traits as well as to his parents, none
of which any one else could see. She lived upon thorns lest Ida should
burst out with some accusation, but Ida had not the requisite impudence,
and indeed, in sight of the boy with his parents, her 'evidence' faded
into such stuff as dreams are made of.

There was some vexation, indeed, that Louisa the nursery-maid, whom Mrs.
Morton had recommended, had had to be dismissed.

'I am sorry,' said Mrs. Morton, 'for, as I told you, her father was the
mate aboard the _Emma Jane_, my poor father's ship, you know, and went
down with poor pa and my poor dear Charlie. And her mother used to char
for us, which was but her due.'

'Yes, I know,' said Mary; 'Frank and I were both very sorry, and we would
have found her another place, but she would go home. You see, we could
not keep her in the nursery, for we must have a thoroughly trustworthy
person to go out with Michael.'

'What! Can't your fine nurse?'

'Eden? It is her one imperfection. It is some weakness of the spine,
and neither she nor I can be about with Michael as long as it is good for
him. I thought he must be safe in the garden, but it turned out that
Louisa had been taking him down to the village, and there meeting a
sailor, who I believe came up in a collier to Colbeam.'

'Oh, an old friend from Westhaven?'

'Sam Rattler,' suggested Ida. 'Don't you remember, mamma, Mrs. Hall said
they were sweethearting, and she wanted to get her out of the way of
him.'

'Perhaps,' said Lady Northmoor, 'but I should have forgiven it if she had
told me the truth and not tempted Mite. She used to make excuses to Eden
for going down to the village, and at last she took Mite there, and they
gave him sweets at the shop not to tell!'

'Did he?' said Ida, rather hoping the model boy would have failed.

'Oh yes. The dear little fellow did not understand keeping things back,
and when his papa was giving him his nightly sugar-plum, he said, "Blue
man gave me a great striped sweet, and it stuck in my little teeth"; and
then, when we asked when and where, he said, "Down by Betty's, when I was
out with Cea and Louie"; and so it came out that she had taken him into
the village, met this man, brought him into the grounds by the little
gate, and tried to bribe Mite to say nothing about it. Cea told us all
about it,--the little girl who lives with Miss Morton. Of course we
could never let him go out with her again, and you would hardly beli