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"You were inspired," he said with a grave s me; "you did not observe our entrance"

I was about to reply, when a loud, appalling crash of thunder rattled above us, as if so had suddenly fallen into ruins It startled us all into silence for a moree of awe

"That was a good one," re undecided about that clap Its mind was made up"

Zara suddenly rose from her seat, and drew aside the - curtains

"I wonder if it is raining," she said

Amy Everard uttered a little shriek of dismay

"Oh, don't open the blinds!" she exclailanced at her with a little sarcastic smile

"Take a seat on the other side of the roo a chair in the position he suggested, which Aladly taken refuge in the coal-cellar had he offered it Zara, in the meantime, who had not heard Mrs Everard's exclamation of fear, had drawn up one of the blinds, and stood silently looking out upon the night Instinctively we all joined her, with the exception of Amy, and looked out also The skies were very dark; a faintwind stirred the tops of the leafless trees; but there was no rain A dry volcanic heat pervaded the at, that Heliobas threw open thealtogether, saying, as he did so: "In a thunderstorm, it is safer to have the s open than shut; besides, one cannot suffocate"

A brilliant glare of light flashed suddenly upon our vision The heavens seemed torn open fro in the heart of the , ever-increasing, rattling roar of thunder ensued, that seeain darkness

"This is nificent!" cries Mrs Challoner, ith her fareat deal, and was quite accustomed to hurricanes and other inconveniences caused by the unacco behaviour of the ele like it, John dear, even that stormat Chamounix was not any better than this"

"Well," returned her husband meditatively, "you see we had the snow mountains there, and the effect was pretty lively Then there were the echoes--those cavernous echoes were grand! What was that passage in Job, Effie, that I used to say they reminded me of?"