d Ruthven.
By-the-by, Miss Elliott, they lay themselves open to censure, as well as
you. They rarely go out now, I hear."

"I am to be censured in good company, it seems," said Graeme, laughing.

"I suppose you see them often," continued he. "You used to be quite
intimate with my pretty cousin--I call her cousin, though we are only
distantly connected. She is a very nice little woman."

"Yes. I believe you used to be very intimate with them both," said Mrs
Grove, "and there has hardly been any intercourse since Fanny's
marriage. I have often wondered at and regretted it."

"Have you?" said Graeme, coldly. "We have had little intercourse with
many old friends since then."

"Oh! yes, I daresay, but the Ruthvens are very different from most of
your old friends, and worth the keeping. I must speak to Fanny about
it."

"We saw Miss Elphinstone often during the first winter after her return.
That was the winter that Mr Proudfute remembers as so gay," said
Graeme. "Did I ever tell you about the beginning of Rosie's
acquaintance with her, long before that, when she wandered into the
garden and saw the gowans?"

"Yes, dear, you told me about it in a letter," said Mrs Snow.

"I never shall forget the first glimpse I got of that bunch of flowers,"
said Graeme, rather hurriedly. "Rose has it yet among her treasures.
She must show it you."

But Mrs Grove did not care to hear about Rosie's flowers just then, and
rather perversely, as Graeme thought, reverted to the falling away of
their old intimacy with the Ruthvens, and to wonder at its cause; and
there was something in her tone that made Mrs Snow turn grave,
astonished eyes upon her, and helped Graeme to answer very quietly and
coldly to her remark:

"I can easily see how marriage would do something towards estranging
such warm friends, when only one of the parties are interested; but you
were very intimate with Mr Ruthven, as well, were you not?"

"Oh! yes; more so than with Miss Elphinstone. Mr Ruthven is a very old
friend of ours. We came over in the same ship together."

"I mind him well," interposed Mrs Snow; "a kindly, well-intentioned lad
he seemed to be. Miss Rose, my dear, I doubt you shouldna be sitting
there, on the grass, with the dew falling, nor Mrs Arthur, either."

A movement was made to return to the house.

"Oh! Janet," whispered Graeme, "I am afraid you are tired, mind as well
as body, after all this foolish talk."

"By no means,