Under A Mask.

UNDER A MASK .

BY SALLtE A . SMITH . The morning sun shone warm and golden on a stately edifice situated a few inilos from London , and everything exterior ,

from the emerald lawn , with marble statues g loaming white and cold amid the foliage , the pretty fountain with its sparkling waters falling in bright showers upon the water lilies that floated in the basin "beneath the well-kept walks , avenues , and

carriage chives , the conservatories , wooded parks , grand old forests , and rich meadow lands , to the interior , with its marble paved vestibule , its large gloomy rooms , picture gallery , billiard room , music , morning and ball roomits vast drawing-rooms rich in

, statues , pictures , gems of art , silken drapery , etc ., and up the grand staircase , where were state bed-chambers with tall plumed bedsteads , tapestry hangings , carved furniture , all bespoke the owner of

Stanhope House to be possessed of princely wealth . On the shaded veranda , at the southern portion of the mansion , sat two persons in earnest conversation . The elder , a lady some fifty years of age

was stately and aristocratic with a fresh English countenance , bright blue eyes , sunny smile , and low gentle voice , while the looks of affection cast upon the slight figure , reclining in a rustic seat in the shadow of the viwes , were there of a fond

mother solicitous for the welfare of her darling child . The summer sunbeams sifted through the green leaves above the head of the lady in the garden chair , Testing like a halo of li ght upon the golden hair , and falling in waves of shimmering splendour over the graceful figure , the white dress , and small hands .

The face of the lady was hidden "b y a thick veil , and not a glimpse of her countenance could he obtained . " Then you are still determined to carry out the plan you have formed 1 " said the elder lady , as though in conclusion of a long conversation . " Have you thought of all the scandal , the curiosity of the world , the embarrassments and annoyances you

will be subject to 1 and are you sure you are pursuing the right course , for a happy future . " " Yes , mamma , I am , after careful deliberation , determined upon acting in the manner I have told you of , and 1 have thought over all the consequences of my

conduct , while as regards the scandal that will arise , or the embarrassments I shall undergo , that is nothing if my end is gained , " and Lady Hester Stanhope , the youthful owner of Stanhope House , arose as if to close the conversation , and soon after entered the house .

Six years before the opening of my story Hester Graham was a governess , going out daily to instruct the children of a number of noble families in the city , and thus helping in the support of her widowed mother and two little sisters . Many temptations beset the path of the

fair young girl , for her face was one of the loveliest seen in all the grand city , while her extreme youth and gentle retiring manners , added fresh charms and greater fascinations to the perfections of form and features .

Among tire families in which she gave instruction in music , French and drawing , was that of Lord and Lady Stanhope , and the oldest and proudest in the land , with a pedigree dating hack to the time of the Crusaders , and an escutcheon unsullied b y a single act of dishonour or crime . The onlv brother of Lord Stanhope , a

gentleman thirty-live years of age , became greatly enamored of the lovely Hester Graham , and , being a fine , polished gentle man , well versed in the ways of the world , also being good-looking , elegantly dressed , and with many rare accomplishments , the innocent governess soon learned to love

him , while he , although unhappy , lonely , and discontented when , away from Hester , and feeling that life would be a blank without her , could not bring his haughty pride so low as to think of marrying so far beneath him , while at heart— although he

had the name among his set of being rather wild and dissolute—yet he could not crush so fair a . flower , and leave it to die of neglect and shame . Six months passed , and Hester ' s rosy cheek grew pale , while her bright eyes were often dimmed with tears , and her light step was slower and less elastic , fov she bea , an to think the man she had looked