"That very dread, my child, will, by God's grace, I trust, preserve you; and you can so truly and without fear ask God's blessing upon your union with Mr. Waldegrave."

"Yes, papa, that indeed-indeed I can."

U

CHAPTER XIX.

ROSAMOND's happiness was much too great, and rested on too firm a foundation for her to be at all troubled by what are commonly called small worries, and she bore with the greatest patience her aunt's frequent remonstrances at the hurried manner in which everything was to be done.

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Really, my dear, there never was such a thing heard of as a young lady in your condition of life marrying without a trousseau."

"Dear aunt, I have plenty of good clothes; and really, when you consider that I am to be married on the 23rd, I have no time to devote to milliners and dressmakers; besides, as a clergyman's wife, I should have no use for finery."

Why, I find Mr. Waldegrave's living is in an excellent neighbourhood. He tells me the greatest part of Lord Thornbury's property is in his parish ; our friends, the Tremayne's, too, are very near you; and of course, when it is known who you are, everybody will call upon you; but I suppose Mr. Waldegrave thinks it wrong to visit any but the

poor; so you will never mix with any of your own

class."

Oh, I assure you you are quite mistaken; he considers it just as much a part of a clergyman's duty to be well acquainted with his rich parishioners as his poor ones; their souls are not less precious, and often require much more watching over."

'Well, Mr. Waldegrave is certainly a very gentlemanlike person, and I dare say will be very popular, if he does not go into extremes; but my dear, what a wild goose chase this is you are going after to Spain. It was all very well for Mr. Waldegrave, if he had been a bachelor, but your going is quite preposterous, and very dangerous too, I think. I wonder your father allows it. Why you could not accept Lady Gascoyne's kind offer of going to their pretty little place in Kent, and spend your honeymoon quietly and properly like other people, I can't think."

Rosamond laughed. "We are to have sixand-thirty hours of honeymoon at Dover, before crossing the Channel, which I think will be quite long enough. It seems to me that the end, if not the aim of honeymoons generally, must be to get thoroughly tired of each other's company; now you see we shall be much too busy for such an unfortunate result. Oh, I would not give up our Spanish expedition for anything."

Well," said Mrs. Howard, in a tone of half pique, "I know there is no use in arguing with you about anything you have determined upon; " adding more good humouredly, "but you will not be your own mistress now so much as you have been. However, there is one thing I'm sure you will agree with me about—your poor father; really, Rosamond, I do not know what he is to do without you. I cannot bear to think of his going back to Glenmona all alone. I wanted him to spend the rest of the summer with us; but he won't."

Yes, indeed; I have thought much of dear papa, and I fear at first he will be rather lonely; but I have the comfort of knowing that he is so perfectly pleased and satisfied with my marriage. He will have a great deal to do when he gets home which will keep him occupied, and I shall write to him constantly. Then there is one thing I shall insist upon," continued Rosamond, smiling; “notwithstanding that I am not to be my own mistress now, which is, that Herbert must have a holiday every year, and if possible it shall always be spent at Glenmona; and I intend it to be a part of the settlements that papa is to be every winter with us in Cornwall."

"Well, I highly approve of that. I see you will continue to manage everything and everybody, as you have done ever since you were nine years old.

What an imperious monkey you were to be sure, when you came back from Spain."

"I must have been very insufferable then, I should think; but one thing certainly is true,that of all the troublesome people I have ever had to deal with, I have never found one more difficult to manage than myself."

At this moment a note was brought in to Rosamond, and as she read it a shade passed over her face, but it quickly cleared off; and she said to Mrs. Howard, "I am so sorry, dear aunt, as you are to be with us to-day, that Mr. Waldegrave says he has so much to do, he finds he cannot come to dinner."

"And you have not seen him to-day ?"

"No; but he knows that I would rather not see him, than at the cost of his leaving his work undone."

"Well," said Mrs. Howard, "if you are satisfied, that's enough; but I must say I think such coolness not very lover-like."

Arthur loved his sister much too truly not to rejoice in her happiness; nevertheless he could not help lamenting in some degree the loss he should himself sustain by her marriage, and tried to console himself by taking every possible opportunity of tormenting her and Mr. Waldegrave.

"Do you know," he said, addressing the latter