HINTS FOR NOVEL-WRITERS.
"Constance," said Philip to his sister, "I have got on very well with my novel. I have written fifty pages, described my hero and heroine, made them thoroughly in love with each other; and now I intend to part them for a season, without letting them be certain of the state of each other's heart. I think narrative my forte, but it will not do to have no conversations, and my dialogues seem so short and trite. Do look over this:
"'Helena. Your letter has arrived, I see.'
"'Bertram. Yes, I have just read it.'
"'H. Well?'
"'B. It says I must delay no longer.'
"'H. When shall you start?'
"'B. Tomorrow, at the latest.'
"'H. Have you told my aunt?'
"'B. Not yet: I must do it now.'
"'H. Shall you go direct to London?'
"'B. No: I stop one night at the Grange.'
"'H. Oh, then I will ask you to be the bearer of my letter.'
"'B. Is that all you will permit me to do for you?'
"'H. I am careful not to burden my friends.'
"'B. Then you have no belief in true friendship.'"
"Well, Philip, let me try whilst you are at the office, and see what I can suggest:
"'Your letter has arrived, I see,' said Helena, turning as Bertram entered, letter in hand.
"'Yes, I have just read it,' he replied, advancing and leaning his arm on the mantelpiece.
"'Well?' said Helena, stooping as if to warm her hands, but really endeavoring to shade her face.
"'It says I must delay no longer,' he answered, trying to assume an air of indifference.
"'When shall you start?' she said, resuming her work and fixing her eyes on her pattern.
"'To-morrow, at the latest,' he replied, transferring the letter to his pocket.
"'Have you told my aunt?' she said, searching her work-basket for her scissors.
"'Not yet: I must do it now,' he said, putting back the little ornament his elbow had displaced.
"'Shall you go direct to London?' she said, trying to disentangle a skein of colored yarn.
"'No: I stop one night at the Grange,' he said quietly, but with an air of decision.
"'Then I will ask you to be the bearer of my letter,' she added, laying down her work as she spoke.
"'Is that all you will permit me to do for you?' he asked anxiously.
"'Oh, I never burden my friends,' she said, raising her head and tossing back her curls.
"'Then you have no belief in true friendship,' he answered in a tone of bitterness."
"That is pretty good," said Constance to herself, "but I will take these two young people out of doors: perhaps Philip may be better pleased:
"'Your letter has arrived, I see,' said Helena, advancing as Bertram opened the garden gate.
"'Yes, I have just read it,' he replied as he secured the fastening.
"'Well?' said Helena, taking the path to the house.
"'It says I must delay no longer,' he replied, proffering her a bunch of wild-flowers he had gathered in his walk.
"'When shall you start?' said Helena, turning away to pluck some rosebuds, which she added to her bouquet.
"'Tomorrow, at the latest,' he answered, flinging aside roughly a branch that crossed his path.
"'Have you told my aunt?' said Helena, tying the strings of her hat.
"'No: I must do it now,' he said, holding out his hand to relieve her of her parasol as they entered the shady avenue.
"'Shall you go direct to London?' she asked hurriedly.
"'No: I stop one night at the Grange,' he said, inviting her by a gesture to take a seat upon a rustic bench.
"'Oh, then I will ask you to be the bearer of my letter,' she said, quickening her steps lest he should perceive her emotion.
"'Is that all you will permit me to do for you?' he said, with more feeling than he had yet permitted himself to show.
"'Yes: I am careful not to burden my friends,' she added, drawing her mantle round her and speaking in a tone of irony.
"'Then you do not believe in true friendship,' he replied as they reached the house, and with a heightened color he threw back the hall door and made way for her to enter."