with the charge of another
girl, for his own means were not large, and his family made many demands
upon his purse. He was a physician whose career might have been a
brilliant one had his practice been in London; but a fanciful and
invalid wife had rendered this impossible, as she declared she could
only exist in the pure air of the country.

So he had reluctantly abandoned his cherished hope of working as a
London doctor, and had settled near a small country town in
Gloucestershire, where he soon obtained most of the practice round; but
his scope was narrow. He nevertheless managed to keep in touch with his
profession, a profession in which he had entered heart and soul, making
various scientific researches in his laboratory, and sending the fruit
of them in clearly-written articles to medical papers. Now for this
work, either in writing short articles from his notes, or from his
dictation, a patient helper was of great assistance to him. His own
daughters, as already seen, disliked the work, and showed their father
no sympathy in it, whereas to Rose it was real enjoyment, filling, in a
measure, the void she felt in no longer helping her father. Between
uncle and niece a tacit sympathy had grown up. He encouraged her in her
natural history pursuits, and helped her to start the lectures she gave
to the G.F.S. girls in the neighbourhood. The suggestion had seemed
little likely to interest them, but Rose had been so clear and explicit
that the girls soon became eager for them.

Time went on in this way, when something happened which was again to
change Rose's circumstances. Truly it is that often trifles light as air
have an unknown weight of importance in them. One morning the letter-bag
brought a circular announcing that some "University Extension Lectures"
were to be given at C----, their nearest town, by a professor from
Oxford, the subject chosen being "Spiders," with notes from the
microscope.

When Dr. Sinclair had read it, he passed it, smiling kindly, to Rose.

"This is not for me," he said, "but I think I know some one whom it may
interest."

"Oh, uncle! how delightful," said Rose, when she had looked at it; "the
very thing I should enjoy!"

So it came to pass that Rose attended the lectures, entering very fully
into them, and taking careful notes.

At the close of the course, the lecturer said he would like any of the
students who felt sufficiently interested in the subject to write a
paper, and send i