ugh she were ashamed of having written them. She
knew that she would not dare to send away a letter beginning with
such words. She would not even have dared to let such words in her
own handwriting remain within the recesses of her own little desk.
"Dear Major Grantly," she began at length. It seemed to her to
be very ugly, but after much consideration she believed it to be
correct. On the second day the letter was written as follows:--

ALLINGTON, Thursday.

MY DEAR MAJOR GRANTLY,

I do not know how I ought to answer your kind letter, but
I must tell you that I am very much flattered by your
great goodness to me. I cannot understand why you should
think so much of me, but I suppose it is because you have
felt for all our misfortunes. I will not say anything
about what might have happened, if it had not been for
papa's sorrow and disgrace; and as far as I can help it,
I will not think of it; but I am sure that I ought not to
think about loving any one, that is, in the way you mean,
while we are in such trouble at home. I should not dare to
meet any of your great friends, knowing that I had brought
nothing with me but disgrace. And I should feel that I was
doing an injury to _dear_ Edith, which would be worse to
me than anything.

Pray believe that I am quite in earnest about this. I
know that a gentleman ought not to marry any girl to do
himself and his family an injury by it; and I know that if
I were to make such a marriage I should be unhappy ever
afterwards, even though I loved the man ever so dearly,
with all my heart.

These last words she had underscored at first, but the doing so had
been the unconscious expression of her own affection, and had been
done with no desire on her part to convey that expression to him. But
on reading the words she discovered their latent meaning, and wrote
it all again.

Therefore I know that it will be best that I should wish
you good-by, and I do so, thanking you again and again for
your goodness to me.

Believe me to be,
Yours very sincerely,

GRACE CRAWLEY.

The letter when it was written was hateful to her; but she had
tried her hand at it again and again, and had found that she could
do nothing better. There was much in his letter that she had not
attempted to answer. He had implored her to tell him whether or no
she did in truth love him. Of course she loved him. He knew