her again; she can have all the milk she wishes
for; she has a charmed life."

CHAPTER XII.

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,
Upon the place beneath. It is twice bless'd.
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest.

Summers and winters went by; five years had passed since the family had
been cast on the island; they had watched from the tower almost daily
for a white sail, but none had ever appeared, and yet they always
continued to hope that the day would come, and they struggled within
themselves to be patient and cheerful. Sometimes the thought would take
possession of the mind of each of the ladies, that one or other of them
might die, and how terrible it would be for the one who was left, and
worse still a thousand times, both of them might die and leave Cora; but
neither of them would ever breathe a word which could convey such an
idea to the other; and when such thoughts and feelings oppressed them,
they took the best method of dispelling their anxiety by engaging
themselves in some active occupation. They made a pretty garden for
summer enjoyment out of doors, and another for winter in one of the
large rooms, by filling boxes and chests with earth. They always had
beautiful flowers in their parlor, which was a great source of delight
to Cora, as well as to her guardians. The two guitars which they had
found in the castle, they strung with wire, and managed to have some
music every evening in the twilight; then they had a time set apart,
also in the early part of the evening, which they called Cora's hour.
For that period, they devoted themselves wholly to the recital of such
subjects as were suitable and pleasant to her, and which they varied
every day in the week, weaving each recital into a little story,
sometimes telling from history; at another time, Mrs. Carleton would
compose a story about Virginian life, and Miss Vyvyan would tell one
about foreign countries; but the hour Cora liked best, was the one
devoted to poetry and fairy tales. She was now in her eighth year, and
could read very well; but there were no fairy tales among the numerous
books in the library, so the ladies repeated them from memory. When the
friends had put Cora to bed, they always remained together during the
rest of the evening, working, and reading aloud to each other, making
new dresses for Cora, who grew very fast, o