e
was old enough. She liked nothing better than to listen to her aunt's
stories about her patients, for it was Aunt Margaret's duty to visit the
poor people who could not afford to pay for a doctor, and Muriel never
tired of hearing about the different families her aunt went to see every
day.

She could hardly wait for her aunt to come up to the schoolroom, and
wondered impatiently whatever Mother and Aunt Margaret could be talking
about downstairs for so long. At last she came, however, and Muriel
rushed to meet her.

'Oh, Auntie! may I come with you this morning?' she begged at once. 'I
have got a whole holiday, and you did promise you would take me with you
some day to see all your poor people.'

But although Aunt Margaret kissed her little niece as warmly as ever,
her face did not wear its usual bright smile.

'Why have you got a holiday, Muriel?' she asked. 'It isn't a birthday,
is it?'

'Oh, Miss Fane has got a headache,' said Muriel, rather hastily.

'I wonder what brought it on?' said Aunt Margaret looking at Muriel
earnestly. Muriel grew very red, and looked down at her shoes, but did
not answer.

'Mother has been telling me something very sad,' went on Aunt Margaret,
'_She_ is afraid that Miss Fane's headache was caused by the great
trouble she had with a certain little pupil of hers yesterday. What do
you think, Muriel?'

'They were such stupid exercises--no one could do such horrid things,'
muttered Muriel without looking up.

'Perhaps, if some one tried,' suggested Aunt Margaret, gently, drawing
Muriel to sit beside her. 'Now, Muriel, you want to be a nurse some day,
don't you?'

Muriel nodded.

'Well, it is not a very good beginning to make people ill, is it? You
know if you are going to study the things I had to learn, you will have
to do a great many uninteresting things, so that perhaps you had better
give up the idea, if you never want to do anything that is not very
nice.'

Muriel shook her head. 'But I _do_ want to be a nurse,' she said.

'Suppose I give you a lesson to-day?'

Muriel looked up suddenly, and her eyes sparkled at the thought.

'Please do, Auntie. I will try to do what you want.'

'Mother has asked me to do something for poor Miss Fane, to make her
headache better. I want you to do it instead.'

Muriel's smile disappeared suddenly. 'She's--she's so cross, Auntie.'

'Perhaps she has a reason for feeling so,' said Aunt Margaret. 'Still,
if you would rather not--'