hed. She was on the point of saying she
thought Rosamond was not to interfere in her department any more
than she in Rosamond's; but she kept it back, and changed it into
"Surely the doctor and nurses must know best."

"A fresh eye often makes a difference," said Raymond. "To have her
among us again--!" but he was cut short by the announcement of Mr.
and Miss Fuller.

"Poor Mr. Fuller," as every one called him, was the incumbent of St.
Nicholas, Willansborough, a college living always passed by the
knowing old bachelor fellows, and as regularly proving a delusion to
the first junior in haste for a wife. Twenty-five years ago Mr.
Fuller had married upon this, which, as Mr. Bindon said, was rather
a reason for not marrying--a town with few gentry, and a petty
unthriving manufacture, needing an enormous amount of energy to work
it properly, and getting--Mr. Fuller, with force yearly decreasing
under the pressure of a sickly wife, ill-educated, unsatisfactory
sons, and unhealthy, aimless daughters. Of late some assistance had
been obtained, but only from Mr. Driver, the 'coach' or cramming
tutor, who was directing the studies of Frank and half a dozen more
youths, and his aid was strictly limited to a share in the Sunday
services.

The eldest daughter accompanied the Vicar. Her mother had not
health (or perhaps clothes) for a dinner-party, and it was the first
time she had ever been in the house. Very shy and in much awe she
was! Cecil viewed her as a constituent, and was elaborately civil
and patronizing, doing the honours of all the photographs and
illustrations on which she could lay hands, and only eliciting
alternately 'Very nice,' and 'How sweet!' A little more was made of
the alarms of the fire, and the preparations for clearing the house,
and there was a further thaw about the bazaar. It would be such a
relief from plain work, and she could get some lovely patterns from
her cousin who had a missionary basket; but as to the burnt-out
families, the little knowledge or interest she seemed to have about
them was rather astounding, unless, as Rosamond suspected, she
thought it 'shop,' and uninteresting to the great ladies of Compton-
Poynsett Hall.

Meanwhile, her father made the apprehended request for the loan of
Compton Church during the intervals of services, and when the Rector
explained how brief those intervals would be, looked astonished, and
dryly complimented him on his energy and his staff, some