s she was to live. She would even squeeze her
foot into a two-and-a-half shoe, and was dying to imitate my smile.
Poor thing, how I did worry her! But what bothered her more than
anything else, was her inability in every instance to associate with
the same particular persons that I did.

"In Peekskill, as I suppose it is in most places of its size, the young
men are quite attentive to the young ladies. While my aunt was very
solicitous about my company, I managed to receive about as much
attention as the other girls, and, do you know, I never had a beau in
my life that Nellie did not try to get away from me.

"Finally, just to bother her, I would tell the young men that if they
paid Miss Mason any attention I would have nothing whatever to do with
them; that I would cut them squarely. Well, one young fellow, whom I
had thus admonished, thought it would be smart to tell the young lady
what I had said, and since that day Nellie Mason has not been trying so
much to imitate as she evidently has to injure me.

"Soon after I married Richard and came to New York to live, Nellie went
home to Lewiston, Maine; and after she had been there a while she wrote
me a letter in which she said she had married. I have her letter now.
She did not remain long in Lewiston, for the next thing I heard of her
she was here in New York.

"She called on me and said she was living with a Mrs. Gilbert, in East
Thirteenth Street; that she and her husband had quarreled, and that she
had resolved to make her own living, and was then at work in an
Insurance office. It is needless for me to say that I did not return
the call, but I presume it would have been better for me if I had.

"One evening, about half-past five, about three weeks before we left
our old apartments, one of Mr. Stone's most intimate friends called.
There was nothing particularly singular or remarkable about the call,
for the gentleman often came with Richard and made real homelike
visits. He had not been in the house long on this occasion before he
said he was delighted to receive my kind letter. Of course, not
knowing what he referred to, I promptly demanded an explanation, when
he took from his pocket a neat little letter apparently written by me
and signed 'Frances,' requesting him to call at 5:30 that day, as I
wanted to see him particularly. Did you ever hear the like of that?

"Well, to make matters still more embarrassing, presently in walks
Richard with another