denly occurred to Katie that it was
about the business of her becoming a household servant that her teacher
desired to see her mother and her thoughts instantly reverted to Esther
Odell and the pleasant prospect held out by her cousin's letter. Her
mother would be only too glad to hear of a situation nearer home for
her she knew, but Katie had made up her mind to go to London if she
possibly could, and so the more she thought of it the more vexed she
felt that her teacher should want to see her mother just now, but how
to prevent it she did not know.

The girls chatted about the lesson, and about the relative advantage of
going to service, or learning dress-making and machine-work, but Kate
took little part in the discussion to-day; and when they reached the
corner where she must leave them, she felt glad to get away, to think
out the problem she had been puzzling over all the afternoon. She had
not told any of her schoolfellows of the message she had been charged
to deliver to her mother, so no troublesome questions or surmises had
been propounded by them, and if she could only contrive to banish the
whole subject from her mind--forget it entirely, her future would be
settled before the next Sunday came round, for her cousin's letter must
be answered the next day, and the offer accepted or declined, and she
knew there were many reasons why her mother could not well decline it,
unless she had something else in view for her.

Mrs. Haydon was a widow, often ailing, and never strong enough to earn
her own living by hard work, but through the kindness of her
brother--himself not a wealthy man--a little business had been secured
for her, enough to keep her in comfort, and he had urged that Kate,
being young and strong, ought to get a situation.

But nothing had come in their way likely to suit Kate, until these
letters from London offering her a situation with her cousin. Her
uncle had written as well as her cousin, urging that if she had nothing
else in view, she had better accept this, as she might not have such a
chance again--a view of the matter that Kate fully endorsed. She was
most anxious to go to London, and to serve in a shop and be called a
"young lady" was so much better than going to service she thought.

But her mother shook her head rather gravely, when she ventured to say
something of this to her. "I am not so sure about that, my dear. I
was a servant myself for years before I married your poor fathe