r, till there was quite a large
bundle.

"But how is it you are here so soon?" asked Mrs. Gaunt.

"O, we had next to no sermon to-day. He couldn't make no hand of it:
dawdled on a bit; then gave us his blessing, and bundled us out."

"Then I've lost nothing," said Mrs. Gaunt.

"Not you. Well, I don't know. Mayhap if you had been there he'd have
preached his best. But la! we warn't worth it."

At this conjecture Mrs. Gaunt's face burned, but she said nothing: only
she cut the interview short, and dismissed Betty with her bundle.

As Betty crossed the landing, Mrs. Gaunt's new lady's-maid, Caroline
Ryder, stepped accidentally, on purpose, out of an adjoining room, in
which she had been lurking, and lifted her black brows in affected
surprise. "What, are you going to strip the house, my woman?" said she,
quietly.

Betty put down the bundle, and set her arms akimbo. "There is none on 't
stolen, any way," said she.

Caroline's black eyes flashed fire at this, and her cheek lost color;
but she parried the innuendo skilfully. "Taking my perquisites on the
sly,--that is not so very far from stealing."

"O, there's plenty left for you, my fine lady. Besides, you don't want
_her_; you can set your cap at the master, they say. I'm too old for
that, and too honest into the bargain."

"Too ill-favored, you mean, ye old harridan," said Ryder,
contemptuously.

But, for reasons hereafter to be dealt with, Betty's thrust went home:
and the pair were mortal enemies from that hour.

* * * * *

Mrs. Gaunt came down from her room discomposed: from that she became
restless and irritable; so much so, indeed, that at last Mr. Gaunt told
her, good-humoredly enough, if going to church made her ill (meaning
peevish), she had better go to chapel. "You are right," said she, "and
so I will."

The next Sunday she was at her post in good time.

The preacher cast an anxious glance around to see if she was there. Her
quick eye saw that glance, and it gave her a demure pleasure.

This day he was more eloquent than ever: and he delivered a beautiful
passage concerning those who do good in secret. In uttering these
eloquent sentences his cheek glowed, and he could not deny himself the
pleasure of looking down at the lovely face that was turned up to him.
Probably his look was more expressive than he intended: the celestial
eyes sank under it, and were abashed, and the fair cheek burned: and
then so did Le