the bright colour of Phillis's hair, as the afternoon sun fell on
her bending head; of the silence of the house, which enabled me
to hear the double tick of the old clock which stood half-way up
the stairs; of the variety of inarticulate noises which cousin
Holman made while I read, to show her sympathy, wonder, or horror
at the newspaper intelligence. The tranquil monotony of that hour
made me feel as if I had lived for ever, and should live for ever
droning out paragraphs in that warm sunny room, with my two quiet
hearers, and the curled-up pussy cat sleeping on the hearth-rug,
and the clock on the house-stairs perpetually clicking out the
passage of the moments. By-and-by Betty the servant came to the
door into the kitchen, and made a sign to Phillis, who put her
half-mended stocking down, and went away to the kitchen without a
word. Looking at cousin Holman a minute or two afterwards, I saw
that she had dropped her chin upon her breast, and had fallen
fast asleep. I put the newspaper down, and was nearly following
her example, when a waft of air from some unseen source, slightly
opened the door of communication with the kitchen, that Phillis
must have left unfastened; and I saw part of her figure as she
sate by the dresser, peeling apples with quick dexterity of
finger, but with repeated turnings of her head towards some book
lying on the dresser by her. I softly rose, and as softly went
into the kitchen, and looked over her shoulder; before she was
aware of my neighbourhood, I had seen that the book was in a
language unknown to me, and the running title was L'Inferno. Just
as I was making out the relationship of this word to 'infernal',
she started and turned round, and, as if continuing her thought
as she spoke, she sighed out,--

'Oh! it is so difficult! Can you help me?' putting her finger