t straight to her room; and never came back till our early tea-time,
when I thought she looked as if she had been crying.

A few days after, a note came from Mr. Holbrook, asking us--impartially
asking both of us--in a formal, old-fashioned style, to spend a day at his
house--a long June day--for it was June now. He named that he had also
invited his cousin, Miss Pole; so that we might join in a fly, which could
be put up at his house.

I expected Miss Matey to jump at this invitation; but, no! Miss Pole and I
had the greatest difficulty in persuading her to go. She thought it was
improper; and was even half-annoyed when we utterly ignored the idea of
any impropriety in her going with two other ladies to see her old lover.
Then came a more serious difficulty. She did not think Deborah would have
liked her to go. This took us half a day's good hard talking to get over;
but, at the first sentence of relenting, I seized the opportunity, and
wrote and dispatched an acceptance in her name--fixing day and hour, that
all might be decided and done with.

The next morning she asked me if I would go down to the shop with her; and
there, after much hesitation, we chose out three caps to be sent home and
tried on, that the most becoming might be selected to take with us on
Thursday.

She was in a state of silent agitation all the way to Woodley. She had
evidently never been there before; and, although she little dreamt I knew
any thing of her early story, I could perceive she was in a tremor at the
thought of seeing the place which might have been her home, and round
which it is probable that many of her innocent girlish imaginations had
clustered. It was a long drive there, through paved jolting lanes. Miss
Matilda sate bolt upright, and looked wistfully out of the windows, as we
drew near the end of our journey. The aspect of the country was quiet and
pastoral. Woodley stood among fields; and there was an old-fashioned
garden, where roses and currant-bushes touched each other, and where the
feathery asparagus formed a pretty back-ground to the pinks and
gilly-flowers; there was no drive up to the door; we got out at a little
gate, and walked up a straight box-edged path.

"My cousin might make a drive, I think," said Miss Pole, who was afraid of
ear-ache, and had only her cap on.

"I think it is very pretty," said Miss Matey, with a soft plaintiveness in
her voice, and almost in a whisper; for just then Mr. Holbrook appeared