ht in, isn't it, now?" said Dame Hursey, rising and
examining minutely the Indian shawl in which the baron had wrapped his
daughter, and which was lying on a chair.

Jack, more convinced than ever that Dame Hursey was a witch, thought
perhaps she might be able to tell him where the fairies had brought the
baby from if he were civil to her, so he answered all her questions and
described minutely all the baby's belongings.

"Ah! well, it is the Pharisees you have to thank for bringing her here.
Mind you all take care of her, and one of these fine days she'll turn
into a beautiful princess and make you all very rich; but if you talk
much about her the fairies will be angry and take her away. You tell
your mother I said so; I can't wait any longer."

And Dame Hursey, who had been prying about the kitchen to see if she
could find any other belongings of this mysterious baby, took her
departure, much to Jack's joy.

Shortly after she left Mrs. Shelley came home, and Jack was so full of
Dame Hursey's visit and her account of the fairies' child that he forgot
to ask the result of his mother's interview with the rector, while Mrs.
Shelley, on the other hand, was not at all pleased to find Dame Hursey
had been prying about her cottage in her absence, and congratulated
herself on not having left any of the baby's little garments about, for
she might never have found them again if she had.

The next day the rector called and had a long talk with the shepherd and
his wife about the baby, though he could throw but little light upon it,
except, of course, to utterly discredit the ridiculous notion that the
fairies had brought it. That it belonged to rich people was clear from
its clothes; and to foreigners, from the coronet, which was certainly
not English. More the rector could not say, except that its parents
evidently wanted to get rid of it, and had connived at placing it on the
shepherd's doorstep.

As to keeping it, that was a point entirely for the shepherd and his
wife to decide. If they chose to send it to the workhouse, no one could
blame them for doing so. He doubted exceedingly anyone ever claiming it,
but he advised Mrs. Shelley to lock up all its clothes and things in
case of their being needed for identification at any future period. He
also counselled them, if they thought of keeping the child, to weigh the
matter well before they decided, as it would be cruel kindness to take
it in for a time and then tire of it