"Do you know people in London called
Humphrey?" asked Miss Golden.

"Yes," answered Hester, with a sudden
vivid blush.

"What a soft silly fool the girl is!" thought
Miss Golden.- But Hester was only blushing
because she was getting forced to disobey the
Mother Augustine.

"People?" asked Miss Janet again, sharply.

"Yes, people," answered Hester.

"You know Lady Humphrey, of Hampton
Court?"

"I know her," said Hester."

"And you also know her son, Mr. Pierce?"
continued Janet.

"I know him also."

"Very probably Lady Humphrey was the
friend of whom you told me once before?"

"Lady Humphrey was the friend."

"Humph!" said Miss Golden; and then
added, with a sudden bitter change in her
voice, " Has Lady Helen yet consulted you on
the subject of a bridal trousseau?"

"Yes," answered Hester.

"See that you are industrious, then!" said
Miss Janet, superciliously, and went, singing a
sprightly catch, out of the room.

"The little ambitious monkey!" cried Miss
Janet, in her chamber. " Must send a poor
soldier back his ring because a fine estated
baronet should admire her yellow hair! Miss
Innocence! you have robbed me of my lover.
Then I shall take especial care that you shall
never find yourself mistress of Glenluce."

So Miss Janet could be rather coarse in her
threats and suspicions when she was angry.

But Hester put down her sewing for a few
moments while she reflected on the confession
which she had been led into making. She might
as well have told Miss Golden all the tale of
Pierce's ring. Well, it could not matter now.
The ring had been returned with her explanation.
Mr. Pierce could manage best his own
affairs, without a doubt. And it were silly and
very awkward, such a tale, at such a time,
when the wedding robes were ordered, and the
bridegroom was Sir Archie Munro.

"My dear," said Miss Madge, "what is this
story that Miss Golden has been telling me?
A secret connexion with Lady Humphrey!
Secret I must say, since you never said a word
of it. And the name of Lady Humphrey is a
horror in this house. A horror to Lady Helen.
My dear, Lady Helen is in a panic!"

"Lady Helen is often in a panic, Miss
Madge," said Hester.

"My dear, don't grow pert. I never knew
you pert. Miss Golden is pert, very. My dear,
Lady Helen has some reason to be alarmed. A
secret connexion with Lady Humphrey!"

"Not secret, Miss Madge. Mrs. Hazeldean
has known of it!" said Hester, stoutly.

"Margaret. Ah! that is not so bad. Well,
my dear, I wonder at Margaret. But you,
perhaps, have never known any evil of Lady
Humphrey?"

"No, Miss Madge," said Hester;
"Hist, then, my dear! and I will tell you what
they say of her."

THE LAND OF EARTHQUAKES.

THE Spaniards, in South Americn, were not
without early intimation of the insecurity of
the soil. Lima was founded in 1535, under the
high-sounding title of Ciudad de los Reyes, or
City of the Kings, since altered to its present
name. In 1582, Lima had its first recorded
attack of earthquake. The centre of the shock,
however, was lower down along the coast, in the
neighbourhood of Arequipa, founded by Pizarro
some twelve months after the establishment of
Lima. Arequipa was laid in ruins then, as
now; but Lima escaped with a warning.
Lima's turn, however, was not long in coming.
Four years afterwards, it was laid prostrate;
and so great was the catastrophe, even in that
land of catastrophes, that the anniversary of
that destruction is solemnly commemorated, to
the present time, on the day of the Visitation
of Elizabeth. Lima had its third attack in
1609. In November, 1630, there was another
earthquake; but so many of the citizens
contrived to escape, that they, then and there,
instituted the Festival of Nuestra Señora del
Melagro, which is celebrated annually to this day.

Thenceforth, earthquake and city may be
truly said to have entered into contest for
possession of the soil. Earthquake returned to the
charge in 1655, with such violence that, for the
first time, the citizens camped for several days
in the country districts around. When they
returned, they found no stone standing on
another; nevertheless, the city rose again.
After this, there was no earthquake for some
twenty years. Again, ten years later, in
1687, at four o'clock in the morning, houses
and public edifices came tumbling down without
the least previous intimation: the inhabitants,
as usual, rushing into the squares and
open spaces. The miserable consolation,
however, of looking on in safety was this time
denied them. At six in the morning the
earthquake repeated its attack with renewed
vigour, and the sea, retiring and rising in a
wall of inky waters—as it did in the great
earthquake of this year— dashed back with
overwhelming force over the land. Callao, which
had arisen as the port of Lima, a few miles
from it, was entirely destroyed, and most of
the inhabitants were carried away by the
receding waters. The local records, preserved to
us by Don Antonio de Ulloa, captain of his
most Christian majesty's navy, mention this as
the most disastrous visitation to that date.
December, 1690, September, 1697, July, 1699,
February, 1716, January, 1725, December,
1732, were all earthquake months in Lima. In
1734 and 1745 there were more earthquakes.
On the 28th of October, 1746, at half-past ten
at night, the first shock was felt of another
earthquake, and within the space of three