ed
his blessings in this respect. Isabel and Dottie might be tolerated,
but he could easily have dispensed with Susie and Laura and Clara; he
had a knack of forgetting their existence when he was absent from
them, and when he was at home he did not always care to be reminded of
their presence. He was one of those men who are very exacting to their
women-kind, who resent it as a personal injury if they fail in good
looks or are not pleasant to the eye. He did not go so far as to say
to himself that he could dispense with poor Mattie too, but he
certainly acted on most occasions as though he thought so.

"Are you not fond of all your sisters?" asked Phillis, rather
maliciously, for she had remarked the shrug.

"Oh, as to that," replied the young man, coloring a little, "one
cannot expect to be interested in a lot of school-girls. I am afraid I
know very little about the four youngest, except that they are working
Grace to death. Just fancy, Miss Challoner!" he continued, addressing
Nan, and quite disregarding Phillis's sympathetic looks. "Grace has
actually no life of her own at all; she teaches those girls, sits with
them, walks with them, helps them mend their clothes, just like a
daily or rather a nursery governess, except that she is not paid, and
has no holidays. I cannot think how my mother can find it in her heart
to work her so hard!" finished Archie, excited to wrath at the
remembrance of Grace's wrongs.

"Well, do you know," returned Nan, thoughtfully, as he seemed to
expect an answer to this, and Phillis for a wonder was silent, "I
cannot think your sister an object of pity. Think what a good and
useful life she is leading! She must be a perfect treasure to her
mother; and I dare say they all love her dearly."

"The girls do," was the somewhat grudging response: "they follow her
about like four shadows, and even Isabel can do nothing without her
advice. When I am at home I can scarcely get her for a moment to
myself; it is 'Grace, come here,' and 'Grace, please do this for me,'
until I wonder she is not worn out."

"Oh, how happy she must be!" responded Nan, softly, for to her no lot
seemed sweeter than this. To be the centre and support of a large
family circle,--the friend and trusted confidante of each! What a
wonderful creature this Grace must be! and how could he speak of her
in that pitying tone? "No life of her own!" Well, what life could she
want better than this? To be the guide and teacher of he