is, I believe, quite good,
but Mademoiselle Therese, though doubtless a worthy lady, would, to me,
be rather trying in time of illness. I should not write to you, but I
fear Miss Britton will not, being unwilling to worry you or any of
those at home. My uncle made a suggestion on the matter to
Mademoiselle Therese, which was not very much liked by that lady,
therefore he thought I might write you. He asks me--if you still
remember him as a 'past acquaintance'--to give you his regards.

"Hoping you will forgive my officiousness.

"Yours truly,
"DENYS MORTON."

"That is quite passable," Mr. Morton said when he had read it. "I
think you will hardly give offence. I wonder if she remembers me?"

"She could hardly help doing that," and Denys nodded affectionately at
his uncle. "But I shall be much happier when this letter arrives at
its destination. The address is not very exact. However, we will see,
and we can call again to-morrow--it would be kind, don't you think, to
one of our 'kith,' so to speak, and in a foreign land?"

The uncle smiled. "It would be kind, as you say, Denys, so we will do
it."

But when they called the following afternoon they were told that Miss
Britton was in bed and Mademoiselle Therese engaged. As a matter of
fact, she was in the midst of composing a letter to Mrs. Britton, for
when Barbara had said as carelessly as she could, that she would stay
in bed just for one day, Mademoiselle Therese, remembering her
visitor's "remarks the previous afternoon, had taken alarm and sent for
the doctor, and now thought it would be wiser to write to Mrs. Britton.
Having wasted a good many sheets of paper, and murmured the letter over
several times to herself, she sought her sister out.

"Listen," she said proudly, "I think I have succeeded admirably in
telling Mrs. Britton the truth and yet not alarming her, at the same
time showing her that by my knowledge of her language I am not unfitted
to teach others."

"HONOURED MADAM,--I am permitting myself to write to you about your
dear daughter, who has entwined herself much into our hearts. There
are now some few days she has seemed a little indisposed, and at last
we succeeded in persuading her to retire to bed, and called in the
worthy and most respectable, not to say gifted, family doctor who gives
us his attention in times of illness. He expressed his opinion that it
was a species of low fever, what the dear young lady had contracted