what a boy you ought to be; but if you had ever
seen the tenderness of his father, and that sunbeam of a Meta, you
would know all the more how we bless you for what you have spared them.
Leonard, if anything had been needed to do so, you have won to yourself
such a brother in Norman as you have in Aubrey!'

Meantime Ethel was soothing Gertrude, to whom the shock had been in
proportion to the triumphal heights of her careless gaiety. Charles
Cheviot had come in while his wife was restoring her; and he had
plainly said what no one else would have intimated to the spoilt
darling--that the whole accident had been owing to her recklessness,
and that he had always expected some fatal consequences to give her a
lesson!

Gertrude had been fairly cowed by such unwonted treatment; and when he
would only take her home on condition of composure and self-command,
her trembling limbs obliged her to accept his arm, and he subdued her
into meek silence, and repression of all agitation, till she was safe
in her room, when she took a little bit of revenge upon Mary by crying
her heart out, and declaring it was very cruel of Charles, when she did
not mean it.

And Mary, on her side, varied between assurances that Charles did not
mean it, and that he was quite right--the sister now predominating in
her, and now the wife.

'Mean what?' said Ethel, sitting down among them before they were aware.

'That--that it was all my fault!' burst out Gertrude. 'If it was, I
don't see what concern it is of his!'

'But, Daisy dear, he is your brother!'

'I've got plenty of brothers of my own! I don't count those
people-in-law--'

'She's past reasoning with, Mary,' said Ethel. 'Leave her to me; she
will come to her senses by and by!'

'But indeed, Ethel, you won't be hard on her? I am sure dear Charles
never thought what he said would have been taken in this way.'

'Why did he say it then?' cried Gertrude, firing up.

'My dear Mary, do please go down, before we get into the pitiable
last-word condition!'

That condition was reached already; but in Ethel's own bed-room Mary's
implicit obedience revived, and away she went, carrying off with her
most of what was naughtiness in Gertrude.

'Ethel--Ethel dear!' cried she at once, 'I know you are coming down on
me. I deserve it all, only Charles had no business to say it. And
wasn't it very cruel and unkind when he saw the state I was in?'

'I suppose Charles thought it was the only chan