the
arrangement. She went on, however, very gravely with her knitting,
and did not even make an attempt to catch her husband's eye.

"Margaret," said John Ball, as soon as he had shut the study door;
"but, perhaps, you had better sit down."

Then she sat down, and he came and seated himself opposite to her;
opposite her, but not so close as to give him any of the advantages
of a lover.

"Margaret, I don't know whether you have guessed the subject on which
I wish to speak to you; but I wish you had."

"Is it about the money?" she asked.

"The money! What money? The money you have lent to your brother? Oh,
no."

Then, at that moment, Margaret did, I think, guess.

"It's not at all about the money," he said, and then he sighed.

He had at one time thought of asking his mother to make the
proposition for him, and now he wished that he had done so.

"No, Margaret, it's something else that I want to say. I believe you
know my condition in life pretty accurately."

"In what way, John?"

"I am a poor man; considering my large family, a very poor man. I
have between eight and nine hundred a year, and when my father and
mother are both gone I shall have nearly as much more; but I have
nine children, and as I must keep up something of a position, I have
a hard time of it sometimes, I can tell you."

Here he paused, as though he expected her to say something; but she
had nothing to say and he went on.

"Jack is at Oxford, as you know, and I wish to give him any chance
that a good education may afford. It did not do much for me, but he
may be more lucky. When my father is dead, I think I shall sell this
place; but I have not quite made up my mind about that;--it must
depend on circumstances. As for the girls, you see that I do what I
can to educate them."

"They seem to me to be brought up very nicely; nothing could be
better."

"They are good girls, very good girls, and so is Jack a very good
fellow."

"I love Jack dearly," said Miss Mackenzie, who had already come to
a half-formed resolution that Jack Ball should be heir to half her
fortune, her niece Susanna being heiress to the other half.

"Do you? I'm so glad of that." And there was actually a tear in the
father's eye.

"And so I do the girls," said Margaret. "It's something so nice to
feel that one has people really belonging to one that one may love.
I hope they'll know Susanna some day, for she's a very nice girl,--a
very dear girl."

"I hope the