y over the area gate. She came out
when she saw me approach, with her eyes staring and her whole form in a
flutter.

"O," she cried, "such things as I have heard this day!"

"Well," said I, "what? let me hear too." She put her hand on her heart.
"I never was so frightened," whispered she, "I thought I should have
fainted right away. To hear that elegant lady use such a word as
crime,--"

"What elegant lady?" interrupted I. "Don't begin in the middle of your
story, that's a good girl; I want to hear it all."

"Well," said she, calming down a little, "Mrs. Daniels had a visitor
to-day, a lady. She was dressed--"

"O, now," interrupted I for the second time, "you can leave that out.
Tell me what her name was and let the fol-de-rols go."

"Her name?" exclaimed the girl with some sharpness, "how should I know
her name; she did'nt come to see me."

"How did she look then? You saw her I suppose?"

"And was'nt that what I was telling you, when you stopped me. She looked
like a queen, that she did; as grand a lady as ever I see, in her velvet
dress sweeping over the floor, and her diamonds as big as--"

"Was she a dark woman?" I asked.

"Her hair was black and so were her eyes, if that is what you mean."

"And was she very tall and proud looking?"

The girl nodded. "You know her?" whispered she.

"No," said I, "not exactly; but I think I can tell who she is. And so
she called to-day on Mrs. Daniels, did she."

"Yes, but I guess she knew master would be home before she got away."

"Come," said I, "tell me all about it; I'm getting impatient."

"And ain't I telling you?" said she. "It was about three o'clock this
afternoon, the time I go up stairs to dress, so I just hangs about in
the hall a bit, near the parlor door, and I hear her gossiping with Mrs.
Daniels almost as if she was an old friend, and Mrs. Daniels answering
her mighty stiffly and as if she was'nt glad to see her at all. But the
lady didn't seem to mind, but went on talking as sweet as honey, and
when they came out, you would have thought she loved the old woman like
a sister to see her look into her face and say something about knowing
how busy she was, but that it would give her so much pleasure if she
would come some day to see her and talk over old times. But Mrs. Daniels
was'nt pleased a bit and showed plain enough she did'nt like the lady,
fine as she was in her ways. She was going to answer her too, but just
then the front door opened and M