lane
in Middlesex, which joins the highroad within a few miles of the market
town of Uxbridge. Through the pretty garden at the back runs a little
brook, winding its merry way to a distant river. The few rooms in this
pleasant place of residence are well (too well) furnished, having regard
to the limits of a building which is a cottage in the strictest sense
of the word. Water-color drawings by the old English masters of the
art ornament the dining-room. The parlor has been transformed into a
library. From floor to ceiling all four of its walls are covered with
books. Their old and well-chosen bindings, seen in the mass, present
nothing less than a feast of color to the eye. The library and the works
of art are described as heirlooms, which have passed into the possession
of the present proprietor--one more among the hundreds of Englishmen who
are ruined every year by betting on the Turf.

So sorely in need of a little ready money was this victim of
gambling--tacitly permitted or conveniently ignored by the audacious
hypocrisy of a country which rejoiced in the extinction of Baden, and
which still shudders at the name of Monaco--that he was ready to let his
pretty cottage for no longer a term than one month certain; and he even
allowed the elderly lady, who drove the hardest of hard bargains with
him, to lessen by one guinea the house-rent paid for each week. He
took his revenge by means of an ironical compliment, addressed to Mrs.
Presty. "What a saving it would be to the country, ma'am, if you were
Chancellor of the Exchequer!" With perfect gravity Mrs. Presty accepted
that well-earned tribute of praise. "You are quite right, sir; I should
be the first official person known to the history of England who took
proper care of the public money."

Within two days of the time when they had left the hotel at Sydenham,
Catherine and her little family circle had taken possession of the
cottage.

The two ladies were sitting in the library each occupied with a book
chosen from the well-stocked shelves. Catherine's reading appeared to
be more than once interrupted by Catherine's thoughts. Noticing this
circumstance, Mrs. Presty asked if some remarkable event had happened,
and if it was weighing heavily on her daughter's mind.

Catherine answered that she was thinking of Kitty, and that anxiety
connected with the child did weigh heavily on her mind.

Some days had passed (she reminded Mrs. Presty) since the interview at
whic