s'--'It must be the same,' she went on; 'our
Madame d'Ermont's name was Celestine too. She was, or is, for I hope she
is still living, a great friend of ours too, Mrs. Fairchild. We spent
two winters in the south of France near her home, and we saw a great
deal of her. It is a pity for you not to have kept up writing to her;
she is very kind and very rich and childless--she might be a good friend
to her little name-daughter.'

Mrs. Fairchild's face flushed again: I rather think Biddy had inherited
something of her habit of hasty speech from her mother, kind-hearted and
good as Mrs. Vane was.

'It would not be from any motive of _that_ kind I should like to hear
from Madame d'Ermont again,' said Celestina's mother. 'It is true our
child has no one to look to but ourselves, and neither her father nor
I can boast of very strong health--but still----'

'Oh, I _beg_ your pardon,' interrupted Mrs. Vane impulsively; 'I quite
understand your feeling, and I did not mean to say anything you could
dislike. But still I will look out Madame d'Ermont's address, or get it
from my mother, and when I write to her I may tell her of you, may I
not?'

'I should be very grateful if you would do so,' Mrs. Fairchild replied.

Then they went on to speak of the details of the arrangement they had
been making, and soon after Mrs. Vane left.

That afternoon she called Bridget to her.

'Bride,' she said, 'I have something to say to you.'

'Yes, mamma,' Biddy replied, but without giving much attention. It was
probably, she thought, only to reprove her for her way of sitting at
table, or for having been cross to Jane, or for one of the hundred and
one little misdemeanours she was always being guilty of. And Biddy was
in a queerish mood just now: there was a good deal of battling and
pulling two ways going on in her baby heart. Was the lazy little _soul_
beginning to grow, I wonder?

'Yes, mamma,' she said indifferently, with her peevish 'I didn't mean,'
quite ready to trot out on the smallest provocation.

'You must give your attention, my dear,' said Mrs. Vane; 'it is
something rather particular I want to tell you about.'

'I _am_ giving my attention,' said Biddy, though it did not look very
like it.

'Well, then,' her mother went on, determined not to notice Bride's
evident wish to pick a quarrel, 'listen. You know that Miss Millet
cannot come back to us for a good long while. Alie's lessons do not
matter so much as yours, for she i