farmer.

Those riotous bursts of song made his daughter shudder. Somehow, his
gaiety was more alarming to her than his customary morose humour. It was
all the more singular, too, because of late William Carley had been
especially silent and moody, with the air of a man whose mind is weighed
down by some heavy burden--so gloomy indeed, that his daughter had
questioned him more than once, entreating to know if he were distressed
by any secret trouble, anything going wrong about the farm, and so on.
The girl had only brought upon herself harsh angry answers by these
considerate inquiries, and had been told to mind her own business, and
not pry into matters that in no way concerned her.

"But it does concern me to see you downhearted, father," she answered
gently.

"Does it really, my girl? What! your father's something more than a
stranger to you, is he? I shouldn't have thought it, seeing how you've
gone again me in some things lately. Howsomedever, when I want your help,
I shall know how to ask for it, and I hope you'll give it freely. I don't
want fine words; they never pulled anybody out of the ditch that I've
heard tell of."

Whatever the bailiff's trouble had been, it seemed to be lightened
to-day, Ellen thought; and yet that unusual noisy gaiety of his gave her
an uncomfortable feeling: it did not seem natural or easy.

Her household work was done by noon, and she dressed hurriedly, while her
father called for her impatiently from below--standing at the foot of the
wide bare old staircase, and bawling up to her that they should be late
at Wyncomb. She looked very pretty in her neat dark-blue merino dress and
plain linen collar, when she came tripping downstairs at last, flushed
with the hurry of her toilet, and altogether so bright a creature that it
seemed a hard thing she should not be setting out upon some real pleasure
trip, instead of that most obnoxious festival to which she was summoned.

Her father looked at her with a grim kind of approval.

"You'll do well enough, lass," he said; "but I should like you to have
had something smarter than that blue stuff. I wouldn't have minded a
couple of pounds or so to buy you a silk gown. But you'll be able to buy
yourself as many silk gowns as ever you like by-and-by, if you play your
cards well and don't make a fool of yourself."

Ellen knew what he meant well enough, but did not care to take any notice
of the speech. The time would soon come, no doubt, when s