no wish to cure herself of
the fault. The ball was still her first thought.

"Well," she said to Betty, "you have heard how things have turned out,
but if Miss Somers does not ask me to go with, her, I think I know
some one else who will."

Now, some officers were quartered at the town where the ball was to be
held. And because they had got into trouble with a tradesman there,
out of which Mr. Case had undertaken to help them, they sometimes
invited the Attorney to mess. The officers thought that if they showed
some attention to Mr. Case, he would not charge them so much for his
help. One of them even asked his wife to take, sometimes, a little
notice of Miss Barbara. The name of this officer's wife was Mrs.
Strathspey. It was of Mrs. Strathspey that Barbara was thinking when
she said to Betty that if Miss Somers did not take her to the ball,
she thought she knew of some one else who would.

"Mrs. Strathspey and the officers are to breakfast here to-morrow,"
said Bab. "One of them dined at the Abbey to-day and he said they
would all come. They are going somewhere into the country and
breakfast here on the way. Pray, Betty, don't forget that Mrs.
Strathspey can't breakfast without honey. I heard her say so myself."

"Then, indeed," said Betty, "I'm afraid Mrs. Strathspey will have to
go without breakfast here, for not a spoonful of honey have we, let
her long for it ever so much."

"But, surely," said Bab, "we can contrive to get some honey in the
neighborhood."

"There's none to be bought, that I know of," said Betty.

"But is there none to be begged or borrowed?" said Bab, laughing. "Do
you forget Susan's beehive? Step over to her in the morning with my
compliments, and see what you can do. Tell her it's for Mrs.
Strathspey."

In the morning Betty went with Miss Barbara's compliments to Susan, to
beg some honey for Mrs. Strathspey, who could not breakfast without
it. Susan did not like to part with her honey, because her mother
loved it, and she therefore gave Betty only a little. When Barbara saw
how little Susan sent, she called her a miser, and she said she must
have some more for Mrs. Strathspey. "I'll go myself and speak to her.
Come with me, Betty," said the young lady, who seemed to forget she
had said, on the day that she was asked to "take a spoon," that she
never would pay Susan another visit.

"Susan," she said to the poor girl whom she had done everything in her
power to hurt, "I must beg a lit