te upon her tongue; and she was vexed at that.

There was another person who probably thought Tom weak, and who was
curious to know how he had come out of this trial of strength with his
relations; but Mr. Dillwyn had wandered off to a distance, and it was
not till a month later that he saw any of the Caruthers. By that time
they were settled in their town quarters for the winter, and there one
evening he called upon them. He found only Julia and her mother.

"By the way," said he, when the talk had rambled on for a while, "how
did you get on at the Isles of Shoals?"

"We had an awful time," said Julia. "You cannot conceive of anything so
slow."

"How long did you stay?"

"O, ages! We were there four or five weeks. Imagine, if you can.
Nothing but sea and rocks, and no company!"

"No company! What kept you there?"

"O, Tom!"

"What kept Tom?"

"Mrs. Wishart got sick, you see, and couldn't get away, poor soul! and
that made her stay so long."

"And you had to stay too, to nurse her?"

"No, nothing of that. Miss Lothrop was there, and she did the nursing;
and then a ridiculous aunt of hers came to help her."

"You staid for sympathy?"

"Don't be absurd, Philip! You know we were kept by Tom. We could not
get him away."

"What made Tom want to stay?"

"O, that girl."

"How did you get him away at last?"

"Just because we stuck to him. No other way. He would undoubtedly have
made a fool of himself with that girl--he was just ready to do it--but
we never left him a chance. George and I, and mother, we surrounded
him," said Julia, laughing; "we kept close by him; we never left them
alone. Tom got enough of it at last, and agreed, very melancholy, to
come away. He is dreadfully in the blues yet."

"You have a good deal to answer for, Julia."

"Now, don't, Philip! That's what George says. It is _too_ absurd. Just
because she has a pretty face. All you men are bewitched by pretty
faces."

"She has a good manner, too."

"Manner? She has no manner at all; and she don't know anything, out of
her garden. We have saved Tom from a great danger. It would be a
terrible thing, perfectly _terrible_, to have him marry a girl who is
not a lady, nor even an educated woman."

"You think you could not have made a lady of her?"

"Mamma, do hear Philip! isn't he too bad? Just because that girl has a
little beauty. I wonder what there is in beauty, it turns all your
heads! Mamma, do you hear Mr. Dillwyn? he wishes w