ouldn't be so surly,'
remarked Miss La Creevy, who was an odd little mixture of shrewdness and
simplicity. 'When a man's a bear, he is generally pretty independent.'

'His manner is rough,' said Kate.

'Rough!' cried Miss La Creevy, 'a porcupine's a featherbed to him! I
never met with such a cross-grained old savage.'

'It is only his manner, I believe,' observed Kate, timidly; 'he was
disappointed in early life, I think I have heard, or has had his temper
soured by some calamity. I should be sorry to think ill of him until I
knew he deserved it.'

'Well; that's very right and proper,' observed the miniature painter,
'and Heaven forbid that I should be the cause of your doing so! But,
now, mightn't he, without feeling it himself, make you and your mama
some nice little allowance that would keep you both comfortable until
you were well married, and be a little fortune to her afterwards? What
would a hundred a year for instance, be to him?'

'I don't know what it would be to him,' said Kate, with energy, 'but it
would be that to me I would rather die than take.'

'Heyday!' cried Miss La Creevy.

'A dependence upon him,' said Kate, 'would embitter my whole life. I
should feel begging a far less degradation.'

'Well!' exclaimed Miss La Creevy. 'This of a relation whom you will not
hear an indifferent person speak ill of, my dear, sounds oddly enough, I
confess.'

'I dare say it does,' replied Kate, speaking more gently, 'indeed I am
sure it must. I--I--only mean that with the feelings and recollection of
better times upon me, I could not bear to live on anybody's bounty--not
his particularly, but anybody's.'

Miss La Creevy looked slyly at her companion, as if she doubted whether
Ralph himself were not the subject of dislike, but seeing that her young
friend was distressed, made no remark.

'I only ask of him,' continued Kate, whose tears fell while she spoke,
'that he will move so little out of his way, in my behalf, as to
enable me by his recommendation--only by his recommendation--to earn,
literally, my bread and remain with my mother. Whether we shall ever
taste happiness again, depends upon the fortunes of my dear brother;
but if he will do this, and Nicholas only tells us that he is well and
cheerful, I shall be contented.'

As she ceased to speak, there was a rustling behind the screen
which stood between her and the door, and some person knocked at the
wainscot.'

'Come in, whoever it is!' cried Mis