her hands, and disclosed features which, swollen and disfigured as they were by grief, yet evinced tokens of unusual beauty. She rose as Alice entered, and hastily drying her tears, stood regarding her with a wild eager glance of inquiry. “What have you come to tell me?” she said: “they have not relented--not set him at liberty again?--or the other one--he is not worse--oh, God!--not dead?” Surprised and embarrassed by the strange eagerness of her manner, and interested by her appearance and evident distress, Alice hastened to assure her that she was not the bearer of any tidings, good or evil, and having explained the object of her intrusion, continued-- “But you are anxious or unhappy about something; will you not tell me why you were crying so bitterly when I came in--perhaps I may be able to assist you?” Thus appealed to, the girl (for she appeared scarcely above twenty) fixed her dark eyes on Alice’s face, and reading therein her kind and loving nature, which indeed was so legibly depicted that the veriest dullard at deciphering character could scarcely fail to discover it, answered more gently than she had before spoken-- “I beg pardon, lady; but I’m amost crazy with grief this morning, and my head’s so a-running on it, that I hardly know what I’m a-saying or a-doing on. Ye’re welcome to rest, lady, as long as you please;” and as she spoke she dusted a chair with her apron, and placed it for Alice, who, seating herself, resumed-- “You say you are unhappy, but you do not tell me what about.” The woman paused for a moment in thought, then continued--“I need make no secret of it; the whole country round is ringing with it by this time. Some poor fellows, lady, as had wives and children to feed, and no money to buy bread to give to ’em, went to get a few of the birds and things that’s running wild in the woods of them that’s rich, and don’t want ’em; and the keepers cum to stop ’em, and one of ’em got shot in the confusion; and the police have took my husband and my brother, and swear the’re the men that did it; and the’re to be had up to-day before them that’s sure to condemn ’em, innocent or guilty--gentlemen that chuses to keep the wild creatures that God sent for food for them as wants it, all for their own selfish amusement--begging your pardon, lady--but it’s the truth; and when one’s heart aches like mine does, the truth will out.” “It is natural, perhaps, that you should think thus in your situation,” returned Alice, gravely; “but depend upon it your husband and your brother will not be punished unless they justly deserve it. The gamekeeper was not killed I hope?” “Oh no, my lady! not hurt very serious neither I do hope; only they want to make the most of it, to get a chance to punish my poor fellows, don’t you see?” was the reply; “and if my husband is put in prison for long, and lays out of work, what’s to become o’ me and the children?” “You have more than this one, then?” inquired Alice.