phere
there could be no such natural method of accounting for a young man's
actions as that of supposing him to be "in love." The question remained,
was it with Miss Beecham, or was it with--anybody else? Such an inquiry
could not but flutter her youthful bosom. She made his room ready for
him, and settled how he was to be disposed of, with the strangest sense
of something beneath, which her father would never suspect, but which,
perhaps, she alone might know.

Clarence Copperhead was a more imposing figure to Ursula than he was in
reality. She had seen him only twice, and he was a big and full-grown
"gentleman," while Ursula only realised herself as a little girl. She
was not even aware that she had any intelligence to speak of, or that
she would be a fit person to judge of "a gentleman." To be sure she had
to do many things which wanted thought and sense; but she was too
unthoughtful of herself to have decided this as yet, or to have created
any private tribunal at which to judge a new-comer of Clarence
Copperhead's dimensions. A much greater personage than she was, an
individual whose comings and goings could not be without observation,
whose notice would be something exciting and strange, was what she took
him to be. And Ursula was excited. Did Mrs. Copperhead, that kind little
woman, know why he was coming--was she in his confidence? And how was
Ursula to entertain him, to talk to him--a gentleman accustomed to so
much better society? She did not say anything to Janey on this subject,
though Janey was not without her curiosities too, and openly indulged in
conjectures as to the new pupil.

"I wonder if he will be fine. I wonder if he will be very good," said
Janey. "I wonder if he will fall in love with Ursula. Pupils, in books,
always do; and then there is a dreadful fuss and bother, and the girl is
sent away. It is hard for the girl; it is always supposed to be her
fault. I would not allow papa to take any pupils if it was me."

"And much your papa would care for your permission," said Mrs. Sam
Hurst. "But so far I agree with you, Janey, that before he has pupils,
or anything of that sort, there ought to be a lady in the house. He
should marry--"

"Marry! we don't want a lady in the house," cried Janey, "we are ladies
ourselves, I hope. Marry! if he does, I, for one, will do all I can to
make his life miserable," said the girl with energy. "What should he
want to marry for when he has daughters grown up? Ther