one it so industriously and made me feel so uncomfortable that
I have not had any opportunity to examine her sewing."

"My daughter, what can she have said to annoy you so much?"

"Oh," exclaimed Eleanor, savagely snatching to pieces a bit of delicate
silk she held in her hand, "what every one else is talking about. What
does any one in this town have to talk about just now, I wonder, except
Reynolds Bartram and the church? Why is it that they all think it
necessary to come and talk to me about it? I am sure I am not specially
interested in church work, and I don't believe any one who has talked
to me about it is, but I hear nothing else from morning till night
when any visitor comes in. I was congratulating myself that I had an
excuse to-day, so that I need not see any one who might call, but that
dreadful girl is worse than all the rest put together. She seems to
think, as her folks at home haven't anything else to talk about, and as
her father is so delighted at the 'blessed change,' as she expresses
it, that has come over Bartram, that I should feel just as happy about
it."

"Well, daughter, don't you?"

"No, mother, I don't. I suppose it's perfectly dreadful in me to say
so, but I don't feel anything of the kind. It's just horrid; and I wish
you and father would take me away for a little while, or else let me go
off on a visit. People talk as if Ray belonged entirely to me,--as if I
had something to do about it; and you know perfectly well I haven't."

"Well, dear, is that any reason why you should be jealous of poor Sam
Kimper?"

"Jealous!" exclaimed Eleanor, her eyes flashing: "he is the worst enemy
I ever had. I haven't had so much annoyance and trouble in all my life
as have come to me during the past two or three days through that
wretched man. I wish him almost any harm. I even wish he had never gone
to the penitentiary"

Mrs. Prency burst out laughing. The young woman saw the blunder she
had committed, and continued, quickly,--

"I mean that I wish he had never got out again. The idea of a fellow
like that coming back to this town and talking and working on people's
sympathies in such a way as to carry intelligent people right off their
feet! Here you and father have been talking about him at the table
almost every day for a long time!"

"Well, daughter, you seemed interested in everything we said, and
thought he might do a great deal of good if he were sincere and
remained true to his professions