her."

Mrs. Myers went into the other room. Eliza ran downrs, and Marian
heard her open the house door softly and go out. She also heard
indistinctly the voices of the landlady and her lodger. After a time
these ceased, and she drank her tea in peace. She was glad that Mrs.
Myers did not return, although she made no more comfortable use of her
solitude than to think of her lost home in Holland Park, comparing it
with her dingy apartment, and pressing her handkerchief upon her eyes
when they became too full of tears. She had passed more than an hour
thus when Eliza roused her by announcing the arrival of the luggage.
Thereupon she bestirred herself to superintend its removal to her
bedroom, where she unpacked a trunk which contained her writing-case and
some books. With these were stowed her dresses, much miscellaneous
finery, and some handsomely worked underclothing. Eliza, standing by,
could not contain her admiration; and Marian, though she did not permit
her to handle the clothes, had not the heart to send her away until she
had seen all that the trunk contained. Marian heard her voice afterward
in the apartment of the drunken lodger, and suspected from its emphasis
that the girl was describing the rare things she had seen.

Marian imparted some interest to her surroundings that evening by
describing them in a letter to Elinor. When she had finished, she was
weary; and the fire was nearly out. She looked at her watch, and,
finding to her surprise that is was two hours after midnight, rose to go
to bed. Before leaving the room, she stood for a minute before the
old-fashioned pier-glass, with one foot on the fender, and looked at her
image, pitying her own weariness, and enjoying the soft beauty of her
face and the gentleness of her expression. Her appearance did not always
please her; but on this occasion the mirror added so much to the solace
she had found in writing to Elinor, that she felt almost happy as she
took the lamp to light her to her bedroom.

She had gone no farther than the landing when a sound of unsteady
footsteps on the stairs caused her to stop. As she lifted the lamp and
looked up, she saw a strange woman descending toward her, holding the
balustrade, and moving as though with pains in her limbs. This woman,
whose black hair fell nearly to her waist, was dressed in a crimson
satin dressing-gown, warmly padded, and much stained and splashed. She
had fine dark eyes, and was young, bold-looking, and