understand this," said Mr. Jansenius, reddening as he took in
the purport of his son-in-law's letter. "I will not submit to it. What
does it mean, Ruth?"

"I don't know. Sidney is mad, I think; and his honeymoon has brought
his madness out. But you must not let him throw Henrietta on my hands
again."

"Mad! Does he think he can shirk his responsibility to his wife because
she is my daughter? Does he think, because his mother's father was a
baronet, that he can put Henrietta aside the moment her society palls on
him?"

"Oh, it's nothing of that sort. He never thought of us. But I will
make him think of us," said Mr. Jansenius, raising his voice in great
agitation. "He shall answer for it."

Just then Henrietta returned, and saw her father moving excitedly to
and fro, repeating, "He shall answer to me for this. He shall answer for
it."

Mrs. Jansenius frowned at her daughter to remain silent, and said
soothingly, "Don't lose your temper, John."

"But I will lose my temper. Insolent hound! Damned scoundrel!"

"He is not," whimpered Henrietta, sitting down and taking out her
handkerchief.

"Oh, come, come!" said Mrs. Jansenius peremptorily, "we have had enough
crying. Let us have no more of it."

Henrietta sprang up in a passion. "I will say and do as I please," she
exclaimed. "I am a married woman, and I will receive no orders. And I
will have my husband back again, no matter what he does to hide himself.
Papa, won't you make him come back to me? I am dying. Promise that you
will make him come back."

And, throwing herself upon her father's bosom, she postponed further
discussion by going into hysterics, and startling the household by her
screams.

CHAPTER III

One of the professors at Alton College was a Mrs. Miller, an
old-fashioned schoolmistress who did not believe in Miss Wilson's system
of government by moral force, and carried it out under protest. Though
not ill-natured, she was narrow-minded enough to be in some degree
contemptible, and was consequently prone to suspect others of despising
her. She suspected Agatha in particular, and treated her with disdainful
curtness in such intercourse as they had--it was fortunately little.
Agatha was not hurt by this, for Mrs. Miller was an unsympathetic woman,
who made no friends among the girls, and satisfied her affectionate
impulses by petting a large cat named Gracchus, but generally called
Bacchus by an endearing modification of the harsh initial