sat by, glad and yet chafing. Rupert certainly was a comfort, for the
hour; but she wished he had never been thought of, nevertheless.

But he was a comfort next day again. Cheery and busy and efficient, he
managed people, sent the luggage off, helped and waited upon Mrs.
Copley, and kept her quiet with his talk, up to the time when the third
day they took their places in the coach.

"Really, Mr. Babbage, you are a very handy young man!" Mrs. Copley once
had uttered her admiration; and Rupert laughed.

"I shouldn't think much of myself," he said, "if I couldn't do as much
as that. You see, I consider that I'm promoted."

Dolly made the journey up to town in a state between relief and
disgust. Rupert did take a world of trouble off her hands; but she said
to herself that she did not want it taken off. And she certainly did
not want this long-legged fellow attending upon them everywhere. It was
better to have him than St. Leger; that was all you could say.

The days in London were few and busy. Mr. Copley during this interval
was very affectionate, very kind and attentive; in fact, so attentive
to supplying or providing against every possible want that he found
little time to be with his family. He and Rupert were perpetually
flying out and in, ordering this and searching for that; a sort of
joyous bustle seemed to be the order of the day; for he carried it on
gleefully.

"Why, Mr. Copley," his wife said, when he brought her an elegant little
leather case for holding the tinctures and medicines in which she
indulged, "I thought we must economise so hard? I thought you had no
money now-a-days? How is this, and what does it mean? this case must
have cost a pound."

"You are worth more than a pound, my dear," Mr. Copley said with a sort
of semi-earnestness.

"But I thought you were so poor all of a sudden?"

"We are going to turn a new leaf, and live frugally; so you see, on the
strength of that, we can afford to be extravagant now and then."

"That seems to me a very doubtful way, Mr. Copley," said his wife,
shaking her head.

"Don't be doubtful, my dear. Whatever else you do, go straight to your
mark, and don't be doubtful. Humming and hawing never get on with
anything. Care killed a cat, my dear."

"It has almost killed me," said poor Mrs. Copley. "Are we out of need
of care, Frank?"

"_You_ are. I'll take all the care for the family. My dear, we are
going in for play, and Venice."

Dolly heard this, and