core and the peel?"

"Mamma, I--you know I had no knife----"

"What did you do with it?"

No answer, except that Maria's cheeks grew bright.

"You know what you did with it, I suppose. Now bring it to me, Maria."

Colouring angrily as well as confusedly, Maria went to the mantelpiece
where stood two little china vases, and took down one of them.

"Carry it to your Aunt Candy," said her mother. "Look at it, Erminia.
Now bring it here. Take this vase away, and empty it, and wash it, and
put it in its place again; and never use it to put apple peels in, as
long as you live."

Maria burst into tears and went away with the vase.

"Just a little careless," said her aunt.

"Heedless--always was," said her mother. "Now Matilda is not so; and
Anne and Letitia were neither of them so. It is a mystery to me, what
makes one child so different from another child?"

"Matilda is a little piece of thoughtfulness," said her aunt, drawing
the child to her side and kissing her. "Don't you think a little too
much, Tilly?"

Matilda wondered whether her aunt thought quite enough.

"Now, Maria," Mrs. Englefield went on as her other daughter came in,
"are you purposing to enter into all Mr. Richmond's plans that Clarissa
has been talking about?"

"Yes, ma'am, of course," Maria said.

"Well, I want you to take notice, that I expect in the first place that
all your home and school duties shall be perfectly performed. Religion,
if it is good for anything, makes people do their duties. Your lessons
must be perfect; your drawers kept in order; your clothes mended; you
must be punctual at school and orderly at home; do you hear? And if all
this is not done, I shall take all your pretended religion for nothing
but a sham, and shall pay no respect to it at all. Now go to bed and
act religion for a month before I hear you talk another word about it."

Maria went silently up-stairs, accompanied by her little sister; but
once in their room, she broke out--

"Mamma is real cross to-night! It is just Clarissa's doing."

"I'll tell you what it is, Maria," her sister said; "she is not cross;
she is worried. I know she is worried."

"About Mr. Richmond?" said Maria.

"I don't know about what. No, I guess she was worried before we came
back."

"She was cross anyhow!" said Maria. "How can one do everything
_perfectly?_"

"But that is just what Mr. Richmond said," Matilda urged gently.

"What?"

"That we should be light-bearers, you