your distress--amiable feeling!'

'She only wanted to ask ridiculous questions, whether you were
handsome.'

'What did you reply?'

'I told them not a word, except that my brother was going to be your
tutor. When I saw Miss Salter setting off by this line, I made Jem
take second-class tickets, that she might be ashamed of me.'

'My dear Giraffe, bend down your neck, and don't take such a
commonplace, conventional view of your schoolfellows.'

'Conventional! ay, all agree because they know it by experience,' said
Clara--'I'm sure I do!'

'Then take the other side--see the best.'

'Jem says you go too far, and are unreasonable with your theory of
making the best of every one.'

'By no means. I always made the worst of Frampton, and now I know what
injustice I did him. I never saw greater kindness and unselfishness
than he has shown me.'

'I should like to know what best you would make of these girls!'

'You have to try that!'

'Can I get any possible good by staying?'

'A vast deal.'

'I'm sure Italian, and music, and drawing, are not a good compared with
truth, and honour, and kindness.'

'All those things only grow by staying wherever we may happen to be,
unless it is by our own fault.'

'Tell me what good you mean!'

'Learning not to hate, learning to mend your gloves. Don't jerk the
reins, Clara, or you'll get me into a scrape.'

Clara could extract no more, nor did she wish it, for having relieved
her mind by the overflow, she only wanted to forget her misfortunes.
Her cousin Louis was her chief companion, they had always felt
themselves on the same level of nonsense, and had unreservedly shared
each other's confidences and projects; and ten thousand bits of
intelligence were discussed with mutual ardour, while Clara's ecstasy
became uncontrollable as she felt herself coming nearer to her
grandmother. She finally descended with a bound almost as distressing
to her brother as her ascent had been, and leapt at once to the embrace
of Mrs. Frost, who stood there, petting, kissing her, and playfully
threatening all sorts of means to stop her growth. Clara reared up her
giraffe figure, boasting of having overtopped all the world present,
except Louis! She made but a cold, abrupt response to her cousin
Mary's greeting, and presently rushed upstairs in search of dear old
Jane, with an impetus that made Mrs. Frost sigh, and say, 'Poor child!
how happy she is;' and follow her, smiling, while James