tance
she did not wish to imitate her. Belle was so odd, and had become very
unpopular, and besides she wished to be very very pleasant to Mr.
Romaine. He was handsome, agreeable and wealthy, and she found it more
congenial to her taste to clasp hands with him and float down stream
together, than help him breast the current of his wrong tendencies, and
stand firmly on the rock of principle.

"You are looking very sweet, but rather pensive this morning," said Mr.
Romaine, noticing a shadow on the bright and beautiful face of Jeanette,
whose color had deepened by the plain remarks of her cousin Belle. "What
is the matter?"

"Oh nothing much, only my cousin Belle has been here this morning, and
she has been putting me on the stool of repentance."

"Why! what have you been doing that was naughty?"

"Oh! she was perfectly horror-stricken when I told her about the wine we
drank and Mrs. Glossop's party. I wish I had not said a word to her
about it."

"What did she say?"

"Oh she thought it was awful, the way we were going on. She made me feel
that I died [_sic_] something dreadful when I offered you a glass of
wine at Ma's silver wedding. I don't believe Belle ever sees a glass of
wine, without thinking of murder, suicide and a drunkard's grave."

"But we are not afraid of those dreadful things, are we Jeanette?"

"Of course not, but somehow Belle always makes me feel uncomfortable,
when she begins to talk on temperance. She says she is terribly in
earnest, and I think she is."

"Miss Gordon and I were great friends once," said Charles Romaine, as a
shadow flitted over his face, and a slight sigh escaped his lips.

"Were you? Why didn't you remain so?"

"Because she was too good for me."

"That is a very sorry reason."

"But it is true. I think Miss Gordon is an excellent young lady, but she
and I wouldn't agree on the temperance question. The man who marries her
has got to toe the mark. She ought to be a minister's wife."

"I expect she will be an old maid."

"I don't know, but if I were to marry her, I should prepare myself to go
to Church every Sunday morning and to stay home in the afternoon and
repeat my catechism."

"I would like to see you under her discipline."

"It would come hard on a fellow, but I might go farther and fare worse."

"And so you and Belle were great friends, once?"

"Yes, but as we could not agree on the total abstinence question, we
parted company."

"How so? Did you part a