ite and give her full particulars of their visit
to Beulah Place. In his heart he had a secret longing to feel Fern's
hand in his again, and to see her bright welcoming smile. "I have been
here a whole month," he grumbled; "no wonder Hugh is tired of me by
this time."

Fay was rather surprised then to receive a letter from him two or
three days afterward telling her that Mr. Ferrers's visit was
indefinitely postponed.

"Everything has gone wrong," he wrote; "and the fates, those
mischievous cross-grained old women with the one eye between them, are
dead against us.

"I went over to Beulah Place the first evening just to reconnoiter,
and was much disgusted to hear that Miss Davenport--Miss Ferrers, I
mean, only I stick to the old name from habit--was nursing one of her
pupils with the measles. The little rascal--it is a boy--had refused
to be nursed by any one else; and there she is in the curate's house
kept in durance vile; and, to make matters worse, there is some talk
of her going out of town with them.

"I wrote off to the Grange at once, and Miss Ferrers answered me. Her
brother would defer his visit for the present, she said, until Miss
Davenport was back in her old quarters. He was much disappointed, of
course, at this delay; but he was satisfied to know that she was in
good hands, and he was used to disappointments. I did feel so sorry
for the poor old fellow when I read that." And the rest of the letter
was filled with lively descriptions of a ball where he had met Miss
Selby, and danced with her half the night.

Fay shook her head over this part of Erle's letter. He was an
incorrigible flirt, she was afraid; but she missed him very much. The
old Hall seemed very quiet without Erle's springy footsteps and merry
whistle, and somehow Fay was a little quieter too.

For a change was passing over Hugh's Wee Wifie in those early spring
days.

With the new hope there came a new and tender expression on her sweet
face.

She grew less child-like and more womanly, and day by day there grew a
certain modest dignity that became her well. Hugh was very gentle with
her, and careful to guard her from all imprudence; but life was very
difficult to him just then, and he could not always restrain his
growing irritability.

He was ill, and yet unwilling to own anything was amiss. He scoffed at
the idea that his nerves were disorganized; and with the utmost
recklessness seemed bent on ruining his fine constitution.