a bright fire burning inside, and a group of noisy children round a breakfast-table, with a hot, tiredlooking mother at the top, and a quiet-looking father opposite, reading the newspaper. There was the very window-sill outside you always see in pictures; all the fairy men and women had vanished, and Ellie was alone, a little robin red-breast, outside a window, shivering, where all inside was bright and warm. Tap, tap, tap, with a tiny beak. Oh, what a roar there was inside!

"Well I never," said Tom, with his mouth so full of bread and butter that it dropped out of his mouth as he spoke; "well, I never! there's a robin redbreast."

Then Will burst in, "So there is; I'm blest!"

Oh, the dear little creature!" cried the girls. Bring him in, Tom."

They opened the window, and instead of waiting for the bird to hop in quietly of itself, Tom and Will dragged it in by main force and then fought for it inside. Poor little Ellie! how she did long and pant for her home; how she hated to be a bird! One moment her life was nearly squeezed out by Tom's rough hand, and the next her little legs were almost left in the firm grasp of the tenacious Will. As for the girls, they stood on chairs and peeped over the boys' shoulders, and wanted to stroke the little thing and to rescue it from the cruel boys. The father, who was very quiet generally, could not endure to see a little bird so ill-treated, and, to the great astonishment of Tom and Will, he sent one to one side of the room and another to the other, while he rescued the poor fluttering bird from its torture.

"Poor little thing!" he said, in a voice that Ellie thought sounded like her own papa's. "Poor little thing! I could almost fancy I heard you sobbing." He took some crumbs and strewed them on the tablecloth; then he put the robin down. But Ellie was not hungry, she did not want to eat; so the kind gentleman took the little bird in his hand and sat down by the fire and warmed it. But it had been so pulled about by the children that-oh dear, oh-it died!

No it didn't; yes it did. No, how could that be? Little Ellie woke in the morning in her bed just the same as she went to bed, only her hair was much more tumbled, and her face considerably redder.

"Oh mamma, mamma!" she cried out, "where are you, mamma?"

"Oh, yes, dreadful! and so is ice, and so is snow, and so-oh, mamma, fairies are dreadful creatures!" and Ellie clung to her mother's neck as if she were the only creature that was not dreadful in the world. Then she told the mother all the story of her dream; and ever after that, when she was tempted to go out and stay away from home because the weather was fine, she thought there might come a time when frost and snow would be the only miserable bed for a stray little girl to sleep on, and determined to stay in her nice snug home until mamma chose to send her out with a nurse or take her herself.

So you see little Ellie's dream was of some service to her; and we hope it will be of some service to the boys and girls who read it now, or else it would not be much use telling it, would it ?

"THE QUIVER" BIBLE CLASS. 30. What runaway servant was told by a messenger from God to go back to her mistress? 31. To whom was the advice given, "Break off thy sins by righteousness?"

32. Where does Scripture tell us that Satan was cast out of heaven for his pride? €

33. Where did Luke join Paul and begin his travels with the great Apostle?

34. Why is it said in Matthew iii. 16, that when Jesus was baptised he "went up straightway out of the water?"

35. What were the names of the chief Egyptian magicians who imitated some of the miracles God commanded Moses to perform before Pharaoh ?

36. In the quarrel between Paul and Barnabas, why did Barnabas wish to take Mark, when he had before left them?

37. Why did our Saviour ask Philip particularly where they could buy bread for the multitude? (John vi. 5.)

38. A king who purchased all the land of his people, then moved them from their homes to other parts of the country, and made them till the land as his servants?

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON PAGE 48. 21. Stephen, at his trial. Acts vii. 56. 22. Their clothes waxed not old. Deut. viii. 4. 23. 2 Kings xxiii. 13. It is called "the Mount of Corruption," and the origin of the name is given

24. Jacob. Genesis xxix. 12.

25. Genesis xxxvi. 24

26. Potipherah, the priest of On; his grandsons were Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Genesis xli. 45.

27. 2 Chronicles xxiv. 22.

28. Solomon. 1 Chronicles xxii. 9. 29. Jeremiah xl. 14, &c.

"Ruth!" (Fe kissed her, to show that he bore no malice)"Ruth, I have an invitation for you." "Have you? Where is it to ?"

fender.

"I hoped you would think better of it." "I have not thought about it at all."

He had a great mind to insist-perhaps he had

on Thursday."

"Of course, if you will not go, I cannot." "You had better go. You will not like to be left

at home. I shall be at the Mudfords."

He wished the Mudfords were at Jericho. Very bitter were his feelings as she wrote to decline. "If I go alone, it will be worse," thought he. When she had written the note he went out, and walked up and down in the cool night air. He hardly cared, for the moment, what became of him! He did not oppose her going to the

read her novels, and trifled over her wax flowers, and

"But they are my friends."

"I can't help that. It does not follow that they should be mine.”

He gave an impatient sigh. He was weary of this unmeaning opposition. He tried to reason with her. He told her of his precarious footing in the town, and how he wished to avoid giving offence to those who had treated him with kindness. He begged her, for his sake, to give way. Simply, if for no other reason, for love of him.

She listened, her face serene, smiling, and obstinate.

When he had done, she said, quietly, that he might do as he liked, she meant to go to the Mudfords. After that, he felt it useless to argue. He went to his office, which was now becoming a kind of refuge. On the way, he looked into Mrs. Perkins' window, and sighed.

But he had one last hope. She might think better of it when she was alone. He persuaded himself that she would. When he came home for tea, he took out his desk, and drew a sheet of note-paper from it, and fetched the ink. She was So sweet and smiling, that he felt sure she would deny him nothing. No little fracas, none of the untoward circumstances of life, ever seemed to ruffle her.

"Now, Ruth, you must answer Miss Easton's invitation. I told her you would when I had spoken to you. It seemed only right to let the little wife have a voice in the matter. I accepted, but it was conditionally." "I have told you I do not mean to go," said she,

Truly she needed a stronger hand than his to control her.

Thursday came. He knew she meant to go, for she began to dress by dinner-time, and was closeted up half the day. When he came in to tea a cab was at the door, and she had just sailed down in her magnificence. He had never seen the dress she had on before; it was a new one, and far grander, he thought, than was necessary.

"So you are going?" he said, gravely and sadly. "Yes. How do you like my new dress?" "How came you to buy it without consulting me?" "Oh, that dove-coloured silk is such a dowdy, and the Mudfords have seen it. I wanted something quite new. It is a bride's party, remember." "Have you paid for the dress, Ruth ?" "Oh dear no!" and she laughed. "I put it down in the account at Bassett's."

He

He let her pass. So she ran up bills, then. must see into that to-morrow; and he sat down in the chair by the fire, his face buried in his hands and his heart sadder perhaps than it had ever been.

She did not come home till three in the morning, and he was sitting there then.

CHAPTER XIV.

MR. SIBLEY'S WAY OF DOING THINGS.

"GOOD gracious me, sir! how you frighted me, a-coming and looking in for all the world like a ghost!" And Peggy dropped the pound of butter she

The man who had looked into the kitchen window was Mr. Sibley. Mr. Sibley had certain ways and customs of his own. He was come on rather an important errand to Ormond Cottage; but he did not ride straight to the point. Oh dear no, that was not at all his custom. He never had done such a thing in his life.

There was a kind of out-house and an old hovel just as you came over the border line where the meadow-farm began. It stood in the corner of a field. Mr. Sibley dismounted, went into the hovel, tied his horse to a rather tumble-down rack, where the wagoner fastened his horses now and then, and left him. After this, he proceeded on foot. He had the air of one thoroughly accustomed to reconnoitre; he peeped and pried about in every nook and corner. He had a little memorandum-book in his hand, and wrote down observations. He was of an observing nature. If you glance at his physiognomy you will see what large perceptive faculties Nature has given him; she does not appear to have given him much moral-at least, nothing to speak of. He moves about in a sly, cautious manner; but he lets nothing escape him. He sees the gaps in the fence, and writes them down. There are not many, and if old Jacobs were not getting worn-out there would have been none. He sees, too, the gates; well, they want a little doing to; gates will get out of order, especially when the wagon-load of clover, which was only brought in last month, ran against one of them and knocked it off the hinges. But he writes down, first, "Fences out of repair; ditto, gates."

"Land in pretty good condition," but-no! Look at the thistles in that field. And here, where he stands-oh dear! there is positively moss! Come, there is no withstanding personal evidence. And he makes haste to write, in a good, firm hand, "Land wants cleaning very badly indeed."

He

That last paragraph has done him good. walks on briskly, and with the air of a man who is doing a rattling business. Presently he comes to the farmyard.

He peeps and pries into the cow-sheds. Nice fat heifers are being made comfortable for the butcher. There is plenty of stock in that field. Yes, and that too-sheep, and cows, and horses.

Plenty of stock, if it is in good condition.

He will just see to that, and he climbs nimbly over a stile. How very lean those Herefords look -almost like Pharaoh's lean kine. He is not aware, and he would not care to know either, that the Herefords came in last week to be fattened. It is quite enough for him that he fancies he can count their ribs. He is obliged to qualify a little, because

Then he gets briskly over the stile, and proceeds on his way.

Here is a famous windfall for him, better than he expected.

There was a gale last Saturday, and it unroofed some of the outbuildings. How wild and disorderly the pieces of thatch look scattered about. This is Tuesday, and the men are coming to-morrow to repair the mischief.

What does it matter to him when the mischief was done, or when it will be mended?

He writes down, glibly, "Buildings much neglected; in a shameful condition!"

Here is the house. Well, the kitchen-garden is not bad. Might be made more of. Plenty of weeds. Hem! these fruit trees want grafting sadly. Evidently, the gardener does not know how to manage them. There is too much wood, and too much root. What a shame to let that vine use up all the wall. And a greenhouse, too-very silly, indeed. What does a farmer want with a greenhouse?

And having taken a little more time for observations, he wrote down, "Traces of mismanagement everywhere."

Pray, where is the house-dog? Why does he not bark Mr. Sibley off the premises?

But Mr. Sibley had finished his observations, and put the book in his pocket. He would not have been without that book for any money under the sun.

Then, stealthily pursuing his way, he proceeded to startle Peggy out of her senses.

"Is your master at home ?" asked he, softly, and in his usual insinuating voice

"Yes; but you needn't have gone and frighted a_body so,” replied Peggy, picking up her pound of butter from the floor, and surveying it with anxiety. "Gentlefolks always goes to the front-door."

"Ah! but you see I happened to be on this side the house. And besides, I'm not a proud man-I'm very humble."

"Eh!" said Peggy, looking up at him.

"There's a shilling for you, my good woman, to pay for your fright. Now just tell me if your master is at home."

"Thank ye."

And Peggy pocketed the shilling with great celerity.

"Will you walk round to the other door, sir? I'll run and open it."

"Oh no, thank you! I won't give you the trouble. I'll walk through this way." Kitchen clean and creditable. Famous hams and bacon.

Peggy led him through the hall into a pleasant room of a comfortable home-like appearance, and where a bright fire was burning. This was the general sitting-room. He was very glad of that. He wanted to see things as they were in common every-day life,