carelessness if one of her girl friends had | nemünd, and Erica would therefore have met him? Was it only because he really scarcely thought it worth while to notice thought her a child, or because he be- the ship, if she had not observed a boat lieved her inferior to him in station, that approaching the shore from that direction. he had accosted her in such a manner? Soon after the skiff grounded in an inlet Even his hurrying after her-which at close by, and Erica saw two men jump out, first had really conciliated her- now ap- while a third remained in the boat. The peared in quite a different light, and new-comers walked hastily up the wooded seemed to show how little respect the ravine, and thus soon approached the young man had paid her. young girl. Erica, who knew nothing about the forms of society, and had scarcely ever had an opportunity to converse with young men-for Waldbad had hitherto possessed few attractions for them, and usually numbered only women and children among its guests-possessed no standard by which to form a correct judgment of his conduct, and therefore the more she reflected upon the young artist's behavior, the ruder it seemed. A bitterness never known before crept into her heart, and naturally prejudiced her against the person who had aroused it. She hoped she should never meet him again, that nothing would remind her of him, and thought that, with the gradual forgetfulness of the event, the unpleasant feelings excited by it would also fade. Absorbed in her meditations, she had paid so little attention to the path she was following, that when she now looked around, she was surprised to find she had wandered so far. She found herself in a ravine filled with stunted pines and bushes, whose steep sides sloped to the sea, whose waves -as if angry at the resistance they encountered-beat violently against the rocky shore. Nature's noontide slumber seemed to be over, for a fresh breeze blew from the water, drove the clouds swiftly over the sky, sighed through the bushes, and wailed in prolonged tones at the end of the ravine, through which it wandered like a pris oner. Erica listened to the familiar sounds, and her features gradually resumed their usual expression of quiet content. She sat down on the soft moss that covered the ground, for she felt wearied by her long walk, and gazed over the waves. Clouds of mist, like a light veil, began to rise slowly from the water, and gradually filled the air. Near the horizon they seemed to be growing denser, for a thick grey wall obscured the blue sky. Almost imperceptibly, even to Erica's keen eyes, the slender masts of a large ship, rocking upon the waves with furled sails, were relieved against the grey background. At this time the sea was often covered with vessels going to the harbor of Swie Was it fear that suddenly seized upon her, or merely reluctance to meet other strangers? She did not know, but instinctively concealed herself from the approaching pair by forcing her pliant figure among the bushes, and thus leaving the way open for the new-comers. The latter seemed to be engaged in earnest conversation, and as they drew nearer Erica recognized one as a Waldbad fisherman. The dress of the other was very similar, for he also wore a pea-jacket, long boots reaching almost to the knee, and a cap with a sort of cape hanging down the back. He must therefore probably be a fisherman, only Erica wondered why he had turned up the collar of his jacket so high, and drawn his cap so far over his face that his features could scarcely be distinguished. As the men were walking so rapidly, she thought she should soon be relieved of their presence, but they stopped at the very spot where she had just been sitting, and she heard the stranger say, "I have changed my mind, Wilms; I won't go with you. I can learn the ground well enough afterwards, and I am afraid of being seen and thus exciting useless suspicion." "But you promised to speak to my wife yourself, sir," replied Wilms. "Are you afraid of your wife, friend, that you need my help?" said the other, laughing somewhat rudely. "I am not afraid, you do not think so, sir, but I don't know how to put the matter to her. She is poor, but she is an honest woman, and will scarcely consent." "Oh! pshaw, no hand shuts itself against money. And, besides, I ask nothing wrong. I want nothing except now and then to have a little information from her, the rest is not her concern. But come, I'll go with you. There is a storm brewing at sea, which will soon burst, and then the fine gentlemen and ladies will stay at home and not annoy me with their stares. Come, let us make haste!" The two men walked quickly on, their steps soon sounded fainter, and at last no trace of their presence remained. Erica left her hiding-place, and looked around to Just as she was about to enter, she remembered that this was the dwelling of the very Wilms she had just seen with the stranger. She lingered irresolutely a moment, and then pushed the door open. see if she were really alone. The stranger | close under the down, which now appeared was right, a storm threatened to burst. before the fugitive, was a welcome sight, The bank of mist now almost covered and she walked rapidly towards it. the sky, the water had assumed a strange, greyish-green hue; the wind, which for a time seemed to have died away, the next instant blew in short, violent gusts. The water-fowl circled low over the waves, on which they sometimes appeared to rest, and their light plumage gleamed brightly through the darkening air. The twittering of the birds in the forest had died away, and nothing was audible except the rustling of the branches and the creaking of the pines, shaken by the gusts of wind. The dark entry, which seemed to serve both for kitchen and smoking-room, was pervaded with such an oppressive, disagreeable atmosphere, that the young girl was almost tempted to go out again into the rain, now pouring from the sky in torrents. But she had already been seen, for a half-grown boy, who was standing at the inner door, and had probably been listening a little, suddenly started from his stooping posture and approached her. "Nobody can come in here! Go out again! Go this moment," he said, with the characteristic rudeness which makes such an unnecessary display of strength, because only too conscious of its own weakness. But this incivility, exaggerated as it was, did not intimidate Erica. On the contrary, she answered laughing, "What are you thinking of, you silly boy, to tell me to go out in this way ? Erica must hasten her steps if she wished to reach home before the storm burst, and thus was obliged to follow the two men. The speed with which she moved prevented her from thinking about the words she had heard, though the whole affair seemed strange, even unpleasant. When the footpath ran in a straight line for a short distance, she saw the dim outlines of the two figures before her, but the men walked forward so quickly that, even with the greatest haste, she did not fear overtaking them. Now a bright flash darted from the sky and vanished in the sea, soon followed by the rolling thunder. It growled menacingly in the distance, and The "silly boy" did not seem offended quickened Erica's pace almost to a run. by her reply, but instantly changed his The last patch of blue sky was now cov-rude manner and approached her. ered with clouds, and single heavy drops, messengers of the coming rain, fell upon the earth. Again a jagged line of fire darted from the grey clouds, lingered for an instant in the horizon, and then also disappeared in the sea, while a louder peal of thunder announced the nearer approach of the storm. Erica glanced around in search of some temporary shelter, for it was impossible to reach home before the outbreak of the tempest. She would not have been afraid to take refuge under a tree, for the storms that rise from the sea rarely pass over the land; but unfortunately there were none near except pines, whose needles - as they did not even stand very close to each other would have afforded very little protection from a heavy rain. So she had no resource except to go on, although the drops fell faster and faster. To shorten the distance, she went across the forest, and when she again emerged into the fields encountered such a violent gust of wind that it almost lifted her from the ground. She hastily tried to reach the sand-hills of the neighboring down, where she would at least find some protection from the storm. A fisherman's hut, built "I have got myself into a nice muddle, to be sure, Fräulein Erica," he stammered in an embarrassed tone, passing his hand through his hair. "Yes, what am I to do now?" he added in a louder voice, looking inquiringly into her face. "What are you to do? Open the door and let me into the room. One can scarcely see one's hand before one's eyes, and the smoke is suffocating." "That's all very well, Fräulein Erica, and I should be glad enough to do it; but father put me here to keep watch, and said he would beat me if I let any one into the room." Erica started; she thought of the stranger and the promised conversation with the fisherman's wife. If it had formerly seemed not altogether agreeable to meet him, he certainly could not possibly know that she had been listening to him, and the desire to obtain protection from the storm had conquered all hesitation. Now, for the first time, she remembered that the man was alone and did not wish to be seen, and was angry with herself for having forgotten the fact and entered the hut. stay here a few minutes; it is raining so hard that the storm cannot last long." "Let the girl come in!" the stranger's voice suddenly exclaimed. There he stood close beside her, still with the collar of his jacket turned up, and his hat pulled low over his face. Her eyes involuntarily sought to distinguish his features, but the darkness was too good an ally for her to be able to perceive more than the dim outlines of a bearded countenance. Nay, she could not even see whether the beard was light or dark. The stranger had also turned to leave the hut, and Wilms, with officious civility, threw open the inner door, exclaiming, "Come in, Fräulein Erica! heard as we thought the song of a canary, and fancied it was outside our balcony; however we soon discovered that the singing was in our salon, and that the songster was a mouse; at that time the weather was rather cold, and we had a little fire, and the mouse spent most of the day under the fender, where we kept it supplied with bits of biscuit; in a few days it became quite tame, and would come on the hearth in an evening and sing for several hours; sometimes it would climb up the chiffonier and ascend a vase of flowers to drink at the water, and then sit and sing on the edge of the table and allow us to go quite near to it without ceasing its warble; one of its favorite haunts was the "Fräulein Erica?" cried the stranger, wood-basket, and it would often sit and in a mocking tone, again turning his face sing on the edge of it. On February 12, towards her. He said no more, however, the last night of the carnival, we had a but with a slight shrug of the shoulders, number of friends in our salon, and the walked out of the door into the pouring little mouse sang most vigorously much rain. to their delight and astonishment, and was A sudden pang shot through Erica's not in the least disturbed by the talking. heart at this jeering exclamation. The In the evening the mouse would often run wound dealt that day, which was scarcely about the room and under the door into healed, re-opened and bled violently. the corridor and adjoining rooms, and then Yesterday she would probably have attrib-return to its own hearth; after amusing uted the sarcasm to her childish appear- us for nearly a month it disappeared, and ance, but now it awoke the deep sorrow of life, mockingly pointed to the abyss on whose edge she had hitherto walked so unsuspiciously. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts, that she scarcely noticed the singular conduct of the fisherman's wife, who, after a hasty greeting, troubled herself no farther about her visitor, but stared fixedly out of the window at the flashing lightning, which from time to time lit up the room with its dazzling brilliancy, while the peals of thunder made the panes rattle. Not until Erica-when the rain at last ceased had set out upon her way home, did she think of the altered manner of the woman, who was usually so lively and talkative, and say to herself that it had probably been caused by her conversation with the stranger. SINGING MICE. From Nature. PERHAPS the following account of a singing mouse may be of interest to your readers. Last winter we occupied the rooms we now do at Menton. Early in February we we suspect it was caught in a trap set in Hotel de Menton, Menton, S. France, October 31. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY BY 704 TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. 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