gone long before
then."

"Gone whither?"

"Home--to Shampuashuh. I have been wanting to speak to you about it,
Mrs. Wishart. I must go in a very few days."

"Nonsense! I shall not let you. I cannot get along without you. They
don't want you at home, Lois."

"The garden does. And the dairy work will be more now in a week or two;
there will be more milk to take care of, and Madge will want help."

"Dairy work! Lois, you must not do dairy work. You will spoil your
hands."

Lois laughed. "Somebody's hands must do it. But Madge takes care of the
dairy. My hands see to the garden."

"Is it necessary?"

"Why, yes, certainly, if we would have butter or vegetables; and you
would not counsel us to do without them. The two make half the living
of the family."

"And you really cannot afford a servant?"

"No, nor want one," said Lois. "There are three of us, and so we get
along nicely."

"Apropos;--My dear, I am sorry that it is so, but must is must. What I
wanted to say to you is, that it is not necessary to tell all this to
other people."

Lois looked up, surprised. "I have told no one but you, Mrs. Wishart. O
yes! I did speak to Mr. Dillwyn about it, I believe."

"Yes. Well, there is no occasion, my dear. It is just as well not."

"Is it _better_ not? What is the harm? Everybody at Shampuashuh knows
it."

"Nobody knows it here; and there is no reason why they should. I meant
to tell you this before."

"I think I have told nobody but Mr. Dillwyn."

"He is safe. I only speak for the future, my dear."

"I don't understand yet," said Lois, half laughing. "Mrs. Wishart, we
are not ashamed of it."

"Certainly not, my dear; you have no occasion."

"Then why _should_ we be ashamed of it?" Lois persisted.

"My dear, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Do not think I mean that.
Only, people here would not understand it."

"How could they _mis_understand it?"

"You do not know the world, Lois. People have peculiar ways of looking
at things; and they put their own interpretation on things; and of
course they often make great blunders. And so it is just as well to
keep your own private affairs to yourself, and not give them the
opportunity of blundering."

Lois was silent a little while.

"You mean," she said then,--"you think, that some of these people I
have been seeing here, would think less of me, if they knew how we do
at home?"

"They might, my dear. People are just stupid enough for that."

"Then