stant effect on Mrs. Cheyne. For a moment she stood as though at a
loss to explain her intrusion; but the next minute one of her rare
sunshiny smiles crossed her face:

"I must seem impertinent; but your daughters have interested me so
much that I was anxious to see their mother. But I ought to apologize
for disturbing you so early."

"Not at all; all hours are the same to me. We are always glad to see
our friends: are we not, Phillis? My dear, I wish you would carry
these away to Dorothy and ask her to finish them."

"Oh, no! pray do nothing of the kind," returned Mrs. Cheyne, eagerly.
"You must not punish me in this way. Let me help you. Indeed, I am
sure I can, if I only tried." And, to Phillis's intense amusement,
Mrs. Cheyne drew off her delicate French gloves, and in another moment
both ladies were seated close together, shelling peas into the same
pan, and talking as though they had known each other for years.

"Oh, it was too delicious!" exclaimed Phillis, when she had retailed
this interview for Nan's and Dulce's benefit. "I knew mother would
behave beautifully. If I had taken the Princess of Wales in to see
her, she would not have had a word of apology for her apron, though it
was a horrid coarse thing of Dorothy's. She would just have smiled at
her, as she did at Mrs. Cheyne. Mother's behavior is always lovely."

"Darling old mammie!" put in Dulce, rapturously, at this point.

"I made some excuse and left them together, because I could see Mrs.
Cheyne was dying to get rid of me; and I'm always amiable, and like to
please people. Oh, it was the funniest sight, I assure you!--Mrs.
Cheyne with her long fingers blazing with diamond rings, and the peas
rolling down her silk dress; and mother just going on with her
business in her quiet way. Oh, I had such a laugh when I was back in
the work-room!"

It cost Phillis some trouble to be properly demure when Mrs. Cheyne
came into the work-room some time afterwards in search of her. Perhaps
her mischievous eyes betrayed her, for Mrs. Cheyne shook her head at
her in pretended rebuke:

"Ah, I see; you will persist in treating things like a comedy. Well,
that is better than putting on tragedy airs and making yourselves
miserable. Now I have seen your mother, I am not quite so puzzled."

"Indeed!" and Phillis fixed her eyes innocently on Mrs. Cheyne's
face.

"No; but I am not going to make you vain by telling you what I think
of her: indiscriminate praise is not