him to the chiffonier to find a fresh handkerchief. He watched
her helplessly for a moment as she dried her eyes. Then he took her
hands and bent over her.

"Won't you try to see things a little brighter? It's all just because
you got too tired yesterday. You oughtn't to have gone to the
convention; and I didn't know you were going or I should have forbidden
it."

"Well, Marian wanted to go; and we were coming to town anyhow. And
besides, Aunt Sally had taken it into her head to go, too. She wanted
this Garrison girl to see a political convention; I suppose that was the
real reason."

He laughed, gazing down into her tearful face, in which resentment
lingered waveringly, as in the faces of children persuaded against their
will and parting reluctantly with the solace of tears.

"You must get up for dinner, Hallie. Your doctors have always insisted
that you needed variety and change; and to-morrow we'll take you up to
the lake out of this heat. We have a good deal to be grateful for, after
all, Hallie. You haven't any right to feel disappointed in Marian: she's
the nicest girl in the state, and the prettiest girl you'll find
anywhere. We ought to be glad she's so high-spirited and handsome and
clever. College never was for her; she certainly was never for college!
I talked that over with Miss Waring a number of times. And I don't
believe Aunt Sally thinks less of Marian because she isn't a better
scholar. Only a small per cent of women go to college, and I'm not sure
it's a good thing. I'm even a little doubtful about sending Blackford to
college; this education business is overdone, and the sooner a boy gets
into harness the better."

Her deep sigh implied that he might do as he liked with his son, now
that she had so completely failed with her daughter.

"Aunt Sally is very much interested in Mr. Harwood. She has put Sylvia's
affairs in his hands. Could it be possible--"

He groped for her unexpressed meaning, and seeing that he had not
grasped it she clarified it to his masculine intelligence.

"If there are two persons she is interested in, and they understand each
other, it's all so much more formidable." And then, seeing that this
also was too subtle, she put it flatly: "What if Harwood should marry
Sylvia!"

"Well, that _is_ borrowing trouble!" he cried impatiently. "Aunt Sally
is interested in a great many young people. She is very fond of Allen
Thatcher. And Allen seems to find Marian's society agreeab