tten.

"Who is he, Anna? Not her child, the waiting woman's, surely."

"Hush--sh," came warningly from Anna, as she glanced toward the open
door, and that brought Asenath back from her dream of the past.

It was the waiting woman's child. There was no look like John now. She
had been mistaken, and rather rudely pushing him away, she said: "I
think you might have consulted us, at least. What are we to do with a
child in this house? Here, here, young man," and Asenath started forward
just in time to frighten Willie and make him drop and break the goblet
he was trying to reach from the stand, "to dink," as he said.

Asenath's purple silk was deluged with the water, and her temper was
considerably ruffled as she exclaimed: "You see the mischief he has
done, and it was cut glass, too. I hope you'll deduct it from her
wages!"

"Asenath," and Anna's voice betrayed her astonishment that her sister
should speak so in Adah's presence.

She had hurried out at Asenath's alarm, but the latter did not at first
observe her, and when she did, she was actually startled into an apology
for her speech.

"I'm sorry Willie was so careless. I'll pay for the goblet cheerfully,"
Adah said, not to Asenath, but to Anna, who answered kindly: "No matter;
it was already cracked across the bottom--don't mind."

But Adah did mind; and once alone in her room, her tears fell in
torrents. She had heard the whole about Willie's mischief, heard of the
buds torn to pieces, and of the hole kicked in the carpet. She would
like to see that hole, and after Willie was asleep, she stole down to
the reception-room to see the damage for herself. She found the hole, or
what was intended for it, smiling as she examined the few loose threads;
and then she hunted for the stool, finding it under the curtain where
Eudora had placed it, and finding, too, that letter dropped by Jim. The
others were gone, appropriated by Mrs. Richards, who always watched for
the western mail and looked it over herself.

MISS ANNIE RICHARDS,
SNOWDOWN,
MASS.

That was the direction, and the envelope was faced with black. Adah
noticed this, together with the heavy seal of wax stamped with an
initial; and she was taking the lost epistle to its rightful owner when
Mrs. Richards met her, asking what she had.

"I found this beneath the curtain," Adah replied. "It's for Miss Anna;
I'll take it to her, shall I?"

"Yes, yes--yes, yes; for Anna," and madam snatched eagerly at th