te was, 'Upon my word, you
are a genteel young woman, I dare say you have a lot of sweethearts.'

The indignant denial of the Lady of Eschalott was construed into her
being 'sly,' and Mrs. Cook promised herself to find her out.

Those were not happy days with the little maiden. The nurse looked
down on her, and the cook filled the kitchen with idlers, whose looks
and speeches were abhorrent to her. Sometimes the woman took offence
at her for being high; at others, she forced on her advice upon her
dress, or tried to draw out confidences either on lovers or the affairs
of the family. Charlotte was sadly forlorn, and shut herself up in her
pantry, or in her own little attic with Jane's verbenas which cook had
banished from the kitchen, and lost her sorrows in books hired at the
library. She read, and dreamt, created leisure for reading, lived in a
trance, and awoke from it to see her work neglected, reproach herself,
and strain her powers to make up for what was left undone. Then,
finding her efforts failing, she would be distressed and melancholy,
until a fresh novel engrossed her for a time, and the whole scene was
enacted over again.

Still, it was not all idleness nor lost ground. The sense of
responsibility was doing her good, she withstood the cook's follies,
and magnanimously returned unopened a shining envelope of Mr.
Delaford's. At Christmas, when Mr. and Mrs. Frost went to pay a visit
at Beauchastel, and the cook enjoyed a course of gaieties, the only use
she made of her liberty was to drink tea once with Mrs. Martha, and to
walk over to Marksedge to see old Madison, who was fast breaking, and
who dictated to her his last messages to his grandson.

James and Isabel spent a pleasant lively Christmas with their
hospitable old friends, and James returned full of fresh vigour and new
projects. His first was to offer his assistance to the Vicar, so as to
have a third service on the Sunday; but there were differences of
opinion between them, and his proposal was received so ungraciously,
that a coolness arose, which cut him off from many openings for
usefulness.

However, he had enough to occupy him in his own department, the school.
He was astonished at his boys' deficiency in religious instruction, and
started a plan for collecting them for some teaching for an hour before
morning service. Mr. Calcott agreed with him that nothing could be
more desirable, but doubted whether the parents would compel the