ay here with Uncle John. This house is
mine now, and I am seriously thinking of having it painted. I shall stay
here just as if I were one of those trees, and my father and my new
mother--"

Here tears came into Olive's eyes and Mrs. Easterfield stopped her.

"Olive," said she, "I will give you a piece of advice. When your father
and his young wife come here, treat her exactly as if she were your old
friend. If you do so I think you will get along very well. This is
partly selfish advice, for I greatly desire the opportunity to treat
your father hospitably. He was my friend when I was a girl, you
remember, and I looked up to him with very great admiration."

And so these two friends sat and talked, and talked, and talked until it
was positively shameful, considering that the Broadstone horses were
accustomed to be fed and watered at noon, and that the coachman was very
hungry.

When, at last, Mrs. Easterfield drove home, and it must have been three
in the afternoon, she left Olive very much comforted, even in regard to
the unfortunate obligations which had fallen upon her uncle. For now
that her old father had gone, all intercourse with the Port woman would
cease.

But in her own mind Mrs. Easterfield was not so very much comforted. It
was all well enough to talk about Olive and her uncle and the happiness
and safety of the home he had given her, but that sort of thing could
not last very long. He was an elderly man and she was a girl. In the
natural course of events, she would probably be left alone while she was
very young. She would then be alone, for her father's wife could never
be a mother to her when he was at sea, and their home would never be a
home for her when he was on shore. What Olive wanted, in Mrs.
Easterfield's opinion, was a husband. An uncle, such as Captain Asher,
was very charming, but he was not enough.

During this pleasant afternoon, when Captain Asher was in town
attending to some arrangements for the burial of Mr. Port, Miss Maria
was sitting discreetly alone in her darkened chamber. She had a great
many things to think about, and if she had allowed her conscience full
freedom of action, there would have been much more upon her mind. She
might have been troubled by the recollection that since her father's
very determined treatment of her when she had endeavored to fix herself
upon the affections of Captain Asher, she had so conducted herself
toward her venerable parent that she had actua