a great deal, a great
deal, indeed, to go through yet." Indeed she had a very great deal
to go through; a very heavy atonement to pay for her folly and her
crime.

As soon as the car was gone from the door, she hurried up stairs,
put on her bonnet and cloak, took a letter which she had already
prepared, and opening the door of Mrs. McKeon's own room, put it on
the table. She then crept noiselessly down stairs, opened the front
door, and passed into the street, without having been seen or heard
by either of the servants, who were alone left with her in the house.
The following is the letter, which, to her great grief and surprise,
Mrs. McKeon found on her table when she returned:--

DEAR MRS. McKEON,

It is because I know you'd never let me go back to
Ballycloran, that I've now gone away without telling
you what I was going to do. Pray don't be angry with me.
Indeed I'm very unhappy; but I should be worse if you were
to be angry with me. I'm only a bother and a throuble to
you here, and I hav'n't spirits left even to let you see
how very much obliged I am to you for all your throuble;
but indeed I am in my heart, my dear Mrs. McKeon, both to
you and to dear Lyddy and Louey, who have been so very
kind to me. It is a deal better for me to be at home with
my father; my heart's nearly broken with all I've gone
through; but he'll bear with me, for he's used to me. Give
my compliments to Doctor Blake. Pray beg him not to come
to Ballycloran. I am in his debt a great deal already, and
how will I ever pay him? Besides, I'm a deal better now,
as you see, in health; it's only the heart now that ails
me. Give my kind love to Lyddy and Louey. I felt their
kindness when the sorrow within me wouldn't let me
tell them so. Now good bye, dear Mrs. McKeon; don't be
throubling yourself to come to Ballycloran; it'll be a
poor place now. I'll send Katty for the things.

I remain, dear Mrs. McKeon,
Very, very faithfully yours,

FEEMY.

P.S.--Indeed--indeed--it isn't the case, what you were
saying.

When Mrs. McKeon found the letter on her return, she was greatly
vexed; but she could do nothing; she couldn't go to Ballycloran and
fetch Feemy by force. The falsehood with which the letter concluded
was not altogether disbelieved; but still she felt by no means
certain that her former suspicions were not true, and if so, perhaps
it was better for al