the air of a respectable servant, her manners particularly pleasing.
It appeared that she was the daughter of a first wife, and, after the
period of schooling, had been at service, but had been lamed by a fall
downstairs, and had been obliged to come home, just as scarcity of work
had caused her father to leave his native parish, and seek employment at
other quarries. She had hoped to obtain plain work, but all the family
were dismayed and disappointed at the wild spot to which they had come,
and anxiously availed themselves of this introduction to beg that the
elder boy and girl might be admitted into the town school, distant as it
was. At another time, the thought of Charity Elwood would have engrossed
Ethel's whole mind, now she could hardly attend, and kept looking
eagerly at Richard as he talked endlessly with the good mother. When,
at last, they did set off, he would not let her gallop home like a
steam-engine, but made her take his arm, when he found that she could
not otherwise moderate her steps. At the long hill a figure appeared,
and, as soon as Richard was certified of its identity, he let her fly,
like a bolt from a crossbow, and she stood by Dr. May's side.

A little ashamed, she blushed instead of speaking, and waited for
Richard to come up and begin. Neither did he say anything, and they
paused till, the silence disturbing her, she ventured a "Well, papa!"

"Well, poor things. She was quite overcome when first I told her--said
it would be hard on him, and begged me to tell him that he would be much
happier if he thought no more of her."

"Did Margaret?" cried Ethel. "Oh! could she mean it?"

"She thought she meant it, poor dear, and repeated such things again and
again; but when I asked whether I should send him away without seeing
her, she cried more than ever, and said, 'You are tempting me! It would
be selfishness.'"

"Oh, dear! she surely has seen him!"

"I told her that I would be the last person to wish to tempt her to
selfishness, but that I did not think that either could be easy in
settling such a matter through a third person."

"It would have been very unkind," said Ethel; "I wonder she did not
think so."

"She did at last. I saw it could not be otherwise, and she said, poor
darling, that when he had seen her, he would know the impossibility; but
she was so agitated that I did not know how it could be."

"Has she?"

"Ay, I told him not to stay too long, and left him under the tulip