dden humour
that was inclined to be sarcastic. So busy, indeed, was she generally,
on these solitary wanderings of hers, with her own thoughts and
fancies, that sometimes she laughed to herself--a low, quiet little
laugh that none but herself could hear.

This was Miss Anne Beresford, who was called by her sisters Nan. But
it was an old friend of the family, and one of England's most famous
sailors, who, at a very early period of her career, had bestowed on her
the sobriquet of the Beautiful Wretch; and that partly because she was
a pretty and winning child, and partly because she was in the habit of
saying surprisingly irreverent things. Now, all children say
irreverent things, simply because they read the highest mysteries by
the light of their own small experiences; but Nan Beresford's guesses
at the supernatural were more than usually audacious. When, for
example, she arrived at the conclusion that fairies were never seen in
the daytime for the reason that God had had them all 'fwied for his
bweakfast,' it was clear that she was bringing a quite independent mind
to bear on the phenomena of the universe around her. And then, of
course, all sorts of sayings that she never uttered or thought of were
attributed to her. Whenever a story was particularly wicked, it was
sure to be put down to Nan Beresford. The old Admiral, who had at the
outset given her that nickname, spent a great deal of time that might
have been profitably employed otherwise in deliberately inventing
impieties, each of which was bruited about in certain circles as 'Nan's
last;' and if you happened to meet him anywhere between the United
Service Club and Spring Gardens, completely self-absorbed, his face
brimming over with laughter, you might be sure he was just putting on a
finishing touch. Rather than abandon one of these self-invented
stories of his, I think he would have parted with any half-dozen of his
crosses and medals; but indeed this last would not have been difficult,
for he had served in every part of the world where a ship would float,
and honours and dignities had been showered upon him.

Naturally, there came a time when these stories had to cease; but Nan
Beresford preserved her independent way of looking at things, and she
was clearly the clever one of the family. Moreover, with all her
retiring ways, she was always quite capable of holding her own. Her
elder sisters were handsome, and a good many young gentlemen, amongst
o