lled from his eulogium on poor Mrs. Ward.

'Oh yes! one felt for them so very much, and they are so religious, so
well principled, and all that one could wish; but family dissension is
so dreadful. I am very little used to young men or boys, and I never
knew anything like this.'

'The lads are too nearly of an age,' said the Doctor.

'And would such things be likely to happen among any brothers?'

'I should trust not!' said the Doctor emphatically.

'I should so like to know in confidence which you think likely to be
most to blame.'

Never was the Doctor more glad that Averil made her appearance! He
carefully avoided getting near Mrs. Pugh for the rest of the evening,
but he could not help observing that she was less gracious than usual
to the master of the house; while she summoned Leonard to her side to
ask about the volunteer proceedings, and formed her immediate court of
Harvey Anderson and Mr. Scudamour.

The dinner went on fairly, though heavily. Averil, in her one great
trouble, lost the sense of the minor offences that would have
distressed her pride and her taste had she been able to attend to them,
and forgot the dulness of the scene in her anxiety to seek sympathy and
counsel in the only quarter where she cared for it. She went
mechanically through her duties as lady of the house, talking
commonplace subjects dreamily to Dr. May, and scarcely even giving
herself the trouble to be brief with Mr. Anderson, who was on her other
side at dinner.

In the drawing-room, she left the other ladies to their own devices in
her eagerness to secure a few minutes with Ethel May, and disabuse her
of whatever Mrs. Ledwich or Mrs. Pugh might have said. Ethel had been
more hopeful before she heard the true version; she had hitherto
allowed much for Mrs. Ledwich's embellishments; and she was shocked and
took shame to her own guiltless head for Gertrude's thoughtlessness.

'Oh no!' said Averil, 'there was nothing that any one need have minded,
if Henry had waited for explanation! And now, will you get Dr. May to
speak to him? If he only knew how people would think of his treating
Leonard so, I am sure he would not do it.'

'He cannot!' said Ethel. 'Don't you know what he thinks of it himself?
He said to papa last year that your father would as soon have sent
Leonard to the hulks as to the Vintry Mill.'

'Oh, I am so glad some one heard him. He would care about having that
cast up against him, if he cared for