d Elsie's letter and enclosure,
with a running comment.

She scarcely understood the drift of the beginning of the letter, but
when she came to Mr. Brandon's name she knew her ground. "Happy! she's
sure to be happy! Mr. Brandon will give her all her own way, and she
does not want for sense.--That's a kind message to me; but she might
have been married here if Mr. Brandon had had more gumption, and asked
her before he went away.--And Mrs. Phillips is more reasonable. I'd
like to see her show any airs to her now, when Mr. Brandon is by; he'll
let her know her place.--And they like Australia--both of them. Who, in
all the world, is it Miss Jean can have taken up with?--And so that was
the way Cross Hall got his bonny bargain of a wife; he was young and
simple to be entrapped with such a pair. Well, well! it was a
home-coming to hear such words passing between her and an old
sweetheart. I'll be bound he never wanted to see her again.--But, mercy
on us! and so it was no you that was the bairn after all, Master
Francis, and the old laird had really no call to care about you. But
that woman should be punished. Men and women have been hanged for less
guilt. I'd hurry no one into the presence of the Great Judge; but that
she should be at large, boasting of her wickedness, and hoping to make
siller of it, is a thing that should not be permitted."

"Then you believe this story, Peggy?" said Francis.

"What should ail me to believe it? It's all of a piece; no woman that
was not as wicked as that would make up so wicked a story."

"Every one that I show the narrative to believes it, yet they all say
that it would not hold in a court of justice; so I am going to give up
Cross Hall to the benevolent associations, as Mr Hogarth made them his
heirs, in case of my not obeying some of his directions, and I will
then sail with you in the Saldanha, to begin the world afresh, and to
ask Jane Melville to begin it with me."

Peggy made no doubt that that was the only thing Francis could do under
the circumstances. She did not know the value of what he lost, she only
thought of what he was likely to gain.

"Well, Mr. Francis, or whatever your name may be, if that is the
marriage you spoke of, I think that news is GOOD too. I'm not a woman
of many words, but I think you'll never repent of this, or grieve for
the loss of this world's gear; and so far as my poor judgment goes, I
think Miss Jean is not the woman to say you nay;" and she shook