfilment of the vow which had that hour been registered in heaven.

not large, and boasted few architectural ornaments; but it was the existing symbol of bygone years, and insensibly carried back the mind to times far removed from the present, when if mankind were not wiser and better they were at least less restless, and when the lords of the manor of St. Ebbe's were willing to "dwell amongst their own people," and knew no higher interest in life than that of providing for their welfare. So it was not now; the house, and the garden, and the lands, which once were deemed indissolubly attached, had been divided into separate lots: the manor-house had become a farm-house, the farm-house had been neglected; and, ruined and dilapidated, would have fallen into almost hopeless decay, but for a succession of fortunate events which placed it in the hands of those who were willing to expend some money and much taste in restoring it, though not to its original beauty, yet to a condition in which it might be inhabited with comfort.

The inmates of the manor-house, in its present state, were widely different from its early occupants; and if the first Sir Ralph de Bretonville, whom tradition asserted to have been the founder of the family, could have looked upon the youthful figures standing upon the dial-steps, and watching the gradual fading of the gorgeous sunset, he might have deemed them beings of another race, so little could they have resembled the uncouth train of revellers, huntsmen, and serving men, with whom his own halls must have been filled.

They were two girls, who appeared to have scarcely passed the age of sixteen-unlike in dress, height, and figure; but showing, by an unrestrained ease of manner, that the tie between them, if not of blood, was one of familiar intimacy.

The taller-and, seemingly, the elder-of the two was finely formed, and dignified, almost commanding