pend a pleasant day together at some place of
amusement, to be chosen by the young ladies. We are to spend this
evening at Camden Terrace, with our kind friends Mr. and Mrs. Ellis. I
hope you will be there, and then we can settle our plans for to-morrow.'

'We have been invited,' said Mrs. Maitland, 'but unfortunately we had a
prior engagement; but I promise you, Mr. Norton, that in whatever
direction you may decide to go to-morrow, we will accompany you.'

'Stop, stop, my dear,' interrupted Mr. Maitland; 'you are reckoning
without your host, although he happens to be in the room with you. Do
you forget that I have to set off early in the morning to pay a visit to
a sick friend who is particularly anxious to see me?'

'Well, we shall be very sorry to go without you, Maitland,' replied Mr.
Norton; 'but I suppose Master Harry, here, will try to supply your place
to the young ladies, and we must do as well as we can.'

'Did you hear about our finding Mrs. Ellis's brooch yesterday, in the
Regent's Park?' inquired Mrs. Norton; 'but perhaps you have not seen any
of them. It was a curious accident.'

'The brooch!' exclaimed Dora and Annie, simultaneously. 'Did you really
find the brooch? Oh, we are so glad! We told dear mamma about it, and
she was as sorry as we were, but we have not seen Mabel or Julia since.
How did you happen to find it, Mrs. Norton?'

'We went to seat ourselves under the shade of the trees,' replied the
lady. 'We saw you in the distance, but did not know who you were; and I
dare say you did not see us, for you were all looking on the ground.'

'Yes, of course we were,' said Dora; 'we were searching for the brooch.
And I remember we did see a lady and gentleman coming towards us; we
went away sooner on that account, for Mabel was in such a temper I felt
ashamed of anyone coming near us, though she was the only person to
blame, as she ought not to have worn her mamma's brooch.'

'Hush, hush! my little girl!' said papa; 'don't you know that our motto
is, "If you cannot speak good of a person, say nothing at all of them."'

'Bravo! bravo!' cried Mr. Norton. 'I heartily wish that this golden rule
were adopted in every family. What a world of trouble would be saved,
and how much more time there would be for profitable conversation!'

'Well,' said Mrs. Maitland, 'we are all heartily glad that the treasure
is recovered; and perhaps its temporary loss, and the uneasiness it
occasioned, may be a useful less