f the young ladies under these circumstances
was of course forced; and Miss Mary, though infinitely delighted
at the meeting, soon began to pity their involuntary companion.
She was full of the sensitive instinct which the best sort of
women have to such a marvellous extent, and which tells them at
once and infallibly if any one in their company has even a
creased rose-leaf next their moral skin.

Before they had walked a hundred yards she was interceding for
the rebellious constable.

"Katie," she said softly in French, "do speak to him. The poor
man is frightfully uncomfortable."

"It serves him right," answered Miss Winter in the same language;
"you don't know how impertinent he was the other day to Mr.
Walker. And he won't give way on the least point, and leads the
rest of the old singers, and makes them as stubborn as himself."

"But look how he is winking and jerking his head at you. You
really mustn't be so cruel to him, Katie. I shall have to begin
talking to him if you don't."

Thus urged, Miss Winter opened the conversation by asking after
his wife, and when she had ascertained "that his missus wur
pretty middlin," made some other commonplace remark, and relapsed
into silence. By the help of Mary, however, a sort of disjointed
dialogue was kept up till they came to the gate which led up to
the school, into which the children were trooping by twos and
threes. Here the ladies turned in, and were going up the walk
towards the school door, when the constable summoned up courage
to speak on the matter which was troubling him, and, resting the
bass-viol carefully on his right foot, calling out after them,

"Oh, please marm! Miss Winter!"

"Well," she said quietly, turning round, "what do you wish to
say?"

"Why, please mann, I hopes as you don't think I be any ways unked
'bout this here quire singin', as they calls it I'm sartin you
knows as there ain't amost nothing I wouldn't do to please ee."

"Well, you know how to do it very easily," she said when he
paused. "I don't ask you even to give up your music and try to
work with us, though I think you might have done that. I only ask
you to use some psalms and tunes which are fit to be used in a
church."

"To be sure us ool. 'Taint we as wants no new-fangled tunes; them
as we sings be aal owld ones as ha' been used in our church ever
since I can mind. But you only choose thaay as you likes out o'
the book? and we be ready to kep to thaay."

"I think