r, and every one used to be struck with her looks
and manner. She went on as well as possible, and Lucy set her heart on
having her in the nursery. And when the upper nurse went away, she
had the whole care of Rose. We heard only of her praises till, to
our horror, we found she had been sent away in disgrace at a moment's
warning. Poor Lucy was young, and so much shocked as only to think of
getting her out of the house, not of what was to become of her, and all
we could learn was that she never went home."

"How long was this before the crash?"

"It was only a few weeks before the going abroad, but they had been
absent nearly a year. No doubt Maddox must have made her aid in his
schemes. You say Rose saw him?"

"So she declares, and there is an accuracy of memory about her that I
should trust to. Should you or Alison know him?"

"No, we used to think it a bad sign that Edward never showed him to us.
I remember Alison being disappointed that he was not at the factory the
only time she saw it."

"I do not like going away while he may be lurking about. I could send a
note to-night, explaining my absence."

"No, no," exclaimed Ermine, "that would be making me as bad as poor
little Rose. If he be here ever so much he has done his worst, and
Edward is out of his reach. What could he do to us? The affairs were
wound up long ago, and we have literally nothing to be bullied out of.
No, I don't think he could make me believe in lions in any shape."

"You strong-minded woman! You want to emulate the Rachel."

"You have brought her," laughed Ermine at the sound of the well-known
knock, and Rachel entered bag in hand.

"I was in hopes of meeting you," she said to the Colonel. "I wanted to
ask you to take charge of some of these;" and she produced a packet of
prospectuses of a "Journal of Female Industry," an illustrated monthly
magazine, destined to contain essays, correspondence, reviews, history,
tales, etc., to be printed and illustrated in the F. U. E. E.

"I hoped," said Rachel, "to have begun with the year, but we are not
forward enough, and indeed some of the expenses require a subscription
in advance. A subscriber in advance will have the year's numbers for ten
shillings, instead of twelve; and I should be much obliged if you would
distribute a few of these at Bath, and ask Bessie to do the same. I
shall set her name down at the head of the list, as soon as she has
qualified it for a decoy."

"Are these printed