out he was just a masquerading Methodist,
and he felt pretty sick, believe ME. Mr. Leavitt fell short in some
ways, but he was a good, sound Presbyterian."

"By the way, I had a letter from Mr. Ford yesterday," said Anne. "He
asked me to remember him kindly to you."

"I don't want his remembrances," said Miss Cornelia, curtly.

"Why?" said Anne, in astonishment. "I thought you liked him."

"Well, so I did, in a kind of way. But I'll never forgive him for what
he done to Leslie. There's that poor child eating her heart out about
him--as if she hadn't had trouble enough--and him ranting round
Toronto, I've no doubt, enjoying himself same as ever. Just like a
man."

"Oh, Miss Cornelia, how did you find out?"

"Lord, Anne, dearie, I've got eyes, haven't I? And I've known Leslie
since she was a baby. There's been a new kind of heartbreak in her
eyes all the fall, and I know that writer-man was behind it somehow.
I'll never forgive myself for being the means of bringing him here.
But I never expected he'd be like he was. I thought he'd just be like
the other men Leslie had boarded--conceited young asses, every one of
them, that she never had any use for. One of them did try to flirt
with her once and she froze him out--so bad, I feel sure he's never got
himself thawed since. So I never thought of any danger."

"Don't let Leslie suspect you know her secret," said Anne hurriedly.
"I think it would hurt her."

"Trust me, Anne, dearie. _I_ wasn't born yesterday. Oh, a plague on
all the men! One of them ruined Leslie's life to begin with, and now
another of the tribe comes and makes her still more wretched. Anne,
this world is an awful place, believe me."

"There's something in the world amiss
Will be unriddled by and by,"

quoted Anne dreamily.

"If it is, it'll be in a world where there aren't any men," said Miss
Cornelia gloomily.

"What have the men been doing now?" asked Gilbert, entering.

"Mischief--mischief! What else did they ever do?"

"It was Eve ate the apple, Miss Cornelia."

"'Twas a he-creature tempted her," retorted Miss Cornelia triumphantly.

Leslie, after her first anguish was over, found it possible to go on
with life after all, as most of us do, no matter what our particular
form of torment has been. It is even possible that she enjoyed moments
of it, when she was one of the gay circle in the little house of
dreams. But if Anne ever hoped that she was forgetting O