hem, and you
tell me that they are gone out.'

Poor Mrs. Ellis! This was a terrible mortification to her; she felt for
her husband, and she felt for the disappointment of the girls, though
they certainly deserved it.

'I am very sorry I let them go, dear Arthur,' she said, 'but they
pressed me so much that I did not like to refuse.'

'Yes, yes,' said Mr. Ellis, 'I know; it is the old story: you are too
weak-minded to refuse, and our children are to be ruined for want of
proper restraint, or else _I_ am to be appealed to in case of
punishment, and so must be considered by them harsh and unkind. I cannot
help saying that it is very cruel of you, Ada, to give way to this
nervous weakness of yours,' continued Mr. Ellis, as he saw the poor lady
begin to cry; 'the only way will be, I suppose, to send the girls to a
boarding-school, before you have quite spoiled them.'

Having thus delivered his opinion, Mr. Ellis walked out of the room; and
soon the rather violent shutting of the front door gave token that he
had left the house, to the really great sorrow of his wife, who now
heartily repented having given her consent to what had been the cause of
so much trouble. But we must leave her to repent at leisure, and follow
the gay young party, who, notwithstanding some few qualms of conscience
on their first setting out, soon found plenty to interest them in the
surrounding villas and gardens, where such diversity of taste is
displayed.

CHAPTER III.

THE LOST BROOCH.

It was a lovely afternoon in the beginning of August. Some few fleecy
clouds occasionally intercepted the rather too warm beams of the sun,
from which our young friends intended to take shelter under the trees in
the Regent's Park; for Dora and Annie Maitland had wisely determined
not to mention Thomas Hutton and his glass beehives after what they had
seen and heard at Camden Terrace, for they well knew that it would be
impossible to walk that distance, and back again, in an hour.

'I have a beautiful book that my papa gave me yesterday,' said Dora
Maitland; 'I thought you would like to see it, so I brought it with me.
We can look at it while we sit to rest in the Park.'

'Oh yes, that will be delightful,' said Mabel; but she almost
immediately added, 'I think I would rather look at the gay dresses of
the ladies; we can look at books when we are at home.'

'Mabel is always talking about dress,' said her sister, laughing. 'I'm
sure I don't care h