al instructions (not shown to me,
which seems rather hard) to trace the two Miss Gracedieus' registers of
birth. Elizabeth described this proceeding (not very intelligibly to my
mind) as a means of finding out which of the girls could be identified
by name as the elder of the two.

"The report arrived this morning. I was only informed that the result,
in one case, had entirely defeated the inquiries. In the other case,
Elizabeth had helped her agent by referring him to a Birth, advertised
in the customary columns of the _Times_ newspaper. Even here, there
was a fatal obstacle. The name of the place in which Mr. Gracedieu's
daughter had been born was not added, as usual. I still tried to be
useful. Had my friend known the Minister's wife? My friend had never
even seen the Minister's wife. And, as if by a fatality, her portrait
was no longer in existence. I could only mention that Helena was like
her mother. But Elizabeth seemed to attach very little importance to my
evidence, if I may call it by so grand a name. 'People have such strange
ideas about likenesses,' she said, 'and arrive at such contradictory
conclusions. One can only trust one's own eyes in a matter of that
kind.'

"My friend next asked me about our domestic establishment. We had only a
cook and a housemaid. If they were old servants who had known the girls
as children, they might be made of some use. Our luck was as steadily
against us as ever. They had both been engaged when Mr. Gracedieu
assumed his new pastoral duties, after having resided with his wife at
her native place.

"I asked Elizabeth what she proposed to do next.

"She deferred her answer, until I had first told her whether the visit
of the doctor might be expected on that day. I could reply to this in
the negative. Elizabeth, thereupon, made a startling request; she begged
me to introduce her to Mr. Gracedieu.

"I said: 'Surely, you have forgotten the sad state of his mind?' No;
she knew perfectly well that he was imbecile. 'I want to try,' she
explained, 'if I can rouse him for a few minutes.'

"'By Massage?' I inquired.

"She burst out laughing. 'Massage, my dear, doesn't act in that way. It
is an elaborate process, pursued patiently for weeks together. But my
hands have more than one accomplishment at their finger-ends. Oh, make
your mind easy! I shall do no harm, if I do no good. Take me, Selina, to
the Minister.'

"We went to his room. Don't blame me for giving way; I am too fo