u came home and found me in such trouble about your going to
London, is more than I can understand."

[Illustration: Miss Eldon's visit.]

But the foolish girl persisted in declaring that she had forgotten all
about the message, in spite of her mother's frequently expressed
doubts, soothing her conscience by assuring herself that this should be
a warning to her never to do so again. Kate felt quite sure about
this; let the temptation be what it might, she never would yield to it
again, as she had done in this instance, for it had made her miserable.

But I am not sure that Kate felt sorry enough for her fault yet to wish
it undone. When she went up to bed that night, instead of kneeling
down and confessing her sin to God, and asking His forgiveness, and His
grace to keep her in the future, she peeped into the box that stood
ready packed, and thought with a feeling of triumph that she was going
to London after all, and her mother would forget all this fuss that had
been made about her teacher's message when she heard how well she was
getting on there; and so full was Kate's heart of these thoughts that
she jumped into bed without kneeling at her bedside, but still feeling
quite confident that she would never act again as she had done, now
that she had got her own way, and was sure of going to London.

CHAPTER III.

IN LONDON.

It was night when Kate reached London, but her uncle was waiting for
her at the railway station, and she and her luggage were soon stowed
away in a cab, and they were rattling through the brilliantly-lighted
streets. To Kate's unaccustomed eyes it was like fairyland for a few
minutes, and she thought she had indeed been fortunate to obtain a
place in one of these grand shops.

But she soon found there were streets in London almost as dimly lighted
as their own village streets at home, and shops much less grand and
imposing than those she had first seen.

At last the cab stopped, and Kate saw, to her disappointment, that it
was not a broad, fashionable thoroughfare, and the shop, with its piles
of buns and loaves of bread, was by no means imposing, but rather
old-fashioned in its appearance, and the whole street was the same,
although there were a great number of people about, and everybody
seemed in such a hurry that Kate made up her mind there must be a fire
or some accident must have happened, near at hand. All this passed
through her mind, as her box was being lifted from the