rvices at
my command, for he is worth all the secretaries I have had before rolled
into one."

"Ah-h!" cried Peggy, glowing with delight. "Of course! I knew he would
be. Whatever Arthur does, he does better than anybody else. He will be
a great man yet, won't he? Oh, do say he will! It was such a terrible
disappointment for me when he had to give up the Army, and my only
consolation has been the belief that he would distinguish himself in
some other sphere. You do really believe that Arthur will be great
before he dies, don't you, Mr Rollo?"

The grave man smiled down very kindly into the eager, young face.

"It is not always the best men who make the greatest mark in the world,
and `greatest,' as you mean it, has many drawbacks, my dear. I should
like to advise you not to set your heart on worldly distinctions, but I
suppose if I did, you would put me down as a prosy old fellow, who did
not practise what he preached, so I'll make you happy instead, by
telling you that I also expect great things of your brother. He is one
of the most brilliant young men of his day, and some time soon we will
send him into the House, and give him a chance there. I don't wonder
you are proud of him. I should have been proud indeed, if Providence
had seen fit to grant me such a son!"

The sigh with which the sentence ended gave a clue to the bitterest
disappointment of this man's life. It was an abiding regret that he had
no son to follow in his footsteps, and to carry on the good old name;
but he never suspected that his quiet little daughter had divined his
disappointment at her sex, and that the consciousness thereof had been
one powerful factor in damping her spirits. To know that we are a
disappointment to our friends has a paralysing effect on our energies,
and there are many people in the world who have failed simply from want
of encouragement and appreciation. A word of honest praise is as good
as a tonic, and it is too rarely spoken. We feel it our duty to find
fault where blame is merited, but are not nearly so careful to
acknowledge work well done, or to show our gratitude for services
willingly performed.

Mr and Mrs Rollo loved their daughter dearly, but were too much
engrossed in their different pursuits to pay her much attention, and
believed that, being of a naturally reserved disposition, she would not
value outward demonstrations; wherein they erred, for it is the dumb,
silent folk who most appreciate