o his door. And seeing her husband standing still with his elbow
leaning on his dressing-table, she walked in.

"You will assuredly be late! what have you got there?"

The little sheet of English note-paper lay spread out on the
dressing-table. Mr. Randolph was looking at it. He did not answer, and
the lady bent nearer for a moment and then stood upright.

"Daisy!" exclaimed Mrs. Randolph.

Her husband made an inarticulate sort of a noise, as he turned away and
took up his neglected shaving soap.

"What is this?" said the lady in astonishment.

"What you see--" said Mr. Randolph.

"Where did it come from?"

"The signature tells you."

"But where did you get it?"

"Here--this moment."

"The impertinent little minx!"

"Hush. She does not mean to be impertinent, Felicia."

"Do you like misbehaviour that is not meant, Mr. Randolph?"

"Better than that which _is_ meant."

"I told you the child would get ruined in that place," said Mrs.
Randolph, after musing a few minutes over the little sheet of
note-paper.

Mr. Randolph made a lather and applied it. That might be the reason why
he made no answer.

"I call it impertinence," the lady went on, "and very well grown
impertinence too--from a child like that! It is the trick of all
religious people, to think themselves better and wiser than the rest of
the world; but I think Daisy has learnt the lesson early!"

Still silence on Mr. Randolph's part and steady attention to his toilet
duties.

"What notice do you mean to take of this?"

"I think, none at all."

"Mr. Randolph, Daisy is ruined!"

"I do not quite see it yet."

"I wish you would see it. She is full of stupid stiff ways, which will
be habits fixed as iron in a little time if we do not break them up. She
does not act like a child."

"She is very like a child to me," said Mr. Randolph.

"You do not see. Do you observe her way whenever she sits down to table?
She covers her face and remains in silent prayer, I suppose, a minute or
so."

A slight laugh came from Mrs. Randolph with the words. Mr. Randolph
could not well laugh, for he was shaving. He remarked that he had never
seen it.

"I wish you would remember and take notice. She does it regularly. And
she is not a docile child _any_ longer, I give you warning. You will
find it very difficult to do anything with her in the way of breaking up
this religious stiffness of hers."

Mr. Randolph was silent a while, and Mrs. Randolph looked