one at home was pleased with Meeta when she arrived, though
Monique secretly wondered how she could be so merry when her parents
were hardly cold in their graves. Meeta was not, however, cold-hearted,
but she was thoughtless, and she enjoyed the change of scene, and was
pleased with her newly-known relations and their manner of life.

"Little plump baby-like Margot was scarcely less formed in her mind
than Meeta, though Meeta was as old as Ella: and of the two, Margot, as
will be seen by-and-by, was more to be depended on than Meeta. Margot,
when duly admonished on any point, could be prudent, but Meeta could
not; yet Meeta was so merry, so obliging, and so good-humoured, that
everyone in the cottage soon learned to love her; though some of them,
and especially Monique, saw very clearly that there was much to be done
to improve her and render her a steady character.

"She was quick, active, and ready to put her hand to assist in
anything; but she had no perseverance; she got tired of every job
before it was half done, and she could do nothing without talking about
it. As to religious principles and religious feelings, her grandmother
could not find out that she had any. She was so giddy that she could
give no account of what she had been taught, though Monique gathered
from her that her poor mother had said much to her upon religious
subjects during her last short illness. The snow was still thick upon
the hills when Martin Stolberg brought Meeta to Hartsberg; so that the
young people were quite well acquainted with each other before the
gentle breezes of spring began to loosen the bands of the frost, and
dissolve the icicles which hung from the rocks on the sides of the
waterfall.

"During that time poor Martin Stolberg was much tried by several heavy
losses amongst his live stock: a fine cow and several sheep died, and
when the poor man had replaced these, he said, with a sigh to his
mother, that he must deny himself and his children everything which
possibly could be spared, till better days came round again.

"His mother answered, with her usual quiet cheerfulness:

"'So be it, my son, and I doubt not but that all is right, for if
everything went smooth in this world we should be apt to forget that we
are strangers and pilgrims here, and that this is not our home.'

"When Monique told Ella what her father had said, the young girl got
leave to go down to the village, and, when there, she went to Madame
Eversil,