y towards her son, and spoke in the
measured syllables and unvibrating tone which always marked her utterance
when she was displeased.

"Do you think you are under any obligation to do that? Suppose they had
hired a house of you in some other part of the town: would you have felt
called upon to pay them that attention? I do not know what the usual
duties of a landlord are. You know best."

Stephen colored. This was the worst of his mother's many bad traits,--an
instinctive, unreasoning, and unreasonable jealousy of any mark of
attention or consideration shown to any other person than herself, even if
it did not in the smallest way interfere with her comfort; and this cold,
sarcastic manner of speaking was, of all the forms of her ill-nature, the
one he found most unbearable. He made no reply, but stood still at the
window, watching Mercy's light and literally joyful movements, as she
helped her mother out of, and down from, the antiquated old carriage, and
carried parcel after parcel and laid them on the doorstep.

Mrs. White continued in the same sarcastic tone,--

"Pray go and help move all their baggage in, Stephen, if it would give you
any pleasure. It is nothing to me, I am sure, if you choose to be all the
time doing all sorts of things for everybody. I don't see the least
occasion for it, that's all."

"It seems to me only common neighborliness and friendly courtesy, mother,"
replied Stephen, gently. "But you know you and I never agree upon such
points. Our views are radically different, and it is best not to discuss
them."

"Views!" ejaculated Mrs. White, in a voice more like the low growl of some
animal than like any sound possible to human organs. "I don't want to hear
any thing about 'views' about such a trifle. Why don't you go, if you want
to, and be done with it?"

"It is too late now," answered Stephen, in the same unruffled tone. "They
have gone in, and the carriage is driving off."

"Well, perhaps they would like to have you put down their carpets for
them, or open their boxes," sneered Mrs. White, still with the same
intolerable sarcastic manner. "I don't doubt they could find some use for
your services."

"O mother, don't!" pleaded Stephen, "please don't. I do not wish to go
near them or ever see them, if it will make you any less happy. Do let us
talk of something else."

"Who ever said a word about your not going near them, I'd like to know?
Have I ever tried to shut you up, or keep you