cleverer sister; the girls
affirmed that she was sweeter tempered and more obliging. At home
also, she was the favorite. Her father idolized her, her brothers
domineered over, and petted her; even the mother made an unconscious
difference between the girls; she admired Norma more--was prouder of
her, but she depended upon Blanche. Norma saw the difference, and
sometimes it vexed her, but generally she was indifferent to it. Her
people did not understand her; she was not like them; when barn-door
fowls unwittingly hatched eaglets, it was natural that the phenomenon
should be beyond their comprehension, and that their ignorance should
prefer the tamer members of their brood. Not that Norma actually
instituted such comparison, and deliberately set herself above her
kindred; she simply acted upon the hypothesis unconsciously, and when
the warmest of the family affection settled around Blanche, felt sure
that it was due to natural difference, and could be no fault of hers.

Little Blanche, in her deep content with her new surroundings, wondered
how she could ever have been so besotted as to object to the move. The
place, the people, the mode of life were all delicious to her, and for
the family at Lanarth, her enthusiasm was touching. Mrs. Mason was
just her idea of "Mrs. Washington, or Cornelia, or Lady de
Bourgainville," she explained to Norma, mixing history and fiction, as
usual, and was laughed at for her pains.

Pocahontas never laughed at her--at least not offensively, or in a way
to make her feel her ignorance. She thought sometimes that her foolish
society was preferred by her new friend to that of her clever sister;
certainly the quaint old tales which Pocahontas poured unreservedly
into her delighted ears were never told to Norma. What impression lay
in the girl's mind of handsome Berkeley Mason, had best remain
uncanvassed. It is ill work, violating feminine sanctuaries unless the
need be urgent; an empty coat-sleeve, carelessly carried, is a powerful
agent for converting a man into a hero.

Christmas, the grand high festival of the year, was approaching, and
all the community was stirred with deep desire for its worthy
celebration. Sociability ceased, or at best was sustained in limp,
half-hearted fashion by the men. The ladies had other things to think
of; for on them rested the sole responsibility of the Christmas
preparations--the providing of copious lodging for expected guests, the
bedecking