Oh! full of engravings,' as she fell upon Boydell's
_Shakespeare_--another name reverenced, though she only knew a few
selected plays, prepared for elocution exercises.

Her husband, having had access to the Institute Library, and spent many
evenings over books, was better read than she, whose knowledge went no
farther than that of the highest class, but who knew all very accurately
that she did know, and was intelligent enough to find in those shelves a
delightful promise of pasture. He was by this time sighing over requests
for subscriptions.

'Such numbers! Such good purposes! But how can I give?'

'Cannot you give at least a guinea?' asked Mary, after hearing some.

'I do not know whether in this position a small sum in the list is not
more disadvantageous than nothing at all. Besides, I know nothing of the
real merits. I must ask Hailes. Ah! and here is Emma, I thought that
she would be a little impatient. She says she shall let her house for
the winter, and thinks of going to London or to Brighton, where she may
have masters for the girls.'

'Oh, I thought you meant them to go to a good school?'

'So I do, if I can get Emma's consent; but I doubt her choosing to part
with Ida. She wants to come here.'

'I suppose we ought to have her?'

'Yes, but not immediately. I do not mean to neglect her--at least, I do
hope to do all that is right; but I think you ought to have a fair start
here before she comes, so that we will invite her for Christmas, and then
we can arrange about Ida and Constance.'

'Dear little Connie, I hope she is as nice a little girl as she used to
be!'

'With good training, I think, she will be; and the tutor gives me good
accounts of Herbert in this letter.'

'Shall we have him here on Sunday week?'

'Yes, I am very anxious to see him. I hope his master gives him more
religious instruction than he has ever had, poor boy!'

Though not brilliant or playful, Lord and Lady Northmoor had, it may be
perceived, no lack of good sense in their strange new surroundings. It
was hard not to feel like guests on sufferance, and next morning, a
Sunday, was wet. However, under their waterproofs and umbrellas trudging
along, they felt once more, as Mary said, like themselves, as if they had
escaped from their keepers. Nobody on the way had the least idea who the
two cloaked figures were, and when they crept into the seat nearest the
door they were summarily ejected by a fat, red-faced