rother, but more frequently scarcely seeing him between
breakfast and twilight, and then often spending a solitary evening,
which he much preferred either to ecarte or to making talk.

The summer life had been very different from the winter one. There was
much less intercourse with the Homestead, partly from Rachel being much
engrossed with the F. U. E. E., driving over whenever the coachman would
let her, to inspect progress, and spending much of her time in sending
out circulars, answering letters, and writing a tale on the distresses
of Woman, and how to help them, entitled "Am I not a Sister?" Tales were
not much in Bachel's line; she despised reading them, and did not love
writing them, but she knew that she must sugar the cup for the world,
and so she diligently applied herself to the piece de resistance for the
destined magazine, heavily weighting her slender thread of story with
disquisitions on economy and charity, and meaning to land her heroines
upon various industrial asylums where their lot should be far more
beatific than marriage, which was reserved for the naughty one to live
unhappy in ever after. In fact, Rachel, in her stern consistency, had
made up her mind to avoid and discourage the Colonel, and to prevent
her own heart from relenting in his favour, or him from having any
opportunity of asking an explanation, and with this determination she
absented herself both from Ermine's parlour and Lady Temple's croquet
ground; and if they met on the esplanade or in a morning call, took
care never to give the chance of a tete-a-tete, which he was evidently
seeking.

The croquet practice still survived. In truth, Fanny was afraid to ride
lest Lord Keith should join her, and was glad to surround herself with
companions. She could not see the enemy without a nervous trepidation,
and was eager to engross herself with anybody or thing that came to hand
so as to avoid the necessity of attending to him. More than once did she
linger among her boys "to speak to Mr. Touchett," that she might avoid
a ten minutes' walk with his lordship; and for nothing was she more
grateful than for the quiet and ever ready tact with which Bessie Keith
threw herself into the breach. That bright damsel was claimed by Lord
Keith as a kinswoman, and, accepting the relationship, treated him with
the pretty playfulness and coquetry that elderly men enjoy from lively
young girls, and thus often effected a diversion in her friend's favour,
t