hed the sofa, and stood by it, waiting. Neither of them lifted
her eyes, the one to the other. The woman suffered her torture in
secret. The girl's sweet eyes filled slowly with tears. One by one the
minutes of the morning passed--not many in number, before there was a
change. In silence, Carmina held out her hand. In silence, Miss Minerva
took it and kissed it.

CHAPTER XXIX.

Mrs. Gallilee saw her housekeeper as usual, and gave her orders for the
day. "If there is anything forgotten," she said, "I must leave it to
you. For the next hour or two, don't let me be disturbed."

Some of her letters of the morning were still unread, others required
immediate acknowledgment. She was not as ready for her duties as usual.
For once, the most unendurably industrious of women was idle, and sat
thinking.

Even her unimaginative nature began to tremble on the verge of
superstition. Twice, had the subtle force of circumstances defeated her,
in the attempt to meddle with the contemplated marriage of her son. By
means of the music-master, she had planned to give Ovid jealous reasons
for doubting Carmina--and she had failed. By means of the governess, she
had planned to give Carmina jealous reasons for doubting Ovid--and she
had failed. When some people talked of Fatality, were they quite such
fools as she had hitherto supposed them to be? It would be a waste of
time to inquire. What next step could she take?

Urged by the intolerable sense of defeat to find reasons for still
looking hopefully to the future, the learned Mrs. Gallilee lowered
herself to the intellectual level of the most ignorant servant in the
house. The modern Muse of Science unconsciously opened her mind to the
vulgar belief in luck. She said to herself, as her kitchen-maid might
have said, We will see what comes of it, the third time!

Benjulia's letter was among the other letters waiting on the table. She
took it up, and read it again.

In her present frame of mind, to find her thoughts occupied by
the doctor, was to be reminded of Ovid's strange allusion to his
professional colleague, on the day of his departure. Speaking of
Carmina, he had referred to one person whom he did not wish her to see
in his absence; and that person, he had himself admitted to be Benjulia.
He had been asked to state his objection to the doctor--and how had he
replied? He had said, "I don't think Benjulia a fit person to be in the
company of a young girl."

Why?

There ar