heir living. She was almost as
slim and girlish in figure as Lloyd, although she was nearly twice as
old. She had kept the timid, shrinking manner that she had when a child.
That and her appealing big blue eyes, and almost babyish complexion,
made her seem much younger than she was. It was a sensitive, refined
face that Lloyd kept glancing at, one that would have been remarkably
pretty had it not been so sad.

Lloyd had sung in public several times, but always in some play, when
the costume which she wore seemed to change her to the character she
personated. That made it easier. It was one of the hardest things she
had ever done, to stand up before these twenty ladies who had been
exchanging criticisms so freely all afternoon, on every subject
mentioned, and sing the songs which Miss Allison chose for her from the
Princess play: The Dove Song, with its high, sweet trills of "Flutter
and fly," and the one beginning:

"My godmother bids me spin,
That my heart may not be sad.
Sing and spin for my brother's sake,
And the spinning makes me glad."

It was with a very red face that she slipped into her seat after it was
over, surprised and pleased by the applause she received. They were all
so cordial in their appreciation, that presently she was persuaded into
doing what Miss Allison had suggested. When the circle broke up she had
consented to join the choir, and to meet with them the next Friday
night, when they went to the Mallards' to practise.

The carriage came for her soon after the last guest departed, and Miss
Allison stepped in beside her to take the finished garments over to
Rollington. It was the quaintest of little villages, settled entirely by
Irish families. Only one lone street straggled over the hill, but it was
a long one with little whitewashed cabins and cottages thickly set along
each side. Mrs. Crisp's was the first one on the street, after they left
the Lloydsboro pike. It was clean, but not half so large or comfortable
as the negro servants' quarters at Locust.

It was so late that Miss Allison did not go in, only stopped at the door
to leave the bundle and inquire about the baby, promising to come again
next morning. Lloyd had a glimpse of the two children next in age to the
baby. They were playing on the floor with a doll made of a corn-cob
wrapped in a towel, and a box of empty spools.

"Just think!" she exclaimed as she climbed into the carriage agai