She gave each verse with the same just variety as if she
had been reciting, and when she came to the last,
where the thought rises abruptly, and is truly
noble, she sang it with the sudden pathos, the
weight, and the swelling majesty, of a truthful
soul hymning truth with all its powers.

All the hearers, even Sampson, were thrilled,
astonished, spell-bound: so can one wave of
immortal music and immortal verse (alas! how
seldom they meet!) heave the inner man when
genius interprets. Judge, then, what it was to
Alfred, to whom, with these great words and
thrilling tones of her rich, swelling, ringing voice, the
darling of his own heart vowed constancy, while
her inspired face beamed on him like an angel's.

Even Mrs. Dodd, though acquainted with the
song, and with her daughter's rare powers, gazed
at her now with some surprise, as well as admiration,
and kept a note Sarah had brought her, open,
but unread, in her hand, unable to take her eyes
from the inspired songstress. However, just
before the song ended, she did just glance down,
and saw it was signed Richard Hardie. On this
her eye devoured it; and in one moment she saw
that the writer declined, politely but peremptorily,
the proposed alliance between his son and her
daughter.

The mother looked up from this paper at that
living radiance and incarnate melody in a sort of
stupor: it seemed hardly possible to her that a
provincial banker could refuse an alliance with a
creature so peerless as that. But so it was; and
despite her habitual self-government, Mrs. Dodd's
white hand clenched the note till her nails dented
it; and she reddened to the brow with anger and
mortification.

Julia, whom she had trained never to
monopolise attention in society, now left the piano in
spite of remonstrance, and soon noticed her
mother's face; for from red it had become paler
than usual. "Are you unwell, dear," said she,
sotto voce.

"No, love."

"Is there anything the matter, then?"

"Hush! We have guests: our first duty is to
them." With this Mrs. Dodd rose, and,
endeavouring not to look at her daughter at all, went
round and drew each of her guests out in turn.
It was the very heroism of courtesy; for their
presence was torture to her. At last, to her
infinite relief, they went, and she was left alone
with her children. She sent the servants to bed,
saying she would undress Miss Dodd: and
accompanied her to her room. There the first thing
she did, was to lock the door; and the next was
to turn round and look at her full.

"I always thought you the most lovable child
I ever saw; but I never admired you as I have
to-night; my noble, my beautiful daughter, who
would grace the highest family in England. With
this, Mrs. Dodd began to choke, and kissed Julia
eagerly with the tears in her eyes, and drew her
with tender defiance to her bosom.

"My own mamma," said Julia, softly, "what
has happened?"

"My darling," said Mrs. Dodd, trembling a
little, "have you pride? have you spirit?"

"I think I have."

"I hope so: for you will need them both.
Read that!" And she offered Mr. Hardie's
letter with averted head.

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

IT has been computed that England, before the
introduction of improved lightning conductors,
did not spend less than from seven thousand to
ten thousand pounds annually during war, and
about half that sum in times of peace, in repairing
damage done to vessels, by lightning. In two
hundred and twenty instances, collated bv MR.
SNOW HARRIS, the number of sailors injured
amounted to ninety killed, and about two
hundred wounded. In one hundred and twenty
instances selected, the value of masts and sails
destroyed, scorched, and injured, was estimated at
not less than one hundred thousand pounds.
Between the years 1810 and 1818, thirty-five
sail-of-the-line, thirteen frigates, and ten sloops,
were sunk or damaged by this awful agency.
In the same time, about six hundred sailors also
lost their lives by the same means, or were
seriously burnt and disabled.

The old lightning conductors used by ships
were very insufficient; they were ill applied, and
of inadequate power. They consisted generally
of small wire ropes leading from the truck or
pinnacle of the mast, along the rigging to the
ship's side, so as to lead the lightning into the
sea. These ropes were thought safer and more
economical than more permanent conductors. The
result was, that they were often destroyed, and,
in cases where the lightning struck low down or
obliquely on the mast, were utterly useless. In
other cases, these ropes were chafed through by
the upper rigging.

H.M.S. Hazard, supplied with these imperfect
conductors, was twice struck. In one case, her
mast-head was split, and the copper sheathing
ripped off her side. In the other, parts of
two masts were carried away. In another case,
H.M.S. Bittern, the main-truck was shivered,
the royal-mast splintered, and no less than eight
sailors were disabled.

In 1839, an Admiralty commission decided
that these temporary conductors were utterly
insufficient; but it was not until many years later
(thanks to the mighty Circumlocution Office, as
usual!) that Mr. Snow Harris could obtain a hearing
for the permanent conductor now used. His
plan was to incorporate with the masts a double
line of copper plates of great electrical power,
applied one over the other in alternating close
joints, so as to yield to the movements of its
wooden companion, and firmly embedded and
grooved into it. These flexible metallic lines
were finally, connected with similar conductors
fixed under the beams and in the body of the
ship, and connected with all the great metallic
masses employed in the framework of the ship's
hull, and, leading through that, to the outer sea.