; and that the money spent for
your railway ticket has been obtained by the sacrifice of the diamonds
and pearls, that were set around my mother's picture; that cameo, which
he had cut in Rome and framed in Paris. Beryl so much depends on the
impression you make upon him, that you must guard your manner against
haughtiness. Try to be patient, my daughter, and if he should seem
harsh, do not resent his words. He is old now, and proud and bitter,
but he once had a tender love for me. I was his idol, and when my child
pleads, he will relent."

Mrs. Brentano laid her thin hot fingers on her daughter's hands,
drawing her down to the edge of the bed; and Beryl saw she was
quivering with nervous excitement.

"Compose yourself, mother, or you will be so ill that I cannot leave
you. Dr. Grantlin impressed upon us, the necessity of keeping your
nervous system quiet. Take your medicine now, and try to sleep until I
come back from Stephen & Endicott's."

"Do not go to-day."

"I must. Those porcelain types were promised for a certain day, and
they should be packed in time for the afternoon express going to
Boston."

"Beryl."

"Well, mother?"

"Come nearer to me. Give me your hand. My heart is so oppressed by
dread, that I want you to promise me something, which I fancy will
lighten my burden. Life is very uncertain, and if I should die, what
would become of my Bertie? Oh, my boy! my darling, my first born! He is
so impulsive, so headstrong; and no one but his mother could ever
excuse or forgive his waywardness. Although younger, you are in some
respects, the strongest; and I want your promise that you will always
be patient and tender with him, and that you will shield him from evil,
as I have tried to do. His conscience of course, is not sensitive like
yours--because you know, a boy's moral nature is totally different from
a girl's; and like most of his sex, Bertie has no religious instincts
bending him always in the right direction. Women generally have to
supply conscientious scruples for men, and you can take care of your
brother, if you will. You are unusually brave and strong, Beryl, and
when I am gone, you must stand between him and trouble. My good little
girl, will you?"

The large luminous eyes that rested upon the flushed face of the
invalid, filled with a mist of yearning compassionate tenderness, and
taking her mother's hands, Beryl laid the palms together, then stooping
nearer, kissed her softly.

"I thi