An Old, Old Story.

addition to the number . I have observed sometimes the most wonderfnl alterations produced , as it were by magic , in a pleasant gathering , by the intrusion of an incongruous " confrere and consceur" by the advent of , ( for some reason , ) an "

uncongenial element ; " and so there appeared for some undefinable reason a shade of quasi embarrassment to pass over alike the general gaiety of the group and the individual ease of that pleasant circle I have attempted to sketch . Not that there was any right reason

for it , or true cause , for no cheerier comrade ever stood in front or rear rank than Allan Mackintosh ; but for some reason at present not clear , or at any rate not explicit , the arrival of No . 5 for the moment stopped alike the flow of conversation and the easy

familiarity of those so happily assembled . It mi ght be , indeed , that there was something in the good old soldier ' s love of order and discipline , and what he used to call " steady goings on , " which jarred a little with the freer and easier views of Mr . Mainwaring , or it might well be that Mr .

Williams distrusted a little the friendly ' accueil" of the veteran , who hated , as he said " making acquaintance too hastily " or " at first sight . " Miss Margerison might have her secret motives for finding her good old friend a little " de trop ; " but be that as it may

, Lucy , who was the only one apparently not affected by her Godfather ' s arrival , at once sought to re-animate the evident hesitation of all , and to break the awkward silence , by a vigorous attack on the old campaigner .

How clever women often are in such emergencies . They are like soldiersthey march straight on , their point , and generally their line of march is most true and steady ! Lucy , whose playfulness was always

encouraged , and whose presence was always pleasant to the stout-hearted old boy , began by complimenting him on his looks , on the smartness of the flower in his buttonhole , ( he always had a flower in his coat ) , and lastly declared that he had had his bailout I

To all these charges the old soldier pleaded guilty , but with that smile of approval and that cheerful acquiescence which invariably marked the intercourse of Colonel Mackintosh with the daughter

of his oldest comrade aud clearest friend . For he and Captain Longhurst had been boys together in a Lancers' regiment had lived together , and fought together through many a hard campaign , and the friendship and love he had had for her

gallant f ither , he had even kept warm and true to his orphan child . But though the old soldier gaily laughed at Lucy ' s diversion , or as he would have termed it himself , a " flank movement "there was an expression on the good old

fellow's face , as if he thought young ladies were a little more personal than they used to be iu his boyish days . Who can say what was passing through his mind ? The history of the human heart is the queerest of all histories , and one aouut

which a great deal might be written which never will see the li ght . If even the memory could be true , " sentiment " would object , for who could bear to have the "inner shrine" of years exposed to the public gaze , and all the imperishable

associations of tenderness and truth vulgarized and profaned by the heartless criticism of the coxcomb or the careless . We all of us preserve many cherished souvenirs—like household gods b y our innermost hearths , they are for ever most dear to ourselves , the most solemn and the most sacred of all our earthly possessions .

And even on that clay there might rise up before the stately old man , the jhcture of a woman of a sweet face and clustering hair , and silvery voice , who once had been very dear to him indeed ; but whom , alas , the "fortune of war , " as he was fond ol saj'iug , had given to anotherwhile he was

, toiling a hardworked subaltern with his regiment far away . We need not suppose that only those people have " sentiment" who talk of sentiment—it is a very vulgar error . They often have the most who to the outward eye

appear the most unsentimental of human beings . Miss Margerison , who had for some reason kept silence , hegan here an animated conversation with the curate , about a picnic which was in contemplationwhile Lucy

, , who for some reason did not seem to take the vivid interest in it which her aunt did , drew her garden chair nearer to her godfather , as if to sever herself from any sup-