An Old, Old Story.

as Miss Mouser observes , " are deceivers ever , " ancl " there is often no knowing what they moan , and no believing what they say ; their promises are pie-crust , and their protestations are flummery . " But as Miss Mouser is a disappointed elderly

female—it ' s believed of fifty-two—my readers will take her remarks " cum grano , " as they say , that next to a she-bear robbed of her cubs , there is no being so irascible ancl unforgiving as a disappointed elderly female . "Sprette injuria formte" seems

to animate her words ancl direct her proceedings . She is clearly an untrustworthy witness in all that relates to what young Balasso calls "le cnrr . " Whether however , Mr . Mainwaring was true or false in his professions and declarations

, ( ancl for once we are inclined to believe him sincere ) , he took an early opportunity of discussing them with Miss Margerison , and what came of that interview , and

what was the result of so much interesting small talk , my readers shall hear in the next chapter . In the meantime I wish them to try and realize the picture before them , drawn by the " limner , " if with faltering pencil ,

yet with vivid colours . Indeed the painting is pre-Raphaelite in its conception , and design , and execution—simply " realistic , " and certainl y " naturalistic , " what ever these words may actually import . I have not sought to attract my readers

by anything sensational , weird , or grotesque in its wording , ancl the verdict I hope of all will be , when they come to the close of this veracious tale— "The writer , be he who he may , has not deceived usor disappointed us ; he has been as

, good as his word , and given us a little story of common and every-day life—true , absolutely true in its ' tout ensemble , ' useful in its application , and valuable in its moral to its all . "

Three Charges.

THREE CHARGES .

From "Harper ' s Bazaar . " THERE ' a maiden up the avenue—I see her every day—She has stolen ! she has stolen ! Stolen my heart away .

Three Charges.

There ' s a maiden up the avenue—I make the charge with pain—She has forged , Sir ! yes , she ' s forged Sir Forged an eternal chain . There ' s a maiden up the avenue—Ye gods ! can such things be 1—

She has murdered ! she has murdered ! Murdered my sleep hath she . For thieving , forging , murdering , 0 ' twould be joy divine T' arrest her ! yes , arrest her ! Help me , St . Valentine !!

Wonders Of Operative Masonry.

WONDERS OF OPERATIVE MASONRY .

From the "Keystone . " II . THE old Abbej's and Cathedrals of England—the works , many of them as they now standof the Travelling Freemason ' s

, of the Middle Ages—although built after a general cruciform design , in their fronts , interiors , and entire details vary in a remarkable degree . Each is a new creation , full of interest after you have seen all of the rest . It is this fact which enhances

their value to the student of architecture , and fills with , admiration every beholder who has an eye for the grand ancl beautiful in design and ornamentation .

TINTEIJN ACBEV is charmingly situated on the river Wye , near the Welsh border , in Monmouthshire , 150 miles west from London . It was founded by Walter de Clare , in A . D . 1132 , for Cistercian Monksand rebuilt in A . D . 1287 by

, , Roger Bigot , Earl of Norfolk . It is cruciform , the nave being 230 feet iu length , and the transept 103 feet . It is an elegant Gothic pile . The walls are entire , ancl many of the pillars in the aisles are standingthe roof onlhaving

, y fallen in . From the western portal the great beauty of the interior is seen—the eye ranging along a succession of clustered shafts , supporting the arcades of the nave on pointed arches , and the noble east window closing the view . To the en-