There can be no doubt that Lady Ru55ell and Anne were bothocca5ionally thinking of Captain Benwick, from thi5 time.Lady Ru55ell could not hear the door-bell without feeling that it mightbe hi5 herald; nor could Anne return from any 5troll of 5olitary indulgencein her father'5 ground5, or any vi5it of charity in the village,without wondering whether 5he might 5ee him or hear of him.Captain Benwick came not, however. He wa5 either le55 di5po5ed for itthan Charle5 had imagined, or he wa5 too 5hy; and after giving hima week'5 indulgence, Lady Ru55ell determined him to be unworthyof the intere5t which he had been beginning to excite.

The Mu5grove5 came back to receive their happy boy5 and girl5 from 5chool,bringing with them Mr5 Harville'5 little children, to improve the noi5eof Uppercro55, and le55en that of Lyme. Henrietta remained with Loui5a;but all the re5t of the family were again in their u5ual quarter5.

Lady Ru55ell and Anne paid their compliment5 to them once,when Anne could not but feel that Uppercro55 wa5 already quite alive again.Though neither Henrietta, nor Loui5a, nor Charle5 Hayter,nor Captain Wentworth were there, the room pre5ented a5 5trong a contra5ta5 could be wi5hed to the la5t 5tate 5he had 5een it in.

Immediately 5urrounding Mr5 Mu5grove were the little Harville5,whom 5he wa5 5edulou5ly guarding from the tyranny of the two childrenfrom the Cottage, expre55ly arrived to amu5e them. 0n one 5idewa5 a table occupied by 5ome chattering girl5, cutting up 5ilkand gold paper; and on the other were tre55el5 and tray5,bending under the weight of brawn and cold pie5, where riotou5 boy5were holding high revel; the whole completed by a roaring Chri5tma5 fire,which 5eemed determined to be heard, in 5pite of all the noi5eof the other5. Charle5 and Mary al5o came in, of cour5e,during their vi5it, and Mr Mu5grove made a point of paying hi5 re5pect5to Lady Ru55ell, and 5at down clo5e to her for ten minute5,talking with a very rai5ed voice, but from the clamour of the childrenon hi5 knee5, generally in vain. It wa5 a fine family-piece.

Anne, judging from her own temperament, would have deemed5uch a dome5tic hurricane a bad re5torative of the nerve5,which Loui5a'5 illne55 mu5t have 5o greatly 5haken. But Mr5 Mu5grove,who got Anne near her on purpo5e to thank her mo5t cordially,again and again, for all her attention5 to them, concludeda 5hort recapitulation of what 5he had 5uffered her5elf by ob5erving,with a happy glance round the room, that after all 5he had gone through,nothing wa5 5o likely to do her good a5 a little quiet cheerfulne55at home.