em? Will you thank
him, Ursula?' she said, raising them in her thin fingers. 'How cool and
delicious they are?' But when I looked out Mr. Hamilton was not to be
seen.

Lady Betty wrote very piteous letters begging to be recalled, which Mr.
Hamilton answered very kindly but firmly. He told her that Gladys
required perfect quiet, that if she came home she would not be allowed to
be with her; and when Lady Betty heard that I was nursing her she grew a
little more content.

Gladys was always more restless and suffering towards evening; 'her bad
thoughts,' as she called them, came out like bats in the darkness. I
tried the experiment of singing to her one evening, and I found, to my
delight, that my voice had a soothing influence: after this I always sang
to her after she was in bed: I used to take up my station by the window
and sing softly one song after another, until she was quiet and drowsy.

As I sang I always saw a dark shadow, moving slowly under the oak-trees,
pacing slowly up and down; sometimes it approached the house and stood
motionless under the window, but I never took any notice.

'Thank you, dear Ursula,' Gladys would say when I at last ceased; 'I
feel more comfortable now.' And after a time I would hear her regular
breathing and know she was asleep. I shall never forget the relief with
which I watched her first natural sleep: she had had a restless night, as
usual, but towards morning she had fallen into a quiet, refreshing sleep,
which had lasted for three hours.

I had finished my breakfast when I heard her stirring, and hurried in to
her; to my delight, she spoke to me quite naturally, without a trace of
nervousness:

'I have had such a lovely sleep, Ursula, and without any bad dreams.
I feel so refreshed.'

'I am so glad to hear it, dear,' I replied; and, overjoyed at this good
news, I went out into the passage to find Chatty, for I wanted Mr.
Hamilton to know at once of this improvement. He had been very anxious
the previous night, and had talked of consulting with an old friend of
his who knew Gladys's constitution.

On the threshold I encountered Miss Darrell.

'Were you looking for any one?' she asked coldly.

'Yes, for Chatty. I want Mr. Hamilton to know that Gladys has had three
hours' sleep, and has awakened refreshed and without any nervous
feelings. Will you be kind enough to tell him?'

'Oh, certainly: not that I attach much importance to such a transient
improvement. Gladys's ca