urned the captain; "and if in need of an escort you may
call upon me for that service."

"Oh, a thousand thanks! that will do very well indeed!" she exclaimed in
a tone of relief and pleasure.

"And all the good and industrious little girls may go along," added the
captain, with a smiling look into Lulu's eagerly inquiring face.

"Thank you, papa; thank you very much!" she exclaimed joyously. "I do
want to go, and intend to be as industrious as possible, and as good and
obedient, so that you can take me. And you'll take Gracie too if she
wants to go, won't you?"

"Certainly," he said; "Gracie deserves all the indulgences and pleasures
I can give her."

"You are very kind indeed, Captain, to spend so much of your time in
teaching us to-day; for I feel very sure you would enjoy going to
Magnolia Hall with the other gentlemen and the ladies this morning,"
remarked Evelyn, with a grateful, affectionate look up into his face.

"Thank you, my dear," he replied. "It would be pleasant to me to go, but
it is also a pleasure to help my own children, and other appreciative
pupils, to climb the hill of science."

Just then Grace and little Elsie came running to meet them, and the next
minute the breakfast bell summoned them all to the house.

After breakfast followed family worship, school, play-time, then dinner,
and, late in the afternoon, the pleasant drive through the woods to
Magnolia Hall. It was only for a call, however, and at tea-time the
Viamede family and all their guests gathered about the table there.

From then until the wedding day the young folks were in a state of
pleasurable excitement, though the captain kept his pupils steadily at
their work, and they found it not impossible to fix their minds upon
their studies for a portion of each day. The other relatives invited had
arrived, and in a few days the marriage was to take place.

It was Saturday morning. Scarcely two hours had been spent in the
school-room when the captain dismissed his pupils, telling them, with
his pleasant smile, that they had done very well indeed, and would be
allowed a holiday until the wedding festivities were over, an
announcement no one was sorry to hear, although he had made the lessons
interesting and enjoyable to them as ever since undertaking the work of
teaching them. All returned warm thanks, and Rosie, Evelyn, and Walter
hastened from the room, which Captain Raymond had already left; but his
two little girls lingered th