The Jealous Sceptic.

To dire destruction and to grief but lead , And endless woe aud torments but precede . For Grace Divine to quell their unbelief , To purge their hearts , to bring their minds relief

E ' er ' tis too late , oh ! let the Godless pray , And Light receiving , see their erring way . Sheerness-on-Sea .

The Lady Muriel.

THE LADY MURIEL .

( From Bro . Emm Holmes " Tales , Poems , and Masonic Papers" about to be published . ) CHAPTER III . JOHN FALCONBRIDGE ' STORY—MURIEL

ALD 1 TIILEY . "IT was in the winter of 1850 , " Falconbridge said , "that I first met Muriel . She was then governess at Canon Pennyiather ' s , at Canehester , as I think I told you . I was then a lieutenant in a line

regiment stationed there . The county ball was g iven on the 20 th of December , and the officers of my regiment were invited . Oneof them , AuberonMandeville , the captain of my company , a dissolute fellowbut a man very highly connected

, , was one of our number who went . Muriel was there with the Miss Pennyfathers , and was at once singled out for a great deal of attention , on account of her graceful manners ancl beautiful face . I ' ve seen many lovely women since , but never one

to equal her . I danced a great deal with her ; so did Mandeville ; and the fellows at mess next day chaffed us about our making such a dead set at la belle Aldithley . I was younger then than I am now , and some liht words that Mandeville dropped

g about her nettled me ; we quarrelled , ancl duelling being out of fashion , we satisfied ourselves , I suppose , with a mutual ' cut . ' About a month after the ball , I had been spending the evening with a fellow called

Bloxam , who had taken me several times to the Pennyfathers , who were connections of his , and we had all become great friends . Muriel had become to me something dearer than a friend—but more of this anon . "Well , Bloxam and I were strolling

home rather late ( twelve o'clock I expect ) to my quarters . We had to pass through the Close to take advantage of the short cut . My friend , being a nephew of the Dean , could always get through the great gateswhich were closed at eight o'clock

, , when the curfew rang . Just as we passed the Deanery , we heard voices talking close to the carriage entrance to the Pennyfathers . I thought I recognized one of the voices , but was not sure . Curiosity , or perhaps some deeper feeling , drew me to the spot

, aud then I found that the men , whoever they were , had got somehow into the garden , and it was clear that one of them at least was the worse for liquor . From what I could gather , it seemed that the fellow who was tipsy was asking the other two

to assist him to carry off Miss Aldithley , and I soon found out by the voice that it , was no other than Captain Mandeville who was speaking , his Irish experiences

evidently telling upon him in his present state , for I cannot believe that in his sober senses the fellow would have thought for a moment on anything so mad as this scheme . The two other men were to go , the one to the front , the other to the back of the house . The young lady was

quite agreeable it seemed—so Mandeville said—and the concerted signal was a low whistle given three times . When this was heard , the man at the front of the house was to hurry off to the Elms ( the name of one of the Canon ' s houses in the

Precincts ) , where a cab was standing waiting to take home some of the company from a dinner party . The cabman bad been bribed with a sovereign to come at once . Mandeville and the young lady , who would get out of the bedroom window , and

come down by a ladder the other man had procured and placed against the wall , would go off in a cab , as if from the dinner . Dr . Peunyfather was away , and only the two daughters , the governess , and two maidservants were in the house . It was clear to us that the men were making a tool of Mandeville , and that they intended to i commit a burglary .