respect wives and mothers too much to treat them in that
fashion." Miss Harman smiled as she spoke.

Mrs. Home did not outwardly respond to the smile, though the gracious
bearing, the loving, sweet face were beginning very slowly to effect a
thaw, for some hard little ice lumps in her heart were melting. The
immediate effect of this was, however, so strong a desire to cry that,
to steel herself against these untimely tears, she became in manner
harder than ever.

"And now what shall we do?" said Charlotte Harman. "The carriage is
waiting for us at the next gate; shall we go for a drive, or shall we
walk about here?"

"I would rather walk here," said Mrs. Home.

"Very well. Charlotte, I am glad to see you. And how are your children?"

"Harold has a cold. The other two are very well."

"I never saw sweeter children in my life. And do you know I met your
husband? He and your children both spoke to me in the park. It was the
day before I came to your house. Mr. Home gave me a very short sermon to
think over. I shall never forget it."

"He saw you and liked you," answered Mrs. Home. "He told me of that
meeting."

"And I want another meeting. Such a man as that has never come into my
life before. I want to see more of him. Charlotte, why did you propose
that we should meet here? Why not in my house, or in yours? I wanted to
come to you again. I was much disappointed when I got your note."

"I am sorry to have disappointed you; but I thought it best that we
should meet here."

"But why? I don't understand."

"They say that rich people are obtuse. I did not want to see your
riches, nor for you to behold the poverty of my land."

"Charlotte!"

"Please don't think me very hard, but I would rather you did not say
Charlotte."

"You would rather I did not say Charlotte?"

Two large tears of surprise and pain filled Miss Harman's gray eyes. But
such a great flood of weeping was so near the surface with the other
woman that she dared not look at her.

"I would rather you did not say Charlotte," she repeated, "for we call
those whom we love and are friendly with by their Christian names."

"I thought you loved me. You said so. You can't take back your own
words."

"I don't want to. I do love you in my heart. I feel I could love you
devotedly; but for all that we can never be friends."

Miss Harman was silent for a moment or two, then she said slowly, but
with growing passion in her voice, "Ah! you are thinking