y for the good of the
house, Faith was not troubled by appearances. Her eyes did not notice
details, the details which mean so much, for her home had always been in
more or less of a muddle. There were so many of them, Audrey, Faith, Tom,
Deborah and baby Joan. Five of them ransacking and romping all over the
house, until granny had come and taken Audrey away to live with her.

They had always been in a muddle, but they had always been happy, and they
loved their home so dearly that, whatever it was like, it was right in
their eyes--excepting, perhaps, in Audrey's. And even if their clothes
were shabby--well, shabby clothes were much less of a worry than smart
ones; and if their food was plain, and not very daintily served, there was
always enough, and there was plenty of fun and laughter as sauce for it.

Mr. Carlyle, who had grown up in a well-ordered home where everything was
as neat and well-cared-for as things could be, did realise that there was
much that was lacking in his own home; but whatever he may have suffered
from the disorder, he never complained. His mother had had means, three
good servants, and only one child to make the home untidy; whereas his
young wife, who had been brought up in an Orphan School, had never known
real home life until her marriage, had only small means, several young
babies, and only one ignorant servant to help her.

Audrey and Faith, as they grew out of babyhood, helped to dust the rooms,
run errands, and look after the younger children, but they had only the
vaguest notions as to how homes should be kept, or meals served, or the
hundred and one other little things which make all the difference between
a well-kept house and an ill-kept one, and they were quite content with
things as they were.

At least Faith was. Audrey often had misgivings that all was not as it
should be, and yearned for something more orderly, dainty, and neat; for
prettier clothes and prettier manners. And then Granny Carlyle had come
on a visit, and had offered to take one of her many grandchildren to live
with her--for a time, at any rate. And, to the joy of Audrey, and the
relief of the others, she was chosen and they were not; and, with all her
few possessions packed in her mother's old portmanteau, she had gone off
to enjoy all the things that she considered best worth having--a large
comfortable home in a town, new clothes, school, tempting food, daintily
cooked meals, and peace and quiet in w