id Christie, "and quite easy, when one knows the
way."

"Yes, it is quite easy," said Miss Gertrude. But her manner was quite
different from what it had been at the last lesson.

"She is not going to be vexed with me, if I can help it," said Christie
to herself; and in a little while she said, again:

"Miss Gertrude, have you any objection to my copying this pattern out of
your book, to send to Effie? I am going to write to her. She is very
quick at such work."

"Certainly not; no objection at all. You can copy it if you like--if
you think your sister can make anything of it." Then, a little ashamed
of her ungracious manner, she added, "I will copy it for you--and
another, a much prettier one. When shall you send your letter away?"

"Oh, I am very much obliged! I write so slowly that there is no haste
about it. I shall not have my letter ready till Friday."

The next day Miss Gertrude made herself very busy with her practising,
and with a magazine that Mr Sherwood had brought home. The day
following she spent with her aunt, who sent for her in the morning.
Thursday, she was as tired of her dignity as she was of the rain, and
came into the green room with a smiling face, and a nice book in her
hand. Christie received her exactly as she would have done had there
been no interruption of their intercourse. She did not for a moment
think of resenting Miss Gertrude's coolness. She had been busy every
moment of her spare time during these few days, writing to her sister,
and she had missed her society far less than it would have pleased the
young lady to know. But she was very glad to see her back again, and to
hear her declare, as she seated herself in the arm-chair, that after all
the green room was the very pleasantest in the house. So, with no more
words about it, they fell into their old, pleasant ways again.

Mrs Seaton's return made less difference in their manner of life than
they supposed it would. She seemed to Christie a very different person
from the pale, anxious invalid that went away so unwillingly; and indeed
she was. Her health and spirits were quite restored. Instead of
falling back into the retired mode of life that had become habitual to
her since the illness of her little boy, she went into society, as she
had done before; and as her circle of friends was large, she had very
little time to devote to her children, and Christie continued to have
almost as much care of Claude as she ha