sed to live, without thought of
increment or responsibilities, until she was ready to begin the life of
a rich woman and to set in motion the currents of her exuberant income.

But she could not change the state of affairs. The system of interest
had been set in motion, and her income was flowing in upon her hour by
hour, day by day, steadily and irresistibly, and her mind could not be
at rest until she had done something--at least, planned something--which
would not only prevent her from being overwhelmed and utterly
discouraged, but which would enable her to float proudly, on this grand
current of absolute power, over the material interests of the world.

Mrs. Cliff was a woman of good sense. No matter how much money she might
possess, she would have considered herself its unworthy possessor if she
should spend any of it without proper value received. She might spend it
foolishly, but she wanted the worth of her money. She would consider it
a silly thing, for instance, to pay a thousand dollars for an India
shawl, because few people wore India shawls, and she did not care for
them; but if she had done so, she would have been greatly mortified if
she found that she had paid too much, and that she might have bought as
good a shawl for seven hundred and fifty dollars.

Since she had been in that room and thinking about these things, enough
interest had come to her to enable her to buy a good silver watch for
some deserving person. Now, who was there to whom she could give a plain
silver watch? Willy Croup would be glad to have it, but then it would be
better to wait a few hours and give her a gold one.

Now it was that Willy came into the room with a disappointed expression
upon her countenance.

"I was just coming in to tell you," she said, "that I was ready now to
go up and help you open the trunks, but here comes that horrid Miss
Shott, and dear knows how long she will stay!"

Nancy Shott was the leading spinster of Plainton. In companies where
there were married ladies she was sometimes obliged to take a second
place, but never among maidens, old or young. There were very few
subjects upon which Miss Shott had not an opinion; and whatever this
opinion might be, she considered it her first duty in life to express
it. As a rule, the expression was more agreeable to her than to others.

When Mrs. Cliff heard that Miss Shott was approaching, she instantly
forgot her wealth and all her perplexities concerning it. Mi