unwarrantable thing in exacting a
promise only half understood. But she swallowed her rising qualms, and
went oh, as if exculpating herself--

"It is a safeguard. I do not ask you to marry only a man that I
approve--I simply ask you to wait until I can help you with my advice.
It will be no loss to you in any way. You are too young to think of
these things yet; but it is on the young that unscrupulous persons love
to prey--and therefore I give you a warning."

"I am quite sure that I shall not need it," said Lesley, confidently;
"and if I did, I could write and ask your advice----"

"No, no! Oh, how could I forget to tell you? You are not to write to me
while you are in your father's house."

"Oh, mamma, that is cruel."

"It is _his_ doing, not mine. Intercede with _him_, if you like. That
was one of the conditions--that for this one year you should have no
intercourse with me. And for the next year you will have no intercourse
with him. And after that, you may choose for yourself."

But this deprivation of correspondence affected Lesley more powerfully
than even the prospect of separation--to which she was used already. She
threw herself into her mother's arms and wept bitterly for a few
moments. Then it occurred to her that she was acting neither
thoughtfully nor courageously, and that her grief would only grieve her
mother, and could remedy nothing. So she sat up and dried her eyes, and
tried to respond cheerfully when Lady Alice spoke a few soothing words.
But in the whole course of her short life poor Lesley had never been so
miserable as she was that night.

The bustle of preparation which had to be gone through next day
prevented her, however, from thinking too much about her troubles. She
and Lady Alice, with the faithful Dayman, were to leave Paris late in
the afternoon; and the morning was spent in hurried excursions to shops,
interviews with milliners and dressmakers, eager discussions on color,
shape, and fitness. Lesley was glad to see that she was not to be sent
to London with anything over-fine in the way of clothes. The gowns
chosen were extremely simple, but in good taste; and the _modiste_
promised that they should be sent after the young lady in the course of
a very few days. There was some argument as to whether Lesley would
require a ball dress, or dinner dresses. Lady Alice thought not. But,
although nothing that could actually be called a ball-dress was ordered,
there were one or two froc