t lot turned sour from
being left in the hot kitchen one night, and the cat upset the basin of
calf's-foot jelly,--at least the children said so. I go there myself,
because Tudor says the air of the place turns him sick: he looked as
white as a ghost after his last visit, and declared he was poisoned with
foul air.'

'I daresay he was right, Max; poor people have such an objection to open
their windows.'

'I believe you there. I have talked myself nearly hoarse on that subject.
Hamilton and I propose giving lectures in the schoolroom on domestic
hygiene. There is a fearful want of sanitary knowledge in women belonging
to the lower class; want of cleanliness, want of ventilation, want of
whitewashing, are triple evils that lead to the most lamentable results.
We cannot get people to understand the common laws of life; the air of
their rooms may be musty, stagnant, and corrupt, and yet they are
astonished if their children have an attack of scarlet fever or
diphtheria.'

I commended the notion of the lectures warmly, and asked with whom the
idea had originated.

'Oh, Hamilton, of course: he is the moving spirit of everything. We have
planned the whole thing out. There is to be a lecture every Friday
evening; the first is to be on household hygiene, the sanitary condition
of houses, ventilation, cleanliness, etc. In the second lecture Hamilton
will speak of the laws of health, self-management, personal cleanliness,
to be followed by a few simple lectures on nursing, sick-cookery, and
the treatment of infantile diseases. We want all the mothers to attend.
Do you think it a good idea, Ursula?'

'It is an excellent one,' I returned reluctantly, for I grudged the
praise to Mr. Hamilton. He could benefit his fellow-creatures, and give
time and strength and energy to the poor sick people, and yet sneer at me
civilly when I wanted to do the same, just because I was a woman. Perhaps
Max was disappointed with my want of enthusiasm, for he ceased talking
of the lectures, and said he had some more letters to write before
dinner, and during the rest of the evening, though we discussed a hundred
different topics, Mr. Hamilton's name was not again mentioned.

Uncle Max walked with me to the gate of the White Cottage, and bade me a
cheerful good-night.

'I like to feel you are near me, Ursula,' he said, quite affectionately;
'an old bachelor like myself gets into a groove, and the society of a
vigorous young woman, brimful of ph