oat over him at night.'

'Well, I do generally run up after dinner; but after your day, I can't
think of dragging you up all these stairs.'

'Oh, that's nothing! Only you see it is jollier to have my Billy-boy
in the next room.'

They were mounting all the time, and were received in the day nursery
by the old Rectory nurse, much increased in dignity, but inclined to be
pathetic as she inquired after 'Mr. Mark,' while Annaple, like a little
insensible being, answered with provoking complacency as to his perfect
health, and begged Mrs. Poole to bring Master Alwyn to play in the
garden at Springfield with her Willie. In fact there was a general
invitation already to Alwyn to play there, but his attendants so much
preferred the society of their congeners in the parks that they did not
avail themselves of it nearly as often as Ursula wished.

Little Alwyn asleep was, of course, a beautiful sight, with a precious
old headless rabbit pressed tight to his cheek; Annaple's face grew
tender as she looked at the motherless creature; and she admired him to
any extent except saying that he excelled her own. Being more than a
year the elder, there could be no rivalry as to accomplishments; but as
soon as they were out of the nursery hush, Annaple laughed her way down
again with tales of Billy-boy's wonder at his first experiences of
travelling. They sat down among the plants in the balcony, as far from
the lamps as possible, and talked themselves into intimacy over
Micklethwayte. There are two Eden homes in people's lives, one that of
later childhood, the other the first of wedded happiness, and St.
Ambrose Road had the same halo to both of these; for both had been
uprooted from it against their will; the chief difference being that
Ursula could cast longing, lingering looks behind, while Annaple held
herself resolutely steeled against sentiment, and would only turn it
off by something absurd. Nothing was absolutely settled yet; Mark had
been presenting himself at offices, and she had been seeing rooms and
lodgings.

'The insurance office sounds the best, and would be the least shock to
our belongings,' said Annaple; 'but it seems to lead to nothing. He
would not get on unless we had capital to invest, and even if we had
any, you wouldn't catch us doing that again!'

'Does Mr. Dutton advise that?'

'No, he only thought we should like it better; but we are quite past
caring for people's feelings in the matter. They could