e is a good man and a gentleman, one cannot
deny that. Pshaw! why am I so sorry she is gone? we shall miss her
dreadfully after this twelvemonth.'

'Thank you, Gwynne; she has been very good and kind to us all; so much
improved, and she told me she owed it all to Rowland. Well, I liked him
from the first. You saw the Bible his school children gave him, and the
presents from his parishioners and the letter from the bishop, so
complimentary, you know, so flattering, and all that sort of thing. God
bless them,'

Mr Gwynne very nearly begins to cry, and Colonel Vaughan feels inclined
to join; but by way of consoling himself, says,--

'I shall go and see the Protheros sometimes now. I never saw anything in
my life so lovely as that younger Mrs Prothero.'

'Take care, my dear,' cries Lady Mary to her daughter; 'the colonel is
going to visit the fair Gladys.'

'Oh! I thant allow that, Gwynne, the ith much too pretty.'

'Let us go out and look at the people before dinner,' says Colonel
Vaughan; 'I must say it was cruel of Freda to refuse to have a party.
This is fearfully dull; the vicar and his wife, or Mr and Mrs Jones
would have been better than nobody.'

'Much obliged!' says Sir Hugh.

As all the party go into the Park, we will follow them, and leaving them
there, retrace our steps to the farm.

There is high tea going on in the parlour, and a pleasant, cheerful
party they are, assembled round the tea-table. Gladys in the
wedding-gown, with a colour on her cheeks and a light in her eyes that
were not there in former days, presides. Owen divides his attentions
between her and some object in the corner of the room; first jumping up
to peep into this curtained curiosity, and then returning to put cream
into the tea-cups, hand the cakes and bread and butter, or do any and
everything that his loving and lovely Gladys asks him, with whom he is
just as much in love as ever.

Mr Jones and Mr Prothero sit on either side of Gladys, and seem to vie
with one another in showing a father's and uncle's affection to her.
Next to Mr Jones we have Mrs Prothero, looking more like what she looked
when first we saw her, than she has done for years. Then Mr Jonathan and
Mrs Jones; and between Mrs Jones and Owen we are glad to see poor Mrs
Jenkins, very kindly treated by her neighbours, and dressed in the
_moire_ and a handsome shawl; then Mrs Jonathan, in the richest of
silks, and the loveliest of caps; and, finally, Minette between